Many volunteers [...]]]> We’re coming up on the final race of a great year, right in our own backyard. For the first time the NICA California 2013 State Championships come to Marin this Sunday, and we welcome all the teams from NorCal and SoCal to Marin for a great day of racing and fun!

Many volunteers from Drake MTB, Access4Bikes and others helped prep the course last weekend, which NorCal describes this way: “A race with a view. Snaking through gorgeous Stafford Lake County Park, the spectator friendly, course was designed just for this race. Drag-racing straightaways, punchy climbs and swoopy descents test skills and endurance. You’ll find the most technical climbing in the series with 468 ft of climbing per lap. Course distance: 5.4 miles.”

But for hundreds of kids in Northern California, the ride never stops…it gets faster. [...]]]> Come join the Drake High School Mountain Bike Team for an outdoor showing of SingleTrack High!

Many kids in America stop riding bikes in high school. Riding through puddles is no longer cool. Two wheels get traded in for four.

But for hundreds of kids in Northern California, the ride never stops…it gets faster. These are the student-athletes of the NorCal High School Mountain Bike League. They come from the mountains, the suburbs, and the city. Some ride carbon fiber race bikes, others old steel clunkers. They ride to win, to finish, or just to escape. For six weekends every spring, they don their school colors, roll up to the start line, and fly.

Both inspiring and touching, the documentary addresses the question of what mountain biking can do for the mind, body, and social lives of today’s teens by following six diverse student-athletes throughout a season of racing.

• Where: Central Field (Contratti Baseball Field) in Fairfax
• When: Friday, May 31st at 9pm, ticket sales begin at 8:30pm
• Tickets $10, cash or credit card
• Featuring a local Fairfax rider
• Proceeds go to Drake High School Mountain Bike Team

Enter to win free tickets at Sunshine Bikes website »»

A hearty congratulations to everyone for a job well done, and an emotional weekend at Boggs as Coach Paul announces his retirement after nearly a decade of coaching Drake MTB since the inception of [...]]]> May 28th Drake MTB earned our 7th NorCal League Championships at Boggs Mountain!

Pictures by Tom McCarty • David Benjamin | NorCal Results »»

A hearty congratulations to everyone for a job well done, and an emotional weekend at Boggs as Coach Paul announces his retirement after nearly a decade of coaching Drake MTB since the inception of the team. Coaches report and race reports below, and visit our Facebook for lots of other photos and stories!

COACH’S RACE REPORT

Bogg’s Mountain, Race 5 2013, NorCal League Championship

Boggs Mountain State Demonstration Forest has, for many years, has been one of my favorite destinations for mountain biking related activities. Even before I got involved with Drake MTB this was a place where we would spend many a beautiful day marveling at the tall pines and flowing single track that was pretty much void of traffic and politics.

As such, you can imagine how thrilled I was when this trail system was added to the NorCal League’s venue list in 2005. Since that historic year when the Drake Pirates were the first team to camp out for the weekend and make this more of an outing than a race, we have enjoyed many thrilling wins and relaxing camp fires with only an occasional loss and some miserably cold weather. We won our first two State Championships as well as a few NorCal League Championships here but most important of all, we have experienced time and time again the culmination of the true essence of what the Drake MTB program represents. This race weekend was everything good about Boggs rolled into one magnificent event.

We arrived at Boggs on Wednesday before the race to a beautiful, warm afternoon and an incredible evening waning moon over the pines. I had spent many weeks previously contemplating my future with Drake MTB knowing that someday I would need to let go and open opportunities for younger energy and leadership to continue to nurture the Drake MTB spirit. This year’s team has been a very special group that has stood out from the many seasons I have been involved. I know every year I say that year’s team is the best ever and I have come to the realization that it is because it is true, every year the program builds a better team, organizes better coordination, attracts quality leadership and benefits from dedicated parent volunteers that are the core of this program. It finally came to me that this was a perfect time to begin this process, as difficult as it was, while Drake MTB was at yet another zenith of it’s positive existence. I had no idea it would be so difficult to actually say the words, as my voice cracked and my eyes began to fill with tears, but I knew it was the right thing and it was the right time.

Lucas blazes by in a blur. Photo from story in Privateer Magazine

Out of the nine years that I’ve been coaching with Drake MTB, this weekend’s race had to be the most significant of all and that is really saying something. It was amazing how everyone came together and put on one of the best mountain biking performances that I have seen in my entire coaching career. This team dug deep, you worked hard, and you made things happen. To have our eight scores all be in the top six positions is pretty phenomenal. There is no way that I could ever express how grateful I am to the riders, parents and coaches for the experience that was given to me that day at Boggs in 2013.

I will spare you all the details of each classification as this would end up being a book. Suffice it to say that there were many, many highlights from Leah’s undying support even though she really wished she was on her bike instead of helping me lap count, to Lucas’s finally victorious domination of Varsity in his last NorCal race, to the ever improving JV Girls and best race of the year to the JV Boys, not only Ben and Carson’s unbelievable finish but all the way through to Ryan’s fist pumping completion (to say nothing for his Sat. night performance of Stairway To Heaven). Our lone Sophomore girl once again on the podium and Sterling crossing the finish line with his shoes on this time. To our ever consistent Freshmen girls and boys, who all had same or best race placements for the year. This entire Team so rocks the world!

We have one more, big race to seal the deal, let’s make it a five peat!

~ Coach Paul

RACE REPORTS

Ben Enbom - JV Boys D1, 2nd place

I didn’t remember much of the Boggs course from last year. Boggs last year (from my perspective) consisted of rain, cold riding, rivers of mud, and me wishing I was with my family in Hawaii. Luckily when I checked the weather for this years race, I saw that it would be nice and warm; in the 80s and not too cold at night. I prefer racing in the heat compared to the cold, as my muscles are warm to start and if I gets too hot I can douse myself with water. I really didn’t think of how I wanted this race to turn out the days leading to it. I knew that I wanted to beat Sam Weinstein from San Rafael who had been 20 seconds ahead of me at Laguna Seca, and it would be nice if I could get on the podium. I have started to not think about and stress out about races until I am either halfway into them or finished them, and this strategy has been working.

I was at Boggs all day Saturday, so in the morning I went out on a ride with the coaches, and once riders started to arrive I did the same ride again with some of them. Saturday I did about 17 miles of riding around, but was told when the preride was starting to not wear myself out and to sit out the team preride. On the rides I had done earlier that day I rode most of the climbing of the course, and did the downhill parts, but only with an excursion in between. When the race started I didn’t exactly know the course as well as I should have.

Boggs is not just fun because the course is so awesome, but also because we get to camp. I actually got a better sleep during this race than I had previously because I could wake up whenever I wanted and didn’t have to scramble first thing in the morning to put all my stuff together and get to the course early. Sunday morning I sat out on the course, trying to catch a glimpse of all our girls as they flew by. We had so many good results from the girls and freshman/sophomore boys that I wasn’t worried about having pressure put on me to do well, and I had a feeling that Salinas wasn’t going to be a problem to beat.

I began the race in the 2nd row, right behind Carson, and as Vanessa started the countdown I started to feel that I was going to have a good race. Right when we started I knew that jumping into the front group for the single track would be essential, because a lot of the people I was racing against didn’t have as much experience on single track as I did and would slow me down. On the first fire road I kept up with the lead group of 5, and kept with them on the single track. I had a brief scare where I started to hear my tire leak. but within a couple seconds it sealed up and although my pressure was lower than it was before I avoided a flat. Once we approached the wall I noticed that we had already gained a good sized gap on the people behind us, and as we started to climb the person I wanted to beat most, Sam Weinstein started to drop back, and never caught back up to us. It was just Bryce Lewis, Carson, Dale Mccaney, and I riding the second lap. We were going at a very quick pace, and Dale started to drop back a little, and later he ended up breaking a chain. The rest of the race was spent with Bryce, Carson, and me riding together, waiting for one of us to have a problem so the other two could attack. At the fire road leading to the start of the downhill Bryce lost a contact, and fell back as he felt for it to see if he could find it. Carson and I started to try and gain a lead, because we didn’t know if he would be back riding soon, but against our luck he didn’t loose much time and he caught up to us easily. The final downhill started, and Bryce got in the lead, and I was in third. We approached the last downhill fire road section and I was able to sprint past Carson as his legs started to cramp. We rode the last single track very, very fast and around the last corner leading to the finish I know that if I wanted to try and win the race, I would have to pass him on the outside of the corner and sprint to the finish.

I took the corner wide, as I intended, but my tires started to give out and my bike fell from under me. I kept one leg clipped in and used my other leg to push myself back upright to get going again. Carson and I were neck and neck on the last straight and using all my energy I was able to barely beat him by a bike length in the finish. I was happy to have a good race but even more happy to know that I could keep up with Bryce. With Dale Mccaney breaking his chain I ended up getting bumped up to 4th place overall for the season, and that will give me a good starting position for states. Our team has such a stellar day that I am still in awe, and I think that everyone has to dedicate their race to our great coach peg-arm Paul. We won NorCal as we were expected to, and I think that everyone had a great weekend. See everyone at stafford!

-Ben

Dean Lyons-4th Freshmen Boys

Thanks to Allie for reminding me to write this.

Throughout the season I had heard a lot about the Boggs course, and it was even better then I had expected.

I drove up with Noah and we watched the new mtb movie, where the trail ends. When we got up to Boggs, I knew it was going to be a great course. It’s pretty hard to build a bad trail in that type of environment. I went on an early pre-ride lap, and near the end I noticed that my front brake was not working very well. It turns out that the casing for the brake fluid had a small hole in it. I was disappointed that I didn’t get to go for a second lap, but I figured that I mostly knew the course.

