Rocktown 2022 Holiday Gift Guide
A short and sweet gift guide of some of our favorite products and maybe ideas for those struggling with what to gift to the cyclists in your life.
Hopefully this gift guide will help you out. We’ll start off with the less expensive items and then continue through the items as they go up in price.
As always, feel free to call the shop if you have any questions or become inspired with a gift idea of your own, but it’s not listed below. Chances are we may have that too!
Happy Holidays!
Rock-n-Roll chain lube - $7.99
The Rock-n-Roll chain lube is our go-to for bike service. It can be used for road or mountain bikes and actually cleans the chain during the application process.
The three levels of the lubricant are:
Gold - best for road/dry gravel riding
Extreme - best for mountain biking/muddy gravel or slightly wet conditions
Holy Cow - very wet conditions!
Muc-Off Powder bike cleaner - $30.00 - $36.00
Keep the bikes in your life clean, shiny, and sparkly! Muc-Off makes a great bike cleaner and now it comes in a powder form! This is great for traveling and taking up less space in the ol’ garage. You can buy just the powder or the “PUNK POWER BUNDLE” with the re-usable spray bottle.
Lezyne Super V 22 Multitool - $45.00
Never be without the tool you need! The Lezyne Super V 22 multitool is compact, yet still contains so many of the tools a cyclist might need while out on a bike ride or traveling.
Dynaplug - $55.00 - $125.00
Our favorite tubeless tire plug system, DynaPlug really knocks it out of the park in performance of their products as well as their looks! Now offered in a bunch of fun colors, the Pro Racer and Covert Flat Bar Dynaplug systems are efficient and compact. A physically small, but high-end gift that any mountain biker would love!
Re-strap bike bags $50.00 - $68.00
You can’t go wrong with a top tube or handlebar bag as a gift. These Restrap bike bags are very universal with easy installation or removal. Handmade in Yorkshire, the Canister and Top Tube Bags are made from 100% waterproof textured nylon, have a nylon lining, and are finished with a vegan-friendly label.
New Rocktown Kits & T-shirts $18.99 - $130.00
We just got these in and they are awesome, so of course I had to put them in here :)
Look great and stay visible in any of the styles of our new 2023 Rocktown cycling apparel! We have relaxed fit tech tee’s and jerseys, as well as more fitted jerseys. Finish the look off with our matching cycling bibs and long sleeve thermal jersey, and you’re ready to go!
Not looking for a new kit, but still want to represent a local bike shop? New colors of our favorite Rocktown T-shirts have arrived!
Outbound Lights - $179.00 - 245.00
One of the newest items to hit the shop (and made in the USA) - the Outbound wireless handlebar lights have brought a new level to night riding! Choose from the Detour Road Light (1200 lumens) or the Trail Evo Light (2200 lumens) and never be caught in the dark again! Easy install and very user-friendly make these a great pick for the biking adventurer in your life.
New Tactic 4 and Mode Helmets
Two of the newest helmets from Specialized have hit the market - Tactic 4 and Mode. The Tactic 4 received an update in design and the Mode is the first of it’s kind from Specialized.
Both helmets received the highest safety rating of 5 stars from the Virginia Tech Helmet Safety Ratings program, which has become the gold standard when looking for the safest helmets out there.
In addition to the amazing safe keeping of your noggin, these helmets look great and offer a few extra fun functions.
The Mode was designed with the commuter in mind - hidden ventilation to keep your head cool as temperatures go up, an integrated fit adjustment system to set the helmet up perfectly for your head, and STIX taillight compatibility allows for an easy transition from day to night riding.
The Tactic 4 combines coverage with with style and seamlessly integrates with goggles or sunglasses. Whether you’re out just riding along or hitting those enduro lines, this helmet will keep you feeling cool and confident.
These helmets look GOOD. They are lightweight, super comfortable, and priced well at $120 (Mode) and $110 (Tactic). Rocktown has stocked many of these in the shop, so stop by to check them out!
Mode
Tactic 4
Kelly & Chris Go West
Though it’s been a few months now since our trip out west, the memories and experiences remain fresh and bring on happy feelings often.
To friends, family, and customers that I told this blog would be up sooner, I apologize - life gets crazy sometimes.
So here it is: Kelly & Chris’ big adventure :)
We had planned on leaving for our almost 3 week vacation the evening of Saturday, February 13th. However, Winter Storm Uri had other plans, which had us move our departure up a day early. We were going to try to outrun one heck of a large storm.
Man, we came so close. By the evening of Saturday the 13th, we were in Texas, and I was tracking the storm every half hour. It was making its way from the Pacific Northwest down south and then east. Each town that was ahead of us showed dropping temperatures and likely snow flurries. Our goal was to just make it to Interstate 10 and hopefully El Paso by the middle of the night.
“If we could just get to El Paso,” we kept saying. El Paso showed the return of warmer temps and only rain.
What we didn’t realize was that between the current highway we were on and those warmer temperatures were the remnants of Texas’ previous ice storm.
By the time we were reaching Odessa, TX, the snow flurries and freezing temperatures had made their presence well known. It was 11:30pm, I was worried, and I think Chris was a bit tense as well, but the roads had still been fine. We filled up on gas, and thought we might make it. Then, only a few miles later, we hit the ice and snow, still frozen solid to the highway from last week’s weather.
“There’s no way the van can make it in this, in the dark,” I told Chris.
So back to Odessa we went. We found a newly built Holiday Inn Express, joining many other folks in giving up fighting against what mother nature had in store. It was 6* F with lots of wind and snow when we finally went to bed.
Middle of the night selfie at 6* F. It was COLD.
When we woke up, it was truly winter out - the world was covered in white, with snow falling hard. My weather app said it was 9* with a high of 13* for the day and snow continuing on for the rest of the day. We could see the highway from our room and there were trucks/cars on it, driving fairly normally. That felt like a sign that we should be able to make it the rest of the way to our first actual destination of Sierra Vista, AZ.
That was quite incorrect.
The van got topped-off at the local Love’s gas station (which was all abuzz with excited folks because of how crazy the weather was; it felt like a party), and then onto Interstate 20 we went.
“Wow, the highway looks pretty good,” Chris said. And it really did look good; it looked like clear pavement. It wasn’t though. A quick brake check proved that black ice can be as clear as the freshest spring water.
Back to Odessa we went. But before we checked back into that cute little Holiday Inn Express, we did some fun sight-seeing!
Looking at the Google maps of Odessa, Chris found that there was a replica StoneHenge (65% to scale) at the Community College, so we decided to go find it.
Chris really liked the Stonehenge Replica!
It was fun driving around as slow as possible watching folks have fun in their trucks. The employees at the Starbucks we stopped at were SO nice and made my mood so much more positive just from how much fun they were having with the crazy conditions. In being worried about the van’s capabilities, I had been pretty tense until that Starbucks stop, haha.
In all honesty, and looking back on it, we were glad to take a break in Odessa and catch up on sleep. The past year had been so crazy, and our exhaustion from the bike boom had started to settle in just before we left for this trip. Odessa provided our first opportunity to just accept what was going on, relax, and wait for the next day.
The next day, we were getting out of there. Two days had been lost from waiting out the storm. The weather had passed by, all that was left to deal with was getting to Interstate 10, 112 miles away, which clearly showed green traffic patterns - actually clear roads.
It took us 5 hours to drive those 112 miles.
Our first few miles on the highway were some of the scariest I’ve ever experienced. Tractor trailers were driving like we weren’t all on black ice and packed snow; we were both worried about their stopping abilities more than our van’s.
Thankfully, there was a service road that ran literally right next to the highway, and no one was using it! We drove on that for as long as possible. For 5 hours, we crept along until finally, the snow disappeared from the highway like magic. It was crazy. And I was so, so glad. I think we both would be very ok with never having to drive in conditions like that ever again.
The service road we spent most of our day on.
Finally! Interstate 10!
Around 9pm we finally reached Sierra Vista, AZ.
The beautiful sunset we got to watch as we got closer to Sierra Vista.
Dang! I feel like I’ve already written so much, and this is only the first few days of our trip! Hopefully you all are enjoying it, because this story is going to be a long one.
Sierra Vista - what an experience we had there. Our ride almost felt like 2 completely different days.
Originally, our route was going to be around 60 miles. We were going to make our way south to the Coronado National Memorial, go up, over, and around the Huachuca mountains to make our way back into Sierra Vista from the north.
The beginning of this ride included one of the most scenic bike paths I’ve ever been on!
The first 75% of that original route was very enjoyable, even with the high winds we were experiencing. What was unfortunate was that the first 75% actually became the first 50% of our ride. In creating the route, we were not aware that the final road, the final 7 miles of the ride, went through the Huachuca military base. Although civilians are allowed to use the road, they must get a pass by going through a security check. Where does the security check happen? It happens on the opposite end of the road we were trying to access. The gate we were at, on mile 53 of our bike ride, did not have any personnel on-site, and there was no way they were letting us through (I tried really hard talking with the man in the radio box to get us allowed through).
95 miles is what the ride ended up being, and in those extra 35 miles we entered the land of rolling terrain that sucks away any momentum you get from a downhill. And the wind! My goodness the wind was wearing on us. Thank goodness there was cell service, otherwise I think we would have had to backtrack on our route and then it would have been 100+ miles. So at least there’s that.
Anyway, we made our way on that rolling terrain through more of the beautiful landscape we had been experiencing the whole day, and hit the main road that would take us to the other main road into Sierra Vista. On that first main road, highway 83, we had the most insane tailwind! I think we averaged 33mph and we weren’t even trying; it was a welcome respite from what we had ridden through to get there, and also offered up the opportunity to prepare ourselves for the ultimate headwind we were about to experience once we turned onto highway 90.
Don’t think that we didn’t enjoy our time in Sierra Vista. Like I said, that ride ended up feeling like 2 completely different days - the first half was super enjoyable, the second half just turned into “I want to be finished.”
We left for Tucson that night, with plans to ride Mt Lemmon the following day, and then head for Vegas.
Remember that exhaustion I had mentioned earlier, back in Odessa, TX? Well it was really starting to hit me by this point. I woke up on our first morning in Tucson and couldn’t fathom that we were going to do Lemmon and then drive another 6 hours to Las Vegas. It’s just over 25 miles up to the top of Mt Lemmon from the popular starting location! That means it’s over 50 miles total, half of that climbing, and then we have MORE driving?!
I voiced how I was feeling and we decided we would hit Lemmon and then find a different place to stay in Tucson for another day. What relief that provided, and what a good decision that ended up being.
I’m going to pause in the story telling real quick to go over what bikes we ended up bringing. Chris has a Specialized Crux and I have the new Specialized Diverge Pro. Both feel capable on everything from smooth tarmac to chunky chunk gravel, so we decided to make packing easy on ourselves and only take these bikes. Also bringing mountain bikes had been an idea, but it just started to feel overwhelming.
To make sure these bikes were set up to be the most capable for everything we wanted to ride, we installed 38c Specialized Pathfinder Pro tires on them. The Pathfinder is one of my favorite tires - a smooth center tread keeps it feeling fast on pavement/smooth surfaces, and then the side treads and width provide confident handling through looser terrain. And my Diverge can clear all the way up to 47c tires, so I was stoked to still have tons of frame clearance if we happened to run into some muddy situations.
For most of 2020, I had been dealing with some health issues, which prevented me from really enjoying and exploring on my Diverge. One of the things I had been looking forward to with this trip was the chance to finally get to know and appreciate what this bike is capable of. Our first ride in Sierra Vista had quite the range of surfaces, and the Diverge proved itself, especially on the chunky gravel, high-speed mountain descent.
So back to our first time up Mt Lemmon - we went up it 3 different times over the course of this vacation.
This first time was the day after our Sierra Vista ride, so we were tired. Neither of us had time expectations, we were just excited to do our biggest climb ever (5,572’) and see what all the hype was about the Cookie Cabin in Summerdean, the little town at the top.
While we didn’t make it all the way to the Cookie Cabin that first time, we did make it to the top of the climb, which is still about 4 miles away from Summerdean. The high winds had stuck around for another day and brought in a cold front when we were still climbing the second half of the mountain. It got SO cold! We had extra layers, but they were not going to help us at all if we had pushed on for those final 4 miles. Neither of us had feeling in our hands and feet for most of that descent, even after we had left the 30* temperatures and were back in the 70* temps.
Both of us were glad we had turned around early; cold temperatures and changing weather are not conditions to mess with, especially if you’re not prepared.
For our second night in Tucson, we decided to splurge. We both were still waiting to truly feel like we were on vacation. It had been “go, go, go” since we left Harrisonburg, 4 days ago.
There’s a resort called Star Pass on the west side of the city that has beautiful views of Tucson and the surrounding mountains. This is where we stayed, and where we finally settled into “vacation mode”.
