Race Report Kenda Cup West #1

Ha! Tell me about it! I was good meeting you at the starting line.

 

Would have had 3rd easily had I not spent a minute fixing my chain. I tried to shift to the granny ring up front for some reason (not needed!) and the chain got mangled. Soooo much mud.

 

were there any photogs out there? splashing through those water crossings were great when we were 3 wide

 

as i posted on facebook, it was a halfway decent CX race. maybe a short track race, decidedly not an XC race (XC races IMO have climbs and descents)

if they were worried about people's safety the race should have been postponed to a later date. we all knew there was going to be snow. 2 weeks before the race we knew that. i set up my mud/snow tires a full week before the event. make the race later in the year to avoid wet and cold conditions if we are going fly the "safety" flag. wait, then people might get dehydrated in the heat...

the course change was only necessary for beginner and sport riders in my opinion. i understand looking out for the safety of less experienced and unprepared riders. i showed up prepared and should have ditched the race to go ride in the hills but was unfortunately pre-registered. in retrospect, i should have pre-ridden the "course" that we raced on. i would have enjoyed riding in the hills in those conditions. it wasn't worth destroying every bearing on my brand new bike to race.

just my opinion of course. if they were going to do a CX course they should have asked Dot Wong to set it up (she was there afterall!). she knows how to set up a fun CX course!

as for the cluster eff at the start, TBB has been doing this far too long to not know how to start a race. get it together guys. course change or not, the start shouldn't be that hosed. i have done many of their races and am sure they can do it right.

i would have loved to know how they worked out the timing as well. they had me placed 6th on the prelim results, the guy in first "won" by about 20 mins. since i know he didn't go that fast it means he rode through the finish area after doing 4 laps. on my way out of the venue i heard them call him up in 5th. if he only did 4 laps that is a DNF, not gifted into a spot in front of other racers that stuck it out and rode through the waist deep stream crossing and mudfest again. if he rode another lap after going through the finish area and still beat me then i applaud him. i didn't want to do that fifth lap at all (though i had no idea how many laps i had already done or whether we were supposed to do another. Vu and I stopped on the road and had turned around to find out what lap we were on before hammering out the last lap)

hopefully the next race goes a little more smoothly. the guys at TBB know how to do a race. maybe they were just rusty.

 

I could not find the results on the Team Big Bear Site or the US Cup site, but I found them here: http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/sage-brush-safari-ne-1/results

 

I have to agree. This was not an XC Race. I had prep for the original course and as a CAT 2 Sport racer was highly disappointed by the last minute course change for the "Safety" of the racers. I had prep the bike and clothing for this race knowing the snow and rain. Drove to the top of what would have been the first climb and walked around while snowing to get a look at the first single track section. This was when I decided would still be fun to race in the snow as long as we had some sunshine. Pre-paid registration to avoid the early line in the cold, we even talked two other riders to race. I heard there was some course changes being made but this was insane. I felt bad talking in our friend & hubby into racing on their non-XC bikes only to find out the course was not even worth the drama all of our bikes will now go through. If they were worried about the Safety they should have postponed to a later date. I would have been happy with that type of change or a course change that still had the "XC". I am not a short track racer. The water would have been cold enough one time but man 3 times brutel..My bike didn't handle the mud well and was unable to shift along with twisting my ankle in lap 2, left me OUT! Sorry to say it was very disappointing event for me!!! See you all at the next event!

 

I must be outside my mind?
First race ever with a couple borrowed Bikes we tackle the Sagebrush safari mud fest and finish dead last. When our family friend who we race off-road trucks with invited us to give mountain bikes a try I thought it would be a great way to spend the day with my 14 year old son outside the box of our normal desert activities. I started lurking on this site for some insight. The snow was a concern, but it would add to the adventure. We really had no idea what we were getting into. We borrowed a couple bikes, and completely blind went for it with zero biking experience. Our only goal was to finish, have a good time, and see what this sport was all about.

We met up with our friends at about 10:00 am got in line, got a couple lessons on how to operate the gears, some ideas on how to tackle an obstacle, and 30 minutes later I was getting passed by an army of little kids 45 feet into the race. My 14 year old son who we learned would have to race in the 15-18 year old class was long gone. Sporting a BMX freestyle helmet, and jeans he was not waiting for his Dad, who had settled into a comfortable pace of dead last.

Cruising up the paved road, it was painfully clear that this was going to be a bit more of a handful then I planned, but when I saw racers flopping around like fish in the first water crossing I was concerned. I remember the quick instruction about gear choice and down shifted, and stormed headlong into the abyss. Remarkably I made it thru. From my desert racing experience I just tried to stay out of the way for most of the race, and set my own pace. Man that was some deep water.

