Fluidride Cup #1 - Dry Hill - Port Angeles, WA
What a fantastic weekend and location for the first of what I hope is many Fluidride Cup races. Well over 200 downhillers of all levels raced on Sunday and I heard at least 40 people signed up for the dual-slalom - not bad for a first-time event.
Ted and I arrived Friday afternoon, just in time to sign in and see some of the muddiest riders I've seen in a while as it was raining off and on (mostly on) that day. We decided to settle in at our campsite and make it a full day on the hill for Saturday. I awoke Saturday morning fairly early, and thankfully so. Our campsite happened to be sitting on a bluff over a tidal pool. Needless to say, it was a spectacular sunrise and it helped set the tone for an awesome day of riding, photography and rooting. After several practice runs, I felt like I knew what to do on Sunday. It was time to grill some burgers and dogs, take some pics on the 4x track and cheer and capture some action for the dual-slalom event that afternoon. I kind of regret not racing in it, but I surely will the next time. All the same, fun was had by all. A couple more runs down the dh course and back to the campsite for a DWB grill-fest/party-down that lasted until around 1:30-2am. 6:30am came early, but that didn't matter. Why? It was SUNDAY-SUNDAY-SUNDAY!!! RACE DAY!!!!! Besides, there was only one practice run and I didn't have to get on the shuttle for my run until 11:45am. I had plenty of time to warm-up on the 4X and DS tracks and cheer on a few friends as I waited to go up for my run. The overall vibe there was amazing - everybody seemed to have their stoke on and it was a great place to be. Downhill racing is alive and well in the Pacific Northwest, there's not a doubt in my mind after this event.
I eventually lined it up at the gate and it was "5-4-3-2-1-GO!!!" Unfortunately, I went much slower out of the gate than I would have liked to...guess I'd have to try to make up for it along the way. I knew the course would be well-tracked by my run and that it wasn't as greasy as it was the day prior in practice. Essentially, pin it!!! Once I got to the first steep chute, it was a blur. I could have gone a little faster down the hill, but not by much. I pedaled when I had a chance and tried not to brake as much as humanly possible. I only had one sketchy corner where I had to reel it in a hair to keep from drifting off the course. Otherwise, I feel I did the best I could have done. After all, I'm racing on a 5-6" travel bike!!! I wound up finishing alongside the racer that started a minute ahead of me and was only 15 seconds behind the person that started 30 seconds ahead. I had to sit up behind the minute guy as I caught him in the fastest section of the course near the bottom. I was trying to get him to move over, but he couldn't hear me for one reason or another. Oh well, at least I didn't crash! :) I wound up 2nd overall in my age group despite that - and there was enough of a gap to where I'm sure I still would have wound up 2nd if I didn't get stalled. If anything, my poor start cost me a chance to pass the minute guy further up the hill. Whatever...it was a blast and I hope the next race is just as fun as this one was! Besides, I beat Pip!!!
As if the weekend wasn't fun enough, I wound up winning a wheelset in the ensuing raffle!!! That is one less thing I need to invest in after I buy my friend's V-10 in the very near future. Once I get that beast up and running, it's time to race expert and save my Mission for regular trail and dual-slalom.
Good to see some of you out there that weekend and looking for to the coming races - be sure to look for the Recycled Cycles sprinter van and please stop by and say "hi"! If you're lucky, you may show up just in time for a fresh burger or hot dog - we grill our own!!! We usually have a repair stand, truing stand and various tools if you need a quick-fix as well. I'm also getting my Mini DV camera repaired so that I can get better footage of the remainder of this series and all things in between. I'll be sure to put something good together by season's end. As-is, there is tons of coverage from this event...to name a few -
bonesovermetal.com/blog/2008/04/07/fluidride-cup-1/
www.pinkbike.com/news/fluidride-cup-race-one-2008.html
www.michaeladamson.eu/iWeb/Site/Alpinelite/A0C2BD24-2F7B-4C75-BC29-D9D1EF1767A2.html
It's been nearly two weeks since the event, but the PacNW is still buzzing. Looking forward to the next one! Major props to Fluidride, Hurricane Racing and NDub Productions for organizing and executing one hell of an event - hopefully the first of many for a long, long time!
Brap!
~Andy