Team Photo 2012 @ Staffor Lake Norcal Finals (photo: Miles Lim)

Team Celebrates at NorCal Finals (Photo: Marin IJ)

The Drake Mountain Bike Team successfully defended out NorCal Championship title this weekend by defeating the competitive teams of Redwood and Salinas and eleven other Division 1 teams at Stafford Lake in Novato on Sunday May 6th.

Most of the team riders peaked at the perfect time and recorded personal best places for the season.  All but one of the points earning members were on the podium for the day including Freshman Allie Jo Stanley 5th, Freshman Carson Benjamin 2nd (also won the top freshman boy for the year), Freshman Ben Enbom 4th, Sophomore Nicolette Lax 4th, Junior Leah Lind-White 3rd, Senior Libby Caldwell 6th, Junior Lucas Newcomb 4th, and Senior Mackenzie Stanley, who had her best finish of the year, winning the very competitive Varsity Girls group!  Some of these categories have 60-80 riders in them!

Drake is now the 6x NorCal High School Mountain Bike League Champions!  Great job to the whole team!

Now we’re off to the State Championships in two weeks (5/20/12) to take on the Southern California teams for the California State Championship. We go very confident that we’ll defend our title and make it four State Championships for the team!

Thanks to all those who came out to support the team, it meant a lot to the students.

~ Roll Pirates!!!!

Thanks to Pedal Born Pictures for the great video!

Race Report: Mackinzie Stanley

NorCal Championships-Stafford Lake
Varsity Girls
1st

The morning of, I woke up in my own bed-for the first time!-and listened to my alarm cycle through a few songs before leisurely getting out of bed and eating breakfast.

I made sure to get in a really good warm up with some good hard efforts because I speculated a fast start on the long flat beginning and in the past I haven’t been the best at getting a good warm up in. I really needn’t have worried, however, because everyone started off really slowly– I guess nobody wanted to be the one to amp up the pace while still on the rough bumpy flats.

The first two laps were pretty mellow pace wise, almost to the point where I was speculating whether I should put down an attack just to mix up the field a bit, but with the amount of flat setions, I didn’t want to make the mistake of striking out on my own this early in the race. Besides of which, I was pretty sure everyone else had a lot of energy left at that point and I wasn’t sure of my chances at accomplishing anything but tiring myself out. Although the pace wasn’t too harsh, the dynamic of the group-which stayed at six until almost the third lap-kept me on my toes to make sure I stayed in a good position and not get caught behind someone slower on the single track. I wanted to be prepared for when someone put down an attack or if someone messed up on one of the more technical sections. I learned a lot about group tactics during this part of the race but still had to play catch up on multiple parts of the single track when I failed to maintain good placement. In a way, it helped to boost my confidence because I was continuously able to close the gap and regain the front group, something I don’t usually have much luck with.

In the past, I usually feel like I’m hanging onto the rear wheel of the front group for dear life and then just doing the best I can to stay motivated while riding solo. At this race I felt really comfortable and the group dynamics kept things pretty interesting.

Going into the third lap, Josie put down a hard attack, leaving Shayna, Kate and I to race after her. At the feed zone I declined my water bottle in favor of maintaining position and was able to catch and pass Shayna as we headed across the road and along the parking lot area. After that, I tried to hold Kate’s wheel as she chased down Josie and found myself pleasantly surprised at the way my body was holding up. By the time we reached the out and back part all three of us had formed a group again and as we crossed the river I grudgingly took a turn pulling because the other two had already both taken their share of time at the front earlier in the race. I didn’t have much experience working with a group and so I was a little unsure about how the whole trading-off-at-the-front thing worked, but I guess I did alright.

Going into the fourth lap and up the first hill, I was starting to feel some fatigue in my legs so I sucked down a gu and some water and hoped my legs could hold on until the end – I didn’t need them giving up on me now. Since there wasn’t any real sustained climbing i was pretty confidant I’d be ok. I screwed up the rocky climb because I was indecisive about whether to jump off and run or just ride it and it cost me precious time and allowed a small gap to form between the front two and me. Getting back on the bike, I worked hard to bridge the gap and by the time I reached the last single track, I had reeled them back in. Climbing strongly around the two switchbacks, I was able to pass them and struck out strongly for the finish line. After the last U-turn, I dug in and pushed an even harder pace, racing all the way to the finish line where I put my arms up and sailed under the banner with a huge smile.

