RACE REPORT: MTB Challenge 1

Well, the scouting report for this race was certainly correct on one point: it was damn muddy out there. However, the forecasted rainy weather was nowhere to be seen as the sun shined for the entire race. I dare say it was even warm.

But enough about the weather. The opening event for the NorCal MTB racing season was just what an opening evetn should be : a learning experience. TBF Racing put on a quite professional and fun race. Think not as big or high tech as a NORBA event (no RFID timing chips) but certainly moreso that the local events (food stands, clearly marked courses and finish corral). The race attracted about 150 riders of varying levels (mostly skewed to the sport level). The course was very wet from the overnight rains and the two days of constant competition. I stopped counting after 8 water crossings. And the sand was heavy. But the rest of the course was excellent, with more climbing than I expected. I would have shortened the course myself (eliminating the 2.5 miles of sand near the end), but that's really a personal choice.

Winners for the 10 mile race was Geoffrey Hughes (Novice) in 0:52:03, 20 mile race was Joshua Olmstead (Sport) in 1:32:38 and 30 mile race was Charles Warner (Experts) in 2:16:13. The full results for this race are posted on the TBF Racing website (overall finish and by divison).

I myself completely got my ass handed to me in the sport division. While I proved I was truly out of shape, I am officially blaming my poor showing on my choice of tires. I had swapped my WTB Velociraptors onto my dual suspension ride without realizing that they had non-existent side treads. As a result, every time I leaned into a turn, I ended up laying my bike down (4 times on downhills turns). The sand handling also left something to be desired. Back to Specialized Andrenalins for the next time.
MTB Challenge #2 (the next race in this series) is February 19th.

UPDATE (2/1/06): They have posted pictures from the race here.