Cyclepaths/Wild Cherries Racing

This article was originally published in the Friday July 30th 2010 edition of the Lake Tahoe paper, the Sierra Sun.

Past Spoke n' Word columns have shied away from true, gritty race reports. But as the team name implies, Cyclepaths/Wild Cherries Racing - they do race, a lot. And it's about time you knew more about it.

The Cascade Cycling Classic is a three-day, four-event stage race held every year in the high-desert, volcanic town of Bend Oregon. A mini Tour de France of sorts, where the individual competitors are ranked based on their combined finishing time from all four stages. With only 173 miles of racing over the three days, there is no margin for error and no place to make up for lost time. The winner of the Cascade Classic isn't just the rider with the strongest legs and biggest lungs. It takes a savvy tactical sense, dialed equipment, team support and perfect recovery and nutrition practices to win a race of this caliber. One bad day on the bike, a flat tire or even a dropped water bottle could mean the difference between finishing 1st and 101st.

Attending the race this year was Justin Rossi (powerful rider on the flats) , Nick Schaffner (all-arounder/mechanic), Jesse Miller-Smith (climbing specialist/team leader) and Conrad Snover (sprint finisher). Jesse Miller-Smith had proven himself throughout earlier races that he deserved to lead the team, while the rest of the riders worked to defend the main objective, WIN!

Stage 1, Mount Bachelor Road Race 70 miles

This course started on the outskirts of Bend and wound around the dormant volcano of Mt. Bachelor before finishing on the steep roads near the top of the mountain. The peloton whizzed along at 25 mph for the first rolling 50 miles, while the snow covered slopes of Mt. Bachelor loomed in the distance. The whole team conserved energy and waited for the final uphill battle. With 4 miles to go, into a climb and headwind, Jesse sprung from the field of riders and soloed to the finish for the win. Cyclepaths/Wild Cherries Racing now had the yellow leader's jersey, and a slim 56 second lead.

Stage 2, Skyliners Individual Time Trial 16 miles

The individual time trial is a race of truth, a test of a rider's strength without the benefit of any draft. It's just a man and machine alone on the road, racing against the clock. The course suited both a spindly climber and heavy power rider. It was 8 miles straight uphill, and 8 miles right back down. There was so much downhill that gearing changes were needed as all team riders swapped out their front chainrings from a 53 to a massive 55 tooth gear. Jesse and Justin turned in turned in times good enough for 5th and 7th place. Jesse held onto the yellow leader's with a 47 second advantage.

Stage 3, Downtown Criterium 20 miles

This flat course encircled several blocks in downtown Bend, packed with spectators cheering every lap. The course had two narrow cobbled turns, a prime spot for a big crash. The last thing the team wanted at this point to lose the lead because of a wreck. In order to keep the race (and Jesse) safe, Conrad, Nick and Justin drilled it at the front at a blistering speed, and in-turn kept the peloton strung out. The over 30 mph average pace prevented other riders from bunching up in the tight corners and avoided any mishaps. Conrad sprinted for 8th place, while Jesse stayed upright and kept the yellow leader's jersey.

Stage 4, Aubrey Butte Circuit Race 67 miles

This final challenging stage offered many short, steep climbs on the four laps of an 18 mile loop along the outskirts of Bend. It was the last chance for riders to gain time, and possibly take the yellow jersey. Justin, Conrad and Nick spent most of the race chasing down attacks, setting a high pace and fetching cold water bottles on the 95 degree day. Jesse remained protected in the draft of the peleton, waiting for a time to strike. The strength of the entire Cyclepaths/Wild Cherries Racing team proved to be too much for the other competitors as all breakaway attempts were shut down before they were able to gain any time. Jesse sprinted for 11th on the day, and won the overall with a 47 second margin.

Three days, four stages, 173 miles, four yellow jerseys, one big trophy and $600 in prizes. Cyclepaths/Wild Cherries Racing won the 2010 Cascade Cycling Classic with dominance through smart riding and serious teamwork. Watch out, they will be back next year.

Team rider Nick Schaffner is the author of this week's Cyclepaths/Wild Cherries Racing column. Cyclepaths/Wild Cherries Racing (www.cwcracing.org) is a Truckee-based cycling team focused on racing and local bike advocacy.

