It is not very often in racing when your legs are screaming “go” and your body yells back “no.” It is most always the other way around. I suppose if you start to do this racing thing long enough your bodily experiences will find a new way to surprise you more often than not.

The site of Iola is always a good one. It is site of a new day, new opportunity, new goals, but the re-resurrection of  MTB fun. Training and racing accumulates a bucket full of pain and frustrations but bring everyone’s same struggles to one venue and all becomes worth it. The unique thing about knobby tire bikes is we all share the same passion and love for the sport and no matter what ones experience in the past days or weeks WORS brings us together. Ahh yes, it is good to be back.

We were welcomed with a humid and hot 85 degree day. The sun was hiding but it didn’t decrease the intensity factor of the heat. I do not usually mention the heat and can fair well in it but bring a Upper Peninsula boy down from his unseasonable 40-60 degree breezy climate into 85 degrees of humidity and the body may react. I came in feeling good and not all that nervous about the challenge in front of me. I had a lot of excitement to analyze the fitness and skill. Although my analysis is not exactly what I expected I’m happy with what came from the first effort.

As most expected the lead out was tight and competitive. The elite field has a mass of riders that can stick the start effort making positioning a battle. The change to the Iola lead out extended this battle and the front group stuck together a lot longer than usual. I lost some aggression at the start but managed to jump on the lead group in about 8th/9th. Cole was off the front and Tristan lead the chase the majority of the first lap. The group winded around the smooth single track still in tact back to the start/lap position. The 2nd time up the start climb I made the decision to ease up on my effort to keep in site the finish that was still 1:20 minutes away. The group rode away and I my objective became “Peariso” power. Known to others as “steady” or “old man” power. Even at that, my legs felt the need to go but no response from the energy stores to allow them.

My red line effort on the first lap altered my decision making and started to show in my line choices. The start of the 3rd lap I recovered as Justin P. approached. I jumped onto his wheel forcing myself to choose a better line and bring my alertness back. He rode well and I felt like we gained some of the time back I lost on a slow lap 2. Most of lap 4 of spent solo and all of lap 5 until the last 500 meters. The last 1/2 mile of the course I allowed my guard to drop and didn’t take notice of 2 chasing riders. In no hurry I approached Michelle P. and she kindly gave me room to pass where I declined knowing 2 track approached. I sprinted the 2 track and felt someone on my wheel not knowing who. We went onto the last section of 2 track and out of nowhere the other Peariso contended me for hole shot into the last piece of single track to the finish. We ran it right to the last moment and he nabbed it. 9th to 10th in the last 500 m.

A number is a number but a result is not always the result. It was good to be back and to get a picture of the year. The late start to the WORS season leaves us with 3 straight weeks of racing. Saddle up, it’s going to be a fast one.

This past weekend a few of the Border Grill Race Team, powered by Quick Stop Bike Shop members headed down to the first WORS race of the season in Iola, Wisconsin.  When we arrived at the course on Saturday for a pre-ride, it was muggy, despite the perfect temperature in the 70’s. After a cold spring in the U.P. that felt hot!  Little did we know that the temperatures were still on the rise and would climb into the mid to upper 80’s for race day.  Last year the course was unbelievably muddy, this year was a different story. After pre-riding the course, Collin Kytta was pleasantly surprised at how fast the course was compared to the ruddy mess of a course it was last year.  It was nice to ride the course when the ground was dry and fast.

Sunday was race day and everyone from the team started the race around 1:30.  Tyler Gauthier went out first with the Pro men, followed by Collin Kytta with the Cat 1 Junior guys, then me (Cooper Dendel) with the pro women and last but not least Brad Jalonen and Cody McGrath in the Cat 2 comp.  It was a boiling hot race but fast-fun-single track made it all worthwhile.  Tyler ended up 10^th overall in the Pro men category.  Collin Kytta raced in the Cat 1 juniors for the first time, and ended up 5^th in the category.  Brad Jalonen loved the single track in the race, and finished 19^th overall and 4^th in his age category.  Cody McGrath’s favorite part of the race was riding by the flattened chipmunk that had committed suicide by bike earlier in the race.  Despite feeling sad about the dead chipmunk Cody finished the race in 13^th place overall, and 1^st in his age group.  After chasing the leader Abby Strigel for the entire race I was whooped and ended up second, 1:28 behind.

