All Blog Posts (398)

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…

Ding ding, round 3. The temps had picked up a little, and the wind had died down a little too, so conditions were just about perfect. The middle school kids were out there in force this week. So awesome to see those young rippers. The "A" field was not quite as big as last week, but there was still a good turn out of regulars and High School crushers. As we lined up at the start, we all did our best to crowd out Phil Mooney and force him to the back of the line, but he's a sneaky one and…

 Another fun, intermediate loop in the Nevada City area. As far as I know this was the first race held here? YBONC has included this trail in their California Dirt/State campion series of races. The race started at the Diamond Arrow Christain Conferance Center. The start had us roll through the cabin area and quickly start into the first of two climbs. Our 11am group was all the Cat 1 ages, Pro's and single speeders(35-40 people). The first climb was less than a 1/3 of a mile with about 100'…

I enjoy getting to race venues early, as it provides more time to settle into the mental game, and hang out with old friends.  Hence, my arrival to the second round of ACME’s Summit Shorties, 2 hours before my start time.  I also felt like I was going to need a lengthy warmup, considering my tired legs from the weekend, and pushing a little to hard at Tuesday practice.…

Really excited to be back into the mid-week race series, Acme Shorty. This race is fast fun and about 25 minutes in the pain cave. Before the race, I meet up with my friend, Sebastian Dow, a Bear Development racer and we road to my teammates house, Thomas Gibson, to meet and ride the course for our warm up. Climbing up the hill to where the race starts is where my nerves and excitement start to kick in. I could see fellow racers and hear the music at the top…

The Sea Otter Classic is four fun amazing days of just bikes. Before the festival I did a fun ride in Santa Cruz with my friend who flew down from Utah for the event. On the ride the dirt was good and the trials where perfect which set the tone for a great weekend. We rented a condo in Marina this year which was lovely because we had space for all of our bikes. We went with 6 other people so there where a lot of bikes, but we had plenty of space to keep them…

It’s so awesome that we have these local mid-week races. I am especially appreciative of them at this moment in time as, with a crazy work/travel schedule, I am missing a lot of the weekend races that are happening around now, like Sea otter last weekend, and probably the Nevada City Dirt Classic this coming weekend. The fact I can roll right up to a race after being at work all day is just awesome. Thanks to Acme, Jim and Scott, for all the work putting on the only races in Marin this…

Sea Otter (Saturday)

I woke up at 7:00 Saturday morning and threw all of my pre-packed bags into the car.  Grabbed a quick bite to eat and hit the road.  I picked up my fellow racer friend Gabby Huffman along the way as we both planned to race the XC, but she was unable to get a ride, so she tagged along.…

  The 2018 Sea Otter would be my 7th in a row, having first raced when my son, Carson, was a Freshman in high school.  It would also be my third race on the current course which covers about 28 miles and over 3500 feet of elevation gain.   Two years ago was maybe my best Cat 1 Sea Otter, coming in 5th in the 50-54 race with time of 2:11.  Last year was pretty much the opposite result.  A lack of training and a short warm up led me to a 2:19 time and 15th out of 17 riders.  This year I felt…

Another beautiful day at Fort Ord. I wish this is how I left Sunday but it wasn't. Fort Ord is a fast mostly fire road with short climbs course. Nothing to techincal but at these high speeds there is plenty of reason to be careful.  I have not worked only my training thus far this year and this was the result= 20th out of 25. 3 plus minutes slower than last year. I need to remember- Disappointment comes with anything we are passionate about. The result of this race is what I needed to decide…