Topatio Spring MTB Race
(2/4-5/2006)

"Jagged Watermelons in a Washer"
Jack Gutweiler

Imagine a box of rocks the size of jagged watermelons. Toss them in a washing machine, then cram yourself in there with the rocks. Put it on the spin cycle. Just for good measure, cram the winds from hurricane Katrina down in there with you. Welcome to Tapitio Springs. 

Last year this race was the NORBA nationals race, and it was a mud fest. I know a LOT of people who raced that race ONLY because it was a NORBA race. The rain turned the trail to a combination of buttery slick rock and peanut butter sticky mud. Any sane person would have sat that one out. 

This year was the polar opposite. We had clear blue skies all weekend, and no excuses for skipping this race. Rob Sisk, Larry, Mike Rossi, and I headed west Saturday morning with the bikes, team tents, gear, and high hopes of a fun race. We weren't disappointed. We got to Tap around 12:30, and I have to say, there is nothing like the hustle and bustle of a race course on the Saturday before a race to get the spirit of competition burning through your body. The clamor of set-up, the tension at the registration tent as you size up your competition (who's here, who catted up?), the bright colors of the different team kits, the hilarious get-ups the beginners choose to wear to their first race, it all seems to collide and mesh in to a somewhat organized chaos that you KNOW will mean a fun weekend. 

We quickly claimed a spot right near the finish and set up the team tents. The wind was unbelievable and we soon realized that we didn't have any stakes for the tents, they were getting battered around pretty good, so we had to improvise by bungying them to a tree. The four of us suited up and hit the trail for our pre-ride. As I described above, last year was a slop fest, and it was such a nitemare of a race that I think we had all blocked it out. None of us remembered hardly any of the course from last year, so it was like learning it all over again. 

This course is VERY technical. It's full of rocks, both the loose and embedded variety, and fairly climby. The nice thing about the climbs this year was that they weren't very long. Just about the time that you started to really feel the burn, you were at the top and had a nice flat section to recover on. There are a handful of uphill and down hill switchbacks that will school you if you're not careful. The bench cut sections roll along nicely so you can kinda motor along, never really opening it up, but not crawling either. Mike Rossi made the comment that after a winter of riding almost exclusive pavement, this was a tricky course to remember how to ride dirt on. Warda or Double Lake would have been a better transition, but oh well. The four of us rode the pre-ride at a comfortable pace, remembering how to float over rocks and tail whip around switchbacks. As always, Rob was the master of the back break tail slide, but added the "lock the front wheel up and manual the rear of the bike around the switchback" move to his repertoire. By the end of the short 7.5 mile lap, we were all in a great mood. I think all of us wanted to go out for another lap, but races are won on Sunday, not the Saturday pre-ride, so we held off.

We chilled out at the team tent for a while, soaking up the weather and the sites of a mtb race. Back to the room for a shower and then out to Chili's for some dinner.

The evening was the typical Bikesport dinner, lots of laughing at each other's expense, and talk of race strategies. I think we all didn't know what to expect for the first race of the season, but knew it was going to be fun no matter the results. 

Sunday morning I rode up the BIG paved hill that was part of the course last year to get from the room to the team tents, what a hell of a warm up. Justin Cremer and I set up the trainers under the tents and spun up, trying to warm up in the cold morning 45 mph wind. I tried to get in the zone, but it was just too windy and cold to really feel like the body was warmed up properly. Oh well, everyone else is in the same weather.

Time to race. The first race of the season, so they staged us by when we registered. That put me towards the back of the 30+ people in my class. First race, testing the waters, no great expectations, no problem. Pow, gun goes off and we take off. Not 50 feet in to the race and there's some goober crashing in front and to the right of me, yep, it's the first race of the season. I dodge the pile up and see that Tony had a good start, he's 10 or so spots in front of me. Unlike most mtb starts, this one is NOT up a freakin' hill. I didn't mind that a bit. I was able to hit the gas on the double track and pass a few people before we got in to the single track. Once there, it was a matter of being patient and waiting for the guys in front of me to either bounce off the trail from all the rocks, dab on the technical stuff, or pop. Usually the first race of the season, it's hard to get people to let you pass them, even if you politely call trail and are breathing down their barney necks. Thankfully that wasn't the case Sunday. I was able to pass guys pretty much when ever I wanted, and no one did the ole "he called trail so I'll speed up and ride even further over my head than I am already whoa, slam on the brakes" routine. Somewhere near the beginning of the second lap it dawned on me that I hadn't been passed by anyone, had been passing a bunch of back marker guys, and was still feeling pretty good. The rocks and tech stuff was great for me, I love that stuff, it was the wind that was the killer. It seemed like every open section where you could have put it in the big ring and motored, you were riding smack in to the wind! I did my best to hunker down and mash the big gear, but it wasn't pretty.

I started to wonder what place I was in. I had a feeling I was up towards the front, but not sure how far. About three miles left to go and I caught this guy from Mad Duck. I raced against him in the fall and I knew from those races that this guy was MOTOR, with no rudder. I think he is a CAT 2 on the rode, and he is STRONG. But he corners like a beginner. I was really shocked to think that I caught him, he took second overall in the fall and I thought he would have had to CAT up. I pushed hard and got right on his wheel. We were in a tight technical section so I did my best to rush him and either have him let me by, or have him crash. I tried to stay smooth and buzz his tire when I could. I called trail a few times, but he wasn't playing. He kept getting sloppier and sloppier and I was starting to think my strategy was going to work. Then we hit an open section and I made my mistake. I should have shut up and just drafted behind him, letting him ride at the slower pace he was setting. But I was seeing blood in the water, and I kept buzzing his tire and saying "come on man, pick it up". Well, he picked it up. The guy is really strong and he started to gap me. I was able to real him in a few times, but he just kept at it. I began to run out of gas and with just a few yards to go, he was able to widen the gap even more. I rolled across the finish a little mad at myself, but mostly happy with my results and the FUN I had out there. I ended up 5th, and I can't complain too much about that.