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Losing My Virginity @ Sea Otter & Why You Should Try It

4/28/2015

Just do it, says my friend. Sign up.

I don't know, I reply, I've tried the Vail Lake course and it was kinda technical. I don't know if I want to race something I can't even ride. Who cares? was the response. This is Sea Otter, we can all get a hall pass for once, let's just go and have fun. I ponder this for a while. Five days of nothing but bikes, and camping to boot. This October will be my fortieth birthday, maybe I gotta do this. I sign up on New Years eve after I've had a few and before I can use the next day price increase as an excuse to back out. We're going.......

In the months leading up to the race, I am strangely not nervous at all, and kind of excited. I work on some fundamentals and try to make small improvements here and there. Let go of that front brake, dummy! According to Strava, I appear to be somewhat of a decent rider, especially on familiar trails. The race schedule appears. I have signed up for Enduro/DH, meanwhile all my guy friends are stressed out over their XC race. (wimps!) I secretly think to myself.

We arrive at Mecca (Sea Otter) Wed night and check in late so no time to pre-ride. The schedule says Enduro practice 7-9a, race at 9a. WTF? My first race and I get to ride it blind. Sweet. I will later admit this made it a little more fun. I manage to get in one run on the downhill stage. No face plant and nobody passed me, so this is already a victory for me. The categories are "Pro" and "Everybody Else". I check out the other women in line with me. Everyone looks bad ass and there is chatter about many previous races. WTF am I doing here? I get to talking and find that I am not the only newbie. Everyone is incredibly welcoming and encouraging. Many thanks to Jenn from the Bay area who gave me a quick lesson on how to start in the gate and get out fast. My Turn arrives. From somewhere deep down the competitive athlete that ruled my teens and twenties emerges and I am weirdly calm. Stage 1 downhill complete. No face plant and no one passed me . Uh oh, this might actually be super fun.

We ride several miles to the next stage which gives me time to focus and realize I'm really enjoying myself. I can't say enough about my fellow riders, everyone was so friendly and supportive. I ride up with Regina, who didn't tell me she was planning to be on the podium later. (good job, girl!) Stage 2 is right in my wheelhouse; long and flowy with lots of twists. I hit the end of the dirt and find myself in coned off pavement. What's this ? Do I keep going? I start to feel a little silly pedaling at top speed down this road, but not nearly as stupid as I feel after I easy off a bit and THEN SEE THE FINISH! Good god, that's the first and last time I'll make that rookie mistake. Honestly, I am having so much fun I (almost) don't care about the 30 or so seconds I just wasted. The pedal to the next stage takes forever, and I can see everyone else is just as irritated. However, the views are beautiful and having decent endurance I mange to get there feeling surprisingly good. Stage three keeps me grinning like a kid on Christmas morning. This is seriously the most fun I have ever had on my bike! Finally, (after more pedaling) the dual slalom! We all try and offer our place in line to the person behind us who looks faster. I didn't even know what this was, but I know I'm doing it next year! And in under a minute...it's over.

It's over! I have no illusions about winning anything but for my first race on a blind course I know I rocked it. The confidence and focus it took to actually do this will carry over long after Sea Otter. I am so excited that could even hang with such a strong and amazing field of riders. In my (almost 40) yrs of living I have found that many of the things you are most afraid of will turn out to be the most beneficial. My only expectation going into this event was to try not to appear like I had no business being there. I accomplished that and so much more. I spent the rest of the day with a cold IPA(s) and an adrenaline high fueled by pure joy. I hope I can persuade anyone who is on the fence about racing to just sign up and go for the sheer fun of it. You will cross the final finish a totally different rider. Don't place any expectations on yourself other than to do your personal best; the experience is enough of a prize.

Just do it......

Written by Laura Boase. Laura is a member of our new GGR San Diego Chapter.

Welcome XPEDO to GGR Rocktober!

4/27/2015

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Hansen Dam Park Advisory Board Public Meeting 03/31/2015

4/2/2015

This meeting was held to discuss the upcoming Over The Hump Mountain bike race that was scheduled to be put on in Hansen Dam. Permits were not issued, although applied for in February. The equestrian community did not want the race or any mountain bike event held at Hansen Dam. This meeting was an opportunity for both the mountain bike and equestrian community to speak. This is especially personal to me because I myself am an ex equestrian. I competed in hunter/jumpers and retired from competition in 1983. I treasure both sports.

Here are the events of the night from my perspective…

I left work early Tuesday so I could get to the meeting early to speak with others and of course, in case I got lost…Well, I went to the wrong area, but I was only 2 miles away thank goodness, so I turned around and arrived still with plenty of time.

I saw Jonathan Kay and Steve Messer already there. Jonathan sits on board of the SoCal High School League and Steve is our CORBA President. Others started arriving and it sure was great to see all these familiar faces and some new ones as well. 3 of the Specialized reps came to see what was going and sat right in the front row. It was noted and much appreciated.

None of us previously had been given an agenda or any rules, no clue how long we got to speak, so we really didn't know what to expect, yet one thing we DID know was that the meeting was to be chaired by Terry Kaiser, who is the President of the California Trails Users Coalition, a multi use advocacy group whom Steve Messer has monthly meetings with.

Once we started piling into the room, we were able to write our names on paper to turn in for a spot to speak. Everyone who wanted to speak did get to speak by the end of the night as long as they put their names in, so I was grateful for that. I wanted to hear from both sides as much as possible.

The meeting got under way, Terry starting to speak, and then a few of the ladies on the advisory board took over including one from Rec & Parks. What was interesting from the beginning of the meeting to the end, I thought that Rec & Parks and any advisory board was not supposed to take sides, but to mediate and listen to the facts. This was not the case at all. They made it very clear of their hostility towards bikers. One of the advisory members even called mountain bikes “skateboards with handle bars”.

