tonya :: cycleTherapist

hi and welcome to my real blog. this is tonya, your local cycletherapist and mountain bike chick! News of the day! Congrats to Coryn Rivera who won the junior Cyclocross National Championships 14-15 yo aboard  a Cannondale CAAD 9 Optimo Si Cross bike… all sitckered up with mtbchick.com! Coryn is a talented young lady who loves competition and is a joy to watch on the bike! Look for more from Coryn in 2007!

Beautiful day here in Socal. Today was the kind of day i love for… crystal clear blue sky with a few clouds, recently rained on mountain bike trails. i met my riding partner for a day of mountain biking and mexican. from the top of the climb, we could see the ocean, and Catalina island. all the way from Claremont wilderness park! amazing! we’re quite far inland on that trail, i looked off in the distance, and the light was refelcting off the ocean. we could see boats and the mountains of Catalina. amazing. life is amazing. lunch at Sergoi’s in Glendora. famously delicious garlic shrimp, but today we opted for carne asada tacos on homemade corn tortillas (joyful to eat, simply joyful) and chicken enchiladas if you’re in Glendora or the foothills of the San gabriel’s looking for good Mexican food, Sergio’s is your best bet. the chips are not the best, but their salsa is great. carne asada=yes!
anyhow it was so good to be back on the Prophet. after riding cross bikes for the last couple of months, the downhills were pleasurable in the least, at best, heavenly. on tuesday night, i crashed just riding along on my Prophet. chatting away to a friend, next thing i know i am on the ground with Joey tumbling over me with his Prophet. Roy rides away, then looks back and sees no lights. everyone asks if i am ok. but they gawk at all the blood coming from my arm-warmered elbow. this was one of those crashes where you just lay there. who cares about the bike? i knew if i stood up i would either pass out or just fall down. birds were singing around my helmet. my body was in shock. i was in shock. disbelief. Roy wouldn’t let me ride the last bit of singletrack, and he bought me some hot chocolate… we sat and drank the wintertime nectar before heading our seprate way for the night. after about an hour or two, i was in much better shape.

on our road ride around Bonelli Saturday morning, we rode by the scene of the crime and scoped out the culprit. a silly rock that couldn’t have possibly thrown me for such a loop. we reminisced and rode away. my elbow hurting.  when am i going to grow up? oh never. and more Mexican food.
i am still cleaning and bandaging my elbow 3 times a day, but it’s all good. at least there was no gravel to be picked out like my last elbow related crash. ok well i am out i have work to do and it’s getting too late for that.

namaste

-tonya

i was hoping to go “home” for christmas and hang with my fam in Oklahoma-OK! but events, work, and shceduling prevented that. i was so worried my christmas was going to be lonely and sad, alas, i am a cyclist, and when you are a cyclist, you have friends.

this morning came earlier than i hoped. sometimes it does that, and you thought it was night when you woke, but realized the sun had beat you to the punch, and you were late for life. i attribute this to spending a later than usual night out- albeit with some friends and their family for christmas eve. i spent the evening with dorothy wong and jeff herring, one of my favorite couples in cycling and jeff’s mom’s fam. we had an amazing dinner with great conversation- a night of artists to be sure.  out so late, later than i am used to, and to bed later, and back to morning.

my phone was ringing off the hook. but i was still asleep. people from the east coast. they think of me as an early riser. usually i am. not today. i resigned myself to a solo ride for christmas day. explore the endless trails of the san gabriels. i live in the best place a mountain biker could hope to live. year round epic riding. enough said. so i was ready to get a late start, and pedal myself powered by introspection. when i have things to think of, pedaling pulls me through.

one more call- dot. i looked at my caller id. i almost did not answer the phone. change of plans again, but this time, the plan was to ride strawberry peak.  captain cannondale had promised to take me on that ride, which i wanted him to be the one to show it to me, as he had almost every ride i had done in socal. but the temptation got the best of me. a group ride on strawberry peak. excellent! i was in, in spite of how tired i was and not quite ready to go. a few parts exchanged between my bikes- i needed to ride the Cannondale Rush feminine, since my Prophet is currently down with the flu. maybe bronchitis as well, which could lead to pneumonia if she doesn’t get some rest. so the Rush. a great choice since all of my riding friends would be on racing hardtails.

i ate breakfast on the drive up- iberian cheese and crackers from trader joe’s. i had to borrow some energy food from my roomie. oh and my fave christmas coffee, an egg nog latte- home made on my capresso c1000!