I would say it was a solid first race of the season for the team! Next weekend we will be headed to Rhinelander for the second WORS race of the season.    Crossing our fingers for colder temperatures, and less humidity.

Nationwide cyclists took part in Bike to Work Day today, encouraging communities to consider this mode of transportation on a regular basis. May is National Bike Month and a few days before the first day of the month, I made a goal to try and ride my bike to work every day in the month of May. Unpredictable Upper Peninsula weather rained on my parade on May 1, literally. The awful rain/sleet mix and 32 degrees was a less than encouraging environment to start my month-long experiment. I’m not quite set up to ride in the rain, yet. But I’m not a quitter and on May 2, I made a very chilly decision to pedal across town to the library where I work. 

My choice to commute by bike to work is mostly economical. It doesn’t make sense to drive my car on short trips around town that take the same amount of time on by bike as they would in a car. I could save $15 dollars a week in gas. But old habits are hard to break and I heard somewhere that if you want to develop a new habit, it takes a month of repetitive action. Hence my goal.

Still, I wasn’t sure I could stick to my new routine. I usually leave the house at the last possible second before needing to be to work on time. I cram in a lot of chores first thing in the morning and then rush out the door. I’ve always wanted to bike to work more, but find excuses when I’m “running behind.”

Six or seven days into May I was tempted to leave my bike in the garage when I had a big load to carry to work and needed to get there fast. Still, with some crafty shuffling I fit it all in the bike basket and made it on time.

Later that night on my way to get take out I took my bike instead of the car. It felt freeing to put the food in my front basket and pedal home, burning off the burrito before I took a bite. I’m only halfway through my month long experiment, but here are a few more thoughts on commuting by bike.

One of the great benefits of living in town is proximity to well, everything.  Grocery stores, the library, restaurants, school and the post office are a few blocks away from residents within the city limits. A couple of miles separate Chocolay and Marquette Townships from the heart of downtown Marquette.  Twelve miles of city bike path weave through Marquette making it easy to run errands by bike, ride to work or just get from point A to B whatever the reason. The Iron Ore Heritage Trail connects multiple communities in Marquette County, including Negaunee and Ishpeming with stores, banks and restaurants right on the path. Panniers, a bike basket or bike trailer can carry children or purchases, well except maybe furniture. But that’s another benefit of commuting, coming up with creative solutions to hauling items by bike. Here are some more pros to commuting by bike.

Pros:  In town a bike can carry you to work, the gym or errands; as fast as a vehicle. It burns a decent amount of calories. You can feel the wind in your hair for a s:sliver of the cost of a convertible. And it’s fun. Riding bikes is catching on, especially among commuters in the United States. American’s commuting by bike has grown by 47% according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. Trips by bicycle in the U.S. went from 1.7 billion in 2001 to 4 billion in 2009 as reported in the National Household Travel Survey.

In the five Michigan cities included in the American Community Survey, 18,195 people commuted to work each day, making up .4% of Michigan’s daily commuters. Other states with the same bicycle commuter percentage include Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Kansas and Indiana.   

Cons: You can’t pick up that new sleeper sofa for the guest bedroom by bike. But in most cases you probably know someone with a truck. Buy them dinner and ask for a lift. Another drawback – you might get helmet hair on the way to work. Some sacrifices must be made. Seriously, how can there be cons. Unless it’s raining or snowing. But fenders should help with the spray and maybe a rain suit.

There isn’t any hard data on how many Marquette County residents ride their bikes to work periodically or daily. We’d love to know, because that’s the biggest pro – peer pressure. Telling others how fun it is to ride to work on a bike is the same as giving a present on Christmas Day. Because yeah, it’s that cool, up there with ice cream, Narwhal Whales and your birthday. 

Want to read more? Check out this cool book On Bicycles: 50 Ways the New Bike Culture Can Change Your Life by Amy Walker.

We have waited, waited and have waited some more. For the mountain bike season that is. The Northern part of Wisconsin and all of the Upper Peninsula have been buried by late season snow and lingering fall weather. The inclement weather has prolonged the off season or the fat bike season, depending on how you look at. The mountain bike season has traditional come by this time of year and yet very few riders could claim any race results or effort as of May 11^th. The RASTA Rally held in Rhinelander, WI was the first for many to seal up their tubeless knobby tires and feel the single track dirt beneath them.

