Racing (Sort of) at Round Up Ranch and Indian Creek in Sedalia, CO

This past weekend was another Rocky Mountain Endurance race. This one was the Indian Creek race.
All racers and their support crew (the families) were invited to camp at the Round Up Ranch, just a 1.8 sprint down the road from Indian Creek, where the race took place on Saturday.

The kids and I arrive early enough to be part of the potluck dinner that was taking place in the dining hall. It is such a cool building. (I had intended to take some photos the next day, but ended up not having the time.) The front door has a silhouette of a horse head cut out. There are deer heads and a taxidermied cougar handing on the wall. I wish I had taken the photos that night. I was waiting for natural light that would flood the room on Saturday.

The ranch has a long and interesting past. At one point the dining hall housed a bar where a good bit of gambling took place. One of the care-takers gave us a tour of the rooms which run down thin hallways and are atop a narrow, cramped set of stairs. Once upon a time there was a small brothel on the top floor. There are stories of ghost sightings and of a boy being locked in a room where upon the walls looks liked they had blood running down them. Once out, he reported that it looked like someone had tried to paint over the blood, but it refused to be covered. Others think they can see the shadow of a woman standing in the window. There is another locally famous story of a visiting man who won a lot of money. He took his gun out of his holster and shot into the ceiling in joy. The shot barely missed another man who was sleeping up stairs. He came down, demanded to know who shot the gun. Everyone pointed to the winner. The angry man shot him dead on the spot. We walked and road from the dinning hall back to the camping spot; the night was crystal clear, a deep, deep blue punctuated by bright stars. It was a perfect night to kick off the camping season. Mark and Martine joined us that evening.

I worked registration the next morning. My shift started at 6:00 a.m. Luckily, it is easy for me to wake up early, especially when the birds are chirping happily.

It was Kohlton's second race and we heard that the course was tough. He got a strong start.

Kohlton's age group went out with the marathon and half marathon group. They went up the road and into the Indian Creek wilderness. At some point during the race Kohlton took a wrong turn, ending up on the marathon course. Somehow he found out that he was going the wrong way. He turned around and went back to the second aid station. On the way there he witnessed a very bad crash and had a crash of his own.


Kolhton and a few others waited at the second aid station to leave, having to drop out of the race. The man that crashed had to be air lifted out. It took many hours to get that taken care of. The man had experienced serious trauma to his face. This week he had a six hour surgery to do some repair work and is not healing quickly.

In the meantime, Mark, Martine, Ellie and I eagerly waited at the finish line for Kohlton. He did not show when we expected him to. After doing a bit of searching around and talking to the first aid folks, we found out where Kohlton was. We had to drive out and around to Roxbourogh Park to wait for him to be brought out. Ellie opted to skip her race in favor of being there to pick up Kohlton. It was a long wait and they were very joyous to see each other again.

And now we return to the races...

Today Ellie was finally healed enough to race. Now, she was still a bit sick from the stomach puky thing she had earlier in the week, but she raced anyway. It was Kohlton's first ever bike race. We were all very excited for him, and very proud of him, too. Ellie went 12 miles; Kohlton went 24 miles - a long ride for a boy who has only been on a bike a few times.

It was an uphill start and Ellie was doing well, until she had to puke. That set her back to second place.

Kohlton had a much harder time. I think had only ever ridden his bike about 5 miles. He had a bad leg cramp and thought about quitting, but Ellie (who had already finished her race) rode up the course backwards and found him. After a bit of encouragement, he finished the race. He was a hurting unit.

Eric, one of the coaches, raced for the first time.

We were so proud of how hard the kids did. After eating and resting a bit, Ellie, Kohlton, Mark, Brit and I went to dinner. Even before dinner was over, we were planning the details for the next race that happens in two weeks.

Colorado Mountain Bike Championship - Fruita Dessert Classic

This past weekend was exciting. I know, I know, I probably say something like that almost every weekend, but it is how I feel. This past weekend found Ellie and I in Fruita for the Colorado High School Cycling League Mountain Bike Championship. It was exciting because it was the championship and because Ellie has never had a chance to ride in Fruita, one of the big, world famous mountain bike riding spots.

I was also super excited because I was able to make arrangements to spend time with Natalie, one of my dearest friends, a friend I have not seen in person in about 3.5 or 4 years.

We left Denver bright and early on Saturday morning so that we could be sure that Ellie would have plenty of time to pre-ride the course. We met some of the teammates and parents at Sunshine Cafe in Silverthorn for breakfast. Afterwards the kids piled into my car and we make the remaining four hour drive in noisy, musical fun.

