John T's Sea Otter Report (circuit and XC course)

Saturday in April (2012) from John Tsamasfyros

Sea Otter Cat 4 35+

They started all Cat 4's in a mass start which was a little distracting. I stayed with the front group for only 2 laps and then the elites dropped me on the steep climb. I settled in with a couple guys following the main group. I had no idea how many 35+ were in there but my guess and from what I saw maybe 3 guys up there from my age group at the most. The climb hurt every time. I ended up riding alone for a few laps after I dropped the guys I was with. After about 6 laps I decided to wait for a group of 8 behind me. I settled in with them for a lap or 2 more. Then all a sudden the starter whistled us out of the race with 2 laps left. Very disappointing! I think I was top 10 for sure maybe even top 5 in the 35+ if I could have won the sprint with the group I was with. We were not going to get lapped. We were all quite frustrated and went and talked to the starter. Obviously nothing we could do at this point and he didn't have any answers for us. So the results in the Cat 4 35+ shows only 3 guys. They said there was a problem with the photo finish, but what really happened was he pulled all the 35, 45 and 55+ riders that were not in the lead group and had no idea where anyone finished. Enough bitching....I basically raced an open Cat 4 race and got dropped is the bottom line. I had my family down there and it was really hot and a good time at the expo anyway.

Sunday
Cat 3 40-42 XC on Super Dave's Salsa 29er
12th

Dave was kind enough to lend me his Salsa 29er for my first XC race since I was 18. I was able to do one test ride earlier in the week but unable to pre ride the Sea Otter course because I had my daughters with me. There were A LOT of riders at the start. I couldn't believe it. Tons of age groups. There were about 45 guys in my age group of 40-42, not to mention all the age groups before and after. The start was a hammer fest on the track. I group of 3 got away early. I settled in around 6th heading on to the trail. soon enough I see a steep short climb and everyone is walking their bikes. I can't even find the lead 3 guys because they were mixed in the tail end of the 35-39 group that started 2 min ahead of us. We do some rollers. I am starting to feel better and more comfortable and start passing guys. We get to the single track. To make a long story short, I crash 3 times from the sand. Dave's bike is fine as I was not going real fast. The front wheel just kept slipping away in the sand. I learned to never use the front brake in the sand after it was basically too late. I lost some position after the 3 crashes. The climb back out started and I rode hard and only passed guys. There were all sorts of age groups on the course at this point. My heart rate averaged 170 for almost 1 1/2 hrs. I did well climbing on the single track. I thought maybe I was top 10 when I crossed the line but I ended up 12th. I think a pre ride would have helped a lot. I had a blast!! Even with all the scrapes and bruises... Time to get back into XC racing