Beaver Mountain was the first stop on the Utah High School Cycling League’s Region 1 Race circuit. Races are every two weeks with four events scheduled for the season in addition to the State Championship for the lucky ones.
1,200 riders come out for each of these races and the events truly require a herculean effort to put on. I’m told that Utah has the largest high school mountain biking program in the nation and I don’t doubt it, nigh, am a little proud as a native Westerner albeit a little surprised that California doesn’t have a larger program. Parents of riders are expected to volunteer for NICA, the overarching organization that governs and marshalls the races, and to volunteer for the school’s team where the rider resides. There’s plenty to do at these things to ensure kids have a good experience and I like to work in the Feed Zone-the place where support teams first hand off a “dump bottle” (a capless water bowl for riders to dump on themselves for a cool down) and then hand off a full capped water bottle for drinking while on their second lap.
Jeff is on a JV squad-JVD they call it. JVD riders do two laps on the course and each lap is five miles. It’s not the easiest course on the circuit and the first quarter mile is a fairly steep uphill grind but wide enough for passing. Riders start in position based on their last race but this was the first one of the season. For whatever reason Jeff was in the 34th position out of over 60 riders. After Jeff took his place in the staging chute I walked about 200 yards up the trail so I could watch a spot where riders commonly crash and pile up. I figured that would keep me entertained for a minute. And it did!
As riders came into view there was one breakaway rider followed by a small stream of 5-10 other riders and then the big pack. Being in the 34th spot Jeff was smack dab in the middle of the pack but as he came out he was blasting on the outside of the lane passing folks. I heard him yelling at the guys in front of him, “Passing on your right!” I looked away for a second, and then back, and he was down! Crap! And then the guy right next to him went down on top of Jeff. And then a couple more behind them went down. The next thing I see is Jeff up and running through the crowd-that’s my boy! The kid’s in full-on beast mode running up the steep grade gettin’ it done. Awesome!
Jeff’s new steed this season is a full-suspension 29er (Giant Stance) and compared to his last season’s hard tail mount it’s a dream machine. At practice rides he’s noticed his times drop and his relative speed to his teammates be more competitive. For anyone used to riding hard tails the full suspension 29er is a completely different experience and Jeff’s taking full advantage. Last year was year one on a mountain bike team and since he decided to keep going with the effort an equipment upgrade seemed right.
Following riders to get multiple glimpses of them on the course isn’t as easy on a mountain bike course as it is on a cross-country running course. But I’m one of the more hearty types so after watching Jeff push through the first incline I took off on a small hike to get to the next vantage point where I could watch him do a little downhill riding. I don’t think I got there in time to see the first rider come through but I started counting anyway and Jeff was in the early 20s position from what I could tell. That’s great work passing about 10 others within the first mile. Time for another hike for the observers.
The next stop for cheering and watching that I knew of was near the finish line but I opted to check in at the feed zone as I guessed they’d need some help. And they did. The finish line at this course is great though because it sits at the base of the mountain and you can watch riders on some exciting portions of the trail here. All riding is on single track at this point so passing opportunities are limited and riskier. Crowds are able to watch racers cross a traverse and then disappear into a grove of trees for a short stint until they reappear for a switchback downhill portion followed by another traverse before disappearing behind more trees for two miles of tight turns and open meadows. Then it’s a guessing game to see how long they’ll pop out to pass through the Feed Zone and Finish line.
Jeff came into the switchbacks looking strong and I was excited. The lead rider hadn’t come through the Feed Zone yet so I knew Jeff wasn’t far behind. It wasn’t long before they all came through but I’d forgotten to count which place Jeff was in. He took a dump bottle from me but didn’t take fresh drinking water. He’d either botched the aid station or didn’t need it. Time would tell what was to become of that.
At this point, I was grounded at the Feed Zone and was happy to help. It’s a ton of fun to cheer riders on and see how they’re all doing. There were two heat injuries that rolled through during my tenure but none of them threw up; one nearly collapsed and had to get carried into a seat where for the cold water dousing and medic’s assessment. No IV’s were given either so nothing serious, just lacking nutrition and hydration practices.
As finishers came rolling through it was surprising for me to see so many come through that weren’t Jeff! He looked so strong at the last lap that in my mind he was going to get up to the top 5 or so. A tall order but you know, excited anticipation and all. Jeff came in strong in 10th place and was running down the guy in front of him. Turns out that Jeff hadn’t taken much time to drink down his water but pushed through without any cramping or other heat issues. What a great performance at the first race of the season. Great work Jeff! The next race will have him staged in the 10th slot (per his finish) at the start so he’ll have a great chance to run down the podium. In the meantime, he’s already looking at ways to work in more training. He tried to set up his bike on two of the trainers at the house yesterday but they were both too small for his bike. Local trails are only a 5 minute ride from the house so I’m confident he’ll figure it out and strengthen up for the next one. It’s going to be a great season for our champ!
A Couple Notes:
1-The next race is on 9 September at Snowbasin. MAJOR bummer that I have a conflict and won’t be able to attend. Course preview video here with this interesting first image:
2-There’s a video of the Beaver Mountain Course from an action camera view located here.
3-After finishing Jeff’s race a rain storm rolled in. All other heats were cancelled and we helped the crew pack up team gear before we left. We were drenched as if walking out of a swimming pool. The ride home in the truck was a topless affair. Next time we’ll check the weather and pack better.
Impact Productions 