California State Championships

This climb was steeper than it looks.

The NICA California State Championships took place at the Los Olivos Dirt Ranch and was an exciting way to wrap up another high school racing series.  The course had a mix of short but steep climbs that required a lot of power, fast rolling terrain, and a handful of descents that required a little bit off skill to keep it fast.  I was pleased with the course and the tricky climbs and fast downhills fit my riding style more than other courses on the high school circuit.

Varsity train.

I was given a nineteen place call up out of the sixty-five varsity boys who competed at Los Olivos.  This was a good starting position but unfortunately I was passed by quite a few racers in the all out fireroad start that then turned into a demoralizing steep climb that left a few riders running their bikes.  I was able to make up time on the downhill sections but always felt a little slow on the climbs.  By my third lap I started to feel better on the climbs and was also able to pass a few riders in the blown out rutted corners.  After four grueling laps experiencing everything form heat and sun to a light sprinkling of rain I finished 29th out of the sixty-five fastest junior racers in California.

Rad savages!

The Nevada Union Miners smashed it at states and the entire season.  Thanks so much to parents, athletes, and coaches that keep our team the raddest savages around!  I can't wait for the next NICA season as well as the many races I have lined up for this summer.

The downhill sections were fast and fun.

CES #1 Battleborn Enduro

Practice on Stage 5.

Well it happened again, the Battleborn Enduro proved to be a fun and successful event for all of the nearly 300 competitors who descended upon Peavine Mountain near Reno, Nevada.  Despite rain and snow storms all through the previous week the Battleborn trails were dry, dusty, and loose as ever, keeping racers on their toes the entire day and making cornering interesting.  After a short riders’ meeting, racers made their way up the first transfer stage. This consisted of a gradual eight mile climb that put racers on the top of the fast and loose first stage.  Even with competitors separated into two groups there was a fairly long wait at the top of the first stage and racers stood shivering in the wind, some seeking shelter low to the ground or behind their bikes.  The cold temperature at the first stage proved to be a sharp contrast of last year’s race which saw temperatures in the 90s all day.   Tightened and stiff muscles made me feel awkward on the bike and it took awhile to find my flow on the first stage. 

Just before dropping in to Stage 1.

The second stage starts with a series of sharp blown out corners and then opens up into one of the fastest sections of the course but still managed to throw in a handful of little climbs that could make you feel like you were bleeding from the eye balls if you wanted to carry speed.  I felt a lot better on the second stage but still did not feel completely confident in my race run and kept it conservative in the corners.

Enduro transfer stages!

To get to the third stage racers had some climbing to do after picking up some great tasting nutrition from the Tahoe Trail Bar aid station.  The beginning of stage 3 is always a bit of a challenge with a series of extremely tight switchbacks that can break even the most experienced racers.   After that it becomes one of the more wide open stages of the day and can get really fast towards the bottom.  For me this is where my race finally started to come together and I started to feel more and more comfortable in the loose ball bearing dirt of Peavine Mountain.

Getting ready for stage 5.

After a little more pedaling it was time to shred the fast, extremely physical, and longest stage of the day.  Stage four starts out with a fun, fast, and flowy downhill section with bermed corners and the occasional table top.  However the fourth stage is not all fun and games the course soon turns into a true test of racers fitness with a bit of climbing and a flat path along a creek bed that leaves you with no choice but to put the power down for a decent race time.  For Beginner/Sport racers this was the finish of their Battleborn adventure, but for Experts/Pros it was time to pedal up one more transfer stage to the most technical stage of the day.

      Stage 5 was a welcome sight to more downhill oriented racers and featured several burly rock gardens as well as a steep chute section.  Depending on how fatigued you were at this point stage five could leave you grinning ear to ear or coming off the mountain with a broken bike or body.  I kept my run as smooth and consistent as possible and was able to make it to the bottom in one piece and can easily say it was my favorite stage of the day.

Liam Ruff in second and Matt Koen in first for Expert Boys U18.

