As is the the beast the Otter is huge this year. The vibe is good everyone seems to be having a great time and the weather is the best I have ever seen here.
Quick highlights.
Visited my friends in the industry as well as sponsors,
Trying new samples at the Raw Revolution booth #
Checking out rad new gear from the technology incubator otherwise know as Cannondale. Alot is under wraps but I have long distance photo of the bike Roel is riding tomorrow. The 29r flash is pretty hot too!
Getting the fresh Oakley hookup from Blick in the back parking lot, (it just looked shady). ;)
Did a lap of the pump track.
Rode 14 miles on and off road to the venue. Geez.
Got the new Joule power meter. So many amazing features that I will never have to look at the road again! Sweet. ;)
Cannondale Factory Racing put in a good effort in the short track but will be fired up for big showing tomorrow. Tough but hey.... thats the way we like it. If racing where easy....
Keep you posted on the ups and downs out here at the Otter race.
Later
J. Bishop
Cannondale Factory Racing
Nothing more fun than riding steep dirt roads thru the country at excessive speed. Especially when the gravel truck just came thru making it like a sand box full of sharp stones!
More than a few riders went down. I managed to stay on the bike, always a plus. And I did make the lead group Nick Waite, Joe Dombroski and Andy Guptil. Guptil double flatted. The gravel did take its toll and I ended up with a slow leak. In an attempt to make it another 4 miles to where the cars where parked, I stopped in the middle of the dirt road (almost got ran over by the pack) and then chased hard to catch back up. Lucky for me, the lead group had reformed and the pace backed off. Phew... I didn't get much rest and then it was the final 14 mile lap. Nick set a blistering pace. I was doing about 550 watts on his wheel for the 90 second effort, Ouch...
We had fun attacking on each other with no mercy! On the final lap's hills and pave sections I snuck a few seconds on the twisty dirt road decent through the forest. I seemed to have the two wheel drift dialed. I punched it everywhere I could get traction. The duo of Waite and Dombroski closed down the gap but I went again when they least expected the open highway stretch. Didn't work either. It would come down to the final steep 1k gravel climb. Nick cracked a max attack effort showering my front wheel with gravel. It was everything I had to match his jump. Dombroski was gapped. Though I could not go faster I knew who ever entered the downhill first would likely take it. I gave it biggest gear I could push to harness a few more watts and drop the gravel pit descent first. It was just the 6 seconds I needed! 650 watt final climb for 45 seconds on soft gravel.
Afterward we hung out and had some food and drink with all the riders that took on the challenge. It was great to see everything from tandems to tag along bikes, hybrids and club riders.
Next stop: Sea Otter Classic!
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Jeremiah
Labels: Racing, Viva le Burg
A lot harder than it looks... Ha ha ha..
Here are some pics from my lowland exploration at the Jedi trails near Redland, this trail was the only one of its type I found but it made for awsome photos, it explains the name... to ride them fast you would have to be a Jedi otherwise you fall way down!
Afterward I made my uphill, WAY uphill. 14 miles up and nearly 5,000ft higher than the valley. Team mate Ben Sontag for a little altitude time at the Mastermind Athletics. Its sort of a training house for athletes run by Joe Whiley who I met thru sponsor Wheelbuilder.com
Cool idea. The two young guys staying up here (Devan Dunn and Ryan Cooke) have made for a nice place to hang out between races with lots of cycling video group dinners and joking around. Unfortunately I am going stir crazy because I love to hammer 5-6 h rides in mountain terrain like this but i have to race for the little 90 min race on Sat..
I guess thats another reason i prefer endurance races MORE RIDING!
Go BIG...
Jeremiah
So the sun did finally come up at the vision quest I was starting to wonder if I was halucinating .Tinker and I clawed our way back to Manni on the first mile of the days longest climb Modjeska and Santiago peaks. Tinker was pulling really strong. The climb takes over an hour going flat out. That was my plan but my stomach wasn't ready.
Something clicked as the sun starting beaming down on us in the canyon. My legs woke up.
It was my turn to put on the attacks. Tinker marked Manny as I put in several attacks until I got away. I figured I would need every second. Tinker later made a push for Santiago peak forcing Manny into a frantic chase on the ensuing downhill.
