What a great escape from the smog and then the rain and then the snow this was! Carson, Rich Sheya (an old-timer cut throat guy and good friend) headed down for our second race in Temecula, Ca. We arrived to a riding temp of 65 and just enough showers to keep the sand packed. The course we changed at the beginning involving more single track and the long Dam climb was take out. I new the 11 mile course was going to be fast.
After the pre-ride we took a nap and then headed for wine country and did a little sampling. I must say this was a true learning experience in year to year variations of a wine. I also believe I found my most favorite vine ever- the Falkner double gold 2004 Shiraz.
Somehow I talked Carson in going first again. Thanks pal. I was right about the fast course. Carson came in at about 43 minutes on his first lap.
This was no small race. Even Tinker showed up!I headed out feeling good and REALLY enjoyed the first lap. The lap started out with a small dirt road climb then wound around some mixed single and double track for a mile or so leaving plenty of space to pass. Next came some climbing tight switch backs (which became a good challenge by the last few laps). Below is Carson waiting for us on the pre-ride.
Once you climbed out of the switch backs there was a steady climb up a dirt road that was the only spot I had to succumb to granny gear on the last lap. Next was a fair amount of fun fast descents dropping the elevation gain we just made. Then came a steady climb up a sandy but packed wash for a good while until you reached a final short steep climb that was just as fast hiking as it was riding. After this it seemed like it was all downhill. There was a lot of exposed ridge riding dropping down until you reached the Tunnel of Love. This was by far the best part of the course with just a long stretch of rollers you could take in big-little gear after which I was just about done with the lap. What was left was some small ups and downs back to the campground. The neat thing about this course was that it finished through and in the Vail Resort Campground. We were camped right on the course with full hookup to the camper. What a luxurious 12 hour race!(Carson at the camp site)
I came in at 43-44 minutes with a smile on my face.Well after 4 laps we were in 2nd place and having a ball. BUT then I was waiting for Carson for my third lap but he didn't show in the 44 minutes I expected. OH CRAP! We were ahead of the third place guys by about 15 minutes and I thought that was a great cushion this early in the race. Well I started getting worried when I saw the third place team head out but no Carson. Well he finally came in running with his bike. I was relieved in a way that it was the bike and not him (like the last Temecula race) when I saw that he had a flat. He had blown out his side wall and despite attempting two tubes and plugging the hole he couldn't keep it inflated. He had to run the rest of the course. OUCH! That put us out of second by 15-20 minutes with half a race to go.
He turned it on and for Carson's 4th lap had the same time as his first! He was pissed! Well we continued on both feeling and riding well without the dreaded leg cramps at all. (Thanks to Brad and his all new and improved CARBOROCKET!) Night came and the lap times slowed a bit. We each had two night laps. The cool thing was we got to demo the AY UP headlamp set. Wow were they light AND bright! The lightness, focusing flexibility and price make them way superior to Night rider!
I could tell we were gaining on second but we were running out of time! I headed out on my last lap with the second place team ahead by one minute! But the guy I was paired up with had consistently faster lap times than I by about a minute. The good thing was that the guy on Carson's lap was slower than him by 2-4 minutes. We had time for Carson to do one more lap! I went all out and did my last night lap in 50 minutes, a whole minute faster than the one before. I was hoping to maintain that one minute distance to give Carson a better chance.Rich and I were at the finish line to see who came in first 212 (us) or 215 (them). Well wouldn't you know it my buddy pulled it off and came in before 215 by about a minute. That's a pretty Close race when you are doing it for 12 hours! YIPEEEE!
Boy, do I look stoned, excited or what?Racer's boys took first. We had no chance to catch them even without the flat.
Rich had a great steak dinner cooked up for us afterwards and we spent the night at the campground. The next day we headed to Boulder City just outside of Vegas and rode and played in Boot Leg Canyon. It's always a treat to stop off there.
RACE RESULTS: http://www.geoladders.com/mbr_show_race.php?route=20593
WOW! WHAT A ROAD TRIP WITH GOOD RACING, GOOD FRIENDS AND GOOD FINISH.
ARANTIX MILES: 2282! 261 HOURS! THIS MIGHT BE THE LAST COUNT!
Last Monday Carson and I left at 6:3o am to St George and rode over 5 hours. We did the race course 3 times, Zen, stucki springs (It lived up to it's name) and then some. It got up to 63 degrees by the end of the ride! We were home for my night shift by 9:30 pm. 
We had such a good time that we wanted to do it again this past Saturday. Wouldn't you know it their were other crazy friends that wanted to do the same. So we headed down with KC, Chris, and Racer in the GF/Subaru vehicle meeting up with Kevin and Joseph Moffit. We did some of the same routes but added Barrel Roll and Black Brush for another 5.5 hours. It sure beat the muck going on around here!
Racer in the Zen Zone on the Zen trail.
KC Barreling along....
