A Classic at the Coast

New on the race schedule in 2012 is the Coast Hills Classic in Newport, Oregon. Actually they had a race in that area many years ago so it was supposedly going to be a revival of sorts. My first thoughts of a mountain bike race in Newport were wet, cold, and windy so I didn’t even plan to put this race on my schedule. With warm and sunny weather predicted just days before the event, I decided to give it a go and race the single speed category. David Hill and I loaded up the bus and met Jeremy Warnicke at the venue hoping to have some fun racing our bikes in the coast sunshine.

The course was set-up very short and fast even for XC standards here in Oregon. After the race my Garmin had logged only 18 miles and the fastest pro time clocked in around one hour and 23 minutes! The course featured lots of gravel road and what little trail was used turned out to be quite muddy. Our new Kenda tires and NoTubes wheels handled the conditons with great traction though. My race started off with a bang as I jumped into the lead off the line and held onto first place all the way to the finish to win in the single speed class! Despite my legs not feeling in top form I was able to ride a steady pace and enjoy the beautiful warm weather with views of the Pacific Ocean. On the second lap, I caught up to David and Jeremy and we were able to ride together. Racing is always so much more fun when you get to race alongside teammates!

Even though the course was a little short, it was a great day for REALL Racing. David Hill finished fourth in the CAT1 45+ race despite having pedal issues throughout the entire race. He was still all smiles at the finish line on his new hardtail 29er! Jeremy Warnicke also hit the podium for second place in the CAT1 19-34 class aboard his new carbon fiber REALL Racing 29er! After attending a few more xc races in May it will be time to get ready for the endurance portion of the racing season starting in June at the Washougal 6hr race. Hope to see everyone out there!