Getting Dirty At Firestone
by Rob Blue on April 30th, 2007
The project I have been working on since November is finally winding down which gave me a chance to catch the second day of activities at this year’s Firestone Santa Ynez Mountain Bike Classic. This race is right up there with the Sea Otter in my “top rated” category. The event’s organizer, Mike Hecker, is a great guy who’s passion for the sport of mountain biking is really apparent in how cool the vibe of this event is. The race takes place in the beautiful Santa Ynez Valley on the Firestone Vineyard and the adjoining Ted Chamberlin Ranch.
The amazing beauty of this land is breathtaking when you are at the top of the climbs. Although the XC course is not super technical there is plenty of up and down and winding single track to keep you on your toes. This is especially true for this one downhill section towards the end of the lap that hugs the side of the hill. It’s pretty narrow and fast with a nice steep drop off to your right if you lose it and go off course. I recommend keeping your eyes far down the trail and not crashing 
Although I am in no condition to do any competing myself so far this season, I came out to watch some excellent racing and help out the Evomo guys who were a co-sponosr of this year’s event and support my fellow racer and riding partner Brandon Bittorf. Brandon is a great guy to ride with and just hang out with. His business, Physical Adventures, is doing great and giving him enough free time to do some quality training. He is looking really good this year.
I drove out to the race with my buddy Zach and my partner in crime on many road trips and local rides, Mikel Aucutt. After a quick and very early morning stop at Starbucks, we drove up the foggy coast and didn’t see a sunshine until the 101 turned inland 20 minutes before our destination. It’s crazy how a few minutes in from the coast the weather will change from 50 some degrees and foggy to 80 to 90 degrees and sunny. After parking the Bat Mobile (aka Kit) we found Bryan holding down the Evomo fort and looking a little dusty. It has been very dry out here in California this “rainy season” and even in the lush looking Santa Ynez Valley the underlying drought is obvious with constant dust clouds being kicked up by every tire and footstep. I am sure that wasn’t fun for the racers trying to gulp in every bit of the hot dry air they can to feed their engines and taking in a good portion of good old mother earth in the same process. You felt pretty gritty evrywhere within minutes. Not that any of that dampened the fun that everyone was having.
I was happy to see the Kenda truck at this year’s event.
I was under the impression that they were going to be at another venue this weekend but at the last minute their plans changed and not only were we all treated to a convenient source of our favorite Kenda tires, everyone also had access to a huge fleet of demo bikes and the beautiful Kenda Girls! These girls are great. They are out there all day working and the smile never leaves their faces. Lucky us. At one point I was tracking them down to get them to come by the Evomo booth for a photo when the race announcer included me in a little entertaining banter. I went from bodyguard to boyfriend to Fabio all in a about a minute before wisking the lovely ladies away for some stickering and photos. I am always game for a good show and played right along with it all. Because Kenda is one of the Evomo MTB Team’s sponsors the good folks at Kenda gave the girls to green light to also hand out some Evomo stickers to the people at the event. The gesture was very much appreciated by Bryan and me and we can’t say enough about how good Jim and the whole Kenda crew are us as sponsors and friends.
Well, how about the racing you ask? It was a good day for racng from beginning to end. The morning started off with our good friend and partner Bruce Stanton trying out his first XC race. Bruce looked like he was having a lot of fun out there and finished with a very respectable 14th place. He was all smile coming back to the booth.
Next up was Brandon’s expert race. To those of you who live outside of California, the expert category is probably the most competitive category raced here. For better or worse, these are the biggest fields and often feature a whole complement of former upper category racers that have downgraded for whatever reasons. This leads to some tough racing. Brandon moved up to expert last season and fits right in.
Off they went and wound their way around the Firestone vineyard. The first challenge was getting around and down this short but fairly steep hill. It was really loose and if you took the inside line you were in for a heap of trouble. Brandon made it through with no problems whatsoever.
We saw a few crashes on that hill throughout the day. The rest of the vineyard portion of the course started with a drafting session along some dirts roads that ran alongside of the grape vines and then transitioned into a section of winding single track with just enough blind corners and drops to keep things interesting.
The riders then emerged back into the main venue area briefly before heading up the first of the climbs. Brandon was hot on the heels of a rider from our friends at the Helen’s Cycles sponsored Gary Fisher Suburu Team that is run by our buddy Dave Roth.
Following that climb, the riders headed back into the main venue area yet again passing the tech and feed zones. Brandon was looking strong.
After some more climbing it was back through the start finish area and out for the second lap. The whole race was pretty strung out by now and everyone was looking pretty dusty. Bradon came through the feed zone llokng good and grabbed a freash bottle from Mikel.
Brandon came in placing well and looking pleased but also a little disappointed with some front derailleur trouble that plagued him throughout the race. You can’t miss that fi’zi:k logo from behind.
Now where is that cold beer!
After the expert races we got a visit from our former teammate and buddy John “Pool Guy” Miller.
We also got a visit from Chance Noble who we’ve ridden with for years and has now moved up to full fledged Pro! Chance and his dad are two of the nicest guys you could ever meet. Here’s a funny little story, the last time I ran into chance I almost literally ran into Chance. He was heading up the Guadalasca Trail and I was heading down, quickly, and I had to ride off the trail to avoiding taking him out. Man, I ate it trying to get back on the trail but since I wasn’t going fast, I bounced right back up and continued on down the trail.
In between the expert and pro races we were treated to the departure of the rescue helicopter that was park right above the Evomo booth.
Pretty cool safety precaution.
The pro men’s and women’s races were two completely different races but both really exciting. The men’s race quickly formed into a four man breakaway with Kabush, JHK, Barry Wicks and Max Plaxton. These guys stayed off the front the entire race and shed Plaxton right before the final long straight. JHK, Kabush and Wicks hit the final corner together but Kabush who had been sitting in looking a little beat the whole race blasted past JHK in a wicked sprint for the win.
Tactics play a huge roll i pro cycling and Kabush is a master.
The women’s race went to opposite way with a dominating performance by this year’s revelation, Georgia Gould. She took off at the start and never looked back. Every time she came through the main venue area it seemed like an eternity before the next woman appeared. Reports today said her lead was up to 5 minutes but it sure did seem a lot larger when you were there waiting to see some competition. She rode in to the finish with a huge smile. I congratulated her as she rode by the Evomo booth and she seems to be very nice as well giving me a big smile and saying thank you like she really meant it. I love pro women mountain bikers, amazing athletes, beautiful and nice.
Well, with the racing over for the day Zach and I helped Bryan pack up and then headed out for a little ride of our own. Taking avantage of a still well marked course we headed out to do a nice slow lap. You really get insight into the level of skill and fitness that the top mountain bike racers possess when you get to ride the same course.
April 30th, 2007 at 9:54 pm
hey guys, sorry i bailed on you saturday and sunday. its just friday night after drinks at the firestone pub was a bit crazy… i will catch ya at fontana.
May 2nd, 2007 at 9:58 am
Sedrik, I’m bummed that I missed you at Firestone. After reading Brandon’s account of Saturday I wish I would have made it up for the fun and games.