real estate - Idyllwild Town Crier

Page 28 - Idyllwild Town Crier, June 29, 2006
Wendy
Continued from page 22
“The main reason there are
so few women in these races
is because they don’t think
they can do it. But once
you’ve done one, nothing
else seems hard.”
Although she races a
lot, Skean doesn’t consider
herself an exceptional athlete.
With every race, she
pushes herself a little more.
“At first, I didn’t like riding
rocky technical,” she said.
She would always get off
her bike and walk, slowing
her overall time. Yet, when
she watched the other guys
maneuver over the rocks and
did the same, soon it didn’t
seem so impossible.
When she retires from
teaching next year, Skean
Sick of “no show” service
Then call
plans to devote more time
to races that are farther
away, such as the World
Championship held last year
in Canada or the Iron Man
Triathlon in Hawaii. In the
past, she would only go to
races held during the summer
and was limited by
distance because she couldn’t
take time off work to race.
Four times a week, Skean
rides her stationary bike at
night, and on weekends, she
rides about 50 miles with
a biking group from Palm
Desert. They ride mostly
the back roads or on trails,
which are more prevalent in
the desert.
“There’s no shoulder to
ride on around Garner Valley
or Idyllwild, and motorists
aren’t used to seeing
people on bikes,” she said.
Sometimes she rides by
herself to Thomas Mountain,
but she’s careful to let
her husband know where
she is and when she’ll return.
She’s not afraid of
the dark, but of mountain
lions, which have attacked
mountain bikes in
Southern California in the
past.
Recently, a couple of
her friends came face-toface
with a mountain lion.
“Nothing happened,” she
said. “They just turned
around and went the other
way.” She’s also heard that it’s
good to make loud noises to
deter mountain lions.
Skean’s rigorous training
ritual began years ago
with a Balance Bar grant.
“In 500 words, I told them
that I wanted to be the first
woman over 60 to finish
the Leadville 100-mile race
in less than 12 hours,” she
said.
Balance Bar gave her
$5,000 and Skean used the
money wisely. She trained
with a personal trainer
whom Lance Armstrong’s
staff recommended. The
trainer was based on the East
Coast, so Skean communicated
with her via Internet
and phone calls. They discussed
everything, including
her training, diet and exercise.
She kept a log book and
added supplements that she
uses today. The supplements
keep her legs from cramping
and fend off hunger during
long races, she said.
Skean didn’t make her
goal as the first woman over
60 to finish the Leadville
100 in less than 12 hours
that year, but reached it in
2005 in 11 hours, 24 minutes.
Since she began riding
competitively only three
years ago, Skean feels that
she hasn’t reached her full
potential yet. “If I had started
racing when I was in my
20s, I’d be ready to retire
now,” she said. “The way it
stands, I’ve got a few good
years left.”
Local band Bad Kitty performs last Saturday at Jo’An’s Restaurant
and Bar in the biergarten. They performed classic rock
cover songs.
Photo by Halie Johnson
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