Stage 1: Rolling 72 mile road race finishing with a climb to Mt. Bachelor

The only real notable part of the course was thelast 5k which climbed about 1500 feet up to the Bachelor parking area. The race was pretty uneventful with the exception of a few burly potholes and some really sketchy riding from a few random dudes, which including some guy riding up onto Nate then flipping back and onto his hip at about 28 mph; sounded like it hurt pretty bad.

• Jesse: 1st. There was one rider solo off the front when the climb started with about 4-5 miles to go in the race. Once the climb became sustained, the Metromint guys attacked and strung the field out creating a group of about ten on the front. I was feeling pretty good so I threw out a counter attack which stuck. I was able stay away and catch the one guy off the front and put about a minute on the field.
• Justin: 62nd.
• Nick: 74th.
• Conrad: 100th. I hit a huge pothole at mile 30, waited 6 minutes for the support car for new rear wheel then tried to chase back. But...then the front wheel went flat too (presumably from same pothole). I then waited 15 minutes for another support car. My race was obviously finished at this point, so I rode in easy and finished 28 minutes behind Jesse. Oh well

Stage 2: Out uphill and back downhill 16 mile time trial

• Jesse: 5th (22 seconds back). The only real excitement that morning was therealizationthatthe front derailleur on my TT bike was garbage and luckily Conrad was nice enough to let me ride his bike with last minute notice. Also lucky for me Conrad happens to be a master bike fitter so he helped to get the bike dialed about 5minutes before his start. Once out on the course it was your usual sufferfest, a good cross between my legs killing me, searing lung pain, and numbness in my grundle. It was most enjoyable, especially the rough road, I loved it! At the finish I was just stoked to find out I wouldn't give up too much time on the GC.
• Justin: 7th.
• Nick: 44th.
• Conrad: 104th place/last: "I rode my roadbike, no warmup, kept it under 200w, and stopped to take pictures. My goal was to save energy for the crit, and for helping Jesse if he needed it"

Stage 3: 40 minute, 4-corner criterium

The house we rented was in such an optimal place that we were able to ride straight from the house to 3 of the 4 starts. So the crew cruised through downtown Bend warming up the legs before the crit enjoying the cycling atmosphere and hot weather. The course was a smooth and safe half mile loop and since we only raced for 40 minutes the pace was high from the start. Conrad and Nick immediately went to the front to partake in the drilling while Jesse dropped to almost the very back (confirmed by LT) and rode like a little girl. That was pretty much the story for the whole race, fast pace with Nick and Conrad at the front mixing it up.

• Jesse: 28th (same time) With 3 laps to go I decided I would attempt to man up and actually race so I started to move up and before I knew it I was at the very front like a jackass since within about 20 seconds the front 30 guys charged around me with 1 lap to go. Oh well my attempt to actually be productive and help out Nick and Conrad was over. Then I was able to see Nick destroy himself on the front to put Conrad in a good spot which worked well since Conrad was second wheel into the finishing straight but he didn't have quite enough juice to sprint for the podium, damn maybe if hadn't ridden like a little schoolgirl the race would have worked out better. After the race Justin, Nate, and I cooled down in the Deschutes river which was pretty nice.
• Justin: 61st (same time)
• Nick: 81st. Led Conrad out in Herculean effort for 1.5 laps(!) when the leadout plan was botched and the other riders predictably left us out front to fizzle
• Conrad: 8th. I came around the last corner in 2nd behind Nick and couldnt grab another wheel. I was pretty frustrated that I didnt have the sprint legs when it counted, and disappointed that I didnt deliver for my teammates, who worked hard to set me up for the win.

Stage 4: Four lap technical road circuit race

This well known circuit race is composed from 4 laps of a 17 mile rolling circuit with 2 main climbs which were relatively short but significant.