As I tried to exit the course, I was mobbed by a huge crowd of cheering, deliriously happy spectators. Some of the hugs almost robbed my of my already scarce breath but it was gratifying all the same and I’ll admit, puffed up my ego a bit in the process.
It was great to see the joy in everyone’s faces and the energy of the crowd rise higher and higher. I don’t think I was able to escape to cool down for a good five minutes after my race.

My achievement in this race along with the steep learning curve made this the best race weekend yet and it wasn’t even noon. The personal bests that I saw in all the races across the board were also hugely rewarding as was cheering on the varsity and JV guys, although I think I yelled myself hoarse.
Congratulations to everyone-we are now the 4times running NorCal champs. Extra congrats to Leah, Libby, Sam, Nik, Galen, Ben, Griffin and Tyler who all made significant improvement in this race from the past races! It’s awesome to see the effort put in by everyone on the team at these races and in training and then see it all pay off.

Thanks to the volunteers managing the pit- as always you guys are the best! The sausages were a great idea as well-its great to mix up the fare once in a while.

Altogether, this race was awesome! It was in Marin, we had tons of family friends, neighbors, teachers and media milling about everywhere and cheering excitedly on all parts of the course- it really created the feeling of a festival and helped keep me pumped on the race course.

State is coming up next-the last race of the year and the last high school race for all us seniors. Let’s make it a good one!

~ Mackinzie

Recap from Coach Jeff

Howdy Pirates,

I’m looking at the results from Sunday and it’s obvious why we won: 21 riders equaled or had their personal bests results for the season! Congratulations to:

Tommy Breeze, Conor Briese, Nik Dommen, Sam McLaughlin, Lucas Newcomb, Libby Caldwell, Mackenzie Stanley, Annika Hoy, Samantha Johnson, Leah Lind-White, Liam Brooks, Jason Coleman, Max Lescohier, Ryan McCarty, Tyler Noland, Galen Pogonsheff,, Landon Ummel, Izzy Doerschlag, Nicolette Lax, Griffin Cronk andBen Enbom!

Some had significant improvements in their results, such as Nik Dommen who gained 11 positions, Tyler Noland, who gained 15 positions and Galen Pogensheff, who also improved by 15 positions! Liam Brooks improved by 9 positions and that’s after suffering through a knee injury caused by getting hit by a car weeks ago!

Another amazing fact: Not one of our Drake Pirates quit, despite the challenging heat, scary crashes, bodily pain, and mechanical setbacks. Coach Tall Paul said that towards the end of the race, there were consistent messages over the radio of course officials reporting DNFs (Did Not Finish), but the Pirates kept their eyes on the prize!

I don’t know if the team has ever had such a spectacular day, but this is one I believe I will always remember.

Every rider should be immensely proud of himself/herself.

I’m really looking forward to States!

~ Coach Jeff

Race Report: Ben Enbom

NorCal race #5-Stafford lake
Freshmen boys
4th

Although I have only been on the Drake team for one season, I can feel how amazing it is to have a local race. Being able to sleep in your own bed, only having to drive a half hour to the course, and being able to have people from school to support us made Stafford lake a great race.

I arrived Saturday for the pre-ride and team photo expecting a rudimentary and slightly make-shift course, but once I started riding I discovered that it was very well constructed, and well planned out. There was not much climbing, and the climbing that there was happened to be technical and steep, which is what I am good at. The downhill was fast and fun enough to make me go for a second lap with Tommy, Carson and Libby. I also felt that I had a near perfect bike for the course, adding to the excitement.

I got a good sleep, and mentally prepared myself for possibly the hardest race of the season. I arrived early to help set up, but was too late to help much so I sat around and drank lots of water.

The girls race was very exciting, and congratulations to Allie, Leah, Nicolette who all podiumed, and especially Mackenzie who finally got FIRST In her last NorCal race!

