Team Lost Coast Brewery

Xterra World Championship Part 1

2011-10-31T20:03:00.000-07:00

I decided to do the xterra world championship race about 3 months ago. I had competed in a total of 3 triathlons in the last 3 years prior to worlds. I knew it was going to be a big undertaking but I felt I was up to the challenge. I worked with my new coach Devon Vigus from Vigus coaching, on the bike, who set me up with a weekly schedule along with Vince Sherry one of the founders of the Run Smart Project, which is an online run coaching site. I also worked with Lindsey Sharp who went to the olympic trials a few years back for swimming. She gave me a bit of much needed help in the water. I felt pretty prepared and with my training except for the fear of how much time I would likely be trying to make up after the swim. I was hoping that if I could get out of the water, not necessarily super fast but super fresh I'd be in good shape for the rest of the race. That's not quite how it ended up going though... My girlfriend Nicole and I got out to Hawaii almost 2 weeks before the race to get acclimated to the heat and humidity. We made a pit stop on the island of Kauai to visit with family before heading over to Maui where the race was held. On Kauai we got in a few workouts including a great ride in the jungle with some really cool views but mostly stayed off our feet when possible. We had a chance to do a little snorkeling which is when both Nicole and I had our first octopus hunt. We handled a live octopus with our hands and I got sprayed with ink, we check it out for a bit more before letting it go completely unharmed. It was a really cool experience, they're pretty cool animals and we didn't really feel like we could ever eat one after that. One of the guys we went with didn't feel the same though, he caught one, put it in a bag, took it home and chopped it up! Later on that day Nicole and I went with her mom and a friend to our first luau. We watched and listened to the story of hawaii told through song and dance. There was even some crazy dangerous fire dancing. At the end of the night I was really tired and thought about how nice it would be to sleep in. Nicole and I had been there for about 5 days already and had taken the necessary steps needed to secure a sure "sleep in". See, on the island of Kauai there are wild roosters everywhere! I didn't quite understand, I know they are really into cock fighting there. There are many paintings of roosters in restaurants and in buildings so I got the feeling that the Hawaiians are very proud of there cocks, which I believe is important, if your proud be proud and display them! I myself though could not stand hearing them all day. These annoying cocks would start mouthing off at about 3:45am until about 8 am take a break for an hour crow for a most of the day and stop at around 8pm and start all over again. A super loud fan along with a body length pillow rapped around my head and 4 other pillows was what made for a good sleep in.

Xterra Worlds Part 2

2011-10-31T19:52:00.000-07:00

On the 7th day we left Kauai and headed to Maui. Once there we found the cheapest rental car available which was definitely not from the usual suspects. All the car rental booths wanted 460 bucks for the week, it didn't matter if is was an economy car or and SUV for a few more bucks. I think the gas company gives the car rental agencies incentives to make the gas guzzling suv's the same price as the economy cars, what a racket! Anyways, Nicole called around and finally got in touch with Paul from MAUI CRUISERS! The first 10 seconds of the conversation went like this. "hello?..." (paul's cell phone crackles) "hey do rent cars?" Paul: Super enthusiastic almost in a joyous yell, "FU*K YEAH I DO!" We were sold! This guys was awesome! He wasn't at work when we called him but said if we could wait for about 15 min he'd pick us up in his tiny red beat up pickup truck and drive us to the rental lot. He also told Nicole during the first 20 seconds "Remind me about the story I have about Pine st." For the next 2 hrs we listened to the story about Pine st. and a bunch of other stories Paul had for us. Usually this is the type of thing that would really annoy me, especially since I was hungry, but not this time his stories were great and the car only cost 170 bucks for the week. I highly recommend renting from Maui Cruisers. They might not be brand new or luxurious but they're fuel efficient and will get you where you need to be and back.We hopped in the car and headed to were we'd be staying for the next week. We built up our bikes and got ready for the next day. On wed. we pre rode the bike course which was apparent it was going to be tough right from the start. It was an immediate steep pavement climb over to a dirt climb that led you to some windy climbing which dropped you off where the real climbing started! Plus the sun was climbing and was right over head so it was scorching by the time we were half way done. I estimated my race time would be about 1 1/2 hrs judging by the time it took to pre ride. We rested the for the remainder of the day. The next day we ran the 10k run course and it reminded me very much of the ride course, lots of climbing. The race profile said roughly 4,000ft of ascending on the 18.3 mi. ride course and just under 1,300ft of ascent during the 10k. Nicole was happy to have a chance to check out the run course she'd be racing on in only 2 days as she was competing in the Xterra 10k trail run on sat. Friday was a day of doing pretty much nothing but resting. Sat morning Nicole got up at 6am and got ready to race. After she ate she got in the car and headed to the venue. I followed on my bike 30min later. When I got there she had already warmed up and was doing some final stretches. I wished her good luck and she jumped into the start line that was about 800 strong, more than half of them being 10k racers, the others 5k racers. The gun went off at 9am. I rode around for a bit and then saw here coming in for the finish line. She was running hard across the beach which happened to be one of the only flat sections of the whole course, the soft deep 250meter stretch towards the end of the race leading to the climb to the finish. I was cheering and she was working, the look on her face said she was glad she was almost done! She ended up doing so well. She finished 15th in her age group and 47th out of all the women there! Great Job Nic! After the race she rested for a bit and then we headed back to the room where I got everything together for sunday, race day

Xterra Worlds Part 3

2011-10-31T19:13:00.000-07:00

Sunday morning I got up at 6am and ate, the race started at 9am. I had all my race gear set so I didn't have to do any last min running around. I tried not to get too nervous and told myself relax and have fun. I rode over to the venue to warm up it was only about a 15min ride. Once I got there I put my things in the transition area and headed down to the water. I had about 20 min till the start of the race, I swam for about 10-15min and got lined up. The cannon blasted and we were off. 630 people into the water at once. I got elbowed in the goggles a few times and took a couple accidental gulps of water. I made it to the first buoy thinking that was fast, I'm flying, I felt pretty good. After making it around the next buoy and back to the beach I was feeling it. The second time around that first buoy didn't come up so quick, in fact it didn't feel like I was ever going to get to it. I did around the next and back to shore. In the transition zone I grabbed my bike and I was off. The game plan was to conserve a little on the bike, not go out too hard and be smart. I had a lot of ground to make up and I felt like I was still trying to recover from that damn swim. It was tough getting by all the racers that were now on the course. It was slow getting around people that weren't as strong on the technical sections. I knew the leaders were pulling ahead every time I had to hit the brakes and wait a second to pass. By the end of the bike I was feeling pretty good but knew what I was in for during the run. I started off hoping my legs would loosen up a little and I'd pick up the pace. I felt like I had been running for about 10min uphill when I saw the first mile marker. I couldn't believe it, this was going to take forever. I continued and the terrain rolled, I picked up the pace where I could and ran smart where it was steep (ran slow where it was steep). By the end I had come up with a 6:29 run pace that I was happy with considering it was at the end of a hot grueling race with so much ascending. I finished 35 over all which was a good jump from the 129th spot I got out of the water at. I finish just 5min back from Lance Armstrong ,he beat me out of the water by 5 min. and had just placed 4th at xterra nationals a month before. It just goes to show everyone really brings out the big guns for Worlds. After thinking about those things if felt pretty psyched to have had such a good kick off back into off-road triathlon. After the race Nicole and I got some halloween costumes ate and finished off the day with an xterra costume party. Yeee Haaaa!

Caspar Classic

2011-10-05T18:38:00.000-07:00

Over labor day weekend I made a trip up to the Mendocino coast to visit with Nicole and Brian and to soak in the fog. Nic and I went on a nice little ride together on Saturday in her neck of the woods and before I knew it, I had been talked into doing the Caspar Classic race in Fort Bragg the next day. We headed to Fort Bragg from Brian's house early in the morning and I was super sad that the coffee shops weren't open yet in Gualala or Pt Arena, but I made it to the site of the race with time to spare. Everyone who was helping to put on the race was super friendly and registering was a breeze. They even had free coffee and doughnuts at the reg table- yes! As I was changing I saw Amon walk by and excitedly said hello to him. On my short warm up before the race start I got a teaser of what the course was like- twisty, tacky, and super fun! The race in the coastal redwoods and the first section of the course was a fast, big ring gradual climb. I headed back to the start area and gathered with about 50 riders for the start. Nicole and I were racing the long course as well as Gabe's girlfriend Krista, but we couldn't find her at the start. In the mix for the long course was Amon and Brian too, though Brian would be pacing Nicole during the race.
The start was hard and fast as everyone was trying to get to the front for the singletrack. I held a decent pace and tried to go hard but not blow myself up. From the start I could Brian encouraging Nic behind me and I made it my goal to try to stay ahead of them if I could. After the big-ring section at the start, the trail opens up to a steep fire-road climb and I could feel my legs burning. I got passed by a couple riders and crept past a couple myself. After that the course weaves through some narrow woods, climbs again, then shoots down a fast, sometimes steep descent complete with berms and a log drop! The trails out here are amazing! I kept it steady through the technical sections and then grinded up the dirt road climb to the start/ finish. At one point on the climb I looked back and saw Nic and B, so I knew I had to keep working. I shot some Gus and my second lap went by much like the first. I ended the race just a little ahead of Nic and finished with an exhausted smile. I was super impressed by the course and it was fun to race against Nicole. She has gotten so strong and fit this year, that girl has talent!
After the race we were treated to an awesome potluck with pasta salads and hot dogs. These Mendo people know how to do it right! They finished off an awesome day with beautiful homemade trophies. They were amazing works of art and mine is proudly occupying a shelf in my living-room. After the awards, we were entertained with a Huffy-toss. We took turns throwing an old pink steel huffy bike as far as we could toss it. My toss was pretty pitiful, but it was super fun to see how far other people launched it. Huge thanks to the race promoters for a great race, I hope to be back next year.

Ukiah Triathalon

2011-09-20T21:55:00.000-07:00

Nicole, Andrew and I went and raced a triathlon on Sunday the 11th of September. Andrew had decided to race and Nicole and I decided last min to join him. The race was in Ukiah so only a little more an hour and a half away from home. Nicole and I got ready the day before. She rocked the Marin cross bike with some road tires and I built up my new cxr carbon fiber 29er hardtail and threw on some nano raptors. Sure that it was going to be a pretty small race with not many people there we didn't get too nervous. After the alarm didn't go off and we were late waking up at 4:30am and we were late picking Andrew up we raced over to ukiah making a personal best from gualala to ukiah in an hour and 6 min. Nicole and Andrew stepped out of the car a bit car sick and we headed to registration. While registering we realized it was going to be a bigger race than we thought. There were a little more than 400 participants there. Most people there had time trial bikes and lots had aero helmets. I saw a few solid disc carbon fiber aero wheels there as well. Andrew was the only one in our group with a straight up tri bike so he looked like he fit in. Looking at the tri bikes and then looking back at my mountain bike I felt a little under prepared. Nicole was a bit nervous because this was her first swim, bike ,run triathlon ever. She has race a tri before but there was a kayak leg and not a swim leg. We got to the bike to run transition zone and prepared our things. We rode over to the swim to bike transition area which ended up being a pretty good warm up and got all set up. The morning was kind of cool and I saw people shivering all over the place in the water waiting for the gun to go off. I saw Nic just before the race started and we wish each other good luck. Same with Andrew, I said stay out of my way or I'll kill you. Just kidding I said good luck to him as well.

The race started and we were off. It was a half mile swim into a 21.7 mile ride. The swim was over pretty quick and then the ride was on. It was an out and back so I saw Andrew and Nicole on my way back, they looked like they were doing really well. Nicole had gotten out of the water and layed it down on the ride. She used the ride as her opportunity to pass tons of people on the bike, great job Nic. I managed to not get passed by more than three people during the ride which was pretty sweet. Everyone who passed me made a comment about my bike with regular mountain bike tires, everything was positive. The last guy who passed me said I needed an aero helmet, which I thought was pretty funny and I told him that I needed and had forgotten my arm ferrings at home. Having built my bike up until late the night before I hadn't quite gotten my seat position right and now my ass and back were so tight. I got to the bike to run trans and got changed up quick and took off in a short strided super speedy shuffle. My back was so tight by then I couldn't open my stride up. I managed to pass two or three guys on the run and ended up in first for my age group and 5th over all which I was pretty happy about. I saw Andrew a little bit later coming in from the run with a strong finish line sprint. The dude was wearing sandles he had been training in for a barefoot half marathon. He ended up in 6th for his age group. Way to kill it Drew. I went over to the race course were it double back to look for Nicole. I only had to wait a second before I saw here charging the course in her vibrams. I was surprised see how fast she was moving and the rate she was picking people off. I cheered her on and assured her that the finish line was so close and to give it everything, she did and ended up killing it and placing 6th for her age group. Great job with your first triathlon Nic! Same to Andrew! We got bottles of wine and lots of fruit after the race and went home and did a two hour mountain bike ride. What a great way

to finish off an on road triathlon. That was the day that never ended.

Ps. Nicole's front tire blew out in the transition zone after the ride leg was over. The tire blew completely off the rim. Luckily no one was injured. And luckily I wasn't the one who put the tire on. I hate getting blamed. peace out and see you at the races!

Bidwell Bump

2011-09-20T10:03:00.000-07:00

In late August I suited up for Chico's hometown race, the Bidwell Bump. Held in Upper Bidwell Park, the Bump covers 14 miles of brutally rocky, challenging technical terrain up through the Canyon along Bidwell Creek. They've been holding a mountain bike race here in Chico since 1976 so 2011 marked the 35th anniversary of the event and a great group of locals did an amazing job of putting together a world-class event.
I rolled over to the start on sat morning and was surprised by how warm it already was at 9am. en Cruz as well as tons of local fast guys. There were a handful of ladies too and I was stoked to hear that there would be two other women competing in the long course. I did a nice warm up on the road and was excited to try a race on the Marin Rift Zone full suspension bike I've been borrowing. I'd never raced a full suspension and was curious if it would feel any different. The race started with a short road sprint and then funneled onto the lava rocks of North Rim trail. I kept a steady pace up North Rim, pushing myself but trying not to blow up. The Rift Zone felt swift and comfortable on the climb. It was nice to be able to stay seated and crank a harder gear. The year before I was on my hardtail and north rim almost rattled my teeth out.
I got to the top of the 4 mile climb with a good group still by me and headed down B Trail. I passed a rider and another rider passed me. I was stoked and excited to clear a section I usually walk! Then we crossed over the road, trudged through the creek which was still up to my hips, and then started the steep climb up 10 mile house road. It was warm on the climb and I kept a steady pace, but would have liked to pass a couple more people.
Once at the top I was psyched for the descent down Guardians. Guardian trail is my favorite trail in the park and it felt flowy and fast. On Bloody Pin I was passed by one rider, but felt strong and confident. Once I got onto SouthRim, I rode that section faster than I ever had before. The Rift Zone was killing it! The hike a bike up tennis ball hill hurt, but before I knew it I was at the bottom of the park and big-ringing the road section back to the start. I finished the race at 1:44, a few minutes faster than last year on a longer course, and first for the ladies. It felt good to put out a hard effort and I was happy with my fitness considering my accident earlier in the year had me out of commission for so long.
Later in the afternoon we finished the day with a Super D race down Guardians trail. It was extremely hot at the start of the race (like 100 degrees!) and I was feeling faded from the XC. I held it together well though, and only got passed by two people. Sadly I was the only lady to race the SuperD, so I won the All Mountain, but I was happy with my time (31 mins). I definitely rode some sections of the trail faster than I thought was possible.
At the end of the day, it was an awesome event and I'm super stoked on my custom trophy made by Lowell. It now has a special case on top of my bookshelf in the living room and has gotten lots of compliments. Thanks again to the race organizers for a great event!

SONOMAS

2011-08-31T18:09:00.000-07:00

The day started off foggy and dank down at the warm springs rec. area. Everyone seemed excited for the event to start. The gun went off as planned at 8 am and we headed up the pavement and over the bridge. I didn't get a warm up in at all which definitely hurt me in the beginning. The pace was blistering. I watched the pro field ride off as my legs packed up and decided not to do their job. The turn off the pavement climbed us to our first dirt decent, steep and loose should be the lake sonoma motto. We crossed a small creek and kept climbing. It wasn't until about 1/3 of the way through the race and a few recovery descents that my legs started to feel ok. I was psyched to see my girl friend nicole out there at the feed station with a bottle, I didn't know it at the time but it was a haul and a half to get to any of those spots. So thanks nic and thank you to everyone out there supporting! I slowly began to start to see people in front of me. Reeling people in was a slow and tedious task, everyone was super fit and fast for this event. We climbed and climbed and the day heated up. It never got quite as hot as I had thought it would, mainly thanks to the idea of the counter clockwise loop it kept us in the shade as long as possible. Great idea guys! I had never ridden the course counter clock wise before and I thought it was great. By the time we had gotten back to the finish line the fog was gone and the sun was blazing. I ended up in 5th which I was happy about. I went right over to my car and threw on my running shorts and shoes and knock out my 10k training run as I am training for an xterra race in mid october. Psyched to be done the run I hosed off changed up and got some delicious food from our friends @ fork catering. I really enjoyed this event, the people over at bike monkey rock. They have put on such awesome events this whole year and have also offered prize money for the top places which I think really helps the sport as well. Keep it up guys I think as well as everyone else (I'm sure) thinks your doing an amazing job with the events. Thanks.- Brian

12 Hours of Humboldt- 4 Woman Team

2011-08-22T10:58:00.000-07:00

A dear friend and riding buddy of mine from Humboldt threw out the idea to do a 12 hour race in Humboldt a few months ago and I casually consented without giving much thought to the kind of shape I might be in or the difficulty of the course. But, Rosada stuck to her guns and kept the motivation going for months. Originally we were thinking of doing a 3-person team (Rosada, me, and Amy- another friend and rider from Humboldt). But, when I mentioned the event to my friend Stacy who I raced with on the Cal Cycling team, she was super interested and we decided to do a 4-woman team. Stacy and I drove up to Arcata from Redway on Saturday morning and registered ourselves while Amy and Rosada started the race and did the first 4 laps. Ro and Amy had an awesome start and were pulling lap times of right around an hour. Our plan was for Stacy and I to do the next 4 laps, alternating back and forth, then rotating Amy and Ro back in for the last set. Our hope was to complete 12 laps total in 12 hours, or about 3 laps per person.
The weather was perfect up there for a race in July. The temps hovered right around the upper 70s and there was a nice coastal breeze. The morning fog burned off by noon and it was sunny, but not too hot. On my first lap out I was struck by how difficult the course was. You start out pretty much right away with a steepish climb and then head into a beautiful Return on the Jedi-esque redwood forest. The trails were all fast-rolling and steadily climbed up. There was a section of newly cut trail that was kind of bumpy, but mostly the course was fast and steep. Over 8 miles, there is about 1300 ft of climbing per lap and some fast, loose fire-road descents. On my first lap, I focused on warming up and getting a feel for the best lines. I came through the start/ finish in under an hour and handed off the baton to Stacy. Stacy set out for a first quick lap. As an ex-pro roadie, she is always in amazing shape and an incredible athlete. She came through the start/finish in under 50 minutes and I was off again to try to keep her pace. My second lap went a little bit smoother than the first now that I knew the course and what to expect. Back at the start/finish it was a lot of fun to catch up with Amy and Ro and cheer and support eachother. It was also fantastic to have Ethan as our awesome pit crew and he helped make sure our bikes were running smooth. After Stacy and I did our 4 lap set, Ro and Amy headed out for 2 more, and then I was back on the trail. I got the chance to test-ride a 29er that some folks from Adventure's Edge had for my 3rd lap. It was super neat to ride on the bigger wheels and I was surprised by how quick it was on the descents. I'd definitely like to own one at some point. Then Stacy headed out for her 3rd lap and as she left we guestimated that we would have the opportunity to do one more lap if she kept her pace. We decided it would be fun to do the last (13th) lap together, so as she came through I hopped back on my bike to join her for the last parade lap as the day winded up. It was a ton of fun to be out on the course together and we were able to ignore all the pain and soreness from being in the saddle all day. We were keeping a strong pace until my chain jammed on a short climb and I was unable to shift it out of the big ring. I don't what exactly happened, but we pushed and pulled on the front derailleur for at least 5 minutes and it wouldn't budge. A couple of riders went by and we asked for help, but no one knew what to do. I had all but given up and told Stacy to finish it without me when she man-handled the chain into the middle cog with all her might. Amazingly it worked and we were able to power our way back the start/finish with a few minutes to spare before the cut-off time. Phew! All in all, it was an awesome day on the bike and a fun event with friends. We were all impressed with our consistency in lap times and stoked to exceed our goal. Lap times below:

SOHUM WOMEN	4-RIDER amy - Women Expert/Pro	1	01:02:43.30
SOHUM WOMEN	4-RIDER ro - Women Expert/Pro	2	00:59:14.68
SOHUM WOMEN	4-RIDER amy- Women Expert/Pro	3	01:02:28.85
SOHUM WOMEN	4-RIDER ro - Women Expert/Pro	4	00:56:58.49
SOHUM WOMEN	4-RIDER emma - Women Expert/Pro	5	00:49:14.72
SOHUM WOMEN	4-RIDER stacy- Women Expert/Pro	6	00:48:40.93
SOHUM WOMEN	4-RIDER emma- Women Expert/Pro	7	00:49:41.87
SOHUM WOMEN	4-RIDER stacy- Women Expert/Pro	8	00:48:39.01
SOHUM WOMEN	4-RIDER amy- Women Expert/Pro	9	01:00:44.88
SOHUM WOMEN	4-RIDER ro- Women Expert/Pro	10	00:56:34.32
SOHUM WOMEN	4-RIDER emma- Women Expert/Pro	11	00:48:47.86
SOHUM WOMEN	4-RIDER stacy- Women Expert/Pro	12	00:50:38.90
SOHUM WOMEN	4-RIDER emma- Women Expert/Pro	13	00:59:21.20

Women's Skills Clinic Ride

2011-08-15T10:16:00.000-07:00

This summer I taught another series of mountain skills clinics for women in Chico. Last year's clinics were a great success and I had requests from people to do it again so I threw up a poster at the shop with some dates and the slots started to fill up. The July clinic this year was a particularly awesome one. The clinic was pretty much full with 9 participants and we got lucky with unusually mild temperatures. Sandy Rosas joined us as another ride leader and shared her knowledge and encouragement. Everyone got together at the bike shop where I covered the basics of what to bring on a ride, what to wear, and how to set up your bike. Everyone got a chance to check their tire pressure and lube their chain before we cruised through Lower Park. In Lower Park we practiced track standing on an open section of trail and everyone picked up quick and easy. We then tackled the first climbing section of NorthRim trail and talked about line-choice and body-positioning for the ascent. I was super impressed by everyone's strength and determination. There were lots of encouraging cheers and helpful suggestions by other participants.
We then cruised along Middle Trail and tackled another technical up/down section. Everyone made it through comfortable and got a chance to practice getting their weight behind the back wheel. Further along Middle Trail we worked through the last technical section involving tree roots, a rock slab, and a small drop. This section tends to be the most intimidating one we practice in the clinic and the first couple ladies who rolled up on it pulled off to the side instead of doing the drop. But, as more women worked their way through it and rode it, others felt inspired and went back to try it again. Eventually everyone cleaned the section and the cheers of encouragement could be heard echoing throughout the park.
We then rolled further along middle trail and connected back to the road for one last group shot. As we cruised back along the road towards town, everyone seemed to be in a cheerful mood and shared tips and asked questions to each-other.
Teaching these clinics is always a wonderful experience for me and this summer's series of clinics was no different. Huge thank-yous to everyone who participated. I am always impressed by the level of skill and determination out there. Hope to see everyone again next summer.

