Last weekend, Ben, Piper and I embarked on a mini-vacation.
It began on Thursday evening. We loaded up the Element and
headed all the way to Sisters, for a night at the Five Pine Lodge (thanks Joel!). We explored the lower Peterson
Ridge Trail network on Friday morning, with Piper in tow (she is becoming a
pretty good little trail dog) and enjoyed a few sweet treats at Angeline’s.
Next on the agenda, the Oregon Coast at Pacific City. In
true spring time fashion, the weather was sporadic, but lovely (in an Oregon
Coast sort of way) and both Ben and I were able to get out and enjoy some fresh
coastal air; Ben on his surf board and I on my MTB. Piper had a hay-day frolicking in the ocean
and I couldn't help but smile to see our little family having so much fun
together.
Saturday afternoon, we drove to Corvallis, to visit some
dear friends, from our Opal Creek days and enjoyed the splendor of their company
and their locally-sourced (from their backyard), out-of-this-world cuisine. Spending time with them was truly relaxing
and I am fortunate that we had the time to connect.
Sunday morning was RACE DAY! Ben and I headed
to Blodgett, for the 25th edition of MUDSLINGER! Mike Ripley always
puts on a stellar race and this was no exception. The weather was perfect for an event entitled
MUDSLINGER – no further explanation necessary.
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| Photo: Oregon Velo |
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| Photo: Oregon Velo |
I came to this race to win. At the start line, I knew this was going to be
a tough and challenging day and I was excited to race and see what I could do
on my new Giant Anthem. The first long climb felt good and I sat patiently on
Alice’s wheel. And then, it was time to
go. Taking the lead and getting a gap, I
charged up the next climb, knowing I had to put in some meaningful time on
Alice if I was going to hold the lead on the next long decent. Two-thirds down the greasy single track,
Alice made the pass, and it was back and forth from there on out. I was climbing stronger, but Alice was railing
the downhills with incredible speed. In
the end, Alice took the win by under 20 seconds. I crossed the line in 2nd.
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| Photo: Oregon Velo |
And even more noteworthy was that Ben also toed the line.
Yes, Ben Gordon. Never before had he
raced a mountain bike – and he had fun.
In fact, he told me the next day that he thinks he will do another
race.
There was nothing more awesome
than for me see Ben after the race was over, smiling! Two muddy bikes, one
exhausted pup and the love of my life, enjoying the sport I am so passionate
about. It was an awesome weekend, in so many
ways. Thanks to all that helped to make
it so.
For more on my team, All Access Racing – check out our team
blog at http://allaccessracing.blogspot.com/.
HINT: Brennan crushed it!