RR: The Official NMBS Santa Ynez race report

[allison]

Friday night we left work a tad early, packed up the truck and headed over for me to get a sandwich for dinner (took about 25 minutes, seriously) and some last minute items from the grocery store (Maxwell - it was Albertson's ).

We wound up not getting on the road until a little before 5 (I also forgot to get my "dirt" shoes, and Justin left his wallet at home).

But, eventually we got on the road. It was pretty fast going up 15 to 91.

We saw one of the fires that were burning



Traffic got pretty bad up in north LA, particularly on the 101



Hollywood!



By the time we got up around Thousand Oaks it opened up okay and was smooth sailing from there. Temps dropped to low 60s going through Santa Barbara.

Nice sunset



We stopped in Santa Barbara so Justin could grab a bite to eat. Talked to Nancy; they were just getting to the hotel in Buellton. We were probably 45 minutes out.

We pulled into Buellton around 9:15 or so. Couldn't find the Days Inn. Directions said to go right, so we did. Drove around. Nothing. Went back the other way, didn't see... u-turn. Hey there it is! It is really hidden behind the freeway and unfortunately the only sign visible at night was coming from the other direction

We pulled in but couldn't get ahold of Nancy and Roger. We were both on edge from the traffic, late night, and not being able to find the hotel. So Justin decided we'd just head back to the Motel 6 to find out if they had any vacancies. I said (seriously), "Nancy is going to call the second they ring up the room on the card." He shrugged it off.

They had rooms available. I hand over my credit card. Cell phone rings.

Ah well.

We got up super early on Saturday morning (we left the hotel before 6) and got on our way to the venue.

Sunrise over the Santa Ynez valley



We went to check in, and due to the line and racing starting at 8 am, they opened registration a little bit before 7 am. We got our plates and headed back to the truck to see if we could get in an early DH run.

We suited up. I was already sweating heavily despite it being before 9 am. I felt kinda sick on the short hike up from the fire road to the DH course. Sweating heavily, fully geared.. down we went.

There was a jump right out of the gate almost (after a left hander), and then a table top, a bermed right hander.. the "sweet" rock garden (I found the golden line first time through).. couple more turns, the bridge over the XC course.. then into the trees. I always had trouble in the transition right there (visibility). I felt pretty out of whack going through since it became tight singletrack with sharp turns, bridges, and then into a canyon kind of thing. Come out of that, off a small drop, around a sandy corner, through a big pipe.. pedal some flat, a jump, table top, finish line.

Phew. It was warm.

Expert's were practicing and since they were racing at like 10 am, I didn't want to take up their spots on the shuttle line. Saw Kelly Moore, who I raced against at Sea Otter. She'd bumped up to Expert. Jen Wolfe... We then headed back to the cars to grab the camera and try to spot Heidi and cheer/get some shots.

We hung out for a while, chatted briefly with Nancy and Roger who were chilling in what little shade was available. It was seriously about 10F degrees cooler in any shade than it was in the sun.

Finally we saw Heidi coming around so we got in position to get a few pics and cheer her through on lap 1.



Another local Expert woman, Lisa:



Heidi now officially on lap 2



It was time for Expert DH, so we headed back up there to do a little spectating.

Joy coming through



Expert?



Gotta work on those dabs

Kelly lookin' fast



Junior Ex Men





Troy takes a fast line in the shadows



Another rider hits the deck



Tried to get artsy



We suited up again and after about a 35 min delay in practice due to expert races we finally got in official practice. I did one run, figured I'd do one more and then call it good enough. I wasn't feeling great and it was just freaking hot.

First run was okay, I followed Roger a bit and then when he pulled off in the loose stuff I kept going. Got in line for #2.

The shuttle driver for some reason thought that there were expert's in line taking up our practice, despite the fact that they had already raced. Why anyone in that heat would want to do the course again right after their race is beyond me. But, he delayed us about 5-10 mins as we stood in the heat and sun baking.

Finally we got going again.

I hung out in the shade for a bit, got some water at the truck.

I thought that our race would start at 1, and I was set to go off 2nd, behind the only other girl in my age group. I got to the top of the hill around 12:50 and found out that the race was to start at 1:30. They had water and Gatorade, and two shade tents. It was *really* windy up top. So, basically no big deal to sit up there. I chatted with Erica, who I met at Keyesville (Sport 30-39 DHer who races on a either a 5spot or RFX), and then a beginner woman. Justin, Adrian and a few others got up there.

