A Week in California: 1 of 2

This year has started off fast. It’s almost hard to believe it’s only the end of March. First there was Texas, my first time on the mountain bike this year and it was for a race. Now just a couple of weeks later I’m out in California racing again. The push for these early season races has been tough on me mentally so far, with the results not where I need them to be because I just am not fit yet, and the opportunity to really make a mark more present than it has been in the past. But all in all, I’m not complaining. I’m not complaining, because really, I can’t. I’m out in California, it’s warm, and I’m racing my bike. This is what I dream about doing, we’ll almost. Usually in my dreams I’m winning races. But the trip so far has been spectacular.

I arrived on Thursday to LA where I’m staying with my uncle. I have my own room, and they have been super accommodating with letting me use a car to get to the races. I drove out to pre-ride Bonelli Park Friday and the course was very challenging. The climbs were brutally steep, the descents were technical. In a word, the course was relentless. Full gas on the climbs, and all your concentration and strength on the descents to keep it upright. Some of the best sections never made it onto camera from the live feed, but trust me if you watched the coverage, you only saw a small taste of the course. I rode 5 laps of the course and headed home to cook, clean the bike and pack the bag for the race.

I was lucky to have Ben Senkerik, a Wisconsin guy, out for the Cat 1 race. He offered to do bottles for me which was a huge help. I was also lucky in Texas that they had neutral feeds. They didn’t in Bonelli so I would have been boned. I started the race back in the 6^th or 7^th row. That goes to show how big the race was. Over 110 riders, and me with my 5 points was staged back in the 40s. When the gun went off, it was hectic. You could feel the nervousness in the pack with riders making sketchy passes and shooting gaps all over the place. My head wasn’t fully in it. Possibly from the lack of fitness, or possibly from all the travel, but I was not aggressive enough for whatever reason and just got caught behind a crash at the start. I made it around quickly, but had to push hard to catch back on. And when I did, there were gaps between riders in front of me. It wasn’t a great start and I let it get in my head even more.

So my head wasn’t in the best place, but you have to try and regroup, try to push, try to race your hardest each time. If nothing else I could try to learn how to refocus and learn how to get my head back in the game. I think I was somewhat successful. I was able to get my head in the game and suffer. But I don’t think it made me go much faster. With the course full of challenging technical climbs and downhills, you really had to be in shape and strong. I am not in the best of shape and just don’t have my A game right now. So I might have done well to get my head back in the game, but it didn’t show in the results. I was back in 56^th. I really thought that a top 30 was possible, and that some points were possible as well (top 25). I guess not. Big opportunity wasted. I came back the next day in the Short Track and redeemed myself with a solid 19^th place. Happy with that but I wish it would have been in the XC.

But I think I was doomed to fail from the start. I just got done racing CX a couple of months ago. I took 2 weeks off. And even then it was spent catching up, cleaning, running around and planning this season. I think to be on form right now would have been a big ask. I’m doing my best to be there, but really looking forward to the opportunity to put in some real training and make the step up to the next level.

There are two things that I’m lacking right now. Coming off of CX, I don’t have any miles in the legs. I can train, I can train hard. But I can’t train hard for a long time. When I get some miles in the legs I’m hoping I can start getting in some longer days and open the door for the next level. Because the second thing I’m lacking is longevity. It was really evident in my performance in Bonelli. In the XC race, I was able to start with some fire, but after the first lap I was cashed. I pushed it, but there just wasn’t anything there, mentally or physically. But in the short track, I had it. With not the best start, I worked my way up and held wheels. I think I had better motivation, but I also think the legs were there. Or more accurately, the lungs and the other energy system. Basically, I’m still in CX mode.

To try and make an impact on the second weekend, I’ve spent the week so far training hard. I took Monday a little bit easier, but still got in some intensity and a big chunk of hours. I rode around the beach area from 3 hours and found some cool trails along the coast on a cliff. It was one of the coolest things I’ve ever done. The trail went from an area above Rodondo Beach in the hills and then down the cliff into Lanada Bay. It probably dropped about 300-400 feet and varied from double track to single track. Very beautiful. Then Tuesday, I did my best to empty the tank. I rode from Del Aire where I’m staying out to Malibu to ride along the Pacific Coast Highway and in the Santa Monica mountains. I did some intervals on the way out and then hit up Yerba Buena road to climb up the top of the range. What an amazing view. At the end of the day, 100 miles and I was spent. But the next day, I was back at it to make sure I was fresh for the weekend. I rode a little shorter and with any intervals. This time I rode Latigo Canyon road. Even more beautiful than Yerba Buena. 2 days, 2 awesome roads. Thank goodness for Mike's Mix, really helped me during and after.

So after those two big days, I’m just chilling out today working on work, and organizing other stuff. Keep it posted for the next weekends results.