Bass Lake DH bonanza
By Lee McCormack www.leelikesbikes.com
Posted May 14, 2004
Thanks to Nemesis Racing for the course photo and Erron McCurdy for the people shots. Chart by me. Email me if you need infographics for your business, publication or bake sale.
On May 2, one of NorCal's coolest downhills played host to good times, dangerous driving, and a mentorship-turned-rivalry.
The situation
The 007 Downhill Race zips though the hills above Bass Lake, Calif. This area is sort of the "Gateway to Yosemite" -- a seasonal thoroughfare for RVs driven by German tourists, but also a darn cool spot on its own. You've got lakes, hills and, of course, trails galore.
The course is full-on XC-style, old-school DH: moderately steep, not too rough and a pedalfest like few others. In four miles you drop 2,000 feet on 100% singletrack with 47 corners, 25 water bar jumps and a bonus gap. Fast riders do this in under eight minutes, which averages to faster than 30 mph: definitely a rip-roaring run.
You don't need a NORBA license. Heck, you don't even need a DH bike. Most riders run 4-5 inch bikes like Specialized Enduros, Giant ACs and Santa Cruz Hecklers. This year the course was dry and fast, with sand over hardpack making the flat corners sketchy but the many natural berms keeping everyone rolling.
"It's such a great environment," said
Curtis Keene, "hanging with the bro's, eating dinner with Mark Weir and Mark
Jordan [of Twentysix Magazine]. It's not high pressure. It's definitely one
of the funnest races of the year." The danger
The most dangerous aspect of the 007 Downhill is definitely the shuttle rides. Two flatbeds carry riders up the dirt road at full speed, honking around the corners and occasionally smacking rear-view mirrors. On Saturday one of the wooden sides fell out and racers almost fell out of the truck. On Sunday one of the same kids ran his head through a branch, knocking his helmet off his head, onto the road then off the embankment.
Yes, if you can survive the shuttle, you should be fine.
The speed merchants
The race for pro glory came down to Mark Weir, the king of pedally downhills; quiet Henry O'Donnell, also a Downieville winner; and Curtis Keene, the country's fastest pro downhiller and soon-to-be-ex electrician. Weir has mentored fellow WTB rider Keene over the past couple seasons, but as Keene's DH skills became outrageous and his aerobic fitness became ridiculous, the teacher-student role festered into a smacktalk-spiced rivalry.
The night before the race, Weir was waxing his frame for extra aerodynamics. Keene dribbled on some chain lube and was done. Weir took a look at Keene's Enduro and said, "That'll be good enough for second place."
Well, come race day Keene smacked down a record 7:13, with O'Donnell at 7:22 and Weir back at 7:23.
"I pedaled pretty f---ing hard," said
Keene, "Plus I pinned it through the corners." (Keene ran a custom Fox DHX
shock and 2005 5.5-inch fork with a 2.3 Weir Wolf in front and a 2.4 Mutano
Raptor in back.) Despite all the pre-race smacktalk, Keene kept quiet after
his victory. "Weir wore a skinsuit and everything. The one thing I said was,
"And I didn't wear a skinsuit ..." Weir came to Bass Lake hyper confident after winning last year and tearing up the pro XC scene so far this year. He says confidence stole his speed.
"I have learned that feeling like your stomach is full when others around you are starving can really backfire," said Weir. "Curtis had the fire and still does. I went down the mountain with 80 percent in mind, and he made sure I will never do that again, at least not on his watch. I needed this and no one better to give it to me then the USA's fastest DHer and maybe the best looking."
Over the past few years the pro class has gotten faster and faster, especially Keene (see chart below). The only guy to get slower from year to year was Weir, who's focused on cross country anyway. As he said before the race, "It will be pretty pathetic if I beat Curtis. The guy does nothing but race DH while I haven't touched a gravity rig in three months!" Just the same, says Weir, "It's hard for a man of my endurance to handle this great defeat. I have already logged over 300 miles in three days on the road."
