Mountain Biking in Lake Tahoe 2010 @ Zephyr Cove Campground

It's been a fabulous summer of "firsts" for me! First time mountain bike racing cross country at the Downieville Classic 2010 in July (race report and photos here). Last week was my first time mountain biking at Lake Tahoe! I had not visited the Tahoe area since going to Burning Man in the Nevada desert in 2007 (haven't been back yet). So three years later, I made my mountain biking debut on the gorgeous, rocky trails of South Lake Tahoe. I joined an organized camping/biking weekend with friends from Mountain Bikers of Santa Cruz and other mountain biking clubs.  I quickly discovered that Tahoe was even better with my bicycle, friends, camping and feasting! I have posted my full Tahoe photo collection on my Flickr page. Take a look!

I loved the spectacular views on our rides. I joined group rides on Thursday and Friday and then did not ride on Saturday and Sunday.

What brought me to South Lake Tahoe to camp for four nights in August? The lure of organized bike rides, camping, warm sunshine and someone else working out all of the logistics. (Thank you!) Although I had planned to do the trail work on Saturday afternoon, a key part of the trip, I bailed out due to exhaustion and multiple crashes from the ride the day before. Yes, I felt bad about not doing the work but much more remains to be done, so it's not my last chance!

Mountain Bike Tahoe 2010 trip stats. This was the 5th annual group mountain biker outing, but the first time at the Zephyr Cove Campground in Nevada- which I loved for its proximity to the lake - just 10 minutes' walk to a dip in the clear, cold, refreshing water.

Photo Credit: http://www.tahoecam.com

 There were about 108 attendees this year from 7 clubs from Monterey, Santa Cruz and the San Francisco Bay Area.  There were 12 rides organized over 4 days. During trail work day, 1212 feet of finished Tahoe Rim trail was completed and 539 feet of usable (not finished) trail was also done. The Tahoe Rim Trail work leaders were really impressed with how much was accomplished! Here are trail work photos taken by Chris Matthews of Specialized.

This was a fabulous overlook that reminded us of our hard climb. Photo Credit: Karen Kefauver

I could have stopped even more often to take in the amazing panoramic views. Photo Credit: Karen Kefauver

It was new to me to get in a car to drive to the start of a ride, but it was worthit and we had willing drivers, some of whom could fit up to 15 bikes in one vehicle! Talk about bikepooling! Photo Credit: Karen Kefauver

Inspired by the Olympics, I pushed hard in my first mountain bike race of the season

To justify gobbling sweet treats on Valentine's Day, I jumped into my first mountain bike race of the year, competing in the women's sport (intermediate) class race today, Sunday, February 14 at Fort Ord in Monterey, California. It was the opening event of the seven-race CCCX series, nearly all of which will take place at Fort Ord, an hour's drive south from my Santa Cruz home.

Signing up for the race was a bold move, considering I can't even recall the last bike race I did. I haven't been on my mountain bike on weeks because it's been so rainy - the trails have been too wet to ride. But at Fort Ord, there's lots of sand, so no danger of destroying delicate trail eco-systems there.

My race consisted of 4 laps - beginners did 3 and pros did 5. Seemed like I could manage four. Little did I know how brutal those sandy laps would be! I estimate each loop was about 5 miles, but I swear as I huffed and puffed up the numerous climbs that they were 10 miles each.

I considered dropping out after the first lap, seriously thought about it again after the second lap, then decided to stick it out. I thought about the Olympic athletes, in particular the tragic death of the luger on Friday and felt the need to press on, despite my discomfort. My strategy was to make the third lap  a "rest" lap in order to banish lingering fantasies of bailing out. Then, for the 4th lap, I would go for it!

I did indeed ramp up the speed in a grand finale and dug deep to get there. I made it to the finish and got a second place medal in my age division! The medal was nice, but what really mattered was how hard I pushed myself and how I persevered despite wanting to quit more than once.

Race Highlights:

* Felt stronger than expected, given all the rainy weather time off the mt. bike.

* Enjoyed pushing the pace with my friend Henri Stern, of Pacific Grove. She inspires me!

* Teammate Andrew Murray's support - he cheered at every lap when I needed it most. And provided water, and later a bar, when I was near bonking.

* Loved racing my new Specialized full suspension bike for first time.

To sum it up, by the fourth lap, I was too tired to talk during the race - for those of you who know me and my laid-back racing style, that's saying a lot!

The results will be hosted on CCCX's new website:
http://www.cccxcycling.com