NorCal Race #3 Laguna Seca

The third NICA NorCal League race took place at the Laguna Seca raceway near Monterey, and featured some of the same trails as the Sea Otter Classic cross-country race.  After racing State Championships here last year as well as several years of racing the Sea Otter Classic I can say that Laguna Seca is my least favorite place to race cross-country MTB ever.

  That being said it is not all bad, the course featured one fun, fast, but very tame downhill and then a painful climb back out, that includes the aptly named "Hurl Hill" after that a long fire road climb takes you to the finish that can become a nightmare if the wind picks up.


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Wind can be brutal on the fire road climb.

Even though I was placed in the very first row of racers in the start I had a bad start and was dropped by quite a few racers up the first road climb out of the start and the rest of my first and second laps I worked on picking my way through the Varsity pack with some success. 

For the rest of the race I kept up with a few other racers in my category and tryed to keep up a solid pace while battling the hot temperatures and complete lack of shade, over the five painful laps.  I ended up finishing 13th and only 8 seconds behind the top ten which was disappointing but still a good result in such a competitive category.

The only trees on course.

I am currently 7th in overall points and I am looking forward to the fourth NorCal Race in two weeks at Petaluma.  Thanks to all volunteers, coaches, athletes, and everyone else who makes these races such awesome events.  Photo credit: Doug Bedient, Rhianna Grady-Roush, and Larry Sussman.



 

NorCal Race #2 Granite Bay

The start.

For the second NICA NorCal League mountain bike race, athletes competed on the slightly rocky and sandy trails of Granite Bay.  I have the most experience racing on this course and had been training on the course prior to the race so I felt prepared for what I knew would be a hard day of racing.

The most challenging part of racing in Granite Bay is the sand, racers start on a sandy beach, then have to fight through a few loose corners, and then navigate the gigantic sand pit which sent many racers off their bike and running across to solid ground.

Sand pit!

My race started well and I was placed in the second row of racers since I was sixth overall.  Unfortunately on my second lap I was plagued by the worst back pain I have ever experienced, and by the time I finished the race I could barely get off my bike.  Coupled with the heat I feel I did not perform as well as I could have, but I still had a solid finish in 10th place at the Varsity level and held on to my 6th place overall standing.



More cowbell!

Even though my race did not go as I would have liked it to go I still had a great time at Granite Bay, hanging out with friends and getting rowdy for all the racers out on course.  It is always a cool experience to see how many people are involved in the awesome sport of High School mountain bike racing.  The next race will be held at the Laguna Seca raceway near Monterey in two weeks.

 

 

 

Photo credit: Mike Meskee.

NorCal Race #1 East Garrison

Fast rolling trails.

The first NICA NorCal MTB League race was held near Monterey, California at East Garrison in Fort Ord.  The course was rolling with short punchy climbs, breaking bump filled descents, sandy corners, and lots of poison oak.

This was my first race competing at the Varsity level and the competition was extremely strong, including some of the top junior racers in the nation.  Even though I was staged in 19th place I was able to pick through the pack and hang on to a few fast racers over the five brutal laps and finished 6th place in the very fast paced 25 mile race.

As a whole the team I race for, the Nevada Union Miners did very well with several athletes on the podium and placed 5th in NorCal D1 as a team.

A bunch of rad savages.

It's awesome to race with such a large team of student athletes with a passion for mountain biking, and the raddest coaches around!  The Nevada Union Miners should be a very strong team this season.  Looking forward to the next NorCal race in two weeks in Granite Bay, California.

The NU pit at East Garrison.