Kristi Berg

USGP Bend day one

2011-12-10T20:36:00.001-08:00

Well day one of the USGP in over. Not the best day for me but it will do. It was so cold and windy all day.

We had 41 women on the start line in the Elite womens field. And of course I was number 39 on the call up order. So last row start :(

My goal was to see how many girls I could catch and pass. I got a good start and moved up into around 20th by the half way mark. I settled in with a group of gals. We were back and forth and a couple girls got around me and got away.

I felt good, just was affected by the altitude a lot. Lap 3 I started to panic a bit and was really having a hard time breathing. I calmed down and got control of the breathing and held on to finish 27th.

The corse was fun though. First time I have ridden in Bend for cross in the dry sandy conditions.

Mel got crashed out on the first lap and faught back to finish 27th.

Sean rode awesome and got 3rd in the 45+ men cat!

Chad wasn't feeling it today and finished in 50th in the 35+ men.

And Evan at the age of 18 raced his first National level elite race and finished strong, getting pulled with a couple laps to go.

Another day of racing tomorrow. My goal is to break into the top 20 tomorrow.

WA State Championships

2011-12-06T11:07:00.001-08:00

What a beautiful day Sunday turned out to be at the WA State Championships in Arlington WA. It was cold but dry which made for some fast racing conditions.

My husband Chad got this awesome venue and created this awesome course. At first we were nervous that the course would be to fast and to boring, but after 4 hours of Chad tilling up the sand the course came to life.

With my rough season of injury, illness and mechanicals going into this race I wanted some redemption. And boy did I get it!

The womens elite field was stacked as usually with a ton of talent. I knew on this course with not to much technical elements I was going to have work really hard to be in the top 3.

The gun went off and I clipped into my pedal so fast. Best and fastest time so far this season. So I took off, and got the whole shot going into the first tree section. I heard a crash but I was off the front so I tried to make some ground. I had gotten about a 5 sec gap.

I was so surprised, I was off the front and feeling awesome. So I kept on the gas. I kept the lead for about 1 lap then Kari Studley caught me and passed me. I stuck to her wheel and we entered the sand. A guy fell in front of me and I ran right into him. I had to get back going again and that is when Kari got a small gap on me. I tried to bring it back but she was just a bit faster then me on the straight aways.

My team mate Mel Lewis was in 3rd with Jessica Cutler behind her in 4th. Mel played some awesome team tactics and didn't pull Jessica back up to me and with one lap to go Mel punched it to put a gap on Jessica and Mel came in 3rd place.

I held on and got 2nd just 10 sec behind Kari. What a great race. I felt like myself again. It just felt good to be able to push hard the whole race and not fade or have any mechanicals. Best race for me this whole season!

Sean, Evan and Chad all had great races. Sean took 2nd in the Master 45+ cat, Chad had a back injury and after being in 2nd for a few laps he fell back to 12th in the Master 35+. And Evan had another great race finishing in 13th in the Elite men.

Now we are off to race in Bend, OR this weekend. The season is almost over, I can't beleive how fast the season goes.

SCX #7 Monroe

2011-11-28T17:48:00.001-08:00

What a day! It rained all day and made the ground very wet and muddy. The way they laid out the course this year was my favorite so far. So much mud and so technical. Perfect!

I was 6th going into the series finals and Mel my teammate was in 4th. So our goal was to take off and try to move up a bit in the points. We started, and I had a great start. I was sitting around 3rd after the straight away. I stayed there for about a half lap then Natasha passed me. I tried to hang on, but lost her wheel.

Mel came up and we rode together for a half a lap and then she got a gap on me after the technical downhill. We both rode down it just fine but Mel could ride up the up hill section after the downhill and I had to run which gave her a little gap each lap.

I held on and finished in 5th, Mel in 4th on the day. What a fun course. Good news was that the 3rd place girl didn't race so Mel moved up to 3rd overall and I moved up to 5th overall! What a great season so far for the Cycle U-PopCap team.

Chad figured out that so far in 18 races we have had 31 top 5 placings! That is awesome.

Chad and Sean also had a great race. They rode together most of the race and finished 4th and 5th on the day.

Evan had a good race but finished 10th overall in his first Cat 1-2 field! Super awesome.

And lastly Holden had lne goal and that was to finish his race. And he did, he was so cold and muddy when he was done but he did it, he finished in those crazy cold, wet and muddy conditions. So proud of him!

Ok so on to State Champs this Sun. I hope for some fresh legs.

Thank you SCX for another great season!

SCX #6 Sprinker

2011-11-20T17:17:00.001-08:00

Well what can I say, another bad luck race for me. The bad part was I was feeling just about the best I have felt all season too!

I really liked the new course layout, it had more turns then before which slowed it down a bit and made it a little more technical. It was so cold today. I raced at 1:30 and it was only about 38 degrees. So I broke out the long sleeve thermal undershirt for this one.

We took off at the start and I decided to not go all out, to just sit on 2nd or 3rd wheel to see how I was going to feel and I felt good. I really felt good, I was so excited and about half way through the first lap I was in 2nd, right on 1st places wheel and not going all out. This was setting up to be my best race this season.

Then it happened, I shifted down to get ready for the 2nd run up and my chain fell into my rear wheel. I fixed it but realized my chain had come out of the bottom of the derailleur. I fixed it but 5th place had already gone by. I got to the pits, where Justin and Chad had my bike ready for me. Awesome bike change, thanks guys. So I got on the B bike and right away it felt wrong. My chain was popping in the middle of my cassette. So I still tried to bridge back up to the girls in front of me, but just couldn't do it.

Turns out my rear derailleur was broken so Justin took one off of Chad's bike and had my bike back running in 2 laps. Thank you Justin! You rock!

So back on the A bike and I gave it one good shot and tried to bridge back up. But after one lap I just faded out. It was just not my day. I am trying so hard to stay with it this season with all my injuries, illnesses and bike mechanicals. I am so mentally fried, but I just hung on and finished 7th behind Mel who was in 6th, who also had a bad day and had her chain drop off twice.

Oh well just another bad day. I was pretty frustrated when I finished but it is time to move on and focus on Monroe. Who knows what will happen there, but I will be there and give it my best for sure.

Holden crashed hard at the first set of barriers in his race and hurt his side and leg. He got back up and finished one lap and then bailed do to pain and a bad head cold. Poor guy, he will be back for Monroe.

Chad and Sean also had a rough day, they were sitting both in the top 5 after the first lap, looking good, when a rider crashed in front of them and they had to stop and wait to get by. Chad worked back up from almost last place to finish 8th and Sean in 11th. Evan also was in a crash, and he got up and finished in 18th.

So overall not a good race day for Cycle U-PopCap. But we will all shake it off this week and focus on Monroe.

Thank you again Justin for rushimg to get my bike fixed and back available to ride!

MFG #6 Magnuson Park The Finals

2011-11-19T16:24:00.000-08:00

Wow I got behind this week and never posted my race report from Woodland Park. It is so awesome to be able to race in Seattle and at Woodland Park.There were so many spectators and we hit a record with 970 registered racers! That is crazy, but so awesome.

We had 19 women on the Cat 1-2 start line. That is the biggest WA Cat 1-2 turn out yet. Super excited to see so many women upgrading.

Going into the race my team mate Mel Lewis was in first place overall with Jenni Geartner not coming to race. I was in 4th. I really wanted to move up into 2nd and thought if I finished 2 people in front of 3rd place, I could get enough points to move into 2nd.

We took off and I was in 2nd right on Mel's wheel going into the first turn. I stayed there and Courtney McFadden came up and around us. We went over the first set of barriers and we were all still really tight. Mel burped some air out of her tubeless tires and then dropped her chain and that set her back to around 15th place. I kept on the gas and tried to stay with Courtney. I couldn't hang on but was sitting in 2nd for awhile until Beth passed me. I decided to sit on Beth's wheel because she was in 3rd place overall and I needed to beat her.

So I sat on her for one lap then Jessica and Marsa came around and I jumped on their wheels and we dropped Beth. I stayed with Jessica and Marsa for the rest of the race. Marsa and I were swapping back and forth for the last 2 laps. I got ahead of her but she was able to kill me on the run up and the back side gravel hills. I blew up in the last lap but hung on to finish in 4th behind Marsa.

Mel killed herself to try to get in between me and Beth and she worked her way up to finishin 5th behind me and in front Beth. It was so awesome to see her do that, I was so happy and grateful for her efforts for me.

So I thought I had moved into 2nd overall but then starting doing the math and realized I had missed it by 1 point. Super frustrating but that is how it goes. Later in the week I found out that I was actually 4th overall, and that Jenni even though she wasn't at the last race had won enough races to hold onto 2nd place overall.

On Thursday we went to the MFG awards party at Hale’s Ales in Ballard to cheer on Mel and Sean who won the Cat 1-2 women, and the Master 35+ men's overall!! It was a good time with MFG holding a raffle with some awesome prizes and then the winner of each cat got to play musical chairs to determine their order for picking prizes from the prize table.

It was pretty funny watching all the adults and kids all play musical chairs. Then after that they went in order and picked out prizes, Mel got a Raleigh single speed cross bike!! And Sean won an awesome pair of Mavic shoes. MFG has amazing prizes!!

Thank you MFG for putting on such a great series and making it so much fun every weekend.

SCX #5 Steilacoom

2011-11-07T16:19:00.001-08:00

SCX #5 brought us back to Fort Steilacoom in Tacoma.

