spin / second sole multisport team

Aaron Rood and Scott Zubricky represented the team at the Run for the Young 5k at Crocker Park in Westlake this weekend. The race had a huge cash payout, so the field was quite stacked. Both of our intrepid SSSMSTers did really well, each taking an age-group first place– and they’d each ridden two hours before the start. Nice work, boys.

Last weekend, John Willse trekked out to Richmond, VA, for the XTerra East Championship. He noticed before the race that his bike wasn’t shifting so well, so he brought it to Spin for a quick checkover. Turns out his frame was cracked! Greg and his crew totally went out of their way to get John dialed in on one of the shop’s Specialized Epics, and got him out the door in plenty of time to get on the road for the race. Our sponsors are the best.

John put together a great recap of this incredible race– it’s a must read for anyone getting in to XTerra races!

Xterra East Championship
Richmond, VA
6/15/08 (48th overall, 12th in AG)

Rolled into town on Friday, and the race was Sunday. One of 4 Regional Championship races put on by Xterra. In addition to these, the only other race actually put on by Xterra is their World Championships in Maui. So, this race attracted many male and female pros, most notably, Conrad Stoltz. And there is no doubt that it attracted the best off-road athletes in the region; a very deep field. My only goal was to finish the race without incident, and hopefully get a top 15 in my AG to ensure picking up some Xterra pts. in order to qualify for Nationals. Richmond has always gotten great reviews, especially by the pros for the quality and uniqueness of the course. The course exceeded all expectations, but was crazy.
SWIM (1000m): In the James River, highlights included repeatedly coming into contact with boulders submerged in the river just 1-2 feet below the surface, sections where you pulled yourself along the shallows, exiting the water to run across an island (150 yds) in the middle of the river (not part of the swim yardage) and a 1/4 mile run to T1.
BIKE (30km): Absolutely EPIC single track. Mix in some urban assault such as suspended bridges, running w/bike up pedestrian walkway, riding down the same, rock gardens, fast descents, technical switchbacks, and flowing flats. Beaucoup crashes, witnessed 2 broken frames & lots of bloody knees & elbows, and never imagined such great trails in a “city” setting (over 27 miles of singletrack).
The best part is that I found out the night before I left that my bike’s frame was toast. So, I left town with a SPIN BIKE SHOP demo! Greg set me up with some quick adjustments for fit, my wheels, and grips, and off I went. Not the best conditions to break in a new bike, but is was better than watching the race!
RUN (11k): before the race I asked a volunteer about the run course. His response was, “you just have to experience it. But, you will be thankful there is a fence along the stairs at the “Mayan Ruins” “. Thinking he was yanking my chain, I ignored it. The run was flat at first, but progressing from flat pavement, to rolling fire road, to technical, rooted single track, to the Mayan Ruins where you climbed 80 railroad tie stairs that literally went up at a 60 degree angle. As I was grabbing the chain link fence to help pull myself to the top, I knew that volunteer was not BSing. Finally, the last mile was crossing the river (300 yds) over a series of boulders, ranging in size from a beach ball to my Chevy Tahoe. Literally leaping from one to another. Awesome.

All in all a great race, with activities all weekend for my family, including a K-9 competition and kid’s race. Great job by the Xterra people. First class event. Would love to go back.

JW

Filed under: 2008 |