The good news for me was that I knew this section from pre riding. The descents were just ribbons of loose single track that started with some steep drops on upper Holy Jim. The lower trail was more flowing but had some NO mistake area where error could be fatal.
I was hoping not to fall off a cliff or make any mistakes. Huge awesome decent that is fun at a relaxed speed but took ever ounces of concentration I had. Numerous switchbacks and a tight shurb lined cooridor made reading the trail like riding a dirt bike as fast as you can thru a labryth. I made the bottom hit the fast steam crossing grabbed another couple bottles from Noah CFR California rider and took off.
I manage to ride the insanely steep 30 min climb up Trabuco without walking but one stretch.
I felt good. Sweat streaked down my Radars under the great effort. I left the rear suspension on my new CFR Scalpel on for more ground biting traction.
Getting to the top with now on in site was little relief I knew I wouldnt be out of the woods until I made it down horse thief. Another hair raising decent but this one i was in the zone. Railing the inside turns and in good control on the dangerous exposed outside turns. You could not see the bottom of the canyon so I didn't even look. Better that way.
I pushed hard in the final dirt road miles incase someone was close. I was surprised to see my wining time of 4:45 was a new record! Even nicer was seeing Conrad and Erin at the finish.
Little did I know but Manny going mach 5 on Holy Jim tore a tire and had some chain trouble taking him out of contention. What"? I thought he was on my heels!
We enjoyed talking about the bikes with the other racers at the Cannondale truck and hanging out after the race. With a great day like it that we all had alot to talk about.
Thanks for the support from locals Steve Kwait and Noah for setting me up on course recon and feeding.
Jeremiah
"In many Native American groups, the vision quest is a turning point in life taken before puberty to find oneself and the intended spiritual and life direction. When an older child is ready, he or she will go on a personal, spiritual quest alone in the wilderness, often in conjunction with a period of fasting". (Wikipedia)
It was ironic that a race called Vision Quest was the longest I had ever and ever will ride without lights in a race. For the first 55 mins of the race I was like a remora on the ass of a shark. Never leaving the sanctuary of the lights of the the lead duo. Tinker who was also without lights had this fat flashlight he must have gotten out of the bed of some ones old rusty Ford! I will never forget it Tinker is riding up the first dirt road with this light in his clutches like a eagle holds a wet snake after the kill. He eventually put it down his riding shorts so it would beam forward.. Ha ha ha!!! What the......??
We both had our excuses because Joshua just got his tonsils out; TJ barely made it at all. And I am from VA so I figured like the other Long races its dark or twilight for a few minuets on the first climb and then all is good. Besides why would they make us race in the dark?
NO light! It was pitch black and cold. In blackstar Canyon. Not even a moon. Sure enough the loose dirt roads where sketchy, I sped around them following the bright lights Mani and the other leaders had because the alternative of getting dropped was not an option.
I looked down at miles of switchbacks and the pure blackness was only interrupted by the Orange Grid below and to my shock a white snake like constellation on the ground that went for 5 miles down the canyon! All the riders that had lights!!!!
After cresting the climb 1 min off record pace with the lead 4 ( Mani, Cameron Brennamin Tinker and I)
I was worried.. we had a roller coaster of alpine dirt roads with tank traps and sand holes and all sorts of scary black stuff. STILL NO LIGHT Where is the SUN! Just a faint golden glow on the huge mountains south of Palm Springs.
10 mins to day break I guessed. I survived the short downhill section but had to jam hard to catch up the 100 meter gaps that would open as I chickened out. There was just a halo on shapes now I had to hit the single track first because Mani is going to go apeshit on his home downhills to put pressure on me. I decided to drill it and make him work to catch me I got a 30 sec gap but lost it with a small wrong turn. I did not want be off the back after the first down hill! "note racing down a 3,000ft decent on super steep side cut mountains with blind turns is not cool"
My max sprints on the opening dirt road decent worked or so I though, I fought him off with several surges. Just as I was dropping into the steep and narrow Mani went for a left had pass and nipped me into the single track!
Home turf is a big advantage. SOMETIMES
Stay tuned for the rest................
