NMBS Race #2 - Firestone Classic

Drove up to Santa Ynez last weekend for the Firestone Classic. Met Jacinda and her friend Dave on Saturday for a slow motion pre-ride of the 13 mile XC course. Camped out...



... then woke up early Sunday for an 8:15 start.



Had a lot of nervous energy racing Sport for the first time. After a frenetic and dusty start, passed a number of riders in the first few miles but got passed by many more. About 2/3 through the first lap, got stung by a bee in the face. Nice...

At the end of lap one, started feeling a second wind. Was able to turn a fairly big gear and actually gain back a few lost positions. Too little, too late though. At 17+ miles, reached the start/finish again and was surprised to be done. Kind of anti-climactic as I was expecting at least one or two more miles.

Here's an elevation/hr profile and link to data on MotionBased.





After some drama, ended up finishing 33 out of 45 riders in the Sport 40-44 class. Dave beat me by under two minutes coming in 29th.

Here are a few more random pics from the weekend.



Jacinda sharing the stoke with her friend Dan who's just about to finish first in Expert 30-34.



A 1/4 mile into the Pro Men's XC race. In first through third at this moment are Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (on a 29er), Geoff Kabush and Ryan Trebon. Kabush would end up winning, beating JHK by a second.



Pro Women churning up a ton of dust, much of which would end up on and in my car.

Sea Otter Classic: 04.13.07 - 04.15.07

Headed up to Monterey over the weekend to check out Sea Otter for the first time. Upon arrival, took a few pics of the crazy dirt-jumpers and walked around the trade show where every manufacturer from huge to small was present.






Saturday AM did the XC race along with Alfredo Alforque and hundreds of others. The 19 mile course started out on the Laguna Seca race-track then headed off on a mix of fire-road and fun single-track. Finished 14th out of a field of 137 in the Men's Beginner 40 - 44 category.

See below for the course elevation profile and a link to details on MotionBased.





Alf's friend Jose who oversees fork manufacturing at Fox raced downhill on Saturday PM. In treacherous, muddy conditions, he placed 2nd out of 22 in the Men's Beginner 35-39.



Stuck around for awhile on Sunday to watch the pro downhill and XC races and take a few pics. Here are snaps of Steve Peat, April Lawyer and an unknown other ripping up the DH course which dried nicely from the previous day.





All in all, a super-fun weekend. Will definitely be back next year.

Backbone Trail Ride

Rode Westridge fireroad to Backbone to Sullivan paved road to Disneyland and Squirrel Cage today. Backbone going down into Will Rogers State Park is in perfect condition.