The mud was Gnarly! I saw a guy pass me and then does a face plant in the mud 5 feet in front of me, people slipping everywhere, and I figured if that 9 year old that past me in the first 45 feet was pushing his bike I could also. I saw my son so far ahead of me smiling and pedaling and that made me happy, so I just kept my pace and figured I might time out, but I was going to finish all the miles. By my third lap people were telling me I was almost there, I knew better, I was at least a lap down. The cleat fell off my shoe about half way thru the first lap, the back wheel sounded like it was coming apart, the mud was making the front brake drag, but hey, I was racing. Yea right.

I saw my kid at the first big water crossing on the last lap, (kind of hard to miss the only guy with jeans) Now, I had a race, catch the kid; holy mackerel could I do it? When I would start to get close, he would rabbit on me. My last chance at catching him the only real downhill section, I had to pedal, and resist the urge to just coast. I made a sharp left hand turn and there he was, pushing his borrowed bike, with a flat tire. Funny he saw me and started to run with the bike, race is still on.

Mind you at this point the real racers are all done, the volunteers are the only people cheering us, and my legs are on fire. No matter, My son and I are racing for last place, and having a great time. We are covered in mud, look like a couple idiots, and attempting to finish our own little race. In the end I beat the kid by 2 minutes; we took the last two finisher spots. My son got third place in his age group, and I did not come in last in my age group, as someone must have broke his bike.

Thank you to all the racers who let a couple guys who had no business racing give it a shot. There is a select group of desert racers who get bent out of shape when non racers use a race as a joy ride. Adventure seekers they call them. Everyone seemed very respectful and did not get too pissed that we were very slow. It was an outstanding event considering the trail conditions. Why share all this nonsense? Because there are tons of Lurkers out there on the web who think about giving racing a shot, but are afraid that they are not good enough, or are too intimidated. My hope was that maybe someone else will take his kid away from the TV on a Sunday, and get involved in outdoor recreation, the world is a far better place to participate in rather than watch. I know my kid is already talking about the next one with his friends.

Thanks for the opportunity. Now we have to go buy a couple bikes and actually do some training so we don’t finish a whole hour behind our class winners. I think they need a class 4 for people like me, because I can’t imagine shaving nearly an hour off that pace. Guess we have a goal now.......... Not get the last two finisher spots.

Jeff
40-44 class 3 wannabe.

 

Justin's summary is about spot on how I felt about the race. Despite not racing the awesome typical Sage Brush course, I was glad that we able to race. I just wish they could have done something about that first stream crossing. I finally understood why people were not coming into full speed when I went into full speed on the second lap; nearly flew off my bike.

The start and the laps were very disorganized. The start was so important as you could gain a lot of time from just drafting with the lead group. Justin and I started to question what lap we were on when we saw a rider with a CAT1 race plate pull in to finish.

That said at the end of the day, it was great being out there and seeing some familiar faces.

 

I gotta stick up for TBB, and applaud them for making the best with the conditions they had to work with. TTB (Tom) really wanted to race the original course. At 7:45 race day Tom was still planning on doing one lap on the original course. I know because he told me directly. It was a nice sunny day and he was hoping the snow would melt enough before the racing began. To redirect your crews in the final hour of the race and pull it off as well as TBB did is a very difficult thing to do even when you plan ahead. I don't know of any timing issues, but would bet TBB got it mostly correct.

I rode/hiked a portion of original course during the race. Wrangler was buried in patches of snow and mud. In one spot the my my front wheel buried to the hub in mud. Not a puddle, more like quick sand. A lot of Wrangler I had to hike, and then the snow would collect on my rear tire and lock up. The snow would also collect on the bottom of your feet until you would be standing a couple of inches taller. The decents were rutted, rocky, slick and scary. There was brush overhanging the trail in lots of areas due to heavy snow and moisture. There was still snow and ice on the rock slabs. Even experienced would have been finishing near dark. Tom made the right call.

That being said I still wanted to race the original course just for the adventure and punishment. The day was beautiful, and everywhere I looked people seemed to be enjoying themselves. In my opinion I call that a successful weekend.

 

Mud Fest! About 5 inches of Mud (like Clay) This Cyclocross style. I rather cross this section slow coz, everybody gets stuck here bad. I was in a perfect line until a rider in front got stuck and made me walk anyway. With all my mtb riding, I never had to ride or cross a trail this muddy. Maybe one short muddy section from a local trail after raining for several days. There were multiply sections just like this which gave me cramps on my leg and thighs. I overcome the pain by gliding standing up every few minutes and still made it to the finish. I will now search a book that's called "How To Ride In Mud Like A Pro". Yes, the Pro's were riding the muddy course like nothing. I know what they were saying to us beginners during the race "Pedal, pedal, pedal...don't stop!!! Pedaling non-stop is easy but, controling the front wheel is another thing. You can easily crash and start eating mud. Well, I still manage to finish the race without being the last.

 

LBS's bottom bracket sales are going to skyrocket after this race. lol

 

- Some came prepared (SuperDKim) and others did not (Post race comments heard "My hands are frozen" and "My feet feel like stumps") so some would have gone into the original course THINKING they were prepared and possibly lost limbs, faced frostbike or worse.
- Others were of the mind to "just get it done".
- Food line contained lots of hungry smiling faces, even one female finisher seeking mayo for her hotdog.. can you imagine?

Credit where due, organizer between a rock & hard-place, a bunch of people would have been pissed with whatever decision was made, postpone, run original route or as it was done. Only harm from this course (and BIG harm) was to drivetrain, bearings, pivots and bottom-brackets. Those parts are rebuildable, replaceable. Bodily harm is more serious. Shimano / Sram will profit handsomely from this event! Anyone else notice how crisp the shifting was just AFTER the water crossing, washing away all the caked-up mud? A little silver lining in every storm.

After 2 mo off from Marathons and training, it was fun to be back.



Interstate 8 - Ice on the road, cars into guardrails.


Upon arrival, nice snow-covered parking lot.


Four knee-deep creek crossings later, most snow melted at this level. Note saran-wrap oozing out of shoes and mud/snow-prepped Stumpy instead of Epic.

 

This is great i couldn't stop laughing and thinking of my son when we ride together on Sunday mornings and he does the same things to me
stays out front and jack rabbets,but never lets me get out front,unless he gets a flat,but of course we are not racing and i use this time to help him
and i get a rest..

Thanks so much for sharing your story.

 

They had no ketchup.

Worst decision ever for a food vendor selling hot dogs and hamburgers.

#-o

 

Great post LAMint.....Body parts are harder to replace! Glad you made it out! My bike is currently in pieces on the garage floor!! LOL She is getting the full body treatment after this race!

 

i didn't use my originally planned cold weather gear because we weren't climbing the hill. there is no way to guard your hands against freezing if you submerge them in icy water every 15 minutes for 1.25hrs and expose them to fast moving cold air in between.

the river crossing would have been once, at the end of the race, not 5 times throughout.

just sayin.

 

as well as brake pads, chains, and cables and housings. good race for the LBS.

 

The drive up was cool (literally). Are we going mountain bike or sled dog racing today??]



Preview of the race course.....haha, almost, this is the road in!




The friendly US cup folks were downing some hot coffee I am sure.......if they were smart they had a bottle of Kahlua in there somewhere too!



Thar's cold in them thar hills!!
Look



Look familiar??




Little did we know we were standing on the race course. Yup, it was just like that (but miles of it). Sweet!!



There is something special about the post-race beer, a fine tradition if there ever was.
In this case we just needed to avoid ingesting Giardia at the same time.




Put a little snow in my ice chest and made a snowman when I got back.....

Well, I have been thrown a few curve balls at races before, but never one like this!!

The entire race course was changed at the last minute.....I really had no idea what we were doing, something about 4 laps. I asked about 30 seconds before start time if we climbed up the road to 4-Corners and looped back on the final downhill section....got a 'follow the arrows'. (real answer.....not even close!)

Pretty wild start, the entire Cat2 group taking off at the same time made it tough to make even a rough guess who the competiton was!

I had really anticipated riding in snow covered mud and rocks and had fairly burly tires which were not ideal for this almost Cyclo-Cross course. Total Elevation for 16 miles was ~350 feet. Where is the mountain? :?:

Next race in two weeks, Bonelli Park (bring it!! :bang: )

 

I thought it was fun. Worst course ever for my limited strengths however, it was what it was.

We are all buying components because of it.

Better then racing at Big Bear on an open course and risking getting hit by a damn Jeep or motorbike. (Oh yeah, plenty of time for that as well I guess....)

I love to race my bike, thanks for letting me do so!

Cheers,

C.K.

 

if you wanna buy a bottom bracket go with a hawk, I pulled mine because i knew how bad the course was gonna be the second we got out there. Dont wanna waste my 100 dollar racing bottom bracket so i raced with the stock bb. Kind of dissapointing, my buy my rear derailleur hates me right now.