Las Vegas was our destination for the next day, but we got to it in a much more relaxed manner. Before leaving Tucson we checked out the Gates Pass Overlook, which is in a region that has tons of Saguaro Cacti, something we had been really looking forward to seeing. These cacti are so cool! Saguaro grow very slowly, so any really big ones you see are quite old, possibly over 120 years old!
There were two things we didn’t realize we would see on our drive to Las Vegas - Joshua Trees and The Hoover Dam.
In the middle of the drive to Las Vegas there’s a whole Joshua Tree Forest in Arizona! We had no idea. We didn’t realize we would be able to see these without going to Joshua Tree National Park, in California, which was a destination planned for later on in our trip.
And the Hoover Dam is right off of the highway, so we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to check it out. What a massive piece of infrastructure! A new feeling I had been experiencing on this trip was how large everything felt; the Hoover Dam continued this feeling. It made me dizzy looking down to the Colorado River from the top of the dam.
Small confession time - Chris and I are big fans of Bass Pro Shops and Cabella’s stores. We think they’re fun and ridiculous, and when we saw that there was one in Las Vegas (with a hotel/casino attached, of course), we couldn’t pass up the opportunity of going to it. So that’s where the GPS was set - we didn’t have a hotel picked out or anything, we just knew we were going to the Bass Pro Shop in Las Vegas!
The Bass Pro Shop was great; the biggest one we have ever been to! But it was starting to get late, so we searched the internet for a place to stay and settled on the Red Rock Casino/Hotel on the west side of the city.
We knew we had to drive through the Las Vegas strip before turning in for the night, though! Dang is that road crazy! I’ve never seen anything like this - HUGE hotels with crazy themes, super ornate over-the-top buildings, lights everywhere! SO. MANY. LIGHTS!
True to Las Vegas form, the Red Rock Casino was nothing short of amazing and over-the-top; another place we had never experienced so much extravagance. The lobby had crystals EVERYWHERE - I LOVED IT.
The Red Rock lobby - so many crystals!
The next morning we left for Death Valley, just a 2 hour drive from Las Vegas. Dante’s View, one of the rides I had been so excited for, was finally happening. We came upon Dante’s View by chance, actually. Chris and I had been exploring the many National Geographic maps we had ordered, and I saw this peak called Dante’s View in the Death Valley map. Having always enjoyed reading parts of Dante’s Inferno and how dramatic that poem is, I knew this place had to be awesome. Just reading it on the map, it hadn’t occurred to us until we started researching that Dante’s View was also the view of Mos Eisley SpacePort in Star Wars: A New Hope! Chris and I are huge Star Wars fans, so finding this out led us to look into all the other Star Wars scenes that happened there, which was a lot of fun!
The Dante’s View ride, starting from the Furnace Creek Visitor’s Center, is just over 50 miles - 25 miles up, 25 miles down. We started at -180’ and rode up to 5,574’. It was such a lovely and incredibly cool ride. The whole trip just kept adding places and terrains that we had never ever ridden anything similar to until now.
This was our first ride in the sunny warmer weather we had been searching for, and there was NO WIND! Finally!
Before we started the ride, we drove down to check out the Devil’s Golf Course, which sits at 282’ below sea level, and is a huge area of jagged rock salt that has been incredibly eroded by wind and rain. Chris had originally wanted to start from here, but with the time of day we were starting and the fact that it would add 10 incredibly long, rolling miles to our loop, we decided it was best to stick to our original plan. We had no idea what the climb was going to be like and wanted to make sure we had a great day.
Devil’s Golf Course
The climb up to the view was actually fairly easy until the final 3 miles and especially when we hit the 1 mile to go point. If you look at our Strava from this ride, you’ll see a segment called “Dante’s Wall”, which is an accurate description since the average grade goes to 13.1% for the last half mile. Dang, my knees hurt so bad in a few of those final switchbacks! It was comical how steep this section got after climbing at only a 2-3% grade for over 20 miles. It was well worth it though!
We stayed at the overlook for a while - taking in the views, thinking about Star Wars, and talking with this cool couple we met on the way up. They live in Oakland, and have traveled a good bit, but haven’t ridden on the East Coast - I’m hopeful we convinced them it’s worth the visit! :)
25 miles of descending is a lot of fun! And it was nice to take in the views that had been behind us in the first half of our day. Before we went back to the car, we stopped at Zabriskie Point, an area of dramatically eroded rolling terrain. We were reaching the golden hour and sunset, so it was especially beautiful.
Descending from Dante’s View
Zabriskie Point
Sea Level!
20 Mule Canyon
It was at this point we had to decide where we were going next for our trip. Do we continue further into California or head back to Las Vegas and save the California adventures for another time?
We decided to go back to Las Vegas, hang out there, and then spend the second week back in Tucson, AZ. It was time to stop driving so much and enjoy one specific area for more than 1 day.
Back to the Red Rock Casino we went! We booked two nights, had a fun relaxing day planned, and I was super excited to sleep in as long as I wanted.
Many friends and customers had recommended we check out the Red Rock Canyon loop while we were in Las Vegas. What luck we had that the Red Rock Casino was in a spot where we could ride directly from the hotel and reach the entrance of the Red Rock Canyon Scenic Drive in just a few miles! The Scenic Drive itself is 13 miles, and our ride totaled out to about 26 miles.
I think this was one of my absolute favorite experiences of the whole trip. The Red Rock Canyon was the first place that my brain started to comprehend how big everything is. The road allowed us to be so close to the base of some of the mountains; ones that hadn’t seemed that big at the beginning of our ride, now that they were close up, were just absolutely gigantic! Some of the red rocks that we saw, I would think, “oh those are big.” Then I would see a dot on top of one of those rocks, realize it was a person, and my thoughts changed to, “HOLY COW THIS PLACE IS HUGE.”
Also, there were Burro X-ing signs on the road. I thought that was hilarious and loved it.
These experiences were absolutely incredible and like nothing I had ever experienced before. I would love to go back and spend so much more time in Death Valley and Las Vegas.
Our second week of vacation/final five days were spent in Tucson. We had really enjoyed Tucson, how calm it felt, the rides that were available to us from there, and we also liked that it would put us a few hours closer to home compared to if we had continued to California.
We found a super amazing home on airbnb for the week in a great location. It was so nice to have a home base to be able to go back to for the second half of our trip.
Mt Lemmon had left us something to be desired from our first ride up it the week prior, so it was number one on our list of rides to cross off now that we were back in Tucson. I was determined to get my Cookie Cabin cookie and put down a better time up the mountain.
While we did have a much more amazing time on Mt Lemmon and I felt so much stronger, when we reached Summerdean we found out that the Cookie Cabin’s oven was not working! So once again I was left disappointed - no cookie for Kelly. Chris went above and beyond (literally) on this second summit, and climbed up to pretty much the actual peak of Mt Lemmon. It made his highest climb ever go from 5,572’ to 6,452’; he was pretty stoked!
My ride title for this was “A Perfect Ride” because it truly was - the temperatures were warm and pleasant the whole time, there was barely any wind, we both felt strong and peppy, and the sun was shining so bright and happy! You can’t beat the views on Mt Lemmon. We stopped at so many overlooks on the way down to take it all in.
After a strong ride up Mt Lemmon, we took it easy the following day and checked out some of the trails in Star Pass. These trails were easily accessed just up the road from our airbnb, and took us pretty immediately into a cactus fairyland! It was rocky and sometimes there was deep sand, but for the most part our gravel bikes did fine. We tootled around in there for an hour or so and then relaxed at the house for the rest of the day. I was really enjoying the “wake up, eat, ride, eat, relax, eat, sleep” life! We also took the opportunity to plan out the last few rides of our vacation before having to head back home.
Third-to-last-ride: Patagonia, AZ. I had first heard of this place years ago from a friend that went out there over the years for cycling training camps. Fast forward to the day after the 2019 Rasputitsa Gravel Race and I’m listening to two amazing people talk about their cycling bed and breakfast/tour guide business right in Patagonia. It wasn’t long after this that the couple announced they would be hosting their first ever gravel race - The Spirit World - also out of Patagonia, AZ. These two people clearly love cycling, food, and community. Their stoke for sharing the love of adventure on a bike definitely made me want to see what this place was about - it sounded magical!
And so this little town quickly became much more known as quite the place for gravel riding. From all that we had heard, it seemed like The Spirit World route would be one we wanted to do. They have a 60 mile route and a 100 mile route with gps data easily shared and downloaded via their website (thank you!). Since the 100 mile route actually included a fair bit of the roads we had already done on our Sierra Vista ride at the very beginning of our trip, we opted to stick with the 60 mile route. Our goal was to enjoy every bit of this ride, so not riding extra miles just for the sake of doing more miles was part of the agenda.
From Tucson, it’s about an hour drive south to Patagonia. Finding a place to park was easy, and after kitting up, we were on the course pretty much right away. Of our 57 mile ride, only 9.8 of those were pavement. When we dropped off of the main road through town onto gravel, we were immersed instantly into the rugged and beautiful terrain of Arizona’s borderlands. For the first 14 miles we steadily climbed our way to the highest point of elevation on the ride - 5,503’. We were surprised to be shaded by lots of trees and vegetation. I saw some amazing trees - they were so tall and their leaves were like hands reaching out for every ounce of sun they could grab. Seeing the golden light pass through the branches was enchanting.
We were glad to have those 38c tires on our bikes - if it wasn’t bumpy, it was loose or sandy, and even the smoother sections would have pockets of rocks that made us grateful for the better traction from the larger tires.
At the top of the Patagonia mountains, we looked down into the San Rafael Valley and towards Mexico. The route takes us right down to the U.S./Mexico border. From here, the roads changed from gravely/rocky to crushed dirt and sand. It felt way more like a desert with fewer trees and a lot more open space, but it wasn’t any less beautiful than what we had just pedaled through.
It was 6 miles of really fun descending to the border. Just before we started the descent we ran into what ended up being a group of cyclists from VeloNews riding the reverse of the same loop! Not long after our trip ended, their article came out reviewing a bunch of different gravel bikes currently on the market.
We passed through Lochiel, the town (it’s so small I’m not sure if town is really the right word) right on the border, and made our way northeast, pretty much directly across the San Rafael Valley from where we had been on our first vacation ride, 8 days ago. It was awesome to be able to look across the land and think, “hey, we were over there!”
The roads changed again as we made our way more north and then west back towards Patagonia. Washboards and chunkier rocks showed back up, and the dirt got darker; it had more red in it. The contrast of the red dirt against the bright blue sky was striking. The wind showed up for a bit too. It was nothing compared to the wind we experienced on that Sierra Vista ride, though, and for that I was grateful.
This route is a lollipop shape, so we returned to Patagonia on the same gravel road we started on. It was so nice to see those magnificent trees again and get to experience the road in the opposite direction - it’s narrow and set down between some huge rock walls; it felt like a mythical desert fairyland with the creek running next to us and the sun sparkling through the trees.
Returning to Patagonia did truly feel like returning from a spirit world. The founders of that gravel race named it well. Looking back on it now, this ride was another highlight ride for me. I mean, all of the rides on this trip were so amazing, but some of them had me feeling connected to where I was riding more than others. This ride was special. It’s a unique place that left me in awe of the land that exists. It’s a place that inspires.
Something extra exciting that also happened on this ride - Chris’ di2 battery died 6 miles in and it wasn’t from not being charged fully. So he singlespeeded his way through this ride for pretty much 50 miles. He’s a trooper, and I actually don’t think it really took too much of the amazing ride experience away from him.
Back in the parking lot in Patagonia, after talking with Shimano, we found a shop that was able to help us and miraculously had a new di2 battery in stock. They closed at 6 though, so we booked our way over there to get it all figured out. Huge thanks to Ben at Trek Bicycle, Tucson for helping save the final days of our trip; he was great.
Tucson has an amazing bike/pedestrian path, known as “The Loop” - which now totals over 100+ miles of protected bike path in Pima County. Not really having anything like this in Harrisonburg, we knew this was something worthwhile to check out. The loop that goes around Tucson is about 60 miles, and it really is all protected! So we made our way a few miles down from the house and easily linked up with the bike path.
This ride had very little elevation change, so doing an “easy” 60 miles was actually achievable. We saw lots of cool birds that we had never seen before, including Road Runners, a Vermilion Flycatcher, and a hummingbird! The section of path we started with ran along the Santa Cruz River and then we turned right to follow along the Rillito River. The first section was much quieter and had fewer path users than the second section along the Rillito. I spotted a bunch of spots of Golden Poppy flowers, which really made me smile - I love those flowers.
Heading south, the path follows the Pantano Wash and also runs next to the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. So we got to see some cool planes for a good stretch! The southern end of the bike path is less developed, for now. New neighborhoods are being made and the bike path is clearly and very well incorporated into being a part of those neighborhoods, which was uplifting to see. That’s something I wish was more of a thing here at home.
This loop of the bike path was fairly easy to follow and offered amenities like bathrooms/water fountains in a bunch of spots. It offered a great way to sight-see Tucson. We had a great time being “pathletes” for the day.
For the final ride of our vacation we thought it needed to be pretty grand. Chris had found some rides and info mentioning a dirt road up the backside of Mt Lemmon. It was said to be chunky, dirty, and meant for mountain bikes. We did some research, we like a challenge, and decided it was time for our gravel bikes to really prove themselves. AND, maybe I would finally get that Cookie Cabin cookie! Third time’s the charm, right?
We found a good place to park the van, and made an out-and-back route for this one. There is a huge ride cyclists can do to make it a loop, but we really just wanted to experience the dirt road, and that in itself was almost a 50 mile ride. Not truly knowing what kind of road surface we were dealing with and knowing we were going to start our 32 hour drive home the next day, it was decided 50 miles was enough.
Our bikes definitely proved their worth, and 50 miles was definitely enough. Funny enough, what was more strenuous overall was the descent of this ride, not the climb. The first 14 miles of the climb were rolling with slightly chunky gravel and very exposed - we saw lots of cacti - Prickly Pear and Saguaros all around! As the climb picked up from there, the gravel got smoother for a tiny bit. It wasn’t long from there though, probably with 6 miles to go, that we passed by a Forest Service gate and the road surface got real chunky. For those of you here at home reading this, if you’ve ridden the Big Bear Loop, it got like the chunkier sections of that. It wasn’t just about pedaling anymore, the riding got physical with navigating up and over exposed boulders, through tight loose turns, and keeping traction on steep pitches.
In our research of this Forest Road, I did take a look at the Strava time up in the mountain. Not many folks have made it out there, but I was happily surprised to see my amazing former coach, Crystal Anthony, with the QOM. I decided that if, after a bit of riding and I was feeling good, I would work to put down a decent time. Trying to even get close to Crystal’s time was going to be a challenge, but go big or go home, right? And we were heading home the next day anyway, so there was nothing to lose, haha.
If the entire 18 miles up the mountain had been like those final 6, I would agree with the folks that say “you want a mountain bike for this”. But, it wasn’t rough until those last few miles, and having experience in riding the gnarlier stuff, we were pleased with our bike choice. Don’t get me wrong, we didn’t go bombing down the mountain when we turned around; we had to be cautious through some of that terrain and it was quite physical all the way down, but I would attribute that to tire size, not bike choice. I think if I were to do that ride again, I’d go with a 42c tire and be the happiest of clams.
Even with those 38c tires, though, I was able to get 2nd overall on the 18 mile Strava segment, which I am very proud of. There may have been some time I could have made up at the bottom, but also not knowing what lay ahead of us at the time, I didn’t think it smart to hit it harder so early on. I pedaled to the top and had nothing left to give, and that’s all I can ask of myself.
One of my favorite memories of this ride was the distinct change in ecosystems as we climbed the mountain. Being on a dirt road gave us a greater feeling of exposure than we experienced on the paved side; the change from cacti to large pine trees felt quite dramatic.
Why isn’t finally getting a Cookie Cabin cookie one of my favorite memories? Because I was foiled again! Their oven was still not working, which was so sad! :( Thankfully, the general store in Summerdean came through for a final time and I rewarded myself with all the snacks. I had hit that climb with a good bit of effort, so treats for decent work were in order.
Going back down the mountain, we took our time and stopped at a bunch of spots to take in the views. Our final ride of vacation was pretty grand - one more time up Lemmon, it was the most physically challenging of all the rides, and it was so incredibly beautiful. I don’t think we could have done better.
Our 2 day drive home, and these months that have passed between then and right now, have given me so much time to reflect on that trip. The first thing I will say is, don’t wait to travel and take time with the ones you love. Chris and I have been together for over 8 years, and this was our first true big travel adventure vacation. We won’t be waiting another 8 years to go to more amazing places.
The second thing I will say is that nice equipment really makes the experience. My bike - the latest model of the Specialized Diverge is quite the machine. Key things that I think make this bike really rock are:
Future Shock 2.0 - the suspension in the headset. The 2.0 version of the Future Shock allows riders to turn that suspension off if it’s not needed. So for those times we were mostly on smooth pavement - up the paved side of Mt Lemmon, the Red Rock Canyon Loop, and the Tucson bike path - it definitely made the bike feel faster to turn that shock off. For those times when we were on gravel, I’d open up the Future Shock 2.0 suspension and immediately notice how much smoother the ride was and how much more in control of the bike I felt.
Terra Seatpost - continuing the trend of the “smoother is faster” line, this seatpost is phenomenal. So much so that Chris even has one on his Crux. 20mm of compliance takes away bumps that would fatigue the rider and diminish handling.
SWAT Frame storage - so stoked on this. I can fit a full saddlebag’s worth of tire/chain repair into the downtube and still have room for an extra lightweight jacket and gloves. This came to be quite handy on that cold first time up Mt Lemmon. Not only does this make the bike look super clean, to not have anything on the seatpost or frame, but also in that same line, this means that space has been opened up for maybe an even bigger seat bag. With bike packing and huge adventure rides becoming some of the most popular areas of cycling, versatility of a bike is important. Now, there are frame bags and seatpost bags that can store enough for some pretty grand adventures, and a cyclist doesn’t have to necessarily worry about figuring out how to put a rack and a set of panniers on their bike. BUT, if bolt-on racks or frame mounts are your style, the Diverge is capable of taking those.
Tire clearance - it’s not just about having mud clearance for me, anymore, being able to put 38c tires on, and think, “oh I could put even bigger tires on this bike if I wanted and not have a problem,” is amazing. The Diverge clears up to 47c tires in all of its models. Being able to have so many different sizes of tires in this bike opens up a lot of opportunities for where you can ride.
Geometry - the Diverge frame got longer, but the cockpit got shorter, and the fork has more rake. What the heck does that mean? This translates into having a comfortable position with responsive and confident handling, and no “fork flop”. The bottom bracket got a bit higher, so clearance for the bottom of the frame and pedals has improved - this was something I had issues with on the last version, so it was nice to see that it had changed.
This bike loves gravel. It eats it up. It’s a bike you can depend on to give you great experiences. Riding it in new places for 2 weeks really made me appreciate the new design. I feel more capable as a rider when I’m on my Diverge.
And so we have reached the end of this story. Our vacation started out as a bit more strenuous than I would have liked, but turned into one of the best things I’ve ever experienced. Bikes are amazing and can take people to incredible places. Go on an adventure by bike and make some memories!
Kelly's BIG adventure!
I rode 200 miles with 16,000’ of elevation this past Sunday.
Here’s why
In the chaos that has been 2020, it’s felt like all of my cycling plans slipped away. After facing a bunch of personal health challenges that had me searching all over the place for a diagnosis, I began to accept that my year was just going to keep getting worse and there wasn’t a point in making goals anymore. It may be a bit morbid, but I really had started to give up on feeling normal or being well.
But then, on August 8, I finally got a diagnosis/treatment for my health struggles, and since then I have been on a trajectory of improvement and healing. As of this past Saturday, I am 80-90% recovered from my impairment and am so over-the-moon happy to be feeling more and more like my old self.
When I finally accepted that I was getting better and it wasn’t a fluke, I decided I needed to do something big to celebrate! Hence, my 200 mile adventure!
The longest mileage ride I’d done before this was last year at the 1st edition of SBT Gravel - 140 miles of amazing gravel around Steamboat Springs, CO. So of course, I had to go longer than that. And why not just go for the big 200?
So I made a route, decided I wanted to finish on Skyline Drive as the sun was setting, and set the date. September 6 was perfect because there was going to be just over 12.5 hours of daylight, the weather forecast was AMAZING, and the shop was going to be closed the next day for Labor Day, so I’d have a full day to recover before heading back to work.
Gear and Food
Bike:
Tarmac Comp SL5, updated with Ultegra di2 and 28c Roubaix Pro tires; I decided to ride my Tarmac for this because it’s my lightest bike, and I was only going to ride 3 gravel roads total during the whole day.
Bags:
Specalized Burra Burra Frame Bag 3
EVOC top tube bag small
Specialized Seat Pack
Pack: Nathan Hydration Pack - I’ve had this pack for years and like how lightweight it is; I originally didn’t want to run a backpack as I knew the pressure on my back would become a thing later on in the day, but I wanted to carry as much water as possible because I couldn’t be totally sure of how my day was going to go… Better to be prepared for as much as possible, especially on solo adventures.
Food/Drink:
In my frame bag I had several fig and nut bars, a “shareable” bag of SourPatch Watermelon candies, a bunch of gummy-type candies, salt tablets, and for breakfast LEFTOVER PIZZA SLICES, I ended up consuming all of this except for 2 bars
During the ride I also grabbed some snacks from 2 gas station stops - 2 sodas, 1 orange juice, 1 giant chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwich, and 2 chocolate bars.
GPS/Lights/Miscellaneous:
Wahoo Elemnt Bolt
Cygolite Hotshot 150 taillight and Dash 600 headlight
Small battery pack for charging lights/phone/gps if needed (more on this later)
Mace - kept in an easily accessible pocket
Tiny travel bottle of sunscreen - WEAR YOUR SUNSCREEN
Benadryl - I’ve had some crazily timed allergic reactions to random things
Clothing (I don’t normally include this specific type of information about what I wear, but everything I wore worked so perfectly, I thought it was worth it):
Jersey - currently my favorite, Velocio UNITY Jersey SE
Bibs - also currently my favorite, Velocio LUXE Bibs
Socks - Velocio Signature Socks - lightweight and feel amazing
Helmet - Sworks Prevail II with MIPS - the airflow through this helmet feels so good and it has one of the highest safety ratings
Shoes - Sworks Sub7 - stiffness index 15?! please and thank you, haha
Jacket - Specialized SWAT Jacket (super packable!)
Gloves - POC long finger - comfortable, not super heavy, easy to take on and off
Sunglasses - OAKLEY EVZero Prism, Trail lens (just dark enough for the daytime but not so dark that it’s difficult to see in the shady areas of the forest)
The Ride
At first I thought I would be starting my ride around 3am. After some anxiety about being in the dark for 4 hours (sunrise was at 6:50am), I decided it was best to leave an hour later - that helped lower my anxiety about being alone in the super early hours, and I felt like I could still finish the ride before or right at sunset.
Riding in the dark with no cars, a clear sky, and a bright moon is amazing. It was somewhere in the high 40s/low 50s when I left the house, and actually felt like it got a little warmer as I made my way towards the George Washington National Forest. As I rode further into the forest, it got a bit windy and I could tell the temperature was dropping just slightly.
My first stop for the day was about 35 miles in, and it was just so I could grab my breakfast pizza out of the frame bag to eat while I rode. It was then that I realized that my hands were on the cold side - dexterity was lacking, so keeping hold of my pizza slices was quite amusing and a bit stressful.
I was very grateful I had my SWAT jacket on. I got to see just the start of the sunrise right before I turned onto Marble Valley Rd, and was then plunged into a foggy cloud that lasted for the next 25 miles. By the time I was 60-ish miles in, and at my first actual gas station stop, I was pretty soaked from the fog. My torso was warm, and the jacket did a great job of repelling the water droplets, but my hands were even more numb than earlier, during Operation Breakfast Pizza.
I ran my hands under warm water in the bathroom sink for a while. They came back to life, I ate some more snacks, texted Chris and my parents how I was doing, and set off hopeful that the fog would let up soon.
Thankfully, it was only another 5 miles or so before I was in total sunshine with blue skies and WARM air. :)
I really enjoyed the miles between Goshen and Lexington. It was beautiful, the roads roll along and feel secluded even though there’s a city not too far off, and some of the mountains look especially interesting.
Lexington was just over 90 miles into the ride, and I was feeling GOOD. I was almost halfway through, It was only 11am, and I was STOKED.
So off I went to cross over the valley and head to the Blue Ridge Parkway. I had two fairly large climbs within 30 miles of each other for this section. The first was 13-ish miles with only a 3% average grade and paved until the last few miles. The second was after my last gas station/store stop and was just over 4 miles with 7% average grade; it also turned to gravel in the last 2 miles.
It was from the gravel section of that first climb, around mile 125, through the entirety of the second climb, and all the way to mile 142 at the Three Ridges Overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway that I unraveled a bit. My pack was putting pressure on the middle of my back (which I knew would happen) and I was at the point in the ride where I had to force myself to eat or I would truly fall apart and the ride would be over. I also just had to sit down and stop pedaling for a hot minute.
This is me, in the middle of “unraveling”. Just had to push through it!
