Sterling Lorence + Matt Dennison = YESSS.

I am on my way out to Pennsylvania right now for the Dirt Fest. It is going to be an awesome weekend. Miss Rebecca Rusch ie. The Queen of Pain has scheduled a stop of her Gold Rusch tour here so we will be around all weekend doing demos, coaching and skills clinics. I would love to see all of your smiling faces so be there!

If you can’t make it but you know someone that might be interested, spread the word.

The Tour of California rolled through Santa Cruz County yesterday. Pretty cool to have such a big event in my own backyard. I rode up to the Bear Creak KOM with a few boys to check it out. There were sooo many people…lawn chairs, BBQ’s  on the side of the road, lots of costumes, beer, wine, snacks….great scene. I was totally blown away by the guys  speed uphill…especially after nearly 100 miles. So gnarly. I have a whole new respect, seriously. Those guys are machines. There were also some guys that were just totally blown out, faces were pure pain…and they were still flying too.

Not only were they flying uphill but they were pinned on the downhills. You would think being a downhiller and all I would be able to descend on a road bike…not the case. It is freaking scary with cars and little tires. hahah. Last night when we were watching the Tour on TV we saw this guy descending Jameson Grade PINNED….foot out and everything. Crazy.Wayyy more gnarly than any downhill course.

Peter Sagan has won Stages 1 and 2 so far. He got a flat like 5 miles from the finish in Stage 1 and still came back to win. Yesterday he got in a wreck, got a flat and won again…digging deep.

Anyway, for all you California people, there is a good chance the Tour is coming to a town near you. Today is the start of Day 3 and it is 8 days long so there is still a bit to go. If you’ve got a chance I would definently recommend checking it out. You can find all the info here.

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I just wanted to say thank you to my favorite woman in the world on Mother’s Day. My mom is such an inspiration- she has taught me to follow my dreams, live,  love, let go, learn, laugh…the list goes on. She is one strong woman and I am happy to call her my mom!

I have been trying to hunt down an early bike photo, and today I found one with no one else but my mom by my side.  This was my very first bike…I think I was 3 1/2? :)

Our ladies ride day finally happened yesterday and it was a total blast. We had a great group and it was a gorgeous day.  We all parked at the bottom of Wilder Ranch and rode up through Wilder Ranch chatting and snacking on lots of Honey Stingers along the way. To end a rad ride we had Burgers and beer at Burger and everyone got some sweet stuff from Camelbak. Fun times. A huge shout out to Scotts Valley Cycle Sport for hosting the ride, getting more ladies on bikes and filling our hungry bellies. :)

More Mountain Biking Videos

Just wrapped up the first national round of the year up in Port Angeles, WA. It was so great to be back in the  PNW to smell some fresh air and catch up with my original crew. I grew up in Washington and it is where I started riding so it is my happy place. Familiar faces, trails, dirt, sights, smells… :)

The trails in Port Angeles are sooo fun, been out there quite a few times over the years for racing and coaching. The race track was no different. After my first run down I was like yesssssssss I am home. That is the kind of riding I just love. Fast, flowy, good dirt, a little tech mixed in. I did so many runs over the weekend. First day like 4, second day like 5 or 6, qualifying day 9 (!!) and finals day 2. I just couldn’t stop riding.

Saturday (qualifying day) I did way too many and almost got myself hurt. hahah. Check out the tree video. I was so tired and got off-line in a run and slammed the tree and then had to go up for qualifying when I was beyond tired. Not the smartest move.

I ended up 5th on the day, stoked to make it on the podium. My run had a lot of room for improvement as I had a pretty big mistake which cost me quite a bit of time but I will take it. There were a lot of fast girls out there this weekend so to get on the podium is great. Barely, I should add. By .05 of a second. :) Jill 1st, Miranda 2nd, Holly 3rd (watch out for this girl!!), JoJo and me.

For the boys, Stevie Smith brought it home for Canada, so stoked for him. The boys field was stacked, could be a World Cup podium anywhere. Stevie 1st, Gwiny 2nd, Mick 3rd, Brycland 4th, Neko 5th.

We had like 4+ hours between our AM training run and finals on Sunday and I was really bored and I made a sweet video…should be done with it this weekend, you’re gonna love it :)

Sea Otter Dual Slalom Recap on pinkbike.com

Sea Otter has come and gone once again. I feel like it totally sneaks up on me every year. You are doing your thing all winter and then all of the sudden it is the middle of April and bike season has officially begun. I kinda like it like that. Anyway, it was a great festival once again. Busy as. I raced slalom and downhill, spent a bunch of time at the SRAM Ladies Lounge, did a signing at Camelbak, went to the Strength in Numbers premiere and caught up with all my friends and sponsors. Fun times. Busy times. I felt like I just left Vegas at the end of it all.

