Hey race fans! All of us were pleasantly surprised when race day came around and it was sunny! The Mudslinger began with a rolling mass start that eliminated the usual cooling down while waiting your turn the race. Race director Mike Ripley had shortened the course of the usual 2 lap race.

Dave Hill and I raced the Cat 1 45+ group. He came in through fourth place, while I brought up the rear in 17th partially due to a slow leak in my front tire that required frequent inflation. Dave Goodier stood in second place on the podium in the Cat 2 55+. He was passing out chocolate chip cookies before the race, so maybe he ate one too many! Ryan Eisele hammered to fourth place in the huge single speed field. Trevor Pratt represented well in the Cat 1 19-34 with a sixth place finish. Bart(man) Carter tried out his new bike and re-juvenated knees to come in eighth in his first race back. No injuries although several of us fell (including yours truly)!

Bye for now, Michael Romasco.

Last Thursday, we loaded up the car with goodies for the Ibis booth and headed south to the Sea Otter. Upon arrival, we unloaded and I spent some time visiting with my pals from Magura, SDG, ESI Grips, Rotor, Kenda, and Manitou. The Rotor boys were kind enough to give me a live to Monterey and I enjoyed a tranquil last supper prior to race-day on Friday.

My slumber was disturbed first by some drunken neighbors bashing into my motel room door and then by my friend arriving at o’dark hundred. He proceeded to rise with the birds—afterall, who needs sleep before a race?! We loaded up and arrived at Laguna Seca in time to get our bikes sorted and make the start about a minute before launch. I moved to the front as we left the pavement, but was overtaken on the first downhill section by Aaron Bradford and Dax Massey.

I was feeling a bit slow, but my confidence was buoyed by last year’s similar start and ultimate result. There were allegedly some changes to the course so I took a wait-and-see approach to the first lap. This year, I chose the same gearing, similar tires and front suspension. Last year, the gearing and tires were spot on, but I felt like I lost some time on the steep, rough descents—hence the decision for the fork.

Unfortunately, virtually all the rough stuff had been eliminated and many of the dirt road climbs and descents had been covered in a thick layer of loose gravel. My gear was simply too high to climb in the saddle and any effort out of the saddle was foiled by peeling out. The new downhill sections were filled with loose, sandy/gravel off-camber corners and I would have been well advised to ride more edgy tires.

By the end of the first lap, I was comfortably in second position but could make no progress as Aaron continued to extend his lead on the rest of the field. While my tires and gearing would have definitely made the race closer, I am still not sure they would have sealed the deal as my general state of fatigue and the muscle spasms that have plagued my year thus far were only at a barely tolerable level.

It was awesome to stand on the Sea Otter podium again, and Mr. Bradford seems like a great winner so I must be happy with a solid performance and try to make ends meet in time for the Whiskey Off-Road later this month!

Here is a link to my Garmin Connect activity:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/79422803

Last week, I was called to the Ibis Cycles headquarters to help ring in the launch of the new Mojo SL-R. Upon arrival we attended the official unveiling of the new bike and components from Easton, Shimano, and Fox. Then we rolled out for a short ride above the Santa Cruz coast to shake out the legs and get some fresh air. I have still been a bit under the gun physiologically, so I turned back and cut the ride short to save something for the Sea Otter.

On Wednesday, we took a short drive to the Easton office for the lowdown on the incredible EC-90 carbon wheels. This technology is RAD–with options for various axles and both 26” and 29” wheels. Both rim sizes are UST compliant and require no strips or tape to seal. Test data demonstrated best-in-class stiffness and strength making these wheels undoubtedly some of the hottest items of 2011!

After the show, we all rolled out for a ride west over the hills and down to the coast and dinner at the Ibis shop. The trek began with some dry, sandy trails through tight chaparral then climbed into the redwood forest of the Santa Cruz mountains. After miles of stunning vistas and cool, damp, deep-woods awesomeness we broke out for the final high-speed descent to the coast. It was a great way to show off the new Mojo SL-R!

Speaking of which, the latest Ibis model has been refined to the MAX! It sports a tapered headtube, 142mm thru-axle, direct mount front derailleur and rear brake, and press-fit bottom bracket. While the new frame shares lines with of the original Mojo, new manufacturing technology required to build the SL-R means it is completely different inside and has to be produced in another factory.

All these new features mean that the new Mojo is nearly as stiff and strong as the industry leading HD model while also shaving nearly a half pound off the SL! The demo bikes were set up with the new shocks from Fox that sported the ridiculously smooth Kashima coating.. Valving has also been modified to improve platform and compliance of the DW-Link rear suspension. Shimano even showed off their latest Shadow Plus rear derailleur that damps excess movement and imparts supreme chain control nearly negating the need for any additional guides or tensioners.

Overall, the new bikes were a big hit with the international press core and I saw nothing but shred-happy smiles throughout the ride. Dinner was a scrumptious assortment of locally grown fair that left us blissfully satisfied and primed for a weekend at the Sea Otter!

The last two versions of Horning’s Hustle have been raced under warm sunny sky’s and a fairly dry and fun course. This year’s version was back to typical Oregon spring weather in early April. Cold, wet, rainy with very slick muddy trails is how I would describe the course. I wasn’t even planning on racing due to the conditions but teammate Dave Hill talked me into racing the night before so we loaded up the car Sunday morning and headed off for some mud racing.

Knowing the course would be super muddy I decided to race the single speed and try to minimize some damage to my geared bike. This would also mark my first attempt at racing the single speed at a xc race. I was caught off guard at the start and spent the first half mile just trying to get my garmin turned on and hit the first climb at the very back of the pack. After moving up to mid pack on the climb I was able to hold that position on the first lap negotiating the very slick course. Hitting the climb on the second lap I was able to move up a couple more spots and hold that position until the finish after four laps without any major crashes in the mud. It was a good thing I had a low gearing on the bike as I was able to climb up most all of the muddy trails with the exception of one short steep spot that even the geared bikes couldn’t find enough traction in the deep mud to make it up.

The team was represented on the podium with Dave Hill finishing 3rd in the Cat 1 45+ class in his first race of the season. Trevor Pratt finished 6th in the Cat 1 19-34 class and although the officals scored me in 22nd place and one lap down I really finished in 10th place on the lead lap. My number plate had become so muddy and wet that it fell off on the second lap of the race. Since I am not racing for series points this year it looks like I may have to get the single speed out again and do some xc racing on one gear!

Thanks for reading, Ryan E.