Downvieville Race Reports

Race Report by Nick Relampagos

I've been to Downieville many times but this was my first Downieville race. I didn't want to pay the $120.00 for DH and XC so I chose DH. It was a fun weekend seeing/hanging with friends, the team and our sponsors, WTB, ClifBar and Chris King making pancakes for everyone in the morning! The course was fast with tons of great sections, the bike of choice would have been a medium travel bike. I had my Bullit with F&R 2.4 WTB MotoRaptors but should have opted for a lighter rear tire, like a WTB Mutano Raptor 2.24. I had a clean run with a few bobbles and came out with a PODIUM!!!!! 5th place 51:26, my prize,,, a Chris King beer glass and an Avid Rollamajig! I think I'm gonna frame the Rollamajig! Nick

Race Report by David Ambrose

What a rockin' weekend!

Friday after work I packed up and headed out for Downieville. Radio traffic reports were telling me to be prepared for some massive delays but fortunately, the entire drive was clear and I made excellent time. We camped out that night at the Wild Plum campgrounds (about maybe 2 miles from the XC Start!) with Paul, Jenny, a couple Jason's, Chris and crew, Brenton and Isaias.

Saturday was a beautiful day. We got up early, geared up and headed for the start line. Tons of people milled about here and there and finally lined up at the start. Somewhere around 9:30-9:40 we were off and climbing.

Ugh! Between being busy with the wedding, weekend trips, and a healing wrist, I've only been riding maybe once or twice a week for the past month. and I really felt it! It was not my day. right from the get-go I was hurting. I crawled up the initial climb, ever falling further and further into the back of the pack. Brenton, Paul, Isaias, Allen, and everyone else either shot off ahead of me right away or passed me within the first few miles. I never even saw Chris Down - he was too far ahead for me to even see.

By the time I made Packer's Saddle, I was hating it. I was exhausted, my muscles were were threatening to cramp with every movement and it was all I could do to just keep going. I finally made it to Pauly Creek and my groove decided to kick in. By this time it was too late to even hope for decent placement - I was too far at the back of the pack. So I just enjoyed the ride down, picking people off as I went, trying for anything but a DFL.

All the better and faster riders were up front so I was stuck with the bottlenecks as the less experienced racers crawled and walked over every little technical section - very frustrating when you really need to just pick a line and let it flow.

29 miles, 2 hours and 44 minutes after the start, I was in Downieville and looking for beer, finishing 34th. Yuck! But no matter the weak rank, the race was a blast and I had a great time! Downieville is always a great ride!

After wandering around the expo area for a while, eating, drinking, laughing and collecting schwag, we grabbed a shuttle back to Sierra City and packed up for the long drive to Lake Sonoma and the Billy-Cross race.

Isaias, Brenton, Paul and I arrived at Lake Sonoma I think around 11:30pm? And the gates were closed. we parked outside the gates and hauled our tents to the campground inside by the start line and we were out cold.

The next morning I did a prelap to warm up and see the course as I've never raced or ridden there before. What a sweet course! The Billy-Cross course is totally my type of course. Hill sprints, winding and loose singletrack, steep and short grinds, off camber trails, some technical sections and awesome creek crossings. ah yeah, good stuff!

When the race started, I hammered my way as far to the front as I could, knowing that passing on the singletrack wouldn't be easy. I was feeling so much better than the previous day. I was warmed up and the trail was fresh in my mind. My groove was on and the trail was flowin'! I felt great! Passing people at every opportunity I was quickly moving toward the front and I was confident a podium awaited me after the race.

