Friday, December 18, 2009

Elite Nationals


Again I am way behind on updating. Sorry, I got home and went into hibernation!



No seriously I actually feel pretty darn good and kinda want to still race a couple more times. Guess my training plan I created for myself was right on, no burnout for me!!



Ok so Sunday morning in Bend I woke up with very little pressure on myself. I told myself I wasn't going to fuss to much over my Elite race nats. So I got up spent the morning in the hotel room resting and getting ready and staying warm.



My race start time was 11:15am so I knew that the course was very likely going to be frozen. I got out at 10am and did a lap to get my tires dialed in and yes it was icy. I decided that the Grifo Fango's were the tire of choice, they grabbed nice and I didn't have to many slips during my pre-ride.



I lined up on the 5th row for the start. Only a couple UCI points for me so I get put in the middle of the pack. That is frustrating sometimes because I know I am faster then a lof of girls ahead of me but because I don't travel much anymore I don't have to many opportunities to earn UCI points. I really wish we would get more UCI races on west coast!! Someday.



Anyways I lined up on the very left next to the barriers and hoped for an opening so I could shoot up the left side. And that is what happened. I moved up to around 30th in the start stretch and then made a move on the left had side on the first long straight away and started picking more girls off.



I was feeling really good, no pain the legs at all so I decided to just go as hard as I could and see what I could do. I loved this course so much, it was so much fun to ride every lap. So I just kept having fun and that was helping me pass a lot of girls.



I rode really strong and had no crashes, which was very important, there were girls going down all over the course. And I rode myself up into 17th place at the end. Overall I am very happy, someday I will get a chance to get a good call up position and see what I can do with the big girls.



What a great week. I really had so much fun this week and didn't want it end. And I am already excited for next year!!



Thank you again to everyone that has supported me in anyway this season. I had a great season and really just had a lot of fun!!



Thank you!

Kristi

Sunday, December 13, 2009

Master's Nationals

Well I am a little behind on getting my posts up. Sorry, just been busy running around watching all the racing.

I raced on Friday at 2:15pm, it was a lot warmer then earlier in the week with temps around 35 degrees. I did my warm up lap at noon and it was still frozen mud and snow.

But when we lined up on the start line everything had started to melt and there was lots of mud. I got a first row call up, 3rd person called up so I got a great spot in the middle on the first row. There were 48 girls in my 30-34 age group category. We had a very stacked field with several ladies that are top 10 in the elite's field. I knew this was going to be a hard one to win but I was going to give it everything I had.

The gun went off and I got a great start, and made the first corner in about 4-5th position. I shot to the left and passed a couple girls and moved into 2nd, on Kari Studley's wheel. I was so happy and couldn't believe it was me and Kari in 1st and 2nd place. We stayed that way for about a half lap and then Barbara Howe came up and slipped past me to get on Kari's wheel. They got a small gap on me. I had to catch my breath so I settled in for a second. On the 3rd lap I was coming down this fast downhill section and I came out on the pavement and realized I had a rear flat. I was running tubulars so I knew I had to have sliced open the tire to flat. I kept riding and then realized I also had a front flat. Double flats, that sucks!! I was able to ride back to the pits but got passed by about 4 0r 5 girls. I got a fast bike change, thanks Tim and Joe and was back on the course. I passed a couple girls but there was a pretty big gap now to the top 5 girls. I was pretty frustrated, but tried to get back up, but with no luck. I managed to still finish 6th in my age group. One spot away from the podium. Same result as last year.

So I have to say I was pretty bummed out, I really wanted top 5 and set myself up for that all year. But sometimes things just happen out of your control. The positive is that I got a double flat but still finished in 6th! That is awesome and I will focus on that now instead of that I didn't get my goal.
Good news is I am in the next age group up next year, so I will be the young one in that race!!

I am sitting in the Hotel room getting ready to head out to race my Elite race today at 11:15. I am excited to race again, I love this course so much that I could race it every day and still love it. I will let you all know how it goes later tonight.

Thank you to everyone who has helped me this season in anyway. There are so many of you that really help me to be able to do what I do. I can't say thank you enough.

Kristi

Monday, December 7, 2009

Finally in Bend!

We made it, it was a great drive. Snow most of the way, sun was out and it was beautiful! There is about 2-4inches of snow on the ground here, everything is white and it is really cold. It was 9 degrees at 4pm when we arrived. They are saying it will be negative -12 tonight with the windchill. Am I in Alaska?

Just got off the trainer from an hour easy spin to loosen up the legs. Felt pretty good, will be inside most of the days this week until it warms up a bit. I don't think I could even make it 5min out there in these temps. But it supposed to be back up to 35 by Friday so that is much more bearable!!

Ok off to get some dinner, Hi Micah and Corrie!!

USGP Portland Day 2

Well after my last post I changed my mind and decided to race. The good news is that I still really wanted to race so I know I am not burned out!! The bad news is I broke my chain with 1.5 laps to go and had to abandon the race. I don't normally quite races but I would have had to run a hlaf lap back to the pits and decided that it was better for me to not do that so close to Nationals.

The course was just a little bit different. They added more of the motocross track, and that kept everyone together a bit more by slowing down the start section. I got a great start, was on Alison Dunlaps wheel on the start grid so my goal was to stay on her wheel no matter what and that paid off. I got a much better start then Sat and moved up into the top 15 right away. There was just a little congestion in the first corner and I fell back into around 20th. But I was with a group of 5 girls and stayed with them to catch my breath. After a couple laps I decided to try to get away from that group and punched it a bit and managed to get a gap. I was pulling away and had moved into 14th.

Then on one of the back stretches there was this little dip that I was riding, and after I got up out of the saddle to punch it again I snapped my chain. I was pretty frustrated but what do you do. So I started running and then decided to bail to save the legs. I think I would have held onto 14th or 15th if my chain would not have broke. But I got that out of the way so now I should be good to go for Nats.

We are driving over Hood right now on our way to Bend. It is beautiful and sunny but very very cool. And right now there is no snow but Todd Anderson is a couple hours ahead of us and he said that there is snow on the ground and roads about 30min out of Bend. So snow is for sure in mix for racing this weekend!!

Can't wait to see everyone that is coming down this weekend. Thank you again to True North for hooking us up with a great location in Portland in the Expo and again at Nats. And thank you also to Redline, Tim and Joe for helping me so much and making it possible to have such great bikes!!