Being the dessert, the race course was hot and dusty. Ellie rode the course a bit and then wanted to go home to shower. She wanted to feel fresh for the next day.

That evening we returned to Fruita to take team pictures and attend the end of the year shindig. (I wrote more about that below.)

Coach Kathy was super jazzed for the final race of the season so she make our spot a party. We hung up balloons and streamers. She also gave both girls tiaras for their helmets and the coaches sported silly costumes. It looked like a little kid's birthday party and everyone who passed us smilled.

Ellie raced the JV girls, the second group to go. The cheering and excitement was really something. People clapped, hooted and cheered. When Ellie's name was announced for her call-up (getting to pick your place on the starting line) the volume of cheering went up a bit. Between her enthusiastic team mates, coaches and people who know her from road or cross, many voices were heard. I was nervous. Coach Kathy had Ellie ride her Super Fly, as super sweet, light bike - a bike Ellie is unfamiliar with. I wanted her to have a good ride, to be happy with her effort and standing.

She went off like a rocket, a buzzing cloud of other girls whirling their pedals just behind her. By the time the girls got to the first big hill Ellie was in second place. I was not worried as she always makes up some time in the successive laps.

The race was a serious battle. Izzy finished just head of Ellie by about 18 feet and just over a second. Soon after the third girl flew in for her finish. By that point she was anaerobic, we could see her hurting as she was entering the final stretch. Her head was bobbing and her bike was weaving - she was bonking. As she passed us I could see foam at the corners of her mouth and white stuff was dried on her cheek. Just a few feet after crossing the finish line she went down. The paramedics checked her out, gave her an IV and set her on the right course. I am sure that the girl will feel like she had a hang-over the next day.

Ellie would have enjoyed being the champion, of course, but she was also okay with coming in second to Izzy since they both put in a lot and gave it their all.

Coach Eric donned a green wig and cheered for every one of our team members. I am pretty sure that makes them feel special.

Here's Coach Kathy, sporting a fun dress, proving that we have the msot team spirit.

Ellie earned second in the JV category in a large field of girls. Next year she may be moved up to the varsity category.

She also earned second overall in the JV girls category.

Fruita State Championships 2012-Vail Composite from Ted vic on Vimeo.

Peaceful Valley Invitational

Ellie had her third race of the high school mountain biking league this past Sunday. It was exciting; I was anxious, hopeful and proud of my daughter.

Supporting a teenager is so different from supporting a tween, preteen or kid. Where I used to be able to work together to help her know what to do, now I try to stand back and see where I fit, where I can support. I know that other parents still manage their kids, but I try to be pretty hands off, as much as I can be.

At practice on Wednesday Ellie was doing an tight turn and crashed. The end of her handlebar pushed into her sterum (the space just below your ribs)which resulted in a funky, tattoo like bruise that displayed the design on the end camp. That image was surrounded by a heathered blue. The coach that is also an ER nurse talked to me about how to look for internal damage and bleeding. Her coach who is a lead pharmacist talked to us about pain control. Ellie' torso hurt and breathing was impeded. Being the stubborn girl that she is, she did not want any medication. She wanted to tough it out on her own. Nate told me it could take up to six weeks to completely heal.

On Thursday Ellie found that it hurt more than it had the day before; she could not stand straight without pain. I offered comfort, a hot pad and no judgement. Having never injured myself in that same fashion, I could only guess how bad it was based on what others told me. My stoic girl kept it mostly to herself. Eventually she relented and allowed me to help her, just a bit. We strapped chemical heated pads to her sternum in hopes that it would help her sleep. We heated and reheated a pad that helped bring temporary relief. It seemed to continue to hurt, yet she did not really complain.

Along with her injury, I worried about the weather. Friday was the first snow of the season. Saturday there would be a hard freeze and we were scheduled to camp out. Then we dithered about whether to drive to the race location (about 1.5 hours away) to preride the course and return home. In the end she opted for resting instead of riding. Her coach and I thought it was a good plan.

I was also just a bit anxious about the course. Last year it had been her second race. Even though she pre-rode the course the day before, she took the wrong line when carving through the rock garden and went over her her handlebars, (endo)crumpling on the ground just a inch from a big rock. After a league official checked her out, as well as her bike, he released her and said, "Go slow." As you might imagine, she took off like a rocket. My heart stopped when I witnessed that. I waited with fear in my heart for her to come around again. The mother of one of the varsity riders came by to tell me that she was flying through the course. Ellie was successful, sailing through that very spot and winner her category (freshmen girls that year) by a margin of more than 4 minutes. I tried to bury that image in my head, trusting that she has much more skill and experience this year than last.

