Really out of date on keeping the Blog up to date. We lost our Camera for quite a while there so our weekends were without photo's.
This was the close for Sol Vista and it was very fun times seeing many of the people we raced with over the Summer. We took it easy just doing runs down things we had done plenty of times before. I had picked up a DMC moto trainer so I was getting some base times to be able to compare to next year. Sadly I was lazy with updating the blog so I have already forgotten them.
Anyway, a great way to wrap the Downhill Season.
Random travels, thoughts & pictures with Sean, Amber, Moab, Bishop & Whistler, Driggs
Showing posts with label Sol Vista. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sol Vista. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Saturday, September 27, 2008
August 28-31- Sol Vista MSC G3
So this is the final race for the Mountain States Cup for 2008 and it was over a long weekend at Sol Vista. The format was G3 again where we would do three different races on each day and overall standings were determined by cumulative time over the three stages. You also got to podium on each individual stage of the event.
Amber and I both took Thursday off from work to get another practice day in. We both had a fun day of it, but unfortunately Amber blew out the rear shock on her bike and it was out of action for the weekend. Sol Vista has a great range of demo/rental bikes from a bunch of manufacturers, sadly though they only had one bike in Amber's size which was a Trek Session 10. Amber never really got to like that bike as it is more a Free-Ride oriented bike that also downhill's than a pure DH bike and it rode very differently than her 2004 V-10.
Day 1 was down Cheez-It to Ashy Larry ending down the main track over the little road gap and into the moto whoop section at the bottom of the mountain. I don't think I rode my race very well at all having a lot of problems with the steep rocky section at the top of Cheez-It but I still managed 5th place which I was happy with (and somewhat surprised at). Amber crashed pretty badly in her race run going over the bars and badly bruising various parts of her body in the process. She was on a good run and still managed 3rd place for the stage.
Womens Beginner (top 5)
Mens Sport 40+ (top 5)
Day 2 was Silk Johnson. The pro categories were all "required" to run chainless, however the other categories got to decide amongst themselves whether to run chainless or not. Sadly that meant that Amber's category was mostly not chainless as not of all of the girls wanted to run without a chain. The peer pressure built in the later groups and pretty soon all categories ran chainless which was an absolute blast. I was pretty happy with my run, I messed up in a few of the dusty corners in the middle section but had a pretty good run and got 3rd for the stage.
Beginner Women (top 5)
Sport Men 40+ (top 5)
Stage 3 was Buck Nasty. The final stage was down a new trail section call Buck Nasty that had a pretty nasty new steep rock section that the trail builders built by dragging in rocks from nearby. The rest of the trail was not as technical and was a lot of fun to ride. Amber rode the rock garden well but was still having a hard time on the Trek. I rode poorly and opted for the ride around on the rock garden. I rode the rest well but was pretty certain I was on a terrible time so I didn't push it in for the road gap or the whoops section. I guess I was actually on a good time coming out of the final trees and had I pushed it at the end as well could have easily made the podium. As it ended I placed 6th and Amber placed 4th for the stage.
Beginner Women (top 5)
Sport Men 40+ (top 6)
Another great race weekend that was also the wrap up for the season. These were our overall standings for the weekend.
Beginner Women (top 5)
Sport Men 40+ (top 5)
Amber also placed 4th place overall for the season which was great since she didn't race Angel Fire or SnoMass and did race any of the Mountain Cross.
We finished the season really motivated for next year!
Amber and I both took Thursday off from work to get another practice day in. We both had a fun day of it, but unfortunately Amber blew out the rear shock on her bike and it was out of action for the weekend. Sol Vista has a great range of demo/rental bikes from a bunch of manufacturers, sadly though they only had one bike in Amber's size which was a Trek Session 10. Amber never really got to like that bike as it is more a Free-Ride oriented bike that also downhill's than a pure DH bike and it rode very differently than her 2004 V-10.
Day 1 was down Cheez-It to Ashy Larry ending down the main track over the little road gap and into the moto whoop section at the bottom of the mountain. I don't think I rode my race very well at all having a lot of problems with the steep rocky section at the top of Cheez-It but I still managed 5th place which I was happy with (and somewhat surprised at). Amber crashed pretty badly in her race run going over the bars and badly bruising various parts of her body in the process. She was on a good run and still managed 3rd place for the stage.