Kristi

Sunday, December 6, 2009

USGP Portland



We arrived in Portland around noon on Friday. Our sponsors at True North, Northwood Trailers asked us if we could swing by a RV shop in Clackamas OR to show off the True North Trailer. We meet with Kevin the owner of Apache RV and let him check out True North. After talking with him he let us know that he started riding bikes last summer and lost 30lbs and has become very into cycling. I love hearing about people who find cycling and enjoy it and realize how great it is for your health and brain!!

So after we were done in Clackamas we headed back to Portland straight to the raceways where the race was going to be. We were able to pull right into the expo area because Northwood Trailer purchased us an awesome spot so that we could set up and display and show off the trailer. And boy did that work. We had people coming by all day checking it out and taking brochures. Everyone that sees it just thinks it is so awesome!!

On Friday we did a few laps on the course. It was actually fairly dry, with just a few mud spots which is so very rare for Portland! Right away I loved the course. It was very technical with a small drop off section into a run up, then lots and lots of turns! I really liked it, I think best course yet for this location. Chad and I did 3 or 4 laps on the course then I spun my legs out for about 20min until I was so cold I couldn't stand it any longer and then was done.

We headed back to our hotel, the Best Western, thank you to Redline my sponsor for setting us up in such a great place and making is so easy to just have to focus on my race!!

We got up around 7am on Saturday. Got some breakfast and chilled for a bit in the hotel and then headed out for coffee and off to the course. I was cold, about 28 degrees, around 9am. They started racing at 8am, I couldn't believe how cold it was. Everyone I talked to that raced in the early races said they couldn't feel their hands and feet for most of the race.

Chad raced at 12:30 and my race was at 1:45p. Right before Chad started the sun came out and it was beautiful. It warmed up to probably around 45 degrees. Earlier in the morning there was a lot of fog, so that made the course actually pretty muddy. It was very heavy and think mud so I thought I would have to pit every lap. Chad got a call up literally on the last lap out of 114 guys so it was going to be tough for him to move up. But Chad is so great on his bike and can out handle most guys and managed to move up and finish 20th. That is so awesome, for those that race cross you understand how hard it is to move up in a field like that. You waste so much energy passing people the first couple laps, it really is hard to do what Chad did. Very nice work Chad!!

Next it was my turn. We had about 40 women I think on our start line. And I also got a not so good call up position, in the 4th row out of 5 so I knew this one for me was all about the start to try to get up with the big girls. I actually got a good start, found my pedal right away and managed to move up a bit on the long pavement section. We hit the grass and for some reason everyone went more to the right side and I shot up the left and passed a whole bunch of girls. We went right into this left hand turn that had a lot of mud ruts in it and someone crashed of course and we were all at a stand still. The first 10-12 girls missed it and were gone, and we were all left to fend for ourselves.

I didn't actually crash, which was good, but I had to put my foot down and get off and run around everyone that did. I got back on, and I have to say that Ann Knapp is about the best person I know. We are all trying to get back on our bikes and get going again and I hear from behind, "come on Kristi get up there" or something close like that from Ann. Ann is encouraging me while she is trying to also get back on the bike and get going. Like I had said in previous posting, Ann is truly one of my very favorite bike racers and friends. She has always been my idol and I have been racing with her for a long time, she is just so damn awesome. Anyways how cool to be encouraged back into the race from a fellow competitor while racing. Thank you Ann!! That really made my day and helped me get some energy to get going again.

So I got back on it, we were in the faster flatter section of the course. So it took some work to get back up to speed. I was sitting probably around 25th or so after the crash. I managed to get a couple girls right away and then I fell into no mans land for awhile. I was alone and there was a group of about 5 girls only about 5-10 sec ahead of me but I could not bridge it. I tried so hard but couldn't. So we went into the more technical sections of the course and I started bringing that group back in. A couple girls fell off and I was able to get them. I was moving up through the field and was feeling like I was getting faster and smoother with each lap. So I just put my head down and tried to give it everything I had to see how far I could move up.

The great part was that the course had dried up so much there was very little to no mud really. Just a couple sections total for the whole course. So I didn't have to pit my bike once, amazing for Portland. Thanks to Tim and Joe from Redline who had all 3 of my bikes speced out with carbon wheels and tires ready for me in the pits. How spoiled am I, 3 bikes, so awesome!!

So with one lap to go I was sitting in 17th place. I managed to get another girl and move into 16th. When I got back into a group of 2 girls, I passed one of them with a pretty good attack and thought I had dropped her, but she got back on my wheel and managed to pass me back. I tried so hard to stay with her but I had burnt my match at that point and didn't have to much left in the tank. So I held onto 16th place at the finish. Overall I was very happy with my race considering the crash at the start. I really felt like I rode well and everything went great after the crash.

So overall I was pretty happy, of course you always want a better result in such a great field of women, but these are the best girls in the country. So it is hard, and everything has to go pretty much perfect in order to be up there in the rankings. I felt strong and my legs were good, so that is great. And I am not burned out at all at this point and can't wait for Nationals!! So far my training has been perfect, my coach is the best! (That would be me!)

So I am sitting here in the hotel, it is early Sunday morning and I was awoken by high winds outside. They are forecasting 30mile gusts today with a high of 30 degrees. I made the decision yesterday that if it was really windy and cold I was going to sit today out, so that I didn't destroy my body before Nats. I race on Fri and I don't want to ruin myself and not be able to recover both physically and mentally before then. As a coach everyone is asking me if they should race both days here with Nats next weekend. I am really torn on the right answer. Since a lot of people race Thur or Fri next week, racing both days could take to much out of you and you may not feel recovered before the next race. For those that race Sat or Sun only next week then I think both are fine as long as it isn't just nasty conditions. You really want to leave on a good note going into Nats so you are fresh minded, our mind is really our biggest hurdle so leaving it happy and with a good memory before your biggest race is the best idea.

So I will see what it is like in a few hours, but right now I am thinking I am not racing today. I normally don't miss any races because of weather because that is one thing I like about cross, but I want to win my master cat so bad and have been training all year for that race on Friday that I need to make that a priority and do the right thing!!

So I will keep everyone posted on what I decide, one good thing if I don't race, I can scope out my competition and see how they ride and race to get some idea of what I need to do to win!!

Kristi

Monday, November 30, 2009

SCX #8 Monroe Series Final






Ok what a great day!! First I want to talk about my son Holden who I am so very proud of. He finished out the series even though he was a little burned out on racing and got 2nd overall in his age group. I am so very proud of him, he is only 8, racing in the 10-12 year old cat, and he got 2nd. Way to go Holden, that is the future of our cycling community. Very Proud MAMA!!