The Battleborn Enduro is definitely not an event to miss and was a perfect way to kickoff another exciting California Enduro Series season.  This race is truly an all around test of technical skill and pure fitness that make up the best mountain bikers.  Even though I felt slightly off in the beginning of the day I managed to finish second place in the Expert Boys U18 category offering redemption for my numerous chain drops and mechanical issues I suffered from last year.  The Battleborn Enduro was a blast riding with rad people on sweet trails.



Second place medal!

 

Nevada City Dirt Classic #1

The first Nevada City Dirt Classic took place just five miles outside of Nevada City in the Tahoe National Forest on some fun wooded trails.  The first event in the three race series saw record attendance with 102 participants and many spectators and volunteers.  With Expert and Pro riders racing 28 miles with 3600 feet of climbing it proved to be a challenging day of racing.

  I hammered my way into 2nd place in Expert Men 15-18 a very competitive category that held some of the fastest times of the day.  Thank you to all the volunteers and sponsors that make these events possible!  Make sure to attend the next two events, for more information go here.

Boggs NorCal Championships

Varsity start.

The NorCal League Championships usually take place at Boggs Mountain and always proves to be the most enjoyable race of the season with camping, awesome trails, and fun times.  After racing here last year I have been looking forward to coming back as the trails are the most technically challenging and fun of the high school season.  They are very similar to what me and the rest of the Nevada Union MTB Team race and train on the rest of the year.  During practice the trails had a layer of dust on top of the hardpack tread and with some rain the night before the race conditions were all time.

Boggs is butter!

 Coming into the race 4th overall I was looking forward to what the day would bring.  At the end of a long, hard, but fun day of racing I finished 9th in Varsity which was consistent with my previous results of the season and landed me in 7th place overall a result I am completely happy with.  The Nu Miners also finished 4th as a team in D1 which is a very solid result.

  The high school racing season is coming to a close and it has been great to race against so many fast and inspiring students athletes this year, I can not wait for California State Championships at Los Olivos as well as the Nevada City Dirt Classic and the kickoff to the California Enduro Series, Battleborn on Peavine mountain which all take place in the next couple of weeks.

Start line.

The Varsity boys line up.

NorCal Race #4 Petaluma

Photo cred Robert Lowe.

The fourth stop of the NICA NorCal League race series took place in Petaluma, California at a new venue on a private ranch.  The course was a wide machine made trail with a handful of completely blown out off camber corners on the descents, and I would have to say it was my least favorite course I have raced on yet.

The course was not lacking in physical beauty.

Despite the course not fitting with my riding style I felt good on race day and managed to finish 7th in the very competitive Varsity boys category.

Varsity train.

I was staged in the second row and was able to hammer behind some fast guys for most of the race and I am very happy with my result which put me in 4th place overall going into NorCal Championships at Boggs Mountain.  Even though I was not super excited about the race course I would like to thank the property owners and the NorCal League for putting on this event and all of the other races that open up new opportunities to hundreds of youths.

Sprint to the finish!

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.

2015 Season Kickoff at Granite Bay

 

 

I kicked off my 2015 race season this weekend at the Total Body Fitness MTB Challenge in Granite Bay, and it was a great way to jump back into the race scene before the first NICA NorCal League race of the season next weekend at Fort Ord near Monterey, California.

 

 

Start line.

Today's race was challenging for everyone who participated especially for Expert and Pro riders who raced 32 miles.  I had a good start and was able to establish a spot in the lead group, that I maintained for most of the race.  I felt very strong until lap three when I started to bonk, despite this set back I was still able to keep up a solid pace.

 

 

By the final lap some racers started putting down the hammer in order to try and secure the top spot, and I tried hard not to get dropped by the top three riders. 

 

 

Unfortunately with only about 3 miles to the finish line I suffered a hard crash that slammed me head first into the ground twisting my stem/handlebars and seat post to an unrideable state, as well as breaking off my Garmin GPS which I did not notice until I finished.  After readjusting my cockpit I tried to hammer back into the finish and was able to finish 5th place in the competitive  High School Expert category.

 

Finish Line!

Despite the crash I am very happy with my result and had a lot of fun racing out there today.  Looking forward to next weekend's NorCal League race where I compete at the varsity level!

 

Getting checked up on at the EMT tent.

Saturday's pre-ride.

 Photos courtesy of Mike Meeske and TBF Facebook page.

 









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