California Enduro Series: Round 2 VP EnduroFest Recap
200 racers entered and took on the challenging terrain. Jackie Harlow made short work of the loose dirt and chunky rocks that set the tone for the race. Beginners and juniors rode 7 miles and climbed 1500' while everyone else rode 14 miles and climbed nearly 3000'.
China Peak opened up the lifts for the first time this season for race practice. Riders who raced round 1 in Reno were relieved not to have to climb to get practice runs in on course. Racers were able to get multiple runs in on each of the courses 3 stages. The downside to lift assisted practice is that the trails got beat up real quick. The course changed markedly from the beginning of the day to the end. Turns deteriorated into deep, deep, sand traps. The chatter of the day began with talk of lines through the rock gardens of stage 3 but as the day wore on and the sand deepened, talk shifted on techniques for keeping the shiny side up and carrying speed through the soft loose turns. All kinds of theories were floated, from laying off the front brake, running a softer rear end to keep the front end up, slowing rebound way down, all the way to rubbing some snake oil on it and sacrificial offerings to the gods of enduro.
WIN A 2015 FOX 36
Aaron Bartling (Giant Team Bike & Bean) not only walked away with 2nd place in his category, he also won the brand new 2015 FOX 36 fork raffled off at the end of the race. FOX donated five of these highly anticipated forks to be raffled off—one at each CES 2014 event—with proceeds benefiting Stafford Lake Bike Park and Mountain Bikers of Santa Cruz (for the Soquel Demonstration State Forest flow trail project). There are three more forks to raffle off—the next one at round 3, the Northstar Livewire Classic Enduro. You need not be present to win, so support your California trail projects and take a shot at winning the hottest new fork from FOX Tickets are $5 each. Buy tickets now for the next drawing.
WIN A MARIN MOUNT VISION CARBON XM8
Are you stoked on the series so far? You can help California Enduro series continue to offer world-class events by spreading the word about their Marin Bikes Mount Vision C-XM8 fundraiser raffle... and purchase a ticket or two yourself.
Marin generously donated the super light, full-carbon trail bike, which will be raffled off at the series finale, the Santa Cruz Super Enduro (need not be present to win). Tickets are $5; proceeds offset series operating costs. Purchase tickets here. (Photo: Marin Bikes Team Factory rider Brian Astell ripping round 1 Battle Born Enduro on the Mount Vision C-XM Pro.)
VP EnduroFest at China Peak results
Series Standings
Series Schedule
Words: Matt De Young
Photos: Scott McClain, Called to Creation
Author Info:
Member since Apr 28, 2014
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for next year we will definitely have a junior expert class that will ride the expert course, and a junior beginner class that will ride the beginner course... in the past three years of putting on enduro races i have never had riders who i would consider fit enough to make the expert course, so we never considered it before, our juniors have always been at a beginner/sport level and some quite young... but now that we are seeing the super juniors out in force we will make the change in the series for 2015...
there were the handful of you who wanted to ride the full course, but there were just as many who were glad that they didnt have to ride course three because they were not at that level in fitness to make the climb or in skill to make the descent... as far as value for dollar goes we set the entry fee based on fixed costs, like venue fee, insurance fee, catering fees, timing fees, which have nothing to do with how far you ride... all our riders got a great value for the money and great prizes ten deep which is not the norm... next year we will go to 5 stages and it doesnt really cost us that much more... so at least you will get 5 stages next year in JR X and not have to pay 150% more...
stick with us, we are all growing together and we have a lot of years to develop as riders, as events and a series, and as a community...
when you get out of JR how do you feel about a u23 category?... that way we can create a showcase to promote the next generation of riders and create a platform for you that will give you value in the eyes of sponsors so you can have a few years to grow and develop before hitting the pro category... its an idea that i have, and i will post it in the CES forums to get a convo going...
BUT despite the criticisms we received from online members who did NOT attend the race, we somehow still had an awesome time and surprisingly nobody complained about the fact that we were forced to take the ski lift on practice day. Again the invite is always open for anyone to join us for a weekend of great fun and good company. that includes you b-mack, if you're ok with the lifts that is