Justin wasn't added to the seed list. They told him he had been signed up for Sport XC and they had to change it. Odd. I actually pulled out the receipt and it showed Sport DH, and he had been shown on the pre-reg athlete Sport DH list. So, it was their mistake. Oh well. He was added I think to the end of Sport 35-39.

The timer's came up and I got staged to head down. I was first off. Came through the top half and felt slow, but was on the bike and pedaling.

Made the tight turn to go over the tree log (kinda) and made it over the bridges. Kept at it. I hit the lower drop and tried to pedal. Cranks were frozen. I didn't have time to look down. Went around the corner slowly, looked down. Chain was off. I pedaled backward. Cranks seized up. Pedaled forward. Cranks seized up.

I coasted through the tunnel/pipe and when that was done, I got off and ran. About halfway down the flat fire road I hopped on again, but wasn't going anywhere, so hopped off and ran it into the finish line. Probably the lamest DH race finish ever, but at least I didn't give up.

The other girl? She was busy racing PRO XC. By the time she got up there and raced she won. Only by about 14 seconds, though. Apparently I need to work on my duathlon skills in case I need to run a 40lbs bike down a flat course again!

One of the boyz brought me a water and tried to fix my bike, to no avail. I hung out with the crew



Under the only available shade, and eventually went back to the truck to get the camera and drop off my gear.

The Pro men were just starting XC, so I decided to head over and cheer on Herber

Just heading out



Coming down the rise










Herber was actually up near the front-ish, which was sweet.

Got back to the DH finish line and not too long after Adrian came through



I snapped this pic of Justin and literally right after his chain snapped in half. He almost crashed trying to pedal off the jump, saved it, and coasted to the finish line



In addition to the chain snapping, he had crashed pretty hard right after the bridge and lost some time.

We went back to the truck so he could get out of the DH gear, and when we came back he was sitting 3rd!! Not too shabby.

continued...

[allison]

...

Awards weren't too long after. We headed back over, made sandwiches, bought some Gatorade and soda and sat in what little shade was available.

The winner didn't stick around



Roger podium'd, despite being really sick!



Justin



I felt like crap, but really wanted a pre-ride.

FWIW, I found out Friday while at work that they changed the Sport XC race from 2 11.3mi laps to 1. So I was going to be in the car for 4 hours, two nights at hotels, food, etc. for an 11 mile race. I felt kind of gipped. However, with the heat and how I felt, I almost think I was looking forward to only doing one lap.

I got some bottles filled up from the "Potable" water station. I wasn't looking forward to the ride. It was hot. I was sweating.

We took off down the flat singletrack right out of the gate and my HR was already around 155. I wasn't even working hard.



Spun up the short little hill, around the corner, another S bend.. down the hill, around the turn, back past the start/finish and out into the hills.

The water tasted horrible. The Cytomax tasted like I was drinking grape flavored dirty soap. The plain water wasn't much better. I had no desire for either. They were both warm when we started.

More climbing.. We got to a switchback and Justin nearly fell off the hill. I think he was taxed also. I wasn't pegged, but damn if it wasn't hot and my body wasn't working OT trying to cool itself.

I made the switchback first try, but grannied up the remainder of the hill. Steep singletrack.



We got up near the road and the trail went downhill.

Up above the venue



Rough road.. much of the trails were similar. Some were worse. Made for bumpy descending. But, the climbing was actually more painful on this stuff.



Enjoying a little shade



We stopped to check out the Dual Slalom practice. Troy was ripping it up



Nancy on the far line



We got back to the trail and I said, "Why is my rear tire all of the place?" It was flat Justin had just pumped it up. The Stan's, while still present, wasn't sealing whatever hole or issue was going on. We rolled back to the parking lot. Justin put in a tube (stupid extra 1/4lbs!!!).

Then it was back up where we left off to finish off the course. There were definitely some tricky spots that it was at least good to know existed.

I was almost enjoying the pre-ride at this point.

Under the DH bridge



Nice rolling hills





Heading back to the venue; almost done



Justin went up to the DS area to see the amateur finals, and I went back to the truck to clean out my bottles a little, get some Recoverite, and stretch.

