The 2012 cross country race season is just about upon us and I don't know about you, but I couldn't be any more excited to get underway! The excitement of the "unknown" always serves to elevate the nerves and create a fun anticipatory expectation for the first event of the year...smiles, competition, friends, it doesn't get any better!

 
Especially exciting for the '12 season, is that Keith DeFiebre's popular Central Coast Cross Country Series (CCCX Series) will now be held under the umbrella of USA Cycling. I am sure some of the draw in the past was the "outlaw" nature of the series and ability to jump around from your normal racing category. But, I think having a USAC backed series locally will offer some additional benefits, too. Even better, is that several rounds are slated at Toro Park (love the trails there!) for the first time in quite a while and also several events take place on Saturday which I happen to prefer to racing on Sunday. With all the new aspects of this series I can't wait to see if it will become even more popular and competitive than in years past!

 
As we get ready to toe the line Saturday, I love the build up in having absolutely zero clue in how things will unfold! In years past, I had a much more accurate idea of where I might stack up, but with a topsy-turvy off season slam packed with work, things are much more uncertain - and I like it! Shooting in the dark has never been more fun! Really, I'm interested to see how the different training approaches will play out in this early part of the season...
 
There are guys like Tobin Ortenblad, Aaron Bradford, and Justin Mann who have just come off rigorous and immensely successful CX season's consisting of World, National and Local championships and notoriety. By the way - Awesome performances on all fronts, you guys are inspiring!

Then there are guys like Clint Claassen who are coming off of a base building block and already experiencing early season success, too. You can read about his first win of 2012 here.

I know that the very successful local power and USAC certified coach, Chris Burnham, has a whole stable of race horses just chomping at the bit to stretch their legs in a race environment.
 
Plus, let's not rule out the increasingly faster and fitter contingent of high school kids who are putting in times that are already winning the Pro class - like Bryan Duke! If not winning, then getting darn close! I know the Salinas High School Cowboys will be out in force and representing!

Whether we are talking about the pros, the age groupers, high school kids, mens AND womens classes, I think in each instance that we are in for a real treat - I know we are going to see some unexpected and surprising results from people which makes it all the more thrilling!

Come Saturday it will be fun to see how the different approaches and philosophies relate to early season fitness and results. While I know that many riders have bigger fish to fry later in the season, it's still fun to see how things unwind at each and every event regardless of "importance". In fact, isn't every race important?!!!

Watching the 450 Main first on TV and thinking, man it doesn't look like they are even trying...

Watching the 250 Main next, seeing a ton of carnage and thinking, WOW! The 450 guys are GOOD.

Did anyone want to win the 250 Main? Don't like to see all those crashes and mistakes...

Eli - You are fast. You clearly own the class. Slow down a bit or you are gonna eat crap. Big time. Congrats on the last 2 wins, but man you look L O O S E. Reign it in, be safe and still win!

Does Chad Reed look fat or is it just me? I guess that means better starts...?

This week Dungey charges through from a poor start. Gotta say the #5 is looking pretty good despite the orange bike...

Will someone please hire Zack Osborne so he doesn't have to go back to a diet of fish & chips? The kid can ride - and is well spoken, too! There must be a team who can appreciate that.

Pretty classy of RV (and I'm sure others) to run the Trey and Mo' patch on his jersey.

4 Races. 4 Different 450 Winners. Can you say "great season"?

I love dirt bike racing!

Yesterday was the fun Twilight Track night that is held once a month. We had a fun coasting race, circuit race and costume contest. However, apparently people aren't ready for Halloween quite yet so Clark, Bri and I were the only ones to dress up. Enjoy the pictures! Argghhh!!!

For More Info on the twilight rides visit: Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca

As the 2011 Motocross season comes to a close there was so much drama and so many story lines emerging at the infamous and treacherous Southwick round that I can't help but comment of what I feel is the key component of the event - and how it transcends sport and life. HEART. Yup, that's arguably one of the most important keys to success in life. Whether in sports, school, business or otherwise, I have always believed (and always will) that the guy or gal with the most HEART will prevail in the end. Regardless of talent, it seem that a solid dosing of HEART is required to fully achieve success at anything in life. And on display at Southwick last weekend was a helping of HEART on so many levels that I almost don't even know where to start!

