Best of the Valley!
The annual issue of Best of the Valley just came out. They do a local poll for best restaurants, best hike, best local chef, etc, etc. I was voted Best Local Athlete! Snowboard Olympian Graham Watanabe was voted 2nd, and US Ski Team nordic athlete, Morgan Arritola was voted 3rd. In this Valley of Olympians, World Champions and super human athletes, I was super flattered with the honor. Thanks Everyone!
AND……what have I been doing since Leadville??? A lot of business including sponsor negotiations, tradeshow plans, store visits, race appearances, and media follow up. This is the part of the year where all the super hard physical work is mostly finished, however the office part of my job really kicks into overdrive right now. This is the part that most people don’t realize happens behind the scenes, but is essential to me earning a paycheck and getting to do this job again for another year.
I am working on sorting out a little story and photos from the Targhee race this weekend too!
Cheers
Reba
Mini-Golfing my way to Targhee
Hello!
After a great birthday week I thought it was time to post a blog. Today is the 24 hrs of Targhee. I guess it’s our semi-local 24 hr race, and I’ve raced there once before and the course is fun and the prize money is really good too. There is about 800 feet of climbing for each 7.3 mile lap, so it will by no means be easy. There are 5 guys from Ketchum alone who are going to race solo over there. I’m undecided about racing solo or on a duo team. The deciding factor will be how many entries there are in each category. If there are not at least 5 in a category, the prize money drops. So basically, I’m going over there for a great training day and hopefully a decent pay day, but it all depends on who shows up! Either way, it’ll be a great road trip, camping and some good riding.
The week of my birthday was incredible, and was a great start to the year. So many friends came out of the woodwork to play mini-golf at the Sun Valley resort. The best part is that it was $5 and hours in entertaining fun. I am a horrible golf player and will not be trying to reinvent myself anytime soon to dominate that sport.
I will get some race pictures is as soon as I can, as I about to start racing in an hour or so!
Cheers
Reba
Time Off is Good Time
Hello,
After what has been a wonderful and hectic summer of travel and racing, I finally took some “me” time and went to a cabin in the mountains. Riding without having a workout plan, doing some adventuring, and just enjoying being outside has been great. Getting away from phones and email was awesome, and just getting up high in the mountains was relaxing.
I have been getting pretty domestic lately, cleaning and cooking. Even went so far as baking bread and making Ecuadorian quinoa soup! After cleaning out the summers accumulation in my closets, and tallying receipts, I have taken up the least exciting part of my job. Accounting. There is a good side though, incentive checks, which are coming in at a nice time since it is my birthday today. The schedule for today includes bike riding, mini-golf, and just hangin with some friends! So, on that note, happy birthday to me!
Cheers
Reba
Dog Days at Dollar
Hello,
Between my busy race and travel schedule I have been helping organize some small local bike races and fundraisers on the resort property. No such event has happened on on Sun Valley Company land for a lonnnggg time and it’s great to see them opening up to the idea.
The last of the two races was last night. It was a huge success and the first time Sun Valley company has allowed new trail construction and had an event there in many, many years. There were three adult races, three kids races and all new bermed trails for ripping around. In conjunction with the races, we held a raffle to raise funds for the Wood River Bicycle Coalition. The funds will go to building two local pump tracks and more local dirt trails. Check out how excited to raffle winner is with his new Scott Scale! I am headed off to a cabin in the woods for a little R&R and some backcountry riding, and I just noticed that my new Leadville belt buckle is almost as wide as me!
Cheers
Reba
Hot of the Wire: Leadville Full Report
Leadville Trail 100 – Race Across the Sky
Last weekend, I lined up at the start line of the Leadville 100, the highest altitude and biggest endurance mountain bike race there is. Over 1,500 people, including Lance Armstrong, lined up for the event in the frigid, wee hours of the morning at 10,200 ft. I traveled to the race with Mike Sinyard from Specialized, Blair Clark from Smith Optics and a few other friends from Idaho. We were all Leadville virgins, so I relied heavily on course information from other athletes and the race website. I knew the course was primarily fire roads, so I chose to ride my brand new Specialized S-Works 29er hardtail for this event. It was a bit of a whirlwind getting the bike and myself sorted to race so soon after coming home from 24 hour World Championships. I did not want to pass up the opportunity to compete in the Leadville 100. It’s a legendary event, but I did have some major trepidation about how I would perform at such high altitude so soon after a grueling 24-hour solo effort. It normally takes me at least four weeks to feel right again after a 24 and I was sitting right on three weeks for the Leadville start. I spent the 3 weeks in between Worlds and Leadville riding the fine line between recovering, healing my body and trying to milk the season’s peak to last a bit longer than originally planned.
