mentoring.

For the last year and a half, I’ve been a mentor with Big Brothers and Big Sisters. B is my current little “sister” and she is 10 years old.  Our activities have included hikes, movies & eating out for dinner. Our latest outing, we went on a bike ride at Rancho Penasquitos (RP).

Barbara has a very heavy bike without any gears. I selected RP because of the dirt trails and absence of car traffic. I thought it would be an easier route. However, in this case it turned out more challenging than I anticipated. For B’s first ride, she experienced sand, rocks, uphills, downhills, packed dirt and a few falls. All in all she rallied through the ride. Our 6.2 mile ride also included a waterfall crossing. B enjoyed the ride, did get tired and told me she's ready for our next bike ride.

B gave me so much happiness by enjoying my passion of cycling (and in the dirt!).  Cycling provides you with self-confidence and the experience of nature. I am hoping that exposing her to bike riding it will open her mind to new adventures. We both enjoyed riding and spending time together. 

dirt riding.

Rock Cobbler 3.0 - The year of the black cobbler 2016 -  this was my 2^nd gravel grinder and by far one of the toughest rides of my life. Good news I was well prepared for this 85 miles, close to ~7K feet of climbing in beautiful Bakersfield. Key lessons here: eat well, drink well, stay positive. Hardest parts were the hike and bike sections. The best part: having a partner supporting me throughout the ride. I started the ride thinking I’d call my teammate to pick me up at some part of the ride but knew in my heart that finishing was the only option. I’m grateful  for Adventure Cross Bicycling  for the Saturday training rides.  Gravel grinders prove to be hard work and exhausting. It's also about the adventure and less about the speed - at least that is what I keep telling myself.  Gravel grinders test your endurance and bike handling skills as well as your patience. 

We did it!

On the fun and dirty side I attended the 2^nd annual Sedona Mountain Bike festival. My friend Barbarah  and I signed up for our first women’s specific mountain bike clinic hosted by Vida MTB Series. We managed a quick dirt ride on Friday and attended the clinic  Saturday.  I did learn some key skills at the clinic such as positioning on the bike and also realized I still need to learn quite a bit more of mountain bike skills. I met really cool women (both attendees and coaches). Quite impressive were the 60 years old in our group shredding like bosses. I highly recommend skill clinics for any type of mountain bike rider. 

Our awesome group at the Vida MTB skills clinic

Barbarah shredding the red dirt trail

A vortex...amazing site

Barbarah spent Sunday demoing a full suspension mountain bike while I took to the trails with a new friend I met at the clinic.  It was a quick trip to Sedona and can’t wait to return and explore more trails. 

Great part of skills clinics is the fun people you meet. 

B4T9 social ride Westlake Village CA

inspiring group of women cyclists

This past weekend my team , B4T9, had a social ride starting from WestLake Village through parts of the Santa Monica Mountains. The inspiring part about riding with this group is riding with my teammates. On our way up stunt road, chatting with one of my teammates I find out she is 66 years young! I was taken aback and my first thought was I hope that when I'm her age, I'm  still riding up stunt road. A few other women riding in our group are in their 70's. Our team proves that we're never too old to be an athlete and we just do it!

the social ride was led by Jan (ride leader) and Lynda (SAG Support)

That's one of my life goals is to ride my bike well into my 80's. The route proved to be challenging and scenic. The Santa Monica mountains provides beautiful roads & substantial climbing. Our team hosts monthly social rides on a monthly basis. Check out the calendar on www.b4t9.com for the schedule. 

This ride also helped me calm my fears about climbing as I'm preparing for the Rock Cobbler. The 40 mile ride included 3k feet of climbing. I felt pretty good. It's always fun to ride with my B4T9 teammates and it provided me with much needed motivation.

Jan and I at the top of stunt road

Sunday ride:

Year of the Gravel Grinder

This year is the year of the gravel grinder. My love for dirt riding started two years (2014) ago with the purchase of a new mountain bike (also noted that was the last time I wrote on this blog). This past year was the year to upgrade my cyclocross bike from aluminum frame to carbon and decided that the year 2016 will include gravel grinders. In the back of my mind, I have the Dirty Kanza (100 miles) on the bucket list (the year to be determined).

My old MASI cross bike is a fine bike. A bit heavy but was very good for my first 100 mile gravel grinder (Rebecca Rusch’s Private Idaho) in 2013 and a load of cross races. The 2016 Focus Mares CX Disc 105 is quite a bit lighter and improved performance with the disc brakes.

Focus Mares CX - Carbon Shimano 105

Mr. Fackler and I had our first dirt ride last week to prep for the RockCobbler in Bakersfield this February. It was also our longest ride in several months. We picked a route we could take directly from our front door. It included a good mix of road & trails. Most of the trails were in Lake Hodges.  During this route, I was reminded of some key lessons: 1. Hydration is key prior to riding (didn’t help New Year’s eve was the day before). 2. Bring more snacks because bonking sucks (failed here since I’m used to 2 hour rides and less) 3. Falling on rocks will hurt, it’s ok to tear up a bit but get up and back on the bike as if nothing happened 4. Having a domestique (thanks Mr. Fackler) makes it more fun!

Mr. Fackler leading the way at Lake Hodges

I’m not sure why I’m so nervous prepping for the Rock Cobbler. I’ve ridden thousands of miles with climbing before although it’s been some time. I think it’s the climbing and getting to know the feeling of suffering once again. Mr. Fackler agreed to ride with me the entire time so that is comforting. My goal is just to finish and have fun. 

Do what you fear most…it’s my motto for this gravel grinder. 

Our ride from Solana Beach: