Le Petite Finale

Pulling into the parking lot of Pacific Union College on a warm August morning usually marks the end of my season. The Howell Mt. Challenge in Angwin, CA this past weekend is significant to me because it marks the final race in a steady stream of events that usually begins sometime around January. To me this race always marked the time when the bikes can be hung up for a while, the body rested, and for once rides can just be rides. More than that Howell Mt. serves as a synopsis of my entire season laid out ever so simply for me to see. How well did I ride this year? What kinds of finishes did I turn in, and what were my strengths and weaknesses? These all usually show up at Howell. This year was no different.

Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed in the first race of the season en route to 2nd place.

I knew I was tired that morning. I could feel it walking up the stairs to the registration booths. My legs ached even at that mild exertion. A little twinge of pain from a lingering back injury. And above all a resounding bad mood that seemed to follow me through the season, stemming from a mixture of poor performance and incomplete preparation. Begrudgingly, I put my riding gear on and prepared myself.

Off the starting line we climbed up the road toward that first singletrack. My slow start placed me back in the messy bottleneck, the dust sucking flurry of blurred riders. A mile into the race I finally could see the course in front of me, but I could also see where I was. Mid pack, stuck behind a group of slow riders, legs burning, lungs burning, my mind darting between aggravation to negative thoughts. This was how my whole season was, and Howell Mt. once again began it's summary. But I was riding fast. Or I should say, I was riding much faster than I thought I would considering I had not barely ridden since Downieville in July, and considering I had barely stretched or paid a moments attention to my diet. But amazingly I was pulling ahead and passing people.

The lesson begins with this starting line, "Jesse, are you paying attention? You have now seen how far you can get on luck and skill alone, but now I will show you where that ends." This was right at the point that I hit the first steep climb, stood out of the saddle and put all my strength into that one single gear I carried with me and found that the product of my effort was far less that I had hoped. I began to fade. Hitting the tops of climbs I realized just how relatively out of shape I was and I struggled to recover enough to keep my arms from being wobbly and my vision blurred and shaky. I could feel people approaching behind me, and paid little regard to those fading away ahead of me, which any racer knows is the WRONG perspective to have. Always focus on who is ahead of you. Instead, my ears became trained on the sound of breath or chain rattle behind me to determine if who was following me was a single speed rider or another class and thus how hard I would have to work to fight them off.

Soon a singlespeed rider did come up behind me to pass showing the black and green colors of the MR jersey. Zach was riding singlespeed that day too and was having a great season improving times and results in almost every event he entered. I hung with Zach for a while, negotiating the fast flowing section midway through the lap. I normal follow riders with a healthy bit of caution since I am always prepared for them to blow it. However, following Zach, which I have done for years, was easy because I know that Zach doesn't often crash so I put my wheel right on his and paced him. Where I lost Zach was at the start of the climb out to the airport. I had to stop because there was too much air in my rear tire and I wasn't getting any traction on the climb. Once I stopped, it was nearly impossible to start again. Though I did ride the last part of the lap, once I hit the airport I was done mentally and physically. I tried to talk myself into another lap, but at last the whole system said "no". I could hear the lesson again. "Are you paying attention?" This began my slow ride back; a DNF and the end of my day. The end of my season.

Suffering mid-pack, mid-season.

Zach went on to finish 2nd in the singlespeed category, and I realized that I had been running his pace and was in line to finish somewhere around there had I been ready. I was proud of him finishing as strong as he did. It made me smile. Dusty brought home a 2nd place as well and I would wager to say that that race acted as a synopsis of their own seasons as well.

At last, fighting off sickness and exhaustion...

Clearly the summary of the 2009 season is bleak at best, and I realize the shortcomings of my preparedness and the reasons for that. At Downieville and Howell Mt. I vowed to train hard enough to be in the top 5 at the start, or to not race at all. It's just too much suffering to be back there inhaling dust and getting cut off by passing riders when you know you aren't going to do well in the first place. I am proud of some races. My 3rd place finish at the Sea Otter after a hard fought battle on the Dual Slalom course was by far the highlight. My first XC race of the season in Ft. Ord was a 2nd place and that was a highlight as well. But for a whole season of hard work, sickness, poor finishes and no finishes at all I find 2 good results hardly comparable to the rest, which can only serve to spur me onward toward a different approach and a new season. I will always look forward to that!