Womens Beginner (top 5)
| 1 | Katy Monger | 4:26.49 | |||
| 2 | Jamie Edgecomb | 4:31.05 | |||
| 3 | Amber Price | 4:42.91 | |||
| 4 | Jill Behlen | 4:43.93 | |||
| 5 | Kristin Buell | 5:04.27 |
Mens Sport 40+ (top 5)
| 1 | Jack Serra Jr | 4:01.48 | |||
| 2 | Michael Monsauret | 4:09.73 | |||
| 3 | Steve King | 4:11.44 | |||
| 4 | Michael Lees | 4:15.47 | |||
| 5 | Sean Smith | 4:21.46 |
Beginner Women (top 5)
| 1 | Jill Behlen | 5:19.39 | |||
| 2 | Sarah Rawley | 5:24.36 | |||
| 3 | Katy Monger | 5:25.52 | |||
| 4 | Amber Price | 5:30.71 | |||
| 5 | Kristin Buell | 5:37.02 |
Sport Men 40+ (top 5)
| 1 | Jack Serra Jr | 4:57.81 | |||
| 2 | Michael Monsauret | 5:07.83 | |||
| 3 | Sean Smith | 5:08.00 | |||
| 4 | Michael Lees | 5:08.22 | |||
| 5 | Steve King | 5:15.34 |
Stage 3 was Buck Nasty. The final stage was down a new trail section call Buck Nasty that had a pretty nasty new steep rock section that the trail builders built by dragging in rocks from nearby. The rest of the trail was not as technical and was a lot of fun to ride. Amber rode the rock garden well but was still having a hard time on the Trek. I rode poorly and opted for the ride around on the rock garden. I rode the rest well but was pretty certain I was on a terrible time so I didn't push it in for the road gap or the whoops section. I guess I was actually on a good time coming out of the final trees and had I pushed it at the end as well could have easily made the podium. As it ended I placed 6th and Amber placed 4th for the stage.
Beginner Women (top 5)
| 1 | Katy Monger | 3:34.97 | |||
| 2 | Jamie Edgecomb | 3:43.15 | |||
| 3 | Danielle Shewmake | 3:49.89 | |||
| 4 | Amber Price | 3:54.54 | |||
| 5 | Kristin Buell | 3:56.55 |
Sport Men 40+ (top 6)
| 1 | Michael Monsauret | 3:00.26 | |||
| 2 | Jack Serra Jr | 3:08.14 | |||
| 3 | Michael Lees | 3:15.97 | |||
| 4 | Steve King | 3:16.84 | |||
| 5 | Mike Haley | 3:23.12 | |||
| 6 | Sean Smith | 3:24.30 |
Another great race weekend that was also the wrap up for the season. These were our overall standings for the weekend.
Beginner Women (top 5)
| 1 | Katy Monger | 13:26.98 | |||
| 2 | Jamie Edgecomb | 14:01.95 | |||
| 3 | Amber Price | 14:08.16 | |||
| 4 | Kristin Buell | 14:37.84 | |||
| 5 | Danielle Shewmake | 14:44.15 |
Sport Men 40+ (top 5)
| 1 | Jack Serra Jr | 12:07.43 | |||
| 2 | Michael Monsauret | 12:17.82 | |||
| 3 | Michael Lees | 12:39.66 | |||
| 4 | Steve King | 12:43.62 | |||
| 5 | Sean Smith | 12:53.76 |
Amber also placed 4th place overall for the season which was great since she didn't race Angel Fire or SnoMass and did race any of the Mountain Cross.
We finished the season really motivated for next year!
August 23rd, 24th - Sol Vista
We opted to head to Sol Vista again this weekend as there was the final race of the season coming on the next weekend and riding had just been a lot of fun the previous weekend. We rode full days on both days and much good times was had!
We ended up riding quite a bit with Santiago Garcia who is a great guy to ride with. He is that perfect riding partner - funny, motivated but relaxed. We did a bunch of runs and on Sunday started to do some timed runs with Santiago. Timing your runs in practice changes the whole ride! It stays fun, but now there is an extra element in every run down. I was so impressed with the approach that I ordered a DMC moto-timer that you can leave on the bars of your bike and will use it as a matter of course now.
