FOX CUP #3

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TWW FOX CUP SERIES #3

Presented by our friends at

Sea Otter Classic

April 14-17, 2005

Laguna Seca, Ford Ord, Monterey

A huge TWW showing at the '05 'Otter!

Check 'em out. Good times!

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Results

Expert DH 40-49
8 	497 	WALDEN, FRANK 		SAN JOSE, CA 	FOX RACING 	02:52.19

MTB Downhill EXPERT MEN 50+
1 	508 	SEERY, SCOTT 		PLEASANTON, CA 	TEAM WRONG WAY	02:57.68

MTB Downhill EXPERT MEN 35-39
8 	445 	SCHLACHTER, SCOTT 	SAN JOSE, CA 	TEAMWRONGWAY 	02:48.77

Sea Otter Industry Cup Team Race
MEN (INDIVIDUAL RESULTS) STAGE ONE: DOWNHILL
6 	1617 	WALDEN, FRANK 		SAN JOSE, CA 	FOX RACING SHOX B 02:55.43

MTB Cross Country EXPERT MEN 30-34
40 	810 	JOB, ISAIAS 		SAN JOSE, CA  	Team Wrong Way	03:24:44.5
DNF	800	AMBROSE, DAVID		Hayward, CA	Team Wrong Way

MTB Cross Country EXPERT MEN 40-44
24 	416 	HAMILTON, BRENTON 	SAN JOSE, CA 	TEAM WRONG WAY 	03:21:00.0

MTB Cross Country EXPERT MEN 45-49
21 	644 	TANDETA, JASON 		CASTRO VALLEY, CA TEAM WRONG WAY 03:21:31.6

MTB Cross Country SPORT MEN 30-34
21 	1916 	THOMAS, LOREN 		SAN JOSE, CA 	TEAMWRONGWAY.COM 01:29:48.6
53 	3586 	RANOLA, LLOYD 		OAKLAND, CA 	TEAM WRONGWAY 	01:39:36.5
70 	2559 	CERKEL, MATT 		SAN ANSELMO, CA TEAM WRONG WAY 01:45:35.1

MTB Cross Country SPORT MEN 40-44
127 	3547	COOMES, JOHN 		FELTON, CA 	TEAM WRONG WAY 	02:08:30.7

MTB Cross Country SPORT MEN 50-54
27 	3202 	PRICE, CHARLES 		MILPITAS, CA  	Team Wrong Way	01:45:29.7

MTB Cross Country BEGINNER/SPORT MEN SINGLE SPEED
9 	2363 	SHERLOCK, ALLAN 	SAN JOSE, CA  	Team Wrong Way	01:30:01.1
11 	1964 	URBINA, MICHAEL 	SAN JOSE, CA	TEAM WRONG WAY 	01:30:54.7
16 	3236 	MANGIN, FRANCK 		SANTA CLARA, CA TEAM WRONG WAY 	01:32:33.1
29 	2901 	HENTHORN, RICH 		SANTA CRUZ, CA 	TEAM WRONG WAY 	01:35:05.3
50 	2913 	GIN, MIKE 		DANVILLE, CA 	TEAM WRONG WAY 	01:40:23.8
52 	2983 	WHITE, KEITH 		LOS GATOS, CA 	TEAMWRONGWAY 	01:40:49.3
56 	3068 	DAVIDSON, MARK 		SANTA CRUZ, CA 	TEAM WRONG WAY 	01:41:38.6
90 	4092 	OELLERICH, PAUL 	HAYWARD, CA  	Team Wrong Way	01:54:35.0

MTB Cross Country BEGINNER MEN 35-39
22 	2169 	GOTTSCHALK, STEPHEN 	PLEASANT HILL, CA TEAM WRONG WAY 01:44:12.1

Sea Otter Industry Cup Team Race
MEN (INDIVIDUAL RESULTS) STAGE TWO: CROSS COUNTRY
9 	1617 	WALDEN, FRANK 		SAN JOSE, CA 	FOX RACING SHOX B 01:33:13.7
00:12:18.3

MTB Cross Country BEGINNER/SPORT WOMEN SINGLE SPEED
3 	4297 	MEYER, KATHLEEN 	CAMPBELL,   	Team Wrong Way	01:54:52.1

MTB Cross Country SPORT WOMEN 35-39
5 	786 	OELLERICH, JENNIFER ,   		Team Wrong Way	01:48:11.5

MTB Cross Country JR BEGINNER MEN 15-16
47 	4021 	MEYER, PATRICK 		CAMPBELL, CA  	Team Wrong Way	02:11:32.4

MTB Cross Country BEGINNER MEN 30-34
45 	2886 	MOTLEY, SIMON 		PLEASANT HILL,CATeam Wrong Way  01:54:40.3

MTB Cross Country BEGINNER WOMEN 25-29
15 	4131 	AMBROSE, ERIN 		CASTRO VALLEY, CA  Team Wrong Way 02:15:45.9
16 	2622 	HUGHES, ERYN 		OAKLAND, CA  	Team Wrong Way	02:19:16.3

Sierra Nevada/Kodak Gallery Amateur Circuit Race MASTER 40+ CAT 5
9 	1519 	HANE, JEFF 		CAMPBELL, CA  	Team Wrong Way	00:49:44.8 00:01:19.5

Photo by Ken Jeffery

Race Reports

This race was fun. This year I opted for the 1 lap single speed race as I've come to the conclusion that 2 laps in this category isn't fun. (for me at least).

I got to the line later than I wanted so I had to start near the back which wasn't really an issue because I didn't know what to expect after not racing for so long. When we all took off I just went with the flow until we hit the second steep pitch on the way to the corkscrew.

At that point I could see people slowing down so I went all the way to the left of the track and charged as best I could. I was pretty winded by then but just ahead of me was a group of about 9 or so riders who didn't seem to care much who got to the trail first, so... another sprint effort that took what little wind I had left and I was sitting in pretty good position going into the doubletrack. It was a little scary going thru the mud sections with all those other riders- I haven't been on a mountain bike much this year (or last year) so my bike handling skills were a little rusty.

I knew I was near the front but the pace felt fast and I wasn't sure how long I'd be able to keep it up, so I settled into my own race. I let a few guys by, but after warming up eventually passed them back and started to move up. I didn't see any other TWW'rs in front if me (little did I know Alan was already gone) but I did see one about 30 yards behind me (must've been Franck). I thought for sure he would catch me but I refused to look back after that. I made it up all the point-of-interest climbs (hurl hill, sisters, etc.) without a dismount. Had to walk the hike-a-bike obviously. There were a few wise asses standing there yelling "come on man, ride it!"

