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Dirt Crit Report by Peter Donohue For some reason, I signed up for the Dirt Crit at the Sea Otter. I wasn't panning on it, but many of my friends said that it is a good race and is about perfect for stretching your legs out before the cross country race on Sunday. So, I gave it a try. Let's skip to the end results - DNF! The announcer changed the name from dirt crit to mud crit. There were some serious mud bogs, which seemed to start at the start line and ended when you compete the lap, just to start over again. Not helping this is that my class (expert 19-34) was full of a bunch of young guns looking to upgrade. Enough excuses. I rode 2 laps of 5, found my self dicing it out for last place, felt like I was going to puke, and already couldn't shift or brake. The fun factor definitely wasn't there, so I pulled out. But, by pulling out early, I didn't get the jersey too muddy, so was able to look sharp in our new duds for the rest of the day. Here's hoping for a better experience on the cross country course tomorrow... Peter
Yeah, I'd say Team Wrong Way made a respectable showing at the season-opening grand slam of cycling at Laguna Seca Raceway. OK, more like.... BOO-YEAH! Here's a quick summary of TWW results:
XC
Chris Morain - 1st of 44 finishers in Women's Sr. Beginner at 1:37:44
Ron Goiorani - 22nd of 197 in Men's Sr. Beginner at 1:29:05 (+10)
Jim Murray - 50th of 200 in Men's Vet Sport at 1:38:49 (+9) Peter Donohue - 14th of 64 in Single Speed at 2:43:37 (+15)
DH
Scott Schlachter - 30th of 57 in Men's Sr. Sport at 2:35.40 (+28)
It turned out to be a great day with a good turnout for TWW. Seems like everyone survived with only a couple minor scrapes. Mike Gin, after debating for a week or so whether to race with a minor injury (minor?! since when is a torn muscle minor?), decided to mix it up after all. The deciding factor, no doubt, was the cool double-jump at the top of the extreme section near the end of the course. The night before at dinner he went on and on about how he could do the jump after watching how the pro dirt crit riders were launching off the left side. Well, I guess Mike had the launching-thing down, but the landing was another story. He went down in pretty spectacular fashion, but he got up and finished and he appeared to be no worse for the wear. I guess that's why they're pros and we're not, eh Mike? Without a doubt, the most exciting news was that Chris took first in the always competitive Senior Baginner (oops, I mean Beginner) class. Nice work!
Cross Country Report by Joel Northrup Congratulations to Chris! 1st PLACE!!! Chris definitely has what it takes to be a great racer, but she is best at keeping her cool by making sure it's all for fun and she had FUN before, during and after the race as well as getting a very cool looking gold medal and winner's jersey (plus some other goodies). Something to remember forever! And I as well as Team Wrong Way are VERY proud of you Chris :) At first, her name wasn't posted, we were anxious and feeling sorry for her (maybe had to contest, protests...) and we were thinking maybe top 4 or so since her category had a pretty big field. So everyone, give Chris a big CONGRATULATIONS! I hope the rest of you had as much fun as well.
Cross Country Report by Chris Morain Thanks guys for the great support. When I knew I was doing well, it made me push even harder knowing I had the Team, friends, and my daughter waiting for me at the finish. It was a great day. Thanks again, Chris
Cross Country Race Report by Jeff Hane The race was a joke from my standpoint. I had a terrible starting postion and and it was very hard to move up. By the time I got to the top of Hurl Hill I was warmed up because the pace was so pathetically slow but I was pretty disallusioned by then. So I just rode hard but didn't really race. The course was actually better then I remembered so I did have some fun on the singletrack. I really doubt that this race will be on my agenda next year, I don't really care if I win or have a bad race or whatever but I want to feel competetive and that just doesn't happen at the Sea Otter. Jeff
Cross Country Report by Peter Donohue I think the cross country race today can be summarized down to a few words - "God did that hurt!" But after pulling myself out of the dirt crit race yesterday because of the mud and pain and stuff, it felt good to finish the race today. Single speeds were the last class to go off this afternoon (they moved us to the back a few places - we were supposed to start earlier). We race the same distance as the pros and experts - 2 laps of the beginner loop. The class is made up of anyone who races on a single speed, so we had mixed ages and a couple of women in the field. When we stared, we must have looked pretty funny. We only have one gear (no shifting) and all chose a mid-level one, so we'd be pedalling at a very high cadence as we started out on the flats of the track. Nothing exciting hapenned, though we did start catching the expert women (who went out a few minutes in front of us) by the first hill. Before we completed the first lap, we also started catching some of the expert men from the group before. The rest of the race was trying to get by the slower folks from the earlier classes. It seems that many of the other singlespeeders chose to go with a slightly lower gear than I (I ran 34 up front, and 18 in back, or about 50 gear inches). They were able to climb many of the hills (including Hurl Hill) where I had to walk, but I would catch them on the flatter stuff. Of course, the downside of going with a higher gear is that the climbs all hurt because I had to work harder on them. I was dicing it out with a the same half dozen guys for the two laps. In the end, I was only beat by one of these guys. Based on what was posted on the board at the race, I placed 15th (out of about 55 total, but maybe 30 serious) with a time of 2:43:37. I wouldn't be surprised to see me moved up one place - they had the single speed winner at under 2:10, which I find hard to believe (he would have been in the top third of pros with that time), so I expect his time/placing will get adjusted. You may have noticed that I mentioned that there were about 55 total racers, but only about 30 were serious. Singlespeeders often ride single speeds to be different and for fun. Many of the starters were not trying to be competitive. Probably the best example was the woman dressed in a high school cheerleader's outfit and who also had a basket attached to her handlebars. Even the serious ones have fun too (one guy who I caught on the track on the second lap pulled a Guiness out of his jersey and popped it open - made me feel guilty to have some of it and then pass him in the end). Peter ps - thanks to whoever yelled my name as I went through the extreme section. Always feels good to have moral support.
I crashed about half way down the DH course on my race run (no crashes during any of my practice runs!). It was one of those stupid ones too - sandy sharp corner, and my front wheel just washed. Chain came off too. Worst part was that it was just before the long straight away where I normally flew. Instead I struggled at the top trying to get my chain back on and my feet clipped back in... Ah well, as they say, "shit happens". I ended up getting 30th out of 47 in my class (Sport) - I figure it would have been top 10 if no wreck, so I'm happy.
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