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The winter holidays came and went all too quickly for me.  I had dreams of a 3 month off-season but the 1st race of the 2010 winter series was approaching quickly and I decided to treat this as training for the bigger races from March to May. It was a beautiful day with temps in the 70s and as usual Don Jackson and his crew at Southridge Racing do an excellent job in providing a fun race environment. I noticed more entrants in the younger categories, it’s great to see more kids getting into this sport!

For Sport, the course was the same as November’s Southridge Challenge – three,  5.5mile laps.  This was gonna be a challenge as  I do better on the longer courses at Southridge, they have more singletrack and downhill that suit my riding style and help me make up time on the stellar climbers in my category (Sport 27-34).  Climbing is my weakness, I have a gut and at 185lbs (5’8″) I’m heavy/stocky for an XC racer. I even have a habit of blowing up in races by sprinting from the start line for too long!  After about 6 weeks without training, I knew that I couldn’t hold a sprint very long. So when Donny counted us down and we took off, I dropped into third and planned to keep the leaders in site.  We climbed to the water tower and the leaders gradually pulled away and I fell back a few more positions leaving me a panting, sweaty mess as I mushed my way up the hill. I recovered in the single track sections to regain third and moved into second on one of the long downhill sections. My strategy became clear.

On the way to the asphalt road for the water tower climb

I held second to start the next lap and as we climbed to the water tower I was passed again, but I kept my competitors in sight this time. Through the single track I was flowing and managed to close the gap as we approached the downhill where I previously passed. We start heading downhill and I’m cranking hard, building speed to shoot past #2 and eventually the race leader. Next is a short uphill I desperately climb and barely manage to keep the wolves at bay into the next downhill singletrack section where I can build a gap. I finish lap two and begin lap three. I don’t see anyone as I begin to grind my way up to the water tower, my right knee burning in protest as I try to put some power down. After negotiating some of the rolling hills near the water tower as I grit my way up the last climb before the single track, I look back and see 2nd place 10 yards back and attacking! I attack, he knows he is close and is trying to catch me. I sprint, my legs grow thick and heavy with lactic acid, my lungs burn as I sink into oxygen debt my pulse fills my ears, I can only hold this pace for a moment more. I put about thirty yards between us as crest the hill and bomb into the single track. I pedal all the downhills and by the end I enjoy a 2 min victory! Before you think that I was lying about not being in shape, I finished in 1:12:51, in November I finished in 4th with a 1:10:52, so that means that the fast guys just didn’t show up for this race and I’ve got some work to do.

1st XC race win, Sport 27-34

I’ve got to thank the team sponsors for their help, Evomo and Hoss for the cool clothes, IceToolz for the tools and Serfas for the glasses and Ergon for the comfort.

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On Jan 10th I headed out to Fontana for one last practice run and my first DH race in the sport category. After a few mishaps in my first couple races, I managed to finish out 2009 with some success in the beginner group and decided it was time to move into sport.

The DH course was a mix of previous Southridge Racing Co courses. With the upper 1/4 from November’s Southridge Challenge and the next 1/4 from July’s Fontana City Nationals. This meant a couple cool lines in the upper section with some berms and fast sections. A rocky chute into soft sand that took out many riders followed by some of the dustiest, loosest S-turns in SoCal! This was followed by a nice g-out hip and then a long pedal to cross the fire road into the usual rock garden and the dreaded wall!

Thank goodness the course was familiar because following the previous day’s XC race I just had nothing in the tank and managed just two practice runs before calling it a day due to exhaustion.

Sunday was a beautiful day and I whipped out the Vholdr Contour HD 1080p helmet cam to record my run. At 2:52 I’m neither happy nor dissatisfied with my time (7th in sport 27-34), I know I’ve got to get quicker if I want to podium, but with three total practice runs, it wasn’t a bad outing.

I’ve got to thank the team sponsors for their help, especially KHS bicycles for the demo Lucky 7 bike to use! Evomo and Hoss for the cool clothes, IceToolz for the tools and Serfas Optics and Ergon for helping us be comfortable.

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I struggled for a couple days to write the review of the KHS Lucky 7.  I kept transitioning from reviewing the bike to telling stories about the bike.  Finally, I’ve decided that’s exactly what I’m going to do.  What follows, is the story of my time aboard this bike.  The trips, the rides and the races that the KHS Lucky 7 carried me through.  Watch for the review in the upcoming weeks.

