Digging the earth

Since the weather's taken a turn for the awesome, Wisconsin has made its annual mass migration to outdoor activities. And since this year I am the master of my schedule, I've been making a point to really enjoy the sunshine as much as possible.

That's still not super easy, as the work that actually makes me money (albeit still very little) tends to be a fairly solitary and indoor activity. And I am, by nature, neither of those things. But what can I say?

Oh writing, I just can't quit you.

Still, one of my other passions pulls me into the woods and countryside of our fair state fairly often: mountain biking. I know I've babbled on about how awesome the sport is before, but as I intend to keep at it until such time as my limbs fall off or something, you'll have to accept that I will be babbling about it more in the future.

I even had the opportunity to write my first mountain bike-centric article for Isthmus, to be published in the not-so distant future. As part of the research for the piece, and because it made for a good excuse to get out and do/see things I've been meaning to do/see for awhile anyway, me and the fella recently joined the Capital Off-Road Pathfinders (CORP for more easier) for an early-morning trail work session out at Cam-Rock.

Turns out the Cam-Rock III trail system, just outside of the quaint village of Cambridge and not so far from Madison, is really very nice. Lots of great, flowing singletrack and some seriously beautiful scenery. CORP and the park folk have done a great job of building and expanding the trails, and they continue to work on them every season.

On the day we went out to pitch in, we ended up assigned to a group that was building berms along the more advanced section of trail. Basically, it became a morning of digging and hauling (gorgeous black) dirt. But we also met some very friendly people and learned a thing or two about good trail construction. We also assisted in the creation of something like seven berms, which was no small feat. Perhaps, after all that work, I'll actually be able to rail said berms in an appropriately sweet and/or gnarly fashion.

I also need to work on my biker slang, apparently.

Anyway, it was good times and I was glad to finally do a bit more to earn my saddle time. See, a big component of mountain biking is the stewardship thing. Good riders are also good about chipping in to help keep the landscape ship-shape.

In addition to wanting to become a better rider for my own personal reasons there's also a professional goal behind that drive. This mountain biking article for Isthmus will be, I'm hoping, just the first of many. I'd like to parlay my love of the sport, my writing abilities (such as they are), and the fact that I'm a lady (omg you didn't know?!) into a bit of a career niche. That is, lady riders who write aren't exactly a dime a dozen (yet!) so maybe I can use that to my advantage. Because it'd be fulfilling for me, and because I'd like to do whatever small thing I can to help encourage more women to take up the sport, which I think would be great. So there's that.

Mountain bikes in Middleton

Outside its borders, our fair state of Wisconsin isn't exactly thought of as a place to find great mountain biking. We don't, after all, really even have mountains. But those of us who live and ride here know full well that there are some seriously awesome trails around. You just have to know where to look.

Or you have to take the initiative to get them built.

That's what Capital Off Road Pathfinders have been doing for several years now right here in my own backyard. The local chapter of WORBA (the state chapter of IMBA), CORPS has built and maintained a series of really good single and double track trails all over Dane County. Which I had managed to completely overlook until just recently. I discovered the Quarry Ridge network over the weekend, and unable to contain my excitement I took a quick, cold, muddy ride to get acquainted with an area that's a mere 15 minute drive from my apartment.

It's a prime example of how Wisconsin trail builders are able to make the most out of our sometimes limited terrain. We may not have mountains, but we do have lots of ridges and moraines and with the right design and imagination you can really milk a lot out of the land.

And now it looks like we're on track to get some singletrack, as well as a skills park and pump track, right next door in Middleton. Just this evening the Park, Recreation & Forestry Commission approved bids by Mike Riter of Trail Design Specialists and Ben Blitch of B4 Construction so they can begin work on the project out on the west side of the city.

I have no idea when it will be done, but there's a good chance some of it will be ready next season. Which is insanely cool.

You see, I've been riding on and off for about two years now and am more than ready to step things up. I have officially fallen in love with the sport, and the more opportunities to ride new terrain with new people the better. I'm lookin' to learn, be challenged, and have fun. But I'm also looking to help out, which is one of the great aspects of the mountain biking scene: stewardship. These groups do a lot to help with sustainability efforts in a given area, building trails that are low impact, help prevent erosion, and provide a pretty green means of bringing people and dollars to the nearby towns. It's kind of win-win, if you know what you're doing.

I'll be looking forward to seeing what I can do to chip in with future trail building and maintenance, and also to riding as often and learning as much as possible (hopefully without breaking myself too badly in the process). And I'll be looking forward to seeing what these folks bring to little ol' Middleton, Wisconsin.

Greetings from Moab!

It's indescribably gorgeous here.

