Jim Hewett's Blog (106)

The Sierra Point night race was to be my first of two races for the weekend.  I don't do a lot of doubles, but I know this is a fun venue and I wanted to do the NorCal CX Series race on Sunday, so I headed down to Brisbane on Saturday evening.

I arrived with plenty of time to pre-ride the course and watch some earlier races.  It was quite an exciting scene, with lights and people everywhere.  The course was bumpy and dusty, with a few contrived patches of mud.  There were lots of…

Today was the third race of the NorCal CX Series, and the only cyclocross race of the year in Marin County.  The action happened at Stafford Lake in Novato, so it was just a thirty minute drive for me from Fairfax.  I had high hopes for a win in my home county, as I am reaching a bit of a training peak, but I have also been dealing with a lingering cold-like illness for a couple of weeks. 

Simon and I made the trip over early enough to set up the Summit Bicycles EZ Up and for him to…

My son Simon and I made the 2 hour journey to Santa Cruz today for the second of the Surf City Cyclocross races.  It was sunny as we left Fairfax, but quickly turned overcast and colder through San Francisco.  We arrived in Santa Cruz with enough time for him to register and prepare for the kids' race.  They lined them up in two start groups:  7-9 year olds and 6 and under. …

I have been working on my new cyclocross bike and it's starting to really come together.  I changed the handlebars for 44cm wide Ritchey WCS Logic bars, adding 2 cm of width and losing a couple of ounces.  I lost the double front chainrings and added a single 42 tooth Wolftooth narrow/wide ring.  I added a short cage "type 2" rear deraileur and an 11-36 XX cassette.  I have settled on a much lower handlebar position that allows me to get aero, ride in the hoods in a powerful position, and…

Today was the second race of the new Norcal CX Series.  While I was excited to race The Lion of Fairfax in Fairfax, where I live, it wasn't meant to be.  Due to continued construction at White Hill Middle School (the usual location), the race moved to a new venue in Los Altos.

I left home later than I had intended, and reached the race 30 minutes before I was scheduled to stage for my race.  This is not ideal, as I still had to prep my bikes, dress, and hopefully pre-ride the course. …

My son Simon and I made the trip down to San Jose to race the very first Norcal CX series race ever.  I could tell Simon was a little nervous, as he was extra chatty and anxious to get on the course.  I guess that is one thing 4 year old and 41 year old racers will usually have in common.  I am very used to racing and I don't put a lot of emphasis on 'cross racing in general, but I intend to do all of the races in this series and I was shooting for a good start.  Last week's BASP race had…

The NorCal cyclocross season began for me today with the first race of the Bay Area Super Prestige series at Candlestick Park.  I have been training for a couple of months and I had fun doing the DFL series over the last few weeks.  The fitness is coming along and today was the first real test.  This was also my first real race wearing the Osmo Hydration kit, as I am racing 'cross for them this Fall.  I'm using the Active Hydration and Acute Recovery, and also pre-fueling for the intense…

We are lucky to have Camp Tamarancho in Fairfax.  This world-class legal singletrack is always fun, and often a great start or finish to a longer ride.  I've used the clockwise loop to gauge fitness and test equipment for years, shaving minutes and now seconds off of my personal best times.  Besides the usual challenges of switchbacks and rocks, the race course also includes a few minutes of very steep climbing on Dead Heifer Fireroad for each lap.  This year, they added the new Flow Trail…

This race is a Northern California classic; one big loop, lots of climbing and lots of relatively technical descending.  It usually draws a pretty fast regional field, pitting climbers versus descenders and rewarding those that can do both well.  Despite small course changes and varied conditions, no one has done it in under 2 hours.  I originally raced singlespeed here, then moved to the geared class.  Last year I finished second overall in just under 2:12, my fastest time till that point. …

The Sea Otter Classic in Monterey is the largest consumer bicycle show in the country.  It also serves as a major race event for many disciplines of cycling, including XC.  This year it was once again part of the Pro XCT series, which makes it the most competitive event that is this close to Marin.  I travelled down Friday morning for two days of racing.