The Three Ridges Overlook shows part of the Wintergreen Resort. You can see radio towers. So I figured if there was a signal for cell phones, it was probably going to be here, and I was right. I called Chris and had a bit of a moment while stuffing my face full of those Sourpatch watermelons (the sour taste was AMAZING - nice and different from the sweetness of the other things I had been eating). I’m not sure why I was so upset by this, but I had noticed before I called Chris that the mile markers for the BRP were missing, and I couldn’t remember how many miles it was until I reached Skyline Drive.
** SIDE NOTE: To save all the battery on my Wahoo ELEMNT BOLT possible, I used the Route feature from mile 60 to mile 128. Before and after those miles, I am familiar enough with the roads to not need gps directions. I wanted to see how long my computer would last on one charge.**
Chris looked it up and said, “you have 13 miles to Skyline.”
This was far fewer miles than I had thought, and made me so happy! Haha. Especially because I knew the pavement would get waaaaaay smoother on Skyline - this particular section of the BRP was recently redone with “chip-seal” and that is not a smooth or nice surface to ride on.
What also got my spirits up was knowing that at some point on Skyline Drive, Chris would meet me on his bike to finish the ride. I couldn’t wait to see him after so many miles alone!
On I pedaled, watching the miles go up, calculating how far I had to go to the entrance of Skyline.
Then I realized that somewhere along the way in creating my route on the computer, the mileage became incorrect. At the southern entrance to Skyline Drive, 155 miles in, it was only 40 miles to the next entrance - where I had planned on finishing. That only added up to 195 miles!
“Oh my gosh, whyyyyy,” I literally said out loud.
Taking in that I still had 44 miles and another 4000’ of climbing left
BUT I was in good spirits, I was feeling SO much better than when I was at that Three Ridges Overlook, and I know that section of Skyline super well. So I just kept pedaling along looking ahead for Chris. He found me just before I reached the Blackrock Summit parking lot, and I asked him how many miles he had ridden, just to be sure I had done my math correctly.
“22.5 miles,” he said.
“Ok, well I have 27.5 miles to go to reach 200… Sooooo, we’re going to have to do at least 2.5 miles beyond the Swift Run entrance before turning around and reaching 200.”
The only thing was that 2.5 miles for the out-and-back was another climb. I was grumpy at first, but knew I’d be fine. I’d made it this far, another 2.5 miles of climbing was basically nothing at this point.
Those last 27.5 miles were my favorite of the day. It was the golden hour, every single overlook was absolutely beautiful, I was so happy to feel good enough to do this, and I KNEW I was going to do it. Finally, for this year, nothing had stopped me or prevented me from completing a goal I had made.
I finished my 200 mile adventure just as the last rays of sun disappeared behind the mountains. It was perfect.
Some STATS/Extra Info
So grateful to Chris for riding those last miles with me and relieving me of my pack!
Ride Info: 200.70 miles, 16,122’ of climbing, 14:29:42 moving time, 15:42:28 elapsed time
I finished my ride with 10% battery left on my Wahoo. This is pretty incredible because Wahoo says the ELEMNT Bolt battery only lasts to 15 hours.
I had 2 taillights with me, one ran out prematurly for some reason, so I was grateful to have the second one. I did charge the one that had died just in case I ended up getting darked on.
Things I’ll do differently for my next longer ride: Hopefully my other frame/handlebar bags will be here by then and will omit the need for the hydration pack, pack MORE PIZZA, and find a non-messy way to transport pickles (I had really been wanting a Claussen’s pickle by the end of this ride)
Overall, I’m very pleased with how my day went, and other than those three things above wouldn’t change anything else about the day if I could.
If you’d like to see my ride on Strava, you’ll find it HERE.
Chris' Pivot Mach 4 SL Custom Build
Right before first ride.
It’s been a few years since I’ve really gone mountain biking, or mountain biking as much as I used to. For the past few years I had a Specialized Epic hardtail, then a Chisel for getting out on the trails and doing the occasional race. As it were, I wasn’t doing much riding or racing. More on that here.
As a return to riding and hopefully racing, I wanted to get back onto something capable, fun, and fast. Having brought on Pivot in December and getting some rides in on our shop demos, I knew it would be a Pivot Mach 4SL. The next question was what to order/how to build it. Pivot has a lot of great builds, but I had a handful of parts from my hardtail, and definitely couldn’t go for the XTR or AXS level builds.
Being particular about all the different bits is something I find myself doing frequently too, so I ordered the frameset that came with a shock and Fox Stepcast 32 100mm fork, too. Great parts to start off with.
The goal of this build was to be light and capable, without totally breaking the bank. I can always get a dropper down the road, or quickly install one if a race or ride calls for it. The new S-Works tires are certainly light, and not the choice for mountain biking around here, but I want to use them for certain races, and the redesign has me wondering how much I can get out of them.
I put some fun parts and bits in there that might not be the norm. Most of the steel hardware that could be swapped out for aluminum (bottle cage bolts) or titanium (brake hardware, lever hardware) has been. The headset has an aluminum bolt for tension and a lightweight topcap. The 11 speed group was something I’ve had and saved me some money. It does’’t have quite the range of 12 speed, but it gets me by. Running a GX rear derailleur fits into that category as well as helping me not care as much when I drag my derailleur through some rocks. I did take the pulleys apart, clean the bearings in the ultrasonic parts cleaner and greased them with Kogel high performance grease.
Treating the chain with Molten Speedwax was fun. I’ve used paraffin wax in the crockpot before, but Molten actually makes a formula for bikes. It has stayed on past my first mountain bike ride but it probably won’t be my normal as it requires heating up the crockpot, cleaning the chain in the ultrasonic, then treating. My go to is Rock and Roll gold, which is super clean- if Gold is dripping, or making your drivetrain dirty, you’re doing it wrong- it really likes to be wiped down and dried.
The saddle is an older Specialized Romin. I love these saddles and have a stash of them from when they stopped making them.
The brake setup, SRAM Level TLMs are fine, but I will probably swap them out for some (OLD!) SRAM Elixir XO models that I’ve had forever. I just like the lever shape of the old carbon levers better, weight is about the same. I have rebuilt the XOs more than a few times and done some things to make them a bit smoother than they were new.
An (almost) complete parts list is below, the complete weight as pictured without pedals (XL frame) is 21.67lbs.
Frame- Pivot Mach 4SL XL, with shock, remote lockout lever and cables: 2,610g
Fork- Fox Stepcast Factory 32 100mm, uncut: 1,417g
Handlebar- Raceface Next SL 35mm 10mm rise bar: 191g
Stem- RaceFace Turbine R 35 Stem - 70mm, 35 Clamp, +/-0, 1 1/8: 148g
Crankset- Raceface Next SL 175mm: 375g
Chainring- Wolf Tooth 32t 6mm CINCH: 62g
Bottom Bracket- Raceface pressfit 90 for CINCH: 69g
Headset- Pivot factory: 66g
Wheels- Specialized Control SL: 1,378g
Front Axle- Fox Kabolt: 36g
Rear Axle- Pivot factory: 46g
Rimtape- DT Swiss Tubeless Tape: 12g (both wheels)
Tires- S-Works Renegade 29x2.3: 580g (each)
Valves- Muc Off Pink: 8g (pair)
Chain- SRAM XX1 11 Speed cleaned and treated with Molten Speedwax: 244g (length on bike)
Cassette- SRAM 10-42 11 speed XO1: 266g
Shifter- XX1 11 Speed: 110g
Brakes- SRAM Level TLM, metal pads: Front: 188g (no pads) Rear: 208g (no pads)
Rotors- 160mm Magura Storm SL.2: 101g (each) Titanium rotor bolts 8g per wheel.
Derailleur- SRAM GX 11 speed: 257g
Saddle- Specialized Romin Pro 155mm: 164g
Seatpost- Thomson Elite 30.9x410mm: 262g
Seat Collar- Stock: 22g
Grips- ODI Vapor: 67g
Pedals- XTR I’ve had these for over 5 years and rebuilt them almost every year just to make sure they work well, but they probably don’t need it. They’re incredible pedals: 305g
Highland Co.
Pedals ready to be rebuilt after some parts cleaner action!
Don’t lose these tiny guys.
MidSouth Gravel 2020
Lindsey and me before the start of the race! Rain!
Here’s a blurb about my MidSouth race this year. Enjoy :)
- Kelly
The MidSouth Gravel (104 miles) was a race for the ages this year. Lindsey and I left Harrisonburg Thursday afternoon and drove all through the night to get into Oklahoma around 10:30am on Friday. Stillwater had wonderful, dry, 70 degrees, and sunny weather the week of the race. Friday night, that all changed. A front moved in, it rained a bit overnight, and then poured with thunderstorms from 6am until 8:30am. The race start was delayed 30 minutes because of lightning. The rain kept on even after the lightning had gone, and I remember looking at Lindsey before we started moving and saying, “Today is about survival.”
Small backstory - a week before leaving for MidSouth, I experienced a very scary and horrible allergic reaction to a medication I was prescribed for a sinus infection. I thought my chance of going to this race I had been training so hard for was gone. Chris and friends were very encouraging, and as my body returned to its normal status, I felt hopeful of at least finishing the race. My dreams of placing better (I was honestly hoping for a top 5) this year were gone, but I was determined to still show up and do my best.
So leaving that start line, I knew I was not going to quit. Whatever mechanicals, weather conditions, or physical challenges came my way, I was going to deal with it, overcome, and keep pedaling (or pushing) forward.
It was a hard day. Riding through the rain, dirt, and mud in the first few miles I realized that I wanted it to keep raining. If the rain stopped, and worst case scenario the sun came out, we were in for a sticky, gloppy mess. Around the time I hit mile 30, the rain did stop, and with it came dealing with the mud tacking up. It did not “dry up”. It turned into a just soft enough surface to sink into, steal momentum, and still come up and stick to your bike and components and YOU as you rode through. Puddles became our oasis - riders (myself included) were purposefully riding through even the tiniest pothole full of water with the hopes of it washing the mud off our drivetrains and/or tires.
About 7 miles from the midpoint aid station (mile 54-ish), I experienced my only mechanical for the day - my front derailleur wouldn’t shift into the small chainring. My mindset for this was “well, I’m doing ok right now, I’m over Brethren Hill, and the aid station (with pavement) is coming.” I decided to just stick with what was working (stay in my big chainring) until I couldn’t turn that high of a gear over anymore. My rear shifting was flawless still, so I wasn’t too worried. A few miles later though, I hit a bit of a wall and new it was stupid to keep trying to stay in the big ring. However, no amount of kicking or hitting the thing would budge it from that position. So I had to pull out my 2mm allen wrench, clear the mud to the limit screws, and manually set the front derailleur down in that little ring. There was so much mud on everything - my bike, my hands, my derailleur, the ground… I couldn’t make out what was wrong. I was just glad to have an easier gear range.
So on I pedaled to the midway checkpoint, so stoked to finally see the main street of Perkins, Oklahoma, and with it the neutral aid support of SRAM. Thanks to those guys, they discovered the rocks jamming my front derailleur, set me right, and even washed my bike off for me.
Photo courtesy of 241 Photography - I’d been waiting 3.5 hours for this bridge. Once I was over that, I would be in Perkins and able get some snackz
The mud before and after the stream crossing (stream in the middle of the picture, not well seen). Photo courtesy of 241 Photography
A little bit further down the street was the Skratch aid station, which not only had their own nutrition, but also Coca-cola, espresso, bananas, candy,… this place had the works! I chugged a coke and an espresso at the same time, ate some salt tablets, grabbed some Skratch chews, and rode back out of town. Life with 2 chainrings was so amazing… for about 15 miles (but hey, I’ll take that over never having it back). We returned back to the mud, and by mile 70 my front derailleur had jammed again.
I was fine though. Quitting never entered my head, and I was thankful to not experience some of the mechanicals I had been seeing. Everyone out on that course that day is freaking hardcore. We are a special group, haha.
With the mud tacking up, though, the day was getting harder. There were a few sections with walking and carrying my bike because there was no line to ride and the mud wanted to gather between my tires and frame. The most difficult section for me was the walking before and after the stream crossing at mile 80. Yes, it was nice to be able to wash my bike off for the last 20 miles, but my shoulder is nice and bruised from carrying my bike.
Mile by mile. I watched the course elevation on my Wahoo Bolt instead of the time because it gave me relief to see I was over halfway through. Mile by mile we all pushed on and encouraged each other, knowing we were going to eventually reach the finish line. I could feel my eyes tearing up with 7 miles left, knowing I was actually going to finish, but I had to hold them back - I was still afraid of some freak thing happening.
We hit pavement at mile 101 and it was all I could do to pedal as hard as possible and get to that finish line. Turning onto 7th avenue was the absolute best homecoming/finish line crossing I have ever experienced at a race. I could hear people cheering/screaming, the announcer yelling, and see Bobby (MidSouth Race Director) jumping and yelling… It was CRAZY. Bobby makes EVERY SINGLE Midsouth racer feel SO special. Having him cheer me into the finish line is a moment I will never forget.
