All Blog Posts (398)

Today was the Ft. Ord CCCX race! I raced 13 and under.

I did this race last year and got first place. Although my competition was not significant that year, I still had a great time.

But back to the current CCCX race.  I started behind a lot of adults but…

After some internet surveying, I felt that the Low Gap course was going to be fast.

Even though it was 43 miles with 5.6k of climbing, I felt there was going to be some really fast times.

I had originally planned on riding it on my XC hard tail, but I was doing some drive train changes and I could not get it done in time. And after surveying the course, my gravel bike seemed like a better choice anyway.

The weather was good, slight clouds, probably about 50*F at the…

I felt pretty fresh as I blasted off from the start tent on my DH run Sunday morning.  I started 9th, with a ghost racer behind me and Ryan Gorman in front of me, so I didn't anticipate any company.  I had recovered from the vision problems of the day before and made it to the start line with glasses.

I pushed hard on Sunrise and came close to my fastest time, keeping it up down the fire road and across to the single track.  I had reduced the rebound damping on  my fork to 11 clicks…

My start time was 12:12:30. I decided to play it safe and run a heavy tube in my rear tire. I have only ridden the downhill course 4 times in the last 15 years and never with out stopping so I had no splits to meet. I did do Sunrise fast a few days before with Jim, so I had a goal of under 8 minutes to the fire road. We were leaving every 30 seconds and I had 2 teenage riders in front of me. I started my Garmin 30 seconds before my start so I could just focus on getting out as fast as I…

At the end of every season of mountain bike racing, there is the Downieville Classic All Mountain World Championship.

Though racing starts for me in March, I always try to tailor the last half of the season to have some fitness left for this NorCal testpiece.

This year found me in less than peak form, but eager to compete in the All Mountain category once again.  I had raced a Trek Fuel EX for a few years, with some good results, but this year I returned to a cross country race…

This is probably my favorite race of the year; and one of the best weekends of racing out there. I had missed the race last year through injury while doing a practice run the week before, and so was glad to be back in Downieville racing again, injury free, and feeling in good form.

The Downieville Classic consists of a cross country race on the Saturday, and a Downhill race on Sunday. Some racers choose to ride the XC event only, but racing the DH only is not an option. If you want to…

My 3 rd race here but my first All Mountain. I had this race as my most import of the year. I bought a TREK Fuel EX 9.8 with this race in mind. With a lot of help from Jim Hewett, I had the bike set up to weigh in at 27lbs. I ran Maxxis Minion  SS 2.3 tires front and rear. I swapped the FOX 34 Performance fork with a Fox 34 factory 130mm. The bike felt fast up hill and was a big improvement over my Top Fuel for the down hill. Jim and I got up Friday morning the day before the race and met up…

After 4 rounds of racing in the CA Dirt Series, we made our way up for the 5th and final round at Sugarbowl ski resort near Truckee.  This race would decide the winner of the CA state championship series.  I was leading the series in points, so I knew I needed to have a solid race to clench the title for a second year in a row.

There were some fast guys that had not raced any of the races this year:  Tristan Uhl, Tate Mientjes, Xander Sugarman, Carson Benjamin, and Nathan Barton were…

This was the final race of the series for what YBONC.COM advertised as the California State Campionship. Jim and I signed up for all 5 and Simon did 4. We all came into this last race with the chance of finishing on the podium for the top 3 in our classes but Simon got a better offer and missed this last race. I was excited for this last chance to win even though I am fully aware that the poor attendance of the previous 4 races and the leval of compition was not what a State Championship…

   After only  being able to race one of the first 4 races in this series (Sea Otter), I decided to sign up for this race held at the Sugar Bowl ski resort near Donner Summit.  My son, Carson, had registered and pre ridden the course the prior week.  Based on his assessment, the trails were tight and fun, with only one extended climb and a total of about 400 feet per lap in the five lap race.  It turned out a week of dry weather and three waves of racers had reduced all the tight corners to…

This was my 2nd time racing this event at Wente, a beautiful ~2,000 acre Boy Scout Reservation just outside Willits. Last year I had won my category (expert 40+) but only after battling through a pretty disastrous 1st lap with a flat tire which left me at the back of the field and playing catch up all day. I had eventually taken the lead at the beginning of the 10th lap, and held on to complete the 10 laps in 8 hours 11 minutes. This year my goal was to finish 10 laps in under 8 hours in…

This year seemed to go by so fast. The A group was well attended by the under 35 group with a lot of very strong riders. I was lucky enough to have the strength to keep up with Gavin Parnes when he showed up. Last year I was keeping up with Willson Perry but this year he took it to the next level. I no longer have the speed to stay close to Mark Ingwersen and Mark Gibson is faster than I have ever been but I still enjoy this race. It is fun watching the kids get stronger and always fun to…

This was my first trip to Susanville and I had little information on this trail. It looked to have a lot of climbing so I chose to stick with my hardtail Trek Super fly and a seat dropper. It rained most of the day before the race but the trails soil soaked it up well and conditions where almost perfect. Our start was a Mass start of about 40 Pro's/CAT 1 and single speeders. We had a 1/2 mile or so of single track that lead us to Paul Bunyan Logging road. The next mile plus was 3% grade with…

This is a race that has been happening for years in Susanville, CA.  Due to the fact that Susanville is 270 miles away from Fairfax, and the very small pro field I had seen in past race results, I had never made the trip to do this one.  This year, as part of the California State Championship Series, it was solidly on the race calendar for me.

After 3 rounds, I was leading the state championship series.  Though back in a late base training period, I knew I needed to be there and get…

It's hard to believe that we have had 6 weeks of shorty races, and the series is over for another year (its 10th year). I'm really going to miss what has been a super fun regular mid-week race and the boost it has given my fitness. It's been great hanging out with regulars, getting to know people, and taking lots of crap from Mooney! I'm stoked to have been able to make it to all 6 of the races this year, having missed a couple last year.

This being the final race of the series, with…

Another super fun trai near Nevada city. The YBONC group has upped their game with electric timing and larger attendance. I missed this race last year but heard that it had a good flow trail. I would say it is the best flow trail I have ridden. I raced the CAT 50+ class that had us ride 3 x 7 1/2 mile laps. The best part was this 4 plus minute flow section. Hearing that there was nothing to rough or technical about the course , I choose to ride my hard tail. The main climb was a 5 mintute…

  I left early from San Rafael to arrive in time to do a practice lap of the Hoot Trail. My start time was 10:00 AM for the over 60 category but I needed to be there by 8:00 to squeeze in a practice lap. As I have gotten older I prefer a practice lap to gain confidence in the course. The course was in great condition due to the recent rains, but regardless I managed to wash out on one of the berms and slam to the ground. Nothing serious in terms of injuries, but I felt embarrassed since the…

After a race fitness period, I was back in late base endurance training.  I wasn't sure what to expect from my legs for the 3rd race of the California state series, but I knew I had to show up to get what points I could.

I placed second at this race last year, and knew what to expect from the course.  The start was flowy and then straight and fast.  There were some wide open slightly downhill fire roads that emptied into singletrack before a bit of climbing.  Once we turned left, it…

The week leading up to the California State Championships was a crazy one.  AP exams coupled with normal school tests left me blown out and tired.  I would wake up in the morning and tell myself, “no excuses, I need to ride today”.  By the time I got home that same day I would be absolutely exhausted and convince myself that rest is…

Lap 3 and 1:49 minutes worth of trail dust everywhere, I crested the last climb with about 100 yards to the finish line and glanced over my shoulder to see two riders gaining on me. My legs had been on the verge of cramping ever since the flow trail section but I was determined not to lose position and dug into reserves that were all but gone. It felt good to know I had timed my race well and not bonked until... just now. That final push was ultimately pointless since the next racer in my…