For my biker pals unfamiliar with the nuances of professional motocross, the Southwick round is an outlier event. A complete sand track that requires a radically divergent bike set up from all other rounds (think Downieville versus CCCX) and the added X-factor of local's who have a "locals advantage" not found at any other round of the series due to the sandy nature of the track. It's not uncommon for privateers to put the hurt on the factory backed pro's at this race using superior track knowledge and bike set up to trump the full time pros. Pretty cool.

Also, as round 10 of an incredibly hottly contested series, the battles for championship points are becoming more and more important with each passing moto - and this round did not disappoint!

First story line is that of a young and hyper-aggressive Justin Barcia moving up from the 250 class to the 450 class in the middle of the season. In only his 3rd 450 race, the kid proves he has the speed...well most of us knew he had the speed, we just weren't sure if he could keep it on two wheels! Most riders dream for a lifetime of winning a prestigious 450 race and Justin did it in his third try. Wow! No doubt aided by being from this region and feeling very comfortable on a track that he likely has numerous laps on. However, with hurricane Irene wreaking havoc and literally pissing down rain, the conditions were such that many riders didn't finish or simply struggled to survive. Barcia THRIVED! If not for a mechanical in moto 1 (where bike problems kept him from finishing) he likely would have earned his first career overall for the day as well...Say what you will about Barcia and his unorthodox riding style, but you can clearly see from the way that he rides that it's all HEART. He is going to give his maximum effort every time he is on the track and today was no different...which leads us to...

Brett Metcalf earning HIS first career overall at a track many believed owed him a bit of fortune. Rewind 1 year when Ryan Dungey was having his way with the class and most believed earning second was akin to winning. Not Metcalf. He's the working mans' racer and when the track gets brutally rough (as is the case with Southwick) his training shines through. Last year he clearly had Dungey handled when his bike ran out of gas only a few corners short of the finish line. Tragic. BUT, not uncommon given the power robbing (and thus FUEL) conditions of sand tracks.

Fast forward 1 year. Brett was out for revenge. When moto 2's conditions deteriorated to pure crap, Brett just yanked on the throttle tube and trusted in his fitness. He blazed right by series points leader Ryan Villopoto, looking fast, loose and on the edge of control! Despite a horrid track he fordged ahead to earn his 1st overall victory in the 450 class. Brett is a prime example of HEART. Having been chasing this motocross dream half way across the world (he's from Australia) and landing on the American motocross scene 8 years ago he could have given up or gotten distracted loooong ago. However, on the podium he summed it up - "This is what hard work, dedication and good habits lead to". Bravo Brett, you are all HEART.

Simply reading this far, one could say "gosh, that is pretty inspiring, I can't imagine anything trumping those monumental efforts." Well hold on to your hats, because I truly believe the story of the day is in Ryan Dungey's second moto effort where he didn't even have a motorcycle to ride when the gate dropped! Excuse me? Yes, you read correctly. In between moto's Suzuki had elected to replace the entire motor in the #1 machine and when the humpty dumpty went back together the bike didn't start. OOoops. While everyone else rocketed down the start straight Dungey WALKED back to the pits. BUT, literally at the last second Dungy got his bike and entered the race almost a full lap down in absolute DFL. You don't get any more last place than that. The rules state you can start the race up until the first lap is complete and he just BARELY made it!

Now, some of the readers unfamiliar with moto may ask "Why in the heck would you WANT to venture out into a miserable 45 minutes of racing in pouring rain, on a completely trashed track, when you have ZERO chance of winning?" Honestly, I don't think there are that many people that would make the choice that Dungey made, but he is all HEART and continues to prove it time and time again. Background for those out of the know is that last year, Ryan Dungey accomplished the impossible by winning the supercross AND motocross championships in his rookie seasons. Seriously? I mean, this is like Lance showing up at the Tour de France and winning in his first try. It's a big freakin' deal.

