Greg Alsterlind's Blog (31)

Last minute add to my race log and glad that I did. Another well organized race at a fun location. The course starts on pavement and quickly heads up just over 2 miles on mostly fire roads. A short flat section at the top leads to one one the fastest downhills in all the races I have seen yet. The down hill is not steep or technical but it is mostly hard packed sand with banked corners and long wide open smooth sections. I was on my Trek top fuel but my hard tail super fly would have worked… Continue

8,300 ft. Elevation at the start. I got up to Mammoth the day before the race and pre-rode the 5.3 mile course with team mate Cathy Chevron (4th place , Cat 1). I noticed right away that my legs felt weak on the climbs. I was careful to not go hard and save it for the race, hoping I could shake it off once I got going? The race start was 31 riders and I was in the back. I was concerned about starting off like an Acme shorty and running out of gas in the first lap. The climbs where not steep but… Continue

This was a late add to the race season- in part - due to the cecelation of the 2016 Tamarancho race. Acme bike team showed up in good numbers ( Jim, Kathy, Stephen, Michael, Dave, Bill, Mark I,Buell, me and Simon) and finished really well. Jenifer was missed but had a great excuse riding the day before in the 8hr. Wente race! I did not preride the course but Buell did and gave Mark I and I tips on some of the faster loose sections. I stayed with my normal set up (Top Fuel- Maxxis Icons) . I… Continue

What I consider the best race in Marin. One year ago I was lucky enough to meet 4 of the best riders I now know at this Race. Some how I convinced each one to let me tag along on a ride with them through out the year. As a group we all moved up from the B class to ride in the A 35+ class. I was well aware that I was the weakest of the group and if I was going to hang in there I was going to have to work twice as hard. After the first two races things played out almost as expected with me… Continue

This the last of a 3 race series held by the Youth Bicyclist of Nevada County. The group has a different location for each race. Race 3 was on the Hallelujah trail, 95%. Fast Single track. I decided to take 2 1/2 hr. drive up the morning of rather than go the day before. Parking and checking in was made easy by a great staff and I was ready to preride the well marked 5.8 mile trail by 8:45. They had a very short (50 yard) climb at the start and then straight into down hill single track. I was… Continue

My favorite race of them all. Once again, Jim of ACME Bikes set up a fun event for all ages. This year he added the 35+ to the A class(6 laps) and I was up for the challenge. In the last year, I have made good friendships with the top 35 + guys from last year and I was excited to see if I improved after spending so much time riding with them. The B and C's seemed to have very good turn outs but the A's were down to 5 at the start. My class featured the king of this race, David Benjamin,…

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I was not going to write this but my friends actions changed my mind. I have been looking forward to this race for months now. I entered this back in 2004 as a beginner and had multiple mechanical failures that made for a long, frustrating day. Now 2016 on a better bike ('16 Trek Top Fuel) and better conditioning, I was ready . My pre-ride set the stage for Sunday's race. It took more than an hour to finally find the course (no help from the staff). Once on the course it became clear that…

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My first race last year as a Cat 2 was my first as a Cat 1 this year. Two things that stand out to me about this course:  going down "Sand Hill" and climbing "Heartbreaker".  I was back on my Top Fuel with Maxxis IKON 2.2 tires. It had been raining and figured it would be muddy out there, but it turned out to be worse than I thought. We had 2 top racers and mechanics in teammates Shiloh and Jim of ACME and I forgot to ask about tire pressure in the mud. I guessed and upped mine to 5psi over…

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Advertised as the thoughest MTB race and I would agree. I set up my '16 Trek Top Fuel 9.8 with a new set of carbon Raceface cranks and a 30 tooth single ring. I stayed with my Maxxis 2.2 IKON's that performed real well out here last week at the Lake Sonoma race. After a 30 minute warm-up ride, I lined up with teammate Mark Ingwersen in what I felt was a good spot (about a 100 deep). The start was an easy climb at a good pace up a paved road. When we hit the dirt things changed quickly. The…

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Last year's series is now just a single race. I did this race twice last year, winning my first race ever. A fun fast course of about 4.5 miles of mostly single track. What I learned last year is to get up the first hill as fast as you can. The first downhill is not too steep, but very narrow and winding. A slower descending rider could hold you up and allow the bulk of your start group to bunch up. I was lined up with my teammates Dave Benjamin and Mark Ingwersen and knew if I could stay…

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Here is what I learned: A ride/race with this much pavement is best done on a cross bike. I have one but was not feeling it on the off road down hill( I will come back to this) so I went with a hard tail 29er. With much help and many thanks Jim at Acme set me up with some fast rolling light weight tires and my mountain bike was faster than it has ever been. I lined up with my two friends and teammates Mark I and Mark B ( or Buell when out with both) about mid-pack( 200 +/- deep). A minute or… Continue