Hollister Downhill #2

The course was a little more slippery from the storms last week. They changed the course a little bit by making it a little more technical. They added a table top rock garden. The buzz surrounding the severity of this course modification undertook legendary proportions as the day wore on. This unseen obstacle was tearing into the psyche of every rider at the starting gate. "A couple of dudes broke some bones on the pre-ride yesterday." People were talking about the "secret way" around it. People were strategizing about running over it - cyclocross style. I heard about cantalope and watermelon sized boulders. Great. Just what I need on a hardtail. All the talk about the rock garden left me pretty spooked and I really think it afected me.

They also added a mandatory double at the bottom of the course. It was about a 12 foot gap with a steep kicker at the lip. Both of these obstacles made an already technical course a little more difficult. I should have pre-rode the course.

Results:

Allie finished second in the expert women's class. This was a pretty competitive field. Allie also wins the Oscar in the best picture category.

Eve had a clean run. This time she had WTB 2.4 Motoraptors which were a little cushier than last time but she was still racing a hardtail. This was the first time that she has actually made it down the course without a flat. It wasn't enough for a win. She placed second again. She may even preride the course next time and actually pedal harder.

Scott Schlacter finished 4th again. I think he chopped a few seconds off his run compared with last time. Not bad considering that he was at a batchelor party up at Lake Tahoe the night before. Ah yes, the decadent life of a downhiller: It's not just cheezy poofs and video games - sometimes it's beer and naked women.

Ron finished second? I think that's what happened. I didn't really get to talk to him about his results.

Scott Seery finished first again in the fast old farts category. Hey Pete, when are you going to get on your bike and spank this guy?

Nick had a pretty exciting race:
Anthony's start time was 3:02:30 because of a registration problem and mine was 3:03:00, 30 seconds gap. I had a feeling that I was gonna catch up to him so Anthony and I discussed passing strategy. It actually worked out great, he seen me coming and pulled to the right, he and I lost no time. THANKS ANTHONY!!!
I had a clean run and no problems, I was stoked. But Jeff, 2nd place finisher from Hollister #1 edged me out by 2/10 of a second! He also had a great run and we struck up a great rivalry! I finished 2nd 4:50:92 to his 4:50:72! I could fart longer than that! I guess that's what DH is all about!
No mercy for him next race.

Contgrats to Nick for having a competitive race series so far. I'm sure that dreaming of ways to be faster is keeping him up at night. Congratulations to Anthony for getting on the bike again for his first real off-road since his accident.

Gary Fuchita broke his fork in the pre-ride. After much encouragement, he decided to race Allie's bike. He finished dead last in the expert category but at least he didn't totally waste his entrance fee. It's not easy racing a new bike. Especially someone else's bike.

I had a lousy run. I came to a complete stop at the rock garden. I guess I was trying to figure out the best line - Idiot, just take any line! - and then I realized I was racing so I better haul ass before someone catches up. My shin guards weren't tight enough so they kept slipping and distracting me. I wasn't warmed up so I couldn't pedal very hard at the begining. And to add insult to injury, I broke my chain about 150 yards from the finish line. I had to run with my bike over the finish line. It was an off day for me. I felt really unprepared. Oh yea, I was also riding a hard tail without disc brakes. Bitch, bitch, whine, moan. Excuses, excuses, blah, blah, blah,... Next time I'll kick ass. At least Eve took a pretty sweet picture of me flying over the creek. Despite the setbacks, I still had fun.

Next race Feb 25th. See http://www.purejuice.net for details.

Mark Davidson