Sturdy Bitch Racing is a small grass-roots race team supported by some great sponsors including Sturdy Bitch, Diamondback Bikes, MJD Racing, Georgetown Beer, Big Tree Bikes and Dumonde Tech.  In addition to participating in races throughout the NW and Canada, Sturdy Bitch Racing also raises money for the Breast Cancer Fund, a 501(c )(3) non-profit that works to identify and advocate for the elimination of the environmental causes of breast cancer.

Sturdy Bitch also has a mission to increase women’s participation in mountain biking.  We work with Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance to post women specific rides to our ride calendar.  This provides women the opportunity to either learn a new sport or in the case of intermediate riders – just ride with the girls.    

We also recommend joining Evergreen – they are your advocates for more trails, to keep trails open, and they run an extensive work party calendar to keep those trails buff and well maintained!  If you’ve got the time – joining a work party is also highly recommended!

This year, SBR is offering a 3 ride women’s beginner series – participants can ride easier trails at slower speeds and if the group wants to, we can stop and work on technical features.   If you are interested in the series – please check Evergreen’s website and sign up for a ride there.  For additional information on local trails, what to bring, and for the listing of the rides – click HERE.   

We are also working with our shop sponsor, Big Tree Bikes to hold two women's only bike maintenance clinics.  Learn to fix a flat, broken chain and other common trail mishaps!  Signups will be on Facebook.  - please find our Facebook Group under Sturdy Bitch Racing and find the event links on our page.  Thanks!
April 19, 7pm
May 16, 8pm

The second series we are offering is in preparation for our team’s big race, the BC Bike Race.  The BCBR is a 7 day stage race that is held throughout British Columbia.  Rides range in distance from  24-40 miles and 4000-7000’ of elevation so we’ve got a tough training schedule put together.  With that in mind, we thought we’d make an offer to the local girls and see if they want to “be sturdy” right along with us. 

Purely Custom has made one of a kind Sturdy Bitch headset caps with matching screws (in pink of course) with pink ribbons to declare our intent to participate in the fight against Breast Cancer.  Currently there are only 10 of these in existence.  We have their commitment to make us a few more if more ladies than that take up the challenge and meet the goal.

Interested in the challenge?  Here are the requirements:

•  Donate $20 to the Breast Cancer Fund – you can do so online and provide us a copy of your receipt and your tee shirt size
• Send us an email and let us know you are IN!  seattlebikegurl at gmail dot com
• Earn 10 points by participating in the rides below.  Rides will be posted at www.evergreenmtb.org from March 6 through June 15
• Weekend rides are worth 2 points and will be 4-7 hours with 30-40 miles of mostly very technical single-track and with 4000-7000’ of elevation gain. 
• Weekday rides will be worth 1 point and will be 2-3 hours (lights will be required early season) and 16-20 miles long with 1600-2500’ of elevation.  
• One bonus point may be earned by signing up for any trail work party through www.evergreenmtb.org (just email us the date you performed the work – within the contest timeframes)
• An additional bonus point may be earned by signing up for the Stottlemeyer 60 mile event below (30 miler is 2 points, 60 miler is worth 3)

Disclaimers:

•  Mileages and elevations are estimates – may be a little more or less depending on actual route. 
•  Pace will be intermediate with minimal stops. 
•  Riders are expected to have bike in good working order and have appropriate tools and equipment to perform reasonable trail maintenance
• Technical means technical – if you struggle with roots, walk smaller drops, or don’t ride the switchbacks, this might not be challenge for you (next year?!?)   

What do you get?

• One of those Purely Custom rad headset caps and screw sets to show that yes indeed, you are Sturdy!
•  An I Heart Boobies tee shirt, donated by Diamondback Bikes
•  Camaraderie while you get some really hard but really fun rides in March through June
•  The satisfaction of knowing you contributed to the Breast Cancer Fund – an organization that is working to identify and advocate for the elimination of the environmental causes of Breast Cancer.
• Strong legs, a strong heart, and knowledge that you are a Sturdy Bitch!

