Heisman Finalist

Rock God's Race Report:
I lined up with the 35/45 A's which went off in two waves. They call up the top 20 riders in each age group and started the 45'ers a minute back, so that meant I was near DFL from the start. The tight course made starting position crucial as things bottle necked up quickly in the tight sections. The legs proved to be a bit flat and while I made it past quite a few guys I did not have the snap in the legs of past fort night; walking through the city all afternoon Saturday (post bike ride to the Marin headlands) to improve the DTI did not help. When I settled in with my racing group I found them gapping me out of the corners and I reeled them in on the technical stuff. I think the roadies were out in force to contest the great course and District Championship race. Overall the course was awesome with the banner weather and large enthusiastic crowds made it the place to be for a two wheeled fanatic. The place to spectate was definitely 'the gulley', the entrance got chewed up quickly and worked over quite a few competitors, including Women's Elite winner and ' post race shower lady' Katarina Nash ( I'll never forget that picture :-) ). Overall it was a great outing and I'm happy with the results, I feel a top 10 would have been possible on a good day. I ended up 14th of 34 class entries and passed many in the 35+ class as well. It was encouraging not to get lapped by multi-national champ Don Myrah who flew off the front of the 35+ field and subsequently proceeded to finish top 10 in the elite mens field. I'm going to skip the USGP in Portland this week and do some local riding and possibly racing instead; it's pissing rain and overcast up here in Portland, enjoy another perfect conditions FT3.

Capn's Race Report Report:

Rock, that's a solid finish as foray into the A category, you should indeed be proud.

After a long wet ride on Friday on the road from Auburn to Pville, I was extremely fatigued on Saturday and very concerned about the 5:30am departure necessary to tow the line with the 35+ B's, so I made the call to race Open B's to take some pressure off.

The line up in the Mens B category was intense as well, with twenty riders being called up and a scramble to the line, C-Man, Larz and I found ourselves about four rows back, although my positioning was more center-field than their outer edge positioning. I was able to make some progress in the initial start sprint, but traffic slowed things down. I made several passes through the first three laps then settled into an area where things were spead out a bit. That was a nice indicator that I was probably somewhere between the lead group and the chase group... the story of my life. I had a minor scuffle with another rider on a tight pass that I called (left side!), but he didn't let me go and proceeded to inform me that "this is a B race." Hmmm, B Race huh? I think he later jammed his chainring into my leg on a run up, could have been an accident, but I can't be sure. I agree with Rock, the roadies were out in force, talking their smack and handling their bikes poorly in technical sections, but powering through others. I think I ended up in the twenties, which is fine by me, I decided not to kill myself on this one as the Sac Series is my focus (electrolyte smoothies for my focus?). I noticed that I was passing several of the riders that were called up to the line, which was a good sign. I believe my SAC CX rival Joe Miller got a top five finish in the Open B category, so maybe if I pushed harder I could have had a better finish, but after all, as I was informed, it was a B race.

The overall trip was good, beautiful day in SF and I enjoyed the carpool with C-Man Larz and Stan. We had much discussion utilizing big words and touched on hot topics both political and disgusting. I think Larz, C-Man and Stan may be starting the FT3 book club soon, but not before advocating for a improved and progressive local community.

LOtB Race Report:

What else can I report, I went out there and hugged a tree. The race was hard. It was made even harder by a long long thanksgiving week of family and mayhem. Knowing that there was no way I was going to win the SF Men's B race, I thought I would make a stab at the Heisman. That tree thought it was set up to take me down, but I showed that old growth who was boss. Do you see the menace on that face! I know I am getting a ticket to NY for the final vote! No TD's, no real running yards to speak of, but I do have a handful of middle of the pack finishes in some B's races. Hopefully they don't hear about that girl that races with me.

Ride Call Out:

This might be a thin turn out this week. Another blue collar ride for FT3. Sometimes it is the simple rotation of the wheels and pedal that reminds us that all is right in the world. For those of you who can, lets get out there and reminder ourselves about all that is right. Pedal on my friends.

Until we ride,
LOtB (One)

When asked FT3 delivers!

In the midst of the holiday mayhem, I wanted to get a quick note out. There is both good news and bad news from the holiday. Both of which are that FT3 has grown a conscious. Our ability to reach out and get folks to participate and contribute to a good cause resulted in the Turkey Trot earning $1370.00. Knowing that we can be such a force may mean we really do start doing more than riding bikes! Spot on mates, thanks for making this such a success!

More info and pics to come...next stop Golden Gate Park...

Until we ride,
LOtB

Best Trail Conditions Ever!

With Sunday's constant drizzle, it seems that that trails were able to soak up a fair bit of water without leaving any residual lying around on the surface in puddle form. Therefore, the FT3 clan was honored last night to find firm and fast trails that held around tight corners and allowed for top end speed. Even I was able to rail on some the the descents, which can only mean that the conditions must have been prime. Hands down some of the best conditions we have ever encountered...someone stated that people pay a lot of money and travel long distances to get trail conditions like this...wish I could quote the exact person but I was too focused on not crashing to pay attention to who was talking.

NoCar, B, Bambi, NoHandle, Rock God, official team mascot Booker, and I made up the crew last night. I had done some work in the back of the pickup for my own pooch, but Booker got the best deal, having a cozy bed to chill on while we rode. After noticing it was much warmer in Pollock than P'ville, we adjusted clothing and headed out. The ride started with a quick jaunt on a some of the Qualifier and the Lake Loop, nothing much just enough to warm up. Then we headed out to Road Kill and started to notice trails in perfect condition. As we started to drop into Back Door, Manny aka Rock God, grabbed the lead. He then proceeded to fly past the trail split...I may never win a race but at least I know the trails. Sorry, got to get the ribs in when I can, because there is no way I am beating that guy on the bike. Once we got back on trail, we headed down for the crux move. Bambi tried to steal my line, but hey, I have been racing cross lately and threw and elbow into him like a veteran racer and held my line. Don't mess with Lars! From Back Door we headed up the Horse Trail. At the second dam we took down the first new trail of the night. This trail appears to be legit and offered a new look at Flemming. Thus called the "Flemming DL" this trail parallels much of the first fire road and then kicks up to a mighty classic Pollock climb, you do have to watch out navigating the fallen trees. At the top of the climb we reconnected with the #8 Loop and headed around a standard Flemming Loop. Needless to say the pace was high and the trails were fast...we made the most of the night by keeping true to FT3 rule #1 and not stopping for any chit chat. After we finished a pure loop of Flemming, we dropped Palin's Plunge and Blair Witch, these are the two new rouge trails put up by the guy who accosted us at the Knot Hole last week. These two trails have huge potential but are kind of sketchy right now. Much to everyone's surprise we ended up back at the Horse Trail climbing out of Back Door, thus rounding out an awesome new loop!

Taco Report:
Poor form on the Tacos as both NoHandle and I received tostadas rather than tacos. However, the Knot Hole was in rare form with a lively game of Liars dice creating much excitement at the bar. B did not let us down producing some pickled Jalapenos from his back pack as a nice hors d' oeuvres. With the adherence to Rule #1 strictly enforced during the ride, we were out of the knot hole and heading down the hill pretty early.

FT3 Official Team Car or Big Ass Diesel Truck:
Our man on the inside has been scouting some items up for sale at the next Forest Service auction. The photos listed are the best bet we have in a pure Taco Powered team car. We got pretty excited at the thought of a mobile base camp equipped to provide the optimal race experience wherever we ended up. With the diesel, we could really be taco powered running on the discarded cooking oil from the Knot Hole. With the ample room we could make any race a major event just by showing up. B is going to look into the auction details and get back to us.

Golden Gate CX:
Rock God, Cap'n, Councilman (mandated trip to prevent labor camp sentence), and I are all heading down to San Fran to show some FT3 muscle on Sunday.

Fun Run:
I will see some of you tomorrow morning for the first annual Turkey Trot.

Notes from the Financial Office:
Just one quick question for you...did you settle your tab from VDFT3?

Happy Thanksgiving! Eat heartily you earned it!

Until we ride,
LOtB