Sunday, June 5, 2011

Kit Pick Up Social

Wednesday 1 June the Dirt Divas had a ride in Chimney Gulch followed by our Kit pick up Social at Golden City Brewery. A couple ladies from Singletrack and Skinny Tire Sisters joined for the ride and socialization. We laughed and shared 'dirty' stories until the Brewery kicked us out.
Christine Smith and Heather Williams enjoy the evening
What a fun time we had! The brews were a welcome treat to our senses and me-OW! Look out for that mustard with the pretzels! These kits are going to be hotter than the Red Rocks at noon when we are donning them out on the roads and trails!
Maureen Upton models some of our kit items
Thank you so much to Kaylie Hall for designing such a fabulous looking kit. Special thanks to Sugoi for giving us the pleasure of working with such fine quality material as well!
Kaylie Hall proudly displays her handiwork

Happy trails to you!
Cara

Saturday, April 23, 2011

UPDATES AND GOINGS-ON!

WOW!  Can you believe it??!!  It's almost the end of April and time for the Fruita Fat Tire Festival!  Time to get your bikes  tuned up and trail ready because we are ready to swing into full-gear for sure!


To recap what has been going since the last post!  Three words -- busy, busy busy!  whew!  We have been working hard to get some really awesome sponsors on board this year and we are  proud to announce that PIVOT CYCLES is promoting the Dirt Divas and has become the lead sponsor of our club and team for the 2011 season!  Optic Nerve, Honey Stinger, Golden Bike ShopOutdoorDIVAS and other great partners, both new and returning, are all on board to make this season a truly remarkable season for those who have become Dirt Divas members!


We started all the fun on March 13th with our Annual Jersey Party at OutdoorDIVAS in Cherry Creek.   Over 50 wonderful ladies showed up for a great time of socializing and prize give-aways! 


 Check out the food spread  and Christine modeling last year's kit.  




  
Then, before you know it, it was time to head off to Moab for our Spring Moab Fling!  The weatherman kept calling for rain and snow...we got WIND and more wind and a 5 min snow squall AFTER a Saturday ride.  It was awesome and fun!


 A little bit of JP action with some good rum and a bit of OJ -- just to keep us warm!




We had enough folks to divide our rides into a couple different groups!  Obviously, quite a few of us went on the above ride, but there were about 5 others that went on a different ride!


And, why yes -- there is a bit of snow falling upon our campfire fun -- but it did nothing to dampen our spirits!  










So, now we are gearing up for Fruita!  Be on the look out for more commentary and pix coming your way in May!

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

IT'S THAT TIME TO CONSIDER RENEWING YOUR DIRT DIVAS MEMBERSHIP!

It's that time again for the Annual Dirt Divas Jersey Party! 

This year the Dirt Divas and the OutdoorDIVAS will be together for this fun event! Come on over and meet this year's sponsors, sign up for membership, learn more about the Divas Race Team, order your cool new jersey's, shorts etc --all by Sugoi (see below), bid on some truly stellar Silent Auction items, PLUS there will be amazing shwag given out to various lucky ticket holders. 

NOT ONLY THAT, but the Outdoor Divas will provide the adult refreshments while some of the Dirt Divas will provide a "chili" sampling!

We'll see you there! (Please RSVP!)



BETA:  The OutdoorDIVAS in Cherry Creek
          2717 E 3rd
          Denver, CO
          
          Doors open at 6pm, Festivities start at 6:30pm









Monday, January 10, 2011

THE ROAD BACK TO RECOVERY - JANUARY, 2011

July 21, 2010.  I suppose that I will never forget that date or ride.  A simple ride.  A fun ride.  Down Lair o the Bear.  All of a sudden my fork gives way and I’m counter-correcting, braking, and I’m down.  No biggie…..right?  Those who ride with me know that I can be a bit accident prone, but never really get hurt.  It’s a part of mountain biking – falling, scraping your skin, getting a bit of an “owie”, getting back up on the bike and going on.  But, wow!  My left front side sure did take a hit and it felt rather deep.  No worries.  Shake it off and get the girls down the trail.  And I’m running on adrenaline. 

Fast forward to now – 6 months later.  I am recovering from a double lacerated kidney that the emergency room doctor swore I would lose.  And I had complications.  For some reason, my eyesight wasn’t quite right and seemed to be getting steadily foggier and dimmer.  Actually, it was almost nothing but fuzz even with glasses.  What was happening to me?  Diagnosis:  Optic nerve damage exacerbated by cataracts induced by physical trauma.  As one doctor explained it -- too long of a period of time without enough blood and oxygen in the system and the body goes into a highly protective mode to save key aspects of bodily function.  In other words, it was saving my brain and my heart by removing whatever blood was left in the body and rerouting it to the two key organs needed for survival.  This is the simple explanation. 

But……….it was just a simple fall…………on the only friggin rock on the whole trail in that particular section.  Sigh. 