PS- here is a note from Linda, one of our participants:

Elsie and I had a blast. We were truly inspired to make biking a part of our lives and explore more trails in lower and upper park as well as other areas. We learned about the tire pressure, the attack mode and changing your gears to accommodate the terrain and more ....and all and all we loved it. We are so appreciative that you took the time to hold this class.

Thanks Emma and Sandy

Annadel Recap

2011-07-20T12:14:00.000-07:00

Team Lost Coast had a strong showing at the Bike Monkey race held at Annadel State park. Annadel is one of the state parks on the chopping black this year and all profits from the race went to support efforts to keep it open. The course was awesome- technical singletrack, a good mix of climbs and descents, and rough rocks. Over 600 racers showed up for the mass-start in Santa Rosa and there was a great sense of camaraderie and fun out on the trails. I (Emma) had a strong start in the middle of the huge pack, but lost some ground after a flat tire on the first rocky descent. I slowly worked my way back up through the pack and was stoked to finish 3rd for open expert women in my first XC race since my injury. Brian and Amon battled hard in a thick field of pro men and Brian finished 6th with a fast time of 2'08. After the race was over, there was plenty of beer, music, and burritos to go around. Props to Bike Monkey for putting on another excellent event!

Boggs Team 8hour Race

2011-07-14T23:53:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend of June 18th I decided to do a team 8 hour mountain bike race up at Boggs Demonstration Forest outside of Cobb, CA. I'd been wanting to do an endurance event this summer and heard nothing but good things about the course, so I committed myself to do it and convinced my friend Jared Hall from Chico to do it with me. Jared is an awesome rider- strong and fit with mad skills. Jared has been out of the racing scene for the past few years, but has been riding really well this year and racing some XC and DH events. I was stoked to have a partner, but shocked when I found out my trusty hardtail bike had a crack on the frame earlier in the week. Mark at Marin Bikes rush shipped me a shiny new frame (Nail Trail Hydro) and I spent Thurs evening at Jared's house pulling parts from the old frame to swap to the new one. Almost everything transferred over without any issues and I was ready to race!
Jared, Ethan and I headed to Boggs early Sat morning and arrived with plenty of time to register team "GetSome" for the co-ed 8hour race. Jared was feeling a little bit tired from a long week of work in Sacramento, so I volunteered to start the race and do the extra hot-lap for our team. I lined up with the big group of racers and whizzed up the first dirt road climb keeping a steady pace. The group then funneled onto a super fun and fast section of singletrack back toward the start/ finish area. I then set out for my first lap on the 9 mile course that meandered through pine and cedar forests. The course was a blast with relatively few climbs and almost all singletrack. My favorite part was the Jedi-like descent back to start finish where you could carry tons of speed! I finished my first lap and Jared hopped on course, looking fired up and ready to go! I had just enough time to sit in my camp chair, refill my bottle, and check in with Ethan before warming up to go out again for my second lap. I kept a fast pace on the second lap, catching and passing lots of riders. I was having some shifting issues with the bike (put a new chain on during the bike swap, not a new cassette too) so I found myself pushing a harder gear on the climbs than I normally would to avoid the skipping. I finished the second lap and Jared charged off for his 2nd with lots of cheering. During my break I peeked at the results and saw that we were racing against 3 other co-ed teams and doing pretty well. All the other teams had sent of their male rider for the first lap, so we were a little bit behind, but gaining time quickly with our faster laps. I ate a quick turkey sandwich and then headed out for lap 3. I was feeling good and pacing one of the pro women solo-riders when I launched off a root and pinch-flatted my rear tire, darn! I pulled my bike off the trail and got out my levers, a new tube, and CO2. I shot the CO2 in the tire and was devastated when my tire was instantly flat again. Figures my spare tube would have a hole in it :(. I then sat on the side of the trail calling to see if other riders had a tube of CO2 they'd spare me. A few minutes later a guy gave me a CO2, but didn't have a tube. Another few riders passed before I finally got tossed a tube and finished the flat-change. I hopped back on the bike and did my best to ride strong, hoping to make up for the time lost. I got through the start/finish about 15 mins slower than my previous lap. I cheered for Jared to make up for it in his lap and got some rest before the final hurrah. I was feeling pretty spent after the flat tire and my butt was seriously sore! I wondered if I would be able to finish strong as I headed out for my 4th and final lap. Once I was on the trail I started feeling better and found myself passing riders and getting into the flow of the trails. I came through the start finish with a lap time of 55 mins, only 2mins off my fastest lap time, sweet! Jared tore off for his final lap looking strong and Ethan and I waited at the finish to see if he would time for one last lap. Jared pulled off a 46min lap, but we would still be short on time to do a 9th. We packed up the car and headed into Middleton for some much needed pizza and beer before the drive back to Chico. Later that week they posted the official results and we saw that team "GetSome" finished the race in 2nd place for the co-ed category, pretty good for doing it on a whim. Hopefully next year we will do the race again with a strategy in mind, and plenty of rest the night before. Cheers!

Nevada City Epic 50-Miler

2011-05-18T13:17:00.001-07:00

Last week I got a casual message on Facebook from a friend inviting me and several others to join him for a 50 mile mountain bike ride outside of Nevada City. I naively replied that sure, I'd love to join him for an epic, but didn't know how truly epic the ride would actually be. Hyland is an endurance rider who splits his time between Chico and Nevada City and was an excellent ride leader. I met up with him and two friends- Stosh and Erin to start an all-day adventure on Friday in Nevada City. We rolled out from town on some sweet techy singletrack and then climbed along the flumes to scenic "Taxi Cab" trail over rocky grasslands that reminded me of Chico. We connected to the Pioneer Trail which follows hwy 20 into the Sierras. We were on the steady climb up Pioneer Trails for about 12 miles. Stosh and Erin eventually peeled off as they were doing the same ride as us the next day as a supported benefit ride. From the top of Pioneer, we flew down a super steep dirt road descent to Washington. Washington is a tiny town by the Yuba river with about 250 people, a store, trailer park, and a bar. We filled up our packs with water there and stuffed our jerseys with granola bars and snacks. At this point we were only 25 miles into the ride, but had already been out for 3.5 hours. I was nervous and excited about the rest of the ride.
We rolled from Washington the the start of the South Yuba Trail- 17 miles of single-track along the river. I was blown away by how beautiful the views of the river were and how steep the trail was! The South Yuba Trail was one punchy climb after another! It seemed like we were working super hard, but barely moving! Hyland was encouraging and patient as I worked through my exhaustion and fought off the gnats that seemed to want to crawl inside my nostrils and eyelids. About 1/2 of the way (and 2 hours) into the South Yuba trail we stopped for a snack break and washed the poison oak off our legs and arms. I forced myself to eat some snacks and inhaled a package of chomps and a mint chocolate GU. Re-fueling brought me back to life and I was able to granny gear it up the impossibly steep climbs with switchbacks that led us to the end of South Yuba. After a quick road descent, we made it to the pavement climb of death- 18 of 20% grade that just kept going. We were about 42 miles and 7hours into the ride and the climb was pretty torturous. I went at a mellow pace and tried to fight off the leg cramps that seemed to be creeping up on me. At the top of the climb we stopped at a christian camp to re-fill water. My body was shaking from the exertion. I ate another GU and dropped a Gu brew tablet in my bottle. We kept a steady pace to the next section of singletrack, a super fun swoopy trail that led us through the woods and back to Nevada City. When we rolled up to my car it was 8:20pm and we'd been out for 9hours, EPIC! I quickly changed, warmed up in the car and headed to the co-op in Grass Valley where I devoured a grass fed beef burrito and downed a cup of coffee to survive the drive back to Chico. I've done some pretty epic rides before (Creampuff 100, training rides with Brian in Gualala, etc.) but this one took the cake. It was amazing- challenging, scenic, technical, steep, and almost all single-track! I will definitely be back to ride more in this area. Thanks again to Hyland for his excellent navigation and patience. Check out the ride profile from his Garmin here: Pioneer-South Yuba Ride
-Emma

How about an Epic Ride to get back in shape!?

2011-05-18T10:48:00.000-07:00

During a training ride in February I got in a nasty crash and ended up with a broken wrist on the right, a sprained wrist on the left, and a cracked rib. The crash was sudden and unexpected and the aftermath was pretty miserable. Having both of my hands damaged left me unable to do everyday tasks such as cleaning dishes and preparing meals, using tools at work, (of course) riding a bike. Leading up to the crash, I felt like I was in pretty good shape- riding frequently, gaining confidence on the technical trails in Chico, and getting out on long road rides on my new bike. The crash was a serious set-back and was hard to not feel discouraged and stir-crazy.
Once my rib started to heal and I was outfitted with a cast and brace, I started riding the trainer at home (no handed, to keep weight off my hands) and watched hours of downhill racing videos for inspiration. I pulled out my running shoes and began walking, then jogging, then running to feel the fresh air on my face and the springtime sun. Those who know me well know how much I HATE running, but after a while it was sort of enjoyable to jog through the park and smile at all the people staring at my purple cast :). Six long weeks later, the cast was removed and I was anxious to ride again. The first few bike rides were pretty pitiful- my hands were feeble from weeks of now using them and tender to the touch. My legs felt sluggish and heavy and my rib would ache of the terrain was rough at all. I did many mountain bike rides on the pavement and tried my best to be patient.
Now it's May and my body is finally feeling better. To get some miles back in the legs, I made a last minute decision to ride the Tour of the Unknown Coast century ride in Humboldt over mother's day weekend. Ethan and I were planning on doing the ride together but a nasty crash left him with a broken arm a couple weeks ag0 (I know, the tragic irony!) so without my ride buddy, I wasn't sure if I wanted to go it alone. But, when I heard that Sandy Rosas from Chico was doing the ride for the first time, I jumped on the opportunity to do it with her. Sandy generously let us crash at her hotel room in Fortuna the night before but when we woke up at 5:30am to get ready for the 7am start, it felt like I'd barely closed my eyes. There was a big starting group in Ferndale and the morning temps weren't too chilly. Sandy and I decided we would ride mellow and pace ourselves for what would be a long day and hope to get in a group for the flat sections with some strong riders we could draft. The first few rollers out of Ferndale led us towards 101 and then onto the Avenue of the Giants. Riding through the Avenue I was reminded of how incredible and breathtaking the Redwoods trees are. I smiled and breathed in their musk as the fog rose off the Eel River. We stoped at the first rest stop off the Ave and re-filled bottles and stocked up on GUs. We then headed towards Panther Gap along the rough pot-hole filled roads. Sandy and I agreed to go our own pace on the hills and we cruised up the first big climb of the day. I was having some shifting issues but was able to get up and over the climb and still feel fresh. Sandy caught up to me on the descent and was all smiles, showing to signs of fatigue. She ripped down the descent into Honeydew like a fearless falcon while I was much slower and hesitant. We headed out with a good group to the lunch rest stop where an awesome mechanic from Revolution helped fix my shifting and Sandy got a massage. Relaxed and re-fueled, we made our way across the undulating rollers to Petrolia, then along the coast to the base of "The Wall". The TUC is known as California's Toughest Century and "The Wall" and the endless hills after it, are a big part of how it earned that label. The Wall shoots straight up (20% grade) from the coast and is followed by a serious of super steep hills for the last 20 miles of a very hard ride. Sandy was blown away by the steepness of the wall and we agreed to tackle it at our own pace and meet at the end. I chugged up it and just kept going, enjoying the incredible views and camaraderie of the other riders grinding upward. Some of the roads heading back to Ferndale were pretty nasty- potholes, drops, and gravel patches. After over 9,000 feet of climbing, I rolled back into the fairgrounds at 8 hrs 30 mins and my hands were aching, but I couldn't help but smile. Sandy rolled in not long after and we all headed to the brewery for some hard-earned onion rings. They were heavenly :)
The next day I celebrated mothers day and my little brother's 13th birthday with my family. I was super excited to give both of my little brothers mountain bikes and riding gear as gifts. They are awesome kids- straight A students, super kind, and very helpful. They've needed bikes for a while and were surprised and stoked. It felt good to be able to share my passion with them and I look forward to taking them on rides, teaching them skills, and showing them all the local trails. -E

Brian's Sea Otter/ Lake Sonoma Report

2011-05-16T11:11:00.000-07:00

Well sea otter has come and gone. It was the typical sea otter sufferfest. The start was a massive 120 person blast off the line, half track lap into a narrow 4 turn schikane and onto the single track. 2 crashes later while waiting to be shoe horned through the first turns with the other half of the field I watched the leaders take off onto the singe track and disapear out of sight. It's a shame that they don't use the start of the old course because the field was able to be wittled down a little more gradually and there is a little more of a chance to duke it out. Oh well that's the way it goes. The Marin cxr 29er was definitely the right weapon for the job along with the super fast rolling WTB nano raptors. The two of them together totally smoothed out the choppy sections of the course. To my dismay it was another sea otter result that I'll be hiding. What else can I say about sea otter. Huge venue and everyone I came in contact with was super helpful and even though super busy, made time if asked. It was also great to spend some time with all of the Team Lost Coast crew and to catch up with all of our awesome sponsors.

The next weekend was a bit smaller of a venue, it was lake sonoma #2. It is kind my back yard course, if my back yard was 40 windy miles long. It is a fun punchy course without too many sections to sit up and drink, which is why I rocked my camelback race-bak. This first lap was lead by Michael Hosey of the Marin factory team and it was fast and fun. Then into the second lap I was able to put in a good effort and make some time on Hosey and hold it. I had a great race with strong legs. I hope the rest of the season feels as good as a lake sonoma! Nicole Garcia also from team lost coast brewery/Marin raced lake sonoma and crushed 4 whole laps of that rough course. Lost coast brewery/ marin had a great day we both finished first in our categories and are ready for the next event! Grass hopper geysers (road) is the next mission sat april 30th, check it out!

The 8 hrs of boggs foggy blogg.

2011-04-08T14:48:00.000-07:00

My first taste of Boggs was a 5 or so mile loop of fire road and after 20 laps 7hrs and 7 minutes of being on that hamster wheel I was definitely in a bit of a fog. I had never been to boggs and it wasn't quite the promised land I had been expecting due to the last min. change of course. Everyone seemed to be a bit bummed out but no on let it ruin their day. I was stoked because I was 100% ready. There was nothing that could have gone better that day. Nicole and I showed up for the race the evening before after getting some last minute grocery shopping done in santa rosa. I knew that I would be to the race on time for once. It was cold first thing in the morning when nic and I woke up. Nicole got right to work making up sandwiches and filling my camelbak and water bottles while I got my number plate and had a little breakfast. We went over the feed zone strategy and I then got to the start line. It was extremely hard to tell who was racing what category so you didn't really know who to keep your eye on but after a few hrs it didn't seem to matter as much and I just had my eye on the trail. Lap after lap I came around to the feed zone where nicole was ready with food, water, gu, gu electolyte mix , a fresh pair of smith sunglasses a new full camelbak anything I needed it was amazing! I've heard that a pit crew can make or break a race and I found out just how true that was. I never would have been able to have such a great race if it weren't for my pit crew. Nicole killed it every lap. This was my first endurace solo event and it couldn't have gone any better. Nicole and I took the win. It was no easy win, the field was strong and the course was a muddy mess but thanks to my perfectly working bike (MARIN 5.9) my pit crew and some rested legs, the day couldn't have gone any better! I already have my trip back up to boggs planned out to find this so called "amazing single track" everyone keeps telling me about :)

2011 Team Lost Coast training camp in Gualala

2011-03-06T10:44:00.000-08:00

Training camp day numero uno! Well day uno was cut short real quick due to a little crash at the beginning of the ride. Emma and Nicole locked bars on a short section of pavement and crashed hard and fast. Sorry emma we wish you a speedy recovery. You know those moments in time you wish you could take a do- over; that was one of them. Poor emma had to spend the next few hrs after the crash icing, hanging out in the doctors getting x rays and basically learning how to do everyday normal activities with no hands. End result was a broken wrist on the right, bad sprain on the left and a bruised rib. The rest of the day was hanging and waiting for the rest of the team to arrive. On the up side Matt made it safe and sound from his 7 hr drive from Oregon fri night and Mo made it first thing sat morning (an awesome surprise!). After a good pancake breakfast we decided to split up into two groups for Saturday's ride. One group included Nicole Garcia and Maureen Kunz and the other group include Matt Wittler, Ethan Black (which still sounds like a secret agent or a spy's name to me) and me- Brian Astell. Matt, Ethan and I decided to test our climbing legs out and climbed catapillar hill a 50 min 16-23% grade grind. At the top we grabbed some gu water and hit the decent we like to call time trial. At the bottom we made a right and tried to catch up with Nic and Mo. Little did we know we were too late. These ladies had only one thing on their mind... D- day! They were headed up the climb and there was no way we'd be able to make up the time. By the time we climbed up to the bottom of fish rock ( the start of our actual climb) Nic and Mo were just getting to the top of the hill. We climbed for about a half hour and got a small break before we had to start climbing again. Nic and Mo were for sure finished with one of the best descents around with smiles from ear to ear. We made it to the top, took in the beautiful ocean view and headed down D-day. Its always a blast giving people a taste of the local trails and you can always count on this one to seal the deal. By this time Nic and Mo had shot gunned it back to the casa to meet up with Emma to take a stroll on the beach. Matt, Ethan and I rode to the bottom of one more climb for one more good decent and headed back to the house. It ended up being a great ride on a beautiful sunny day. We finished the day off with some delicious homemade pizza, lost coast beer, some of nor cals finest and some good laughs. Amon even stopped over after work. It was a celebration, the team was all finally together for the first time in a while. What a way to kick off the weekend!
The following day, Ethan and Emma took off after breakfast to drive back to Chico and take Emma to the orthopedic specialist to get her wrists checked out. The rest of the team- Mo, Amon, Nic, Brian, and Matt headed out for an awesome ride in the Gualala woods, exploring the network of singletrack and fireroads that expands out from Brian's house. It was another beautiful, surprisingly sunny and warm February day and everyone had a great time riding together, catching up, and getting amped for the coming season. Stay tuned for more blog posts and and race reports as we kick off another awesome year of racing, riding, and adventures with Team LCB!

