RR: fontana nationals

[cbHarping]

Justin and Laura prepare for the extensive Cal State practice session:


Justin is happy he got his wheels back from Rennie


The Denmother and Just_me train


Laura practicing


Race runs:
Kovarik


Eric Carter


Scotty


Just_me


Denmother


Mosh1DH


Laura


Mechmann


Incycle team






Ian




Man Blong Gaua


B-Rad


Bob Burns


Marshall Willanholly, the most handsome rider of the day

[sdyeti]

Oh sure CB, your pics make mine look sad!!

Seriously, nice nice snaps!!!

[Sharky]

I never see these full reports on any other site thanks for the great write ups and photos! It's interesting knowing what all goes into racing mentally as well as physically. Apreciate you taking the time to compose your experiences.
Check out the reports on Pinned, also.
http://www.pinnedmtb.com/fontana_nmbs08.htm

[cbHarping]

Thanks to MW for helping me out with photo edits (cropping, borders, etc). I took 278 photos and it took some time to weed 'em down!

Oh, and I almost forgot...lookey what I got to pedal around on in the pit area...

[deja vu]

Originally Posted by gregg

Allison, you were not the only one held up by slow sport guys. ...... A lot shoulder banging going on. All hell broke loose on the first steep hill.......

I raced Sport class 45-49 so I had a front row seat for this. This was my first national XC race, and first time racing XC at Fontana, so I was not sure what to expect.

My first impression standing in the line up was that some people were very serious , and I could feel the competitive vibe. At the same time, some people were joking around and getting ready to have some fun, which was cool too. I made small talk with my neighbors and prepared for take off.

I made a couple of mistakes, #1 was not lining up front in my group. I had pre-rode the course and knew I wanted to be up front going up that first small hill or I might get stuck in a pack. Well, I left to warm up and when I got back there was no way to get back to my original position, my mistake. Sure enough when I got to that first hill there was a log jam. I got off my bike and ran around some people. The next stretch was rough, tires rubbing, handlebars hitting, wow! I kept up a good pace though and started picking off some people on the first climb.

Bombed the down and unknowingly made mistake #2, I was using big ring up front and 6 or 7 back. Sounds OK, but my chain was too loose and rattled into a funky position, not tracking the gears properly. It sounded funny, but I thought it got dirty or something. I was climbing strong and making some ground on the second up when I shifted down and heard the fingernail on chalkboard type sound of my chain falling between my spokes and 1st gear. Aaaargh!! I flip the bike over and it is stuck good. I remove my rear wheel to get it unstuck, put it back together and go. But I never totally recover from this. Yep, this is racing all right!!

from there it was pretty smooth sailing, especially the 2nd lap. The field had split up a bit so it wasn't as intense. Some people were slow on the downs but I would encourage them with a 'lets rip this thing', and I probably slowed down a person or two myself, but that's racing. Everybody has different strengths. You have to pick some passing spots in the pre-ride.

I came in 6th in my class. This was a pretty tough sport class, so I am happy with that. I checked the expert class and I would have been racing against Johny O' Mara (that can't turn out good!)

I raced Super-D too, which is another story, but felt like I nailed it as hard as I could have possibly done, so really happy with that, came in 7th.

nationals are tough!!

[cbHarping]

Littermag report and photos from Maxine Irving!

[sdyeti]

sorry....did i miss it? does anyone have XC pics from the sport race? thx.

[BFloFoxRider.]

Im glad the ladies on the forum not only tear up the trail but they compliment it by being professional photographers too

[doublewide]

Hey CB! Nice pics and write-up. Looked like a good course,was it technical?
How did MW and Scotty do? I wish i could've made that one!

Steph, your write-up and pics were great also!


shitty

[sdyeti]

On the first singletrack descent, there were maybe 2 places to pass and damn if I could get by 4-5 people in a row!

I totally agree that everyone has difft strengths. See, my weakness is climbing but...I am not about to refuse to get out of a faster climber's way. Why, then, do the slower descenders fail to do the same?

By the way, deja, my question above is rhetorical...don't take it as directed toward you

Originally Posted by deja vu

Everybody has different strengths.
You have to pick some passing spots in the pre-ride.

[allison]

Finally got my photos uploaded! Steph, great minds:



I was waiting to get a shot of Heidi and took a flower photo also

Early Sat morning Mike from Fox took a look at my suspension set up and helped dial it in. Thanks!! It was awesome for practice and my race run



Expert XC





STIL



I think these are all lap 2, but I am not sure. But, some of these guys looked tired already!!









Finally some ladies



Heidi looking strong!



I guess Luke didn't have a good run, but he still looked pretty fast



Expert DH







Pro Women's XC

I don't think I've ever quite seen anything like the train bearing down on us on the ridge





They were really stacked up







Justin finishing up his NMBS DH run



DenMo on the podium



I did have competition, but I guess she didn't stick around



Nancy and I show off our medals



The DH girls of Mammoth have sweet wheels



Justin's 30-34 podium for DH

[allison]

Sport XC on Sunday morning:





Steph



I think this was lap 2's struggle



XC Sport Women 19-29 (Steph said we had 6 total!)



Justin in practice



Sunny



Brad J



Joy



Roger's race run



I think that somehow I lost a few images in the processing/thumbnail/upload procedure...

Justin's Cal State DH podium



I have a few vids I'll try to upload tonight.

Originally Posted by mechmann

amazing photos carla!!!

Seriously awesome shots!!

[Marshall Willanholly]

CB is forgetting to mention she did a little helmet shopping on Sunday:

Originally Posted by sdyeti

This one's for you DownHillPhil

I think we saw this very frame in action last night at Bellflower BMX:

[SchwinnStr8]

My quick RR...Cal State DH

Saturday...practiced and got 2 runs in. It felt more like i went to hang out rather than practice.

Sunday...got there in time to watch NSMB Pro DH and got 1 practice run. Got shuttled to the top and waited about an hour and a half. Had my race run and find out i PODIUM'ED for the first time...3rd place 27-34 BEG. men. I was pretty happy

Overall...this weekend was confusing but fun...only because i got my first podium finish.

Thanks to everyone that stayed for the "Z" class....photogs and hecklers


See you guys at the next race!

If anyone has pics of me 1199 it would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!

[MOSH1DH]

Great pic's and RR everyone.

My rr Friday got there early to walk the course and watch the pro's practice. I didnt even make one full run, acouple turns after the first rock roll in, I took a header and taco'd my rear wheel.

Saturday started practice at 7 and I felt better getting some good runs in. Now my race didnt go as good as practice. I clipped a rock going up the saddle and had to run a few steps to get going again, dapped wright before the big roll in, then took my second header of the weekend, in the corner after the lower drop, so I got 16th of 17 in expert 30-34.

Sunday I thought I was ready, found a couple new line's for my race run, after the first rock roll in I dropped the next rock and lost my peddle, had to stop and jump back on the bike then just before the big roll in I omost did the same thing. so I got 6th in the gold state race.

overall I had a great weekend. congratulations to everyone who took a spot on the podium this weekend.