Thanks Pranava Yoga!

Having never really been to any yoga classes, except for a class or two a couple years ago at a gym I decided to give Pranava a try. I never really had a good experience before, it was just overcrowded and you felt like a number. I have been running since I was a kid and riding for 17 years with a little strength training thrown in to try and round everything out. I have never concentrated on flexibility, just the occasional stretch here and there. So going into my first class at Pranava I pretty much have the flexibility of a block of wood. Not to mention tight hip flexors and a pulled muscle in my back that I have been milking along. After taking a few classes from Doug and Mike I have been really pleased and happy with the results, just from a few classes. They really treat you like a person and remember your name. Mike and Doug are always motivating you and throw a little bit of humor in the class to keep it fun. The classes are small and very personal. The instructors are always handing out compliments and constructive criticism even though I am pretty horrible and have no idea what I’m doing. The day after a yoga session I feel great and loosened up, so it can really help even a beginner like myself. I only wish I had more time to go to more classes but the mountain bike usually wins. I highly recommend Pranava Yoga to anybody like myself who has been riding bikes and needs a little more flexibility in their routine. -The Brute

osprey packs

So everybody has stuff. Lots of it. Some we really need, some not so much. The way we move our stuff around, no I don't mean booty shaking which is really nice,says something of who were are.Purses,pockets,boxes,paper or plastic are just some of the ways to get your shit from here to there but today I am talking about a bicycle specific backpack. I just received a new Osprey Escapist 20 in the mail last week. Now I had the Manta 20 for the last two years and while it has held up great it was lacking in a few departments. Mainly it was too narrow and too thick. When it was packed full it was not stable from side to side and while decending it would bump my helmet,very annoying. Let me stress, very annoying.Like back the hell up I am going to fill this place with upper cuts annoying. So I see this new backpack and it looks like the remedy for my growing displeasure with my current setup.

There are a few requirements for a cycle specific backpack that have made my list over the last 20 or so years of riding.It has to have a drinking system,the osprey hydraform is rad btw shove your bladder in with a full pack what's not to like,it has to ride stable and the closer to your body the better. This next detail is critical. I did the colorado trail race two years ago and it rained the whole time I was out there, a rain fly is now a must have detail on all packs. I love having a rain fly even during winter rides, when you stop on long rides and the ground is wet or snowy I pull out the rain fly and sit on that and it keeps wet butt at bay.

This pack has a lot of dope features. I love the sunglasses pocket at the top of the pack and the large pull loops for the zippers. The load straps on the side are great. If I don't have a bunch stuff to carry I cinch them down and the pack feels lighter and more stable.Minimizing the camel hump goes a long way to make a pack feel lighter.I dig the cut out on the back for a blinky light and the mesh pockets, shoulder straps,back panel and waist belt help make this pack really light for the amount of stuff this thing will carry securely.

Now I understand that with anything in life there are compromises and all profitable companies have to make them in order to say in business.With that being said Osprey did a killer job at making a pack that has few of them.The only thing that I would really change is the silly vertical zippered pocket on the left shoulder strap. It is too small for a cell phone and if you got one in there it is too heavy and flops around. That material would have been better spent by adding pockets with zippers on the waist belt like on the manta series packs. Oh ya one other thing helmets go on your head not on you pack so lose the hemet retention device and save the weight. If you have to just clip it to the top handle loop or your handle bars old school style.

Give this pack a try or don't but on your next ride carrying a purse is going to get you to legend status in a hurry but not in a good way.

24 Hours of 32x18

After a many-year hiatus from 24-hour team racing, the stars aligned and the conditions were right to crawl out of my presumed retirement. Condition 1: Riding on dirt in February. Condition 2: A direct request that I join a team of fast singlespeed women. "IN!" was all I could say, and soon I was registered for 24 Hours of Old Pueblo.

The moment I clocked out of work Thursday afternoon, the fun was in full force. I drove down with duo racer Cameron Chambers, his lovely better half Amber and support mechanic extraordinaire, Jeremy. A few texts back and forth with GF BWBF, aka Ms. Bossypants (aka Stephanie Jones-son) and we've got an address in Show Low with invitation that we all crash on her Mom's floor, joining her crew of Dug, JC and Sean. Next morning we had a lovely spontaneous BWR breakfast team meeting with all of the above mentioned in addition to Mother and sister of Ms. Bossypants. Half the fun of the weekend was seeing a small glimpse of Stephanie's hometown.