The Lucky 7 has been my go to gravity bike this year. Team sponsor KHS cycles has been nice enough to grant me extended time with this demo bike, on the condition it is raced and that I share the results.

Though designed for free-ride use, the Lucky 7 is the go to bike for the KHS race team at smaller DH race courses. However a thorough resume is not a prerequisite for hopping aboard the Lucky 7 and getting the most out of the experience.  I was a casual mountain biker, I owned one trail bike and rode two or three times a month.  I had other hobbies and interests that split my time.  From 2006 till November 2008, that was my riding experience.  That’s when I met RL through this very blog and eventually the rest of the Mtnbikeriders team.  Which led me into single-speeding, then XC racing and eventually DH racing.  So as I, a true newbie to downhill, I began my time with the Lucky 7.  The first race [Southridge Winter Series, 2/22/2009, 13th out of 14] was a disaster!  I did manage to get the durability testing out of the way immediately, though!

The next race [Southridge Winter Series Finals, 3/22/2009, 10th out of 20] was a lot better!  With no dirt naps in-store for me.  I began to see the capabilities in the bike and the potential I had to become competitive [in Beginner Men 27-34].   Unfortunately, I would be without the Lucky 7 after this point until a shuttle session at Telonics a couple weeks before the 3rd race of the Golden State series in Fontana on 07/12/2009.

In Telonics I got to ride some real DH terrain on the Lucky 7 and it was amazing!  It’s just a forgiving bike that soaks up the small and big hits.   We had a ton of fun and burned through a set of brake pads in the process!  Now onto the race, with a two run format and no “wall” to pedal, this is the closest to a true DH race located in So-Cal nowadays.   With a fresh new attitude on DH riding and fresh legs (normally I race XC the day before the DH race), I was able to put together “the run of my life” I recall telling Tony at the bottom.  What a rush!  To have a clean DH run, one where I honestly felt I rode as fast as I possibly could, clean without any mistakes, I get excited thinking about it!  The result was a 3rd place and my first DH podium.

Next up was Mammoth mountain, now this is a true DH race.  On a mountain with loose pumice, a nasty rock section, a wall ride and a finish through the 4x track.  Mammoth lived up to its name, with a fast race run coming in 4 minutes, the track was over a minute longer than any Fontana run.   The Lucky 7 was beautiful here, through the steep sections, over the jumps and pedaling the straights.  We were a team, and we were determined to make it to the podium.  Well, we did better than podium, we won!

So, now here we are near the year end.  The 18th annual Southridge classic has just concluded (though I’m gonna make you wait for that story).  Be sure to check out the upcoming Lucky 7 review and review the 1st impression here.  It’s funny, we’re so used to reviews coming from expert and pro riders.  It’s true that they can push a bike to it’s limits, but couldn’t they ride almost any bike down the Mountain?  Wouldn’t a bike we (mountain bike enthusiast) consider stable and comforting seem slow and unresponsive to them? Anyways, if you don’t want to read a review from a Beginner DH racer, don’t worry.  I’m moving up to sport the first race next year.  I’ve got to say thanks one more time by the way to KHS Bicycles and their our Lucky 7.  Don’t forget to check out the KHS SixFifty 606 too.

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When I heard the final race in the Rock Shox Golden State series would be in Mammoth, I knew I just had to get there.  Fortunately, so did the rest of the Mtnbikeriders team!  Wednesday night I headed over to the Finch’s (Kim & Tony), loaded up the truck and took off at midnight. Plan was to be in Mammoth ready to ride by 8am to get in on the first official practice session.  I was supposed to nap before leaving and sleep in the truck when it wasn’t my turn to drive…yeah, that didn’t happen!  I was way too amped to get to Mammoth and ride some real downhill terrain.

We pulled into the Mammoth parking lot, full of a big breakfast, got registered and ready to ride.  It’s funny how far we traveled to this race only to find all the same usual suspects present!  Sometimes it’s hard to get out of the parking lot, there so many people to go say what’s up to.

Tony, Kim and I head up for our first practice with Tony in the lead.  What a course, steep chutes, gaps, berms, a wall-ride and a rock garden!  Tony and I estimate this is a 4 minute course and at altitude this is gonna hurt!  Thank goodness we got there early and are able to dial in our lines over 3 days before race day.  We rode all day, all weekend, 5 practice runs a day, followed by riding the rest of mountain!  no wonder my legs are beat and I’m beat up!  The KHS Lucky 7 is getting a work out on this trip!

