Going the Distance
You may have read it before, we sucked at Oroville. Thankfully knobular promoter Mark Lowenstern is only scoring the best 3 results from the series. If I can come up with a good ride at marin and eagle mtn to go with my 2nd place(expert vet) at angel's camp, I might yet salvage a podium spot in the series. Dan Garcia went fairly fast and beat some big hammers, but apparently everyone fast was racing his category (expert 19-26) that day, because he had to settle for 6th place. Dan Sovereign made the jump to expert vet (from sport) and came up with 11th place in a tough field for his efforts. I had to dig deep to outsprint him at the line.
Ok, i'm going to toot my own horn here. I had one of the best races of my life at big bear and ended up 5th in the expert 35-39 class. Even better, my time placed me 9th in a hypothetical 30-39 class. If I can pull out a race like that at Deer Valley I may have a legitimate shot at qualifying for worlds! Of course I might get my ass kicked regally in Utah, so we'll see. Dan G and Paul both had relatively terrible races.
When we pulled into big bear thursday night I was pretty bummed by the masses of snow. I figured the course would be stupid, sloggy and short. I was happily surprised to find that the organizers did a great job of putting together a challenging (and rideable) course. There was plenty of mud, but it was all rideable. Cyclocross experience definitely was a plus. I saw some amazing crashes on the snowy parts of the downhill, but managed to stay upright myself.
For the 4th year, the twilights are rolling, now under new organization. The new guys are doing a great job, with fun and challenging courses, as long as you don't mind rocks. For unexplained reasons the scoring of the expert class is divided up into 16-28 and 29+ classes. The good part about that is I don't have to race (except for bragging rights) against Dan G. He and I have each done 4 of the 5 races out there and we both won all 4 (him beating me of course). Nonetheless, since the organizers awarded double points due to rain the night we missed (we missed it because it was 36 hrs before big bear) neither of us is winning the series. Big deal. Anyway, we're having alot of fun.
The may 27th race was spiced up by the addition of Mike Larsen, older brother to national champ Steve Larsen. I thought for sure he was going to crush us (it wouldn't have been the first time), but fortunately he cracked on the first big climb of the last lap. If you live somewhere near sacramento and want to come have fun with us, show up at prairie city SVRA (just south of folsom) at 5:30 or so wednesday afternoons. Email me for better directions.
So far in NorCal Sean Doyle has been chief sandbagger. He's won every expert race he's entered, often by 5 minutes or more. He flatted at Big Bear, so he only got 2nd (by 10 seconds or so). Hello! Time to move up to pro, eh? What possible challenge can there be in crushing poor experts when you're fast enough to compete on the next level. On the same note, kudos to local Jason Moeschler for skipping senior expert entirely and moving straight to pro. I thought he was only sorta fast when he beat me by 5 mins at Cool in february, but he's been winning most of the races in the area and was 32nd at big bear (pro), so obviously he's a lot faster than me. Go Jason!
In the expert vet class it's Larry Hibbard and George Hope alternating easy wins. In several big races this year (sea otter, napa world cup, napa dirt classic) one or the other of the two has been the fastest expert overall. I noticed that according to Norba's website, George went back to Senior expert for the boggs mtn forest race, and still won by over 11 minutes. That's insane! Since I'm moving to Santa Rosa soon, maybe some of George's fast molecules will rub off on me.
Success! (sort of). Now big bear is only the 5th ickiest race I've done this year. Despite the sunny and warm weather, there was enough water left over from earlier in the week to make the marin knobula pretty sticky in spots. It was the kind of mud that eats drivetrains, and crops up suddenly in corners, causing crashes. Obviously I crashed and then watched helplessly as my drivetrain was eaten. Dead Heifer hill, a granny-gear climb for a strong rider under the best of circumstances, became a 1/2 mile runup instead. Not a big problem since my granny ring was choked with mud and stopped functioning after the first of 4 laps. The twisty parts were still a real blast, but by the end of the race some of the corners became incredibly slick..
Dan Garcia finally came out of hibernation and grabbed 3rd place and $50 (right behind the guys who went 1-2 in big bear) in the expert 19-26 category. Sandbagger of the year Sean Doyle won again. I got 5th in a pretty tough vet field which included last year's winner as well as 2 of the fastest vets in the country. Larry Hibbard won, followed by George Hope (both world championship participants), then Sacramento rider Marty Cunningham and Dennis Odion (who lives at the bottom of the course), then me. I had an epic battle with Kai Brown, a bay area rider who climbs like marco pantani. He passed me every lap on the steep climb, then I caught him in the singletrack. Fortunately I passed him last. Dan S. and Keith both raced expert and both didn't finish last, although the long run-up took a toll on them. Pretty dang fun race (except for the mud).
Don't waste your time going to lame races. Take our word for it. Go where we send you. Obey.
It's a 35 mile course, fun singletrack, might even be good weather. This is the 2nd in the Kooka cup series. The Pine Nut cracker (which I won) was the 1st. The only bad part about this race is that it's the day after super dan's wedding. I'm going to try to be strong and not drink my weight in sierra nevada pale ale, but just in case, i'm probably not going to pre-reg for this one. Call 702-787-2453 for more info.
Doh! Unfortunately now the pre-reg deadline has passed for trees and breeze. It's way too expensive anyway. Looks like it'll be Virginia City or Nevada City for me that weekend. I've never done either race before. If you know something about them, tell me. Contact numbers are as follows:
Virginia City Make a Wish mtb race jun 14, 98. 530-544-7785 . It's part of the kooka cup.
Nevada City Dirt Classic, jun 13, 98 530-477-1686. It's held near round mountain. That's all i know. Check out the nevada city website
100 miles, 15,000 feet of climbing, off-road. This race is the focus of my training this year. Matt Potter and Rick Hunter (97 and 96 winners) are riding very well in shorter races this year. My goal is duke it out with them for the podium. If you haven't already checked out the report on last year's race, read it. If you're not already signed up for this race, it's probably too late to get in, but you can start thinking about next year. It's not as crazy trying to get in as leadville (yet), but since it's harder and funner it won't be long until it becomes just as legendary. Look for a complete report in the July e-issue of VeloSapiens E-zine.
Northstar is supposedly putting on the sawtooth ridge challenge on jun 28th. I haven't seen a flier. I imagine there's still pretty good skiing up there right now. You can do just about the same course every 3rd thursday in the summer for only $8 so why pay more to do it on the weekend?
The Nevada City dirt classic is scheduled for jun 13th. I suppose if i were really frisky i could do that and then do skyline the next day, but that sounds like too much racing and too much driving. Call 530-477-1686 or check out their website for more info. VeloSapien Paul Janney won the expert class there last year.
A recommended race. Donner ski ranch puts on a challenging and enjoyable xc course. They have DH too, but who cares about that. Be prepared to climb and be prepared to ride at 7000'. Entry is usually around $20-25. For now, call 530-426-3635 for info. When i get an official entry form, I'll post more info. North lake tahoe (about 1/2 hr away) had a full-on bitchin' fireworks show last year, so that's probably what else we'll be doing that weekend.
It's the same weekend as mammoth and much less of a zoo (better prizes too). 35 miles and over 6000' of elevation gain in the blazing sun. You can camp for free at the race site, get a free massage after the race, enjoy plenty of free food and drinks and listen to a live band afterwards. Plus you can get utterly schooled by guys on 1-speeds. I think this is one of the all-time best races in northern california. Call 916-842-7740 for more info.