Catch Up!
Santa Ynez
I did well, but first let me vent.
What has the national racing circuit come to? Santa Ynez was the worst NMBS venue to date. Racing in 100+ degree heat, in a rolling pasture of dead grass and cracked ground. I don’t think cactus could survive here. Sure no one has any control over the weather but it is somewhat predictable. I mean common, if you’re going to have a venue in California why not make it one of the first venues? OK, heat, that sucks, I’m over it. Now to the trail. Its funny that many of the NMBS races are held in areas with claimed epic riding and beautiful single track, and yet time after time, the guys in charge find a way to bypass all the fun and send us up stupid jeep roads, rutted out trails, and through mowed fields. I’m not sure if I’m just not on the same boat as everyone else, but when I pay $100+ to race an XC and STXC, not taking into account the costs to get there and stay, I want to race on the best trails there are to offer. In my opinion the NMBS race series should be the best out there. Well run, good trails, good support and good competition. The fact that Semi-Pro’s pay as much as the Pro’s and don’t get paid and yet only get a tiny paper cup full of water in the feed zone is absurd, especially at a venue like Santa Ynez. The Texas series while much smaller, charge a third the price, but still manages to have better venues, prize money and actual bottles at the feed zone for everyone! When you look at these series all around the country and then look at the NMBS races something doesn’t add up. The reason we even have competition at the NMBS races is because of points. Being the national racing series is all the NMBS has going for it. All over there are venues that should be part of the national series but for one reason or another they are not. Why wasn’t Sea Otter on the national calendar? Sea Otter has the biggest fields in the US. So, in other words, why in the hell are we spending so much money to go and race at stupid, poorly run venues. Ooo, ooo, ooo that’s another point. Have you noticed that every NMBS race is held in some place where hotel prices are outrageous? Brian head, Fountain Hills, Aspen, Santa Ynez, resort towns. I understand that resorts are the only people writing the checks, but this has to change. The sport is becoming stagnant with type of racing. Who is really benefiting from the fact that when you’re racing and the only people cheering you on are your friends and family that came to the race with you? The resorts can’t be making that much money from people staying with them. I think somehow World Cup style racing needs to be brought to the US. Think of the biggest crowds in the NMBS races…… Phoenix when they had the STXC in downtown…big crowds. Waco, TX. Inner city park with crowds on every corner. I’m not saying I have all the answers, but those people who get paid to make our series and designate them as big races should take into account the racing experience and not just getting the bills paid. LOOK! Parents don’t want to see there kids go out on a 9 miles technical loop and only see them when they come back broken, that’s just another lost racer. OK, im not done but for your sake I am for now.
The past week in Cali was awesome. Thanks to Lyle and Brook for hosting me, it was awesome, you guys rock. The XC race was rough. I took the hole shot and rode the first lap pretty strong. But by the end of the first of two laps I was in the hurt bank. Out of water and overheating set in and I immediately went from 6th to full on damage control mode. I cracked big time and proceeded to ride like a small infant. I finished a respectable 15th place but that’s not what I had hoped for. cough Ty Kady is a girl for not upgrading cough. Anyway, the STXC was better, much better.
I rode strong and smart. A group of 3 including myself got away from the gun and that was really all she wrote. There were some intermittent attacks thrown in but cooperation kept us away long enough for me to snag my first NMBS podi coming in 3rd.
The story of the whole weekend was strong racing, overheating, dumb venue, sunburn. Thanks to the Peterson family for helping me out with lodging, driving feeds and everything in between.
Check out the sweet venue in the background.
10 hrs after I got back from Cali I was back in DIA to fly to Austin. After 2.5 days in Austin it was time to head back to Boulder and drive down to Angel Fire. I was ready to do well at Angel Fire despite the altitude. Being at sea level for three weeks is no way to prepare for a race at 9500+ft. I tried to put it out of my mind and started the race out hard. I managed to keep in and around the top ten for the first lap and a half but then just started going backwards. I continued to shallow breath for the rest of the race. The course was hard, climb straight up and then have a super techy decent. After exploding I ended up crossing the line in 17th, ten minutes back form the leader. In retrospect it wasn’t that bad. I mean for how slow I rode, ten minutes isn’t too much time in a 2:20hr race. Oh well, get’em next time right.
Only 8 more days until my trip to Euro town, should be fun. I hope you enjoyed my rant and report on my life the last 3 weeks, I'll try to make the next post both shorter and more entertaining.
I did well, but first let me vent.