Still interested?  Click HEREfor the complete details and a listing of the rides, their descriptions and dates/times.  If you want in, drop us an email and go to the Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance ride calendar and get signed up.    You can also find us on Facebook under Sturdy Bitch Racing!

Huge thanks to all that participated in the 2013 Breast Cancer Fund Auction.  We haven't quite gotten all the donations in yet but we are hoping to break the $4500 mark when we collect on a few more items where the winners weren't in attendance at the end.

This means that we’ll have been able to raise another $2250 for the Breast Cancer Fund so that they can continue their important work of identifying and advocating for the elimination of the environmental causes of breast cancer.  To find out more about this worthy cause and to make a donation directly if you missed the auction, please find them at www.breastcancerfund.org.  

 We also want to thank the amazing companies that donated auction items.  What a great group of companies.  If you are in the market for new gear or some great stuff – please check out the auction page – you’ll see the logos of these companies and you can link directly to their pages to check out their products.   

 As always we are so grateful to our sponsors.  We are so thankful to be so well supported with amazing Diamondback bikes, great Georgetown microbrews, a rad crew of bike mechanics from Big Tree, sweet clothes (and title sponsor name!) from Sturdy Bitch, and some great Dumonde Tech lube to keep our drivetrains moving smoothly.  Lastly, hugely thankful to the support of MJD Racing – without whom we couldn’t afford to make it to the BC Bike Race in 2013.

And lest we forget, thanks so much to Jon Kennedy from Diamondback Bikes - as always, a stellar job with emceeing the event.  Mucho obliged!!!

Thanks so much to all who donated and came out to buy!  Looking forward to seeing everyone on the trails soon!

Wow the auction is just about a month away.  Please join us on February 13th at St. Andrew's Bar & Grill in Seattle from 7-10pm for a silent auction benefiting the Breast Cancer Fund and helping our team, Sturdy Bitch Racing, to raise entry fees for the 2013 BC Bike Race.  Auction proceeds will be split 50/50. 

The Breast Cancer Fund is a 501(c)(3) non-profit whose mission it is to advocate for the identification and elimination of the environmental causes of Breast Cancer.  This is our 7th auction in support of the Breast Cancer Fund.  We're hoping to break $25,000 in donations this year and we hope you can help!

From our team's side - this year we'll be sending 4 team members to the BC Bike Race.  This is a 7 day stage race in British Columbia.  Participants get to sample 7 days of single track in a different place each day and travel from town to town camping at local venues.  Cost of the event is fairly substantial - we got in pretty early so we're in for about $2000 a person (yikes!). We are though looking forward to the event and starting to hit the hills for lots of training!!

If you're able to attend we highly recommend it!  Below you'll see the logos of the various companies that have donated thus far.  If you can make it we would love to see you!  If you can't - please visit these organizations and check out their products.  They have been kind enough to support our auction and we encourage you to support them if you can.

   
             
                                                                                       
                        

Thanks to Cardo Systems for donating a cardo BK-1 DUO to the Sturdy Bitch Breast Cancer Fund Auction!

The cardo BK-1 is the world's first Bluetooth communication/entertainment system that's custom-made for cyclists and attaches to your bike helmet. So you can ride, listen to music, take phone calls or even chat with multiple riders in its “intercom conferencing” mode.  And it features voice command, so you don’t ever have to take your hands off the bars. Safety first!  Think about it: you can talk team tactics or get the 411 on trail conditions on the fly from friends or teammates if they’re within 500 meters/1640.4 of you on the road or trail. The system also connects to GPS devices and MP3 players.

The cardo BK-1 DUO is one of many great products you can bid on at our silent auction in support of the Breast Cancer Fund and women's mountain biking.

Don't forget, the auction is on February 13th, 7 pm at St. Andrews Bar in Greenlake. See you there!