Riding bikes indoors

What's sore and bruised and content all over? That'd be me after a weekend at Ray's Indoor Mountain Bike Park in Cleveland, Ohio. I'm back from both my blogging and real-life vacations, only a little worse for wear, and even more in love with riding my bike than ever.

My fella and I, feeling the ill-effects of a too-long Wisconsin winter, decided to head out for Ray's this weekend after hearing that it offered an indoor reprieve for northern biking enthusiasts. And though, in the end, I still much prefer riding long, flowing trails in the great outdoors, I can definitely say that Ray's is a pretty rad place and I wish we had something like it a little closer to home.

As it turned out, the park was having a "Ride With the Legends" day when we got there, which included the presence of several pro BMX and mountain bike riders, plus a mob of curious onlookers. Still, the friendly Chicago ex-pat minding the door told us that the events never interfere with regular folks' ability to ride, so we had free reign to explore the nearly 100,000 square feet of park.

Think about that: nearly 100,000 square feet of indoor biking. Pretty impressive. I felt a little overwhelmed when I first rolled my bike into the melee. Between the fact that we'd only just recently retrofitted my bike to the point of it pretty much being a brand new ride, and this being my first time on it in months, I was a little shaky at first. Thankfully, there's a very nice "beginner room" that's generally quieter and less crowded than the rest of the building, and I spent some time there getting warmed up. After a few adjustments, the new bike ran smooth and true. After some mental adjustments, I wasn't so bad, either.

We spent a good 6 hours trying out what lines we could (that is, what lines wouldn't kill a couple of relative greenhorns like ourselves). There's the Gary Fisher XC loop, which runs along the ceiling of the converted factory space and then swoops down and around berms and ramps that crisscross several of the other areas. A small pump track provides a good chance to develop that particular skill. A good handful of technical mtb tracks are packed onto one half of the floor, each with varying levels of difficulty: teeter-totters, boardwalks, log runs, berms, tabletops, and plenty of skinnies.

I watched several trials riders bunny hopping their way from line to line and marveled at the degree of skill needed to do what they do. I have no interest in trials myself (I'm not that balanced, nor that patient), but it's fascinating to watch. Check out a video of what I'm talking about right here.

I worked on my jump take-offs and landings, trying to even out my bike as much as possible instead of just bumbling over things, and actually started to feel like I was getting the basic hang of it. I've still got quite a long ways to go, but the day provided a good chance to get to know my new bike and try out some things I'd been wanting to work on for awhile.

Of course, the day was not without injury. I took one pretty spectacular spill as I tried to navigate a long log run, nearly doing an endo before throwing my bike at the last minute and taking the bulk of the hit on my right side. My shin and knee pads did their job, but unfortunately I got a log right to the thigh and ended up with a pretty gnarly muscle bruise that left me limping for the next day. All part of the process, right?!

We took a few short breaks to just watch the pros tackle the big ramps near the front, marveling at the tricks they pulled and how easy they made it look. At one point, as we were waiting for our turn on one of the mtb lines, my fella struck up a conversation with another guy about some fancy new feature on his bike, not knowing that said guy was Hans Rey, one of the pros in for the day and a major pioneer of trials riding. So that was fun.

All told, it was a great day of riding, trying out new things, developing some skills, working up a sweat, and watching some pretty amazing riders do their thing. I was happy to see quite a few other women out on their bikes, too (we're still the minority in this sport, of course). And the overall vibe of the place was good, with little in the way of ego or pretense. And kids! We ran into quite a few tots pedaling around on miniature BMX or bigwheels. One particularly skilled guy was even out on the track holding his own. I talked briefly with his mom, who said he was just 4-years-old but already racing motorcycles, too. I can't say I'm entirely down with letting pre-schoolers race motorized vehicles, but hey, if that kid keeps it up and doesn't get mangled in the process, he's going to be pretty damn good at a pretty young age.

Got back into Madison last night, welcomed by much colder temperatures and snow. Our weekend biking adventure should help to keep me sane until spring really shows up and I can take it outdoors again--but it's Wisconsin, after all, so who knows? Here's hoping.

Tomorrow, it's back to your regularly scheduled blogging.

(full set of photos available at my Flickr account)

Sunday Brunch: "Heart's Desire" and building bike trails

Yesterday morning, I had the distinct pleasure of learning about and helping to create new mountain bike trails. I'm still a relative newbie when it comes to mtb, but you could say that I'm already hooked and the more I can learn about what goes into the sport, the better. It was a perfect morning for it, too, with warm temperatures and a good breeze to help keep the insects away as we worked in the middle of a fairly dense forest.