What has the national racing circuit come to? Santa Ynez was the worst NMBS venue to date. Racing in 100+ degree heat, in a rolling pasture of dead grass and cracked ground. I don’t think cactus could survive here. Sure no one has any control over the weather but it is somewhat predictable. I mean common, if you’re going to have a venue in California why not make it one of the first venues? OK, heat, that sucks, I’m over it. Now to the trail. Its funny that many of the NMBS races are held in areas with claimed epic riding and beautiful single track, and yet time after time, the guys in charge find a way to bypass all the fun and send us up stupid jeep roads, rutted out trails, and through mowed fields. I’m not sure if I’m just not on the same boat as everyone else, but when I pay $100+ to race an XC and STXC, not taking into account the costs to get there and stay, I want to race on the best trails there are to offer. In my opinion the NMBS race series should be the best out there. Well run, good trails, good support and good competition. The fact that Semi-Pro’s pay as much as the Pro’s and don’t get paid and yet only get a tiny paper cup full of water in the feed zone is absurd, especially at a venue like Santa Ynez. The Texas series while much smaller, charge a third the price, but still manages to have better venues, prize money and actual bottles at the feed zone for everyone! When you look at these series all around the country and then look at the NMBS races something doesn’t add up. The reason we even have competition at the NMBS races is because of points. Being the national racing series is all the NMBS has going for it. All over there are venues that should be part of the national series but for one reason or another they are not. Why wasn’t Sea Otter on the national calendar? Sea Otter has the biggest fields in the US. So, in other words, why in the hell are we spending so much money to go and race at stupid, poorly run venues. Ooo, ooo, ooo that’s another point. Have you noticed that every NMBS race is held in some place where hotel prices are outrageous? Brian head, Fountain Hills, Aspen, Santa Ynez, resort towns. I understand that resorts are the only people writing the checks, but this has to change. The sport is becoming stagnant with type of racing. Who is really benefiting from the fact that when you’re racing and the only people cheering you on are your friends and family that came to the race with you? The resorts can’t be making that much money from people staying with them. I think somehow World Cup style racing needs to be brought to the US. Think of the biggest crowds in the NMBS races…… Phoenix when they had the STXC in downtown…big crowds. Waco, TX. Inner city park with crowds on every corner. I’m not saying I have all the answers, but those people who get paid to make our series and designate them as big races should take into account the racing experience and not just getting the bills paid. LOOK! Parents don’t want to see there kids go out on a 9 miles technical loop and only see them when they come back broken, that’s just another lost racer. OK, im not done but for your sake I am for now.
The past week in Cali was awesome. Thanks to Lyle and Brook for hosting me, it was awesome, you guys rock. The XC race was rough. I took the hole shot and rode the first lap pretty strong. But by the end of the first of two laps I was in the hurt bank. Out of water and overheating set in and I immediately went from 6th to full on damage control mode. I cracked big time and proceeded to ride like a small infant. I finished a respectable 15th place but that’s not what I had hoped for. cough Ty Kady is a girl for not upgrading cough. Anyway, the STXC was better, much better.
I rode strong and smart. A group of 3 including myself got away from the gun and that was really all she wrote. There were some intermittent attacks thrown in but cooperation kept us away long enough for me to snag my first NMBS podi coming in 3rd.
The story of the whole weekend was strong racing, overheating, dumb venue, sunburn. Thanks to the Peterson family for helping me out with lodging, driving feeds and everything in between.
Check out the sweet venue in the background.
10 hrs after I got back from Cali I was back in DIA to fly to Austin. After 2.5 days in Austin it was time to head back to Boulder and drive down to Angel Fire. I was ready to do well at Angel Fire despite the altitude. Being at sea level for three weeks is no way to prepare for a race at 9500+ft. I tried to put it out of my mind and started the race out hard. I managed to keep in and around the top ten for the first lap and a half but then just started going backwards. I continued to shallow breath for the rest of the race. The course was hard, climb straight up and then have a super techy decent. After exploding I ended up crossing the line in 17th, ten minutes back form the leader. In retrospect it wasn’t that bad. I mean for how slow I rode, ten minutes isn’t too much time in a 2:20hr race. Oh well, get’em next time right.
Only 8 more days until my trip to Euro town, should be fun. I hope you enjoyed my rant and report on my life the last 3 weeks, I'll try to make the next post both shorter and more entertaining.
posted by blakeharlan at 5:35 PM
2 Comments:
That one sounds oddly like something off of my blog.... But hey, at least you rode well!
You hit the nail right on the head! NMBS (and the Cal State) series is overrated and poorly run. That's why I have decided to race fun events, like Keyesville and the Whiskey Off-Road. I'd rather drive 8 hours to Prescott AZ to race at a well supported and fun race than the crap the NMBS is putting on.
Post a Comment
<< Home