I was in eighth place overall at the beginning of the race so I got to stay in the second row at the start of the race. After the countdown as the race started I quickly sprinted into fourth place behind Otto Salami, Carson, and Brett Ford. Otto got a quick lead, and as the first hill started I passed Brett, and biked with Carson for a while. At the top of the single track climb we got caught behind some very rude sophomores for two or three minutes, who were going quite slow and wouldn’t let us pass. Eventually I was able to sprint up the side of the hill, around a tree and back down onto the track to pass them. Carson then followed soon after, putting me into second, and him about ten seconds behind in third. It stayed like this for a half mile or so during the fire road decent. Once the climbing started he passed me again and put me into third. Soon after that Brett passed again and got a slight lead on the out-and-back. I continued in fourth place through the start/finish line, and felt good about that position. I had already been through a full bottle of water so when I went through the feed zone I drank nearly the whole thing. I had a little water left in the second bottle and I hoped that it would be enough. I had no one around me for the first half of the second lap so I worked on staying steady, and staying fast on the uphills where I had the advantage and trying to be quick on the downhills. Around the middle of the lap I noticed that I had ran out of water. I started to feel the pain, and my throat was hurting. I saw Sterling and Griffin starting to gain on me at the end of the second lap, so I sprinted the end of the race finishing in fourth place. Once I finished I nearly collapsed and just feasted on water for 20 minutes. I was happy with that result, as I got to podium and I got an overall medal.

6 NorCal championships is amazing! I think that we have a great chance for the state champs soon, and if we have a day anywhere close to how Sunday went we have it in the bag. Everyone did so well and the day went perfectly. One more race for the season, and I have a good feeling abut it!

Roll Pirates!

Race Report: Libby Caldwell

Norcal Championships Stafford Lake
Varsity Girls
4 laps
6th place

As usual I was feeling quite pessimistic before this race. I had ridden the preride on my trek 6700 hardtail and was not excited to ride four laps of the bumpy course . I was really worried that my bike would shut down as it did 3 weeks prior at Boggs with a nasty case of phantom-shifting. But I tried to put all my negative feelings behind me when i got to the pit the morning of the race. I set up my bike and was pleasantly surprised when the wonderful Joe breeze offered his cloud 9 breezer for me to race on. I started to feel better about my race and just told myself to do the best that I could. But I didn’t want to do badly, I knew my friends were going to come and see me race (for the first time) and I wanted to show them why i cant hang out after school, why we always have to eat someplace that doesn’t use dairy in their food, and why I cant come to concerts or parties on the weekend, because I am a bike racer. I wanted to show them what I can do.

When I got to the start people were riding around the field because the league didn’t want to stage racers yet. But I stayed relatively near and when the NORCAL women announced varsity staging I was the first person there. Because of this I was second line back at the start, behind Mackinzie ( a great place to be). When the countdown ended and we started off down the race course the crazy attacks and carnage I imagined never happened. Kate and Josie were at the front driving a reasonable pace around the windy, bumpy course. I was in the lead group until sofia gomez attacked on the fire road climb. I was not about to bury myself on the first lap so i went my own pace. At the top of the climb I was surprised to pass Julie Barton from placer foothill composite who had been consistently beating me since sophomore year. With the cloud nine i was able to get a small gap on the rest of the girls down the descent and through the flat fireroad. When I started up the windy singletrack climb i could see Kate and Josie leading the pack ahead of me. I started to close the gap as i saw some girls struggle up the rock. although jumping off my bike and running was time effective it ruined my rhythm and my heart rate started to spike and my asthma started to return. I started to calm down through the switchbacks and it was reassuring to see Patchen and Nikole at the top of the climb cheering me on.

The quick singletrack descent caused the girls behind me to catch up but when we hit the bumpy grass sections the cloud 9 did it’s magic and basically rolled over everything. When we got to the “there and back” flat section i could see Cara Woods of TL and Sofia Gomez on the other side. The gap was increasing but all i really cared about was keeping the chase group of 5 riders behind me. I drank water consistently on the flat parts and after the grassy U-turn took a gu.

After the first lap I was feeling really fatigued. The climbs were relatively short and easy but the flat grass sections really sucked the energy straight out of me. I was positive i was going to be caught by the people behind me. But apparently they were getting tired too!

The second lap was not exiting. When I started my third lap I started to see the light at the end of the tunnel, i was almost done. My gap on the chase group behind me was staying the same and when I went up the technical rock section Dave Curtis of San Rafael told me i was currently in 6th place. Shayna had broken her derailleur and had to borrow her dads bike. The motivation of being in sixth place got me up and down the last parts of the lap. I still had hope that if I went fast enough maybe i could catch the cara woods group of 2 ahead of me. This dream was quickly shut down as at the end of my 3d lap, in the grassy U-turn under the tree. I came in with too much speed and my front wheel washed out. But no one should worry about the bike because me face took most of the impact. I was initially pretty freaked out worrying that girls behind me were gaining. I attacked the last time up the fire road climb finding motivation in this being my last lap. I was pleasantly surprised to see no one descending down the hill as I made my why on the flats to the last climb. I kept my focus on maintaining my speed and keeping upright as another stupid crash could cost me a lot of time. When I rolled onto the finishing straight I couldn’t help but do a little Alec Kassin fist pumping in disbelief that I cracked the top 10 of Varsity for the first time and was one place away from podium.

