First I must apologize for the lack of pictures in this race report. I sorely missed my dear wife this past weekend, and I am sure that anyone reading this race report misses her photos. Please bear with me as all I have are words to share from this race…

The second in a series of four, this race was at a new venue for me. I had heard rumors that the course was lame and that it wasn’t worth driving to. I don’t think anyone could have been more wrong!

Friday night I was scrambling to get my gear ready, and pack up my stuff. Allison was to drop me off at Nancy and Rogers house so that I could ride up with them (Allison was to spend the weekend doing XC training). I crashed on their couch and we were on the road really freaking early on Saturday (do these people sleep? ? )

Saturday morning we arrived in Tehachapi around 6:00AM and went for breakfast at a little diner. I ordered a hearty breakfast which worked out really well for me. Once we got checked in and they opened up practice (around 8AM) I did run after run after run and didn’t take a break till some time after 2PM. I don’t know how many runs I got in, but I can tell you that I did enough runs that my ears are still sore from removing and replacing my helmet! I almost never do DH runs on non-race weekends, so my jumping and drifting skills were pretty hurting, but after all those runs I was feeling very confident on the course.

The course:

The start gate was on the top of a grassy slope, at the bottom there was a very slight left right chicane to a jump. The chicane was on flat ground and had marbles on hard pack, quite a few people crashed 3 seconds into their race runs! The jump didn’t have a good landing for race speed, so it was key to suck it up and flat land.

After recovering from the flat landing you get a few pedal strokes and then drop into a bermed right hand 180 downhill turn. This turn was one place that someone can really gain or lose time as the exit was a pretty flat pedal section for 35 yards or so. At the end of the pedal section there was a little rise (as you pass under a big ladder drop) into a left hand 90 degree berm.

This berm was followed by a jump over an unused berm and then a trip through some knee high grass. After that there was a high speed off camber right leading into another critical corner. The corner had two lines, an inside line that could reward a skilled rider with a very short distance traveled and punish an unskilled rider with a violent loss of traction, and an outside line with a berm that provided a more consistent cornering surface and good traction to pedal out.

The course then had a fast section across another unused berm which acted as a jump, one must soak this one up as immediately afterward you had an off camber right hander into a steep section followed by a quick left then right under a giant arch of a fallen oak tree. The left hander again had a couple of line choices and the corner speed, exit speed, and distance traveled through each line made the choices more difficult! The right was well bermed and was very fun to slam through if you had good exit speed from the left.

Immediately after this the rider needed to really crank it up. A short pedal section led to a very sketchy sweeping left hand turn, then traversing the hill went over a couple of rolling mounds, almost like a pump track but a bit too far apart and not steep enough. This section was pretty demanding and one would lose time if they let up on the pedaling!

At the end of this straight away, a flat right led into a series of three quite small drops. The drops would be insignificant if it weren’t for the fact that the last one was just close enough to an off camber right then left set of turns to make the rider compensate for the fact that their suspension could still be in rebound mode as they entered the corner. The exit speed from these corners was crucial as immediately afterward the rider was sent skyward over a decent sized table top jump. Lots of riders had a hard time with this location on the course.

Down-siding the table top jump was critical as it was really the only way to carry enough speed for the double jump immediately afterward. Even with a good pump off the landing of the table, I was pedaling to make sure I could clear the double.

After landing the double, the rider was sent skyward yet again off a left hand hip jump and down a nice landing area into a nicely banked high speed right hand turn. Nearing the finish line, the rider was then faced with a slight bump/jump, a left hand turn immediately followed by a jump over a fallen tree and then a few pedal strokes later a kicker of a table top right before the finish line.

As you can tell, I became quite intimate with this course over the weekend!

Sunday rolled around and I did a couple of practice runs. I took one run down pretty slow trying to help some riders with lines that hadn’t been there on Saturday for practice. I felt very good on the course and had gained a ton of confidence in my jumping, a stark contrast to the fear that I felt toward the jumps at Sea Otter. The race was to be a two run format; a first for me in my short time racing, something that I hoped would reward my consistency on the course.

My first race run was not so good though. I was trying too hard to pedal fast and shifted gears as I went through some bumps, the brief lack of resistance in my drive train combined with the un-weighting effect of a bump caused me to slip my left pedal. I nearly crashed, my left leg swung back violently and came all the way around to the right side of the bike, I hit my stomach on the saddle, veering to the right I nearly collided with the support for the ladder drop and came off the top of the left hand berm onto the grass. Somehow in all of this I managed to not come to a complete stop, get back on the bike, and pedal out of it! The rest of the course went according to plan though and I finished in the lead with a time of 1:24 and change. The second place rider was only a couple of tenths of a second behind me and in talking with him he felt he would be faster on the second run.