Sadly, we couldn't rally the entire crew at the same time, we were missing the boys from Big Tree Bikes, Brian and Carrie from Sturdy Bitch, and Katie's big bro Matt from MDJ Racing.  But...we were able to get Jon and Roger from Diamondback and Georgetown Beer together along with most of the teams sans Virginia (busily continuing her studies at nursing). 

Super fun night with the team being able to bring their significant others, Jon and Roger to get together and meet, and just fun to everyone to socialize, drink beer, learn about beer and Georgetown, and ogle the 2013 Diamondback Sortie 29r. We got a tour of the brewery and learned the history of Georgetown Beer as well as learned how to make beer too!  They do it all from the grain to keg and we had the pleasure of walking through the entire operation.  Of course we did it all with a delicious Georgetown Beer in hand.  Thanks to Roger for the excellent tour and the tasty beer!
  
We really do want to say how much we enjoy our sponsors, their products, and appreciate the support that we get.  We are incredibly lucky to be so well supported as we pursue racing and women's rides in the Pacific Northwest.  So big shout out to all the folks that make this possible.  We know how darn lucky we are and almost without fail we openly marvel at how this has all shaken out.  Who'd have thought?!?
      
Thanks everyone!  We really appreciate it!  Jon - we dig those Diamondback Bikes - they stood up well to the XC, Enduros and DH races this year and we love to represent!  To Roger and Manny - thank you sooooo much for the tasty beer we consumed in celebration of podiums, survival, training rides and really - just cause BEER IS GOOD!  Matt - your support is invaluable and we couldn't have done, or couldn't do the BC Bike Race without you!!  Brian & Carrie, thanks for letting us be Sturdy Bitches - makes us strong and proud!  To Zeb and Jerry - "we love America" and Big Tree, thanks for all the repairs over the year - you keep us on the trails and moving forward! 

For those not familiar with the team - Sturdy Bitch Racing does race, but also hosts women's only rides May-October via the Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance calendar.  We are also well-supported by EMBA and we are proud to support when we can with trail work, volunteering at Take a Kid Mountain Biking, etc.  Please visit their website to support through trail work or making a donation so they can continue their efforts towards trail maintenance and creation in the PNW.

We also raise money for the Breast Cancer Fund.   So happy to continue to be affiliated with them as they continue their mission to advocate for the identification and elimination of the environmental causes of breast cancer.  Please visit their page - there is alot to learn about what you can do to help avoid this deadly disease.  Far too many have been affected - any support you can to help them in their mission is greatly appreciated.


Oh and SAVE THE DATE!  February 13th will be our 2013 Breast Cancer Fund Auction at St. Andrew's Bar & Grill.  Hope you can make it!!

By Ady Bee Lane

You know, my life is pretty freaking awesome. Over the past month I have had the privilege to attend not one but two amazing women's weekends where I got to ride bikes with some amazing ladies in some fantastic locations.

The second event was Hucktoberfest organized by a friend of mine, Monica, from Squamish, BC. Canadian girls are made tough, so when they ask you to go ride you know that you're in for a gnarly good time. The plan was to head up to Williams Lake, BC to camp out and ride. Where's Williams Lake? Far far far away- approximately 6 hours NE of Squamish, or a good 9 hours NE of Seattle. I didn't want to be the only American girl, so I grabbed Gretchen to join me on the drive. I wasn't really sure what kind of riding we were in for, so I thought I would cover all my bases and borrow a Diamondback Scapegoat, a competent decend-er that is light enough to be pedaled around. Jon even put a dropper post on it for me. It was a smart choice, the trails we rode covered a large spectrum from xc single track to full-on DH.  (Photo Credit Johnny Smoke)

After a stunningly gorgeous drive, we got into town on Friday with just enough time to get a lap in on the newest local trail, Snakes and Ladders, a fairly xc trail with twisty xc options (snakes) or elevated wood work (ladders), which then got more steep with some awesome wood berms. Unfortunately it was raining so we skipped the wood work. That night was a local Halloween ride, which most of us skipped in order to hit the grocery store for supplies, but we made it to the after party for food and beer. The community out there is super tight knit and very welcoming.

