The sun beat through the marine layer and eventually knifed its way through to the riders below. The weather threatened to bring us a curtain of rain, but the front passed north of the track so we stayed dry. The track, unchanged from last year, was smooth and, as always, a challenge to ride. Mazanita's BMX track is not known for its speeds, but for the multi-line jumps and big wide berms. This is one of the few tracks that will have you guessing who will take the win all the way to the line.
The GT Speed Series cruiser is the base in which my 2012 bike is built on. The frame is amazing looking with dynamic sexy lines and exceptional welds. The frame looks fast-even on the bike rack. Tied to the frame were Answer Dagger forks, Shimano DXR cranks, and a SDG saddle and seat post. The S&M handle bars are bolted to a Thompson X bmx stem and the ODI grips provided me with perfect rider to bike contact. The wheels, Sun Ringle Envy wheels with Chris King BMX hubs, and mated with Schwalbe Kojack tires. Despite the lack of tread on the Kojack's, the tires stick like glue on the track and I had no problem pushing them through the loose dirt. I'm not clipped in this season-I'm running 5.10 shoes on Speedline BMX flats.
Practice had me on my toes. The new bike is lighter and so nimble. I had a couple of close moments when I literally overrode my bike and found myself riding a wheelie down the first straight until I learned to get my front end over the handlebars.
Jumping was easy. Too easy. I was hitting lines I hadn't tried before which meant my time in the air cost me some time on the ground. I would have to pick my battles today.
The motos were stacked with 15 riders in the cruiser class. With the new USABMX in place, the classes are much bigger. And this was just a local race. I committed to a light day-giving the race about 50%. Just feel the bike out and make adjustments as needed. But if you know me, I rarely ever stick to my race day/practice plan.
One of the things I enjoy the most about racing is the people I race with. They're always welcoming and always willing to help each other out. We shared some fist bumps before the gate then it was on.
I stuck to my plan and gave the gate about 50%, but 50% quickly turned into 100% when I saw lines open up in the berms. I couldn't help myself so I cranked the bike through the gaps and made my way to the front of the pack. I speed jumped a couple of the jumps and heard a metal "tinging" sound so I backed off and slowed down. Another cruiser bolted past me and took the 1st place and I settled for 2nd. The sound was my chain tensioner-it had come loose and required an adjustment. My cranks also loosened and required a quick adjustment before the next moto.
2nd and 3rd moto were virtually the same. I cranked out the first straight with the 50% in mind, but couldn't resist when I saw the gaps open up in the ranks. The results were the same each moto-2nd place.
I made it through to the mains after a close call in the semi-finals when I speed jumped a double and cased the front wheel. I didn't feel like I was going to crash, but it slowed me down a bit. I fell back to 2nd and solidified my position in the mains.
The mains were stacked with some amazing riders-guys that have spent years in the top spots in BMX. I pretended not to be nervous, but I was a little shaky on the gate. These guys are good, well honed riders, who are very comfortable in just about every gate position and enjoy riding elbow in elbow through the berms at full speed.
The gate dropped and we took off. I stuck to my plan, but, again, I saw an opening and took it. I went from 7th position to 2nd then back down to 3rd for the last straight. I pushed it and almost took 2nd when another rider suddenly appeared on my right-I didn't think anybody was there. I jumped the last bit in the final straight but so did he and we stayed right on each other-finishing 4th in a tie.
It was an awesome day to spend a sunny, warm, Sunday morning. The GT rocked it and required just a couple of expected adjustments as the day went on. The new Fox gear was like second skin-I never had to adjust it. My Fenix 661 did not like my Leatte brace, but I made it work. I may need to look into a smaller helmet to make these two work.
Roll on next practice/race day!
