Winding down the West Coast Summer
It’s been a couple months since I started this, well,
couple-month block of racing and traveling... Inevitably, every summer there is a big chunk of racing
smack in the middle. As there
should be, the weather in the Northern Hemisphere is typically perfect,
everyone is keyed in on summer pastimes involving bikes and it’s just the right
thing to do. That said, it’s
always good to see the approach of fall and slightly mellower times. As I work on this transition back to
Mountain Biking in the Mountains, the summer race block gets ever more
complicated. This last month and
change has included amazing riding in legendary places and racing on some of
the best terrain in the world. It
has also included some pretty ridiculous travel and plenty of equipment and
logistical headaches compounded by solid fatigue. We’ll just focus on the good parts, maybe with a few
struggling anecdotes for good measure and so y’all don’t think it’s just all fun
and games around here… Not to
mention The Olympic Games, which also happened for two hard-working Americans.
I’ve always said that you’ve got to be in great shape in
order to dig deep enough to actually make your body genuinely fatigued. I was in shape at World Cup
Finals. That, which was quite satisfying,
has left me proper tired for the next two weeks. Having 48 hours at home between the France trip and the
Downieville/Link/Whistler/Chilcotins trip was just enough time to scramble and
develop the beginnings of a cold.
Perfect. There was also
enough time to drop off my XTC Hardtail at Sunnyside Sports to get torn down
and re-built on a Reign X frame for the Crankworx Enduro. While at the shop, I ran into Carl
Decker’s roommate and pro triathlete Matt Lieto. He high-fived me on the good World Cup race and joked that I
should “take it easy” on Carl at Downieville this weekend. That wouldn’t be a problem.
Carl is also in an interesting transitional period in his
career. The Giant Factory Team has
shifted it’s focus to Enduro and Marathon events, so Carl, who loves aggressive
mountain biking but is also quite happy training on his road bike and racing
XC, has ended up doing a bunch of what amounts to downhill stage racing. He’s been a touch off the pace on the
burly stuff… I was also secretly
pulling for him at Downieville, knowing he races well there and that he could
use a little boost to his summer of racing.
There was someone else pulling for him in Downieville
too. As the cross-country race
rolled off the pavement and started the fifty-minute climb up the Sierra
Buttes, Junior National Champ Keegan Swenson went to the front and gave ‘er
like only a junior who hasn’t yet ridden the climb can. (Ed. Note, on account of my long
publishing timeline, I can report on Keegan’s 5th place ride at
Junior World Championships in Austria last weekend. Dang, that’s strong work.) Carl eventually left the excitable youngster and went on to
win the XC for the third year in a row.
I got around Keegan as we dropped into Baby Heads, which gave me the honor
of finishing second to Carl, again.
An even higher honor was bestowed upon me a few meters shy
of the finish line when I was suddenly covered in beer. From someone’s mouth. I looked at my assailant, expecting to
see one of Mark Weir’s cronies, but it was just some random derelict. He was working on a Wizard Staff
(taping empty beer cans atop one another) that was about waist high at
11am... So I requested his staff,
took a swig, and returned the favor.
Turns out, according to Mike Ferrentino (knower of all things mountain
bike underworld) this guy, named Darrin, used to race for the Retrotec
team. Those jerks knew how to
party… Fortunately, my new friend Darrin
still does. He ended up making
quite the Staff, and quite the scene, before ultimately getting Tazed, twice,
for exposing himself at the bar, and dragged off to jail. Which was actually the first time
anyone’s ever actually been arrested at the Downieville Classic. Impressive.
We all know it’s all about the Downhill in Downieville. Carl most of all, after coming up short
the last couple years. I woke up
feeling ever crappier and was happy to see Carl decently chipper, for 7am… We were both wondering how the day
would shake out. Last year’s
winner, Aaron Bradford, was in town and is always quick, and Moeschler can
never be counted out, but we also had the wildcard of Frenchman Jerome
Clementz. Dude is fast, but how
fast? Not as fast as Carl. He laid down the fastest time of the
day, which was only a few seconds up on perennial challenger Jason
Moeschler’s. I fogged my way down
the hill unsure of whether I rode smooth and fast or just lazy and slow. It was the latter. 5th place, which I should’ve
probably sacrificed to silence some impressively cowardly hecklers at the
bottom of First Divide the old-fashioned way…
Josh Carlson looks for incoming as Jake snaps some photos on Third Divide. Super safe.