This place I have a love hate relationship with. Sometimes I have my best races here and sometimes my worst.

This race was right in the middle. We started out with over 10 ladies in the 1-2 field. I am sitting 4th in the series so my goal was to try to break into the top 3 today.

I have another head cold. Frustrating, but what do you do. I started my warm up and felt off, I was even a bit light headed and considered not starting. But I took some Dayquil and that helped a lot.

We took off and Mel my team mate got the whole shot. I decided I wasn't going to go all out on the start since I wasn't feeling well. So I sat around 4th on the start. I hung there and thought for sure we would hit the first climb and I would get shelled off, but no. I actually felt ok. So I hung in and got to the run up. Which again, thinking I would get dropped. But no I felt ok again. So back on I went. I was sitting in 4th when Emily got by me. I stayed on her wheel and quickly knew that on the downhill’s I was a bit faster and used that to my advantage.

On the 3rd lap I got around Emily on the uphill and then hit it hard on the downhill and got a gap. I caught up with Jessica and sat on her wheel. Mel was in 2nd and I knew if I went around Jessica I would be pulling her back up to Mel. So I used some road tactics and sat on her wheel forcing her to work to try to catch Mel.

Mel noticed we were back there and she kicked it in. Every lap, she was getting closer and closer to 1st, and pulling away from 3rd. I tried to get around Jessica but just didn't have the strength. I held in for 4th, pretty happy with my race considering I was sick.

Mel caught up to Courtney who was in 1st and it came down to a sprint finish and Mel got the win! Super excited for her, her first win!

Chad and Sean had great races. Sean finishing in 5th and Chad in 7th.

Evan said he felt the best in this race so far. Great sign for him that he is healing up and getting regaining his fitness.

And Holden got a flat and was able to pit and get a new wheel and held on to finish in 15th.

Another great weekend for the Cycle U-PopCap team.

Halloween

2011-11-01T20:55:00.001-07:00

The family all went out with the "RUM RUNNERS" crew. We met at Mandi's parents house in Glen Eagle in Arlington. There were a lot of kids and a lot of candy. Super fun.

In the picture, my mom is Santa, Holden is a turtle, I am a cow, my neice Alyssa is a lepard, and my dog Elvis is Super Dog.

SCX #4 Enumclaw

2011-11-01T20:47:00.001-07:00

Wow what a different day. It rained all day, and this course was awesome. Super muddy and super technical. One of my favorites all season.

I just wish I would have had better legs. I think I took to much out of my legs yesterday and with my body still coming back from all my injuries I just didn't have that much left in my legs for today. Riding the course I was happy, loving it being so crazy and technical. But once we started racing that all changed.

We took off, I got the while shot and lead going into the run up. That first run up is where I died. It hurt so bad to get up that hill. I could barely move my legs, one step after another but it hurt so bad. By the time we got to the top I was back in 4th place. I rode the technical mud sections well but just couldn't get my legs turning.

I tried my hardest but every time up that hill I died a little more. By the last lap I had fallen into 6th behind Emily again. I could still see her but couldn't catch her. Craig passed me and Emily on lap 4 so we were done. I was actually happy about that, that is pretty rare for me. I don't like to be lapped.

Mel had a good race and finished in 3rd behind Courtney in 1st and Jessica in 2nd. Mel is sitting 3rd in the series, hope to get her up into the top 2 overall in both series.

Chad had the race if his season. Leading out team mate Sean and riding in 1st for the 1st two laps! It was so exciting to watch him lead a race. He fell back to 6th by the end but because of his work, Sean was able to move into first and win the race! First win of the season for the team. So awesome!

Holden had a little asthma attack and had to pull out again. A rough weekend for him. He will be back next week.

Off to Steilacoom this weekend. I will redeem myself.

MFG #5 Magnuson Park

2011-11-01T20:34:00.001-07:00

What a beautiful sunny day. And a course at Magnuson Park, great combo for a great day.

The course was wet and slippery early in the am races. So I was excited, but overall it was a fast course again. I felt pretty good. I woke up with a lot of energy and was pretty excited for the race.

The 1-2 women lined up on the start. Like all the races this season our women's field is stacked with some really talented girls. The whistle blew and we were off. I got an ok start and was in 5th into the first hard turn. I punched it a bit and moved into 4th trying to hang onto my teammate, Mels wheel. I hung for a bit but fell off and tried to hang on in 4th. I sat in 4th for most of race, I could see every one ahead if me the whole race. The closest I have been to first place all season.

One the last lap I tried to attack Emily Eggers, who is riding super strong but couldn't stay ahead of her and she finished just ahead if me sprinting with Jessica Cutler at the line. I was only about 5sec behind them to finish in 5th.

Mel came down to a sprint finish with Jessica and finished in 2nd. So close, we will get her a win this season!

So far my best race based on my efforts and how close I was to the top 4 girls in front me. Overall a good race, I am getting stronger with every race.

In the elite master men, my teammate Sean was sitting in 1st in the series and needed to beat Rich to keep the lead. Unfortunatly he didn't have the legs and held in to finish in 8th. We will see now at Woodland Park how the series ends up. Chad had an ok race, he decided to sit up a bit and save energy for tomorrows race.

Holden crashed a few times and twisted his ankle so he had to pull out of the race. He was bummed out but ok.

So tomorrow is Enumclaw. It will be hard and wet.

MFG #4 Marymoor

2011-10-23T20:04:00.001-07:00

Well the bad luck continues, at least not to the body this time.

I was so excited, I loved the course today. It was laid out great with lots of challenging off camber sections and lots of corners. It rained all day yesterday and first thing this morning so every thing was slippery! My favorite conditions. I did a couple pre ride laps and felt good. I was super excited for this race.

We lined up at the start. I was excited. They said go and we were off. I got a great start, right on my team mate Mels wheel in around 3rd. But, about 100 yards into the start my chain broke. Damn it!

I ran to run into the pits. Thank you Dan and Justin for a great pit! But I fell back to last place and was a ways off the back. I was pretty frustrated to say the least. I felt sorry for myself for about 15 sec then decided I had nothing to loose so I started hitting it hard.

I got past 2 girls pretty quickly. Then started passing the guys. I felt good, so I just pushed to see how many people I could get back. I moved up a couple more spots and about half way through I started to see in 5th and 6th place just up ahead. I pushed pretty hard and every lap I was making ground. About half way through the last lap I was about 25 yards from 6th place, Leah, who was only 1point ahead of me in the series. So I gave every thing I had to catch her but ran out of real estate. I pulled her in to about 3 to 4 bike lengths by the finish.

So 7th place for me. I am happy with how I rode after I got my B bike, just bumbed out my chain broke. What a season so far. It has to get better soon.

My son Holden on the other hand raced one of his best races ever. He fought hard and was in 5th for the first lap. He fell back to 7th on the 2nd lap but he raced so strong and he was so much fun to watch! He really has found his competitive side this season. Great job Holden!

Chad raced on Sat up in Skagit Co and got 7th in the Elite men at his favorite course, Sedro Wolley. Awesome race for him. But because he pushed so hard yesterday he paid a little bit today. He raced strong and finished in 14th. Great weekend for him.

Congrats to Mel in her 2nd place finish today. She was with 1st for a bit and held on strong to finish 2nd. Awesome job today Mel!

Congrats to Sean for also finishing 2nd today. He is leading the MFG series now!

And congrats to Even, who is recovering from a back injury. He said his back didn't hurt today for the first race this season without pain! Nice work Evan.

And Brian and Pamela Fiete came out today to watch us race. Brain is part owner of PopCap games, one if our title sponsors. Super great to have them there cheering us on.

Ok 2races next weekend. Time for a come back!

SCX #3 Silver Lake

2011-10-16T20:50:00.001-07:00

I have to say that cyclocross is my favorite cycling discipline but with my shoulder and back injury and my cold this season has not really been fun, until today!

I love the Silver Lake course. Thank you to Phil Oppenheimer for locking in this awesome venue a few years ago! This course has every thing and is really the hardest and most challenging course we have all season.

I came out today with no back pain and just a little bit of my head cold but overall the best I have felt since the Labor Day race. I knew this course would favor my technical skills unlike a lot of the other courses so far this season.

First off I want to say how awesome our women's field is this year. In any given day there us 6-8 ladies that can win and that makes racing so much more interesting. The 1-2 women's field is super talented and strong and it is awesome to see the numbers in the field growing so fast!

I got a great start today, one thing I have beeb lacking on so far this season. I was 3rd into the sand and got a good line and made it through the whole first long beach section and moved into 2nd behind Natasha. I tried to stay on here wheel but couldn't hang. My team mate Mel was on my wheel pushing me. I love having a team mate that is so strong and we can work together. Mel was a bit stronger and got around me but I stayed with her a bit. I held onto 3rd for a couple laps but I knew Courtney was coming on strong. With two laps to go Courtney caught me and passed me. But I stayed with her and she made a couple bobbles and I was able to get back in front of her. But she was stronger on the up hills and pulled away from me and then we caught on to Mel. Courtney got around Mel on the last lap and I tried every thing to try to stay on Mels wheel. We finished 3rd and 4th on the day. It was a great race and I had so much fun. Finally I am coming back, slowly but I feel so much stronger. Super excited for this weekend to see how I can do.