On Sunday afternoon a rumor starting around the mountain that for the race we would be doing Silky Johnson chainless as one of the stages. We started doing chainless runs timed to get a feel for where the tough spots for flow would be. Wow, riding down hill trails chainless is a totally new experience for me. Since I couldn't pedal I was really forced to concentrate on the flow of the trail and I was riding so much better than when I was pedalling! It opened my eyes to a big area of opportunity in my riding and I think that for every race track I need to do some chainless (no pedalling) runs very early in the practise sessions to get a feel for the flow trail.
All in all a great weekend! (no photos sadly).
We ended up riding quite a bit with Santiago Garcia who is a great guy to ride with. He is that perfect riding partner - funny, motivated but relaxed. We did a bunch of runs and on Sunday started to do some timed runs with Santiago. Timing your runs in practice changes the whole ride! It stays fun, but now there is an extra element in every run down. I was so impressed with the approach that I ordered a DMC moto-timer that you can leave on the bars of your bike and will use it as a matter of course now.
On Sunday afternoon a rumor starting around the mountain that for the race we would be doing Silky Johnson chainless as one of the stages. We started doing chainless runs timed to get a feel for where the tough spots for flow would be. Wow, riding down hill trails chainless is a totally new experience for me. Since I couldn't pedal I was really forced to concentrate on the flow of the trail and I was riding so much better than when I was pedalling! It opened my eyes to a big area of opportunity in my riding and I think that for every race track I need to do some chainless (no pedalling) runs very early in the practise sessions to get a feel for the flow trail.
All in all a great weekend! (no photos sadly).
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
August 17th Sol Vista
We had planned on riding Saturday and Sunday at Sol Vista but we had some crazy weather come through and everything was unrideable on Saturday. The mountains actually got quite a bit of snow and Sol Vista closed their trails on Saturday.
I decided before the weekend that I would demo a new Intense M6 so I was looking forward to being able to ride on Sunday.
Wow! conditions at Sol Vista for Sunday were, quite simply, perfect! the dirt was tachy and the trails amazing. There were also two new trails Tron and Ashy Larry that were new sections that you reached by going down Cheeze-It. The new trails were rated as Blue trails but both had all sorts of optional black and double black features and trying to ride them at race speeds is just crazy good fun.
It also turned out to be a very poor financial decision on my part to demo the M6 as the difference in how it rides to my current frame is similar to the difference in a $30K sports car and a $150K sports car. Both are fun and decent at what they do, but the high end version just leaves the low end version for dead in terms of fun to use and performance! Between how the M6 rode, the perfect condition of the trails and the new fun trails that were added it was one of those dream days of riding. Amber and I pretty much did non-stop runs all day with just a break for a beer and lunch. We did a few runs with a great guy by the name of Santiago who I chatted to a little at Snomass. Riding behind someone who is better than you is great fun and really helps you push yourself in skills and effort.
All in all an awesome day of riding and the race at the end of the month promises to be even more fun than what Snomass was. The trail builders at Sol Vista really have it going on up there. If you are in the area during the summer find a way to make some time to do some DH riding there.
I decided before the weekend that I would demo a new Intense M6 so I was looking forward to being able to ride on Sunday.
Wow! conditions at Sol Vista for Sunday were, quite simply, perfect! the dirt was tachy and the trails amazing. There were also two new trails Tron and Ashy Larry that were new sections that you reached by going down Cheeze-It. The new trails were rated as Blue trails but both had all sorts of optional black and double black features and trying to ride them at race speeds is just crazy good fun.
It also turned out to be a very poor financial decision on my part to demo the M6 as the difference in how it rides to my current frame is similar to the difference in a $30K sports car and a $150K sports car. Both are fun and decent at what they do, but the high end version just leaves the low end version for dead in terms of fun to use and performance! Between how the M6 rode, the perfect condition of the trails and the new fun trails that were added it was one of those dream days of riding. Amber and I pretty much did non-stop runs all day with just a break for a beer and lunch. We did a few runs with a great guy by the name of Santiago who I chatted to a little at Snomass. Riding behind someone who is better than you is great fun and really helps you push yourself in skills and effort.
All in all an awesome day of riding and the race at the end of the month promises to be even more fun than what Snomass was. The trail builders at Sol Vista really have it going on up there. If you are in the area during the summer find a way to make some time to do some DH riding there.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
August 1st-3rd - MSC Race - Sol Survivor
Amber and I had both been looking forward to this race since we returned from our vacation. We had both spent a lot of time on our big bikes and I felt that I had made some good technical gains as well as being in pretty good shape.