The RASTA is one of the few races in the North Country that could claim their original date. Even with that, Mother Nature did it’s best to keep us away. Driving through snow from Ishpeming to past Iron River things were not looking promising but as I inched closer to Rhinelander the snow slowly vanished. As the snow vanished the temps fell along with it.  A brisk 31 degrees at arrival made it tough to get into the mid-summer MTB mindset. Ole’ man winter fought but Susie sunshine fought back. The sun slipped through the clouds giving each of us a small hope of rising temps.

With a small crowd on hand the start line was scattered. This was a surprise as I thought people would flock to the first opportunity to ride single track this far North. A relaxed countdown and the first “go” of the season was released. With an absence of race efforts my intention was to mock a high effort start as we see in the WORS season week in and week out to acclimate to the brutishness both mentally and physically. With no care of who was around or on my wheel my eyes stayed forward. Around the first bend Justin Piontek, the other pro on hand, took his turn applying the same start effort I had attempted. After the 1 mile lead-out I took the hole shot into the single track. With no concern of energy for the 2 hours to come I pounced at each hill and turn. Justin glued to my wheel we extended our 2 man lead. My effort felt hard and fast but what wouldn’t feel hard after 5 months of no MTB racing. 1/3 way into the lap Justin takes control. He applied the pressure and now my turn to keep glued. I let a small gap open as I allowed my early efforts to replenish. The hills of Rhinelander smoothed out to flowing single-track. This allowed me to creep closer until we popped back out a 2 track climb. Taking back to the front I settled into an effort. As the terrain went up again I slowly opened a gap. Prior to this my single-track skill was far from being envied. A 5 month layoff of dirt was showing its way with me. The slowly forming gap allowed my mind to relax and I allowed my Trek SF100 do its job. I pointed the 29” wheels and the Maxxis Icon gripped.

The first lap had been completed in 1:02. Not knowing the 2^nd lap was shortened from the first I managed my effort for the next 20 minutes until I noticed I approached a section closer to the end. Figuring I either missed a turn or they cut a section off I picked up my pace tapping the pedals to the finish.  The sun had now started to come out in which I figured was perfect timing so it could shine down on my smile from completing my first MTB race effort of the year. To a course that I figure not to be my specialty Rhinelander has always been good to me. A win in the legs but more importantly it was a race effort long overdue waiting for ole’ man winter to give way to the sun shine of spring.

With sunshine on my shoulder, I rode singletrack, my first time this year, the night before last.  After challenging my fears last fall to try and race cyclocross in the UPCROSS series, I was eager to ride singletrack this spring.  I felt mentally tougher, ready for the ever changing landscape of tight turning trails, switchbacks and hill climbs. I headed for the Noquemanon Trail Network’s South Trails through Harlow Farms. I’ve never ridden this section of the South Trails and I think sometimes the unknown causes me the most problems. A mountain bike rides so differently than my road bike or cyclocross bike.  I was so cautious that I stayed in my saddle, leaning anxiously back, feeling uncoordinated and certainly not ready to attack the trail.

Fortunately I was riding with my husband and our exchange student and they encouraged me to keep going. It’s so embarrassing to get halfway up a hill and then spin out because I’m in the wrong gear.  Thinking back to the May issue of Bike Magazine, I recalled a story about the “new rider” who gets blown off the back again and again.  I wish I could tell you the title, but my husband has absconded the magazine. Hmm. It’s a prized read in our house. Anyways, the writer was championing the first timer and saying that while new riders might feel like they’re holding everyone back, their spirit and determination to face the new, wild, and scary trails is inspiring.

So, I pushed ahead trying to get out of the saddle as my co-riders had instructed. I started making it farther up the hill before I had to put my feet down. And then all the way to the top. I let a out a whoop and stood up to fly down the other side letting go of the brake and my anxiety.

Then came the few patches of mud that looked they could suck my wheel into the earth, lodging it there while my body kept going. Why do I always worry about new challenges? I watched as our exchange student scooted through the goopy, sloppy earth and sucked in my breath as I weighed the possibilities of possibly breaking another bone.  I’ve broken seven in my lifetime, perhaps that’s the reason for my caution. It was all for naught. I was fine. I just got the new Trek Cali, the WSD 29er.  I don’t know what it can do. I’m used to a road bike, so I’m riding through the dirt with the caution I use on skinny tires.  My inexperience shows yet again.