24 hours in the Old Pueblo

2011-02-22T14:59:00.000-08:00

There have been many things over the years that I have defined as EPIC. 6 hour mtb rides out in the middle of nowhere, EPIC; riding in Downieville EPIC; pulling a 30 mph manual down single track EPIC. This weekend the term EPIC took on a new form. Not to put down its previous connotation for the aforementioned definition is still valid, however this weekend proved to need a new definition of the word that is “gnarlier” than just plain Epic.

The idea behind competing in the 24 hours in the Old Pueblo started a few years ago with my best friend Luke, who suggested it would be a really “Fun” early season race. This year, after much coercion, I gave in, and put the 24 not only on the calendar, but in my list of 3 goals for the season a top 10 would be ideal I thought. It’s a long boring story how things came to be; I’ll just

say that planning this event proved to be a flawless nightmare, involving partner changes, and our travel friend losing his partner twice, and finding a new one on craigslist.

We started our trip at 4 in the afternoon last wed, leaving a snowy Ashland for a “sunny” Arizona. We (Seth, Trevor, and I) arrived at 24 hour town 23 hours later, after driving through the night, taking turns sleeping in the fold down bed in the back of the van. After this EPIC drive and running on 2 hours of sleep, we set out to pre ride the course.

Each lap consisted of 16.1 miles of single/double track that was absolutely lined with cactus waiting to jump out and bite you upon blowing a corner. There were several types of cactus which we named, pancake, chode, purple, and white death. The last two were the scariest because they not only had thorns, but the smaller parts would break off the main part of the devilish plant and remain stuck in your leg, tire, hand, face, arm, or whatever it could get it’s

thorns lodged in. Not exactly something I would prefer to give a bear hug to, though I’m certain someone gave a cactus one this weekend.

After much anticipation, finally, it was race day. The weather looked good, just a little breezy. Everyone lined up at 11:40, and at 12 the gun went off. I was the first to go, and had a decent run for the lemans start. I grabbed my bike somewhere around 60^th place, and started riding. The first lap went by fast, an hour and 11 minutes fast, not ground breaking, but sustainable. The wind had really picked up at this point. I’m guessing we had 50 mph sustained winds. I returned to camp to find our easy up about to blow over, and everything disheveled. I dropped the leading edge of the easy up to create downward pressure on the canopy, yelled I love fluid dynamics! and hopped in the van

Lap 2 came quicker than expected, and brought with it more wind, but was otherwise uneventful, until Luke called from Washington to say that we were in 9^th place out of 87. (STOKED)

I hopped out of the van for lap 3 and noticed that the temperature, which had been moderate, had dropped significantly, and there were rain clouds rapidly approaching. Thinking to myself “this is Arizona, it doesn’t rain here” I grabbed a windbreaker, and headed for the transition area. I’ll let you in on a little secret, it does rain in Arizona, in fact, it not only rains, it storms, it storms EPICLY. I returned to the van an hour and twenty minutes later soaked, and freezing. My goals between laps consisted of eating as much as possible, lube my chain, fill a bottle, check tire pressure, and to move as little as possible. These simple tasks became harder to accomplish as night fell, temperatures

dropped, and the rain continued.

As the night wore on laps began to blur, sleep deprivation set in, and we kept moving up on the leader board. The crew running the 24 had a program going that was absolutely mind blowing. They had set up a live leader board online, that updated every few minutes. Racers could go back to their camp, eat a sandwich, and check race times, time gaps between teams, and detailed lap splits. This information proved to be very motivating as we kept passing teams, one by one.

10:00 the next morning we were sitting in 6 th place, with a three minute gap to 5^th. I met my teammate in the transition area and told him I was taking a hot lap. The course had turned into a pump track hard surface through the night with black marks from racers tires running down the middle. My tires felt fast, as I rolled into the transition area for the last time. I passed the baton to Seth at 11:18 and told him to rail it. That “hot lap” had put us in fifth place by 3 minutes. I was sure we had 5^th sealed. After an hour and twenty three minutes Seth rolled in, tired and weary, he told me team Easy, and Cheesy, (6^th place team) had passed him, and we had finished in 6^th.

Between the two of us, we had completed the 16.1 mile course a total of 18 times in 24 hours and 40 minutes. This sums to a total of 292 miles through the desert without a single flat, mechanical, or crash.

24 hours in the Old Pueblo is an event that every competitive cyclist should add to their bucket list of events, for every aspect of the event deserves the term EPIC. From the EPIC winds, and EPIC rain, to the EPIC volunteers, single track, and positive attitudes of nearly everyone racing; this event is the very definition of EPIC.

Februrary Rides/Races in Chico

2011-02-10T12:38:00.000-08:00

This past weekend was full of awesome bike riding in Chico. We've been having an epically nice February- sunny, green, and warm the past couple of weeks. With the rain taking a vacation, Bidwell Park has been open and the trails are in great condition. The newly formed Chico Area Trail Advocates (CATS) has been holding trail work days and Guardian trail and B Trail have both been cleared of any fallen trees and hand-shoveled to help with drainage and increase flow. To celebrate, a few local riders organized a Super D event down B Trail and out Middle Trail to Bear Hole. The event was to be held on the same day as Paskenta, an annual century ride in Chico. I went back and forth on which one to do, but ultimately decided ripping down some sweet single-track sounded like a more fun way to spend my 24th birthday. So, I sent off Matt and his friend Austin to do the century early Sunday morning, them cruised over to lower park to meet up with the other mountain bikers for the SuperD. It was fun to cheer for people as they took off down the trail and I was impressed with how smooth it all went. As the timer I was the last rider down on my hardtail and it was super fun to test my speed down Btrail in it's prime condition. I cleared a couple of sections I'd never ridden with the endorphins rushing and was stoked to find out I'd posted a pretty decent time, especially for being the only girl out there on a hardtail :). Afterwards, Corey, Ethan, and I continued on a ride up Greengate and down Guardian to round out an awesome birthday on the bike. When we rolled back into town, we met up with Matt and Austin who had both finished Paskenta with tired but happy smiles on their faces.

Super B Super D was ripper.
1: NOlsen 13:10
2: Lowell 13:39
3: K.Huge 14:03
4: C.Ward 14:06
......5: Kalbert 14:14 CRASH
6: Bissell 14:36 DRUNK?
7: B.J. 14:44
8: Hall 15:21
9: Crosley 15:43
10: Slattery 15:46
11: Reber 16:04
12: KevSev 16:12
13: Warner 16:54 FLAT
14: Dan 17:13
15: Emma 17:51 Hardtail B-Day crusher status!
16: Tim H 17:53
17: Black 21:31 FLAT

Emma honored at National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA) Awards Dinner

2011-01-27T16:16:00.001-08:00

Team Lost Coast Brewery rider Emma Worldpeace was among 17 cyclists recently honored at a ceremony attended by many of the nation’s cycling industry leaders at the new Clif Bar and Co. headquarters in Emeryville, California on Saturday, January 8th.

The National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA) presented awards to 17 of the individuals that the Association considers to be the most outstanding athletes, most dedicated coaches, and most passionate volunteers to have supported the high school mountain biking revolution.

Matt Fritzinger, executive director of NICA, said,“Most of the time you don’t hear about these people. Normally it’s me being quoted in the press releases and giving interviews on behalf of NICA, but the truth is most of the work is done by a large network of prodigiously talented volunteers, and we consider it important that at least some of these individuals get some public recognition. They are as much in the fabric of NICA as anybody is. What’s more, they are key contacts for mountain biking development in the areas where they live.”

The award winners are as follows:

Specialized - Student Athlete Leadership Will Curtis, San Anselmo, CA
Specialized - Student Athlete Leadership Sofia Hamilton, San Anselmo,CA
Trek - All Star Athlete Zach Valdez, Hemet, CA
Trek - All Star Athlete Lindsay Dye, Broomfield , CO
Fort Lewis College - Distinguished Alumni Emma Worldpeace, Berkeley, CA
SRAM - Coach of the Year Ben Boyer, Boulder, CO
SRAM - Coach of the Year Lee Bird, Pasadena, CA
SRAM - Coach of the Year Paul Chourre, Fairfax, CA
Clif Bar and Co. - Volunteer Service Mark Kintz, Monterey, CA
Clif Bar and Co. - Volunteer Service Donna Woods, Monterey, CA
Clif Bar and Co. - Volunteer Service Paul Goesling, Berkeley, CA
Shimano - Community Impact Austin McInerny, Berkeley, CA
Specialized - League Founder Quintin Reich, Newport Beach, CA
GU Energy - Innovator Francis Chapman, Berkeley, CA
QBP - Race Production Partner Keith DeFiebre, Monterey, CA
Primal Wear - Digital Media Albert Reinhardt, Albany, CA
Legacy Award Jim Easton, Van Nuys, CA

Emma spoke at the event, sharing the story of how she got involved in competive cycling through the Nor Cal High School Mountain Bike racing league when she was a junior at South Fork High School in Southern Humboldt County. Her speech is summarized here:

"I grew up in rural Southern Humboldt County and until 2003, had never participated in school sports. I was a self described theater nerd and straight- A student. That all changed when a friend and I heard about high school mountain biking on MTBR and decided to start our own team. We pieced together bikes, sent in paperwork, and drove ourselves to the races. My first season wasn’t very impressive in terms of results, but I immediately fell in love with the spirit of the league races- the smiles and cheering, the camaraderie with other riders, the gorgeous mountain scenery, and the thrilling rush of endorphins.

My senior year I took over as the team “coach” and president. I recruited riders, taught skills clinics, and led training rides. I lost ten pounds and had never felt stronger or healthier. That season I raced in the Varsity Girls category and was astonished to finish on the podium at every race. Due to my consistency, I finished the season as the overall leader. Winning the State Championship was the first time I would experience athletic success and it completely changed the way I thought about myself- I began to eat, sleep, and think like an athlete. My self confidence was boosted ten-fold.

At UC Berkeley, I quickly joined the cycling team and made it my mission to recruit more riders, especially women, to the mountain biking team. As Team Captain, I held beginner skills clinics, team training camps, and scheduled weekly rides. My love for the sport and my passion for cycling was a defining part of my experience at Berkeley and provided necessary release from the stress of being a student.

The crowning highlight of my collegiate cycling experience was the first time our team won the overall omnium in 2006, unseating Cal Poly San Luis Obispo from their near decade long reign. It was pure bliss to share that hard-earned moment with all my team mates and to know UC Berkeley would be forever etched on the trophy.

In 2007, I helped create a grassroots team to support up and coming riders with professional aspirations. With the generous support of Lost Coast Brewery and Marin Bikes, my team mates and I were able to attend races across the country. I raced competitively in the expert women’s category and was proud to cheer my team mates onto State Champion titles and podiums in Pro races.

Seven years after graduating from the high school mountain biking league, cycling is a defining part of who I am. I wake up every morning dreaming of my next ride, my living room is scattered with issues of Velonews and Bike magazine, the garage is full of bikes, the tan lines never fully fade, even in the middle of winter, and many of my closest friends, including my partner, know me through biking. I am so grateful to the league for lighting that spark in me, and to many of you in this room for individually supporting me over the years. I am currently living in Chico where my boyfriend and I are very passionate about starting a high school mountain biking team. For me, that would be the ultimate way to show my gratitude, to return to the league and cheer alongside the dedicated, caring, and self-less coaches who help to ensure that high school mountain bike racing can be a part of every kid’s life, even the self- described theater nerds.Thank you."

For more info on NICA, please visit http://www.nationalmtb.org/ and support the movement!

Pilarcitos CX Sucess!

2010-12-19T19:17:00.000-08:00

Recently, Team Lost Coast Riders Brian Astell, Amon Pease, and new member, Nicole Garcia had an excellent weekend of CX racing in the Bay Area. Here is their report:

Pilarcitos # 1 was a success. The morning was cold and dark but dry on the coast where Lost Coast Brewery/ Marin riders started out for the oakland venue. Nicole Garcia, Lost Coast’s newest team member, Amon Pease, former and now again team member, and me, Brian Astell headed down to Oak Town. As we got off the coast we were expecting the day to warm up and greet us with some sun, but we were sorely mistaken. Instead it got cloudier and wetter until we were getting rained on.

We were running a bit late and were just going to get to the venue a half hour before nicole’s first cross race ever. She was already nervous the night before having never practiced dismounting, mounting or going over barriers until 6pm that night and getting there with only a half hour to reg. get changed warmed up check out the course and get here number plate on wasn’t helping. We pulled up in the parking lot and all jumped out. Her pit crew was ready and within 5 min everything was taken care of. She hoped on my team hard tail mountain bike and on to the course. We all had mt. bikes that day. After getting around the course she lined up in the back of the womens B’s took a few deep breaths and the gun went off. The A women took off 30 seconds in front of the b’s and it was on. She fought her way through the b’s and to our suprise started picking off the A’s. I warmed up along with amon and cheered her on. I had my mnt vision 5.9 to warm up on and had decided to rock the team hardtail just as long as I could have a chance to grab it when nic had finished killing on it. Nic finished not sure how she had done yet because there were so many girls on the course and I grabbed the bike had her throw on my number and went straight to the start line. Amon was already there and the fun began. Slicing through the rain and mud we went lap after lap. finally the lap cards came out and we had 4 to go I was sitting in 4th and had to be smart. on the last lap I poured the rest of what I had out and took it in hard for a 3rd. Amon who hadn’t raced in well over a year and decide a cross race of all races was the way to make a come back rolled though in 17th! At the end of the race nicole gave me the good news. She pulled off a second place and had beaten more than half of the women’s A field!

So the trip was a super success 2 podium finishes a super killer first race back and a ton of fun all before 3 o’clock on a saturday afternoon.

Seriously, Nicole Garcia of Team Lost Coast Brewery/ Marin came in second in her first cross race, despite starting from the back and being on a mountain bike. This is her first race season ever and she hasn’t even ridden a bike period, up until a year and a half ago! WTF! Keep your eyes peeled for this new talent hopefully we’ll be seeing her up on the podium a few more times before the seasons end. This is Brian Astell from team LCB/Marin and we’ll see you at the races!

Note: The pics aren't from the race, but they're pretty sweet anyways! :)

Cream Puff 100

2010-10-01T19:24:00.000-07:00

Last July I completed my most epic race, and survived possibly the most epic, and awesome day of my life! Ethan did the Creampuff in 2009 and even though it was taxing and painful, he had enough fun to return to the race, and to convince me to do it. I had very little experience with endurance racing, so I comitted my season to putting in epic rides on the road and mountain, just so I could finish the event. Here's what I signed up for: 100 miles of riding, 1600 feet of climbing and 1600 feet of descending, 17 miles of which is on the epic singletrack descent down the Alpine Trail. We started the day in the early dusk of morning on a very short stretch of pavement to the initial climb. The first time up the long, winding dirt road climb, I focused on keeping my heart rate in the zone, and tried to remember the advice given to me about seasoned racers about the event- pace yourself! I was stoked with how well stocked the aide stations were and I stopped every time, swapping bottles and grabbing GUs and bananas. At some point on the backside climb before the initial 17 mile descent, I found myself pogo-ing with a group of women and made it my mission to ride within their reach. After passing through the start/ finish for my second lap, I was surprised by how OK I felt at 56 miles in, sweet! Things got a little bit more challenging the second time up the long dirt road climb as temps had reached the mid- 80s and it was hard to drink enough water. I continued to pace myself and swallowed down lots of GUs. I was stoked that my stomach was handling all the sugar ok and relieved to not join the riders who were off the side of the road cramping in pain- ouch! At the top of the climb I was greeted by Ethan smiling and cheering, who had sadly had a mechanical failure and had to pull out of the race. He assured me that I was doing great and gave me the mental boost I needed to climb up the steep backside hill once again! Before hitting up the final descent home, I grabbed my full camelback from Ethan at the feedzone and munched down some bananas. Much to my surprise, I was still riding neck and neck with two other women who I had learned were seasoned CreamPuff riders. Still feeling strong, I pulled away from them on the short punchy climbs and even passed a handful of male riders! By the bottom, I was wiped out and noticed how fatigued my arms and hands were from 17 miles of braking on the hardtail! But, I crossed the finish line with a smile on my face, and had a suprisingly fun time on the course. I was stoked to learn that I'd finished at 12 hours, 21 mins- 3rd for Cat 1 Women, and that 2nd place was only 1 minute ahead of me! I met all of my goals- no cramping, no crashing, and a finish within 13 hours, not bad a first timer! The verdict is still out as to whether I will do it again next year, but I will definitely need to head back to Oakridge to hit up the epic single-track! Special thanks to Yuri for his advice, GU for the necessary fuel, and Camelback for the sweet new racing pack!

Women's Mountain Bike Skills Clinic in Chico

2010-07-29T09:45:00.000-07:00

In early July, Maureen traveled up to Chico for a weekend of riding and to help me host the second edition of a series of free mountain biking skills clinics for women hosted through the bike shop I work at. We had a huge and very impressive turnout for the second clinic- 14 women! They all piled into Sports LTD and we began the clinic by talking about bike fit/setup and how to prepare for a mountain bike ride. We adjusted the air pressure in lots of ladies tires, tweaked brake levers, and raised seat posts. We then rolled through lower park, our impressive parade of women on bikes commandeering the trails as we talked about track-standing, cornering, and looking ahead.
We then headed over to upper Bidwell Park and session-ed the first part of North Rim trail, one of the most difficult, rocky, challenging climbs I've done. We talked about choosing your line, body positioning for climbs, and proper gearing. Then everyone had a chance (or a couple) to clear the first pitch, and almost everyone did! There were cheers and whooping and camaraderie to encourage the other riders.
We then continued onwards on Middle Trail and used a flat tire as an opportunity for a brief flat repair clinic. Mo was super helpful in describing the proper way to remove the wheel from the dropouts, use levers to pry off the tire, and check the tire for thorns. Many of the participants had never fixed a flat so it was awesome to share this knowledge with them and to give them a chance to see how easy it really is to change your own flat.
Back on Middle Trail we navigated our way through another challenging rocky descent followed by a sharp climb to the right, and it was so fun and inspirational to hear everyone cheering and encouraging each other, and to see riders clearing sections they'd never even attempted before. We had a tough-as-nails group and the girls barely even flinched as we talked out way through drops, g-outs, and rock gardens. I was impressed beyond belief when I watched Kendra (who was on her first mountain bike ride EVER) gracefully clear a rock drop that took me at least a few attempts to have the courage to try. With such a big group, the ride took longer than anticipated and part of the group split off to get home sooner. The rest of us worked some sections on Lower Trail headed out of the park and stopped for a photo in the gorgeous evening light. We then accepted an inviatation to finish the ride at Sam's house, who's husband is a very talented home brewer. Thank you Sam and Dan! And thank you to to the whole group of riders for being so awesome and fun! Bidwell Park is a very challenging place to learn to ride, and everyone was so brave about committing themselves and trying something new. There will be two more clinics offered: Tues August 3rd and Tues Sept 7th, 5:30pm for both. If you're interested in signing up, post a reply below. Cheers! -E

Ales and Trails: Bikes, Beer, BBQ & Buddies!

2010-06-28T08:31:00.000-07:00

Team Lost Coast Brewery enjoyed a third year at Ales and Trails- one of the most enjoyable days on a bike you can find anywhere. This year the event was pushed back to June after a soggy 2009 event in May. The weather was PERFECT for it- blue skies, sunshine, 80degrees with a nice breeze blowing off the bay, and turnout was impressive. I arrived early and said hello to the Marin Bikes peeps as they set up their tents and enjoyed some bagels and coffee from Noah's. Mo, myself, and Brian were all scheduled to lead rides and the sign up sheets for our rides were filling up fast. It seemed like more people than I've seen before were motivated to do the rides before the BBQ, due in part to the incredible weather I imagine. Before I knew it, practically the entire Marin bikes demo fleet was on the trail with various riders doing test rides and Maureen and Yuri were departing for their co-ed endurance ride with a group of 10. I snapped some quick shots as they discussed their route with their group and rolled out.
Not long after, Matt headed out to help guide a big group of riders departing with Dave Weins. By the time my ride departed at 10:30 there were already at least 50 riders on the trails at China Camp, so we switched up our route a little bit and stopped at the main entrance for more water. I had an awesome group for my ride. Everyone was pretty close in ability so the gaps waiting for people were never very long and everyone had a super positive attitude; smiling, cheering, and yielding respectfully to the other riders on the trail. Folks from all over come to this event to support IMBA (and have a good time). There were people from Auburn, SF, Tracy, and the East Bay on the ride I led. We stopped at the top of the steep climb to the missile site, took a group photo, ate some snacks, and enjoyed the incredible views of the Bay. We then continued downward and enjoyed miles of ripping, flowing singltrack back to the group at miwok meadows. With only one crash and no flats or getting lost, it was one of the most successful rides I've been on with a group that size, and so much fun!
Back at the event I eagerly got in line for some amazing food. Catered by the CIA, I filled up my plate with delicious goodies- salad, fruit, couscous, meat, while watching one of their talented chefs hack roasted pork off a pig carcass! I joined Mo at a picnic table and we shared a pint glass of cold Lost Coast beer and noshed on our lunch. At our table we were joined bv such mountain biking luminaries as Dave Weins- 6 time Leadville 100 winner, Austin McInerny- driving force behind high school mountain biking, and Yuri Hauswald- endurance mountain bike racer and newly appointed marketing director of Marin Bikes. I raked Yuri's brain for last minute advice for the Cascade Creampuff 100 mountain bike race that I'm doing in 2 weeks (!) and found out from Dave how they were able to get such amazing footage for Race Across the Sky (helicopters, foot crews, motorcycles, and lots of planning!). After lunch, Yuri introduced me to Azul, one of the great people at Camelbak and got me outfitted with an Octane XCT, a minimalist pack which has a supportive hip strap with pockets along it to access food or gear while riding. I test rode it on a very HOT ride at Tamaracho Camp on Sunday with Mo, Matt, and Ethan and it works great, very comfortable! Thanks to Yuri and Camelback, hopefully it will help me on upcoming epic adventure! I finished an awesome 2010 Ales and Trails with some more beer tasting, chatting with Nicole and Brian, and spending time with my wonderful team mates. Right before I finally loaded my bike into the car and drove back to mo's house for some much needed rest, I peeked at the beer voting sheet, and it looked like Lost Coast was pretty much winning the taster's choice award, but we'll wait for the official announcement before gloating too much ;)
-emma

Brian wins Skyline MTB race and the 2010 Nor Cal State Championships!

2010-06-21T20:43:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Brian Astell on killing it in Napa!! The Marin Bikes/Lost Coast Brewery rider beat the heat and a brutal race course at Skyline Park in Napa, California to take his second consecutive Northern California State XC Champion title this past Sunday.

On a day with temperatures in the mid nineties, energy conservation played a crucial role for riders looking to prevail over rivals and conditions. The Skyline Park course, home to UCI Mountain Bike World Cup rounds in the late 90’s, didn’t make things easy on riders with a combination of singletrack strewn with rock gardens and root sections while gaining 1300 feet of elevation per lap.

Astell’s Race Report:

So the race started at 10am it was a 200 rider field and a world class course to race. We got to the race with enough time to reg and do a short, 10 min warm up. I didn’t want to get too warm as it was going to be a super hot day.

Photo: Napa Valley Register

The gun went off and I sat back in about 3rd or 4th for a bit to see what people were going to do. We started up the fire road climb and people started making moves. i didn’t want to get to excited and waste energy so I continued to sit in until it looked like there would be a decent. I jumped in the lead and waited to see if anyone would jump across. As I pushed the tempo I kept telling myself to stay smooth. It’s going to be a long race-don’t waist energy!

Like last year I chose to compete on my hardtail. The carbon Marin CXR treated me well; I was able to take on the steep climbs on the hardtail while not loosing time on the rough rocky decents. Lap one felt great and by the third lap I was glad I had loaded up on tons of water the days prior and had managed to time my fuel intake properly. I was able to stay away off the front for the rest of the race and bring it in for the over all win!

A big thanks to all the volunteers and everyone who made it possible to race at Skyline again. This is a killer race and if you’ve never raced or ridden there I fully suggest you check it out!

-B

Return on the Jedi

2010-05-31T18:05:00.001-07:00

This weekend Team Lost Coast Brewery will be sending Geoff Huber and Matt Wittler to Grants Pass Or. to compete in the Return on the Jedi xc, stxc, and Super-d races. Wish them luck! And look forward to race reports early next week. http://www.pistis.us/jedi.htm

Tour of the Unknown Coast

2010-05-30T16:45:00.000-07:00

In the middle of a gorgeous May month, Maureen and I (emma) re-united in Humboldt for the Tour of the Unknown Coast century ride. Mo's partner Mark came along for the adventure this time, visiting all the way from Kentucky! Conditions were perfect for the 2010 TUC. We arrived to the fairgrounds early in the morning and gave each other excited hugs in the cool, morning fog. Mo was on her first ride on her new road bike after having her old beast stolen at a crit race a couple weeks prior and was still making adjustments when the ride officially started. Our trio rolled out a few minutes after the official start and we spent the first chunk to the Avenue of the Giants from Ferndale catching up with groups of riders. It's always really fun and inspiring to see the different types of people who do this epic rides- recumbent riders, tandems, teens on mountain bikes, men much older than my father on steel bikes from the 60s, and everyone else in between!
After a steady-paced ride down 101, we stopped at the first rest stop along the avenue of the giants to stare at the humongous redwood trees and grub on some snacks. After the rest stop we headed out towards the first big climb of the day- Panther Gap. with some steep sections and an endless grind up, Panther Gap is an ascent to be respected. I was feeling peppy, so I rode ahead a few times to get shots of Mark and Mo grinding their way up. We then descended the steep and sometimes scary drop into Petrolia and cruised the rollers to the lunch stop. The lunch stop was a welcome oasis with delicious sandwiches, cookies, and soft drinks. We ate our fill and enjoyed stretching on the unbelievably green and soft grass.
We reluctantly through our legs back over our bikes and headed away from the rest stop over the series of rollers to the coast. I always forget how painful the little hills to the ocean can feel
and my legs felt stiff as we continued to pedal . Before I knew it, I'd lost sight of mo and mark and continued on until I dropped down the last descent to the ocean. It was a beautiful, clear day at the coast and I stopped to get a few shots while waiting for Mark and Mo to regroup. We all cruised the flats along the water and filled our lungs with the fresh air. Before we knew it, we're face to face with the infamous "Wall" a nasty climb that shoots up from the ocean and the start of the endless climbs home. We refueled and began the killer grind. I happily shifted into my little ring and kept the wheels turning. Near the visible crest, I turned back for one las picture of Mo and Mark before breaking off the finish the ride home. I zoned out to my Ipod during the endless hills and chatted with a few friendly folks before rolling back in Ferndale after an awesome, hard 100 miles and 10,000 feet of climbing. Mo and Mark cruised in a while later all smiles and expressed their respect and admiration for such a challenging, and amazing century ride. Thanks to all of the volunteers for a great event, we will be back again!
-Emma

The Cycling Life

2010-05-29T16:17:00.000-07:00

There are many ideas about what the cycling life is, and should be.

Boiling it down, there is one thing that every cyclist shares. One reason that every single cyclist shares, and that is the reason we get on our bikes. As of late I have become aware that there are many reasons we ride our bikes, One reason why each cyclist mounts their bicycle and rides every chance they get. And that reason is to be stoked. Our reason to be stoked may be different, whether to finish our next xc race, boost phater than the rest of our group, simply to best ourselves, or to get out in nature. We all have our reason to get out and ride. It is not for financial gain, the best of us are at most very famous to a small group of individuals. We get out on our bikes to enjoy ourselves. I personally enjoy climbing up to the highest point possible to share in an amazing descent back to town with my friends. Racing is an amazing gift which i enjoy a great deal. I love to show up at a huge race with a group of the same thousand, ten thousand, or ten individuals that share the same passion that I am so lucky to enjoy; cycling. No matter what you ride, Marin, Jamis, Kona, what have you. I hope that everyone realizes that you are out there on your bikes for one reason. To be stoked. I can say to any individual who shares a passion for something in their life, that I am STOKED. STOKED to be in an industry job that I love, STOKED to be sharing something both healthy, and enjoyable, that brings me stoke every time I partake. Cycling to me is an amazing gift that I hope to share with everyone I come in contact with. Not because it makes someone money, but because it is an amazing aspect of my life which I hope to share with everyone I come in contact with.

To everyone out there, fat, skinny, fast, or slow. Share the STOKE. That is my challenge to you.

Mudslinger MTB Race

2010-05-11T07:28:00.000-07:00

Howdy all...Geoff here. Wow! What a crazy Winter I have had! Many close to me know that I was in a serious crash at cyclocross Nationals in Bend, Or. The result was a broken sternum and compound fractured finger...among other bumps and bruises. I was in the hospital for a couple days following the "accident", then home for "two to three months of recovery and healing". Not a great way to end one of my best seasons to date. But! I am proud to say that I was able to get my head straight quickly...and was riding the trainer withing three weeks of the crash. I couldn't put my hands on the handlebar..but I would use a towel around my neck as my two handles...put on two pairs of riding shorts and just pedal sitting up for as long as I could stand it (usually about two hours or so.) I watched a lot of movies and just tried to enjoy the fact that I could get a little bit of a workout. Within six weeks I was riding easy outdoors...and within eight weeks...riding up to four hours at a time. I was happy for a quick recovery and was happy to find out that the "rest" and time off actually helped me and I feel like I will be able to build on last years success.

And success came early. Anna and I headed out to the 22nd running of the Mudslinger mtb race for my first start since my crash. I have done this race a bunch of times and it is always a popular event. I signed up for the single speed class and caught up with friends as I warmed up. The course was 22 miles with a little over 4000 ft of elevation...short..but hilly. We had about 15 guys in our group so there was some competition. A local strong dude..Luke DeMoe, started really hard but I was able to catch his wheel and we took turns turning the screw to string things out at the start. The starting climb was about 13 min long and I decided to go about 10 min in. I got a small gap and built on that down the backside of the first climb into the single track. I kept on the gas and was able to get out of sight early. My legs were good so I decided to go for it and see what happens. Since the Pro and Cat 1 fields started 6 and 4 mins ahead of me I was able to catch and use the draft of the geared riders on the flatter pedaling sections . This allowed me to rest and have the energy to jump from their wheel before the single track sections. I finished my second lap without ever seeing another single speed and finished in 1 hr 54 min. My fastest time to date and seven minutes over second place. I was stoked to have a good race to start the 2010 season. I look forward to our first team event in Oregon and wish all my teamates good luck. Emma and I are both signed up for the Creampuff 100 so stay tuned for more training and racing updates...Geoff

p.s.. sorry no photo's...next one for sure.

Team Training Camp 2010: Northcoast Adventures

2010-03-18T18:20:00.000-07:00

Day 1-
For the 2010 annual Team Lost Coast Brewery training camp, we decided to head to the woods of Sonoma/ Mendocino County for some awesome, epic riding on the coast. Brian graciously offered to host us at his big, comfy house for a world-class "bike and breakfast" experience. Seriously, we woke up leisurely each morning, made a huge breakfast, and then set out for a day's worth of riding. Sadly, not all of the team mates were able to make it for the training camp as people's lives are busy and it's hard to match schedules, but Matt, Brian, Amon, me (emma), and some friends- Fort Bragg Gabe and Gabe Cheese, Ethan, and Nicole joined in on the fun. Our first big ride began Saturday morning, or actually closer to Saturday at noon by the time we ate breakfast, packed our camelbacks, and prepped our bikes. We left from Brian's house with a group of mountain bikers bigger than ever sighted in Gualala before. We rode from Brian's house to the nearest brief section of singletrack which dropped us down to the river and then up our first fire-road climb. This was pretty much how the rest of the day's ride could be described: climb up long fireroad, descent ripping fire-road, cruise across rollers, hop on pavement, hop off pavement, cross creek, climb, descend, repeat. There's an amazing network of fireroads in the Mendocino forest that Brian has managed to mater navigation on that can lead you on a ride that lasts all day, as ours did. About 4 hours into the mellow, steady paced ride, we came to our first creek crossing. We all sat down for some rest and to eat our packed lunches (brekkie burrito take 2!). The river looked fierce and deep and we all questioned if it was safe to cross it. Brian bravely made the first journey and even though the water was above his waist, he assured us it was passable. The Gabes then made their way across and even their tall frames sunk far into the water. Brian crossed back over to give Nicole the safest, driest ride across. It was super cute and impressive. We then journeyed on into the forest, hitting up some super fun, tight trails that felt like a tunnel. Before we knew it, the light was fading and it was dusk before we happened upon the creek crossing to get us back home. This creek looked more shallow than the first, but once we strode into it with our bikes, it was actually quite fierce and swift-moving. Gabe even got swept under and I had to scramble to grab some reeds to avoid the same fate. We re-filled our bottles and packs with filtered water and began the journey home. On our last descent we fell victim to a rash of flat tires- twice for Gabe, then twice for Nicole too. (Note: Nicole, who has only been riding for about 10 months, came on this and all of our rides over the weekend and Champed it~! She stayed with the group on the climbs and was KILLING it on the descents! I was impressed, intimidated, and totally stoked to have another girl to ride with! Go Nicole! Do some races, crush it!) We fixed the flats as fast as possible, keeping our eyes peeled at the falling sun. Finally, the sun set and we were in darkness. Luckily, Brian secretly knew this ride was going to take hours, and Gabe from Ft Bragg had ridden with Brian enough times to know that EVERY ride with Brian lasts about 8 hours, so they busted out their lights and we rode the last sections of trail seven riders with only three lights. We finished the ride with a steep road climb back to Brian's house on the peak of the ridge and rushed into the house and out of our shammies to scarf down some much-needed pasta dinner. All told, the ride was 7 1/2 hours ride time, some 10,000 feet of climbing, and a mere 40 miles! Geez those hills on the coast are steep. And despite riding in the dark and being out all day, most people finished with a smile on their tired faces.

Epic "Banana Slug Series" Ride: Dyerville Loop

2010-03-03T17:44:00.000-08:00

In the middle of a busy weekend of moving, Ethan and I decided to hit up one of the new "Banana Slug Series" rides- the epic Dyerville Loop. The Banana Slug Series is a series of monthly training rides in Humboldt County. Similar to the Grasshopper Series, these rides are fun, epic, and competitive, but not a race. There's no entry fee, no course markings, no neutral support, no prizes; just incredible routes and the camaraderie of fellow riders. We came out for the second ride in the series- the Dyerville loop going from Weott up Dyerville road to Alderpoint road and back along the avenue. I'd never done this route because I've always been intimidated by the extremely long climb up Dyerville Loop Road, but I was encouraged knowing that there would be other folks out suffering. When we rolled up to the ride start at the Women's Federation Grove I was super excited to see that there was a parking lot full of cars and lots of riders, about 30 total. We all rolled out in a neutral pack along the Ave to the start of Dyerville Loop on an interesting variety of bikes- lots of road bikes, a few cross bikes, and even a handful of mountain bikes (Dyerville Loop is about 18 miles of dirt road). I cruised with the group until the boys started to punch it on the rollers and settled into a comfortable pace off the lead pack. The first dirt climb was a sticky, slow, steep mess and I kept on feeling like I had a flat as my tires sank into the muddy road. At one point the climb got so steep that people were walking their road bikes. I kept on cranking, enviously eyeing a fellow on a CX bike who flew past me in a patch of gravel.
At the top of the first grueling climb, a handful of the people I had been riding with made a right down the hill to do a shorter ride. I was sad I'd lost my group, but determined to keep going on the planned route. We then started the longest climb EVER! We began on some steep pavement and them opened up into a rolling, dirt, mostly uphill valley. I met up with a nice rider from Arcata who I chatted with about the incredible weather (it was sunny and warm, in Feb!). We even snapped some pictures on a scenic ridge and shared a pack of Chomps. Eventually though, he fell back on a steep climb and I didn't see him again. At this point my legs were feeling good and I was rockin out to my Ipod. I made an effort to catch up with some guys I saw ahead on the climb and rode with them for a while, then passed them. This happened two more times and I was amazed by how well I was climbing on the endless gravel road. Towards the end of the gravel though, my energy started to fade and I was astonished we were still going up. By the time we hit the pavement descent down Alderpoint Road I had already been riding 2.5 hours! Alderpoint Road was fast and scary with it's tight turns and speeding drivers, and I got passed back by a rider from the hill. As we rolled through Garberville I fantasized about just cutting out and heading home for some quesadillas, but I saw the rider from the descent ahead on 101 and did my best to catch him. It took all the way until the Avenue of the Giants turn off to get in his draft but I was definitely glad I did! Me and my new friend (Kirk?) rode together along the Avenue, taking turns drafting. We stopped for some water at the store in Phillipsville as we were both running out of water and feared cramping. The Avenue was more difficult than I anticipated. There were heavy gusts of wind coming up along the river and as we rolled near Myers Flat, my riding buddy was starting to fade. I told him to just rest in my draft and I took the wind the remaining 8 miles to the finish. We rolled in at 4:43, just under 5 hours and an hour after the leaders. Ethan was patiently waiting at the picnic table and Jim wrote down our names for the finishers list. I was proud to read later on the website that I finished 15th, the first female finisher and about mid-pack. The Dyerville Loop ride was probably one of the most challenging rides I've ever done, but Jim did a great job of organizing the ride, the weather was perfect, and I hope to do it again next year! Check out the flyer for future Slug Rides and hit one up if you can.
Cheers!
-Emma

Paskenta

2010-02-24T22:58:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago team Lost Coast Brewery sent Matt and Emma to the unofficial official early season world championships of Paskenta.

There are two words that come to my mind when I think of Paskenta, those words are pain, and pain. The Paskenta road race comes every Superbowl Sunday and is a venue for many heavy hitters to test out their early season fitness. This year was no different.

The Paskenta road race was my first introduction to "century" riding back in 2006. The 105 mile course seemed to last forever, and to top it off we missed the start by nearly 10 minutes, and managed to catch back on after 50 miles of riding in just under two hours.

This year would be different. It was Emma's birthday, and everyone arrived early to celebrate with Emma, and Ethan. After cake, and two beers it was off to bed for an early start.

The next morning food and coffee down the hatch we headed to the start of the race/ride; Bidwell park, all of 3 min bike ride away. Soon enough 8 am came and off we rolled through Chico. About 10 minutes into the ride, I had to pee, and was definitely not going to make the whole ride without going, so I stopped and watched the pack ride away. As I worked hard to chase back on I reflected on the advise given by Ethan at the start of the day, "relax for the first 60 miles, when we hit dirt prepare for attacks." Great I thought, I'm on a cross bike, rolling at the end of the pack catching back on with the tachometer at 190 bpm. Great, blown event before it even got fun. After catching back on it was a fight just to stay with the group. Picture Indiana Jones running across a bridge with the rocks falling away as he stepped on them. Finally I caught on to the main pack. Where I hung through the fast dirt section, and through the rollers that immediately followed. My cross bike would be in it's top two gears for the next hour. There were fewer surges by the group at this point, rather a quick pace, that wound up dropping my worn out butt off the back. After two moto paces back to the group, and a fresh water bottle, it was time to throw in the towel at the four hour mark. Little did I know that there were only a few miles to go (half an hour) and one turn off of hwy 32 that I was not going to make. Emma lost the group in one of the hardest sections to keep on, and after chasing for some time ran into Ethan with a flat tire. The two took the 80 mile cutoff and enjoyed a beautiful ride through the not so pan flat roads back to Chico. Can't wait to go back for more in 2011 :)

Hayes Prime

2010-02-08T21:50:00.000-08:00

Team Lcb showing it's colors in an add for the new Hayes Prime disc brakes.

check out the link below

http://www.facebook.com/HayesDiscBrakes?v=app_4949752878

Photo Shoot at Salt Point State Park!

2009-12-15T12:47:00.000-08:00

Team riders Amon Pease and Brian Astell had the opportunity to reconnect with and meet, respectively, photographer extraordinaire John Ker this past weekend. John takes many of those awesome riding shots you drool over every month for Mountain Bike Action and Road Bike Action magazines. He was traveling down the beautiful coastline along Highway 1 that Brian and Amon both live along and called them up to hang out and do a Nor Cal photo shoot. They ended up mostly taking pictures at Salt Point State Park but also a few at Gualala Point Park as well. This is just a heads up to let you know to keep an eye out for the Lost Coast Brewery Team kits in future issues of these great magazines! Ride on and keep it fun!!