• Jesse: 11th. Finished in the first group For the first two laps I enjoyed the chill pace and great support from my team. We were pretty much all together resting and watching the front to make sure nothing too threatening got away. The third lap is where the real fun started when the Art's Cyclery team put in a good attack and got two of their guys up the road including their GC contender (who also happens to be a really nice guy) but too bad for them CWC was in effect with big Justin, who chased them down and had the pleasure of seeing the disappointed look on their faces of his arrival. Then on the main climb the attacks from team Hot Tubes started; those young strong dudes were legit and we had to follow pretty much every move they made, their top two guys were working well together playing the ol one-two punch game. But nothing really stuck because of my boyz at the front bringing everything back. On the last lap team Hot Tubes gave it one last shot and sent their GC contender up the road on the second to last climb. When he surged by me I was definitely impressed with the pace and couldn't quite close the gap. However, on the long descent and straight leading to the final climb of the race the CWC guys pulled the peloton closer and gave me a sweet sling shot up the bottom part of the climb where I would shortly catch the group and bring the race back together, game over, CWC victory. I pretty much just tried to stay out of danger on the descent into the finish. After the race weregiven complements from several other racerson our strong riding and teamwork.
• Justin: 37th. Domestique roll bringing bottles, covering attacks and drilling it at the front to bring back the breaks. His last big effort took Jesse up the last climb, then he finished in the lead pack
• Nick: 74th. Domestique roll; left it all out on the course culminating in his last big effort on the 3rd lap, then limped to the finish
• Conrad: 65th. Domestique roll; Last big effort was to take Jesse to the bottom of the last climb on the 4th lap, then limped to the finish

Overall GC

• Jesse: 1st (with a 47 second lead over second place). Standing on the podium with the team at a big race like Cascade was definitely satisfying, what an epic weekend! Editor's note: There's a good chance Jesse will have a mandatory upgrade to Cat 1 after this performance...
• Justin: 20th.
• Nick: 72nd.
• Conrad: 87th. Even with my horrible overall result, this was by far one of the most memorable and enjoyable races Ive ever done. What made it so great? The camaraderie of 5 teammates spending the weekend together, the opportunity to sacrifice my own goals to work towards the team goal, and finally seeing two CWC racers in yellow on the last day.

Check out our Flickr photo gallery for more pictures from the weekend!

I did my first real stage race this last weekend in the Bend area. I raced the 3s while 4 teammates raced 2s (Jesse won that wow more detail at http://cwcracing.org coming if not already posted! Sick!). Amazing weekend for the team, great crew " huge props and thanks for the team and their SOs for all of the support " even though I didnt have any teammates in my Cat I dont think I would have made the result I ended up with without them . . .

Stage 1 (day one): rolling 72 mile Road Race with climb at the end

• 90 man field " bigger than I am used to . . . start out hard on a ~600 foot climb I am thinking what are these guys doing or am I the sucker?
• 6 man break gets away 20 miles in, field goes to pleasure cruise pace, break opens 3? 4? Minute gap . . . ride mid pack, dodge a big pile up, cant move up in the big field not used to it riders wall to wall, etc.
• After crash get to front and start doing some tempo w/ a few other guys but nobody really working . . .again start to feel like the sucker
• Mile 50 road starts to tip up in rollers . . . strong guy attacks off the front . . . mile 53ish another strong looking guy goes and I say what the hell Im here to race and chase him
• We bridge to initial bridger and start working together well and climb starts in earnest at least I am racing now can I hold the pace, etc. well see
• We start picking off remnants of the break on the climb . . . then hissssss . . . not me! bummer for guy in my group . . . two of us press on
• 10k to go another joins us from the field and he is hammering . . . puts me in the red and I wonder if I can hang till the end . . . 2s are ahead of us and we pass Conrad who flatted twice crap luck . . . he whispers some encouragement something about nailing the other two in my group and I can only blubber about being in red and hanging one
• The three of us make the flat 1k finish together and make a three up sprint through dodgy cones in the Mt Bachelor parking lot " I recover a bit and think 2nd in my group is mine until 50m before finish almost crash in a kooky coned u-turn sit up and take 4th on stage (1 guy stayed away by a few seconds from original break)
• End up within 20 seconds of the three ahead of me after time bonuses factored
• Jesse is in yellow after winning the 2s by a minute . . . awesome spin back to cars mostly downhill, pretty stoked to be there for sure

Jesse and the Cat 2 crew after Stage One

Longboard Louies Delivers the Fuel

We hit this place 3 times . . . so good, pay by the ounce. Justin won with an 18 ounce effort.