My second race run went very well. I was angry for my bobble in the first round and my friends were yelling for me to keep my feet on the pedals! I hit all my lines, pedaled hard and cleared all the jumps. Unfortunately my closest competition took a hard fall as I watched him come through the jumps. I was very sad to see him crash as I would have liked to have seen what time he could have done (he said that up till that point he had gone much faster than his first run) but I was impressed that he got up and finished the run, managing to stay on the podium! In talking with the other racers I said that I had hoped to shave 3 or 4 seconds off my time, thinking that was about what my bobble had cost me. To my amazement, I had shaved nearly 6 full seconds off my first time! My second run was a 1:18 and change!

All in all I had an amazing weekend. The facility at Woodward West was amazing. I hope that they start having gravity camps for adults as the features that they have built made my heart beat fast and my eyes bulge! I have to thank Nancy and Roger for hosting me this past weekend. A guy couldn’t ask for better team mates! Thanks again to all my racing friends; you are all what make the races special and it wouldn’t be the same without you.

Last week we took a couple of vacation days to head up to Laguna Seca Raceway for the 2008 Sea Otter Classic. We have had the event on our minds since 2006 when we drove up to see the Expo and watch the races.

The cost to race this event is pretty significant; as entry fees go it is very expensive at around $90 dollars per event (between the two of us we participated in 4 events), fuel prices are steep and we spent around $200 to drive almost 900 miles round trip, we saved a bunch by sharing a room with friends and only spent $160 for 3 nights, then add up all the costs of food and drink and everything else… Sea Otter isn’t cheap!

Thursday morning we left home at 3AM and arrived at the venue around 10:30AM. We parked and got ready for our DH practice runs. Unbeknownst to us, we could have headed straight over and started practicing, but in our naivety we thought that we could only practice during our scheduled times. We mulled about in the Expo to kill some time before heading up to practice.

The DH course at Sea Otter is VERY fun! It is dramatically different than what we are used to at Fontana with big swooping berms and lots of jumps. There were no rock gardens, no real low speed flat turns, no deep silt-dust, we were in a foreign land! After getting two practice runs in due to long lines at the top and longer lines waiting for shuttles we were kicked off the course for the Expert practice. I felt really slow and was not making most of the jumps, I hadn’t hit anything as big as that since we were in Whistler last summer so I was pretty rusty and lacked confidence. No matter, we would have another practice session on Friday!

We headed back to the truck on the other side of the venue to change clothes and pre ride the XC course. The XC course was extremely fun. Fast, flowy single track descents with some slightly technical spots, a couple of deep sandy downhills, and a few climbs that suit my power to weight ratio perfectly. I wish that the organizers of the event had seen fit to schedule the event so that multi-discipline atheletes could participate without conflicts. After the XC ride we were both ravenous and headed to dinner and bed.

Friday morning we arrived at the venue before the sun came up. I had a lot of work to do on the bikes before I could go practice SuperD. This would be my first SuperD race ever and I was pretty nervous. While working on both of our bikes I managed to scarf down some breakfast, and then jumped on my bike to find the start of SuperD. I was pretty disappointed in the signs that directed you to the start; I was unsure as to which way to go but had seen a sign on the far side of the venue by the downhill course that said “SuperD Start” so I pedaled over there. I really wish that the organizers had put up signs by the paddock to direct us on the much shorter route up and across the footbridge.

Anyway, after pedaling all the way around Laguna Seca Raceway unnecessarily the signs seemed to just stop. I asked a parking attendant where the SuperD start was and he didn’t know, but pointed up the hill saying that lots of riders had gone that way. Another thing that would be nice would be to have the promoter educate the event personnel on some basic things like where the races begin! (Later I heard that Marla Streb had missed the Pro Womens SuperD start and I wonder if she had the same problems)

After finally locating the starting area I commenced my practice run. The course started out with a slight incline before descending down to the first turn; a flat left hander with loose gravel on it. As I approached the corner I decided that during the race I might want to stick the inside line so I went in fast and made an attempt. This approach didn’t work out for me as the bike quickly slid out and left me skidding along the road on my left side. I collected myself and hiked back up a ways to take another go at it. This time I found that the outside line might work better, but was also worried that the outside line would put me in harms way should someone wash out hard trying to stick the inside line. I decided there would probably be other challenges on the course and that I had learned what I needed for this corner (little did I know). I bombed down the rest of the course and found that there was one other corner, a pretty easy right hander.

I was really disappointed with the lack of technical challenges on the course. It was really just a high speed run down fire roads with two corners. Since I didn’t have a big ring on my bike, I was instantly at a disadvantage. I decided on the shuttle ride back to the venue that making a second practice run would be a waste of my energy. Once back at the venue I had time to kill so I went over and watched some Dual Slalom racing. Nancy had qualified really well and I wanted to see her ride the course. Unfortunately it was rather cold and windy on the hill and I only got to see her do one round. I went to the truck to waste time and re-fuel. I packaged up my DH gear and placed it with my bike on Roger and Nancy’s truck in the hopes that I would be able to get one DH practice run in after my SuperD race and then headed up to the SuperD start.

