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RL Policar-The Animal has been a great asset to the team and continues to deliver great results in each race. Read his report below and enjoy his race experience for yourself.

I had a great day to say the least. I arrived early in the morning at Southridge to get settled in, I got myself registered for the 34 & under Single Speed class, started the fire in the old school portable Coleman fire pit, ate a tasty ham sandwich for breakfast, followed up by some Sportlegs and Gatorade one Power Bar.

I started off on my pre-ride with very little pressure, I was on time to the event, my bike was dialed in from the Pow Wow event two weeks prior, the dirt and sweat still on the bike from that 44 mile event, I didn’t want to disturb the bike it was working just fine, and the course was in perfect condition for racing all the new sections had settled in. On my preride of the course I stopped and put down two Hammer Gels-Apple Cinnamon best flavor if you like sweets, and one banana.

On the back stretch of the preride which is mostly flat, I practiced my one leg high speed cadence pedaling, and the switch over to the other leg that was resting while other one was working. Single speeds don’t have to be slow on the flats just start pedaling like a crazy person. In my case sprinting with two heavy legs at 150 cadence on 32×20 gearing with 26″ wheels doesn’t make sense to be spinning all the excess weight, give a leg a break and let one do the work. You may be thinking how did I come up with this, in the past I have had many crank arm failures, even snapping a crank arm off six miles from the truck. The bike still rolled, so why walk? Pedal what you can with one leg I thought. I threw the broken arm in my bag and gave it a shot, it worked. Now years later I am using my one leg pedaling to keep up with or pass other racers with or without gears in the flats, during the race I was pedaling up to 21 mph on 32×20 gearing with the cadence as high as 165.

Let me get to the race, we had a large turn out for the SS class this final round at the SRC Winter Series, all the usual suspects were here in attendance David Sanderson, Adam Spik, Rod Leveque, and myself all battling for the overall Shimano Winter Series points for SS 34& under X-Country. We started the race and I surprised myself being able to hold on to fourth position out of the thirteen SS racers with gearing choice. I put my head down and started grinding away at the water tower hill, I kept hearing “Go get’em Mike”. Mike was in the 35 & up SS class, he set a good pace he pulled away at top of the hill putting me in fifth position. I didn’t want to lose any more positions so I kept up the pace with Mike Brauns, we went back and fourth all race. On the second lap riding into the aid station RL tells me I am in the lead position [in my class] and to keep it up. RL then runs up the hill and noticed I was sprinting with one foot, he asks me if I was OK, “I am doing just fine”. I had not showed RL my trick yet. Later on the second lap, out in the back section Mike says, “You are killing me, I am trying to stay up with you” I replied about my gearing being 32×20 he said,” I am running that too” I said on 26″ wheels. Mike then said,”I am on a 29er, you must be spinning like crazy”.

Mike Brauns & I at the finish

We headed for the finish line a few miles away and I think Mike saw my one foot pedal action on the flats, I caught up to a geared bike about to hit the last rocky hill before the finish and see him slow down from a distance and change gears heading for the path on the right, I just aim for the middle and powered down until the rocks claimed my momentum. I jump off and put my new Shimano SH-M182 Cleats to work digging the the toe spike in between the rocks looking for traction and ran past three people tied up in the rocks. I then have only two things on my mind the last half mile to the finish ‘Don’t fall & Don’t Flat’ I made though to the finish in 59min 35 seconds good for First place in the 34 & under class.

Eric and Rod L.

Eric, Adam and David

I ended the Winter Series on a high with First place and Second overall in points to Rod Leveque, Adam and teammate David tied for points.

Podium for overall results.


I had a great time in this Winter Series due to the camaraderie of the other racers David Sanderson, Adam Spik, Rod Leveque, Mike Brauns, and Jon Fugitt. Another big Thank You to MTNBikeRiders.com Team for the support, pictures, gear (Evomo Clothing, Ergon USA, Hoss MTB and BikeCommuters.com), and the great food after each race. Good Times…

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This race was the 2nd to the last of the 6 part series. You would have to race at least 5 of the 6 to qualify for the overall points. So far, I’m the only one in my category that has raced at least 4 and the next race on the 22nd would make it my 5th race. So with that said, I’m leading the points to win the series for the 200 club.

After coming 2nd to my friendly arch rival, Johnny D. of KHS Bicycles, I was pretty determined in making sure I took first this time around. I had put in more time with my training such as adding running to my regimen and trying to build up to 100 push ups at a time. So far I’m at 35 without stopping, but I can do 85 total before I start crying. I know its a long ways to go, but I’ll get there soon. I also dropped some weight to lighten the load on the bike in hopes it would make me quicker. Don’t fret, I was still over 200lbs on race day. 207lbs to be exact.

I was able to get some practice runs in on Saturday and on Sunday. I felt pretty good about the steep and loose terrain. However, there was one right handed flat turn that I had crashed at on Saturday and it continued to give me problems on my practice runs on Sunday. This flat right turn came up quick and since the ground was loose, I would easily wash out.

