Sea Otter

Just got back from the Circuit Race. I was pleasantly surprised, mostly due to the fairly easy tempo on most of the circuit allowing me to save some for the climb towards the cork-screw. I almost fell off the pace couple of times, but was able to claw myself in just before the descent and then carry my speed down the corkscrew and into the next two turns. It was quite a rush to hit 50mph w/o even turning a pedal. Race was 90 minutes, 14 laps and one formula: save everything for the climb, get your ass out of the seat and sprint up the hill. That pretty much repeated for the next 13 laps and there were no real attacks to speak off. One rider was off the front on his own for about 8 laps and won the race. Nob big teams around so no real impetus to chase. Works for me!

The final sprint came with about 400m to go as I was moving through the field, there was a crash off to my right and then I passed a group of rider which seemed to have ‘sat-up’ just before the line. I crossed the line 12th out of 49 starters. Time to eat, drink and be merry and see where tomorrow takes us. RR starts at 8:30 manana.

Where's AC's Ass

This is a good picture that sums up the Santa Cruz crit last Sunday, strung out from the gun. I lasted 25 laps, guess it just wasn't my day.

Sea Otter Crit Preview

Yesterday was the first of several Twilight evens at the race track, which allows local riders to hop on the track and test out their descending skills on the "corkscrew". A test of fitness comes just beforehand on the short, but steep climb to the sharp downhill left-hander. The wind was howling as usual, making the ascent as challenging as ever before.

After a 45 minute warmup, we went to check out the new crit course, which is stationed between turns 11 and 2, taking advantage of the pit row for the return loop back to the start line. Majority of the tarmac is suitable for this race; however both of the (U-) turns (11 and 2) are very narrow and come off a fast slightly downhill descent. This will be a dangerous part of the course and proper positioning will be very important. The first U-turn is followed by a narrow and relatively steep hill climbing back to the pit area (you are now riding counter to the usual flow of traffic on the course) and breaks will be formed here. Right after the hill is a 1-2% descent throught the pitts, leading to a narrowing road with a sharp 90-degree right hander immediately followed by the second of two U-turns of this course. You are now below the "corkscrew", back on the tarmac and making a left hand turn which takes you past the pitts and back towards a slightlly uphill start/finish line. The finish line is about 250m from the last turn and the winner will emerge from the top-5 entering into the last U-turn.

Happy Racing!

Ray the Celeb'

Ray takes a wild ride
Mountain biker talks about his passion for the sport.
Wednesday, Apr. 08, 2009
By Marek Warszawski / The Fresno Bee
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For a decade, Steve Ray has been one of the Fresno area's top mountain bikers, winning a slew of expert-level races against local competition.

Fresh off his victory in Saturday's Big Sandy race on the San Joaquin River Trail, The Bee's Marek Warszawski spoke with the 34-year-old Ray, an employee at Steven's Bicycles in Clovis, about his fat-tire passion.

Question: Do you remember your first mountain bike?

Answer: I was a freshman in high school. It was a Costco bike, which is better than a department store bike but not quite a bike shop-quality bike. I had it for a few months when I was going up to the mountains with my buddy and his family, and we got rear-ended by a Channel 47 news truck. ... The truck damaged our bikes and Channel 47 had to pay for new ones. After that, I got a real mountain bike, a Cannondale.

Thank goodness for Channel 47 ...

Yeah, it's a funny story.

So while the rest of the kids were playing football and baseball, you were mountain biking?

Yeah. I stopped doing organized sports in junior high when I got into bikes. First BMX, and then I think my brother and his friends got into mountain bikes first. This was about 1990, during the mountain biking boom.

What were those early rides like?

At that point, mountain biking to me was just riding 26-inch wheel bikes off road and goofing around in orchards near my parents' house on Avenue 10. We'd play follow the leader at Woodward Park, ride through trees and stuff, and if the guy in front of you put his foot down, he'd go to the back of the line.

What do you enjoy most about mountain biking?

Just the experience of being out in a forest on a trail, just flowing down it and enjoying the scenery. I know it sounds cheesy, but you really become one with nature. At the same time, there's the adrenaline rush you get from downhills and runner's high from climbing. It's a lot of stuff that's hard to put into words.

How many races have you won?

I don't know. Never kept track. I've won a lot of local races and done well in some bigger ones. Like at Sea Otter, I've been on the podium a few times but never won it. ... My problem is that I don't take it as seriously as I should.

Why is that?

What separates the really fast guys from the pretty fast guys is discipline. Your life is just about training. Everything you put in your body and every bike ride you do, for the most part, contributes to the ultimate end of winning big races. For me, it's more about riding and having fun. Winning is great -- don't get me wrong -- but I'm not willing to drop everything else.

You're known as a great bike handler who really pushes it on downhills. Is the fear of crashing always in the back of your mind?

Crashes are a bad thing to think about when you're riding. If you don't want to hit the rock that's coming up, don't look at it. Look at the line that goes around the rock. If a big rock is coming up on the trail and you look at it, chances are you'll be drawn right to it. You don't want to think of what could happen.

What's your favorite local trail?

It's hard to say because there are so many cool ones. Lewis Creek is one of my favorites, for sure. It's completely shaded, so you can ride even when it's hot, it's all lush and green and there's a nice flow to it so you can carry your speed without having to slow down. Even going up the trail from Highway 41 has such a nice flow that you don't even think you're climbing.

How did you get the nickname "Pack a Day" Ray?

I forget who gave it to me, but I got it because I smoked cigarettes and still did these big bike rides with everybody. I'd still be right there with them. It's a terrible habit.

Do you still smoke a pack a day?

Oh, no [laughter]. Like the night before Big Sandy, I might have had one cigarette. But that's only because we were out having a couple beers. I'm trying to quit. I've been trying for a while.

The reporter can be reached at marekw@fresnobee.com or (559) 441-6218.

Where Are All My Dogs At?

Isn't there anything interesting to talk about? G-20, GM-Fiat mini-cars, Multi-Million Dollar Bonuses, the Sea Otters... I for one had a shitty MSR and plan to sleep the next two weeks and await 'the form' to miraculously appear...

I see some major changes in the way society perceives equality; when regular people start loosing their jobs, their house and some WS honcho gets a multi-milion dollar retention bonus for a job he no longer has, is this RIGHT? Is this JUSTIFIABLE? The question is: is this just a temporary change in attitude until things get better and everyone and everything gets back to the way things used to be, the status-quo, or are we experiencing a major shift in attitude that will stay with us and continue to shape us? Time will tell, so stay tuned.

pEtEr