Once we lined up by class for the start of the race I was blown away at how many people I would be racing against (there were 60 of us!). When we were called to the line I tried to place my bike in the first row but was edged out and wound up on the second row, little did I know I would have been better off in the third row! At the start I sprinted up the hill, jumped over the third row of bikes and picked up my ride only to realize that the bikes in the first row were in my way. I hesitated to allow the riders in the first row to get moving and in doing so allowed a rider in the third row to place his bars into my rear wheel. I was off to a horrible start! Once I got moving I was probably in the top 20 or so, I ran until the crest of the hill and jumped onto my bike to ride and WHAM I slid off the back of the seat and landed on the back tire! This was a very uncomfortable experience but I did my best to get moving again, I ran a few steps and was finally successful at mounting my bike and pedaling. I was probably somewhere near 40th place at this point. There was lots of people pushing and shoving and tangling their bikes up. I pedaled hard and started passing people. I was riding off the side of the fire road in several places so that I could pass without causing a crash. The first corner came and went, I rode through it tentatively on the outside, partly due to the pain eminating from my groin and partly due to fear of having one of the guys on the inside slide into me. On the climb right after the turn I stood up and hammered the best I could. I passed about 5 more riders. Once I crested the hill I quickly spun out in my top gear. I did my best to stay aero and managed to not get passed. I negotiated the second turn and exchanged positions with a rider on a flat section of the course (I was spun out, he powered by me, then I passed him back on the descent). I gave it all I had and held my position for the rest of the race.

I was pretty disappointed with my race and right after finishing pedaled the one mile up the road to get on the shuttle. Unfortunately they had just finished loading the shuttle truck and there was only one truck. I was quickly running out of time to get a DH practice run in! Just when I was running out of hope, Robert Herber came driving through! I jumped in the back of his pickup truck and he gave me a ride up to the venue. He totally saved my day, a big thanks to Robert!!!!

My legs were pretty tired but I did my best to ride fast up the hill to the DH course. Once there I hastily donned my gear and switched bikes. Huge thanks to Nancy and Roger for bringing my bike and gear up to the DH course for me!!!! My practice run felt much better than the two runs the day before so I was very glad I got one in. The DH shuttle line was amazingly long and it took over an hour for us to get back up to the top. No second run for me! We headed back down to the bottom of the course on the road so that we could deal with a timing issue for Allison. After that we cruised around the Expo some and then went to dinner and bed.

Saturday morning we got to the venue early again so that I could get Allison’s bike ready for her XC race. I finally got her shifting issues squared away and then went to get my final DH practice run in before my race. I was the first person in line for practice. It was very cold and windy. I wanted to do a full race pace run. When I was finally cleared to start I pedaled hard out of the gate and went into the first turn really fast. Unfortunately for me they had watered the course just before practice and my Small Block 8 on the rear didn’t hold in the muddy corner (the course had been dry on all previous runs). Half way through the corner my rear tire came out from under me and I slid out and fell pretty hard. I looked up at the really long practice line and decided that if I tried to go back up for a run I might miss my start time. In the fall I had sprained my ankle and removed all the skin on the inside of it, and twisted my knee pretty good. I finished the run, trying to get my confidence back. I was not very pleased with my practice run. It would have been really cool to get a second run in, but that was not to happen. The shuttle trucks didn’t start running for nearly an hour!!! Another lesson learned is that self-shuttling, although technically not allowed, is used by many people to get extra practice runs!

Once I was finally back up top I decided that with as cold and windy as it was, it was in my best interest to head over to the truck and warm up some. I ate some food and blasted the heater. When it was close to my seed time I headed up the hill and staged with the other guys in my class. My race run was uneventful. I didn’t push hard going through the first turn due to falling there on my practice run. I overjumped the first double and scrubbed some speed not making the second double, but pedaled hard. I didn’t do the big step down jump but I don’t think I lost much time there. I did brake excessively heading into the steep rutted section, but I wanted to make sure I had a clean run. I pedaled hard on the lower section and crossed the line in 2min 45seconds even. I heard them announce my time and that I was in first. I waited around for the rest of my class to finish and then checked the print out to make sure… I had won DH!!!!

