Trail hugs mtn side under cliff band above cabins

While I haven’t been out racing like some of you guys I have been getting in some long rides, thus giving me the excuse to go up to Kirkwood last Saturday (Aug 1) and try riding the Kirkwood 9-5 endurance mountain bike race put on by Team Bigfoot. I didn’t approach it as a race as much as ride and experience. Despite a long hard day it was a lot of fun, something I plan to do again, and recommend to others.

Kirkwood parking lot - ride through self support pits

Taking place at Kirkwood from 9 AM to 5 PM there were about 120 total participants with around 80 being solo and others on teams…sure didn’t seem like that many. I pulled up to the parking lot and the guy next to me recognized the Etna/DeSalvo kit, seems he was from Sac and knows Chris Bauman. Sorry forgot the name but says ‘hello’. His truck and red hardtail below.

While a bit of a group at the start, the race thinned out nicely and people were very cool about passing…significant time was not lost getting stuck behind slow people on course (I jumped aside quickly). The course was about 6 miles long and mostly single track with some fire road climbing. I pre road the course the day before at a comfortable pace in about 45 minutes but didn’t feel as well and struggled for that on race day. Took a pretty hard spill on my second lap that put me to the side of the trail taking inventory for about 20 minutes. The course ran through the pits, a big parking lot (see pic), where it was self-service. After lap two I started taking pretty regular 10-15 min pit stops and maybe a half hour at the mid point, not having an ‘on’ day I was just trying to keep it fun and minimize the damage. It was a tough six and seventh lap to finish my day, despite the fluids and taking salt caps I was getting cramps and trying hard not to let the legs lock up. Ended up in the middle of the Masters 40+ and made the most of it so I was happy to finish but not overly stoked on my performance. Being from Sea Level the 8k plus altitude didn’t help but sure made for a nice venue.

*Shasta Lake, September 5th Clikapudi 6PM to Midnight (6 hours event)

I’m planning to come up for it, any chance of getting more of the team interested!?! Teams of two? Yes it’s all in the dark and lights needed.

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