San Francisco Super Prestige/District Championships Nov. 29

2009-12-04T16:04:00.000-08:00

The team headed down to S.F. to take part in the Super Prestige and get together to make plans for the 2010 season. I love S.F. and was stoked to get a chance to race in Golden Gate Park. I arrived early to give myself time to get lost and ride a bit in the park. The weather was beautiful with clear skies and lots of sunshine. I found the race and hung out enjoying the weather and watched some of the action while getting a feel for what the course was like. After my warm-up I ran into my mates and we chatted a bit before the start. I was lucky to get a pre lap in before my start...but unlucky in getting to the start after just about everyone else. This plus the fact that I was not in the call-ups put me at the waaaaay back. No big deal, just gonna have to bust my but. Brian Astell was in the the group with me and he was my rabbit. I knew that if I could keep him close I would have a good race. This plan worked for the first two laps...but I knew right away I did not have my best stuff going ( I blame the 9 hr drive, too much turkey, and not enough sleep.) Plus Brian was bunny hopping the barriers...a move I have done in the past, but was unwilling to try in this environment. This race was FAST! The course was wide open compared to the techy, twisty courses in Oregon. I was on the gas and at my limit the entire race. I can always tell when I am maxed because it is happens right before I feel like giving up. But giving up is not part of my racing (I can proudly say I have only one DNF in my racing history...that was due to a three flat first lap in the 2006 State
Championships.) Plus, all my teammates were there and cross is hard no matter how you slice it. I buried myself for the entire 60 minutes and finished exactly mid pack....27th out of 54. Not good...not bad. I was really impressed with how aggressive this race was and I look forward to coming back next year with better cross form to have another go. After the race Team Lost Coast grabbed some grub and made out a tentative schedule for 2010. We have big plans for next season so stay tuned for more fun and excitement....Next up....USGP in Portland....then....Cross Nats in Bend!!! Let it snow, let it snow, let it SNOW! Cross you later....Geoff

Eugene Psycho Cross Nov. 21

2009-11-27T15:51:00.000-08:00

I was excited coming into this race after my performance down in Southern Oregon both because I could feel some "snap" coming back into my legs from the last month of racing...and because I was back on my home turf. The Psycho Cross series has grown in the last couple of seasons and the race courses have improved dramatically. I was happy to have another chance a Evan Plews and his equally strong teammate Brett Luelling. A couple of strong local guys showed up as well to make for a strong field. I was amped and got a great start sitting third wheel. As we made our way through the first lap I moved into second behind Brett. The course had a long techy singletrack section that proved difficult for some of the riders and Brett and I built a comfortable lead by the end of the third lap. The chase group included Evan so I hammered every time I got the chance. Brett was lagging a bit because every time I pulled through he would fall off a bit...but I wanted his legs to help me stay away from the chasers. Things were going great and our lead continued to grow. I could sense the chance of my first A win coming closer and closer.....until....yep, mechanical. Here is how it went down. Brett and I were coming through the barriers near the start/finish area and as I tried to clip in my right foot....nothing. At first I thought it was just mud clogged in the pedal, but no matter how I tried I could not clip in. This was because my cleat was disconnected from my shoe...and locked into my pedal....bummer. This however, did not deter me from wanting to finish the race. I chased Brett with one pedal for the entire lap, and as I came through the pit I yelled at my friend Boone "I need a f%&*$#! platform pedal!!!" Boone did not let me down. As I finished the lap and rolled into the pit Boone held a platform pedal high in the air like a proud native holding a scalp (is that p.c.?) Anyway...Boone changed my pedal in about 30 seconds...but that was just enough time for Evan to come by me in the pits. I tore off after Evan with my Powerstrap pedal and vowed not to give up. Another strong guy, Joel Wilson, was breathing down my neck...but there was no way I was going to miss that podium. I finished the last three laps with my "borrowed" pedal and held onto the last spot on the podium. Evan caught Brett in the second to last lap...but the first thing he said to me after the race was "you had it man....without the mechanical" I was bummed that I didn't get the win...but was happy that I did not give up and still placed third. DAM YOU EVAN...I will get you yet!!! But like they say..."that's racing" You have to just put it aside and look forward to the next one. Next up....San Francisco!

Geoff

Southern Oregon Outlaw Cross Nov. 14

2009-11-18T15:41:00.000-08:00

The Marin cross demo and I headed down south to take part in the local series held at the Southern Oregon Raceway in White City. These races are usually somewhat small in terms of numbers, but always fun and there is always a small group of strong A's that show up. We were blessed with clear skies and a fairly dry course. Matt, Anna, and I set up the demo and got a couple of people hooked up with a demo bike. Reception of the demo bikes has been great and people are loving the ride. Matt and I got a bit of a warm up and then it was time to go to the pain cave. Evan Plews showed up and he and I along with another rider strung the 20+ man field out on the first lap. Evan did not get a warm up in before the race and fell off the pace leaving the Pacific Power rider and I out front. I felt good and pushed the pace the first couple of laps in hopes of putting some time on Evan. About mid race I noticed Evan was moving up through the field so I pulled off the front and made my "break away" partner do some work. My plan worked great...Evan came by us like a freight train and I jumped from second wheel to grab on to Evan. A gap formed immediately continued to grow the rest of the race. Now I have been racing against Evan for six years now. I have shared the podium with him on several occasions, but I have never beat him. I held tight to his rear wheel and felt like I might have a chance at a sprint finish. The bell lap came and we hammered along...no problems through the first half of the last lap. As we went through the second set of barriers I fumbled a bit getting back into my right pedal...just as Evan put in an acceleration....DAM! A small gap formed(the first and only) but that was just enough. I was at my limit, and no matter how I tried I could not close it down in the last couple corners heading to the finish. I rolled through about 20 seconds down, a little bummed, but satisfied with my effort. The good news is our pace put a minute plus on our third place chaser so we must have been moving. After the race we packed up and headed to Ashland for some lunch and family time. Next up....Psycho Cross in Eugene, OR
-Geoff

Cross Crusade #8/SSCXWC

2009-11-16T15:31:00.000-08:00

Matt, Anna, and I headed up to Portland for the last Cross Crusade race and the third running of the single speed cyclocross world championships (SSCXWC). This is an event that every avid crosser needs to take part in. The theme of this years race was "Beyond Thunderdome". A take-off of the cult classic movie. There was an actual "Thunderdome" on coarse and a ton of people showed up to both watch and race. I decided to race the in the single speed class of the Crusade. Now in years past I have had a proper single speed cross bike for this event...but not this year. I opted to put a high gear ratio on my 29r and just go to it. 136 people made for a plump field including National Champions and Kona pro's Ryan Trebon and Barry Wicks. The start was fast (no surprise) and I was one of the last to be called up due to the fact that I had only raced one other Crusade race. I was able to "pounce" on the main part of the pack in the first lap and continued to move up into the top ten. It is hard to describe how bad the mud was...but most crossers call it the "peanut butter". It sticks to everything and slows......you.........dooooowwwn. There was one section in particular that made you choose the off camber peanut butter line....or the one foot deep "lake" line. Turns out the "lake" line was actually faster. I had good legs and was able to battle...but faltered a bit in the last two laps (I am blaming my 2.25 Mutano Raptors). Riding my mtb was a good choice for some parts of the race...and not so good for other parts. I ended up finishing 14th. Not too bad...and I got a lot of props from other racers which always feels good. I had planned on racing the worlds at the end of the day...but opted to give my entry to a friend and watch the mayhem from the sidelines. Anna and I broke in our new Crusade pint glasses and heckled Matt W and other friends with great enjoyment. There were 250 people racing at once...most had some sort of costume on (kind of a rule in any single speed worlds race) and everyone had a blast getting muddy. Next years race is going to be held in Seattle so sign up early and come check out just how fun AND competitive Northwest cross scene has become.
-Geoff

SSCXWC

2009-11-15T17:35:00.000-08:00

There is a select list of places and events that cyclists must go to once in their life. The list includes places such as Moab, and Whistler. The newest member to the list is Single Speed Cyclocross World Championships.I had the opportunity of attending this year and can honestly say that it is the wildest party since burning man. The day starts with a full cyclocross race in the morning, this ensures thousands of cyclists taking every line on the course, turning everything into a greasy sloppy mess. Perfect conditions for a party, er cross race. The race began in true braveheart style. Seattle lined up on one side, Portland on the other, and everyones bike in the middle. The kicker was a rider pedaling his bicycle with a passenger in the tub on the back swinging a flail.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nantel/3248890770/ The assult began when the promoter yelled FREEDOM! Charge! and blew his whistle. The party was on! Everyone ran through the slop, pushing the flail swinging bike over trying to get the hole shot. The course featured off camber slick mud sections, barriers that had ramps attached to them for jumping, a thunder dome http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1fNwUjJf9s and a bacon hand up at the kona booth. It is an unwritten rule that participants are required by single speed law to consume at least one beer before his or her race, and this race were advised to have dollar bills on hand. Why the dollar bills do you ask? That would be for the Strip Club Shortcut, for one dollar you could hand a volunteer your steed, enter a school bus that was artfully converted into a strip club, give the stripper by the door your dollar, and exit with about at 15 second advantage over not stripclubers.After about 40 minutes of pain, heckling, beer spraying, and bacon the race came to an end. I finished right behind a man dressed as superman who managed to cut the course where ever possible, and behind a dude dressed as Borat with his number sharpied to his side. It was time to get clean, and return to the thunder dome where the bass was still bumping, and the after party was warming up. I can't wait till next year, maybe Geoff the muscle Huber will come out and throttle everyone, in the same fashion as he did in the single speed race earlier that day.

cheers and dark beers,
M@

Oregon State Championships in Salem, OR

2009-11-12T23:32:00.000-08:00

November 11....Matt, Anna, and I headed up to the Oregon State Championships in Salem Oregon this past weekend and had a blast. We had our brand new "fleet" of cross bikes in tow and arrived early to set up shop and watch some racing. The weather was perfect...cold and raining. We set things up and prepared for a wet day of racing. Matt brought his single speed and raced at 1:00. My hat is off to him because he was running a relatively low gear and did very well considering the length of the course and he was racing against guys who take cross VERY seriously. The course was fun and challenging. The race was held at the Salem Fairgrounds and the race promoters did a great job of integrating the course into the buildings and motocross track. There were several inside/outside sections that were tricky, and there was a lot of open and exposed areas that were tough because of the rain and strong winds.

Kona pro and National Champion Barry Wicks showed up and made things tough right away. There were 28 of us in the A race and Barry strung us out on the first lap. I had a decent start but man do I need to hit the intervals. I struggled with the pace at first but found my rhythm in the second half of the race and moved up a couple of spots. Even though my legs were not great...my Marin Cortina was AWESOME!!! I had a couple of days to get comfortable on the bike before the race and man does that thing rock. I felt very confident in the wet, mucky stuff and was able to make up ground in all the corners. My experience with cross bikes in the past is that they tend to handle a bit like road bikes with knobby tires. This is not the case with the Cortina. This bike makes you feel like you are perfectly balanced and is very inspiring to ride. The only change that I will make is changing the 50/34 chain rings to a more cross specific gearing like 48/36 or 46/36. My little legs had a hard time with the 50 tooth...and the 34 tooth put me down into too low of a gear unless I was down on the 11 tooth cog of the cassette. Just a small change...everything else is perfect.

We had a great time at the State Championships and the CX Worlds...(look for Matt's blog on that race). Next up is a local race down in Medford, Or. Matt and I will be looking to put the hurt on the local Southern Oregon boys, and we will be giving anyone and everyone a chance to get one of those brand new Marin Cortina's dirty. Happy trails....Geoff.

2009-10-17T21:05:00.000-07:00

I took some video during a local training ride this week that I would like to share with everyone. It's of Chucks Chips trail in the Wagner watershed. The video shows the underdeveloped nature of the Watershed, and the importance of practicing caution when riding a trail that you have not been down in a while.

Enjoy

-M@

Washington Tripple Header

2009-09-19T23:08:00.000-07:00

Today was the first two races of the three race weekend my friend from Olympia put together for my annual visit up north. This weekend consisted of a super-d race Sat morning in Capitol Forest followed by Star Crossed, in the pm. Sunday would be the Rad Racing Grand Prix. I came into the weekend amped for a good time, good food, and good company. Friday we prerode the super-d with some great California like dry conditions, and warm weather. I woke up Sat morning to a surprise, rain... The course changed drastically, the once dry bermed corners turned into something greasier than a 50's hairstyle! We ditched the riders meeting in favor of getting to the top with time for a warm up. Definitely a good idea, primed and pumped I hit the course 9th down the mtn. The trails were nothing like the day before, and I was lucky to keep it upright! I am not a good mud racer, I blame California, and all of our amazing weather. So cruising in 10 seconds from my buddy Luke, who is a local was enough to put a smile on my face. As soon as we were across the line it was time to pack up and head to Seattle for our next challenge Star Crossed.

Cyclocross is a new thing for me. The first challenge of the night came after registration, where I was handed four numbers, and no zip ties... I felt like a redneck at a 5 star resteraunt asking what are all the forks for? After getting the jersey figured out, came the warmup, which was going great, my legs felt solid, my bike was good, and the rain was falling hard. Perfect for cross. Then it came, the one thing that i was trying to avoid, there is a section of the course that transitions from slick mud, to the tarmac of the veledrome, back to mud, which happens to be on a corner. The last lap of warmup i hit this section hard, and it hit back. Boom! I was on the ground. Shooting back up I noticed my shifter was busted in half, great the race was over before it began. Wait! Neutral support! Sram had set up a sweet little tent with some brand new, zipp equiped bikes. They set me up with a new bike, and off I rode. Missing callups was a bit of a disappointment, starting last place is never good. However it is better than not racing at all. The gun went off, and off we went. It was a stacked field, Barry, Ryan, Swiss national champion, Adam Craig, they were all there, and charging hard. My only wish was to remain on the lead lap, With 3 to go, Barry came past me, my day was over. That said, I have never had more fun at an event, racing at 820 pm, under the lights, beer garden, screaming fans. There is only one word to describe this event AMAZING! Tomorrow is only 30 minutes away, it is time for sleep, and recovery for tomorrows event. See you guys tomorrow for another day in the saddle!

-Matt

Marin Summer Rally and Occidental Dirt Ride

2009-09-13T22:49:00.000-07:00

A couple of weekends ago, some riders from Team LCB gathered in the Bay Area to celebrate the end of summer with the Marin bikes crew at their "Summer Rally" in Novato, Ca. The rally was held in the back warehouse of the Marin Bikes complex and included a delicious BBQ, kegs of yummy brews (including a keg of Great White graciously supplied by Lost Coast Brewery), a jump house for the wee ones, and hot new 2010 bikes on display. I was excited to see the sexy new carbon Marin road bike in flashy "team" white and blue colors. This bike is a true road race bike decked out with Durace, Ksyriums, FSA carbon, and all the other top of the line bling. It looks like it would be swift and steady on the pavement and I know that as soon as I'm ready to get a new road bike, it will be at the top of my wish list. The President also made an appear ace at the rally and Dave from Vanderkitten and I were honored to sneak a quick photo with him. He's taller in person than I expected, and very thin! We gave him props on the battle for healthcare and told him to keep on truckin'. The gathering was a nice opportunity to hang out with the wonderful employees of Marin bikes and all of the great people linked to the company. Cheers to an awesome summer Marin bikes, and thanks for all of your support!
The next day, Mo, Brian, Amon and I were treated to a sweet ride in Occidental led by Gabe and his awesome girlfriend Heather. I'd heard rumors about tons of sweet, backwoods singletrack in the Occidental area and I was stoked to have a local escort us around the mecca of unknown trails. It was a brutally hot late-summer day, but we still got to explore a big chunk of the riding out there, including some super new trails that had just been cut months ago. The riding was almost entirely singletrack and very challenging- tight, twisty, low-cut, and steep up and down. And man were the climbs steep! After we reached the bottom of the descent we grunted up the climb, following Gabe's willowy shadow. There were incredible views on the ride though, it was amazing how remote it seemed at times, even knowing how close we were to the North Bay. In all, we probably rode for about 4 solid hours and ended the ride all smiles, despite the heat. Thanks again to Gabe and Heather for showing us the sweet dirt in Occidental, you guys were awesome escorts! I hope we can do some more epic riding again soon :)
-E

Caspar Classic

2009-09-07T12:40:00.000-07:00

If Labor Day weekend is the last hurrah of summer than what better way to spend it than racing in the redwoods on the Northern California coast! Brian and I (Amon) traveled north with first time racers Nicole and Amanda to participate in the Caspar Classic MTB race. The weather was perfect in the high 60's or low 70's and the sun was shining. We arrived a little early to get kitted up, registered and give the race day run down to Amanda and Nicole. The race was small as races go but the course was packed with lots of fun. I can see this race really taking off because of the variety of fun terrain and the great promoters! Brian and I signed up in the advanced category and Amanda and Nicole decided to skip the beginner class all together and go straight into the sport category. What guts! All racers lined up together on the starting line for a fast gradually ascending fire road start. With no warning, and a ready - go! start, we were off. After a mile or so of fire road to thin the field we turned onto a double track that was tunneled in by the brush growing around it. After a fun rutted out descent the six of us that were off the front started to spread out a bit as we climbed up a steep anaerobic climb to the top of the course. Brian was off the front and out of site at this point and stayed there the rest of the three lap race, despite a slight dispute with a small tree that reached out and grabbed a hold of the end of his handlebar, abruptly tossing him onto the forest floor. But he had such a gap that this didn't even bring the rider behind him within site of him, so he motored on and flew through the rest of the race for a decisive win for the second year in a row! Meanwhile back in the field I was up against some strong racers that had come up from the Santa Rosa area. After the steep climb the course goes into some tight twisty singletrack that is challenging to negotiate while trying to go fast but while trying to recover from a seriously anaerobic effort it made it that much more challenging.

I was able to get a gap on the couple of riders that were on my wheel through the twisty singletrack that flowed through the forest. I battled with a very fast teenager on the second lap, then was able to put some time on him on the double track before the steep climb on the final lap.

What I didn't know was that Gabe from Sebastabol was making up time on me in this section and was rapidly closing the gap. Fortunately he was on a twenty niner bike and was not as quick through the singletrack. I motored on, railing the singletrack, and finished a solid fourth place. What fun!! The girls did great as well with Nicole and Amanda riding very strongly and finishing 1st and 2nd respectively and having a great time too!! Best of all the awards were great with some of the coolest trophies I have ever seen at a race and almost all of us went home with one! I will just have to come back for mine next year!! Until next time, Ride On friends!!!

High Cascades 100

2009-09-06T08:19:00.000-07:00

Howdy peeps!!!!! Well I (Geoff) am here to tell ya that my last "A" race for the mtb season is in the books and man what a doozy!..So Anna and I headed up to Bend to spend a couple of days preparing for my first 100 mile mtb race. My good buddy Jeff Dengel (the other half of the "Geoff and Jeff show") opened his doors for my wife and I (and the dogs of course) for three days of fun in the sun. We arrived in Bend on Friday...those of you who have visited this little gem of a town know just how beautiful it is. The Dechuetes River flows through the middle of town. There is a great park, and TONS of rad trials. We kicked back after the long drive on Friday in anticipation of getting some saddle time in the evening. We headed over to Web Cyclery (where Jeff works) and checked out the new bling. Web Cyclery is a great little shop that just got a bit bigger with a great expansion allowing for more bikes and gear. After hanging out and chatting about the upcoming race we headed for some food and then a ride. Jeff and I have ridden tons of trial together and we always have a blast. We hit up the local trails and chased each other for about an hour as the sun started to set on the distant mountain tops. My legs felt awesome and well rested from my last training cycle. Saturday consisted of more rest and some easy spinning. Anna joined Jeff and I on our last pre race ride and realized she REALLY likes riding in Bend. The ride was great and I really envy riders in Bend for the fact that they can just ride out their front door and hit the trails! We had our mandatory racers meeting at Sunny Side Sports and then hit up the pasta for dinner. I was very anxious for the race and spent a restless night unintentionally abusing my wife with my "gator roll". This is where I continually roll in a counter clockwise direction...slowly rolling all the blankets off my wife and around me. Needless to say, 4:30 a.m. comes quickly when you can't sleep. 6:15 was our start time so we headed up to the the base of Mt. Bachelor at 5:30. It was just starting to get light out when the gun went off and then it was 7 miles of double track up to the top of the first climb. We had 89 riders starting in the chilly morning air (30 ish degrees) and they all made it a point to exploit my single gear at the start. I just stuck to my game plan and reeled them in as the climb steepened. At the top of the climb I was sitting in 8th place and feeling good. As we hit the single track I caught several riders and moved closer to the top 5. After about an hour I caught up with my buddy Jeff D and we hammered through the first aid station at mile 25. A quick pit stop and it was off to the start of the second climb. The second climb took us up a very sandy and rocky double track section that left most gasping for air. As I said in the beginning...I had a game plan...and that was to stay aerobic as much as possible. This plan included walking the very steep sections if needed. Matter of fact I passed the 3rd place rider on that very climb while walking my bike. At the bottom of the decent of the second climb I caught up with Fuzzy..(three time single speed National Champion). He had a nasty tear in his tire and looked to be in trouble. See here is where it gets good...and this is why I love bike racing so much. Here was the guy that I needed to beat to win the single speed class and possibly podium overall...standing on the side of the trail with a flat and I STOPPED TO HELP! I offered him a C02 to help try and seal up his tubeless tire but a serious boot or possibly a new tire was the only way he was going to continue. I wanted to help..but I also wanted to win so I headed off after my short attempt at helping a fellow racer. I rolled into aid two (mile 45ish) just after hitting the four hour mark. My wife was there and she yelled "babe you are in THIRD OVERALL" I couldn't believe it...but before I could start feeling good about myself the rider I passed on the previous climb rolled into the aid station and after a short stop for bottles we headed out together. Now this rider was riding a geared full-sus so there was no way to hold his wheel on the flat downhill double track section that followed the aid station. I kept my cool and was able to keep his dust in sight as I hammered along. A little while later I noticed my rear tire was getting soft so I stopped and used a bit of my second Co2 in hopes of sealing up the tubeless system. I thought it worked but just a bit later I "rimmed" a rock and then...psssssssss.....a real deal flat. I didn't panic though because I had a tube and Co2. I quickly int stalled the tube and started to fill it with the remainder of my Co2....but...there...was.....only....about...20 lbs of pressure in my last chance Co2. Plus I noticed a tear in my tire so I was double screwed. As the feeling total dis pair started to set in I couldn't believe my race was over....here I was having one of my best races ever and I was about to start a sad hour long walk back to aid two....THEN.....wait...whats this? NO WAY!!!! Its Fuzzy....and he is STOPPING!!! I asked him if he had any air and....YES.....HE....DID. He didn't hesitate to pull out another Co2 to pay back the one I had given him earlier and then headed off to try and catch the leaders. Now relieved I collected myself...installed an empty Hammer Gel packet into my tire to act as a boot (great little trick I must say) and raced off down the trail. The course took us through aid two twice and I was able to grab another tube and some much needed confidence. Luckily no other racers passed me in my time of need and I was still fighting for a top five spot overall. I rode alone for the next forty plus miles feeling good. Mile 45 through mile 70 consisted of two laps of one section..I cruised through the first lap and then through the second when......psssssssss...yes...another flat. Now I am a good sport and usually keep my head but everyone has their limits. As I stooped there on the side of the trail to fix another flat I wondered if I would make it through. I fixed the flat and cruised into aid three at mile 82 still in 5Th. As I grabbed more bottles, the aid station mechanic noticed that my chain ring bolts were all loose...my chain was loose....and my rear brake was rubbing. As I sat there waiting for my bike to get fixed...another geared rider stopped and quickly pushed off to start the last 18 mile finishing loop. I was a bit distraught at this point..but headed out couple of minutes later in hopes of catching 'MY" fifth place spot. I cleared my head and just focused on catching that carrot. About three miles into the finishing loop I caught my guy and quickly passed him. Feeling better now I hammered the rest of the lap and finished the race with a big smile and a second place podium for the single speed class! I really enjoyed myself during this race (even through all the mechanical and suffering) and can't wait to do another.....I think Leadville has my name on it next year. Fuzzy chatted with my wife and I during most of the post race festivities and we all enjoyed some great BBQ and cold beer. I look forward to next season with great anticipation and take this experience with me into another wet winter of cross racing and training. I have had a fantastic season racing here in California with Team Lost Coast and Marin Bikes this year and can't wait to get back out there to do it all again...Cheers friends and see you at the races.....Geoff

DOWNIEVILLE!

