Mt. Bike Now

I almost forgot… Last Wednesday, I raced the final installment of the Tiger Lane Criterium races. Once again, I lined up as the solo woman with the Cat4 men. As previously mentioned, my recovery from Slobberknocker/Cohutta was questionable, so I wasn’t sure how I’d feel for the crit. From the gun, the pace was very slightly more [...]

Yesterday, most people who came through the store were Mother’s Day shopping. As a result, the most common question was not, “what bike should I get?” but more “do you think my wife will like this shirt?” No, I think your wife would like it if you expressed your love and gratitude for her on a [...]

Terriers are awesome. At 12 years of age, Indy still pursues the elusive mole… sometimes in the confines of the empty compost bin

Watch this: No, really. Watch it. Especially about halfway through when they start talking about the need for a “women’s specific” geometry on bikes. Since I’ve started looking into various bike fits and helping people find proper bike fits, I’ve had an inkling that the women’s specific bike is a marketing gimmick… especially in the case of Scott, [...]

Today has been a wonderful day off filled with not much more than yoga (Janet’s class was especially killer today) and an easy bike ride. After that, I’ve generally wandered around the house doing dishes, laundry, readying my road bike for the final Tiger Lane Criterium, and whitening my teeth… (I caved to vanity after watching [...]

So, if you listen to the latest XXC Mag Podcast , you’ll hear me talk about a lot of things having to do with both racing and the trafficking of cocaine via Amish horse & buggies. You’d also hear me talk about being intimidated by the workout I had on my schedule for Saturday- a 5 hour endurance [...]

Tuesday (my weekday off from work), I spent half the day taking care of myself. Not so much as in an, “oh, I raced hard, so now I’m going to pamper myself” sort of way, but more of an, “I need to do this stuff to function normally again” sort of way. -First, the chiropractor. I’d [...]

It’s been a hot minute since I’ve posted a few of the random things we get to see in the shop. First off- warranty stuff. It happens. Parts (including frames), for whatever reason, don’t work, for no apparent reason. We call the manufacturer, they’ll send us a new part, and either want the old one back or, [...]

Friday morning, I packed up and hit the road around 7:30 for the 6.5ish hour drive to Ducktown, TN. Along the way, Zandr (from XXCMag) joined in, and we had a brief Element Convoy down I-24. We arrived mid-afternoon, checked in, and pre-rode the first climb and a little bit of the first singletrack. I attempted to show [...]

I can’t make up my mind: Cohutta 100- rigid w/an Ardent 2.4 front tire (lighter, a little faster uphill, makes me look like a badass) or SID WC suspension fork w/an Ignitor (~1.5 pounds heavier, but a little faster downhill)? Comment here or on FB/Twitter. Whichever has the most votes is what I’ll do this weekend… [...]

Trophies are nice, but they tend to sit around and collect dust. Not the case with the Slobberknocker trophy. Ryan’s George Foreman grill was falling apart (thank gawd), so I finished it off with style.

The Slobberknocker is a 75 mile gravel grinder in Perryville, Arkansas. With my past gravel road racing experience at Southern Cross, I opted to ride my cyclocross bike. Most people were riding mountain bikes and told me I was brave for bringing the CX rig. I knew that there were a couple of gnarly spots on the [...]

I decided to add some interest to the intensity of my training this week with the Tiger Lane Criterium race. Given the difficulty of my upcoming races and how hard I’ve been training lately, I’d felt unsure about going. However, with all of the other women in town avoiding the race, I figured it was a pride [...]

I might catch some isht for this, but I think it’s worth saying. Guys, you don’t have to read. This doesn’t really involve you. Over the weekend, I worked neutral mechanical support for the Los Locos Duathon . While I was there, I was amazed at the number of beautiful, strong ladies who were not taking care of themselves. [...]

If you are the type that just reads and leaves without poking around in the sidebar (giggle), take a second to click on the Facebook and twitter links. If you follow/like, you not only get the usual links to new blog posts, but little training updates like this one from yesterday: “Just finished my 19th and 20th hours of [...]

I’ve always felt a tiny twinge of jealousy when I see some of my facebook & blogger friends post about epic off-road training rides that they can do from (sometimes) right out their back doors. Living in Memphis does have its pluses, but close proximity to endless hours of singletrack isn’t one of them (luckily, one [...]

As I mentioned in my Ouachita report, I have three injured fingers- a sprained middle one on the right hand, and a sprained/broken middle and sprained index on the left. The most painful, colorful, and most sausage-like one is definitely the index finger. Following the race, Fullface Kenny texted me for a race update. The conversation went [...]

I’ve got quite a collection of 3rd place finishes from “big” races. It all started with Marathon Nationals in 2010:     Then, in 2011, I kept the Bronze collection strong. Spa City: Mohican 100: Fools Gold 100:   2012 has been the year that I’ve stepped up the mediocrity… starting off with a Master’s World Championship Bronze: Then, more bronze at Spa City: …and, to polish [...]

The entry list for the Ouachita Challenge always seems to be a mixed bag. 2010 seemed like the year of the pros. Last year, the field was slightly more sedate. This year, Carey Lowery showed back up, as well as Jessica Rawlins (state XC champ of Texas) and a host of other strong regional ladies. I [...]

I need to complain about something else really quick… (it’s a rest-ish week since I’m heading out this afternoon for tomorrow’s Ouachita Challenge race, so I have nothing better to talk about) Cable housing. Namely, cable housing on mountain and cyclocross bikes. For those of you that are not mechanically informed on how your bike’s shifting works here’s a [...]