12hrs of Temecula: Heaven after Hell

After six days of torrential downpouring across California, none of us could believe how the awesome this race was.

Weather

Everyone on the team was preparing for the worst: multiple pairs of gear each, mud guards, wash clothes, tarps, warm clothes, rain ponchos... We all thought it was going to be a disaster. But low and behold, when we arrived, sure, it was cold (35 ish in the morning), but the sun was shining and it was an awesome day. I road half the day with short sleeves and the other with a long sleeve jersey and I was fine. That's how nice it was!

Course

As for the course itself, I'm not sure how he did it, but "magic" Jason managed to navigate us around all of the washouts and river flows to put together one of the best courses we've raced on yet. The course was little soft at first but very soon after, it turned into a set of very fast and tacky single tracks. It was fun.

Bike Set-up

I did take some time to set-up my bike for this type of race, but I admit, not as much as I should have. I managed to install a front mud deflector, heavy duty chain, extra thick lube on all moving parts etc..., but I was running old tires and a few other things needed to be replaced.

Race

On the starting line, Tinker I and were talking about how many time we went back and forth on whether or not we should do this race, but we were both glad we stuck with it and showed up.

My race was uncharacteristically full of mechanicals and drama. On the start line I couldn't get my bike in the big ring so I road just in the middle ring. I also had two flats on the first lap and my derailleur kept acting up from that point on. I spent most of the race trying to make up the lost time.

Special thanks to the other Don's guys on team (and the couple beside us) for helping me out as I didn't have any formal support this race.

Bike Swap

Late in the in race I got the green light from Cannondale to use their test bike. It was only my second real ride on the Scalpel, but I couldn't believe how awesome this bike was. It was a few pounds lighter than the FRO and it was like pedalling air. I couldn't believe how well the single fork handled. This was a great way to finish the race; I only wish I would have been on it earlier.

I'm hoping to finish the rest of the season on one of their new Flash 29ers! Check them out here.
Final Results

The 3-person Don's team had a great day as well. They finished 1st and managed to crank out 14 hard earned laps.

As for me, I managed 10 laps, 2nd in the Pro Solo class, but I definitely feel like I should have got a few more laps in. The good thing is that there's always next time (although, we don't know exactly where that will be)... :)

Oh ya, and congrats to the little guy beside us (14yrs old) that won his first 12hr solo race! He did awesome.

So cudos for everyone who persevered and came out to race. And special thanks to Jason and his staff for staying up to 12AM the night before getting the course ready. So contrary to what we were all thinking, it turned out to be a great day.

Feel free to share any thoughts or photos!

See you next time.
AL

Featured Rider - Margaret Gregory

As a new Don's Team member, Margaret won almost all of her races in 2009 as a Cat 1 Downhill Racer. Here is a little more about her:

Name: Margaret Gregory
Age: 27
From: Redlands, CA
Started Racing: November 2008

1. When did you start xc and dh riding? I started riding around 3 years ago. I got on a DH bike for the first time in June 2008 in Whistler. Fell in love.
2. What is your favorite thing about racing? Progression. Races push me to try things that I would not normally try. In a race, if it’s on the course, you have to do it, there’s no getting off and walking around features.
3. Favorite race? Blast the Mass in Snowmass CO. This was my second ‘true downhill’ course; rough and fast and with some tough features that pushed my riding skills.
4. Any suggestions for other women trying to get into the sport? Don’t be intimidated by the guys. In downhill racing, where the ratio of men to women is about 50:1, it’s easy to get scared off by the hoards of men on the race courses. Don’t be! Most men just think it’s awesome that you’re riding.
6. What is the secret to your success? My success has been an utter surprise to me, so I’m not really sure what the secret is! I think it just comes down to the fact that I really love riding my bike.
7. How do you train? This fall I started really training for the first time. My plan for this year involves a lot of anaerobic work and upper body strengthening. In the past I’ve always just ridden my bike, but I’m trying to be more focused and structured with my training this year.


8. Who is your idol or role model? Right now I’m really into learning to jump, so my current idols are gals who fly like Clair Buchar, Stephanie Nychka, Katie Hayes and Tammy Donahugh, to name only a few.
9. Where do you want to go with the sport? My current goal is to get approved to race pro. Racing against the top girls would be amazing. My goal for 2010 if I can manage it financially is to hit all the races on the Gravity Calendar.

10. Favorite place to ride? I’ve ridden in too many awesome places over the past year to decide… but I do have a special place in my heart for the Santa Ana River trail on my XC bike since that is where I learned to ride and it never ceases to put a smile on my face.

Read more about Margaret's adventures on her own blog.

12hrs of Temecula: 2009 Series Wrap-up

It was a long hard season but the 2009 12hrs of Temecula series is finally over. At these events, anything can happen, and trust me it does! Here's a few random facts about what "really" happened.

- Rob consumed and unknown quantity of beverages but still managed to maintain our bikes just fine
- I had two flat tires and flipped over the bars (going uphill) when I threw my chain!
- Someone gave Russell a light that failed on the last lap... (that would be me! ooops)
- Gary gave us the inside scoop of what happened at Leadville this year
- Lisa destroyed me on the climbs :)
- Chocolate chip cookies are still the food of choice, followed closely by PBJs
- The 4 Person team moved from 13th at the beginning of the season up to 3rd in last race
- Single speeds are very unforgiving at endurance events (duh)
- I drank beer between laps for first time ever
- Gary passed out on the table in the awards tent (evidence below)



Pro solo - AL
- finished 3rd, overall series winner

3 Person Open - Cy, Chris, Gary
- finished 1st, overall series winner

4 Person Open - Russell, Margaret, Lisa, Jeff
- 3rd in series

So congrats to everyone for a such a great effort this seasons.

Lastly, huge thanks to Jason Ranoa for promoting one of the best mountain bike events in SoCal! Be sure to check the list of new 12hr, endurance and fat tire events scheduled for next year.

See everyone next year!
AL (Don's Bikes Team)

Don's Bikes Hell Ride - Pictures on STR...

There's tonnes of cool pictures on STR as well! Thanks everyone.

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Don's Bikes Hell Ride Pictures - Group A

Here are a few more pictures. Most of these are from the first group. There were 12 of us that held a good pace the whole ride. Great riders and good times!

AL

Don's Bikes Hell Ride 2009 Wrap-up

Thanks to everyone who came out this year and made this ride such a success. As most people found out, the ride isn't quite as hellish as it is fun, but I guarantee you that everyone experienced some level "hell" along the way!

Ride
- 43 riders, 2 main groups, 4 guides (AL, Rob, Russell, Margaret)
- an undetermined number of crashes, flat tires and cliff excursions...

GPS
- 5:39 hrs, 36.86 miles, 6924 ft down, 2143 ft up


Aftermath
- 4 $25 Don's Bikes gift certificates, 1 gift certificate for a bike at cost!
- an undetermined number of beer and pizza consumed :)


It was great meeting so many new folks (from Socal and STR) and thanks again for coming out!

We'll post more stuff shortly, but feel free to add your comments or stories here as well.

Cheers,
AL & Russell (Don's Bikes Race Team)

Special thanks to Don's Bikes of Rialto for sponsoring the event!

The SART Hell Ride is on!

It's that time of the year again folks and Hell Ride is on this weekend!

So far there are over 40 riders confirmed and over 50 expected to show up. Why not right? 30+ miles of SART single track and 8000+ ft of descending = fun!

Where: Meet at Uncle Howie's in Redlands, shuttle up to SART
When: Sat Nov 07, 7:30-8:00 AM

Full ride details here.

We look forward to seeing you out there.
Don's Team