Catch up to the Cross Season

         Back in May a group of friends and I took a trip for to Ashland, Oregon for the Spring Thaw XC and DH races for our friend Zora’s birthday. We were all excited for everyone almost everyone else it was their first time heading to Oregon to race, while I have raced the Spring Thaw DH in the past while I was in school, I have missed it from injuries the last couple of year. We had racers in our group racing Men’s Pro, Expert, Sport, beginner, and Women’s Expert.

            The courses for the XC were pretty tough, both started with a long 7.5 mile, almost 3000 foot hot fire road climb from Lithia Park to Four corners the a nice flat and fast section before another climb where the two course split with the Pro/Expert climbing an extra 800 feet, before descending back to four corners and the downhill on Catwalk and BTI, both trails that were raced the next day in the DH, back down to Lithia Park.

From Ashland Mountain Adventures, Cat 1 course

From Ashland Mountain Adventures, Cat 2 course

            I raced the Sport XC race, on my Dad’s Highball carbon, and went off with the lead group lead out by a fast junior. I began to fall back from the group around the top of BTI but soon started to catch the expert women’s field, and beginner men passing my friends while getting cheered on gave a new found boost of energy to grind up the fire road. As I got closer to the top of the climb passing the bottom of catwalk I was gaining confidence and knew the climb ahead allowing me to use the right amount of energy and pass a few competitors before getting the flatter section of the fire road where I could push a hard gear while saving energy for last bit of climbing. Right before dropping into the first decent  I passed two more racers allowing me to have a clear view of a trail I have yet to ride, by the bottom I was just catching a rider on a 29” full suspension XC bike. As I made the turn off the decent a few friends from home and Chico were there cheering me on yelling at me to catch the guy ahead of me

Photo By: Jeff Kendall-Weed

            He was pushing hard, but I was able to pass him just as we enter catwalk a trail I knew fairly well, but I though he would be right with me as I was on the hardtail, him on the suspension bike, but little did I know I was putting time in on him and by the end of the race I was out ahead by just over a minute to take the win in Sport 19-39.

Photo By: Jason Van Horn

            While we waited for the shuttle for the DH on Sunday it began to rain making the trails muddy and slick for those of us racing later in day. When my start time came around I was pretty soaked with water and my fingers were cold enough I could barely shift, but made it down catwalk on two wheels, and was excited I committed and hit the double up top that has been freaking me out for a few years. For BTI I wasn’t as lucky and would end up having my right foot unclip while jumping into a turn leading to a nice over the bars in front of a good crowd of people, I would end up in 10^th almost a miunte back from the Expert winner.

Photo By: Dennis Yuroshek

            Also racing were some of my friends from UCSC and SLO, Ashland native Cory Sullivan took 15^th in the Pro XC and Pro 10^th in the DH, Tom Doron DNS PRO DH. Will Curtis after deciding last minute to come get one last race in before shoulder surgry got 8^th in the Pro XC, 26^th in the Pro DH. Reggie Trimingham who toke a wrong turn, climbed an extra 1000 feet after breaking his saddle off, but had a blast in the Expert XC and 4^th in the Sport DH. Sam Anderson-Moxley crushed the climb and decent in the Expert XC to take 4^th, as well as flying down the mountain on his hardtail XC bike to a 5^th in Sport DH. and Zora Thomas suffered on the expert course but came in a respectable 7^th about a half our back from the winner, DNS in the DH. Ariana Altier had some bike issues and placed 5^th in the Women’s Pro DH.

            The Ashland weekend wasn't all fun and racing, after the XC race we went back up for some DH practice where both Tom and Zora broke their wrists only a few turns in on catwalk, but we still celebrated Zora’s birthday in style.

A week after the Spring thaw I was out riding with some friends in Santa Cruz, and had my front wheel wash out over a root, crashed and broke my wrist, bumming me out as I would go on to miss the summer’s mountain bike season, not really riding until a week before the cyclocross season.

Having the broken wrist didn’t exactly let me train too much for the up coming cross season, but I did start to ride road bikes for the first time, and got a week trip up to whistler to ride some DH, probably no the best idea coming off an injury. Although I did make it through the week unscathed while riding a few trails and features I did not think I would ride, which gave me a huge boost in confidence going into cross, even if I’m up to speed or endurance.

That basically brings us into the start of cross season, and the first race of the year, CCCX #1 that was on September 7^th, at Fort Ord. I was apprehensive coming into the face and preriding the course didn’t help much. The start of the race was an uphill sprint into a set of barriers followed by a third unevenly space, on a false flat with more climbing to the top of the course. After the climb there was a fun descent leading into a really fast, no brake rolling section that in the race was my strongest section of the track, next the track would weave near the start finish and a deep sandpit that would become the bane of some of the racers in the Elite race. The rest of the course consisted of loose tight turns and a pavement out and back sprint, and two more barriers before the start/finish.

The whole field was together for the first climb, but along started to spread out as the first lap continued, with a few single speeders out front. I settled into a case group made up of Chris Neher, Lee Slone, and myself, we rode together for about three laps, I started to lose all strength going over the three barriers at the top of the hill, and knew if I wanted to finish well I needed to make a move, So with two laps to go I started to use the fast rolling section of the course to put a gap on Chris and Lee, and try to catch up to the lead group, but I ended up just racing by myself for the last two laps and finished 3^rd almost a minute back of 2^nd and  20 seconds ahead of 4^th after the 5 lap race.

The next weekend we went back to Fort Ord for CCCX #2, this week’s course forwent the big hill from the last week, and was all about speed with two sets of barriers on before a short run up right before the finish line, and the other after a nice flowing high speed section starting at the top of the first run up. The middle of the course was a short pavement section preceding fun, fast, flowing single track through the grass, a ~70 yard pond bed and the first run up

Photo by: Jeff Vader Stucken

For CCCX #2, Matt Garcia, Lee Slone, and myself received call ups base on our results in CCCX #1.

 Starting on the front gave me a great starting spot to test out my legs as well as everyone else's' by giving a good hard sprint for the hole shot until slowing down in the first single track, and giving the field a little yo-yo speed to spread the field and break off a lead group, unfortunately I took a turn a little too fast and wide running into a bush leading to me having to use some extra energy and got stuck behind the two person lead group with the chase group, made up of Jason Martel-Dye, Robert Stiles, and myself. I would ride in the chase group for a few laps  looking at where I was faster and could pass and put in a gap, which I found was after the pavement. With three to go I made my move got by both Jason and Robert and was putting a put  decent gap between myself and them by the middle of the next lap putting me in a solid spot for another bottom podium step. I was feeling great, legs were in the perfect spot about to start the bell lap when just before the first set of barriers my chain dropped on the outside, wedging behind the crank arm, somehow my front derailleur had turned about 30 degrees so I had to dismount  fix the chain and straighten my derailleur, only losing two spots. Got a few more turns in to the next barrier and my chain dropped again, heartbroken, I got off and fixed it one more time, again allowing one more to pass me, putting me into sixth at the start of the last lap. Knowing I had speed on the three guys ahead of me on the second half if not the last three quarters of the lap.

I went as fast as I could and caught fifth, Paul Urich, right after the pavement and tried to get him push hard to catch Jason and Robert, but he didn't have enough steam left and let me go. As I approached the pond bed, I could see them on the other side, but i wasn't sure if I the time to catch them, but gave it all I had almost catching Jason on the last barriers, ending six seconds behind him for the last stop on the podium, 5th of 18 racers, a 3rd and a 5th in two races, not a bad way to started the season.