Mt. Sac Fat Tire Classic 11/4/07

Wear your STR jersys if you got em. Unless you're racing for your LBS or team.

 

that's 2 things I should have gotten done. 1, get a STR jersey, 2, register. d'oh

 

How 'bout a bottle of PICKLE JUICE? :lol:

 

Pre-ride report

Roger, myself, Gene and Carl ended up being able to pre-ride the course this afternoon. The course is the same as last year. Simple, lots of climbing (including one steep hike-a-bike), 2 off camber sections, beware of the very tight turns! Some fast descents, lots of loose dirt and sections of freshly cut singletrack. One narrow gate section leading to the hike-a- bike. 2 pavement sections and a stinky trip through the horse stables. Oh and the tunnel has 2 way traffic so remember to stay to the right. Total mileage 4.8 miles. See you all tomorrow!!!

 

Thanks to Roger and Nancy for showing us around Marshall and Mt. Sac today. Should be a fun course, and you're right on for the description. All those little tight turns, lose sections, and the tunnel should keep things lively tomorrow!

Hey peeps, If you're free and don't feel like racing just come out. There should be lots of STR folks there.


Carl

 

i'm pissed i wasn't able to show up with you guys today, i did make a previous committment that I forgot about until last night. I still hope to find some of you guys tomorrow, probably just coming out by myself so i'll definately need to find the STR crowd

 

See ya there!

denmother,
Thanks for the heads up on the course tomorrow!
Well this is going to be quite interesting for me since I took a rather nasty fall last week and the left side of my ribs still have pain when I laugh or cough (great, just great). I just checked out my bike this afternoon since I was quite busy this whole week with work and it turns out I busted a tooth on the small ring and had to straighten out three more. Just goes to show you to always be prepared in advance. I'll stop venting now since I can only blame myself.
Now for some positive vibes:
Looks like we're going to have a large STR crowd for tomorrow so GOOD LUCK to EVERYONE and I'll try to introduce myself to those I haven't met yet.
Oh yeah, will there be food to purchase and things to do for those not racing. My cheerleader (wife) and sponsors (wife) will be out there as well.

 

Not sure about that Sam. I would bring a cooler with some sandwiches and bevs just to be safe, you can always have those later if they have stuff there.

 

I don't recall any food vendors on site for the previous races, and I doubt they'll have one this year. All they had were post-race grub (i.e. cut up bagels, fruits and maybe clif bars). So you'll probably have to venture out someplace or bring your own.

 

Thanks Gene, thanks klutter!
Reminder:
We get an extra hour of sleep tonight (2am on the first Sunday of November but who's gonig to wake up to do that) so make sure to set it back an hour before you hit the hay.

 

I'm bringing my cheerleaders too! they're actually just my parents though, as my ladyfriend couldn't make it.

 

hey so any tips for riders that werent able to see the course?
4.8 miles... that means beginner under 18 will be fun
an all out sprint
any points to watch out for such as pinch points, flat hazards etc?
im curious maybe if i can go early enough ill walk it in the morning

 

Got the brew but no grub. Isn't beer part of one of the food groups anyway? I'll try to grab the spot mentioned at the SE part of the parking lot. If Starbucks is open when I swing I'll see if I can grab one of those half gallon things.
Anyway, I'll be wearing my STR jersey, Warrior Society vest and Sho-air cap. :wave:

Rest up racers.

 

Since the course is the same as last year, my observations will refer to the walk through on geoladders. Here a few things to keep an eye out for:

• The start will be on pavement and then transition to a dirt road (0.10 miles) from the start. The route will narrow from a wide road (large enough to fit a couple dozen riders side by side) to a narrow dirt road (2-3 riders side-by-side). This will be the first choke point of the race (see picture 2).
• The transition from fire road to single track is another choke point. If one person walks the single track section, it will block up everyone else. Unless you're the first to the single track, theres a good change it'll get clogged. Especially on the first lap, since everyone is still fairly close together. (see pictures 5 - 6)
• Sharp right turn at the bottom of hill. You can pick up a good amount of speed, but keep in mind you'll need to make a sharp right turn. (see picture 10 *note, the picture is taken after making the right turn)
• At mile 3.53, you'll climb up a wide open dirt field. The ground was very loose last year, don't know how it will be this year. If it's loose, look around for car tire tracks, since the ground will probably be a bit more compact. (see picture 25 & 26)

There are other portions of the trail that you'll need to be aware of, but the walk through on geoladders already covers that, so I won't repeat them.

 

Here Ya Go.....

Here's the link Klutter is talking about.......
http://www.geoladders.com/show_route.php?route=2355

I think this is gonna kinda hurt on the Stinky! :lol:

See you all tomorrow!

 

I'll be on a big bike too. #-o

Its lighter then yours tho.

 

If the course is the same then basically it's where they come down the dirt trail right where they hit the pavement again close to the start. I got pizza tonight to stick leftovers in my cooler but my friends ate it all !! :-s
I hid the Guinness .

 

The geoladders route only has 6 pics. You need to go to the "walk thru" here to get the full pics he's talking about:

http://www.geoladders.com/gmap_display.php?sport_id=8&route=2600&walk_thru=1

Good luck to all tomorrow!

 

I know its been said already but this thread is 6 pages long and I know someones gonna show up an hour early.

Dont forget to set your clocks back.

 

one more beer, then i'm setting my clock back and going to sleep in prep for the race... i figure its a good carbo load, right?