Podium Sweep at Nationals!

This past weekend, Sol Vista hosted the 2009 USA Cycling National Championships. Miracle racing created quite a presence there with 3 strong riders, Dusty Gillingham, Zach Smith and Stacy Schroeder, and a host of family and friends dawning apprently new MR shirts!


The process leading to this event was arduous, hard fought and much anticipated. For Dusty preparations began last season as gradually his time on the bike increased and his race times decreased. Despite an ever illusive podium, he continued to turn in strong finishes at local and major events. Worth mentioning in that is a top 10 finish in both Super-D and XC at this years Sea Otter, a top 5 finish at this years' Downieville Classic, and 4th place at Nationals!

For Zach, this process seemed to happen almost over night. All of a sudden Zach began showing up at races with an even more chiseled physique, new bikes and turning in strong fast race times. At the Sea Otter this year, Zach shed significant time off his time last year to finish 13th in a huge field of riders. Notable finishes include a Top 10 finish in the Dual Slalom category at this years' Sea Otter Classic, 2nd place in the Dual Slalom in Santa Ynez, CA, 11th place at this years' Downieville Classic, and 4th place and 6th place at Nationals!

Stacy came into Nationals after a fighting through an injury from May of this year. Rest and re-training propelled her into strong position to take 5th place in the Cat 2 Women's division at Nationals. Other finishes include two top 5 finishes in Duo and 5-man 24 hour races, and a 1st place finish in a CCCX XC race at Ft. Ord.

Congratulations to the three of you for capping of this season with outstanding finishes at one of the country's biggest events!

The Price to Play: A ride alone in Tahoe.

Finally my first epic in Tahoe. At long last the warm weather cleared the high country of most of the snow cover near my end of the lake. Leaving from my door, and I love to accentuate this point, FROM my door I'm immediately on the Tahoe Rim Trail heading straight up. My intentions at that point weren't far past a small saddle just a mile or so out. Waking in Vallejo this morning, enjoying a cup of coffee I hit the road to Tahoe. Knowing quite well that I was going from sea level to my house at 7500' and planning to ride only up from there, I planned to just ride a while up and get my legs moving. But as so often happens, when I get out into the pines and wind, the chipmunks and storm clouds...I don't want to leave.


Most of the trail up is fantastically sculpted. Intermittently you are forced to burst into action to heave your body and bike over granite steps. Some of them cleanable, some very much not. Before I knew it I was at my destined saddle and had no intention of stopping there. I knew Star Lake was about 8 miles out and up from there, and I contemplated heading out there despite not knowing the terrain, trail, or whether it was actually clear. This ride was not an epic in distance, but a trudge of a ride especially coming from the thick honey air in the valley.

Putting an eye on the sky, the clouds looked a few hours off from storming so I continued on. The storms lately have been particularly violent with lightning strikes, hail and torrents of rain. I intended not to be caught in one of those. Along the trail I went, noticing the animals, trees, rocks, the tiny snow bushes that were popping up. I saw Jefferey pine cones and remembered to a backpacking trip with my Dad years ago where he taught me to recognize the difference between Jefferey pine and Ponderosa pine. He told me that "gentle" Jefferies didn't poke your hands when you cradle them in your hand like "prickly" Ponderosa do.

A turn halfway up that is both as sharp and menacing as it looks. A missed turn here would be the end. Below is the stellar view of the Carson valley, NV.

In so many words, the trip up to Star Lake is 9 miles of climbing interspersed with moments of intensely steep climbing and hike-a-bike. Don't let it fool you, though. You can tell you are pre-paying for this fun because the trip down will be all downhill. (I won't lie, there's a bitch of a climb midway down...) The other delightful aspect of this trail is that there are a few serious do-or-die sections, where a bobble to one side would send you careening down some absurdly steep mountain-sides. I did crash one, in a nice gentle area but not for mistake, but because I was looking off at a view.

