Update: Annadel XC, new enduro bike, and the Mt. Tam Hill Climb

[Ryan Gibson]

Its been awhile since I posted, and a lot of great stuff has happened. Life is busy with family and work, so just getting around to a write up.

 

While I have had some decent results this year, my focus on enduro prevented me from being able to do as many XC races as normal, and had me on a different training plan. A big break in the enduro race scene and some added flexibility at home and work allowed me to ramp up my training mid-summer for the Bike Monkey Annadel XC race in August, which I had been planning to target all year. Last year I got 11th in Cat 1 just 5 weeks after major knee surgery (and only two mtb rides in those 5 wks), so I had a score to settle. My build block went really well and I tapered a little more while keeping good discipline with my diet. What resulted was probably my best performance all year, maybe ever. I got a great start, my Santa Cruz Highball hard tail didnt let me down, and I rode with motivation and aggression for 2:04....good for an overall Cat 1 win (several minutes ahead of all 100+ Cat 1 racers), and 7th/700 overall! A great day on the bike.

 

Also new and exciting for me has been a new neon green Santa Cruz Bronson carbon enduro bike, which has 150mm rear and 160mm front travel. This will likely replace my Tallboy LTc, not because that bike isnt amazing, but because it seems too similar to have both. I will always have a Highball or Tallboy for XC, so going just a bit more in the DH direction was my intent, and that I wanted to try 27.5" wheels. So far (about five rides) it is just a blast to ride. A touch less stable (but forgiving), but a lot more agile than the the TBLTc. I have it set up with a 50mm stem, 750mm bars, 203mm/180mm rotors, XTR everything except for XT brakes, 150mm Kindshock LEV dropper, carbon wheels, Float X remote shock and Talas 160mm remote fork (both shock and fork on same CTD remote). Pretty much a trail killing enduro MACHINE. So far it feels pretty similar to the LTc in terms of climbing, but I need more rides to compare times to confirm. Downhill it is more playful. Very similar to the LTc in many ways, but to me more fun. Love that it has a bottle mount inside the frame and on downtube. Stoked to get it dialed in and ready to rock the Santa Cruz Enduro coming up Oct. 12, which is the last of the California Enduro Series races (I am currently 4th in Cat 1).

 

Lastly, I was out riding with a few road biker friends last Thursday, all race for Thirsty Bear road racing team....they hosted the Mt. Tam Hill Climb Saturday and talked me into doing it, despite coming off a big week of around 20k' and going on 15 days or so without a day off :). The hill climb is in its 51st year! and brings out some big names to make the climb from Stinson up Bolinas-Fairfax Rd and across Ridgecrest (and the seven sisters) to end at the Rock Springs parking lot on Mt. Tam. So off I went with tired legs to the hill climb, hoping for a good result, but really just there to have a good time and hang with friends. Despite being fairly competitive in Cat 1 mtb racing, road racing categories are tightly controlled and I had to race in Cat 5. Fortunately there were several other similar racers that were sure to give some strong competition, including Rich Gassaway, Bingo, etc. While overall time is not comparable due to the slower pace on the flats out of Stinson and some pacing up Bofax, I figured I would be able to compare my Strava times on the real climbs to see how close/far off I was to the Elite 1/2/3 group. The race was pretty mellow up Hwy 1 to Bofax Rd and the climbing pace at the front group was moderate. By the time we got close to the Ridgecrest intersection, many of the 50 in my category had been shelled, but there were still about 10 in the front group and many not far behind. This is where Bingo made his move to solo, kicking on the last climb before the intersection....I went and latched on, followed by a two others. Away we went hustling hard on Ridgecrest towards twisted sister #1. Bingo and I traded pulls and matched a few attacks on the first few sisters, which shelled the other two racers. From here to the finish it was just the two of us, sharing some work and pushing a good pace, but knowing there was going to have to be a decisive moment. We both left it until the last 100m. I was leading and my plan was to let him by, latch onto his wheel down the last whoop, and shoot out of his draft on the uphill finish. It probably would have worked if I had started pushing hard to latch on when he was on my shoulder, but my inexperience had me waiting until he was past me-too late. He gapped me 15' and I lost by a few seconds. Bad move on my part. Perhaps I should have just kicked sooner to latch on, or perhaps I should have just kept mashing and not tried this tactic, but all in all 2nd/50 in a fairly competitive Cat 5 was a great feeling.

 

Now to focus on the Santa Cruz Enduro Oct 12, and the Lake Folsom 50-Miler Oct. 20 to finish off the year.