I felt incredibly strong coming into the spring block of races and was excited about the potential for earning some solid results at both Whiskey 50 and the Transylvania Mountain Bike Epic Stage Race.

And then I crashed.

My return to the Whiskey 50 was one marked with a burning desire to redeem myself. The Whiskey 50 is an event run by Epic Rides in Prescott, Arizona, which starts with the spectacle of a “Fat Tire Crit,” in which all of the pro racers (in separate fields of men and women), race their mountain bikes with skinny tires (generally 40-50c slick tires) around a short paved course in downtown Prescott on Friday evening. Saturday is the amateur backcountry race, with a variety of distances to choose from, and then Sunday is the pro backcountry race–50 miles of Prescott singletrack and gravel that starts and finishes on Whiskey Row.

In 2019, I was a green racer, eager to test myself against the best mountain bike racers in the country. As such, I flew to Prescott, Arizona woefully unprepared. During the fat tire crit, I suffered an asthma attack that left me wheezing for the remainder of the weekend, and (combined with my ignorance of proper race fueling and general inexperience), caused me to DNF in the 50-mile backcountry race. In the years since that experience, I’ve become an entirely different rider. For one, I have (and use!) a dropper post, I’ve dialed in a fueling regimen that works for me, I’ve worked with a mental performance coach to make me more mentally resilient to the challenges of racing, and I’ve raced A LOT since April of 2019.

I knew that a top 10 finish at Whiskey 50 would be a huge achievement for me, but I thought it was at least on the edge of attainable if everything went correctly. In Friday’s fat tire crit, I went in with a plan that I executed exactly: work hard for 3 laps, then sit up and get pulled. I was surprised, however, at how closely I was able to stick to the group, despite the infamous hill climb to start each lap. My strategy landed me 18th, which was better than I expected.

The real highlight of the Whiskey 50 weekend was getting to hang out the CarboRocket crew from Salt Lake City, Utah. Lauren Zimmer is on the CarboRocket Pro MTB Team, which is largely based out of Virginia. As a result, we had met previously, and had planned to do some pre-riding together on Saturday before the backcountry race. Pre-riding turned into spending almost the entire weekend with Lauren, her husband Brian, CarboRocket Brad, Bob, Mills, and Aaron–sharing meals, supporting each other on course, and general shenanigans, all of which reminded me once again that bike racing is about so much more than a result–its the people which truly make this sport what it is.

On Sunday, my race started out strong. I stuck with the pack for two-thirds of the first climb, which for me, is a success. Once we got into the singletrack, I started moving up bit by bit, and passed six riders on the first long singletrack descent into Skull Valley. Mentally and physically, I felt good, and was able to keep pushing strong into the first aid station at the bottom of Skull Valley. On the climb back up, the heat (87F with full sun exposure) started to get to me, as well as the nagging back issues I had been dealing with all spring on climbs. I knew that I was still riding well, however, and kept pushing. At the second aid station, around mile 20, where I was expecting to get two fresh bottles of CarboRocket, I missed the feed (miscommunication with the support crew, who ended up being 3 or so more miles further down the course…where I didn’t see them in time to actually get the bottles), and was out of water, but determined to keep riding. I knew that Aaron would be at mile 30 with cold bottles and that it was “mostly” downhill and singletrack to get there. Despite incredibly dry and loose conditions, I was ripping the descents, feeling good, and having a lot of fun–until I lost it in a corner and went down hard on my left knee. One look told me that I was going to need stitches, but there was no way I was going to DNF this race twice in a row. I got up, reminding myself that the next 5 miles of trail was familiar from pre-riding, and made it to the lot where Aaron was waiting with ice and cold bottles (my crew also managed to meet me there with the bottles of CarboRocket that I had missed previously). Re-hydrated (or at least somewhat), and loaded with bottles, I settled into a bit more cautious pace, knowing that I was riding the last 20 miles blind, having not had a chance to pre-ride the second half of the course at all, and well-aware that if I landed on my left knee again, it would be the end of my race. Despite a few bobbles caused by my fear of crashing on the left, I kept it relatively steady through the remainder of the singletrack and back into Whiskey Row, finishing in 15th.

