Biking

Neck Brace

2010-01-12T10:39:00.000-08:00

So this weekend I watched a fellow BMXer crash and break his neck and back. It was horrifying to watch and since I've been home and talking to others about it, I have come to the conclusion that I need to protect my neck while racing. I am going to try on an EVS RC-Evolution tonight at a local motorcycle shop to see what they feel like. I'm sure it will take some getting used to, but I can't risk that serious of an injury. I have a 10 year old daughter I'm raising on my own.

Silver Dollar Nationals

2010-01-11T15:18:00.000-08:00

I'm Home and Exhausted, but the first BMX national of the 2010 season went fairly well.

Drove to Medford, OR Thursday January 7. Stayed at Motel 6. It was....a Motel 6. Just how I roll when it comes to biking events....CHEAP!

Drove to Reno, NV Friday morning. No Snow! Practice was pretty good. The track was smooth and fast, but not technical at all.

Saturday's racing was exciting. I won class and cruiser. Beat out the current World and National Champion in my cruiser class. That felt freakin' Awesome!!

Sunday's racing I won class and was leading cruiser coming out of lane 8, but can you say BOBBLE? Yup I bonked the last double and got passed at the line. Disappointing, but also good training motivation. I tried to keep it in perspective and not get too upset. But hey I take my sport very seriously so.......

Sunday night we drove home. Again no snow and smooth sailing back to Oregon!

Training starts again tonight. Next national = Redmond OR at the end of March.

Current ABA Points:

Class - 490
Cruiser - 453

Whistler, BC - My First True MTB Experience

2009-09-10T11:19:00.000-07:00

Well, I am back home after a 5 day vacation, 3 days of which was spent riding downhill at Whistler. I had the most amazing time all around. My travel companion, and BF, Rod was the best. And our condo mates and riding buddies were fantastic too. Great laid back time! The first day of riding I was a bit nervous, but it went well. Rode some intermediate runs and even took the gondola all the way to the top of the mountain and rode down! My favorite run of the day was Crank It Up (lots of table tops to boost). I even hit a small rock drop which I'd been wanting to do.

The second day of riding started out a little more intense with a warm up on A Line (sort of...we went the wrong way and missed part of the trail). The tables were way bigger than Crank it Up and I got some serious air. I actually really like jumping! Who would've thought?!?! Later in the day we went farther up the mountain and I rode down Freight Train (black diamond run) and actually was able to ride a good portion of it. We also did the super tight and technical Angry Pirate (that run and I didn't get along quite as well but I made it)!

The last day of riding I started off really sore and tired, but after getting warmed up I had a great time hitting Freight Train some more (my favorite run of the weekend)! Also gave Angry Pirate another attempt and was doing better til I hit a root that sent me over the bars. Oops, but no major injuries to report! One other run we tried that day was Devil's Club....it is a series of low ladders all the way down the mountain. It was different and a little scary at first, but actually quite fun after I got used to riding down the little wood planks.

Got to stop and see my sis on the drive home too! The 8 hr trip sure didn't seem that long and was totally worth it. I can't wait to get on my bike again and to head back to Whistler next year.

My Trip To China - getting there

2008-06-07T14:43:00.000-07:00

My trip started on Saturday, May 24 at noon. My mom drove me to the Eugene Airport and sent me off on my adventure with hugs and kisses and a few tears. I checked my luggage (my bike box and a suitcase with my wheels and clothes in it ) all the way thru to Taiyuan, CHINA according to the lady at the counter, and then proceeded to my gate. My plane left on time for Portland, so my trip had begun without a hitch. That didn't last long though.....

I was supposed to have a 30 minute layover in Portland and then fly to LAX. However, my plane was delayed and then ultimately canceled, but since my layover in LAX was so long, I was just put on the next flight out, so my layover in Portland ended up being about 3 hours. I napped on a bench and had dinner while I waited in Portland. Right before we boarded the plane to LAX I was called to the ticket counter and they upgraded me to First Class! That was my first time flying first class.....it was fun!!

I landed in LAX a few hours before my flight to Beijing left.....it's a good thing too cause getting from the domestic terminal to the international terminal took some time. I made it however, and then had to do more sitting and waiting. Other BMXers started trickling in so I visited with a couple people I sort of knew from the ABA national circuit.

At 1:45 am I boaded the plane for Beijing. As luck would have it I got a bulkhead seat with no one in the seat next to me. So I slept most of the flight over....although I woke up every couple hours cause I'd get stiff or my arm would fall asleep or something.

When we landed in Beijing we were put on busses and taken to the terminal. While we were on the busses I overheard some people talking about the Worlds, so when we got off the bus I introduced myself to them and asked if I could tag along since I was travelling alone. They agreed and I hung out with them a lot of the time I was in China. I went to the baggage area since that's where everyone else was headed and lucky I did too cause the lady in Eugene was wrong. My bags had a transfer tag on them but they didn't get transfered since I changed airlines. So, I picked up my bags in Beijing and headed with the group to check in for my next flight where I learned that I was on a different flight than everyone else and had to go to terminal 2. So, after a lot of asking I figured out that I needed to catch a shuttle from terminal 3 to terminal 2. Then after more asking I figured out where I needed to catch the shuttle. I got on a bus with my bags in tow and we started driving......and driving......and driving.....I was beginning to wonder if I got on he wrong bus but since the driver spoke no English I couldn't ask any questions. However, I eventually ended up at terminal 2 which happened to be the old airport. I got in line and checked in and then proceeded thru security, where they took my waterless hand sanitizer away cause it had alcohol in it. The rules are different over there. I then ran to my gate and was the last person to board the plane....I made it with about 3 minutes to spare.

