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JUNE 2008

Curtis - I will start with a product review. They where sampling some electrolyte replacement package. small tube..anyway I couldn't get the thing open, by the time I twisted and put enough pressure on it it blew all over the inside of my car, and windshield. I am pretty sure they got the ingredients and composition right, as it tastes like that salty residue that builds up on your helmet strap...yum. It was only after I was done choking the stuff down that I read the directions: "mix with 20 oz water". After the arbitrary decision to give riders double points for wind (on
the week I was recovering from being sick) I had considered upgrading to"expert plus". The best I can finish will be 3rd or 4th now- so why not
challenge myself more?? At the last minute I chose to stick it out and finish the season racing with the same group. Had a bad start as the guy next to me decided lateral motions where better than forward motion. I was sitting mid pack, and noticed a break in the group developing. I went anaerobic on a climb and nearly bridged before getting blasted by a headwind. Killed myself to get on the back of the group and just sat there the rest of the first lap trying to recover. It was a waited effort as the next 4-5 guys caught us going into the start of lap 2. We hit the start of lap 2 as the 40-50 year old women beginner women where starting. In the traffic I lost a lot of ground, and then started to fade- still not feeling 100%. Anyway, felt like I was recovering and feeling strong the last lap and half. Finished 7th or 8th. Not to bad- but was hoping for better.


Mark S - I stayed with my trusted Heed from Hammer products. Much better tasting than salt in a tube. I had a pretty good start and was in the
top third for about the first lap. Eating plenty of dust as the winds were very bad again. Started to feel not so good and could not keep my heart rate out of the red, don't know why. It felt like I was trying to recover the entire race and got passed by a few guys in my group. I came in 22 out of 40. Not the place I was hoping. I wanted to place better than my race before.

MAY 2008

Mark S - Well I hope Curtis and Jay were at the race tonight because it was double points due to the wind. I didnt see those guys at all. Bummer..This was the best course yet, it had everything. Fast single track, fast and tight single track, fast down hills and a couple of climbs with about 900 feet of climbing. The wind really sucked and was blowing about 35 mph. Lots of eating dust....This was my second race at the Sport class and I had a different plan than my last race. Tonight I was going to try and go easy and stay in the middle of the pack and try and hammer on the last lap. Off we went and I was right in the middle of the pack. I tried to keep my heart rate out of the red line as I think that is what killed me last time. Everything was going well and I kept telling myself to relax and just ride. This seemed to be working as not as many guys passed me as they did last time. I rode hard and picked off a few guys on the second and third lap. After I crossed the finish line I counted about 17 or 18 guys behind me that were in my class. I think that will put me in the mid or upper 20's.

MAY 2008

Curtis - some days your the fly...some days your the windshield. Not only was I the bug, but to add insult to injury it was a slow lingering death.
I had being feeling dehydrated all day, but still I had a good warm up. The course was what I would normally think of as a great course for my abilities. A few short but steep climbs, and the rest was flat technical riding in the baby heads. I had a good start, but since it started with a fast downhill (I am not fast on down hills) I was probably in top 7ish. Started moving up on the first lap, and felt good. Second lap I was feeling thirsty- but assumed it was from all the dust. towards the end of the second lap, I just couldn't turn a big gear anymore. After that it just sucked. I can't say I was physically suffering--mostly because I couldn't ride fast enough to suffer- Sucked watching Guys go by me, and not having any gas to go. One guy actually slowed down when he passed me and asked if I was 'letting' him pass. 3 guys came up after the race to find out what happened. Last time I bonked so spectacularly was at Leesville Gap RR a few years ago. I would have to guess I finished about 20th.

MAY 2008

Mark Well, I moved up in class and down in position..Sport class 40-49..........Fast course and fun as always. I could tell these guys were a little more serious. More guys with shaved legs and allot less backpacks. hahaha....I had a good start and was in about 4Th position and then moved into third within the first minute. I quickly got passed and was now in about 6Th and was trying to keep my eye on the guy in the front. That didn't last to long as I kept getting passed every so often.They kept coming, one after another after another..Kept going hard and finished.

Curtis- Course was flat, with the illusion of plenty of places to pass. However, if you tried to pass it was very obvious that the 'passing lanes' sucked.  For the most parts the course was flat.  There was a significant amount of twists, turns, loose rocks, and loose dirt.  There was one sorta sketchy descent, but was otherwise not too technical if you chose your lines well.  (and didn't try to pass to often).  Pace was a fast big ring crit type ride.  I got gapped out from the first 2 riders when a guy nearly went done and forced me into the weeds on the side...the loose rock scrubbed all my speed.  Sat in 3rd or second the next lap and half.  Got passed by the points leader on lap 3. I didn't think it was sporting to be cutting off and nearly causing slower less experienced riders to crash...so let him go.  Finished 3rd or 4th far as I can tell.  Felt pretty good despite several days of thrashing my body at Disney.    