Photo courtesy of 241 Photography
Photo courtesy of 241 Photography
Photo courtesy of 241 Photography
Walking into the finish/expo area I’m sure I looked like all the other racers I was seeing - dazed, tired, so happy to have finished… to have survived. I called Chris and immediately started crying. It was one hell of an experience and that’s just how the emotions of the day came out. I calmed down and asked if he could see from the timing on the internet where Lindsey was. He said she’d made it through the midway checkpoint, and would probably be in within an hour.
I tried so hard to wait for Lindsey without going back to the hotel to shower/warm up, but I couldn’t. I started shivering after getting off the phone, so I “rushed” back to the hotel, cleaned up, and literally as I was rolling next to the finish line chute, Lindsey’s name was being announced! I dropped my bike and sprinted towards her, knowing that we both had just been through one of our most difficult bike races to date. I was so happy to see her - to know that we had both conquered and finished this race.
We celebrated later on, after pulling ourselves together, by loading up on Chipotle. I also found out that I had actually placed in the Top 10 for the women’s race! I couldn’t believe it! I’m so excited to have finished and placed 10th overall for the women. After the difficulties I had leading up to this race and during the race, I’m still the most stoked to have pushed through and finished.
I would like to offer up a HUGE congratulations to everyone that participated, volunteered, and helped put at the MidSouth Gravel event. You all are so amazing, and I love this race, and I am planning on being there again next year.
Full results can be found HERE
If you’d like a glimpse of what our day was like (beyond the photos I have), watch the video below:
Pictures of my bike post - MidSouth, haha:
Rocktown Roller-Rama 2020!
The 2020 edition of the Rocktown Roller-rama was one for the books! So many close races, our largest number of participants ever, and an awesome crowd made for one amazing night!
Thank you to everyone that came out to race or cheer! And a BIG thanks to Three Notch’d Collab House for hosting us three years in a row!
Pictures from the event are posted below. Racers/friends, feel free to save and post them.
Rocktown Bicycles and Pivot Cycles Part 1: The Story
We decided in November 2019 to bring Pivot Cycles into the shop as our second main line (we carry All City, Surly, and a few others but more on a special order basis). This decision was years in the making. When I took over as shop manager in September of 2014, the shop was only a year and a half old. Rocktown was a Specialized dealer and having worked with almost all major bike lines in my 14 years (at that point- Gt, Jamis, Diamondback, Trek, Giant, Cannondale, Felt, Fuji, and Scwhinn to name most), I was surprised by the level of customer support, durability, attention to detail, and performance of the line compared to most of what I was used to.
I frequently thought it was necessary to have a second line in the shop to compliment Specialized and to simply have some more choice for our customers, but in looking at many, many companies out there the questions that would always remain were: Is it the same quality or better? Are the price points reasonable? Are parts readily available?
Over the years I have seen many lines that have a particular model that people get really excited about for one reason or the next. What was extremely important to me was that the whole line was solid, with a legacy of creating great bikes.
Having a different suspension from Specialized was also a consideration. We get many questions regarding suspension design in the shop, and it’s always fun talking about it, as it makes or breaks the bike!
Without going too deep, Specialized and Pivot both use a variant of 4 bar suspension. This maintains an independent drivetrain that can remain fully active but at the same time is not power robbing. But many companies use a type of 4 bar linkage, so it isn’t just having a certain type of squish, it’s how the linkage is set up, shocks are tuned, and frame geometry works into it all. In my experience having a company that understands these complex relationships and puts the resource into solving the issues that can come up yields a far better bike than those who do not.
The most important parts in the decision were though, do we like them and would we ride them? Are they exciting? Do they represent something different? Are they durable and built to hold up/ replacement parts are easy to get if needed? Yes!
We’ve been riding our Trail 429 bikes for a month now. They’re so much fun- (we’ll address the ride in a different post though). We have had some customers with older Pivots come in for some work. One of these customers wanted a suspension linkage part that they had beefed up to make the bike stiffer about 6 years ago. After an email we had that part on the way, which is really nice considering many companies do not keep parts around that long.
Part 2 of this ‘series’ regarding how the bikes ride will hit the website shortly.
2019 Rocktown Holiday Gift Guide
It’s the holiday season!! We know finding the right gift for the cyclist(s) in your life can sometimes feel challenging - there’s so much bike stuff out there! So we’ve compiled our 2019 Rocktown Holiday Gift Guide to give you a clear path to becoming the ‘Best Gift Giver EVER!’
We’ve broken the Gift Guide down into our top choices for BIKES, APPAREL & COLD WEATHER GEAR, GPS COMPUTERS/LIGHTS/ACCESSORIES, and STOCKING STUFFERS. Hopefully it provides some helpful information and suggestions for you on your gift giving journey!
Favorite Bikes
Gravel Bike - 2020 Diverge Comp - $3,750
The Diverge Comp is the answer to every gravel rider’s dreams. The Carbon Frame & Fork are RiderFirst Engineered, giving excellent and the same ride quality to every size of this bike. It has up to 42c tire clearance for 700c wheels or 47c tires for 650b wheels; tubeless ready. The Future Shock soaks up bumps, provides an extra smooth ride, and gives the bike predictable and confident handling. A Praxis Zayante crankset with 48/32tooth chainrings provides an efficient gear range for a variety of riding. Top it all off with Shimano Ultegra Hydraulic Brakes, Shifters, Derailleurs, and Cassette, and you have a fully capable gravel rig!
If you would like to read more about the 2020 Diverge Comp, read Kelly’s BIKE OF THE WEEK REVIEW
E-Bike - 2020 Como 4.0 - $3,350
The Como 4.0 flattens hills and makes it feel like your always riding with a tailwind. It’s so much fun! An upright position makes the Como 4.0 super comfortable, and the frame geometry provides controlled and confident handling. The fully-integrated battery and motor mean this bike looks like a bike, not a bike with a motor on it. It’s sleek, and the “E” part of it is stealthy and stylish. The battery is locked into the frame for added security, and can easily be removed if the rider would like to charge it somewhere inside.
The 500Wh battery communicates with a computer display unit and has multiple modes to maximize overall efficiency and range. The display also shows battery charge, time, distance traveled, and trip distance. Riders can really get into personalizing their ride on the Como by downloading the Mission Control App with a smart phone. This App lets you custom-tune nearly every aspect of your ride, monitor power use, control range, perform basic system diagnoses, and record and upload rides.
The Como 4.0 Specialized 1.2 motor is smooth, powerful, and quiet. It assists up to 28mph, and is tuned to make the output the most usable for the environment - the more power you put out, the more power the motor puts out, and this makes accelerations from a standstill both quick and efficient
This bike also comes with hydraulic disc brakes, Shimano Deore 10speed drivetrain, front and rear lights, fenders, a bell… the Como 4.0 is the whole package!
Balance Bike - Hotwalk - $175
Balance bikes are an excellent way for children to learn how to ride a bike. If a child has started with a balance bike, odds are when they move to using pedals, the need for training wheels will either not exist or only be necessary for a short amount of time. Balance bikes fast-track the learning-to-ride experience. The Hotwalk is durable, lightweight, has wider tires for increased balance & traction, and has an excellent platform for foot placement.
Mountain Bikes
Full Suspension - 2020 Stumpjumper Comp Carbon - $4,520
This bike is the ultimate trail bike, especially for riding backcountry trails around Harrisonburg. The Stumpjumper's asymmetrical, FACT 11m carbon fiber construction is lightweight, stiff, and ready to take on the trail. It climbs like a mountain goat, and descends like a snow leopard chasing said goat :)
This bike comes in 27.5 or 29 wheel options, has a SRAM NX Eagle 12speed drivetrain, Fox Suspension (150/140 for 29, 150/150 for 27.5), tubeless ready wheels, and a SWAT box in the downtube of the frame. The Stumpjumper is equipped to bring you the best ride experience and put a huge smile on your face. You’ll feel confident and capable hitting the trails on this bike!
Hardtail - 2020 Fuse Expert 29 - $2,150
The Fuse makes riding hardtails fun again! Rowdy by design, the Fuse Expert 29 is equipped with a M4 Aluminum Frame, 29” wheels with BIG tire clearance, 130mm RockShox 35 Gold Suspension Fork, TranzX Dropper Seatpost, and a SRAM NX Eagle 12speed drivetrain! One of the most awesome features of this bike is that it is SINGLESPEED CAPABLE! Sliding dropouts are built into this frame, answering so many people’s wishes for a rowdy and modern singlespeed. 2.6” tires come with the 29” wheels on this bike, but the Fuse Expert can also have 27.5” wheels installed with 2.8” tires.
Road Bike - 2020 Roubaix Pro eTap AXS - $7,000
The redesign of the Roubaix has made it more aero than the Tarmac, and as smooth as the Diverge Gravel Bike. The Roubaix Pro really brings together the lines “Aero is Everything” and “Smoother is Faster”. Equipped with the Future shock 2.0, SRAM Force eTap AXS brakes & drivetrain, up to 33c tire clearance, Carbon ROVAL tubeless ready wheels, a S-WORKS carbon hover bar, and a S-WORKS Pave’ seatpost with up to 20mm of compliance, we aren’t exaggerating when we say this Roubaix is the ultimate road bike. Responsive, smooth, fast… Who doesn’t want that?
Kelly rode our Roubaix Pro demo bike for a bit and then raced it at the unPAved gravel race in October. Read her Ride Review to get all the details on this bike!
APPAREL & COLD WEATHER GEAR
Reflect/Deflect H2O Jacket - $250
Be seen, safe, and dry! This jacket has amazingly reflective detailing on the front and back, micro-dots on the inner layer of fabric prevent moisture build up (zero clammy rainjacket feeling), 1 large rear zippered pocket, and fully taped seems to prevent water intrusion at the stitches and seems.
Element tights (no chamois) - $150
Specialized designed these tights with their Element Soft Shell Fabric - an extremely wind and water resistant material that is also very efficient at wicking away moisture. The tights have a nice amount of stretch, and are extra versatile with no chamois built into them - use them for all sorts of cold weather recreation!
Element Jacket - $150
A very versatile jacket - made from a three layered softshell material that is extremely water and wind resistant, but still very efficient at wicking moister away from the skin. Wear it with just a jersey under it for the warmer winter days, or add layers for those extra cold days. The fabric of the Element Jacket also has a nice amount of stretch, so it moves with you and doesn’t cause rubbing or chafing. Three external storage pockets are on the back, as well as a zippered security pocket to hold all your snacks/electronics/tools.
Element 1.0 gloves - $60
These gloves keep your hands warm and protected from the Winter weather without being bulky or restricting movement. Gore® WINDSTOPPER®, 100g Primaloft®, and Ax Suede palm material all come together to make a glove that is warm, insulating, and keeps you feeling confident with your handling on those colder ride days. The new rib-knit cuff is accommodating to all styles of jackets, and fits well under most sleeve cuffs.
SWAT Jacket - $125
This pick comes directly from Kelly - she loves this jacket! Warm, breathable, rolls up into a pouch that fits perfectly in a jersey pocket (or the SWAT Door of the carbon Stumpjumpers), dries quickly even when rolled up, and when you wear it you have a nice little chest zipper pocket for small items. Oh, and the hood - it fits under a helmet! So some extra warmth if you find yourself wishing you had packed that hat, and no awkward craning head movements to see around a turn that you might have from an oversized hood.
SL Jersey - $75
This is a really nice jersey at a great price! The VapoRize knit fabrics provide great moisture management, feel soft on the skin, and are durable enough for long days in the saddle. Three standard pockets provide ample space to securely house all of your ride essentials and electronics. The SL Jersey also has a UPF 30+ rating, helping to protect your skin from harmful ultraviolet rays.
Rocktown Kit $60 - $200
Rep your local bike shop and Harrisonburg, VA with our custom cycling kit! We have a range of jerseys (RBX Sport, SL Expert, and SL Pro) and SL Expert Bibs. The jerseys are constructed to fit and move well, and the bibs have a super comfortable and supportive chamois.
GPS COMPUTERS/LIGHTS/ACCESSORIES
Wahoo Elemnt BOLT & ROAM - $249 - $379
“Simple to set up, simple to navigate, simple to connect.”
Both of these Wahoo GPS cycling computers are very user friendly. Connect directly to any Wahoo GPS device via the Elemnt Companion App on your phone. Access/download bike routes, customize page settings, schedule updates, track performance, and more!
Wahoo’s mobile connectivity means no more dealing with a desktop interface for GPS updates or downloading files/routes. The ROAM and BOLT have the ability to instantly upload rides to multiple training platforms, such as Strava or Ride with GPS.
