My day started off brewing coffee at 4:00 am, not uncommon during the work week, but probably not the best thing to do before a race. I could not sleep. I kept turning the news on checking the current
weather conditions. The night before, the news said it going to start raining at 4:00am on race day. One part of me wanted it to rain it would be like the Camp Pendleton Mud Run but only with a bike under you, and another part of me wanted my wife and baby to be at the race warm and dry. Well the rain held out long enough for our MtnBikeRiders Team to race in really nice conditions, and keep the wife happy- choose your battles wisely.

My race started at 10:00am Single Speed 34 and under. I had my work cut out for me, some of the other Single Speeders included Mark Mumea & Calvin Lefebvre both have laundry list of races under their belt.

Our course was 4 laps, 16 miles total. First lap I was going like crazy with every body else about 21 minutes for the first lap, then I settled into my groove. Knocking the hills down one at a time and before I knew the race was half way done. The SC VELO XC CHALLENGE race was a lot of fun, everybody I ran into that day was in such a great mood fellow racers included.

I had some great competition from a gearie in the middle of the race. I threw my chain off in a rough downhill section and the gearie comes zipping by and says,”I didn’t think I was going to catch you”. I
put my chain back on as fast as possible. I took a gamble and rode with the loose chain for the rest of the race instead of burning up minutes trying to set the chain tension just right. It paid off because I caught and passed the gearie. The gearie caught up with me after a few downhill sections [ I am riding a full rigid he was on full suspension] he said,”Hey single speed I’m back” . He kept the pressure on and we were passing other racers together going uphill. We had are own race within the race. I pulled away half way though the fourth lap and BAM! threw the chain one more time with 1 mile to go before the finish line. I look back as I am putting my chain on and the gearie is in sight. The race is still on. Well I finish without any more hiccup’s or positions lost to a Warm welcome at the finish from family, friends, and strangers alike.

I end up on the podium in second place, second to Mark Mumea. This was such a fun event and a great beginning to the SC Velo Triple Crown.

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First and foremost, the MtnBikeRiders.com Racing Team did an excellent job in yesterday’s event. We had 4 of our racers place on the podium and represented the site very well.

So let me start off with getting ready for the race. Since I wasn’t racing, I wanted to make sure that our athletes were taken care of. The night before, I bought a boat load of water, Gatorade, snacks and tubes.

The funny thing was, even though I wasn’t racing, I too couldn’t sleep the night before, I woke up around 5am and started packing the car with all the stuff we needed. My role for this race was of many responsibilities. I was basically the water boy, camera man, cheer leader, mechanic and what ever else I could find to do to help our riders out.

One of my other jobs was to take video footage of the event. I had over 40 minutes of coverage that I condensed into a 4.5 minute video.
If you’re having issues watching that, here’s a non-HD version from Youtube.

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Well the day came and went very quickly! The SC VELO XC CHALLENGE in San Dimas, CA was the kick off for our MtnBikeRiders Racing Team! I am happy to say we did these jerseys proud!

Race day started out with a lot of rain clouds and overcast skies. I was really worried about having to race in the mud but luckily the rain didn’t start until after we finished the race. The race course was 4 miles long and we were required to ride 3 laps. I know 12 miles doesn’t sound like much, but this by far was one of the most difficult trails that I have had to do laps. I would say the majority of it was climbing. There were only about three fun downhill drops and two singletracks, other than that it was uphill pedaling. Not my idea of fun, but it was a butt kicking race.

The first two laps weren’t so bad, but the third lap I really wanted to throw in the towel. I experienced a lot of cramping and had to walk a few hills that I had previously pedaled up. I was exhausted on that third lap but I was determined to finish. I was able to avoid a couple of crashes and my chain dropped on me twice..but other than that it was a pretty clean race.

This was a tough race and I am just happy to have finished!

Kim Finch kicked butt out there! 2nd place win!

