It was a brisk damp December day when I got the call: “Want to come watch a cyclocross race?” I had no idea what cyclocross was but I had spent the better part of 3 weeks in bed after knee surgery and jumped at the opportunity to get out of the house. I grabbed my crutches, and my friend ushered me to this cyclocross race thing. It was the year Cross Nationals was in Bend, OR. I saw bodies seemingly effortlessly hurdling with their bikes over wooden planks. I got this giddy excitement, ‘cross looked like total and complete fun. I spent the the next 7 month in physical therapy and saving every penny, and some student loan money, for one of those cyclocross bikes. I bought a $500 Kona Jake and it’s been all mud and smiles from there! 

People always ask me, “Why cyclocross?” Before bikes, it was all about chasing the soccer ball and the perfect powder day. Ski racing and soccer were my loves. When I think about why I love ‘cross so much, I see the ties going back to my roots. Cyclocross has the grittiness of soccer, and the precision of ski racing. In ski racing, we would inspect courses looking at all the small details; ruts, snow conditions, and where to initiate a turn. In soccer you learn to never let the current situation of a game determine the ultimate outcome. There were numerous games where we started poorly, down 0-2, then the second half rolled around, fire built, and the game was won 3-2. That never quit attitude was built. Soccer is also played in almost all conditions, you bundle up and get that shit done. ‘Cross is much in the same as we pick apart courses, never let the current situation of the race dictate your outcome, keep grinding, and we race rain or shine! 

I have raced mountain bikes at the elite/pro level and dabbled in road racing and have found that ‘cross is where my heart lies! It is now what I focus my racing around. You will find me jumping in a few local races throughout the summer but most of my pre-season is spent on my mountain bike chasing twisty single-track trails and helping others further their love and joy for the sport. I enjoy the balance I have created between racing and chasing my passion of helping others on their cycling journey. I was a middle school teacher that found my way to coaching mountain biking in the summers. That has transitioned over the past few years to my full-time job and I now head coach and run the operations at the Ladies AllRide Mountain Bike skills camps, a dream come true! We produce events for women all across the country to help them develop their skills, face fears, and relate mountain biking to life. I find that my coaching and racing complement each other and once I started coaching and helping other, I found a deeper love for racing. A big part of that is diving into the mental aspect of sport and helping others has inspired me to dive in and learn more. 

If there is one big thing that coaching has helped me with, it is to stop comparing myself so much to those around me. When I started coaching I would see women compare themselves to one another: “Oh, she can ride the rocks and I can’t, so I’m not a very good mountain biker.” Stop! Wait! Let’s try: “Hey, she can ride that, so can I! Just not yet.” Seeing others do this made me really see how much I was doing that myself. So to preach what I teach, I decided to find ways to quit comparing in order to find more joy in my riding and racing. My April-September are slammed with events and travel so I must fit training into all the little cracks in my schedule. One thing I have had to learn to do is tune out what my competition is doing, and so I tune out of Strava and I no longer have a computer on my mountain bike. If I need to keep track of time, I wear a wrist watch. I often struggle seeing everyone racing and training long hours. Instead I focus on what works for me and makes me happy. This keeps me balanced so I can show up with full stoke for ‘cross season!