On the single track section just before the first feed zone, I got majorly held up by a slower rider the whole way down but it may have been a blessing in disguise because when we hit the fire road I was recovered and started to move up some more. About halfway thru the race I hooked up with another SS'r named Joey. This guy was a kick in the head! I could hear him giving words of encouragement to everyone around him, including me, and as he went past me he introduced himself. I was barely able to answer him back "Hi, I'm Mike" as I could hardly hold a conversation while trying to maintain our pace. We then started to push each other, taking all sorts of crazy alternate lines to get around the tandems and the other classes we were catching. On a few of the fire road and double track downhills we were going at it side by side. He eventually pulled some distance on me and I figured that was that. When I started up the Climb Home I started to catch him again until my old enemy the Cramp Monster came to visit just I figured he would. All I could do then was try to use other leg muscles to keep the cranks spinning. My quads were completely in knots and hurting but I kept going, every once in a while clipping out and massaging them. There is no way I could've done 2 laps without repeating my DFL of '03.

After backing off the pace for a while, the cramps finally loosened their grip and I was able to pass another couple of SS'rs before I got to the racetrack where I caught a draft from a geared bike and spun so fast I thought my legs would pass me up.

It was way fun to be back out there (on the dirt) and I was pretty surprised to do as well as I did: 11th of 103 @1:30:54.

--Mike U.

Here's how TWW faired at today's SOC in the 1-lap SS category:

1. Allan Sherlock - 9th overall 1:30 (just missed the podium, never saw him after the start)
2. Mike Urbina - 11th, 1:31ish (still stupid fast for being out of shape)
3. Franck Mangin - 16th, 1:32ish (must have been rolling strong, better than last CCCX effort, on a borrowed bike)
4. Rich Henthorn - 35th, 1:35ish (consistent as usual, on a borrowed bike as well, never ridden before, maybe an On-One in the future?)
5. Mike Gin - 49th, 1:40ish (I impressed Frank Walden - my year has been made)
6. Keith White - 51st, 1:41ish (helped motivate me up the Hill Home)
7. Mark Davidson - not sure (good result for limited training time but I'm very pleased to have beaten him since he said he was going to kick my a$$ :) )
8. Paul Oellerich - not sure (was doing well until he flatted - my ninja stealth attack worked last night with the sharp object in his tire)

Kathleen Meyer - wasn't in the testosterone challenge, took 3rd in the women's SS category - not bad for not training much at all

Nick Relampagos - DNSDTR - Did Not Start Due To Remodeling
Dave McCrimmon - DNSUDTBAC - Did Not Show Up Due To Being A Chickenbleep

Overall a great time. Many ride reports certainly to follow.

Mike

Wow, what a great time this weekend! It has been so long since I've raced that I can't even remember when my last race was. 2002 maybe? Was it the "skirt" race? I think so but maybe I did SOC after that. Who knows.

Anyhow, got down to Laguna Seca at around 2ish on Saturday. Parked in just about Watsonville it was so full. Amazing. I cruised over to the TWW campsites and hung out for a bit. Just about everyone had done their pre-ride so I was on my own. First hung out and did nothing (oh so decadent). Then Kathleen told me a good loop to do that wasn't too difficult. Amazing how fun and easy the riding is there when it isn't race conditions. Hurl Hill on the SS? Piece o' cake. Hill Home? Nuttin'. But I knew this would be different on race day.

But first the free pasta feed put on by ICCC. Good people - I'm not a religious guy but their intentions are noble. Then back to the Motel 6 Spa and Resort in Salinas and watching the "Not That There's Anything Wrong With It" Seinfeld episode.

Race day cometh. I woke up early and got to LS at 6:30am. No more parking in Timbuk-freaking-two. I schmoozed my way into the overflow parking and headed up to Camp TWW. It was freezing cold and foggy. Tough to warm up in those conditions. The Leg Salsa was oh so nice though - thanks David! Franck and I did a little ride up the corkscrew and around the track and we were ready.

We had a good turnout in the SS group. Henthorn was going incognito with his all black longsleeve jersey (forgot his new kit). McChicken, err, McCrimmon was very incognito too - as in not there. Hmm... guess the sickness got worse or something like that. :) Same with Mr. Remodelagos. It was great though having so many teammates in the same category. Allan was the pre-race favorite and good ol' Mr. Urbina was there too (claiming to be out of shape, but I knew better than to fall into that trap - nope, wouldn't take that bet).

We spun off and right away Allan and Mike were gone. Never would see them again. Same with Henthorn (although maybe he was there but the black jersey was impossible to spot). That's okay though since I had more realistic targets to track. For most of the beginning to Hurl Hill, Keith, myself, Paul O., and Mark D. were all hanging out having a good time and riding well. Keith led up HH followed by Mark D. Mark didn't make it to the top and I made my move and rode past him. That was the last I would see of him (well, something like that). Paul mysteriously disappeared and later we found out that he flatted due to a sharp clip puncturing his tire. Bummin! He was doing well on his rigid SS that he'd never raced before.

Keith and I were having a good ol' time and doing a pretty good pace for two out of shape has beens. Too bad we got slowed down by some of the Sport geared stragglers. But overall, there was less congestion than I ever remember at the SOC. Cool beans. We traded positions often and then at one point I had opened up what I thought was a decent sized lead. Frankie baby Walden finally caught me (1:10 into the race - he was thinking it would be more like 15 minutes). I asked him where Keith was and he said, "way back there". Suh-weet. Got to the Hill Home and thought I'm in good shape. Back was hurtin' but I was feeling okay. At some point I was rubbing my back and turned slightly and saw a red/blue jersey. I thought, "who is that?" Then a familiar voice says, "good job Mikey." Crap, it was Keith. Dude was supposed to be way back there. Oh well. He started pulling away on the HH. But that motivated me to go faster and suffer more. Keith reached the track seconds ahead of me, but once we got on the track I had a bit more energy and was able to beat him to the finish by about 20 seconds. And I caught one SSer 10' from the finish line so that was cool. The Hammergel and e-caps were key as I didn't cramp and was able to push my SS pretty hard at the end. Good stuff.

I was very pleased with my result - 1:40 and change for 49th place out of 101 racers. Wish Nick and Dave were there though just for reference, not to mention for the good times too. Still was a good time though. Looking forward to the 8-hour at Boggs in May. Good luck next weekend to you NVDC racers!

Mike

P.S. - I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaack!!!

Not that I would've hit the podium on my geared bike, but for the record, I raced in the geared class on my singlespeed and boy, oh boy did I suffer! I cramped so hard at the bottom of the grind on the first lap that I could actually see my muscles twitching. From there on out I battled cramps in my quads and hamstrings. A couple times I had to get off the bike and push, cause my legs had completely seized.

Racing against geared bikes is really tough. You don't ever get to recover or take advantage of the big ring on descents or flats. I actually blasted by people on climbs throughout the first lap, I even managed to stay ahead of the experts in my category all the way up till the grind. No doubt that putting out this kinda effort for the first 1hr contributed to my untimely demise (i.e. cramping) early on in the race. Had I not cramped at the bottom of the grind, I think I could've hit about 1:20-1:25 for my first lap, instead about 1:34 for my first lap.

