Anything Can Happen...And It Did!!!

The folks at the Kona 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo (OP) put on an incredible event! If you’ve ever even thought about mountain bike racing, this is a must! It was a full on “fat tire town” in the middle of the Arizona desert. Where like minded mountain bike masochists gathered to race, ride, drink, and have fun, while “leaving no trace” on the land. They dedicated the event to Marla Streb and it was so great to meet her and hear her inspiring words.


I am absolutely ecstatic to have finished 2nd Solo Female in a race with so many exceptional women riders. Because it was only my second solo race, I had lots of help from my coach Lynda Wallenfels and my great friend and Sho-Air teammate “Super” Mario Correa. Lynda won the Solo Female category last year and she was back to defend her title. She got me to sign up for the race and she physically and mentally prepared me for it. She knew exactly what I needed to do to be ready and then she knew exactly how much I would be able to do in the end. I can’t thank her enough for the encouragement and support. Lynda also coaches Super Mario so I found it very valuable to discuss my plans with him. He knew my preparation, he knew what Lynda expected, and he’s been there and done it many times himself. He gave me a shortcut to success. We thoroughly discussed my plan and came up with a strategy. I completed Lynda’s “Plan of Attack” form and submitted it to her for review. When it was agreed upon, I shared it with my Sho-Air teammate and support guy Josh Smith. And there it was--my perfect race--on paper at least.


Another friend and Sho-Air teammate Fuzzy John Mylne was in Tucson early and was able to secure us a prime pit location just off the trail. He and his singlespeed team “No Shift Sherlock” quickly became our friends and neighbors. Lynda, her mechanic extraordinaire Andy, and solo riders Dave Harris and Adam Lisonbee also moved into the neighborhood. We all shared the pit, meals, New Belgium beer, highs, lows, and good times over the weekend.

I ran into some familiar faces on my walk out to the Le Mans start. Some I knew from other races. Some of them knew me…well, okay, they thought I was Monique Sawiki, but hey, they were patting me on the back and encouraging me, so I gracefully accepted. It's always hard to see the look of disappointment when I tell them I’m not Monique.


The gun sounded and the 400 yard jog began. I took my time, grabbed the Black Widow from Josh, avoided the chaos, and began to execute the plan. I felt excellent for the first 8 hours! The relatively flat course, the singletrack, and the added challenge of dodging cactus kept it interesting. Super Mario had once spoken to me about feeling the “flow” when racing. Back then I didn’t quite get it. But at OP, I finally did! During my sixth lap, I was “flowing” down the Corral Trail. I felt like I could ride forever! Of course, once I hit the Junebug Trail (uphill), I remembered that I still had 16 hours to go!



With the night came another interesting challenge. During laps eight, nine, and ten I was having trouble seeing out of my right eye. I thought my contact was dirty so I continually rinsed it out and even took time to properly wash my hands and change both of them. Turned out it wasn’t my contacts; I was going blind! Well, at least that’s what I thought for a moment. Things that immediately crossed my mind:

1) My body’s finally had enough torture and it retaliating!
2) That’s it, I’m done! No more endurance races for me!
3) Will my sponsor pay for laser eye surgery so I can keep racing?

As Lynda was resting in the RV, I quietly panicked to Josh. Luckily Lynda heard me and informed me that I was not going blind. I had “dry, dusty eye” and just had to rinse it out and shut my eyes for 5 minutes. So at every pit for the rest of the race I had to sit, rinse and shut. The eye would clear up for about the first 15 minutes of the lap, but then I’d have to continue with impaired vision. I thought about duct taping the right eye shut and just using the left, and although the thought of being known as the psycho pirate MTB lady was alluring, I decided that might not be the best idea. So I just kept riding. It finally cleared up just in time for the drive home.


I especially enjoyed chatting with other riders. I struck up some nice conversations with few. I only wished I could recognize them apart from their jerseys or tattoos. There was “Sock Guy,” Singlespeed light blue girl, the prosthetic arm guy (kudos to you!), and “F U” guy. I met my pit neighbor Adam on the trail during our ninth lap and we did the next few early A.M. laps together. It was nice to have someone to talk to and we worked together to pass the time and knock off the laps.


I was always happy to reach the final down hill and coast into my pit. Josh and Andy were like my very own Nascar crew. As soon as I would arrive they swarmed me and my bike so fast. Josh had a HUGE responsibility to support both Lynda and me in the pit. And I’ll admit that sometimes the “Princesa” can be a tiiiiiiiny bit demanding during a race so needless to say I owe Josh big for putting up with me and keeping me moving. He always had Hammer products, Dermatone, salty soup, veggie pizza, Coca-cola, DMS, contact solution, and words of encouragement ready for me. Andy wrenched for Lynda, Fuzzy, Dave, and me. He was absolutely incredible and thanks to him the Black Widow rode flawlessly.




Unfortunately Lynda, who was crushing the field, had an accident half way through the race and had to stop riding. She broke both her collarbones and her hand. But she stayed there and continued to coach me to the end.