(Photo Credit Johnny Smoke) Saturday morning we work up to a couple of inches of snow on the ground and the forecasted freezing temperatures. We didn't let that stop our good time though, and our group of 8 women got in the van and headed out to Farwell Canyon. Farwell was incredible, like nothing I've ever ridden. The closest thing would be some of the exposure trails (Xanadu and Tres Hombres) in Leavenworth, but even so, these were different. For the most part we rode variations of the "classic" trail, which would switch between high speed open plateaus and crazy exposure knife edges- very very very scary for me. Super amazing though. The scenery was mind-blowing.

We also rode a trail called fingers that went down the clay/dirt ridgeline "fingers" towards the river below. Unfortunately the snow/rain had turned the clay/dirt into a nasty mix which would accumulate everywhere and gunk up everything- bike and rider- it was thick enough that it would gum up your whole front, locking your front wheel, sending you over the bars. That sucked. I think everyone went over the bars at least once- Aja even got a black eye as a souvenir. We also scoped the "Godsmack" line which was the scariest thing I've ever seen anyone do. We watched James Doerfling (oh you know, pro rider, 6th place at Rampage this year) hit the line and then two of the girls that we were with did it- it was amazing and the most terrifying thing I've ever watched. The consequences of the line were huge- 100 foot drop down a scree slope. It was bad ass.

On Sunday we rode some of the Fox Mountain trails, which were super fun- totally up my alley, with lots of flow, jumps and drops. The mud was pretty slick, which made some sections pretty challenging, but the trails were awesome.




The local scene was great, with everyone being super nice and welcoming. I am totally looking forward to going back, next time with less snow and more time!
 

Fun!  Angela, Jenny and I made Dirt Rag.  We had the chance to talk to Matt when we were pre-riding on Friday.  Climbing out of Warner Lake on the way to Hazzard County.  We took a little break, got a snack, got interviewed and got our photos taken.  Who knew we'd actually make it in.  As before - great event and tons of fun!  Hope they get to do this one next year!!

We also had 2 Alison Dunlap sightings over the week and she made the issue too!  Got a chance to chat with her at Chile Pepper Bikes and reminisce over the time we got to ride with her in Marin as part of Team LUNA Chix and when she came out to Seattle to do a clinic for us.  Then we saw her at the top of Burro Pass taking her crew down the Whole Enchilada too.  She's a super great gal - if you have a chance to do one of her camps I highly recommend it!  She is a great teacher and obviously a super strong rider!

Alison Dunlap Adventure Camps

Dirt Rag Article - Click to read!

Well I can’t answer that but I can say what happened in September with Sturdy Bitch Racing.  So let’s take a stab at that instead.

First off – the Seattle weather has been ridiculous.  We’re a few days into October and we’re reveling in warm temps and dry days and nights.  Sucks of course for the wild fires east of the mountains and we’re hoping those get a good dump of rain and that it rolls back to dry for another week or so.  But at this point we’re on borrowed time awaiting the rainy days and nights of fall. 

Race and event wise – here’s what we’ve been up to:

Jenn participated in the XTerra Triathlon.  Virginia did the Capitol forest Enduro and got 1st in Sport.  We also had Ady, Angela and Virginia participate in the first ever Tiger Enduro where Angela got 1st in Expert.  Lastly Angela and I went down to Moab for the first ever Whole Enchilada Enduro where Angela got 3rd in the Amateur class.

Other than racing, the team hosted 4 women’s rides in September, two out at Duthie Hill, one on Tiger Mountain and another at Collonade.  For October we have another ride for the ladies at Tiger under our belts with another at Duthie and Anacortes coming up.  We also have our last official ride of the season (if this weather holds it could go longer!) on Halloween – costumes optional but highly recommended. Further details below.

I volunteered at the Tiger Enduro along with former teammate Kathy.  Had a great time doing timing and being able to see every racer as they came through the last stage.