I got to bed at a decent hour, and was glad we could camp. Camping always makes everything more interesting. I got a good sleep, and was very excited the next morning.

Otis guy was nice enough to let me use his front brake for the race, and we took care of that in the morning. It’s nice to wake up right on the race course, because you don’t have to get up too early and if anything goes wrong with your bike, you have time to fix it.

I was glad to know that I got a call up, even though I had a not so good finish at granite bay. The race started quickly, and my legs were complaining a bit as we sprinted to the single track. The first lap started very fast and I realized I was with Christopher, the rider who has been wining the races by a few minutes. About half way through the second lap, I started to fall back from the leaders, and finished the first lap in 5th. When I passed the start, I poured all my water on my head, and got a water bottle from the feed zone. The second lap I felt better, and I slowly caught up to a guy from Salinas. I passed him on the flat part just after the wall (thanks to advice from Mitch). Then I pulled away from him even more after the stair steps. I got to the last downhill with a good gap on him, and I knew that this was the last push to the finish. I worked the last downhill just hard enough to stay away from him, and finished in 4th.

The whole weekend was very emotional, and I’m glad we honored Paul by completely crushing the competition. Great job guys, and I know you will all sleep well tonight from queenstone.

-Dean Lyons

AllieJo Stanley

JV girls – 14th place

Howdy,

I know this isn’t exactly the prime time for a race report, but better late than never, right? I was super excited for Boggs, it’s always a super fun race. We got to the race venue early on saturday and we had time to set up camp and relax before everyone else arrived and the pre-ride began. I felt pretty good during the pre-ride, I was loving the trails and my awesome new bike, and was pretty psyched that there was no mud river this time. That evening was a lot of fun, and I got to bed at a good hour.

Sunday morning, race day. I woke up and walked out to the campfire to find multiple riders already there, why they were there when they didn’t have to be that early in the morning is beyond me, but of course I’m not really a morning person anyway. I forced down my bowl of oatmeal, my nerves already setting in. I didn’t get on the bike to warm up as soon as I would have liked, so I stayed on the bike little longer and didn’t get a very good staging spot, but I knew I would plenty of time to pass people on the fire-road start. …3…2…1…GO! I sprinted off the start line, trying to pass as many people as possible and catch up with Nikki. My plan was to catch her and stay with her the whole time, and that the first part of it worked fine, I caught up to her, and then managed to stay with her for all of about 3 seconds. My legs were burning, they didn’t have the energy, and I fell back. I thought maybe it was just because I hadn’t warmed up well, and my legs were just stiff, but as I started on the singletrack, the situation didn’t improve. I tried push myself, but my legs just wouldn’t work, they didn’t have the energy, they didn’t have the strength. I ended up riding with a girl from MC for a fair amount of that first lap, until on the last singletrack climb, she messed up and had to stop, and I got around her. Not long after I started down the hill to the end of the first lap, I caught a redwood girl, who wasn’t going very fast. That really didn’t help my lovely mood in the least, and I didn’t even bother trying to not let it show on my face (I was told by many people that I did NOT look happy at the end of the first lap). It’s kind of embarrassing, but I have to say that I did think about quitting at times during that first lap, then I remembered something that Rebecca Rusch had said, ‘finish what you started.’ I thought back to Laguna Seca, when maybe I should but DNFed, but refused to. I couldn’t quit, not now.

The second lap wasn’t much better, I felt good on the downhills, and I thought that maybe I was feeling better, then I went back up…Some freshman girl from Redwood caught up to me on a very skinny singletrack section and told me quite rudely, after that following me for about 3 seconds, that if I didn’t clear she would report me. I told her, probably not very nicely either, that I wasn’t just going to stop, she had to wait for a place she could pass, and sure enough, about 5 seconds later, there is a place where she can pass quite easily. I caught back up to the Redwood girl in JV who had left me while on the fire road at the start of the lap, she was fading and I wasn’t…although I still didn’t have much energy. It was all I could do to keep going and finish. I had some fun during the final downhill, not having to follow anyone. When I finished, I believe there were some people there waiting for me, but I just kept going through everyone and out to road. My brother tried to talk to me, I told him to go away, I really didn’t feel like being around anybody. When I finally went back to the pit zone, there were many people there trying to make me feel better about my race, I appreciate that by the way, it helped, I am always so amazed at how supportive the Drake MTB community is. When I went to change, I decided that it was not worth the effort to be grumpy all day about my bad race, I decided to let it go for the day, so I could cheer on everyone else. I tried to make up for my bad race with great cheering.