My coach Matthew was once again able to pull a rabbit out of a hat and keep the elusive peak going for an extra few weeks. It’s intoxicating to peak for an event and feel as if the race is almost easy. However, the weeks, months, years leading up to that peak are nothing but suffering, hard work and insecurity about your fitness. After events like Leadville 100 and 24 Hour Worlds where it all comes together on the right day, it’s impossible not to be seduced by that feeling and want it over and over again at every single race. However, fitness peaks cannot last the whole season and what goes up must come down so that it can go back up again. It’s a frustrating process, but oh so sweet when it comes together.
Leadville was one such occasion where everything fell into place beautifully. I was not sure of my participation until just five days before the race. At that point, I scrambled to get hotel, flight and logistics sorted. I also had to get my new Specialized 29er race ready. I’ve packed my gear enough times before and I got myself to the very early morning start on Saturday. The town of Leadville sits at 10,200 ft and the weather Friday and Saturday was cold and dismal. I was flattered to be invited to line up on the front line with all of the big name athletes and past winners of the race. I had not seen a start list for the women’s field, so I was unaware of whom I was racing against. The shotgun start was fairly civilized with a neutral roll out for a few miles until we hit the dirt road and started climbing. I felt the mass of 1500 people behind me and just concentrated on staying near the front pack and staying upright. There are five major climbs on this course and the total ascent is about 13,000 feet over the course of 103 miles. I looked at some past women’s times and used that as a gauge for myself. With the help of another athlete, I put together a race profile with time estimates, distances of climbs and elevations. I taped this mini course map to my top tube and relied on it heavily during the race to keep track of how I was doing.
I led the womens race from the start. I was not getting time splits, so I was unaware of what sort of gap I might have established. I assumed that someone was probably right on my tail and kept the pressure on the whole race. I imagined that every guy in front of me was a woman and tried to keep catching people. The crowds were insane and they cheered wildly when they saw I was the first female. The first ½ of the race was bitter cold, freezing rain and even sleet. I was barely able to shift or hold the handlebars and had to stop to put on shell gloves. Thankfully I was prepared with a thin jacket, arm warmers, shell gloves and a Buff for my head. I didn’t put the extra clothing on, but was somewhat comforted to have it with me. Instead, I just kept riding harder and pushing the pedals in an attempt to stay warm.
Columbine Mine at 12,500 feet is the 50-mile turnaround and the high point of the race. There is a 3000 foot, 7 mile climb to get up there. The course is an out and back format, so as I was climbing up, I got to see Lance Armstrong, Dave Wiens and the rest of the top men come flying downhill. As I reached the turnaround, the cold rain turned to stinging sleet. Descending Columbine was my one and only chance to see how close the next female was. I looked at my Suunto watch at the top of the climb and tried to look for women in the crowds going uphill. It was a tricky descent with loose rocks, rain ruts and 1500 people all coming up the same way, so looking at the other riders was difficult. I was freezing and focused on going fast downhill, but not crashing. I got a quick glimpse of Amanda Riley Carey who was in 2nd place. At that point, she was probably 15 minutes behind me, but I still had 50 miles to go and plenty more opportunity for flat tires or other problems. I made it down Columbine safely and that meant a big road flat, windy road section and two more monster climbs left in the race.
I was feeling decent, but the cold was making my legs cramp. I took some Endurolytes and tried to make an effort to finish my water. My motivation was elevated every time I went through an aid station by the thousands of people cheering and ringing cowbells. This was by far the biggest turnout I’ve ever seen for a mountain bike race and I felt like I was in the Tour de France as I rode through lines of people crowding the course. I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face as they were all cheering.
The hardest climb of the course is the Powerline climb at mile 80. I had to walk the steepest portions of it, but was still keeping up with the guys around me. A little group of about four of us had formed and we were silently riding together with only the sound of our heavy breathing and a few words of encouragement between us. Misery loves company, so it was nice to have a little support out there on the hard parts of the course.
After the last big climb, I was smelling the barn and the numbers on my odometer were very near triple digits, so I shifted into the biggest gear I could push and left my little group of guys as I motored toward the finish. The last few miles ticked by very slowly, and the course is actually 103 miles!
