Race #3 Report

Helmet cam video shot by Frosh/Soph racer Shane Somerville of Newport Beach Composite.

Today's race was in Lake Arrowhead and brought to us in party by the Rim of the World High School MTB Club as well as the folks at Rim Nordic (yes, if you haven't gotten enough mountain biking by the end of the SoCal League season you can race there throughout the summer).

Start/Finish was in a large dirt area with a beautiful view of the lake as well as snow on the next hillside over. That's right, snow. In fact, there was plenty of snow on the drive in and the temperature was FRIGID when the GUSD crew began arriving at 7:30! Pretty soon, the area was all hustle and bustle and what was once a windswept knoll became a hive of activity.

The GUSD racers got on course early for a pre-ride and --- let me tell you --- this was a GREAT course! Much props to the folks at Rim for pushing this one through! I had a brief conversation with a US Forest Service ranger who was walking around the Specialized Pit Zone after our pre-ride and thanked the Forest Service for facilitating the event. To quote him, "It's about time something like this took place." Let me tell you, that's a REALLY good response! It's good to see that eyes are opening and people are realizing that not only is mountain biking a GREAT activity but high school mountain biking is a REALLY GREAT activity!

Anyway, the course was very physically challenging as it was not only at 6,000 feet but had the first real climbing yet this season! Some fantastic swoopy and wide single track, some short punchy and technical climbs that most probably walked, some longer uphill fire road climbs that were in great condition, some fun-fast-whoopdy-do downill fireroad descents, and a few splashes through slurpee (melting snow) mud all linked together with great views of the lake, the high desert, and the recently fire and beatle damaged forest. All-in-all ---- a great course in clear, dry, blustery air!

By the time the girls race started, the temperature had warmed up and it was only chilly if you were standing still. The girls raced hard and Pam steadily moved up the ranks. The boys then took to the course and also raced very hard with plenty of wheezing and gasping due to altitude! However --- other than Rim High --- everyone was suffering from the altitude! Now, 6,000 feet may not seem too high but when your usual training rides top out at about 2,000 feet --- it's high enough! The boys all raced hard and finished strong! I'm most proud to say that all 8 of the GUSD racers raced --- and all 8 finished!

Thanks so much to all of the coaches and families who came out to support the racers and the League! These races couldn't happen without you! It's not like we're all showing up at a softball field where we just need to walk onto the field from the parking lot (not dispariging softball here). These race courses appear "out of nowhere" (not really, there's a LOT that goes into permitting them, designing them, marking them, etc) and it takes all of you to turn a small, barren area into a bustling hive of mountain bike racing goodness!

So without further ado --- here's the immediate post race race reports from YOUR GUSD racers:

Race #2 Report

2009 So. Cal High School League - Warner Springs from ChannelMTB on Vimeo.

When the club arrived at Warner Hot Springs Ranch on Saturday the sun was out, the temperature was perfect for riding, and there was a nice breeze. Nobody could believe the weather forecasts which had been calling for a major winter storm to hit on Sunday. The ranch was beautiful in a high bowl shaped valley with an active glider port providing entertainment for us as we pre-rode the course Saturday afternoon with a few fellow riders and coaches from St. Francis. The course had some technical sections near the start where the narrow single track went over some rocks through a cactus garden on the side of a little hill. Other than that, it was a roller coaster smooth single track ride through an enormous pasture occupied by a herd of horses that spent most of Saturday afternoon staring at riders passing by from their watering hole. Though there weren't any big hills, the course never seemed to be completely flat and really had nowhere to recover meaning it favored riders who had big aerobic engines over riders who were technically skilled. After pre-riding everyone returned to the ranch where people went to the hot springs pool and ate dinner at one of the on site restaurants. Everyone went to sleep content and looking forward to Sunday's race while doubting the predictions of the weather forecasters.

