Bike Review: Leopard 26" Hardtail Mountain Bike

I'll start off by saying that I'm a roadie. I enjoy road cycling a lot. I especially love crits; the more technical the crit, the better for me. Road riding is definitely my favorite cycling discipline. However, I also like variety, so I go on the dirt every once in a while. It scares the ever-loving hell out of me but I also enjoy it. I don't enjoy racing mountain bikes as much as I enjoy racing road bikes, but it's fun to get dirty every now and then.

Point is that rocks and trees jump out at you on the trails. I have the same problem when I endurance/trail ride my horse. Damn trees just... jump. Add the fact that I have no depth perception due to a terrible polo accident and it's pretty much game over. However, I've been hanging out with some really dirty people (well, dirt-loving mountain bikers) who told me to stop being a wuss, so I started riding the mountain bike again.

Isn't this Little Kitty cute!?

This time I'm riding a Leopard hard tail 26", except there's the extra level of making it a fully rigid bike. That's right. This newbie is riding this kitty with style. At first I was extremely concerned that I wouldn't be able to ride the bike. One, I'm not a mountain biker. I hadn't been on a mountain bike in months. Two, there are absolutely no shocks on the bike. Three, I'm not a mountain biker. Naturally I went out with experienced people who were probably half asleep on the bike while I was in the back, squeaking (that's what I do when I get scared of something), getting laughed at by all those dirty mountain bikers.

Warming up for PCRS

To be fair, the bikes that I have ridden in the past have not fit me. They were too big and one of them was a full suspension bike whose (large) owner was not willing to adjust. I felt like the bike was going to buck me off. This Leopard is a small frame, which fits me perfectly because I'm not a very tall person. Even though I hadn't been mountain biking in months, it only took me a few minutes to get used to the Leopard. I felt extremely comfortable on it. As we got to the rockier sections of the trail, I was concerned that I may have to walk a lot. Nope. Rode right though it. Granted, the fact that I have no shock made it a bit rough, but it wasn't uncomfortable at all.

I kept riding through the trails. I got off the bike on some of the more technical sections, but I rode through most of it. Parts of the trail that I had never felt comfortable riding came a bit easier with the bike. The fact that the bike fits me is a huge plus, but the bike handles very well. It's responsive but not too much. It gives room for error.

Lost my number, but this was at one of the races at PCRS

So, I did the next most logical thing and I started racing it. I started racing in the Prairie City Mountain Bike Series and have been having a blast. Two of the three races that I've done have been a complete muddy mess. I've already had to change the pads on the bike. Hopefully I won't have to do it this week because the race was horribly (in every sense of the word) muddy and slippery. I've actually tried to go at faster speeds out in these weekly races. Like I said, the bike handles well. Prairie City is known for all of the baby heads, and while it's really rough without a shock, I don't feel unsafe. The bike is extremely impressive at how manageable it is even in really rough conditions. I've already ridden it in dry weather, semi-rainy weather (I rode it in Cool as well), deep sand at Folsom Lake (there's a video a few entries below), and twice in an absolutely slick mud-fest, and it has been fine. Like any bike on slick or sandy conditions, it will try to slide from underneath you, but it's easy to correct. At least it seems so comparing it to the Specialized bikes that I've ridden. Not raggin' on Specialized, just saying it's different... and I've crashed way less on the Leopard. Sooo...

C'mon! You can't say this doesn't look like fun!

One thing I'd like to try is riding this bike with a front shock. I don't like full suspensions; I like the hardtails (keep those jokes to yourself), so this bike is nearly perfect. It would be interesting to see how compatible this bike and I are with a front shock. I also need to try it out on the pump track.

What I'm trying to say is that if a strict roadie like me can hop on this bike, ride it, and win a couple of races with it (so far I've gotten two firsts and a second at Prairie City), then anyone can ride it. I mean, c'mon! It's a 26" with no shocks and I feel extremely comfortable riding it. I recommend a test ride on it; you won't be disappointed!

First Annual Town Center Criterium

On April 22nd, Folsom Bike hosted the Town Center Criterium in El Dorado Hills, CA. LeadOut Racing partnered up with Folsom Bike to put on the race, provide some muscle, and help with the course/venue. I, as usual, worked registration.

