August was a Blur...
Holy Toledo, August was just crazy! There were events galore and hundreds of miles of biking, at least for a few of the Sturdy Bitches...At the end of July (before I move into August), Angela and Katie headed down to Bend for the High Cascades 100. This was Katie's 1st year doing the race and at least the 3rd round for Angela. Angelea wrote a race report on her blog so check out this link for details on how they did. Sounds like a good (in a masochistic way) time and a great race if you're into that kinda torture! Nice work gals, that is just brutal but you both finished it up and got those growlers. Well done!!
In early August, Jenn, Virginia and I (Susan) headed off to the Black Diamond XTerra. We were joined by Kathy from Fanatik Bikes in Bellingham and Carolyn (currently unaffiliated but previously with Speedy Beaver Racing). It was a hot day, there were bees, the swim was less horrible than anticipated (but I was still really slow!) and we ended the day with a growler of Georgetown Mannys and one of Lucille. It was funny how different the atmosphere at the different races is. These triathletes don't stick around. Even though it was a beautiful day and still early in the day, there were no race team tents, no beer (I think ours was the only beer we saw), and people pretty much bailed unless they were going to make it to the podium. In spite of all of that it was alot of fun. I always love this particular XTerra because it is really mountain bike friendly, with a reasonably technical course that slows those strong as road riders down but not so much on the technical mountain bike parts. The Diamondback Sortie was a great bike for this
as it's light enough to operate as an XC bike but sturdy and agile enough to navigate the roots and the rocky downhills on the course. The final result was a podium for Carolyn, Kathy and myself. Was hilarious because our prizes were to be XTerra pint glasses but due to a mix-up in shipping, we ended up with a "Save the Date" for someone's wedding (in TX) glasses. Just got an email that we can pick up the actual glasses now but we sure got some laughs about our pint glasses for a strangers wedding.Next on the agenda was the Capitol Forest Super D and XC race. Wow what an event the Friends of Capitol Forest put on. Not only do they perform hours and hours of labor on the amazing trails out in Olympia but they pulled off a screamin' good time that weekend. As always, they had a huge tent up for post-race relaxing but this time there was beer on tap both days as well as a tequila bar and a roast pig. While I am "pescatarian" I can appreciate the effort that went into barbequing and HUGE pig and serving pulled pork sandwiches to hundreds of racers! They always have a ton of prizes both for the racers but for a raffle as well. Oh and in addition to the beer and tequila? Every award was personalized onsite by a guy punching in what you wanted but also rolling it and adding adhesives so
you could put it on your top tube should you so desire. Crazy good times. Hilites of the event? Getting to see Val from the Dirty Harlots (out of Hood River) and Turbo the three legged dog. Watching Jeff (Ady's hubby) run the Turbo taxi (see inset pic), the zillions of shuttle runs, the awesome campsite we got thanks to the FOCF crew, and the MacGuyver job that Josh and Jeff did "faking" a bolt with zip ties. Those zip ties held the bike together for Virginia's winning run during the Super D!
Sturdy Bitch Racing pulled in a bunch of hardware at the XC Race, the Super D, and even the "All Mountain" which was combined times for both events. Think the end results were Ady - Super D 3rd in Sport, Kathy, Super D 2nd in Sport, Susan 1st in Super D & XC and 3rd in All Mountain and Virginia 1st the Super D in Expert Class. Woohoo!!
In between her time in Bend for the HC100 and doing the Leadville 100, Angela, Ady and Katie held a Bikes, Bitches and Beer ride at Paradise Valley. The intent being to bring the girls together for a fun ride and then go out for some food and awesome Georgetown Beer at a local watering hole. The ride was out in the Maltby area and on the way back out to the freeway, the girls hit the Main Street Alehouse in Bothell to partake of some good grub and some cold beer.
Towards the end of the month, Angela headed out to Colorado to attempt to aclimate to the elevation. She was picked up under another team to race the Leadville 100. In spite of her lack of Sturdy Bitch colors, she maintained the title of Sturdy Bitch and finished this grueling race on her Diamondback Axis. She got some hardware in the form of a new belt buckle and she has done a race report so we can understand the pain and suffering she endured to get it. Check out her report here. 
The next adventure for August was Virginia's trip out to MacCall, Idaho to do the XTerra Wild Ride. She was too busy swimming, biking and running to snap any pictures but she wasn't too busy to pull off a 3rd place finish in her age bracket. Fortunately before she departed to Idaho, Jon at Diamondback procured a bolt for her rear triangle and her Diamondback Sortie was back in action. Yet another sturdy result for the Bitches. Nice work Virginia!!
To kick September off, we had another Bikes, Bitches and Beer ride at Tapeworm down in Renton, WA. We had a group of 12 enthusiastic ladies on the ride and we headed out through the Tapeworm, to Parasite and then we did two loops through the new trail out there, the Silk Worm. In spite of how the light is dying out so early these days, we got an hour and a half on the trails before we headed back to the parking lot. Looks like our next rides will be with lights (lame!). Post-ride though we headed out to the Dog and Pony in Renton and were pleased to find they had some Georgetown Lucille on tap. So we emptied that keg out, got some good food in our bellies and headed home. 
If all of that wasn't enough the team has also held a number of women's only rides through the Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance ride calendar. Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance is a mountain bike advocacy organization located in Washington and they hold trail work parties, engage local government and agencies to continue to build and develop trails throughout the northwest. They also manage and provide a large ride calendar and list of local trails, current conditions, directions and sometimes maps as well. We highly encourage you to check them out and if you're interested in riding, get involved with them. For the ladies we have created a Facebook group for Sturdy Bitch Racing. If you're interested in riding with other gals in the Seattle area, feel free to apply to join. We usually post links to the rides on the ride calendar and there is often discussion on rides and races and "all things bike".
OK, that's it for now. Hope the rest of your summer shake out sunny and beautiful and you get lots of time on the trails!
Posted by Susan Clementson at 9/8/2011 8:51 AM 
Categories: uncategorized
Tags: Sturdy Bitch Racing Diamondback Bikes High Cascades 100 Black Diamond XTerra Leadville 100 Friends of Capitol Forest Capitol Forest Super D Capitol Forest XC Dirty Harlots Turbo the Three Legged Dog Diamondback Axis Diamondback Sortie Georgetown Beer Wild Ride XTerra Sturdy Bitch women mountain biking
Categories: uncategorized
Tags: Sturdy Bitch Racing Diamondback Bikes High Cascades 100 Black Diamond XTerra Leadville 100 Friends of Capitol Forest Capitol Forest Super D Capitol Forest XC Dirty Harlots Turbo the Three Legged Dog Diamondback Axis Diamondback Sortie Georgetown Beer Wild Ride XTerra Sturdy Bitch women mountain biking
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