I was happy to finish despite all the cramps and since I busted my hub last year, this was my first two lap expert race at the SOC. Next year I will be racing my geared bike. F*ck doing it on the SS! Speaking of the SS, I think I'm going to put it a way for a few weeks or months, I don't even want to look at it right now ;-)

Jason and I are off to Temecula this weekend, so will be missing the action at NVDC. Good luck all! And congrats to everybody at the SOC!

Cheers,
Isaias

Photo by BrightRoom.Com

I raced beginner women's 25-29 age group category (next year, I will move up hopefully in both age and competition level). It was a fun race, although I wasn't thinking about fun from thursday to sunday at the start: I was nervous. I tried to stay positive and keep myself busy volunteering at the Dual Slalom event on Saturday, as course marshal. That was RAD! The scoring system was confusing at first, but I eventually got the gist of it. There were some riders that were clearly stronger than others, but I can tell that it does take a good deal of fitness and experience. I want to start my own learning experience. Does anyone want to give me their unused freeride rig? I am telling you, its all about dirt... I am hooked. Road is ok, too.... for training or touring. ;) Anyhow, the DS event pretty much consumed my whole day from 9am to 5pm, and I was famished by the time we were done. We ate at this Chinese place I had gone to after the CCCX race a couple weeks ago. Their food isn't that great, but when you're hungry and you're vegan, you compromise. Mental note: Bring organic vegan food bars next time, really. Showered, took vitamins, checked PSI of tires, and lubed chain (I had replaced the chain, tires, grips, brakepads, and my cracked helmet earlier in the week). I went to bed around 10pm, after watching some move called Super Volcano on the discovery channel. I think I dreamt about it.

So, where do I start? I feel honored to have the chance to race on a historic race course such as this. I woke up at 6:30am, immediately put on my new kit, and we headed out of the hotel to the athlete parking lot around 8:30am, and started to get ready. The athlete parking lot was pretty far away from the start area and it was cold. I had found an email from Sea Otter a couple weeks ago in my bulk email inbox, about the new hospitality zone they had arranged from Cytomax. They had free gear checkin and trainers available for warmup and cooldown. There was also supposed to be free chiropractic care in the first aid, but there just didn't seem to be time for that. I warmed up on a trainer for 20 minutes, my first time using one. I rather enjoyed its physical benefits, especially once I got off the trainer and had a good sense of my cadence. I saw a representative I had met a couple weeks ago and chatted with him for a moment before heading to the bathroom yet again, and going to the start line.

I had ten minutes to spare (10:10am start time), and saw friends at the start line cheering us on. That was a really nice treat. I felt strong climbing up the first bit of road track, and even brought attention to my socks, my good luck charm: Coco Pele. I think my teammate thought I was being silly. And that's precisely what I meant - to have fun. There's far too many people out here on a beautiful day not to be silly. I had picked up this book about a week earlier and one thing that stood out was making yourself relax and trying to have a good time. I didn't realize this was so hard to do, but it worked for me at the startline. I also wanted to do better with my passing strategy and I pulled off some amazing moves, by predicting the lines that the rider in front of me would take based on their apparent skill level. I think my new combination of brake pads and tires also helped my cornering a great deal. When we got onto the singletrack, our group (as expected) spread out a little and I WOULD NOT TOLERATE a gap in front of the rider in front of me, so I put her behind me and closed the gap, passing over where I had endoed just weeks before. I really think it was the tires and brakepads that gave me greater handling confidence on the tight, sandy off-camber turns. After that area, we climbed a fire road and descended to climb again and then turn off on some singletrack (Goat Hill?). There were a lot of accidents here. We noticed a helicopter pulling someone off the side of the hill, maybe more than one person. I saw a guy pushing himself off the ground with his nose bleeding. When I asked if he was ok, he said he was, so I kept going.

The flow had gotten slower with everyone's nerves tested, and I was a couple riders behind Erin - and I wanted to catch up. Water had run off the hill and created stutterbumps everywhere (my palms hate me now), and I noticed a shack with a collapsed roof in the canyon (it reminded me of the volcanic ash in the movie) and I realized how fast time had flown. I made some passes and looked in front of me again and somehow I had caught up to her. I knew it wouldn't last long because she flies up the hills, so I kept on, hoping I could catch up on the next descent. It was on the fireroad that I was wishing I had plain water, and not just cytomax in my camelback and in my water bottle (I drank about 90 oz of that stuff!!). I ate a GU and washed it down with more cytomax. My legs were back in action, and we had some more singletrack climbing to do, hurl hill, and then the 3 sisters. OK, so I didn't really try to nail these hills. In fact, I dropped my chain and got horrible chainsuck on the newly routed singletrack out of the canyon. I had to stop and fix it, getting passed by half a dozen riders. As we climbed along the crest of the mountain, I noticed a girl lying down on the side of the road writhing in pain and moaning. A couple of racers stopped and asked what was wrong. She had broken her wrist, so I forged ahead and got first aid. I could tell I would have been wiped out climbing up the steepest section and then end up walking slower, because my heart rate wasn't stable before any of these hills. I ran them instead. I stayed with the same people on the first two climbs, and then ran past several other people trying to climb on their bikes on the last one. I did a cyclocross mount and took off on the descent. I completely ditched them and caught up to a new group on the long climb out. I was talking to people throughout, to see how they were doing. The women were in really good moods and encouraging each other, which was really nice. Some sport women (I think) passed me here, wearing skinsuits and making it all look so easy that they were bored. I stayed in my middle chain ring for the whole 3 mile climb, except for the short steep section near the top that had a crowd. When I reached that point, they started cheering me on, so I shifted back into my middle chain ring and got out of the saddle. They got so loud, I felt like I was famous. Not. But, I really got excited and moved a lot faster after that. At the top of the climb, I realized we weren't doing more singletrack, that section was only in the beginning. I had saved a ton of energy for that part so I wouldn't bail on shakey legs, and now we were on pavement. There was a Velobella right behind me, so I poured on the power and bolted away from her. I thought I lost her after a turn, and she snuck next to me and passed me. I grabbed her wheel and drafted for a few moments until she began to slow in the headwind and then I bolted past her again. I was exhilarated with the competition. I checked behind me a couple times and she would close the gap and then drop off again. So, once I sensed she was close enough to draft, I "broke away" and got out of the saddle and took off. We almost crossed the finish line at the same time, but I TOTALLY beat her. She congratulated me, and I thanked her for the competition. It really made a great ending to a great ride. Before that, I couldn't really tell where I stood in my field.

