Big BEAR !!!!!!!!!!!

Tiffany here, making an another attempt at this high-tech stuff. I'm much better at just pedalling a bike, with only one gear, preferrably.....

Last weekend (June 18-19) was the Granny Gear 24 Hours of Big Bear Lake, in Hazelton West Virginia. It was another epic weekend; leaving Thursday afternoon, driving to State College where we stayed the night. Getting our food for the weekend the next morning at Wegman's---an awesome (and huge!) grocery store!

Then visiting friends at their bike shop, Mt Nittany Wheelworks---stop by and say hello to Frank, Harry, Jimbo and Eric when you're in their 'hood. Spoke at length with Eric about the upcoming Singlespeed Worlds. While we were there a prettily decorated letter arrived for Eric from Jacque Phelan pretty much begging for an entry to the race. Sounds like it's the place to be August 20-21. I can attest to the fantastic riding in the area, and know that the course will be killer.

I have to say, I think it's the most beautiful time of year to be road-tripping; the surrounding hillsides were lush and blanketed with wildflowers. Trees were thick and green, pre-summer bakefest... So, I sat and stared out the window the whole time in awe....must've pointed out the flowers a dozen times.

Kerry was a road warrior and did ALL the driving. We made it to the venue, an outdoor recreation center in the hills of WV, with a penchant for golf carts. There was plenty of
mocking the golf carts all weekend, but they're not so bad....better than noisy ATVs!

We arrived latish, so I urged Kerry to only set up the essentials so we could get out for a pre-ride. Word from Lauri and her buddies from Wooden Wheels, team Hunter Thompson Experience--a 4-person team in the rigid/singlespeed category (yes, to be in the singlespeed category, you had to ride rigid.) was that the course was good, but sounded on the longish side--took them 1hr 40 minutes, so starting to think in the 1:20 to 30 range for a race lap. Longer than I’m used to for these 24-hr races. hmmm...

Pre-ride confirmed this. and confirmed that my legs felt a little tired..drat. I had done a tough little local race the weekend before. (nothing like Carol who stomped out an epic 65 mile race that same weekend!!). It was blazing hot that weekend and I put on a tallergear for the non-technical race. little things that make a difference in recovery. oh well......that's how you
learn.

My impression was that the course was at least 2 miles too long. The mileage was 12.9. Maybe that was b/c the last 3 miles were hard, which consisted of a slight gummy incline the first mile, then fresh-cut (i.e. slow) very tight, rocky trail.....like a mini-scree garden. The very end was the "up and over" bridge (what are they called??), which was cool b/c it allowed for a good vantage point to see your incoming rider, as they rode down it through a C-curve into the timing/transition area. except at night when you couldn’t make out anything until they entered the tent.

.....but otherwise an excellent course. a little of everything. including that East Coastmud that is tacky, slick, peanut-buttery, gummy and soupy/thick---all of which we encountered during the race, with changing consistancy. It was mostly singletrack, with generally plenty of room to pass alongside in the brush. lots of linking fireroad sections to connect us.

I admit to having had a hard time putting the course together in my mind. or really keeping
track of it. I remember with delight the pine forest section....the one smooth, like a carpet section with sweeping turns...all of 5 minutes of the course. But the section right after that was fun too, the "sexy downhill stretch" as a reporter for Granny Gear (whose article and picture I appear in!!) deemed it.

Very fun. But mostly I was working hard the whole time to keep the momentum going. As must everybody have been....

Race day, then race time came all too quickly. I didn’t eat an adequate breakfast, which would be the theme for me for the rest of the race. We didn’t have an official helper which made a big difference for me. Im thankful that we were riding singlespeeds, else forget it. It was hard enough cleaning off my bike each lap, changing the gear for my last 2 laps, to fix proper food (guess Im kind of wussy after all).

At one point I was desperate for macaroni and cheese....but I just couldn’t manage to get beyond retrieving my Simply Organics box, so had a (small) bowl of cereal. Thankfully, TJ, from Pittsburgh, a mechanic, fellow-singlespeeder, and soon-to-be new dad checked over my bike
before my night lap (like right before....was due out in a little over an hour).

