CCCX Mountain-Bike XC Race #4, Fort Ord, 5/21/2023

By Dennis Pedersen

After twice finishing 7th out of 8 riders, you'd  think I'd learn my lesson. But once again I drove to Fort Ord to race on the awesome CCCX XC courses Keith Defiebre sets up there for us. This race was originally to be on April 16th, though even that was a change from the very first schedule. But here we were, over a month later, for the actual race. As before, I raced in the 55+ age group, Category 2. 

Our races start at 11:30, and I got there just in time to sign up, get ready, warm up a little, and line up. I really didn't do anything differently this time, so I didn't expect the results to be much different. The weather was gray and chilly, and perhaps that affected the turnout as there were only five riders in my category. 

We started in a wave with all Category 2 racers, just separated by age group slightly at the start. We raced up the only paved section, and onto the dirt single track trail just like the previous races. And, just like the previous races, I started out okay, but quickly had to back off to avoid redlining. 

As a result, on the first lap several of the other racers in my category passed me. And on lap 2, I think, several more of them passed me on the one long-ish climb of the course. It wasn't all that long, just long enough to tire me out enough. Pretty soon I was riding by myself. Occasionally I'd pass somebody else, then they'd pass me later, usually on the hilly sections. 

Still, I felt reasonably good when I crossed the finish line at the end of the 4th and last lap. I had a feeling I was last, but had to rush off to my dad's 94th birthday party and didn't get to verify the results until a few days later when they were posted online. Yes, I was last, 5th out of five. Still that's better than 7th I suppose, haha. 

Like usual, I did a little post-race analysis after the results were posted, and unfortunately it showed that my average speed of 12.9 miles/hour was a bit slower than in race #3, though still faster than at race #1 in February. This race was about half an hour shorter than the previous races, and just 19.31 miles with 1,824 ft climbing. So I was a little surprised at being slower since I'm usually faster in shorter races. Maybe it was the cool, windy weather. 

The most important thing was that I did have fun, and I really do enjoy these courses. It's fun to be a part of it and I'll try my best to be at the next race, scheduled for Sunday, June 25th... which happens to be my mom's 88th birthday. 

 

CCCX Mountain-Bike XC Race #3, Fort Ord, 4/2/2023

By Dennis Pedersen

After lots of storms caused postponed race dates, I finally got to race again, at the the CCCX XC Race #3. I made a few changes for Race #3, to hopefully improve on my 7th out of 8 racers result from Race #1. 

I guess my suffering in Race #1 didn’t deter me from trying again. I skipped Race #2, because it was drizzling in Santa Cruz that day and I don’t enjoy riding in the rain anymore. Though I heard later that the weather ended up being nice for race #2… oh well. 

Though I am always cautiously optimistic about the benefits of using better cycling equipment, I never expect the improvements to be noticeable. But enough people and research convinced me to give tubeless tires a try, for a bit less rotational weight and the option of using lower tire pressures for better traction and comfort. While I was at it, I also bought a pair of the S-Works version of my Specialized Fast Track tires that I used at Race #1; they have a higher thread count for a more supple carcass. All of the above should yield better traction while still lowering the rolling resistance… too good to be true? 

Plus, I popped some energy gummies at the start line and filled my water bottles with home-made sports drink, to help avoid muscular fatigue at the end of the race. I really suffered from that in Race #1, and my lap times then documented my decline in power very accurately. 

One thing I did not do was to train specifically for these races. I just alternate between gym powerlifting workouts and 1-hour bike rides, usually doing one or the other every day of the week with at most one rest day. Oh, and sometimes a weekend mountain-bike ride with friends. For me it is now about staying as healthy and generally fit as a 62-year-old man can, while also having fun. 

So, on race day I had  a nice breakfast with Margaret, loaded up the car, and set off for Fort Ord. The roads were all cleared of the floods and storm debris, thankfully. 

The race start was 11:30 AM for my 55 to 64 age Category 2 race. The turnout was lower than at Race #1, maybe because it was colder and windier. Yeah, this April feels almost like winter. I wore a long-sleeved base layer with knee warmers under my kit, unlike Race #1 where I only added the knee warmers because it was so pleasant. This time the course had shorter laps, so we were racing for five laps instead of four. 