After jumping on a shuttle I rode quickly over to the truck to find Allison. We celebrated my win and she told the story of her XC race. We went down to the Expo and she jumped up on the podium. It was approaching her seed time so we headed up so she could stage, but it turned out that the medical delays had pushed her race time back by an hour or so. We watched a bunch of racers go down and when she finally went down I snapped a picture of her…

After her race run we went over to the truck and got a quick bite to eat. We then headed down to find out when the awards would be. On the way down, I saw other DH racers walking the opposite direction with awards and schwag. We had missed our podiums! This was very upsetting. I had worked hard to put myself on the podium. There were no announcements as to when podiums would be, no times, no one knew when they would start. I was very disappointed in the way Sea Otter handled the awards, and I don’t think I was the only one.

One thing that stands out in my memory from the weekend was a wonderful discussion with Dave Turner.  He took the time to talk with us and it was a very pleasant discussion.  I appreciated him sharing his viewpoints and insider information with us.  Thanks to Dave Turner for spending the time to talk to us!

Sunday we watched the Pro DH, hang out some,  and then headed home. It was a long drive. It was cool to see Rich Houseman driving home, his truck looks sweet with all those Yeti bikes in the back!!! All in all Sea Otter was a good experience. Every time we head out to the races there are things to learn, and this trip was no exception. Thanks to Roger and Nancy for helping us out with so many things! Thanks to all of my sponsors, and thanks to my wonderful wife!

Thursday we did not go up to practice, due to time and gas prices we opted to ride a quick local XC loop after work.  Allison was climbing very strong, I was struggling on the first lap but my legs came around on the second lap.  Seeing Allison pull away from me on the first big climb I was glad that I wasn’t racing XC at the Nationals!

Friday we drove up and got a few runs in. I was amazed at the transformation our local venue underwent. Big team trucks, vendors everywhere! I was bummed that you had to be special to park inside where we usually park with our friends, but we eventually figured out the parking deal. We got in a couple of runs. The course was pretty fun, although they kept the hard stuff all on the expert/pro course. Funny thing, I know I can ride the stuff on that course, but I definitely have some anxiety about trying to race on it! My mom was out for the weekend to watch us race and that was really cool. After practice we all hit up Jose's for some good quality time, then we went to the hotel.

Sponsor Plug…

I can't say enough good stuff about my new toy! I had recorded a couple of practice runs with my new GoPro helmet cam and then watched them on the laptop before going to bed. I found new lines and was able to visualize the course much better. I highly recommend one for any racer, very cool tool. I meant to record my race runs, but didn't get around to it... although it is really light I didn't really want the weight on my head for race runs anyway...



Saturday we showed up early, but were forced to park in no-man's land. We rectified that situation eventually, but Allison was really freaked out for a while. My rear tire had flatted overnight from the previous day’s practice run, so I had to fix that before I could ride. We did some spectating and got a little practice in. My practice runs went well. I felt ready.  My race run was good, but not great. Could have been faster, I was surprised to find that I had won by a big margin.



Sunday we showed up before sunrise and got to park wherever we wanted. I wanted to do my best to support Allison’s XC effort so I double checked her bike and helped her warm up some by chasing her around on my DH bike. I didn't stick around to see the start, instead I headed out onto the course to pick some spots to provide motivation. On the first lap I cheered from the top of the road climb, then on the single track climb, then on the single track descent, and then on the fire road on the backside. I then ran back over to the beginning of the course and cheered from there, I ran with Allison up one climb and tried to make sure she was doing okay, tried to help keep her motivated for that hard second lap. I waited for Steph and yelled at her. I followed her the whole way up the road climb yelling at her when she looked like she was dropping her pace. I then ran back down onto the backside of the course and cheered for every rider I could. I tried to provide them with motivation to keep pushing hard. After Allison and Steph passed me, I ran back to the finish area. They were already done when I arrived. I had worked up a mean appetite though and forced Allison to go get food with me before their awards. Before I got to do Cal State practice I got to see some pros killing it on their race runs. They amaze me with their skill and fitness. After they were done I got two practice runs. Both runs were flawless. I hit all my lines and had awesome speed. Unfortunately I was tired after the second one, probably due to running around all morning during the XC race. My race run was sloppy. I blew a corner right after the start, and then screwed up at least two more times, blew a corner after the saddle, and thought that maybe I had lost the race. I pinned it after that. I pedaled hard and almost crashed in the twists at right before the finish trying to keep speed. My race run was 5 seconds slower than Saturday but I still won (by a much smaller margin).



It was a good weekend of racing. I really miss doing XC though. I like the challenge. I would have been way back from the leaders of my class in XC though. I have a lot of work to do to catch up to them! Hopefully I can close that gap some in the coming months...



Thanks to my sponsors and everyone that was out to race and support the racers. I appreciate the pictures and cheering. I especially appreciate all the fun we have joking around on the hill. I have to say that after all the wise cracks, I was most proud of Frank and Adrian. They both were on the podium. I know that Adrian has it in him to be fast, it will just take work on fitness and I am proud of him that he is taking those steps!!!!! Good luck bro!