With so much stirring in me, it was hard to stand still and keep my anxiety to myself.

Ellie got a call up (getting to pick her place on the starting line) and I took up my post just up the course a pace so that I could see what kind of start she would get. She sped by me in a flurry of girl with determined faces and whirling pedals. People cheered, parents commented on Ellie good form and then we headed off towards the rock garden to wait for the race to come through. In time the varsity and JV girls came by, Ellie with a firm lead in her group. As I waited for Jessica, our freshman girl, to come through, I witnessed another girl crash in nearly the same area. Number 418 hit a water bar and went down, staying completely still. At first I could not believe what had happened, and then it seemed all to real. The girl's older brother rushed to her side, the medic and officials were called and arrived. At first we had the racers dismount and walk past the crash site. Then a clever coach had the specators form a human line to bring the race through the trees on the side. It gave us something to do and allowed the medical folks to work unimpeded. They brought out the foam forms for the girls's neck, then slowly rolled her onto a body board. During that time we could see her move and was relieved to find that she at least had not broken her back. We could see that her eyes were open. When they passed us as they carried her out we could see that she was conscious. It looked like she hit her face, breaking and bloodying her nose. It is also likely that she had a concussion. It is my hope that those are the extent of the girl's injuries. My heart goes out to her and her family.

In the midst of all of that Ellie came speeding through the diversion that we set up. She thought the girl ahead of her was in her category so she put on extra speed, sprinting to a strong finish, winning her the JV category by a long shot. My worries of how injured she was slipped away. Once again, I was amazed at my girl's power of determination and her ability to focus on her goal. I would have been happy to have her race and have fun. It is extra fun when she wins and is happy with her own performance. Her coach says that the fire in her belly is fierce.

Since the forecast was for much colder weather, Ellie was dressed for cold. Some of the other coaches joked that she was Yukon Ellie, ready to race in Alaska. She certainly has a unique fashion sense on the podium.

Our team also received the 2nd place overall best team award for the division 2 teams (teams with 12 or fewer riders). We had been tied for 2nd place with Grand County (the team from Grand Junction) but the tie was decided by a quick "Rock, Paper, Scissors" battle. Our coach Eric won with a quick rock over scissors. We are confident that he could have won in a short race, too.

And the excitement does not stop there. A movie crew was on site for an upcoming movie called "Singletrack." It is the story of a 15 year old girl who moves to a small town in Colorado to live with her uncle after both of her parents have been sent into active duty. Once there, she finds community by joining the local mountain biking team. The production crew has been at each race interviewing kids and coaches alike. Our very own Coach Kathy is advising the woman who is playing the part of the coach. Art, the script writer and producer spent time talking with Ellie about what it is like to be a 15 year old girl on a racing team. He told her that they would put out a casting call and asked if she had any acting experience. They will be setting up a fake race in order to film some of the scenes. Pretty exciting stuff.

Snow Mountain Ranch Stampede

I feel bad about posting so infrequently. Now that we are six weeks into the school year, you'd think that I'd have my groove back, but I just don't. Between doing Paleo and having a broken oven for two months, my excitement for cooking is somewhat stunted. I am hopeful that the back ordered part for my oven will arrive this week. I would not have guessed how often I use the oven. Oh well. The absence of something helps you realize its value.

This past weekend Ellie and I were in Winter Park for the last time this season. We shared a hotel room with another rider and his family. I like to give Ellie a chance to acclimate to the altitude before high mountain races. It reduces her headaches.

Ellie was less nervous than at the previous race, but still concerned. She wanted to get a good start and ride without any technical issues. She was off of the line like a rocket. It was exciting to watch. She zoomed up the hill. This course was very much like a cyclocross course, so it was almost like it was built for her skills and her power.

By the time she passed me on her first lap she had a wide gap between her and the second rider in the category. It was about 1 minute and 10 seconds, which is forever in a race. She was looking strong and in her element.

Somewhere between that lap and the next one, she lost a lot of ground. She took a drop hard and landed on her seat wrong. The result was that her saddle was now pointing upward. She tried to hammer it down with her fist, but it would not go. She knew that she could not do the remaining miles standing the whole way so she was forced to stop and ask for a tool. She pulled in to a sharp full stop next to a course marshal. He took his time to cheer for all of the riders that were passing by. Then he pulled out his tools and slowly went through each one until he came to his multi-tool Then one of the spectators wondered if Ellie would get a time mark for getting help. They discussed this and it was decided that as long as he does not touch her or the bike, there would be no time demerit. All the while, Ellie is waiting anxiously, know that clock is ticking and that her competition is passing her by. Once she got the tool she fixed the seat and was on her way. The process took at least two full minutes, putting her in fourth place at that point. (The lesson learned here is to carry your own tool.) She was able to close some of the gap and catch the third rider. Although she made up much of her lost time, she came in third place. She was not pleased with that result, but will use that experience to fuel her next race.