Congrats to Mel on 3rd, Sean awesome 2nd place in 35+ 1-2, Chad 10th in 35+ 1-2, Evan in 15th 1-2 elite and Holden in 17th in junior 10-12. Awesome weekend for Cycle U-PopCap!

I love this team!

And thank you Chris for coming out taking such awesome pics!

SCX #2 Steilacoom

2011-10-09T17:07:00.001-07:00

Today was finally a better race day. By no means am I 100% but my back is so much better and the head cold is almost gone.

It was a rough week with this head cold knocking me down Mon and Tues but I was able to get some training in and today it showed.

I got a good start. Found my pedal pretty fast and was in 3rd into the first corner. I moved into first until the climb. With being injured and sick the whole month of Sept I am lacking power and the first time up the climb I felt that.

Natasha and Courtney got around me and hit it pretty hard on the hill. I gave it all I had and got up. Then hit it hard on the downhill. Made up some ground. I hung onto 3rd for a short bit then Jessica flew by me. I couldn't hang on her pace and then Mel came by. I was able to ride with Mel for about a lap, which was awesome to have a team mate to ride with. But Mel gapped me a bit and I wasn't able to hang on. That darn hill was killing me every lap.

So I finished 5th. Every race I am getting a spot better so that is a good sign. Things will continue to get better each week.

Chad had a great race today, finishing 6th not far behind Sean, fellow team mate. He looked strong all race. His coach is awesome :)

Holden also had a great race finishing in 12th. He is riding so well. Super proud of him!

Ok on to a good week of training. See you all next week at Silver Lake. I love that course! Get ready for sand.

MFG #3 North Bend

2011-10-03T09:04:00.001-07:00

I knew going into this race that it was going to be another battle. I came down with a head cold last Wed so I knew I was going to be hurting a bit. Good news is my back is a lot better. There isn't as much pain now but I am still a bit weak and not putting out the same amount of power as before.

We got to the race around 8:30am which ment we were up at 5am to get every thing packed. Early mornings for sure. After getting a bit lost we found the beautiful Mountain Meadows Park in North Bend.

Coach Amara Edwards (CycleU's junior head coach) met us as we pulled in and got us a great spot and we got all set up.

The course was ok, a great venue but the grounds were very rough and bumpy. Another totally flat, dry and fast course. So far all the couses this season have been very flat and fast. Not ones that favor my more technical skills, but I know the mud is coming!

Mel, my team mate, and myself raced first on the day for the Cycle U-PopCap team. I got a pretty good warm up and was feeling ok so I went to the start line. There was a little bit of negative energy on the start line that I was kinda sucked into and realized after wards that I need to try better at lining up next to more positive energy. We had a great line up of fast girls and I knew based on the course I had a lot of work ahead me to get a good placing.

The gun went off and I had a good start. I fell into about 3rd place going into the first corner. I was with my team mate Mel. We were together for a bit but Mel had a great start and moved ahead of me a bit. I wanted to work for her but just couldn't hang on. I settled in and found my rythum.

I was riding with Natasha, she was a bit faster then me so I sat on her wheel for awhile. I saw an opportunity with 3 laps to go and attacked her on a section that I felt a bit faster on. I got a samll gap but with 2 laps to go my back started acting up again and I lost some power. Natasha got back by me and I just couldn't hang on. I just rode the last lap out the best I could and hung on to 6th place. I was 10th last weekend so 6th is an improvement for sure.

Mel finished 2nd! That puts her in 2nd place overall. Super excited for her. She is having a great season and I love having her on my team.

Holden raced next. He is on the Cycle U junior team now and has a fellow team mate, Brennan who races the same age group as him. He raced so strong. He to was sick but he raced through it. The junior race was a bit longer then normal so on the first two laps he was riding so strong but when he came through and saw he had one more lap he was a bit tired and had to just ride it out to finish. He was pretty tired at the end but raced so well. I was so proud of him. And Brennan came in one person behind him so a great day for cycle u.

Chad and Sean raced last. Sean and Chad both always get such great starts. After the first lap Sean was settled in a pack of about 8 guys for the lead group. Chad was just behind that group riding strong. Sean raced smart and finished in 3rd which keeps him in the top 3 for the overall and Chad raced awesome and came in 11th I think.

I hope this cold goes away this week. I am off now to get a massage! Thank god. So we are at Steilacoom next week. Another flat fast course. But my goal is to finish in the top 5 next weekend.

Great job to every one that raced yesterday! See you on Sunday.

The new Cycle U-PopCap jersey's

2011-10-01T10:24:00.001-07:00

Time to catch up

2011-10-01T10:02:00.001-07:00

Wow sorry I have been so out of the loop for so long. It has been a crazy summer for sure.

I feel that the illness gods are not on my side in 2011. Back in May and June I was the sickest I had ever been before. I was on my way to the 24 hour mtb race in Spokane and wasn't feeling to good. We stopped at a gas station and I threw up all over the back of the gas station. What a way to start a 24hr race!

We kept on driving and got to the race. I was up all night in and out of the port-a-potties. I had stomach cramps so bad. But with my stubbornish I start the race and did the first lap and thought I was going to die. I got through that lap and laid down and slept. I got up thinking I was better, but I was wrong.

My stomach was cramping so bad I could hardly stand up straight. But stupid me, I tried one more lap. I didn't want to let my team down, so I tried. I finished that lap but in the most pain I had ever been in.

With the help of Chad's right mind I decided to throw in the towel. The next 24 hours would be the worst to come. I was in the fetal position most of the day and night and by 1pm the next day we were off to the ER in Spokane.

2 hours of waiting in the ER and then 2 more hours in the room with morphine and spasm meds they released me with no diagnoses. But less pain.

I got better over the next couple days and thought it was just the flu. But driving home the following Thursday I threw up all over myself while in rush hour traffic. Pretty humbling for sure. I was a mess. I made it home to Chad who got me new clothes and I was back in the fetal position again.

I went into my doctor the next day and he tested for ecoli and giardia and the next day I got a call from the nurse that I tested positive for giardia. It was a mixed blessing . I was happy to know what I had and that it was curable, but was disgusted that I had little critters living inside of me.

So onto antibiotics I went. They helped and killed the critters but also killed every thing good in my gut. So the whole month of June I was off my bike trying to get healthy.

I started riding again in July but pretty much starting from scratch. I got in a couple good months of training and then raced the first cross race of the season on Labor Day.

I started out feeling pretty good. I was in 3rd and doing ok considering being a bit behind in training. With 2 laps to go coming out of a turn I stood up to get back up to speed and the course tape grabbed by handle bars and stopped my bike and I went flying over the handle bars. Hit the ground really hard and landed on my head and right shoulder.

Holy crap I had not crashed that hard in a long time. I jumped up and made sure nothing was broken and off I went. My shoulder hurt pretty bad, but I finished and held onto 3rd place.

Instantly my shoulder was hurting. I could tell it wasn't broken but possibly a small seperation. I iced it and went to my chiropractor the next day. That helped a lot and we decided to try taping my shoulder back to help releave pain while riding.

That worked but after two days of taping the shoulder back my lower back went out. That hurt more then the shoulder. So back to the Chiro for more adjustments. But this wasn't going away.

I raced the first MFG race and right in the first lap I crashed. Luckily on the other side. I lost a lot of positions and fell back to around 10th. I felt good though and started fighting back. I worked my way back up to 4th. I was pretty happy with that.

The back was really bad after that race. I could barely stand up. Kept in at chiro and started getting massages.

I started Starcrossed not know what to expect. It was a stacked field to say the least. I got a back row call up. So I knew I was going to have a lot of work ahead of me. I raced hard, and felt pretty strong and worked my way up to finish 14th. Not bad for racing injured.

Back was really sore again after the race. I started the Rapha Focus GP and right away I knew it wasn't going to be good. I couldn't produce any power and had to pull out of the race. For those of you that know me, I don't quit races unless I am in a lot of pain. So that will tell you how bad it really was.

So I was super frustrated and back in chiro and another massage. The back muscles were starting to let go a bit and I started feeling some relief.

I raced the first Seattle Series race and that didn't go so well either. We drove from Chelan at 4am (from a weding the day before) and boy was I tired. The whole morning was stressful with different issues and I just knew it wasn't going to be a good day.

We started only 15sec behind the guys. Not sure why such a short gap but it was horrible. We were mixing into the guys in the first corner and the whole race became a mess trying to pass guys just to stay with the girls.

I normally don't complain about being in with the guys, but 15sec just isn't enough time. So I got caught a few times behind some guys I couldn't get around and the race was over for me. I gave up metally and just finished it out the best I could to finish in 10th.

And now I have a cold. I swear my patience is being tested. I am trying to stay positive and work through it. We will see how tomorrow goes at the MFG race in North Bend. I am on a mission to kick some butt as long as I have the energy.

So long story short this has been a crazy summer and start to the cross season. Look out I will be killing it by Dec!

Chilly Cross

2011-01-08T21:41:00.000-08:00

I traveled up to Bellingham today to race the last cross race in WA. For the first time in while I went to this race solo. It was kinda fun, but lonely. I really like racing with my family but Chad had to work so I dropped Holden off at my brother's house and headed up north.

The weather was pretty good. It was about 38 degrees but clear ski. The course was awesome!! I really like racing at Cornwall park. It has a little bit of everything and this year they ran the course backwards from last year and added in some new area's. Overall I have to say that I like this course layout the best so far.