I am so proud of the team for what we have accomplished. Everyone has grown so much as riders and its been a pleasure to see the development of my peers.Congrats to every person on this team and thank you to every parent/teacher/friend who came out to cheer us on to our 4th consecutive Norcal win.
Already pumped for states, get ready to tear the bark off of those redwood giants, ROLLLLLL PIRATES!

Race Report: Sam McLaughlin

Race Report: NorCal Championships at Stafford Lake
Placing: 16th

I knew from the pre-ride that this was going to be a tough race. The course was rough and bumpy all the way around, with very few spots to recover. I made some tire pressure adjustments to take the sting out of some of the bumps, but I knew there was no way I’d be able to avoid an uncomfortable ride.

Thankfully, nobody crashed during the start this time. I could tell from the first lap that my predictions were right – trying to maintain a fast pace over the freshly mowed trails was tough, and the constant shaking was tiring.

My first lap felt a bit slow, and I didn’t feel like my legs were responding well. I focused on staying calm and riding as smoothly as possible, knowing that I often pass many people during the later laps. My strategy paid off, and during the second and third laps I gained a lot of places as other riders began to fade.

During the fourth lap, I was trading places back and forth with Wyatt Morin (independent) and Evan Rossow (Salinas). I passed both of them near the start of the lap, but when the top three JV riders rolled by, Wyatt and Evan tucked into their slipstream to pass me. Luckily, they both slowed down again when the JV guys took off for a final sprint.

I went past Wyatt and Evan again at the start of the fifth lap and cranked the pace up as fast as I could manage. Soon, it was just me and Evan. I had a twenty- to thirty-second gap for a while, but Evan slowly closed in, and by the final stretch we were wheel to wheel.

We came onto the grass and I kicked first, ramping up to try to pull ahead. I gained some time, but then Evan surged and led by a couple feet. I pushed harder and took the lead once more. As we came onto the finishing straight, Evan was inching ahead again. I was determined not to let him beat me, so I kicked one last time, and at the finish line I threw my bike forward to get my front wheel over the line first. It was unbelievably close, but I did win the sprint – just barely. I finished 16th, which was my personal best for this season.

This was a punishing race – my whole body is still sore – but it was still a great weekend. The whole team came out swinging. Congratulations to Mackinzie for finally taking a win, Carson for wrapping up the overall series title, Ben and Leah and Nicolette and Allie and Lucas for podium finishes, and everybody else who turned in awesome performances today.

Once again I want to thank the parents and coaches for the incredible support on race day – the pit zone was running like a well-oiled machine. Also, thanks to my teammates for cheering so enthusiastically while I suffered up the steep singletrack climb, and for pouring water on me when I needed it.

You guys dominated this weekend – now let’s go do it again at State Championships! It’s time to show SoCal what Redwood and Salinas already learned: Drake MTB is still on top.

RACE #3 RESULTS

See Team Results For Race #3

See Teams Standings After Race #3

From Coach Peg Arm Paul:

Howdy!

Well that was one heck of a weekend! I am just now getting myself back together from the exileration of it all. Looks like “Having fun and doing your best” was a good idea seeing as how despite a couple of hiccups, that was our best race of the season. I don’t have specifics as yet while waiting for the results posting, but I do believe there were something like 19 season bests or equivelants including a couple of first time podium standers, congradulations Ben and Nicolette!

Laguna Seca Podium 4/1/2012

Even though they are painful, those Fish-Els really paid off. You have all worked hard at practice and it is really showing at the races. If we can keep this up and catch a break in the misfortune of some of our top riders, we may be able to come back against Redwood. They had a Drake MTB kind of day and we will really need to be on our game to catch them. This is one of the closest 1-2-3 season battles I have been through but this is a typical Drake MTB kind of year where we come on strong at the end of the season. Again, I am very proud of you and inspired by your enthusiasm.

We will be having practice on Tuesdays going forward starting tomorrow. All practices during the week will be at 4PM. Be sure and check the calendar if you have any questions. We will also be having practice this Sunday which happens to be Easter. The Church of Drake MTB will be open at 9AM with our traditional EasterTube hunt with perhaps a few goodies thrown in as well.

