Cave Creek - Cactus Classic 2018

The Cactus Classic is an awesome event, racing out of Cave Creek AZ. Considered by some to be the best mountain bike race in the state! All proceeds from the event go into a fund to maintain and build our local trails. After a short speech from the mayor of Cave Creek encouraging everyone to 'Come ride our trails anytime!' There was a shotgun open start - with a real gun- as this is still the wild west. Over 350 riders headed up the hill following a police escort up Spur Cross road. The road gave things the opportunity to spread out a little before we hit the hard climbing on rocky singletrack. The course consisted of one big loop at around 23 miles of real mountain biking. Big rocks, drops, steep climbs, steeper descents, and a whole lotta dust made for a fun day on the trail. This race had age classes but no categories - I kind of liked that. Love racing in the new jersey as spectators yell "Go BIKEMAN" for support. After a crash, some blood loss, and a new battle scar, I ended up 12th out of 27 in my age bracket - AKA tough old guys!