Stage 2 (morning day two): out uphill and back downhill 16 mile time trial

• Mad wrenching w/ *huge* help from teammates to get cranks and 55t ring on TT bike
• Head out for race of truth with Conrads rear disc given his GC is blown from crap luck the prior day . . . I am happy, but realize I will have no TT gear excuses " I am pimped! It is my daughters fourth birthday bringing into stark relief all the crap my wife and kids put up with to live with a bike nerd/amateur bike racer (come on, compression/recovery socks dont look sweet around the house? Sorry about that grease on the light switch . . . I cant eat that I am a Cat 3 bike racer! Yeah the garage does look like 10 year old boys blew up a real bike shop sorry . . . sorry hon I fell asleep with the kids while putting them down cuz I was cooked from day job and riding bike and missed dinner and now it is 9pm good night). Anyway Cascade is my top event/goal for the year so promise myself the least I can do is use Keira inspiration/self-imposed guilt/feeling lucky to have such a rad family/etc. to eek everything out of my body
• Drill it on the TT and dont get passed by top 3 (reverse start order) and pass 4 or 5 guys (30 sec start splits) . . . screw up my lap timing so not sure exactly on my time but feel like I left it all on course if pain was any indicator . . . and Keira did help me pass time deep in the pain cave multiple times during the event so that must be good for something?
• No immediate results . . . gotta wait

TT Inspiration! Thanks Keira (at her 4th b-day party which she was kind enough to delay until Monday)

Stage 3 (afternoon day two): 40 minute 4-corner criterium

• Mad wrenching to re set-up cranks and 53t ring before crit
• Pancake recovery lunch, nice!
• Go spin for 20 minutes from house (which was *perfect* location in terms of race venues, nice work Jesse!) . . .stop back at house and results from Stage Two are posted online and team informs me I won the TT and am first in GC . . . and oh yeah I have to get my ass to the race for podium/yellow jersey or suffer race org wrath and maybe some $$ or time penalties
• Benefits of yellow become clear at Crit start when I am called up for podium, wrapped like a sausage in a yellow jersey over my team kit (what was I gonna do w/ it I stepped off podium to the crit!) . . . anyway I get to start at front which Im really happy about
• Pretty comfortable ride in the crit I just wanted a pack finish and no crashes or mechanicals and got all of those w/ some but not crazy effort covering a few attacks . . . narrowly dodged a crash . . . ended up 12th so one stage to do to defend and 33 seconds on 2nd and 43 seconds on 3rd

After the Crit the pic I sent to Megan

Morning before Stage 4 looking to defend 2 yellow . . .

Stage 4 (morning day three): 4 X 17 mile circuits on hilly road circuit race

• Now the no teammates comes home to roost . . . ouch . . . on advice from crew have top 10 riders and time gaps taped to top tube on bike . . . attack after attack on first lap especially from 3rd place on the climbs putting me in pain, pain, pain . . . really hoping the pace has to mellow some I cant cover everything from everyone . . . make the fateful decision to let 7th place at 2:36 go solo into the second lap to try and bridge to the early 5 man break . . . hope he blows up . . . business maxim of hope is not a strategy is ringing hard in my head
• Well, I get my stupid wish and the group mellows on the second lap " letting the break get 2:45 and Ive lost the GC lead on the road nice . . . go to the front on the 3rd lap and thankfully get a couple guys to ride hard with me and by the end of 3rd lap the break is down to 45 sec . . . phew . . . until . . .
• . . . I pay for race efforts so far as I cant cover attack by 2nd and 5th place riders who attack and bridge to the remnants of the break . . . they have 45 seconds (and 10/8/6 sec time bonuses for 1st 2nd 3rd place on the stage) . . . I have 10 miles and two climbs and again am really up against it . . . ride at the front and get no help at this point everyone knows I have and am losing everything so it is on me . . . decide I have to attack the field and try to bridge and recover before the 2 climbs late in the race . . . teammate Nicks words from the night before race like there is *no way* you will lose the GC are now ringing in my head . . . here we go get the gap and put my head down and go deep, deep, deep but can see Im crossing the gap . . . make the bridge in five minutes and am freaking out too much to realize now the deck is in my favor this was the right move as I can mostly sit in while the break races for the stage and I am safe so long as 2nd cant blow me away on the climbs or 3rd (the best climber) doesnt pull something out of his butt . . .
• Of course 3rd bridges on the 1st finish climb now I am really going to sit in and save it but at least the other guys in the break have to chase 3rd if he attacks
• We stay together (well, four of us) through the last climb . . . 2nd place crosses a wheel and crashes really sad I hope he is ok he didnt finish . . . 5th place attacks at 2k and stays away by a couple seconds and I take second on the stage and the GC win
• Maybe the hardest physical race for me ever, *definitely* the hardest emotionally/mentally/cumulative 2:48 Ive ever spent on a bike . . . also of course the best! Bike racing is awesome.