We only have less than 2 weeks to get ready for Boggs so there will be an extra dose of single track in the weeks to come as well as some more climbing in preparation for “The Wall” at Boggs. We will also be takling a poll for the Spring Break week prior to Boggs to see how many want to practice or ride on their own or who will even be in town that week.

Congratulations all of you, you deserve it!

~ Coach Paul

From Coach Jeff

Boy, by looking at the results spreadsheet Dan put together you certainly would have thought we won Laguna Seca!

23 personal bests, that’s amazing!  Almost all of the riders have made steady improvements from the first race and some have made dramatic improvements.  Here are some great examples:

• Conor Briese 8 positions
• Sam McLaughlin 7 positions
• Satchel Cronk 12 positions
• Evan Goldstein 10 positions
• Mick Bruckner 20 positions!
• Dakota Schneider 16 positions
• Peter Dommen 13 positions
• Ryan McCarty 15 positions
• Kyle Kohlbrenner 13 positions.

Many of the riders have made steady improvements, such as:

• Nik Dommen 4 positions
• Jackson Karlenzig 4 positions
• Annika Hoy 2 positions
• Samantha Johnson 2 positions
• Jason Coleman 5 positions
• Kyle Noland 2 positions
• Tyler Noland 3 positions
• Griffin Cronk 1 position.

Then we have those riders who’s gradual improvements are either landing them on the podium or getting them oh so close, such as:

• Carson Benjamin 2nd place
• Oliver Morgen 8th place
• Ben Enborn from 17th place to 5th place
• Sterling Guy 8th place
• Leah Lind-White 8th place

And probably the most fun group to watch has been the dynamic trio of Nicolette, India, and Izzy who are all climbing to the top together. Izzy has placed 11th and 10th, India has placed 10th, 9th, and 7th; and Nicolette has lead the way posting an 8th, an 8th, and a podium placing 5th!  Way to go girls.

Speaking of girls, what about our hero and Miss Consistency, Mackenzie Stanley.  She has placed 4th, 4th, and 4th!  She is a true inspiration to not only the girls, but the whole team!

And speaking of inspiration, Lucas Newcomb and Libby Caldwell, although not having their best days on Sunday, continue to inspire all of us with their hard work and dedication to the sport and the team.  You’ll get them next time.  We all admire both of you.

This weekend just goes to show that hard work pays off and that everybody contributes to the success of our Drake Mountain Bike Team, because, in my book, this was a very successful day at the races!  I’m really looking forward to Boggs!

Roll Pirates!  Coach Jeff.

Race Report: Mackinzie Stanley

NorCal #3-Laguna Seca Grand Prix
Varsity girls
4th place

I came into this race looking for some retribution after last years race on this course where I lost a contact lens and my legs and breathing deserted me.

We didn’t get to pre-ride the day before but I checked out the start by foot and Paul and Patty’s details about the condition of the course combined with my own memories were enough to sooth any worries I had from not pre-riding.

Starts have historically been my weak point, but I’m working to remedy that so I made sure to be in a good gear and pedaled furiously from the start, standing up on the climb to position myself into fifth heading into the single track. Sofia Villafane had sped into first going up the paved road but soon dropped back as we cruised down the descent. While everyone was trying to pass her, I got stuck behind and the front three opened a small gap and although I pushed it hard once I was able to pass, I couldn’t close the gap and it only got wider thru the race.

I soon realized that another girl, Cara Woods, had attached herself to my wheel and was following pretty aggressively. This forced me to pick up the pace on the hills, where she was catching up to me, and really dig deep to stay ahead of her. I talked incessantly to myself inside my head, and sometimes under breath, to keep me from giving up and to continue to push harder thru the pain.

The girl made a move going into the second lap and got ahead on the fire road. At this point I started feeling sorry for myself and thinking how much I hated this race. A few minutes later, however, after starting the single track descent, I regained my sense and shredded the downhill to catch up and pass on one of the small rises. For the rest of that lap I struggled to stay ahead, pushing the pace the whole time, hoping that I could outlast her.

When I started the third lap and she wasn’t right on my wheel, I knew I had a chance to create a nice gap. I was faster on the descents and so I focused on riding as fast and as smooth as possible, barely touching the brakes on the descent and then just tried to keep the momentum going into the hillier second half of the lap. I didn’t see her again after that.