The first aid crew at the finish line refused to even clean my wound, indicating that I needed to go to the ER, but with a red-eye flight home from Phoenix scheduled for later that evening, I was too worried that I’d miss my flight as a result of waiting in the ER. I cleaned and irrigated it as well as I could in the shower, stopped at CVS for antibiotic ointment, packed my bike, and flew home to Virginia. It wasn’t until the morning, when finally getting it stitched up, that I learned that my knee had been cut all the way to the kneecap and that I wouldn’t be able to ride for a minimum of two weeks (and was not supposed to even bend my knee for most of that time). I was horrified.

I had been looking forward to the Transylvania Epic MTB Stage Race for years, and after leaving teaching, was finally able to participate. After the time I had spent working on my technical riding skills this winter and spring, I felt confident that I was capable of a strong result, and had highlighted TSE as a target event for the spring. Now, I wasn’t even sure if I would be able to ride at all, with it starting exactly 3 weeks after my crash in Arizona.

When I got the stitches out, a week before the TSE start, I was optimistic. The first ride back went exceptionally well. Even if I felt out of shape, my knee didn’t hurt. And then on Wednesday, less than a week before TSE, it swelled up like a basketball. I immediately started icing it, and backed off riding again, and was increasingly worried about whether I’d be able to ride after all. With the swelling still slowly decreasing as of Monday (the day before the start of TSE), my coach encouraged me to treat it as a week of fitness-building, and to prioritize the knee: if it started swelling again, I would need to bow out of the following day’s stage.

Somehow, even with all of that, my excitement for the race was unabated. TSE has the moniker #singletracksummercamp for a reason. Its a combination of all the best people, bikes, and an all-around good vibe. I was excited to see Brian and Lauren again, as well as the East Coast contingent of the CarboRocket Pro MTB Team. The women’s field was stacked with most of the East Coast’s best female mountain bikers, all friends and familiar faces. Friends from Roanoke and surrounding areas were there. Even if I couldn’t “race,” I was stoked to be able to ride bikes with all my bike peeps for a week!

I started Stage 1 somewhat cautiously, nervous how my knee would do. I pushed as hard as I felt comfortable doing, and prioritized the singletrack and descents, where I could maximize technical ability over the power I was so obviously lacking, which landed me in 9th for the stage, with a 5th place on the enduro stage. After the stage, I went back to the Airbnb, iced my knee multiple times, and “attended” my first day of summer classes. With repeated encouragement from my coach to focus on fitness, not racing, Stages 2-4 were more of the same: endurance and tempo on the gravel climbs, then move up on the singletrack and any descents. Every day, I found myself looking forward to the chunky singletrack sections more and more—something that was hugely encouraging to me, as I distinctly remembered my first race in the State College, PA area, less than two years prior, where I was somewhat terrified and extremely inefficient on the rocky trails. Now, I was moving past riders who had passed me on the climbs, even on the flat, chunky, rock gardens. I was riding confidently and (mostly) efficiently–and, best of all, having fun! I also noticed that, despite my knee pads rubbing sores in my shins from pedaling in them day after day, my legs were feeling a little better every day. By stage 5, I finally started to feel like I was actually racing a bit, not just riding–and had an absolute blast pushing a little bit more on the climbs and continuing to send the descents. In the end, my efforts landed me in 8th for the GC, with a likely 4th overall on the enduro stages (a mix of 4th and 5th throughout the week), a result I’m extremely happy with, given the exceptional strength and depth of the women’s field–and my lack of fitness or ability to ride hard this week.

I finished up the TSE week by heading to Snowshoe “on the way” back to Virginia to meet up with some friends for some downhill riding over the holiday weekend. There wasn’t much pedaling, but there were more rocks and roots and drops–and fast dudes to chase downhill!

In the end, my results this spring were mediocre at best, but I’m still stoked with the experience that I had racing & riding–and I’m calling that a win! I’m thrilled with the progress I’ve made technically, and perhaps a little addicted to the feeling of going downhill fast (the call of the dark side is strong!). More than anything, I’m grateful for the community of riders that make this bike racing thing so special, and can’t wait for the next opportunity to see everyone again!