Well finally. The day came. One I was not looking forward to because really I was a little over racing. Still even after going out into town for the first time all year - pretty lame aye and getting a little buzzed on the Friday night and only a few hours sleeping I went to bed real early on the Sat night before the race and headed up the Mountain with Lisa and Jeff to Big Bear. I was feeling pretty good actually and after the warm-up riding up a tarmac road to the start of the race I knew that it was all on just a few seconds into the first climb.
It started at the usual insane pace and I was left thinking Oh No. This will suck. Within a few mins though I found myself in the top 3 guys (even hanging with the guy that has been winning by big margins for a bit). I ended up by myself in 3rd for a bit and stayed here for a while very slowly catching up to David Santos (Champion of my category in this years 8 race series). I kept looking back expecting to see others in my class catching up. It never happened though. David and I rode together for ages. It was great and the best competition and closest direct competition I have had all year. We really pushed each other and the pace of the race was really high.
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20 Miles Long, 2700ft climbing, 1hr 24mins Race Time
David and I went back and forth many times trying to get an edge. At one point I really thought he had me but when I reached the high point and the fire road that took us to the final main descent of single-track. The fire road was rolling and I slammed the rig into the big ring and put in a massive effort. In the end I slowly pulled away and when I got into the single-track I was well clear and feeling good. Man though was I in for a shock. The technical stuff is what I normally feel good about and love that stuff, it really is why I go up hills. However when in the most technical section of downhill single-track where many people were watching waiting for carnage, well lets just say I made sure they did not go home disappointed. I think I thought I was on my big bike with my full face helmet on like the weekend before at Lake Tahoe. The line I took (by accident because I came in too hot) was NASTY. I bounced over big expose roots, thought I had got things back together but then hit a massive rock. I remember flying over the bars doing a bunch of rolls and tumbles head over heels down the hillside and hearing many different sounds from those watching (from excitement to horrified yelps). I jumped up, adrenaline taking over, and got back on the bike before I felt any pain. The finish was only a few mins away and I had to make sure David didn’t catch back up. I cranked over the line in 2nd place. My best finish of the season (why did I have to wait till the last race). I was stoked and just 2 mins off Vincent’s time (winner) and only 5 mins off the fastest Pros time. It was a great finish to the season.
After I stopped I checked out the grazes. I came off really well. Bruises on each knee and a cut on the bum from a stray stick. Haha – but like a true cyclist the worst injury was to my bike. Yep a few good scratches on one of the fork legs. Bugger aye.
We hung out for hours in the sun waiting for the results. It was good to get to know some of my competitors. Both Vincent and David were really nice guys and I wish I got to know them earlier in the season. Arwell, next time maybe. In the end I got 4th overall for the season (out of 8 races) in the Southern California State Series. I am pretty happy with this and know that with more dedicated training specifically to XC racing I could have done a little a little better. I had many 6th place results and were often just a few mins off 3rd place. Still its been an enjoyable time. Its been satisfying and its been great sticking to a hard tail. I love my new hard tail and are very happy I didn’t go to a full sus rig. They have their benefits but I love the simplicity of no rear suspension. Also I can now confirm after all the races this year that Titanium really is as good as you hear. It’s a pleasure to ride it and gives me a big smile everytime I’m out on it. It’s one of the best rides on 2 wheels for sure. Well a Ducati 998 would go down ok too I must admit, but don’t EVER let me buy one of them. EVER. I will become one of those ‘temporary citizens’ very quickly.
1 comment:
Nice Work. Did you ever find any pictures of that crash? Post them up if you do.
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