2009-08-03T23:17:00.000-07:00

Downieville 2009!!!! I have just three words to describe the Downieville Classic...WA-OW-WA!! I have been reading about this race for years and I was absolutely blown away how fun and well organized this race is. Downieville itself is very cute and quaint. I could just imagine how this little town looked 100 years ago...teeming with gold panners, horses, and the like. Marin hooked the entire team up with some awesome cabins at the Lure Resort which is located a stones throw from the Yuba River and downtown Downieville. The whole gang was there (except TSERING....dam!). Mo, Brian, and Matt arrived early to pre-ride (wicked smart eh?). Anna, Emma, and I arrived Friday afternoon and got in a ride on the lower half of the River Trail. I can only imagine how many awesome trails there are in that area....sooooooo goooooda. The legs felt good and Anna got some video of Emma and I blasting through a rock garden. We rolled back to the campsite and low and behold...Amon shows up! He says "I am going to go spin the legs"....I say "I will go with you!" We headed back out to the River Trail and made some tracks. Now let me ask a question...How is it that one rider can pull away from another rider on a straight downhill section of trail when neither rider is applying the brakes? Amon manages to do this, seemingly at will. I am suspicious that he has come up with some sort of clever invisible hydraulic cable system that he uses to pull himself down the hill faster than most other homosapiens. That dude is soooo STEALTHY! At camp that night the team was diligently going over the bikes and preparing for the XC in the morning. Young Jedi looked over at me and my Nail Trail and asked "Are you really going to run those 2.25 Moto Raptors?"...translation "get a clue dude...we run 2.5's here in D-Ville. Matt Whittler, a.k.a. True Grit, a.k.a. Young Jedi, makes me feel like I am hanging out with all my friends compressed into one person. Ladies...ya got ta get wit Matt W!!! FO REAL!! He's is pretty like Justin Timberlake...but witty like Woody Allen. Later on...Brian said something to me that changed my entire weekend...it went something like this..."Hey Geoff...why don't you just ride this here full XTR, full suspension, Alchemist 4.9...and here are some BRAND NEW 2.5 tires" WOW...what an upgrade. It felt like Christmas and my birthday all at once! I grabbed the bike with the zeal of a fat kid in a candy store and slapped my seat and pedals on. Now anyone who has done this race knows how brutal the decent is and I am here to say that Brian's generosity SAVED MY ASS...I had NO idea....As much as I love the Nail Trail I am 100% sure that I would have flatted (probably multiple times) if I had run the hardtail. So I say to my fellow teamate..."I LOVE YOU MAN!!!" Oh by the way...Brian rode that same f&#$ing decent that made my yoga doin', construction workin' arms sore for three days....with a BROKEN SHOULDER. Tyler Hamilton ain't got sh@t on B-real. The next morning at the start I found myself at the very back of the pro field...far enough back that I didn't move for almost 30 seconds after the gun went off. No big deal...lots of time to catch up on the eight mile climb up. The pace at the start was pretty mellow...partly due to being at the back, and partly due to the fact that most of the riders figured they would be climbing for the next hour plus. I worked my way through the pack and continued on up the hill. The climb was perfect for me...long, steep, and rocky. My training here in the Southern Humboldt valley has primarily been long extended climbs and I felt great. I continued to work my way through the field and punched it at the top when things flattened out. I knew things were going well when I dropped riders on the traverse to the last climb up to the feed station. At the top of the climb I grabbed a bottle from my lovely and ever so supportive wife and jumped onto the single track. Now as I said before this decent is BRUTAL! Things didn't get crazy at first, and I was able to pass some riders...but then BOOM...rocks the size of pumpkins...loose gravel, BAM, more rocks the size of Volkswagon Beetles, more dust, and then the unthinkable started to happen...riders started to pass ME! Now I have never claimed to be a superstar descender...but I can honestly say that I have never really had a hard time keeping up with fellow XC racers on descents. Well this was not your average XC descent and I paid a dear price for not pre-riding. My math told me it took me 1hr 14min to get down that dam hill....very turtle like....but I kept my cool and allowed the bombers to go by and did my best to navigate the trail in the cloud of dust they left behind. For the majority of the decent I was by myself and believe it or not there were times where I was actually laughing out loud (lol eh?) at how nuts some of the sections were. Later I was joined by my new best friend Chris Brown and another rider...and we exchanged amazement at the sight of seeing a rider UPSIDE DOWN in a tree off the cliff side of the trail...like I said...this decent is BRUTAL! As we hammered the lower sections I started to feel my lack of hydration and eating catching up with me and lost a couple more hard fought positions...I think I lost as many as six spots in the last two miles of the race. Bummer, but no big deal. I ended up in 9th for the XC and 35th overall. That means if I would have been more prepared I could have competed for a top 25, maybe even a top 20! (Wa-hooo....down boy!) So I now have a very detailed itinerary for next year. It goes like this. 1.) Build a sub 30 lbs 5-6 inch travel all mountain bike (DUH!). 2.) Get to Downieville a week early and pre-ride the course at least two times (DA-UUH). 3.) carry a bottle on the climb, and have a camelback for the desscent (just like all the smart people). 4) Use gel flasks for the descent...its hard to pull a gu packet out of your jersey pocket and open it while going 20mph on a descent with rocks the size of small R.V.'s 5.) TUBELESS TIRES. 6) Pre-ride the course again if needed. and 7.) Get to the start about 3 hours early and jump on the rollers so I can get the jump on the other 799 racers! SOOOOO...I can't thank Marin enough for all the super support. Steve and Chris worked their asses off at this event and did a great job I might add. I am really happy the team was able to get together and plan future events...Moab anyone? As for me I have at least four more races on my calender. The legs are coming around and I am hungry for some more pain. BIG props to Mo for her 5th place overall. We all know you are an Olympian deep down. Much love goes out to Brian and Nicole...hope the shoulder is healing quickly BRO-ian. Emma gets mad props too for coming all the way in support of the team. Next year look for ALL members of Team Lost Coast to be in the top 20 with a light sprinkling of podiums as well. Amon owes me a 10hr death ride and Matt owes me a climb and decent of Mt. Ashland. Brian owes me a podium for the one he didn't get because of the severely inconvenienced cartilage in his shoulder. Take care all and I look forward to the next team event....Lazers...Geoff.

P.S. Don't EVER....call Amon...."Fruit Cake"...Thanks...G

Return On The Jedi

2009-07-01T22:27:00.000-07:00

My wife Anna and I headed North after work on Friday to participate in the "Return on the Jedi Bike Festival" outside of Merlin OR. There was a short track and super D on Saturday and an XC race on Sunday. I have done this race before(06) and it turns out that Tsering and I both remember racing each other that year even though we did not know each other. The short track was fun. The course was similar to the Santa Rosa dirt crit I got spanked at earlier in the week so I was hungry for some revenge. Evan Plews (Oregon State Champion ) was there and made the pace hard from the start. I dropped to third, then fifth after leading the first lap. I thought to myself "man I really suck", but I dug deep and clawed my way back to third midway through the race with attacks every lap at the top of the climb...MAN...I really like short track. I built a gap on the other chasers and held on for my first pro podium this season. I skipped the super D to catch up on some rest and spend some time with friends. Sundays xc race was good. I stayed with the leaders at the start then settled into my rhythm sitting in 5th. The course was 27 miles with 5600 feet of climbing with a large majority of that elevation being gained on the last single track climb back up to the Jedi trail. Anyone who has done this race knows what I am talking about...it is hard. I rode too hard too early in 06 and paid a dear price on that last climb so it was in my head all day. I caught my buddy Steve on the first climb after he slowed to recover from the pace being set by the leaders. We worked together and kept the pace high. After cresting the first climb at the top of Onion Mountain we headed down the back side of the sketchy, loose and rocky decent. Then my rear tire went soft...I think I had a P.R. on my tube change..and we were back on track after loosing only a couple of minutes. We descended back down to the base of the single track climb and grinded it out with Steve allowing me to set the pace. I still do not have the intensity I need to stay with the leaders but I could definitely feel my endurance working. Multiple 8+ hr rides this winter are to thank for that. Steve and I stayed together all the way to the top of the Jedi. I told him I was not going to sprint at the finish but that didn't mean I was going to take it easy on the decent. I pushed the pace on the rollers and opened up a gap on the final downhill section. There was about a 200 yard paved section leading to the finish and I pushed like hell to keep my gap on Steve but that dude is STRONG! He caught me as we pulled into the finish and we both sat up to finish 4th and 5th respectively. I am taking my lumps getting back to the fitness needed to hang with the big boys, but I enjoy getting thrashed...it only makes us better right? On a more positive note...my wife Anna won here beginner woman's race by 15 minutes!!! Sounds like its time for her to cat up. All in all we had a great weekend. Awesome training for Downieville and a couple more medals for the "Wall of Fame" here in the Huber household. Thanks to Marin for supporting my efforts. The Nail Trail gets better every time I ride it! Happy trails....Geoff.

Fairfax Invitational

2009-07-01T22:26:00.000-07:00

Well here was an interesting race weekend. Tsering and I both found out about the race on Wednesday...so there was not a lot of preparation....and it showed. So we get a late start on Saturday (my fault...work, work, work.). The plan was to get to the trails with enough time to get a lap in before dark. Well, we did make it to Fairfax before dark...but not much before. We jumped on our bikes and headed off. Tsering was familiar with the area and we headed up the trail to the start/finish area. We got about half a lap in before calling it quits. As we headed back down to the car Tsering notices he has a front flat, but we get back before his tire is completely dead. It was definitely DARK when we finished. We headed into S.F. to hook up with Pete (big, BIG thanks to Pete for hooking us up with lodging last minute...those Marin guys and gals are sooooo helpful!) We roll in about 10:30 p.m. and jump on-line to get registered. The website says "registration closed!" WTF! NOOOOOOOOO! We can't believe it....but wait! Pete quickly contacts Mark V and POOF! with a wave of the Marin magic wand we get the name of a contact to get us onto the race in the a.m. Tsering and I get a little sleep and then its up and out early. The race web page says the pro start time is 11:00...Mark says 10:00...aaaaahhhh, better get out early just in case. Pete throws Tsering a spare tube and he fixes his flat before we leave. We grab a cup of coffee and bolt. We pull into Fairfax and jump into our kits and start riding up to the start/finish. As we are climbing....Tsering gets another flat. I, being the experienced bike mechanic ask "Tsering, did you check your tire before putting in the new tube?" "No" is the reply....nuff said. He rides the flat to the start/finish (no time to dilly-dally) and we get registered and Tsering starts to work on getting the flat fixed. Many minutes later Tsering is still trying to get his tire to seat. After doing so he starts to warm up and then....psssssssssst, yes, another flat. At this point I come over and together we notice a small tack nail in his tire. We are then told that a disgruntled local citizen decided that bike racing should not be allowed in the park and to discourage the activity this individual dropped thousands of these little nails all over the course. The race promoters had swept the course with a magnet but there was no way to get them all. Tsering fixes yet another flat and gets about a 30 second warm up before the start of the race. The start was hard and fast with Mark Weir hammering the group. Tsering and I enter the single track about mid pack and work our way up towards the top five. I felt o.k. but as this was my first pro race in two years I could definitely feel my body revolting against the stress. I had two good laps...battling Chris Brown for the last of the top five spots, and then started going backwards on the last lap...finally finishing 8th. Not a great result but I was happy to be in the top ten. Did I mention Tsering got ANOTHER FLAT! Props to him for keeping a cool head and putting a smile on his face despite a very understandable DNF. The weather was great...the course was hard but really fun. The race promoters did a great job and all in all we had a great time considering all the mayhem. Looking forward to Downieville. P.S. Congradulations to Brian on his NorCal State Championship...that guy SHREDS!Cheers...Geoff.

SKYLINE!... WHAT UP!!! CXR!!!

2009-06-17T17:02:00.000-07:00

Where have you been all my life!? I love this course!!! This is how the affair went down! Left my phat crib at 6am and my girlfriend drove us over to the race in napa 2 and a half hours away while I passed out in the passenger seat.( She's such a trooper) I get to the race course unharmed and groggy eyed, register and get geared up. I have a little more food and change the stem on my brand new Marin CXR. I needed to run a shorter stem than what came on this badass rig. This bike is sexy! I'm talkin carbon sexy! I've had only 3 rides on this thing but I know that now that the stem is changed out we are ready. I fill a water bottle and politely ask Nicole(girl friend) if she would mind filling up the other 3 bottles. Thanks Nic and I'm off to warm up. I ride for about 20 min and head over to the start line where apparently every one but me is. I squeeze my way into the second row just behind Mark Weir. I say a friendly hello to the right and left, THEN out of no where I get stuck with a rider's home made shank, there is so much blood oh my god! Ok, Ok so it wasn't quite that exciting at the start line. I'm checking out everyones rides and it looks like the ride of choice was a light weight full suspension. I'm a little nervous cause I've never seen this course before. We get the run down and the gun goes off. I hop on Marks wheel and we rally up the first climb, he's out of the saddle trying to drop me or at least break my spirits about the pace of this thing. It eases up a bit and then its back on. We get to the down hill and I know this dudes reputation. I hear a psst. sound and think maybe he burped some air from his tire. nope I'm wrong it's the sound of his gravity dropper. I hold on tight. We rip through all kinds of rock sections drops and roots. I'm not running tubless and running way too much air so I don't flat. He is ever so slowly pulling away but the sexy carbon hard tail pushes me and tells me not to give up and says other things like I'll never let you down, ride me like you've never ridden me before. OK! I say. how does this feel! Right about now I'm thinking I'm going to need Van Helsing to catch this mystical beast! We hit some windy slightly smoother trail and I get on the gas for a few seconds. I am able to catch "the" Weir Wolf solo. I sit on Marks wheel and sexy carbon and I make a pact to never let that happen again. Mark and I go through the feed zone and start another lap. The field is no where insight. We start to climb and I take the lead. A gap opens up and its on. I take it a bit easier through the rocky stuff because flatting would bring this race to an end for me, whoops I forgot to bring a spare tube. Look back a few times and see no one and it's through the start finish for another lap and up the climb. I hear someone yell, yeah man you' ve got 10 seconds on him! WTF! Where did he come from!? I look back and Mark Weir is breathing down my neck. I decide to rage up the hill to try and open up another gap so I can hold him off on the down. It works I stomp on the pedals again at the top and look back. I take the down quicker than the second lap preying not to flat. Close to the bottom I wreck. I jump up and run back to my bike, apologize and we're off. Hard hard is the only acceptable pace for this point in the race and it is what brought me and sexy carbon over the line for a win. Now I'm the Northern California State Champion and life hasn't been the same since becoming so. The Paparazzi has been following me every where, every one seems to be calling my name every time I walk down the street and now because of this I've had to start wearing panties for when I get out of the car (I don't want croch shots on the front page of every news paper every where) AND THATS THE TRUTH!

nobody better change my blog (mo) (amon)

Peace everybody!

Pro XCT #3: Bump 'N Grind, Alabama

2009-06-02T08:12:00.001-07:00

On May 31 Maureen competed in the 3rd event of the 2009 Pro XCT Series near Birmingham. Here is her race report:
I first went to this race in 2004 as a neophyte mountain biker (still living in Kentucky). It was so much fun that I returned in 2005, 2006, and 2007. The venue is awesome; there is a beautiful lake right next to the course for the perfect post-race cool-down and there is even a BMX track down the road.
The course is usually a really fun 17-mile loop with lots of singletrack, a single long climb, and a technical rocky descent ("Blood Rock") followed by flowing fast twisty singletrack to the finish. Because the race was to be included in the new Pro XCT this year, they did some serious modifications to the course. The usual race course (2 laps of the 17-mile loop) was replaced by a short 6-mile circuit that was about 1/3 paved road. At first I was bummed to learn I wouldn't be riding Blood Rock or the awesome Seven Bridges trail, but I definitely understand the organizers' point of view. USA Cycling is trying to prepare US Mountain Bikers for the international race scene, which, like it or not, features short circuits that demand power and speed. Those racer-types longing for the traditional US cross country racing scene of massive loops requiring rugged individualism should find solace in the NUE Series--if they can find the time to train for 100-mile events!
We did four laps and the men did five. Even though the course was 1/3 paved and only had 500 feet of climbing per lap, it was still freaking hard. Most of the singletrack was very pedal-y and twisty, requiring the utmost concentration despite my inability to see clearly from the hard effort. There were 2 climbs, one singletrack and one paved. There was a rocky staircase that we rode UP; it had two steps and was fairly technical. I was proud to ride it every time!

We sang Happy Birthday to Heather Irmiger and then did a parade lap around the expo area. The start was a drag race on a 1-mile section of road with a slight incline before dropping into a twisty fast singletrack section. On the first lap I was riding pretty well, just pushing as hard as I could and feeling fast on the descents. On the paved climb I put in a massive effort and rode my way into 11th place. I hoped to recover on the road back to the start/finish line by drafting off some other girls, but I didn’t recover fast enough and got dropped in the woods at the start of Lap 2. On my second lap I battled with Chloe and finally dropped her on the paved climb. At the end of my second lap I started feeling really bad, getting goosebumps despite the 90+ temps. By my third lap I felt super-bad in the muggy heat. Chloe passed me back and I started hating my life. I had a little talk with myself and tried to get back in the game. On Lap 4 I started feeling better and focused on having fun on the trail.

I crossed the line in 15th place. I definitely lost several positions and I should’ve fought a little harder. It’s a good lesson though: I better give my all despite how much it hurts, or face lingering regrets.
The crowd at the race was AMAZING! There were friendly people cheering me on EVERYWHERE along the course. It was awesome. I enjoyed being back on the terrain where I learned to mountain bike. If you get a chance to ride here, do it!

There is great coverage of the race here.
Thanks for reading!
-Maureen

Weaverville Super-d

2009-05-24T18:31:00.000-07:00

The Weaverville super-d is one of the last true mountain bike races. The only difference is instead of getting an ounce of weed for winning, you get a little medal still wrapped in cellophane, and a pat on the back. This year was as no different and as haphazard as old days; there were 5 too many people for the shuttle, the "timing guy" got stuck at the bottom, and the timing computer was run off of a car battery with an inverter duct aped to the top. By the time we 5 got to the top of the race most racers were down, just a hand full left. I got a start one minute behind Chuck Ross (former coach and current carrot). It was great, we started out on a gnarly loose rutted fireroadish downhill that had my bike bouncing all over! There was a sharp left turn at the bottom of the hill, but I was too excited about navigating the ruts on the road that I neglected to turn and went right on by. it wasn't until i saw the big x in the road that I looked left and saw the trail with some dust in the air from the previous rider. Quickly I dismounted and returned to the correct section of sick single track where I was to spend the next 18 minutes hoping that Chris T wasn't making up time, and that racers that my competition did not have to pass let everyone by without making them wait too long, all while totally cross eyed anaerobic. Most of these scenario's happened flawlessly, and others, well, the word cluster comes to mind. When it was all said and done Chuck (Carrot) and I passed 5 riders, and managed to win both of our classes. It was time to go unwrap the cellophane, and open that beer with just a little bit bigger grin than anyone there.

Show No Mas!... (course markings?)

