I skipped race number four, which was held up in Grass Valley. I just didn't want to drive that far. Since only four of the seven races count towards the final points, I figured I could take the weekend off and save some gas money. Unfortunately, I learned from my Rio Strada teammates that the Grass Valley course was very hilly and technical. According to Curtis: "You would have killed it up there, dude!"
Oh well.
Race five was in Vacaville at Peña Adobe Regional Park. This was the district championships, which meant very little for us lowly C racers. There is no championship for us, but districts did bring out more racers for a bigger and stronger field to compete against.
I felt good about the race because I won a mountain bike race here back in the day. I hoped for a similar result in the hilly terrain.
The day was cold, damp and foggy. I don't usually do well in the cold, so I overdressed and warmed up longer than normal.
At the gun a guy named Mark Schlicting (far right) took off and we never saw him again. This race would be a battle for second place.
The course was up and down, mostly dirt, with a few dismounts, including a sadistic set of barriers running up a very steep hill.
I made it up the steepest hill every lap, but it hurt. A lot of people had to walk this one.
Eventually it ended up being a group of three: Me, Alex and Skyler.
Alex, AKA Yelling Guy, was a wheel sucker. It was only my fourth time racing with him, and I had never seen the back of his helmet. For over two full laps he was there. A couple times I flicked my elbow for him to come around and do some work, but he refused. It was clear I was his focus.
After checking my computer for elapsed time, I knew we would probably get the bell lap next time through the start-finish. There was a place coming up where we would exit the dirt and hit a sharp downhill turn on pavement. I would attempt a move there.
Because of the dampness, our tires were covered with dirt and sand, making the asphalt corner very slippery. I accelerated down the hill as long as I could and braked very late. I leaned into the turn as much as I dared and felt my tires breaking loose, but I let them continue in a somewhat controlled slide as I carved the turn.
As I exited I peeked back to see if I had created a gap, and I had. Alex had just entered the turn and was likely trying to match my speed. His tires broke loose and he went sliding across the road on his ass. Skyler also went down and followed Alex into the ditch.
Like any seasoned racer, I saw the chaos and accelerated. I went through the start-finish and indeed heard the bell ringing. Thankfully. Only one more time up that awful wall of a hill.
I gave it about 90% for the last lap, hoping to keep a little energy in reserve, and kept looking back to make sure Alex didn't catch me. Towards the end another guy did start catching up, and I gave it a little more gas to hold him off. I finished in second place, only four seconds in front of him.
With nine points for finishing second, I maintained my lead in the series. Alex and Skyler finished fourth and fifth.
Later.