Jenn and Doug also headed out to the Iron Horse trail. This one isn’t single-track but there is a really cool daaaark and scary tunnel that goes on for a looooong long time and there are beautiful waterfalls and opportunities to watch rock climbers up close and personal on it. 

Katie and I also headed out to Duthie Hill in early October to participate in the Take a Kid Mountain Biking event.  Was great to see so many kids out there learning to ride or just being able to ride with other kids.  There were 40 volunteers from Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance and Cascade Bicycle Club.  Our very own Kat Sweet of Sweetlines took the lead and organized an amazing event with a ton of little rippers. 

A couple of hilites from the month:

The Tiger Mountain Enduro – first time ever that DNR allowed a race on Tiger Mountain.  Got a light dusting of rain right before the racers were treated to not only a first race on the mountain, but the opening of the newest section of trail at the top – twisty, bermy (is that a word?), whoop di doos. 

The 2nd first for this event?  Julie's debut as a Sturdy Bitch Racing Team member - here's a pic of her ripping it up in her Sturdy Bitch DH jersey.  Great job Julie!  Pics courtesy of Brian Phillippe (link below to get yours!) - my camera  his skill. Thanks Brian!

The 3rd first?  New mountain bike trail on Tiger! Huge thanks to DNR and Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance and the trail gnomes that put in the time.  We are looking forward to even more trails that are in progress.  For pics from the Enduro - donate to Evergreen - link here! For more information on the trails, Evergreen and opportunities to volunteer – please check out Evergreen’s webpage!

The Whole Enchilada Enduro – seriously – we are sooooo lucky this year.  Angela and I rolled out to Moab from Seattle.  About 16 hours which we did in a 5 hour stint and another 12 hour one there and back.  And yes – that’s more than 16 hours – we had to stop a few times – not just to stretch our legs and take the oh so important pee break – but we also had to do a little shopping for “A Truck Stop  Christmas”.  That of course is another story….

We were also stoked to have Jen, whom I met through the NY Team LUNA Chix MTB team back in Marin a few years ago, meet us in Moab.  We got to spend a few days riding and meeting her in-laws and her hubby before race day.  Super fun to reconnect and home to get her back out here for some PNW singletrack!

The Big Mountain Enduro series put on the Whole Enchilada Enduro.  This was another first time that a land management agency allowed a race like this on the Whole Enchilada trails.  They were in attendance and allowed 150 racers to hit the starting line.  We were treated to an hour ride up to 11,000’ to the top of Burro Pass by shuttles from Chile Pepper Bike Shop  and in the lovely VW vans from Coyote Shuttles as well as every other shuttle van they could find.  Fortunately by race day on Sunday, the mud from the rain/snow of Wednesday night had dried out pretty well and the freezing temps from our pre-ride on Friday had warmed to slightly less than frosty temps. 

It was amazing to get to start out that high in very PNW like terrain – steep switchbacks, coniferous trees, cold temps, a few creek crossings, lots of roots and lots of loose rocks.  Dropping down a couple of thousand feet we hit the line of aspens.  With the cold temps up there the leaves were changing colors so there was a beautiful contrast between the white of the bark and the yellow of the leaves.  We hit Warner Lake, climbed out of that and then ended up in an area they call Hazzard County.

Dropping through the high brushy area through swoopy berms with some baby head/loose rocks, we did have some extra obstacles.  Not sure how many others ran into them but I did almost run straight into a cow.  Came around a corner, grabbed a handful of brakes as I locked eyes with a very large cow in the middle of the single-track.  He started, gave a little jump and bailed downhill off the trail.  Continued on without incident and hit the road where the Kokepelli sign is.  No problems until coming around the corner on the road and riding right into the middle a, yes, a herd of cows.  Slowed down, talked nicely and they ignored me until one cow decided I made him nervous, he started the stampede and they all ran off the road – fortunately not taking me out in the process. 

After all of that the rest was pretty anti-climactic.  I made my usual slow progress through the rest of the race – which consisted of UPS and LPS.  The race end was 4 miles prior to the official end of the ride – where the Porcupine Rim Trail begins and winds along the top of the Colorado River. 