And then bad mojo took hold. half way through the first lap something happened. A rock or a stick, I'm not entirely sure which, popped up and got caught in my wheel. At first I thought it was chainsuck locking me up and I couldn't backpedal out of it so I had to stop. The chain was wedged between the cassette and spokes, pulled up and wrapped all the way around. It looked nasty. I began the painful process of unwinding it and found something that resembled a black zip-tie tangled up in the cassette and chain. Wait a minute. that wasn't a zip-tie. It was a spoke. Whatever had popped up into my wheel had snapped a bladed spoke, which then caught the chain and drew it in, tangling it up. No wonder I couldn't backpedal out of it. After about 5 minutes of slicing up my fingers and cussing under my breath, I finally had extracted the spoke, snapped it the rest of the way off, freed the chain and had everything in working order again - I climbed back into the saddle and dishearteningly hit the course. At least 5 minutes behind, worried about the lost spoke.. imagining a taco'ed wheel after a creek crossing, the only thing keeping me going was the fact that I did not want a DNF.

This was not my weekend. Although frustrating as it was, I was feeling good and I knew I had ridden a good race. I felt great right from the start and the course was a blast. I'll definitely be hitting up a couple more Billy-Cross races this season. So much fun!

I don't remember all of the standings from each day, but I do know that as usual, Team Wrong Way represented! Oh yeah, baby!

Can't wait for the next race!

Race Report by Isaias Job

Downieville Classic\Billy Cross Race Report

9/2 – 9/3

600am Friday morning the PUG alarm goes off an hour before my alarm clock. So I get out of bed, feeling fairly rested (I got 8hrs of sleep which is a rarity) and take the pugs out for their morning poop and feeding. I start the coffee and finish packing my freshly washed TWW jersey and shorts. I pile up my racing and camping gear outside the door. and wait for Bham to show up at 715.

Bham shows up at my place at 715 sharp, we load up his truck and we're off to meet up with Paul and Jenny at the Starbucks in Dublin. We're Downieville bound around 9am. We arrive in Downieville around 12:30, sign waivers and pick up our race packets. From them there we head up stake our claim on a couple sites at the Wild Plum Campground. The Wild Plum Campground is the place to be, it’s off the beaten path so you don’t get road noise, a river runs through it, and it’s only 1mile from the race start in Sierra City, schweet!

After we setup camp, we setout to catch our 300pm shuttle in Downieville, that Paul had the foresight to reserve for us. Definitely a load off my mind to have that taken care of. As it turns out, we showed up at Yuba with only like 15mins to spare, whew! Thanks Paul. The shuttle run was very slow paced on the climbs and only about 70% on the descents. The point was just to get a feel for the trail conditions.

Chow time....Paul cooked up a gourmet pasta meal, complete with freshly grated parmesan cheese, and the asiago bread the Jenny brought rounded out the meal...mmm, good. Then it was pretty much time for bed.

Late night Friday around 11ish....Dave Ambrose showed up, I chatted with him a while as I couldn't really sleep. Then I crashed out. Some time later that night, I was crashed at that time, Chris Down and his crew arrived at the second campsite.

Saturday - Race Day:

I'm up at 600am, before my alarm even goes off. I go shake Bham's tent as all the food supplies are locked away in the car. He grumbles and hands me the keys to the truck. I fire up the camp stove and get the coffee and water for oatmeal going. Slowly but surely, people start rolling out of bed. It was nice to know that we we're only about a mile from the race start.

After some grub, it's time to lube up the bike and then a quick check to make sure all the bolts are tight. I could just imagine a bolt rattling loose some where along the 18mile downhill. Then it's off to the race start in Sierra City. There are cars lined up along H49 well into Sierra City. We spot the starting line and head up the hill for a warm up before the race.

Man, I've never been in such a mad, chaotic race start. Both sport men and women, all ages started at the same time after the pros\expert and single speeders went off. My usual race strategy, as I'm not very good at race starts, is to start slow, warm up on the climb and then start picking people off on the climb. Well, that little strategy went down the tubes pretty quickly. By the time I was warmed up, about 20mins into the race, we were already on the dirt and the opportunities to pass we fairly slim. I tried passing a few times and spun out in the loose stuff and had to dab. After that I realized it wasn't worth passing until I could find a good spot. So every so often the fireroad widened and I would quickly surge by people. I one point I found a nice, wide, solid opening and started hammering up the climb. I think the fact that I was flying up the hill surprised people and they yelled out in excitement, go man go! However, the opportunities to do this were few and far between. Some where along the climb I ran into Dave Ambrose and all I can remember is "go Isaias." As I near the top off climb, I realize that I missed the opportunity to use my climbing skills to get me to the top of the mountain before the rest of the riders.