The ROAM is equipped with GPS Mapping, a Large 2.7” Color Display with Gorilla Glass Screen, 17+ hour battery life, ambient light sensor, “Back on Track” rerouting, free global maps, large tactile buttons, 2 sides of LED Quicklook Indicators, turn-by-turn navigation, live tracking, retrace your route, route to start, and more!
The BOLT comes with GPS Mapping, a 2.2” Display, 15 hours of battery life, workout data, aerodynamic engineering, no-glare screen, LED Quicklook Indicators, tactile buttons, live tracking, text/email/phone alerts, and more!
Garmin Varia Taillight - $199.99
The Varia is a taillight (headlight model available too) that will relay to a bicycle computer when a vehicle is approaching from behind the rider, as well as show about where the vehicle is in relation to the rider on the computer screen. The Varia is compatible with both Wahoo and Garmin GPS computers. Chris really enjoys having this light on his rides - you can read about his experience with using the Varia Taillight HERE.
FLY6 Taillight - $199.99
A bright taillight with a wide-angle camera; the camera runs on a 6 hour loop; Cyclists have an extra layer of security while out on rides.
CAT 5 Gear Cyclist Travel Case - $75
Never forget your helmet, shoes, or ride necessities again! keep your ride apparel and accessories organized and ready with this handy travel case
Purist Rocktown Bottle - $6.99-$7.99
The Specialized Purist coating prevents flavors from staying in the bottle and making your water/drink taste funny. No need to scrub or put in the dishwasher, just use hot soapy water and rinse!
WAHOO KICKR Smart Trainer - $1200 (Not pictured)
This trainer is one of the best smart trainers out there! Virtually silent, extremely accurate power and data measurement, easy setup, and excellent ride feel all come together to create a positive trainer ride experience. The KICKR is WAHOO’s direct drive model. It has +/-2% power accuracy and can resist up to 2000 watts. It ships with a cadence sensor and an 11 speed cassette. Connect the KICKR via Bluetooth to your GPS devices, training/ride apps like Zwift or Trainer Road, and your indoor training rides are about to become a lot fun!
FEEDBACK SPORTS Omnium Overdrive Portable Bike Trainer - $429.95
Especially great to make training easier when traveling, the Omnium Overdrive Bike Trainer is easy to set up, the fork mount design is adaptable to a variety of axles, and hides away perfectly in a carry-on size travel bag. The precision rollers and internal resistance design keeps the trainer quiet while in use, great for not disturbing others (think early AM sessions, hotel room training, or having to turn the volume up real high on the TV) :)
FEEDBACK Sports RIDE PREP Bicycle Tool Kit - $98
High quality bike specific tools in a compact lightweight case, the RIDE PREP kit is a great starter for a mechanic’s tool set.
STOCKING STUFFERS
RocknRoll Gold Chain Lube - $7.99
The days of a gunked up chain are gone! RocknRoll Gold Chain Lube cleans and lubricates your bike chain, and keeps your drivetrain running smoothly.
Tire levers/patch kit - $2 - $5
Can never have too many of these! The PEDRO’S tire levers come in a set of 2 and a super durable. The Park Tool Vulcanizing patch kit is always handy for flat repairs.
Hex Wrench Set - $24.99
A full hex wrench set makes working on bikes a lot easier. This set comes with pretty much every size of hex wrench a cyclist would need to work on a bike.
Specialized Burra Burra Top Tube Bag - $50
This bag is awesome! Secure attachments for zero movement while riding, outside security pocket, smaller mesh sidewall pocket inside, and lots of room in the main compartment for snacks and goodies! The main zipper is so easy to use and access while riding, and the bag itself is waterproof and super durable! Great for all sorts of adventures, you won’t be disappointed having this bag along on your rides.
SWAT Cage w/tool - $50
Available in a side-loading Z-cage or Rib Cage version, with mountain or road specific SWAT multi-tools. Super handy because you’ll always have a multi-tool on hand! SWAT stands for Storage, Water, Air, Tool; it’s a line designed by Specialized to integrate the absolute necessities for your rides with your bike or apparel. The SWAT multi-tools come in a MTB or Road version, so you’ll always have the tools you need for any type of bike.
Soft Air Reflective Tall Sock - $30
Who doesn’t love a new pair of socks. Give the cyclist in your life a pair of socks that can help keep them safe! These socks have HYPERVIZ 24 hour visibility details, are comfy, lightweight, and supportive.
EMT 12 TOOL - $32
Super handy multi tool that fits well in saddle bags or jerseys. Tools include 2, 2.5, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 8mm Hex Wrenches, Phillips and Flat Blade Screw Drivers, T25 star wrench, a Chain Breaker, and a Spoke Wrench.
Grips & Bar Tape $11 - $50
Always a fun way to add color and personalize a bike!
As always, everyone here at Rocktown is ready and excited to help you should you have any questions about gifts for cyclists. Feel free to stop by the shop or give us a call. Happy Holidays!
The 2020 eTap Roubaix & unPAved PA
This bike is so much fun!
The newly re-designed Specialized Roubaix came out this year, and everyone at the shop was very excited by this bike. With larger tire clearance, a more aero frame, and more progressive Future Shock, it nailed all of the specs we had been wishing for on the previous version.
Riding here in Harrisonburg is huge, and gravel is a normal part of our riding, and I love it. However, it’s not always the best feeling if you’re riding a super stiff bike with small tires and no way to easily add comfort to your ride. It’s not that you can’t ride gravel on whatever bike you want (like my Tarmac), it’s that there’s a certain amount of fatigue that builds up if the bike wasn’t made for what you’re doing with it. That fatigue even happens with paved roads - chip seal, water damage, just not a great road surface… The hand jostling, body constantly bracing, slowing down because things just don’t feel great anymore, it gets old and it can sometimes take the joy out of a ride.
BUT now there are more capable road and gravel specific bikes, the 2020 Roubaix being one of them, and IT IS AWESOME!
I came to riding our demo 2020 Roubaix Pro eTap by way of cyclocross. I know that doesn’t make sense because the Roubaix is not a CX bike, but my Crux is, and it went through the transformation of gravel racing rig to ‘cross racing rig in September, and I didn’t want to change it back. There are possibly a few CX races I’d like to do in Dec. and I had only one gravel race left for the season. So I asked if I could ride our Roubaix and then race it at the unPAved Pennsylvania gravel event. It all worked out and now here I am, about to tell you about how much I enjoyed this bicycle.
The frame - the Roubaix went through a similar transformation to both the Tarmac and the Venge with frame tube shapes that are more aero, stiff in places that make sense for performance, and compliant/allowing for compliance in the places that will make riding more comfortable. And according to Specialized, It’s now lighter than Venge and more aero than the Tarmac. The frame also now easily clears a 33c tire, perfect for around here because our favorite all around tire for combined pavement and gravel riding is a tubeless ready 32c.
The Future Shock - all 2020 models of the Roubaix went to a different and/or new future shock. The base model Roubaix up through the Roubaix Comp now comes with the same Future Shock as the Diverge - a progressive spring setup to appropriately damp everything from small bumps to big hits. From the Expert Roubaix up to the S-works, these bikes have the Future Shock 2.0. Hydraulically damped internals control rebound, giving the bike an extra-extra smooth feel, and a knob that sits like a stem cap allows for locking out the shock if you feel so inclined.
Dusty!
The Pave’ Seatpost - the seatpost is more aero with the D-shape, has compliance at the top where the saddle is clamped, and also has compliance through the new drop-clamp design. All of this has been designed to keep harsh feelings from hitting the rider.
“Smoother is Faster” and “Aero is Everything” - both of these mottoes from Specialized have always felt like it was a one or the other type deal. Now that this new Roubaix is out, it feels like they can be said together, and describe this bike perfectly.
All of the re-design in the specs described above have come together to make a bike that feels incredible. If you want to stomp on it or stand up and hit a section of road/gravel as hard as you can, the bike responds immediately. And on top of that instant response is the smoother than ever ride-feel so that not only do you feel like you can go faster, but you feel safer, more planted, and able to react more appropriately to the conditions set before you.
I got to feel all of this while riding the 90mile route of unPAved Pennsylvania. There was smooth rail trail, smooth pavement, less smooth pavement, forest dirt roads, marble size gravel rail trail, chunky and jarring gravel… Quite the variety of road surfaces. There was also a variety of terrain - everything from flat, to long climbs, and steep descents. Most of the climbing and descending was done on gravel surfaces, and the whole day I was so pleased that I was on the Roubaix. I really enjoy going fast on gravel, but don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to get hurt or crash or feel out of control. There were definitely moments that day where those things could have happened, but they didn’t. I could ride as fast as I wanted and never felt out of control. I could feel how the bike was rolling on the roads but never felt like I had to brace my body against potential bumps.
Colors like this all day!
Add onto all of this that this specific bike comes with the new SRAM Force AXS eTap, and you’ve got a setup that feels unstoppable. The gearing is perfect for both climbing and hammering it out. The shifting is very exact, quick, and smooth. These components feel reliable and are incredibly capable in a whole variety of riding conditions. I never had a dropped chain, or weird shift out of this drivetrain the whole day, even when I came out of steep descent and turned right back into a steep climb in quite the wrong gearing for a climb - it handled shifting to that easier gear wonderfully.
I was really happy the whole time at unPAved, and this bike was a part of that.
This was only the second year of unPAved Pennsylvania, so if you haven’t experienced it yet, I highly recommend it. The vibe is very positive, friendly, safe, and happy. Any time an event wants to share a love for riding on unpaved roads, I’m down to join. Everyone that shows up is there for a good time, and that really makes the day a great one. Since it happens in the first half of October, the leaf-peeping is in its prime. You get non-stop gorgeously colored leaves and beautiful vistas as you reach the top of the climbs. The Chaise from Salsa’s #chasethechaise challenge was there, too. I love the ‘Chase the Chaise’. Everyone stops to get a pic snapped. It’s fun, it’s disarming and goofy, and it gets you to stop and enjoy the moment. You’re not there for long (I think I waited a minute?), but it’s enough time to get you to refocus on being present, and as far as I know everyone starts pedaling again with a smile on their face.
#chasethechaise :)
Wahoo Bolt/Roam and Garmin Varia: Together at Last!
I’ve been using a Wahoo Bolt for years now and as I’ve written before, couldn’t be happier with it. I have never once lost a ride, missed an upload, or had any issues of any kind with this thing. It just works. Better and more reliably than my previous Garmin units. The one thing I always wished for though was compatibility with Garmin’s Varia radar device. The Varia is a taillight (headlight model available too) that will relay to the bicycle computer when a vehicle is approaching from behind the rider, as well as show about where the vehicle is in relation to the rider on the computer screen. In the past this was limited to compatibility with only Garmin head units and I was left out from the fun. Well, Wahoo just updated their firmware to be compatible with Varia, so I got one to see how it was!
The functionality of the Wahoo/Varia combo is great, and almost identical to how they interact with Garmin units. The Wahoo (Bolt in my case) will give a warning beep, flash the heads up display lights red, and show a car, or up to five on the left side of the screen. All of the regular screen metrics are still displayed and the car picture portion is a strip that is probably 1/8th of the screen space. As the car moves next to the rider and then passes, the computer gives a happier beep and the lights flash green. I would say the rider gets the first warning when the car is about 1/8th mile away in good conditions (flat, straight road). In addition to the radar alerting the rider, the light begins to pulse brighter and with increasing frequency as the vehicle approaches, increasing the chance of the driver seeing the rider.
My experience has been great so far. Riding side by side with Kelly, I no longer have to constantly check over my shoulder for approaching cars, and can just get behind her when by Wahoo beeps at me. It’s also really nice to have the confidence that the light is flashing irregularly to gain motorist’s attention. The quality and battery life are also excellent.
On solo rides the unit is nice too. It allows me to ride more in the lane than I might otherwise, which is helpful when the sides of the road have worse pavement or debris. Just having the alert and piece of mind that the light changes its pattern when cars approach is very nice. It’s a very bright light, and on the running mode I use most (day flash) it’s putting out 65 lumens according to Garmin, but compared to the Cygolite 150 and several other lights in the shop it edges them out in my non scientific look-at-them-with-sunglasses testing.
We keep them in stock at the shop and are happy to help set them up if you bring your bike computer!
-Chris
When a car is approaching.
Rocktown Cyclocross 2019
THANK YOU so much to everyone that came out to this year’s Cyclocross Festival! It was a fantastic day and we could not have done it without our friends, family, sponsors, volunteers, and racers!
For the link to the Full Album of race day photos click HERE. Instructions for download: “You’ll get a pop-up message if you try to right-click to download. Instead, use the individual download icon (down arrow icon) on each image. You’ll see it on the bottom right of the image when you simply hover the mouse over any image. Click the icon, and the image should download right away.” Big thanks to CedarMeade Studios for take so many and such awesome pictures!