2009-05-18T12:42:00.000-07:00

Well this race will definitely be talked about for ages. What can I say about So No Mas? Just kidding sorry to start out sounding so negative. This race rocked! I am really bummbed out for Carlos the promoter who spent countless hours thinking up and organizing this event only to be undermined by some freaking trail marker sabatour (equestrian?)! This is how it went down.
The race started out @ 9 am. it was already warm and we did two short laps above the parking lot to thin out the group. We got the line up and headed out for our first long 30 mile lap. Glen Fant led me, Barry Wicks and Matt (sorry matt I don't know your last name but your fast and you live in arcata). We rode for about 8 miles and glen dropped his seat bag he caught back up and then something else happened because that was the last we saw of him for a while. matt took the lead and I sat in behind barry. We cruised for a while. Then during a routine water crossing Barry launched his attack. I jumped up around matt who had just been passed by barry and we took off. I looked back once and matt was gone. Barry held his pace and with a heart rate of 175 I decided there wasn't anyway I could hold this pace for another 48 miles and 9000 feet of climbing especially with the heat of the day rising! I yelled to Barry "why do you want to hurt me Barry?!" he kind of laughed and rode on. I turned on my ipod which was set to pennywise and rode on. I climbed descended and climbed some more. The course was killer! I hit the exposed climb on the north side of liberty glenn and powered on I was feeling great! I had been planning out this race for some time and was prepared even though I didn't know the course. I was very happy with the pace I was riding and felt like a super hero, too bad there were no buildings out there I could leap in a single bound to test out my super hero theory! oh well, I needed to stay focused anyway. I made it out of liberty glenn and crossed to road stopped at the feed zone grabbed some water and moved on. I rode until the trail dead ended I circled around the water tower and rode back to the feed zone asked the volunteer what I had missed and where the trail went he had no clue I rode back to the water tower and then back to the feed zone. I saw a trail down to the left but it didn't look like it had been ridden. It wasn't marked and it had a fat spiderweb across it. I rode back to the tower once more and on the way back to the feed I saw matt coming up. We decided to go down the spiderweb trail. We descended and descended and descended all the way to the lake where the trail dead ended again. matt and I talked and I was really bummed because by no barry was long gone. About 4 min later look who it is Barry! We all ask each other what any lost racer asks them self. WHAT THE F&*k! Just then maybe another 2-3 min later Glenn rolls up and asks the question of the day really loud. I walk down to the water and asked a cowboy for some directions. He said we needed to head all the way back to the top and there was a trail to left just before the top. His directions were much longer than this and included many unclear landmarks like moss and trees that looked like mystical creatures. The four of us started our long and pissed off climb back up wen all of a sudden Shane rolled down. Shane joined the group and we climbed. Then another racer came down on our way up. We started to build up our numbers as we climbed our numbers grew we were up to about 12 or 14 people. I looked back and felt like Forrest Gump. I just felt like ridinnngggg.(needs to be read with a slow southern drawl) Maureen I bet you'll get it on the first try! Any way this is getting way too long. Everyone rode up to the feed zone got water and rode the pavement back cause no one could decide on the real course. We all got back the the start parking lot and stopped while no one was looking I jumped on my bike sprinted through the start finish cupped my hands together and shook them over my head to fake an amazing win! No one got my picture and there were no podium girls or champagne or any autographing, but it was a sweet race while it lasted and I am definitely doing it next year and you should too. I will be imagining what it will be like to finish this race for the next year. The course was mainly single track it got up to 102 degrees that day and the only one to complete one full lap was Amon Pease and Pete the singlespeeder who took a random turnoff and ended up finding the course markers again and completed one full one. They should probably be the real winners but since I had already fake won well before they got back (cause they did the whole thing) That title was already taken. THE END!

Spring Thaw XC, Ashland, OR

2009-05-17T22:45:00.000-07:00

This weekend several of us headed up to Matt's neck of the woods for the Ashland Spring Thaw. Emma, Geoff, and Maureen joined Matt for the XC race on Saturday.
Here is Maureen's XC race report:
I knew very little about the course today--I heard there was a long climb, a flattish section at the top, and a long singletrack descent. At the starting line I lamented that I didn't know more about the starting climb.
The men and women started together, which meant the pace would be high. From the gun I went all-out, following a bunch of guys and taking the early lead for the women. The course started with a paved road and quickly turned to massively-wide, beautifully-groomed fire road with a very gentle grade (but we were definitely going up!). I played some roadie games, working on my wheel-sucking (definitely a tactic that I generally loathe). After 25 minutes of pushing myself, a train of 3 women came up beside me. I jumped aboard and felt fairly comfortable holding their pace.The leader of the train, Amber from Reno, was climbing like a beast! She led the entire climb and seemed content to hold her blistering pace for days. She casually accelerated a few times, and dropped us all for a bit. I played yet more roadie games, using a guy's passing wheel as a bridge back to her. It worked, but I was feeling a little unsure if I would be able to hold the pace, which had elevated my heartrate up to a scary 190 bpm. The climbing continued as the route turned into a fun singletrack that had several steep pitches. Amber was STILL killing it, and I was barely holding on. Finally we saw some officials on the trail, which meant we had reached the top of the climb! Hurray, I thought.
But to my dismay, the roadie-ness continued as a big group of guys convened at the top of the climb. Amber joined the fray and they all started motoring on the flattish road that was so nicely maintained I can't call it a fire road. I tried to stay with them, but I couldn't quite bridge the gap because my HR had reached 192 and I thought I was going to implode. I was bummed when they sped away, leaving me in no-man's land to ride with only my own two legs. I didn't want to get caught by the #3 woman! Eventually someone came up behind me and said "Hey Mo, do you have a GU??" It was Geoff to the rescue! I saved him with a GU, and got on his wheel. He was leading the singlespeed race. He rode impressively fast for only having one gear. I took a few pulls but Geoff did the lion's share of the work--he is my hero. It was really fun to have a teammate out there to work with on the endless road from hell.
After 45 mintues on this road, we FINALLY hit the descent. FINALLY we hit some singletrack, some actual mountain biking! We descended a beautiful trail on a steep, forested hillside. About 1/2 mile into the 6-mile descent I caught Amber!! I couldn't believe it. She let me by and I worked to keep my head together as I descended this trail for the first time. Geoff knew the trail very well; I followed him until we hit the lower part that had a lot of jumps and rutted switchbacks...we were now on the downhill course. I slowed down a bit since I haven't yet mastered the jumping thing. But I safely made it through to the bottom and rolled in for 1st place in the Women's Overall!! It was a dramatic finale to an epic fitness test!
Geoff took 1st in the singlespeed division, Emma got 9th overall, and Matt got 14th in Pro Men.
Congrats team!

Sea Otter 2009

2009-05-12T23:54:00.000-07:00

Sea Otter 2009
This years Sea Otter was a big deal for me because I missed 07 and 08. I based my training this last winter specifically to do well at Sea Otter. My wife Anna, and my good friend (a strong NORBA pro) joined me for four days of fun in the sun in Monterey. We arrived in Monterey late Thursday night and got a good night sleep to prepare for the weekend. Steve and I pre-rode the course on Friday and we were both very happy that we would be racing in dry conditions this year. The dry course this year was in stark contrast to the “Sea Slaughter” that I participated in, in 2006. Anyone who participated in that race knows that it was one of the wettest and muddiest races ever. Saturday was short track day. Anna and I excitedly watched our friends and teammates go against some of the best riders in the biz. Anyone who competes in short track racing knows that the Sea Otter short track is on of the most competitive of the year. The race was fun to watch but also frustrating to watch because my friend Steve and fellow Lost Coast teammate Brian Astell were both pulled within the first 15 minutes. Neither rider was pulled for lack of effort (I watch both riders move up every lap) but it’s hard to pass 75 plus riders in a time span of about 10 minutes. Next year look for the team Lost Coast riders to be at the front of the pack after call-ups!

Sunday, race day…
I awoke early on Sunday in preparation for my 8 a.m. start time. I had been very relaxed all weekend but got a small case of butterflies as I ate my oatmeal. Our hotel was fairly close to the raceway and I got a perfect 40-minute warm-up ride to the start/finish line. I believe the field size was about 30 riders. The race started fast with team Cycle Path putting all five riders at the front. As we spun wildly down the smooth pavement of the raceway I moved into sixth place. I worked my way into third place by the end of the first lap and and kept a close watch on 2nd place. Conrad Snover of team Cycle path led the entire race and eventually finished six minutes ahead of 2nd and 3rd places. A very impressive ride indeed. I felt strong the entire race but the heat started taking its toll halfway thru the second lap. Even though I consumed 5 bottles during the race I started to have leg cramps at mile 25. At this point I had a firm grasp on second place, but couldn’t put anymore then 70% effort in the pedals as anything more would cause my legs to cramp. I eased up a bit and pushed on in hopes of securing one of the top spots on the podium. As I climbed the last two miles back to the finish I was caught and passed by another rider. I tried hard to keep his wheel but the legs were having nothing of it! I finished the race in 3rd, 10 seconds behind 2nd place. I was very happy with my result and the feeling of standing on the podium after the race was fantastic. I accomplished both the goals that I had set for Sea Otter, which were 1. Podium finish and 2. Break three hours for the 38-mile course (2:51).
I really want to thank Mark and Pete at Marin for all of their support. Congratulations to Maureen for her 5th place in the pro women’s Super D and a solid finish in the long course, congratulations to Emma and Matt for battling through their first Sea Otter XC pro races and finishing strong. I want to give special recognition to Brian as he raced his heart out in the long course. Look for this guy to be in the top 20 next year without a doubt! And last but definitely not least I want to give props to Amon for battling with the big boys and smiling the whole time in the sweltering heat. Anyone who has ridden with Amon knows that he is one of the most talented riders around. Thanks again to Marin and WTB for their support of the team. Look for Team Lost Coast riders this summer at a podium near you!
Cheers…long live, long rides…

Geoff

P.S. We all missed Tsering at Sea Otter as he was taking care on the home front. Sometimes work takes precedence over play…Oh the life of the working professional.

Shasta Lemurian

2009-04-25T21:53:00.000-07:00

Two Lost Coast Brewery team members made it out to Shasta Lemurian race in Whiskey Town CA. Brian Astell Threw down a massive effort good enough for 5th place in the pro mens division, while Matt Wittler pedaled his way to 10th overall. Race Reports to follow! That means you Brian!

Napa Valley Dirt Classic

2009-04-21T19:03:00.001-07:00

Napa Valley Dirt Classic

Things went well in my season opener at the Napa Valley Dirt Classic. Beautiful weather and a good turnout made for a great weekend. I was stoked to have a couple of teammates down to race with. Matt (13th Pro Men) and Emma (5th place Pro Women) both did well and special thanks to Emma for getting me a Team Lost Coast jersey for the race! Even though my race went well things started off a little rough. The uphill start to the single track was chaotic as always and I unfortunately clipped my hand/handlebar on a metal trail guard and went down. Not a bad crash as far as crashes go but a little unnerving to say the least. I quickly got on my bike and was able to move towards the front of the group by the top of the starting climb. I felt good and was able to hold the lead the entire race; Matt Whittler and I raced together most of the day and finished strong. I was really impressed with the entire event and it was a nice introduction to local California racing. First place, Pro Single Speed.

-Geoff Hubert, Redway

EPIC Race Report: El Reto de los Volcanes

2009-04-21T18:50:00.000-07:00

**FAIR WARNING: this is an epic tale... The visual imagery is here!

In early April, Maureen traveled to San Jose for a 3-day mountain bike stage race. Here is a recap of her adventure:

Sometime in the winter, Joy, my friend and fellow rookie mtb racer, sent me a very short email with lots of exclamation points and question marks. She wanted to know if I wanted to go to Costa Rica for a mountain bike stage race. Her high school friend went in 2008 and had good things to say about it. Costa Rica has been high on my list of places to see for a while, and I've been interested in checking out mtn bike stage racing. So I thought about my response for exactly 10 seconds--YES!

To preface everything, I have to say I didn't think much of the name of the race, except that I thought it translated as "The route of the volcanoes." More on that later...
Joy and I rendezvous'd at the airport in San Jose. Our bikes and belongings arrived too—always a bonus for international travel! The race director picked us up in an awesome van that had an integrated loading ramp at the back bumper. He escorted us to our hotel, a nice place near the town of Santa Barbara. The climbing started here, within the first hour of my trip. The van struggled to get up the steep hill from Santa Barbara to the hotel. Then there was the hill from the dining room to our hotel room...Costa Rica is anything but flat!

We had one day between our arrival and the race-start to settle in. The first day (Thursday), we discovered the sun rises at 5:30am, there is really good pizza to be found, and that you can get a spare derailleur hanger for a new Gary Fisher frame from a small bike shop in Costa Rica. We spent a lot of this day waiting for the bike shop to open after lunch—it seems the Costa Ricans are serious about a leisurely lunch break. After spending most of the afternoon in town, we rode back up to the hotel and got ready for the first day of racing.

The following morning we awoke early and had a nice breakfast featuring a HUGE block of farmers cheese, scrambled eggs, some chorizo, and beans & rice. A big passenger van arrived and out came Javier, our chillax, kind-hearted, ponytailed, and pink Bluetooth-wearing Costa Rican driver. He loaded our bikes onto the roof with the help of his young sidekick that Joy affectionally refers to as Tumnus. We rolled in style in our big 10-passenger van with the backwards-facing front row. Our crew of non-ticos included Justin and Amy from Chattanooga, who heard about this race last year from a flyer posted at a tiny bikeshop in Tennessee. Justin and Joy went to high school together back in the Dark Ages ;) and that’s how Joy ended up down there. Then there was Jason, an endurance fiend from Florida with a race resume that includes La Ruta and the 11-day trans-Portugal race. Finally there was Daniel and Tami, a couple from Mexico City that can handle just about anything—paddling, rock climbing, biking…they recently completed the Trans-Mexico bike race. Plus they spoke Spanish, so we gringos were psyched to have them with us!!

Now for some details on the stages:

Day 1: 28 mi, 6300' climbing. We climbed up the side of Irazu Volcano. Our route didn't even summit the volcano but I still climbed on my bicycle continuously for 2 hours and 45 minutes. I had no idea it was possible to ride a bike uphill for that long!! There were exactly 3 segments that were not upward progress in this 2hr 45min. We climbed up steep, sandy double-track that was technical in many sections. There were some very steep pitches (>20% grade) that I was very proud to ride past lots of guys walking their bikes. It was an overcast day when we started down at 4000', but as we steadily climbed I realized we would reach the clouds! Eventually I was riding in a foggy mist (and still climbing). I rounded countless blind turns, hoping for the end of the climbing. Around every corner it was foggy and hard to see what was ahead. Inevitably it was an inclined surface. This is when I learned to expect more climbing--Keep the bar low and (eventually) be pleasantly surprised. When someone said we had finally reached the highest point of the ride (around 9000’ elevation), I didn’t believe them. According to the course profile there were 2 checkpoints before we reached the top, and so far we had only reached the first one. It turned out the first checkpoint didn’t exist as I expected (a sag stop with food and water is what I had in mind), so we were actually getting ready to descend. Which is a good thing, because I had already climbed for nearly 3 hours, and if we had only just reached the first checkpoint, I would still have at least another 1.5 hours of upward progress to make. At the checkpoint I feasted on papas (boiled little potatoes with salt), watermelon, bananas, and galletas (cookies!). I also refilled my hydration pack and tried some Isostar energy drink. On the descent we went through a cattle farm (just as smelly as the big CAFOs on I-5), past a mine, and through some of the fluffiest dust I’ve ever seen. Three inches of fluffy dirt made for super-sketchy descending; I can’t imagine that stuff during the rainy season. We descended some of what we climbed up, and I realized while ripping downhill at Mach-10 that we had climbed up some very steep terrain. There were a few short climbs to the end that punished my tired mind. Finally I reached the end of the stage in 3hrs 42min. The first day I thought it would be good to bring a lot of ‘supplies’ for the ride, you know, in case I was benighted, in case I had to bust out some Survivor-skills. So I brought a knife, a headlamp, energy food, sunblock, extra clothes…you name it and I probably had it. This meant I had one heavy backpack, and I didn’t realize just how heavy it was until after the stage when Justin lifted my backpack and told me I could’ve shaved about 30 minutes off my time without it. It easily weighed 10 lbs.

Joy and Justin rode sans hydration packs, and of course they survived. It wasn’t an epic, 12-hour ride…it was just a 4-hour ride, but still epic. Ok, tomorrow I won’t make that mistake. Joy finished about 20 minutes ahead of me today, which meant I had a lot of ground to make up over the next 2 days. And in first place already was the Costa Rican National Champion, a strong little climbing tica that beat Joy by 20 minutes! Whew, what a day we had.

Our bikes were pretty dirty, but the mechanic from the local bikeshop offered to clean our bikes for a mere $8! We took that deal and later that night we got our bikes back...they looked brand new! Even the tires were shining.

Day 2: 23 mi, 6400' climbing on Volcan Barva. Today I left the backpack at home and carried 3 bottles. The race started from our hotel this morning, which was nice. It was funny to hear course information from the race director. They were explaining details about the route today in SPANISH, and I had no idea what they were saying. I looked over at Joy with a quizzical face and she just shrugged her shoulders. Right from the start we were climbing...first up that hill from the dining room. Then we continued climbing on some of the steepest paved roads I've ever imagined. Justin warned us that when a road is paved, it's because it's steep. Well, this road today was so steep I can't believe it didn't get washed away--I was riding in my little chainring ("Bulldog") and my 2nd from easiest gear and STILL WORKING HARD! We also had a horrible hike-a-bike section on slippery, clayey mud that lasted at least a mile. At the top I had just under 2 hrs straight climbing. From there we headed down a forested descent that was very slippery and muddy...but it was singletrack in a jungle! The route continued on a beautiful green hillside and dropped onto a road. Then we hit a steep downhill chute that was quite sketchy.
Eventually we hit a rocky dirt road that was the last climb of the day, a serious one with just under 1000 feet of climbing. This climb dragged on forever and after 25 minutes I started getting angry. Angry because i didn't know the route, angry because we had ALREADY climbed 4000 feet today, angry because what kind of race director was Henry?? Where was the amazing singletrack? Well, not in Costa Rica. After dropping my climbing companion (the anger helped me go faster!) and summiting this climb in 35 minutes, I was NOT rewarded with a fun singletrack descent to the finish. I didn't even get to descend on dirt! That's right, it was a ROAD descent!! Talk about adding insult to injury...not only end the day with a long, hard climb, but send us to the finish on a paved descent...

At the finish I was miffed. But I calmed down when we had a great lunch at Freddo Fresas including a yummy strawberry smoothie, a cappuccino, and a piece of chocolate cake. While I was at lunch I finally asked the question: Why is La Ruta de los Conquistadores called La Ruta but this race is called El Reto? (I was assuming that ruta and reto both meant route) Well, my tico friend Jose explained that EL RETO means CHALLENGE, not route! Talk about having an ah-ha moment!! Suddenly my perspective was changed. I realized this wasn't a mountain bike race...it was an adventure. It was a brutally hard course to test your mettle. Ok I finally understood. And I stopped whining about the route...for the most part ;) Today I only finished 4 minutes behind Joy!! Riding sans backpack definitely helped, but it seemed like Joy had 2nd place locked up.

Again we got our bikes washed for the greatest deal in town and had a relaxing evening. Tomorrow was already the final day! I was still feeling good...not too tired and still had decent legs. Since this was my first stage race, my main goal was to survive the experience.

Day 3: 28 mi, 7000' climbing on Volcan Poas. We awoke today with someone beating on our door. It was Daniel, he said there was a time change and we lost an hour overnight! Joy and I rushed out of bed and got ready in 15 minutes. It was still pre-dawn! After another 10 minutes we found out Daniel's cell phone changed time for some unknown reason, but Costa Rica had NOT changed time today. Joy was flustered by the mix-up; I thought it was hilarious. It definitely seemed like par for the course. Joy was super-tired today, but I felt ok...so I thought that maybe, just maybe I could finish ahead of her today! But NO! Even in her exhausted state Joy can climb circles around me. However, I do have one redemption: I can climb steep technical rocky fireroads. The ones where you're in your easiest gear, sitting on the very tip of your saddle and PUSHING hard. Where you have to avoid loose rocks and KEEP CRANKING! Some of them that I rode today were >20% grade.

Today was no easy-peasy joy-ride to Paris! The route today had 3 x 1hour climbs. We started the day on the road that we descended on Day 2. Turns out it was pretty easy because I was able to ride the whole thing in my middle ring. Then we had a LONG, technical descent! It was full of big rocks and slippery in some parts. Then we dumped out onto a steep paved descent that seemed to drop off into oblivion. We lost so much elevation rocketing down the volcano towards San Jose that I thought about just continuing onto the airport and waiting there :)
After this endless descent (we must've been below sea level at this point ;) the road started turning upwards. We started climbing on a hot, open road past lots of houses. At one aid station I was given 2 little baggies, one filled with Coke and the other filled with Jello (yes, Jello!). The coke was not flat and too fizzy for me to take in while climbing, and the Jello just seemed sketchy. Eventually the paved road turned to dirt, and slowly I climbed into a forest. The dirt road got steeper and rutted, but I kept on riding. I enjoyed the challenge of maintaining pressure on the pedals and staying upright at such low speeds. I was PSYCHED to ride all the way to the top and past a bunch of guys walking. The descent after this climb was the most fun on the trip. Kinda grassy, kinda rocky, forested and twisty...I got into a flow and really enjoyed it. At the end I was dumped back onto a paved road, through a farm, and back onto another climb.