Race support was really good. It was nice to see lots of folks along the trail in case of injuries and we got lots of encouragement from the medical personnel and spectators.  We heard tales of a crash with a broken facial bone and a broken collar bone but personally I didn’t see any major injuries beyond flat tires and broken chains.  There were a few DNFs along the line but overall it seemed like most made it through without incident.  While Angela took 3rd in the Amateur class with a 2 hour ride, it took me 2 hours and 41 minutes.  To put that in perspective, the pro women ripped it at 1:33 with the fastest man doing the entire thing from the top of Burro Pass to the start of Porcupine Rim in 1 hour 20 minutes.  Wow, just wow. 

Angela rode her Diamondback Mission and I rode my Diamondback Sortie Black.  Given that the up to Burro Pass wasn't timed and it was mostly down with just a few short climbs - I think the 6" travel and slightly more slack head angle might have been nice.  Overall though - both bikes sucked up the bumps and the drops just fine.  Yahoo Diamondback!  Our bikes rock! Thanks!

Finished up the event with some awesome enchiladas from the Love Muffin Café (my fav place for breakfast in Moab) and we returned to our temporary mini-cabin lodgings at the Moab Valley RVResort.   We did find another great breakfast place I’ll share – the Wake and Bake Café.  Good food, great company and an amazing place.  Looking forward to the next visit to Moab.

Oh and quick shout out to YeeHaw Pickles! That might be the highlight – they were a sponsor and we all got a jar of spicy pickles.  Yum! Might be best race schwag ever.

In the meantime – let’s enjoy this weather! 

Here are the upcoming rides with Sturdy Bitch Racing.  Hope to see you out there!!

October 10th – 6pm ride at Duthie Hill

http://evergreenmtb.org/recreation/calendar.php?event_id=10647

October 14th – 10am - Anacortes

http://evergreenmtb.org/recreation/calendar.php?event_id=10644

October 31st – Halloween Costume Ride - 6pm ride at Duthie Hill

http://evergreenmtb.org/recreation/calendar.php?event_id=10654

 Photo from our recent ladies ride at Tiger Mountain!  Great job ladies!  Had a great time riding with post-race refueling session!

 

 

As always, summer in Seattle goes
by in a blink of an eye.  If we have our way we'll have some decent weather for another month and a half or so.  Crossing fingers for that to happen given this years late start of good weather.

We didn't let time pass us by though.  Couple of races in August - Angela and Jenn pulled off the Black Diamond XTerra.

Some words from Angela:
Sturdy Bitch Racing's Angela Sucich teamed with her sister-in-law, Megan Sucich, to compete in the Black Diamond XTERRA this August. They placed 2nd in the relay, just out of first place by a mere 40 seconds, racing against a 3-person team made up of two men and one woman. Go ladies! They also finished 2nd in the swim leg (Megan), 1st in the mountain bike leg (Angela) and 3rd in the run (Angela).

Jenn also pulled off a 3rd place in her group as well.  With a great, fun technical and rooty course, this was definitely a race for a true mountain biker and both of our teammates did a fabulous job.

August also brings one of our favorite races each year.  That would be the Capitol Forest Classic.  We love that there are real campsites, a group area with a big fire pit, an XC race and a Super D, a roast pig, beer, and a tequila bar.  What else could you possibly want in a mountain bike venue and race?

How about technical and fun single track?  How about the Friends of Capitol Forest maintaining some incredible trails and putting on a top-notch event including a Saturday nigh campground serenade.  While we did miss the meteor shower on Saturday night due to the plethora of trees - I can't remember the last time we've been serenaded.  While it may have been triggered due to a dip in the tequila bar, we couldn't help but laugh and join in as the FOCF team and trail builders piled into the back of a truck, with bongos and tequila, to roll through the campground singing, laughing and making merry.

We were also thrilled to have a Marie sighting.  As you can see - she isn't on the bike these days but she rallied for some time around the fire and I think she ran a shuttle or two up the mountain for her hubby.  Looking forward to the little ripper's arrival in the next couple of weeks.