Unfortunately, a myriad of forces kept Dungey from repeating his Supercross performance this year (in one of the most competitive series' ever raced) but he is doggedly determined to hold on to his #1 motocross plate and is in a heated battle with Ryan Villopoto (leads by a handful of points) and Chad Reed. Well Chad Reed did not finish the first moto effectively ending his title hopes (and then another DNF in moto 2 put the nail in that coffin), leaving the two Ryan's to battle it out. In moto 1 Dungey prevailed over Villopoto - The chase tightens and things are looking good. Now imagine that you are told your bike won't make the second moto and you are going to loose 25 valuable championship points through no fault of your own. I can't imagine the disappointment and emotion that was going through Dungey's head.

But this is guy is a class act...And he doesn't give up. When given his bike at the final hour he put his head down and went to work. Not like most people go to work - because they HAVE to. No, he went to work because he WANTED TO WIN. In a race like this, ANYTHING can happen and Dungey proved that if you want something bad enough you will stop at nothing to get it. I mean, can you imagine, the race has started and you are not in it!!!??? Yet, he takes his bike and jumps onto the track at a huge deficit to everyone else in order to salvage his championship hopes and limit the loss in points he will take by hoping to finish inside of the top twenty - in motocross there are 40 riders in each race, BUT points are only paid to the top twenty riders. That means Dungey has to ride his eyeballs off to pass 20 riders before he can even score ONE MEASLY POINT! How do you like them apples?

As rider after rider experienced adversity during the moto and decided whether to continue on or pull off (riders were lining the track and quiting in the deplorable conditions), Dungey charged ALL THE WAY to the finish line. Think about this for a second. You are starting so far back (haha, something I am used to!) that you don't even get to start making any discernible progress until about half way through the race. Mentally, that has got to be a huge challenge to overcome. BUT, then (as a result of your hard work and relentless pursuit) you start picking riders off one by one - and gaining valuable points one by one!!! At first I was thinking, "Man if he could make the top 20 that would be incredible! Then I was like, wow, he might make the top 15!" In the closing minutes I'm going NUTS - "He is going to ride himself into the TOP TEN! Holy CRAP!"

In the end he charged back all the way to 8th place and ended up leaving the event in about the same position as he had entered it as far as the points race with Villopoto is concerned. BUT, without the heart of a lion, he would have never gotten on that bike to see what was possible. He believed in himself and his ability to persevere in a situation that I'm sure everyone else was thinking "what a waste, he doesn't have a chance." Winners don't think like that. Winners don't back down from a challenge, no matter the odds against them.

For me, no matter what happens over the course of the final two rounds of the series, Ryan Dungey won the championship at Southwick by demonstrating an inexorable drive to succeed despite what would seem to be an insurmountable hurdle. I can't really put into words how inspiring his ride was. What is stopping you from achieving your goals? Does something big seem like it's looming in your way? Are you too tired? Unmotivated? Not sure if you can succeed? On days' like that, simply attack things with all your HEART and just see what happens!

First things first: Results from a foggy memory have Menso winning, Aren Timmel was representing for Team Chico in the top 3, Ironman Brian Astell (Kona bound…impressive!) was top five and then went for a run afterwards! I think Kevin Smallman was 6^th and Clint Claassen was running well until he suffered a mechanical and had to finish without a chain – and he still beat me! Awesome! I think he ended up 9^th. In my class William Kemper was ripping and finished 2^nd about 5minutes up on me.