Bringing home 2nd place in the final stage and the overall GC

Im a big journey not the destination guy " but in this case the destination is pretty sweet as well . . . imminent upgrade means a whole new level of comp and humbling to know that my 4 teammates in the 2s probably would have beat me in this race so not hard to have perspective on the beautiful drive home . . . and if that wasnt enough, my day job Monday morning said hello w/ a reality smack down . . . but the sweetest and most tangible perspective of all was Keiras 4th b-day party which we rocked Monday evening with grandparents and cousins and all of it . . . and I didnt hesitate to get in on a second piece of cake.

Final Results Index (Stages and GC):

http://www.mbsef.org/CascadeStageRace/Results/2010/index.cfm

Me and the Cat 2 bad-ass mo-fos borrowing podium for a group shot after Stage 4

My Stage 4 top tube cheat sheet " thanks Nate!

Beautiful drive home . . .

Posted via email from Andy Scott PqP

This article was originally published in the Friday July 23rd 2010 edition of the Lake Tahoe paper, the Sierra Sun.

My wife Lisa and I just returned from a fantastic bicycling holiday in the Andaluca region of southern Spain. We rode on single-lane mountain roads from Grenada to Cordoba, through the Spanish Sierra Nevada and the Mediterranean coast. We had such a wonderful time, I thought I'd summarize the best parts and provide a few tips to hopefully encourage some of you to try something like it.

Traveling through a country by bicycle allows you to smell, taste, touch, feel and experience the country in ways you can't from a car. Bicycles travel fast enough to allow you to cover a decent amount of ground and see a variety of places, but slow enough to immerse you in the region, allowing you to experience everything it has to offer.

The road less traveled is typically the best route for a bicycle. As a result, we typically found ourselves exploring tiny mountain villages and stopping in obscure, out-of-the-way bars for mid-afternoon libations to experience towns we would have otherwise passed right by. The town of Baena is the perfect example.

We came across Baena, the self-proclaimed capital of Spain's olive-growing region, after riding all day through rolling hills covered in symmetrical groves of centuries-old olive trees. The plowed chalky white soil between the trees provided a stunning contrast to the dark green olive trees. The town is perfectly picturesque " a classic Spanish town, complete with Moorish ruins, Christopher Columbus-era catholic churches, streets too narrow to accommodate most American cars, and a town square full of children playing in the fountain.

We headed for the most inviting caf on the square and ordered a Fanta Limon and una Cerveza. The custom in southern Spain is for all drink orders to be accompanied by a small snack or tapas. Therefore, after working up a thirst and appetite touring the ruins, we checked out at least four more caf/bars in order to adequately sample all the regional tapas offerings: manchego cheese, cured ham, sausages, fried fish, cured olives, calamari, mushroom sandwiches, egg/potato frittata the list goeson.

Taking a bicycling holiday is much easier than you might think. Getting there is easy; international flights do not charge checked-luggage fees, even for oversize bicycles. Getting around is easy; public transportation is much more popular than in the U.S., is easily accessible and very safe. Traveling light is easy; we each had one cycling outfit and one street-clothes outfit and all of our clothes fit into one small pannier each (bike bags that fit on the sides of the rear rack on my bike).

May is a great time to go. The weather was pleasant and not yet too hot. Tourist attractions and hotels are all open, but not yet swarmed and overcrowded. We didn't make a single hotel reservation, instead trusting in our ability to find available hospitality in whichever town we decided to stop that night.

Planning a bicycle holiday is so easy that it doesn't take much more planning than going for a day ride from your house. If it's easy for someone like me who typically plans his vacations by reading the guidebook on the plane flight there, it will surely be easy for you!

Team rider Conrad Snover is the author of this week's Cyclepaths/Wild Cherries Racing column. Cyclepaths/Wild Cherries Racing (www.cwcracing.org) is a Truckee-based cycling team focused on racing and local bike advocacy.