once the ride began, i just pedaled, steadily. i was riding with a group of roadies- racers- stronger than me. so i had to go. but the view. the view. the view. it inspired me, so i had to ride ahead, and pull over to take some photos. i could see the ocean, catalina, la, and more. wow. could it get any better? so i stopped to take some photos. when we hit the singletrack, we hit snow. how awesome?!?!?!?! a ride on christmas day, in the snow with great company, in shorts and short sleeves!?!?! giddy up giddy up giddy up let’s go, let’s ride in the snow!!!!

we railed throught the snow, among the giant trees, swooped over whoop-de-doos and climbed incessantly. we experienced one sheared front skewer and 3 flats. 3 super core women and a group of guys. i so enjoy being out on the trails with such amazing women- keli roberts and dot and myself. we rock if i do say so myself.

the evening ended with a barbeque at keli and jl’s. yumma. watched monsters, inc., and then i had to roll home. i have been promised another virgin ride tomorrow. and i am beside myself excited by the adventure that lies ahead. i didn’t even talk to any of my family today, but i thought about them all, and will catch up, thank them for the cute cards the kids made, and catch up with everyone. i miss them all dearly, but i must admit, i had an amazing and unique christmas!

i am ending my evening with pirates of the caribean, and writing my heart out, yeah? a very happy and holly jolly christmas indeed!

thank you to everyone who made my christmas special!!!!

i have pics, and will upload them when i figure out how!

namaste

-tonya

so the boyfriend came through and showed me more amazing trails in my own backyard. after riding for 4 hours (ok we sat a lot watching one another change flat tires) the day before, i was sure to be hurting on the thankless, punishing climbs that awaited me and my favorite riding partner.  One thing about Cali riding: climbing. Most people shuttle the ride we were about to do- the famous Sam Merril trail and Sunset. Words typically associated with these rides are “exposure” and “switchbacks”. Exposure meaning if you can’t keep your wheel straight in spite of all the loose rocks, you will find yourself careening down the side of the mountain and possibly stranded hanging upside down for hours. it has happened.

we rode chaney trail up to mt lowe and the alpine tavern ruins and to inspiration point. long climb, but beautiful scenery. i love the change in bioregion from north face to south face. the south face of the mountains are dry and high-desert-like. the north faces are alpine and moist with ferns and giant trees. inspiration point, all of these areas were developed long long ago (in terms of US history, ancient times!). it was exciting to check out the history of the mt lowe railway built in the 1890’s and to imagine riding the railcar up that mountain. it was agreed riding bikes was safer.  the climb was eternal, yet led us to the sweetest singletrack in socal. i love a good challenge. and this was surely a good challenge. switchbacks that take you out to the edge and give you a chance to crash down the mountain if you so choose. i rode in back, taking my time on this new trail. it reminded me of one of my favorite trails in Mammoth- skidmarks.

anyhow- more fun down treacherous sunset with gnarled switchacks and then flowing down to home. this is a ride we chose to do from my front door. what an amazing day of fun! and on to the next…

namaste

-tonya

It was the muggiest day of the year in rural Massachussetts at the Pedro’s Fat Tire Festival when i replaced my threadbare treads- trusty Maxxis High Rollers- with a free pair of Continental Cross Countrys. The first noticable difference was the size of the tire. These looked like road tires after having big High Rollers. As if i were going on a road ride. Well, I have always said I can ride anything, so suck it up sistah!

My riding skills skidded down the slippery slope of mediocrity and I just kept riding my Prophet with those Conti’s. I suddenly forgot how to corner, and technical rock sections of trail began to trouble my free mind. Finally, after being hounded by my riding partner before during and after every ride, I went down to Incycle Pasadena and grabbed a set of Maxxis High Rollers. However, as pointed out by partner, they were only 2.1s. “Those are super narrow 2.1s, you need the 2.35s” or something along those lines. Too bad. They only had the 2.1s, so that’s what i put on my front wheel. Never mind the rear, the front tire is the thing. I learned that when I saw Lee McCormack rail the Super D @ Mammoth in the National Championships in 2005 on a semi slick rear tire. Hm. OK.

So never mind bothering with the rear, I changed out the front. Tubeless. So it’s a task: adding Stan’s and seating the bead properly. Yeah, it’s a narrow tire. I was actually surprised at how right partner was. Narrow. Nonetheless, i spent the time installing the tire, and my CC was worn out anyhow, so there you have it. I would have to once again suck it up and ride this narrow tire. Same width as the CC.