No sooner had I crested Packer's saddle than the cramps started and I was pissed. I spun them out, but grew increasingly concerned that I was cramping so early in the game. I did a little bit of passing on the graveled fire road leading to Pauly Creek. Once I hit Pauly Creek I was getting into a groove until I got slowed up by a couple riders and passing on the baby heads proved to be impossible. After a few creek crossing, some guy stops right in front of my causing me to dab my foot and that's when I had one of my worst cramps. I extended my leg to dab and my quad completely locked out. I scrambled up the hill in total pain and then forcibly bent my leg and shoved it back onto the pedals. I dropped into a low gear and spun as quickly as I could out of there. Soon the cramps subsided and I was back on track, although even more worried about the cramping. At some point I caught up with Allan Sherlock and we went back and forth until he decided to take off and I never really saw him till the end of the race.

For here on out, I don't really recall the names of the trails. However, what I do know is that passing was a real pain. Now I realize the importance of getting to the top before the rest of the riders. Even when you want to pass, there really aren't very many opportunities and I lost tons of time here. Although, I was able to pass quite a few people when the time was right. Lots of people were cool about letting me pass as the opportunity presented itself. I also took the opportunity to run passed people on a few section that people were walking. The day before Paul and I practiced a few tough section, to no avail when these spots are jam packed with people walking these sections.

Eventually, I caught up with Lauren Constantini. I yelled out to her, "what's up Lauren, it's Isaias", she said hey and then said get ready to pass on my left, now! And I was off. Not to far down the trail at a section that people were walking I had the opportunity to pass a guy that was slowing me up. As I made my way past this guy, I ran into Bham who quickly let me by. Back on the bike and hammering away.

Next, I find myself on a fireroad after third Divide, I think, some where near the end, I hope. I'm tired and wondering when I'm going to cramp next, I put my head down cause I'm beat and I almost veer off the side of the road. Then I hear Lauren yell out to me, "come on Isaias, get your head up and go, what are you waiting for, give all you got we're near the end," or something like that. Well, that's I'll I needed, I mustered up the rest of the energy that I had and took off like a rocket down the fireroad. Eventually I hit 1st divide and I'm hammering away, realizing that I'm actually gonna make it. Some where along this path, I see poor John Hillstrom fixing a damn flat, bummer so close to the finish. As we are descending towards the pavement, I'm actually feeling pretty good.

We hit the road and I lock out my fork, shift in to my big ring and get out of the saddle and start hammering. I notice that my front tire is feeling a little mushy, so I stop standing and start spinning as fast as I can seated. I can see the hay bales marking the end of the race and so I sprint a little bit more to catch up to Allan and we cross the finish line. Just as we do, I look down to see my tire looking pretty flat....whew, talk about timing. My legs are feeling pretty toasted, I slam the rest of my hammer gel and attempt to stretch, but my legs start cramping so I give them a little break before I try to stretch them again. I stop my watch and it read 26 miles in 2hrs and 33minutes, good enough for 21 place and I'm just thankful that I finished the race.

Next year, you can bet that I'm gonna hammer the climb and be the first one to the top!

I'm off to grab some beer and food and spend the next few hours catching up with old mtn biking friends and the rest of the TWW crew. At 230ish, we're off to catch the shuttle back to camp. Unfortunately we missed the shuttle and had to wait until 330, but we took advantage of the wait and went down and jumped in the d-ville river. Yeeeow, sooo cold but refreshing. Actually the cold water felt quite good on the stiff legs. Finally we get our shuttle and we arrive at camp, pack up and we're off to Lake Sonoma for a Billy Cross race on Sunday morning.

