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San Diego Spring Weekend |
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Team Bikeman -
Race Reports
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Written by Matt Hersey
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Tuesday, 27 March 2007 |
San Diego Spring Weekend
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I spent a couple days riding and racing with Andrew Freye recently. He flew out here on the first day of spring to get acclimated to the heat and sun before competing at the first NORBA national in Phoenix. His brother lives out here and it turns out that I only live 3 miles away from his brother.
On Saturday we did a 40 mile group road ride from the TREK superstore. The shimano guys were there with the new tubeless dura ace road wheels - promoting the product and letting a dozen people ride the wheels. I didn’t ride them, but I got a good look at them. I’m sure they are nice - maybe they ride like a road tubular, but I don’t understand the need for this product. Road clinchers seem to work pretty good for me. And one girl flatted the tubeless road wheels on the ride.
I was pretty psyched to get out and do a group ride on the road. The weather was good and spring buds are showing everywhere. We got to ride some good hills that I’ve never seen before. And this was my first group ride in San Diego. Finally!
So what do I say about the ride? We started in the busy city, but soon got ourselves on some rural roads. At times the ride was pretty slow and the pack riding was a little dangerous. We stopped frequently to wait up for folks. But then we hit a few long and steep hills that gave us a good workout and some beautiful vistas. Andrew was the only guy riding a mountain bike, but the slicks kept him at the front of the ride. The pace was good for me. I’m weighing in at 197 pounds now and am horribly out of shape. I felt pretty lucky to make it back to the shop, and worried that I had spent all of the energy that I had been saving for Sunday’s mt. Bike race.
Early on Sunday morning, we drove 2 hours north, to a race in San Dimas called Bonelli Park. My expectations for the course and the overall race weren’t that high, but I was pleasantly surprised. The start/finish area was a big green bowl of a park with lots of shady trees. The registration line was the longest that I’ve ever seen. We stood in line for 25 minutes before getting our numbers. There was a team of Mexican looking guys in front of us that couldn‘t speak English - they looked pretty fast though. I talked to a guy that had moved here from Boston.
Andrew was using this race as a tune-up before the Phoenix race. Wanted to see how his winter training was holding up. He said that he actually hadn’t ridden his mt bike on dirt before this. My plans were different. I just wanted to ride some long slow miles to burn fat and build aerobic fitness. In addition, I had thorn-proof tubes on my single-speed, so I knew I was in for the long haul. Andrew and I started at the same time and were both doing the same distance - 27 miles.
We were lucky that there were some west coast bikeman guys there: Roger and Russ. Russ wasn’t racing, so he was able to hand bottles to us on each of our 3 laps. I was bummed that Tex, and Matt, and Andy couldn’t make it.
The course had very distinct sections. First was the dusty fire road climbs and descents, then some fire road switchbacks. The best part of the course was a flat straight section through the park proper with a quick stream crossing and the a mile of shady bamboo that we were soon calling the “jungle section”. From there, we rode around the fenced perimeter of an airport and then hit a mesa of dusty climbs. The last couple of miles were screaming up hills and downhills. Along the way there were a few dark tunnels that went under the road.
I had a good race. I ate and drank lots. I felt progressively better with each lap, as I figured out which parts I could ride and what I would have to walk. The only mistake I made was wearing the wrong shoes. I wore carbon shimano shoes and got painful blisters on the back of both heels. As I finished my second lap, I heard the leap moto approaching; in the lead was the Mexican guy I saw at registration. I had the course all to myself on the last lap - no dust and no traffic. My final time was 2:44.
Andrew did the same distance in two hours flat. He was bummed that he didn’t win, but understanding that it was his first race of the year and he wasn’t acclimated to the heat just yet.
The $50 registration and $7 to park was pretty steep, but this was a good race and I would do it again.
Freye - good luck at nationals.
Matt
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