My race start time was 10:30am. There were 5 Elite women on the line. Not bad for 3 weeks after Nats and no local racing here at home since then. This was the last race of a smaller series so the first row was the girls that had raced all the races and then myself and Corrie Middleton from Collision One lined up on the back row since we had not done any of the other races in this series.

We started about 30 sec behind the 45+ Cat 3 men and I decided to not go out all crazy and just sit on a couple girls wheels to get a feel for how everyone was riding. We went into this wooded section with 2 little log dismounts. We all were able to ride them, but Courtney McFadden with Western University had a little bobble so I decided to kick it in and attack. We went into this longer climb and I started opening up a gap and started running into the guys that were in front of us. We came through the start finish area and I had about a 10 sec gap on Courtney so I started pushing it. There was this big open grass section with some good corners that were slippery mud so I used my technical skills to open up my gap even more.

I started to focus on getting as many guys as I could that started in front of us. So I spent the rest of the race just going after the guys, and got quite a few of them. Not sure where I ended up finishing with them but I had a blast and really love riding with those guys. They are all so nice and so encouraging when I go by them, and I know they hate it!! So thank you guys for always pushing me and cheering me on out there, it really helps.

So I held on and opened up my gap to around 2min and got the win with Courtney finishing in 2nd. It was such a great course, and fun to have a lower key race with less stress. I had a pretty bad head cold over the last 2 weeks so I was nervous that was going to hinder me, it did but just a little bit. And my hand, holy cow it was awesome!! I raced with no brace and it felt almost 100%!! I was so excited to be able to ride again and have full strength and be able to shift without the brace getting in the way!!

I am only just shy of 8 weeks after surgery and I can hardly tell it ever happened!! Thank you again Dr. Weil and Orthopedic Specialists of Seattle! You guys rock and made the end of my season possible!! Thank you so much to everyone that worked with me. I really appreciate it!

So now it is time to just hit the gym and get in some longer runs and riding a few days a week to take a break and then I will be out on the Mountain bike more this year to build up my muscle strength for the 2011 cross season. So I will see you all out on the road and off road this spring and summer.

I will update as things happen,

Kristi

Nationals race update

2010-12-10T21:04:00.000-08:00

Well Nationals are over for me. It wasn't as good as I had hoped but I did race and was able to even though I broke my hand just 3 weeks ago! Thank you Dr. Weil and Kelly!! I didn't even know 3 weeks ago if I was going to be able to ride let alone race and I did it!

It was cold with lots of peanut butter mud and big cold mud puddles. I wore more clothes then any race this year and I was perfect for temp. My feet got cold towards the end but really overall no major issues with the cold. I think it was a high of 40 degrees today with about 15-20mile hour winds so with the wind chill it was really cold.

I warmed up under Todd Andersons tent. Thank you Todd for always showing up so early to get a good spot! I got to the start about 10min before the race start. My call up wasn't so good because of my not so good TT the day before. I was on the 3rd of 4 rows of girls. We took off and right at the start the girls on each side of me came into me and I had to hit the brakes. I wasn't going to fall with my hand so that set me back to 25th position right off the start. Then we turned onto this hard mud section that everyone was just riding all over the place. I got stuck behind a lot of girls and had to slow down, no choice there. I was watching the front group just walk away. It was frustrating but what can you do, that is racing.

So I decided to just put my head down and use my technical skills to pass girls. I got a couple right away and then started getting one or 2 girls every lap. I was making good ground but could only get up to 17th. I was frustrated, but very happy that I could just be out there racing.

My hand hurt a bit, not the broken bone but my wrist got sore from being in the brace and my overall strength was weak at times and boy was it hard to pick up my bike over the barriers and stairs. But overall a good day, I am on a redemption though for next year so watch out ladies, I am going to come back stronger and healthy next year!!

Thank you to everyone that supported me over the season and at the race today. I heard so many people cheering and it was inspirational!

Holden raced at 9:30am this morning and boy was it cold. He was so nervous again. He had a good start but was off the back and started getting cold. There was this huge mud puddle that totally soaked his feet and he started crying. He was so cold. We just encouraged him to finish and not worry about where he finished. He was so concerned because he was last and I just tried to tell him how proud we were of him. He hung in there and pushed through and finished the race. He ended up in 20th place in the Junior 10-12 year olds. I can't tell you how proud of him I am, he really pushed through a hard mental place today and grew up a little more. What a great kid!!

Ok now it's time for a break from riding for a few weeks, I will hit the gym and try to build up all the muscle I have lost and get ready for this MTB season.

Kristi

Nationals update

2010-12-10T07:18:00.000-08:00

We have been in Bend OR now since Wed. The weather has been pretty decent with mostly blue sky's but the temps are below freezing at night and there is a couple inches of snow on the ground in most places so the early races and TT's have been on frozen mud ruts or ice.

Holden and myself raced our TT's yesterday. The TT's are new this year, the idea is to use the TT times to call people up by fastest to slowest on race day. But the TT course it at a different location then the race and it is covered in snow and frozen. Where the race course is all mud.

Holden went first in the morning, he was so nervous!! I was nervous to because it was really icy and I didn't want him to fall and get hurt or loose confidence. He had a couple moments where I thought he wasn't going to ride it, but he bucked up and did it. I was so impressed, he took off and was looking awesome. There was this spot that was a shorter downhill section that he was going to run but in the race he rode it and looked awesome!! They had the little guys just do a very short course which was a great idea. He came through the finish and said he thought he was going to throw up and that he couldn't breath. I told him that is what racing at altitude does. We were so very proud of him!! He finished in 13th place in the TT out of 20kids so he will get a 2nd row start this morning in his race.

I started the TT and I was doing good. But I am not a great short distance all out TTist so I knew this was going to hurt and it did!! About half way through there is a false flat section that goes into a run up covered in snow. I pretty much dies there!! My legs and lungs just couldn't handle the short hard effort. I pushed the best I could but lost some time and finished 11th out of 19 girls that did the TT. There are about 30-35 girls registered in my race so a lot of them opted out of the TT so that will give me a better starting position for today's race. I race today at 2:15pm and will let everyone know how it goes. If my legs are with me and my hand let's me go hard I think I will do really well on this course, it is really muddy and very technical which suits my riding style.

It poured down rain last night so it will be even more technical today.

Kristi

SCX #7 Monroe Finals

2010-11-29T11:24:00.000-08:00

I had to make a pretty big decision on Sunday, if I would try to race with my brace because I was in the lead for the series overall and didn't want to loose it. I knew that I would have a hard time shifting and braking with the cast but I decided to give it a go. I couldn't just let the title go without fighting for it.

So I did some math, thinking that Mel Lewis would win on the day. And she was sitting in 2nd overall so I had to finish at least one place behind her to keep the title based on the points. So I_ knew it would be very tough as Mel is racing really strong right now, but I had to try.

Unfortunately my race sucked, I was able to ride and my hand did ok but my legs weren't there. Combo of maybe to much training on the windtrainer that week and the fact that my body is still trying to heal the bone after only 1 and a half weeks from surgery!. I think I finished 7th or 8th, I managed to hang with Mel and Kristi Kelsey for the first couple laps but then my legs just gave out.

But Kristi Kelsey won witch, I didn't take into factor, which took some points away from Mel who finished 2nd so that made it so I was still able to keep the overall title by a few points!! I couldn't believe it. I thought Mel would get it since she finished so far ahead of me, but I had enough points from the races I won to keep the title.

So I am the MFG and the SCX overall Cat 1/2 winner!! Can't believe it, what a season. Now time to focus on getting this hand healed up and get ready for Nats!!

And a HUGE Congrats to Corrie Middleton, who races on my husbands team, Collision One, who won her race to earn the overall title for the Cat 3 women. That is Corrie and myself above enjoying some Champagne that my husband bought for us. So awesome, what a weekend!

And a huge Shout out to my son Holden, who is only 9 years old, placed 17th in the overall Junior Boys 10-12 series. That is just about mid pack with fields sizes of over 30 for most races. Nice work Holdenator, you rock!!

And a huge thank you to my husband Chad, who without all his help on a daily basis I wouldn't be able to do what I do. Thank you Chadly, I love and appreciate you so much!!

Kristi

Broken Hand update

2010-11-28T22:10:00.000-08:00

A lot has happened since my last post. I went in for surgery about a week and a half ago and had to have a plate and lots of screws in the bone to hold it together.

I wanted to give a huge THANK YOU to Dr. Wayne Weil, M.D. at Orthopedic Specialists of Seattle in Wallingford and Ballard.

Dr. Weil did an awesome job on my surgery, so good that I was back on the bike the day after my surgery on the trainer and back on my bike outside 1 week and 3 days later!

Kelly my hand therapist custom molded a plastic cast to my handle bar so I could hold on and ride and Dr. Weil was very supportive an encouraging for me to get back out racing soon.

I saw Dr. Weil one day after I broke my hand on a Monday and he had me in surgery, cramming me in between surgeries, on Tuesday by 10am! Amazing, they bent over backwards to get me in as fast as they could.
Dr. Weil said "ever day counts" and boy was he right!

Thank You again Dr. Weil and your awesome staff, I had the best service ever and a great surgery!

If you need a good surgeon check out one of the many specialists at:

Orthopedic Specialists of Seattle
2409 North 45th St
Seattle WA 98103
206 633 8100

Kristi

UW Emergency Room

2010-11-18T10:14:00.000-08:00

Here are some pics from my 6 hour ER visit.

