Dirt series race #5 Surgar Bowl

[Greg Alsterlind]

This was the final race of the series for what YBONC.COM advertised as the California State Campionship. Jim and I signed up for all 5 and Simon did 4. We all came into this last race with the chance of finishing on the podium for the top 3 in our classes but Simon got a better offer and missed this last race. I was excited for this last chance to win even though I am fully aware that the poor attendance of the previous 4 races and the leval of compition was not what a State Championship race could be. I only had Craig Lindberg to beat and the title was mine. More on that in a minute. I got up to Surgar Bowl the day before the race to pre-ride but could not find the exact trail. After an hour of wrong turns I figured I would do like most people and pre-ride during the Cat 2 or 3 race. No such luck. They where determined to not let us on the course so most of us just had to go into it with no knowledge. Starting at 7000 ft. At noon in the Summer, was more of a concern to me than know what was ahead. With 5 - 4 plus miles laps to do, I figured I would get it down fast. That didn’t happen. The start was exciting for me because we had some of the best in my class - Don Myrah(1) and Nation Cycle cross champ Christoph Heinrich (2). I also was happy to have my team mates (DB) Dave Benjamin(7) and Mark Buell who left a minute ahead of us with the younger dudes. We took off through a quick loop through the parking lot and quickly sorted out an order. I was planing on jumping behind Craig Manning (4) because he is a safe bet to not do something dumb as we make our way through the soft corners and trees of the trails first mile or so.  This is one of the things about racing that I have learned to pay attention too. The intelligence of the riders around you. Guys like Craig, DB or my Team Mate Mark Ingwersen know how to pace themselves and won’t lead you into a pace they can’t hold for an hour plus. This makes them the bench mark to a successful pace. As we hit the dirt Craig jump Lindberg cut in front of me but that was fine with me. Me and the 2 Craig’s stayed with Paul Miers (3) for about the first 2 and a half miles when I went down in one of the soft sandy corners just before the short hill climb. I brushed off and grabbed my bike as fast as I could but as soon as I could find the group ahead by my count I was about 35 seconds back . My second lap was a little more  cautious and I went down again but this time it was less than 15 seconds to get back on the bike. By the 4 lap DB ( who had been yelling ahead to me at every opportunity) finally caught me. When I went for my final lap bottle hand off, my Daughter Maddie drop the bottle before I could grab it. I stoped and a person from the audience ran over and handed me the bottle. DB came to a complete stop and waited for me to start again. As I made my way through the trees I keep hoping I would catch up to Craig Lindberg to battle him for the Championship. DB stayed right with me giving me plenty of encouragement unti once again I went down in the same dam spot as the first lap. DB stoped and help me back on the bike. I was pissed! I was tired and felt like I was blowing it. I jumped back on the bike and had my best climb of the day. Once at the top with less than a mile to go I saw Craig. I still had a chance and I didn’t want to waste it. I put everything I had left in making up the gap. With about a 1/4 mile to go I caught him and was now planing my attack to the finish. As we came to the finish we had a 5’ wide bridge with about 100’ up a short hill to the finish line. I decided to attempt a pass on the bridge but Craig squeezed me into the railing and as we got off I tried to excell around. I thought I was going to get past him but I ran out of realastate. Missed it it by 2-3 feet. Not what I had in mind but not nearly as disappointing as how the YBONC group handled the awards. Once again there was no celebration for the State Campions or series winners. I know doing an event like this is purely for the love of the sport and most of us aren’t here for medals or ribbons. That said - battleing the same people for 3 plus months in all types of conditions in all types of courses deserves recognition. To those of us that took the time out of our lives to participate in the dirt Serries- congratulations on a job well done.