over the hump @ irvine lake

since i've only been mountain biking a handful (literally - a handful) of times since starting in january 2010, i thought it would be a good idea to test out what little skills i had - accompanied with even less experience and sign up for the over the hump series @ irvine lake! 

starting my mountain biking adventure with a completely stock '08 cannondale f7, i figured i would upgrade this in order to be the least bit competitive. i have changed almost everything on this bike...everything!  thanks to ebay, jensonusa, performance bicycles and craigslist for being great resources for parts.  i went through and changed the stem (ritchey wcs), handlebars (ritchey wcs), seatpost (thomson elite), saddle (fizik gobi), front fork (fox f100), wheelset (easton xc one), tubes/tires (panaracers), pedals (crank brothers), shifters (shimano), brakes (shimano). the only thing left to change is the bottom bracket and crankset! ...soon to be changed.  once those are changed, all that remains from the bike i originally bought used from a friend of mine is the blue frame, that is all.

this is a current photo of the bike i have raced in the first two over the hump races.  i went with an all-white themed front end and saddle.  i think it gives it some character, kinda like a mullet - business in the front / party in the back!

over the hump 2010 race #1: 

good racing experience!  high intensity!  tough crowds and difficult course.  it was definitely a good learning experience.  from anything i've ever done on the road - this was a truly unique and new experience.  learning to handle the bike through the tight turns and twists while managing to stabilize the bike and myself was trying in itself, but doing it with racers in front and behind you pressurizes the situation by 100! finishing the 7 mile course 23rd out of 28 with a time of 49:18.6 wasn't all too bad for a first time race...even though it put me nearly at the bottom of the grouping.

over the hump 2010 race #2:

huge improvement from race #1.  not only in time, but in comfort on the bike and with the course.  confidence on the downhills and off saddle climbing was present this second time around.  changes to the bike made for this second race included switching from the wtb velociraptor cable bead tire set to the panaracer fire xc pro's was a huge improvement in handling and rolling resistance.  although there were less people entered in the men's beginner 29-under race class, i was still able to improve my time to 43:44.1 for the 7 mile course which put me in 13th position out of 20.