An area not to make a mistake

Tahoe is such an amazing riding destination. The mixture of granite sand, pine duff, summer rains and high mountain views is so alluring. Not to mention the quality of riding. I had been staring out windows for over a month waiting for signs that snow was clear enough to allow me on trails. The summer does, however, provide riders with an added challenge in recognizing weather. Back in Santa Cruz I would ride, no matter what. For years I went out on the soggiest days, and loved it basically because there's so little risk! Here if you get caught in a storm, you start wondering if you've seen all the things you wanted to in your life, for it's flashing before your eyes. If it isn't a warm summer start pounding lightning or hail, you get caught in one of those freak cold storms that happen to dump a foot of snow. Basically, mountain weather knowledge, survival skills and common sense are imperative here.

A giant Juniper alongside trail

The California/Nevada border.

My first view of Lake Tahoe high up near Freel Peak.

Star lake turned out to be far more beautiful and quiet than I expected! But I spent little time there knowing that before long lightning would be striking this high barren ridges. I must have been around 9000' or more. Lightning was not the only thing I would have to worry about because the elevation was starting to get to me. I mis-judged the exertion required on the initial trip back, and before long I was very tired and fearing the sections of cliff-lined trail that lie ahead as I was starting to wilt a little. Turns out I made it through okay with regard to the cliffs, but fared far worse once I finally made it home... I was still amazed that as soon as I dropped off the trail onto Quaking Aspen Ln. I had all of 30 to walk to my house. But the fun was yet to begin as I developed a nice sized headache and some persistant nausea. I laid down with needles in my arm and allowed the nausea to fade. Two needles shook off my nausea in about 30 seconds. After than I dropped an aspirin under my tongue to avoid needing to throw it up, and within minutes the headache faded. As I sit here now the skies have opened up into madness. Hail is berating my car and the world around as lightning is striking overhead sending large cracks through the house, powerful and near enough to jump the electricity in the house. To this day I cannot help flinching at the sound of intense thunder, reminding me how meagerly insignificant we humans actually are. The skies are dark and menacing. Dry and warm, no longer sick I enjoy the rest that comes from a good long ride.

PS: My previous opinion of SRAM components remains. My cassette came loose...again, the derailer rattled, the shifters felt loose and grinding. I'm scraping the whole lame system as soon as I can. Aluminum-spline freewheel hubs are garbage too.

Star Lake

Ode to Cannondale: Thanks for all the laughs...

A post dedicated solely to the bizarre, ugly and otherwise nonsensical designs of Cannondale Bicycles:

A face only a Mother could love:

And finally, the Cannondale Moto. In my opinion not a half bad looking bike. Not beautiful, but decent...expect...what's with the ridiculous bird's nest of linkage in there!!

Sea Otter 2009: All in one blog

Hello audience. Well, as it turns out the ability to run blog posts on a daily basis this year was not a reality. So, I'm here to offer the event and all its glory in one blog. For the folks who were there, you'll enjoy an entertaining recap and for those who weren't you get to see the event through my eyes.

Thursday

Thursday is generally the practice and "show up" day. For us taking on the dual slalom course we had 3 hours of course inspection and practice. The problem with the Sea Otter DS course is that it changes almost entirely over the course of four days. So practice on Thursday is really only helpful in shaking off cobwebs and having some fun. Try to memorize lines on the course and you'll find you won't be able to find anything like them once the whole rest of the field shreds it to bits. My week of anguish over which singlespeed gear to use paid off because I chose a gear that worked almost entirely perfect. 40/16. It was a little tough getting out of the blocks, but I was able to pedal at full speed to the finish line with no chance of chain skip, drop or noise (anyone who knows my riding knows this is of utmost importance). For the day it was just Zach and I strolling the festival which was basically just waking up. We stopped by the Sierra Nevada tent roughly 15 minutes before they opened and roughly 45 minutes before noon for the celebratory opening beer of the Sea Otter.

Friday

Friday is a chaotic day. This year ws no exception. Dual Slalom qualifiers, XC races and the Super-D litter the day with activity. The team spreads very thin on this day in order to participate in or watch all the races they want. For Zach and I, practice started at 11am and shortly there after the nerves of qualifying began. For Dusty, the Super D would be just the lung burn and high speed blaze down fireroad that would threaten to ruin any goals for the weekend. Reports from the high speed, rutted course was that it was grated a few days prior... Imagine riding down a bowling lane covered in ball bearings in a sand storm in a crowd of 60 riders...thats pretty close to the Sea Otter Super-D. Except the Super-D is nowhere as flat as a bowling lane.

