Rim Nordic, Big Rob Style

Hello Chickens and Chickenettes. This is the Big Rob version of the Nordic race report. First, I would like to say how nice it was to see some fellow team mates at the signup table. We were well represented and made a fine showing of true grit racing. The cat 3 race started in the cool of the morning and stayed that way for about 2 minutes then got hot. Our group strung out immidiately and after a mile it was just me and another guy.I was the better climber (no upper body, right Dano) and he would catch me descending. It was Elings Park all over again. I crashed on the last down hill and had to chase the guy down. I needed about 2 more feet of race course as the posted time was measured in 10ths of a second betweeen 1st and 2nd. After some food and oxygen, we enjoyed watching Gabe take the cat 2 to school. Congrats Gabe, it was fun chatting while we waited for the rest of the group. We saw every one come in except for Paul and thought maybe he flattted when around the final corner he came and didnt stop till he reached the medical tent. It was all macho talk until the "it might sting a little" stuff was poured over his wounds. Its been a while since i have seen that much blood on some one who was still moving. I was glad to see him walking around later but i'm bettin he did'nt work today.Mark Rusin and Mike Roberts ( both from Ojai but Chickens at heart till next year) both had podium finishes and it was traffic free on the way home. All in all it was a great experience. I am now putting out a challenge to ALL Chicken Ranchers. The 12th of next month is the last race at Big Bear before the State Championships. This is the time to get some racing in on the course. Its a very fast and beautiful race and they really put it together nicely. Lets make a great showing and show them the CR Team is not to be messed with. Lets go and get some.

Rim Nordic Part Deux

Awesome race Gabe! Props to Big Rob who pulled off a second place, missing the top spot by inches. And congrats to Bob, Paul and myself for ... well ... for surviving (barely).

Though Gabe's win was mighty impressive, it was rivaled only by his all-out 100 yard sprint to hand me my dropped water bottle on my second lap!

It was a tough course, probably the only course all year which required the "granny gear" to make it up the climbs. It was a lot of singletrack, very narrow, sandy terrain, just technical enough to keep you on your toes and steep. There were precious few sections of fireroad where you could grab some water or pass. And with temps near 90, lots of dust and the sun blazing through the thin 7000 ft air, the conditions were tough.

By the time the Cat 1 30-34 lined up, it was way too hot out and I was already feeling the sun and altitude. The field was small but super-competitive. Looking around at the start I realized that we had all been trading spots all season.. there was no clear winner and I could just as easily get first or last depending on my luck. About 1 hour into it, I found myself battling with the top four who were all bunched together within a few seconds (a pretty rare occurrence in MTB races). The brutally steep climbs got the better of me and the smaller riders pulled away but I kept 4th place and was satisfied that I left it all on the course after finishing 3 laps in 2:12. Bob was close behind.

After the race, I was surprised to see Gabe and Paul hanging around waiting in vain for their results to get posted. There were all sorts of screwups with the results from all categories - supposedly they gave the win in one Cat 1 race to a DNF. How hard can it be to keep track of results and post them in a timely manner? Pretty hard apparently.

As always a great time with great people. It was a lot of fun despite the "bad and ugly".

And one final note: The announcer (don't recall his name) must really love Chicken Ranch since every time we walked by, he commented "How 'bout those santa barbara chicken ranch riders and their carbon weave jerseys". Apparently we have big fans all over socal.

Some photos attached.

- matt

Rim Nordic

Today's race had its "good, bad, and ugly". The "good" went my way with a win in the 35-39 Cat 2 race. Unfortunately, "bad and ugly" went to Paul...see the attached pics.

The race course was great. It had a lot of fun single track rollers, some steep power climbs, and some of the funniest semi-technical descents of any of the race venues. The 2 lap race started, and right from the gun, I found myself chasing after the 2 leaders that got away. Once I caught up to them, I sat 3rd wheel and followed for 1/2 a lap. We came up to a steep rocky technical climb and both riders in front of me took the wrong line up the climb had to dismount. They saw me coming up and cleared a path to let me get through. After that, I never saw them again. I felt great for most of the race, but w/ a 1/2 lap to go to the finish, my legs and body started to feel really fatigued. At that point, I was in survival mode and just tried to hold on to the finish. I came across the line w/ a few minutes on second place.

Paul's race was going good until he went over the bars and down a steep ravine on the final lap. When he came across the finish line, he was a bloody mess. After some time in the medical tent, some tears, and a few bandages, he was all better.

The most painful part of the day was waiting for the results. I knew I won, I just wanted to get my medal. We hung around waaaaay too long, but I finally got my medal, which happened to be made of plastic.

A few pics have been attached

Gabriel