The fourth lap was fairly uneventful. I was all by myself so I tried to keep my pace strong and my focus sharp by thinking about catching Shayna and staying away from the girls trying to catch me. For the last rise to the finish I stood up and powered across the line, giving every last bit I had. As I coasted into the finish area a small smile slipped onto my tired face.

I’m extremely satisfied with my race and the way I was able to push thru the hard parts and finish strongly. I’m still hoping for a top three finish at some point, but I felt good during the whole race and surprised myself with the pace I was able to keep without bonking later on. It felt good to have such a successful race at this course.

Thanks Joe Breeze for fixing the squeaky pedal situation-it was wonderfully quiet during the race!

Congrats to everyone who improved or put that little bit of extra effort into the race. It’s going to make the difference in the end.

Looking forward to Boggs next! Its a fun course with lots of climbing and some twisty rocky sections that more closely imitates tamarancho. Plus, its a good course for us to show some Drake power

~ Mackinzie

Race Report: Allie Stanley

Norcal race #3 Laguna Seca
Freshmen girls 4th place

Howdy,

I wasn’t too happy about not getting to pre-ride the course on saturday and not being able to know what I was going to be racing on the next day, but I tried to make the best of it.  At least all the other girls had never ridden it either, since we are all freshmen.  It was good that I had my expert sister, Mackinzie, to break down the layout of the course for me.

As the race started, I tried to maneuver my self into a good position.  I was sprinting up the first hill with a girl to the left of me and the leader out front, when a girl attempted to pass.  She tried to squeeze in between us through a gap of about a foot, ran into my back wheel and handlebar and went down, forcing me to jump off my bike and run to the beginning of the single track.  I got back on my bike and tried to push myself hard up the hill so as to not get too far behind the leaders, but once again my progress was impeded.  This time some girl just couldn’t make it up and stopped, right in front of me.  I had to get off my bike again and attempt to run it up the hill, it was a short, steep, painful climb, but I made it to the top.  By that time I had lost some places, and was getting extremely pissed off.  The one thing that did make me a little happier, or at least make me smile, was the group of dedicated Drake guys doing the wave as I went around the turn and began the first descent.

I tried to push myself on the downhill section because I knew that was where I had an advantage, but you can only gain so much time back, and I felt horrible, my legs, my stomach, everything.  For over half of my first lap I felt like I was about to throw-up.  I started up the last steep climb and almost made it to the top, but I had to get off and run when I wasn’t quite there.  When I got back on my bike at the top, I realized that I had tried to shift down into my smallest chain ring, but it wouldn’t go. I was not looking forward to the second time up that hill.

Going into the second lap, I felt better, and tried to push myself a little harder, as it was also my last lap.  I passed a lot of girls, mostly sophomores and JV.  When I was almost to the last hill and trying to figure out how to pass the freshman in front of me, Mackinzie caught up to me.  When she passed me, I took full advantage and passed the girl in front of me before she had time to move back over.  I tried to keep up with Mackinzie and it almost worked, except that I was forced to run up most of the steep hill as I couldn’t shift down far enough.  The last sloping fire road climb was painful, what with the wind trying to push me off the side of the hill, and my Dad yelling at me to go faster when I was already giving it all I had, plus some.

I don’t think I have ever been happier to see a finish line then when I finished this race.  I had no idea what place I had gotten, and at that moment I didn’t care, I knew I had pushed myself hard and couldn’t have done better with the circumstances I was given.  When I heard I had gotten 4th place I was surprised.  I didn’t think I had caught that many girls, but I was happy that my efforts had paid off.

Thanks to everyone who was out cheering on the course, it helped, and also to those that brought the food and prepared it all, food never tastes as good as it does after a race.

Roll Pirates!

- Allie

Race Report: Sam McLaughlin

NorCal #3 at Laguna Seca
Varsity Boys
Placing: 18th

Between the cancelled pre-ride, the fluctuating weather, and the multiple last-minute start time changes, the time leading up to this race was a bit chaotic. There was already a crowd at the start line when I rolled down to staging, so I didn’t get a great position.

I had a fairly good start, sneaking through a hole in the field in front of me to take a few places. The first hill was tough, and the bottleneck at the top had some riders off and running. The field started to separate right away, with the lead group quickly building a gap.

The singletrack was in better condition than I’d expected, but the wind on the ridge was awful. My bike was getting blown sideways underneath me and I was working hard just to stay upright. Other than that, the first two laps were mostly uneventful.