After our race start I made a conscious decision not to go too hard, plus my legs felt a bit weak anyway. So I wasn’t at the front of our group when we hit the awesome trails of Fort Ord. My hope was to set more consistent lap times, which would hopefully yield a better final result. The race was much like the last one, with the usual selection that occurs in the first lap. Soon I was riding mostly by myself, occasionally passing, or being passed by, other riders. 

I had ridden the new S-Works tires a few times on rides, and my feeling was that they were noticeably better. And that feeling continued in this race. I had less slipping in the turns and loose sections, a smoother ride, and the rolling resistance did feel lower. The trails were perfect, with no mud and just a few sections of damp, loose sand. 

Photo: Rick Rasmussen

But even with the better tires and sports drink I still had to slow down and stretch my back as the race progressed. I thought maybe I didn’t lose as much power towards the end of the race, and after I finished the race, and had time to analyze my rough lap times from Strava, the data confirmed that, as my lap times slowed by only 1.5 minutes in Race #3, vs. Race #1 where I slowed by 2.5 minutes (though the shorter laps in Race #3 account for some of that difference). And the other data looked better for Race #3 too: 

	Race #1	Race #3
Lap 1:	28:04	22:03
Lap 2:	29:45	22:42
Lap 3:	30:26	23:23
Lap 4:	28:03 (short last lap)	23:38
Lap 5:	—	18:30 (short last lap)
Total time:	1:56:18	1:52:27
Total miles:	23.44 miles	24.97 miles
Total elevation gain:	2,306 ft	2,293 ft
Average speed:	12.1 mi/h	13.3 mi/h

I was especially excited to see that my average speed was higher this time. That was promising, and perhaps spoke to my fitness for these races improving? And sports drink? And maybe it also verified what everybody kept telling me about the advantages of tubeless tires? 

So, I felt better about this race, and yet my result was exactly the same as for Race #1: 7th out of 8. Haha! But only four of us had done both races, and when I compared myself to the three other riders I was actually closer to all of them than before, and beat one of them. 

So I seem to have improved, but most importantly, I had a lot of fun and will be at Race #4, on April 16th. 

CCCX Mountain-Bike XC Race #1, Fort Ord, 2/12/2023

 By Dennis Pedersen

Most of you probably think of me as a track cyclist. That has certainly been true for the last 10 or more years. So how did I end up astride my new Ibis DV9 hardtail on a beautiful day in Fort Ord, ready to start my first mountain-bike race in 16 years? Well, it's a long story that I won't get into (though you can read the story here), but I was stoked and ready to race on the dirt trails!

My friend and former boss Chris and I had talked each other into racing. Neither one of us had much belief that we'd do well, but racing is exciting and motivates us to stay healthy and fit. Chris and I had ridden at Fort Ord a couple of times recently, and the trails were still so familiar to me after all those years. And the recent rains had left the trails in beautiful shape, without the usual loose dust.

I drove down just in time to sign up, get ready, and reconnoiter a little bit. I was surprised at how many old friends I saw there, including fellow former Team Bicycle Trip team member Jose Luis Hernandez, now a competitor in the Category 2 55+ group I was in. As we lined up for the start of our cross-country race, on the only paved section we'd be on, I got to meet several other competitors and friends. 

Chris's 45+ group was lined up just ahead of us, when we started to roll forward. Suddenly, I realized this was the actual start of our race too. Oops! I wasn't the only one caught out, and several other people lagged behind as others raced forward onto the trails. Knowing how important a good start is, I quickly sped past several other riders and hit the dirt. 

Keith Defiebre, the CCCX race promoter, had advertised these races as being 4 to 5 miles per lap, with my group racing for four laps. Well, having done no endurance training in many years, I didn't expect to last long. I was right. About halfway into the first lap I could already tell I could not keep up with my competitors, even though I drafted as much as possible. Marcelo, the only competitor I was able to stay with for a while, slowly pulled away from me in spite of my best efforts. Being fast for 250 meters is very different from being fast for 250 minutes. 

Soon, as is common in cross-country racing, I found myself riding by myself, or passing or being passed by the same handful of people at various parts of the course. Man, my legs were definitely not happy. While I was breathing heavily, it was really the burning in my legs that was holding me back. 

