Thursday, April 26, 2012






La Ruta Lou and Cheryl at finish line!





My first race at Sea Otter where I actually trained!  NOW I know the difference between Cat 1, 2 & 3!

I may be an intermediate rider, but I am not yet an intermediate RACER!  lol - So why did I sign up for Cat 2?  I got to ride more miles and climb more hills for my money and ride against some very fast women!  My race was not to start until 8:55 a.m. - I was warming up and nearly missed the whole thing - I had to rush  through all the young guys to get to the front where my group was lined up. There were 15 women over 50 registered in Cat 2.  The morning was very foggy and really tough to see where we were going - Like a horror film! - First big mistake I made was "pre-opening" the Gu packets!  It leaked out and my shorts were stuck to my legs and my jersey was stuck to my shorts! The Cat 1 guys were coming around for their second lap and it took some getting used to having these fast guys passing you on single track.  On a sandy turn a guy came up behind me and hit my rear tire and I went over the bars and cut my bad leg again! -- No big deal, but it hurt and I already had 7 stitches in that same spot! -  I felt I was dropped pretty fast and I seem to be getting used to that!  A woman in my race got in front of me and must not have done a pre-ride, she went down a very bad line on the most technical part of the course and crashed really badly on that rutted downhill - well, I heard there were a lot of crashes in that spot, one guy went to ER and had his spleen removed.  



All in all, it was a perfect day for a ride.  The sun finally came out and I just gave it my best shot.  It's a lot different "racing" 20 miles than it is "riding" 20 miles in my local mountains.  So many people on the trails and passing made me nervous for a while.  Then I got to the point where the Cat 3 riders turn right and finish, and Cat 2 riders (me) turn left and keep on climbing.  This extra four miles was beautiful and lots of fun single track and steep climbs!   Suddenly I realized I was all alone! I mean the view was spectacular and it seemed I could see for miles, but no humans around! I said to myself, okay, Cheryl, you have been watching carefully for signs, you cannot be lost.  - there were actually some women behind me, two, I think, but they were too far back for me to see.

I stopped and let some air out of my tires and, again, had to pee!  I have to limit my water intake! lol

 But I really noticed, wow, those flowers, those hills, it was so pretty!  I am in a race!!! what am I doing admiring the views? lol -


My good friend and mountain biker, Sue F. reminded me when I got home how far I have come since I started riding.  When I met her and we would ride, if I ever got to a part where I could not see someone, I would freak out! Fear really has ruled my life, sadly enough, and I am so grateful that mountain biking has really helped me get over these deeply embedded fears of being alone and not trusting myself to find my way out of a brown bag!

 I also kept thinking of what my friend Lauren said, "keep moving, anything can happen" - so I tried to do just that, minus crashing, letting air out of my tires and bathroom - lol -I kept moving and finally saw the two or three sisters climb out! I am not sure what they call it, but it was a FUN climb out!  I felt really strong on the climbs, not as fast as I would like to be.  But feeling strong at the end of a race is a good sign of endurance, says Coach Lou! 

Just like in Counting Coup, I climbed a lot of what I saw others walking, and I was doing my best, and that is all I can do, my best.   I was totally confused about where the actual finish line was as I got to the end and stopped, I think, two or three times , asking spectators, "is this it?"  T hey were all yelling and cow bells were clanking, keep on going! lol - too funny - I was tired, but excited when I saw LOU and Eric standing there waiting for me - What a great relief that was!  I knew she was coming and was happy to see them both!  Louise Kobin (La Ruta Lou) and I have been working together with her coaching me since last October and these last two events of Counting Coup and Sea Otter were two goals, two dreams, that WE worked for together!  Thank you, Lou, I could not have done it without you!!!!!

Yes, I wish I could say I was happier with with my times in this race and counting coup, but who does not want to be faster?  Lou always has the greatest little one-liners to make me feel better.  She asked me, "would you rather be third and have the same time?"  No, I would not! She is right.  She told me it's important to race your own race.  You never know who will be racing out there!!

Right off the bat she noticed I had too much tire pressure, and suggest I might raise my bar up a bit.  BTW, making those two small changes improved my riding a lot!  I had no idea what too much pressure can do to a ride, like causing me to skid a lot and lose traction! I kicked out a good ride yesterday with those changes!

 This has been once-in-a-life-time AWESOME experience for me.  I just never imagined after being told I had six months to live and cancer twice, and being told my liver was shot, that I would be doing something this, even if I did live, which nobody expected!


Today while speaking with my daughter Danielle I was telling her that I still feel disappointed and trying to work through it.

 She is such a smart woman (daughter) - I have been emotional and crying, and she said something along the lines of, "Mom,  you are awesome, I cannot even ride a mountain bike 20 miles - Mom, you survived breast cancer, multiple myeloma, addiction to alcohol, and you are a grandma!"  lol - thanks, Dani, for reminding me just how great I am doing with the help of prayer, family and friends, I wonder if I am actually in some sort of shock or something!  Wow! Did I really climb 8000 feet and ride 44 miles on April 7 and then race 20.2 miles and 2850 feet on April 22?   Two mountain bike races in a two week period!

Yep, I did - and if that does not seem a like a lot to you, just try it!
Lou warned me that I very likely would not be recovered or be 100% from racing Counting Coup in time for Sea Otter, but it was doable, and so doable it was.   I came home to my cool award that the Warrior's Society sent me for counting coup ! My first real trophy at age 54, hey, now, can you beat that? ;-) --- Look out, ladies, I will be back next year for both these rides!

I told Lou I am just beginning.  This is my training year, 2012 - now let's look at the races for 2013!  This 'granny' gave up her granny gear and going to be training on her new Ty single speed and my 2 x  9 S-Works!  



We don't really get old.  It's just a number.   For me, getting older is something I never thought I would even have the chance to do!!!  Have you ever stopped and thought how lucky you are if you have your health and get to grow 'older'?  Some don't have these options to grow up or grow old or ride a bike.

Meeting Coach Lou (La Ruta Lou) is one of the best things to happen to me.   She is a kind soul with a big heart and a smile to melt you.  She has wisdom and peace of mind I can nearly reach out and touch.  She is the REAL DEAL, so to speak.  She has been racing "something" most of her life, and because she is calm, cool and shares this love for mountain biking, I simply could not ask for more of the perfect person to help me live out my dreams and some day win a race and get on a podium!

Stay tuned because that time will come! Right, Lou?

Thank you, God, my family, riding partners, friends and my dog Mai, for all your patience, love and support!

p.s. (if you read this far and you happen to click the link at the beginning from garmin, you will see the heart rate strap was on crack! - had me going from 47 to 240 or something insane!  These straps just stopped working?  You think someone trying to tell me something about listening to my body and not a strap???  Or maybe the doctors put in bionic boobs! lol

Night

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