20th Annual Cool MTB Race

[Jim Hewett]

Cool often represents the first "real" race of the year for our team.  Usually muddy, often cold, always a lot of fun, and a cash payout for pro class.  Almost the whole team made the trip this year:  Carl, Shiloh, Mike, Paul, Mandy, and new team member Ryan all joined me for the trip in the Summit Bicycles van.  The time change forced an early start, but we made our way to Cool as the sun rose and the clouds gathered.

The course conditions were actually very good, despite the light rain we had received.  There were still a few nasty puddles and a couple of creek crossings, but most of the dirt was perfectly tacky.  I was running an Ikon on the rear and a Rocket Ron on the front, which provided more than enough grip for the fast, mainly straight course.  They had shortened the lap length a little, replacing some singletrack climbing with more fireroad.  The few big climbs were still there, but I knew my 1 x 10 gearing would suffice.  I'm still on my Superfly, which is to be replaced by a Highball soon, but it weighs 20.5 lbs even with heavy-ish pedals, cassette and wheels.  I threw on an old fork, anticipating the mud. 

There was a cold drizzle as we prepared for the race, but this ended as we fell into our start positions.  I had already anticipated a diminished pro field, as many of my peers had travelled to Southern California for the Bonelli Pro XCT race, but the turnout was pretty small.  I think there were 5 people in pro class.  There were a couple of unfamiliar young guys that could prove to be new talent, but no known threats.  We started the first of our three laps at a manageable pace, and things shook out pretty quickly.

I led a little and then allowed a few other guys to set the pace.  The selection usually begins at the first creek crossing and longest climb.  I rode the rocky fireroad down to the creek with Brian Rouse and a couple of other guys, and as we crossed and began the climb I was third wheel.  The pace dropped significantly as the incline increased, so I moved around the first two guys and climbed at a comfortable but brisk pace.  I looked back to see a significant gap open and was encouraged to press for a little more.  By the time I hit the flat section at the top of the climb, I had a 20-30 second lead.  It was obvious to me that I wouldn't be riding with a group, and I resigned myself to pushing as much as possible and getting a good workout.

The rest of the race was uneventful.  I tried to keep the effort steady and get out of sight, even on the long fireroad sections.  I wove my way through the lapped traffic and ate and drank to fuel my efforts.  I felt great on the last lap and forced myself to keep the pace high on the climbs and the flats.  I rolled in under 2 hours to get my third win at Cool with three very consistent laps:  38:08, 38:18, 38:08.  It was fun to race my own race, but I know wins will not come this easily at the well attended NorCal races I will be targetting. 

[Carl Sanders]

Nice work Jim!

[Amanda Borden]

Way to start up the momentum Jim & bring us all with you!