The fun continued in full force. One by one team Singlespeed Sweetness trickled into 24 Hour Town on Friday and I FINALLY met Paula Bohte, fellow Minneapolis homie, who's path I had somehow seemed to narrowly miss repeatedly when we both resided there. I took advantage of the pre-ride to learn the hard way to STAY AWAY from the cholla! And, that night I got a fabulous night's sleep on the floor of Cameron's dad's friend's rolling motel room, ready for my post-retirement era to commence.

Noon Saturday: WMBA's Sarah Gibeau kicked off the le mans start for us, clocked a fantastic time, which was -- for the next 23 hours -- followed by 18 more laps of fantastic times. I was lucky and grateful to have been a part of such a solid team of women riders who provided such positive energy and inspiration all day and all night. The energy and inspiration was equally as high from our mechanical and moral support provided by Jeremy and Beto Villegas, Paula's partner. I think we all shared in the high of our finishing 2nd place in the Women's Open category, just behind a geared team that included a World Cup racer and ex-Olympian.

And, the riding? Well...I was RIDING! On dirt. In February. And, I saved my favorite BWR jersey per the photo above for the final glory lap.

This was the first 24 hour race where I stayed up all night. And, it was well worth every minute.

K-O

Feel your feet underneath you.....no, really.

So, as many of you may have read; I acquired a feisty little case of frostbite a couple weeks ago whilst racing the Leadville Winter Mountain Bike Series. In the past couple weeks, I've been nursing a Franken-toe and struggling with being able to ride because I haven't been able to keep it warm....which is key if I'd like to keep my toe. With the advice, assistance and gifts from many I've finally formulated what it will take to keep my wheels rollin'....and I thought I'd share with y'all so you can keep your tootsies warm too.


1. Multiple pairs of socks...I've been (at least) doubling up on smartwool socks.
2. Little Hotties....those maxi-pad looking things stuck to my socks are little packets of AWESOMENESS. Toe warmers times two is the key - one on top and one on the bottom.
3. It seems like over-kill, but I REALLY like my toes, so I've got some shoecovers too. They're nice and snug around the ankle and help lock in heat.
4. Lastly, I took the advice of my gal-pal Alabama and slammed a hot beverage right before heading out to get my whole body feeling toasty warm. Beverage of choice is Yogi Green Tea Kombucha....so tasty and green tea is just good for you. Duh.


If that doesn't keep your feet warm....I don't know what will. Frostbite aint no joke folks & there is no need to be cold - EVER!

Stay cool...but warm,

Stephanie

First time racing in Colorado…..first time in Leadville….first place!!!....first time with frostbite!?

This past Saturday, Doug and I would venture to the infamous Leadville to participate in one of the lovely Leadville Winter Mountain Bike Series races (presented by the Cloud City Wheelers). I’d like to mention that it’s probably been only a handful of times I’ve been higher than 10,000 feet in my life and having a dose of acli-mate pre-race sure did wonders for whatever altitude-related goofiness I was feeling. WOW. The experience was absolutely magical; riding my mountain bike under a nearly full moon with amazing people, the snow glittering in beams of 1,000 lumens & crunching beneath my beloved schwalbe nobby nic (skinny?!) tires. Oh yeah, all of this occurred in temperatures as low as -6 degrees, but it didn’t matter. Not until after the race anyway…it seems as though I’ve come home with a slight case of frostbite in one of my toes. Super surprising to me, I ended up winning my class...which makes me feel a whole lot better about the possibility that my toe may fall off. HAHA. By the way, the shwag & food was TOP NOTCH. High fives to everyone who raced and especially to my Bandwagon folks & honorary folks who kicked ASS: Kristi, Doug, Eric, Brett & Michael. Peruse the Bandwagon website to see what you kind find about those guys and other stuff…it’ll make the boss happy. And me happy. And everyone….happy. Lastly, if you're a stats geek, check here to see the (my) race by charts & graphs...or here??? :

Oh yeah...be kind to your digits.......& listen to your body.

60 lbs worth of little bricks of awesomeness.

This past weekend, Bandwagon Racing got a delivery from Kate's Real Food. This inspired a crazed reaction from one of our members.....


The bars got divvied up amongst our members and we wasted NO TIME breaking into them out on the trail. Bandwagon is stoked to be fueling with Kate's again this season! Keep an eye out for an array of these little bricks of awesomeness in the Bandwagon online store, which you can purchase while you're picking up your Bandwagon groupie apparel.

New Years Day Ride

Jon and Eric discussing the finer things in life!

Jon, Paul, Trevor, Eric and myself had our inaugural New Years Day ride on Williams. Eric came down from Leadville to join us, not much skiing going on in the mountains right now. The trail was slick and icy in spots but it was fun getting out and riding with some fellow Bandwagon members. Everyone made it down unscathed in the slippery conditions.