Next Congrats to my husband Chad, who had a great race today working with teammate Phil Oppenheimer to get 5th on the day and finish 6th over all in the Master 35+ Cat 1/2 cat. He was a little bummed out because he missed 5th overall by only 6 points, but I am still very proud of him. He is having a great season and is coming into form at the right time!! Congrats Chadly!

And my race. What a great day, the course was awesome. I really liked it, it had just about everything you can have minus snow in a cross race.
I lined up on the line with all the gals in the Cat 1/2 field. I wanted to win today because that would mean I would clean sweep the series winning every race. So that was goal, and my road Teammate Jadine Rolcik also let me know in order for her to keep 3rd place overall I need to win so the points would work in Jadine's favor. So I wanted to do that for her, and the whole race I kept that in mind. It is fun to have my secret teammates out there!!
So we took off off the start, it was a long flat fast grass section into a hard right hand turn then up a false flat that hurt really bad. So I shot off and got the whole shot and decided to just gun it as hard as I could and see how much of a gap I could get. When we hit the turn after the false flat I had about 5 sec on Beth Lynn-Griffith so I keep on it and we hit a series of tight turns in the grass, about 6 or 8, so I used my cornering skills to get a little more ground on Beth. Ann Knapp was coming hard in 3rd position. The next section of the course was awesome, a nice steep technical downhill section that turned right back up into an uphill that a lot of people were having a hard time riding. I brought out my old downhill skills and attacked that section. I loved it!!
Then after that we had another hard downhill left had turn that was pretty slippery and then into the "ditch" that was about a foot deep in mud but at an angle that made it hard to ride. I took the right line each time and got through it with no problems. I was still in first at that point, then we hit a short but very steep run up and with my little legs it was very challenging to get up. Then after that it was a muddy section then flat and fast back through the finish area and through a horse barn. Wish there would have been some horses in there though, that would have been cool.
So going into the 2nd lap I had a pretty comfortable gap, I went one more lap hard to get that gap even bigger then I sat in for the 3rd lap to catch my breath. Then in the 4th lap I realized that Ann had moved into 2nd, and and was coming on strong. She is definitely starting to get her fitness back from having her daughter and is making me work and I love it! So I knew I had to kick it back up a notch to hold my gap so the last 2 laps I got back on it and held my 20-30 gap to get the win and sweep the series.

This is my 8th Seattle Series overall Elite women's title. I am very proud of that, I have been racing for a long time and to be able to continue to win the series is really a big deal for me. And to win every race in this series this year is a huge accomplishment. I love racing cross and am so excited for my age group race at Nats!!
I will try to find some pics and get them up.

What a great season I am having so far. I just feel awesome and fast out there right now. I will let you know how Portland goes. Not as excited about those 2 races as I will get a back row call up with only 1 UCI point so I have a lot more work to do just to move through the field of 80 gals. So my overall result may not be as great but I hope to have 2 good races down there to get me ready for Nats.

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!

Kristi

Monday, November 23, 2009

SCX #7 Sedro Wolley

Yesterday was a great cross weather day. Lot's of rain and mud. I was very excited to get to race on a great muddy course.

This course started out with a downhill into a right had turn and then into a very muddy flat road section that had a couple lines through it. On the the start Jadine got the whole shot and took off. She was on fire, I took the right upper line on the flat road and soon realized that that was not the line as Ann and Beth came by flying by me. I made a note that the middle wet line was much faster for the next lap. We then went into a short run up with 2 barriers, always hard for me with up hill barriers as my legs are so darn short.
Once we got back on the bikes it was Ann then me and Beth and Jadine. I decided to catch my breath and stay on Ann's wheel for a bit to see if I could learn where her weaknesses were. So I rode one lap on Ann's wheel, she is a great bike handler and has so much power. It is awesome to be riding with her!!
We went through the pits then downhill a short fast downhill and back up into another set of barriers on the flat grass. There was a deep mud puddle right before the barriers, we got over those then into this long wet mud section. I tried to ride it but wasted a lot of energy so I got off and ran, Ann managed to ride it and we came out together on the gravel. We got back going and then there was a section that was downhill a bit and fast so I took off there and got a small gap. I tried to attack to gain some ground and it worked. I pulled ahead to about 20secs and with 2 laps to go I decided to pit because my shifting was getting a bit messed up by the mud. I got on my B bike and off I went. But right away I knew that the Bulldog tires were a hair to big for this wet muddy course and I actually slowed down with having more tire on the ground. So I lost about 10 sec and got right back to the pits and exchanged to get back on the smaller tires and wow what a difference. I was back up to speed and managed to hold onto the win by only 5 sec over Ann. Ann had a great race and is getting stronger with every race.
Overall a great race for me, but immediately after I finished I had a asthma attack and had to get my inhaler. I have not had that happen in quite some time. I think my inhaler's may be old and not working because the last 2 races I have had some difficulty with breathing. So I am getting new inhalers today to see if that helps.
And Jadine held off Beth to finish out the podium spots in 3rd. Nice race Jadine!!!

Holden raced today in conditions that most 8 year olds would have never wanted to race in. It was raining and about 45 degrees with lots of standing splashy water on the course. He rode so good, he did go off course once and hit a tree. But Uncle Wick was there to save him and get him back on the bike. He could have quit but he didn't, he pushed on and finished. He was emotionally drained at the end, but once Dad got him all changed and warmed up he was ok. What a stud that kid is!!! He ended in 4th today.

And Chadly also had a great day. After the first lap he was in 2nd place!! The guy in 3rd came on strong and moved into 2nd but Chad held on strong for 3rd in the Master 35+ 1/2 men. Great day for Chad.

Ok so one more SCX series race. I have won 7 so far and am trying to make it 8 to keep my streak going. Hope I can do it!!

Kristi

Monday, November 16, 2009

MFG Finals Woodland Park

How exciting to be able to race at Woodland Park. It was a great venue, and a great course. Our first really wet cross race this year, it rained most of the day so the mud was very slippery and challenging. There were a lot of spectators from the local community there, more then most races so far. I even talked to a guy who didn't even know what cross was and now is thinking about buying a cross bike because it looked like so much fun. That is awesome and what we get from bringing racing into more local and populated area's. Just wish we could convince the city's of that!!