Sunday - Billy Cross:

I'm too tired now and I'm sure ya'll are tired of reading, so I'll make this short. We (Paul, David, and Bham) arrive at Lake Sonoma around 1130pm, the gates are closed. We park and walk all our stuff down to the campsite. I wake up Sunday morning around 700am. My legs are stiff and sore, I'm having second thoughts about racing, but I get up and go threw the morning ritual. I get some coffee and oatmeal down my throat and I'm feeling better already. I lube up the bike and then head back to the tent to stretch out the legs and back. Then I'm off to do a warm up.

The 30 minute warmup was all I needed. The legs were still a bit tired, but feeling ready to race. My race strategy this time around was to hammer right of the start, and I did. I'm going at a good pace, first I catch Rich, then Paul, then I pass David, with a mechanical, and eventually, I'm passing Brenton. When I pass Brenton, I think to myself, either I'm gonna have a great race or I'm gonna bonk or cramp out in the second or third lap. No such bad luck. I maintain a good pace and keep on passing people all the way through the third lap. Then next thing you know, the race is over and I'm feeling pretty darn good! I definitely had one more lap left in me, but I'll save that for when I'm riding expert :-)

Anyhow, all my efforts were good enough for a 1st place finish out of 8-9, 25-29 sport dudes. Oh yeah, and did I mention I beat Brenton "I'm faster than a speeding train" Hamilton ;-) Sweet! If only my legs and strategy had worked so well in Downieville. Oh well, live and learn...and there's always next year.

Quite a good TWW showing at the Billy Cross race: Paul Ollerich, Brenton Hamilton, David Ambrose, Rich Henthorn and myself. I think Brenton took 2nd place, Rich took 3 or 4th, I'm sure Dave would have won if he didn't have mechanicals and Paul "the madman" Ollerich would have podiumed if he hadn't beaten me so badly at downieville and taken 9th place!

Fun, fun, fun...camping, biking and drinkin' beers with TWW!

Good night!

Isaias

Race Report by John Coomes

Another long one, but hopefully worth the read ...

Even though I had taken Friday as a vacation day, after missing a dealine, I had to work most of the day from home. Finally left just before 6pm. I was booked into Ken's cabin at Twenty Mile House in Cromberg, about 30mi from Sierra City, along w/Peter, Jerry, Robert & Allan. I pulled up to Twenty Mile House at 11:30pm and started looking for the Northfield Cabin. No lights on in the main house, so instead of knocking and waking somebody, I wandered around looking at the other buildings, trying to match them with the picture from the web site. Came real close to knocking on the wrong cabin. Finally, got back into the car and drove around a bit and in the headlights saw 'Northfield' on a sign next to a side road. Pulled in and voila! there was the right place. No lights on here either, so I stumbled through the darkness looking for the doors, thankful the moon was out so I could see something. Both doors were locked, so I started knocking, and eventually woke up Peter (sorry Peter); I think at first he thought the noise was a bear trying to break in. Looking forward to some rest, I settled in and crashed on my "bed" which turned out to be the 4' love seat in the living room. Slept like a rock, legs hanging over the side.

Sat was a 6am wakeup call, showered quickly and ate, then we packed up Ken's SUV and he ferried us to Sierra City and parked while we unloaded. A totally friendly, but very talkative, 97 year old resident (forgot his name) kept us entertained while we setup and encouraged us to win a nugget for being first to Packer Saddle. He even offered to let us park in his yard for free--too cool! A bit of a warm up and then off to the start.

Kept a moderate pace on the paved climb out of Sierra City, not knowing how brutal the trip to Packer Saddle would be. Made a few trips into the loose rock on the fire road to pass, but quickly found I didn't have the capacity to keep that up, so spent a lot of time hanging in line (note to self: next time, start faster on the pavement). Definitely appreciated the breeze as we rounded the sharp right turn by the first water station. Moved a bit faster over the last mile or so to Packer Saddle, and still felt pretty good when I started down. Managed to pass a few people, but they came right back by when I stopped to give someone a tube (was their 3rd flat). Next part of the trip down was just fun, fun, fun, a good run for me w/no spills or mechanicals, not super fast, but at least passing more riders than passed me. Gotta love those whoop-de-doos through the forest!