If I weren't in such a hurry to get this out I would write a ton more about all the work FOCF does, what stewards of the land they are, how open, fun, and encouraging they are as a group.  Really a wonderful, fun and amazing team.  I look forward to seeing them through the season and already thinking of next year and what that will bring.


Sturdy Bitch Racing brought out 3 racers for the 2 day races (Susan, Ady, Katie) and Jenn for the XC only and Virginia for the Super D only.

Race results were pretty darn good with everyone taking home some kind of hardware.
Expert - All Mountain, XC and Super D - Katie took home 2nd in all 3
Expert - Super D - Virginia took home 3rd
XC Sport - Jenn took home 3rd place medal
XC Sport - All Mountain - Ady took home a 3rd, In the Super D a 3rd and a 4th in XC
XC Sport - Susan took home a 1st in XC and the Super D

Thanks to our amazing sponsors - our bikes kicked ass
(Diamondback Sortie Blacks and Diamondback Missions)  and our beer (Georgetown Manny's and Lucille) was tasty and cold.  We were also pleased to be able to share a group campsite with one of our other sponsors, Zeb and Big Tree Bikes.  We always love and appreciate Sturdy Bitch who makes our fabulous tees and gives us our name.  Lastly, we thank Katie's brother at MDJ Racing.  Awesome support from all and we couldn't be luckier!!

Thanks again to the Friends of Capitol Forest.  Looking forward to seeing you guys soon!

This past weekend wrapped up an amazing season of DH racing for the NW Cup with the final stop being at the newly opened Steven’s Pass Bike Park. Lift assisted riding at Steven’s Pass has been eagerly awaited by gravity fans, and the new park is a lot of fun. Currently they only have 2 trails open, with another on the way.

The Pros and Cat 1 riders were sent down Slingshot Wookie, a fun track with lots of rocks, roots, and steep sections. Cats 2 and 3 were sent down Rock Crusher, the machine built intermediate jump trail which is out in the open with tons of bermed corners to rail. Since the park is new, both trails had brand new sections that needed some pounding in to make them shine, and after this past weekend, they are well on their way!

After pre-riding the trails a couple of weekend ago, I realized that my DH rig was overkill for the Cat 2 course, which has some significant pedaling on it. Luckily Diamondback’s Jon Kennedy hooked me up with a Scapegoat, their 7-inch freeride bike, which my teammate Katie has been killing it on all year. The Scapegoat was a blast- and I felt like it was absolutely the right choice of bike for the course. The bike railed the berms, but was stable enough to hold speed through the fast sections, while still being light enough to pedal through the flats.

Katie and I packed up the Truckhouse and headed out to Steven’s on Friday for some practice, and it was hot, dry, and dusty- a situation that only got more exacerbated throughout the weekend. The lift was super fast, which meant no lines and a cool breeze on the way up- a huge perk considering the 85+ degree heat. Saturday brought out more riders and the day ended with a chainless race down Rock Crusher, which Katie and I opted out of in favor of heckling- which we did in style!

Race day began with some blistering heat, which called for pre-race hose downs and people fighting for the little pockets of shade. I was able to see my husband, Jeff, come down the finish line to a 2^nd place win- a feat after a weekend full of crashes and mechanicals. I’m so proud of him for rallying and giving it his all! Katie and I headed up for our race run, and we got in the race groove by having a Breezee One dance party, followed by some Madonna and Beastie Boys.

I managed to hit most of my lines and pedaled my little heart out to settle into 3^rd place, less than a second off of 2^nd place. Katie came in right behind with 4^th. This secured our positions in the overall for the series- with Katie taking 1^st overall and me 2^nd. Ruth Thomas, who was also riding a DB Scapegoat placed 3^rd overall, which gave it a Diamondback sweep for the overall series!

It was a fantastic end to a super fun series. A huge thank you to Scott and Casey from the NW Cup, Diamondback, and Rainier Beer.