June 2014 Blog Posts (6)

Mountain bike racing means different things to different people.  No doubt it involves a predominately dirt course, and mountain bikes, but from there tastes diverge.  Is it about technical skill?  Fitness?  Power?  Endurance? 

To some, XC racing has come to mean a competition of lean and fit racers on light and fragile hardtails, traveling fast enough on smooth dirt courses to benefit from drafting.  Long climbs are an important aspect, often deciding the winners.  Technical…

This year the California Enduro Series held it's inaugural race just over the state border on Peavine Mountain in Reno, NV. You may think its odd to have a California Enduro Series race in any state other than CALIFORNIA, but just as the Tour de France occasionally starts in Belgium, the CES started in Nevada. Peavine mountain is hot, dry, dusty venue that is 4600' above sea level. Not exactly what I usually ride in Marin, but it sure was challenging. I arrived at Peavine Friday and decided…

I have never done this race, which is relatively close to home in Vacaville.  I'm usually in a low fitness point this time of year and the weather is also a deterrent.  This year I am just beginning intensity training, so I figured I would check it out, despite the forecast for high temps.  Seemingly as an afterthought, this was also the USAC California State Championship race.

Shiloh, Phil and I rode up together.  I had tried to hydrate well the days before, drinking lots of water…

The Rockhopper Classic is held in Vacaville on a dry exposed hillside.  Three laps, about 26 miles and 3800 feet of climbing total.  It's a great course for racing. With fireroad sections for passing, steep climbs for crushing fools, and flowing singletrack decents. But I wouldn't recommend riding there in over 80 degree heat, it was about 95 degrees. 

This race was also a state championship race which seemed to mean very little.  Racers showed up so that they could qualify for…

The Tamarancho Dirt Classic is just  a few miles form my front door so there are zero excuses for passing it up. This race is mostly singletrack with very few places to pass cleanly.  Aggressive riding can pay off.  Bike Monkey organized the event this year and they did a good job of spreading out the classes to reduce the amount of lapped riders. 

The start line was packed with many strong pro racers, and many racers who I have gotten comfortable mixing it up with at the Summit…

It is a beautiful thing when I can ride my bike from home to the race venue.  This is only possible once a year, when the purpose-built mountain bike trails around Camp Tamarancho are opened for the Tamarancho Dirt Classic.  This year, the action occurred both Saturday and Sunday, with a short track race, chainless downhill race, and cross country race.

I have just completed my "base" period of training, where I develop aerobic fitness and prepare my body for the intense training to…