Amazingly, with the help of a few pros, the group of about ten of us managed to carve out around 100 yards of completely new trail in the span of an hour and a half. We worked with three main tools: pulaskis, McLeods and cutters. It helped that there had been rain a couple days before, as the ground was nice and soft without being too soggy.

It was good to get out and work like that, and to learn something new and relatively useful. I'm hoping to get out more in the future, both to ride and to build/maintain.

But, on with brunch! Today's offering comes courtesy of my good friends over at Blame Society Productions (the folks who brought you "Chad Vader" and other such gems). A parody of hair-rock ballads that is both horrifying and strangely compelling, this is the music video for a song by the character Rocker Jimmy Samson, from their "Morning Radio Mysteries" series of shorts. Enjoy!

John Muir MtB Trails

Another day of cross-training. Yesterday, Nick and I drove out to the southern unit of Kettle Moraine State Forest for a few hours of mountain biking. After a brief "detour" courtesy of Google Maps being a bit outdated, we found our way to the trail head. Pro tip: Just use the directions provided on the park's website (or use WORBA's resources), they're much more straight-forward and the drive along Hwy 12 is far more scenic than taking I-94, which we did on the way out.

The John Muir Trails are one set out of two (including the Emma Carlin Trails) maintained by WORBA within the southern kettles. They are superbly cared for and extremely fun to ride. There are trail loops for all skill levels, too, though once again we managed to accidentally wander on to one of the intermediate trails. Overall, it's a different kind of ride than Blue Mounds. Here, the emphasis is on maneuverability and speed, whereas at Blue Mounds it was all about obstacles.

The trails vary from nicely hard packed, smooth dirt (with excellent rock and dirt embankments along steeper edges and curves) to patches of rocks and roots and the occasional sand pit. I hate sand pits. For a novice like me, maintaining your line through soft, movable sand is near impossible. I ended up doing a lot of swerving, putting my foot down for stability and just plain walking it whenever we hit a significant stretch of the stuff.

But my most glorious moment of the ride came when my ego and sense of a good time up and blackjacked my ability to see the trail for what it was. At one point, the single track split into a "high road" and a "low road," with the latter being a regular path and the former being a small drop. Naturally, I wanted to make full use of my awesome bike and take the drop. Unfortunately, I failed to notice that the bottom of the drop was nothing but a big sand pit. So I built up some speed, picked up my front tire and went for the jump. My front tire planted hard in the sand and the whole bike simply stopped moving. Thankfully, instead of doing a full-on endo, which is what my body was trying to do, I threw myself off to the left at the last second and took the fall on my leg and arm. I much prefer some scrapes there as opposed to landing on my head.

I dusted off as much of the sand as I could and we continued merrily on our way. There were a few nerve-wracking descents over roots and rocks that nearly toppled us a few times, but I'm happy to say that my panic instinct is slowly but surely being crushed under a sense of challenge and joy. If I put enough power into the bike and then just let it do it's job, things tend to end well.

A word about the bike: I am extremely fortunate to have the ride at all. It's a Mongoose Amasa hardtail, a model usually only available in Europe (I know, I'm just so dang fancy). We were very, very lucky in knowing someone with connections to a bike-related company that did a sort of year-end clearance on show-room models for employees and their families and friends. I won't tell you the price we got it for, but suffice to say it was an insane deal. And it's a great bike. The tires on this thing are huge.

After getting good and sweaty/dirty (it was a solid 86 degrees out), we made our way over to the nearby La Grange General Store for refreshments. I can't recommend this place enough to anyone who comes out to the park. Whether you're there for the mountain or road biking, hiking, whatever, a stop by this place is a must. I can only assume the store is run by health nuts of a sort. There's a small bike shop (to buy and to rent) attached, and the store itself sells various local brews, wines, organic juices and snacks, tofu, etc., and there's a deli where you can buy sandwiches and baked goods. I tried the cheese pita, made to order with my choice of veggies and cheese. The thing was absolutely delicious. You can also get ice cream there, but after an onslaught of boyscouts there wasn't much left.

It was a great day. Hot but not too hot, awesome trails, improvements in my ability to ride them, a good wipe out, delicious food and, as always, top-notch company. You'll need a state parks pass (generally just good to have) and a trail pass. The trail passes are just $8 for a single person for the day. You can buy both of them at the trail head.

Today is supposed to be my first ride on my new road bike. At the moment, I'm waiting for the radar to clear up and then I'll head out to tackle the longer version of the Capitol City Loop. Then, next weekend, it's time to up the ante and go for the long distance action.