But the course is a blast to ride, and really suits me well. Or would have suited me well if I had trained for it like I had in the past. Lots of small rolling hills, hard packed sand, fun downhills, and very few technical sections, all contributed to a great ride for me. Even though I was enjoying the course, my painful legs and burning lungs forced me to slow down and even stop pedaling to stretch occasionally. At some low moments I even thought I should just drop out of the race. But then I remembered how much I fun I was having and kept going. Right? 

On my third lap I noticed a couple of my competitors pass me. I didn't like that, but there wasn't much I could do except watch them ride slowly into the distance. I think they were some of the riders who got confused at the start. On my last lap, I was amazed at how fast the category 1 racers passed me. The only people I passed were a few of the slower juniors and women. 

I was able to get an idea of my lap times from Strava, and they showed how I went from 28-minute laps to 30-minute laps during the course of the race. In some ways I was surprised it wasn't worse. My competitors set fairly consistent laps in contrast. 

Thankfully, the final finish line soon appeared, and boy was I grateful! My lungs were literally hurting from gasping for breath for just shy of 2 hours. Strangely, my legs recovered pretty quickly. I guess because their potential is so low now, I wasn't able to push them hard enough to cause much damage, even though it felt like I had while racing. 

By the way, I had expected about 16 miles of racing, but we ended up doing almost 24 miles, with over 2300 ft of climbing, and I finished 7th out of 8 riders, at 1:57.14, almost 10 minutes behind the winner. 

So, I really did have fun, and it was so exciting and great to see old friends again. I'm planning on racing the next CCCX race, on February 26th. Hopefully my legs will have adapted better to this punishment by then! 

CCCX Final XC, #9, Fort Ord, 8/23/2014

By Mark Giblin

I had a great weekend in my small world of racing, I won my final series race at the CCCX- XC (cat 3) age group Saturday. I also won the series which was 9 races total, starting in February. The breakdown was 3 first place finishes, 4 - second places, 1 third place and 1 sixth place, ( I know, I was tired, over trained, did not have a good day on the 6th place finish).

To say the least I was a little stressed going into the last race series because it was double points and you have to finish, I only needed 5th place or better but I was more worried about a breakdown or crash. That being said, I was on my last lap leading and about 1 mile from the line (on the same down hill section where my closest competitor broke his collar bone and two ribs on race number 5) and a 15 year old Junior (racing for 8th place +/-) rider past me by where there was nothing but 6" of beach sand and bump my handle bars pushing me further into a bad line. I used my Jim Langley voice (without swearing) and explained to him that I did not appreciate that and that he should wait 20 yards for the opening next time.....he apologized.

The end result is that I won by 2 seconds.

I would like to thank Mark E. for continuously putting the work outs together and the motivation/encouragement throughout the year. I would also like to thank Scott, Jim, George & Matt for keeping me honest on the workouts and pushing me hard.

 
Thanks for a great season,
 
Mark

CCCX #3, 45+ 3/4, 4/5/2014

By Dennis Pedersen

As many of you know it is not often that we get to race together as a teammates. But this last Saturday, at Fort Ord, there were four of us from Spokesman Bicycles racing together... and I do mean together. This race was the first time in my recent memory that we had enough teammates to have tactical options, agreed upon a plan for the race, executed that plan, and not only succeeded but almost swept the podium. It was awesome!

We had Dan Perry and Matt Wocasek as climbers and for breakaways, and "Captain" John Pollard and I for blocking plus for the finish if it came down to a sprint.

On the very first lap Matt attacked hard up Eucalyptus Road's stair-step climbs, from the very front of the pack just as I had hoped he would. I was right behind him so I was able to let a gap open up that others would have to close, after having to pass me first, before they could even try to catch him. One rider from San Jose Bicycle Club went with him and soon they were trading pulls off the front. Over the next two laps they slowly increased their lead and I was really optimistic that they would be able to take the win.

A few times there were guys who tried to bridge up to our duo but none of them succeeded. John and I were very careful to keep an eye out for such attempts and would quickly grab on to their rear wheel as they leapt ahead. This had the effect of discouraging them from continuing on up to the break. After all that would have merely pulled us along and either given us a numeric advantage in the break or brought everybody else along too.

As we raced along I made sure that we didn't chase down Matt and his partner and their lead increased quite nicely. The trick is to ride hard enough that it tempts other riders to merely follow us, but not hard enough to reduce the gap to our teammate ahead. I was optimistic at Matt's chances to finish strong.