FOCUS ended up being the theme of my race. I had a superb plan and all I had to do was execute it to make the race a success. And with the help of my sponsors Sho-Air & Rock n Road Cyclery, my support Josh, mechanic Andy, and the encouragement of Fuzzy and my friends in the pit, I focused and set out to do my best. My goal was 14 laps. I got 14 done in just under 24 hours so I set out for a “personal victory” lap A.K.A. “Damn I have to do another” lap. Since there was no time limit, I took it easy, completed the 15th lap, and made it back just in time to receive my 2nd place award.


I'd like to conratulate first place Sarah Kaufmann, third place Mary Collier, fourth Christi Hall, fifth Wendy Skean, and all the other women that participated. It was the largest ladies field I've seen!


Click here for race results.

ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN!

I'm preparing myself for Old Pueblo on Feb 17 which will be my second 24 hour solo mountain bike race. My first was last June at the super steep 5.6 mile Orange County course with 1250 feet of elevation gain. Old Pueblo will be the total opposite at 15 miles with maybe 500 feet of gain. It will be fast and furious with lots of cholla cactus, lots of riders, day time temps in the 70s, night time temps in the 40s, and plenty of outstanding competition.

There are some super incredible women racing and it's exciting for me to be riding the same course, the same race, and the same category as them. These women are some of the best in the country. Wow! Intimidating and exciting...my kind of event!

The women: Well, there's my coach Lynda Wallenfels - the defending Old Pueblo Champion, Monique Sawicki - the 2005 National 24 Hour Solo Champion, Sara Kaufmann - 2005 World Solo Under 25 Champion, and many more talented ladies. (ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN, ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN, ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN)

Physically: I've been training under Coach Lynda for about 5 months now and I feel wonderful! The other day Josh asked me how I felt compared to my prep for the 24 Hours of OC and I was ecstatic to respond that there was absolutely NO comparison. I have much more time in the saddle now. I have 24 hour experience. I have a great bike. And following Lynda's training plan has made all the difference.

Mentally: I am no longer worried about being able to ride in circles for 24 hours. Now I'm concentrating on a strategy. Lynda and my great friend and 24 Hours of Adrenalin Champion Super Mario Correa have fed me so much information that if I follow the plan, there is no doubt in my mind that I will do well.

Support: My Sho-Air teammate and training partner Josh Smith will be there to feed me, water me, supplement me, take care of the Black Widow, and motivate me to keep riding. He is a very experienced 24 hour racer and it will be a tremendous help to have him there for me. My sponsor Sho-Air is supporting me from all angles and without that, I wouldn't have gained so much ground these last 5 months.

Music: I've updated my Ipod to give me that extra boost when the going gets rough. Some of the new stuff includes Tenacious D, Johnny Cash, Keith Urban, Tony DeSare, KT Tunstall, Fergie, Three Days Grace and Monty Python Sings. Along with the old stuff, my music should keep me pedaling through the night.

My Goals:
1)Have fun!
2)Race smart.
3)Follow my plan and do the best I can!

ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN, ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN, ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN, ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN! ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN!! ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN!!! And I will be right there.

Friends around the world.....

Arnd Hemmersbach
Innsbruck, Austria

Arnd is a very talented German photojournalist who I met in Quebec at the Raid World Championships last September. He took these photos in December of 2006 in his home town of Innsbruck, Austria. This area not only boasts some of the best skiing in Austria, but they also have year round sunshine and very mild summers with temperatures in the 80s.
Arnd is the steriotypical big, strong, stern-looking German man, however he also has a great sense of humour, sensitivity, and charisma not often seen in those men...or any men. :) He is one person I am so happy to have met in my travels around the world. I don't know if I will ever see him face to face again but I thank God that I got the oppotunity to meet and befriend this wonderful man.
Arnd is currently traveling a great deal to take photos and write his magazine. He recently followed the cross country ski world cup and next he will be in the Andalucia area of Spain for a sport fashion shoot. In March he will travel to Japan, Finland and Italy.





Graham Kelly
Glasgow, Scotland

Graham is my Scottish pen pal. We met in September of 2003 just after I tore my ACL at Primal Quest Tahoe. Graham lives in Glasgow, Scotland which he calls "the wee bit hill & glen just to the north …but VERY different from England." He works as a Senior Project Engineer and he has a young daughter named Mirren. He spends most of his time running in the mountains and adventure racing. He will join Team Deliverance for the Wilderness ARC in 2007. He can occasionally be seen wearing a kilt at the Friday night ceilidh--a Scottish term used to describe the act of drinking whisky until you can waltz perfectly in time. This photo of him was taken in the Italian Dolomites during a climbing trip in June 2006.


King Richard
California, USA
King Richard and I met at Primal Quest 2003 when he was supporting my friends of Team Saga. Since then we've had many adventures together including an exciting, interesting, and hectic Coastal Challenge running race we both worked in Costa Rica. Here's a poem he wrote about me...

There once was a racer named Bern,
Who'd race any sport she could learn.
When mountains were near,
She would fall on her rear,
And medics were soon called in turn.

The bike she would ride in a race,
Was streamlined with beauty and grace.
But she'd take a short cut,
Over brush like a nut,
Soon carrying it all over the place.

Her kayak was just a one seater,
With no room to put in a heater.
So when it got cold,
she'd do as was told,
And fill it with beer by the liter.