Sunday, May 24, 2009

The Ashland Spring Thaw (Photo by Wil Smith)

What do you know, been a while since the last post once again! There's been quite a lot of racing and riding action to report on throughout this month though. To start off the first weekend in May was the Pinenut Cracker at an OHV area in Gardnerville, NV (just down into the valley from South Lake Tahoe). After drivng down 395 with racing pals Scott Leland, Amber Broch, John Hurley and Dustin Sweet, there were brutal 30mph winds and a course consisting of over 35 miles with little climbing (which translates to crap descending) through a forest of small trees. I got pitched off the back of a group about halfway into the race, the rest is history, that will not be written about in any books. It got my starting points for the Nevada Cup XC series though and some bicycling fun in the forest. The next time I visit those trails in G-ville will be on a CR450.

The next couple of weeks after the Cracker were spent getting back in touch with some of the sweet singletrack that's been buried in snow over the winter down in the southern part of Reno as well as heading up to the Ashland Spring Thaw! As the third race of the GT Golden Bike Series, I was excited to get up to the Thaw and check in with the glitz and glamour that GT has been throwing down on the grass roots level this year. After a mellow drive Friday afternoon, myself and some fellow racing pals Scott Leland, Amber Broch, Jon Wilson, and young ripper Greg Rea II settled into the Ashland Hostel . The XC race started Saturday morning in Lithia Park located in downtown Ashland, a perfect start for a race. I met up with fellow Dirt Coalition racer Ivan Anderholm, who had made the trip all the way from Hermiston, OR. The race went off hard from the start up a paved road and then on up through the Ashland Watershed on a series of semi-steep fire roads for about an hour or so. At this point I was able to connect up with several other guys for the flat, rolling section of the course that took us counter-clockwise in a loop back around towards the town and sweet downhill section of the course. It was full road race action, guys yelling to ROTATE THROUGH! Ha ha, so far, we started with a hill climb, then a road race with the fork fully locked, and then a super d style rip down some twisty fun. Except by the time I got to the descent, my legs were stiff and close to a full cramp, uh oh. I'm familiar with this downhill from doing the great Ashland 12-mile Super D a couple of times. But damn, was having quite a time getting the flow going even with the sweet new Marathon Carbon Pro! I finally made it to town though, in 1:56 and some change, good enough for 9th in Cat. 1 19-34. My boy Leland took home 3rd and Amber crushed the other women for a Cat. 1 win, props! I met up with Ivan at the GT Demo trailer to chill for a bit. That's when I met Louis Angeley, that dude is killer. He told me to bring my bike over for some love. In full cooperation, I swung my trusty Carbon Pro into the tent and left it for the afternoon while I headed back to the hostel to get cleaned up and grab my DH bike for practice with my Reno clan. As I arrived back at the tent, I was quickly blown off by some skirt clad GT cheerleaders. I would have been bummed hadn't a shiny new GT rig been waiting to be claimed. Yep, just like the day it arrived a couple of months back, brand new, thanks Louis!

After a couple of practice runs on the oh so sick downhill course and a fun night at the Stepping Stone Brewery with too many pints of IPA to count, I was able to rest up for the downhill the next day. We got out there early, and I dropped in for my first practice run. Almost to the end of the track and my front tire popped, arrrrrrggghhhh! I hiked back up the course instead of just rolling it and heading back up the side fire road. This was dumb since I dodged racers ripping down in their practice runs and blew more energy out of my quivering legs. Finally got to the top, and found my good friend Bill Smith who happened to have a tube with him, SAVED! I dropped in again and ripped a good run. When I got to the bottom, there was an army of racers waiting for the small shuttle trucks to arrive. I said screw it and pushed/pedaled back up to the race start, my legs screaming at me the whole way. By the time I got to the top, practice was over and the pros were getting ready to let it fly. I waited around in the hot sun trying to get as much water down my throat as possible. Finally it was go time, called up in order. I let her go quick but conservative since I like my collarbone intact thanks. Well, my run ended up quite mediocre, hey, I'm not saying I didn't push it as hard as possible, but the gas tank was empty. Damn those event organizers for putting the XC before the DH, well, at least make an all mountain class. I was 9th again in the same Cat. 1 class, but will be back for revenge at the 12 Mile Super D in a couple more weeks!!!!!!! The pro downhillers threw down some super quick times, Mark Weir setting a new course record with local fast guy Nathan Riddle only a second off of his time for 2nd place! To make matters even more intense, my boy Jon Wilson was only a second off of 3rd, and he ended up 7th, keep in mind we're talking about a relatively long course of 1.7 miles!. Local Reno pro downhiller Casey Coffman claimed a 9th spot in this stacked field of singletrack slayers while the young Greg Rea II fell short of tearing holes in the other Junior Cat. 1 racers with a blown corner and broken hand. Here's a photo from the DH by my friend Wil Smith, I'm having trouble getting any XC photos rounded up, I know that there have been people taking photos at all the XC races I've done so far this year, but where are they? All in all, a GREAT weekend shredding trails with good friends near the beautiful town of Ashland, Oregon! Huge thanks to GT Bicycles and Demo Manager Louis Angeley for the support. Also, huge thanks to local Reno mechanic Bill Smith!