Props to Joe “Gangsta” Solancho, Kim Finch, Eric “Animal” Hunner and “The Moe”! Great Job guys and gal. You guys rock! I really felt like we went out there and gave it our all, and I’m real proud to be part of this team. Thanks also to our sponsors: ERGON, HOSS, EVOMO and of course KHS for my sweet bike!!!

Thanks for all the support of families and friends that came out to cheer for us too. It was freezing out there and rainy by mid afternoon but everyone was a trooper about it. And a special “Thank You” to RL. He seriously put in a lot of time and muscle into the race for us. He was photographer, babysitter, videographer, water boy, snack boy, motivator and the set up crew. You are the best RL! I wouldn’t be able to race without your support babe. Love you.

My reward for a job well done: Pizza and a cold brew.

We’re looking forward to the next race in November! Check out our flickr account for more pics!

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Yesterday I was riding solo again. But I realized that any time I saw someone ahead, it motivated me to ride harder and eventually pass them up.

Now keep in mind, I’m not the fastest person on the trail, but when I do see someone in front, I start playing the songs from The Collective in my head and pump my legs so they’re spinning as fast as a little hamster on a wheel. Sometimes this is hard to do since my SS’s drive train is only 32/18, but it sure feels good when I say “on your left.”

Let me give you a detailed account of my break down of the peleton out on the Fullerton Loop yesterday. Once I got to the parking lot, I got ready and by this time, I had seen at least 3 groups that had already left. So that meant I was already plotting my “attack mode” on the trail. The first goal was to catch up the last group. About 5 of them, 4 men and 1 woman. The woman was the last person on the train. I spun my little legs through the the first single track and when it split into a Y, I called out “on your left!…Good morning!” Remember all this time I’m playing music in my head. This time it this song from the opening scene of the Collective, something about “trippin.”

Anyhow, I see her other trail buddies, and they’re cruising at a pace that would be considered relaxed vibe, but I’m not cuz’ I’m mentally in a race and I’ve got my bibs and an actual jersey on, so that means I’m riding in XC style. Now the music changes….to Celine Dione…What? Wait no…let me hit the FFWD button in my brain! Ok now we’ve got some Barry Manilow…WTF!?! NO! FFWD again…ok got some Slackstring playing Sunday Jen…ok much better, I get back into my “racing” groove and I steadily pick off one rider after another. Eventually I’ve managed to completely pass that whole group. Yes it still counts even if they stopped to wait for the other riders, I still passed them…so it counts!

Now I’m cruising along towards a gradual climb. This section of the Loop goes through a farm like place where the group ahead of me is obviously taunting me because they’re riding super slow. The knee high socks, backwards helmets, and jeans make me think these guys are either newbies on the trail or it was a clever ploy to disguise themselves since they were actually some fast XC racers. You know the kind, all skin and muscles…yup that’s what they were! The MGX and Mongoose mountain bikes they rode look like they were from Wal Mart, but I think they used these bikes as their training bikes….Anyhow, I pass every single one of them without a problem…

Now I’m getting to this gradual climb that really just sucks. It’s a pavement climb along a park that is right after Rosecrans Ave. I spot my next group of victims…3 guys on big heavy all mountain bikes. I pluck them off one at a time and I get to the top of the hill ready to hurl…By this time my mental music player is blaring some Rocky music…Eye of the Tiger!

As I make my way through the trails I only encounter one more group. But I gave them mercy and shut off my racing mode and even turned down the music in my head, that way the I can hear the voices that normally talk to me….what? No I didn’t say anything about you! Shut up!….Sorry, that was Bad RL wanting to come out and play. So back to my pretend racing. By the time I got back to the car, I felt great because I had just gotten on the podium! That’s right I placed in this race and as I look out into the crowd, my kids are cheering, and Priscilla is winking at me! Not bad eh? I didn’t even pay an entry fee!

I know you guys can relate because mental racing makes riding solo a bit more fun!

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