Sea Otter and another Shonny posting.
by Clint Hosman on April 24th, 2008
When I got home from Sea Otter I was lucky enough to find my internet out for an unknown reason and I haven’t been able to post anything up until tonight. The rest of the trip was great fun however on Saturday I had to pay Sarah off for dragging her out there to sit at the race for two days. The payback included a trip to the Monterey aquarium which isn’t all together bad and there we did some research on our new favorite aquatic mammal the Sea Otter. Did you know that at night Sea Otters hold hands and tie themselves up with sea weed at night so they don’t float out to sea? That’s just a little nugget we picked up there.
We didn’t make it out to the race at all Saturday so I went out on a couple hour warm up ride around town that night. When I got back I checked the starting times and saw that contrary to what I had thought we where starting butt early at 7:30 AM. I haven’t started a race that early in years and on top of that it was freezing cold outside.
In the morning we got out there in time but as I went to check with the line official the kid holding the Semi Pro start stick had a sign saying we started at 8AM. Great, now I had an hour to freeze. I knew that once I got started I would warm up but it is that usual struggle of what to keep on and what to take off.
By the actual start time I was surprised to see the field was not quite what it has been in years past. All the same the pace was hot as we took off. Racing in tight conditions with a bunch of mountain bikers on the Laguna Seca Speedway is a trip. People are moving in and out of position and as you move through the pack you hear at least two people say “I don’t know about this with all these mountain bikers” like we don’t know how to handle a bike because we ride them off road. These are the same guys who stumble over the smallest of trail obstacles so in the end they get theirs. Because everyone in Team Hosman has a job there is no one to take pictures of me racing while it’s actually happening, so here is a picture from the aquarium to fill in some space. Just imagine the fish are people, on bikes, moving really fast and you will get the idea of how fast the group at Sea Otter rides.
I ran pretty tight with a pack of guys through the first 8 miles down sandy shoots and up the other side in single track. We hit a paved section in the back and as we descended at mock speeds I heard something in my front break pop and then that metal sound of clinking. Next thing I know the front break starts squealing and grinding against the rooter. I thought for a brief second “that’s it, at this speed when I go down its going to hurt really, really bad.” But it didn’t lock up and I used the back break to come to a stop. Everyone I was running with passed me by as I stared at the caliper like a monkey staring at a math problem. The hub on the lefty was tight and all I could see was that the pads where dragging on the rooter. All I could do was get on and ride. My theories on bike mechanics are deep and profound. They go something like this, throw as much positive thought at the bike and hope it fixes itself. It took a while but eventually my theory paid off, the grinding turned to rubbing and within 5 miles I couldn’t even tell it was dragging.
What I could tell though was that I was now at the very back and those little junior expert bastards where catching me. Slowly but surly I clawed my way back up a few spots finishing 4 from the bottom, catching the last guy at the line. I know there where more out there who I passed but they must have DNFed.
Upon looking at my past time on the course I beat it by 5 minutes so there is a bright side to it all. But beyond that I found a better way to take out my frustration for a bad race. Get myself a bull horn and heckle the pro men’s and women’s fields.
Here was my basic plan of attack, tell every one that 50 + “Deadly Nedly” Ned Overend who was in the race, was right behind them. Sure enough the first lap around he was right near the front, the only one who escaped my taunting was Tinker because in my book he is just as much the man.
On the second lap I just started calling everyone in a Specialized jersey Ned and surprisingly I only got one F-you. Another favorite was offering a Luna bar to the first person to the top of the hill we sat on. When Ned made it around the second time he was going so fast Sarah only caught the back half of him as he passed. Man that guy is fast.
My one regret though was that Shonny rode by and I didn’t recognize her. I was planning on asking for the picture she promised but that I never got. You posted again last week to my blog Shonny but I will be at the Whisky 50 the weekend of the XTERRA so I can’t come cheer you on. I still want that picture though so drop me a line and I can take you out where the locals ride. HA HA! Good luck in the race.
Anyways enough about my obsession with Shonny and on to my wife’s stalking. Ryan Trebon from the Kona team is Sarah’s second favorite mountain bike racer. He was in the lead group the first time around but on the second lap he looked like he had cracked. I yelled at him that even though he was falling back he was still the best looking guy in the race. I thought I was in for it though when he actually pulled over in front of me. He looked tore up and asked “do you have anything to eat?” You can read his account of it here. This nearly made all of Sarah’s dreams come true. She loves a tall thin man and unfortunately Ryan is taller and thinner then even me.
I figure I am going to get a bull horn for my own. They make mountain bike races a whole lot more entertaining and it gets others into it as well. I know I love it when people talk to me along a race and while a lot of my comments where meant to be funny those who looked beat up got some positive stuff.
April 24th, 2008 at 9:43 am
that bull horn kept Evomo busy this weekend… Brett MC’d the Hayes Skid contest over in front of the Evomo booth every evening and we heckled random people walking into our booth. fun times.
April 24th, 2008 at 11:12 am
I’m glad someone is doing something to make XC racing more fun. It needs it.
April 24th, 2008 at 3:45 pm
Don’t forget Bret heckling the police with it too. Too bad the cop just ignored him
April 26th, 2008 at 8:38 am
XC could also use a little cowbell!
April 28th, 2008 at 8:21 pm
Heckling XC racers? What grade are you in? Only a nerd trying to fit into the cooler group would pull that stunt. Your as big a dork as the other Evomo dude who was yelling at everyone in the expo area. Heckle me and I’ll punch you in the neck…twice.
April 29th, 2008 at 6:21 am
Bring it Nor Cal DH’r, chances are you will want all the attention of a video camera when it happens which is great because I can post it to youtube to your ever-loving shame to get your butt kicked by a guy in spandex. What will all your baggy jean friends think then? Will they let stand around with them on the trail and talk about riding any more?
April 29th, 2008 at 10:59 am
I love how the DH guys always want to start shit …. haters go home.
April 29th, 2008 at 11:29 am
I think that some of the pubescent ones in the crowd want to start crap as a cry for more attention. The tattoos, dirty clothing and constant getting in everyone’s way is just not enough to feed the need to be important. Its OK Nor Cal, your balls will drop soon and you can then stop threatening Neck punches to people you could keep up with anyways.