Sunday morning started calm enough. Everyone gathered around Coach Matt and Banner's "casita" between 8 and 9 where we shared a breakfast buffet provided by the club. It was great to see all of the parents, families, coaches (and their families), and riders gearing up for a great day of racing. The weather was cloudy but it wasn't very cold. Everyone was looking at the sky and talking about how it looked like the forecasters might have missed the call. Suffice it to say, that wasn't the case! As we ate breakfast we could feel the temperature dropping. By the time we were all heading to the course at 9:30 it had become breezy and COLD and the first drizzle appeared!

We set up our basecamp in the Specialized Pit Zone at start/finish. The location was great as it allowed the tents and team cars to be right along the course for easy cheering. This turned out to be fortuitous as the weather was about to take a DRAMATIC turn for the worse! The energy was unique at the start of the girls race as the horses who had been placidly standing in the field the day before decided to follow one of the last riders warming up in off the course where about 5 of them actually walked right into the start/finish area on the course! Once they realized there was something else happening in "their" pasture they quickly scooted away. However, they had a great running with the racers throughout the day!

As Pam took the course the rain was coming down and the temperature had dropped to the high 40's. By the time she finished her first lap the wind was blowing so hard that tents had to be staked down and they didn't really help much anyway as the rain was coming in sideways! While Pam was out battling the elements, most of the boys had huddled up in the back of my Element with all their clothes on drinking hot chocolate to stay warm. Yup, it was EPIC!

Just before Pam finished her race, all of the boys groups started racing. The fields were similar in size to race #1 meaning the JV group and the Frosh/Soph group were very large! The boys battled it out through the vicious weather (this is where the tents being close to the course counted as supporters could run out of their tents, cheer on their racers with cowbells, then run back to their tents before getting too wet) and everyone came in mud splattered with bikes full of mud. It pretty much looked like the color of every bike was --- BROWN!

I'll let the race report videos below explain things but suffice it to say everyone battled, everyone finished, everyone learned, and everyone will remember this race!!!

For more GREAT PHOTOS BY COACH BANNER (like the fantastic one at the top of the blog) click HERE .

NOT official club events but...

For those who simply can't get enough racing and want to add to their racing schedule there is a national series of mountain bike races of which we (here in SoCal) are fortunate enough to host MANY of. The series this year is called the US Cup Mountain Bike Race Series. The link to the main website is HERE. This is for information only! This is NOT an official club event and your standing in the club or the SoCal Interscholastic Cycling League has NOTHING to do with your participation in these race. Again, this is for information only. The club will not be involved in carpooling or coaching at these races.

Should you want to participate in any of these races the two that don't conflict with our schedule and are close are the Fontana City National on Saturday March 28th and the Santa Ynez Valley Classic in Los Olivos on Sunday April 26th. I believe the Santa Ynez race takes place in the same general area as our League race the following weekend. I will schedule practice both weekends on the non-race days to facilitate you being able to race should you want to.

If you want to do either of those races you will need to pay race entry ($35 in advance or $40 day of race). You will also need to buy either a USA Cycling Junior Mountain Bike Only license for $30 (good through 12/31/09) OR a one-day license for $10.

Since everyone on the club is 18 or under the USA Cycling classes you would register to race in are Cat 3 Men 15-18, Junior Men 13-14, Cat 3 Women 15-18, or Junior Women 13-14. Your "racing age" is your age on December 31st of the current year (for example, if I am a male currently aged 14 with a birthday on September 21st my "racing age" for calendar year 2009 would be 15).

You can either download the pre-registration form from the race website and mail it in with a check OR pre-register online. Additionally, you will need a USA Cycling Release (DOWNLOAD HERE) AND a Team Big Bear Release (DOWNLOAD HERE) signed by a parent or guardian to present at registration.

It appears the Fontana cross-country race is on Saturday at 11:00 AM and the Santa Ynez cross-country race is on Sunday at 8:00 AM.

If you want to get a good laugh you can see me "racing" in Fontana on Saturday at 11:00. Heck, maybe you'll even get the chance to pass me!

Coach Matt