I got there at 5:20-ish am. Yeah. I woke up when it was nighttime. Who does that!? I didn't race until 8:05am, which meant I didn't get on the trainer until 7:30 or so, but I got there early to help Gene from Time Your Race, who did all of the registration and made it easy for racers and volunteers. No, really, this man works magic or something!

We set up, got a rush of racers registering, and kept things moving along and smoothly. We didn't get many cranky early-morning racers, which was good! I left the registration tent around 7am or so to change and warm-up. I went by the medic's tent, which is where my coach was since he was one of the medics at the race, and warmed up. My warm-up was plain crap. I felt tired, my legs felt like lead, and I wasn't really able to get my heart rate all that high even when I tried. Wah wah wah add some more whining. Awesome, only not. Looking at the women who were going to race with me, I figured I would get dropped about mid-race.

Copyright 2012 Alex Chiu Photography. . http://acaurora.smugmug.com 

All of the racers in the Women's 4 lined up, the official told us we were going to race for 40 minutes. Oh... OH! I thought I was racing for 30. Whatever. More time for these women to drop me. We had a mentor, whom I didn't know but she was awesome, and went off on a neutral lap, which was fast for a neutral lap and I felt like crap during it so hooray for me. (I would like some cheese). We did a rolling start, so when we were at the start/finish, the whistle was blown and off we went. I don't exactly know what the hell happened, but as soon as that whistle blew, my legs felt awesome. Off we went...

Copyright 2012 Alex Chiu Photography. http://acaurora.smugmug.com 

I was in the top 5 for a few laps. We kept going a bit, then I decided I wanted to play a little and attacked on the little hill we had. I got away for a bit but this wasn't a course where I would be able to solo breakaway for a long time without help, so I slowed down on the backside and tried to get on a wheel. We heard the prime bell and we ramped up the pace. $50? Okay! A Rio Strada girl and I sprinted for it, but I had sprinted too late and she got it. Kept on going, stayed in the top 3 or so and sometimes in the front. Another prime bell. Sprinted for it. Got it. $20. First time I've ever gotten $20 for a prime! After that prime I decided that I wanted to save some of my sprint for the end, so I didn't try for the last 2 primes. My coach was on the side hollering at me some strategies because, let's face it, I have no clue. For most of the time I tried to get on someone's wheel. I was able to do so in the corners by strategizing where I take my turn. Most of the girls kept taking the same lines, so I was pretty confident that they would keep the same lines throughout the race. I took some turns wide while some girls took them somewhat sharp, they would lose the wheel they were following, and oh hey! Look at that, the wheel they lost is now mine.

Copyright 2012 Alex Chiu Photography. http://acaurora.smugmug.com 

I somehow ended up in the front (I need to learn some patience) and one of my LeadOut Racing teammates, Kevin, told me to settle down a bit. Did the whole wide turn thing, heard my other teammate Matt hollering some strategy as well, then heard my coach. Got a wheel and kept about 4th or 5th wheel in the group. Coach said to stay in that spot (at least that's what I heard while my heart was trying to come out of my ears).

A Red Peloton girl and I broke away for a little and I told her, "Hey. Five second pulls. Let's go!"
"This is racing. There are no rules baby!" She responded. Wait what? Then she comes next to me and says, "I just realized what you said." We were cracking up... or at least as much as you can while you're at race pace.

We heard the last lap bell ring and we ramped up the pace. I was able to keep up with the surges, which surprised me and made me happy. Since my legs had that weird pain/knot/ihateyouwtf feeling, I haven't been able to keep up, but I did. I kept patient around the last lap. A Rio Strada girl took a wheel I was following, which put me fourth in the group. Came into the last turn, sharp, pedaled, sprinted. I was able to sprint the best I have since my injuries. I know that one of the Rio Strada girls and I threw the bike at the sprint since we were close, another Rio Strada girl won (the one who was first around the corner) and Tibco was in there as well. At the end of the race I figured I was 4th or 5th. Ugh. Another one of those spots. Whatever.

Picture that my friend, Natalie, took!

We went to the debriefing by our mentor, who was very happy with our race. She said we kept it safe and fast and that we took our lines well. Some of the girls came up to me and said I was strong and thanked me for a good race. Cool!

