2009 Season

The 2009 season finished well. After the trouble I had at Fontana things greatly improved at the next race - the Sagebrush Safari in the San Diego area. I finished 8th out of 28 guys in my class. Looking back that was one of the funnest courses of the year, and at the time it was by far my best race.

The next week was US Cup race #4 at Sea Otter. My goal all along was to finish in the top 30 which at one point I didn't think I'd really have a chance to do. I started in the very back of the 105 person field, but got out hard and quickly worked my way to the front group. The first mile or so of the race is on the Laguna Seca racetrack, so you're riding in a big peloton. I was pretty beat by the end but I managed a 26th place finish out of 99 finishers.

I had another good race at the US Cup race in Santa Ynez finishing 7th and then it was on to Colorado Springs for the final race where things didn't go so well. Finished 13th out of 20 on a tough but fun course. Not being able to preride hurt and the higher elevation didn't help either, especially with most of the field being local to the area. A camelbak would have been the way to go as there were no spots on the course where you could safely get a drink. Everything was too tight and technical on both the ups and downs. At one point when I thought I had a chance to get some water, I quickly ran out of safe space and I ended up riding right off the trail into the weeds.

Here's my series finishes for the 2009 Season.
US Cup West - 6th overall
Socal Series XC - 4th overall
Socal Series Super D - 2nd overall
12 Hours of Temecula (4 person team) - 3rd overall