MFG #6 Woodland Park Finals

2010-11-18T10:03:00.000-08:00

Woodland Park was the finals for the MFG series and going into the race I was in the lead for the overall series but only by 2 points over Jenni Geartner. So I had to beat her in order to win the overall. I was a bit stressed out when I woke up that morning knowing that I wanted to win the overall so bad.

We arrived at the park to a great course that was laid out well and it had rained all night so the grass was wet and with each race it was getting muddier and vert slippery. I was super excited as this would really suit my technical skills and give me a bit of an advantage over Jenni.
I took off hard and fast at the start because it was muddy and very slippery and I knew Jenni was nervous and riding more timid. So I got a small gap right after the first corner and then tried to kill myself for one full lap. My gap was growing. On lap 3 I unfortunately got to close to a wood stake that was holding the course tape up and it grabbed my 4th finger and bent it sideways as I kept riding. I knew right away that it was broken but I wasn't willing to quit and give up my win and overall title. So I forged on. The first lap of the 3 to go wasn't to bad because I had adrenaline rushing and it helped hide the pain. But the next 2 laps killed me! It was my right hand so it hurt to shift and brake and I couldn't pick up my bike with my hand over the barriers. So I held back the tears and fought through it and held on to my lead. My husband said not only did I hold onto my lead I increased to win by over a min!

So overall a crazy day! I was in the UW Emergency Room for 6 hours! Great service but boy did it take a long time. There is a good chance I may be done for the season. Kinda sucks but I will see what they will let me do.

SCX #5 Maris Farms

2010-11-10T08:12:00.000-08:00

The morning of this race was very exciting. We pulled into the parking lot and got stuck in all the mud in the parking lot with old Chevy and the trailer. Chad's excellent driving got us out and we found a dry place on the pavement to park. That was a sign of what was to come for the course conditions. This race was held at Maris Farms in Buckley. This is a pumpkin farm and corn maze type of farm and we were racing through the pumpkin patch. Very cool, but very muddy!! We are talking mud over your ankles and one puddle was half way up my shine. Very deep think mud.

I wasn't 100% back to normal from the flu shot but I was much better then last weekend. There was a girl that showed up from Bend OR and she got around me on the run up with the barriers. I stayed with her into the deep mud sections and tried to stay with her. She was riding all the mud but the long run section that nobody could ride. So I decided I was going to try to ride everything. I got caught in one section and had to get off and run and she pulled away a bit from me there. So I felt that is was better to try to ride since she was doing that. So the rest of the laps I rode most everything in the mud and then tried to run as hard as I could in the mud section that wasn't rideable to keep her in sight. But we got caught into the guys pretty fast in that race and it really played a factor. She got around some guys and got better lines and that got her a gap while I got stuck behind some guys and then messed me up. But that is part of racing so what do you do. I tried hard to get her back but just couldn't close the gap. She had just a bit more power then I did. If I would have been 100% I think I could have won. But again what do you do. And on the 3 runs/rides in the grass, I was able to ride the first one, then run the 2nd and ride the 3rd and then run the barrier run. So that seemed to flow pretty well for me.
I just didn't have the snap that I usually have after the run ups where I try to attack for 20-30secs. That I think was because I wasn't totally healthy yet. That is where I was struggling the most in the race.

Overall a great race though and it is good to know that I am almost back to normal, last weekend really messed me up. That was hard to get through.

Holden raced and had to do one lap on the same course that we did. The mud for him was over his ankles the whole time and up to his knees in one section. He raced awesome, he attacked the last run up and told Chad at the top that he thought he was going to puke!! And then he attack the last hill to the finish with everything he had. He did awesome, so darn cute to watch.

Chad didn't race today as he injured his foot at work the week prior so he had to take a week off to let it heal. He rode yesterday and it was hurting again so he is on his way back to the Doc to see why it didn't heal up. Hopefully it will get better so he can race this weekend.

On to the MFG series finals this weekend at Woodland park in Seattle. Very cool race venue, I am excited. I am praying for rain so that it gets crazy muddy. I am in 1st place for the overall but only 2 point over Jenni so I have to beat her no matter what this weekend or I loose the overall. So this race will be very intense for both of us. No mistakes!! I will let you know how it turns out.

MFG #5 and SCX #4

2010-11-02T19:55:00.000-07:00

Not to many good things to say for my weekend of racing this last weekend!

It all started with getting my flu shot on Thursday. I got my shot and it was no big deal. But Friday I went out for a ramp up pre-race ride with Chad and I couldn't keep up with his easy warm up pace. I was tired and my muscles hurt. I should have taken this as a sign!

Saturday we went to Evergreen High School for the MFG #5 King CO cross race. I was tired again and once the race started I knew I was in for a world of hurt. Right away my legs were on fire and I couldn't hold my normal race pace. My heart rate was lower then normal too. I tried to hang with Jenni but couldn't and eneded up in 3rd behind Jessica and over 2min behind Jenni. I was so upset, knowing I lost some of my ground in the overall for the MFG series with Jenni winning and myself finishing in 3rd.

So I got changed and helped Chad out in the pits. At least Chad had a better race and finished in 10th in his age group! So that made the day better.

We went home and got everything all cleaned up and off to bed early. I didn't sleep well and woke up very tired again.We headed to Tacoma to race the SCX #4 race at Fort Steilacoom.

I warmed up and knew that Sunday wasn't going to be any better. My muscles hurt again. So we started and I got into 2nd place off of Jenni's wheel and held on there for 1.5 laps but on the long hill climb my muscles gave out and I had to quit. I don't quit races! This was really hard for me, I knew I had to quit because my body just couldn't continue but it was so hard on me. I went back to the trailer and laid down and tried not to get to down.

So overall a really bad weekend for me. I really think it is all a reaction to the flu shot. I had a low grade fever on Mon and am getting better today. But no other symptoms then fatigue and low grade fever. So hopefully I am getting over this and I will be able to come back this weekend at Maris Farms.

Kristi

MFG #4 Pacific Raceways

2010-10-25T18:07:00.000-07:00

Ok so what a race. It poured off and on all day, and it was cold. The course was very muddy, but wet mud so it was a bit easier to ride then the mud a Beverly. The course was actually really fun and I really liked it.

When we lined up to start the race the rain was pouring and the wind was starting to pick up. We had about 8 or 10 cat 1/2 women, with Wendy Simms from Canada (has been Canadian national champ before, very fast) and Jenni Gaertner from ID and Jessica Culter, Ann Knapp, and a few other gals that I am forgetting. A good strong group.

It was raining so hard, it was hard to see when we started. Wendy got the whole shot with Jenni and myself on her wheel. We dove off the pavement into the grass/mud and started slipping and sliding. It was so much fun. The 3 of us started to pull away, and I passed Jenni and got on Wendy's wheel. I stayed there for half the race and even passed her on the technical downhill section but she got me back in the deep mud. I tried to stay with her but she pulled away from me and I lost contact. I was so happy though to be able to stay with her for as long as I did!!
I stayed riding hard and held onto 2nd. It was such a great race for me, I really was riding so excited and couldn't believe I was able to stay on Wendy's wheel.

Holden didn't have such a great day though. He missed his start, so he was very upset and Chad and I had to basically force him to get on the course to just do one lap and have fun. It didn't matter where he finished for us we just wanted him to get out there and have fun. He however was so upset and was crying. I think he was more confused because he has never missed his start before so he thought that meant he couldn't race at all. So once we got him on the course he warmed up and was having fun finally. But there was this plywood ramp that the promoters built and it was cool for sure but the little kids should have been forced off their bikes and not allowed to try to ride it. Holden tried to ride it and almost made it but didn't get to the top and rode backwards down the ramp (about 45 degree angle) and ran his back right into one of the hand rails and was hurt. He was screaming because his back was cold and he hit the pole hard. Chad was there and ran over to get him. While they were there another little guy tried to ride it and didn't make it and fell over and one of the faster juniors rode right over the top of the little guy. They just should have had the 10 and under kids go around it. Anyways Holden had to quit and was pretty sore but we worked it out and he was better by the evening. Rough day for him!!

Chad on the other hand finally had a better race. We think maybe he had a cold or something that affected his muscles over the last couple weeks because he was having a lot of issues but this race was much better. He had a great start and was in like 6th or 7th and held that for a bit and slide back a few but stayed strong and his legs felt much better. He finished 11th I think, so much better day for him.

For the SSCXWC it was Wendy and Kari going at for the title. Kari is the reining SSCXWC so she wanted to win it again. But Wendy got a better start and was off front and held onto it for the whole race and won the title. I was excited, Wendy really is an awesome gal and it was cool to see her win both races. Bummer for Kari though, I would have loved for her to keep the title so it stayed in Seattle. Maybe next year!!

A lot of costumes and funny stuff and a lot of beer was drank during the SS race. It as a blast to watch and really was crazy to see what some of these people were wearing.

Overall a great day of racing, it was so much fun!

SCX #3 Silver Lake

2010-10-20T09:04:00.000-07:00

Another great race under my belt. We raced on Sunday at Silver Lake Park in Everett. Nice and close to home, it only took us 25min to get to this race. So nice!!

It was sunny but cold, we set up camp right on the bank of the lake and it was beautiful as the sun was rising and the fog on the water. It was the perfect fall day for cross racing.

