Of Biking, Exhaustion and Excellent Paleo Pancakes

As we rounded out the bottom of the pass and arrived at the base of Winter Park early on Saturday morning we noticed a Moose Cow and her sweet, tall legged calf. She was clearly teaching the calf what to eat. It is a rare sight to see moose, and even more rare to see a cow with her calf. I had only a few seconds to look, but tried to etch it into my mind.

We needed to arrive in Winter Park for the race and I had to report in for my marshaling duties. There was a marshal at each point in the course where a rider could go more than one direction. Luckily, I was positioned in a lovely spot deep in the woods. The race organizer drove me in most of the way and then I had to walk about a mile to my actual spot. It was a fun job which mostly consisted of cheering on the riders and making sure everyone was okay. There were almost 500 people taking part in the event.

Ellie flew by me quickly and I just had time to snap this shot. Towards the end of the race the skies opened up and the rain poured down in heavy, thick droplets. I wondered if Ellie would like the rain, or if she would be chilled by it. The race course wandered out of Winter Park proper and into the Arapahoe National Forest. This meant that the riders would have to ride back to Winter Park. It would be easier since it would be on paved roads, but after almost 19 miles riding in the trees, it may have been a long ride. Thankfully, Erik, the Coach Kathy's husband, was waiting at the end to take the junior back to our base camp in his warm, dry car.

Ellie had not really prepared herself for the race. She had a busy, full week which included 10 hours at the lake that produced a bad sun burn and many of the days she simply did not eat right. Since I left to marshal before she began, she did not have her race food with her. The end result was that she felt dizzy and sick at the end of the race. She went back and promptly fell asleep during the awards ceremony. We had to wake her up when her turn on the podium came and again later when she won a raffle prize.

A bit later she fell asleep again. This time she was in the Coach Kathy's RV. The boys decided that it would be funny to decorate her. Thankfully, she thought it was funny, but I also suspect that there will be some sort of revenge when the boys are not expecting it. This was all a very vivid reminder how important race day prepping it.

There was a second race the next day so everyone camped out together. The spot was not very scenic since it felt victim to the pine beetle and some sort of controlled burn, but it was fun all the same. Shortly after we had settled into our tents for the night a group of motorcyclists camp by, expecting to camp in "their" spot. They were unhappy at finding us there. They showed their displeasure by shining their headlamps into each tent or window and revving their engines. We could hear them as they continued up the highway. Kathy says that we are lucky that they did not show their displeasure in a more aggressive manner.

By the next day, Ellie was feeling much better, but not her best. She enjoyed the short track race nonetheless.

The ride was fun and the awards were great.

After the kids finished racing they went swimming at the recreation center next to the venue while Coach Kathy raced. She raced in the expert category, coming in 3rd place. She could have raced into 2nd place, but decided to help another racer who was feeling bad that morning. Coach Kathy is great like that.

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It was a fun weekend, but we are both still tired from the whole event. The next one will be another big weekend since it will be the Cranworx Freeride Festival.


On Sunday, Ariana and Ellie will do the Urban Assault Ride. Here's what the Fort Collins event was like. It looks like a ton of fun!
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Almond Flour & Walnut Paleo Pancakes
via: Tasty Kitchen by Julia {The Roasted Root} on February 25, 2012
Delicious protein and energy-packed pancakes made with almond flour and chopped walnuts. This recipe is perfect for athletes and the wheat averse.

4 whole Eggs
⅓ cups Coconut Milk
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil Or Coconut Oil
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
2-½ cups Almond Flour
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
1 pinch Salt
¾ cups Walnuts, Chopped
Butter, For Your Skillet

In a mixing bowl or mixer, combine all “wet ingredients”. Add your dry ingredients, including chopped walnuts and allow the pancake batter to sit for about 5 to 10 minutes.
Heat a large skillet over medium-low heat. Place a dollop of butter in the skillet and spread it around. Because we are using almond flour, I suggest making small pancakes because they are much easier to flip when they are small. Spoon out small portions of batter into the skillet (you should be able to make 3 at a time) and allow pancake to cook about 5 to 7 minutes before flipping. Allow pancake to cook an additional 3 minutes and serve with your favorite toppings! Repeat with the remaining batter while you eat your first batch!

(Note: We really liked these. The texture was much better than many of the other Paleo Pancake recipes that I have tried. You could expand their versatility by adding in spices. This would create a sort of soft flatbread base for something like Mexican food.)