Regardless of competitive success, the riding in Downieville
is the definition of classic, as are the folks who put on the event. It would’ve been nice to stick around
and relax, go for a swim, ride the Lakes Basin, etc. But, onwards and northwards. We had a flight to catch. From Bend. On
Monday morning. At 5:30am. The drive home started at 5:30pm from
Downieville. It’s seven hours, in
my car, hauling ass. Carl and
Kelli were in Carl’s new (to him) ’91 VW Vanagon. They didn’t sleep much… Josh Carlson and I got home in time to sleep for about 2
hours before driving the final half hour to the airport. Destination- Vail, Colorado.
Giant shows our beloved dealers a good time, and new bikes,
once a year. The location varies
but is inevitably in a spot that has solid riding potential. After a long trip and early wakeup call
the freshly rained upon trails accessed by Vail’s Gondola were a sight for sore
eyes. While there is plenty of
business completed at The Link, the main reason folks come is to ride. And ride we did. Road rides up Vail pass (which I
secretly wished I could do one of) and all manner of idyllic Rocky Mountain
singletrack on the mountain kept folks entertained. Which is what we were there to do as well. Riding with our dealers is a good time,
some of ‘em shred, some of them are just getting into bikes, but they all are
stoked to be out. Us too.
Not for long though, the summer whirlwind continued for us
North American Giant folks. After
a hilarious/tragic dueling pianos accompanied dinner, we struck back to the
Denver Airport. Destination this
time- The Great White North.
Crankworx Whistler was warming up and we were slated to compete in the
Canadian Open Enduro on Saturday.
This left Thursday and Friday to try and learn four different race
courses (I thought Enduro was supposed to be raced blind?) and get our brains
to work at the level necessary to blaze through the infamous Whistler Bike Park
and down some lesser-known gems.
In retrospect, folks also needed to learn the routes to Transit between
the four stages, as time was of the essence.
A misunderstanding with the eleventh-hour communication of
start times for each stage set off a chain reaction resulting in a whole lot of
folks missing their start times.
Which, at most of our North American Enduros, doesn’t really matter,
they just assign you a new one.
Not here in Whistler, the clock starts on your minute, regardless of
your presence. The transits
between stage 1-2 and 2-3 were tight on time, but completely doable if you had
a plan. There was a whole lot of
moaning about this, so I took a poll of my peers.
The
question- “Do you have a watch?”
The
answer for 2/3 of the sample pool- “No, why do I need a watch?”
Because
you’re at a goddamn timed competitive event where it might be helpful to know
what time it is, since you have a start time to adhere to… How many times do
you have to say “time” before lazy-assed mountain bikers think having a watch
might clever? I’m just bitter
because the Rally Car racing community LOVES their watches and will smote down
upon you with limitless vengeance if you’re late. Or early for that matter. Them’s the rules, you’d better learn…
Top of the World Trail. The start of 18 minutes of amazing on Stage 4.
Anyway, most of the contenders in the men’s race were on
time to stages 2 and 3, so it didn’t really affect our results. Jerome Clementz won with an impressive
run in stage four, which was an all-downhill test from the tippy-top of
Whistler Peak. A genuinely
challenging stage with amazing variety of trail, from alpine singletrack to
bike park chunder. Our frothing
youngster Josh Carlson won what I’d consider the most diverse stage, which also
has the best name. Blackcomb
Mountain’s Golden Boner. I was
third in this, just a couple seconds off the pace. But I was WAY off the pace in the final stage, compounded by
a small crash that resulted in a wardrobe malfunction. Namely, my pants fell off. Oops… I still managed 6th overall, so, solid, but not
quite the mixing it with the fast guys I’d hoped for. Need to work on that ability to ride at DH bike pace on a
trail bike…
The women’s race was a bit more of a mash-up with the
times. A couple locals were on
time and the rest was a bit grim.
Rabobank/Giant teammate Rosara Joseph put in another impressive ride,
winning the Golden Boner stage by 40 seconds but losing 3:30 on the first
transit to finish second overall.
What could’ve been… To her
credit, she did have a watch…
Overall, the Crankworx Enduro is the most diverse, interesting,
challenging event of this discipline I’ve had the pleasure of contesting. Here’s to riding more downhill and
moto, picking up that last little bit of pace to be in the mix when it gets
hairy…
Next up- the middle of nowhere.