....I was sitting in the chair with my eyes closed and when I opened them I spotted a shiny pink bike up on the stand in front of me.....a lovely sight!!! Followed by, "Wow, this crank is super loose", then "Wow, so is this bottom bracket". Then whee, off comes the crank and the bottom bracket is even looser.

Am I the only one who would feel nervous in that situation? Especially when TJ asks me for the "special tool" that is necessary for the snazzy White industries bottom bracket I have. I guess I better get one of those tools.....not sure exactly what he did, but he got it together again and said it would be fine. ....I had felt something "off" the lap before, but didn’t really know what the
sensation meant, the closest I could get was the chain might come off. All’s well that ends well, right?

Except my light were a situation too; charging light not working/voltage not up to standard....ultimately a warranty issue. So even though the Nite Rider guys hooked me up with a new one (for which my friend Pete, who lent me the light system, must be psyched), I felt pretty uneasy during my night lap (and was really grateful that I would only have to do
one night lap....my reward for having to do the run is how I thought of it!),
and sure enough, the lights cut out on me twice...just went black. Pulled over each time for some 20 seconds, and thankfully they did just come back on....But major momentum killer and stressor...not to mention having to repass a few racers.

Managed a decent night lap nonetheless, but at this point know that I was not having the best race. Things are adding for me. Getting tripped up in the brawl to get into the singletrack after the LeMans start and scraping my knee on the rocks and gravel was an early sign. But hey, it’s all part of this crazy-fun event of a 24-hr race!

The IF chicks rode hard and strong, had no major technical difficulties. It was a long, hard race and I spent most of it feeling pretty tired. I only warmed up once on the trainer, which was another mistake. Im usually good about it, and thought that having it at the campsite would be better than the Saris warmup tent at the Adrenalin races. I was wrong. Another mistake.

Im not sure how it affected the other chicks, but I only saw it used once, by Carol before her first lap. Carol who sticks with her tough gear (the only one of us who did) the whole race.....she is truly a tough, badass chick!!! And Lauri, rocking it hard on her last lap with her 2nd fastest lap....whewee!. Kerry said she felt strong and rode better her last two laps; I know finishing up stronger like that feels encouraging.

We won our category, women’s expert, handily beating the 2nd place team, who were on rigid singlespeed...badasses themselves! Were 31st overall (out of 144) teams).

Camping with us was another team; Bontrager Wheelworks, led by Keith Bontrager, whom I met a couple of years ago at the TransRockies. They won their Master’s Division, beating the team who had beaten them 4 years in a row at Snowshoe. So they were super happy, as was most everyone for them.

The Wooden Wheels guys had a battle going the whole race between them, 2nd place and 4th place, so that was exciting to watch unfold. They nabbed 3rd and it was great to see both teams up on the podium, looking real happy.

It was another super fun experience. And it's a great feeling riding for IF; I can really feel the love out there.....everyone cheers for Indy Fab! A great motivator. Thanks to all the folks at Independent Fabrication, White Industries, Phil Wood, Mavic, Hutchinson and Gyro who hook me up with such a sweet ride.

These events make for good living. .....thinking about doing another......just saw that Sullly and Ken (Bloomer??) are looking for chicks for their CoEd/Pro team at the Moab race. Maybe they’ll ask me......

There’s the gist. Im sure I missed some other details, but am still tired and have lots more unpacking and clearing the hurricane-wreck that became our house over the week to do......combination of Skip and I both heading out on road trips, getting back late and immediately resuming "real life".

Skip was 2nd at the Lumberjack 100 up in Michigan. Like me he is a bit disappointed with his outing , knowing that he has better in him. But he is happy he went, had a good time, and he and the other fellas he went with enjoyed themselves. What can I say, road trips and mtn biking are fun!! ....looking forward to the next adventure.....

TM