Yet, the results were kinda screwy. At first, they didn't include me (or my friend) at all, and then, they just added my name to the very end of the list (after we protested). It's probably accurate that I was about 3 minutes behind Erin, because I usually am... but don't tell me the last sprint on the track taking over a Velobella was futile!! I checked the online results and it looks like I was battling it out at the very end with a women's sport class racer. I AM DFL, once again. On the brighter side of things, my age group had faster times than any of the other age groups, I would've finished middle pack in anything else. Who were the people I started with (they bunched the age groups, unfortunately), and who were the people I passed? I still think I had the best race yet, and I can still do a lot better. I am interested to know what other upcoming races will be like.

My statistics:
2:17hr
Ave HR 174
Max: 191
Recovery: 158
HI: 0:44hr, IN: 1:33, LO: 0:00 (HI > 177, LO < 153)
kcal: 1337
19.45 miles
Ave: 8.3mph
Max: 34.0mph

-Eryn! Hughes

Overall I have to say it was a great weekend, I headed down there on Thursday, I guess one of the few advantages of having Thursdays and Fridays off. I was lucky enough to stay at a house in Carmel with a friend. I should have found out where the TWW camp was, so I could have at least stopped by, I will do that next year... I prerode the course on Thursday and again on Friday, which was a big help come race day. Saturday I went for an easy ride, following the route of the "fun" ride with the friend who came down with me, she has expressed an interest in trying racing and maybe becoming part of TWW. As for the race, the first with my TWW kit, I was happy with how I did, I beat the goal I set for myself and overall did better when compared to last year. I didn't get warmed up enough, but that was hard yesterday, but I still did better at the start then I normally do. I did much better on the downhill sections, the preride really help there. I felt good on the climbs and cleared a climb I didn't last year. I did have a good three person race with two other guys in my class, we'd trade off leads throughout the race, they were both ahead of me at the base of the final climb, I caught one about a third of the way up and was slowly gaining on the other, but ran out of hill before I could close the gap. Most importantly I had a good time, onward to the NVDC.

Matt

Photo by BrightRoom.Com

Warning: Long.

My hopes were high. I'd been on the bike about 3 x per week the two weeks prior to the race and I felt fairly strong. To it off I rode Santa Teresa on Wednesday night and beat the geared folks up the fire road. I figured I was in good enough shape to not be humiliated.

I awoke to the jazzy sound of my cell phone alarm at 6:00. In the car and on the road by 6:07 listening to the oh too familiar Harry O on live 105. Almost all my races in the past 5 years start about the same, with the car and radio on an early morning sunday drive. I arrive at the venue at 7:30 and they have me park somewhere I have never seen before. I didn't even know how to get to the race course. Fortunately I followed the crowd and saw the first porta potty, as I exited the large green monster Mike Urbina called out. My second dissapointement of the day was seening Mike U looking thin and fit again. Mike points me in the direction of the course and registration and off I go to get my stuff.

After a few laps on the flat road I figure that's about as warm as I'm going to get and head up to the start line and group up with the other TWW SS crowd. After about 20 minutes standing in the cold, they send us off. Fortunately I didn't even notice the count down so I wasn't at all nervous. Alan and MikeU and Franck take off like rockets. I slowly settle in as Rich, MikeG, Paul, and most of the rest of the crowd take a leadership position on me. My heart is pounding and I'm not even working, who knows what that's about. We hit the dirt and are confronted with a nice patch of nasty mud that everyone is trying to avoid and I just head right through the middle. We climb the dirt climb and I take back the lead from Mike and Paul, and Rich is about 8 up. No problem, it's a long race.

Through the windy singletrack and all the way to Hurl Hill Rich is maintaining about an 8 person lead. I was thinking the hill would be the test and I have great confidence in myself on hills. I'm thinking MikeG doesn't even stand a chance at this point. On the last hump of the hill Rich crests as I'm at the bottom. He's doing good, this isn't going to be as easy as I thought. Onto the fireroad race down to the singletrack goat trail I don't bother pushing. I just don't have the desire to play hampster for some reason.

Soon we are in the singletrack and I can't see Rich anymore. Then I hear Mike on my ass talking to folks. Sheeite, what's this all about. Most folks are getting off and walking the tough little climbs, but I'll have none of that. Other than the crowd making the lines more difficult it wasn't too bad. Get into the goat trail and sure enough there's a geared guy who should be in beginner class slowing things down, on the plus side there is a tandem 3 up and we aren't loosing any ground so I figure I'd sit in since I'd never get past all those folks. I did pass the geared guy late in the goat trail, and then heard MikeG yelling out appologies to the guy as he took him out in his pass.

I grab a bottle of cytomax at the aid station and take 3 swigs(my only consumption before or during the race) and Mike pulls up next to me and even takes the lead into the next section. Damn, this aint right, e-biker in the lead? We cruize along for a while and I end up back in the lead for the jump section. That was fun catching some air. I hear Mike's excuse for maintaining contact with terra firma. Mike retakes the lead and leaves me to fade back behind some pokey dudes in the singletrack tree section. Soon Frank W catches up from the Industry cup start and passes quickly. As we get to the three bitches, I see Mike pushing up the top of the first one. I figure I'd make up a decent amount of ground by riding up them as I did. My attempt on the 3rd was thwarted by someone taking the line I was on and stalling.

As we exit the singletrack onto the long climb home Mike is about 100 yards up.There was no one going fast so I was working as hard as I could to make up some ground without blowing up. It took a while, but I caught Mike and hung on for a minute before making myself known. At this point my lower back was screaming in pain(note to self, check the advil supply before leaving). We hit a steeper section and I took back the lead. I was hoping to drop Mike on the harder hills, but he would have none of it. I maintained my lead until we hit the track then shortly after he passed. I didn't have the eye of the gerbil and decided to let Mike go at this point.

Props to Mr. E-biker for kicking my ass. Salute to Allan, MikeU, Franck, and Rich for more of the same but with gusto.

Keith
P.S. I ran into Julie Brown(as I like to remember her) of team Boring Mouths. I think she said the team slogan which had me confused. Something like 'Boring is our Mouths, death to all underwear'. I certainly agree, but can't say I think it's much of a team slogan.

Photo by Bob Scott

Just got back from a second day of DH practice. Thought I'd ramble a bit for those not there yet and interested...

DH course is more challenging this year than most in the past. I hit most stuff yesterday, and nutted up and hit everything else today (no cheat lines for me - yippee!). There are two wooden ladders - one at almost the very top (easy drop into the first double), and one about 3/4 down (harsh flat landing). The double stair drop is still in the course (I'm finally hitting it with confidence). Probably the scariest thing on the course is a hip jump with a gap in the middle just after the second ladder drop. I finally hit it on my last run, and about scared the crap out of myself. That was awesome... Bad news was about half way through our practice session we came down and saw Seery being hauled away in an ambulance. Good news is it wasn't too bad - if you can say 12 stitches in his ancle isn't bad... He's still thinking of racing on Sunday if it feels OK.

