Back of the pack
Last weekend, I headed out to compete in the Downhill Mountain Bike race at the Parkfield Classic, in the hills of California's Central Coast. I figured after winning the Beginner class at a race in Monterey, and being 30 seconds off the podium in the Sport class (one above Beginner) at Downieville, I'd be competitive in the Beginner class.
I was wrong. But man, that was fun...
The pileup in one of the collegiate women's classes - photo by bicycleweed.com
One of the pro racers dives into the 50 mph g-out - photo by downhillnews.smugmug.com
Steeper, faster, and with more technical features than anything I'd ever ridden, I took the "wimp" detours around all of the major obstacles, with a low speed fall at the bottom after trying a different line that shot me off course. The end result was a 9th of 10 in the Beginner class. I'm already looking forward to seeing how much I can shave off of that next year...
x-posted to mrcrash and cycling
I was wrong. But man, that was fun...
The pileup in one of the collegiate women's classes - photo by bicycleweed.com
One of the pro racers dives into the 50 mph g-out - photo by downhillnews.smugmug.com
Steeper, faster, and with more technical features than anything I'd ever ridden, I took the "wimp" detours around all of the major obstacles, with a low speed fall at the bottom after trying a different line that shot me off course. The end result was a 9th of 10 in the Beginner class. I'm already looking forward to seeing how much I can shave off of that next year...
x-posted to mrcrash and cycling