California Enduro Series at Northstar

The sixth race of the California Enduro Series (CES) and second stop of the CES Golden Tour took place at Northstar California and challenged all competitors with loose moon dust and burly rocks over two days of action packed racing.

For the past two seasons the Northstar CES race has been one of the most anticipated and technically challenging events of the series and this year was no different. Riders enjoyed two days of racing on some of California’s most demanding trails with a mix of pedaled and lift assisted transfer stages – a proper test of a rider’s technical skills as well as physical strength.

The weekend started off with practice on Friday. Riders utilized the lifts at Northstar and pounded out laps of the race runs, familiarizing themselves with the unpredictable terrain of the mountain.

On Saturday all racers competed on three stages that included a variety of trails from fast singletrack, double black diamond downhill runs, and a top to bottom physical stage. Stage one started on Coaster Trail, a fun flowing piece of singletrack that connected into the Livewire downhill run for a great first stage. The second stage challenged racers with a long top to bottom stage that included intense pedal sections on the Tahoe Trail as well as a few fun rock gardens. For the final stage of the day competitors tested their commitment and skill on Boondocks, one of Northstar’s most popular and demanding downhill trails.

On day two Pro, Open, and Expert racers competed on another three stages and Sport and Beginner riders competed on two stages. Stage four took place on Gypsy which proved to be a fun way to start the day with a never ending flow of wall rides, lofty jumps, and other challenging technical features. After this, riders ascended to the top of the mountain for a long technical downhill stage that sent racers through some of the most hair raising sections of the weekend. After a long and demanding stage the weekend was finished off with a action-packed run that included fast fun bomber trails and chunky rock gardens, finishing with the TRP Brake Zone “speed trap” – a fun and exciting feature of every CES race.

I felt good all weekend and finished 5^th place in the Open or Semi Pro category against some really fast competition. As always the CES race at Northstar was a blast and left competitors hungry for more challenging racing and good times!

China Peak Enduro Fest

For the past several years the China Peak Ski Resort has been the location for technical riding, good times, and one of the most anticipated races of the California Enduro Series. This year the loose and chunky terrain of China Peak was the perfect way to start off the CES Gold Tour, three races that offer demanding riding and increased payouts to professional riders and greater media coverage. Combined with swimming holes, beautiful high sierra scenery, and a unique remote atmosphere the China Peak VP Enduro Fest again proved itself as a very special event and one of the best enduro races in the state.

The trails of China Peak are some of the most exciting and challenging of the California Enduro Series and are a crowd favorite every year, offering a rugged backcountry singletrack experience coupled with the convenience of a chair lift and the excitement of competitive racing. Riders competed on three different stages with pro, open, and expert riders racing an additional fourth stage. All of the stages featured seriously loose dirt, blown out corners, and challenging rock gardens that embody the unforgiving terrain of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. After a day of pre-riding with the use of chairlifts on Friday racers started race day with a solid climb to the top of the mountain for stage one. Stage one began with a series of loose and challenging corners and then opened up into faster singletrack and a long fireroad section that brought riders flying into a rocky section of trail and a set of tricky sweeping corners at warp speed, the remainder of stage one featured tight blown out corners and just enough rocks to keep riders on their toes. After stage one it was just a short climb to stage two which brought racers back down to the main lodge area. Stage two started with several fast and loose corners and then got rockier with a handful of tight technical corners that challenged riders to maintain speed. To finish stage two racers had to negotiate one of the most challenging sections of the course, a long set of extremely tight switchbacks that left all but the most skilled riders questioning their cornering prowess.

At the bottom of stage two competitors were gladly transported back to the top of China Peak by chairlift where they started the longest and arguably the most demanding stage of the day. Stage three brought riders from the top of the mountain to the bottom going through burly rock infested terrain, pulverized corners, a handful of painful full gas pedal sections, and the TRP brake zone which was located in the infamous “Gnarly Rock Garden” which is always one of the most exciting aspects of racing at China Peak. After finishing the physically and technically challenging stage three, some riders successfully completed their day of racing but pro, open, and expert riders continued on to stage four. After climbing one last time to the top of China Peak at 8700 feet in elevation above sea level and battling a brutal 90 degrees in temperature, riders were ready to finish their day of racing with one last rough and rowdy stage. Stage four challenged racers with a flat sprint out of the gate and then nothing but solid technical riding to the bottom with steep granite faces, rock gardens, as well as loose and blown switchback corners. After the long day of racing riders enjoyed post race recovery at the swimming hole and more good times including the award ceremony. I finished 6th place in the Open Men or Semi-Pro category a result I am proud of but hope to improve in the future.

TBF MTB Kickstart

Getting through a mud section of the course.

Last weekend I officially started my 2016 mountain bike race season and competed in the Total Body Fitness Mountain Bike Kickstart cross-country race in Granite Bay.  Although not my original plan coming into the race I decided to race in the professional category for the first time and that proved to be an interesting experience.  Racing against seriously fast competition I finished 8th place in Pro, however truth be told there were only 8 racers in the professional category.

The start of the Pro and Expert racers.

 I have been racing on the trails surrounding Folsom Lake since I first started racing mountain bikes so it is always fun to start my race season at a familiar venue that has become somewhat of a tradition to me.  With weeks of rain leading up to the race it was a pleasant surprise that the weather held off for the duration of the race and only started raining after the event, and because the course consists of primarily crushed granite the trails drain very well and were in perfect condition on race day.  Despite the not so great result I still had a good time racing my bike again and identified areas that I need to improve on before the NICA Nor Cal race series begins.

Hammering up one of the many short but punchy climbs.

 I am super excited to take on what the 2016 race season has to throw at me and what will be almost a full year of cross-country and enduro mountain biking.