It was really cold and wet yesterday so the first challenge was figuring out what to wear to stay warm enough but not over heat in the race. At the start line I was a little cold but luckily we didn't have to stand to long. Jenni Gaertner came over to finish out the series that she was leading, she is from Id and is a very strong racer. I knew she was going to be my challenge today, going into the race she had 6 points on me for the overall. I wasn't sure of the point system that MFG was using, as it was kinda difficult to find on the website. So I really didn't know if I could take the lead overall or not. So I decided to just try to go for the win and see what happened.

They said go and off we went. The start was a long paved road with an up hill section then onto the course. I got the whole shot but Jenni came by me at the top of the paved hill so I got on her wheel. She was riding strong right off the gun so I knew this one was going to hurt! I stayed on her wheel until we hit a little muddy section where I got by her and she then jumped on my wheel. We went back and forth like this for the first 2 laps, then Jenni attacked me on the hillier sections of the course on the back side. I didn't have enough in my legs with racing the State Champs yesterday to match her so I had to just stay at my pace. She pulled away and got up to a 20 sec gap on me. I thought to myself that I may not be able to get her back but to not give up because with a course like this with all the technical muddy sections anything can happen.
With about 2 laps to go I realized I was starting to pull her back a bit, she was getting a little tired I think. I got within a 10 sec gap to her with one lap to go, and she crashed pretty hard going into the last lap. By the time I got around the turn she was back on her bike, I didn't know that she crashed, but when I saw her I decided it was my chance to attack and I did. I got up everything I had in me and hit it hard. I tried to ride fast but not crash, by the end of the last lap I had gotten a good gap and was able to come through for the win!! I was so proud of myself for not giving up and riding a hard race from the beginning and staying on my bike and not in the mud.
Like I always say, never give up, anything can happen. And this was a perfect example. Lee Smith had a great day and finished out the podium in 3rd.

So it wasn't until I got home last night and started doing some math that I realized that I couldn't take the win overall because of how MFG did the point spread. There is a very tight margin in the points system they use and you only get 2 points on 2nd place by winning. So since I was behind by 6, I would have had to beat her by like 4 or 5 placings to win the series. Oh well, I tried. Congrats to Jenni on a great series!

So it's not final but I should be in 2nd overall. Now it's time to switch focus back to the Seattle series where I am undefeated at this point. I hope to keep up this streak for the last 2 races!!

And my husband Chad had a great race as well, he rode super strong and moved up from around 13th in the first lap to 6th by the end. All his training is paying off now!

Now we move up North again finally to Sedro Wolley this Sunday for a very muddy and power course. I will let you know how it ends up.

Kristi

Saturday, November 14, 2009

WA State Championships

Today was the big day! WA State Champs. We got up really early, 5am to get the trailer packed up for the weekend. Everything was frozen, it was really cold but clear skies. We got to Pacfic Raceways in Kent, around 8am and it was cold.

I got out and did a practice lap and right away I knew that this was going to be a fast course, lots of pavement and flat grass sections. There were 3 challenging uphill sections. I was able to ride the first on once in the pratice lap but decided in the race to run it because I felt it was less energy used. The other uphill sections were ridable with a little extra effort.

I raced at 11am, unfortuntaly the turn out for the 1/2 women was pretty poor. Not sure why the State Champ race is always the smallest turnout. It is a bit frustrating, I really would like to see the States be the biggest turnout of all the races. Every category today was about half the normal size.
It was Ann Knapp, Jadine Rolcik and myself on the line for the 1/2 women. So we were all happy knowing we were all on the podium!!
The gun went off and I decided to try to give it everything I had on the start so that I could get a gap going into the first technical section. I was successful, and got a small gap on Ann so I kept up the effort. I hit the first run up, and my legs felt so cold. I didn't put enough leg balm on and my skin was stinging. I should have worn knee warms or more leg balm. Lession learned.
I felt good though, so I am happy to be back and feeling strong again. After a couple laps I decided to back it down a little to conserve some energy for tomorrow's MFG race. I settled in and and held my lead to finish in 1st with Ann in 2nd and Jadine in 3rd (who raced 3 races today, crazy women).

My son Holden raced today also and won his category so we both are State Champs. He was so excited to get to stand on top of the podium.

My husband Chad was in a group of 5 or 6 Cat 1/2 Master men, he rode a great race and finished in a strong 5th place. 3 podium finished for the Berg family!! So awesome!!

What a great day, I will write in the update for tomorrow's race when it is over. The series title is on the line so tomorrow is an important day.

Krisit

Monday, November 9, 2009

SCX #5 Sprinker Park

Whew what a day yesterday.
We arrived at Sprinker Park around 8:30am and the rain started to fall. I was actually pretty excited for it because we have not had a good rainy race yet other then Starcrossed so I welcomed the rain to get some cross weather.
Sprinker is a great venue, a huge parking lot so you have pavement to set your tents up on and then the course has a lot of grassy corners and some great sand to ride/run through with a long flat pavements section into the finish line.
I got out and did a practice lap and right away knew I needed to run my Bulldogs. They were the perfect tire on that course with those wet corners and little bit of mud. I also had to pump them up just a few more PSI then normal because there are a lot of rocks on that course and I remember last year we had a lot of flats there. So I went with 35psi up front and 40psi in the rear. Pretty high for me but I felt more comfortable in my mind know I wouldn't pinch flat at the PSI.
We lined up on the line and the rain lightened up quite a bit. We had 10 cat 1-2 women at this race. I am always happy when we have more then one call up line!!
They said go and we were off. I got my pedal right away but as soon as I started I knew I wasn't going to have to much in my legs. I just didn't have my normal snap and I felt really tired. So I tried the best I could to keep the whole shot but Jadine Riley with Group Health passed me in the corner going into the barriers. I struggled with getting the legs over the barriers and got back on and Beth Lynn-Griffith from Haggens passed us and got a little gap. I knew I had to jump on or it was over. So I gave it all I had and got on her wheel. I stayed there for 3 laps total then she went down in the sand. I used that to my advantage and took off. I tried to go as hard as I could to get a bigger gap which worked. I knew I didn't have the legs today so once I got about 10sec I just tried to hang on in the lead. I managed to pull enough together and grew my lead to 20sec but had a little brain fart going into the finish stretch which has two gradual turns around these 2 trees and I made the first one fine but thought I had just did the second one so I punched it and realized I still had a turn and ran into the tape. I locked up the breaks and got stopped and back on the course but lost 10sec to finish with the win by 10sec.
Overall a good race, I was up late the night before at our Open House for our new Cycle U location in West Seattle and then didn't sleep to well that night with only 4 hours of good sleep. So I really think that is why I was feeling so tired during the race. Lesson learned, get more sleep, I can't race well on 4 hours only!!
Beth and the other ladies all rode really hard yesterday. They really pushed me and made me hurt. It is so awesome to see our Elite women's group really stepping in up. I love racing here in the Seattle area!!! Nice work ladies.
Next weekend is the State Champs on Sat and the Final race of the MFG on Sunday. I am very excited and plan to get lots of rest this week so I am not tired and ready to rock next weekend.

