Race Report Enduro Stuff Race at IRP/Oaks 7/14

I decided to jump back into racing with the second of the Enduro Stuff OC Parks Series. Seeing as I hadn't raced in 20 years, I was a bit nervous to say the least. The recent weather change was a blessing--the rain had tamped down the soil so the trails were dustless and fast. It was overcast and cooler too. My goal was to simply finish without crashing. I had no idea of what pace my group was going to take. I was relieved to find that it wasn't too insane going up Puma Ridge, our first climb. I stayed near the front and was about 45 seconds up but my lame descending skills allowed those behind to catch up. Now came more climbing. I followed John Ganahl (that guy is a stud--and a real nice guy) up Mountain Goat and stayed with him up Coachwhip to Barham, holding off another fellow behind me who eventually won 1st place (sorry, forgot his name). Again, my lack of speedy descending allowed that racer to pass me before we got to Chutes. I found myself alone going down Chutes which was fine with me. I never saw another racer ahead or behind me for the rest of the race. The fellow whose name I forgot passed John somewhere and nabbed 1st from him. I dropped to 3rd. Hey I'm not complaining, I thought I was going to be DFL, lol!

The event was well run. All the volunteers and rangers manning the trails were key to making it go so smooth (THANK YOU!!!). The few racers I passed were super cool about it and gave way without complaint. It was so fun to ride these trails full bore without worry. So I got 3rd in my group (Beginner Men 50+), scored well on raffle prizes, met some super cool race vets who made me feel welcomed. I'm looking forward to the next race. I hope you try it out. It's fun and Ron puts on a super event.

First climb of the day


On the podium


Super stoked!


Matt (Old School) nabs 3rd in his group


Rafflicious winnings

 

Nice Job on your first race in twenty years! I miss riding oaks, and that race seemed like a fun one too! thanks for sharing

 

great job! The Enduro cup races are super fun, and the more we support the better they'll be

 

Great Race, Great Course, Great Trails, Great Swag...I had to bug out early before the prizes and podiums...I was happy just to be able to make it out there to race...great showing for the middle-age weekend warriors out there with something like 15 in Sport 30-39 category...I think I wasnt the first to scare the !$#? out of some dude running UP Roadrunner with full headphones while pinning it at 20+ mph...fortunately the trail was wide enough and he stepped aside after I slammed on the brakes...let him know that a cut through to the road was ahead and about 50 racers were coming up behind me quickly. Saw him again making the wise decision to bypass Egret right before the climb to the Dam on lap 2...the catch 22 for all races is everybody sticking around after the event to support the sponsors and winners.

Let's support this series and keep the positive vibe so we can maintain a sustainable local race calendar...that allows for some cool possibilities...perhaps a Mountain TT up Dreaded Hill and down Serrano Cow Trail?...A short track race that's not possible for a cyclocross bike to race on?

 

Called to Creation has posted up some photos from the race: http://www.calledtocreation.com/Galleries/OC-Parks-Race-2-Irvine-Oaks/. Some great shots on the lower rocks on Chutes.

 

I agree completely! They put on great races, and come up with really fun courses on our local trails. It's great to be able to go all out in a race on trails I grew up riding or find out about other local trails that I had somehow missed all these years.

This was also a great location for the family to come out and cheer you on. This was the first race my kids have made it out to. They were so excited to get to see me from their picnic on the big grass field as I went by on the flat after puma, and greet me with a hug at the finish line. They even got to go on train and pony rides while I hung out with everyone after the race. Can't beat that.






Thanks to everyone who worked so hard to put this race on. Let's keep supporting them!

 

Great pics! Thanks for posting.

 

The race results are now up. http://endurostuffevents.com/Enduro.../July 14 Enduro Stuff Results with Points.pdf

 

Great Event

Irvine/Oaks is such a fun place to hold a mountain bike race. I was really surprised by the small turnout, considering how popular the oaks is for riding. Ron's event was well organized, no hiccups, and used some great trails. Chutes is way more fun when you get to let go of the brakes during a race. There were a couple of hikers and passed two horses, but all in irvine park. The only thing I would change is to move the venue to a place in irvine park with more shade, grass, and restrooms nearby. Oh, and if I could figure out how to change the course so we can do the ridgeline and chutes a couple more times but keep the same overall course length...not sure how to do that. And maybe time a section of the course (like down chutes).

Looking forward to the next race in oneil. They will go down the best singletrack (Vista Trail) in oneil.

 

Some additional photos I found from the race. Some really good ones in here: http://hiromifujita.photoshelter.co...rk-07-14-12/G0000joJyrPelvdY/C0000.VNLbkHSO0M