I raced at 1:30pm so it had warmed up a bit and was perfect temp. The course has a very long sand section that runs along the bank of the lake. It is very deep sand that moves and changes every time you ride it. In the practice laps I was able to ride the sand section but during the race it looked like I would only be able to ride about 3/4 of it and then jump off and run.

We started right into the sand, so the whole shot was very important on this race. I got the whole shot and lead through the sand. I had to jump off and Ann Knapp passed me and I jumped on her wheel. About half way through the start lap I took a grass turn pretty tight and felt my rear tire start rubbing my frame. I jumped off and though my rear wheel had come out but realized my rear tubular had rolled just a bit so I popped it back on and finished the lap. Unfortunately I had fallen back to about 5th or 6th position. So I had a lot of work ahead of me to get back up to the front.

I got to the pits, and thanks to my wonderful husband my bike was ready for me and I grabbed it and jumped on. I had gotten back up to Ann and was in 2nd so I started working to pass Ann when I realized that my rear clincher was slowly going flat. So I had to back off just a bit, and get back to the pits. I got back and again thanks to my awesome husband my bike was ready for me with a new wheel and I grabbed it and was off again.

This course has a lot of short power climbs so I knew I was going to have to kill myself to get in front of Ann. I passed her and then hit it hard to get some ground. I was riding the sand really well and running ok so I managed to put on some time every lap there and then slowly increased my lead to about 50secs and came in with the win.

Wow what a day, 2 flats and still got the win. That race hurt a lot because I had to fight so much to get my 1st place back. And it was so awesome to see Ann and Dale back out racing. This was their first race back out and I am so excited to have them back. Ann is one of my favorite racers and is a huge inspiration to me. She has paved the road for all of us racing cross now, it is an honor to have her out at the races!!

Holden raced also, and after a rough morning (I think he woke up on the wrong side of the bed) he came around once his cousins and Aunt and Nana showed up to cheer him on. He ended up having a great race and was really happy when he finished that had raced.

Chad also raced and unfortunately just wasn't a good day for him. He has been so busy with the 2 fire depts that he works and volunteers at that I think it is starting to take a toll on him a bit. He will come around so watch out everyone, he is on a roll to kick some butt!! This weekend will be his day, I can feel it!!

We are racing at Pacific Raceways this Sunday and it will be crazy. After the MFG races, it is the Single Speed World Championships so it will be crazy. I am not racing in it but will be there to watch the craziness. I am rooting for the current SPWorld Champ Kari Studley to win again. SO let's cheer for Kari!!

Kristi

SCX #2 Beverly Park

2010-10-13T09:14:00.000-07:00

Wow is all I can say about Sunday's race. The rain gods opened up the sky and rained so hard all morning/afternoon. Thank you rain gods!!

When we arrived at 8am it was starting to rain, the grass was wet but not to muddy yet. As the morning went on it rained harder and there was so much more standing water on the ground. There was a one point a small river running under the True North Trailer. My poor dog wouldn't even sit on the ground it was so wet.

The first couple races of the morning were on wet grass, but since the first couple classes are the biggest numbers of racers every lap they raced the grounds got softer and the mud started to form. The good thing was that it was still raining so the mud was very wet and not sticking to bad to the bikes.

I got out and did a warm up lap around noon and my bike was muddy but it wasn't collecting to bad at that point. Holden raced first, and I was concerned that he wasn't going to have any fun and get frustrated out there. I told him that he had to relax and just have fun and be OK with getting off and running in the mud. And boy did he do that, he was so darn cute. He was running in mud that almost up to his knees and he was having so much fun. He had a smile on his face and when he finished all he could say was "I love mud!" I love it, definitely a future cross contender for sure. And he was able to ride all the downhill slippery mud sections, he has awesome bike handling skills.

Chad went next, it continued to rain until about the first 3rd of his race and then the sun started to come out and actually started to thicken the mud up a bit. It was starting to stick more to the bikes so I was starting to get a bit nervous about just how hard the course was going to be to ride. Chad had a great start and got the whole shot and was first up the run up. He looked awesome! As the race progressed it got slower and he fell back a bit in the standings, but rode strong and even with a crash about half way through he held on and finished in the 20's.

I went next, and boy was the mud even thicker! I started out and decided not to go all out because we start and go right into a run up so I didn't want to blow up on the hill. I was 2nd at the top I think and then got on and started using my technical skills to move away from the rest of the ladies. I absolutely love epic conditions because it requires great bike handling skills and a very strong mental game. My two strengths. I worked hard the first lap and started getting a gap on 2nd so I decided to change my focus to seeing how far I could get up into the single speed guys that start 1 min ahead of us. I was passing guys like crazy and really having a lot of fun despite how hard it was to push through the mud.

After the first lap came into the barriers and realized just how heavy my bike was when I went to pick it up. Holy cow at least 10lbs heavier in 1 lap!! Luckily my awesome husband was in the pits ready for me and I was able to get a nice new clean, light bike!! It felt amazing to be on a lighter bike as I knew I had to switch every lap. And that I did, Micah and Chad were so busy in the pits with mine and Corrie's bikes to clean each lap. But it made the world of difference and was a huge part in my big gap over the other girls. With 2 laps to go I flatted just coming off the track into the grass. I slammed my rear wheel on the curb, I was getting tired and just didn't pull up enough and pinch flatted. The funny thing was the mud was so thick I didn't even notice it was flat until I went through the finish area and made the hard right had turn and realized the tire was flat. So I ran up the hill and got a new bike, and managed to increase my gap to almost 2 mins and won the race.

I really had so much fun, I love the mud. I just hope we didn't do so much damage that we won't get to go back there. Thank you to everyone that spent their Sunday evening racing and laying grass seed. You are all awesome and so appreciated!!

Sunday is Silver Lake park in South Everett. I love this course to because it is more of a MTB style course so I can use my skills again. I will let you all know how it goes.

Kristi

MFG #3 5 Mile Lake Park, Federal Way

2010-10-07T09:42:00.000-07:00

On Sunday we got to race at a brand new venue. 5 Mile Lake Park in Federal Way. Thank you to my husband's fellow team mate and good friend Dave Pearson on Collision 1 for introducing this park to the MFG team.

The park is small but they used every inch of it well and it really was a fun course. Mostly flat but lots of corners and even a long sand section on the water. I really enjoyed this course and hope we continue to race here in the future.

We drove down to Dave's house Saturday evening. Dave and Corazon were nice enough to put us up for the night at their house that was all of 4min ride time away from the course. Awesome!! We slept in their living room on an air bed and boy was it comfy! And Lucky, their dog is now one of my favorite dogs. So cute and so darn fuzzy!

We woke up Sunday morning and the guys ran over to the course to set up camp. I packed up our stuff and Chad came back to get me and we made our ritual stop at Starbucks for coffee and off to the course.

I got out and did a easy ride on the course with a client of mine and right away I knew I loved the course and I just knew it was going to be a good day. I raced first out of the family. I lined up and we had 10 ladies I think in the 1/2 Cat. We took off and I got the whole shot off the start with Jenni Gaertner right on my wheel. We pulled away a bit from the rest of the ladies and I kept pushing hard knowing Jenni has a strong road backround and I knew this would be a good course for her. So every time I could I got up an attacked and used my bike handling skills to take the corners fast and not have to slow down.

I managed to get gap so I sat in for one lap to catch my breath and then hit it hard again till the end. I got the win, and managed to move up through half of the field of guys that started a couple min ahead of us. My legs just felt amazing, no pain. I love those days when it all comes together on race day and you feel like you are on a cloud. It was a great race for me and I had so much fun. Jenni had a crash with a couple laps to go so Jessica Culter got around her to finish in 2nd and Jenni in 3rd.

Holden raced next, he raced this one without me riding with him. He was awesome, so strong and he really like the course also. I had a friend tell us that he attacked the run up and ran it faster then any other kid!! I am so proud!! He had so much fun after the race he did another lap to cool down. That is great, he is really starting to love racing and wants to know when he gets to have one of my bikes as a hand me down!

Chad went last on the day. He was hoping for a great day, with a great week of training in the books. But unfortunately the legs just weren't there for him. He started out in around 15th off the start and then just didn't have anything to move up. He finished in the 20's and was pretty bummed out. But there always the next race. Watch out Cat 1/2 35+ guys, he is on a mission this week to redeem himself. And it was awesome, our good friends Katy and Chad came down to watch us race. They are firefighter friends of ours, it was fun seeing them at the race!!

Ok we have SCX #2 at Beverly Park this Sunday. Another course I like it has a great downhill technical section that a lot of people freak out on so my bike handling skills can come into play again!!

Kristi

SCX #1 Evergreen

2010-09-29T22:50:00.000-07:00

Last week was a very crazy week for me. Chad was in Florida for a FOOLS fire conference and my mom, Holden and I went to Vegas for Interbike. What a great time we had, thank you to Craig and Cycle U for send me.

Interbike was awesome, almost to big and very over whelming. But there was so much cool stuff to see. I spent around 4-5 hours there and didn't see it all. I even had George Hincapie sign a couple posters for Holden and Chad. He was very quite, you could tell he didn't really want to be there.

I then left Interbike and met Holden and mom out on the town at New York, New York. Vegas still isn't the best place to take kids, but they have Disneyfided it so there are a lot more things for kids to do and see. The hardest part was keeping him from seeing all the pamphlets they hand out with the mostly naked girls on it. It was a quick learning lesson for him, and kinda embarrassing for me.