Cramped a bit on the climb just past the bridge, but shifted to the little ring, guzzled water and fortunately that went away quickly. Not much later, stopped when a woman just in front of me crashed and slid 3-4 ft down the shale toward the river. After she was back on the trail and said she wasn't hurt, and after 3-4 other guys quickly stopped to help (she was cute, but I'm sure that had nothing to do with them stopping ;-)), I kept going. I knew the end was near, so pushed a bit harder, only to find I missed a right turn up the hill and had to backtrack--the required Team Wrong Way maneuver. In that last part of single track there was someone laid out on their back next to the trail; volunteers were there waiting for an ambulance, which I later saw coming up the road as I neared the finish. Happy not to be on a stretcher, I finished 23rd of 43 (beginner men 35-44). Not a bad result for me, and the ride was a blast! Washed up in the river before heading back to Main St. for food, beer & the raffle (wanted that Santa Cruz frame); Ken ended up winning a bike rack. Applauded both John Street on his 5th place and Jenny (in absentia) on her 2nd. BTW, the web site now shows John as 4th & Jerry as 5th (way to go Jerry--another podium!); wish they had it right on Saturday.

Sunday we drove to Packer Saddle to drop off Ken for the DH and then walked down past the start looking for a nice place for photos. Spent most of the time just past the first 'g-out,' watching the lines people took over a short little stretch of rocks followed by a left turn. Most took the line along the left through the rocks, smoother but you have to slow because the following left turn becomes sharper. All of a sudden someone stayed right and went over the 2 1/2' drop, a line which almost completely cut out the turn, and allowed them to continue bombing down without slowing. I guess knowledge is key :-). Watched Ken and Nick come by, both looking fast and smooth through this section, but I didn't get pictures of them--batteries were dead by then :-(. Have to say the most unique equipment choice of the day was the DHer on a single speed, no pads, wearing sandals. Yikes.

After that it was a hike back up to the car and the drive to Downieville for an awesome burrito and, of course, to pick up Ken. A great weekend, can't wait for next year!

-John

Race Report by Ken Jeffery

6th out of 15 = I suck. Ken

Race Report by Chris Down

>>long-ish race report – Downieville 2003<<

This is my favorite race of the year! To me it's the perfect balance of punishment and pleasure. Riiight.

We pulled into a Sierra City camp around 11:30pm, Friday night (thanks for holding the site, Paul!), set up next to Paul, Jenny, Brenton, Ambrose, Isaias and crew. Out like a light within 1 minute, and up, ready to roll at 7. Because of some early morning maneuvering that I’ll spare details on, I pedaled up to the start (from camp) just 3 minutes before the 19-34 Sport start. Poor Eug and Mark ended up starting 15 minutes late.

For some reason I couldn’t see Dave A, Paul, Isaias, and co. I figured that they were up ahead in the 30 or 40 riders at the line. Of course I was all psyched out because I knew what the climb was like, from last year. HMC kicked my ass, too, so I figured I’d pace myself (my riding has been sporadic, lately, at best). The climb was painful (duh), but went pretty well. Brenton passed me on the way up… I just couldn’t hold on. I kept a decent spin, but thanked my lucky stars when the peak water station came into view. The downhill kicked tail! At one of the creek crossings I caught back up with Brenton… sorry about the bump, man! The baby heads and other technical sections went pretty smoothly. I was lucky to get in with a fast pack. Coming out of the final section of woods (just before the road home), I thought to myself how great it was that I didn’t have any technical problems. It was moments later that I flatted, not more than 1 minute from the road. (insert crying face, here) No kidding! I did my best impression of a Nascar pitstop, and got on my way. Crunching up to the finish line I heard a whoosh, and saw the red flash of a TWW jersey pass me. Paul!!!!!! Literally about 10 yards from the hay bales he pushed past me. I will get you next time, dude! ;-) Pulled in 15th place, Sport 19-34, with a time of 2:31:02.

