Nothing to Prove

The mountain bike relay leg of the Red Bull Divide and Conquer in Colorado was four hours (for me) of climbing, up and flat a tiny bit and then up, up, up and then flat for few feet and then up, up, up, again for 7,500 feet of climbing. The first four miles gained 3,000 feet of blazing mid day sun elevation.

And to reward our efforts, the last five minutes of the day’s ride was last year’s NORBA National Downhill course.

My plan was to make up all the time on this DH section that I had lost on the climb.

Then I’d show’em. I’d show them all!

I knew it wasn’t a great plan. Not a realistic plan. Not even a remotely possible chance of success. But, it was the only plan that I could come up with as I pushed my bike up the mountain.


"Me with my hero, Ned Overend..."

A few days earlier the guys producing the race coverage took mountain biking legend Ned Overend and I out to the course to shoot some footage. The film guys and the course designer thought that the mountain bikers would launch, free ride style, off the downhill course’s drop offs. They thought that after climbing for hours the racers would blast through the rock gardens like Nathan Rennie. They thought it would be impressive on TV to see the riders roosting through the rhythm section. All on our whippy little 23 pound XC bikes.

So, the film guys had dragged Ned and I to the top of the DH course so that they could ‘frame’ the action shots that they expected to shoot during the race.

I pointed out to the film guys the DH lines and told them the fastest way down the trail. Afterall, I had ridden these lines fifty times. When they asked me to ride it for them, I had to tell them I couldn’t. That my bike would explode when it blew through all three inches of its XC suspension at the bottom end of the first drop off.



Checking out the DH lines...

But there were some “girlie” lines that snaked around the big drop offs. There were a couple of ‘cheater’ lines that skirted the nasty boulder sections. I rode those lines once or twice and suggested that the course designer re-ribbon the course so that no one would die.

It was pretty cool telling the film guys and the course designer what to do. But it was really incredible to be showing Ned “the lung” Overend, one of America’s greatest mountain bikers of all time, the good lines.

He was gracious. He could have been like a lot of other guys and refused to admit that a girl might know a thing or two about riding down a mountain. But that’s why he is Ned, and such a cool guy. He was right behind me.

But as I was bouncing through the last rock garden I could hear the screech of Ned’s brakes. At the bottom of the rock garden I stopped and looked back up the trail, “Come on Ned,” I yelled. “Just stay to the left until you get to the baby heads and then let your speed carry you through!”

“You know, Marla, “ he yelled back down the trail, “I’ve got nothing to prove.”

And of course he was right. On race day he kicked my butt by over an hour. He is after all, Ned.



Red Bull Divide and Conquer Results:

1st- Specialized / Riversports- Ned Overend, Jesse Rickert, Dave Melon, Andy Corra

2nd- Adventure Sports Magazine- Pete Swenson, Dave Mackey, Josh Briggs, Mike Freeburn

3rd- The Bull Riders- Berrnie Boettcher, Noel Wade, Charles Jenkins, Ben Stookesberry


I also raced the JEEP King of the Mountain the next day in California. I’ll have a story for that next week. But here are the results:

Jeep KOM - ROUND 1

MENS DIVISION
1. Brian Lopes - Trabuco Canyon, Calif.
2. Michael Prokop - Czech Republic
3. Wade Bootes - Australia
4. Mike King - San Diego, Calif.
5. Nathan Rennie - Australia
6. Chris Powell - La Jolla, Calif.
7. Travis Collins - San Luis Obispo, Calif.
8. Brian Schmith - Lancaster, Calif.

WOMENS DIVISION
1. Jill Kintner - San Jose, Calif.
2. Tara Llanes - Corona, Calif.
3. Vanessa Quin - New Zealand
4. Katrina Miller - Australia
5. Melissa Buhl - Chandler, Ariz.
6. Anneke Beerten - The Netherlands
7. Fionn Griffiths - England
8. Marla Streb - Los Osos, Calif.