Qualifying went entirely smooth, unlike last year's. The races found me in the 3rd fastest qualifying spot, Zach in the 6th. In an 8 rider bracket/elimination format the order for the quarter finals goes as follows: 1st vs. 8th, 2nd vs. 7th, 3rd vs. 6th and 4th vs. 5th. You guessed it. That put Zach and I head to head for the first race. I had many mixed feelings about this. My desire for Zach to finish strong and for a dual podium for the team was mixed with my desire to win, and for either of those to happen, one would have to eliminate the other right off the bat. Sunday was race day.

The girls raced the XC course on Friday, and all turned in great finishes! Though sadly I wasn't able to see any of their race due to qualifying, I'm happy to say that Cyndie pulled out the 1st ever MR Sea Otter podium with her 5th place finish in the Women's Sport division. Maia finished strong in 6th place!

Cyndie taking the podium

Saturday

Zach and Dusty preparing to race in 1/4 mile visability

This was an early morning and a foggy one at that. I woke up warm at home in Santa Cruz. Quietly I gathered my gear, a cup of coffee and kissed Heather on the forehead and hit the road. Arriving at Laguna Seca there was a blanket of pea soup fog awaiting us. Dusty's car was already there, and evidently he and Zach beat even the security staff and volunteers to the course. Do you think Dusty was nervous?? A little. This was the race day he'd been planning on for months. All those hours on the trainer, and banging out laps outside...all those SoBe Energy drinks sacrificed were all in the name of finishing in the top 10 of the uber competitive and heavily sandbagged Men's Sport division. Generally the top 10 turn in remarkable fast times, and the top 5 generally turn in times competitive with pro lap times. Oh, the Sea Otter. Dusty couldn't seem to keep himself still so after much milling about he and I went out for a lap backwards on the GP race course. By the end of the lap, we had miniscule droplets of water beaded all over us and once we slowed it started getting cold!

Soon we met up with Zach, dawning is slim new physique, trim new stumpjumper and sharp new MR kit. Zach had been turning in progressively faster and faster lap times, and you could tell he had his eyes set on a strong finish today. Coach Craig was out warming up with jokes, and Covey was the solitary white jersey.

Zach finishing strong up the "trail of tears"

I will say the start of the Singlespeed race, which I was the only one racing in that day, was obsurd! All the nerves of the starting line build up intensely as you prepare for the sprint along the GP course. The announcer yells in a crecendo tone leading to the flag off of the squad. 200 yards down the start stretch you spin out and realize you will not be able to go any faster, and suddenly all that intensity fades as people realize there's no sense in being competitive at this moment, just keep spinning until you hit the single track. That's where the SS race gets hard core, and for the men at the top of the category I take my hat off. I'm no match for that kind of pedal power. Where I can keep up on the downhills fine, I flounder miserably on the climbs in comparison to these sinewy legs and 29" wheels.

I barely noticed the miles pass this day. In so many ways I felt like a "lost soul" out there. Whether i felt strong or weak meant nothing to me, and I responded to being passed by another short-chainer about the same as i did to passing one. I just didn't care. Negative emotions during a race can tear you down, and strangle the motivation you built up. But if you don't have motivation in the first place, then really you are just out there breathing hard. I will say, though my spirits raised considerably once I hit the bottom of the "trail of tears", (which is still a mystery to me). I grabbed a bit of food and set out on a rhythm cranking up that long climb. That elevation in mood was met by Maia, Cyndie and Stacy cheering me on loudly toward the top. Cyndie took up residence near the cheerleading troop that lined the course, and Stacy cheered amongst the group providing donuts and beer to the passers by. All at once as I descended toward the finish, I loved cycling again.

Dusty was the first to come in, and the finish line marked his success at meeting his goals. 9th place overall and beating his goal time by less than a minute!! Zach was next looking strong and coming in at 14th place and only 7 minutes off the lead!! Shortly there after was Coach, coming sans cramp and smiling bright. Covey followed and the day was done! We all felt fantastic.