Me, Nikki, Alicia and my brother went to the singletrack climb at the end of the lap to cheer on the JV and varsity guys. We had a great time cheering for all the racers and Nikki was having fun squirting people with water too. We stayed until the last lap, and were super psyched to see Lucas and Ben and Carson in the front of their respective races, I wish I could have seen their finishes, but I like to think that our cheering helped make those great finishes possible, although that could just be wishful thinking.

Great job to everyone who raced, and made the race possible. I always love Boggs, and this year was no exception! Roll Pirates!

- AllieJo

Nicolette Lax

JV Girls, 4th place

On Saturday I drove up to Boggs with Mick, arriving to the race grounds just as I could see the last bits of green spandex riding off into the distance. I got ready as fast as I could, hopped on my bike and hurried down the trail. I didn’t want to kill myself, but I really wanted to catch up to the girls on the tail end of the pre-ride. I took the single-track pretty fast, which actually helped me prepare for the race, soon enough catching them on “the wall” and was able to ride with them the rest of the way.

I made sure to eat my tofu and get a great nights rest, falling asleep to Ryans awesome concert, and woke up in the morning excited and ready to go. I got called up for my race, letting me get in a longer warm-up. Like all race starts, my legs locked up and I got passed by about ten girls, including Alicia. However I stuck with them, finally catching up to Alicia and followed her tail on the singletrack. Once we hit the climbing section my legs were feeling fantastic and I powered up the hill, passing four or five girls, and could see some lead riders in the distance.

The super fun downhill section really sealed the deal, I was feeling awesome going into the second lap. By the time I reached the beginning of the singletrack I was able to pass a few more girls. Unfortunately my chain did something funky while it was shifting and locked up, causing me to slow down and fix it. Then, after that, I skided out on a turn and fell off the trail a bit, letting some girls pass me. However I stuck with them until the climb, and sprinted up “the wall” and the staircase, going super hard to pass some top riders and finally got to the top of the last hill, ready to go down to the finish line. I could see two girls ahead, and decided to go all out and catch up to them.

I zoomed down the last hill, passing one girl on the fire-road and went up the side of the trail to pass another girl on the singletrack (super sketchy pass). Soon after I crossed the finish line at 4th place.

You heard the rest from Allie, but the cheering was awesome. We should definitely get some team water guns. Everyone should feel super proud of themselves, not only for an awesome race and norcal season, but really pulling through for ol’ coach paul. Roll Pirates!

-Nikki

What to expect? Tight, twisty, rolling, semi-technical singletrack through pinewood forest, plus some rocky fire roads. Riders will be doing multiple laps (approx 6.0 miles per lap), see below for expected lap counts. This [...]]]>

We’re coming up on the NorCal Finals, and the 5th of the 6 race series to the State Championships!

What to expect? Tight, twisty, rolling, semi-technical singletrack through pinewood forest, plus some rocky fire roads. Riders will be doing multiple laps (approx 6.0 miles per lap), see below for expected lap counts. This will be the most challenging course of the season!

This mostly single-track course carvesthrough the grassy hills behind the Laguna Seca racetrack. A steep half-mile start brings ridersto the Couch Canyon loop where they’ll descend for one and a half miles to [...]]]>

This is the second “all NorCal” race and the 4th race in the 6 race series to the State Championships.

This mostly single-track course carvesthrough the grassy hills behind the Laguna Seca racetrack. A steep half-mile start brings ridersto the Couch Canyon loop where they’ll descend for one and a half miles to the bottom of the course before two climbs totaling 700 feet bring them across the finish line and back to the main descent. Notable features are the mile of freshly cut, swoopy single track built by the BLM and NorCal League and the infamously steep climb at the end of each lap. Course distance is four miles.

More Pictures: Tom McCarty • David Benjamin • Chris Reudy

Howdy All!

Once [...]]]> Race #3 for 2013 at Granite Bay brought together all of NorCal for the first time this season, and was a great day for the Pirates.  NorCal Results here; race reports, comments and pictures below!

More Pictures: Tom McCarty • David Benjamin • Chris Reudy

Granite Bay Mar. 24, 2013 • Coach’s Report

Howdy All!

Once again the sun was shining on Drake MTB as we entered our first full League race of the season on Sunday, March 24 2013.

Having the split League races the first two times was a bit confusing in relation to getting a real feel for where we were with the entire League. Over 700 riders representing 55 High Schools is a tall order not only for the Teams but for the NorCal League as well and my hat goes off to the League for pulling this race off in a very professional manner. What was really incredible was the fact that Drake MTB pulled out yet another win on a day we struggled a little. The placement results were down a bit given the larger fields but the point distribution between the increased number of schools spread things out a bit.

*Varsity Girl*

Leah has struggled with her health all season but felt pretty good at the pre-ride and when she got up Sunday morning felt like she was good enough to at least give it a go and participate. Her first lap had her in 7th place but she paid the price and had to pull out at the Feed Zone as her breathing issue from last Fall’s bout with pnemonia flared up and she had to drop out. We all wish her well and are inspired by her willingness and determination to give it her best shot. She will be back!

*JV Girls*

This group of three girls have really been doing their part to keep us on the winning track. Allie Jo was not feeling her best during warm ups, as the beautiful Spring weather brings out the pollen and it’s related allergy issues. After a toough first lap, she found the will to overcome her problems and rode her secound lap real well, passing many riders and placed 11th. Nicolette had yet another strong race and earned a podium spot at 5th place with Alicia close behind with a consistently strong race and placed 8th.

*Sophomore Girl*

Elizabeth was a bit nervous with the additional competition coming in from the South Conference but rose to the occasion and battled the larger field and came in 7th, just missing her 3rd podium visit pf the season.

*Freshman Girls*

Another group that has certainly been a great surprise this season, these two girls are going to be excellent riders. Madison had a tough race and missed her third podium appearance of the season, placing 9th. Although she was disappointed, her effort and competitive effort were awesome and she will take this race as a learning experience that will help her in coming races. Eleanor, back after missing race 2, had another great race and a podium spot at 5th place.after being off the bike for a week.

*Varsity Boys*

So close and yet so far, Lucas rode his best race of the season and although didn’t win the race, proved that Nielsen Powless can be beat. Having a good 30 second gap with 2 miles to go, he crashed twice trying to get past a couple of unsportsman like JV boys who failed to yield. Lucas has been an incredible part of Drake MTB and we will miss him next race at Laguna Seca but wish him the best of luck as he represents the USA Juniors at the Pan American Games in Argentina. Oliver Morgan had another strong race in the expanded Varsity field placing 31st.

*JV Boys*

This was a huge field of over 90 riders and a huge challenge at the start and on the course. Carson battled through stomach cramps during his last lap but pulled out a 5th place. Ben Enbom and Galen had great races placing 9th and 11th respectively followed by Max Lescohier at 25th and a trio of Pirates rolling in together with Dakota at 39th, Tyler Noland at 40th and Kyle at 41st. This group continues to get stronger each race.

*Sophomore Boys*

Griffin Cronk continues to get stronger and faster as he turned out his Season best in the field with his brother Satchel, a Derake MTB alumni, cheering him on. Griffin placed 6th with a great effort. Sterling Guy, who has really improved this year and is the terror of the Soph boys, finished a solid 3rd in the expanded field. Well done both of you!

*Freshman Boys*

Another huge field for these new riders, it was definetly an experience ride for many. Noah Mertz was the top rider in this field with a great race, coming in 16th followed by Josh Abrahams at 22nd. Dean Lyons flatted with his tubeless and after getting it repaired, finished 43rd. Walker Laughlin, August Craig and Ian Itzla were a pretty close knit bunch coming in 33rd, 37th and 41st respectively.

Struggle as we did in some categories, Drake ended up on top once again due to Teammates stepping up and giving it their best effort, again showing that doing your best has it’s rewards, this time another 1st place in a huge full League race. Given this performance we now know where we stand with the League and I like the view from here.

Roll Pirates!
~ Coach Paul

Ben Enbom
Race #3 Granite Bay
JV Boys D1
9th Place

I was happy after my last race at Folsom with how I had done after being sick earlier this year and my lungs not behaving as they should, and the fact that this race they reset the points. On the preride saturday I took it easy, and and repeated some of the rock parts helping out Noah with a couple more technical parts, letting me get my line dialed. In taking the preride slow I was able to remember a lot of the corners which helped out a lot during the race. I got a good sleep saturday night and woke up early sunday and arrived at the pit just as it was finished getting set up. In the morning I was able to watch all the girls do very well, get some photos (which I will post soon) and relax a little before my race. I got on the trainer about 45 minutes before I had to get staged, and was able to stretch and warm up well before the race. Because of my first race I was not called up so I ended up being in the mayhem of racing to the start line. They had us circle around on our bikes and they yelled “GO” to have us sprint to the start line resulting in a couple crashes and a lot of pushing. I got into the middle of the pack of the non-callups and was okay with that.

Without much warning the countdown started, and I started my sprint to gain a couple positions. I started around 65th place, and I was able to gain about thirty places before the first climb. I took the first climbs quick and kept passing people until I got into twelfth place. I followed a kid from Salinas who kept a good pace, and after following him for a while he started to wear out, so I passed him and rode the second half of my second lap alone. I knew I was catching up to Galen and MC rider Jack Feeney who were riding together and ended up catching them at the start/finish line at the start of the third lap. I was very happy for this because I knew I could keep up with them and hopefully pass them in the end. We rode together taking turns leading until about halfway through when Galen and I dropped Jack on one of the downhills. I was feeling strong before the last climb so I was able to get a little ahead of Galen before the last climb, letting me sprint ahead and gain a good lead. I sprinted the downhill and the flat back to the finish line and ended in ninth place.