Wanted to also say Congrats to my Husband Chad, who turned 36 yesterday, got 3rd in the Cat 1-2 Master Men's race. He had a great race on his Birthday and was very happy with his performance!!

And to Holden my son, who finished 4th out of 14 boys in the 10-12 Beginner 1 lap Cat. He is only 8 and is still placing in the top 5, awesome job Holden!! I love those 2 guys so much!!
Kristi

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

MFG #5 EVergreen and SCX #5 Maris Farms

What a weekend! I started out the weekend on Saturday with racing the MFG Series race at Evergreen High School. My husband was working on this one so my mom, son and myself all jumped in the car and drove down to the Lakewood area for this race.
It was pouring down rain at my house when I was loading up the bikes. I was pretty excited to get to race in the rain for the first time this year but as we drove south the clouds parted and the sun came out. It was windy so the temps were a little cold but no rain.
The course at Evergreen was great, mostly new compared to the race we did earlier there this season. We used a new section of the park that made for a fun course. It was very fast again, another fast race with not to much technical stuff so I knew I was going to be a bit off on this one. My legs felt heavy from the very beginning and on my warm up lap I knew this one was going to hurt!
Kari Studley was back from racing the USGP races so I knew I was going to have a fast and hard day when I saw her there. But was excited to be racing with her again. We lined up on the start line with only about 6 or 8 of us Cat 1-2 women, a smaller turn out but a strong group of girls for sure!
We started and right away I couldn't get in my pedal. I got a new shim in my new shoes and was having some problems clipping in as the pedal was getting caught on the shim. So I fought that for a bit and then fell into 3rd place on Jenni Gaertner's wheel. I settled in a bit and then made a little move to get around Jenni and tried to stay with Kari, but no luck. She was pulling away from me on the fast sections and there was nothing I could do. So I settled in and once I knew I wasn't going to get Kari I backed down a bit to save something for the legs on Sunday. Like I said my legs were pretty flat on Saturday, I didn't have my normal spunk and top end so it was a long race but overall I managed to hold onto 2nd and have a decent race.

We headed out right after the race to get Holden home to get out and get some candy and do trick or treating. We meet up with some of the cousins and hit the streets. We had a blast, and I am loving all the candy. Not good for me but boy does it taste good!!

Then we got up nice and early (thank goodness for the extra hour of sleep) at 5am to get everything packed up and head down to the firehouse to pick up Chad with the Trailer and head down to Maris Farms in Buckley for the Seattle Series race. When we got there and saw how cool this place was we were very excited. This place is a huge farm with corn mazes and haunted trails and the course was actually outlined by pumpkins. There were animals in the barn for the kids to pet and hold, lots of food. Great family friendly venue. I never saw Holden as he was in the barn holding kittens all day long!!

I got out and did a pre-ride and finally we got some mud!! This really is the first race we have had with good mud so I was excited. I need that technical element of mud and slippery corners to help me. We rode through this peanut butter mud section at the start, super hard on the legs. Then we went into a corn maze and rode through the corn, then we had a run up with a second run up that was ridable for some, then some slippery grass corners. It raced really well, it was very bumpy in the grass, so overall a complete body beating course.

Holden raced first, he was excited to get to ride through the corn maze. He had a blast and finished in 4th. He said he really liked the course.

I was next, this race we had quite a few more girls. We had 2 rows at this one so I was excited. I got a good start, found my pedal right away and got on Kari's wheel right away and we hit the mud. I was able to ride through the mud so I moved into 1st but Kari was a lot stronger on the sections coming out of the mud and caught back up with me and went into first. So I got on her wheel again and stayed there until we hit the run up. I was able to ride the 2nd run up and she ran it so once I got to the top I punched it and got a little gap.
I held it for a bit but she got me again back in the mud. We switched back and forth for another lap and then I managed to get a bigger gap at the top of the run/ride up and I tried to give it everything I had to hold the gap. She brought back a few secs in the mud but I managed to pull ahead a bit every lap on the run up and held on to win by about 25sec. It was a great race, my legs opened up and felt awesome and I really was able to handle my bike through the mud and slippery sections with no crashes and get the gap on the field.
I was so excited to get the win, I worked really hard in that race to win and was so proud of myself at the end. What a great race!!

Chad was next and he got a great start like always. And by lap 3 or 4 he was in 3rd place. I was so excited for him, he was having a great race. Unfortunately with a couple laps to go he flatted and fell back a few places but still rode an awesome race and finished 6th. I was so happy for him!

So overall a great weekend for the Berg family!! And it was so nice having the trailer there on Sunday to be able to change inside to get out of the muddy clothes.
We headed back down south next weekend to race at Sprinker Park. I like that course a lot also and rain is in the forecast!!

Kristi

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Today's training ride


I just got in from a great training ride today. I road out to Arlington with Chad today to run this awesome set of stairs that is 200 wood steps long up this hill side through the woods. We did 5 times and got back on the bike and attacked at the top for another 30sec each time. Holly cow is that hard, and what a great workout!!


Sunday, October 25, 2009

SCX #4 Steilacoom

On Sunday morning we heading back down to Fort Steilacoom park for the SCX #4 Series race. This course usually had a very long and steep run up that always makes me hurt, but they took the run up out for this course so I was very happy!! The course was very fast with only one time off the bike for a double barrier, otherwise it was either uphill, downhill or fast flat grass.
We had 10 elite girls on the start line. I got a great start with the whole shot going into the first 90 degree right hand turn. I got a little to cocky and took the corner to fast and to tight and with the grass being wet, I hit the ground hard. I was in front so all the girls had to navigate around me. I jumped back up and realized my front wheel had come loose a bit and my left brake caliper was stuck under my rim. I started to try to fix it and everyone was telling me not to panic and stay calm. That was the best advice, I stayed cool and got everything back working and off I went. I was now about 30 sec behind the last place girl and had a lot of work to do to catch back up. I put my head down and started charging. It took me about 2 full laps to catch back up with the top 5 girls. Once I was there I settled in on 2nd and 3rd's place wheel to catch my breath for a bit.
I could see Ann who was in 1st place just up the road, about 15 sec so I decided I was going to try to attack Jadine and Lea on the flat grass section and try to pull Ann back. I was feeling really good, so I went for it. I managed to get on Ann's wheel by the start/finish area. We had 2 laps to go at this point so I decided to try to get some space. Ann stayed with me through the uphill climb section of the course, she is so strong. When we hit the flat grass again I put the hurt down a bit and pushed myself as hard as I could to get a gap. It worked, I got about a 10 sec gap going into the last lap.
I started catching up with the guys and started using them to help me get a bigger gap. They pushed me to go faster and that gave me the edge to get away a bit. I held my lead and finished about 20sec ahead of Ann who finished in 2nd place.
It was a great race, I am really proud of myself for pushing and not giving up and working my way back up to win the race. Like I always say "never give up, you never know what could happen!"
A great race, we are on to a double weekend this coming weekend with a MFG Series race at Lincoln Park in West Seattle on Sat and a SCX Series race on Sunday at Maris Farms in Buckley.
Kristi

Saturday, October 24, 2009

SCX #3 Silver Lake

First off I have to say that this might be my very favorite course so far this season. What Phil Oppenheimer and Dan Norton (and everyone else who helped) did with the layout of this course was amazing. We had just about every element you can have in a cross race minus snow and heavy mud. I loved this course!!

I started the morning out with doing a warm up lap with the Cycle U Team. We rode a lap together so I could show them all the different parts and help them learn to ride everything the best they could. While I was out riding I was getting very excited knowing that this course could not have been better laid out for me. It started into a huge flat sandy beach section that was like 250 feet long or so. The best line through there was in the lake!! Then we went into a lot of up and down little sections and then back into another shorter flat sand section, this was much faster then the other section. Then we went out onto the side of this hill that we basically went up and down with both power climbs and great downhill sections. Then back to the finish. This was a course for someone with great bike handling skills for sure and a lot of power in their legs.

I lined up at the start line with our women 1/2 field. I just knew this was going to be a great day for me, I was feeling good and was so excited to ride the course. So the gun went off and I managed to get the whole shot going into the sand and dove right over to the lake and rode in the water about a foot off of the shoreline. SO much faster, I was able to ride everything until the last 10-15 feet where I had to jump off and run to get out of the deep sand. At that point I already had about a 10sec gap on the rest of the women's field. We then went into this up hill section that I wasn't able to ride because it was to loose, down side was when I turned the corner I was looking at about half of the Master 35+ men's category standing still trying to get up this section. So I decided I was going to have to push my way through a little bit. I didn't want to loose the gap I had. So I went up the left side and just started yelling I was coming and it got everyone moving and all those guys let me by.

I hate having to do that, because I know they are all fighting for position too, but they are all so darn nice and always let me through. Thank you guys!!

I started feeling really good and started using my handling skills to pass a lot of the guys. I spent the first 3 laps passing and trying to see how far I could move up in the guys. At the end I was told that I managed to move up into the top 10 with a 30sec gap at the start. So I was very excited about that, that is always my goal is to make the top ten but I have not done it yet this year.

So I finished in first in the 1/2 Women and around 10th in the Master 35+ Cat 3 men. Overall a great day!!!

Off this weekend back to Steilacoom, not usually a course that favors my riding style. With fast flat sections and a longer uphill run. But I will go there trying to do the best I can!! I will let you all know how it goes.

Kristi

Sunday, October 11, 2009

SCX #2 Beverly Elementary

SCX #2 Beverly Elementary

Day number 2 of racing this weekend. We woke up in Federal Way in Station 62's parking lot in the True North Trailer, which is just so darn awesome!!The morning started out pretty darn cold, coldest race day yet. It was sunny and a beautiful fall day, great for cross racing!We headed up to South Seattle to Beverly Park Elementary school. What a great venue, the course was small but really overall the lap times were perfect and the course was awesome. It really favored me with all the tight corners and the technical downhill section. I was very excited to race this course knowing that I could use the technical parts to my advantage.

Holden my son raced first and what a great job he did. They had the kids to the run up which they normally don't make them do and Holden did so awesome. His little legs got him up that run up and he looked so darn cute. There are so many junior kids in our series and I think some of them have nicer bikes then I do!! Way to go Holden, you rock!

I was next from our family to race. Kari and Jenni weren't there today. Kari went to OR I think to finish out the Oregon/Washington Clash weekend and Jenni had to get back to ID to race the season opener in Spokane for the East Side Series.We still had a good turn out though, with some strong local girls. Our Series is so great, we really have a very strong field of women and on any day anyone of the girls can win. So we lined up at the start, this start was hard, we rode about 200-300 feet and then right into a barrier and a run up that was really pretty steep. So I knew this was going to hurt really bad. I started a bit slower knowing that, and was 2 at the top of the run up behind Lea Stralka. I got on and caught my breath and then attacked on the back side and got in the lead. Lea and Jadine Rolcik were right on my wheel through the first tight corners sections. I could hear them breathing down my back!! So I held my pace and then tried to attack once we hit the more technical part of the course. I managed to get a 15-20sec gap once we hit the track and through the first lap. I kept that gap for another lap, and then noticed that I didn't see Lea anymore. I later found out her pedal broke so she was out.I kept a pretty good gap over 2nd place, so I decided it was time to see how far I could move up into the Master 3 men 35+. We got into their group pretty fast with only starting 30sec behind them. So I started trying to catch and pass as many guys as I could . I really felt strong, my ankle was still a bit sore on the run up so I had to baby it a bit there, but it was ok every where else.I managed to get up into the top 20 of the men's category overall and won my race so I had a very good day. Much better then Saturday because the course was so much better suited for my strengths. I really enjoyed the course and hope we keep coming back to that place for sure!!