I wound up taking a bunch of time and wasn't even dressed in dry clothes yet and Justin got back. We were both pretty hungry. Headed back to Buellton. Nothing there really appealed to us, so we started the trek toward Lompoc. A bit of a drive. We needed fuel (gas for the truck and fuel for our stomachs). We checked into an odd hotel (it was Travelodge, but the weirdest place I've stayed in awhile - manager was nice, though). Left our bag there, then headed into town. We couldn't find anything. Stopped a Vons to get water and ice, and I found out how to get some restaurants.

We ate an Italian joint. Finally got food around 8:45. Nice!

Back to the hotel, unloaded the bikes.. We got to bed around 10:15 or so after playing a bit on the computer and watching House reruns on USA.

Continued...

[allison]

Sunday morning sunset



XC racing under way for the "amateurs"



The initial start times had the women listed to go off at 8:18. After warming up a bit (literally, and literally it was getting warmer) I went over to get my leg #... saw the sign said 8:38. What?!

The volunteers didn't know anything about it. The sport men must've complained mileage, so they wound up adding about 2 extra miles to their course, so needed to gap the clydes, and beginner men.

So a few of us took off to pedal around some more and not "cool down" too much.

I wound up seeing Annabelle (Sport woman) from Sho-Air and talked to her a bit. We sat in the shade at the staging and chatted about racing, Idyllwild, etc. They moved us up. She was worried after checking out her competition. I reminded her that you can't judge anyone based on looks!

Finally we were getting close.

We lined up. Go!



Annabelle had me on the start, but I passed and wash first on the singletrack. I was in my hardest gear on the flat, then up the short hill. I heard ShugaMama cheer me on from the tandem just down below and smiled as I tried to hammer up the hill, while also trying to keep myself in check.

I came around first at the top of the small rise



Just a small gap in front of Annabelle

She passed me on the short fire road climb, and I tried my best to hang on to her wheel since she was passing as soon as we hit more singletrack. I figured it'd be easier to pass if I was right behind her than if there was a gap.

We went around a lot of guys. Then got to the S turns up the hill where there was little room for passing.

Annabelle offered encouragements where she could, but it was slow going. Literally there just wasn't much room.

I knew the tough switchback was coming up and guys were already off walking up the hill. We both called that we were going to ride through, and did manage to to make it up there.

We got a little ways further up the hill and she said I should go around her at the top since I'd be faster descending. I passed her there and tried to continue passing before the descent.

I got stuck behind a LOT of beginner men. Not one pulled off the trail. At times they would move over. But on the descent it was basically just really backed up.

I finally got around a few of them and continued on.

Up another hill... no room to pass



I got around some more guys. Nice descent that was pretty open.. then a fire road climb where I passed a lot more. Descending again (woohoo)



SB Training gals (the 2nd one was my competition)



It was getting warm on the climbs. There was very little air, and what was there was stagnant. I didn't see a ton of people for awhile. Passed where I could. Passed a few guys on the really bumpy climb. Up and around.

At one stagnant climb I saw a guy dump a water bottle on the guy in front of me. I wondered if he knew the guy. Then he offered to dump water on my back as well. I gladly took him up on it, and profusely expressed my thanks for his awesomeness. Then the COLD hit me. Yowzers. It was cold. Felt great, though.

Then it was down by the venue, along the flats for a bit.

Justin seemed to be enjoying chasing me around for photos and to be my cheering section



I kept hearing that I was the first female through (which I knew), but here is me enjoying the moment.

I knew Annabelle was pretty close behind, since I could see her back there. But she wasn't in my class, so I wasn't worried about it. I was happy she was hanging so well!

Tired just after the finish line...



I wound up winning by a little over 8 minutes.

Spun around a bit. Had some Recoverite. Chatted with a few other racers. We saw SScheetz and talked to him for a bit. I checked results. Awards were supposed to be at 11. We headed over just before that. I wanted to get a Kenda tire, and also another Division26 tee. We chatted with Burns and Dale for a bit, trying to stay in the shade.

It was just really hot. I got my Kenda tire for the rear, and we found some shade and hung out with Ernie and his wife/kids.

They took off for the kids race, and finally, 3 hours after my race finish they were doing awards.

I hadn't eaten anything since 6 am, so it was really tough. I was getting pretty antsy.