I was happy to get a call up letting me start in the second row for the next race. For the first time this season I will not have to pass so many people at the start of the race and I will be able to gain a few more positions hopefully getting me towards the podium. Our team did amazingly well and we pulled off another first place. This is a good start to our all league racing and I think our team will have a good season. I also would like to read some race reports from the other riders, especially the freshman. Also- for all new riders our next race at Laguna Seca will be lots of steep hills, but also some fun downhills. I think that our team should do well there and it will be a good time.

-Ben

Elizabeth E.

I would first like to thank the Enboms for taking me home after the race. Second the race its self was great. My first lap seemed alot faster than my second. Some of the riders during the technical sections seemed to not respect the other riders that were trying to pass. I tried to be as nice as possible to the other riders and let them pass when it was safe.The end of the race seemed longer than it did durring the pre-ride. Other wise it was a great race for the entire team. Congratulations on another great race.

~ Elizabeth

Josh Abrahams
Race #3 Granite Bay
Freshman Boys D1
22nd Place

For me the race this Sunday was one to remember, like we always do pushed through the challenge set before us. With twice as many kids we had twice the competition, So I want to congratulate everyone on this. I know that personally this race was extremely beneficial. Coming into it I felt like I was back at square one, just as nervous as my first race, but just as pumped. There were some mess ups with priority, but before the staging the error was fixed. This gave me a great advantage as the Race was about to kick off.

Coming off the line I was far more confident of my abilities on this course as apposed to Granite Bay #1. The straight away helped a lot for picking up some serious speed before the sand pit. Once I had made it past the sand I felt my nerves die down and my adrenaline rise. Behind me I could see no one (I learned later there was a pile up) This caused me to believe I was last place! I pushed myself hard gaining on about ten people and getting right behind Noah, But after a slight spill from him I was ahead and Kept pushing to gain on more and more riders. I eventually was shoved off the bike by another rider as I did not give him enough room to pass apparently and I lost a good 5 places. I got back up and kept going ending my race strong as fast as I always try to do. 22nd for me was a major improvement because of the increased riders in my division.

- Josh Abrahams

AllieJo Stanley Race #3 – Granite Bay JV girls – 11th place

Howdy,

Sunday didn’t start out too well, I hadn’t slept very well and I woke up not feeling completely rested, and the day didn’t really improve from there. When I started warming up, my throat started to get tighter and it became more difficult to breath. After my first hard effort, I was left breathless for multiple minutes (not usual), and after the second one, my throat closed up and it was all I could do to get a minuscule amount of oxygen into my lungs. I had to stop my warm-up, Paul came over and instructed me on how to breathe better, and it loosened up and I could breathe again. I won’t lie, not being able to breathe right was a pretty scary feeling. Sarah came over afterwards and gave me an inhaler to use, and I rode around a little to make sure I could actually breathe right while riding a bike. I decided to carry the inhaler with me during my race in case I had another breathing problem. After that whole fiasco, the time for warm-ups was over and I had to go to the staging area. I wasn’t too happy about not getting in a proper warm-up, but I couldn’t do anything about that then.

I got called up in the second row, and when the race started, I found myself in second place, right on Avery’s wheel. I’m not sure how I got there exactly, I guess the other girls had trouble in the sand or something and I didn’t. I kept up with her for a good part of the first lap, but thats when my stomach started to rebel on me. I began launching attacks at me, each wave getting more painful. I tried to ignore it and keep riding, but it was slowing me down. When I arrived at the technical rocky uphill section, several girls, including Nikki had already passed me. I couldn’t quite make it up the last part, and at the top, my stomach was attacking me so fiercely, I had to stop and lean over my bike for at least a minute, maybe two, before it subsided enough for me to continue slowly, still wincing in pain. My stomach was starting to give up on ruining my race when a slow girl from the cowboys passed me. That was the last straw, I’d had enough of this going slow and letting girls pass me thing, I was ready to race. I told my stomach to shut up, promptly passed the cowgirl, and never looked back. For the rest of that lap and the first part of the second one, I was running on adrenaline and the relief that I had a painless stomach, and working my butt off to pass as many girls as I could. I passed at least five girls in that segment of the race. I know you guys out there who are used to racing on fields of like 90 guys are probably thinking, ‘wow, five people, thats not that many,’ but in the girls races, when JV had a gigantic field size of 45, five is a lot. The second lap went by quickly, but I did not enjoy those ‘hills’ at the end of the race. My finish was uneventful, but I was glad to be done.

