Sea Otter

Day one
I arrived at Sea Otter on Friday after a 4-5 hour drive. I had to skip school on Friday but that was fine. I was so excited I was hopping around on my bike. When my dad, mom and I went into the festival it was chaos.We looked around the vendors and then I went to the pump track.There it was even more chaotic. After awhile, we went and got lunch from California Pizza and sat with Yvette Crockell. I didn't want to eat too much because I was saving room for Bubba Gumps that night. Yum! Then I got to demo a carbon Giant XTC on the pump truck. It was incredible but sadly I had to give it back. We went over to the dual slalom course and watched my friend Brandon in the qualifier for dual slalom. That was really fun to watch.

Day two
We had breakfast at the hotel and then my dad and I went for a pre-ride on part of the xc course so I could see what it was like. After that, we put the bikes in valet and went over to watch some downhill. I saw my friends Emily and Chantal on their runs. They are really fast. We also watched the pros qualify at dual slalom. I had a really good tri tip sandwich and then I got to cheer on my RC friends - Hank, Sara and Janell during their cyclocross races. That was really fun. I got to go to the ocean that night and then headed back to the hotel early.



Day three
I woke up and had a big breakfast before leaving for Sea Otter. When I got there, my dad made sure my bike was good and my mom made sure my race food was good. Then I went and warmed up. I was racing in the 13/14 boys class. When the race began, I was shuffled to the back. The first part of the course was on the Laguna Seca track. I had to work hard to stay with the main group. There was a lot of steep ascents and descents. Since the marine layer stuck around longer, I had put full finger gloves on. That was a bad idea because half way through the race, while riding, I had to take them off. Now I was riding bare handed. About mile 13, I had to go down hurl hill and that was fun. I felt a sigh of relief when I sprinted across the finish. I thought three things when I finished 1)That was awesome, 2) that will be a nice looking race bib on my wall, and 3) I'm really tired. I beat my goal of 1:45, with a finish of 1:37, and ended up 25th in a class of almost all 13/14 yr old boys. I thank Sea Otter for an awesome course and Roseville Cyclery for the awesome bike. Also, Julie Young and O2Fitness for the great training.

TBF Team Challenge

The last Granite Bay race was the team challenge. I was excited for the race because I chose to do 2 laps - 12 miles. When I got there, I didn't feel the best because my stomach was feeling bad. I went to say 'hello' to everyone I knew but when my mom went to sign me up for two laps, I was SUPER nervous and was going to call off 2 laps. It was too late to say that though. I felt better when I warmed up and was actually excited once Khy was able to move up also. I was racing Novice 14-17.
I felt motivated, anxious and still a little nervous

When I rolled up to the line, the organizer said 'Juniors to the back' and I had to say that I was doing two laps. Once I started it was a mess. Khy and I had to bob and weave through people. Khy is a BMXer and had a better start than me. When I got to the single track, I was 2-4 people behind him. I got to a more open spot, I heard something behind me. Then I looked back and saw a bike on the ground and a huge group of people. I just thought, 'I'm lucky I wasn't caught in that'. It was the first person behind me that had crashed. I felt gassed when I got to the first hill which wasn't good for the first of two laps. I passed Khy but every time I got to a part that I liked, there was a group of people.

My first lap I caught up to Yi, from the RC race team. She would fly up the hills and drop me. I would catch her on the downhill. I went out on the second lap still following Yi. The second lap felt nice and fast. It was nice for all of the spots I liked because there was nobody there now. I finally passed Yi in the oaks and was able to pull away. She was doing three laps = 18 miles after riding a 66 mile road ride the day before.

I felt terribly tired when I crossed the finish line, which is good I guess. I finished 4th. I had a great time afterwards with Team RC. I thank TBF for the incredible races, Team RC for the awesome group of people to hang out with and O2 Fitness for the training.

Cool MTB Race 3/22/15

The Cool Mountain Bike Race was, well, in Cool CA. It was a late start at 10am which allowed me to sleep in. I got to the race and went to see everyone I knew. I warmed up on the kid's race course once. Then about 10-15 minutes before the race, I warmed up again on the kid's course but not the full length. The starting was confusing because me and Khy were in the back so we had to hand our bikes over to my dad and walk our way through the crowd. Dad handed me and Khy our bikes over the fence and we were in the right spot. When the announcer said "GO!" to a class in front of us, 4-6 people in my class, including me accidently, started with the back of the sport men/women.

The first corner was a bottleneck. Then came a short, steep which I took a different line from Khy. That worked out because he got stuck behind a group of people that stopped and walked. After that, it was more open. I felt great during every uphill even Salt Creek. When I got to Knickerbocker Creek I had figured out a line when I pre-rode a couple of days before. I almost made is through the farthest line to the left when I hit a rock which killed my balance resulting in me STOPPING 3/4 of the way through. Lucky for me, I stepped on a rock just peeking out of the water.

I didn't see Khy but I had another competitor that basically matched my skills completely. His name was Nathan and was on the Limitless race team. I felt good all the way to the finish line and I finished 3rd in my class - 15 and under. I thank Placer Foothills MTB Club for the tent, Team RC and Roseville Cyclery. Also, another thanks to O2 Fitness for all of the training.