I have to say, as fun as the race was, it was *almost* as awesome, just hanging out on the street in Downieville- lamenting various aspects of the journey with the other TWW finishers, while enjoying my new pint glass and eating pasta. Bliss.

-Chris Down

Race Report by John Weathers

I rarely write race reports but since Downieville is my favorite race of the year and all the other race reports were inspiring me I thought I would give it a go. You only should read this if you are bored at work and wishing you were riding (me).

Last year I missed this race because of the birth of my daughter Mary so I was hurtin' to give it another go. It would be my first time in the expert class, so I was anxious to see how I could do on a Blur, which is probably the perfect bike for Downieville.

Luckily I was able to crash at a house rented by some folks at Santa Cruz Bikes so I didn't have to find a campsite at 11:30 pm Friday night (thanks Isaias for offering your site up for my use). However, the house was not the best spot to sleep as the septic tank was backing up (complete with foul toilet belches) and the downhill crew was, of course, drinking heavily.

Saturday morning was slow going, with the toilets backed up and the coffee maker not working. The xc crew at the house was supposed to get a shuttle in a van that could not be located so I was pretty sure we were going to be starting 5 minutes later than everyone. Luckily, after riding all over town for half an hour the van was spotted and seven of us (and bikes) smashed into the van and headed up the hill.

As usual, things were tight at the start and since we were running late I couldn't easily get up front so I started out in the rear, which is fine for me, because passing early makes for good morale. My start was medium paced, and I spent the first half hour consistently passing people. Eventually I caught up to some riders that were my pace and I hung in for the last bit of the climb. The single speeders were amazing -- I kept going back in forth with some serious power climbers, and I still can't believe how well they run.

The ridgeline fireroad stuff at the top just killed me. I gave up a few positions and only passed a couple of guys. The lowlight came when my shades fell off my shirt and directly under my rear tire, smashed instantly. At least I didn't have to decide if the $20 sunglasses were worth stopping for.

Feeling weak, I pounded a cliff shot and stepped it up a notch heading into the baby heads. At this point I started racing the same guys I would see the entire downhill. Another guy with a Blur, a Trek hardtail, and three or four other guys on full sus bikes were dicing it all the way down. Funnything was, the baby heads just didn't really seem that difficult. I guess the new equipment is making everything easier for everyone these days.

The downhill was, as always, a complete hoot. Our group passed probably 15-20 people and we were never passed (until the climb at the end). Passing was pretty easy this year, with almost everybody showing some class by allowing safe passes when you asked. The smooth part of first divide was mind-bendingly fast, with three of us training it and with the dust obscuring my vision I was stoked to have the big 2.4 Mutanoraptor up front, and a fresh Python gold in the rear (my first race on a Python -- a sweet tire with lots of air volume and grip). I got away with 35 lbs up front and 40 in the rear, making the ride even more cush and begging the question why go tubeless?

The guy on the hardtail showed why, even at Downieville, you don't need full suspension to be fast (it's just way more fun and safe). On the 500 foot climb near the bottom I felt pings of cramps in every major muscle in my legs. I was slogging it, with my lack of endurance training beginning to show. I put it on autopilot for the last couple miles of technical stuff, just trying to stay steady and not get off my bike, knowing that the penalty for doing so would be debilitating cramps.

Since I sprint in geological time, the ride through town offered little hope for me improving my position. Two guys got away from me but somehow I caught one guy right before the haybails who happened to be in my class. If I passed him, he had to be dying.

Final time: 2:14:09. 19th, expert 19-34. Not bad for a new father whose training is riding to work twice a week and one 4 hour ride on the weekends.

Seven guys in my class finished within 48 second of each other. That's pretty amazing considering it's a two hour race and there were only 49 finishers in the class.

Post-race at D-ville rules, with so many people you know there with good stories and heeps of free pasta and, my favorite, free beer. A swim in the river completed the afternoon.

