Vail Lake DH Race, November 8th

No complaints. It's funnier than anything:lol:

 

Man, we had a GREAT time!

When we first got there and checked in, we were told that the SD race got pushed back to 1pm.
No biggie, we'll just go up and ride the course. After standing in the shuttle line for a while, then hearing that is was a DH only shuttle, Jake and I decided to pedal up to the top. We were kinda unsure about the directions, and once up top, couldn't find anybody that new where the Super D was going to start.#-o
After a bit we lucked out and found some riders heading over to the course.
That's when we found out it was pushed back again to 3pm.
That ended up working out for us. We did a run, grabed a bite to eat, did another run, then went up for the race.

Man, what a FUN course it was!!

True Super D!

Mass start, on your bike, not running to your bikes. EC said, "this isn't a triathlon, it's a bike race, screw that running crap"! :bang:

The top section was new, and you could tell, because the dirt was loose, with some fairly tight turns, and that made it real interesting.
From there you dropped onto the fireroad for a short climb to THE ridgeline.
The ridgeline was was slightly steep, packed down, and FAST!

Looking back up at part of the ridgeline


Jake finishing up the ridgline.


That spit you out onto the doubletrack trail, slightly DH, with sandy spots, and lot's of pedaling.

I was happy with my race. I ended up mid pack, 8th out of 16, after almost crashing at the top sandy new section, then making up for it on the fireroad climb, and DHing on the ridge.
I finally was able to chase down the guy in front of me just after Sharky got this picture.


Thanks for the photo Sharky!

Now Jake on the other hand really tour it up!

I didn't get to see it, but from what I heard he got the whole shot on the other kids.
Jake said that he got passed by one of the guys just after the initial climb, the another got by him on the sandy turns.
That put him in third.
Jake said he caught the second place rider on the stretch of road near the end of the course!


thanks for the photo Sharky!

I was sitting with my camera waiting to get a shot of him finishing, and he finished strong, with a nice bunny hop of the pole!



When he was done, you could tell he'd put it all out there on the trail!



And it paid off with a 2nd place finish in the Sport-Beg 18 & Under!

He got 2nd, but nobody else showed up for their trophy, so Hollywood said to step on up there!


He could be the future of Super D racing!


Where else but the Hillbilly Bash could you walk away with a women's bowling trophy, for racing mountain bikes?! :lol:



I know they are going to hear it 1000 times, so I'll make it 1001!

Thanks Dale, and Eric for putting this thing together, and thanks to all the volunteers for helping out, and making it happen!!
Shoot, EC even walked up and said "thanks" to me for racing in my overalls, and handed me this cool little Icetoolz http://www.icetoolz.com/icetoolz/index_pro3.php?parent=37&id=197 multitool.\\/

 

Thats how it rolls Gary. Thank you for the work.Yes, waiting for a shuttle sucks. But in the end: everybody had SMILE. Thanks for ,cutting me some slack on the Super D.

 

I think it rained some last night:bang:

Not a ton but anything has to help.

 

Great job.

Looks like the boy has some real potential. I wonder where he gets it.

 

It rained on and off last night in Temecula. It is drizzling right now.

Practice is 8:00-11:30. Race at 12:00.

 

Good luck today guys, stay safe and have fun

 

Congrats, again, Jake :bang:

Another big thanks to Eric, Dale, and all the volunteer and sponsors that made the event possible. Was a great event, and I know others to come will even be better. Good times for sure!

 

Well after a few of my Incycle teammates crashed yesterday then dediced to head home.... well I rode down with them so, I was heading home too... I was going to head back down there but really don't want to make the drive again.... O'well, I guess I'll see you all in two weeks at Fontucky....

 

nice reports and pics!!!

 

Had a great time yesterday but last night all of the sleepless nights of work lately caught up to me, I did wake to the alarm at 6 and it is windy in OC and just decided it was time to take a day off from life... What seemed like 10 minutes later it was 12:30 and I was still sleeping

See everyone in Funtuckey:bang:

 

We were actually sitting in the shuttle truck on the dirt road just before where the super D track sends you climbing. It was off the hook watching the mass start and thew chaos on the first St the road climb and the the ridge. Jake was kickin so serious Butt

Great job you two

 

First of all, let me congratulate Jake on his second place, that is awesome! It was good talking to Darrin and Jake waiting in the shuttle line, I love to hear about Darrin's adventures in person! I didn't get down there until after 12 noon yesterday, daughter had a soccer game in the am, so did not plan on racing super d. When I got there, I was told super d wouldn't be until 3, shoot! Oh well, got in 3 DH runs, and pretty much agree with what everyone has said, good course, can't wait until it gets some rain, crazy shuttle ride. Hats off to EC, and everyone else, for making this thing happen. I really appreciate EC making the rounds and thanking everyone for coming out, and acknowledging the slow shuttle service, instead of ignoring it, or worse, making excuses! The course was short, but a lot of fun, hopefully next time I can actually race down there.

 

does anyone know where the results are posted? i left after the pro results were called. but i know i got first. haha i was the only one in my class. i should of moved up from beginner, but oh well.

 

I would guess they should get posted here PCA since there is a link in the upper right titled "RESULTS".
Only problem is it takes you to the home page :-k

 

BIG thanks to EC and team!

I just wanted to extend a HUGE thanks to EC and his team for a stellar race event at Vail Lake! I can't even imagine all the work that goes into putting on a race event like this one...everything from cutting the trails to doing the timing. Your hard work is truly appreciated by all of us in the So Cal MTB community!

I have been out of racing for the past couple of years and this race really reminded me of all the things O love about racing bikes....great course, great vibe, great venue, and the chance to hang out with a great bunch of friends. I can't wait for the next event...maybe next time I'll bring out the Haro trailer and some demo bikes for people to try out.

Keep up the great work. And congrats on your first event being a winner!

:clap::clap::clap::clap::clap::clap::clap::clap::clap:

 

They said they'll post them on the site and mail out the trophys. For those that left early the expert results were wrong but first race gotta expect a few gliches.They mentioned to email with any suggestions or input. Thanks a million again to Eric and everybody for putting this together and future race events!! It was such a fun atmosphere and we all had a great time. I'll have some pics up soon just got home. Congratulations to everybody :beer:

 

Sharky - Thanks for taking all the pics!

I was registered and planning on returning for the race today, but my old body (only 33 but have the body of an 80 year old) wasn't cooperating. Nevertheless, yesterday was a blast! It was great hanging out w/ friends and meeting new ones. A big thanks again to Eric for all his hard work........definitely a class act! Also, thanks to all the volunteers and sponsors for making it happen. Looking forward to the next big event!

 

Thanks to everyone who helped out! It was very nice seeing all the familiar faces, and the course was very fun.

 

Pics coming in a matter of minutes. Uploading to photobucket