Indoor Cycling and New Bikes

I am so freakin' excited. The bike we've been working on building (well, mostly Nick, because he's too awesome for words) is finally done. Took it over to the good folks at Revolution Cycles for a tune-up and they were fairly impressed. Now all that remains is for me to buy the proper stem and handlebars and a blessedly women specific saddle. That won't stop me from riding it with spare parts until then, though. Pictures forthcoming, of course.

Yesterday I took my first "indoor cycling" class (it's not spinning, I was told) courtesy of some ACT Ride hook-ups with Zoned 4 Fitness. I wanted to get a better idea of just how out-of-shape I still am (and, y'know, try to improve my technique, I guess). They have many fancy CycleOps bikes, which are indeed quite nice. If I had lots of dollars, I'd probably own one for training over the winter and on those days I just can't bring myself to go outside (storms or overwhelming heat, things like that).

The session was good and sweaty, even if my bum knees were weak and feeble. Once I was warmed up, I did a great deal better. Seems it takes me a little extra doin' than most folks to really get warmed up, but I'm reminding myself that this isn't a competition. The most important thing for me to do is continue, slowly but surely, to build up the strength and endurance in my legs (and lungs) without re-injuring anything.

It's harder than it sounds. I've always been a bit, shall we say, "competitive" by nature, so realizing that it would be really very bad for me to push myself like I used to is hard to cement in my brain sometimes. This whole patellofemoral thing is rough, but things do seem to be improving.

So they put us through our paces, gave us tips about good pedal stroke, cadence, etc. And though their choice of inspirational tunes was a tad...sketchy...I felt good about the whole thing and grateful to have had the chance to try it out (free of charge, no less!).

This weekend, if all goes well, will involve one day of mountain biking adventures and one day on the road. And lots of stretching.

So much stretching.

Overdoing It A Bit

Mountain Bike [2]
Originally uploaded by Lost Albatross.

Great weekend, but I'm paying for it now. Ouchie.

Got in rides on both Monday and Wednesday, with trips to the gym on Tuesday and Thursday (starting free weights, hooray!). Friday evening, right after work, I shot down ye olde under construction Beltline (which I normally try to avoid at all costs but this was a special occassion) and made it to the days' training rides' starting point at Olbrich park in good time. I was met by four other very nice ladies, none of whom were our ride leaders. My fella even showed up to ride along, but we continued to wait for the ride leaders to show. For whatever reason (hopefully nothing painful), no one ever showed, so we decided to take the initiative and do the ride ourselves.

Luckily, I still had a route map from the last Olbrich ride I'd been on, so we set out fairly confident that we'd manage to find our way back safely. Which we did. Which was good. We took Buckeye all the way out east to where it turns into County AB, then turned north onto County MN, then turned again onto Vilas Road, the latter being one of the most beautiful rides around the city I've ever been on. It's all rolling hills, farmland, old red barns and spots of forest. Along the route there were two separate places that kept drawf horses, which were interesting to see (and adorable, if a little strange).

We made it back to our starting point by way of Sprecher and then Milwaukee, getting a few friendly waves and beeps from people along the way (I wonder what it is about a group of non-competitive bikers wearing red that makes us stand out as ACT riders?).

Miles ridden: approximately 20

On Sunday I decided to do a little bit of cross training and joined in on a pick-up game of ultimate down at Reynolds Park. Despite me being an idiot and forgetting to put on sunscreen (ultimate farmer tan!) and despite me being generally out of shape when it comes to sprinting, I managed to hold my own and have a good time.

Monday morning, my fella and I drove out to Blue Mounds State Park for a little bit more cross training via mountain biking. See, we found this really nice hardtail freeride bike over this winter for a really, insanely marked down price and I had to have it. Thing is, I haven't been able to break it in until this ride, so it was long overdue. The bike handled itself marvellously, taking the big rocks and roots without a second though. Me, on the other hand, well I did better than I thought but still managed to clock myself in the crotch (disc breaks, I'm lookin' at you!) a few too many times. Though, to be fair, one time is one time too many. Yikes.

Miles ridden: didn't keep track, so I'll have to go back and check the maps of the trails.

Blue Mounds State Park is gorgeous, by the way, if you're looking for a good place to hike, camp or bike (I imagine it's good for skiing in the winter, too). The MtB trails are well-marked and provide something for both beginners (that'd be me) and intermediate/advanced bikers alike. The trails we took were well-maintained and provided just enough challenge to be fun without totally kicking our asses. Except for the one time where we accidentally got onto an intermediate trail...eesh.

That brings us up to today, when my legs feel like absolute rubbish and seem to be threatening a mutiny. I think I may have pushed a little harder than I should have, but hopefully I'll be relatively right as rain in time to do a couple of rides this week. In the meantime, I think there's a hot bath in my near future....