At the beginning of the third lap, following Johnny Kaufman of San Rafael, I crashed on the singletrack descent. Luckily, I wasn’t hurt, and I was able to jump back on my bike right away.

I caught up to Johnny and rode with him for most of the third and fourth laps. Near the end of the fourth lap, I spotted Justin Herrell of Casa Grande ahead of me. I attacked on the steep fire road climb and got just ahead of him.

For the whole fifth lap, Justin and I were wheel to wheel. Coming over the ridge to the finish, I attacked to try to shake him off, but when I looked back Justin was still right there. Justin’s a strong rider and I was expecting him to make a move, so it didn’t surprise me when he took off at the start of the final fire road descent. I just couldn’t recover quickly enough to stay on his wheel, and he got away.

As we came toward the finish line, I sprinted hard to try to close the gap, but I ran out of ground before I could catch up. Still, I’m happy with how my race went – apart from not managing to stay on my bike (still working on that) I rode a good race and it paid off. I know I was less than five seconds back from 17^th place, and within sight of 16^th place, so I’m hoping that I can keep moving up.

We lost some ground in the overall standings this weekend, but I know that we’ve overcome larger deficits in the past (check the 2010 results if you need proof) and the series is far from over. A lot of riders showed big improvements this race, and we’ve still got a great shot at winning the league title and the state championships.

Congratulations to everybody who scored a new personal best out there, and thanks again to the parents and coaches for making it all possible.

Race Report: Ben Enborn

Norcal Race #3 Laguna Seca Grand Prix
Freshman Boys
Placing: 5th

A lot of people had said that this course is hard with lots of climbing. The weather saturday was on/off rain, so I wasn’t sure if I would be able to preride the course. We arrived at the race and weren’t allowed to so we watched some Miata racing and left for our hotel. After a nice dinner with the team I pinked out my bike, and went to bed.

I woke up the next morning early and headed out to the race course for the set-up. I hadn’t though much about the race prior to Sunday, so I wasn’t very nervous, and I treated it more like a Sunday ride than a race. I watched the girls races all morning and rode around a little bit to warm up. I did a pre-ride with Kevin, which was very beneficial. I headed down to the staging at 12 and was able to start in 14th place, seeing that I was called up.

I felt like this race would go well because I had been called up, so I wouldn’t have to worry about passing the slower riders.  We had trained with a lot of climbing, and I also had my new, super light carbon bike, which is a better size and eight pounds lighter than my old bike.

When the race started, I sprinted up the first hill, passing three people. The downhill started and I decided to fly down the downhill, and take it easy on the uphill for the first lap. By the bottom of the downhill I had passed three more freshman, and that put me in eighth place.

Once our line of eight started to climb, two more people dropped back. I stayed in sixth until the steep climb where I passed the person in front of me from Marin Catholic. For the rest of the race I was in this place. I used the same tactic of going really fast downhill and easier uphill, although for the last half lap I sprinted a little faster.

I finally started to get very sore/worn out by the final ten minutes so I felt that I paced myself perfectly, and I got to podium!

The Stafford Lake Bike Park is a project of the Marin County Department of Parks and Open Space. The 17 acre bike park site will be located within Stafford Lake County Park in Novato.  The bike park will provide a wide range of cyclists with opportunities to learn to ride and build safe riding skills.

Over 85% of Drake MTB riders, families and sponsors have donated as of May 1, 2012 — why not join us?

Hilride is working with legendary Mark Weir and Bryan Culp on the design of the advanced pump track at Stafford Lake County Park.

Go to www.marinparks.org, click on the “donate” button (left side of screen) and complete the Marin Community Foundations online donation form. Be sure to write in “Open Space and Parks Fund” for Item 1 and proceed with your online donation using your credit card.

You can also donate directly by sending a check, made out to Marin County Parks, to Steve Petterle, 3501 Civic Center Dr., Suite 260, San Rafael, CA 94903. Be sure to specify “Bike Park” on the memo line.

Stafford Lake Bike Park planning meeting in January 2012

Help make this vision for a safe, fun and exciting new community centered, outdoor bike park a reality by making a contribution that leads the way!!

Check out this Marin IJ story on the challenge, and follow Stafford Lake Bike Park on Facebook — help make a bike park in Marin a reality!

Also check out Hilride, who are consulting on the design of the park, on the web and on Facebook.

Official NorCal Results Page

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