I wish there were more slalom races, it is seriously so fun. Everyone loves it…racers and fans alike. I had a mechanical in qualifying and ended up qualifying right near the back which meant I was going to have my work cut out for me from round one. In slalom you are put into a bracket according to you qualifying position so first races last, all the way down and it goes out from there. Anyway, I raced Jojo (Joanna Petterson) in round one. Last year I crashed in qualifying and she took me out in the first round, this year we battled it out and I beat her. :) Good fun. Anyway, I made it to the round of 8 and got knocked out by Junior World Champ Manon Carpenter who went on to get 3rd. Jill slayed it all night long. Jill 1st, Buhly 2nd, Manon 3rd. On the boys side, Kyle Strait did America proud and won it…sooooo awesome.

I got my butt kicked in the downhill. I have so much fun riding the track and doing massive trains but racing it  is another story. I have been working on my pedaling a lot this off-season and I am feeling pretty strong but to be honest I was just beat and the girls totally out rode me. Not a whole lot in the tank come Sunday after a big week.

Let the season officially begin! :)

I am so excited to add Camelbak to the sponsor lineup for 2012. They make some really great products, they are based in the Bay Area and they people are rad.

Just before Sea Otter we went out and shot some photos which you should be seeing in the near future on the website, ads and/or a tradeshow booth near you. Keep yer eye out.

Camelbak treated me very well at Sea Otter. In addition to keeping me running in heat with delicious Elixir’s, they rented a totally bad ass house right on the beach. it was a very nice place to unwind after the crazyness of Sea Otter. Pretty cool for all the boys too, after working the booth all day they got to blow off some steam with a sunset surf session.

What do I have to say about trying something new on your bike?  I gave my 2 cents to all the lovely ladies at SRAM Ladies Lounge at Sea Otter. Selene over at Bicycling did a little write up about it here.

I saw this documentary awhile back and thought you all might enjoy it!

The Santa Cruz Mountain Bike Festival is growing fast. More people, more sponsors, more legit. Pretty cool to see here in the SC…or Aptos I should say. This is the 3rd year going for the  festival and in addition to the Pumptrack, Dirt Jump and Short Track races/contests, they added a Super Enduro. Overall the festival has a great vibe, really laid back, lots of vendors, lots of food, beer, the Camp of Champions air bag. Fun times.

I have never done a Super Enduro but I decided I ought to have a go at it as it was the first legally sanctioned race in Demonstration Forest and Nisene Marks. The race was capped at 50 because it was the first event of its kind in the area…stackedddd field. Huge step for mountain biking here in Santa Cruz County. Basically the format of the race was three climbing stages, three downhill stages. The climbing stages were not timed per say but you had to finish them in an alloted amount of time. The downhill stages were timed and a combo of those three stages gave you the winner. I was sooo nervous for this race, I mean there was nothing scary on any of the courses but it was more the unknown. Wasn’t sure how to pace myself, didn’t really know where I was going. I seriously had so much fun, it was like a giant group ride with a few timed bits mixed in. When all was said and done it was like 25+ miles and 5000+ feet of climbing. Can’t say I did too well, I really had no idea where I was going and I found it hard to keep speed, get in the right gears or anticipate much but I just went with it. At least I got the first one out of the way and I know what to expect for next time. I think this is something we are going to see a lot more of in the near future. :)

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Soooo we attempted a Women’s Day in Santa Cruz back in March, but the skies decided to let loose for a week straight and we had to cancel. Specialized held a Women’s Day this past weekend…which ELLEN promoted, how cool is that? Well,  I was racing this past weekend so I had to pass on that specific ride. BUT third times a charm right? MAY 12th @ 12pm we are doing a women’s ride at Wilder Ranch in Santa Cruz, CA and I would loveee to see you there. Everyone is welcome…all ages, skill levels, speed, experience! It is just going to be a fun ride for everyone! It will be a great opportunity to ride some fun trails and meet some fun new friends and get some fun schwag. :) It’s going to be FUN.

You can sign up by sending me an email at katie@katieholden.com with May 12th in the subject line.

See you there!

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I met Arleigh of Bike Shop Girl last year at the SRAM Ladies Lounge. I was inspired by her technical knowledge as she gave tech demos for all of the lovely ladies over the course of 3 days. I definitely learned a thing or two! After chatting with her a bit more I also found out that she has a great blog that she updates regularly with women related bike stuff. It is a great resource for all you ladies out there. Arleigh asked me to do a little interview for her Motivational Mondays…check it. :)

Do yourself a favor and go see this! Soooo good.