Folks,
Our first race went well, overall. A lot was learned and for any racers wanting to do better next race, we coaches will help you accomplish that. If you have ideas of what you want to improve on between now and the next race, let me know. Jim, Ken and I have our own ideas as well... as you will see at practices.
The weather was great, the course was a fun course to pre-ride on Saturday and camping at the race course is always fun. There were hundreds of kids all camping and pre-riding at the same time. Over 220 racers took part and the fields of racers were big; a total of @ 70 JV boys for example (in 2 divisions). Some team mates finished only seconds from the racers in front of them and in a 2 or 3 lap race, seconds can be gained merely by changing your mind a little (focus a little more, keep pushing rather than relax, decide to pass rather than rest, etc.) However, to gain several minutes usually takes better hill climbing fitness.
You can see a few photos I took (didn’t take many) including preliminary results lists at:
https://picasaweb.google.com/bannermoffat/CV1VailLake2011#

Here are our results (from preliminary postings):
Lucas - 3rd - Only 41 seconds from 2nd and 46 seconds from 1st!
Pam - 6th - Her first race as Varsity and only 8 seconds off the podium.
Owen - 7th - Only 27 seconds off the podium.
Weston - 11th - about 5 min off the podium but with specific workouts, it’s achievable.
Adriel - 13th - 20 seconds behind 12th place; getting close to top 10
Danny D - 14th – Right behind Adriel. Twenty-three seconds faster would have been 12th.
Reilly - 15th – About a minute behind Weston.
Danny V - 26th - Pre-riding would have made it faster.
Connor - 31st - First race, learned a lot, now to work on moving up the ranks.
Mack - 34th - Some specific, hard workouts will move you way up the ranks if you want to do it.
Alvin - Finished his first race, unlike several of his competitors who didn't.
Dillen - Didn't finish because he got sick but his first lap was fast enough to put him 13th out of 20 in his first Varsity race.
Rachael - Didn't finish because of a crash where she hurt her ankle. She's okay though.

Those of you who didn't make it, come to the next race! It will also have camping along the race course under pine trees and will be near Lake Isabella east of Bakersfield.

This Week's Practices:

Tuesday - 4pm to 5:45 - Descanso Gardens

Wednesday – 3:30 to 4:30 – Hopefully Spin Class (I haven’t heard; check with Ms. Babbington or Pettigrew)

Thursday - 4pm to 5:45 - Descanso Gardens

Weekend – Time and place to be announced… AND SEE BELOW
- - Banner
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This weekend there is a MAJOR Mountain Bike race at Bonelli Park in San Dimas. Any racer who wants to get some great experience at a race that is on a bit tougher course than high school races should go. I will be there and will pre-ride either Friday or Saturday (or both). XC races are on Sunday. To Register sign up as Cat 3 age 15-18 and get a one day USAC license if you don’t have one. Let me know if you want guidance at this race. (There will be kids from other high schools there)

http://uscup.net/index.php?schedule

http://www.uscup.net/up/file/pdf/FONTANA%20WEST%20SCHEDULE.pdf