The room was packed; I am guessing maybe around 150 people, about half equestrians and half mountain bikers. The tension and sensitivity level was high as well as the rudeness while people spoke. this was only from a small group of the equestrians. The Advisory committee did nothing to stop this. Very disappointing, this never should have been allowed in a fair meeting that is conducted properly. They were equally rude to both equestrians and mountain bikers and I felt should have been escorted out of the room.

The Advisory board started off by quoting part of the lease agreement between the Army Corps and the Hansen Dam. The general plan prohibits cycling on trails as well as other motorized vehicles. They also quoted the LA City law of no mountain bikes on trails. However, Over The Hump was applying for a special permit, not asking to ride the trails there permanently; this was for 1 specific event.

Greg Flanagan, the promoter and race director for the Over The Hump Mountain Bike Race spoke 1st. Greg explained exactly what he intended to do and why permits were not issued yet. He explained that he applied in February and had met several times with the proper people and they said things were moving forward so he had no reason to think a permit would not be issued, only that it was a paperwork formality at this point. Greg explained everything, was very sincere, asked what he needed to do, what they wanted from him and even laid out in the front of the room a plot plan where the race was going to be. No one bothered to look at the plot plan and in the end; it was a mistake on all ends. There was a definite breakdown of communication between parties.

From here the advisory board just started pulling names. One of the gentlemen who stood up and spoke was also on the LA Equine Advisory board. One of the things he said was very cut and dry: “I don’t like mountain bikers”. I will leave it at that. This has been the thinking of many but NOT ALL of the equestrians. These particular equestrians who do think this way, have this picture of us all being cowboys/cowwomen/hell raisers (yes the word hell raiser was actually used by one of them last night) and bombing the trails, being disrespectful and putting their lives in danger. I heard it ALL night.

Now……there were some equestrians that had very legit concerns and were very sincere and respectful as well. The lady who made the biggest impression on me for the night had a beautiful cowgirl hat on with lots of sequins…I must get one of those….any ways…she spoke of their area of trails getting smaller and smaller and smaller. She asked for some compromise and was just as sincere as can be and also really seemed just genuinely very scared to ride her horse with bikes. She never said why the trails they could ride were dwindling, so I would really like to know. I would assume because of more housing developments. If so, this is also a huge reason both equestrians and mountain bikers need to work together, so we keep our trails. I looked around to speak with her after but she had already left. It was disappointing not being able to speak with her.

Another equestrian suggested we all pool our money, buy property so we all can ride at our own private place together. I will also leave that statement alone as well.

The environmental issue came up throughout the night. Which really puzzles me since a light horse weighs about 1000 pounds plus a rider, and a mountain bike weights about 27-30 pounds plus a rider. Mountain bikers also don’t graze on the plants and grass while we ride our bikes. I’m sure not all riders let their horses stop and graze, but my guess is some do. And if an endangered species is actually found and identified, NO ONE gets to go NEAR that trail. No bikers, no hikers and no horses.

The counter of the night for the environmental issues the equestrians attempted to argue was given by a local Hansen dam resident who lives on a horse farm and is a mountain biker, and trail runner. He explained that at any given day, he can go out on ANY trail and pick up tons of cigarette butts and beer cans/bottles. A common problem with some of the equestrians that is not talked about much since it is so detrimental to the environment. I don’t think you will ever see a mountain biker, or trail runner with a cigarette in their mouth riding or running on the trails.

The night definitely got off topic and the multi use trail issue was discussed a lot. The equestrians were concerned that if 1 mountain bike event took place, then the bikers would come back and want to ride there all the time. What they don’t understand and you won’t unless you are a mountain biker, is the trails for cycling are just awful there, flat and sandy. However, for an event, the location is very central, so the venue would work.

I would like to thank everyone that came out on a week night to support having a race at Hansen dam AND to listen to what the equestrians had to say. It is not easy standing up and speaking in front of a very sensitive and somewhat hostile room full of people. For the most part, we were all respectful while speaking our minds. I, Steve Messer and Jenny Johnson invited everyone in the room to open dialogue with us privately as well.

I hope I remember everyone’s names that spoke from the mountain bike community. If I left you out, please feel free to email me and I will add you, because we really appreciate you speaking up. I know it was difficult, because I got up and spoke as well and I was VERY nervous and had to cut my speech WAY down, so I was disappointed I was not able to say some really key things that needed to be said.

Thank you for speaking:

Greg Flanagan

Steve Messer

Robert Sandoval

Jenny Johnson

Dorothy Wong

Victor

Luis

Kimberly Cofield

Drew Persson

David Zaitz

Jonathan Kaye

In closing, I remind all mountain bikers of the rules of the trails for horses:

Immediately SLOW DOWN

Greet the equestrian with a great big friendly smile!

Ask how or when to pass safely. Offer to get off your bike.

Pass SLOWLY and steadily, but ONLY after the equestrian gives you the go ahead.

Both GGR & CORBA educate our members on trail etiquette during rides, events and skills clinics all the time. If you don’t already ride with a bell on your bike or your pack, this is another way to let trail users know you are on the trail as well if they can’t see you. You can purchase bells on both GGR & the CORBA site.

You can find the trail etiquette for multi use trails relative to hikers, equestrian and bikers on the both the GGR & CORBA websites here:

www.girlzgoneriding.com/trail-etiquette

www.corbamtb.com/resources/RulesoftheTrail

Most Sincerely,

GGR Girl Wendy E

Losing My Virginity @ Sea Otter & Why You Should Try It

Welcome XPEDO to GGR Rocktober!

Hansen Dam Park Advisory Board Public Meeting 03/31/2015

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