Still, I feel good for the two hours I pressed ahead, becoming a little more familiar with mountain biking and all it’s thrills. And yes that also meant that I spent a good part of yesterday with a headache from the tight muscles in my neck and shoulders. Oh well. It was worth it.

So it’s to the trainer I go, trying to mentally push myself past the half hour mark, then 45 minutes. Ugh. That’s enough. I want to go somewhere. But with buckets of sand, road salt and snow (a blizzard is heading our way as I write this) I don’t want to expose my bike to those elements.  I treat my bikes better than my car. A few winters ago my husband road his bike to work on a really snowy day that when didn’t want to dig the car out.  In the spring he found a rusted chain and cassette that both had to be replaced.  It’s not the end of the world, but do that annually and it adds up.

Don’t get my wrong, I will get my bike dirty this summer. Just not with corrosive substances, like road salt. I just got a new mountain bike. I’d like to enjoy the paint job for a while. So I was cruising bike blogs this morning and found an idea worth trying while I wait for the melt off. The 100 mile ride to nowhere. 500 people ride 100 miles to nowhere to raise money for the Livestrong Foundation.  Some ride laps around their block. Other’s stay on their trainers. I”m not sure if I’ll hit 100, but I think I need I need a goal to keep my leg spinning until the snow clears.

It’s hard not to be drawn in when you meet her for the first time.  She’s young, has an infectious smile and an easy going attitude. It’s easy to see her as a college student with a fun outlook on life. But look at her racing history and you’ll see a force that is quickly climbing toward mountain biking podiums across the MidWest.

In 2012 she finished first place in the 28 mile Ore to Shore Mountain Bike Epic in Marquette, Michigan and 7^th overall in Iceman Cometh, as well as finishing top 3 in a few races in the Wisconsin Off-Road Racing Series, WORS, one of the most competitive series in the Midwest.  Oh yeah, and she’s only been racing since 2010.

When I met Cooper Dendel for coffee in Marquette, she apologized for working on a task on her smartphone.  It turned out she was applying for her USSA license in order to sign up for next year’s Iceman Cometh when it opened in two hours.

She finished registering and we started talking about her recent achievement of moving from amateur to professional status in mountain biking.  She’ll be the first female professional cross country mountain bike rider in the Upper Peninsula.

And as she registers for her first race as a pro rider, it’s a decision she casually laughs off as an unexpected surprise.

 Jewell: What made you decide you wanted to go Pro this season?

Cooper Dendel: I expected them (US Cycling) to deny my request and keep me in Category 1. I got an e-mail that my request went through and I couldn’t believe it. I wasn’t really expecting it. I just thought I would see if it would happen. And it worked.  In most of races I do around here, being Cat 1 or Pro doesn’t make a difference. It’s just a different title on my license. But it’s an accomplishment definitely. You have to achieve a certain number of things for them to consider upgrading you. In the Midwest it’s easier to do than out west. Here we race Pro/Elite. Out there they are two different categories. The women’s category is a lot smaller here, so they combine them.

Cooper accepts her first place trophy for the 2012 Ore to Shore Mountain Bike Epic Soft Rock

JJ: Did you do any races outside of the Midwest last year?  Will you this year?

CD: No, I never have before. I might go do some things out west.  Having my pro card now opens up the possibilities. Yes, I want to go and try a big race outside the Midwest. But I’m nervous. It would feel like my first mountain bike race all over again.  I’ve never ridden out west, so I would want to ride out there first.

JJ: How long have you been racing?

CD: Uh, this will be my third season? I think it’s my third season. I’ve done three Iceman’s so I’m heading into my fourth season.

JJ: You’re having a hard time deciding. Has it flown by?

CD: Last year was my first full year of real racing. I was gone every single weekend. It was my goal to do all the U.P. (Upper Peninsula) Mountain Biking races last summer.

JJ: How did last season go?

CD: It went really, really well. Probably better than I expected it to go. It was so different to go to WORS races every weekend.  I’ve never had that many races in a season before. Going from 4 races (per season) to 14 races was very different. It gave me a lot of motivation to ride every day. Some people call it training, but I just go out for fun.