Although the Optic Nerve damage cannot be reversed, the eyes have had surgery and have survived – thanks to the wonderful ladies of the Dirt Divas and from the equally wonderful folks in our mountain bike community.  I can see.  The kidney has healed, although I have been advised by the kidney specialist that a kidney takes a full year to fully recover from the serious type of injury mine had been dealt.  Wear a kidney belt for a full year.  Try not to fall.  Build yourself back up slowly. 

I’ve gained 10 lbs in 6 months.  Geesh!  So, I have finally been given doctor permission to get back on a bike and back on a trainer (wasn’t even allowed on a trainer during this time!)  There is snow on the ground and so I’ve finally gotten my trainer out and am starting a regimen of building up my trainer endurance.  When the weather permits and it’s not too cold out (I’m a cold weather weenie), I’ll be out on the road bike.  When the trails are rideable, I’ll be out on the mountain bike.  It will take time to build up any type of endurance.  It will be worth it!  Afterall, I’ve got 10 lbs to loose and my endurance to attain in 3 shorts months.  Moab and Fruita is in April/May and then our season truly starts here on the Front Range. 

There is much that needs to be done to get the Dirt Divas up and active and going again.  I am so thankful to all you ladies who have called and/or have come by to visit me and to encourage me – to all of you who let me know how important the Divas are to each and every one of you.  So, we have much to do to get going for this wonderful new year!

Plans include:
Ø  Jersey Party/Social Gathering – date TBD, but sometime around the end of February and/or 1st part of March
Ø  Dirt Divas Membership renewal letters to go out soon
Ø  Dirt Divas Race Team – tentatively, a Boulder Race Team ride leader and a Denver/Golden Race Team ride leader have volunteered
Ø  Many of the original sponsors and supporters of the Divas will be returning this year.  There will also be some new supporters coming on board!
Ø  We have several ladies who are on the Advisory Committee.  We need a few more and will be requesting that those who are interested in taking part in some of the Divas functions to volunteer.
Ø  We will be requesting a group of ladies to take turns with our Wednesday ride leads during the year.
Ø  Kaylie Hall, designer extraordinaire, will make a few updates for our Jersey/shorts kit this year. 
Ø  We are discussing having opportunities to explore our Downhill side of mountain biking
Ø  We have two ladies this year who will be helping with our “cross-training” road rides.  I am sure that there will be ample opportunity to train for rides such as the E-Rock, Triple By-Pass, or any one of a number of organized road rides out there.
Ø  We will continue to have our Destination Rides
Ø  Plus, many others things going on!

Dirt Divas, I am so excited to be able to continue to offer the special discounts and opportunities that have been negotiated for you, our paid membership.  And for those of you who are not paid members, by becoming a Dirt Diva member you have access to great discounts that help with bike acquisition, bike accessory purchases and clothing discounts. However, as always, our Wednesday evening mountain bike rides and our road rides will remain available to all at NO EXTRA CHARGE.  

I look forward to a new year of mountain biking with you!

Monday, July 19, 2010

A little Steamboat Springs in the middle of July!

We decided that it would be a very cool thing to mix things up a bit and go mountain biking somewhere a bit different -- a little off the beaten path, so to speak.  We decided that instead of going to Monarch Crest or to Crusty Butt (Crested Butte) like we normally do, we'd hit the trails up near the Colorado Trail north and west from Golden.......way north and west of Golden.  oh, like 3 hours north and west of Golden.  

Traditionally, Steamboat Springs is a bit cooler at the higher elevation and to be honest, not one of us had ever been there to mountain bike!  Can you believe that?  Trails that are only a few hours away and none of us had been there in the summer.  hmmmm......  

So, off I went to scout out the campsites, find one sorta close in, but not; talk to a local bike shop or two to determine which trails were open, which were worth riding, skill levels needed, length of rides, any forest hazards to consider, blah, blah blah.  First stop was the USFS Visitor Center in Steamboat Springs.  To my surprise, several knowledgeable mountain biking rangers were right on hand to give some helpful information.  After determining how to get where, off I went to secure some campsites.  As I followed directions to a possible campsite that sounded like it would meet the Dirt Divas needs, all I could think was, "Dang, this is the longest friggin 3 miles I have ever driven."  It was a sentiment echoed by each driver as they pulled into the campsite.  However, once at the campsite, all we could talk about was the beauty.......

  and the bugs....lots of bugs....actually more like mosquito type bugs and those nasty biting black flies.  Apparently, Dry Lake Campground got its name from a lake nearby that "appears" to be dried up -- but not really.  I don't know about the others, but I wore my insect repellent like it was the best body moisturizer ever!  And I STILL got bit -- like a gazillion times.  But, honestly, the beauty of the surrounding woods totally made up for anything else!

I paid for three sites, set up camp at one and got out my yellow & purple ribbons to mark "the spot" so to speak.  As I was finishing up, one of my cohorts in mtb crime joined me.  We finished ribbon marking the way to our campsite, made a trip into town to email everyone directions, checked out the hot springs and went back to camp -- totally excited for the weekend!

Next morning found us up and excited to explore the trails that we would be sharing with the group once they began arriving.  Unbelievably, a trail head was right across from our campsite -- I mean, seriously?  How lucky is that?  And, what a totally fun, fast downhill trail it was.  Beautiful --  flowers everywhere, with the trail winding down through the forest enchanting us with a fast swoopy downhill at that!


Then on to Emerald Mountain to explore the trails there.  We had a full day of riding fun -- fast, hard riding, with lots of exploring thrown in with it!  We finally got back to the campsite to welcome the first arrivals for a weekend of fun!


There were 13 of us -- all ready to ride new and unexplored territory.  Luckily, we are all ladies (and gents) who are slow to rise in the morning -- except that we did have the help of the locals..........woodpeckers that is.  It seems that a mother woodpecker had a baby she was feeding in a tree very close to our campsites.
Look closely and see if you can spot the baby woodpecker.  So, I repeat, we had a relatively slow start to the day on Saturday.  However, we were out on the trail by 10 ish and ready to roll down into town and then over to Emerald Mountain for a day of fun in the sun and shade in the tropical woods!


Video is coming, however let me tell you that the ride into town was probably one of the most eventful rides I have ever experienced!.  So, to give you an idea about this fun, fast swoopy trail -- it has lots of sand on it because it is a main drainage point for melt-off in the spring.  Because the trail is deceiving, one tends to pick up a bit of speed as you descend.  Well, actually, quite a bit of speed.  Despite the warnings given, I knew it was going to be an entertaining ride when I rounded a swoopy turn in the trail to find the rider in front of me looking totally baffled as he gazed at me.  He and his bike were totally OFF trail and into the high growth beside the trail.  Of course, snide remarks were exchanged.  Because of the speed and sandiness of the trail, tires were sliding out on turns and there were lots of hoots and hollers as people realized that uh-oh -- bike and bushes were being introduced!  At one point, we had a spectacular multi-bike pile-up caused by one person sliding out and as each biker came around that corner, each would slide into the first rider.  Luckily, no one was hurt -- but it was indeed, extremely comical!


Then, on to Emerald Mountain with lots and lots of climbing.  And as we climbed, the trail began to change, the air became cooler and the plants more lush.  There was a definite feel of being in a tropical jungle!  So enchanting -- so surreal!



Our day and ride ended with playing at the skateboard park on our bikes and a mad dash to the river to cool down after a long day in the saddle!

Sunday came all too soon!  Some of our group had to leave early to get back home, another small group decided that they were going to go for an epic 25-30 mile ride on some trails that they had heard about that were about 30 miles NW of Steamboat and the rest of us decided that Rabbit Ears Pass might be a great place to explore!

So off we went -- all in different directions.  For our group, it was a stop at Dumont Lake Campground with a discovery ride of the Continental Trail.  We rode 11 - 12 miles round trip, with a real desire to just continue down into the town of Steamboat.  However, that would be a ride requiring a shuttle back to our vehicles (or a climb back UP everything that we descended) which none of us had prepared for. However, even as it was, we were greeted by amazing beauty and climbed our way up to an elevation of about 10,900.


A ride through flowers.....






and a surprise run-in with a snowmobile on the trail....




Some stream crossings....

 Some reconnoitering...




Some gorgeous vistas......


And, a little show of girl power strength.........






The fun and the riding ended all too soon!  Hopefully, we'll be able to fit in a trip to Durango/Phil's World before the summer ends.....

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Come for a Ride and PICK UP your Dirt Divas Jerseys/Kits!


Date:
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Time:
11:00am - 5:00pm
Location:
Chimney Gulch and GCB   

Please meet at Clear Creek History Park at Cheyenne/11th St. in downtown Golden. We will take the Clear Creek path to the Chimney Gulch trailhead. Wheels down at 11, arrive around 10:45.

After the ride, we will head to Golden City Brewery for apres ride drinks and food. Qdoba will be delivered to GCB at 2:30.  There will be a small charge for the food to be delivered, so please bring some cash!

Jerseys and race kits will be available for pick up!

Even if you cannot make the ride, come on out and socialize with other Dirt Divas and enjoy the Summer weather. We expect to be done with our ride and at GCB, sometime after 2pm.

Monday, May 17, 2010

A Social Event for the Dirt Divas!

Welcome to the 2010 Mountain Biking Season!

You are invited to the Dirt Divas Kickoff Party 2010 - It's going to be an exciting year and we'd like to start it off right!

Where: Ironworks, 12354 W Alameda Pkwy, Lakewood

When: Thursday, May 27, 5 - 9

Who: All Dirt Divas and their friends

What: We are having a party to get the season started! We will be hosting our current sponsors, as well as, the possibility of new ones! Optic Nerve will be there to show off their sunglasses and provide us with a discount.  Plus, come by and meet two new sponsors:  Pivot Cycles and Full Cycle Bike Shop.   If the weather permits, we have reserved the back patio. Otherwise, we'll have a space reserved especially for the Dirt Divas inside. We'd love to hear if you are going to make it out.

Come get to know one another, have fun, and let's enjoy the mountain biking season! 

Please RSVP to dirtdivasmtb@gmail.com