No more parking permits! But, there are a bunch of temporary camp grounds now in places that used to be parking lots - a couple near the DH course; a volunteer campground in the lot that used to be Grand Prix campground's overflow lot. Weird. Parking may be hell on Sat and Sun...

Camping check-in, as well as event registration are now way over by the "driving school" buildings. Basically drive past the Dual Slalom course, and keep going down to the big parking lot. At registration you will get two orange bracelets (one for you, one for a friend), that must be worn to get into the Tent City area. I don't think that they're needed to spectate any of the events outside of there though (strange).

The Vela Belas have a booth! About half way between Santa Cruz and Hayes Brakes (near where registration used to be last year). I stopped by, didn't see anyone I knew, but felt obligated to pay $5 for one of their raffle tix ($5 each! - sounds like some decent shwag, but the main thing is it's going to help out their Pro road team I guess).

TWW camp ground spots are pretty small (I think all three are "small" spots?). Some seem to share a picnic bench and fire pit with the neighboring spots. It'll be cozy!

I'm not going back until Sunday late morning - see ya then!
-Scott

PS Erin - please give my Jersey stuff to Frank Walden if I don't see you before noon on Sunday, if that's OK. Thanks!

The Challenge: Gin and McCrimmon went trolling for suckers to go head-to-head with them in the singlespeed category. They had already bagged a few (Keith, Sherlock, Nick) and the smack was starting to fly. I've ridden SS plenty of times, but never raced on one (or, On-One). I thought it would be a good challenge to take on and see what racing is like without gears. So I took the bait.

The Bike: My singlespeed is a stock Kona A full-boinger. Not really a lightweight, efficient racer (heavier than my geared full-sus). I know that Dave and Mike had dropped some serious coin on customizing their Inbreds (although Dave sold his so he could borrow it back), so I was starting to think I was going to be at a significant disadvantage. So I asked Haneous if I could borrow his On-One that he has raced a lot in the past couple seasons. He agreed, so now I had leveled the field somewhat.

Race Prep: I arrive Sunday morning at Laguna Seca only 75 minutes before my start time. I thought that was going to be fine, except I had to park in the lot farthest away from Camp TWW where Jeff and his On-One spent the night. So I packed up all my race gear and hoofed-it overland to the campsite. After prepping the bike (install pedals, adjust seatpost) and myself, I only had about 15 minutes to warm-up and get a feel for Jeff's bike. Luckily, the On-One Inbred steel frame is very smooth and has an intuitive feel, so 15 minutes was all that was needed. I arrive at the start about 2 minutes before the gun.

Race: While I was warming-up, I realized I really didn't have a plan for the race. Since I was racing SS, I decided to keep it simple - use the corkscrew climb to work up a sweat, then maintain a respectable level of pain throughout the race. I rode the climb with Gin and Keith, I think Keith passed me near the top. I passed him back on the first dirt climb and decided not to look back to see if he, or Mike, were close behind. I figured Allan and Urbina were in front of me, but I had no idea where Franck was until I rode by Jeff near Camp TWW. "Go Rich!", Jeff yells. "Go get Franck!" Sh*t! Franck is ahead of me already? Dang. Well, that won't last long, I thought. Franck's hasn't ridden SS much, he'll fold in due time (not bloody likely). The rest of the race was spent dealing with the usual assortment of dorky guys on geared bikes and a few tandems. I passed a fair amount of singles, and raced a few others. Never saw any SS TWWers until the finish, where Allan, Urbina, and Franck (crap!) were waiting for me. Oh well, finishing ahead of SS-veterans Gin, Keith, and Mark Davidson is a pretty good day's work. I would've mentioned Paul in that group, but he sabotaged his day by inserting a disc-brake pin into his back tire before the start.

Observations: Racing SS was not nearly as tough as I thought it was going to be. The SOC course is well-suited for racing with one gear. There's only a few places where I REALLY wanted a different gear. And the On-One is really a well-balanced bike. I hadn't ridden a hardtail off-road for a couple years, but that sweet steel frame made the transition easy. Also, while racing SS I suddenly noticed how poorly a lot of geared guys race in some areas. Seemed like those guys don't realize how badly they are managing their momentum. Guys were coasting on the descent leading to the 2nd sister, stealing momentum from themselves (and me!). Another thing I noticed, a lot shift into too low a gear at the base of climbs and spin, where a small obstacle can easily throw them off-line. Of course, this happens in front of me where I get to share in the consequences. Gawd, I hope I don't do that stuff.

I hadn't had this much fun racing SOC in a few years. I think it's SS at SOC from now on.

-Rich

The Sea Otter weekend was 6 weeks after I broke my collarbone at the McKlane road race and my doctor had given be the OK to road race but not mountain bike race. I was disappointed that I wouldn't get to join the SS challenge but at least I got to race!

Friday, 40+ Cat 5 road race. I have been riding outside for a couple of weeks but most of that was just being careful and very little hill climbing. So I didn't have high expectations for the road race and kept the powertap on the bike so I could at least geek out on the graphs later. Unfortunately, I never even got to race! Less then 1/4 of a mile outside the track, while we were still nuetralized, my rear tire blew and that was the end of my day:(

Saturday, 40+ Cat 5 Circuit race. This seemed like it would be a fun thing to do, racing around the track, but I had heard that it was painful. No powertap today, I threw my oh so sweet Vredestein tubbies onto my Look KX-Light and I was ready to suffer. Not sure how many started, about 60 or more. My main goal was to stay safe and not crash again and then worry about hanging with the front group. First time up the climb, I discovered my 21 and 23 tooth cog was slipping so I was stuck climbing in my 25. I thought I had fixed that be obviously my mechanical skills sucked this weekend.

Anyway the 25 wasn't too bad I just had to spin a little faster but since we are just a bunch of wimpy Cat 5s nobody was hammering right away. Decscending the corkscrew was pretty cool with speeds hitting up over 45+ so that was fun. Doing it surrounded by a bunch of other guys and being seperated by inches adds a nice thrill! After the first couple laps I was feeling warmed up and just focused on being safe, not freaking in the pack and staying near the front. Finally, at some point I look back and realize we have slipped away and now there are only about 10 of us off the front. Two guys eventually slipped away from us while I was sleeping so now there were 6 of us left in the chase group. As the laps wind down I realize I'm not feeling too bad and I just need to hang on for a decent finish. I was sure someone would attack up the final climb.

I read something a few weeks ago that said something like "train like a pro, think like a pro, race like a pro", I modify that for myself to "make-believe your a pro". So as we head down the finishing straight with one lap to go I toss my water bottle, certain that those few ounces will make a difference. Yea, just like a pro!