The Lars report
Trail Headers Lars Thomsen and Kevin Goodman trekked to the foothills to run the Trail Head colors and rip up some trail.
We waited a bit too long for shuttles, but it was all good. We were hanging with all the fast local characters -- Keene, Matt V., Weir, Beavers, Juano, O'Donnell, the list goes on. Everywhere you looked, it was NorCal Fast.
We loaded up at 6:40 a.m., took the team truck to 152 and reached Bass lake at 10:15. We reg'd up, changed clothes and got in the shuttle line. We waited for 90 minutes, and when we were about to get on a truck, it was full! So we were the first people on the next truck.
Practice was rad. You get a sweet drop in down the fall line, then this crazy, dudty left. Squiggle through some trees, get over the rocks, turn onto the main trail, then the real fun begins. There are lots of off camber turns and some insanely fast sections. You skitter over the rocks, looking for smooth lines and holdng your speed. My first run was 75% -- Peaty style; he always does full runs fast -- then I started dialing up the speed.
My second run was even faster, but there's this expert section over some logs, and I kept missing it. The trail just naturally went around. The long way was cool and fun, but way slower. Finally, in my third run I nailed the logs. I just sucked 'em up low and fast.
After practice we cruised to the truck and had some beers. We listened to Juano's smacktalk, and we went to dinner at El Sid's. By midnight it was full-on fat, sunburned, red bodies with no shirts -- all these guys in town for the bass tournament. Bellies rolling, margaritas, it was crazy.
Race day action
I got to the top a full hour before my race. I hung out sitting in the shade. With 20 minutes to go, I changed my seat angle and started to warm up. I ran my Enduro with Brain rear shock and Marzocchi Z150 single crown air fork. I've been running a 2.4 Enduro dual compound in front. That tire hooks up like crazy. I tried a Larsen TT in the rear, but the course was way too loose, so I went to the 2.4 Mutano Raptor in the Lazer casing.
5, 4, 3, 2, 1, GO! I nailed my start, down the dust, through the left, between the trees then started pedaling, carving. On all those fast sections with the water bars I just pedaled and pumped, pedaled and pumped. I was going so fast, it was like, "Oh no, I'm gonna slide out in this corner," but the tires were just hooking up. As Lee says, I was hauling the mail.
But OH NO! I missed the logs again. Everyone was yelling, "You can still do it!" I railed that chicane, left, right then got back on track. I got over the big rocks, put the hammer down then blew my wad. I pumped over the road, hauling ass, manualling early over the water bars then pushing down on the back side. It was free speed, and I was going so fast!
In a couple turns the tires hooked up perfectly, and I was like, "There's a second." I was drifting through the loose turns near the end, hit the gap, doubled over the rocks and hit the last duffy left at super speed. I crammed into that thing, just a few feet from the end of a great run, and -- NO! -- I crashed! I grabbed my bike and ran over the line. 8:14. Fifth place. That wasn't so bad considering the crash.
This was Kevin's first downhill race, and he got 7th out of 12 beginners. Pretty rad. He rolled his brand-new, maxed-out Demo 9. It was a surprise gift from his brother, C.C. The day before we left, he came to the shop to pick up a wheel for his Turner 5-Spot. I was hanging out in the DH corner, shaking with excitement, and I pulled the beast down from the ceiling. He knew I was building one for myself, and he was like, "Whoa, so you built it!" I said, yeah, hey why don't you sit on it? He hopped on it, grinning ear to ear. "Dude, this thing is rad. But isn't it a bit big for you?" (Kevin is 6-5; Lars is like 5-9). I handed him a card from his brother, the same birthday card he'd given Kevin a month earlier. It said, "Sorry I couldn't afford another card -- I spent all of my money on this bike!" Kevin was just befuddled. There was a staggering silence. "No way ..."
I handed him a Fox gear bag, and he started pulling out all the necessities: D2 helmet, Pressure Suit, gloves, goggles, it went on and on. Downhiller in a day. Welcome to the brotherhood, my man.
For full results check out www.nemesisracing.net