So once again i packed up the family and my 14 year old cousin William this past weekend to put in my 4th race for the Kenda cup west series. Once I moved up a class, I came to realize one thing is certain. This sport is packed full of sand baggers. I mean really, how did i go from beating my entire field before by well over 5 minutes in some races to coming in 13th in a field of 18 where the 2 leaders are coming in at over 10 minutes over the rest of the field, and have split times just comparable to the top 5 of the group above them? Well at least I can leave these races knowing one thing, I'm a full time nursing student, (about 45 hours/week), full time E.R. employee, (36 hours/week) and a Full time Dad, (? amt. of hours because the wife has to work more to pick up the slack), I get to ride 2x a week at best and I still get out there and race in a category that i feel is at my level. I've got my pride baby!!!

I gotta tell you guys that are killin' the competition in my group, look the hell out. I'm graduating this month and I'm gonna have lots and lots of time to be riding, so come Vegas in Sep. I'm gonna give you a run for your money.

Okay enough gripes, time to get back to business and get online to take a test for school.

Here are some pics of the last race. These are pics of where we stayed in Santa Ynez, (thanks to the McCoys) the set up, my personal mechanic, the best support team a rider can ask for and some dude that used to ride for my Dad's BMX shop way back in the day. Couldn't remember his name though. LOL!!

Got to do the legendary Sagebrush Safari course on Sunday. I wanted to ride conservatively, only because i had 2 crashes in the past 2 races, and it payed off. Sort of.

My goal was to finish in the top 10 of the pack and i was right there, all the way up till the last mile when we hit the pavement. As soon as i hit the pavement i manned up to the big ring and dropped the hammer, then it happened, my right leg locked up on me, and i was paralyzed with severe leg cramps. WTF? I was beyond pissed, then it got worse when i saw 4 riders from my group pass me as i was on the side of the road unable to move. I'm not sure i know a worse feeling, this sucks.

All 'n all, i finished 12th out of 17 and i finished within 1 min. of the 3 that had passed me.

I learned about "sandbagging" this weekend. A friend had told me that since he races in the expert category that this is the hardest because all the semi pros didn't move up and dropped down. Later i found out that this has a trickle down affect. A couple of guys in my group (sport or Cat 2 30-34) were going to move up to expert because they had a good season finishing far ahead of the sport class with podium finishes every race last year. Well, since they got rid of semi pro, they said that they didn't want to move up to expert because they would have to compete with them.

I'm gonna still stick with my category and hammer it out until i start getting some podiums. racing with these guys has only made me realize more what i need to do to get faster and have the endurance. I will constantly choose to challenge myself. Does it suck not getting on the podium anymore like i did in the beginer class? Hell yes it does, but i still have fun, and i have some great sponsers that support me no matter what place i come in, and this only makes me want to train harder and race smarter.

On another note, i finally got to meet up with Brian DeGroodt, a fellow GT DC member. Brian was cool enough to take us on a great ride through the Aliso Woods trail system, and the climbing was great. Brian welcomed myself and my regular wed. group with open arms and proudly displayed his ability to hammer the single tracks and mash the climbs with same eagerness as a kid that got his first bike on christmas morning. Cheers to you Brian, you went above and beyond and your character is supreme. I can't wait to treat Brian to some of the dirt up here in the Palos Verdes area, or at least what's left the trails that we fight so hard for.

Well, it's time for bed now that i'm finished with my beer. Long day in the E.R. helping people see another day and spend more time with their families.

I believe that i'm gonna be racing in Santa Ynez on the 26th of April, race 4 of the us cup west coast series. i'm trying to finish in the top 10 of my group, right now i think i'm sitting 8th out of 27. after that, i'm headed to vail lake, temecula, ca for the racers and chasers. I'm gonna try my hand at a "dirt crit". can't wait.

I thought I'd take a short break from packing the truck to throw this down. Did a little ride this morning to get the legs loose for the sagebrush safari tomorrow.

Finally got some pics in. This is gonna be short, must focus on task at hand, plus just wanted to post some pics.

This is some of the local trails in Palos Verdes, CA.

I gotta say, I'm FREAKIN' loving this bike. I just hope it hooks up for me this sunday.

Thanks GT.

p.s. I just got the bike down to 20 lbs. now time to work on my weight.

First Day

Okay, it's April fools day, and nobody has showed up to take away my bike, kit, or tent. I kind of went into hiding today just in case they did. I don't know about anyone else, but I got my Zaskar down to just a hair over 20 pounds last night.
This weekend will mark the first race that i'm going to do under the GT dirt coalition flagship. I'll be at the Sagebrush safari in San Diego county. I've never done this cours before, but from what I hear this is one of the best courses that there is. I just hope I can keep the rubber on the dirt. The last two Kenda cup races I did I crashed and ended up with some dissapointing finishes, but I still finished the gruelling courses in pain. I LOVE TO SUFFER!!!
To help me get ready for the season I enlisted the help of one of the strongest riders I know, Dave Calta. I invited him to our wed. night ride in Palos Verdes, (the one that I usually destroy my friends on the 2 mile fire road climb to the finish), and of course, as I guessed, Dave chewed me up and spit me out at the finish climb. This is what I fully expected, being that he's the California state champ a couple years ago in the expert catagory for 30+.
All I could do was lock out my fork, put my head down, drop the gear, and mash the pedals. I never caught him, but this is exactly what I needed. I can only get stronger, and faster riding with people like Dave.
So a big thanks to Dave for putting the hurt on me, I greatly appreciate it and my competition is gonna' hate you for it.
I'm out!