I would be racing my Santa Cruz Highball at under 19 lbs.  I have been very happy with my XX1 1x11 drivetrain and I woulld be…

Sunday was the 20th year of the Napa Valley Dirt Classic.  This early season race always brings out a great crowd of NorCal racers, all eager to test their legs and race before Sea Otter.

I was the returning champion, having won last years race against a relatively weak field.  This year some fast guys were in town and the locals were fit and out in force.

Barry Wicks and Kris Sneddon, two national pros that race for Kona, were in the area training.  They had ridden the King's…

The crowd was a little smaller for the third ride of the 2013 Grasshopper Adventure Series.  Instead of 300+, we started with 140 or so.  The course may have deterred some road racers, as it was 54 miles of pavement with 3 miles of dirt thrown in.  The fireroads down to Austin Creek and over to Cazedero make you question the wheels and tires you will use, if not what type of bike.

I opted for my training wheels, which are a bit heavy but feature 32 spokes and Stan's Notubes tubeless…

The Cool Mountain Bike Race is usually Team Summit Bicycles' first priority race of the year.  It happens kind of early, which means the weather can be unpredictable.  This year there was no snow or rain, only sunny skies and temperatures in the 50s.

Training has been going well for me, though I raced last weekend at the TBF race at Granite Bay and finished off of the…

The second ride of the 2013 Grasshopper Adventure Series was Saturday.  This one was pure road, and drew a significantly different crowd than the road/dirt mix of Old Caz'.  I had just finished my base training period and this seemed like a good 4 hour workout and one of the few options I will have this season for competitive road biking.

Registration was full the day before the race, so that meant 300 other cyclists, many of them ready to test the early season fitness.  The winter…

This "ride" is earlier than it used to be, and now represents the first longer competitive ride of the season for me.  Most of us are training base at this time of year and a competitive 3+ hour road/dirt race with some steep climbing is a recipe for pain, but everyone is eager to get out and let the suffering begin.

The weather was perfect.  I started without knee warmers or arm warmers and didn't regret it.  I showed up on my rigid Superfly with a 2x9 drivetrain (18lbs) and ran a…

I am progressing steadily with my training for the Downieville All Mountain Race in August.  The XC race at Skyline Park is close and fun, so I decided to make it a day of race intensity training.  This race always falls between my fitness peaks, and I've never done very well here.  My last attempt two years ago was disastrous, as trying to keep up with my usual competition left me shattered on the steep and loose climbs.  I finished in survival mode.  With an okay result at SoNoMas the…

I took a week break after Lemurian and then went back to a month of base training.  Lots of hours, but not much intensity.  The idea is to come to a good race peak around early August for the Downieville All Mountain World Championships.  I made my return to more intense training by racing the Bikemonkey race around Lake Sonoma. 

I raced SoNoMas last year much later in the season.  I had cut my season short and this was my first race back before I started training for 'cross.  I…

The Shasta Lemurian is a classic NorCal hardman race.  Lots of climbing and some fast and rough descending on a 2+ hour single-loop course in the mountains West of Redding.  I have done this race most years since I started racing in 2005, but it always comes at the end of my first peak racing period.  Last year, I was pretty fatigued by this point and decided not to do the race.  This year, I was in better form and ready to race!

The course conditions were very good, with recent rains…

So this year the Pro XC race at Sea Otter dispensed with the 5-7 lap format.  Instead, we did one 20 mile lap.  With the amount of fireroad, I knew it would be fast.  The record high temps forecasted for Saturday made me thankful that I would be out there less than one and a half hours.

I've never really had a great race at Sea Otter.  This year I was coming off of a lot of local wins and in a decent peak period.  I took it easy for a couple of days prior and went down on Friday with…

The Dirt Classic is always a big Spring race in NorCal.  A great course, great history and good attendance from local racers coincide with a pre-Sea Otter date.  Lots of people out trying to get one (or one more!) race in before Sea Otter.

I have done this race every year since I started racing.  Last year I finished off the podium, but I have placed 2nd, 3rd, and 4th in Pro class.  I usually try to come to this race fit and get the win, which works well as it easily falls into a 2…