When we got to Taiyuan and I went to baggage claim, all the BMXers from the other flight were there waiting for their bags, so I was reunited with the group. After we got our bags there were college student volunteers with a big sign that said team USA. We followed them to our busses over a very bumpy cobblestone sidewalk....the luggage carts did not fair well. They tipped and got stuck but we finally made it.

My first bus ride was a bit intimidating. They drive very differently over there. We however made it to our hotel unharmed and with a whole day ahead of us to try to stay awake to avoid jet lag........

Travel Time

2008-05-21T10:06:00.000-07:00

So, after figuring out the time difference, I decided to calculate my travel time to and from Taiyuan. After figuring it out, I'm pretty sure I didn't actually want to know.

From Eugene, OR to Taiyuan, CHINA = 27.5 hrs

*Leave Eugene, OR @ 2:27pm on May 24
*Arrive in Taiyuan, CHINA @ 8:55am on May 26

From Taiyuan, CHINA to Eugene, OR = 37.0 hrs

*Leave Taiyuan, CHINA @ 8:50pm on June 2
*Arrive in Eugene, OR @6:45pm on June 3

Time

2008-05-21T09:59:00.000-07:00

Taiyuan, CHINA is 15 hours ahead of my home town of Eugene, OR just in case any of you were curious.

Travel Plans SET

2008-05-13T11:33:00.000-07:00

Well it is coming down to the wire and it appears that all my travel plans are in order. I have my plane tickets in my hot little hands, I have my Visa to enter China, I have my accomadations package set. All I have to do now is pack and get on the airplane. I am nervous but I am also very excited. I will try to keep my blog updated while I am in China, so check back often.

Thanks to all of you who have helped me with my trip! My friends and family are wonderful!!

Plane Tickets - DONE! Hotel - ALMOST!

2008-03-21T14:46:00.000-07:00

Well after a bit of stressing and a lot of emails back and forth with Adventure Travel, I have finally secured my plane tickets to China! My official trip dates are May 25 to June 3. The return trip is going to be exhausting, as I have a long layover in Beijing, but I will make the best of it and possibly see a little bit more of China than I initially thought I would.

The accomadations package is through the same travel agency, and I am basically set up with that too. I'm staying with the US Team at our team's host hotel. The "land package" includes hotel, meals, and ground transport to/from the airport and the BMX track. It will be nice to stay "with the group." I hope the meals aren't too scary :)

Registration Complete

2008-03-13T11:35:00.000-07:00

I am now offically registered for the 2008 UCI BMX Worlds in China ~ Challenge Cruiser start position (that means amature cruiser class)! I am now one step closer. It is both exciting and a bit nerve wracking :) More to come later.....

Travel Research - Things to See in Taiyuan

2008-02-25T13:33:00.000-08:00

I've been doing a little research because I can't go ALL THE WAY TO CHINA and see only the BMX track and the team hotel.....although that's mostly what I'll be seeing!

So I looked on TravelChinaGuide.com and found a few things to see in the city of Taiyuan. But first a little background on where I'm going:

*Taiyuan is the capital of Shanxi Province.

*Bounded on 3 sides by mountains.

*In ancient times was an important military town.

*Currently one of China's heavy industrial cities.

*Accounts for more than half of China's national coal mining output.

Ok, so now that we know a little background info. here are some of the main tourist attractions:

*Jinci Temple

*Shuangta Si (Twin-Pagoda Temple)

*Tianlong Shan Stone Caves which contains sculptures dating from the Tang Dynasty (618-907)

*Foods (Shanxi Noodles, Tou Nao - steamed dumpling, saucages, and mutton soup)

So, even though I most likely won't get to do a lot of sightseeing, there are still a few interesting places to see around the city I will be staying and racing in!

International BMX Racing License

2008-02-25T11:53:00.000-08:00

The ball is now officially rolling - I purchased my UCI International BMX Racing License online today! The next step is to register for the 2008 Worlds through USA Cycling. Registration opens for those of us who qualified by making our mains at the 2007 Worlds on March 1.

My BMX Bio

2008-02-25T11:23:00.000-08:00

Dear Potential Sponsor:

My name is Bethany Plummer. I am 27 years old and have been a BMX racer since I was 14. Aside from my eight year old daughter, BMX is my number one passion in life. Over the past three seasons, my BMX career has begun to flourish. In 2004 I participated in the national finals for the first time. I finished 5th overall in my age group. The following year I repeated with an overall 5th place finish. In 2006 and again in 2007 I finished in 1st overall in my age group!

Last season I decided to go after the World Title in my class (25-29 women cruisers). I traveled to qualifiers in Las Vegas and the California bay area and finished with enough points to be eligible for the US Team. In July I traveled to Victoria, BC, Canada to compete in the World Championships. I was the silver medal finisher. This finish automatically qualified me for Team USA for the 2008 World Championships.

I will be traveling to Taiyuan, CHINA May 26-June 1 to compete in the 2008 BMX World Championships. My goal is to bring home the World Title in 25-29 women cruisers! This is a tough task, but I have been working hard and training consistently so that I am in top form to compete.

Traveling to China for the Worlds is an expensive but worthwhile endeavor. Any monetary support that you can give would be greatly appreciated. Thank you and go USA!

Sincerely,

Bethany Plummer