Kristi

Saturday, October 10, 2009

MFG #4 Steilacoom

MFG #4 Steilacoom

What a day, we raced today in WA in the MFG Series #4 race that was also the Oregon/Washington Cross Clash. The idea is that the top 10 places from most of the races throughout the day get points. And at the end of the day the State with the most points wins the Grail, which is this cool keg/creatively decorated trophy. So we want to get as many people from WA in the top 10 to win the Grail. I have not seen the total yet but it looks pretty good that we got it based on the race results today.So the good part is that this race brings up some fast girls from Oregon and I am always happy when we have more women at the races. I knew today was going to be a fast course, almost a road race, and I knew I was going to have a hard time because I run a smaller big ring, and on most courses it is perfect but on this one there was a really long paved downhill and that for me was were I was loosing all my ground today.

I got a good start settling in behind Kari Studley and Jenni Geartner and stayed there for a bit to see how they were riding. We dropped the rest of the field pretty fast and the 3 of us road together for a couple laps. Kari got a little gap on Jenni and I and pulled away to a very big lead. Jenni and I rode together also for another couple laps and then I faded a bit on the uphill and the downhill section of the course. Not having a big enough gear to stay on Jenni's wheel, I fell off the pace. I had a pretty gap over so I could settle in a bit. With 2 laps to go I took a corner pretty fast and skid my rear wheel and when I regained control my rear wheel started making some noise. So I rode it back to the pits and and got my "B" bike and off I went. I guess my rear skewer loosened up a bit so the wheel was not centered. I stayed on the "B" bike and kept on going.Then coming into the barriers I got off my bike and felt something in my ankle give a bit and felt some pain. I got back on and with one lap to go my ankle was hurting pretty bad. I keep it going and held onto 3rd place but had to go ice my ankle as soon as I finished. I was nervous that I had a stress fracture but I think now it is more muscle. So I limped back the truck and trailer and iced it and after some time it started getting better and I was able to walk on it without to much pain.

Now 9 hours later I am thing I can race tomorrow, I will see how it feels in the morning.We have the Seattle Series race tomorrow at Beverly Park in South Seattle. I will write an update on that race and my little injury tomorrow.

And I am writing this from our True North Trailer in the parking lot of Fire Station 62 in Federal Way (South King Fire). These guys are awesome, letting us use there showers and being so hospitable! I tell you being part of the "Fire family" is awesome, everyone really takes care of each other. It really is just one huge extended family.Thank you Station 62, you guys rock!!!Talk with you tomorrow!!

Kristi

Sunday, October 4, 2009

MFG #3 Lake Samammish

MFG #3 Lake Sammamish

Well this weekend was just awesome. It started with my son Holden competing in his first swim meet and really doing well and loving the sport and finding his competitive side. He got a 2nd place in the breast stroke so he was so excited. It is always the best feeling the in the world when your child does well in sports, to see their excitement and the joy of being such a proud parent!
Then Holden and I drove down to Sumner RV and picked up our new True North Trailer. What a great group of guys at Sumner RV! They are so very friendly and so very helpful. Thank you guys for all your help.

We loaded up the trailer with all the bikes and headed off to a wedding that my husband was one of the groom’s men in. A good friend of ours, a fellow fireman. What a beautiful wedding in the Sodo area in Seattle.

Then we drove to the Fred Meyer in Issaquah to break in the new trailer. Less than 7 hours after getting it we were setting up the bed and sleeping in it so that we could wake up close to the race site and not have to drive home and back. And boy was it awesome. We just pulled in, did some moving around of bikes and bags and we were sleeping away safe and sound in the trailer.

We woke up early and got some coffee and headed to Lake Sammamish State Park for the MFG race. We got there early so we could get a great spot to show off the trailer. And we did, right at the start line. We got the trailer all set up and boy was it awesome!! We had the tunes going, I was able to make lunch on the stove and had a place to change where I didn’t have to wrap a towel around my waste so no one would see me. I could go right inside the trailer and shut the door!!

This trailer has so many great features, I absolutely love it and it is everything we have always needed at the races. Really a great idea, and it works so great for what we do! So many people came by and checked it out and were so excited about it. I think we handed out like 20 brochures and answered a lot of questions.

Ok so the race, I was there to race even though I really just wanted to hang at the trailer! They did call ups and all the Elite Women got to be called up from the finish and was announced and we all road down to the start, very cool!! It was great to be recognized in front of everyone, great idea MFG!

So we rolled back down and the field was stacked again with all the super fast 1-2 women in our series. The gun went off and I tried to go for the whole shot but Lee Smith from Group Health got the lead and I jumped on her wheel. I passed her in a corner and took over the lead. I stayed in 1st for a couple laps but the super long run in the sand on the beach (so cool) took a bit out of me and Kari Studley was able to get around me. I stayed on her wheel for a couple laps matching her efforts but she pulled away a couple seconds each lap on me after the run. I just couldn’t get my legs to turn for about 100 yards once I got back on the bike out of the sand. So I fell off Kari’s wheel a bit, and couldn’t get it back. So I settled in and finished 2nd, with Ann Knapp coming in 3rd.

Overall a great race. A great course, it really was an awesome and fun course to ride. Very fast but fun.

Then I went over to the lake where there was Limited Hydroplane racing going on. I spent the first 5 years of my life every weekend at Hydroplane races. Both my mom and dad raced limited hydroplanes and my mom set the Guinness Book of world records in an unlimited hydroplane in 1977 for the fastest mile time at 163miles per hour. So I come from a pretty wild and crazy mom and dad that might explain some of my energy!! Anyways I got to see some people at the races that I played with when I was 5 and that I had not seen since then. It was so awesome and so many memories came back being in the pits and hearing the boats roar on the water. It was so cool that both the bike race and the boat races were happening in the park on the same day.
So what a crazy busy weekend but what an awesome weekend!! Chad finished 12th in the Master 1-2 men, a great race for him. Much better than last weekend. And Holden did awesome, doing 2 laps on the kid’s course and just rocking it! He said he could have done 2 more laps and he really liked the course.

Ok take care everyone sorry for the long post, just a lot of into to get out!
Kristi

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Seattle Series #1 Evergreen High School

Seattle Series #1 Evergreen High School

The Weather was perfect for Sunday’s race. It was a bit chilly in the early am but the sun was out and overall dry and perfect temps for cross. I raced at 11am, the course was in great shape, very dry but very fast. I was very happy to see that there was a technical element with the downhill section and all the turns on the back side. Finally after last weekend with the UCI races where there really wasn’t any technical element I was back in my comfort zone at Evergreen. With all my experience really coming from years of downhill mountain bike racing and cross country mountain bike racing I really need some sort of technical element to give me the edge over everyone else. And Evergreen had that for sure.