She smiles big and starts to laugh. It’s one of the things I enjoy about watching her race, she never takes herself too seriously.

JJ: You had a high finish at the Ore to Shore, right?

CD: I won the short Ore to Shore (the 28 mile Soft Rock). But I think for me the highest place for the season was finishing 7^th in the Iceman.  I say that because I raced against big name Pros and people who have been doing it longer. Being the youngest in the field, I was definitely intimidated. I knew some of the girls and so I hung out with them before we started. That helped me relax a little. Georgia Gould who won the bronze medal in the Olympics was there, so that was pretty cool, and some girls from Trek racing. I had read that the women’s field was going to be more stacked than the men’s at last year’s (2013) Iceman.  Reading that scared me. Still, my goal race for the season was the Copper Harbor Trails Festival presented by Bells Brewing, (formerly the Fat Tire Festival) and that win was just a bonus, my icing on the cake.

JJ: Did you go into the Fat Tire wanting to win the entire race?

CD: I wouldn’t say winning. I don’t like to think about it ahead of time, because then it gets to me. I really wanted to (win), because I’d placed second the year before and I really wanted to try and do well again. I don’t do well in two-track races. I’m better with technical races. (She smiles.) I’m not afraid to crash. Copper Harbor is super technical. At a few points I felt like I was going over the bars. It’s challenging. It’s hard. It’s scary. It’s fun.

JJ:  So that win factor into your decision to apply for professional status?

CD: Yeah and Iceman too. Even though I was a significantly behind the pros, I still finished in the top 10 against the Pros. We didn’t start with any guys that day.  I raced against all girls. It was weird having to work together. I’ve never really worked together with girls. I’ve never really worked together with any one. After racing that race I have a lot of things to work on for the Ore to Shore.

JJ: You seem surprised by how good you are?

CD: I don’t want to take anything for granted. I just want to have fun. My main focus is to have fun. If I’m not having fun I’m not doing well. But on the other hand I am super competitive. If I know I’m not racing to my full potential, if I know I can work harder, than I rise to the challenge. I’ve always loved mountain biking. I’d go with my dad when I was little. I’d be riding the Alley Cat behind him. We’d be smashing fingers on trees and having fun. I never imagined that I would be a bike racer, instead of a ski racer, or a soccer player. I like to see people do well. I like to ride with friends.  I don’t like doing training rides, because they’re not always fun.

JJ: Is turning pro going to make this season more difficult for you?

CD: Well, I do want to train more this year, because I trained more for the Iceman, and I saw the results from that.  So yes, I want to train this year. But sometimes I also want to just go ride for a few hours and then have an ice cream.

JJ: Do you have a coach?

CD: No. I would consider Tyler my endurance coach. I consider Phil Ott, (Professional Downhiller) my technical coach because he pushes me to go back and do stuff. He says “go back and try that”. Plus I just ride a lot with the guys.  I did read about those women in Iceman who have technical coaches.  And the more I thought about it; I have a lot of coaches. Adina is my coach, Nicole is my coach, all the women I ride with here (in Marquette) are my coaches. They all help me grow in different ways.  When I first started riding and realized there were more women in Marquette that rode’ well it’s awesome. There are girls that ride here. They were just in hiding. I love going on the Quick Stop Tuesday night rides. We goof around on the group rides. They ride backwards, they goof around.

JJ: Tell me about school. How much time do you have left in college?

CD: I’m in elementary education, with an integrated science major. I’m in my fourth year, but won’t graduate until 2014. I was going to teach P.E., because I loved being active, but then after taking classes, I was just like this is not for me. I want to have my own classroom with kids I can get to know.

JJ: So, school and racing, how do you juggle that schedule?

CD: I told myself I would start on bike training today. (She raises an eyebrow and a smile breaks across her face.) I’m not starting today. Maybe after spring break. I do ski race all winter and teach kids how to ski all winter. Plus, I have two jobs right now. It’s hard to juggle school, and two jobs and riding. I also love skiing. It’s my priority in the winter. As for summertime, last summer was my job was pretty sweet. I kind of picked my job based around my biking. I really take my biking seriously, so I picked a career where I have summers off. Last summer I had a job where I had weekends off. I’d rather go to a bike race than earn money on the weekend.