So we got back on Friday from Vegas. My legs were so tired, I was on my feet all day for 3 days. Literally on Thurs I left at 9:30am walking and got back at 11pm walking. Very sore legs and feet but it was worth it!!

I got up Sat and did my opener workout, or race ramp up workout to get the legs loosened up and they were tight. We then went to Holden's soccer game where unfortunately they lost again! They are trying though and we are see improvements for sure. There is a win in their future!!

I took the rest of the day easy and then got up Sunday and headed down to the race just me and Holden. Dave P helped me out and watched Holden so I could race. Even though he said he didn't really do anything, it was just nice to know someone was keeping an eye on him.

It had rained in the morning so the course was a bit slick but not to bad. I decided to run my tubular Grifo tires and they were perfect as usual. We had 10 ladies on the start line which is good, the numbers keep going up each race.

We started and Lee Smith got the whole shot and I was on her wheel. I shot around her after the track and was off in first place. The girls were breathing down my back on the run up, so I had to try to push it a bit even though my heart rate was through the roof. I got a little gap on the downhill and then held it for the whole race. I managed to move up and increase the gap every lap and work my way up about half way through the single speed guys.

I felt pretty good, my legs were still not totally recovered from Vegas but overall a great race. I love racing at Evergreen, it is such a fun course.

We finished, Holden didn't race because he was just to tired from partying it up in Vegas so we headed to the airport to pick up Chad. Boy was it good to see him, I missed him a lot while he was gone.

So what a great week, lots done in a short period of time. I am back on a more normal schedule this week so hopefully Sunday's race will be awesome. I will let you know how it goes.

Kristi

MFG #1 Finn HIll Kirkland

2010-09-15T10:27:00.000-07:00

What a day!! Sunday was the first MFG race of the season, Kick off to Cross race and was sponsored by my team, Cycle U!

I spent the early part of the morning helping run registration and get things organized with the team volunteers. There were a lot of things to cover and our Cycle U team stepped up and helped make this race a huge success!

So of course I had a crazy morning and was behind on eating and getting my warm up in. So I did the best I could and got in a quick lap and got the tire pressure dialed in on the new Crux and jumped on the trainer for a quick 20min warm up. I wasn't feeling all that ready but I got to the start and gave it everything I had.

My legs were ok for the start, I got on Jenni Gaertner's wheel and sat there up to the first hill turn around and then took the lead. I held that for a short period of time, when Kari Studley came by me. I tried so hard to stay on her wheel but my legs just weren't warmed up enough and locked up a bit on me. I had to settle in a bit in hopes that they would open up by lap 2. So Kari was getting a good gap on me, and Jenni was bringing me in so I decided I had to give one lap as hard as I could to drop Jenni. It worked, I brought Kari back in a bit but just not enough. So I kept up the hard effort and stayed pretty consistent through each lap and held onto 2nd place.

Overall a good race, having not raced any Road or Mountain this summer I was a little nervous as to how I would do in these first few races. But I am pleasantly surprised how good I feel and I think this is going to be an awesome season for sure!!

My husband had a bad day, on Sat the day before the race he ran 220 floors in one of the building down town in support of 9/11 and all the fallen firefighters and police officers. So his legs were a little tired and he just couldn't get them work for him. And he had a really bad crash that sent him flying so he was pretty beat up. But the Tower climb was for sure more important! He will be back in a couple weeks to kick some butt for sure!

And my son Holden had a great race. He race without us this time, and did 2 full laps. He is so darn cute and just loves all his supporters out there on the course. He had a blast and we just need to teach him to shift!!

We will not be at the races this weekend as we will be in ID. Chad's dad is getting married so we are traveling over there on Sat to share in their day!!

Good luck to everyone that is racing, it is going to rain so plan for mud!!

Labor Day Cross

2010-09-09T08:53:00.000-07:00

Cross racing is officially under way!! We raced the first cross race on Monday and it was a great day for cross racing. The temps were cool and the course was nice and tacky and fast.

I raced first out of the family, and it started out awesome. I got the whole shot and lead till the run up, where Kari Studley passed me. She had a better stride up the steep hill/stairs and made a couple seconds on me at the top. I jumped back on and caught back up with Kari in the technical sections. We were together going into lap 2 and I was feeling pretty good. I was very nervous having not raced anything since Dec so I was pretty happy with where I was at.

We hit the stairs again and Kari got another gap, this one was a bit bigger so I was pushing harder to catch back on her wheel when about half way through the lap I hit a rock and pinch flatted. I had to run half the lap so I fell all the back to last and then ran into the pits where Chad and the Collision One guys helped me get a new wheel and I was back. My calfs were on FIRE from running the so long so I got on and just gave it everything I had.

I didn't catch back up with my group but managed to get back about half the rest of the fields. So a bad result but a good run workout for sure.

I then did 3 laps with Holden. He was awesome, he had such a great attitude and road further then any other cross race so far. It is so much fun riding with him and watching how good he can handle his bike.

And Chad raced last, he got the whole shot also and then continued to have a great race. He fell back a bit but held on for a good fight to finish 5th. Best season opener race for him so far.

So again a great weekend for the Berg's.

Next race in this Sunday the 12th at Finn Hill Park in Kirkland.

Seattle to Portland Ride

2010-07-30T12:25:00.000-07:00

On July 17th a group of 12 of my friends and myself headed out on the Seattle to Portland 204mile ride.

I have this great group of friends that have all gotten into riding in the past year or so. They all decided that they wanted to try the STP and we were excited to help. One of the girls, Laura works for Edmonds Family Medicine and the Doctor there purchased custom Jerseys for all of us to wear on the ride. We were know as team EFM!

We headed out at 6am on Sat morning, and headed out for the long day ahead of us. The team goal was to ride 150miles on Sat and 50 on Sun. Our Hotel was in Kelso WA 150 miles from Seattle. So we had to get there to get to our beds!!

Unfortunately one of the gals on the team hurt her knee a couple weeks before the race so Many couldn't ride. She graciously offered to drive the support rig, the True North trailer, for the whole weekend and she watched out son Holden also. What a great gal!!

So Mandy and Holden would drive ahead and meet us every 25ish miles so we had food and water. We really lucked out because the weather was only about 75 and overcast for most of the ride so it was a lot easier to stay hydrated.

After a very long day in the saddle, about 10 hours total ride time with 13 hours out, we all made it to Kelso. Everyone was so darn amazing. A lot of the people who rode the 150 had only ridden up to 60-70miles prior so this was going to be a big challenge and every one of them did it and did it well!! I was so impressed and proud of everyone. It was so much fun to see every one accomplish such a huge goal.

We all went out for a great dinner and of course drinks at Azteca next to the hotel and then hit the hot tub.

The next morning we all slept in, and headed out for the last 50miles around 10am. Every one's butts were very sore but we got rolling and we rocked it, everyone rode hard and we all made it to Portland. It was awesome only having 50 miles to go on the 2nd day. Would definitely do that again for sure. We all rolled in together as a team at the finish. We looked awesome and very professional!!

We stayed in Portland that night and went out for pizza. It took like 1.5 hours to get the pizza but once we got it, boy was it good!!

We woke up Monday morning and my mom, husband, son and myself all drove the trailer home and everyone else rode the train home. That was a 7 hour train ride, crazy!!

Conrats to everyone that did the ride, it was a blast to be with you all and I really am so impressed!!

Kristi

Winthrop Trip

2010-07-30T12:13:00.000-07:00

I have been a slacker on getting all my posts added. This is a little late but here we go:

On July 7th we headed over to Wintrhop to do some camping in the True North Trailer. Chad's dad lives over there with his soon to be new wife, Sandra. We went over there to hand with Larry and Sandra and get in some good MTB riding for a few days.
The weather was awesome, in the 90's each day. We stopped in when we got there to see the Robertson Family and catch up with them since it has been years since we have seen them. It was great to catch up with them. They are such great people!
Then we had a great dinner that Larry and Sandra made, Lasana!!
We got up the next morning to head out and ride up at Sun MT with Holden but Chad realized he forgot his shoes. So he had to borrow a pair from the Robertson's and then we got to head out and ride.
Holden did awesome, about 10miles off road in the heat. He burned out a bit the last couple of miles but what a trooper. He has such great handling skills, I hope he sticks with bikes because has the gift of picking good lines. He must have got that from me! :)
Another great night with Larry and Sandra, and then we got up and I went for a great 2 hour ride up to Chickadee and around Sun MT area and back. Chad and Holden went into town and got some shells for the shot gun and went up in the hills to shoot it. You know guy stuff!!
We head out and had to get home. It was hard to leave, I love Winthrop so much!!

1st Place 5K Berry Run, Marysville WA

2010-06-14T17:15:00.001-07:00

I have really been having a lot of fun this off season trying out my running skills. After my 1/2 marathon I decided to keep running going a couple days a week this year through cross. Normally I would stop running and go to riding everyday but with the crummy weather, and me really liking the running this year I decided to keep it going.

So I decided to try out a 5K. I have never raced a 5K before so pacing this was what I was the most worried about. I knew I could average 7:50min miles for 13 miles so I knew I had to try to go for under 7min average for the 5K.

I lined up on the first row, because this wasn't a chipped or timing system race, it was just a mass start so I new I had to get up there with the fast guys to set my pace. The gun blew and we were off. I was hauling, a bit faster then I probably should have but it felt ok. I ran a 6:30min mile for my first mile and knew that was fast for me, so I slowed the pace to catch my breath for the 2nd mile. Down to a 7:30min mile and then for the last 1.2miles I picked it back up again and finished the 5K in 21:15.