I went to talk to my coach, who seemed happy with how I rode. He gave me lots of feedback. I was happy that I was pain free and that I was able to sprint, but not happy that I got another 4th or 5th place.  Oh well. I went to get my $20. One of my friends, Natalie, came to watch me race so I talked to her for a bit too. I've never had a friend go to a race just to see me race, take pictures, and cheer, so I was super stoked that she went to the race! Thanks again, Natalie!

Back to the registration tent I went, where I was stoked about my $20 and went to cool down because my legs were shaky and I felt like I was going to puke. Oh good! At least I know I tried, right? Pfft. I cooled down a bit and people were asking me what my results were. I told them I didn't know and that I was waiting for Gene to finish with results, to which he then walked up to us and said, "Third." I didn't believe him because he had his Gene smirk but nope, there it was, 3rd!

So I told my coach, who also thought I got 4th or 5th due to the angle he was in. He looked as happy as I was! Woohoo! I didn't shame my coach out there (haha!). I then went back to the registration tent and as I was walking, the Red Peloton girl said, "Hey Kasea! 5 second pulls."
"There are no rules in racing, baby!" I replied to her. Good times for us.

I went back, drank some water, and chatted did some registration stuff. Then they had podiums and holy crap, I was on it! I was pretty happy with that... Hell, I still am!

The rest of the day went well. Not many crashes, registration went smoothly (for the most part), I was super tired, and we were all hungry. As Gene put it, "I'm running on muffins and coke!" I was able to watch some friends race, some wins and more podiums for them, which is awesome! I went on a break to watch the last half of the P/1/2 race and hung out with some old Team Revolutions teammates and my coach, where he talked to me a bit more about my training, which I'm excited about! Watched the end of the race, said my good-byes and thanked my coach, and went to tear down registration. After everything was done, Gene treated Jessica (another awesome registration girl) and me for some Thai food.


From what Strava says, I was able to get my sprint up to 30.7mph, almost got my heart to explode (199 bpm), and had a pretty good race average. It's a bit lower because I forgot to stop my Garmin after the race so it includes the "cool down" lap. Whatever, man.

It was a good race! I got on the podium, I was pain free, I won some cool stuff and $20, and I got some upgrade points! Now to repeat this so I can become a CAT 3 soon...

Thank you Folsom Bike for putting this on, and thanks LeadOut Racing for providing muscle, man/woman power, and registration people to make it all happen!

Bike Review: Leopard TT1

Alright, so we've all been guilty at one point or another of oogling a TT bike. For newbies, some of those TT bikes can look quite awesome and fast. For more seasoned riders, some of those bikes look awesome, fast, and plain sexy. I've had the pleasure of racing the Leopard TT1  for a couple of time trials and let me tell you, that this bike is sexy.

TT riders and bikes (also: Tri bikes and triathletes) have this stereotype that they can only ride in a straight line. While we all know it's not 100% true, the stereotype is there for a reason. Not only do some people not know how to handle a bike, time trial bikes aren't known for their awesome cornering and turning. However, after getting used to the TT1 (took all of 5 miles), I was pretty impressed at how stable it is. I didn't have any of the "oh crap!" moments I've had with other bikes and I was able to descent comfortably. Bike-handling comes easy with this baby.

Folsom Bike South Canal TT

Not only does this bike handle well, it's fast and it looks good. You can't ask for much more. The bike may be a bit pricey for some people, but in this case I've found that you get what you pay for; the bike is worth it. Well built, comfortable, and steady. You don't find that in a lot of time trail bikes.

Check out the website, see if you can find a dealer or a rep near you, try one out. I assure you that you'll want one. It's a great bike. If you're in the Sacramento area, just hit us up and you can test the one in the pictures. Once you ride that Devil, you'll want it all for yourself! Feel free to drop a comment and I'll get you the info you need.





Note: Before you all go on saying that I stole these pictures, I had permission by the very talented Alex Chiu to use these pictures on this post. I wanted his water mark on the pictures so I could give him credit he deserves. Heck, check out his website and see how awesome of a photographer he is. Let's support our local photographers, eh? Thanks, Alex! We're lucky to have such a talented person in our area!