A Beaver's-eye view of the Chilcotin through the lens of one Sterling Lorence. Love your work.
We’ve been working on the Trance X 29 for quite some time
now, over a year since the first prototype. It’s a great bike.
And we finally got to show it to the Media in possibly the most perfect
setting imaginable. The South
Chilcotin Mountains lie a few hours north of Whistler, on the east side of the
Coast Range. Dale from Tyax
Adventures will happily, for a nominal fee, use his ’61 De Haviland “Beaver”
float plane to transport you and your bike buddies up to one of the myriad
alpine lakes above their lodge.
Then, it’s a lifetime of old prospecting trails to ride back down. Seems like a good place to take a
mountain bike for a test ride. And
we did. The editorial crew was
comprised of entirely strong riders, most of whom were in town for Crankworx
and on the shred program anyway.
Fun was had, bikes were discussed, guides were pumped for more info on
the area (thanks, Adrian and Emily.)
We only had a day out in the hills, but it was enough to know that a
return trip with plenty of time and provisions is necessary someday.
It was a pleasure to shoot with Sterling in his adopted backyard. Beautiful country...
Hmm, after the lovely Chilcotin bookend to our busy summer
season, what’s happened? Oh yeah,
I haven’t left the state of Oregon for a few weeks. But there’s still been plenty of action… I sometimes wonder if Bend really is
the perfect place to live for a bike rider. Equidistant to California and British Columbia, but with
plenty going on close to home.
A little Metolius-Windigo Trail action above Sisters. This is currently on fire. Sad to see it go, it was in the best shape ever after a bunch of Oregon Enduro Series trails work. Thanks, guys.
The Oregon Enduro Series held it’s final two rounds on
August 26 and September 8-9 in Sisters and on the flanks of Mount Hood. They were very different events, showcasing
the variety of riding in our little state. I won the scrappy, raw Sisters event and got smoked on the
high-speed, committing, DH-style Mount Hood. Guess the Oregon pedal/coast racing win streak is over for
me. Josh Carlson might be starting
his own streak, as he sort of DOMINATED the Hood weekend to win the series
overall in grand style. I’m glad
I’ve gotten to see that guy ride a motocross bike, as it gives valuable insight
into how brutally he attacks every inch of trail. A must for this kind of racing. Let’s do a winter exchange, Frother, I’ll give you a touch
of diesel restraint and you work on my Race Gas consumption…
I was trying hard enough at Sandy Ridge to end up with fir boughs in my CTD lever...
Last but not least was our second year of backyard Marathon
National Championships. Myself and
Carl had the #1 and #2 plates on our bikes from last year’s runaway 1-2. And we actually had sufficient time to
prepare for their defense. The
course was way better this year, taking in some of Bend’s finest trails and
climbing up to 7000’ along the Cascade Crest. It was at this point, actually, that I liked my chances of a
title defense. My clever line
choices on the biggest climb and descent had opened a gap on perennial
challenger Todd Wells and I was alone at the front. I missed Carl, but was glad to not have the prospect of a
sprint finish with him…
Fast-forward a couple hours and my impressively bonked, flimsy carcass
was unable to sprint with Carl, except this time it was for 2nd
place. Todd had ridden away after
I exhausted the last of my bag of tricks (riding up the Octupus Log on Funner)
and was no longer able to stay in front of him and ride at 200 watts, hoping he
didn’t notice my (painfully obvious) grenaded state… It’s almost easier to lose a title defense when you’re so
incredibly blown that there’s no possible recourse. Hats off, Todd.
Carl and I were really tired after...
And damn fine work at the London Games, I’m proud of you and
Sam Schultz for finally ending our “Americans riding like poo” streak at the
Olympics. 10th and 15th
are right in there. And while
we’re at it, sweet that Georgia Gould got a bronze medal. That’ll keep the stoke high for all
those XC pinners out there coming up through the ranks. Pedaling bikes hard is a good time.
Speaking of good times and hard pedaling, I’m on a plane to
Nice, France as I wind up this summer narrative. About to wind up the mountain bike season at Trans
Provence. Much like that float
plane trip into the wilds of BC, I’ve been looking forward to this event since
I signed up last fall. It’s going
to be pretty amazing to ride across the mountains of Haute-Provence, camping
and racing on the downhills, for an entire week. Hope I have enough energy left for it…
Check out http://www.dirtragmag.com/ for updates from yours truly.
And http://trans-provence.com/ for info about this sort of amazing race...