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Kim has to be our most prolific racer on the team. She has earned more awards in her racing career than any of us could ever imagine earning. So it brings me great pleasure to share her 2009 race season. The MtnBikeRiders.com Race Team is very proud of her and her accomplishments.

Well here we are with another racing season at its end. This has been an awesome year of racing & riding. The SRC awards, which was held on Sunday, 12-13-2009, and was as always a lot of fun! I had a chance to visit with everyone and chat about the up & coming 2010 season. I had a great 2009 season with XC, Super D & Downhill.

Downhill racing was new to me this year and with the help of Tony, Nancy & Roger, I made it through the season with only one injury! I made some great new friends, Traci & Lala in the downhill races.

Being part of Mtnbikeriders.com Team has been a great experience as well. The support that I received from everyone was great. The team first seemed to be just a bunch of people that love to ride and turned into a family! What a great time I had with all of them. Each person on the team seemed to improve as the season went on. Priscilla was a lot of fun to ride with and is a great support during our training. We’re constantly pushing each other to improve all the time. Also is very nice to have a lady to ride with!

My goal this year when I started the season was to qualify for Nationals and be able to attend. I have raced several years but this goal had alluded me. I race several events and was thrilled when I received the email telling me I had qualified! We quickly made arrangements and before I knew it off to Colorado!

The race course was unbelievable! I even forgot I was racing I was enjoying the views and the most wonderful technical single-track course I have ever raced on! I finished the race with the sheer joy of being there and crossing the finish line, then to my surprised I had placed 2nd in XC Cat 3 Women 40-49! I did it!

I raced all season at Fontana, Woodward & Mammoth. It was a great experience to not only do XC & Supper D, but now adding the downhill!

The Southridge awards for overalls completed and I placed 1st in XC, Super D & Downhill! The US Kenda Cup Series, which included, Bonelli Park, Sagebrush, & Santa Yenz, for the West, I took first in overalls for this series. I entered the Triple Crown Series: Bonelli Park, Mt SAC & our home course of Fontana, allowing me to finish 1st in overalls.

Each race I entered was able to place at least in the top five. This was also my own personal guideline for moving out of CAT 3 division. Our team did fantastically well all season long and we all made some new friends along the way. For myself I am moving from CAT 3/beginner to CAT 2/sport category in all race disciplines. I am hoping to have as much fun is this category as I have in the pervious years. Our team sponsors have been good to us this year and the goodies have been a nice treat. Everyone’s support both on & off the racecourse has been fantastic.

I am looking forward to the next season and marking my calendar!

Happy New year to everyone and we’ll see you on the trails!

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Well here in Orange County it has been a rough week. Fires ablaze all around us and the air quality has been nothing short of awful. The skies have been filled with smoke and ash all week. My prayers have been with the families that have been threatened and with the firefighters that have been working non stop to protect us all.

Actual pic from one of the California fires….

There’s been no bike riding this week, we’re just lucky to escape any smoke inhalation driving from home to work or home to school. It will still be awhile before the air quality is decent around us even with getting some of these fires under control.

Some of you in other parts of the country have different issues. Maybe it’s the rain? I have friends in Colorado that have already seen their first snow fall! Must be tough to bike in that? So what do you do to keep in biking shape in these circumstances?

We can’t really complain here in California. For the most part these winter months aren’t nearly what the east coast has to put up with. But even so we have our circumstances that keep us off our bikes.

It’s really nice to have some alternatives if acts of nature (or arsonists) are keeping you off your bike. And so might I suggest: Indoor spinning. I am not sure why more guys aren’t doing this?! Ok, so it’s not as fun as riding the trails, I hear that and feel that! But I’ve worked too hard all spring/summer to get where I am at on my bike. No way am I letting the weather ruin all that for me! And neither should you!

You can get an amazing work out on a spin bike. I have read you can burn anywhere from 600-1000 calories an hour on a spin bike depending on how much energy you put into it. If I don’t have a puddle of sweat on the floor after my spin session then I haven’t worked out hard enough. Gross, I know. ;D

Spin is also a great way to improve your biking skills. Maybe you are lacking cardiovascular strength? Are your lungs burning, gasping for air while you’re on the trails? Or maybe like me your legs are just BURINING on your climbs up the hills? Or maybe you poop out way too soon, lacking endurance? Indoor spinning can make a huge difference with all these issues!

I started off at the local gym, two times a week, and within two weeks I saw a huge improvement in my riding. The gym is great if you have an awesome instructor. It’s very motivating and pushes you to work harder. My gym has a mixture of good and not so good instructors. If you come across a lousy one don’t give up! I prefer an instructor that is going to kick my butt in the class though. If I am about to puke at the end of class then you have my stamp of approval! Haha!

Ok..they aren’t mountain biking, but I bet those bikers near the top of the hill take spin classes!

If you’re fortunate enough I definitely recommend having a quality spin bike in your home. They are pricey though. Another alternative is a trainer. We have one made by Kinetic. These are great also and most often have DVD’s to assist you in your training. All of these are great for these cold winter months. You’ll be back in spring better and stronger than ever if you add this to your winter routine!!! And it will pull you out of the blah’s!

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