Sunday

My final race to 3rd place

Finals day. By now most of the team was done with our events. Just Zach and I had Dual Slalom finals left to go, and go head to head we did. Just one hiccup. With all the nerves, and the absolute disorganization of the race schedule Zach and I managed to miss our first race by seconds. This put us both at a tie, and the showdown would come down to just one race! No back up. If one of us fell or bobbled, that was it. The pressure of this showed as Zach and I waited at the top to make sure we caught our second race. We divided our time between chit chat and silence, both trying to get our heads on straight. At the finish line I eliminated Zach, gave him a hug and thanks and prepared for the next race in the final 4.

Meanwhile, Navarro was finishing his brutal two lap XC race amongst the Cat 1 boys coming in at 20th place in a huge field and blistering heat.

The team effort to change my wheel!

I don't remember the first of the semi finals races, but i remember picking myself off the ground in the middle of one of the turns. The bike seemed to disappear from under me, and my arm stung. After realizing my tire blew out, I limped to the finish and began a frantic, full team affair to change the tire. It was madness and all I remember thinking was I had to get this thing patched or I'd miss my second race. The effort was amazing, and in hind sight really warms my heart. Dusty swithced between removing his wheel to see if it fit on my fork and removing pedals to prepare Zach's bike, which he donated to my cause without hesitation. My dad worked to remove my mangled tired from the rim and Zach stepped in after two CO2 cartridges blew up in my hands to pump the wheel up. Before I knew it Zach was pushing my bike up the hill and Dusty was alongside trying to calm my mind and pump me back up for another race.

The original MR crew dawning the new jerseys and pushing my bike up the hill

That other race went to the 2nd qualifier and I set myself up to race the consolation for 3rd place. Both consolation race were strong, and I was proud of my performance, soundly beating the other guy in two races and locking in 3rd place! At the bottom was Heather's smiling beautiful face congratulating me followed by the rest of the team. I was really happy! My first Sea Otter podium! After the event winded down, we met briefly and in jersey at the black bear diner, Zach's favorite after race food, to share stories and laughter, comparing our races and generally drinking in the event. Heather and I drove home in happiness and treated ourselves to a martini and Italian food to cap off a long and challenging weekend! Thanks team!

Sea Otter 2009

It's April and the Sea Otter is about to hit the scene. For me this is a very exciting week, and I know the rest of the team is pumped. Everyone is out turning in laps, working on the bikes and getting prepared for the biggest races of the season.

This is probably the time when the blog gets the most use as I try to keep regular updates coming through for people to follow. They might not be as up to date as Stacy and my results were at the 24 hours of Old Pueblo, but hopefully enough. Last year I was able to get a post in per day with results and photos as they came up. Keep checked in as much as possible to see how the team is doing.
Last year was a year of leaps and bounds, and i think the performance we showed spurred our desire to train for this year. This year we will be showing up with renewed fitness and goals. The big surprise is we will be unvailing our new jersey kits, redesigned by Jon Aschcroft for this year. Wish us luck!!

Here's the break down of the weekend and the events we are participating in:

Zach: SRAM Dual Slalom: Cat 2 Men 30-39 , SRAM XC: Cat 2 Men 30-34
Jesse: SRAM Dual Slalom: Cat 2 Men 30-39, SRAM XC: Cat 2 Single Speed
Dusty: SRAM XC: Cat 2 Men 25-29, SRAM Super-D: Cat 2
Cyndie: SRAM XC: Cat 3 Women 19-29
Maia: TBD
Coach: TBD
Stacy: SRAM XC: Cat 2 Women's 30-39, SRAM Dual Slalom: Cat 3 Women
Navarro: SRAM XC: Cat 1 Men 30-34

Top 5 Sweep!

There was something quite noticeable during the last XC race at Ft. Ord. If it wasn't the blur of green and white whipping past you, it was probably the bold letters "MR" perched proudly amongst the top 5 and atop the podium. After a beautiful day of racing amidst green grass and lots of friends, our team placed at the highest overall placing I can remember. The results are as follows. Way to go everyone:

Stacy Schroeder: 1st place, Sport Women's
Dusty Gillingham: 3rd place, Sport Men's
Jesse Smith: 2nd place, Sport Single Speed
Zach Smith: 5th place, Sport Single Speed
Covey Potter: 2nd place, Beginning MenPhotos credits and thanks to Rick Rasmussen!