Northern California Bicycle Racing Community

All Blog Posts (398)

Skyline. Continuing a bad season but having fun.

This is one of my favorite raced courses. Its nothing but steep loose climbs and decents with stair like drop offs with lots of sharp rocks. I got to the start line a little late and had to stand in the grass along with a few others (I gotta remember to show up early to get a good starting position). I hammered my way through the dusty fire road start and ended up somewhere just behind mid pack when we hit the singletrack. about half way through the first lap one of those rocks punched a hole… Continue

Added by shiloh on June 15, 2010 at 9:30am — No Comments

...sometimes you're the nail.

I've missed the Skyline Park mountain bike race for a couple of years, so I was pretty excited to be able to make it this year. It's a real deal mountain bike race, with lots of chunky descending and techy climbing. A race that favors the all-arounder, for sure. I pre-rode the course on Thursday and decided to go with some slightly stiffer wheels (Crest/Supercomp/DT240s w/thru bolts vs. ZTR Race wheelset) and aggressive race tires front and rear (Schwalbe Nobby Nic). Temps were expected to…

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Added by Jim Hewett on June 14, 2010 at 9:29pm — No Comments

Trail & Error at Tamarancho

I should have registered earlier. One step behind seemed to be the pattern ahead for me.

Missing the online registration deadline, I petitioned the Race Director Julia for a spot in the race. Jim argued on my behalf that I could be swapped with Arno who was unable to make the race. Julia was kind and let me in!

Warming up, my body felt stiff. I had taken a hard tumble the week before and was still letting the wounds heal and the confidence rebuild. I…

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Added by Carl Sanders on June 10, 2010 at 10:19pm — No Comments

Tamo Dirt Classic

I suppose I didn't go into this race with the highest confidence after busting my ass to avoid a last place finish in my first two Cat. 1 races. I admit I waited till the deadline to sign up. I did, however, pre-ride most sections of the race course prior to the race day and that really did make a difference for me. Being relatively new to riding and especially to the technical aspect of it, I am really glad I had the switchbacks down before I was racing around on Sunday. That being said I… Continue

Added by Amanda Borden on June 9, 2010 at 2:53pm — No Comments

My First DNF

I was feeling good and stoked for the hometown race, but this was not going to be my day. At the start line I stood with people who seemed to be in my class, but when Wyro said go some people around me didn't move and others moved about four feet then stopped leaving me to push my way through. I was in last place. I caught the back end of the main field and passed a few people at Dead Heffer. I was feeling good and knew I would be dusting fools before the end of the race. On the climb up B-17 I… Continue

Added by shiloh on June 9, 2010 at 9:26am — No Comments

TDC, DNF

Well I was hoping to have more to write about, but my first race in Cat 1 ended after about thirty minutes. Coming into the Tamarancho Dirt Classic well prepared and ready to be swamped by the Cat 1 field. The starting line organization was the usual haphazard affair, except more-so. Happy to be ahead of the Cat 2 hoard, I found myself standing well off the official fire road starting position with spectators between me and my oncoming destiny. We could only hope for “gridding” intervention… Continue

Added by Paul Montgomery on June 8, 2010 at 11:00pm — No Comments

Local Action - Tamarancho Dirt Classic!

200 racers gathered Sunday, June 6, for Marin's only full length XC race, the Tamarancho Dirt Classic. This was the best promotion and organization I have seen in the 5 years I have raced at Tamarancho. Great expo area, attendance, and course. The pro class had 15 registered racers and promised some stiff competition. Among the racers to watch were Ned Overend, Dario Fredericks, Brian Astell, Kevin Smallman (3rd in 2009) and others. Conditions were getting loose and dry, despite the recent…

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Added by Jim Hewett on June 7, 2010 at 3:30pm — No Comments

Santa Rosa Plate Racing!

Unable to participate in The Summit Shorty due to my reponsibilities as the guy in charge, I ventured up to Santa Rosa to check out the first of a 3 race dirt crit series at the Youth Community Park (Thursday evening 5/6, 5/13, 5/20) that Bikemonkey is starting. I'm a big fan of the Howarth Park Dirt Crit series, which starts later in the summer, but this is a new course with which I am unfamiliar. The grassy and wooded open space area is behind a skatepark and kid's park and contains some…

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Added by Jim Hewett on May 10, 2010 at 1:17pm — No Comments

Lemurians Attack!

Two minutes slower than last year. Simple math: 98% effort in = 98% performance out. Felt somewhat tentative on the loose descents, unwilling to charge ahead on the flats. Held back, even though I felt fit. Could have been the couple of weeks of stomach distress or the cumulative effect of multiple back-to-back races. Something had infested my gut and my head to boot. Although, I did Climb strong, passing through the ranks of intermediate course riders. I just let too many riders, get away from… Continue

Added by Carl Sanders on April 27, 2010 at 9:00pm — No Comments

Shasta Lemurian 2010

The Lemurian was to be the last race in my first grouping of priority races. Napa was an okay finish, but Sea Otter was a mechanical DNF. This was my last chance in this peak fitness period to get a good result. Last year I finished 4th overall and 3rd in pro class with a 2:12:38 finish time. This year I wanted to do it in 2:10, hopefully moving up a couple of spots.