This climb was the final ascent of the race. I heard it was tough, several kilometers in length, and so steep that no one would be able to ride it. Well, sadly, all of these rumors were correct. It was a bummer to finish on such a nasty hike-a-bike. It really was so steep and slippery that I could barely hike it. There were Sunday joy-riders out in jeeps and 4-wheelers gunning past me and spewing exhaust in my face. I hiked with my bike for about 30 minutes. I was tired and longing for the end of this misery. With my 3 years of high school spanish I concocted a dialogue with Henry: "Por que este ruta? Por que?! Este ruta es muy mal para la bicicleta! Necessito un motorbike! No me gusta!" I passed a lot of stray dogs sleeping in driveways and considered joining them. They seemed much smarter than I! FINALLY I reached a point where I could remount my bike. Then I reached the top. Henry was there watching the race. I said "No me gusta!" Guess where the route took me after this climb? Yep, back on the ROAD DESCENT! Bummer. My legs just started feeling crampy on the road...good thing the race was ending. I survived the hidden ditch crossing at the finish line (a few unlucky people endo'd here). I finished! The end of this race was absolutely brutal. But it is called El Reto...

I finished 3rd again today. I was happy with a string of 3rd place finishes behind the Costa Rican National Champion and the climbing beast Joy. I was 30 minutes behind Joy, most of this time I lost on the first day with my silly survival backpack. Tami ended up 4th and Amy was 6th.
We ended our day drinking muchas cervezas in the hot tub at the hotel. We were happy to be finished and swapped stories of misery. Joy and I were flying home the next day to get back to reality. Justin, Amy, Daniel, and Tami had the following week to take a proper vacation in Costa Rica...I was definitely jealous.

Costa Rica is an amazing place! I wouldn't recommend a mountain biking vacation just yet...I'd wait till there is ample singletrack. But if you want to hang out with wonderful, relaxed people and experience rugged natural beauty, book your flight now!

Thanks for reading this epic report about my epic adventure! VENCI EL RETO!

Here are my updated photos.

cheers, Maureen

Grasshopper #3: Lake Sonoma

2009-04-13T10:02:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, April 11, Emma and I (Maureen) rendezvous'd near Santa Rosa for a training 'race' around Lake Sonoma. This was my first Grasshopper race and the first ride on my NEW BIKE! Yes, only 12 hours old, my 2009 Marin Team Issue in beautiful blue and white was ready for its maiden voyage. Turns out I was ready too, because I felt AWESOME today! Even on the initial road climb (I usually get grumpy about riding my mountain bike on roads) I was psyched to push myself. The new bike felt great, even with the 68 cm handlebars (my old bike has 53 cm bars!). Only once I nearly hit my bars on a tight squeeze. The course was in great condition and nearly all the punchy, steep climbs were rideable. True to the adventurous spirit of this event, I had to stop and consult the map several times and took a wrong turn once (not bad considering the 13 chances to go awry!). There are no course markings, no marshalls, no feed zones...just a legit mountain bike course, your bike, and you. It's awesome!
The best part of the race was the 1-mile climb at the finish. I really can't believe I just wrote that...but after my Costa Rican adventure, my perspective on climbing is metamorphosed!! This Lake Sonoma course was great because everything except the initial road section was on dirt (rideable dirt at that, not stupid-steep hike-a-bikes), a welcome change from last weekend in Central America. Anyway, the last climb was about 15 minutes of fireroad climbing, fairly steep but really not that bad. I ended up the first female finisher with a ride time of 2:41.
Of course, the REAL best part of the event was hanging out with Ms. Emma. It's been too long! She also had a great ride, descending fast, climbing all the steep technical uphills, and finishing with time of 2:55.
Post-ride we had some great lentil soup, salsa, and chips during our nice little picnic.
Here are some more photos of my sweet new ride! I am forever grateful to the nice guys at Marin for building up my bike PERFECTLY and very quickly. Muchas gracias!!
Thanks for reading! -Maureen

Cool Mtb Race

2009-04-10T10:49:00.000-07:00

Mar 15th Matt and Maureen headed to The Cool Mtb Race in Cool Ca. Cool is a race that promises 3 things, mud, rain, and pain; and it always seems to deliver. It is cyclocross meets rocks, meets sweet singletrack. Like a good law and order episode for bikes, these are their stories. Ding ding.

The Cool mountain bike race holds a special place in my heart. This race back in 2001 was the first time I threw my leg over a bike for a cross country event. This year, 2009, this same race holds another special place, the first time I would throw my leg over a bike as a professional cross country racer. As promised this race was perfect. There was a crowd, mud, lots of racers, rain, and no shortage of pain. The cool race consists of 3 ten mile laps featuring two stream crossings that will eat your bottom bracket for breakfast. This event is many racers opening race for the season, and this was no exception. Everyone was antsy to sprint for the single track hole shot, and their chance for cool glory. Maureen and I were no different. When the gun went off, all I could do was hang on. My heartrate had not been this high for almost six months, and it hurt. I was pegged at 190+ bpm for the entire first lap. As I started my second lap I lost sight of the lead group. (RATS!) My body began to tell me subtly to slow down; starting in my left quad, moving to my right, I started to feel that twinge that only happens before you cramp. I promptly drank my entire water bottle, and kept on pushing. Third lap was the same story, started cramping ¼ of the way through my third lap. This time the cramps would not hold off till the end of the lap. Instead they would come back with three miles to go to the finish. I was out of water, and starting to cramp. By this time I had spent half a lap passing beginner racers, some of which were toting huge camelbacks, and full bottles in preparation of a full day of battle. I began to pass riders by asking if they had any water to spare. The third guy I asked replied “#$!! Yea, Gu20 work?” I was back in business, and began charging to the finish. I was sitting sixth place, and promptly passed 5th and 4th place, third quickly came into sight. I dropped a gear and picked up the pace. Charging hard to the finish I missed second and third by thirty seconds.

El Reto de los Volcanes

2009-04-08T20:44:00.000-07:00

On April 1 Maureen traveled to Costa Rica with her racing companion Joy for a 3-day mountain bike stage race. Here is her story:
Several months ago Joy asked me if I wanted to race my bike in Costa Rica. Always keen for an adventure, I said YES! Now, having returned safely, I can say emphatically that an adventure was had! We rode our bikes up 3 volcanoes, covered nearly 100 miles, and climbed over 19,000 feet!! Each day we climbed some of the steepest terrain I've ever imagined. Joy, the amazing climber that she is, was in 7th heaven. Me? Not so much. But let me tell you I now know what it means to ride my bike uphill (and steep too!) for 2.5 hours straight. I am excited for Downieville so I can laugh at that 'climb' (a mere 4000' feet of elevation gain in 8 miles). I have lots to say about the race, but I'll have to add more later. I plan to post some elevation profiles so you can see why I could've chosen an easier introduction to stage racing!
For now, I have some photos that tell some of the story that you can see here.
-Maureen

US Cup: Fontana, CA

2009-04-01T21:05:00.000-07:00

Matt and Maureen traveled to the US Cup in Fontana on March 28-29. The race was dry and dusty and featured a new, harder course. We had a great time visiting with Gary and Maria from ESI Grips and Matt from Hayes Brakes.
Look for some photos to be added along with race recaps soon!

Lost Coast Brewery Team Training Camp, Day 4

2009-03-04T16:16:00.000-08:00

To finish out our awesome training camp weekend our group ventured back out into the Southern Humboldt backcountry to ride one of the best trails in the country! The Paradise Trail along with the weather was determined to send our group scurrying back to the comfort of Emma's and Tsering's homes but Team LCB and company would not be swayed from our goal of riding this beautiful twelve mile loop of wooded single-track and dual-slalom/ four-cross style descents. Instead of griping about the down-pouring rain and the epic winds that were blowing it sideways, we warmed up with a little impromptu dance party, club music and all, upon arrival at the trailhead!! The group continued to warm-up on the first single-track climb through the forest which led us to a fun bermed dual slalom style trail with berms and jumps, then another short climb, then a fun forested s.t. descent. At the bottom we had a team building challenge in the form of a swollen river crossing. Ethan 'tall order' Black was the first to fjord the river, and everybody groaned when he promptly was up to his junk in cold river water. Being that he was the tallest by about four or five inches, nobody was looking forward to following his lead. Tsering manned up to the challenge next and was unlucky to lose his footing and was nearly submerged in the creek before he new it. The bike remained safely over his head though and out of the water. Ethan waded back to the middle of the river and we began to pass bikes across in a bucket brigade fashion. Mark ventured up river a little ways and found a shallower more docile spot to cross and Maureen and Annand followed his lead. The rest of the group eventually braved the cold rapids and made it safely across. Luckily we had a four and a half mile s.t. climb to get to the top of Paradise ridge to warm back up after the crossing. Nearing the top the wind was howling and trying it's best to sour people's moods but nobody gave in. Good thing too, because to finish the ride off is a wild and woolly four-cross style descent to the bottom with jumps, alternate lines to cliff drops and amazing bermed switchbacks that had me laughing almost hysterically at one point from the fun of it all! Tsering and I raced down the last mile or so where Tsering took a sweet secret line on the second to last switchback to take the lead. I tried to counter with a similar move on the last switchback nearly t-boning Tsering in the process, but was unsuccessful in the attempt. Brian, Tsering and I waded back across the creek, not nearly as daunting this time though, and waited for the rest of the group. After about five minutes Tsering crossed back through the creek to start riding back up the trail to check if everything was OK. The moment he made it to the other side the rest of the group, who had stopped for photo ops, rode into sight and we had a good laugh about Tsering's unnecessary river crossing. We finished the ride with a short climb to the trail head then rapidly changed in the rain trying to keep our dry clothes dry for the drive back to the house. We all regrouped at Emma's pad and started making warm food immediately while the group started the rotation through the showers. We all reminisced about the fun had during the weekend and slowly people started to pack up and leave to make their journeys back home. Day four wrapped up a great weekend of getting to know sponsors, riding and just plain fun with new and old friends! Here's looking forward to the good times to be had during the upcoming season!

Lost Coast Brewery Team Training Camp, Day 3

2009-03-03T20:00:00.000-08:00

8:00Saturday everyone got up to cloudy skies, with a 100% chance of pain, with a slight chance of suffering. The night before Tsering had everyone talked into deviating from our schedule to do an amazing ride by the coast.
We got up to Mo contemplating what Kinetic Coffee’s to brew, and Emma making sure everyone knew what food was up for grabs. Before we knew it we were in the cars, some of us half awake, and off to the trailhead; an early start for most.
After the short drive, suiting up, some team pictures, and a quick warm-up the group headed up a very steep switchback climb. The trail was riddled with leaves, loose rock, and twigs, basically anything and everything to spoil your traction. Pete was suffering up this climb on a 30 lbs bike! Not fair since the rest of us were on low to mid twenty lbs bikes from Marin’s demo fleet.(Thanks Mark)
After regrouping at the top, and navigating the rolling ridge line came the first epic loose downhill which immediately claimed its first victim. “The muscle” as he is affectionately referred to punctured, after repairing his bike, the mountain swiftly claimed its second victim. Tsering slid around a corner going a little too fast and roundhouse kicked a tree. (He was ok, just a little swollen)

We soon hit the best part of the ride, a steep downhill switchback section. The cliff edge was so close the trail bed was eroding off the cliff. It made for a spectacular view of the ocean through the coastal fog. At the bottom of the trail we regrouped next to a herd of elk. It was here that we looked back and began to appreciate how epic of a descent we had just come down.After a brief photo shoot with our furry celebrities it was back up the four mile climb to the cars.

When we got back to the cars a few riders, Amon, “The Muscle”, Ethan and myself decided it would be a great idea to spin the 12 or so miles back to Emma’s house. I blame the whole thing on Amon. The spin took the better part of an hour, and we were back just in time to catch a hot shower, and some awesome food! That night the team ventured out yet again for some live music in Garberville, and a guaranteed good time.

Lost Coast Brewery Team Training Camp, Day 2

2009-03-03T19:58:00.000-08:00

On Friday, Feb 20, Team LCB minus Emma :( met up with Nigel Hill for an awesome ride in his backyard of McKinleyville. First our host treated us to some homemade waffles from his waffle iron. Tasty! Then we headed for the woods, which are within a mile of Nigel's house. The trails reminded me of the upper campus trails in Santa Cruz: tight, twisty-turny singletrack through beautiful redwoods. Steep punchy climbs and fast descents. One section (called Lopes trail) evoked the type of gleeful feeling that only a pumptrack can. I have no idea what our route looked like; we were lost in a maze of moto trails that Nigel has worked hard to maintain. Thanks for all your hard work!!
After our ride we cleaned up and headed to Kinetic Koffee, where we met up with Mark Vanek from Marin Bikes. Yes, in an unassuming warehouse in Arcata is the source of the best roasted beans ever! It was a privilege to see the workspace of our favorite roastmaster, Mark Ritz. He gave us a tour of his space and walked us through the experience of a typical bag of green beans under his care. After some cajoling by yours truly, we were treated to a demonstration of the Aero Press, a genius invention that brews espresso (complete with crema!) without that pesky $1000 machine. Made with the new Espresso Nero beans, this espresso was extremely tasty! I'm definitely planning to get one of these... Someone made the hilarious joke about the resemblance of the Aero Press to a needle and syringe. I still contend that caffeine is harmless fun.
Sufficiently caffeniated (though espresso has less caffeine than drip!), we headed down the 101 to Eureka to visit THE Lost Coast Brewery. This was my first trip to the epicenter of awesome beer--turns out the food is awesome too! We were treated to our drinks by the one and only Barbara Groom, brewmaster extraordinare. She even took the time to hang out with us for dinner! Like any good first-time visitor, I got the massive beer Sampler. One little glass of ALL the beers. I'm happy to report they are all tasty! I especially liked the Raspberry Brown and the Eightball Stout. But my favorite was the Great White (I'm not just making that up, either!).
After our splendid dinner, we headed back to Redway. Later we were joined by Pete Black from Marin Bikes. Pete and Mark came up to do some epic riding and hang out with their favorite team ;) Saturday we planned to do a tough ride that climbs up one ridge, descends to the ocean, and climbs back up and over to the start. Yay mountain biking! -Maureen

Lost Coast Brewery Team Training Camp, Day 1

2009-03-01T17:32:00.000-08:00

This past weekend I was thrilled and honored to have my little house on the river packed full of bikes, spandex, water bottles, and awesome mountain biker friends and team mates for four days of riding in Humboldt County. Tsering and I planned out a weekend packed with the best mountain bike rides across the county and meetings with sponsors and friends:

Day 1 (Thursday)

2:00 pm - Arrive to Redway, Ca (28 Barnes Lane).

3:30 pm - Local group ride- Community park, Kimtu, campground loop

6:00 pm - Bike check & maintenance (Amon)

7:30 pm - Dinner and team meeting at Emma’s

Day 2 (Friday)

9:00 am - Depart for Eureka

10:00 am - MTB ride in McKinleyville w/ Nigel Hill

1:30 pm - Tour of Kinetic Koffee w/ Mark Ritz

3:00 pm - Group lunch @ Lost Coast Brewery w/ Barbara Groom

Friday Night – Dancing or a show?

Day 3 (Saturday)

11:00 am - MTB ride:

Option 1: Founders Grove, Look Prairie, Thornton trail (Weott)

Option 2: Homegrown Single track w/ Tyce Fraser (Salmon Creek)

6:00 pm - Dinner at Tsering’s

7:00 pm - Group stretch and massage exchange

Day 4 (Sunday)

8:00 am - Group breakfast at Emma’s

10:00 am - Paradise Trail at Kings Range (near Shelter Cove)

Of course we didn't stick exactly to schedule, but in a show of their commitment to the team, all of the team mates come to Southern Humboldt from as far away as Ashland, Oregon as well as Mark and Pete from Marin Bikes, Ethan from Santa Rosa, and Anand who traveled from Berkeley with Mo to take awesome pictures for us!

On Thursday I sat around my house anxiously awaiting the arrival of my new and old team mates. Almost all at once Brian, Amon, Matt and Ethan showed up to 24 Barnes Lane and we took off for a tour of the local trails. We rode from Redway to the Community Park in Garberville, over to Benbow through Kimtu, through the state park in Benbow, and back to Redway. None of us had a camera on our little ride, but we all had a good time cruising around the local trails, especially the network of singletrack that weaves through the Community Park. Sadly our local trails at the Community Park are now closed as the county has determined that the park is zoned for agricultural use only and any recreational use of the park is illegal. We had a very emotional community meeting the week following our team training camp and we are really hoping to re-open the park to the hikers, bikers, dog walkers, frisbee golfers, picnickers, and bird-watchers who have been using the park peacefully for years.

We got back from our ride and met up with Tsering, who had been up in Eureka for a work meeting all day, as well as Anand and Mo. My lovely friend Sara came over and we all made homemade pizzas together with a smorgasbord of toppings. Later in the evening some of us went to Tophs House in Benbow for a good, but tragically short show by K'Naan, a hip-hop artist from Somalia who's touring all over the country right now.

Brian Astell Wins CXSR Cross Series Final!

2009-02-26T17:14:00.000-08:00

Huge congrats are due to Team Lost Coast Brewery rider Brian Astell who took home the first team win of the season last week at the CXSR series final race in Santa Rosa! Check out the sweet press release from Marin Bikes below:

The last race of the bikemonkey.net CXSR Cross Series in Santa Rosa rewarded fans and competitors alike with tough competition and even tougher weather. Dark clouds welcomed the final event held on Valentines Day in Doyle Park in Santa Rosa, CA and as the racers lined up the skies opened with a deluge to baptize bikes and bodies with cold, thick mud.

Among the field was Team Lost Coast Brewery rider Brian Astell, who took a break from his winter base-training schedule to test his fitness in the premier A’s race among noteworthy racers Josh Snead of HRS/Rock Lobster and Chris Brown of Team Norcal. At the gun Snead surged to break free of the pack in the first few laps, but Astell maintained contact before overtaking Snead. Jumping the barriers instead of dismounting, Astell built a gap of 30-45 seconds over Snead and held it though the remainder of the race to take the win in dramatic style.

The course featured a mix of flat lanes through the muddy infield, a short pavement section and two technical downhill sections with one stair run-up into a sand pit. While the Cortina has been Astell’s bike choice for the season, in Sant Rosa he chose to race a Mill Valley as the flat handlebar and longer chainstays provided added control in the slippery conditions and extra clearance for the frame-clogging mix of grass and mud.

Be sure to keep an eye out for Brian and the rest of the Lost Coast team as they hit the 2009 Cross Country and Super D Circuit!

Check out these sweet videos of Brian hopping the barriers and getting sprinkled with champagne as he seals the win!

Introducing Matt Wittler!

2009-01-18T16:40:00.000-08:00

Team Lost Coast Brewery is proud to announce the addition of a new racer for the 2009 season, 22 year old Matt Wittler. Matt is currently going to school at Southern Oregon University in Ashland and has been a part of the Nor Cal mountain bike racing scene since he was in school. Learn more about him in his own words:

Mountain biking for me started during baseball season when I was 13. Our shortstop told me about this bike he’d just got for his birthday. We began riding together and that next year joined our high schools mountain bike team. I began to move up through the ranks and my last year captured a varsity state championship win. After high school I stayed with the bike team as an assistant coach for a few years and team mechanic, keeping their wheels turning, and their gears shifting. In 2008 my priorities shifted back to my own racing career. I began the season with a few goals scrawled on a sticky note on my bathroom mirror; and ended the season with 5 sticky notes with all of the goals accomplished. I am now finishing my last year with Tour of Nevada City bike shop where I have been for the past four years, and am getting ready to move to Oregon for school. In 2009 I look forward to racing with Lost Coast Brewery, and going to school at SOU where I plan on completing my bachelors in Business/Physics in spring of 2011.

Goals for 2009

Top-5 Downieville All Mountain

100 miles 1 speed

Complete 30 races

Results Highlights:

2008

1st Weaverville Super-d pro
1st 12 mile super-d Open Hard tail

2nd, granite bay kick start 20-29 expert

3rd, Downtown Napa Criterium, 4's
4th, granite bay TBF 20-29 expert

5th Downieville Pro XC

5^th Sea Otter Road Race cat 5
6th capitol forest super-d pro/open
8th Pine Flat Road Race 5's

Happy Holidays from Team Lost Coast Brewery!

2008-12-23T14:40:00.000-08:00

Wishing everyone a peaceful and restful holiday season!

We thank everyone for their amazing support and look forward to 2009!

Here's the link to a holiday card we'd like to share with you: