Hood River Super D: Oregon Super D #1

The Oregon Super D series started off this weekend with the third annual Hood River Super D, in Post Canyon. This course was rumored to be one of the most technically challenging super D courses in the Northwest. The course dropped over 3000 vertical feet in 7 miles, with 400 feet of climbing.

Jim and I arrived in Hood River around 1pm on Saturday afternoon and headed straight to the bike shop to get our race packets and ask around to see what the conditions were like. Upon pulling in to the bike shop it was impossible not to notice all of the bikes on tops of cars and trucks were covered in mud and clay! They looked like they just got done riding the moto trails in Capitol Forest after only a couple days of dry weather in May. I was particularly worried because I'm running Schwalbe Racing Ralphs front and rear on my new super D bike, and although they're the best tire I have ever ran for moist and dry conditions, they are not good in thick clay type mud. Jim was stoked on his Fat Albert tire choice. So, after talking to some people in the bike shop it sounded like the trails might dry out by race day, so my nerves were eased a little.

At the top of the course you realize that there is a lot of vertical in Post Canyon, and the upper trails look really similar to a lot of our moto trails. The course drops in to some really fast and rocky moto style trails before popping out onto a road for about 50 yards and dropping into something you are more likely to see in an expert level downhill race track. Super steep chutes with deep ruts, tight trees, and wet roots and rocks everywhere. Much worse and about 3 times longer than the upper rocky section at Dog River. That section ended with a log drop onto road that shot you into the most fun part of the course. It was like a mile or more of slalom style trails with perfectly flowing corners with the best traction you will ever find. At this point in the trail you feel like you are in really good shape and hardly working at all. Then you hit the first climb and you realize super d races are hard. I was basically anaerobic for the next mile or so of trail. It's kind of a rolling climb with small sections of descending between the small climbs. When the climb ended you drop back into a flowy section that ends in another expert level technical chute with rock and root drops everywhere, and ends with a ladder bridge drop back onto the fun flowy stuff. Three quarters of the way down the course you pop out onto a double track, stairstep road climb that takes all the rest of your energy reserves. The course ends with about 2 miles of some of the best single track you will ever ride. Super flowy and fast with perfect radius turns, one right after another.

The course dried out throughout the day on Saturday, and by Sunday morning it was in perfect racing condition. I was the first GL6er out off the top and I had a very clean run with only a couple small mistakes. After reaching the bottom and getting my instant time and result (they have a very cool timing system) I realized I should have been less conservative because I was behind third place by 2 seconds. Trey, David, Matthieu, Glenn and Jim were all scheduled to take their runs about an hour after mine. Trey had a good clean run with no crashes, David was conservative on the descents and motored up the climbs like a bat out of hell, keeping Matthieu off his back tire. Matthieu had a bad spill on the first gnarly rock chute, but had a clean run after that. Glenn crashed hard in the rocky chute as well and bashed up his ankle pretty bad, but still finished strong. Jim took a heavy digger right off the top in the fast rocky section and smashed his shoulder bad enough to just head back up to the truck and call it good. Rachel said she was just happy to make it down in one piece and have a good time doing it.

Overall this was one of the best Super D courses I have ever ridden. The race promoters really have their stuff together and it shows with the good timing, and the good course layout. The next race is in Oakridge and it is 16 miles long! I can't wait!

-Matt

Matt- 4th Cat 1 19-39

Trey- 5th Cat 1 40+
Glenn- 10th Cat 1 40+

David- 17th Cat 2 19-39
Matthieu- 22nd Cat 2 19-39
Jim- DNF

Rachel 4th Cat 2 35+

Indie Series #1: Whidbey Island Mudder

The 2010 Indie Series kicked off with what was rumored to be the last installment of the Whidbey Island Mudder. GL6 got the party started right; we pre-rode the course on Saturday, then set up camp and chilled with some BBQ and beer as we prepped our metal steeds for the race the next day. Not many other racers openly challenged the ominous weather report to camp in the open field Saturday night; we were one of three groups to camp on-site. We retired to our tent/camper/car under a clear sky and the soft white eye of a waxing moon, but were awoken from sleep several hours later by the predicted volley of rain. The morning air was chill and damp as Theresa and rest of the beginner class prepared for their 10 am race start, but the adverse weather had improved the course drastically. The speed-sucking sandy pits of previous years were tamed by the overnight rain, and the course was still in great shape by the time the sport racers hit it at 2 pm.

The course dished up the same fare as previous years, but if it ain't broke, don't fix it. This was a relentlessly fast, intense course that required nearly as much mental focus as physical stamina. The course wound through stands of young alder trees that grabbed at rider's handlebars, up over aptly named "anthills" and down some ripping doubletrack filled with whoopties to keep it interesting. There were ample places to pass, but racers were never by themselves; I constantly fought to pass the person ahead of me while another racer was simultaneously breathing down my neck. This competition demanded constant focus and coaxed every last bit of energy from each racer. What a great race!!

Mike made his season debut in the Clydesdale class, where he took an impressive 6th out 12 competitors. Theresa returned in full effect after her ankle injury, taking 5th in Beginner Women 19+ after a hard battle. Erica and Kyle raced their first race in the Expert class, and Erin raced her first Indie Series race in the sport category. Bernie looked the most badass after his finish, with blood oozing from several scratches on his arms and legs, and a bloodstain blossoming on the right side of his jersey; despite a couple crashes, he still rocked into 5th place in the incredibly competitive expert class. Kyle kept up with the big boys in expert (on his rigid singlespeed no less!) and John returned to the racing scene in the sport category. GL6 2010!!!

Results

Expert Men 36-44

Bernie Miller, 6th

Expert Women 19-34

Erica Keller, 3rd

Expert U-18

Kyle Curtin, 1st

Sport Women 19-34

Erin Roe, 5th

Sport Men

John Curtin 25th

Clydesdale Men

Mike Scholl, 6th

Beginner Women 19+

Theresa Nation 5th

Dog River Super D (Fluidride Enduro Round 1)

If we were going to drive three hours down to Hood River, David figured that we might as well get in as much riding as possible. He planned a sweet weekend of sampling some of Hood River's signature riding areas - Post Canyon on Friday, race Dog River on Saturday and Sunday, Syncline on Monday - and he rented a four "bedroom" house in White Salmon for GL6 post-ride shenanigans. The staging area for this race was a sea of GL6 jerseys; Todd, Lee, Kerry, Courtney, Rachel, Dave, Trey, Matt, Matthieu, Kyle and myself made the trek. John didn't race but took some sweet photos.

FRIDAY

Unfortunately, my work schedule didn't comply with David's plan and Friday afternoon found me not perched on the saddle of my Norco Fluid, but teaching Macbeth to tenth graders. As I slogged through act 3 scene 4, Lee, Kerry, Rachel, Dave and Courtney were out ripping it up at Post Canyon. Having packed the night before, I left for Hood River straight from work, arriving just in time to meet the girls for the post-ride beer and dinner at Big Horse Brewing Co. I spent most of my day envisioning the trails I could be shredding while encased in my classroom with no windows, but after I heard the ride report from Post Canyon my jealousy faded slightly. Apparently, the shuttle ride turned out to be a debacle full of wrong turns, hike-a-bike climbs, map checks, and repeats of that telltale phrase of every doomed ride: "don't worry, I think it's around the next bend." And of course, said the ladies, what else was to blame but the mixture of male (over)confidence and a poorly drawn map? Just kidding guys =) The drive to our rental house was almost as adventurous; after three U-turns and twice pulling off the road to check the directions, we finally made it to our home for the next few days, where we discovered the fourth bedroom was actually a converted shed with twin beds set a little ways apart from the main house. Courtney and I stayed in this fourth "bedroom," which thankfully had heat.

SATURDAY

Saturday was the first round of the Dog River Enduro Super D. After a delicious breakfast of french toast and strawberries a la Lee, we loaded the vans with bikes and dogs, and headed out the Dog River trailhead. It had rained overnight, but thankfully the skies cleared somewhat as we approached the trailhead. We arrived in time for most of us squeeze in two practice runs before the race began. The course was fantastic! With the exception of a tricky rock garden in the first mile and some sharp, challenging switchbacks, the trail was smooth and FAST. It was 5.5 miles of daring yourself not to touch the brakes. The shuttle dropped riders off about a mile away from that starting gate, giving the the course a built-in warm up. Out of the gate, riders followed a section of gravel road which ended in singletrack. About 500 yards down the trail was a tricky rock garden that led up to a switchback, both without much room for error. After this, riders navigated a couple other switchbacks, then the course ripped along the hillside through the pines. Three more switchbacks greeted riders near the end of the course. By the time the race began, the course was fairly blown out from all the practice runs, the brake bumps, ruts and blown turns adding some difficulty. The day ended with Lee and Matthieu nearly tied for third place (among several others), and Courtney, Kyle, and Matt also in contention for a podium spot. Our post-race celebrations started at Full Sail Brewing in Hood River, but ended at a much cooler locale, The Thirsty Woman, located in a small community just east of Hood River. It looked as if someone had knocked down a few walls and converted their living room into a small bar populated with locals and an eccentric selection of beer. Not able to find an open supermarket, we stocked up on breakfast food at a 7-11 and headed home. Surprisingly, a 7-11 can provide for all your breakfast burrito makings. Who knew?

SUNDAY

Courtney cooked our 7-11 Reser's brand treasure into delicious breakfast burritos to fuel us up for the second round of the Dog River Super D. The weather was sunnier this morning, but it was hard for us to get our race mojo going. We spent the morning drinking coffee and munching egg and bacon stuffed burritos instead of getting in another round of practice runs. Thankfully our morning lethargy didn't show up in the results for the day; nearly everyone shaved 20 seconds or more off their time. Unfortunately, the battle between Lee and Matthieu for third place ended in a flat tire for Lee and crash for Matthieu, knocking them both down in the overall rankings. GL6 was still a still presence on the podium; Matt took 2nd in Cat I Mens 30-39, Kyle took 1st place in Cat II Mens 16-18, Kerry took 2nd in Cat II Open Women, and Courtney took 2nd in Cat III Open Women. After the race, we stopped at Double Mountain Brewery, where we ordered six pizzas and somehow ate all of them. This place left Full Sail in the dust; it was the best food and beer we had the whole trip! Once again, work called me away from the trails, so I headed home with a growler of Double Mountain IRA and a belly full of pizza. Dave, Rachel, Todd, Trey and Courtney stayed one more day to ride Syncline before making the trek back up north.

Results

Cat I Men 30-39

Matt Jagger, 2nd

Cat II Men 16-18

Kyle Curtin, 1st

Cat II Men 30-39

Matthieu Denuelle, 5th

Lee Peterson, 6th

Cat II Men 40-49

Trey Clay, 4th

Todd Davidson, 5th

Cat II Men 50+

David Snyder, 1st

Cat II Open Women

Kerry Tarullo, 2nd

Rachel Delateur, 5th

Erin Roe, 6th

Cat III Open Women

Courtney Anderson, 2nd