For the 2nd to last round in the d-36 cross sountry series, we headed off to Peteluma CA. The race was run in the hills between Santa Rosa and the pacific ocean, at a working cattle ranch. The place is very scenic with many good trails and semi steep hills.
As we arrived saturday morning, rain was beginning to fall. Luckilly it let up about 1 hr before the start and soaked in nicely. I had been real worried about the race for whatever reason, but I felt good on the starting line. After watching the first few rows go off, I was confident for a good start. For once, I got a very good start. I headed into the first single track in 4th place. The pace was no problem, but it was slippery in places. For half the first lap the frontrunners from my row picked off the slower riders from the other rows. I felt good in the cold weather and was wanting to go faster. Unfortunately, a big bottleneck awaited in a semi-difficult small hill section. About 20 bikes were in front of me completely blocking the way. I watched 2 guys in my class squeeze through the trees and take off. I knew I would have to do something, but a course official showed up and stopped us from cutting through the trees. I waited for an opening on the trail and got through knowing that I was way behind a couple guys in my class, but was also getting away from everyone else. It took about 5 minutes to get past the mess. After getting through, it was very fun. I started to catch up to riders and pass them one by one. My goggles were thrown off in the pits after the first lap and I headed off with a fresh pair. I didn't really have anyone the race against from my class, but I was mixing it up with the class in front of ours. After 3 great laps, the rain came blasting in with thunder and lightning and wind. The next 2 laps were survival mode and I had passed a fast rider from my class and knew I was doing well. In nasty conditions, I managed to stay on the bike and come home 2nd in class, which put me into the points lead barely.
The rain fell even harder for the C race. My brother was racing this class and got a great start and took over first place early. Unfortunately, he tangled with many slower riders and got stuck in a ditch. The rain got worse and the race was shotened to 1 hour. My brother came back for a third place finish and moved into 2nd in his class. Everyone from our group finished and survived the brutal conditions.
As we arrived saturday morning, rain was beginning to fall. Luckilly it let up about 1 hr before the start and soaked in nicely. I had been real worried about the race for whatever reason, but I felt good on the starting line. After watching the first few rows go off, I was confident for a good start. For once, I got a very good start. I headed into the first single track in 4th place. The pace was no problem, but it was slippery in places. For half the first lap the frontrunners from my row picked off the slower riders from the other rows. I felt good in the cold weather and was wanting to go faster. Unfortunately, a big bottleneck awaited in a semi-difficult small hill section. About 20 bikes were in front of me completely blocking the way. I watched 2 guys in my class squeeze through the trees and take off. I knew I would have to do something, but a course official showed up and stopped us from cutting through the trees. I waited for an opening on the trail and got through knowing that I was way behind a couple guys in my class, but was also getting away from everyone else. It took about 5 minutes to get past the mess. After getting through, it was very fun. I started to catch up to riders and pass them one by one. My goggles were thrown off in the pits after the first lap and I headed off with a fresh pair. I didn't really have anyone the race against from my class, but I was mixing it up with the class in front of ours. After 3 great laps, the rain came blasting in with thunder and lightning and wind. The next 2 laps were survival mode and I had passed a fast rider from my class and knew I was doing well. In nasty conditions, I managed to stay on the bike and come home 2nd in class, which put me into the points lead barely.
The rain fell even harder for the C race. My brother was racing this class and got a great start and took over first place early. Unfortunately, he tangled with many slower riders and got stuck in a ditch. The rain got worse and the race was shotened to 1 hour. My brother came back for a third place finish and moved into 2nd in his class. Everyone from our group finished and survived the brutal conditions.