I figured Tim Olsen would be a good bet to win this one. He has often placed well at this race and made a conscious effort to… Continue

Added by Jim Hewett on April 26, 2010 at 12:25am — No Comments

When stars align...

This year’s Sea Otter turned out to be my most satisfying race to date. The Twentieth Anniversary of the event marked my third try at getting a “decent Cat 2 result” (oxymoron). Based on the racing so far this year, I knew a podium finish was a legitimate goal. The strategy was to get my most underused muscle into the act, the one on top of my shoulders. The tactic at the start was not to lead out the entire field (59 riders), as I had in the past. The idea was to get to the front and slot-in a… Continue

Added by Paul Montgomery on April 21, 2010 at 10:00am — 1 Comment

Sea Otter Pro XCT #2

Sea Otter has never been very good to me, but it's the biggest pro race in the country and only two and a half hours from home. It is one of the first races I ever raced, way way back in 2004. A few years racing singlespeed, a year in semi-pro and year in pro, all with less than stellar finishes. This year the pro course made a break from the classic 2 lap 38 mile format. The pro-only 5k course was almost completely in the immediate Laguna Seca Raceway area. I think the idea was to make the… Continue

Added by Jim Hewett on April 19, 2010 at 10:42pm — No Comments

Somebody, anybody, take my wheel, make this pain stop!

I rolled past Jim who was struggling to fix his flat front tire midway through lap 2... and I begged him to take my wheel. I knew the race was pretty much over for me, and it was a time of pain and despair... For 2010, the pro men did not have to do the 2 twenty mile loops as in previous years. Instead, the format was 5 laps of approx 4 kilometers. This sounds easier, but it made for wicked fast laps, and unfortunately, I could only hang for one of those laps. As we rolled around the Laguna… Continue

Added by Gabriel Keck on April 19, 2010 at 10:01pm — No Comments

Napa Valley/Sea Otter

My recent nerve injury healed which allowed me to start riding again. I strained some nerves in my

right brachial plexus while climbing at Planet Granite. I was working on my "project"- leading a 5.11B

overhanging climb when something "gave". It didn't really hurt in the beginning, but later I noticed

numbness, muscle weakness, and radiating pain in my right arm. After 6 to 8 weeks it magically

healed and I began to ride again. I failed to mention that there…

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Added by Michael Koppe on April 19, 2010 at 9:58am — 1 Comment

Sea Otter sickness

The thursday before sea otter I came down with a bit of a cold. It seems I've been sick more times this year than I've been in the last three years. Anyways, I loaded up on vitamin c and some EAS super caffeine pre race fuel (tastes terrible) and gave it all I had. I watched a group of about ten guys ride away form me as we went down the first fire road section. I didn't have the power to bridge the gap so I decided to sit tight In a group of four guys. We traded places a few times, some guys… Continue

Added by shiloh on April 18, 2010 at 8:10pm — No Comments

Sea Otter Blues

My first DNF. Five minutes into the race at the top of the first climb, my egg-beater pedal fell apart, leaving only a dangerously sharp spindle to stand on. Realizing the cage was still attached to my cleat, I slipped the broken assembly back onto the spindle and I dropped into the first single track. That didn't last long, when I lost the cage while pushing through a sharp corner. Another 36 miles like this would have been sketchy. No way around this one.

I rolled out of…

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Added by Carl Sanders on April 17, 2010 at 4:00pm — No Comments

NVDC breakin' in the new 29er

Well, conditions were pretty bad, but I have experienced worse in a few cyclocross races this past season. And I've come to realize that the most uncomfortable part is just getting out on the bike. Once the warmup process begins, it almost goes into automatic mode. However, for this race, I was all distracted in the minutes before the start, and rolled up to the line as 30 sec was called. Honestly, I think this was better than standing around for a couple minutes cooling down as the nerves… Continue

Added by Gabriel Keck on April 16, 2010 at 5:34pm — No Comments

NVDC real mtb racing

I was feeling good before this race so was determined not to let the cold, rain, and mud dampen my spirit. A group of about 5 or 6 guys got off the front before the single track but i was going at the best pace I could hold. Carl and traded places a few times before the final climb back to the airport when i had to walk up a steep slick section. He turned on the power and I didn't see him again until we were enjoying the warmth of Mike's super van. I have never done so much drifting in one ride… Continue

Added by shiloh on April 14, 2010 at 5:33pm — 1 Comment

Napa V Race

I was so excited for this race that I almost didn't show up and then I fell down some concrete stairs! Not being in shape made this race difficult already and on top of it my drivetrain went from working great to barely working about half-way through the race. Not that I would have done a whole lot better but it didn't help. Glad I came though! Great to be out in the elements on a bicycle with a fun group of people. In fact, my favorite part of the race was when a random racer informed me I had… Continue

Added by Amanda Borden on April 14, 2010 at 5:24pm — 1 Comment

Becoming a Mountain Bike Racer

Well, here we are race two for me this year. Luckily I’m still green enough that apocalyptically bad conditions have little impact on the general suffering a typical mountain bike race offers. Not to belabor the point, but the weather was crazy bad. For me, a front fender and helmet muffin cap (HMC) were on the menu. The dry set-up of Racing Ralphs front and back was going to be tested.

As a Cat 2 racer I came into this event knowing that it promised a higher level of competition, even… Continue

Added by Paul Montgomery on April 14, 2010 at 1:00pm — 1 Comment