Norma couldn't go, so I went with James, Katia and Toby, some friends from Prescott who are also racing nationals.
We met up in Wickenburg, AZ, loaded the bikes onto the trailer and drove to California.
You know you are in CA when you get to Indio and see all the "wind farms." We all had our conclusions as to what makes this things so eye catchy. They are unusual, ritmic and tall were some of the things we discussed while driving through Indio.
Another sign that you are in California is the gas prices. Holy Cow!
Thank goodness we are splitting gas cost. Over 1000 miles road trip and with gas at this price....$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Anyway, we made it into Los Alamos, California. A small little town just north of Santa Barbara.
The next morning we went to the race venue and got checked in. Here are Katia, James and Toby walking toward the expo area.
This area of central California is beautiful. The race course even took us through some of the the local vineyards.
The course was a 13.8-mile loop with some steep climbs, fast downhills and long steady climbs. On Saturday we took our time to pre-ride the course and enjoy the view.
Since we couldn't ride the night before, I took it real easy with just a few short efforts towards the end of the lap. My legs were still feeling the 12-hour drive from the day before.
Sunday morning was race time. Katia took the start at 8:00 am in the Women Beginner category and came out with strong 8th place finish. She also cleared the whole course which included steep climbs and loose turns. Next up was Toby in the Semi-pro followed by James and I in the Expert.
In the end, I finished 2nd place. Katia finished 8th in her category. Toby finished 16th in the Semi-pro while James had to DNF due to back problems. He went a little too hard a the beginning and his back swolled up when he got to the climbs.
The weekend was not completed without the PRO race. In the means category, Geoff Kabush beat Jeremy Holgan-Kobelski in a sprint finish. As you can see these guys were battling it out from the start.
On the left side, wearing a green jersey, you can see Jeff Hall (9). He is one of the few Pro riders that I have raced against. Jeff dominates all the Minnesota and Wisconsin races. Here, though, he finished 34th.
After the busy weekend we still had to drive home. We took turns at the wheel leaving Los Olivos at 5:00 PM, however we didn't make it into Phoenix until almost 4:00 am on Monday morning. For Katia, James and Toby it was even later, as they had to drive up to Prescott.
After all it was a great weekend. Great time with friends and on the bike. This was the first of four races over four consecutive weekends. Next one up is Payson Stampede on May 5th, then MBAA Arizona State finals on the 12th and the Whiskey Off-Road 50 on the 19th.
The course was a 13.8-mile loop with some steep climbs, fast downhills and long steady climbs. On Saturday we took our time to pre-ride the course and enjoy the view.
Since we couldn't ride the night before, I took it real easy with just a few short efforts towards the end of the lap. My legs were still feeling the 12-hour drive from the day before.
Sunday morning was race time. Katia took the start at 8:00 am in the Women Beginner category and came out with strong 8th place finish. She also cleared the whole course which included steep climbs and loose turns. Next up was Toby in the Semi-pro followed by James and I in the Expert.My plan was to get in the lead group right from the start then let the course determine who was the strongest. Lucky for me, the initial leader crashed while taking a look back. Another guy and I rode together the rest of the race, taking turns at the front until we got to the second feedzone. Out of the blue came two riders that forced us to chase. We chased hard and caught up to one of them by the top of the last climb. The other one had a gap on us. I charged hard over the last descend but couldn't catch him.
The day before during the pre-ride I had noticed that the last part was fairly flat but bouncy. I didn't want to get to the final on a three way sprint so I attacked on the final kilometer but couldn't get a significant gap. The finish had a hair pin left turn about 50 yards before the end and a wash crossing before that. I started my sprint from the wash and was able to drop one of the guys and get a couple of yard on the other one before the turn. After the turn I charged again with the last bit of energy and was able to beat him to the line by a couple of bike lenghts.
In the end, I finished 2nd place. Katia finished 8th in her category. Toby finished 16th in the Semi-pro while James had to DNF due to back problems. He went a little too hard a the beginning and his back swolled up when he got to the climbs.
The weekend was not completed without the PRO race. In the means category, Geoff Kabush beat Jeremy Holgan-Kobelski in a sprint finish. As you can see these guys were battling it out from the start.
On the left side, wearing a green jersey, you can see Jeff Hall (9). He is one of the few Pro riders that I have raced against. Jeff dominates all the Minnesota and Wisconsin races. Here, though, he finished 34th.After the busy weekend we still had to drive home. We took turns at the wheel leaving Los Olivos at 5:00 PM, however we didn't make it into Phoenix until almost 4:00 am on Monday morning. For Katia, James and Toby it was even later, as they had to drive up to Prescott.
After all it was a great weekend. Great time with friends and on the bike. This was the first of four races over four consecutive weekends. Next one up is Payson Stampede on May 5th, then MBAA Arizona State finals on the 12th and the Whiskey Off-Road 50 on the 19th.Take care!
Pura Vida!
Jeff
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