Everybody is taking it easy as we cross the line. We start up the lower climb and I'm sitting in 4th position. My mind says "what would a pro do?" I don't really know but my make-believe pro screamed ATTACK, ATTACK, ATTACK!! So I drop it two clicks and blast off the side of the group like some kind of maniac, trying to make sure nobody grabs my wheels. Damn, that was good, just like a pro. I hammer up the hill, finally looking back and I've got a big gap and nobody is responding. My make-believe pro has scared them. I hammer some more to the base of the climb, look back and I'm still pulling away. No more make-believe, now I'm the real deal baby!! And then I have to drop to the small ring and shift into my 25 and realize I'm totally screwed and the closest I'll ever get to being like a pro is getting a pro-deal.

Spinning madly just isn't going to cut it, I need to be pushing out the big watts. So the group catches me and then passes me near the top of the first hump. I kill myself to try to latch back on but it pointless because everyone can smell the finish now. I come across the line about 10 seconds back from the group. It's good for 9th which got me on the podium which was cool but more importantly I didn't crash or freek out. And my make-believe pro? Oh, I'm sure he'll be back to play!

jeff

I got there Saturday around 11am and quickly went through both camping & athlete check-ins. I want to give my hats down to the SOC crew, despite the volume they handle the people have always been friendly & very efficient (on that day as well as pre-race when I called them to switch categories).

The TWW camp sites aren't the largest one around but I manage to cram my car in Frank's site and I start getting the bike ready for the pre-ride. Loren, Esther & Allan are getting ready to go out so I quickly put the bike together & change. I will be riding a French made steel frame borrowed from Benoit, a friend who has been racing it at the CCCX the whole season. The bike is tuned up and ready to go, with nanoraptors back & front on Benoit's recommendation. I initially had mixed feelings about those tires. After riding fire XC pros on my FSR for about a year, I tried Bontrager race tires on my newly aquired Trek at a Billy Cross race for the first time and took the crash of my life. Since then I switched back to the Panaracers and I swore I would never switch. A couple weeks ago however I got my ass kicked big time on every road section at the CCCX, and I have begun to think that the tires may something to do with it. So I kept the nanoraptors for our SOC pre-ride a couple weeks ago, liked them a lot, and decided to use them for the race.

The other equipment issue I had been thinking about was the gear ratio. I was initially set on a 32x17 setup which Benoit recommended and which had worked well on the pre-ride. In the last few days before the race however, after some riding on flat paved roads with the SS, I started having nightmares of being just totally out of the race for having the wrong ratio - I knew Allan would be using at least a 32x16. So on Friday I dropped by Benoit's place to pick up the 16 and took it with me.I'm not sure when I finally decided to leave the 16 in the car, but what I do know is that several time during the race I thought that was the smartest thing I've done in a long time. At race pace the hills I found manageable on the pre-ride became real challenges and the 17 was definitely all I could handle. Bottom line, if you're new to SS make sure when you pick your ratio based to account for the pace on race day.

Anyway, we have a nice pre-ride, bypassing hurl hill and the 3 sisters but riding most of the rest of the course. Loren & I are a bit bummed when we realize too late that we'll have to climb the long grind home. We take it easy however - I am walking the steepest sections and we soon get back to camp to find Mike in his immaculate TWW outfit. I fell a bit bad not waiting for him to preride after he posted on the list, but he doesn't seem that motivated to go out anyway...

On the racing side of things, the day wasn't exactly a confidence builder. The pre-ride was a bit tougher than I would have liked, after watching Allan riding his 32x16 up the hills I know he wasn't in my league, and both him and Loren left me miles behind on each and every section of downhill... between that and the not-so-great result at the CCCX a couple weeks ago I was beginning to think that I was not going to do much better than last year. I even started wondering if I was going to be able to stay ahead of Mike... (well ok, not really, I'm just saying that to make him feel good).

Nice night under Frank's canopy (thanks for the four-star campground setup!), and the next morning I quickly go through my typical race morning: a mug of espresso from the Bialetti Italian coffee-maker, a couple cookies, lenses, new gloves, new Rocket Camelback (this thing rocks), and most importantly 2005 TWW jersey - kudos to Erin! - and I quickly take off to warm up. I go down the road to registration where a few riders are running a tight circle around cones in the parking lot. I join them and we just spin around for about 15mn, at which point I head back to camp, saying hi to Matt on the way. I hook up with Mike and we go down to the track to watch Loren whose start is at 8:15am. We cheer him up from the top of the corkscrew, their whole pack doesn't seem to be pushing very hard, weird...

One more lap and it is time to line up. Valerie and the kids made it just in time from Monterey and are there, and after a couple group pictures it is our turn to creep up to the line.

I know the singletrack can get crowded so my plan was to go pretty hard on the track to get in the lead pack entering the singletrack. Just before the first steep track section I see Mike Urbina lfying by inside and I follow him. I enter the singletrack a few riders behind him... he is the only TWW jersey I will see for the whole race. I have to dab hard at the first mud puddle when 3 riders in front of me stall, but other than that the first section of singletrack goes by pretty uneventfully. This is good news because I was a bit nervous the day before about the sandy off-camber curves of that first section. The bad news is that as we reach the lowest point before the climb back to hurl hill my legs are already hurting badly. I know that I barely cleared hurl hill on the pre-ride, and I hadn't 20mn of race pace riding in the legs at the time. So I am beginning to think that I am going to walk a lot today...

Meanwhile we start bumping into the "sport" riders who started in front of us. I almost lose it trying to pass one of them at the wrong time, in slippery off-camber grass, but other than that they are fairly easily passed and I don't mind the opportunities to rest when I have to stay behind.

I just clear hurl hill, just barely making it up the last 20 feet with a heartrate that would probably have my doctor scream at me. I swallow the section of fireroad that follows without getting passed, a rare feat since I usually really suck there... I must be learning -) The SS makes the strategy quite simple: spin like a helicopter to accelerate until smoke starts coming out of the bottom bracket, then put the nose on the front wheel and wait for the next hill. This works pretty well and I am soon coasting along on the goat trail behind a line of about 10 riders. I know the congestion is part of the game so I just relax and try to recover.

In the walk a bike section I almost walk through a poison oak bush while passing someone of the side of the trail - I manage to jump over it at the last second - 48h later it seems I have managed to stay clear. The 3 sisters go really well, I wasn't able to ride any of them on the pre-ride but today I just power up the 2 first ones. I don't even try the last one, I know it is too steep and it is crowded with walking riders.

I have a lot of fun on the last singletrack. I am following some not so fast sport riders and since I know I won't be able to pass them the pressure is off and I ride more relaxed, and much better than the day before.