The final road stretch into Leadville was a welcomed sight. I had ridden this short stretch on Friday and visualized myself finishing the race. You can see the finish for about a ½ mile and it’s the sweetest site with the finish banner, the only stoplight in Leadville and so many people lining the streets. I got one little scare as I crested the very last hill and saw someone in front of me with curly blonde hair and a pink jersey. From the back and in my oxygen-deprived state I was not sure if it was a male or female rider. As I was rolling toward the finish I nervously asked one of the bystanders if the person in front of me was a guy. Thankfully, he was and I could roll into the finish line with my arms up and a huge sense of accomplishment in my heart. It was one of the most exciting race finishes I have ever experienced. I finished in a time of 8:14 and was 30th place overall. The next female rider was 25 minutes behind me. At the finish, the sound of the crowd was deafening and exhilarating. I was immediately given flowers, a medal, hugs, and whisked off to the media room for an interview. In the interview, I was in a bit of shock to quickly try to re-live the moments of the race.
After a quick shower, I went back out onto 6th street to watch my friends finish and be part of the whole crazy scene. At this point the sun had finally come out and the freezing rain from Columbine was a distant memory. I couldn’t help but cheer for other finishers and smile as their families and friends hugged them.
Sunday morning awards were chaotic and extremely entertaining. All 953 official finishers received a sweatshirt with their name and finishing time printed on the sleeve. It was finally warm and sunny and so many people were milling around sharing race stories. I saw a lot of old friends and had multiple strangers come up and congratulate me. Obviously, the highlight was the awards ceremony where I got to share the podium with Lance Armstrong and Dave Wiens. They both had the same sentiment about the race that I did. The sheer number people who came out to race and to cheer provided an intoxicating vibe that just made you happy to be riding your bike. The Leadville 100 was definitely one of the most organized races I’ve done and one of the most spirited. It’s a unique combination of a huge race with a hometown feel. It was honor to be among such strong athletes and to stand at the top of the podium with a legend. It is a day that I will not soon forget and a wonderful cap to an already incredible race season!
Thanks to everyone who gave me advice on the course, cheered for me, sent me photos and gave me motivation along the way. Thanks to Red Bull and Specialized for getting me to the start line!
If you want to look at all the pics I have so far, they are posted here:
Leadville Pictures
Hello!
It has been one hell of a weekend, and a great addition to my season to win the Leadville 100! I wanted to post a few pictures from the race until I get done writing up a full race re-cap. Have you seen this guy before?
Cheers
Reba
Rebecca wins 2009 Leadville 100!
VeloNews is reporting that Rebecca has won the women’s division of the 2009 Leadville 100. Stay tuned for more info!
The Crew
Above the Treeline
Hi Everyone,
It’s less than 24 hours before the start of the Leadville 100 here in Leadville, CO. This week has been hectic, and I don’t mean it was difficult to find parking or there was a long wait at dinner, I mean from start to finish everything has been a bit of a challenge. I found out just this Monday that I was allowed to race, as entry closed some months ago. With 1,600 racers, the sleepy mining town of Leadville is packed to the brim! From housing, course recon, and the required racer meetings, I have been running around like mad. However, all that madness is behind me and I cannot wait to race tommorow! Check out how big the mass start is in the morning. 
Mike Sinyard, the president of Specialized, and some other Idahoans have banded together to help feed one another during the race and assist anyone when needed. Having a good support team makes long races like this that much easier. Nate Whitman is guiding us through the race, feed zones, and tactics so far. He has placed very high up in this race in the previous years, and will help us out a ton. The course is primarily fireroads, with some very significant climbs, and even more significant altitude! The race starts at 10,500 feet and races to over 14,000 feet. My interpretation of the altitude goes something like this, duct your mouth shut and then try to race your bike, breathing is that hard!
We have to check in at 5:15am in the morning, so it’s going to be a long day. Hopefully the weather turns around, as it is very cold right now. There was even snow on top of the peaks this morning! I am not much of a morning person, and quite frankly racing at 6:30am is going to force me to jump into the swing of things. From my understanding, this race, due to the amount of fire roads, can actually work like a road race, where people can work together to go faster. So we will see how the pace is from the start, because everyone needs a fresh new belt buckle after a long race!