----- Forwarded message -----

From: "Conrad Snover" <csnover@gmail.com>

Date: Sat, Jul 24, 2010 7:14 pm

Subject: [CWC Racing] Cascade Classic Update

To: "CWC Racing" <cwcracing@googlegroups.com>After 3 stages:

Jesse in yellow cat 2

Andy in yellow in cat 3

Tons of fun!

Conrad Snover

Sent from my mobile device, please excuse brevity and typos.

Posted via email from Andy Scott PqP

Jesse and cwc cat two crew with the yellow j at cascade classic ... mere to come!

Posted via email from Andy Scott PqP

Dear Trails Supporters:

Thanks to those of you who have signed up to help at this exciting new event for Truckee! For everyone else, we hope to see you there next Friday, July 30, enjoying some outstanding beers and fantastic amateur film clips!

With Truckee being one of 14 stops along New Belgiums nationwide summer tour, this unique event includes beers from New Belgiums Lips of Faith portfolio which features some of their most creative and hard-to-find brews. Amateur film clips range from kayaking buddies navigating grizzlies and whales on a paddling trip from Alaska to Seattle, to an absurdist spaghetti western about a flat tire (and some beer). There are visual odes to peoples love affairs with their bikes, assorted comedy shorts, and thought-provoking environmental pieces. Food will also be available from local vendors. There is no admission fee to enter the event or view the films, just the cost of beer and food. All beer proceeds benefit the Truckee Trails Foundation!

Word on the street is that the Clips of Faith festivals in other cities this summer have been fantastic! Truckee is very fortunate to have New Belgium back in town for this great new event. Bring your friends and join us!!

Details

When: Friday, July 30

Time: 7:30 - 10:30 p.m. (films begin at dark)

Where: Truckee River Regional Park: Chief Truckee Lawn

Other tips: Outside food is welcome, alcohol is not (leave that to New Belgium)

Bring low chairs or blankets " or lounge on the grass!

High 5s to All Who Ride!!!

(bike valet available)

Truckee Trails Foundation
PO Box 1751
Truckee, CA 96160
(530)587-8214

Posted via email from Andy Scott PqP

Raced Team Time Trial w/ Jesse, Nick and Conrad last night at Cold Springs. Great experience for all of us:

1. Warm up more than 15 minutes next time vs. racing to make start time and starting in the yellow if not the red! (particularly hard on an old man whiner like me who has really been noticing positive results from good long focused warm ups this year before hard efforts . . . like an old car engine I need the gradual warm up!!)
2. Riding through pot holes on TT bike on the rivet w/ big wind and trying to draft/etc. not as easy as it looks on TV . . .
3. Managing efforts across teammates w/ varying power thresholds really interesting formula to tinker on . . .

Overall we sort of maybe won so that is cool (I say sort of maybe cuz Clover finished like 20 seconds faster but did not have the required minimum of three finishers but rumor is a real-time rule change might only require two finishers? Whatever dont care about that more the experience of the above . . .

After TTT the real madness began when a massive steel shank blew Jesses L rear car tire apart on I-80 driving home . . . the noise made us think one of our bikes was about to launch so terrifying! I hear tire fixes are cheaper than TT bikes so a relative phew. The tire change was damn near NASCAR style w/ the team which was cool. I documented (i.e. didnt do shit). Photos below. Props to the team on the quick fix. Then, we got back to our meeting place where we had all parked for carpool " and Nicks car was gone! We thought it was stolen and were trippin . . . then Nick called the cops and learned it has just been towed/impounded. That sucks less than stolen, but still sucks. Another relative phew. Easy for me to say . . .

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Posted via email from Andy Scott PqP

This article was originally published in the Friday July 16th 2010 edition of the Lake Tahoe paper, the Sierra Sun.

A winding drive from Sierraville along the Dead Man's Curves of Highway 49 will eventually deliver you to the Sierra Buttes, where you can descend down brutally epic, blood-drawing mountain bike trails consisting of singletrack interspersed with fire road, doubletrack and old mining tracks, drop-off risks, banked turns and a recipe most adventurists thirst.

If you make this trip on the second weekend in July, you will stumble into a great grassroots mountain bike event known as the Downieville Classic.