I was so happy, and it really hurt that last .25 trying to sprint into the finish, but I did it. And the pay off was 1st in my age group, 30-39 women. I was so happy and probably finished in the top 30 out of everyone, and there was some fast high school cross country kids there so I was pretty happy with my overall too.

The race was up at the Plant Farm in Smokey PT about 5mins from my house so it was the perfect race to do. And it was totally flat, so I could just kick it fast and hard.

My son, 8 year Holden ran the 1mile race for his first running race and he got 3rd in the 8 and under boys. I was so very proud of him, running it in under 11 min!!

And my mom was in town visiting and decided 15min before the start to run the 1mile race with my son and she ended up winning her age group, 60+ women.

What an amazing and athletic family I have. We all had a blast, and I will for sure run another one!!

Kristi

1st place in Wenatchee 1/2 Marathon

2010-04-17T18:04:00.000-07:00

Well 1/2 Marathon number 2 is in the books. I ran the Wenatchee 1/2 Marathon today, this morning at 8am. This is my 2nd 1/2 Marathon ever, the first was the same weekend last year here in Wenatchee.

Unfortunately I came down with a really bad head cold 2 weeks ago and that sidelined my training for the past 2 weeks. I had to take 7 complete days off, and just was able to get in a 4 mile run last week without coughing. Good news I was able to get all my training in before the cold minus my longest run that was going to be 10miles. I was only able to get in an 8 mile run 3 weeks ago so I was a bit nervous not knowing what my body was going to let me do today.

I got to the start at 7:30am. I love the runs because there is a lot less stress for me then my bike races because I am just doing these for fun and the challenge so I don't have as much pressure going into this event. I got on about the 4th row of the start and started out at about a 7:30 pace for the 1st mile.

Last year I ran a 1:44 overall so that put me at an 8min mile pace so my plan was to take off some time this year and improve my overall time. So I was pacing myself and I felt good and was surprised to see my first mile was 7:30. I was a bit nervous wondering if I started out to fast but I really felt like I was at the right pace and felt good so I stayed on the pace.

The course in Wenatchee is beautiful, I highly recommend this race, we run on the paved trail that runs along both sides of the Columbia River. Really it is just beautiful, the west side is mostly flat and surrounded by green fields and the east side of the river is more desert like with lots of sand and very rolling, with some 6-8% grade shorter climbs and downhills. So you get a mixed variety of everything on this course. We run out half way and then turn around and come back.

I felt awesome for the first 3-4 miles, mostly flat kept my 7:30 pace and then we hit the hills. I love the hills, I love running uphill so this was a great section for me. I worked this whole last 4 months on getting better and running downhills because that is was killed me last year. I did great my knees were happy and I was able to carry a much faster pace on the downhills this year. I hit the turn around and still was feeling really strong. So I kept on it, and thanks to my mom, husband, son and niece for giving me a bottle of G2 every 3 miles!! They made it so I didn't have to mess with the feed zones and get a better exchange and keep my speed. And they were awesome cheerleaders.

I got through the rest of the climbs and was starting to get a bit tired, I was keeping track of my pace while running and on the flats for the last 3 miles I started to struggle a little bit, still keep a good pace but the legs muscles were starting to get tired. My son and husband were on bikes and at 3 miles to go they started riding with me, we passed a guy on the ground and my husband (a fireman) stopped to see what was up and the man was in a bad state of dehydration and bonking hard so he stopped to help. My son stayed with me and helped keep me moving and rode with me for the last 3 miles cheering me on.

At one mile to go I tried to pick it up a bit knowing I was getting close to my last years time and I wanted to beat it so bad. So I picked it up, it hurt pretty bad but I pushed through it and I came through the finish in 1:42:32. So I was a min and a half faster then last year!! YEAH I did it, I improved my time. I was so happy not knowing what was going to happen with being so sick in the past couple weeks.

I finished 6th out of all the women, awesome and 1st in my age group, 30-34 years old!! I couldn't believe it, I won my first 1/2 marathon!! I don't think of myself as a runner but now I guess I have to consider that!!

Thank you so much to my mom (Sue), husband (Chad), son (Holden), niece (Alyssa) for giving me fluid to keep me hydrated and for cheering to keep me going. I couldn't have done it without them.

So for those of you reading this that maybe have gotten motivated, please pick something in the next couple months to challenge yourslef and sign up for it. By signing up it gives you something to work towards, every 3-4 months plan something, that will keep you motivated and wanting to improve throughout the whole year. It can be anything, just something to challenge you and make you grow as person!!

Life is short, live it fully and constantly challenge yourself to keep growing!!

Now it's time to start focusing on riding again and getting ready for another great Cyclocross season!!

Kristi

HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT!!!

2010-04-03T13:40:00.000-07:00

I have a very big announcement to make regarding my sponsor for the 2010 season!

I have joined up with my employer, Cycle University of Seattle for mountain bike and cyclocross racing for the 2010 season.

I am very excited to get to represent who I work for and to help advertise this awesome business and to give back to my great boss, Craig Undem for everything that he has done for me over the past 5 years.

I have worked for Cycle U for almost 5 years, I am the head women's cycling coach, Director of all our Teams at Cycle U, I am helping manage the Sandpoint Cycle U location and I am also a personal trainer. I love working for Craig and Cycle U and am very excited to get to wear our new colors/kit this season.

I will be riding the Specialized TriCross bikes this year. Cycle U West Seattle location is a Specialized bicycle retailer and I am very excited to get to ride these awesome bikes. I currently am riding on the Specialized Amira women's carbon road bike and am loving it. It is so amazingly stiff but comfortable. I am hoping to get a Specialized Epic MTB bike for racing on this season but my main priority is to get my cross bikes.

I will also be representing Northwood Trailers again for the 2010 season, thank you to Lance and the True North and Northwood family for all of their help and continued support. Check out the website at www.truenorth.me and see how amazing the True North Trailer is. It is so perfect for all outdoor activities and especially great for racing!!

I am still looking for some more individual sponsors, like sun glasses, casual clothing and of course cash sponsors. I will be having a custom kit made with Cycle U's colors but can add additional sponsors to my kit. So if you have an interest and would like me to sport your equipment or want to help out with some cash, please contact me at 425-327-6125.

Again thank you to Craig and Cycle U for this awesome opportunity, look for me in the new colors at a race soon!!

One last Cross Race-Chilly Cross

2010-01-19T10:28:00.000-08:00

One last cross race of the season. I have to admit I wasn't all that excited to race in Jan, 4 weeks after Nationals. I had only ridden my bike twice since Nats, have been doing some running and stairs but basic stuff.
But once we got to the race site in Bellingham at Cornwell Park, I was actually really excited to ride the bike again. The course was really fun, the park is beautiful and it makes for a great cross course!!
I did a warm up lap and surprising my legs felt pretty strong. Very well rested, but strong. This particular series is very small, but really run well and they have great courses. Everyone should check them out next year and add them to your list of races. Well worth the drive.
There were 5 women in the A/B race. More then I thought, so thank you to the ladies that came out! They lined us up at the back of the Master B and B men. We all started together, there was maybe 30 people total.
So when the gun went off I tried to get through as many guys as I could. It worked by the end of the first lap I was half way through the guys. I really was feeling awesome so I kept up the effort and passed a lot more guys. I am not sure where I ended up in the men, but I know I was in the top 5 to 10 for sure. And I won the women's A race.
It was really hard getting motivated to race in Jan but I am really glad I did and would do it again next year.
What a year, time now to get the road and MTB bikes in order and change the mental focus. Can't wait already for cross in 2010!!

Kristi

Elite Nationals

2009-12-18T10:53:00.000-08:00

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

Master's Nationals

2009-12-13T08:35:00.000-08:00

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

Finally in Bend!

2009-12-07T17:29:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-07T12:34:00.000-08:00

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

USGP Portland

2009-12-06T06:32:00.001-08:00

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

SCX #8 Monroe Series Final

2009-11-30T09:00:00.001-08:00

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

SCX #7 Sedro Wolley

2009-11-23T10:41:00.000-08:00

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

MFG Finals Woodland Park

2009-11-16T08:34:00.000-08:00

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

WA State Championships

2009-11-14T19:44:00.000-08:00

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

SCX #5 Sprinker Park

2009-11-09T12:40:00.000-08:00

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

MFG #5 EVergreen and SCX #5 Maris Farms

2009-11-03T07:58:00.000-08:00

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

Today's training ride

2009-10-27T17:17:00.000-07:00

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!!

SCX #4 Steilacoom

2009-10-25T17:25:00.000-07:00

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

SCX #3 Silver Lake

2009-10-24T10:21:00.000-07:00

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

SCX #2 Beverly Elementary

2009-10-11T07:17:00.000-07:00

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

MFG #4 Steilacoom

2009-10-10T07:13:00.000-07:00

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

MFG #3 Lake Samammish

2009-10-04T07:07:00.000-07:00

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

Seattle Series #1 Evergreen High School

2009-09-27T07:06:00.000-07:00

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

StarCrossed and Rad GP race reports

2009-09-20T07:05:00.000-07:00

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

Labor Day and MFG #1 Race reports

2009-09-07T07:03:00.000-07:00

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