Vanessa's Brian Head NMBS Race Report

The view east towards Escalante National Monument from Thunder Mt. Trail.



















Vanessa is on her TOMAC CARBIDE that weighs in at just 22.7lbs in Utah this weekend.












The race for Super-Dizzle was postponed due to a major thunderstorm on Saturday, and that just about hosed all the girls who would have done both disciplines this weekend at the final NMBS race of the season. I just called Jim at the KENDA truck, and he was already packing up the truck at 12!! This never happens, so that tells me that there are only about eight human beings at this race. If Jim is packing it in at noon, that means all the team trucks, timing trailer, Team Big Bear, etc. have all rolled out hours ago, and the timing is being handled by Roger and his SIGMA PC-15 HRM watch. It sounds pretty sad there, and with Super-D being moved to the same day as the XC, my $ is on the notion that nobody did it, in an effort to save their legs for the XC race that goes off any minute (it's noon there at the time of this post).










A close up shot of Super-V courtesy of the greatest sports photographer of all time, Michael Darter. She is here passing the feed zone with Roger in the background in Los Olivos, California this year.















Vanessa in Monterey, California at the Sea Otter Classic, showing her competitor where she will drop her during the race.











That sucks, because Vanessa's Carbide is a bad-ass Super-D weapon. She is extraordinarily fast, and Roger is about as supportive as a custom made bra from J.C. Penney's. Her bike will do well in the opening six miles of climbing up to the 11,000' split from the peak fire road to Sydney Peaks trail. From there she will be on a sweet and rocky singletrack that will break right down a narrow and rugged section of the Marathon Trail. The 90mm of suspension in the back will be great here.
She has to then roll through the woods until she crosses a broken bridge in an alpine stream, appearing just below the first feed zone located on a back-woods fire road that runs them up another climb. They pass the feed zone and come to the summit of the plateau again. Here you could bust down Bunker Creek Trail to the right, but the race takes you left back up Sydney Peaks trail and through some of the best mountain biking in the U.S. Once back to the junction of Martahon and Sydney Peaks, you drop down the very jagged and dangerous precipice of Marathon Trail into the woods behind the ski resort. An often muddy trail section usually leads to someone breaking something, followed by a loggy section that leads into a large Boy Scout camp. You think your done? Not hardly.















Vanessa trying not to freeze to death at Sea Otter. She just got fleeced for ten thousand dollars to do a Super-D race or something, and is NOT happy.














From here, you roll up a very steep, VERY long firebreak that seems to climb back to the 11,500' summit. In full oxygen debt and feeling like the end HAS to come soon....you realize you still have a great deal of racing left. A few more miles of rolling fire road brings you back into town, and into earshot of the finish area. too bad they take your weary ass back into the woods for some more suffering! Finally landing back at the finish line, you beg for death. In 2006, JHK ran this course in just under an hour and a half. I couldn't do that course on a dirt-bike in any less than three hours. It is by far my favorite race course, and I believe that Backbone Alum James Cross won there not too long ago!

















A close up at a Rim Nordic XC race near Big Bear, California.







Vanessa and Roger will have a loooooooong drive back home, and surely will be hitting every greasy burger and ice cream stand on the seven hour drive back to Los Angeles. It's a Sunday, so make that the twelve hour drive back to L.A. (Vegas traffic coming back to L.A. is epic on Sundays!)













The apres-podium medal count was high this day last year at Rim Nordic.



















The warm up before another National.



















Racing up to the 8,000' summit on Grandview Rd on the back side of Snow Summit.


















Vanessa's mug shot from last season, courtesy of Michael Darter Photography.
















Ahhh the close ups after a race....














I am going to post a butt load of pix from the past few years that we, as a team and as friends, have taken while near Brian Head for the National and just plain-ol' camping out and riding...Enjoy! KARL, if you read this..I can't find any from the week we spent there, so send some foo!