APabstSmear: What More Can A Girl Ask For

This past Labor Day weekend was PERFECT. The weather was perfect for a little trail work and riding bikes. Our company, which consisted of Matt and Lizz James, Drew Black and his cute new friend Angela , and flying solo Busken, was perfect. Jim and I headed down Fri eve to our weekend destination , Council Bluff. Never drive down in rush hour holiday traffic. We were headed for a full on no kids , no dogs, no worries,date night type of weekend, so we suffered through the traffic. Be prepared to be green with envy!!

After unloading our jam packed truck, we took Kanoey { named by Syd } down to the lake for a late night float accompanied by Drew and Angela. There was no moon. It was sooooo dark and kinda creepy. The stars , complete with the milky way, were out in full force. Even though I have gotten over my fear of water, water in the dark is still a bit scary. I felt like I was in a B horror movie, at any time some thing could snatch me and drag me under water , never to be seen again. Safely back at camp we built a fire and enjoyed some Pabst and Racer 5. Perfect sleeping weather!!

Trail work began early Sat. We were hoping to have the trail 100% clear by evening. Jim loaded the saw and weed eater in Kanoey as I set off, clockwise , by bike to shout out trees. Our system worked out well. Five hours later, we had removed a lot of trees and were able to weed whack quite a bit. Jim was not going to paddle to Enough, since we cleared that section last week. Imagine the look on my face when I approached a HUGE tree on the trail, 1/2 mile from Enough. Damn. Tomorrow. There was also a tree down about 1 mile from the end. Tomorrow. While Jim enjoyed the lake I practiced parts of the trail I had difficulty with. All in all it was a very productive day. That evening The James' arrived and we all sat around a campfire talking bikes and stuff while drinking adult beverages and eating corn. Too bad you missed it.

I dont know how, but Jim managed to carry the 40 lb saw pack by bike the next day. By afternoon CB was 100% tree free and as buff as it gets. Trail Karma was achieved. The other riders we came across were singing our praises as they passed. Nice. CB was a challenging trail for me last year. This year is a different story. After riding many hours this weekend I learned to ride a lot of the "tricky stuff", with guidance of course. Practice , over and over , really paid off. I am happy to report that I learned to ride ....

1. The ENTIRE spill way { that crater thing} YEAH

2. The entire rock garden { unclipped 2 times , but did not put a foot down} Thanks Busken

3. The rocky section after the beach

4. The bridge without the rails { T. Holtman , I remembered what you said }

5 . Several of those short climbs that are littered with roots

A lot of confidence was built this weekend. I can only hope it pays off at The Burnin'. Since I was not "recruited" for a team, I guess my fate has been sealed for the 12 hr solo chica. Thats what I was planning on doing anyway. I do my best work alone, and would hate to drag a team down anyhow. Just being responsible for myself, with no one to blame but me , at the end of the day.

I have not had the best luck with achieving the goals I set for myself this year, however, I still feel I accomplished a lot. I am confident that I can complete 6 laps this year. But, I would really like to see what kind of person I would be after 7 laps. BADASS for sure. I believe that is the record for the women also. Not sure of the time tho. I know, " PEDAL FASTER".