As always this was an amazing race. Every year I hear they aren't going to bother with it any more because the townies make it such a hassle for the promoters. That's why I make it a point to thank all the locals that are volunteering or are just pleasent. There is a certain contingent that just hates that we are there (crotchety retirees, the owner/waitress of the D-Ville diner) and there is nothing that can be done about that, but obviously somebody likes mtb'rs and our $$$ or they wouldn't let it continue.

jw

Race Report by John Street

So, Downieville ... was good.

I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was prepared to do well if that's what fate had to offer. My Yeti ASR was ready to go. It was the perfect Downieville rig; dual suspension without the normal weight penalties: V-brakes instead of disk, SID instead of Fox, light tires pumped to 45 psi (F: 2.1 fireXC Pro / R: 2.0 Mich Comp SLite). In addition, I opted for partial water (50 oz) and no pump/tube/tools. My strategy was absolute: Podium or bust.

At the start I finagled my way into the 2nd row of a humongous sport pack that included kids 19-34. Sheesh, what's up with that? Hillstrom and Jerry Brown sqeezed in with me. Chris Down was nearby. Isaias, Peter and others were so far back I couldn't even see them! What's up with that?? Anyway, the four of us wished one another luck and clicked in. At the gun I shot out of the pack, literally 50 feet off the front, but with legs so fresh motoring so nicely, I decided not to reign in the horses. This solo ride up front lasted 2 or 3 miles into the heart of the 8 mile climb and at this point I thought I might take top honors handily. Some lab rats never learn.

A 20 yr old was the first to overtake me. I chased for a while but he was mashing hard and I figured he couldn't last. I let him go. Turns out I would not see him for another 20 miles ... A couple more riders caught and passed me. Again I pursued, but lost track of them as we started to mix in with the dregs of the expert group ahead. The climb got pretty steep and loose, the pain started to numb my will (which could bend spoons last week when thinking about D'ville). My lower back might snap any minute. My toes and fingers were going numb. Some more folks passed me and I started to wonder how much I really cared. Uh oh. Experience told me I had pushed too hard, had crossed over the threshold of sustainable output.

I geared down and switched into conservation mode. I carried on this way for the final few miles to the top, getting passed by sinuously lean sport riders. I was expecting one Mr. Job any minute. Turns out he was awash in humanity deep in the pack. I came up to Lauren C in her first PRO race taking it easy, and still tired from consecutive podium weekends. That girl is one tough mtn momma. We exchanged good wishes and I moved on, just cresting the false summit / sharp right turn, with one last back-breaking push to flats. I figured I was in 12th place at this point.

It took me a couple of (wasted) minutes once on top to shake off the wobbles and get up to cruising speed on the flat wide fire roads. I swallowed a clif shot which made me feel good enough to ratchet up to passing speed; now I was reeling in one expert rider every minute or so, and starting to feel pretty good. I pulled down another Clif packet. And then another. Now I was feeling brand new! -just as I started the infamous Downieville descent. !!

The Yeti was a dream through the baby heads and I was picking good lines. With building confidence and speed I encountered several critical points in the trail, where fate offered me crucifiction -in the form of a bone crushing wipeout- OR (if I could react in the given nanoseconds) freedom. I chose wisely. Shortly thereafter I entered The Clif Zone, in which every synapse is supercharged by Clif Shot and nothing bad ever happens (Don't try this at home). Time and trail whizzed by and I was having the most fun riding ever ... yeah, 'ever'. I felt unstoppable until cramp hill where I had to dismount and stretch quad and calf cramps by squatting on my toes. Lost another chunk of time where the course veers up to the right off a fast fire road onto singletrack. I missed the turn but kept the delay to a few dozen seconds. Ended up 2:16 and Jerry Brown showed up a minute later. Nice job Jerry!

I did not know how I ended up until I bumped into Kenny C in the beerline who didn't recognize me but saw my TWW shirt and said, "Hey, did you hear? John Street got on the podium!" "Hey That's great!", I said.

Congrats to all finishers, especially 3-flat John Hillstrom who finished midpack after following my lightweight no-tube no-pump strategy. I think he fashioned tube patches out of Clif shot wrappers. I counted over 50 DNFs in the results.

John Street
2002 TWW XC Champ

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