CCCX # 3
I think we may have set a personal record for Blanca, my white VW vanagon this Saturday. Team leader David Gill and new teammate Patrick Lewis aka “Stinky” and I had six bikes, 4 sets of spare wheels, 3 tables, tool boxes and repair stands, coolers, water bottles, three tables, lots of chairs and three big sections of astro turf and two pop up tents. The van was so full that we had to place Patrick in the back van in his own little cocoon and pray that none of the contents inside of the van shifted and crushed him!
Just before we arrived at the new course, we passed the site of some of the first CCCX races held in and around the abandoned barracks of Fort Ord in 1997. The army had just pulled out and it was very eerie racing around what was essentially a ghost town. The old fort is going under a transformation judging by the new mall and all of the new housing development their building. We pulled up to the new venue and scored a nice spot next course and stepped out of the van into what was rapidly becoming a very nice day! The first thing I noticed while setting up the team compound was the small very sandy hill directly after finish line/scoring area and wondered to myself how long the sand would be rideable after it was trampled and rode to death. After assembling the team compound, David and Patrick and I took a lap to check out the course and discovered that this was about as much fun as you could have on a cross course! There were plenty of swooping corners and I particularly enjoyed the high speed singletrack through the oak tress. I wondered if I would have come to the same conclusion if it hadn’t rained for a couple days before the race and all of the firm sand was loose?
Master 45+ A
At this point I have little expectations due to my lack of fitness and have been trying to race myself into shape which by its nature is quite painful. I had a bit of a panic before the start of the race as my front brake cable let go and my lever went to the handlebar. The start line was about as far as you could get from the pits/finishing area and nobody at the starting line had any tool, but luckily Maryann Hunter rode back to the pits and grabbed an allen set for me and I was able to fix my problem or so I thought! The race started and was barely clinging to the back of the pack. We entered the twisting singletrack under the oak trees I grabbed the brakes for the first time since the start of the race and once again my lever went to the handlebar. This in turn made me over shoot the corner and I ended up in the forest where I was lucky not to come into contact with anything. Back on course I made my way to the pits for a bike change. I arrived and shouted to my teammates under the tent “Bike change! Please fix my front brake!” With that I ghost rode my geared bike into the sand and ran a few steps to my singlespeed and grabbed it and threw it over my shoulder and started running up the hill past the pits.
I had traveled about twenty feet when I heard “Stop, Stop! There are no pedals on that bike!” It suddenly became clear to me. Patrick had forgotten his shoes this morning so he borrowed my pedals and Darik Thunstrom shoes so he could race, but hadn’t had the time to reinstall my pedals on my bike. Considering what had just happened I was amazingly calm. If I was in contention for a series I might have laid an egg, but instead I stood there and watched Patrick and some other guy I didn’t know run around like chicken with there heads cut off as they searched for my pedals and tools to install them! After watching Patrick display his amazing mechanical abilities, my singlespeed was ready and I was off. I came through the pits on the next lap and asked for a bike change as the gear on my singlespeed was too small and was told that my geared bike wasn’t fixed yet. Upon hearing that I punched it in order to get some speed up for the hill and hit the little bump in front of it to fast and caught a little air which sent me on a collision course with a big pile of sand to the right of the preferred line which caused me to crash. Luckily the landing was very soft and I did this in place were everybody could see and Harriet Riley was able to capture the moment with her camera! I rode around again and got my geared bike back and did my absolute best to stay out of the way when I got lapped.
Singlespeed A
I started the race and immediately blew sky high and then for the next hour and eighteen minutes I experienced pain, pain and more pain. On the last couple of laps I fought off cramping and the overwhelming desire to go somewhere to find some pie to eat all the while doing your best to keep your slow as molasses, bonking self out of the way. I thought seriously of dropping out of this one, but at least I rode the hill after finish line every time except for the last lap when both of my legs seized. On an entirely different note, it was amazing to see the speeds that the 5 leaders of the Men’s A race were going. It was truly impressive! Hopefully something resembling a little form will come my way soon!
Just before we arrived at the new course, we passed the site of some of the first CCCX races held in and around the abandoned barracks of Fort Ord in 1997. The army had just pulled out and it was very eerie racing around what was essentially a ghost town. The old fort is going under a transformation judging by the new mall and all of the new housing development their building. We pulled up to the new venue and scored a nice spot next course and stepped out of the van into what was rapidly becoming a very nice day! The first thing I noticed while setting up the team compound was the small very sandy hill directly after finish line/scoring area and wondered to myself how long the sand would be rideable after it was trampled and rode to death. After assembling the team compound, David and Patrick and I took a lap to check out the course and discovered that this was about as much fun as you could have on a cross course! There were plenty of swooping corners and I particularly enjoyed the high speed singletrack through the oak tress. I wondered if I would have come to the same conclusion if it hadn’t rained for a couple days before the race and all of the firm sand was loose?
Master 45+ A
At this point I have little expectations due to my lack of fitness and have been trying to race myself into shape which by its nature is quite painful. I had a bit of a panic before the start of the race as my front brake cable let go and my lever went to the handlebar. The start line was about as far as you could get from the pits/finishing area and nobody at the starting line had any tool, but luckily Maryann Hunter rode back to the pits and grabbed an allen set for me and I was able to fix my problem or so I thought! The race started and was barely clinging to the back of the pack. We entered the twisting singletrack under the oak trees I grabbed the brakes for the first time since the start of the race and once again my lever went to the handlebar. This in turn made me over shoot the corner and I ended up in the forest where I was lucky not to come into contact with anything. Back on course I made my way to the pits for a bike change. I arrived and shouted to my teammates under the tent “Bike change! Please fix my front brake!” With that I ghost rode my geared bike into the sand and ran a few steps to my singlespeed and grabbed it and threw it over my shoulder and started running up the hill past the pits.
I had traveled about twenty feet when I heard “Stop, Stop! There are no pedals on that bike!” It suddenly became clear to me. Patrick had forgotten his shoes this morning so he borrowed my pedals and Darik Thunstrom shoes so he could race, but hadn’t had the time to reinstall my pedals on my bike. Considering what had just happened I was amazingly calm. If I was in contention for a series I might have laid an egg, but instead I stood there and watched Patrick and some other guy I didn’t know run around like chicken with there heads cut off as they searched for my pedals and tools to install them! After watching Patrick display his amazing mechanical abilities, my singlespeed was ready and I was off. I came through the pits on the next lap and asked for a bike change as the gear on my singlespeed was too small and was told that my geared bike wasn’t fixed yet. Upon hearing that I punched it in order to get some speed up for the hill and hit the little bump in front of it to fast and caught a little air which sent me on a collision course with a big pile of sand to the right of the preferred line which caused me to crash. Luckily the landing was very soft and I did this in place were everybody could see and Harriet Riley was able to capture the moment with her camera! I rode around again and got my geared bike back and did my absolute best to stay out of the way when I got lapped.
Singlespeed A
I started the race and immediately blew sky high and then for the next hour and eighteen minutes I experienced pain, pain and more pain. On the last couple of laps I fought off cramping and the overwhelming desire to go somewhere to find some pie to eat all the while doing your best to keep your slow as molasses, bonking self out of the way. I thought seriously of dropping out of this one, but at least I rode the hill after finish line every time except for the last lap when both of my legs seized. On an entirely different note, it was amazing to see the speeds that the 5 leaders of the Men’s A race were going. It was truly impressive! Hopefully something resembling a little form will come my way soon!
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