Herding at Ewe-topia

We got a recommendation from Lisa at Friendly Grove (our kennel) to take Bitz to Ewe-topia for herding lessons.  Herding? Yes herding. Where the dog moves livestock around all the while under command. We figured the she would be quite good at it since Bitz is obsessed with herding toys, people, children and Spencer. Plus, it is a good way to build confidence in your dog. Bitz suffers from lack of confidence which is why she sometimes turns into the devil when we meet other dogs. It is getting a lot better, but she still has these moments where she transforms into an evil little creature.

So cute.

I just can't get enough of her little face!

Ewetopia is in Roy, about 45 minutes away from our house so it is a bit of a drive.Initially you just want the dog to get really interested in the sheep. The goal is to get the dog super motivated to go after (but not hurt) the sheep so that you can, at some point, start to control them around the livestock. The theory is (I'm told) that if you can control your dog around livestock, you can control them anywhere. Plus, it gives then a job and requires them to think about moving the livestock to different places. Thinking is good - especially for Bitz.

The two times I've herded with Bitz, she has been very shy with the sheep. I've had to get into the pen with her and essentially show her how to go after the sheep. Yes, I've chased sheep. I've grabbed their butts. I've growled at them. All in the name of showing this little dog how to herd. Let me tell you, it has been quite the experience for me. I have no shame when it comes to little Bitz.

Yesterday Brian and Spencer went with us to Ewe-topia. I really wanted him to come along to see her progress. Also I wanted him to take video of us herding because I knew it would be funny.

 Here is the first video. Bitz was very distracted at first. Spencer was outside the pen and she just couldn't focus on the sheep. She wanted to be with Spencer. It does have some good clips of me chasing and grabbing sheep though. The video was taken on my iphone and it isn't the best quality on a computer. I wouldn't view it in full screen. Hopefully you can still follow it though.

Since she was so distracted, the trainer decided to bring Spencer into the pen with her. Spencer was REALLY excited to see all the sheep. Bitz's whole demeanor changed after Spencer was with her. I think Spencer may have a future in herding too!

Slowly but surely she is gaining confidence. And, Spencer has found a new passion now that he is almost 13!

Stottlemeyer 30 (Mountain bike race)

I have a love-hate relationship with bicycle racing. It is weird. I hate the pre-race anticipation. Dreading the unknown climbing on the course. Wondering if it will rain and how that will affect the mud. Even worse, I hate a bad race. One that hurts from the moment you start. Where you feel demoralized when people pass you (instead of getting pissed and chasing them down).

A great race is really amazing. It hurts still, but you feel like you are on top of the world. It makes all the training and suffering you have done worthwhile. When you finish you feel like you could ride the course again and again and again. It makes you want to quickly sign up for the next race and gives you the will power to keep training and enduring more suffering. Or, at least that is what it does for me.

This weekend we rode the Stottlemeyer 30 mile mountain bike race. Normally my mtn bike races are around 15 miles or so. I was apprehensive about doing 30 miles during a race on a course that I knew nothing about. But, as good husbands do - Brian talked me into it and said I'd be fine.

Our goal was to ride it together and try to finish in under 4 hours. We had heard the course was very technical and had about 2500 feet of climbing per lap. We were doing 2 laps. You can do the math. I had lots of pre-race jitters. I was worried about the possibility of rain and whether I'd be able to hang with Brian.

The race began and I quickly settled into a pace that I thought I could sustain for the entire race. Actually, what I really did was found a girl that looked like she was relatively strong and decided to ride her wheel. I thought I was riding at a good pace until another women flew by me on one of the logging roads. Crap! I had to chase her down.

I was able to catch Brian towards the middle of the first lap as he had slowed down just enough for me to see him. We continued to ride together and really had a fun time. At the end of the first lap, I thought to myself, "Oh, that wasn't too bad. I can do that again." And we did!

The course was very technical, although it also had a number of logging roads that came in quite handy. Just when I thought I couldn't possibly handle one more diagonal slippery root across the trail with a twisty turn before and after it, the section would end and I could spin my legs on the logging road. My technical skills are actually improving. I only ran into 3 trees, did the splits once and tipped over/fell off the trail twice. It was a relatively good race for me!

Towards the end of the second lap I was feeling the affects of a longer race. I was looking forward to finishing the climb so that I could be done with the race. The climb was a bit twisty a turny (with diagonal roots of course) and Brian began to pull away from me a bit. Then, my back wheel seized up. Lame! I stopped riding to inspect my bike but really came up with nothing. I have no clue what to do when something goes wrong with my bike. A guy who was behind me stopped to help me. We deduced that my deralieur hanger broke. My chain was wrapped around there good. I was at the base of the climb and I couldn't even push my bike, the back wheel just stopped moving.

So, like any normal person, I picked up my bike and walked to the end of the hill. I figured I was about 2 miles away from the finish and I could walk there quickly. Wrong, I later learned (after walking forever) that my bike broke around mile 24. After a bit, a nice racer stopped to help me. He decided it would be better if I took my chain off. Doh! Then I could roll my bike and not carry it! Genius.

I watched four women ride by me during this time. It really sucked, but I was determined to finish the race. I ran for a while, coasted the downhills, walked the uphills and scooted my bike on the flats. All the while I kept my spirits up and looked forward to crossing the finish line.

Brian came back for me at the end. He wasn't aware that I had a mechanical but I am glad he didn't turn back for me on the course. He waited as long as he could - until he saw another racer in his category that he couldn't let pass! He came back for me at the end though and gave me a push up the last hill until we got close to the finish. I didn't want to get disqualified for getting a free push!

The only photo I have from the event is below. I can't believe I am smiling!

I ended up in 10th place out of 13 races. I believe I would have gotten 6th place had I not had a mechanical. That really makes me feel good because the calibre of racers in the top 5 places were impressive. Can't wait to do my next endurance mountain bike race!