They did all the sport men, the clydesdale, the beginner women... No sport women awards. I asked the guy announcing. "They are here somewhere. We don't get them in any kind of order, but I'm not digging through the sheets."

Funny, all the other age groups were in exact order. We were just randomly at the very back.

It isn't bad enough they make the Sport Women start behind the beginner men making it impossible for us to get clean laps, but then we are kind of cast-off for awards?

Give us the recognition that is due. After a second NMBS race starting behind beginner men, I'm gonna be sending in an email. It shouldn't be difficult for them to start us behind sport men, like they do at Fontana. It's really easy and the women that are faster than beginner men can have a slightly more clean race.

At any rate...



Awards were a long time after the race, and due to lack of shade and affordable food, I think a lot of people left

Maria and Patrick on the Tandem podium!



Annabelle atop her podium



So, overall, not a bad weekend. Had my first bad luck in a race, and I felt like I handled it pretty well. Didn't even stop to think, really. I knew I had to finish, so off it was running down the course. If I'd had to choose a race to have that happen in, DH would've been it.

The Dos worked flawlessly in the XC race.

Met some cool people, chatted with others. Was a bit pricey of a weekend for us, but nice to check out the venue.

Everything went really smoothly, btw, up until XC awards.

The XC course itself was pretty fun, if not rough, and I actually think I was one of the few that enjoyed the DH course. It was kind of a trail ride trail, which is probably why I liked it. But, I had fun on it.

[lukewiens]

congrats guys!! rackin up some hardware already!!

allison....i smell an expert license in your future!!

[lukewiens]

you guys know how robert did?

[Zippy]

Originally Posted by lukewiens

congrats guys!! rackin up some hardware already!!

allison....i smell an expert license in your future!!

With an 8 minute win? Heck yeah! Don't be intimidated by the distance or the competition; you'll do fine.

[surlygal]

Originally Posted by mechmann

thanks bud!

i am pushing pretty hard for her to upgrade, i need to upgrade in DH as well. we are sort of holding out right now though as we have discussed going to Vermont to race Nationals and i don't think we would qualify for it if we bumped up between now and then...

No reason for you both to do it this year!

You have worked hard and it's paying off! Finish your season and then move up.......

You both have earned this...

Now next year - Sport - will be a thing of the past!

[schleppp]

NICE! You all represent STR very well, both on the course and off, well done!

[maxwell]

Great job guy's!!

I found out while Lacey was racing that traveling to some of the "closer" far away events is a great experience.

Santa Barbara, San Diego, Nor Cal.

They are all great times!

"Justin seemed to be enjoying chasing me around for photos and to be my cheering section "



Allison, I know he does. It's great when you can ride parts of the course to get pics of the one you're cheering for. Once again, I'm speaking of my experiences with Lacey. Plus it's fun to see the look of the other racer's faces when they just saw you as they passed, and now they are passing you again.

I'm very proud of you two.

Keep it up, but remember to keep it FUN!

[TrojanInsomniac]

Congrats everybody!

Thanks for sharing the great pics, Allison!

[Foesnasty]

mechmann......u nailed it.... it was a hot and expensive weekend, and I blew a corner.... got 7th.... oh well,,,,, can't wait to do it again.... it was nice to chat and hang out with friends.....Mech, it's to bad you got bumped, I ride better when your chasing me......

[BobBurnes]

Allison! This reports are EPIC! I love reading them and checking out the photos! Good job you and the Mechmann!

[carbonman]

We had a blast at the races. It was fun talking to Allison and Justin. We were actually in Allison's starting group, Sport women/Tandems. This was our first race on the tandem and we had a blast. Maria was the crazed stocker pushing all the way. I think we went out too fast trying to keep up with the women, damn they are fast. The first half of the course was tough and when we got into our groove he rocked the second half.
We got up to the races Saturday around 10:30 and it was already HOT!!! We did the camping thing with my brother and his family in the tent trailer. It was hot and dusty during the day and cooled down nice at night, except for the drunks yelling all night long, hhmm was that some STR peeps?
Maria and I won the Tandem class( the other tandems must have heard we were racing and didn't even show up) and my brother raced Beginer men 40-44 and came in 2nd place.
I'll see if I can get some photos up and I need to check my camera to see if it video taped the first hour of the race?