Sean (our event photographer) was so great at taking so many pictures, we are unable to download ALL of the pictures here. Below we have a highlight photo album. If you are looking for more pictures, click the link to the full album above.
Official USAC Results can be found HERE. If you would like to see the race-day result pages, we have pictures of those below.
- The Rocktown Team
Photo Highlights
GRUSK 2019
Gravel Race Up Spruce Knob, also known as GRUSK, takes place just an hour and a half west of Harrisonburg, in Circleville, WV. The race starts and finishes below the peak of Spruce Knob, the highest knob in West Virginia (4,862’). For 55 miles riders climb, descend, and climb and descend, getting a great tour of the gravel roads, mountain pastures, and beautiful views of the area. After the 2nd aid station by Spruce Knob Lake, it’s just under 10 miles to the summit of Spruce Knob. Mostly gravel, the climb feels like forever - never really quite that steep until the final quarter mile to the top. Gorgeous views of the surrounding mountains reward everyone, and the relief of finishing that climb is amazing! But that’s not the finish line. Nope. A descent down the mountain, and one more climb lay between riders and the finish. I think one of the things that makes this race so satisfying to complete is that you’re not done at the top of Spruce Knob. You have to push yourself a little harder, for a little longer to cross that finish line, and it’s such a grand feeling when you do!
My day started with my favorite way to begin a race day - grabbing a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich (and coffee, lots of coffee) from our local bagel shop. Being only 1.5 hours away from the race, I didn’t have a super early wake up call either - another good way to start the day. My drive out to the venue was sunny until I was 20 minutes away, then the rain started, again. All week the area had been by torrential downpours. Flash floods had taken out roads and damaged the small towns that lay along the race route. It was incredible that the main roads were cleared in the time they were, and that the race director of GRUSK was able to do a small reroute to keep the event going.
The rain was on and off for the rest of the morning, and waiting around to start I was nervous about my kit choice - would i get too cold descending, should I stuff a vest or long sleeve in one of my pockets? After talking with my teammate and friend Cynthia, I decided to suck it up, trust the rain wouldn’t last, accept that I would get too hot if I wore or brought extra layers, and wear what I had originally planned - the Jakroo Ultra short sleeve jersey and Solar Pro bib shorts. That decision ended up being a good one, because I did warm up quickly, even in the rain, and the sun did come out 25 miles into the race.
I had never been to GRUSK before, but from what friends told me, I wanted to be as close to the front for the start of the race as possible. It starts with a super rough dirt road, then a gravel downhill, a climb, and then this super crazy 2 mile double track grass descent to the next gravel road. Starts at gravel and cross races always have me on edge. The probability of something going amiss is higher with faster mass starts. I knew even with a “neutral” rollout to the first climb, being aggressive and getting positioned well was going to be really important for how the rest of my day went.
All week, leading up to GRUSK, I had been doubtful. I don’t know if it was just the amount of riding I had done the month before, things getting busier at work, or what, but I was kind of a grumpy cat all week - nervous about how my performance would go. At Hilly Billy, two weeks prior, I did well, but was frustrated by my lack of feeling snappy and “on it”. The starts at the last few races had me completely maxing my heart rate out, and still feeling unable to stick with the lead group for a decent amount of time. So after Hilly Billy, the focus was to rest, get a few good rides in, and try to keep my level of overall fatigue down. Chris was super great at helping me out, and having the 4th of July off, two days before GRUSK, was key.
When GRUSK started, I immediately slotted myself in a good spot, stuck on the front, and new I was feeling good as we hit the first climb. My heart rate was high, but not maxed. My legs felt quick and responsive. I even felt like I could recover the tiniest little bit as I pedaled behind a few people, just trying to stay in a good spot so I wouldn’t get stuck behind people on the grassy downhill.
That grassy downhill was crazy. During the racers meeting before the race, the organizer suggested riders stick to the grass instead of the deep ruts made by the forest service trucks, as the possibility of getting stuck and wrecking could be high. I quickly figured out though, that the best place to ride was actually in those tire ruts. The grass was so slick and wet from the rain that it took a lot to stay in control on that part of the road. One guy thought he could make a pass in that sketchy grass, cut a cross me, and then almost took me out in doing so (insert emoji slapping its face here). I then safely passed him just a few minutes later, and never saw him again.
The rest of the race was mostly gravel, with a road section from about the 25 mile point to 42 miles. After the grassy downhill, I found a good group to ride with until we reached the road. That section was so much fun. Super fast rolling gravel roads, with just a slight rain mist - perfect temperatures and “groad” conditions. After we hit the road, and for the rest of the race, it was spotty with catching up to riders (or having riders catch up to me). From the halfway point on, I rode mostly by myself. I skipped the first aid station, holding out for the 2nd aid station after the Dry Run Rd climb and 10 miles to go to the Spruce Knob Summit. Between those 2 aid stations I was maybe regretting just the tiniest bit not stopping at the first aid spot, but I had seen second place just after leaving that aid station and knew I had to keep the hammer down to put distance between myself and her. The rest of the race, my head was filled with Eminem songs (not my first choice, but it’s what popped up and kept repeating), and a mantra of “you want this, go harder, you can’t slow down.”
I really really wanted this win. I gave everything I had to keep pushing through any time I started to feel a little tired. Reaching the top of Spruce, I only got a quick glance around at the views, because I was so worried about second place catching me. Pedaling, and pedaling, and pedaling I worked my way down the mountain, changing my mantra to “don’t flat, go fast but don’t flat.” As the descent got steeper, my speed increased and the playful side of me kept wanting to come out. But I had to keep reeling that back in - way more likely to flat trying to be playful on the gravel; couldn’t have that with just 4 miles to go.
The final climb was the same road that we had come down at the start of the race. Just knowing I was on that road gave me a little extra boost, and seeing the finsih line in the meadow at the top was when I finally knew I was going to win. The whole race I had been pedaling scared - knowing that there were strong women behind me. It’s a funny thing to know you’re in front. You can’t let up, and you can’t have any problems. The nutrition I had at aid station 2 really saved my butt. I stuffed my mouth full of pickles, took some with me (yes, I was eating pickles and trying to pedal as fast as possible up the road, I’m sure it was a funny sight), and one my friends/volunteers at the aid station gave me a bottle full of coke. Sugar and salt made for quite the revival.
GRUSK feels like a local race. Local in that it’s close to my home, and it’s a big honor to win this event. The race director knows what’s up with good roads, and a proper gravel race - some support but not a whole lot, beautiful venue, and challenging and fun to ride terrain. If you haven’t been a part of this event, I highly recommend it. It’s one I definitely want to do again.
I haven’t seen or heard any news of GRUSK 2020, but you can always check on their website HERE.
One more awesome thing to note - my teammate Ellen, won the GRUSK Grande Loco (158 miles, 11,100’ of climbing, self-supported) the day before. She crushed that race through all sorts of weather, and came out on top! So awesome!
You can find a full list of results HERE.
If you have questions about the gravel women’s team I’m on, THE METEOR // INTELLIGENTSIA, you can visit our website, or get in touch with me here at the shop.
Rocktown Women's Cycling Week
Support. Probably one of the most important things for the success of women’s cycling and the success of each and every cyclist (social rider, weekend warrior, commuter, racer, and everything in between).
I wanted women’s cycling week to to bring together women in Harrisonburg and the surrounding area for new experiences, friendships, and to provide a friendly atmosphere to thrive even as we challenged ourselves in a variety of ways on the bike!
Here is what we did during the week, if you weren’t able to join and were wondering:
All week long (May 13-19): Women’s Apparel Discounted 10%
Monday, May 13, 9-11am: Local Coffee Shop Ride - Meet Kelly at Shenandaoh Joe’s at 9am. We’ll have coffee and do a fun social paced ride around town after.
Monday, May 13, 5:30 - 7pm: Women’s Bike Mechanic Clinic
Tuesday, May 14, 9:00 - 10am: Yoga for Cyclists with local instructor and fellow cyclist, Sue George of Shenandoah Yoga
Wednesday, May 15, 5:30-7:30pm: Regularly scheduled Rocktown Women’s Steady Road Ride
Wednesday, May 15, 8 - 10pm: Hangout at ThreeNotch’d Brewing, right around the corner of Rocktown Bicycles. This is just a fun time to hangout off the bike and get to know some awesome women in our community (and enjoy some beer)!
Thursday, May 16, 5:30-7pm: Women’s Bike Fit clinic. This is a great time to learn about bike fit, saddle comfort, and what can be adjusted to have the best experience possible on your bike.
Friday, May 17, 7am-9am: Meet at Court Square for SVBC’s Bike Everywhere Day. We’ll grab some breakfast snacks/coffee and then head out for an easy paced hour ride on some of Kelly’s favorite roads!
Friday, May 17, 5:30-7pm: Meet & Greet with former Professional Mountain Biker Sue Haywood! Sue is an absolutely amazing woman who has accomplished SO MUCH on the mountain bike. Come learn more about her experiences in racing, training, and teaching mountain bike clinics.
Saturday, May 18, 5-7pm: Afternoon MTB ride. Chill mountain bike ride out at Massanutten Western Slope. We can stop and work on stuff, hang out, and have a good ol’ time out in the woods! Meet in the parking lot of the Western Slope.
Sunday, May 19, 9am-3pm: Staunton Coffee Shop Ride! Join Kelly on one of her favorite Sunday rides. Cruise through the Shenandoah Valley down to Staunton for some delicious coffee and pastries, and then head home with some extra caffeinated pep! The pace will be similar to our Women’s Wednesday Ride (14-16mph). The ride will be right around 60 miles. Find the route HERE.
It was a fantastic week this year, and I cannot wait for next year’s event! New ideas are already written down, and another bottle design is already in the works! :)
Feel free to look through the photos and share them with your friends and family!
Rocktown Roller-Rama 2019!
Another great year of the Rolller-Rama! Thank you so much to everyone that came out to participate and cheer! It was a FANTASTIC night!
Feel free to save the photos and share with your friends!
Specialized Turbo Como and Vado
In the last few years we have seen a tremendous gain in the popularity of pedal assist bikes, or e-bikes, at the shop. Specialized had been making electric models for quite some time, but when I saw what the latest version had to offer and the level of refinement, I knew we needed to bring them in to the shop.
These bikes are a blast. They look like regular bicycles, and ride like a normal bike, but feel like you have a tailwind everywhere you go! All of the staff use them daily for running around town, and our customers have been putting some serious miles on them.
It’s really opened up possibilities for riding. For some, it’s making an 8 mile commute manageable more days of the year without having to get to the office sweaty and smelly; then turn the level of assist down for the ride home to make it a bit more of a workout. Others have been able to cover more ground than ever before, and overcome disproportionate riding abilities, making rides with friends and significant others possible as they weren’t before. They are definitely an equalizer!
There are several different models. The Como is modeled after our most popular hybrid, the Roll. Super comfortable and upright, it allows the rider to take the scenery in while cruising along with assistance up to 19 or 28mph, depending on the model. The battery life is anywhere from 30-100 miles depending on the level of assistance chosen, terrain, and weight of the rider with some models coming with a higher capacity battery.
We are fully equipped for repairs on Turbos, just like we are on non electric bikes. The relative simplicity of their design was a big selling point for me, as I didn’t want to have hours of labor into a bike when it needs service. The modular design lends itself well to forward compatibility. The batteries actually have empty cell bays in anticipation of greater capacity at lower prices as battery prices drop. The battery is easily removable for charging in case a power cord isn’t in easy reach of a bike, and it also comes with a battery lock so it’s secure.
The motor is another highlight of these. Smoother power application than other options, Specialized worked to smooth out the torque so synonymous with electric motors. This gives the rider a very smooth transition into power. It’s also very efficient and a large part of why the range is so far on these bikes.
We stock a bunch of the Turbos at the shop. Come by and check them out!
Rocktown Bicycles 2018 Holiday Gift Guide
Happy Holidays, Harrisonburg!
Looking for the perfect gift for the cyclist(s) in your life? Check out our Holiday Gift Guide to find just the right thing!
We have everything you could want to make the Holidays special. From stocking stuffers to a brand new bike, Rocktown can help you make this Holiday one to remember!
The items on the Holiday Gift Guide have been broken down into five sections:
Stay Safe - be bright and be seen!
The BIG one! - NEW BIKE DAY!
Fun Stuff - great for stocking stuffers
Stay Warm - clothing to help you stay outside longer
Mountain & Road Bike Essentials - items we have found to be staples for cycling
Each section is meant to highlight main items we have seen to be the most useful and fun for every cyclist. Our aim is to help you find the perfect gift without the hassle of wondering if it will be liked or used.
As always, please feel free to visit the shop or contact us if you have any questions or requests.
Stay Safe - Be bright, be seen, be happy!
Gift Highlights Include:
Specialized Deflect H2O Jacket: $210
Lightweight rain jacket that doesn’t leave you feeling cold and clammy (it’s also extra bright, which is a plus!)