Amber got an extra day on Thursday as they opened the mountain for practice an extra day an she was able to get a good day of runs and also get us a tent site in winter park. This weekend was going to be a hectic weekend with the racing being just down the road from Crankworx Winter Park. We also had the luxury of being able to stay at Mike and Kristi's condo in winter park after it turned out they had room after all.
Friday was practice day for both of us and it felt like we made awesome progress with both of us confidently hitting the last obstacle which was the steep rocky drop/roll in the first part of the trail. We also started to finalize our lines for the other technical sections and so it was a contented night of rest that start with dinner at a great mexican place in Winter Park.
Saturday was more of the same with steady improvement for both of us on our lines and a couple of good top to bottom runs to put it all together. Saturday afternoon/night was spent enjoying Crankworx. (I'll do a separate post with some pictures of the slope style event)
Sunday was race day! Both Amber and I did a last minute practice on the morning of the race and for both of us it went well.
I was happy with my result, I ended up in the middle of the pack in Sport Men 40+. I messed up my lines in the first part of the course but got it together for the last part. Unfortunately I caught the rider who started ahead of me and that slowed me a little as I didn't pass him (which was also a great learning experience).
Amber had a good run as well. The last race we did was Crested Butte and Amber placed 3rd at that but was nearly 30 seconds back from 1st and 2nd place. In her race run she also caught the girl ahead of her and didn't manage to pass. She also crashed into a tree near the end and came to a full stop. Both of us learned that we need to be loud and forceful if you catch the person ahead of you and more than likely they will be totally cool and move out of the way once they hear you.
This race Amber posted a better time than the girls at Crested Butte and she placed 2nd with the winner being a girl that dropped down from having raced Sport previously because there were just no other girls in that category and she was being forced to race against Expert category girls. Amber was just under 8 seconds back from Kira who won - An awesome change from her last race!
Downhill
Pro Women
1. Lisa Myklak
2. Jacqueline Harmony
3. Sarah Elworthy
4. Rachel Bauer
5. Stephanie Hatalsky
6. Sage Wilderman
Expert Women
1. Christen Boyer
2. Jennifer Wolf
3. Soraya Khalje
Beginner/Jr. Women
1. Kyra Alexander
2. Amber Price
3. Katy Monger
4. Anne St. Clair
5. Jamie Edgecomb
6. Lana Lawson
7. Kristin Buell
8. Dani Brownell-Patty
9. Brittany Engleking
10. Jenelle Spedden
Amber got an extra day on Thursday as they opened the mountain for practice an extra day an she was able to get a good day of runs and also get us a tent site in winter park. This weekend was going to be a hectic weekend with the racing being just down the road from Crankworx Winter Park. We also had the luxury of being able to stay at Mike and Kristi's condo in winter park after it turned out they had room after all.
Friday was practice day for both of us and it felt like we made awesome progress with both of us confidently hitting the last obstacle which was the steep rocky drop/roll in the first part of the trail. We also started to finalize our lines for the other technical sections and so it was a contented night of rest that start with dinner at a great mexican place in Winter Park.
Saturday was more of the same with steady improvement for both of us on our lines and a couple of good top to bottom runs to put it all together. Saturday afternoon/night was spent enjoying Crankworx. (I'll do a separate post with some pictures of the slope style event)
Sunday was race day! Both Amber and I did a last minute practice on the morning of the race and for both of us it went well.
I was happy with my result, I ended up in the middle of the pack in Sport Men 40+. I messed up my lines in the first part of the course but got it together for the last part. Unfortunately I caught the rider who started ahead of me and that slowed me a little as I didn't pass him (which was also a great learning experience).
Amber had a good run as well. The last race we did was Crested Butte and Amber placed 3rd at that but was nearly 30 seconds back from 1st and 2nd place. In her race run she also caught the girl ahead of her and didn't manage to pass. She also crashed into a tree near the end and came to a full stop. Both of us learned that we need to be loud and forceful if you catch the person ahead of you and more than likely they will be totally cool and move out of the way once they hear you.