Fast forward to Sunday. The seed list was posted and it showed that Johnny D, did not make it. But I had another big guy racing against me. I wasn’t quite sure who he was, but I recognized the name and have seen this fella get on the podium in the Sport Class in previous races. His name on the list was something different from what his jersey states, “Dirty Mike.”

As we waited at the top of the mountain, Dirty Mike and I got to talking and I found out that he had broken his wrist on the rainy day race we had a while back. He’s feeling better but not 100% and still decided to race. Keep in mind he’s normally a Sport racer so already I was feeling insecure. The 200 club is pretty much an open class, but for the most part, beginners race in it.

Anyhow, so we line up, I get counted down, 5,4,3,2,1, and away I go! I maneuver through the first sections of the course, and I get to my least favorite part, the flat right turn and over shot it and slowed down significantly. I recover and get to the off camber single track then down the dreaded fast, steep and loose chute, down the G-out with a big boulder in the middle of it, wow! I made it through!
Photo Courtesy of Eric Foltz

I hit the paved road and figure I can use my big ring, I shift and I’m not moving! I look down and noticed my chain dropped on the outside of my cranks! ARGH!!!! I eventually get it back in and then I coast into the lower rock garden. I make it through with no problems and I’m pedaling with everything I have left through the infamous WALL.
Photo Courtesy of Sharky

I cross the finish line and my lungs and legs were on fire. I couldn’t get my helmet off fast enough. Dirty Mike rolls in shortly after I do and I gave him a pat on the back for a good job. We ride back to base camp and the results were up really quick.

The MC started announcing the winners over the PA. They also had the results up on the board. Moe had actually gone up to check and comes back to ask me, “do you want me to tell you the news, or do you want to wait for the announcement?” Moe has on his Poker face and I wasn’t quite sure if he had good or bad news for me. So I decided to wait, and the MC said, “200 Club, 2nd place…(he states the other fella’s name), in 1st place, RL Policar!” Our camp cheered and I threw up my hands in the air as I said, “YES!” I let out a sigh of relief…

Now we’re off to the finals in 2 weeks, wish me luck and hopefully I can repeat this weekend’s results! I’d like to thank our sponsors, Evomo Clothing, Ergon USA, Hoss MTB, and BikeCommuters.com.

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RL Policar: Up and comer SS racer David “Sho-Nuff” Sanderson does it again this weekend and is greatly improving. Read his race report and experience all the joys and pains that he went through this weekend. He did all that just so he would have something to say when his coworkers asked him what he did this weekend…”I raced” David replies (while puffing up his chest). “I raced REALLY HARD”

The sky’s been falling all over So Cal the past few days, dumping several inches of rain leading up to Saturday’s race and causing me doubts about the race conditions. Friday night it rained so hard that I thought to myself, that if it’s raining like this in the morning, I’m not racing! Fortunately I awoke to a light sprinkle, loaded up the bike and made my way to Fontana. I arrived to find RL and Jeremy already on the scene with the camp already set up, thank you guys! Eric (with a propane heater!), Moe, Priscilla, Kim and Tony soon follow.

I registered early enough to take a warm-up lap of the wet Southridge course. The soil in Southridge does well in the rain washing away the loose sandy top layer with minimal puddling. This provides excellent traction; in fact the traction was so good it felt as if I was running a harder gear ratio! This mixed with the extra cold air was sure to put what endurance I have to the test.

I arrive to the starting line to find a few unfamiliar faces with very large legs ready to race single-speed this week. Seems a few more serious cyclists are coming out of hibernation and preparing for their upcoming season. Christmas comes early as Donny informs us that were only running two laps this week (approx. 12 miles).

Donny counts down and we bolt from the starting line, I don’t know if I’m just properly warmed up, hoping to finish early or just getting faster, but I muster up a decent start. I’m too polite around the first turn and fall back several positions as I stick to the outside line. I manage to stay near the leaders through the early climbs as we make our way to the water tower climb. Here I fall back from the thunder thighs in the group and settle into my personal hell slowly grinding my way up. I manage to do a bit better than last week and can still see the leaders near the top.

I’ve pushed too hard through this climb and my legs are burning bad. I’m breathing deep and the bitter cold air is biting in my lungs as my heart pounds out a rapid beat. I snake my way though some the short single track before ascending some of the brutal short and steep climbs that take us to the course peak. I’m nearly done, using everything I got to grind out this climb and debating walking, It’s here one of my fellow racers starts cheering me on, “You can make it! Just a lil more”! What a great guy! This is a thousand times better than the “Passing on the left!” that I was expecting, and is enough to convince me to push, if for nothing more than to avoid slowing him down. I don’t know his name, but I know the bike and I’m gonna make sure to thank him before the next race.

