A Pig

Last weekend found Dejay and I hauling ourselves up to Phoenix for the annual Squealer, a super-fun Easter celebration slash mountain bike race. Jim Wilcox and his wife Kim, put on the Squealer each year, in which all participants get sent off at minute intervals for a 16-mile mountain bike time trial. It is interrupted 2/3 of the way through by a bunch of bunnies telling you to get off your bike and get on with an Easter egg hunt. Then you hike up a 500 vertical foot hill where you have to find the hard boiled egg with your number on it, and get it to the finish line unbroken....in whatever creative way you deem appropriate.

The weather was surprisingly chilly and the forecast called for rain. In Phoenix. On Easter weekend. Wha?
In fact, we had been tossing around the idea of doing the DUSK til DAWN 12 hour race, in Gallup, NW, but with impending rain we decided it was better to be wet and miserable for 2 hours instead of wet and miserable for 12. Turns out it was a good choice because the 12 hour race got rained out. Snowed out. Mudded out. In fact, it never even got started...and we had a pretty great time in Phoenix. Dejay and I both took 1st in our respective categories (he, Single Speed and me, Women's Open- I was the only SS girl, so raced the geared ladies) and had a pretty great time.

Phil Wood sponsored the race by providing a set of hubs for the winner-WOW. Now that's better than any Easter egg basket a bunny every brought me! Here I am with the 'bunnies' showing off the shiny, sweet hubs....
If you look closely, you can see me picking my nose.


These are sweet. I have not yet decided how they will incarnate in my bike stable, so for now they are just sitting on my desk, blinding me when the bright AZ sun comes through the window.

For the Squealer I got to ride a new DT Swiss XMC fork for the first time this year and was reminded of just how much I love this fork. It has the perfect balance of plushness/stiffness for my style of riding- no matter what terrain, and I immediately feel more in control of my bike with it on. I have been mildly obsessed with this fork since riding one last year and am super excited that DT offered to work with the Niner team this year and help us get these on our bikes. This is where I post a picture of the fork on my bike:

picture of fork on bike

and talk more about what a sweet gouchi piece of equipment it is

and make myself drool
perhaps make you drool as well
or maybe you are bored

Magura brakes also made a debut during this ride. The lines were cut and the brakes installed on Friday, and, disproving all my superstitions about changing equipment the day before a race, they worked flawlessly on Saturday. No bleeding, NO repetitive re-setting of the calipers, minimal adjustment of the lever position, and excellent braking power. I went home the following day and, with a smile, dropped my other (eh-em, brand new) brakes in the Ebay box.