We had a great turn out for the Cat ½ women. I was so excited to see Ann Knapp back out racing. She is a huge idol to me as I have followed her for so many years learning so much from racing with her and she really has been the one that has pushed me to be where I am at today. So I was very happy to see her back out there racing again! We also had Jenni Gaertner from Idaho over here. She is a very strong racer and I was a little nervous when I saw her on the line that it was going to be a tough day. There were about 10-12 women in our field, all very fast and very well respected. So I knew this was going to be tough. They blew the gun and we were off. I shot for the whole shot because my starts have been a bit slow so far this year. And I got it. I tried to go at a good pace but not too hard because we hit the run up pretty fast after the start and I didn’t want to blow up there. I started to make a tiny gap by the run up but Jadine Rolcik flew by me on the run up and moved into first. I got back on my bike and tried to stay with her and managed to pass her on the downhill at the bottom when she had a crash. I made sure she was ok, and then hit it. I was back in first with about 10 secs on 2nd place, Jenni. I knew I was making a little bit of time on her in the turns and the downhill so I tried every lap to attack those sections to make some ground.

We caught into the Cat 3 45 and 55+ guys pretty quickly and spent the first couple laps getting through them and trying to hold onto our positions. I always feel bad passing the guys, I always want to make sure I pass them so it doesn’t affect their race, so hopefully I was successful in that. They are racing also so I hate interfering in their race. But they are always gentleman and let me pass.

So after the 3rd lap everything spread out a bit and I still was in first with about 20sec to 2nd place. I knew I had to hold that gap and with 2 laps to go I tried to hit it hard and give it all I had to increase my lead. I managed to pull the lead to about 26 secs and hold on to first for the win. It really was a great race. Jenni really pushed me and with the level of all the girls in our series you can never make a mistake because there is always someone there. Thank you to everyone who helped me out. I really love our Northwest racers!!

Kristi Berg

Sunday, September 20, 2009

StarCrossed and Rad GP race reports

Starcrossed and Rad GP

Two more races now under my belt. This weekend was a big weekend of racing with some very fast girls from all over the country and world to pick up UCI points the pace at make some of the fastest racing I have ever done in cross!

Saturday started out with pouring rain while I was getting all my gear organized in the morning and I was actually really excited that it might be muddy for Starcrossed as that would give it a technical edge that would favor my technical skills. But as the day progressed the ski’s opened up and the sun came out and it dried up and was very fast for our race. I had a second row starting position so that was good, but once the gun went off I realized very quickly that I need to work on my starts. I was a little slow off the gun and fell into around 15th place, which I wasn’t too happy with. But I started pushing and got a good rhythm and passed a couple girls. With one lap to go I was with a group of two other girls and I decided I had to attack if I wanted to get ahead of them so I did on the back stretch. I got as much speed as I could and took off and managed to drop the two girls and hold on for a 10th place finish. Overall I was very happy with my race, I felt strong just need to improve my starts so I can get better placement off the gun. As soon as we finished the ski’s decided to dump the rain and the guy’s race was wet and slippery. We really lucked out to not get the rain till the very last lap of our race.

So I didn’t get home and in bed till around midnight on Saturday and having raced at 7pm I was still wired on endorphins so I was restless all night. My family and I awoke at 7am to get ready to head back down south for the Rad Racing GP in Steilacoom. Luckily my husband drove so I took a little nap on the way but was pretty darn tired all day. I managed to get some energy and get out on the course for a warm up before the race. I felt good, tired but the legs were ok from the racing the day before. I knew the run up was going to kill my legs after racing so hard at Starcrossed so I knew I had to make up time everywhere else I could. On the downhills were my best bet since there was a long descent. So I got warmed up and again got a second row start and again was a bit slow on my start and was again back around 17th place. I again was starting to get my rhythm and then I ran off the course on lap two and got caught in some ivy and course tape. Just took the slight corner to fast and started washing out a bit so I had to go off course. I got passed by three or four girls and fell back to the back of the pack again. I got back going and decided I had to try to make up as much time as I could so I gave it all I had and managed to move up to 13th place and tried so hard to get the two girls in front on me on the last lap but they pulled away at the top of the run up and I couldn’t bring it back. So I ended up 13th, which I think is pretty good considering I was at the back of the pack on the second lap.
So it’s time to work on the starts and get my whole shot skills back up and strong so I can get better placement. Another great race weekend in the Northwest. Thank you to Tim and Joe for all the help in the pits, thankfully I didn’t need any help this weekend!!

Kristi Berg

Monday, September 7, 2009

Labor Day and MFG #1 Race reports

Labor Day Cross race and the first MFG Series race are now under my belt. Two races down and so far a bit of bad luck at both races.

At the Labor Day race I was really excited to be back racing cross again after a long summer. I have been teaching Cross Bootcamp at Cycle U and really was feeling nice and strong and ready for a great race. I lined up on the line and was a bit nervous because it was the first cross race of the season, needed to work all the bugs out with my body and my bike. The gun went off and I got a great start, right into my pedal and off I went. Unfortunately about 100 yards into the start I hit a rock very hard and flatted my front tire. Luckily I was able to still ride, a bit slower, and I got to the pits for a fast bike exchange, thank you Gino! I had fallen back to about the middle of the field and started to kick it in to make a comeback. I got a little too confident and had a little crash in a turn so I told myself to relax a bit and regain control of my bike. So I did and everything started going great. I managed to come back and finish in the 4th spot with 3rd only 10 sec ahead of me. So overall a good day. It was fun just trying to see how far I could get back up into the field.

MFG Series #1 Finn Hill Park. This race was a lot better. Still some bad luck overall better. I started on the line with a huge Cat 1-2 Women’s field, great to see, and again I got my pedal right away and was off. I fell into 2nd off the start and stayed there for the first lap. The girl in 1st had a mechanical so I passed her and went into 1st. Another girl passed me on the 2nd lap and I went back into 2nd, but hung on. That girl got a flat tire so again I was in 1st. I started to really get a good gap on the 2nd place girl but with 2 laps to go I hit a big rock in this dip into single track section and got a rear flat tire. Again I was able to keep riding, a lot slower, and I made it back to the pits. Unfortunately I got passed again while I was entering the pits, I had a fast wheel change, thank you Gino again, and was back on the course. Unfortunately I couldn’t make the gap back up and held onto 2nd place. So the moral of all of this is to never give up. No matter what always keep on trying and do everything you can to finish, because you never know what can happen!!

Kristi Berg