Of course, climbing is no different on this tire. However. Descending. Wow! As we hot the 8+ mile singletrack downhill, I wanted to keep up with Gemini man. So I watched him and let go. It usually happens when we hit the corners. I hit the brakes. But today, as I edged the front tire into the ground, it stuck, and i jumped up and pedaled out of the corners. Even the off camber corners with slippery granite sand on hard packed granite dirt, the front tire held my line and i pushed and pushed my limits, comfort zone surpassed, heart rate up, adrenaline rushing. ahhh. this is why we ride.

As i put the Rush Fem on the back of my truck, I breathed a sigh of exultation. It was a fine tire and a fine ride. All I needed was a change of tread.

namaste

-tonya

Today my boyfriend went off to ride with the guys. He once told me, “no girl will ever take me away from the guys’ ride.” I didn’t doubt it. Nor did I challenge it. He’d been riding with the guys for as long as I have been riding at all. The Saturday guys’ ride was serious business, and he had only missed one day a year to go to the Palm Springs Modern Show. But one Saturday, he asked me to ride with him. From there the sporadic Saturday rides became more frequent. And at one point, I believe it turned out to be over a month of missed guys’ rides. However, after a certain amount of hazing, a man must succumb. i was sad to have to find other riding partners for my saturday ride, but was also happy that the boyfriend would have a chance to reconnect with his buddies.

My search for riding partners was relatively easy as Dot had been emailing me all week about riding with her and pro Sara Bresnick who was in town to get some “summer in winter” riding in. I was told we’d be out for around 2.5 hours. perfect. i could get by on a small trader joe’s orange cranberry scone and a few packages of energy food. this was a girls’ ride, and when i say girls’ ride i mean, most guys can’t keep up kind of girls ride.

I was able to catch up on all the current pro women mountain bike gossip, and hear more about the sorry state of mountain bike racing, and at least get somewhat back in touch with the national racing scene. it’s increasingly difficult to make it these days as a pro in mountain biking. no one wants to sponsor teams, the racing is not competitive enough, the discrepancy between the paid and unpaid pros looks like the economic state of a third world country. i was once again reminded why i stepped away from racing, and decided to just ride, and to bring more women into mountain biking- not necessarily racing- but just improving world health through mountain biking. the bottom line is, good riders are retiring when they should be moving forward, and teams are folding. it’s just not good. and too many women accept too little for sponsorship, because if they don’t accept it, the next one in line will. sad. shame on the bike  industry. they’ll never support women’s cycling as they ought.

At about hour 3, i began to fade. the ride, which inclulded Brown Mtn road to El Prieto, then up the Arroyo to Mt Lukins and then down to Verdugo hills for the cherry canyon “pretzel”. I haven’t had a serious bonk in a very long time. but here it was. 200 calories will not sustain 4 hours of being out on my bike. No matter how much food i take on during the ride, i simply did not have enough calories to make the long ride. not only was i completely bonked, but i was on a heavy full suspension bike riding with girls on sub-20 pound hardtails. this was not the ideal situation. at least the girls allowed me to take the downhills first, although in my bonked state, i was definitely not riding up to par.

I learned my lesson, and now any time i go out with Dot, i’m gonna fuel up and take the refrigerator with me so i can sustain my energy during our rides. no more bonking. it’s the worst thing, because even after the ride you feel like poo and you get headaches, and you can’t sleep, and you’re downright miserable. on top of that the cowboys played worse than anyone could have imagined, tony romo making mistakes that a high school QB would never make. he choked, according to my BF.  it was indeed a sad end to my difficult day.

anyhow- i am not sure if we’ll be parting ways again next saturday, but i sure missed the fun ride i get on saturdays with my BF.

namaste

-tonya

Not all of my adventures are on the bike, believe it or not!

I had eaten sushi one time before I met my current boyfriend, with my Dad, who loves food, and it was nice. But now I am learning how to really eat Sushi. The boyfriend has taken me out almost once a week to Sushi, and we normally eat rolls. But for my birthday, he took me to a Sushi bar- where I was able to experience some unique and interesting flavors, and almost cried when I touched one item (more on this later!). There was no mountain bike ride today, only hours spent at a Sushi bar in San Dimas.

Eating at a Sushi bar is a gourmand’s dream. You eat small amounts of incredibly amazing food with pauses in between, enjoying conversing with your party, and with the crazy Japanese Sushi Chef, who may or may not be able to speak English, at least in any kind of understandable way. You get to watch the Sushi being made, and the care in which the artist creates your plate. Presentation is of utmost importance, the perfect climax to such an amazing experience.

I had my boyfriend order for us for the entire meal. We started out with fresh giant scallop. I watched as the Chef broke open the shells, he showed me the very fresh (no more graphics i’ll be nice) scallop as he cut it out of the shell and prepared it for us to eat. The Scallop arrived on the bar in front of us all beautiful and delicious! We went on to eat Albacore tuna, my favorite EEL! which is cooked, on a small bit of white rice, avocado with a little bow of seaweed (nori!). ahhhh. delish! We also had salmon which is so good. Then we had monkfish liver, which is also known as Ankimo. So i look at this and i am not told what Ankimo is. I have a closer look. If i am not being told what it is, then I know it is something I would say I would not eat. I partake and with a little dip in the soy and wasabi, it tastes pretty good. the texture is of avocado- the taste is strong and savory. One more new food added to my “foods i have at least tried list”. I will eat it again, and perhaps enjoy it even more the next time.

Just to add an american ending to the sushi experience, the chef served up tempura green tea ice cream. i am not sure what the obsession of frying things that are good without being fried is in this country, but there you go. The ice cream was good.

ANyhow it was a fun birthday, and a great experience!

namaste

-tonya

but i find my way back everytime!

it IS late, and i sit typing without my right index finger. it’s a useless digit to me temporarily due to dislocation. i am amazed at how the hand works and how dependent every movement is upon one finger. you cannot do a single thing without your index finger. well you can. but it’s tough. i have also during this time learned how to eat with chopsticks with my left hand. a necessity when the BF took me to sushi.

i was just ridin along… riding my pet trail last week, El Prieto, on the Prophet. i was all into the Geoladders thing so i was focused on going fast ~ahem~ up Brown Mtn Road as well as down the dark trail i love to call home. As i was crossing the creek at one of the many points, i noticed my shorts caught on the saddle, my two sizes too big brown baggies and nearly crashed trying to pedal out of the creekbed and back up the trail. i almost took them off at that point, why not sport lycra like in the good ole days? Nah- this is such a quick ride (sub one hour) so no probs. i can deal with it for just this once, but after this- i have to give these baggies away.

I hit every single switchback, which to me is quite a feat on this trail. As i made the scariest switchback- the one that if you miss it you careen into the gulley- i adjusted my shorts and set myself up for the last difficult switchback. ahem. i was not coming in at the right angle, and in a struggle of what i think was shorts stuck on my saddle, the wrong line and too much speed, i crashed. when i sat up angry that i had destroyed my time for geoladders, i noticed my right index finger was pointed in the wrong direction, at its own will. i grabbed it and it popped back into place. but wow. it hurt. i couldn’t even hold the Louise FR brake lever with my right hand. that’s my rear brake. needless to say, i had to stop a few times and shake it out. i pedaled out, and was greeted by the mountain rescue folks who were searching for a lost dude on a beach cruiser wearing a jean jacket. they checked my finger, said it looked ok, ice and keep an eye.

at this point as i pedaled back home, i had to call the BF to tell him, i crashed and dislocated my finger. he worries about me enough already. so i know he’s not going to want to hear this. he’s still riding, so i leave voicemail. “hi babes, i finished el prieto. i dislocated my finger when i crashed on the one switchback i didn’t make. hope you had a wonderful ride with the boys! mwah!… ”

luckily i have a good roommate. he gave me homeopathic meds, i iced, and made an appointment with a hand doc recommended by Lisa who doesn’t want to hear that i hurt myself. cool. time to eat and shower and so on. i find a splint in my first aid kit. keep it stabilized. go from there.

so here i sit, whittling away at work. wondering when i will ride again… tomorrow for sure. and am i ready for the dark one again???

namaste

-tonya

ok so i have not been racing, but i have been working and supporting racers. i will be ready to race once i actually have a race bike. i am building up a new singlespeed, and she is going to be a beauty! but tis has been a trying experience to say the least. the very least. let’s just say it’s been months, and troubles with parts and mechanics… i am going crazy to get this bike going.

last weekend was spent in Santa Ynez, just North of Santa barbara at the Firestone Santa Ynez Valley Classic. a beautiful area. although this year in the Cali drought, the area s very brown and dry. and dusty.

in spite of this, i have to send out major kudos to all the girls who rocked the weekend. racing brings out the toughness in us- the ability to adapt and survive.  when i see women out there, i am so inspired. and i want to mention a few of the women who nspired me this weekend.

Hilary- in her first year of riding and racing, she has shown an incredible amount of fortitude and great attitude. i love her spirit. she goes for it no matter what.

