Summer Turn Up Begins

Here we go, waiting at the start gate, the dust of the previous racer slightly fading before the final five beeps of the clock break my dwindling silence of a mental tug of war between nerves and adrenaline.  5, 4, 3, 2, 1, GO!

Stage one of the Sea Otter Classic Enduro kicked off the race season for the first time since

an almost six month hiatus of gravity events.  For myself, the downtime of winter brought a needed period for building strength and seat time after last year's injuries.  After spending some rainy days researching and learning about proper training for enduro racing, my goal was to resolve some gaps in my confidence and issues in previous circumstances.  Without a personal coach to help lay out a fixed day to day schedule, there's always that unknown in the back of your mind of "what am I not doing enough of, am I doing too much, why am I sore and slow, I'd rather take a nap after work or school instead of making time for the gym." In the end, I feel I've been able to identify weaknesses and start out the year in a better place than previously.  Ride all you want but in my opinion nothing beats racing for the true test.  I decided to hit up the popular CCCX cross country series which kicked off in February to try my luck in XC again.  It had been over a year since competing in XC and after past experiences of being a last place kook in the expert class, I was excited to see if I could improve.  Doing the first six out of seven rounds saw my race pace and endurance much higher than the past and I was finally able to run with the front pack.  After grabbing a couple wins and the rest being various spots on the podium, I was looking forward to the upcoming Enduro season.  

While XC racing is very difficult in its own way of consistent hard efforts around a 5-6 mile course that you loop for 1.5-2 hrs, Enduro is a whole different element of physical and mental stress.  Taking off on race day isn't the normal race start with all riders lined up racing at the same time, but instead un-timed "transfer" stages where you traverse to the start of the timed "downhill" stages which is where the race runs take place.  Each race stage is timed from the top to bottom of a trail, consisting of mostly high speed, technical downhill as well as a few flat/short climbs where all out sprint power is key to keeping a fast pace.  Add up the total timed stages across 3-5+ different runs and the lowest overall time gets the win.  Sounds a bit confusing at first but this ever rising discipline is quite fun and exciting.  Plus, you need to be physically fit enough to last anywhere from 3-6 hours on the bike in a day.  

So back to Sea Otter!  The Enduro race took place on a Thursday with a great day of racing in store.  We had four stages taking place on the downhill track, two flowy single track trails, and the final one being on the short dual slalom course.  In the end brought no crashes or mechanicals which is always a plus.  My time landed me 13th in the world class field of Pros.  Being a mere three seconds off the top 10 made me pretty stoked on my riding.  Next up was the Downhill event on Sunday, 2+ minutes of making yourself explode over jumps, dry/loose corners, and flat power sprints.  With how short the track is, .001 seconds can be the difference of numerous positions.  I had my personal best time with a 2:09 compared to my 2:13 last year which resulted 30th in Pro.  Placing near the top 20 along the best of the best was my goal, but that small 1-2 seconds made a big difference.  A lot was learned and I felt ready for the California Enduro Series to start up next month in May.  

New Specialized Stumpjumper! My race bike for 2018. 

Personally I feel that your mental state of mind and keeping yourself motivated with positive outlooks each day is more important than physical fitness at times.  You can have everything it takes to be well prepared but if you have any doubts or distractions, you're not going to perform at your best.  The past few weeks had me down in the dumps a bit from some personal issues and letting those negative events overrule my day to day mindset.  Everything happens for a reason and after awhile it was time to take control and focus on what makes you excited to wake up each morning.  For me, the majority of that comes from biking and enjoying the outdoors.  After spending hundreds and hundreds of $$$ on upcoming entry fees, I needed to start kicking butt and not make a fool of myself come race day. 

Memorial day weekend began with the first CA Series round down the highway in beautiful Monterey.  Toro Park has a nice variety of super loose and rowdy terrain so you better bring your A-game if you want to stay on your bike.  There were 5 stages and I was really excited for 4 of them...the final one being on "Pipeline" was going against my confidence a bit with the less than ideal handlebar width trail along the cliff side and overhanging trees that would ruin any tall rider's day.  In the end, I wanted to be on the top five podium steps. That is my goal for this year and I know I have what it takes but racing isn't certain and you have to be damn near 100% all day to make that happen.  The majority of the day was looking like I could achieve this with my first 4 times being near that mix, but like I said, I knew stage 5 wouldn't be my strong suit and maybe that hurt me in the end.  Top to bottom was a clean and smooth run feeling close to the best I could, but catching up to a slower rider in front of me and the trail leaving no room to pass, I lost some valuable time.  Being about 15-20 seconds off pace of where I needed to be dropped me back to 11th overall for Pro.  Thinking back on the day, I was very bummed on the placing but there's always a learning experience.  My riding and bike handling feels at a personal best right now and I had strong times in the majority of racing.  Moving on to the upcoming events this summer, I need to push the limits just enough to get closer to the speeds of the top guys but knowing the limit to keep my usual smooth style.  June will be getting busy soon and I'm looking forward to the action!!


Catch ya next time,

-Nicky D

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