The media and crowds are expected to be huge, as Lance Armstrong is once again racing. The local hero and previous winner, Dave Wiens will have to defend his title, and everyone loves a underdog. I will have some friends check in throughout the race to keep everyone posted on how things are going. Until then, I am going to keep sorting my food out, and try to get some rest.
Cheers
Reba
Pb 100 Here I Come
Morning,
JUST got into Leadville yesterday, so scrambling to make plans for logistics. I
have a lot of friends around that area, so I’m planning on pulling in a few
favors for a floor to sleep on.
This weekend was local riding…Frog Lake in the Whiteclouds which was
INCREDIBLE backcountry riding. Did a few hard efforts on the 3000 foot
climb as Leadville prep. Even had a relaxing soak in the hot springs afterwards!
Saturday went out on a local ride by myself and got cornered and attacked by two great pyrenees sheep guard dogs. They fully attacked me, bit me and broke the skin. I had to put my Specialized 29er in front of me for protection and slink away from them as they were trying to bite me. It was terrifying and I just spent an hour in the Forest Service office reporting the issue and finding out more about the rules for the land grazing permits out here. Turns out they are NOT supposed to be on trails and a warning will be issued to those herders.
Short track races “Dog Days at Dollar” start this Wednesday and I’m helping to promote and organize those. This is significant because it’s the first time Sun Valley company has supported new trail building and hosting summer bike events on their property in about a million years! There are a bunch of fun bermed trails on Dollar now and hopefully this is the start of some great new mountain bike development at Sun Valley! The races will raise
money for two local pump tracks being built in Ketchum and Hailey. If you’re in the area, come out and support the event and show Sun Valley how many cyclists are here chomping at the bit for new trails! You could even win a new Specialized P1 bike from the Elephant’s Perch for the new pump track!! Talk to you soon after we get comfortable here in CO.
Cheers
Reba
I Won a DH Event! No Really, I Did!
It’s official! I won the pro women’s Super D event at Crankworx. CO. Just 8 days after winning 24 Hour Solo World Championships, I found myself at the finish of a downhill event that took just a little over 13 minutes. Not the length of course I am used to, but it was a blast. I was hanging out at the Specialized demo booth at Crankworx. I was there signing posters, doing casual group rides and watching all the races. I did not take part in the cross country race because my lungs and legs are still fried from the effort in Canada. With lift access at Winter Park, a sweet trail system, and all the 2010 Specialized demo bikes available, I decided this would be the perfect opportunity to work on my downhill skills. I did a couple of practice runs on the Super D course and on a whim decided to enter the pro women’s race on Sunday. The goal was not to hurt myself and to try to follow a few of the better women and try to learn from them. The race started with a run and about a 30 second uphill. I surprised myself and entered the single track first. From there, I just held on and kept waiting for the pass. The girl right on my tail would catch up on the more technical bits and I’d drop her anywhere that had some pedaling. We continued this yo-yo down the course and she was never able to pass me. It was a riot and she pushed me to ride faster downhill than I would have on my own. I finished the race a few seconds in front of her with a huge grin on my face, took home a bit of cash for my efforts, and accomplished a personal life goal of winning an oversized cardboard check. I rode the 2010 Stumpjumper and had an absolute blast on that bike.
Here’s the race results and photo proof that I won a downhill event!!!!
http://mountainflyer.com/news.cfm?itemid=261
Right now I am at home again in Ketchum resting up and changing gears for the next race, the Leadville 100. That one will take significantly longer than 13 minutes!
Cheers
Reba
Going into Leadville
Hello everyone,
Wanted to update the blog a bit today, so I wrote a short little blurb for you to enjoy. I’m a week out from the race and recovering well. I’ve been on the bike a little and it feels good to spin. My lungs seem to be taking longer to heal than my legs and I’m still coughing quite a bit with any sort of effort. I spent the weekend at Crankworx, CO right now with the Specialized demo crew doing some group rides and signing posters. Mostly, I’m enjoying the low key atmosphere and light training schedule that I’ve earned for this week! I rode the chairlift a little this week, trying out the new Enduro bikes, and it makes me want a large travel bike for play days.
Next on tap for racing is the Leadville 100 in two weeks, so there won’t be too much recovery time in store for me just yet. I can’t wait to see what the elevation there does to me!
Thanks for tuning in…
Reba
THREE TIME 24 HOUR WORLD CHAMPION (that’s the first time I’ve written that
after my name! It feels good!)