My Recovery Video!!!

Here is the link to my recovery video filmed and edited by Matteo Piezzari!

http://www.pinkbike.com/video/336416/#top

Happy trails!!!

Downieville Classic 2013!!!

 

The 2013 Downieville Classic has come and gone and still remains my favorite race of the year.  This year I raced Cross Country at the 13-18 Sport level, and killed it coming in first place four minutes ahead of second place with a time of 2:28:55!  For those of you that are not familiar with the Downieville Classic this race is 100% nonstop brutality for 29 miles, this coarse features 4,100 feet of climbing and over 5,000 feet of descending.  The Cross Country race starts in Sierra City and climbs 3,000 vertical feet to the top of the Sierra Buttes at Packer Saddle.  Known as the "Trail of Tears" this climb is steep and very lose in sections.

  Once at the saddle racers descend Sunrise Trail, a  "flowy" roller coaster of singletrack  that meets Gold Valley Road.  This section of the course is the only part I dread although a place to rest it is also an ideal place to embrace the pain and put in some good sprints.  Somewhere in the middle I was given a high-five by a guy in a evening jacket wearing a disco ball on his head!  After a few miles of rolling dirt road the course goes downhill through the 'baby heads' a lose sketchy descent to Pauley Creek.  Unfortunately I was not able to take this section as fast as I did in practice do to other racers holding me back, but at least I made it down safe and mechanical free.  After this a 25+ foot creek crossing awaits across Pauley Creek.  Then there is Pauley Creek Trail a fast, long, rocky, wet, and root filled downhill with short tricky uphill punches.  This trail meets the last section of Butcher Ranch Trail, here I was able to pass a few other racers and was in my element.  I took the last section of Butcher fast and made it up the 700ft climb at a good pace and without wasting to much energy.  A spectator in a giant bird suit got me stoked to shred Third Divide!  I was in luck and had Third Divide Trail all to my self and let the breaks off and had a fast run down this insane piece of singletrack paradise.  At the bottom you are greeted with a few miles of fast dirt road to the First Divide Trail.  First Divided is never kind at this point in the race, the short uphills seem never ending and the flats are just as painful.  After a road crossing the final section of First Divide brings you to the streets of Downieville with one more painful sprint I finally crossed the Cliff Bar arch and was done with the race!

IBIS Mojo HD!

After my race I enjoyed a free spaghetti meal and checked out all the wonderful booths of the sponsors of the Classic.  As well as watching the annual river jump contest!!!

River Jump!



Liam Ruff, Larry Sussman, and Jet Lowe.



Nate Byrom, Liam Ruff, and Mark Weir.

 Big thanks to Nate Byrom from WTB for getting me some Frequency i23 wheels for the race.  They held up awesomely, and were super fast!


IBIS Ripley 29er

Santa Cruz V-10 Carbon DH Race Bike

A racer starting up the Sunrise Trail in the DH race on Sunday.
 

 The following day is the Downhill Race on the famous "Downieville Downhill".  Racers who want to compete in the downhill race must be part of the All Mountain Category and are required to race the Cross Country Race on the same bike!


On the top!

 The Sport 13-18 Men Podium Larry Sussman in forth, in third, Nelson Bedient in second, and Liam Ruff in first!  Congratulations to all the racers and thanks to all the wonderful people who make this unique and epic event possible.  Looking forward to next year!

 

Nevada City Dirt Classic # 3

On August the 27th the third and last Nevada City Dirt Classic took place on the Halleluiah and Pioneer Trails.  The last race coarse was the reverse direction of Race # 2, sending riders down the "Rock Garden" on Upper Pioneer Trail and up the switchbacks on Halleluiah Trail, it was definitely a little bit brutal but was it was still a great race and awesome day!  I raced CAT 1 15-18 and came away with second place.

 

The race course was dusty and the rock garden proved to be lose but still the most challenging and fun part of the course!

The CAT 1 15-18 Podium Larry Sussman in third, Liam Ruff in second, and Seth Francis in first.  As I made it on the podium all three races I received free entry to next year's YBONC Races!

It was a truly awesome race series everyone!  Congratulations to all that made it out to race and a big thank you to the many volunteers that made this event possible!!!  Be sure to keep your ears open to news about next year's races.

Santa Cruz Demo Day!

Last weekend on July 16th Yuba Expeditions held a Santa Cruz Bicycles Demo day in Graegle, California, as a fundraiser for the Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship.  The Santa Cruz Tallboy Carbon, Bronson Carbon, and Solo Carbon were available to demo for free on some fine high sierra singletrack, shuttles cost $10 which, proceeds support future trail projects in the Downieville/Lakes Basin area!


Santa Cruz tents in downtown Graegle.

I rode the Santa Cruz Bronson Carbon, it was awesome to be able to spend some solid trail time on such a nice bike.  I loved the 650b wheels and for bike with 150mm of travel pedaled excellently.  We were shuttled from Graegle to a fire road, from there it was a three mile climb to Mills Peak Lookout and the top of Mills Peak Trail.  This was my first time riding this great trail and was impressed by how the rocky root filled tread still had excellent flow and is defiantly one of my favorite trails!                                                                                                                                                                                          

The Santa Cruz Solo is the shorter and lighter travel brother of the Bronson with 125mm of travel.

This event was totally awesome, and was well attended.  I hope other demo events will occur in the Downieville area!!!