Over the last few years, technological advances in the bicycle industry have led to the pioneering of a new mountain bike class known largely as all-mountain riding, where the best competitors across both downhill and cross-country disciplines race the clock for great rewards, laughs, unnerving mechanical dilemmas, bee stings, free beer, free food, a pair of socks, and renown bragging rights for the completion of this triumphant endeavor.

Imagine yourself on Day 1 in Sierra City when someone shouts, Go, (no gun, no countdown, just go) and the race begins rocketing you from zero to uncomfortably fast in seconds. Your heart is beating, be sure of that, and there are several voices in your head speaking with a couple of tones. Your ego drives you up the hill and as time passes you ascend approximately 3,000 feet over 8 miles to the near top of the Sierra Buttes. The sun-exposed fire road takes your every last hydrated ounce to complete. And it's not over yet.

You quickly gather your mental focus and drop down a technical and oh-so-tight trail. No reprieve yet. You exit the Sunrise Trail cleanly and head toward another lengthy stretch of fire road before hitting the proper trail that this race is so well known for " the descent, where you get to fly through various groves of trees, float over huge rocks and go head first into pulsing water ways. Whatever you do, don't flat. Take this trail all the way down, up, and over again, and you'll eventually roll through the finish line in the heart of Downieville to a cheering crowd wondering what you just went through.

This race attracts the best mountain bikers in the world, tosses them into a heat-induced cramp coma on the first day and then rolls them down a pinball course on the second day in record times. The event sells out every year and is bursting at the seams. Some racers finish on rims without tires, others finish with huge smiles and embrace the festival afterward. Some stand on top of the shiny silver podium and others launch themselves off a wood ramp into the river.

It's a youthful burst of energy that makes the second weekend in July the highlight of annual training. Pair this with amazing spectators and great food located in an exemplary small-town example of vintage Americana and, poof, you've got one of the greatest events of the summer.

Several local mountain bikers made the journey to Downieville and all succeeded in representing the community with cantaloupe-crested grins and a competitive edge that makes the birth right of our local Wolverines as I've come to know.

Congratulations to all Truckee Downieville Classic riders for keepin' the dream live and well.

Results from local riders

Checkout all the Truckee/Tahoe area riders kicking ass.

• Gregg Stone | Place: Pro All-MTN 10th
• Jesse Miller-Smith | Place: Expert All-MTN 2nd
• Nate Arnold | Place: Expert All-MTN 12th
• Conrad Snover | Place: Expert All-MTN 4th
• Sokratis Kopanou | Place: Expert All-MTN 10th
• David Rummel | Place: Expert 21st XC
• Forrest Huisman | Place: Expert All-MTN 16th
• Andy Scott | Place: Expert 35th XC
• Paul Zarubin | Place: Expert All-MTN 6th
• Michael Jacobs | Place: Expert 12th XC
• Katerina Nash | Place: Pro ALL-MTN 2nd
• Amber Finch | Place: Expert All-MTN 2nd
• Katie Linnett | Place: Expert 21st XC
• Matt Chappell | Place: Single Speed XC 3rd
• Tad Henderson | Place: Sport 64th XC
• Luke Frederick | Place: Sport 27th
• Peter Beaupre | Place: Sport 41st
• Nick Bliss | Place: Expert 30th
• Rachel Bauer | Place: Pro All-MTN 10th
• Christina Anderson | Place: Expert All-MTN 5th
• Nick Dudman | Place: Sport 39th
• Eric Wallis | Place: Beginner 10th
• Glenn Rawlinson | Place: Single Speed 7th
• Allie Donovan | Place: Expert 1st

Team rider Matt Chappell is the author of this week's Cyclepaths/Wild Cherries Racing column. Cyclepaths/Wild Cherries Racing (www.cwcracing.org) is a Truckee-based cycling team focused on racing and local bike advocacy.

I sent my wheels into Reynolds for inspection/service/etc. and they came back about as close to new as I can imagine. Amazing. No charge for the inspection or return shipping, and they threw in some brake pads to boot. Turnaround was fast. Customer for life could not be happier.

Even my wife and mom had to marvel . . . the true test was my daughters who know lightweight sexy carbon bling when they see it . . .

Posted via email from Andy Scott PqP