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Race Report by Jon Heim
Like I said in my last report, all I want is one clean downhill race without a crash, mechanical, or both. I was heading up to Oregon to see my sister and niece and nephews. The Norba National was only 4 hours north in Crystal Mountain (next to Mt. Renier), so I decided to throw myself into the mix and see what happens. The course was very challenging. It consisted of about 4 very tight twisty forest sections up top connected by fast open sections. It ended with some long high speed, very rocky straights with some wide sweeping turns. The tight forest stuff was punctuated with log and root drops every 3-6'. These were difficult in that you couldn't build enough speed to launch them, but they were steep enough if you tried to roll them you risked endoing. There was a very loose powder chute with a nasty rut in the middle, rear wheel steering was key here. I arrived Friday in time for the 2 hour practice session. This wasn't a lot of time to get very many runs in with one lift, and the experts practicing at the same time. I snuck one run down the expert course to see what the mountain was like before the sport session began. I flatted right away. It was loose enough to try the 3.0 Serfa tires Joel got a few weeks ago. I jammed back to my car to try and shoehorn those big meats in my '96 GT STS DH bike. There was no way they were going to fit front or back, so I mounted a new set of 2.4 Motoraptors from my good friends at WTB. I thought I had DH tubes with me but was dismayed to find I only brought small XC tubes. Oh well, just use a little more pressure I thought. On my first run through the sport course dabbed about half the log drops, these were going to take some practice. On the high speed stuff at the end I felt very comfortable as it was similar to Mile hill back home. My practice second run I endoed the most difficult log drop and tacoed my front wheel. It wasn't a major taco but enough for it to rub on both sides of the fork. Note to self: try not to destroy the bike before racetime! I limped down the hill with my tire-rubbing noise loud enough to get the attention of all within earshot. I frantically headed to the expo/pit area to get some help. One of the mechanics helped me bang the rim so it wouldn't rub any more, then did what he could to try and true it. It looked rideable so back up I headed. I figured out more of the log drops this time and was jamming down the rocky straight. This time double flats at the bottom of the hill. With no practice time left I went begging for some DH tubes in the pit area. The same mechanic scored me some phat DH tubes but they were shrader valves, and my rims were drilled for presta. By this time most of the booths were closed, but I found one group still working and asked for a drill and bit. No drill but I found a round file and I began opening up the holes in my rims. This worked really well and I was then able use the super thick tubes. Also I had replaced my front derailer with a real chain guide and for once didn't have any chain problems. Next morning there was a one hour practice before the racing began. Of course the lighting and moisture was all different, but that's why you practice. Watching people go down I didn't see many people pedaling in the open spots, and I knew I could make up a lot of time there. Racetime comes and I pulled it all together. I cleaned all the technical spots, and pedaled all the open spots, and was having a great run. As I exited the last forest section and headed down the rocky straights, I breathed a sigh of relief as I was home free, or so I thought. I was going top speed when I headed into the last wide high speed right turn. All of a sudden I got jarred off the left side of my bike, and was hanging on with my right hand and right pedal. My butt was riding the rear tire, and the tire was grinding its way though my shorts and left leg. I was desperately trying to stay in a straight line and keep my momentum without crashing. I almost saved it but eventually went off course to the right and got tangled up in the tape. This was extremely frustrating as I was having a great run. I probably lost about 30 seconds. I untangled and remounted, built up enough speed again to hit the final jump well, then weaved my way through the finish 'S' turns sprinting as fast as I could. I crossed the line completely out of breath. Somehow I still made the podium with a fifth place and a nice medal. The winner was 34 seconds ahead of my time. I was stoked to podium at my first Norba National DH, but it was bittersweet. Can't wait for the next one...
Jon Heim
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