I ended up finishing in 11th place, I had hoped to pass one more girl to get into the top ten, but alas, that didn’t happen. I was glad I didn’t have any more breathing problems during the race and my stomach problem left and never came back. I wish I hadn’t had stomach issues that slowed me down, as I was feeling pretty good until then and was holding a good position. At the end of the day, though, I did my best cards I was dealt and all things considered, I did pretty well and felt good about it. I was glad to have my teammates there to fill the gap I wish I could have filled. The win this weekend, even with a few bad races, showed just how deep our team goes. This weekend was a lot of fun, we once again proved ourselves to be the best team in the league. Congratulations to all the great races out there, and better luck next time to the ones that didn’t go so well. I hope to see more race reports from other riders this race. I encourage everyone to write one. Not only do people love to hear how your races went, but it’s a great way to reflect on your race and realize what you did well and what you could improve on.

Roll Pirates! – AllieJo

Pix: David Benjamin’s • Chris Reudy’s • Tom McCarty’s • Miles Lim’s (below)

Our second race of the season was yet another beautiful day. [...]]]> Race #2 for 2013 at Folsom Lake saw Drake MTB get even stronger! Check out the NorCal Results and some race reports, comments and pictures below!

Pix: David Benjamin’s • Chris Reudy’s • Tom McCarty’s • Miles Lim’s (below)

Folsom Lake Mar. 10, 2013 • Coach’s Report

Our second race of the season was yet another beautiful day. The wonderful, yet somewhat bizarre weather pattern this year has caused us to cancel only one practice this season and left us with two beautiful race days.

This race brought us a new venue for the first time in a couple of years. The course started near the Folsom City Zoo and wrapped around a baseball field and a rodeo arena before dipping into the “Sherwood Forest” for a bit of technical woop-ti-doos before climbing up on the ridge next to Folsom Prison with stunning views of the American River before dipping back down to the levee and up to the ball field. Super fun and super fast.

*Varsity Girls* - Not much going on here as Leah did the smart thing and backed down after a rough week of practice and not feeling well, choosing to get well and race another day. Taking advantage of Branson’s Kate Courtney missing the race, Josie Nordstrom took the top spot.

*JV Girls* – These three girls have decided to put the hammer down and had their best races of the young season. Nicolette Lax took the top spot at 3rd, three places better than her first race followed right behind by Allie Jo Stanley in the 4th spot, four places better than her first race. Then to top off an excellent day for these girls, Alicia Leggett, who has found a passion for a new sport, mopved up three places to 7th! Great performance by a great trio of girls!

*Sophomore Girl* – Elizabeth Elliott proved to herself and the League that she is for real with a strong 3rd place finish to back up her 2nd the previous week. Elizabeth will continue to get better and better as the season progresses.

*Freshmen Girls* – Madison Lescohier represented all by herself this race as Eleanor was out and represent she did, moving up to 3rd from her strong 4th last race. Madison is a strong rider and always has a smile on her face, a true reflection of the Pirate Spirit.

*Freshmen Boys* – Dean Lyons had another strong race and battled it out to take another 3rdplace. This group that represents the future of Drake MTB as a whole had a great day with every one of them improving over their first race by an average of 6 places with Noah Merz making a quantum leap of 15 places . Great performance and most importantly awesome improvement from race 1 to race 2.

*Sophomore Boys* – Sterling Guy had a battle on his hands as he couldn’t quite hold on and finished 2nd. He had a great race but it just wasn’t his day to win as he graciously acknowledged that the other rider had a better race. Griffin Cronk had a battle with the pain in his shoulder from a hard crash last Sunday at practice but hung on to a 9th place dispite his injury.

*JV Boys* – Carson Benjamin lost out by just a bike length and improved from 4th to 2ndplace this race. It was a great sprint finish as he cut to the inside and almost caught his handle bar on the netting making his move. This group, like the Freshmen, had almost across the board better performances this race as well. Galen Pogonchef moved up two places to 7th, Max Lescohier pedaled his brains out and improved by four places as did Ryan McCarty and Kyle Noland with Tyler picking up a place as well.

*Varsity Boys* – Lucas Newcomb had another great race after pile driving his face into the ground on the first turn of his first lap. These guys were turning in 21 minute laps and Lucas was able to narrow the gap from the first race between himself and Nielsen Powless. Oliver Morgan improved by 5 places this race to 21st.

I didn’t go back and count but I know I used the word “improved” a lot of times. This is what Pirates do well, get better with each race, whether it is 32nd to 28th or 6th to 4th, it is all about going out and doing your best and having fun doing it. The mighty Pirate is once again on a roll! Roll Pirates!

~ Coach Paul

COACH SARAH:

Hey Riders
Awesome day!! Each and everyone of you are absolutely amazing. NorCal has posted the splits and individual results on their website. Check it out – you have to see it to believe it. Drake MTB is just incredible and seems to be getting better each race. Thank you to everyone for making this so much fun!!

http://www.norcalmtb.org/events/results/

Race Reports

LUCAS NEWCOMB

Our team did work. Nobody can handle our heat. The support and enthusiasm of our riders and parents is unmatched and it is why we continue to win races. I was shocked and honored by all who helped me and supported me after my race and it just shows how much our team looks out for each other. We have by far the most consistent and strong riders in all categories and everyone is just going to keep improving. Awesome job teammates and parents, we own the nor NORCAL.
-Lucas

Lucas,

Nice message! You really are such a Class Act. 
And, I am so impressed at how you crashed on your face,
Got back up and did not let that deter your will to get Nielsen.
What spirit! I’m proud to know you.
 
