jtcastillo

For anyone who is interested I am will be posting pictures of the SC Velo Triple Crown Series, Incycle XC Challenge at Bonelli Park (10/17/2010).

There are a few pictures of the racers. I will post more throughout this week (I took a lot!).

SC Velo Triple Crown Series, Incycle XC Challenge - www.bicyclefriends.blogspot.com

Mr. Beanz

D'oh! J?...I didn't put one and one together!...We rode a couple years back on GMR when the Leaky Ftn Boyz did their ride. GMR's friend!

jtcastillo

That's right! I think it was last year, and since I've seen you around. I'm one of those guys who yell, "MR BEANZ!" as I riding by.

Mr. Beanz

Sorry, I never knew you had a blog. If I had, it wouldn't have taken so long to click!...and I go the video of you and when you and your friends did Brea/SART.

david edward

Cool, would love to see any more pictures if you get a chance to post them—especially rider 436 (me).

jtcastillo

I plan to post more tonight and the next couple days.

OUC

I was planning on competing since I always like that course. I only made it to to the Cal State Championships at Bonnelli weeks before. Was the Incycle Challenge course different from it?

jtcastillo

I don't know about this race versus the Cal State Champ. What is the MT Sac race like? BTW, I am posting more pictures today, tomorrow and Friday.

OUC

Mount Sac is fun. It's a fast course. There's a couple of tricky drops near cactus but that's it. There's a good mix of fire road, single track, paved road, and a cow patty section. I would do it but family obligations have me tied up.

jtcastillo

All the pictures have been loaded at BicycleFriends.com

PART ONE:

PART TWO:

PART THREE:

PART THREE.ONE:

PART FOUR:

PART FOUR.ONE:

PART FIVE:

jtcastillo

Thanks here is the bike will will be racing Mt Sac Fat Tire with. Do you think I need suspension for this race? I'm just a beginner. Trek 930 Single Track

OUC

Not sure how to go about answering this since your a beginner...I want to be careful in answering cause this can go so many different ways. What I mean is, it took me years to learn just how to descend some sections and that includes bike set up. Mountain bike racing is nothing like riding the road. The best advice that I can give you is to pre-ride the course on that bike. I can't remember if they have a pre-ride course but they do, do it.

From memory:

1- You would want to check out the descent that runs down along side the parking lot.

2- There is a single track, tight section that is somewhat rough at the beginning. There is parking to the right of it. It's tight enough that your left pedal could strike the left side dirt edge. And tight enough that if you loose your balance, you can fall about 4-5 feet down the right side. There is no room to pass at all and barely enough for your tires.

3- There is a descent section, dusty and loose near cactus, about 3/4 into the course and near the back that you need to see. That section gets destroyed during the many heats racing through there. You will wish you had suspension there. This section has a great possibility of endos. Have almost done it myself, have it happen in front of me and behind me. And every year, multiple people go over the bars or hit the cactus. My brother dumped the bike there one time and the bike went into the cactus. He had needles all over his rear tire.

4- Towards the end, just before the climb I describe in #2, there is a very short climb. If I had to guess how steep, I would say its about a 45* climb. Most will push the bike up the hill but I have seen one or two guys actually ride up it in the granny gear.

Just glancing at your bike, I'm not sure you will have enough bite on that rubber. And I would always recommend front and rear suspension unless your an expert or pro. Like I said before, best thing you can do is pre-ride the course. You will see how you need to approach these sections on that bike. It is doable but needs a pre-ride.

best of luck!