Dynamic Duo: Road v. MTB

Pescadero RR & Skyline MTB by TK
Day 1 pescadero raod race….

I know the rules of engagement of this course. Our group was full online but many didn’t show due to weather so the wait listers all got in. The elite 5’s seemed to be made up of about 10 guys that were ready for the 3’s, 10 guys that shouldn’t be on road bikes, and the rest middle of the road joes…. Although the dude in front of me was sporting a Alp D’Huez jersey…. I thought he must be pretty serious!!!!
Casual start, my favorite part about road racing. I made it over the first climb mid pack using a little bit more effort than anticipated… all good no worries, towards the back over the top…. I look to my right and see this lanky young guy in a team Taleo kit reach down for his bootle as we start to descend…. The guy in front of him is braking and I watch in slow motion as Teleo man proceeds to ride right into the guy in front of him….. He crashes hard and his bike flips in the air, his back tire grazing my back!!!! Whoa!!!! Looked back, he seemed somewhat ok….. down the hill up the next climb and again find myself is a little spot of bother mid pack….
Heart rate is up, again sitting in… make it over this roller into the next DH.. this is where the warned us of gravel on the road.. there were these 5 x 10 gravel patches you had to keep your eyes peeled for…. I rolled many of the patches knowing the rule of thumb is not to touch the brakes!!!! I came up behind a Davis rider who freaked and grabbed all brake before a patch…. I looped around him to the left and found the next wheel up the road… still in the DH and into a Eucalyptus grove…. Wet greasy road right hand corner!!!! NO front brake, a touch of rear… Dicey…. Davis man behind me freaked again and dumped it!!!! Carbon and lycra sliding off the road into the bushes!!!! Total carnage!!!
So there I was on hwy 84 sitting in the group feeling pretty good….. we ride all the way to the uphill feed zone where I almost get dropped… WTF!!! The climb coming I worked my way to the front and hit the climb in perfect position!!!! Settle in, find the rythym…. Ok.. stay calm…. Pedal, settle, hurts, heart rate waaaay toooo high…. Regroup… at the back… hang on… keep them in sight… hammer to hang on.. blow out, regroup, still in sight… 30 yrds, 40 yrds… 500 M to go!!!!!! DROPPED!!!!!!

That sucks…… DNF after the first loop 19 mph ave speed!!!! I’m not built to climb! But was good training.

Day 2 skyline park mnt bike race

New course!!! Almost all single track which is good and bad!!! Legends Den Satake and Ryan Booth are in attendance along with many other local legends…. Its hot.. and the new single track climb is longer and more brutal than the year before!!!!
The start was good and I was about 15th in line going up the hill…. Keeping everyone in sight most of the way…. The bottle necks were rough and that is the down fall of an all single track course…. The gaps are formed by the bottle necks… so a lot of it comes down to luck… I would let 7 guys go by me up the hill just to be on there tail a little bit down the line… no need to blow energy chasing when I can catch them when it gets flat or we go down. I made many passes on the DH!!!! Basically forcing people to pull over by rubbing there tires….. that is where I form my gaps.
All the people I passed on the first loop DH I never saw again!!! Maintain on the climb and start reeling em in again on the second DH… never really sure where I was in my class I just hammered and finished strong…. Ending up 4 th…. Booth and Den were both on the podiums in there classes!!!!!!

De la and D-ville are next