Chickleta - My SBRing and other Adventures

Imagine the following movie scene: bullets are flying. Explosions. Loud music. The camera focuses onto the heroine. (then in slow motion) She is sliding down trying to avoid the bullets. Her entire life flashes before her eyes and then the screen goes to black. This is how my Leadville 2017 race almost came to an end (well, minus the bullets and explosions, of course).   Now, back to Leadville. Yes, this race is anything but easy, and probably that’s part of what makes it so special. So here is my 2017 story (you should also read Kate’s post for the full story - link below): For Kate’s post - click here . For Part I of this post - click here . One of my favorite views on the course Saved by the bell    Pre-race jitters. We all have them; and it’s what we do with them that makes the difference. This year, I was doing my best to block them out as much as possible and relax. I guess I was doing such a good job on that Friday, that I literally m...

Some blog posts and race recaps flow easily and are written quickly, but some are not. They sit there in draft form, stewing and brewing for a long time as if waiting for the perfect moment when the dish is perfectly done and the wine to accompany it has aged just enough. My Leadville MTB 100 race recap is just such a post. I think it’s finally cooked and ready to be consumed. I was hoping to have it done right in time for the Leadville Lottery announcement on January 15, but missed my own deadline. Kate’s post about her (or more like our race) gave me the last push that I needed (you can read her post here ). Just for the record and before I jump in to my 2017 race - NO , I did not sign up for the 2018 lottery. I have other plans for 2018, but I am sure I will return to Leadville in the future. Going back to Leadville was not an easy decision for me. Considering how my last race ended (you can read about that here , here and here it’s a 3 parts story). Pre-riding th...

The bottom of Powerline. Pushing it to make the cutoff I have been sitting on my Leadville 100 MTB Race blog posts since August. "I don't have time" was my excuse. Travel, more races, training, more travel. At least this is what I was telling myself. Then I realized that I was spending more time on catching up on my favorite TV shows than on any on the above list of excuses (well almost). It was time to admit to myself that those were just excuses for my lack of motivation to sit down and write my story. The truth is that every time I sat down to write it I felt stuck. It wasn't "flowing" like the first part ( here ). I was struggling with telling my story, or more with what/how to tell it. So like anything else in mountain biking (and life), you gotta keep trying until you find the flow. Once you do you gotta keep going with it or keep looking. So here goes. No excuses. About 10 days before my big day, my A race for the year, August 13, 2016 ...