The girls race before the boys. That left Ellie open to cheer on the rest of the team .

It was exhilarating to see to see them fly by at the start of their races. The bright yellow of the team kit makes them easy to find.

Ellie greeted each team member at the end of his race with a bottle of Gatorade. It made me smile to see how much they care for and support each other.

Several of the kids on our mountain bike team come from Black Sheep, Ellie's Road and Cyclocross team. One of the boys who is actually on the Monarch HS MTB team was hanging around at the edge of our camp. He seemed a bit lost. When the Black Sheep kids noticed this they invited him over and offered him some lunch. Elijah looked reluctant, but thankful for the offer. We came to learn that he feels more comfortable with our team than his own. Over the course of conversation we learned that his home had burned down to the ground that morning. It seems that something exploded in the basement. The family got out with what they had on. Everything else, including the cats, was lost in the fire. I was amazed at the amount of composure Elijah displayed. Again, I was so thankful to have such a wonderful team, one that could welcome a rider from another team and offer him unqualified support. That is really what is important - supporting and celebrating each other.

Chalk Creek in Nathrop - HS Mountain Bike Season Begins

Ellie and I spent much of the weekend in Salida. I love that town. She had the first race of the high school mountain biking league race of the season at Chalk Creek on McMurray Ranch in Nathrop.

She was very anxious as she went from racing Freshman class to Junior Varsity this year. She knew the competition would be tough. And boy, was it ever. There were 38 girls in her division, I am pretty sure it was the biggest category of the day.

A few of the girls in her category are national champions in various types of cycling.

She has been ill for about 3 weeks and had not been to practice for the last two weeks.
She rode well and placed 6th. We are pleased with how she rode.

The atmosphere at the races is exciting.

Our hat goes off the the crew of folks who put their hearts into putting on such an awesome race.

Of Bears, Broken Bikes and Booty

On Sunday Ellie did the King of the Rockies race, the final race in the Epic Singletrack series up at Winter Park. We could have driven up on Sunday morning, but I wanted to go camping at least one more time before the cold weather set in.

It was a perfect night. The skies were clear and the stars glimmered happily in the indigo sky. The moon at half fun glowed brightly. It was a perfect temperature with out any bothersome wind.

While there was still sunlight, the kids explore the woods and waded in the quiet stream that ran near the road. Ellie's bike, which had been perfectly fine a few days before, was experiencing trouble as there was something wrong with the rear derailer and the wheel could not turn freely. If we had been around any of the biking dads, or if it had been earlier in the day, I would have asked someone else to fix it. However, there was no help available and I was not sure anyone would be available to help the next morning before the race. Being the resourceful and stubborn person that I am, I was not going to be stymied. We had bothered to go camping and paid the race fee, so I set about fixing the bike. Thankfully I was able to devine the fact that the shifters were in unusual positions and that it was the source of the problem. I cleaned the gears and fixed the gear issue. After a light lubing, it was good to go. I was proud of myself for figuring it out.

After getting set up we had a dinner of beef fajitas. We followed that with a camp fire, roasted marshmallows and s'mores.

I imagine that Ellie might have been a bit nervous as she was not feeling all that well. She became ill about a week and a half ago, and was not feeling better. Her arm felt a bit numb and weird from the go kart fiasco. However, she prevailed. Her team was counting on her to win points to help them maintain their placement at the top junior team in the series. So she pluck up her gumption and raced without complaint.

She got her usual good start, but it was not a very good race for her. At nearly 26 miles, it was a grueling race.

She won anyway, but was not at all happy with her performance. She also won her overall category, Beginning Women under 15. She won a nice stein, a special custom jersey and two more first place medals.

We had a new team member with us this weekend who was racing for the very first time. It was very exciting to see how well Seth did in his race, coming in third. I think many others would have waited for an easier race to jump in.

Green Mountain Composite won the overall best junior team. The kids received medals and special hoodies.

We capped of the fun of the weekend by stopping by a crazy little sweet shop in Empire where the malts are huge and the local hippies gleefully sing their tunes and strum their guitars.

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.

kl

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!
----------
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.)