I have to start by saying, I felt the vibes. If you want to know what I am talking about, make your way to Oregon. I only ventured up to Ashland, but I'm sure if you travel further up the state, the vibes are still there. It's this hippy, laid back, and positive energy that you can see and feel in the locals. They have a good reason to be happy, look at the land!
But onto the really good stuff--the riding, trails and race! This Super D course is a classic for the Ashland area. You start at the base of the Mt. Ashland Ski Resort and it's 12.5 miles of downhill; 4,500ft descending and ~700ft of climbing mixed in. The climbing was quick and rolly, except the .4mi and 250ft uphill section. That, I could of done without having to do :)
I went up to the race with two super cool friends I made in the Reno area, Jess and Erik.
I went up to the race with two super cool friends I made in the Reno area, Jess and Erik.
One awesome aspect of riding and racing is the friends you make, the places you travel to and the experiences you have.
We met up in Mount Shasta friday night and made our way up to Ashland allowing us ample time to scope out the course for two runs down on Saturday. We hopped on Ashland Mountain Adventures shuttle, which was nicely priced at $15. The 35-40 min trek up the mountain flew by as we admired the extensive sticker collection that was on the ceiling of the van. The first run down we decided to check it out and re-group throughout the course. Thankfully the course was marked because there were some rad looking single track trail that went off in different directions that I may have "accidentally" wondered down otherwise. Word on the street was that there are some super fun trails that the race course can't go on due to being partially on private property. Simply put, I will be back to ride them. The trails are FAST. The dirt was perfect, nice and tacky. There are some rocks, but compared to Tahoe, not really. The most common place to flat was in the first 2.5 miles on the fire road/single track area. I ran thick tires because flatting was not an option this race. However, some smaller tires would be beneficial for this course if you were looking to just rocket down. The trails have little jumps everywhere in them. At some points on the trails I felt like every couple of seconds I was leaving the ground and then flowing through nice corners and floating again.
After our first practice run down we went into downtown and grabbed some treats, people watched a little, and then decided we wanted to shuttle the last part of the race course (Alice and BTI). This 2 mile section is fast and slightly downhill for a bit and then you hit BTI with it's little jumps right into fun tight turns.
We hopped back on another shuttle at 3 and went back up the mountain for another practice run. This time down the game plan was race-like, all the way through and no stopping. I loved my run down. I felt dialed in.
RACE DAY
Click here for strava link to course run on race day.
The race start order was beginner, sport, expert, pro. I started 6/7 girls for the expert woman category. We were spaced 1 minute apart following sport men and followed by expert men 40+. I immediately made my goal to pass the girls in my category ahead of me and not let an expert man pass me. I completed this goal and this meant winning.
As I caught girls on the girls on the course I felt the racing rush you get. My heart was pumping after the climbs and the legs were burning on the downhills, but the 45 minutes I took to get down the mountain felt like they flew by. I remembered the course as I got to different parts and checked them off as I kept in mind that I had caught the girls in front of me and just needed to get the bottom without any flats or falls. The finish came and even though there were two girls behind me, I had the feeling that I had won. At least in my own little world, this race was victory for me regardless of the place.
We met up in Mount Shasta friday night and made our way up to Ashland allowing us ample time to scope out the course for two runs down on Saturday. We hopped on Ashland Mountain Adventures shuttle, which was nicely priced at $15. The 35-40 min trek up the mountain flew by as we admired the extensive sticker collection that was on the ceiling of the van. The first run down we decided to check it out and re-group throughout the course. Thankfully the course was marked because there were some rad looking single track trail that went off in different directions that I may have "accidentally" wondered down otherwise. Word on the street was that there are some super fun trails that the race course can't go on due to being partially on private property. Simply put, I will be back to ride them. The trails are FAST. The dirt was perfect, nice and tacky. There are some rocks, but compared to Tahoe, not really. The most common place to flat was in the first 2.5 miles on the fire road/single track area. I ran thick tires because flatting was not an option this race. However, some smaller tires would be beneficial for this course if you were looking to just rocket down. The trails have little jumps everywhere in them. At some points on the trails I felt like every couple of seconds I was leaving the ground and then flowing through nice corners and floating again.
After our first practice run down we went into downtown and grabbed some treats, people watched a little, and then decided we wanted to shuttle the last part of the race course (Alice and BTI). This 2 mile section is fast and slightly downhill for a bit and then you hit BTI with it's little jumps right into fun tight turns.
We hopped back on another shuttle at 3 and went back up the mountain for another practice run. This time down the game plan was race-like, all the way through and no stopping. I loved my run down. I felt dialed in.
RACE DAY
Click here for strava link to course run on race day.
The race start order was beginner, sport, expert, pro. I started 6/7 girls for the expert woman category. We were spaced 1 minute apart following sport men and followed by expert men 40+. I immediately made my goal to pass the girls in my category ahead of me and not let an expert man pass me. I completed this goal and this meant winning.
As I caught girls on the girls on the course I felt the racing rush you get. My heart was pumping after the climbs and the legs were burning on the downhills, but the 45 minutes I took to get down the mountain felt like they flew by. I remembered the course as I got to different parts and checked them off as I kept in mind that I had caught the girls in front of me and just needed to get the bottom without any flats or falls. The finish came and even though there were two girls behind me, I had the feeling that I had won. At least in my own little world, this race was victory for me regardless of the place.
I did win my category and got some cool schwag.
We hung around for a few hours and enjoyed the free beer and burritos along with a reggae/rock band. The awards and raffle hadn't started by the time 5pm rolled around so we decided to hit the road. Jess forced me up on the podium to pose with my medal all by myself since the photo op wouldn't be possible during the real awards ceremony. But that's what friends are for, right?!
We hung around for a few hours and enjoyed the free beer and burritos along with a reggae/rock band. The awards and raffle hadn't started by the time 5pm rolled around so we decided to hit the road. Jess forced me up on the podium to pose with my medal all by myself since the photo op wouldn't be possible during the real awards ceremony. But that's what friends are for, right?!
Looking into next year race plan I am definitely considering doing the Oregon Enduro Series. Awesome race guys!
-Amy
-Amy