Jim Hewett's Blog – August 2017 Archive (3)

The XC race at Annadel State Park in Santa Rosa is a great single loop race that isn't too far from where I live, but I had never done it before.  I usually try to stretch some fitness into August for The Downieville Classic, but this race is so late in the season that I have passed on it...until today.

I figured I would give it a try, as I had heard the course is good.  Though I had a cold for the week leading up to the race, I was able to pre-ride the course on Friday.  It involves…

Okay.  A new rear derailleur solved the chain drop and my legs were feeling pretty good, prior day's racing considered.It It looked like Wicks opted out of the DH, so I had a ghost rider in front of me for my run.  I didn't figure I would make two minutes on the guy that started 8th, so everything would be set for me to have a clean run.  It was a little warmer than the day before, but my relatively early start time kept that from being a factor.

Sunrise went down smoothly, within 3…

I was back this year for another crack at the Downieville Pro All Mountain weekend.

This year, I was racing a 2017 Fuel EX with 130mm travel in the back and a 160mm Pike on the front.  This longer fork raised the bottom brackett a little and slacked out the head tube, both of which come in handy for me when riding fast into the many rocks on the course.  I chose Maxxis Minion SS tires front and rear, with a low tread center to roll fast and chunky side knobs for cornering traction. …