Princesa turned Queen?

Last April I began a quest to become the "Mountain Bike Queen of Orange County." Honestly I had no idea what I was getting myself into and being consumed with adventure racing, I wasn't sure if I'd have the time or the desire to compete in all 4 races of the Warriors Society Championship Series. But I thoroughly enjoyed competing in their events so I decided to give them a try.

All 4 races were held at the Flying B Ranch on a 5.6 mile course with 1253 feet of elevation gain. In April, despite a gnarly acrobatic flight over the handlebars of my bike, I managed to pull off a 2nd place finish at the Spring XC race. But three laps around that course was nothing compared to my next challenge at the 24 Hours of OC. In the sweltering heat of June, I rode 16 laps around the brutal course and won a very hard-fought 1st place. With two more races to go, I had a narrow lead in the points race against the Warriors' own Mary Huth. Mary was a strong rider who always pushed me to ride as hard as I could. One month before the 6 Hours of OC, I joined team Sho-Air/Rock N Road and I focused on my training and set my sight on finishing the series on top. Unfortunately I had a mental collapse at the 6 Hours race in October that caused me to settle for a less than stellar result. I was still leading the series but Mary was close and there would be no room to falter at the final XC event.

For the next month, I worked on my physical and mental game and I was ready for that final race of the series. The XC format was not really my strength, but I was able to ride hard and come from behind for a very satisfactory 3rd place finish. With that, I clinched the series victory and my title of "Mountain Bike Queen of Orange County."

How does it feel to be Queen you ask? Well, whereas Elizabeth might be forced to take a limo to Buckingham, I had the pleasure of driving the Element back to my Costamesacastle. She may sport the Imperial State Crown and the Sceptre, but I can now flaunt a few open wounds, bruises, and permanent scars. And five years of riding, eight months of solid training, 34 hours of riding circles around the Flying B and countless hours of mental preparation were fully compensated by a giant posterboard check for $250! Aaaaahh, life is good as Queen!


I would like to acknowledge Mary Huth for being such a fierce and gracious competitor. She was always so strong and never gave up. She made me work hard for every single point and taught me some valuable lessons along the way.
Also many thanks to...
Chris, Sherry, Suzanne, Jason, volunteers and members of the Warriors Society for building the trails and organizing the races.
Scott of Sho-Air and Matt of Rock N Road for the team.
Coach Lynda for showing me the way.
Super Mario for advising me, encouraging me, training with me, pushing me, and expecting everything out of me.
Tim for taking care of Fiona and making her ride smoothly on her final race.
Greg, Miss Gilly, Erin, Caroline, and Curt for believing in me and supporting me.
Eron, Jonathan and Josh for motivating me and training with me.

Click HERE for the official race report.

12 Hours of Temecula ~ Team Sho-Air/Rock N' Road ~ 2nd Place Two Person Co-Ed

My Sho-Air teammate and great friend Josh Smith and I paired up for the 12 Hours of Temecula on November 11. We arrived on Friday evening and pre-rode the course. Jason, the RD, changed it up from previous races and made it a good mixture of singletrack, ridgeline rollercoasters, and technical climbs. There were a couple of steep, extremely sandy downhills where I knew I'd have to take caution but mostly it was a fast, fun course with only one dreaded climb dubbed "The Dam(n) Hill."

Josh packed up the Element well!

The race started with a 1/2 mile prologue to spread the field. Josh sprinted his way through the first lap and came through in fourth position--even against all the 4 and 5 man teams! We'd planned that he would take the first two laps and then we'd alternate, however, I had a feeling that I should be ready to ride...just in case.

Josh focusing on his start.

Thank God I was ready because as soon as he came through he signaled for me to go because he was having problems with his shifting. So I took off and rode hard. I was trying to win the $50 for the "Fastest Female Lap" but I guess I will have to work on my speed quite a bit more. Chrissy Bono, the Pro rider for the 2 person Co-Ed Spinergy team beat me by 6 minutes.

Bern smiles for the camera. (Stop posing and maybe you'll ride faster!)

My first two laps went smoothly. I made it down both steep, sandy sections with no mishaps. I was feeling good and making sure to fuel in between laps. Buuuuutttt, oops! I think I over fueled. After my second lap, I downed an entire bottle of Recoverite, a whole banana, a flask of Perpetuem, and 2 salty potato chips. As soon as I started riding, my tummy was NOT happy! I battled excruciating stomach cramps all the way up The Dam(n) Hill and through most of the lap. Then when I reached the first steep, sandy down, I lost control and fell hard right on my bottom. OUCH! It hurt. But I got up and kept riding. When I finally reached the transition to tag Josh, he knew something was wrong. But I just said I had a bad tummy and I'd be fine when he got back. I took some time to visit the medical guys and they were more than happy to tend to the giant gash on my left butt cheek. They asked if I had crashed over the fence into the ditch. "What fence? What ditch," I asked. "Nope, I just went down on the trail." So they asked if I was going back out to ride again. I thought: What? Is there an option? Hmmmm......Could I talk Josh into riding 8 more laps? Ha, ha! Nope, I wouldn't do such a thing. "Of course I'm going back out."

Josh powering up The Dam(n) Hill.

My fourth lap was going smoothly until I reached that darn sandy, steep section again. I was cautious and I made it down. Then I got cocky because I was almost in the clear...ALMOST in the clear. I then proceeded to run right through THE fence and into THE ditch. Luckily the RD, Jason, had set down a piece of plywood as a makeshift bridge just in case someone went over the edge. (He must have known I was racing.) So I managed to grab on to the edge of the plywood as my entire body dangled down towards the bottom of the 20 foot ravine. A nice young man stopped, picked up my bike, and helped me out of that mess and I kept on riding. I was too embarrassed to make yet another trip to the med tent so I tended to my own cuts and bruises. My 5th and final lap was slow, easy, and I decided to walk that DAM (no N) sandy, steep drop. I figured that 5 open wounds and 9 bruises (that I could see) were enough for one race.

Josh and I completed 11 laps and finished in 2nd place behind the Pro riders of Team Spinergy. We raced hard, had fun, and made a great team. We motivated each other and communicated with each other by leaving notes. We anticipated each other's needs and took care of each other throughout the race. Once again, great teamwork prevailed and made for a successful race for Team Sho-Air/Rock N' Road.

Bern's Movie Review - The Departed

Holy moly! Wow, what a freakin' crazy flick! Not at all what I expected. It's a crime drama set in South Boston. Good cops, bad cops, organized crime, mob snitches, undercovers, lies, guns, and murder. Guys, this is a MUST SEE for you! But only take your gal if she doesn't mind some blood, smokin' hot Leo DiCaprio, violence, sexy man Matt Damon, murder, and "Let's see those CKs" Mark Wahlberg. I had to shield my eyes from the violence a few times but overall ladies, Leo, Matt, and Mark were well worth it!

"Braking" in my new ride!

Thanks to Scott at Sho-Air International, Matt, Travis, Tracie, Terry, Eric, Manny, and Charles at Rock N' Road Cyclery, and Specialized for placing me on the EPIC MARATHON CARBON. I took her on her maiden voyage this morning and broke her in. I had not ever used disc brakes before and I also wasn't comfortable with the tires or the suspension yet so on the very first downhill, I crashed. But not to worry, she and I both survived and thank God I was the only one scratched! So now Fiona, Bianca, and Lilly-pie have a new (yet to be named) sister in the garage.