Jim Hewett's Blog (106)

We were back at Lake Sonoma for the Bike Monkey SoNoMas race, this time doing a longer loop around the lake counter-clockwise.  The field was a bit different this time, a few of us from the Lake Sonoma Grasshopper race a couple weeks earlier (Carson Benjamin, Barry Wicks, and me), with the addition of more fast xc guys and some very strong roadies.  I'm not sure why this race tends to draw guys who are usually more inclined to race on pavement, but Ted King, Peter Stetina, Sam Bassetti, and…

The trails that surround Lake Sonoma make for an interesting race course.  It's mostly singletrack that contours its way in and out of the many ravines that feed water to the lake.  The trails drop into the folds of the hillside, cross some sort of creek, and then climb back toward the lake to do it again.  Pretty fun stuff, but repetitive in a strange way.  Each short, steep climb back out is short enough that you can hammer it, but they take their toll and add up to quite a…

I travelled up to Granite Bay for the third of the TBF xc races.  Seemed like a good training race, and a good race for testing the new xc race bike setup.

I raced on the Trek Top Fuel last year, and this year I am keeping things much the same:  SRAM XX1 drivetrain, XX brakes, carbon rims laced to DT 350 hubs.  One change I made last week was the addition of a new Fox 32 step cast 100mm fork.  This is a reduction in travel from last year's 120mm World Cup SID, and also a reduction in…

Despite a very rainy winter, the weather was perfect for my tenth run at the Old Cazadero Grasshopper.

I sold my cyclocross bike a few months ago, so it was back onto my trusty rigid mountain bike.  Honestly, I think it is a pretty fast way to go:  light and fast rolling 2.0 Bontrager XR0 tires (28/26 psi), 36x10-42 drivetrain, and an overall weight under 17 lbs.  I drove up with Cathy, Phil, and Teddy, and we met Greg, Mark and Carson before the start.  This is becoming a unique and…

Cathy, Simon and I made the journey up to Redding for this classic single loop mountain bike race.  Team mates Bill Surges and Danny Macnaughton were also there to test themselves on the challenging climbs and descents of the Whiskeytown trails.

I've raced this many times, getting second overall a couple times recently.  This year, my modified training plan had me in late base training, so I wasn't sure what to expect.  I felt like I could go pretty hard all day, but not really hard…

Though I am in the early phases of my training for the season, I made the trip down to Sea Otter to take my licks racing in the pro short track and xc races.

The weather was not brutally hot, just hot.  The field would be considered quite strong to very strong;  over 100 racers, including some top international contenders and all of the top North Americans.  Cathy Chevron and my son Simon came down with me and provided support.

Friday's short track race was a bit frustrating,…

Sometimes it's good to change up a training routine.  Obviously, on the day to day level, as your body responds more readily to fitness gains with new stimulation, but this year, I have decided to make some changes to my annual training plan.  For many years, I have been excited to start base training, usually a few months long, in November or December, thereby coming into peak racing form for the April races.  The challenge has been building for another peak later in the season, around…

This is my first post since last year's Old Caz' 'Hopper.  Team Acme Bikes will be on the race scene this year, with a new team and new energy.  Expect to see race reports after the good local mountain bike races.

It was a beautiful day for the Old Caz' "adventure ride".  Though we have been getting a lot of rain this winter, it was 70 degrees and sunny, with good dirt conditions.  Once again, this early season mixed dirt/pavement ride sold out at 400 people;  the usual mix of…

Feel free to see my race report archives for numerous posts on this race from years past that discuss the unique nature of Grasshopper "adventure rides" - this one is going to get down to business.

The dead of winter in Northern California;  sunny and warm, mostly dry.

For the first time in years, I chose to race a cyclocross bike instead of a mountain bike.  My new Trek Boone Disc was outfitted with carbon rims (23mm internal) and Specialized Trigger Pro 33mm tubeless tires…

I missed the Downieville Classic last year due to a work conflict, but this year I was back for more competition on the rugged Sierra trails.  My preparation included periodized training to put me in peak condition for the weekend, as well as a couple of trips prior to better learn the extended downhill portions of the XC and DH courses.  I would also be riding the most capable mountain bike I had ever ridden for the rocky and fast terrain.…

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…

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…

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…

I made the trip up to Redding for the Lemurian last weekend.  Though this race usually falls just after my first training peak of the mountain bike season, this year I really have not even begun to train yet.  Despite my lack of preparation, I knew the race would be fun - so much climbing and descending on a long single-loop course, with cool temps and moist dirt.  Most of the NorCal hardmen show up for this one, and it would be hard to keep me away.

I built my new full suspension…

The Napa Valley Dirt Classic is one of the first big NorCal races of the year.  It usually comes at the beginning of a fitness peak for me, one I have been working toward since November or December.  This year has been different, as some big life changes have disrupted my training.  I've been riding a good bit, but without structure and with relatively little intensity.  Despite my lack of preparation, I couldn't resist doing this race, which is one of my favorites.

Shiloh, Phil and I…

January was a pretty low month for me.  I was sick for a bit and spent a lot of time out of town working.  Despite the all-time-great winter riding conditions in Marin, I had not been able to ride as much as I would have liked.  Of course, the first Grasshopper Adventure Series race of 2014 caught most riders in a relatively unfit period.  This is my favorite 'Hopper of the year and always brings out a large, enthusiastic, and diverse crowd.  Roadies, mountain bike racers, and 'cross guys…

Saturday was the last race of the inaugural NorCal CX Series.  Simon and I travelled to yet another new course, this one at Lake Cunningham Park in San Jose.  We weren't sure what to expect, but Murphy promised that it would be a great venue and the weather looked perfect.  It was also Simon's 5th birthday, though we had already celebrated with a party a couple of weeks before.

My cyclocross season has been going for a few months and the fitness has recently declined.  I trained to…

A week after racing in Oregon,  it was back to Northern California for another Candlestick BASP race.  My fitness was beginning to wane, which hadn't been disastrous, but had definitely left me without the punch to hang with the front guys. I started pretty strong but slowly moved out of the top 6 or so.  I did my best to hammer on the few long, flat, straight sections.  I was seeing some decently high heart rate numbers, but I was out of contention for a podium by minutes.  Towards the end…

This is only my second season racing 'cross, and all of that has been in the Bay Area.  I had to go up to Oregon for work, so I figured I'd take the chance to see what the cyclocross racing scene is like to the North.  .  I've heard really good things about the 'Cross Crusade series and there was a race scheduled on Sunday of the weekend I would be in Portland.  That one was on the schedule, for sure.  Saturday I could either do an Outlaw CX race in Medford or a Psycho 'Cross Pseries race in…

Morning came a little too soon Sunday.  My eyes were sore and bleary from the dusty racing the night before and my arms, leg and back were a bit worked.  I ate a big breakfast with Simon, who couldn't make the kids' race due to a birthday party commitment, and loaded up for the relatively short trip to Vallejo for the fourth race in the NorCal CX Series.  The weather was beautiful, cool in the shade and warm in the sun.  This was a newer venue that was unfamiliar to me, so I suited up to…