My favorite part of the course is here with the rolling single track equipped with several little berms. I rail through these as quick as I can remind myself of my mental notes from the warm-up lap. Some of the ruts have grown in size and one corner has eroded enough to present some dangerous exposure if you were to let your front tire run the corner too wide. I reach for my now missing water bottle and freak out! S&!^, I’ve got no water! Thank goodness it’s anything but hot today and I know I’ll get another bottle on the next lap. I take advantage of some of the lines I learned the preceding weekend riding with Priscilla and RL. I now know I don’t have to brake at all as I cross the first concrete channel, I can bunny hop out of the second channel and finally take the dirt alternate route instead of riding down the last concrete channel. On one of the last sections a spectator is yelling at me for ruining her photo of her friend who is behind me. I didn’t know I was supposed to let people pass me to make their photos look better. Her boyfriend is looking at her like he is in serious debate as to if he should continue to date her and I couldn’t agree more. I round my way be to the starting straight for lap two.

RL is holding GU but no water! He might as well be holding a plate of bacon at this point because the only thing I want in this world at the moment is water. He quickly grabs a bottle and gets it to me just in time. I try to resist the urge to immediately chug the whole bottle in an effort to avoid a stomach cramp.

I’ve noticed I really have two different mindsets when I race. One that is really focused and intense. The other is really loose and relaxed thinking of anything other than the race in order to help me ignore the burning in my legs. I spend most of lap two in this state thinking about what I’m gonna eat after this weekend and debating giving 4X racing a try. I stay in this state until my favorite single track section where I always smile as I snake my way around. I discover today that this right here, is why I mountain bike, to flow around and have fun. I’m dogging it, riding at my regular trail pace when I hear the team cheering from the finish line. I muster up what I’ve got left and pick up the pace for the final few turns and a race time of 1:04:46 and yet another third place finish. The Animal, Eric Hunner has 2nd with a time of 1:00:59 and winner Rod Leveque gets in under an hour (sorry I don’t remember his time, but the results should be on the SRC website shortly).


We head back to the team camp and I proceed to eat more carne asada than anyone has a right too. It’s amazing what a race does to my appetite! Thank you RL, no one can cook on an old portable propane grill like you can!

Also a quick thanks to the team sponsors Evomo, Hoss MTB and Ergon whose gear helps us get through our races and trail-rides.

Other updates -

I get some more good news! The better than good, rather great people at KHS have provided mtnbikeriders.com with a demo Lucky 7 that I’ll get to ride in the next Southridge DH race! This is a bike on my short list of possible upcoming purchases and now I’ll get to swing a leg over it and tell you what its like to fall in love all over again.

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To put it plain and simple, it was wet and slippery. The whole weekend was pretty much soaked. During our practice runs it was a down pour. You could see the water stream through the rocks and single track. Fun fun fun!

As my category lined up, 200 Club, I had greeted my two other opponents with a cordial hello and wished them a good run. I have to tell you, these guys were big boys. Not fat or anything, but at least over 6’2, plus these guys were fast and skilled riders.

So we line up, the first guy goes, and he had a strong start. I watch him meander through the course until Donny calls out 15 seconds, 10, 5, 4, 3,2,1….
Photo courtesy of Chris and Sharky.

I’m off to a strong start, I make it through the first part of the course with out any issues. I then roll up into a section called “the saddle” and make a hard right turn. But my speed was too much and I go out of bounds and end up running over the course tape and eventually I get tangled up in it. The tape wraps around my derailleur and my cassette and it forces me to stop, get off and pull this stuff off.

Photo courtesy of Christopher Wood.
You can see how the tape is already wrapped around my derailleur pulley.

I quickly get back on the bike after losing so much time messing with the tape. I ride down one rock garden and hear the spectators cheering me on, but I hear one guy say “he’s right behind you!” ARGH! The anchor rider in my category caught up to me! Since I knew he was behind me, I mashed on the pedals as hard as I can, but this guy wasn’t going away, he eventually calls my right and passes me before the rock garden. But I try to stay as close to him as possible.

As soon as we hit the infamous WALL, I big ring it and start to pedal as fast as I could. But by this time my lungs are on fire and my legs were starting to sputter out. The guy that passed me was at one point only 10 feet away and I see him gas out towards the middle of the wall and thought that I had a chance of catching up to him. However, I had the same fate since I too gassed out in which every pedal stroke was in pain and labor.

He crosses the finish line and I cross it a few seconds later. I was spent…

We head back to camp and I was greeted by my lovely and awesome wife. She asked me how I did. I began to explain to her the tape issue I had up the mountain and my frustration showed through the tone of my voice. I still had remnants of the incident in my cassette…

Results were posted rather quickly, that’s because the Southridge Racing Company is the best at what they do. I ride over to the results and I see that I came in 3rd. The 2nd place rider was over 30 seconds faster than I was. Seeing those numbers made me even more frustrated with my run. Though my competition was super fast, I knew that I could have had a better run. But hey, you know what. I’m glad I came down the mountain in one piece, no injuries!

Seeing my new competition (they weren’t at the last races) motivated me to really step up my game. I must have spent hours watching all sorts of riders practice and race the course and I hope to take away something from each of them that I could utilize in my own riding style to make me better.

I’d like to thank our sponsors, Evomo, Ergon, Hoss MTB, BikeCommuters.com. I’d also like to take the time to thank Ibex Bikes for letting me race on the new 2009 Ibex Ignition Frame.

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