Northern California - Prairie City MTB race info for a 50+ beginner 1st timer

Hi all, Dan'o here. Trying to get some info on the Prairie City MTB races. I'm 53 years of age and an old MX'er. Used to be a member of the Dirt Diggers North and helped to put on Hangtown, so am familiar with PC.

Due to injuries and other health problems I put on a bunch of weight and was not able to ride bicycles for several decades. My back is so bad the Doc finally made me give up riding ANY motorcycles back when I hit 50. Finally figured out what was wrong and was able to get into road bicycles in May (it opens up the rear of my low back and actually helps my spine pain) and am now able to do about 3 hours for road rides.

I have an old GT RTS-2 mountain bike from 1992 that I just kind of restored, and have talked to several folks about doing some MTB stuff for cross training (I have a BAD back, so as I said I can't ride any motorcycles anymore, and I'm not too sure about MTB, but want to give it a try).

I was looking at the PC MTB race sites and some YouTube videos and it looks pretty flat and something I should be able to do in the 50+ beginner class. For MTB, do you folks recommend for or against MTB shoes and clipless pedals? I ride with road shoes and clipless, so am used to that.

Since the race is pretty short, do you not carry tools, spare tubes, etc as by the time you got stuff fixed the race would be over and you can walk back to your veh just about as quick (in other words, do I carry stuff or just not worry about it)?

Water bottles or Camelback?

I guess the organizer issues number plates? What should I bring to attach, Zip Ties?

Any other suggestions of stuff to bring or things I need to do or know about? This will be for my first MTB race ever and I hope to be able to get into the weekly races for next season, but not sure what to bring or do for my first race, so any help would be greatly appreciated. I still need to lose another 25 lbs, so hoping this will help and inspire me.

Thanks all,
Dan'o :**

Hey Dan'o. You must be doing the Fall Flash Series?

I've done about 12 races over a couple of years at Prairie City.

* I ride mtb almost exclusively, cross country. I ride with clipless pedals and shoes. I can't ride without them now actually.

* It is pretty flat out there, but there's a few pretty decent climbs, and the course will change weekly. There's two areas where the races take place - the front, which is mostly smooth dirt, some sand and the bulk of the hills, and the back which is littered with baby head round rocks and some ups and downs but nothing much. Usually if the course goes to the back side, you'll still hit the front side since the back is a bit small, and you'll be climbing up there. The back is no cake walk though - navigating the baby heads can be a PITA.

* I do carry stuff out there. I stuff a tube, cO2 and a gel in my jersey pockets. I guess you could just walk back - if you flat you're done anyway due to the length of that race.

* I use a water bottle. Even in sport, you're only doing 3 laps, which usually works out to 9-12 miles generally. I drink a lot of water before the race, keep water with me during the race to keep me going, and finish the race with a beer in the parking lot :) You could use a camelbak if you wanted, quite a few people do, just fill it 1/4 maybe and don't carry any tools to keep the weight down.

* They'll issue you a number plate on the first day. They have twisty ties there on race day, but yeah you can always bring/use your own. I wouldn't zip tie because I don't like leaving the number plate on my bike when I'm doing fun rides on the weekends.

Tips not related to things you asked about:

I always try to get there about an hour early. Good idea on the first day, especially if you're not pre-registered. Get there, set up, pre-ride the course for sure. They're usually pretty good about starting on time.

I'm going to sound like the FAQ for PC, but "Have Fun!"

Good luck!

I'm looking at getting some MTB shoes and pedals as I can use the same set-up at the gym on the "Spin" cycles for when it's cold and wet and nasty, and I like them anyways, so will look into them.

I usually carry two big water bottles on my road bike, but not sure if they'll bounce around too much for a MTB ride, so I'll probably just do the Camelback, which also would protect my back a little if I bailed.

I'll bring spare tubes and stuff and play it by ear. I don't really have any MTB stuff, so will have to bring my road gear and get stuff later if I'm able to compete regularly.

Funny, I bought a house 10 minutes away from PC when I raced MX, and all I had was dirt stuff. Now I'm 50 miles away and only have road stuff and have to travel all the way back to do what I used to do, sort of. I just hope my back can handle it as I'd like to do both, some road races and MTB stuff for cross training (I can road ride from my house, so no 50 mile trip just to get to the track!). Doc said I can ride motorcycles as long as I don't hit any bumps (yea, right!), and the road bike position actually opens up my back so it doesn't hurt, so if I hit a bump while sitting more upright on the MTB I may be done for the day. Just gotta play it by ear (or back? LOL).:roflmao2:
Dan'o :**

Take your seat off and the seat post out, and ride standing up the whole time. You'll be fine! :p

Take your seat off and the seat post out, and ride standing up the whole time. You'll be fine! :p
I do that when I want to grind off my hemorrhoids!:eek::roflmao2: