May 2018 Blog Posts (21)

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…

The number of racers attending this week was down slightly from last week. This was partly because a lot of the High School racers were taking it easy ahead of State Champs this Sunday. However, there were still a few of the fastest NorCal kids out there, with Sean Middleton of Redwood and Robert Raffo of San Rafael amongst them. Bear Dev rider Toby Coughlan would also be there battling; and enduro rider/skills coach Ian Massey turned out too.

The previous week's race had us riding the…

After missing a great race last week, I was excited to toe the line this week with a solid group of racers. After racing twice before, my mind and body knew fully well what I was about to endure. With a sick daughter at home, I've been quite low on sleep. I asked my race strategists, Simon and Mandy, what I should do this week. Knowing I was tired, they told me to sit in for 2 laps and go hard up the climb the 3rd time. So that's what I did.

The race started quite civilized,…

This was definitely the strongest I have felt over the years that I have raced lemurian.  On all of the climbs I had to sprint up them, which was very difficult to accomplish.  At the start I had trouble clipping into my peddles,but I managed to move up some places on the dirt road.  Half way up the climb I couldn't see anyone behind me.  On the downhill that is where I feel like I really pulled away.

On the second part of the downhill I was having trouble finding fast and efficient…

Back up to Redding for the Lemurian, a great single loop mountain bike race that has lots of climbing and some great singletrack.  I raced my Trek Top Fuel again, this time with Vittoria Mezcal tires and a 34 x 9-46t drivetrain.  Though the Mezcal is quite heavy for an XC race tire (730g), it is a very fast roller and puncture resistant, with decent grip.

The competition has thinned at this race over the years, but there are always 5 or so fast guys.  Stephen Mills has been winning…

The Sea Otter Classic pro XC race is always a challenge for me.  An international field racing a short XCO style course means that the bottom half of racers usually don't finish on the leader's lap.  I've had to accept that I am now finishing in the bottom half of a national level pro field, so it is really a race to see how many laps I can complete before I am pulled.

This year, it was also the first race of the California State Championship Series.  The California racers would be…

There was a really good turn out of "A" category racers this week, with lots of blazing fast High School racers, who are all in good form right now being in between the NorCal Champs race last weekend, and State Champs coming up in 10 days. Amongst these were San Marin rider Sebastian Dow who just finished 3rd overall for the season in Varsity and is looking good for a podium finish at State Champs; Sean Middleton, Redwood, who's crushed his competition in every single High School race this…

  The Round Mountain race is part of the California Mountain Bike Series. This was my first chance to race here so I did not know what to expect. I arrived late and I did not pre-ride the course, but I did practice the start which was a gnarly and steep climb. The purpose of the climb was to separate out the riders for the single track loop. I entered the over 60 CAT 2 division. Prior to the race I saw fellow teammates Jim and Simon. Simon was getting ready to start. He was competing in the…

I am prioritizing the races in the California Dirt Series this year, as the series determines the California State Champion.  I was consistent enough in last year's series to win the Pro class overall title, so I'm doing my best to make it two in a row.

This course at Round Mountain was a new venue, but the NVCDC/California Dirt races are always good.  The track comprised a 5 minute climb to get up to the top of the mountain where we would then do 4 laps.  My son Simon raced before…

With three of the six ACME Shorty races behind me I'll share my half-time report. Having raced here for the past seven years or thereabouts on a course that remains mostly unchanged, any pre-race jitters are related to who shows up rather than what the course will be like. This is good because the only time I end up riding here is on race day (with rare exceptions). Does this mean that races are predictable? Yeah, definitely not. With the increasingly fast and competitive A group having only…

     Leading up to this race it was a tough day at school with multiple teachers losing assignments I gave them, and then I had to find the assignments in a big stack a papers which was frustrating and made it so I had a little extra fire in me. Getting to the race I had to ride solo because the usual people who I ride to the race with where unavailable. Sebastian Dow was on a rest week, so the race intervened with his training plan, and Thomas Gibson had work. Riding to the race I could…

After a week off the bike and missing the 2nd race in the series last week, I was back once again for round 3 of the Shorty. I rolled up with my wife and little one early to soak in the vibe of the middle school races. They are so cool and it's fun to watch those little rippers! 

We had another nice turnout, and lots of the familiar cast of characters from a couple weeks ago were back. One notable addition was my Acme Bikes team mate Wilson Perry. I hadn't seen him for a while, and I…