03: The In-Between Time
Sure, there’s some racing in this one, but the primary reason behind today’s post is (not an April Fools Joke) to talk a little bit about what’s coming and a few sponsor highlights that have happened in the past couple of weeks - aka - New Bike Day! If you’re new here - welcome - make sure to go back and check out the other two posts to get caught up. This is only the third post, but the amount of positive feedback from the community here has been amazing. If there’s anything you’d like to see or hear about from my world - let me know in the comments below and we can start a new “How to, With Mo” column. Hah.
Special Announcement - The Meteor Cafe partnership
I'm stoked to announce that I've partnered up with The Meteor Cafe for the year. Check out this IG post from the past week in case you missed it. The Meteor connects cycling with a lot of my favorite things off the bike - including great coffee, fabulous wine, food for every occasion, and a fun selection of merchandise (including the bandana that I'm wearing in the photo above). I'll be making plenty of stops to their locations in Bentonville and Austin throughout the year - hope to see lots of y'all there!
Sea Otter Setup - S-Works Epic Hardtail
In addition to a new Aethos (!!), the amazing mechanics down at Specialized HQ also built up a brand new Epic Hardtail last week - which will be debuting next week at Sea Otter. My old Epic HT has been my sole mountain bike over the past couple of years. I rode that thing all over the place, in every type of terrain imaginable. From long, epic days romping around the Marin headland fire roads, to a White Rim FKT, to 2nd place at Leadville - that bike has served me more than I can put into words.
It’s a little bittersweet to retire this bike - but also very exciting to introduce a brand new whip to the quiver. This bike has everything that’s great about the old one, with some key upgrades: updated Roval Control SL wheels, a fresh SRAM drivetrain, AXS Reverb dropper post, a new generation SID fork, and Specialized S-Works Power with Mirror saddle just to name a few highlights. The new rig is stupid light, ridiculously fast, and doesn’t compromise on capability in any way. Can’t wait to race it in just over a week, for the first event of the Lifetime Grand Prix Series!
Speaking of which, if you’re attending Sea Otter next week, come say hi! Below is a few of the places that I’ll be hanging out in between the racing.
Sea Otter Classic - April 7 - 10 - Schedule
Thursday
SRAM Happy Hour 3-4 pm
Friday
SRAM Athlete Signing 12:30-1:30 pm
Lifetime Grand Prix Meet & Greet - 2 - 3 pm
Specialized Happy Hour 3:30-4:30 pm
Saturday
Fuego XC 80k Race 8:00 am (Lifetime Grand Prix Race #1)
Specialized Athlete Signing 3:00-3:30 pm
Specialized Happy Hour 3:30-4:30 pm
Professionally Interested - Wahoo Frontiers
Instead of the typical Professionally Interested section this time around, let’s check out this Wahoo Frontiers Episode with my friends Amity Rockwell, Lauren Cantwell, Maude Farrell, and Caroline Dezendorf. Last month they tackled the challenge of breaking the women’s record the 24 hours in the Old Pueblo. It’s pretty fun to live vicariously through these Wahoo Frontiers episodes - they really dig into the mindsets of these riders, and what motivates them. In particular, I love how this video highlights competition and comradery - and how these two things are not mutually exclusive. Spoiler alert: they crushed the record (by like, a lot!)
Race Happenings: King Ridge Hopper - 1st Place!
Oh yeah, there was some racing that happened recently as well. After a short (but sweet) little break from racing since Mid South, the Grasshopper series was back on this past weekend up in Napa County, CA. This race was interesting/ different from a lot of typical “gravel” events, for a couple of reasons: One, the course was 100% paved and two, only a section of the race - the 12 miles of “King Ridge” (for which the event is named) - was actually timed.
In addition to Grasshoppers simply being some of the best races out there, this one, in particular, was exciting because the road component gave me the chance to ride my very new Aethos that was built up last week! Also, it can be pretty fun to ride and hang out with friends for 90% of the “race” and ride at a more relaxed pace. Amity and I tacked on some extra miles at the end of the race, got caught in some moody California weather, and ended up missing our podium - it was worth it though :)