Thanks to all the practice with the Wizard, I’m feeling pretty fast and confident come race day.  This is the first race where I actually start to discuss race strategy with Tony.  Before, I always just went for it. No brain, no headache! I watched the Pros practice and the number one thing I took away is PEDAL!  Everywhere you can, PEDAL that bike!  As we approach race day, I’m prepared and I’ve got my eyes set on one man, Ed Suarez!  This is my third DH race and Ed won the previous two (I went 10th place and 3rd).  I know I’ve practiced enough to ride as fast as I can, the question is, am I faster than Ed?

Race day, I’m chilling out, hanging with the team until about fifteen minutes before my race run.  Time to step into my office, I throw on my helmet and pedal around.  I’m supposed to be warming up, but my heart is already beating hard.  I try to calm down and visualize my run from top to bottom, what line to take, where to pedal, where to save energy and when to let it all hang out! I pull into the gate and hear “Rider, fifteen seconds”.

GO! Out of the gate I hammer, I pedal hard even though I already know (from watching the guys before me) I can only get in seven pedal strokes before braking for the first left!  The visualization technique worked, I’m not “thinking” about my lines, I’m on auto-pilot.  It’s almost as though I’m playing a video game.  My mind is free to think clearly at a higher level, I’m not thinking about where I am but rather where I will be in a few moments.  The next move after the 1st left is a sharp right into a steep chute that I roll into and start staring at the ground just a few feet ahead of me.  My internal monologue kicks in, “What are you doing David?, look up, look further ahead”.  I’m amazed as I raise my focus from ten to twenty five yards out, my whole world slows down and I have time to asses and plan my next moves.  I accelerate to top speed out of the chute.  I’m going so fast I float over two drainage ditches serving as gaps followed by a right turn, a few rocks and then into a loose pumice set of S-turns!  Have you ever ridden in sand?  Imagine that sensation, but downhill at speed!  After the pumice is a short steep hard pack section, speeding you into a huge table top jump.  I’d been airing this jump all weekend long, but the wind was kicking and I stay low on this run to land cleanly descending into first fast straight-away!  Fast as in eye-balls jumping around in your skull, blurred vision and sweaty palms.  “Just keep looking far ahead” the voice in my head chirps.  Into another series of pumice S-turns followed by the sweet wall-ride!  You’ve got to get the previous corner just right to use it, but the wall-ride turns out to be an E-ticket ride for me, I’m on it, high and PEDALING!  Steve the course marshal gives me a hoot as I’m spit out into the only major rock garden on the course.  I observed the fast guys and learned to use the left line out onto the spine of the last rock into a small drop followed by a banked turn.  PEDAL hard through the small straight into a tight turn and more loose-pack.  Now gasping for air pedal another straight, through a right turn onto a platform followed by a drop into a left turn, small jump, right turn and PEDAL!  I roll the first three tabletops, hammering the whole way to get enough speed to clear the last double into three tight banked turns in a row!  Hammer down another straight into a bermed left-turn that leads us into the 4X track!  4X on a bike over 40lbs is an experience, through the jumps, boulders and berms.  PEDAL and build speed.  In the triples, I manage to double then roll the last one. I’m pumped because I always rolled the triples in practice, damn! I must be haulin!  Over the last tabletop, “PEDAL!”, and I’m across the finish.

I get to meet up with Tony and watch the rest of the team come down.  I’m having a great time and I know I had a solid run.  I could only think of about two to three seconds I could have saved if I rode perfectly.  Anxiously I await the final results.  RL sees them before me and just walks by coyly “I’ll let you go see”,

I hustle over and see my name in first place!  I even put seven seconds between me and second!  Damn, I might be ready to move up to sport!  This is my first win and man, it felt great, especially beating a few guys who’ve beaten me in the past!  I really thought I would’ve won a XC race before a DH one, but I guess I was wrong!  Coming up will be the november race in Fontana.  The plan is for that to be my last beginner race with a move to sport in 2010!  I know Ed’s gonna bring it at the next race, I’m not going to sneak up on him again!  I gotta thank the team sponsors, Hoss, Evomo, Ice Toolz, Serfas and Ergon.  A huge thanks goes out to KHS bicycles and their Lucky 7.

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Below are the official dates for the upcoming 2009 Triple Crown Series in So Cal.  As you recall, our Team did fairly well in 2008.  Priscilla and Kim won the overall for their respective categories.  I’m betting they’ll bring home new jerseys for 2009

                      2008 Triple Crown Series winner’s jersey

I’m looking forward to another exciting series of cross country racing!

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