I had heard the good and the bad about the SoNoMas race and I decided that regardless of the rumors, this was an event that I would simply have to discover for myself – and I am glad that I did! Despite some rough beginning’s a few years back, Bike Monkey has done an incredible job with this event and it shows. There were more aid stations than I have ever seen in an event of this length. There were medics at dangerous parts of the course. There were T-shirts, food…just an exceptional job. If I could make one suggestion it would be to pay attention and proceed with caution. Having laid out long loop courses, it can be tough to mark every corner and danger spot and this is a course was no exception - with plenty of danger and enough turns to be ware. I know Derek Yarra missed a corner and handed over a spot to me at one point, and I’m sure there were a few others. Beyond that, this was an exceptional event – and also my first Bike Monkey event. Carlos and crew definitely have their poop together. I highly recommend hitting up one of their events (especially this one!) if you have the opportunity.

As for the race itself I was expecting a fairly good suffer fest and that’s what I got. Advertised as 35 miles and 6500 feet of climbing – I expected pain, and that’s what I got! My Garmin reported a hair under each of those numbers, but I didn’t feel compelled to go looking for the missing data…

Straight away I had another stellar start – at the back of the bus with Rosa Parks and there was not much I could do to combat the situation. “Engine room, we NEED MORE POWER” only to discover there was no more power available! Haha! This would be a common theme for the day and I attribute it to latent fatigue from the Tahoe Sierra 100, but like I said in that post, Tahoe was my “miracle day” for the year, so if it means I’m a bit screwed in the aftermath I will take be ok with that!

Fortunately, it wasn’t that I didn’t have ZERO power…really more like one speed (but with plenty of gears!) and that speed was consistent on the flats, ups, downs, it didn’t seem to matter. This played out perfectly about 3 miles into the race where the trails turned SUPER STEEP and many people were walking – but my low gear kept turning the pedals over as I picked of rider after rider.

A little extra inspiration came from one guy who said: “There’s just a ton more riders in front of me!” Excuse me? I don’t understand this logic that implies I shouldn’t pass you because I will only encounter more riders. Does that mean I am supposed to STOP RIDING and simply join the parade of walkers so that I don’t hurt your feelings and pass you and then even worse, the riders in front of you Mr. Logic? By that notion, maybe we should just hold our positions from the start line, put a finish line 10 feet away and call it good? Hmmm, well I had a choice response that was something along the lines of “Yup, there sure are a lot of guys up there, but I need to pass YOU FIRST so get OUT OF MY WAY – please” J

Seriously, is it just me or if you are walking and someone else is riding do you jump out of the way? I would say the majority of riders adhere to this unspoken principal, but those who don’t sure can be frustrating.

Fortunately, I was able to continue my methodical slog and after I realized that I had no chance of speed, I decided the day would be about “moves” which in my little world means, trying to ride smooth, mistake free and not let the trail win. I would say by and large I was able to accomplish this feat by only having a very few dismounts on a few of the extremely loose and steep pitches – and this is where my products of the day came into play…

I can’t say enough for the new WTB Bronson’s as they performed absolutely flawlessly in hooking up on the steep climbs and providing solid traction under breaking. Good stuff. I am really digging these tires since mounting them up a few weeks back.  

After a solid 2 hours of racing (and quite a bit more still on the horizon!) Bri was waiting in an absolutely perfect bottle feed location and handed me off some fresh fluids – on the rocks…ahhhhh! Ice cold never tasted so good. And with a considerable amount of riding left, it was a welcome exchange for my warmed over bottle.

The final miles were not unlike the previous…side hill single-track, beautiful views of Lake Sonoma, ups and downs (although it felt like many more UPS!) and lots of pain to push through to the end. I was chasing in futile after Don Myrah (who I would not catch!) and in the end crossed the line in about three and one half hours. The aforementioned leaders did it much closer to just over 3 hours, wow!

In the end, a great day of racing and certainly everything that I had hoped for from this event. Definitely put it on your calendar for next year! In fact, I’m planning on staying for the whole weekend. The lake is neat and between mountain biking, the lake and what looks to be some sweet road riding, I think a weekend adventure will be on the menu for sure! If you are planning the same, there is plenty of great camping available right at the race site...just remember to bring an air mattress that won't go flat half way through the night :)