Mary Mac and Mike Broderick Update

***This update comes from Backbone buds Mary Mac and Mike Broderick, returning home from World Cup racing action***************************




Hello!

Finally I am catching up with my email lists and communications. Mike and I
feel so lucky to have such great friends and supporters, and we'd like to stay
in better touch. The race schedule this year has been nothing short of wild as
we follow the big races all over the globe... moving around so much, with little
time to spare and many stories to share... if you have the time and care to
catch up on our adventures, you can visit our diary on www.cyclingnews.com.

Otherwise, you are now on our group email lists cuz you're a favorite! I will
do my best to keep you informed. So much happens in life, we love to hear your
stories too.

Here is the latest...

Mike and I just returned to the vineyard after our 2 week trip
to canada for the 4th and 5th rounds of the world cup series. This was an
action packed trip and we returned with many new memories and a few
new scars to help us more clearly remember the racing.

Overall we had a successful trip, we visited some familiar places
and explored new ones, met some new friends and had the chance to
catch up with some great old ones. It was also a luxury to have
Mike's mom, Emily, join us for the journey. It was nice racing a bit
closer to home since we were able to get some critical race support
from our family and friends as well as have them around to help
celebrate my 36th birthday.

We made the 8 hour drive north to Mont Ste Anne in two days,
stopping to pitch our tents along the way. This was our first
extended road trip in our "new" van and it took some getting used
to not having the convenience
and luxury that RV life offers. however, camping out was so much fun
and reminded us not forget that it is one of the great simple
pleasures in life.

we were both psyched for the mont ste anne venue as it is a
fantastically challenging course with good flow, plenty of
technical riding and climbs.













Race day at Mont Ste Anne was cool with some overcast skies,
perfect for racing. My body felt good, I was optimistic to repeat a
podium finish at this race. I started on the second row from my 7th
place finish in the swiss w.c. two weeks prior. The gun went off,
I was focused in the pack with tunnel vision on the leaders just in
front of me. Next thing I know someone from my left is drifting
into me and my bars rip out from under me, sending my skidding
across the gravel. just 200 meters into the race! the leaders rode
away and I was very scared knowing the mad pack was charging from
behind. Stunned, in pain, but mostly fueled by fear, I got back up
as fast as I could to get out of the way--I could hear the sounds
of a nasty pile up happening behind. The leaders were pretty much
gone. I rode hard and felt strong, despite the crash. I chased
from the 20s and after 5 laps of serious effort, I managed to
finish 9th. not a stellar result, but happy to be in the top ten
and looking forward to the next race.

After my race I could truly relax knowing Mike would have great
support from Stan and the crew at notubes. It was fantastic to
watch the men's field duking it out. Mike was really strong and
raced well among the international field. he moved up from
the the clogged start loop making moves at critical moments, just
before the technical sections, putting time on his competitors.
there were many battles going on within the men's race. it was
exciting to see the rotation of riders as some had mechanical
problem, blew up or got a second wind. Mike fought hard for his
52nd place finish. although it was his
best world cup result this year, he too was hoping for more.

We can both tell that the world cup competition has risen up
another notch this
year with the number of riders swelling in the olympic fever. It is
pretty cool to see so many
countires like the ukraine, slovakia, the czech republic, brazil,
mexico, chile, china, ireland, as well as the usual western
europeans come to compete in Canada. But coolest of all to see the
American women so strong. three in the top ten at the past three
world cups! as a nation we are ranked #2 in the world--on track to
have maximum start positions (2) in Beijing next year.

Mike and I were both worked over the next day, as we had both given our
all in the races. My crash left me pretty sore so I was extremely
glad to have
nothing to do but relax and recover on my b-day. It was nice to
have a few friends over and take advantage of the fat pad we were
staying at-- complete with bon fire pit, BBQ grill and pedal boat.
it felt like a mini vacation to stay at this restful home an extra
3 days before heading north to the next world cup venue. After 6 years of
racing here we finally
had the opportunity to check out some of the other great XC riding in the area.

We made the drive north to San Felicien taking some remote roads to
get to our destination on Lac Saint Jean. it was nice to see so much open
green space after travelling in europe. the weather was cool and
rainy upon our arrival to the farmhouse B and B. We were not
expecting to be staying in the basement of the family's home, right
below the noisy kitchen and entryway...
it was a true test of being able to make the calm space necessary
for race prep, as we found our noisy brazilian competitors as house
guests too. I was glad no one minded me setting up my camp kitchen
on the front patio, and glad we brought the rain tent to cover my
cooking facilities. Here, we were missing the RV tremendously.

The race course in San Felicien was awesome. it was situated on
the outskirts of the tiny town in a
small ski park which during the summer is home to a ropes course
and mountain bike park. The hilly trails were very technical and
rooty with a deceiving amount of climbing. The race tract design
was very interesting with several loops back thru the venue over
cool rock features with bridges and berms which made for great
spectating. This track is similar to the mount snow venue which
requires constant power output, skill and focus. both Mike and I
were excited for the race on this demanding course.

The weather forecast for sunday was indicating scattered showers. they
were right. As i was warming up the drizzles began, then it
stopped and the sun came out, then it poured. this trend of rain and sun
fluctuated all day, including a few serious downpours. it
definitely made for interesting racing as the already difficult
riding became slippery.
riders were crashing and having mechanical problems. Holding the
gear together and riding smart became the name of the game.

I did not have stellar start up the open steep climb, but
was in the mix somewhere in the teens. On the first lap I got
caught behind a rider in the rooty single and was unable to pass
and just had to sit in. eventually I got around and started to
settle into my own pace, but the leaders were already gone. My
legs were feeling a bit heavy, but I rode clean and managed to move
forward passing a few riders. I ended up 9th after my effort and even
though I was not completely satisfied with this result, I have to
remind myself that top ten is solid.

Mike was excited that the course was a bit slick, since he excels
when conditions get nasty, especially in this rooty stuff. He had
a good start and felt really strong. When he came thru I noticed
his spare tube dangling down behind him... I screamed something but
he did not hear. twenty feet later the tube was completely tangled
in his cassette and threatening to rip off his derailleur. luckily
he caught it before anything broke, but it took several minutes to
unravel the tube and by the time he got rolling again, he was dead
last. damn! Playing catch up is not easy or fun. it can be very
frustrating as he makes surges to pass one rider and then looses
time, getting caught behind the next. he did his best to move
forward but often got stuffed in critical flow sections. he
remained positive throughout the 6 lap race and managed to move up
over 60 spots to finish 48th. I know he was disappointed because
this could have been a really good result. but I think it WAS a
great result and his efforts commendable. I am proud of my mike and
deeply grateful for all his hard work keeping us riding perfectly
functioning bikes.

We had plenty of clean up after the race, and a 13 hour drive to
get home. were glad to break up the travel with a pit stop to
visit our friends in Warren, Vermont. we got in some
great training and even attended the 4th of July
parade on sweet cruiser bikes. The theme to the Warren, VT parade this year
was sustainable energy. it was cool to see all the bio
deisel and veggie oil fueled rigs, as well as the funky floats
making strong political statements of justice, peace and other clean
environmental practice. After the parade we broke out the race bikes
and the four
of us rode to the top of sugarbush mountain, a somewhat legendary
3000 + foot climb from
the mad river valley- basically straight up a black diamond ski run.

Now we are back on the island, preparing for my trip to Brazil for
the Pan Am Games... leaving this monday. I will be back next week
to join Mike for our trip up to Mt Snow, VT for the national
championships on July 20-21.
.
Hope you are all well and enjoying the summer goodness.

Mary and Mike
Team Kenda/Seven Cycles