MAY 2008

Mark - Race number three for me. I liked this course. Fast and lots of room to pass. Also had some soft dirt and a few very sharp turns. I had a bad start as I could not get clipped in right away and found myself in about 6Th or 7Th place. Once I got in I hammered and got into about 5Th. Nice long decent and picked up a couple of riders and was in third. We started one of the climbs and I picked up one more guy and had my eye on the leader. Got right on his wheel and stayed there for a while and recovered a bit. It looked like he was gassed a bit so I jumped on it and passed him. Never saw anybody from my group again and finished 1st. Chalk up another win for Rio Strada. Well next week I have to upgrade to the Sport class and they do 3 laps so we will see how that goes..

Jay Dillon -  Well, I got stuck at work and left 1/2 hour later than I had planned to.  So I got to the parking lot, got dressed hopped on my bike and thunk.  My rear shock was completely out of air, and my shock pump was in my garage at home.  I pedaled over to Mike's Bikes tent, borrowed a pump and got it dialed in.  Paid my $12, but now had no time for a practice lap.  Oh well.  Talked to Curtis and Mark about the course, then lined up.  I decided to not go so hard at the start this time.  The first part of the course was mostly downhill, so I let a couple of guys get ahead, then when the course turned uphill, I quickly passed them.  Never saw them again.  I was actually able to recover a bit in the flat sections of the course.  It was a good course with considerably more climbing than last week.  This time I managed to find the finish line and roll through the chute in 1st place with plenty of time to spare.

Curtis - Great course.  several climbs, some tricky sections, a BMX track thrown in for good measures...good times. I had zero motivation to race tonight.  Stressful work week, In court yesterday, and to top things off I left my bike at home when I left for work this am.  Duh. I pushed through my desire to go home and drink beer on the patio, and got my bike and raced.  I even lined up at the back of the pack!!  Seemed like a slow start so I was close to the front by the end of the opening section.  Hammered through a short uphill and was sitting behind Butch in (I think) second.  Played a little cat and mouse with the 2-4 riders directly behind me, but never caught up to Butch.  At the start of the last lap, 2 guys passed me on a fast descent (not my strength).  I was able to stick with them the rest of the lap, but could not ever find an area (or the legs) to get around.  We finished basically in a line, only separated by the other finishers in the chute.

APRIL 2008

Mark - My turn.....Race number 4 but number 2 for me. By the way, I checked the standings of my first race and it turns out that I was the winner.....yessss. Anyway, fun course with lots of room to pass and some single track. I think baby heads are the nice rocks on the course that Curtis was talking about. Never heard that term before. Same plan as before...go hard and fast as long as you can. It worked again as I was third after about a minute or so. This time I marked the guy who was in the lead. Easy to find with his big camel back on. Took the lead about half way through the first lap and them eased up a bit just to recover. Just then I looked back and saw a guy in my group right behind me. We keep trading the lead back and fourth back and fourth. At the start of the second lap my plan was to let him lead and just stay right on his wheel. This worked for a while but after coming off a big climb it seemed like he was whipped so I hit the gas and blew by him. Well....... after coming off a hard, fast right hand turn that I took to fast he passed me so I went back to the plan of staying on his wheel. I was going to stay on his wheel and then sprint pass him on the flat coming into the finish. We came upon a lapped rider and he went right by and I got stuck behind her. The guy open up a lead and I couldn't bridge up as this was right near the finish. Ended up second about 20 seconds behind.. Anyway, had fun and look forward to next week.

Jay - Ok, I guess I'll share... though part of my report I don't really want to (you'll read why later), but here it goes: Since I had the day off I decided to head out and meet Mark Stern for the race last night.  This was my first ever mountain bike race.  I entered in the Beginner 30-39 class.  Taking Mark's advice, I just put it in the big ring and let it rip right from the starting line.  I had a nice lead ripping down the fast descent into the first corner.  Nobody was near me until the first climb.  Thats when my 31 lb. Giant Reign with 6" of travel started to slow me down just a bit.  This bike is set up as an all mountain trail bike for epic back country adventures and bombing descents in Auburn, not exactly an XC race bike.  Never the less, I had stiffened up the suspension and went up the climbs with only two other riders coming into range of me.  For a big honking rig, this bike actually climbs pretty well.  I let one guy go ahead a bit, then flew past him on the 2nd fast descent.  I yo-yo'd back n forth with one or two guys for the remainder of the first lap.  Then somewhere on the 2nd lap I passed everyone again and never looked back.  Well except to let Curtis come flying by... ;-)  So, I'm pretty sure I finished in 1st place, except for one stupid mistake. Being a Prairie City rookie racer,  I was so pumped coming to the finish line that I overlooked the scoring chute marked with orange cones you're supposed to funnel into and ride down so they can write down your number and score you properly.  I just kept on riding as if I was doing a 3rd lap.  The race announcer Rick thought I was DNFing as we chatted for a minute or two.  Then he informed me that I had missed the "actual" finish line and needed to go back round and come through.  DOH!!!!  So, while I may have been the first one to get "near" the finish line, I was not the first one to cross it.  Thus, I'm sure I will be scored near last... Oh well, live & learn.  I still had a blast out there and will be back for as many as I can squeeze into my schedule.