At the bottom I swallow a Gu (first food of the day) as I start working on the long climb home. I don't push to hard because I want to grab a wheel and follow someone. My rabbit materializes a few minutes later in the form of a fellow SSer who's been chatting with sport riders for the last few minutes. When I jokingly greet him with a "here's my draft!" as he passes by he says "sure" and drops in front of me to help me grab his wheel.... nice! He tells me we shoud catch at least "this guy" in front ... not sure what he means but anyway after a few minutes I have to let him go, I just can't keep up with him. The rest of the climb is a long painful grind. I manage to grab another SSer's wheel, but he drops me on the last steep section. I finally sit down and mash up the hill at what is probably a 45-50 cadence - this is the best I can muster at this stage. I reach the track about 50 yards behind a guy with whom I have been constantly switching lead since the start. I know I am in no condition to challenge him, and on the first climb on the track he extends the lead to about a 100 yards. At that point a sport rider comes screaming by in his big ring, and I grab his wheel. I spin like a madman fro about 5s then duck to hide behind him, and repeat as soon as the gap opens to more than a few inches.

Another, faster sport rider comes up a minute later and I catch his wheel. We're about 250 yards from the line, and the guy is giving all he has in his bing ring - the track is slightly downhill at that point. I work like a madman to stay in his draft, and at about 50 yards from the line we catch my poor competitor who all that time has been in the front spinning like a hamster in the wind, all by himself. We spin up to the line at probably 130-140 and I beat him by half a wheel... Pretty cool!

All in all I was really really happy with my result, I didn't expect to finish so well. A bit disappointed I didn't see more TWWers during the race, but hopefully that will get better as the season progresses... Congrats to everybody for a great TWW showing, and see y'all at the NVDC!

Franck

My return to mountain biking started a mere two weeks before the Sea Otter. I've looked at my Stumpjumper hanging from the ceiling since it was put there after the Stanford race last October. I figured I had better ride it at least once before the race so I went for a nice solo evening ride at the Demo after work. The following Wednesday I joined in the SBWR with the other TWW'ers and this is where it started going downhill.so to speak. We were descending on a singletrack when I collided with a large diameter limb that had been cut back from the trail. The impact smashed my hand against the bar and I wasn't able to grip the bars anymore. A few days of ice and Advil and the discoloration began to go away. Since I was doing the Industry Cup stage race this year I was racing both the XC and Downhill. Two days before the SO I get my Bullit out of storage and put on the new Fox 40 RC2 and go for a little urban ride to get a feel for the big bike again. Thursdays DH practice started out pretty good given that I haven't had any time on the DH bike since Labor Day weekend last year. My first run down I keyed off some other riders that had a few runs in and hit most everything except for the log jump and the hip jump onto the road. My hand was not feeling very good so after 3 runs I took a break and went back to the truck to put on a bigger chainring and different cassette. I go out in the 2nd practice for another run and am feeling pretty good. In the lower part there is a elevated ladder bridge out of a fast corner and I hit it with confidence...until I see the big hole that had developed in the landing area. My front wheel hit the backside of the hole and I augered into the dirt and re-injured my hand. In the next 15 minutes I watched as rider after rider stacked in the same place, some of them out of competition after sustaining injuries. That was the end of practice for me for the day. Friday's practice was difficult since my fingers could barely grip the bars, but I endured through 3 more runs. Saturday was the finals for the DH portion of the stage race and I was able to ride by taping my fingers in a bent position and using the adrenaline to numb the discomfort. I put in a pretty good run at 2:55.4 which landed me in 5th place for the DH segment. Sunday was the XC race and I did the same prep on my hand and was ready to ride. We started 5 minutes behind all the TWW SS'ers. It was cool to see a whole row of TWW jerseys up there! In the Industry Cup there are no age or class groups, only rule is that you have to work in a cycling related industry and can't be a Pro/Semi-Pro. The Specialized A Team consisted of some very fast and talented riders, even Specialized CEO Mike Sinyard was on the line with his employees (although he was on the "C" team). At the start I knew I had to go hard to stay in the lead group and the front riders were hammering all the way up the hill. I got into the first singletrack about 7th place and went to work. One of the Specialized riders crashed pretty hard right in front of me on the fast part of the singletrack just before dropping down into the canyon. The rest of the race was spent in anaerobic bliss, trading places back and forth with one of the Giant riders and my teammate Erik. I see Keith up ahead of me and get by him and I then I finally catch up with Gin about an hour into the race and spent the next 10 minutes inching my was closer. He was riding pretty hard for an E-biker! So much for me passing him 15 min into the race. After that it was just pushing as hard as I could go. On the grind out Erik and I traded pulls until the last 200 yards and he pulled away slightly. Out on the track and I hammer as hard as I can to catch up but he was bent on catching the guy in front of him. I cross the line in 1:33.13 for 9th place. The combined score for the stage race put me in 4th overall, and our team in 2nd place. Two and half hours later I am on the start line for the Expert 40-49 DH finals. My legs are still feeling the affects of the XC race but I'm thinking, "it's only a 3 minute sprint". At the 6th beep of the timer I take off and 30 seconds into my run my legs are burning. Everything is going smoothly and I hit all the lines I want. I take the bypass around the last ladder drop, knowing my hand can't take the impact of the rough landing that has developed over the weekend. Sprinting across the line I see the clock flash 2:52.19, 3 seconds faster than the previous day. I was on the bubble for the podium until the last group of riders came through all with times under 2:50. When all was done I was in 8th place. The day ended on a high note watching Scott Seery take home the gold in the 50-59 Expert class. As always the Sea Otter was a great event and I'll be there again next year!

Frank

I had only been on the bike 5 or 6 times this year but I have been swimming 3 times a week (sometimes 4) all winter long (mom is making me go).

We did a pre-ride that took 5 hours long. My mom took me to Heny Coe so that I could ride up Spike Jones. That and a couple of trips up St Joe's was my training.

I had an ok start and fell to the back almost immediately. Once I hit the first singletrack I felt ready to floor it when another kid crash directly in front of me. I got around him but he caught me later on a hill. I felt good making up Hurl Hill, all the people were screamin' out encouragement.

The Goat Trail was a total blast!

I found the new sections confusing, I had not been on some of the trails before. I picked the steepest section of the hike-a-bike. I think 15 people passed me there too!

I felt great, full of energy when I reached the three sisters. I made it up the first two but there were too many people walking on the third for me to ride up it. Julie Brown was there and yelled to me.

Again, I felt full of energy on the long climb home. It felt good seeing mom there. She rode down after her race to follow me back up. People were cheering her on like she was still racing and she was yelling for them to cheer on "the kid".

I came in 47th of 54 with a time of 2:11 something. I think I am going to try harder at the Napa Valley Dirt Classic.

That's right, I'm racing! See you there,

Patrick Meyer

By the time I prerode the Sea Otter course on Saturday, I could feel that tax season had really taken its toll. I had been working six days a week for the previous month and a half and hadn't spent nearly as much time on the bike as I wanted. For my first time finally racing here, I hoped it would go well.

I spent Sunday morning getting myself and my bike ready to race (scraping a half pound of dried mud off my bike because I neglected to wash it earlier). After I could see that my bike was yellow again and my chain was clean etc. I went down to the start area. By that time my class was in line and I didn't have much of a chance to warm up. I waited at the start jumping around and jogging in place as much as I could to keep from freezing. I was *very* glad I had bought the thermal jacket with the jersey order. It was so windy and cold but I knew I would warm up once the race started. I would just have to take it easy for a little while.

Eryn finally showed up at the start from her warm up on the trainer (I wished I had thought of that) and I reluctantly passed my jacket over to Dave. Soon after, we took off. The two of us stayed towards the back of the main group on the track and chatted a little before hitting the trail and focusing on the race. I would pass a person here or there when I saw the chance but I didn't want to push too hard until I was sure I was warmed up. We passed through the section of trail under the campgrounds when I saw Dave, Lloyd and a couple other TWW'ers cheering us on. Someone said something to me like "quit smiling and push". Hmm...hard not to smile when the girl in front of me is being chased down by some guy wearing nothing but his red tighty-whitey's. That was pretty amusing. Further up, a man with a pope costume was walking his bike up a hill saying "pass the pope, get a blessing...bless you all" as he waved a bell on a stick like it was incense.

Just before the section of trail where myself and many others crashed last year, was a new section where people were going down. Like last year, it wasn't a difficult spot to ride through but it could easily take you out if you didn't pay attention. The campground had been busy all morning with EMTs and fire trucks accessing the trails. Medics were getting ready to airlift someone out of that area while I rode through and I heard one of them say that they couldn't get an IV running. It was very sobering and I hoped that the rider and everyone else previously hurt there would do okay. I went slower than I needed to through that area and the short downhill beyond it. As I turned left to go down the hill I saw Eryn just behind me a little ways. I was hoping that she'd keep up throughout the race, but I didn't see her after that. She must have been just out of sight the whole time because she finished right after me at the end.

By the time I got to Hurl Hill, I felt like I was warm enough to start pushing. The hill was crowded, but not too backed up. I took the least crowded line on the far right but still managed to get stuck behind someone who had decided to walk. I veered a little into the grass to avoid stopping and managed my way up the rest of the hill. "Well that's a first" I said while some of the people at the top were cheering and saying "Go Team Wrong Way!"...I didn't know them but it was very encouraging. I wanted so badly to collapse at the top of the hill but I knew that it really would be the best time to get ahead. I shifted into the big ring and started down the fire road.

The rest of the race went pretty well and I didn't have to walk much of anyting besides the hike-a-bike and the three sisters. I'd rather save energy at that point for the hill home than try too hard on the steeps. Maybe when I'm a faster rider I'll try to clear those. At one of the sandy climbs I had to stop a couple times because a girl in front of me had stopped in the middle of the trail and decided to take a break without giving enough room to pass. Trying to get started again was where people would pass me. That was frustrating. She kept getting herself right in front of me only to stop on the trail again and make me stop. I finally just went off the trail when there was enough room and got past her for the last time. I really wanted to clear some of those little technical climbs but that's were where all the backups were.

The hill home was probably the worst of it but it wasn't as bad as I feared. At the fireroad before the climb, I stood on my bike for a little stretch and discovered my quads wanted to cramp. I decided I would have to use an easier gear on the climb and spin my way up. So I trudged along without too much difficulty other than the head wind and the sun that had started to show it's face. I would have taken my arm warmers off there but I didn't want to stop. I made sure to keep an even cadence the entire time and every once in a while, I'd shift into my middle ring but my legs still threatened to cramp. By the time I got to the track, I figured I didn't have much further to go so I'd just push as hard as I could and rest when it was over. I hadn't realized the track portion went for so long...

A girl from Trailhead Cyclery was with me on the track and I thought she might be in my class (found out later she wasn't) so I raced her to the end. We were back and forth a bit but I managed to pull ahead on the last sprint...just in time for the group photo *whew*. It was good to see all the TWW'ers at the finish but all I could say about how it went was "Ow."

I was suprised to see in the results that I had placed second to last in my group. I had expected to be somewhere in the middle. Those girls were fast! The top finishers in Beginning Women 25-29 would have medalled in the sport class of the same age. Oh well...I felt like I did pretty good considering my recent schedule so I'm not stuck on it. I still had fun.

The next day, Eryn and I and a couple people from the Cal Berkeley team did a recovery ride on the road. We went from Oakland to Richmond and back, riding along the bay and then cutting through the UC and the surrounding neighborhoods. Very pretty ride at points. I was so tired after the SOC and the easy ride was good for me.

So now I'm hoping that the weather will hold well enough to race Napa Valley on Sunday. Like always, going to such a big cycling event inspires me to get out and ride more. Since I'm not fresh off an injury this year, the NVDC will be even more fun than the last and I'll really be able to appreciate those technical trails.

Erin

Sea Otter Classic. It has been the first race of my season several times. It is always one of the first races, but this year the TWW Fox Cup series had two races scheduled before SOC. I figured that by the time SOC came around that I would be in great shape and ready to set new personal records!

The realization that my Sea Otter expectation was really just a mid-life fantasy came early. My poor finish at the first race of the season was brushed off and attributed to "all those damn sand-baggers", but when I finished poorly at the second race, I humbled my thinking.

Before I knew it, SOC had crept up on me and with little additional training since my last race, I had low expectations. I put the skinniest semi-slick tires I could find on my bike thinking that I needed every advantage for those long hard-packed fireroads. I lined up mid pack and didn't really push hard at the start. I followed several slow riders through lots of single track. It felt like that is how I spent most of the race....just following slow riders until I'd find a place to pass. On the single track before the pond, the guy behind me and I taunted the slow pokes in front. It was a bummer to be held up on such fun stuff. I was feeling cheated! Even with my skinny tires, I was right I these guys.

I found a guy to draft but he kept looking back and then tried to pull away. I stayed right on his tire and said "you don't mind if I draft you, do you?". He said no, that he was just trying to stay ahead of the train coming up behind us. I passed him and tried to let him follow me, but he dropped off.

The three sisters came and went with no problems and then I caught a guy on the last single track. He was actually moving pretty good so I complimented his skills through one of the sandy left-handers. He picked up the pace even more and we were both having a good time ripping that last bit of twisty.

Long climb home and I was looking for wheels to hop on. Found one and the guy started some evasive manuvers. I told him that he should let me hang on his wheel so that he would have someone to draft when we get on the track. He chuckled then I past him. Right before the track I caught some Stanford racer to draft. He looked back and told me to pass. I thought "yeah right" and followed him to the first turn. He looked back again and told me to go ahead, so I thought that he might work with me. I pulled through the next corner and started up the hill before catching the next rider. Then Stanford guy gets out of the saddle and drops me. So much for being nice!! I finished the race by myself but still pushed hard like there was someone trying to pass me. I finished 21 of 94 in the Sport Men 30-34 class with a time of
1:29:45

Not bad, but could have been better with a little more training.

Unfortunately, I came down with a case of strep throat and was not able to race the NVDC. Really bummed about that.

-Loren

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