Danusia- for her energy and enthusiasm for racing. Firestone was her second race, and it was so cool to see her smiling face when she rode through the feed zone.

Joy- always an inspration! congrats on your first place! you rock girl! woohoo!

Lisa Crowe- always a smile. always. and she is so strong and talented. look out ladies!

and to all the other women who rocked it out there… keep it up! you are all inspiring me to find my new niche in racing and get out there on the race track again very very soon!

at any rate- it was so fun to be at Nationals and to be a part of the action. well hopefully tomorrow i will be back on the bike, shredding it up and rocking it for all the girls out there!

namaste

-t

I have taken many a tumble, sometimes not so bad, other times worthy of a trip to the ER. In life, I feel it’s the same story. We all crash, go off trail, remove skin with gravel, fly through the air only to land face first in dirt. Usually someone is around to pick you up, in my case, I have good people around me to pick me up, brush me off and send me back out on my bike. Sometimes you watch other people crash and sit back and wait… wait… to see what they do next… you can learn a ton about someone from how they react to a crash.

Today I had the pleasure of riding with an amazing woman from Velo Bella- Alex Fabbro. Alex is a great woman, I wish I had more time to spend with her. I met Alex in Mammoth when I first resided there. She is so strong and an amazing bike rider. Now she is in Socal for a short time, and we had the opportunity to hit some of the most difficult trails in socal. Nothing makes me happier than to ride these trails with another woman.
Alex is racing in the Pro class at the NORBA Nationals this weekend in Fontana (Claitucky). So as we headed down, after an hour of climbing, down the Sam Merril, which is no trail for a beginner… she told me of how she crashed out before a ride, the week of a big race. I told her take it easy, and just dab or walk when necessary, and off we went.
Sam Merril was survived just fine. As we flew down Sunset, I could see Alex after every switchback. And then… I didn’t hear her anymore. I stopped, started walking back up the trail, and then called out. She was coming down the trail, walking her bike. Ouch. She went down, and apparently pretty hard. Blood was dripping out of her arm, and she was holding her back. We talked about what happened, but she said she was ok, she might ride a little, and walk a little back to the cabin. At the cabin, everything was fine, she cleaned her arm herself, and was calm and showing her strength. This is one amazing woman.

After dislocating my finger 2 weeks ago, or was it 3? I am always encouraged by women to see the fortitude they possess when crashing. I have seen helmets destroyed, and still the rider, barely coherent, thinks she can get back on her bike.

Ladies, all I can say is, “You are all amazing and inspirational!”

namaste
-tonya

mountain bike with mom is a clinic I designed to bring new people into cycling and mountain biking. I wanted to give mountain bikers a chance to bring someone they love out to try the sport in a very supportive and fun emvironment. Mothers brought daughters and daughters brought mothers. It was truly beautiful. I want to make this an annual- in the least- event in Southern California. This is one event that people from all over the country can travel to- visit a beautiful place, and share a sport with someone you love. So here is the quickie on how it went down…

First I must thank two people who made this event possible. Two last minute helpers who were able to step in like veterans to the mtbchick clinics. Joy Duerksen- Jose Ole Expert racer and California State Champion, and Roy - long time Cannondale owner and staple on the Socal mtb scene (happens to be my BF). Joy stepped in as instructor and was a shining star, thank you! And Roy did everything, from wrenching, to picking up the fruit tarts to videographer and photographer.

It was a stunning morning in Malibu Creek State Park. I arrived before the gates opened, and was nearly set up by the time my helpers arrived. Nearly. Um. Not really set up, but things were in motion at least, and everyone arrived on time and the amount of stellar help I had made this feel like a dream.

By the time the guests arrived, we were ready to rock with name plates, and daisies for everyone’s bike. We had 10 year olds to (well I can’t tell you!) and it was the most fun clinic- to see the first timers pedaling, riding down singletrack, and being on a bike, a few for the first time since the teenage years! What a complete joy to see!

We did parking lot skills, braking, shifting, riding over bumps, down stairs and steeper hills, and even ate some wonderful food. We were finished by 2:30, we went 1.5 hours over. It’s hard to go so short when there is so much to learn, and everyone is having so much fun- and eating can never be neglected!

Everyone rode like a champ. All participants got to take home a rose- albeit battered by the elements and the wind!
It was truly a wonderful, exciting and different Mother’s Day! Next year, Mom, you’re coming out to Socal for Mother’s Day!

namaste

-tonya