Pretty much a carbon copy of Day One - add the public - and Ray Thomson , VP of Marketing for the Huffy Corp. The members of the Flight Crew were responsible for booth set up and then most of the crew took flight to the downhill course to get some practice in.
McCall, Marty, Dan and Neal lookin' badass!
I stayed at the booth to do my time and then headed out to explore some more. I met SMILEY.
Made a non margarita on this machine.
I felt goosebumps and returned to our tent. Our kits were finally in!!! They were held up in customs for a couple days.
Boy did I feel PAF. Pro As F***! You couldn't beat the smile off my face.
I had planned to pre-ride as much of the course as possible. Some of the course was in use for the pros race, so I wouldn't be able to ride all of it. No worries! Sand is sand right? Remember that statement for my race day blog.
I had 2 days to learn gears before my race on Sunday. Kevin, Greg, Tony,Todd, Jim and I headed out. Unfortunately Jim wrecked going uphill and Todd was kind enough to give him his rear wheel since he bent the skewer. Can you believe that?
Before we got on the course we watched the pros CX race. Very exciting. We were close to the finish line and saw some quick sprints to the end. Todd Wells is a stud!
The hills were magnificent. It took me awhile to get comfortable riding in sand - there was a ton! Plus, the tires on the Goblin were Kenda small block 8's. Even though I have a set, and have used them, I like my big knobby tires and feel more comfortable on them. I felt like I was sliding out , but realized later it wasn't the tires. It was me. I had to sit down more instead of standing all the time.
The gears were a challenge too. I had to keep reminding myself to use them. Had I really gotten lazy being a single-speeder? Riding the hills was different also - sit and spin instead of stand and mash. Damn, that means I need to be patient. That's not going to be easy to change. I see hills and want to attack them, not sit and spin. After this ride I am not sure if I am going to like this geared thing .
Jim crushin' it on a Goblin
We had dinner that night on Fisherman's Wharf.
I shared this delicious plate of Sushi with Ray while we talked about bikes and our kids.
California knows Sushi. It was mind blowing.
The two larger photos were taken by Jerry Hazard ,Flight Crew member and pro photog. Thanks Jerry
Those are SHARP looking kits. Love them!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like such an amazing time. I'm loving getting to read all about it.
"Damn, I need to be patient" Good luck with that! :)