Curtis - Good course last night.  Lots of flats, and couple good climbs, and plenty of baby heads and motocross ruts to make things interesting.  I had a very good start, but couldn't hold the wheels of two guys who went ballistic right from the gun.  I stayed with 3-4 guys in a second group. 
There was section on the course where you had to make a decision between going left up a short, but very steep and narrow climb, and going right; a longer route.  The first lap I followed a group up this climb, and got to show off some cyclocross moves by jumping over a fallen rider.  The second lap I was able to drop the guys I was with by going the long way around, as they decided to try to ride through the packed path.  I decided to put the hammer down and tried to make up time on the back side of the course that featured mostly flat baby headed sections.  Then tradgedy...I yelled "right" to pass a slower rider, and of course he MOVED right.  Ouch!!  down in the baby heads!!!  Luckily I landed on soft tissue (yes I know thats most of me) and not on any boney joints.  I was able to get right back in, but was now behind the guys I had just passed.  Took about a lap and half to regain my form.  Ended up finishing strong, but unsure what place I finished.  I will guess 6th. To be fair to the guy that hit my bars; I think his front wheel hit a babyhead and forced him into me.  Thats the only downside to the prairie city races- too many skill levels on a short course.

APRIL 2008

Curtis - Expert - Cool course tonight.  flat, fast, lots of loose rock.  One good climb and a couple rollers.  The wind made it interesting.  Gotta love the mountain bike mentality of just hammering.  I always had somebody willing to come around and pull in the wind. Great race in that with one lap to go there where 4 of the top 5 finishers in the 35+ expert class still together.  I took a bad line on an inside corner and nearly went down..bad thing was it happened just before a point where the trail narrowed to one lane only.  Took a while to get around the 2 guys that passed me and get through the traffic from the beginner and sport races.  Managed to get back with the group.  At the finish  I think we where within about 10-15 seconds of each other.  I finished 3rd or 4th.  will have to wait for the final results to confirm.

APRIL 2008

Curtis - Expert - Last week was a kinder course for me.  Very few technical sections, and climbs to my liking. This week was not only much faster. But the downhills more technical, and the climbs longer.  I took a really bad line right from the gun and cost myself valuble time.  Add Butch (you all probably kow him as the guy that rides the single speed road bike) taking off at a merciless pace, and hundreds of riders on a small loop......wasn' t good. I got gapped out on a number of occaisions because of traffic from the slower groups.  Bummer.  I will be happy when the results are posted to be in the top 10.  Wont be surprised if I am not this week.

Mark S - Well, my first mountain bike race and not quite sure what to expect. I entered the beginner class 40-49. 2 laps at 3 miles each. I talked to Curtis before the race and he told me I wont be in that class for long. He said you will see what I mean. We all lined up and I was looking around to see who was in my class. I didn't want to size anybody up because I have done that before and have had my doors blown off by those
guys. As I looked around I saw some guys with camel backs and big back packs on as if they were going to stop and have lunch. I figured I can
last for 6 miles without water so I hydrated well before the race. I pre-rode the course and I liked it. Fast and not to technical. My strategy was to go hard and fast as long as I could kind of like a crit start and wait to see who was left. I lined up in the front row and was off at the gun, or guy saying GO. Started with a long sweeping right hand turn then into a long, straight downhill and then a sharp right turn. At that point I think I was third or fourth. I kept the gas on until I was second just right behind the front guy. I stayed right behind him until about half way around. We came off one of the climbs and I was just pacing him and recovering a bit and once my heart rate came down from about 183 to about 170 I gassed it and blew by him. At that point I think I was in first. I kept going hard until the finish and didn't see anybody in my class pass me or in front but I guess we will see when the results come out. All in all I had a blast and plan on doing as many as the PCRS as I can.

MARCH 2008

Steve L - So, the morning started out kind of cool (no pun intended) at about 43 degrees but soon warmed up to about 65 with a slight breeze. After trying to make my way up to the front, having started in the back i made my way past about 1/2 to 3/4 of the field. In the first miles i was flying. We came into a bombing downhill and i was caught saying to myself. Dont hit one of these sharp rocks. Tons of guys were all flating because their sidewalls were being slashed by these rocks. So verdict is Specialized rocks...anyway coming into the first climb about a mile long with a really steep section at the end, i locked out my fork and just powered up but found myself out of breath. I thought to myself this was going to be a long day on the MTB. After about 7 miles i finally got into my MTBin Rythem. And just started cranking. It was relatively try with exceptions of a deep bogs, and large puddles and aside from the two river crossings. Somehow i ended up really muddy still. I started to get really hot and thank god for neutral feedzones i used a cup and poured the water onto my head what a relief. I dont remember much about the second lap except i could barely grip the handelbars and it felt like all my fingers had been broken. As the finally miles came i was just in a great rythem. So i ended up winning the sport 16-19 by about a while.  Another RIO win.