Fluidride Cup #1 4/5/09

Rain was the topic of choice during the entire week leading up to the race. Will it ever stop? Saturday, day for pre-rides arrives and we had our answer, YES! The weekend mornings in Port Angeles were a brisk 37, but with all the body armor on it wasn't bad at all and by the early afternoons it was actually sunny and warm out. The 5 of us Team TAI riders out for some downhill action, had to contend with a superficial layer of tacky mud on most of the course, but still felt it was ideal riding conditions. Of the 410 racers out there, Team TAI made the podium a remarkable 4 times, and this was even without Chris Bentley being at the race.

It was Mitch's first exposure to a DH course and I could sense he was a bit stressed, not that he would admit it. I hooked him up with TJ and Cheyenne, 2 "veteran" junior riders, and after some practice time getting used to the the bike on a slalom course, Mitch was ready to tackle the shuttle and negotiate the beginner course.We are not sure how it happened, but Laurie DeYoung (Derek's mom) was surprised to see Mitch finishing up on the Pro/Expert course on his first run.
He claims he had "tunnel vision" and did not realize that once White Knuckles (the starting course shared by all racers) ended he needed to take a left turn to reach the sport and beginner courses. He took a small tumble on the largest step-down on the Expert course, but fortunately for me I did not realize he had ridden the course or taken a tumble until Sunday. Mitch ended up riding 6 more practice runs on the day, wisely staying with Cheyenne on the relatively more benign beginner course. Mitch had a great first experience at the race and ended up with a Gold medal to boot.

This weekend I learned how focused of a rider 14 year old Derek is. This was only Derek's second DH race, and like his first race at Mt. Hood last year, he opted to race the Sport course to give him more of a challenge. Derek rode the course several times testing and analyzing which lines would provide him with the quickest elapsed time. Once he even offered advice on how I should approach the log drop on Motoguzzi,the Sport course trail, where my riding buddy, Bob H., had just crashed and was sprawled across the trail, causing a short log jam in riders while Bob picked himself up. Yeah, right, like I am going to launch myself off the log!

And challenge it was for Derek...there are a number of racers in his age category but his riding talent and focus paid off, and he walked away with a bronze medal for his efforts!

Erik is now taller than his dad and needed a dh bike for the race. This is where it is great to have a teammate who is willing to lend a bike. Thanks Jim Albright for providing Erik with an opportunity to race in his 2nd ever DH race. Erik, like Derek, also opted to race the Sport course. Erik's race category had a whopping total of 25 riders. By the time I was off the hill, Erik and Allan were gone, so I don't yet know how his race went.

Allan normally will race the DH Expert category, but opted to race the Sport category since it had been quite a while since he rode on a dh course. On Sunday before our races Allan, Mitch, Erik and I walked up the expert course to check out the pros racing and to help Allan scope it out for future races. Allan is really good at analyzing other riders and determining the most expeditious line to take and I am sure he will put it to use later when he rides that course. Allan ended up taking the silver medal in his category. Congrats!

So how does it end up that Team TAI had 5 riders at the race? Up until 3 weeks ago, I had never even sat on a dh/freeride bike let alone ridden on a super steep descent. Jenn Sinclair and I took a dh clinic 3 weeks ago at Port Angeles. At the beginning of the clinic I went from being scared witless in 2 sections, that I had to dismount my bike and slide down the hill, to actually having FUN riding them. I had no intention of racing this weekend and was just out to support Mitch who was using my bike. My friend Bob, had a different idea. He brought a bike for me to use, that even though it was too large, I felt okay riding. I was able to overcome my (illogical?) fear of the elevated starting gate on the second run down and decided that since the cost of the shuttle included a race entry I may as well race on Sunday.

My race category only had 2 women in it, and true to many of my mtb races, I was the oldest. This meant I went second; I was pleased with the starting schedule as it meant there was no chances that she would be barreling down on me if she makes up the 30 seconds delay time. I headed down the course and was SHOCKED as a rounded the corner on the approach of the rooty section of White Knuckles to learn that it was ME barreling down on her. I took the inside line on the corner and whizzed by. At that moment I realized that as long as I finished I will have won my first DH race and tried to get a hold of my ever skyrocketing adrenaline. On the next trail, Cakewalk, I ended up behind TJ trying to decide whether to also pass him or just sit behind him to the finish. TJ ended up washing out on a high banked corner and I slipped by him, but first making sure that he was okay, not that I could have stopped my momentum...yes, Joel I did talk during the race. Who would have thought a 4 minutes 8 seconds race could raise my heart rate so much and cause my breathing to sound like a steam engine. The challenge to push myself to ride outside of my comfort zone was exhilarating!

No race report goes without an explanation on the shuttle as that was quite the experience this xc rider had never witnessed. They would load up to 25 riders in the back of a 26' U-Haul moving truck. We would lean with our backs against the wall, our front bike tires sandwiched between our legs, facing the other riders on the other side of the truck; think sardines. Once we were situated, they would roll down the back door and off we went for a 14 minutes ride in the dark up the hillside. Erik said it reminded him of the Space Mountain ride and I thought it was more reminiscent of a scene from Charlie and Chocolate Factory. We knew we were nearing the top when the truck would tilt to the right from hitting a pot hole then about 1 minute later some tree branches would scrape the sides. The shuttle ride as unnerving as it is, was a blessing from having to endure a hike & bike up the hill with these heavy bikes. ..trust me I stupidly did that on my first run, before I gladly forked over the cash for the ability to ride the shuttle.

Recap of Race Results:
Cat II Men 50+
2 Allan

Cat II Men 15-18
? Erik

Cat II Men 0-14
3 Derek

Cat III Men 15-18
1 Mitch

Cat III Women Open:
1 Ann