Sterling

BEN ENBOM

12th place JV boys

I finished the last race at Granite Bay by collapsing at the beginning of my third lap, so coming into the Folsom race I was ready to finish a race and forget about the first. I decided going into the race I would take it easy the fist lap, try and keep consistant lap times, and catch up positions as others slowed down near the end. I came into this race very hydrated, and hadnt been sitting in a car 18 hours prior to the race as I had for Granite Bay.

I arrived right as people were leaving for the preride, so I quickly got on my bike and caught up to them. I only rode one lap to make sure I kept my engergy for the race and really enoyed the course. I had a good dinner with a couple other famlies form the team and went to bed early.

The next morning I watched all the girls, who were amazingly fast, and the freshman and sophmore boys, all of whom were also racing really well. After so many great results in the morning, I knew that I had to also finish strong. I lined up, starting in the second to last row, and looked at all the people in front of me and decided I would have to pass as many of them in the beginning of the race before Sherwood Forest, and after that I would pace myself. We started the race and I sprinted off the line, getting into about 40th place (after starting in about 55) and once I exited into the wider trails I started passing people, and drafting off others to wear them out. Once I started the Stair-Step climb I was told I was in 22nd place, after passing nearly 35 people my first lap. My second lap I started feeling fast so I passed another 6 people, getting into 16th place. My third lap I got into a good pace and kept passing people, working my way to 12th place. I tried to catch the person in front of me from San Rafael, and a would have if I started up closer to him but I just didn’t have the time. I finished in 12th with a good sized gap behind me and I was very excited to finish strong.

The whole team did very well this race and everyone was very strong, and I am confident we will have a great year ahead. The race was fun and I’m excited to keep improving

-ben

Ben,

I really enjoyed reading your race report. Your description created a vicarious feel for me to envision how it felt for you and definitely imagine being along for the journey. You pulled off quite a feat. Congratulations. What a nice strong finish.

Sterling

ALLIE STANLEY
JV girls 4th place

Howdy,

This race weekend was a little strange for me. Since my dad and brother were up in Corvallis watching Mackinzie (my sister, for those of you who don’t know, and thats no many now) at a road race, and my dog stayed at home, it was only me and my mom at the race. I have to say that I definitely missed having my family there to support me, so it’s good the team was there to step in and fill that gap (as always), it always amazes me how loving and supportive our community is.

On saturday, pre-riding the course, I wasn’t super thrilled about it, I didn’t like all those short, steep uphills, but it wasn’t too bad. I wasn’t too nervous Sunday morning when I got to course, but I was missing my dog, he never fails to calm me down when I’m nervous, I don’t know how dogs do it. Come race-time, I expected to be called up, but turns out a few girls didn’t show this race so we had a smaller field and they only called up the top five. Despite that, I got a good spot in the second row. As we left the grass I fell in behind Nikki, in a solid sixth place. I got through the pump track section without too much of a problem, and just after the first bridge, a tam girl ahead of me had to pull off the trail due to some mechanical. Staying with Nikki didn’t last too long, she made it around a turn I didn’t and she got ahead, but I managed to keep her in sight. For the rest of the first lap, me and the Tam girl who had pulled off the trail earlier kept yoyo-ing back and forth, she would gain some ground on the uphill, and I would take it back on the downhill. At one point, she was right behind me and I thought for sure she was going to pass me, but I managed to stay ahead. After that, I slowly began to create a larger gap.

Starting the second lap, I was feeling really good, better than the first lap, so I started to pick it up a bit. On one of the many times when the trail turned back on itself, I saw that Nikki had just passed a San Rafael girl and they weren’t too far ahead, so I made it my goal to pass the San Rafael girl too. When she saw me coming up behind her, she started to speed up, but it didn’t really do anything for her. I passed her on a steep uphill section, and then it was Nikki with the target on her back. I upped the pace even more to try to catch up with her, because at that point there was not much race left. I succeeded in catching her at the end of the levy, but didn’t want to risk passing right before the steep drop. Going around the stairs, Nikki didn’t quite make it, and I couldn’t get a clean pass around. She was able to get back on keep going faster than me and she was able to stay ahead until the finish, try as I might to catch up. I finished strong and felt good during the race, and was thrilled to have improved so much from last race, and get on the podium.

The team did awesome this race, with at least one podium finisher in every category we had a rider in, and we will only get better as the season goes on. I’m very proud to be a part of this amazing team!

- AllieJo