UC Berkeley Crit, UC Davis Crit and Conference Reports

Things have been up and down as far as racing. Not only do I have an injured achilles, my legs have decided to stop working. My calves, especially the left one (the side of pretty much all of my injuries), developed huge, horrible knots. My legs, specifically the calves, were tender to a simple touch. Weird. So, I took time off (per coach's orders). Was I happy? Not at all, but considering how crappy the Land Park Crit and the UC Berkeley Crit went, I listened. Why were they crappy? My legs were in way too much pain to be able to do anything.

The good news is that the knots are getting smaller, but not after a lot of painful softball rolling (the knots were so bad that the foam roller wasn't doing a thing), stretching, and heat/ice therapy. Since I've been doing that and after my mandatory rest, my legs have been pain free. In fact, the smaller the knot in my left calf, the less my achilles hurts. It makes sense if you think about it. 

I decided to skip the UC Davis road race on Saturday, April 7th. I rode with my old teammates from Team Revolutions instead. It was a good choice. I haven't felt that strong on the bike in a long time! I kept up with very strong riders, one of them even said that it was the strongest he has ever seen me ride. Awesome! The ride went so well that I had to text my coach right after it was done. Finally a good ride. 

I raced the UCD Crit on Sunday, April 8th. I was nervous because the fear of my legs going back to that painful, ugly state lingers. After a horrible warm-up where everything was going wrong (Garmin taking a poop, cable going slack, etc), I checked out the very technical course and lined up. The turns were tight; one was a 90 degree turn, the other a 120 degree turn. This was a "test" race, in which I just wanted to see if my legs would respond. I took off on the first 6 laps to drop the weaker riders so that the turns would be less crowded. From what I saw, it worked. I didn't get much rest, I just did a lot of the work and kept going. I got a prime and 5th place in that race. Not bad for having such crappy legs. Several of the girls said that I would be winning if I had teammates helping me. Maybe. It is what it is. 

I went to conference hosted at UNR. On April 14th, I raced 2 crits, USAC and Women's B. The course was a lot of fun, with a little hill and a lot of freakin' elevation. That's what got me. Touche, Reno. You got me again with your 4,500 feet of elevation. I got 3rd and a prime in the USAC crit, representing LeadOut Racing, which got me a lot of goodies. I've never won so much stuff in a crit before! I won't be buying shot blocks for a while (yay!). The Women's B collegiate crit was later that day. It was fun. I got 8th in that crit. My legs were pretty tired. I've never raced 2 crits in a day before. Pain and fun all in one package. I'm glad I did it.

The UNR Conference road race was on Sunday, April 15th. Pretty much a climber's race. We went out and I kept up with the main group. Awesome. Last year I got dropped on mile 12 of that race. I attacked at some point and was able to keep a solo break away for a few miles. I got caught on the climb, the girls gave me kudos (since my attack was the cause of the main group dropping the most dangerous rider in our division), and we kept on riding. It was a lot of fun being able to keep a breakaway for a while; I've never been able to do one! So, hey, I was happy. As we were climbing, we crossed paths with UCSD that dropped out of the race and were just riding. One of the girls had cookies, so her teammate turned around and gave us all cookies! It was funny, awesome, and made for a fun and great race! That doesn't happen often (haha!). At the harder part of the climb, a Davis girl and I got dropped, so we rode in together. My legs definitely felt the weekend (but no pain like before, just the good kind of "burn"), but that was the goal: to race my legs into uselessness. Davis and I chatted while we finished the race and she said that the whole Davis team likes me and and thinks I'm a great rider. That's awesome to hear! We crossed the finish line. I got 8th in that race again, which got me a 9th overall in the Women's B devision in our region. I consider that good since I hardly went to any collegiate races. 

Awesome thing about Conference is that our sponsor got us an RV, so we were able to stay at the race sites! How awesome is that!? Lucky that we have such an awesome sponsor! He also bought us a nice dinner and lunch. CSUS got spoiled! 

This is my last collegiate season. I'll consider it a successful one getting top 10 in my region while hardly racing and being injured. I had a lot of fun. Hopefully I'll be able to stay involved as the team grows as an alumni!