 

Nevada City Dirt Classic # 2

On the twenty-ninth of June I raced in the second Nevada City Dirt Classic XC Series at the Hallelujah and Upper Pioneer Trails, it was a lot of fun and the rain during the previous week left the trails tacky and perfect for racing!  I competed in the CAT 1 15-18 age group and came in second place with a race time of 1:36:49 doing three laps on the 5.7 mile loop.

Larry Sussman in third, Liam Ruff in second, and Alec Crofoot in first.  The CAT 1 M 15-18 podium.

The next and last Nevada City Dirt Classic Race will be held on the twenty-seventh of July on the Hallelujah and Upper Pioneer Trails and is a great chance to be able to race on the fine trails of the Tahoe National Forest.  As always the profits made by this race series will go toward supporting local youth bike clubs and getting kids on bikes!  More information about this awesome race series including registration information and past race results can be found at YBONC's web site.

The day after the race it was up to Downieville for some great riding!

Nevada City Dirt Classic # 1

The awesome Nevada City Dirt Classic XC Race Series is back again this year!!!  Race number one was located on private land in Grass Valley, California, and was one of the best XC courses I have ever raced.  The five mile loop included grueling climbs and very fun technical descents.  Thank you to the land owner, Ron Sanchez, for letting YBONC use his land for the race, these trails are NOT open to the public at any other time.
 

This was my first race since getting back on my bike after the injury and I was super stoked to get first place in the CAT 2 15-18 division, we did three laps on the fun but exhausting loop, with around 700 feet of climbing per lap.

The next race in the series will be on Saturday, June 29th at the Upper Pioneer and Hallelujah Trail on Forest Service land in the Tahoe National Forest.  It will be tons  of fun and supports local youth cycling groups and mountain biking opportunities in the area! For more info go to YBONC.  There was a great turn out at the first race in the series and some professional riders including Jason Moeschler came out!

 

Photos courtesy of Robert Lowe.  Thank you Bob for taking great pictures at the race!

Injury, Recovery, and Riding!

I have just started riding again after two serious fractures in the Tibia and Fibula bones that kept me off the bike for twelve long weeks.   Unfortunately my injury was not due to any epic mountain bike crashes or dangerous activities, I broke fractured my ankle walking down the stairs of my school.  I had surgery and one screw put in my ankle, I was treated at the Tahoe Forest Hospital in Truckee, California.  My orthopedic surgeon was Dr. Osgood who was a great doctor and good to work with.  I spent nine weeks on crutches and then moved on to a cane.  I spent eight weeks in physical therapy at Body Logic Physical Therapy in Grass Valley, California.

     After twelve weeks from being away from the sport and activity that I love I was over joyed to get back on the mountain bike!!!  My balance and fitness are coming back and I am looking forward to lots of riding over the summer.  So far I have gotten up to Grouse Ridge and Downieville areas for some great truly gnarly rock laden terrain, as well as other wonderful local spots.   I came in first place in the Nevada City Dirt Classic #1 in the CAT 2 division, and am currently training for the Downieville Classic Cross-Country Race.

 

North Yuba Trail

The sunset

Today I did an out and back on the new section of North Yuba Trail from Goodyears Bar to Downieville.

One of the fun technical sections on  N. Yuba

This new section of trail is super fun and is probably 12 to 18 inches wide most of the way and is scattered with lose rock that could send you in the N. Yuba Canyon if you don't pay attention to the trail.

My Camber and my dad's HiFi.

  It is 6.5 miles one way and if you are going to only do it one way start in Downieville and go down to Goodyears Bar.

There was a little snow.

There was some snow and we came back in the dark but this just made this adventure even more epic.  This new portion of trail was constructed by the Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship along with the United States States Forest Service.

A huge boulder in the woods.

  This is another awesome trail in the Downieville area that is still passable in the winter months.  Definitely get out there and ride the sweet piece of single track because it is a total must ride trail.

 

N. Yuba Trail

TBF MTB Classic

Last weekend I raced in the Total Body Fitness MTB Classic in Granite Bay, California.  I came in second place out of 23 racers in the High School Sport category. I will also compete in the next TBF race on February 17 in preparation for my my high school Nor Cal season.

Hammering into the finish

  I had a race time of 1:26:01 and did three laps making it a 18mi race.  The course is a roller coaster of ups and downs with some scattered rock gardens and sandy conditions.

Me in the front making my move.

On the podium

  TBF does a great job of putting together these awesome local races.  These races are are a great way to get in shape for the 2013 mountain bike racing season so I hope you come down to next races they put on.

So Cal MTB Trip Part 2

 Here are some more pictures of our trip.  Enjoy!

Bloody Nose Trail

  Montana de Oro State Park has some great mountain bike trails, but Bloody Nose Trail is not one of them. Equestrian use has pretty much trashed this trail and is now a sand trench filled with poor attempts at water bars.

My bike getting some sun

Coming down Hazard Peak Trail

Hazard Peak Trail in Montana de Oro SP has awesome flow and is smooth and fast. These trails are beautifully maintained by Central Coast Concerned Mountain Bikers (CCCMB).                                     

 Another cool feature of Montana de Oro were the tool stations along the trails, so anyone can do a little work to keep these trails  sweet.                                                                                               

Cruising

 

Rock-it Trail

  Aliso and Wood Canyon County Park had some fun trails especially for being so close to an urban sprawl.  Rock-it Trail was our favorite trail in the park and has some fun rocky sections.

San Juan Trail

We rode San Juan Trail as an out and back, to Cocktail Rock and back down to the parking lot.  This was of the best rides of the trip and is truly awesome.                                                                       

Sunset SLO City style