Checking In

Trans-Sylvania EPIC and onto the next thing….
The TSE wrapped up on Saturday and I struggled through another day of being allergic to Pennsylvania. I finished the race in 3rd, which was a bit disappointing for me. Not because of the placing, but because I did not ride like myself last week. I wasn’t really able to race like I wanted to and had to limp through a few of the stages just to finish. The race itself was one of the best stage races I’ve done in my life. The organization was spot on. The prizes were incredible and every single racer got a sweet jersey in their race bag. I was blown away with how good the trails and the course design were. We rode on new trails every day and every stage was completely different. Staying in the scout camp with the mice and lots of other racers added to the ambiance. I got to know some great East Coast riders and work my skills on their trails. My asthma and performance issues were a disappointment, but the race and the experience definitely were not. Thanks to Greg’s parents, Glenn and Brenda for showing up and to my Mom for coming out to volunteer.
Recovery from the hard week is underway, the millions of mosquito bites are healing and I’m already on the next trip. I had about 24 hours at home to clean all the musty, swampy stench out of my clothes and head back out the door. I’m in Ashland, OR this week for a SRAM product launch and media rides. We’ll have four days of fully supported shuttled riding on the sweet downhill trails here. SRAM has invited a bunch of media and set up everyone’s bikes with XX, XO, Avid and other sweet parts. My role is to ride with the journalists and have fun. My accommodations are a huge step up from the scout camp and I doubt my hotel has mice or bed bugs! The riding experience will be completely different and mostly gravity fed. I’ll be riding a Safire and and Enduro this week and learning how to sit back and let the bike do the work instead of my legs. At the end of the trip, I’ll be racing the Ashland Super D and see if I’ve learned how to go fast this week. I’m sure we’ll have some great video and photos from the event, so I will post some of that stuff later.

For anyone reading this, our new Ask Reba monthly giveaway for June has started. All you do is write me a question that you’ve been dying to have answered. At the end of the month, I answer some of the questions and the BEST question wins free gear from Adventure Medical Kits and Beyond Coastal. To check out the answers to last month’s questions and the winning question, scroll down the blog posting! There were some great questions. Thanks to everyone who wrote in.

Happy Trails

Reba