This race Amber posted a better time than the girls at Crested Butte and she placed 2nd with the winner being a girl that dropped down from having raced Sport previously because there were just no other girls in that category and she was being forced to race against Expert category girls. Amber was just under 8 seconds back from Kira who won - An awesome change from her last race!
Downhill
Pro Women
1. Lisa Myklak
2. Jacqueline Harmony
3. Sarah Elworthy
4. Rachel Bauer
5. Stephanie Hatalsky
6. Sage Wilderman
Expert Women
1. Christen Boyer
2. Jennifer Wolf
3. Soraya Khalje
Beginner/Jr. Women
1. Kyra Alexander
2. Amber Price
3. Katy Monger
4. Anne St. Clair
5. Jamie Edgecomb
6. Lana Lawson
7. Kristin Buell
8. Dani Brownell-Patty
9. Brittany Engleking
10. Jenelle Spedden
July 27th - Sol Vista Bike Park
On Sunday I headed over to Sol Vista Bike Park while Amber stayed around Winter Park and did some trails there. Amber would have joined me at Sol Vista but her big bike was still broken and waiting for a new bottom bracket to go with new cranks. She was going to be able to ride Sol Vista later in the week while I was at work.
We had a race at Sol Vista next weekend and an extra day of practice was going to be valuable. I had a great day riding and spent a lot of time on the trail that would be a our race track. It was not quite ready as it was a combination of two existing trails and the connector was not officially open.
After a days riding I was a little concerned as there was one steep rocky drop that was still very intimidating and a lot of work left to do to find lines in the many technical corners that the trail had on it. But things were promising and I was looking forward to next weekend!
We had a race at Sol Vista next weekend and an extra day of practice was going to be valuable. I had a great day riding and spent a lot of time on the trail that would be a our race track. It was not quite ready as it was a combination of two existing trails and the connector was not officially open.
After a days riding I was a little concerned as there was one steep rocky drop that was still very intimidating and a lot of work left to do to find lines in the many technical corners that the trail had on it. But things were promising and I was looking forward to next weekend!
Monday, June 23, 2008
June 14th - Sol Vista, CO
Our original plan for this weekend was to head back to Angel Fire and ride downhill but the prospect of the long drive and nasty gas prices changed our plans and we decided to go check out Sol Vista Bike Park instead. We had a friend from my work that had a condo in Winter Park that was going to be there as well Saturday so we packed up the dogs and all 4 bikes and drove to Granby. Sol Vista is new to the mountain biking scene with the mountain developing 4 trails last summer and the lifts were free to ride. The reports were that for a small mountain they had done great job putting the trails down.
Sol Vista will also be hosting two MSC race weekends this year so getting some time on the trails for those was a big motivator.
Wow, for just 3 downhill trails this mountain is addictive! We got in 8 runs before close and that was with a later start than we wanted. The trails is shorter than Keystone but are exactly the length that most race tracks are. They have rocky sections, fast sections, jumps and berms. Simply great riding, I can't wait for the races and I can't wait to see the new trails they add this year.
Amber on the roll option on one of the trails.
There were a number of high speed open sections that linked the trees and the more technical riding. The combination of technical sections and speed sections was perfect!
One thing that did surprise me was how dry the trails were. The rest of the mountains are still covered in snow but the trails here were dry and sandy. Some rain will help settle things down.
Saturday night we had dinner with Mike and Kristi in Winter Park at a great Mexican restaurant and then hung out at their condo drinking a few beers. All in all a great day! It also was Amber's birthday!
Sol Vista will also be hosting two MSC race weekends this year so getting some time on the trails for those was a big motivator.
Wow, for just 3 downhill trails this mountain is addictive! We got in 8 runs before close and that was with a later start than we wanted. The trails is shorter than Keystone but are exactly the length that most race tracks are. They have rocky sections, fast sections, jumps and berms. Simply great riding, I can't wait for the races and I can't wait to see the new trails they add this year.
Amber on the roll option on one of the trails.
There were a number of high speed open sections that linked the trees and the more technical riding. The combination of technical sections and speed sections was perfect!
One thing that did surprise me was how dry the trails were. The rest of the mountains are still covered in snow but the trails here were dry and sandy. Some rain will help settle things down.
Saturday night we had dinner with Mike and Kristi in Winter Park at a great Mexican restaurant and then hung out at their condo drinking a few beers. All in all a great day! It also was Amber's birthday!
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