Race Report Spooky Cross

My friend needed a ride to race today and thought it would be a good chance to work on my photo skills. Weather was great. I t was good to see the kids out riding the course. The 10 yo + group tore it up. There were a few that could have held their own in the upper brackets. (sorry. I don't remember all the brackets they had. Never been into racing, so forgive me.)



This grom was taring it up on his Redline in the 10 and under group.


My friend crashed on lap 2. It's a down hill off camber turn that saw a lot of action. Then on lap 3 his bike decided it had had enough. The front brake broke and caused a pinch flat. So here's the rest of the shots. My friend is the bike mechanic for Out-Spoke-n riding a Yeti.

 

Nice shots, it looks super fun but, not very spooky. I can't wait to get a x-bike. Where was the race?

 

The heat wasn't too bad. But then again, I wasn't riding. It was at Verizon Amphitheater? 405 and Irvine Center drive. There were people on CX, hard tails and FS.

 

nice photos of Dominic going down...perhaps I should drop off a bottle of liquid pain killer on Monday? Thnx for sharing! Hope all turned out OK

 

Cyclocross = Mud run with bikes.

 

Not in SoCal. Have had maybe three mud races in ten years here. In other parts of the country where it is muddy, if you know what you're doing you can ride most everything.

 

Would have been nice if they added a mud section. They had hard grass, spongy grass, dirt, gravel and some sand. It was almost as much fun watching. You could see most of the course with a short walk.

And xhusker. Dominic was bitter about the dnf which is partially my fault. Opened my mouth at the wrong time which lead to the fall. He said it wasnt and joked about it. I think he's just planning his pay back.. Maybe I shouldn't let him tune my ride for a while.

 

Nice pics...you actually got a really good solo shot of me on the stair section...wasnt expecting to see a pic of myself!

 

That you in the white helmet carrying the Specialized? PM me your email and I'll send it to you.

 

Cross racing is pretty rad. It's in parks and most of the course is super visible from one spot. It's really family/friends friendly, short races, and something different. I like how so cal courses aren't mud and snow. It's So Cal, not Seattle or WI. Dot does an awesome job with her So Cal Cross Prestige Series and the courses are generally a lot of fun with a variety of terrain and challenges. Good amount of people out on mountain bikes this past weekend from first time racers to skills clinic and ex-BMxer and Pro mountain biker Joe Lawill.

Variety of racers out from French National CX champ Caroline Mani and mountain bikers Sue Butler and Chloe Forsman to junior/U23 track and road cyclist Alexis Ryan, Brian Lopes, Todd Wells, Ryan Trebon, Johnny O'Mara on a MTB, etc. Awesome crowd, super fun

 

As an ex-runner I am so jealous of watching all of this fun. But just looking at the pictures made my knees hurt. It's great to see the youngster rippin' it up. Nice panning in the photos.

 

Cyclocross = Mud run with bikes.

Exactly but not in So Cal. Check out the Cross Crusade video down below at the signature section. Cross is awesome.

 

Really Mongo? You had to post me going down?! I wish you'd gotten a pic of me launching off the flyover before I flatted.. but noooo... you get me rolling around in the dirt! Oh well. Thanks for the ride out there

I got in to cross because all the videos online show mud, and I have yet to race in a muddy course!
I was making mud when I was 4, you'd think that the course planners could handle it too ?

 

Spooky Cross was great! I raced this weekend on my 29er and had a blast. It was great because it was local, I raced both Saturday and Sunday for $35, and I got to see some really great racing by the pros. It had a great vibe and everyone was very friendly. A big shout out to Justin and Allison Mann from Rock N Road for taking the time Sunday morning to show me how to dismount and remunt after the running sections. I was horrible in my first race on Saturday, but with Justin and Allison's help, I was somewhat less horrible. It was really cool of them to take 15 minutes to show a beginner some tips. It really made my race on Sunday a lot more fun. I signed up because I had so much fun at OTH and was looking to keep racing throughout the fall. The cross races are perfect for this. I am going to do some more of the local races, and encourage everyone who is on the fence to try it. I think you'll like it too.

 

I'm having a heck of a time loading photos here lately, but here is one of Johnny O'Mara churning through the sand. There are some more, including Joe Lawwill dressed as the Count, on my blog.

 

thanks for the killer shot! i hope you don't mind that i put it on my blog...

it was awesome racing with such athletes! phil, johnny, and mark all put the hurt on me over the weekend. so much to learn!

 

Did O'Mara make it all the way across the sand?

I raced 2x both days - I'm so worn out. The flyover intimidated me, but it wasn't a problem.

The whole weekend was a lot of fun (=maybe too much beer)

 

Yeah he did, at least on that first lap.

 

What Brent "LA" Franze looked like to most of the racers....

 

You're welcome to it. Are you saying that is you next to Johnny O? If so, it was quite an interesting little back and forth battle between you two that first pass through the sand.

As whybother already noted, he only made it all the way through on the first lap. Second lap he rode part way and then ran. There is a photo of him pushing his bike in the batch.