Specialized Stix Lights: $30 - $55
USB Rechargeable
Lumens range from 18 - 68 for the taillight, 95 - 132 for the headlights
Specialized FLUX Lights: $100 - $150
Lumens range from 110 to 1200
USB Rechargeable
The headlights offer Wide Beam Pattern, great for seeing the road, and for cars to see you!
Lezyne Lights: $25
Smaller blinky lights
Replaceable Battery powered
Cygolite Headlights & Taillights: $30 - $65
USB Rechargeable
Lumens range from 460 - 600 for the headlights, 50 - 150 for the taillights
NightRider Headlight: $50 - $100
More lumens per dollar than ever along with Niterider durability.
Mirrycle Bar End Mirror: $19
Centro Helmet: $55
The BIG One!
Surprise your loved one with a bike sure to put a smile on their face.
Turbo Como 3.0 E Bike $3,250
The Specialized Turbo E bikes are so fun, they make you like a kid again! We love our Turbo bikes here at the shop (I ride one almost daily around town). Specialized Turbo’s are smoother, go farther, have better support, and look better than the others. It really is you, just faster. The 3.0 sits a model up from the entry level Como 2.0 ($2,850) and has all the features we like. 29mph speed, great battery capacity, and integrated head and taillights; and just like any of our new bikes here, backed by the full support and service of our shop.
Riprock 24" Kids’ Bike $525
Big tires, disc brakes, lightweight tuned suspension, kid-usable brake levers, and low standover - your kid will be shredding and having a great time on the Riprock!
Fun Stuff - Stocking stuffers, adventure inspiration, local bike shop love!
Gift Highlights Include:
Wahoo GPS Computer $245
Bells: $8 - $10
Rocktown Harrisonburg Map Bottle $6.95 - $7.95
Bottle Cages $10 - $50
Chamois Butt’r Chamois Cream $17.99
Rocktown T’s & Jerseys $15 - $150
Bike Grips/Tape $11 - $30
National Geographic Map $11.95
Sunglasses $25 - $185
Gift Card ANY AMOUNT! :)
Stay Warm - Colder temps shouldn’t mean the end of the riding season.
Gift Highlights Include:
Deflect Wind Jacket $120
This is a super lightweight, (49 grams!) packable into a jersey pocket wind/light water jacket. Very breathable and an awesome layer to have in your pocket many days of the year.
Therminal Alpha Jacket $200
Made to ‘walk to dry’ in 30 minutes, this Polartec developed fabric is very light, very insulating, and very breathable. With a built in hood that is meant to fit under your helmet, and looks that are good on and off the bike.
Defroster Cycling Boots $200
Super reflective, and insulated throughout. A very walkable and grippy sole made with Gripton rubber so that you don’t slip when you’re off the bike. These have been a shop favorite in the winter months.
Shoe Covers $30-$70
Looking for something to keep wind and water at bay but not ready for the Defroster boots? Show covers are a great addition to your winter layers and work well even for days that may just have a bit of chill to them.
Neck Buff $25
Winter Gloves $40-$85
From lightweight to really cold, I’ve enjoyed our gloves over the years more than any other. The Element line all uses Gore Windstopper fabric which is super breathable and windproof (windproof like I previously didn’t understand). With different levels of Thinsulate in them depending on how deep of a freeze you’re riding in.
Knee warmers/Arm warmers $55
Easy to get on and off and easy to keep in a jersey pocket, the latest version of these warmers fit better than ever.
Therminal Hat & Ear Warmers $16-35
Necessary when it gets below certain temps and available with Gore Windstopper, the headwear we stock is warmer than ever.
Mountain Bike & Road Bike Essentials - Cycling items we don’t like to live without!
Gift Highlights Include:
CAT5 GEAR Travel Bag $75
These bags are AWESOME. I have used one for months now and it’s made all my trips far easier. Very well conceived and executed bike accessory luggage from our friends up in Canada. Available in a bunch of colors. Cyclists are difficult to shop for. This is that gift they didn’t know existed and will absolutely use and love. -Chris
Osprey Hydro-Pack $75 - $140
Mountain Bike Tires $55 - $90
Road/Gravel Tires $35 - $80
MultiTools: $20 - $40
Tire Plugs $6 - $20
Frame Bag/Saddle Bag $30 - $140
Patch Kit & Tubes $2 - $9.95
Hand pumps/CO2 $6 - $50
Road Helmets: $40 - $225
MTB Helmets: $40 - $180
Mountain Bike & Road Shoes: $100 - $475
Gloves: $25 - $40
Pedals: $15 - $200
Cycling Caps: $28
Supercross UCI 2018
The craziest conditions I’ve ever raced in cyclocross.
I went into Supercross knowing that it was going to be messy, but it didn’t really hit me until I was attempting to do a “pre-ride” lap on day 1 of of the event, and could barely pedal through the mud.
The Thursday before the race, most of the Northeast got hit with a snow/ice storm, and we were lucky enough to get the chance to race in melting snow water and the mud that was being created from said snow melt. The temperatures each race day were in the upper 30s to low 40s - perfect for making sloppy cross course conditions.
It’s been an interesting experience, this season, learning how to balance training and racing at a higher level with life and work. I drove up on Saturday, leaving at 4am, to get to Suffern, NY in time to gather myself, check the course out, and warm up without feeling rushed. Maybe not the best idea to drive 6 hours right before a bike race, but, hey, sometimes that’s how it works out, and you give it your all, anyway.
And that’s what I did. Each day of Supercross was full of more running with my bike than riding it. And when we were riding our bikes, there were no brakes to help us out on some of the steeper descents - the brake pads were worn away from the grit in the mud pretty much after the 1st lap. Foot out flat out was the motto for those descents, I guess. It was a good time sending it with no brakes down those muddy hills.
The first day, I had a great start, only to lose that when there was a crash right in front of me about a minute in. But I fought on. After that, the rest of the race was a battle against the mud, my frozen feet, and my bike. My chain dropped 4 times during that race from the mud icing my chainrings over, and it was SO hard each time to get it back on; costing me more spots each time. My fingers were completely numb, and I was so frustrated to feel great in a race only to not have my bikes cooperate.
The mud was up to our knees each day, on a lot of the course. My greatest weakness of this race was being able to run with my bike through the mud with frozen feet. It was so challenging, and took everything I could muster to keep pushing, even when I wasn’t sure what my feet were actually doing.
I was pleased to finish on the lead lap of Saturday’s race, but I was also a little disappointed to have placed 22nd, and not in the top 20. I kept my attitude positive though, because I knew that another day of racing lay ahead, and I had another chance to prove myself.
When I finally got to my hotel room that night, I ate my dinner in bed, and didn’t leave the bed for the rest of the night. I was so tired. The 4am wake up, drive, the race, the cold, and scrambling to find replacement brake pads had taken a bit of a toll on me. Little did I know how much more challenging the next day’s race was going to be.
Sunday’s race course was set in reverse, with worsening conditions, and even more running than the day before. I had a difficult time warming up for this race. The temperatures were cooler and the humidity higher, so it felt even colder than it actually was. And as I waited to line up on the start line, I felt doubt creeping in. Not a great feeling, when you’re trying to race your best. I just didn’t feel right, or ready for what was about to happen, even with already having gone through the same race scenario the day before. I pushed that feeling away as best I could and stuck it all out there on the course.
I was fighting for the last few positions in the top 20 when my chain dropped on the third lap. It took forever to get the chain to stay on. I got pulled from the race, and placed 21st overall. The disappointment I felt was overwhelming. But that’s how racing goes sometimes, and you have to work through it, learn from it, and improve on it.
Through the whole weekend I had a wonderful support system of fellow women racers and friends from the Vanderkitten and CXHairs Devo teams. My two closest compadres, Libbey and Alex, had a stellar 2nd day of racing. Alex got her first UCI points, and Libbey placed 11th, with her best overall finish ever! I’m so grateful for the support I’ve received from those wonderful people and from Rocktown Bicycles. They help me to remember to have fun and push myself when things get tough.
Cyclocross Nationals is in a few weeks, and I’m using everything I have experienced and learned this season to get myself ready for this event. I’m very, very excited to be participating in the Women’s Elite race, and hope to have a great time. Right now I’m just working on getting my two bikes back together without mud all over them. :)
Happy riding! - Kelly
2018 Rocktown Cyclocross Festival Photos & Results
Thank you everyone for coming out! This year’s event was awesome!
Click the button below for results!
2018 Mountain Bike Nationals @ Snowshoe, WV
My first ever mountain bike nationals was amazing!
It's been a few weeks since MTB Nationals, but it still feels like it was only a few days ago. I decided to go to nationals this year after hearing about how fun last year's event was. It took a little bit of convincing from my friends, but I signed up and looked forward to a new adventure.
I've never been to such a large mountain bike event before... where competitors were coming from all over the country, and super skilled/amazing pro riders would be racing in the same place as me.
It was a little overwhelming when I showed up at the top of the mountain, but I immediately felt relief when I saw my friends' sprinter vans parked not too far away.
I have a difficult time not being really anxious before a competitive event. However, this year I embraced the butterflies... learning from a comedian I recently watched who said, "butterflies mean something you will want to make memories of is about to happen." Butterflies can be a good thing, if you let them.
So I held it together through the whole day before the race, waiting until 6pm to be able to check out our course. While waiting I got to see my best friend Lindsey start her Enduro race, cheer people on, and take an awesome nap in my hotel room :) When 5pm came around I headed back up to the top of the mountain, rode around for a bit to get the jitters out, and then my amazing friend Alex from Vanderkitten showed me the course and we worked on a few lines together. The one really challenging section was the slick/wet roots in the first half of the race. I went down once in a sharp turn - took the wrong line and slipped - but that was the only casualty of the day.
I've found that it doesn't matter what sport I'm doing, the night before a race/competition, I'm not into talking. I come off as moody, but really I'm just coming to terms with the fact that what I'm going to be doing in the morning is going to be difficult, it's probably going to hurt, and I'm going to do my best to achieve my best. The butterflies kick in hard the night before a race.
This year though, I tried hard to not waste my energy on being worried. Yes I was a ball of nerves, but I just let that energy hype me up and keep me alert. I think that mentality came in handy for race day.
Race morning started at 5:30am, was low stress, relatively quiet, and everything went according to plan. I was able to eat my breakfast (as opposed to just stare at it and contemplate how I'm going to get it down), I had everything packed in the van, and headed up the mountain around 6am. I knew I would need a longer warm up than I'm used to doing because this was going to be a FAST race AND it was a heart-in-your throat uphill start from the gun.
It was kind of nice racing at 8am. There wasn't any anxious hours of waiting during the day, and it wasn't too crazy or chaotic yet around the village of the resort. Waiting on the start line was intense. There were a few age group races starting a couple of minutes ahead of mine. Watching each wave go off up that hill and around the turn got me more amped and nervous for my race to begin. And then, all of a sudden, my race was on the start line, and I'm waiting for the whistle to blow - it felt like time slowed; the only sound I heard was how hard my heart was pounding.
The whistle went off and I slipped getting my foot clipped in, but only for a split second. I shot off, trying my best to charge up the hill and catch the woman in front. I was on her wheel for a split second and when she turned around she saw me, she threw down the hammer, almost sliding out on a left turn into singletrack - I kept my distance for a few seconds after that; I didn't want to get crashed out - finishing the race is better than not finishing the race.
This course was a lot of fun! Steep climbs and variable singletrack - slick roots, pieces of the downhill trails, some sharp rocks - and fast fire roads. The best part was how crazy my friends and loved ones were cheering for me all over the course! Thinking back on it right now, those are the memories that stick out the most to me: throwing down as hard as I think I can, and then hearing Lindsey, Ellen, and Chris just screaming at me like crazy people, and finding that I could dig deeper and push harder.
I got passed by the woman who placed 2nd fairly early in the race, she hit it on one of the climbs and I couldn't respond. I also got caught up in the mix of the other racers as we entered the slick root section and lost another chance to catch back onto her. Somewhere in the middle of the race Lindsey told me she was up by 2 minutes, and I thought maybe I could make that up, but also knew it wasn't likely because I was pretty much at my max.
We did 3 laps of the course. I was in a bit of no man's land for the last lap, not knowing where the other women behind me were, and worried that I might mess up and get caught. My mantra at a spot like this in any race is pretty much, "go as fast as you can, but DON'T eff up!" Haha :)
Charging down through the last few turns and crossing the finish line of my first MTB nationals race was an absolutely amazing feeling. And I took 3rd place! It took a bit of coaxing and reassuring from my friends that I should participate in this and see if I liked it. I'm so glad I went. I want more of this! I have a better idea of what I need to do to improve my racing, and have cyclocross to look forward to. I can't wait for the next bike racing adventures!