Central Coast Circuit and MTB Race Reports - 2/12 & 2/13

We had yet another spectacular sunny weekend here in Santa Cruz, which made for some pretty great racing in Nor Cal. We are fortunate enough to have some really amazing local race promoters that put on great Cyclocross, Road, and Mountain Bike events in Monterey County. If you haven't checked out their website - do it! The CCCX series draw people and ability levels that span from beginner to professional, and because it's California you really never know who's gonna show up on race day.



As of Saturday morning there was one pre registered rider for the road circuit race in the W 123 category, so we figured it was going to be pretty low key. However, the field - combined with some super fast masters -- got up to over 20 which made for a really fun and competitive race! Overall Bike Station Aptos represented on the podium with a 3rd and 4th place in the W123 division. Way to go!

Shout out to Michelle Heaton who blasted past the 123's to snag the overall win, and Beverly Chaney who always makes me work harder than I want to in pretty much any race we enter - cross or road!



Sunday came too soon for me, but not soon enough for Devon apparently who made her way through multiple fields to win the Womens Expert/Pro MTB and probably a few of the Mens Expert age category races... Talk about talent - it was her first mtb race! And to top it all, she raced with a camelback on. hehe! It was a tiny womens field (hopefully that will change as the season progresses), but great course and as always very well run by Keith, Rod, and the rest of the CCCX crew.

Other notable BSA riders that competed were Ron Riley who battled it out in the 65+ category, Kurt Brown (Sport Men 35-44) who placed 5th out of an impressive group of 26 34, and Joseph DeSante (Sport Single Speed) who placed 5 out of 13. Also - we had a great little cheering section at the MTB race that consisted of Beth Welliver, a new member of the BSA womens team (yay!)who couldn't race due to being sick (no!), and Harriet Riley, devote race supporter and water-bottle-hand-up extraordinaire! Thanks you two!



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More UCI Adventures with DnC - Colorado and LA Cross Maddness!

It's hard to believe the 'cross season is half over, with a little more than a month and a half until Nationals in Bend, Oregon. We've been hard after it with some great racing and results abroad in Colorado and Los Angels. Devon has been rocking it out, consistently grabbing top ten, the whole shot, and spot on the podium. Her positive attitude, grit, and perseverance is remarkable. If you don't take my word for it, just check out her recent "Bloody Knees (mom, don't read!)" post on her blog.



The trip out to Colorado was an amazing experience despite a few sniffles from a cold and adjusting to the altitude - lining up shoulder to shoulder and riding with some of the best in the country and world was an honor and great opportunity.

Results from Day One
Results from Day Two

Dorothy Wong put on another great race in Southern California last weekend. If you haven't met her or don't know what she's doing for the sport of Cyclocross in So Cal - check her out on Facebook. She's cultivating quite the cross scene down there that (shouldn't say it but i'm gonna) is rivaling Nor Cal. =) A little competition is good..




We stayed with an amazing host family (the Wards) who adopted us as their daughters for the weekend. What a treat! I think Aaron and Spencer, their 8 and 6 year old boys liked us too. Despite the fact we were girls... Maybe it was our mad Nerf Gun war skills that finally impressed them!



Dorothy and her crew set up a killer, technical cross course in Griffith Park. One of the coolest parts about the race (there were many) was you could see the Hollywood sign from the Griffith Park Observatory. What a great warm up/cool down loop that was!



First day proved to be successful for both Devon and I. Devon took 3rd place overall, and I squeaked in to the 9th spot after overcoming a mechanical with my bike. The second day I was a little more determined to move up the ladder, and tried to bring my pain threshold up a bit. The mantra - ride as hard as I can, for as long as I can. It worked - got 7th overall and more UCI points! Devon snagged the 4th spot on the podium, battling it out with household cross names including Sue Butler and teammate Kathy Sherwin (Hudz Subaru).







Next up on the schedule - Night race at Coyote Point this Saturday and hyper local Surf City race at the Fairgrounds. Come out with a cowbell or better yet, jump in the race!

CD