Friday, August 12, 2011

Winter Park Crankworx Race


My first race on my SCOTT Scale 29er Elite.....LOVE it!!
Tough Girl Sheri

Whistler/Crankworx Recap


Finally back in Colorado from my Whistler trip and I already can't wait to go back!  I had such a blast meeting and riding with tons of new people, hanging out with old friends, waiting for bears to clear the course during practice, racing some of the fastest women in the world, hitting some really big jumps, and watching in person Anthony Messere boost higher than anyone I have ever seen on a bike!  Again big thanks to the guys at SRAM, and Kelly and the guys from Scott for helping me keep my bike running!

Tough Girl Cathy

Monday, August 1, 2011

2nd at State Crit Champs

I love my Scott CR1 with DT Swiss wheels - helped my spring to 2nd Place in SW 1/2 Colorado State Criterium Championships on 7/17/11 - Go Tough Girl!

Anne Lannan

Love the PowerBar!


THANKS POWER BAR for the nutrition and endurance! Can't do it alone.
Tough Girl Coreen

Notes from a sidelined Tough Girl...

 A broken clavicle requiring surgery in April has meant no riding for me for the last three months plus... What to do with all of my time?!? Once I got over the "oh my gosh, I should be riding!!!" angst (which took a while, longer than I wanted) I settled into my new exercise routine which started with walking and then progressed to swimming and running. Sorry folks, I refuse to ride the trainer!
The walking helped me fall in love with my neighborhood again. The slow pace of walking allowed me to see all kinds of things I never saw while on a bike.

When I was cleared to run, I was again reminded of the lovely simplicity of this kind of exercise. No need to have pockets full of food and tools or a huge block of time to spare. Just good shoes and a ponytail holder.

I made new friends at the swimming pool who asked me every week how my shoulder was healing. The quiet meditative calm of the pool provided me with a new challenge as I struggled to swim efficiently and gracefully, and this I never mastered but did get to the point of enjoying it.

I also got reacquainted with weeding my garden, which is something that gets put off when riding and racing my bike. I am determined to have more vegetables than weeds this year. I also became one with my sewing machine which helped me reconnect to my creative side, another part of myself that I don't seem to have a lot of time for when racing. I've been to California, Alaska, Oregon and Michigan since this happened and got to take in these wonderful places slowly on foot rather than quickly on two wheels.

So, all in all, I have found some silver linings in this ordeal. I don't recommend breaking a collar bone as a way to rediscover parts of yourself that get pushed aside while training and racing intensely, but if it does happen, know you will survive it and both your clavicle and your spirit will be stronger in the end.

Tough Girl Kimberly

Mountain Bike Nationals!


Tough Girls Melanie, Coreen and Sheri at the finish line after racing the 2011 National XC Championships in Sun Valley Idaho. It was an amazing weekend of racing and hanging out with fellow teammates and friends.