Name: Richard Jacinto



Event: Howell Mountain Classic (HMC)



Date: Sunday, August 12



Category: Men's Sport 40 to 49



Distance: 2 laps, 21 miles total, 3,200+ total feet of climbing



Field: 29



Place: 12



Conditions: Dry hardpack with some loose downhill singletrack, sunny, 75°+



I looked at last year's times and met my goal, finishing in under 2 hours. Unfortunately, we were combined with the 40-44 riders, so I don't know my official NorCal series standing. I was no better than 3rd, as I recognized two riders in my age group from the CCCX series.



I've raced the NVDC a few times, but this was my first HMC. This is a great venue, course, and there's showers.



On my final lap, as I reached the meadow before the airport, I caught up to a buddy in the Sport 30-39 group. He was on the wheel of another rider who then dropped us on the climb up to the airport. As I crested the final climb, that guy was almost on the airport parking lot pavement, a huge gap. I picked up the pace, made great time down the loose, dusty scree, and started hammering again. I got close to him before we turned onto the track, sprinted hard and he got me at the line by half a wheel. I found him on the lawn afterwards to see if we were in the same age group, we weren't, so it was all good.

Date: Saturday, June 23



Category: Men's Sport 45 to 54



Distance: 5 laps, 21 miles total, 2,700+ total feet of climbing



Field: 9



Place: 6



Conditions: Dry hardpack with some sandy sections, overcast, 55°, some wind from the west



I've doubled my training volume since the last race and don't feel any additional soreness. Here are the test results.



I managed my energy much better this race vs. the last one. I ate a larger breakfast, almost twice as much as normal. During my warmup lap, I ate half a Cliff Bar and drank 20 oz. of Accelerade.



I was 4th or 5th as we reached the single track and was passed by a few during the first lap. I made sure to take some Hammer Gel and Accelerade every lap to maintain my energy stores. Although, I felt a little hungry on the 2nd lap.



I looked down at my timer atter the 3rd lap, 59 minutes and change. That pace wasn't going to cut it—I had two more laps to go and the winning times in previous races were in the 1.5 hour range. I was feeling good, so I picked up the pace and started passing riders again. I didn't recognize any of the jerseys and didn't look back at the number plates, so I didn't know if they were in my group. Since I didn't see much grey hair, they were probably in another age bracket.



Near the end of the 4th lap, I finally passed someone in my group. I continued to fuel up and passed more riders on the final lap. I had a really strong finish, as I passed three more riders within the final 200 meters. I made a really sweet low to high pass on the final switchback, powered up the final single track climb up to the fire road finish, and caught another rider at the line.



My time for the final two laps was 40 minutes, finishing in 1 hr. 40 min. for 6th place, 7 min. 30 sec. off the leader. A good day.



I'm currently 1st place overall in the series and will probably place 4th or 5th overall as only the top six finishes count toward the final standings. Even though I won't finish first, it's good to see my name up there to visualize the possibilities.



The final race is next Saturday. It's also the 2nd race in the NorCal XC series (http://www.teambigfoot.net/bigfootclassic07.htm), so it should be a much larger field.

 

P.S. Buji Block and Buji Wash are really keeping the PO away. http://www.bujiproducts.com/

Date: Saturday, July 21



Category: Men's Sport 45 to 49



Distance: 1.5 laps, 21 miles total, 3,500+ total feet of climbing



Field: me



Place: 1



Conditions: Dry singletrack and fireroads, Sunny, 70°+, some wind from the west



During signup, I only saw my name under Sport Men 45 to 49. I didn't check the signup list later, nor did I ask at the start if there were others in my group. It was better to maintain my "race face" rather than know the possibilities and lose focus; e.g; biff, fred, DNF, etc.



It was a low turnout, >100, I guess everyone else was at Nationals.



I warmed up with a lap on the Short Track course (not enough) and made my way to the start where I recognized a few riders from this year's CCCX and NORBA events. I was off the back as usual on the start up the fireroad. Green Mountain was planning logging operations on the course during the race but Vic fixed that. We still saw and heard machinery next to the course in a few sections.



Vic did a great job reconstructing some of the course as it had been recently clear cut. It was quite surreal riding over those parts, you see the results miles away from the road, but the effect is enormous when it takes minutes to ride across it.



The XC race followed some of the Super-D course with small drops, logs (I needed a new big ring anyway), and sharp, off camber, loose turns. There was one downhill section midway through the course with a good sized drop that came up fast. Some of the singletrack was bar width through dense bushes. It really accentuated the speed sensation. One lap at 14 miles may have been beginner length, but it was not beginner skill.



I finished the first lap under two hours, got a new bottle, and jammed my chain between the middle and small rings on the uphill double track next to the parking lot. A few riders passed me as I frantically freed my chain. I was sloppy and tired that last seven miles, I needed an entire bottle and 4 shots of Hammer Gel to finish.



I made it through the finish, had my tag pulled and waited near the results board. Voila! Vic staples my tag to the top of the list. He said he was in the same class and would have won. I agreed as he was riding a Yamaha dirt bike. I grabbed a recovery drink, then a beer and a burger and sat down for over half an hour before cleaning up.



The raffle was great, I got one ticket for being there and another three for winning. I also scored at the raffle, pickup up two Kenda Nevegal 1.95s, Hammer Heed electrolite drink powder and a pair of socks. I also picked up some samples of Hammer Recoverite and Hammer Gel.



This was the third race of seven in the NorCal XC series. They haven't posted series results yet, but I should be doing well with my 13th, 8th and 1st place finishes. I'm making great progress toward my goal of upgrading to Expert next year.



Next race: Howell Mountain Classic on August 12. http://www.puc.edu/Pioneers/HMC/



Thanks for reading.



Richard Jacinto