As for her team, Cooper shifts the conversation to the team she joined in 2012, Border Grill Racing, (formerly Culver’s Racing.)

CD: I’m excited to be part of the team this year and have more responsibilities. I want to help the team grow as well as my racing. I think it’s fun to ride to races together and hang out and goof off. Goofing off mostly. If you take yourself seriously you’re not going to have fun.

JJ: You were the only woman on your team and in a sport still semi-dominated by men.  What do you think the differences are for women riders?

CD: All the guys are so nice. Everyone is so supportive, male and female. I feel welcome. There are definitely a lot more guy riders. If a guy catches me and wants to pass he’s always polite about it. I always yell “way to go” when guys pass me.  I like to be encouraging to others, because I like to be encouraged. All the guys are so nice and so encouraging.  I honestly think it’s harder to race against girls. Well, we’re in the same category.

JJ: What’s it like to date a bike mechanic?

CD: It’s awesome. Meeting all the guys at the bike shop makes it much more exciting to ride. The guys at Quick Stop are all so nice and they do such a good job with my bike.

JJ: Do they ever give you a hard time when you bring your bike back from a race?

CD: Oh, yeah, sometimes I bring my bike back and they look at it and say “what did you do?” I’ve been to some pretty muddy races. There was one time my entire bike had to be taken apart and put back together. But I’ve learned how to do quite a bit myself.  I learned how to change my cables and housing. That was a proud moment.

We wrap up our chat.

JJ: Did I miss anything?

CD: Can I tell you about my bike? (Oops.) I ride the Carbon Superfly 100 Elite SL by Trek. It’s new for this season. I have a carbon bike this year. It’s four pounds lighter. Last year I used aluminum. So that’s fun.

What’s in the future for this lady? With a packed 2013 race calendar, Cooper plans to battle with the best, going to head to head with Abby Strigel and Lisa Krayer in the WORS Series. It’s that sort of thing that might inspire more female riders to dip their toes into competitive mountain bike racing.

It’s been nearly 25 years since I first grabbed the handle bars of a two-wheeled bike.  While I can’t remember the brand, I remember the bright red frame, the neon plastic beads I clipped onto the spokes and the foam pad velcroed around the top tube (it was a boy’s bike.) I remember feeling like I was the fastest kid on our street, zipping up and down the block with my legs furiously pumping. I actually was the fastest since my younger siblings and cousin, the only other kids on the block were too small to ride bikes yet.  I mastered tricks like riding with no hands and riding with no hands while turning back into our driveway. It was the truest expression of freedom I had ever felt in my six or seven years of living. I lived in the moment and it was the best fun I’d ever had.

Then I grew up; and fear stopped me from biking with abandon like I had as a child.  Fear of falling, fear of breaking my arm, fear of looking dumb, fear of how bike shorts look. I let all the what-if’s stop me from finding that feeling of flying.  I had to retrain my body not to have knee jerk fear reactions, like slamming the brakes. Going over the handle bars isn’t as funny as it looks. O.k. it is if you’re not the one flying.

Growing accustomed to some speed on my road bike, I switched to clip less pedals – an idea that had seemed preposterous when I first saw them.  Still, I couldn’t make the switch to clip less on a mountain bike.  I just needed “free feet” on single track. I doubted my bike handling when I mountain biked, stopping to walk some technical sections I knew I should be able to ride.

Then I started racing cyclocross last fall and things started clicking. Spectators were out on the course and walking just wasn’t an option any more. So I sat back, watched others ride it through and plunged in behind them. I fell a few times, skidded around some corners and learned how to adjust for sand and gravel. I had to face it, so I learned how to ride through it and I went from a timid biker to someone who wanted to beat the rider in front of her.

When bike season turned into cross country ski season I found myself skiing more aggressive, taking more risks and surprising myself with my balance and grit. I hope this all equals a better season on a mountain bike because until now I’ve been scared to really “ride” a mountain bike.  But I’ve tackled the fears before so all I need now is for the snow to melt. I’m ready to take the next step. 

See below for more information or go to Superior Timing to register.

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The Hope Starts Here Challenge raises funds and awareness for the Upper Michigan Brain Tumor Center (UMBTC). The UMBTC is a collaborative effort between Marquette General and Northern Michigan University. Its mission is to empower patients and families dealing with brain tumor through advocacy, research, education and treatment.