Just after two laps to go, on Parker Flats Road's gradual climb, Dan flew by me from several bike lengths back and went roaring up the hill. It was impressive. It didn't look like anybody had the legs to follow him, and he looked over his shoulder several times to check (I had been pulling everybody along the flat section before that expressly to tire their legs out... I like to think it helped Dan get away alone).

While the general rule is never to chase down your teammates, Dan's move made sense as it turned out nobody could (or would) follow him. They may have been too tired, or hoped somebody else would follow him first and let them draft behind. So this meant we'd have two guys up ahead with just one other rider to contend with. Though Scott Calley, a nice guy on Don Chapin, decided not to wait for a sprint and started to chase on the last lap. But I was pretty sure it was too late for him to catch any of the others unless they completely blew up. So I stayed behind and kept watching the main pack.

Sure enough Dan met up with the break and worked with them for a bit but then went off the front by himself and soloed for the win! Matt took 3rd from the surviving break, Scott 4th (I was happy to see that!), while I took the last podium spot (treating it like a sprint for the win, as practice) with John directly behind me in the field sprint.

Dan had been worrying that the pack would catch him and swarm him before the finish line but I had to remind him that the times that has happened in his past races he had no teammates to block for him. Just another reason why having teammates is so awesome.

It was a blast!

Dan 1st, Matt 3rd, me 5th!

CCCX #2, 45+ 3/4, 3/16/2014

By Dennis Pedersen

I really like these road races; partly because Fort Ord is just a 45-minute drive from Santa Cruz, and partly because the race categories are so friendly to a Category 3 Master like me with several options of when to race.

I picked up Nils so he could race the Elite 2/3 race at 12:30. I warmed up by sitting in my car and reading a book during Nils' race (which he won!) while I waited for my 2:00 race start. I then donned my brand-new Spokesman Bicycles kit, Giro Air Attack helmet (with scary-looking visor!), ate a gel, filled up my water bottle and lined up at the start.

My training this year is focused exclusively on track sprinting with my longest priority race being somewhere around 50 seconds, so I have low expectations for other races I enter. But this 4.3-mile course on rolling hills has no long climbs and is just 60 minutes for my field (5 laps) so I felt it might still work OK for me.

There were only about 15 racers in my field, which is fun because you can really keep an eye on the other riders and force them to work rather than let them sit in a huge draft. The race started out rather slow, much to my delight, and was mostly slow the whole time. The pace was painful on the short, steep sections, but never for very long so I had no trouble at all.

On the second lap one guy went off the front for a while, but gave up fighting the wind. On the third lap Scott Calley (Don Chapin) went on the attack on Parker Flat Road's climb, while I grabbed his wheel for the wild ride. Everybody else stuck with us though, so we both sat up and the pace dropped down again. After working too hard in some of the previous races here I stuck to my plan and just waited. Well, except when one guy went hard up Eucalyptus and I followed. We rotated briefly ahead of the others, but they charged after us so I gave up.

A guy from Steven's Bicycles (a team from the Fresno area) attacked, I think with two laps to go, but we caught him at the top of Eucalyptus. Then his teammate went slowly off the front as we started the last lap... so I'm told; I'm embarrased to say I didn't notice. Anyway, he ended up somehow crashing into a bush at the side of Eucalyptus Road while riding by himself. Poor guy broke his collarbone I learned later.

I was still feeling comfortable, and on the last step up Eucalyptus I took the lead for the long descent down toward the finish line. More for safety than anything else. But I have learned that an early sprint is rarely a good idea on this course, due to the prevailing winds and the high speeds coming down the last hill, so I allowed the pack to catch me at the bottom. I then moved into their draft, but still near the front, maybe fifth or so, and watched for early sprints.

Bob White (Bicycle Blue Book) obliged with an early sprint on the right of the long straight, and Erik Salander (Peninsula Velo) followed him. Both are fast, but I resisted the urge to follow them. Instead I drafted a bit longer, but made sure I had an opening to the front. I then rolled after them into the last two turns, and attacked all-out as we exited the last turn. This slingshot effect allowed me to pass the two guys still ahead of me at a fast pace and amass a big enough lead that gave me the win. 1st place went to this track sprinter! Which makes me wonder about the value of some of my past training, but that's another story.