Jen Hanks
Sponsor/Team: Revolution/PowerBar/mtbracenews.com
Hometown: Salt Lake City, UT
JEN'S ORIGINAL BLOG CONTEST APPLICATION
2009 Breck Epic. WooHoo. First off, I would like to thank everyone who voted for me! I am unbelievably excited about a week of self-inflicted pain in July. Special shout outs go to my Revolution/Peak Fasteners teammates, The Utah mountain bike community, my Granite School District co-workers, friends and family, and especially my husband. Not only did he campaign just as hard as me, but he has also already committed to support me for six days in Breckenridge.
You can look forward to reading about a girl who is passionate about mountain biking and likes to race hard. I will detail my preparations for the race including training regimen, nutrition, and equipment preparation all while working a full-time job that has nothing to do with cycling! I’m also looking forward to comparing my experience at the Breck Epic to those at the 2007 TransAlp Challenge and 2008 TransRockies.
As I write this, it is noon on a Sunday. I have been dressed in my bike clothes for over an hour (helmet and shoes included) waiting for the rain to at least slow down. I want to be outside riding the dirt or at least putting some miles in on the road bike, but that is not likely to happen today. That is about how spring has been going in Salt Lake City this year.
So as I sit here, on my couch, ready to ride, I’m daydreaming about being a mountain bike stage racer and how much that week of racing differs from my reality. Here’s a little example.
6:00 AM:
Reality: My alarm goes off at 6:00 AM. I may hit snooze a few times and can’t believe it is still dark outside. Once I get up, I immediately pour myself a bowl of cereal but feel guilty having more than one. After all, I will be sitting on my arse most of the day.
Mountain bike stage racer: Wake up at 6:00 AM usually before the alarm goes off. I feel sore and tired and question whether I can make it through another stage, but I’m totally relaxed, excited to see what the day brings. For breakfast it is ‘All You Can Eat Buffet” No guilt here! I’ll need every ounce of energy to get through the day.
6:30-8:00:
Reality: I usually stretch, get dressed, pack a lunch, walk the dog, and generally make myself busy around the house until it is time to leave for work.
Mountain bike stage racer: After breakfast I may rest, stretch, and check the bike over. No hurry though. The stage doesn’t start until 9:00 and there will be no warm-up here. Anyway, I have to digest the 2lbs of pancakes saturated in a ½ gallon of syrup and a side of hashbrowns I just inhaled. It’s a good thing there is plenty of time to warm up over the course of today’s 6-hour stage.
9:00 AM:
Reality: Is it really only 9:00?
Mountain bike stage racer: I look at all the cyclists around me as Highway to Hell plays in the background. I now feel comfortable riding with these folks, but that doesn’t stop me from having start line jitters. I feel tired and chaffed, but excited to get the stage underway. The starting bell rings and we’re off. Everyone is racing and fighting for position. I try to stay toward the edge of the group and out of trouble. Those Italian guys in the pink jerseys can take you out in a hurry.
Photo 1: TransAlp start
10:00 AM:
Reality: Driving between schools and thinking about getting some paperwork done! Is it lunchtime yet??
Mountain bike stage racer: I’ve settled into a nice rhythm and am looking forward to the first feed, if I get there quickly there might be some cake left. If you take too long, all the Pro guys up front get it. I check out the course profile and it indicates that we have 3 more huge mountain passes and then it is all downhill to the finish. I better get some cake damn it!
1:00 PM:
Reality: Only 4 more hours until I can ride my bike!
Mountain bike stage racer: I can’t believe I’ve been riding my bike for 4 hours already! Good thing I’m using my top-secret butt lube concoction, things are still feeling pretty good down there.
Photo 2: TransAlp biking
2:30 PM:
Reality: Only 2 ½ hours left. Driving back to the office. I wonder where I should ride my bike after work?
Mountain bike stage racer: If I’m at TransAlp I start the final descent to the finish, precisely as described in the course manual. If I’m at TransRockies, the final descent is really a knee-high mud bog that may or may not actually be downhill. It takes two hours to travel the last 10k and there is one bonus climb that wasn’t on the profile! (Always get a German to create your course map)
3:00 PM:
Reality: I think my watch battery broke! Finally, I can go ride.
Mountain bike stage racer: I’ve finished the stage and can’t believe how late it is. Time to find some half frozen mountain stream to sit in, work on the bike, and refuel for another epic day.
Photo 3: TransAlp creek
Reality isn’t soooo bad, but nothing compares to being a mountain bike stage racer.
Only 66 days before I can trade in reality and become a mountain bike stage racer at the Breck Epic. I can’t wait!
The 5 stages of preparing for an Epic Mountain Bike Race
I do not claim to be an expert at preparing for an epic event like the Breck Epic, but I have done something like this twice before (TransAlp, TransRockies) and have definitely noticed some trends in my preparation. It basically happens in five stages:
1. Register For The Race: Registration for epic events usually opens in the dead of winter when all of your rides either take place on a trainer or outside where it is so cold that your water bottles freeze in the first 10 minutes of the ride. Promoters take advantage of the mountain biker’s addiction for tasty singletrack with enticing offers such as “6 days of epic racing on 99.99% of the World’s best singletrack.” When you’re huddled under a quilt trying to stay warm with a big ol’ hot chocolate, who wouldn’t sign up for that race?
2. Spring Training Begins: For avid cyclists “spring “ training really begins sometime in January. This time is used to get familiar with the bike once again, tackle bike fit issues for the new season, and maybe head someplace warm for a few weekends of dirt. My not-so-top-secret hot spot for winter singletrack is St. George, Utah. Just check out the photo of blue bird skies in January to see why. At this time of the year, although registered to race an epic event, it appears an impossible feat. Right now riding for three hours pretty much destroys me and leaves me with a really sore butt.
3. Woohooo!: Race season finally begins. Racing this time of year typically
consists of shorter cross-country races with an endurance event mixed in every once and a while. Lower elevation trails are starting to dry up and longer group rides are something to look forward to every weekend. Cross-country races are fun, but I can’t wait to get to that epic stage race.
Sometimes spring racing means mud racing!
4. Specificity: My personal favorite part of preparing for an epic event. This is
when you get to plan multiple consecutive days of epic rides to prepare the body for a multi-day mountain bike stage race. Instead of worrying of fatigue, you get to go out and kill yourself and then do it again the next day! By the end of this stage you feel like you may just get that finishers jersey after all. That is if you don’t die from exhaustion first. This is also when you get your nutrition dialed in and figure out that perhaps your favorite hostess cupcakes won’t cut it to meet your nutritional needs for a weeklong race. An extra bonus is that at the end of this phase your bike gets a complete overhaul including a new drivetrain, brake pads, and cables. Don’t get too excited though. After 40 hours of racing through dirt, mud, swamps, and rivers everything will need to be replaced again!
5. Pre-race: You finally arrive to the venue, usually by plane, hoping that your gear and most importantly your bike not only arrived, but is in one piece. At this point, as you look at the enormous mountain range you will be climbing for the next week, you become incredibly nervous about the week of racing that is ahead. You attend the pre-race meeting the night before, meet a few racers, and are scared to death by the grizzly bear warnings from the Park Rangers. It’s too late to back out now.
6. How do you top that? Okay, I lied; there is a sixth stage. It starts the day after the race has finished. You have had a night to reflect on what could have possibly been the best week of your life. You will already be scheming on ways to top that experience. Hmmmmmmm.
Breck Epic is now only five weeks away. I am transitioning from Woohoo to Specificity this week. Let the epic riding begin!
JEN'S ORIGINAL BLOG CONTEST APPLICATION
Where are you from?
I’m a good ol’ Midwestern gal from Illinois. At least I thought I was (good) until I found out my home state is corrupt (Thank you Governor Blagojevic)! I currently reside in Salt Lake City, UT. It helps me redeem my ‘good girl’ status.
What kind of bike do you ride
Giant Anthem.
What do you love about it?
It’s red and although it been ridden a ton and is getting a bit old it still runs great!
Solo or team competitor? Why?
Solo. I’ve done two ultra-endurance races with my husband and although I enjoy his company on long rides I want to find out if I can do this on my own.
Done any ultra-endurance stuff before?
TransAlp 2007 and TransRockies 2008. Both of these races were the most epic events of my life, but for very different reasons
Favorite food?
I don’t have one particular favorite food. I’m a bit of a quirky (or picky depending on how you look at it) eater. There are about 30 things I like and I eat a lot of them
Movie?
Any indie flick that I can download for free and is about 90 minutes… the perfect time for a ride on the trainer.
Book?
I’ve read a lot of good books, but can’t think of a ‘favorite’. I think it is because I have a short memory. Perhaps that is why I keep signing up for these races!
Worst experience on a bike?
How about worst experience with my bike riding me? Transrockies 2008 Stage 2. The stage called for almost 4000 meters of climbing over 74 kilometers. My teammate and I were having a phenomenal day. I survived the flat terrain at the beginning of the stage and was climbing strong. We were racing with some of the strongest teams in our category. About 40 km into the stage me and about 300 other racers missed a turn and ended up hiking straight up a scree-covered avalanche chute for 90 minutes with my bike on my back. I was prepared to ride all day, but I hadn’t done a lick of hiking all year! This was probably the hardest 90 minutes of my life, but I kept my race face on and kept plugging along. The missed turn added at least 2 hours to the stage and by the time we realized our mistake we were following 400 other racers into singletrack.
Best experience on a bike?
TransAlp 2007 was an epic experience with many notable memories; however there is one in particular that stands out as my ‘best moment on a bike’. Going into the race I was fit, however I had virtually no endurance racing experience. I really questioned whether I would be able to finish the race, and had no plans to do anything strategic. I started the race conservatively and really suffered on Stage 2. By stage 4, I felt like I had a better understanding of how my body responded to stage racing and felt pretty good. Actually, the more we climbed I realized that I felt really good. I started to have one of those out of body experiences where your mind is only focused on one thing….going hard. And we were going pretty fast too! These are the types of days that bike racers train a whole year for! We finished the stage in 5th place in our category.
Tell us about your LBS (Local Bike Shop):
Revolution Mountain Sports in Sandy, Utah. I have known the gang at Revolution since the shop opened. Not only do they carry awesome product and support one of the largest clubs in the state, they have the best mechanic EVER. He’s a mechanical genius but you also may find inappropriate pictures taped to your bike after it has been worked on!
Tell us about your favorite 'local' ride:
Like I mentioned before I am a Midwest girl. I started mountain biking at the University of Iowa and was immediately smitten with the sport. This was despite there only being one mountain bike trail in all of Iowa City. I rode that same trail, and only that trail, every day for a year! Now that I live in Utah and there are hours and hours of quality mountain bike trails that can be mixed and matched to however you are feeling on a particular day, it’s hard to choose a ‘favorite’ ride. My favorite ‘type’ of ride is one that starts at my house. It seems silly to drive to a trailhead when you have a bike to ride there. I like to ride up one of our canyons (on mostly dirt of course) and hook up onto the Park City trail system. You can ride for hours up there and of course you have to stop for lunch. Then it’s all downhill and back to my place in Salt Lake City.
Who will play you in the Breck Epic movie and why?
Jennifer Garner from “Alias” and “Elektra”. She’s comes across as sweet and maybe a bit shy, but she’s not afraid to go out and kick a little ass when she needs to. I would also demand they write in a scene where I play myself and fly around on wires and throw down a little kung-fu action!! Hi-Yah!!
What do you hope to get out of this experience?
I have never ridden in Breckenridge before…or even visited. What better way to visit the area and ride the trails than to do a multi-day stage race. I also look forward to getting to know all the other crazy folks who think riding their bikes in the mountains all day for a week is the best time of their life. Oh yeah, and no matter how I do in the race, rest assured I will have raced my ass off every single day.
Tell us about your history as a cyclist or in the industry:
I bought my first mountain bike while attending the University of Iowa in 1994. It was a fully-rigid Univega. Sure, it helped me commute to classes, but really I wanted to ride the mountain bike trails at Sugarbottom! Since then, mountain biking has shaped my life. I met my husband at a bike race and moved to Utah for bigger mountains and fewer cornfields. When I was finally finished with school I started ‘training’ for racing and somehow was able to progress through the ranks. I am now fitter, healthier, and happier than ever and I owe that to cycling.
Feel free to blatantly self-promote here. A quote you like, a direct appeal to the voters, some hateful vitriolic slander for your political opponents. This is your space, decorate it however you like:
Each year at about this time, when the local bike trails are covered with a few feet of snow, I daydream about the epic rides and races of summer. Right now, I’m daydreaming about 5 incredibly long, hard, and beautiful days of racing in Breckenridge. These are memories that shape who you are…and who you become. I’d love to share my story.
Links to your work:
http://raceface.com/community/uxc/ (go to the TransAlp race reports)
http://www.mtbracenews.com/2008/08/transrockies-day-1.html
