LIGHTING UP THE LEMURIAN

By TK:
The usual cast of characters made there annual migration to the Lemurian Classic again this year… Jon “ the legend “ Ardel, Krage “ DA KEZAR “ Olrich, Ryan “ my bike is lighter than yours “ Booth, Doug “ off the couch “ Gadow, Kevin “ closet trainer, I’m an x pro “ McClure, Tim “ all my friends beat me “ Koehler, and a special appearance from our local shop sponsor, Cory “ I own a shop have a kid and will still kick your ass” Farrer…….

This band of riders all had there own lofty goals for this classic 26 mile mountain bike race. Some wanted to just survive, others wanted to dominate!!!!! Me… I wanted to beat my last time of 3:01.

The morning was early with a 9 am start. A good warm up was had which actual lead to my best start, keeping the front 20 within sight till we hit the dirt and continued to climb, climb, and climb…… at that point I just need to run my own race, feel good, not blow up and hope for the best….. All the fellas were doing the same… battling with themselves, and picking battles with others along the trail…. Jon, Krage, Booth were all of the front…. McClure was hunting them and actually caught Krage, I was drifting in the middle with Cory hunting me.. and Doug was hanging out having a blast!!!!! Cory caught me at the bottom of the last climb…. I was hoping to ride with him….. But couldn’t! Knowing the course and my tendency to cramp I thought it was best to do my own thing. Surviving all the way to the end with minor cramps I ended up beating my time by 15 minutes over last year!!!!

Many in the clan found the podium!!!! Jon “ the legend “ Ardel 3rd in his class, Ryan”my bike is lighter than yours “ Booth captured 1st in his class with a smoking 2:21, and Kevin “ closet trainer, I’m an x pro” McClure, 2nd in his class!!!!!!!

All others had great races!!!!! ( results not posted yet )And will be back to hunt Lemurians again next year!!!!

Sea Otter: Classic Again

Sea Otter was different this year. No rain, no wind, no sleet, no snow....Instead heat, and lots of it. However, some things never change on that course- like the intensity and the difficulty. On the mountain especially, it is always a classic mountain bike race, pushing folks to the edge.

Several Tam Cyclists were at the event and on the podium. On the mountain completing one 20 mile loop, James Puckett raced the XC Cat 2 (45-49) taking 3rd place with a time of 1:33:29, Heather McKenzie won the XC Cat 2 (30-39) finishing in 1:44:12, and Julia Violich won XC Cat 1 (40-49) with a time of 1:35:27. Friend of Tam Cycling, Nikole Denton, in her first ever MTB race, finished 9 seconds after Heather McKenzie in the Cat 2 race for a solid 2nd place. And the newest junior member of the race team, Clayton Hutchins, age 13, in the 13/14 boys race, a 10 mile loop, got 16th out of 31 racers!

On the road, Tam reporting is still waiting on Mark Volkmann's results. Julia Violich got 2nd place finish in the Cat 4 circuit race.

Up and coming, Luke Violich Czinczoll got his first taste of racing in the age 6 category. He is sporting a custom Scott Spark Dual Suspension that had been overhauled by Paradigm Cycles.
With custom White Industries/Velocity rim wheels, carbon bars, and XTR Front and Rear Derailleurs, the bike weighs in at a mere 21.5lb, down from 27lb out of the box.

Napa Dirt Classic is kind

This weekend the Napa Valley Dirt Classic, typically a wet and muddy race with April showers, was hot and dry. "Friend of Tam" rider, Ryan Booth, captured a podium place coming in third in the 35-44 CAT 1 category. Tam racer, Jon Ardell, "smoked" the course pulling an 11th place just minutes behind Booth. Krage "the rage" Olrich finished on Ardell's wheel.

"Timmy K" Koehler repeated last year's success with another podium in the 35-44 CAT 2 category with a time of 1:45:53. There were whispers of "bagging sand" at the finish line from his competitors, but Koehler claims he hasn't touched the likes of sand, or shells, or even dirt for that matter. The only thing he's been bagging is pow pow.
Fellow Tamer, Chris "Mann Chicken" wearing the prize Team "Whoop Whoop" Jersey of old (sleeveless no less), posted a solid 1:53!