"Too Frozen" Frolic

H-wood and I got up early today to get to the Frozen Frolic for another weekend of Fat bikin'.  After the last couple days' rain, we were hesitant to participate, knowing the course could be icy and treacherous for non-studded rigs.  Still, we'd paid for the whole series, so why not give it a good ole college try, right?

Yeah....

I mean, heck, last week was AWESOME!  Even pulled off a second place finish after bonking super hard in the bird sanctuary.  Not a bad start to the year.   But, then again, conditions had been PERFECT!

Hwood had to remind me, though, to drop my hands next time so the team logo can be seen.  So, today was my chance to get back on the podium.

Yeah.....

Since the course was so icy, most riders showed up with studded tires.  My little Mad Max rig was left at home, so all I had was my 9Zero7 with regular tires.  But hey, how bad could it be?  We lined up for the start ala Time Trial style and I was having a blast at the beginning loop, catching two rabbits before we hit the 'Point of No Return' even aside from a couple crashes.

Then, it just started getting worse from there.  It was like we brought pillows to a knife fight....

Slipping out for no reason at all and landing on the frozen tundra started getting old FAST.  I already missed one year of racing due to injury, I'm not about to repeat it again so soon.  So, I laid off the gas a bit and tried to ride smarter, but it did no good.  Repeated crashes on the slippery trail found me standing next to my bike with the chain artfully wedged between my cassette and spokes... seriously?

It was just then that Hwood found me from the trail up above and came down to help.  He got the chain back on, but we'd both had enough.  We headed back down the trail towards the exit, knowing full well we'd rather save the ice racing for the lakes, not the trail.

Sadly, I don't know what was safer - walking the trail or riding it.  I was falling all over the place, or 'skating' down slippery slopes like a boot hockey player lost in the woods.  Jay took my bike for me so I could have both hands for grabbing trees and we finally made it back to the lot.

We didn't dilly dally much - just loaded up the gear and took off.  Why way for everyone to finish for an after party of a race we didn't complete?  Nah, lets nap before the Broncos game!  Hopefully we can get some snow in the next two weeks cuz I'm loving these fat bikes!  Can't wait to do it again.

Happy to be back in the race,
Kristy Kreme

Fat Rides and Resolutions

Celebrating Christmas with our family took 4 days and included 3 Christmas dinners in 2 different states, at 3 separate houses,  and included some-18 hours worth of driving.  By bedtime on Christmas night, I was exhausted.  Happy to have spent such great time with our family, but completely worn our by the marathon.  Then it was back to work as usual... by Friday I was worthless and had to spend the night home in my jammies just trying to get back to normal.

Fully rested, we awoke on Saturday morning just rarin' to go.  So, we loaded up our fat bikes and headed to Lebanon hills to meet up with some friends for a sweet sun-lit snowy ride.  The trail was perfect and the sunlight through the trees made the view stunning.  

After a good two hours, we called it a day to save energy for the next day's ride.  After some warm food and cozy slippers, we napped lazily on the couch as the evening approached and planned for another day of riding.

Although the weather was going to be colder on Sunday, we still found some friends up for a ride and planned for an afternoon adventure down at the MN River Bottoms.  The chill in the air was crisp for our initial trek down the main road west on the River Bottoms, but the single track gave us relief from the wind chill.  We checked out the "Get Fat with Pat" fat bike race course with Dennis, KK, and Pete and enjoyed the well groomed trail.  The course has awesome flow and we could really get moving fast, breaking into a sweat before we had to slow ourselves down to keep from getting our gear wet and winding up frigid.  

The funniest part was as we came up to Nine Mile Creek and Jay attempted to ride across the frozen bridge one-handed while filming.... key word "attempted".  

Thank heavens for sticking to proven, reliable winter gear... thanks to his Louis Garneau Zero-Degree boot, his foot stayed dry and warm all day.  :)

Loving the course, we decided to come back again on Monday to see how fast a lap would take us.  Pete met us again and we got near 2 hours in on an even COLDER DAY yet!  (good ole Vasoline definitely kept some of the bite off my nose and cheeks!)

We got a ton of video on my GoPro but I have to trim it down before I can upload it to YouTube... otherwise it would have taken "638 hours to upload". Sheesh...  Unfortunately, I had to work a double on New Year's Day, so Jay went riding without me.  But there will definitely be more to come!

Yep, we made resolutions.  I even wrote them down and taped them to the pantry door cuz this year we're gonna make them our bitch and the fat bikes will help make it happen.  Moving the shop, working way too much, and various injuries and obligations really kept us from riding last year and it shows... between the two of us, we are 30 lbs. heavier than we were this time last year.  Not good.  

So, fat bikes, be ready!  We're gonna ride ourselves back into shape this winter and be ready to take the year by storm!  Not to mention enjoying the benefit of a healthy lifestyle...  yep, cutting back on the fried foods, take out, and treats. Add some veggies and fruits and exercise.. Tada!  And the experts say that to help stick to your resolutions, make them known.  We've set our goals and timelines and have successfully completed 36 hours. Whew.  

2013 is gonna be the best year yet.  Believe.

Kristy Kreme

Girl Fiend Designs goes live!

Only a year ago, I felt depressed and unfulfilled in my career... believing whole-heartedly that's the way it had to be.  Lucky for me, though, I found new outlets and my amazingly supportive husband stood by me 200% when I resigned from 'corporate America'.... best decision ever!

Now I get to spend my days w/ my fave hubby & puppy at the bike shop that brought us together.. what bliss.  My marriage has never been better now that we get to spend more time together and since the stress levels have magically disappeared.

To keep the fun-wagon rolling, my favorite artist/designer, Teri Harriet, and I have just recently launched our own biz focused on hand-printed women's tees, scarves & unisex hats.    Girl Fiend Designs is our way to create fun, edgy women's tees with soft fabrics and a great shape.... no more "Youth Large" - women want it to flattering!  And the fun of creating the designs and screening them in our home workshop is such an exhilarating feeling!  Each piece is special and loved in the pure joy of watching it all come to life.

 Who says work can't be fun??

Our "Naughty List" tee was a limited run since the holidays were so close - we sold out within hours!  Best of all, the list actually has our names and our friends names listed!

Our public debut was at the Winter Bike Expo on the 8th and we got great feedback and sold a bunch of fun shirts!  We sold out of our "Naughty List" design early, but still had our great "Hell on Wheels" shirt to spoil all the lady cyclists with.  

Now we've got a website: www.GirlFiendDesigns.com and an Etsy store!  Plus, Hollywood Cycles is carrying the line, too!  After the holidays, Teri and I are going to be working on adding winter hats and some soft, screen printed scarves to our product offering before going back to the drawing board for spring and summer designs.  Although Teri's not a bike racer, I'm happy that she sees the fun and the excitement that comes from those rowdy girls out there, so we'll always have cycling designs in the pipeline.

I'm just so happy to be apart of something so fun and sometimes have to pinch myself to make sure I'm not dreaming.  I always thought I needed to fit some sort of mold... but it's been this adventure in finding and forming myself that's been the best thing I could have done for myself.

Huge thanks to my hubby for supporting this dream as we brain-stormed for months, and as we take our first steps forward.  Jay - you truly are my prince charming!  Teri, thanks for believing with me - this is gonna be fun!

Embarking on the next adventure,
Kristy Kreme