Ben Fischler

You nailed it. Agreed. Keep the courses technical and fun. Mountain
biking is about adventures on dirt and XC racing should reflect that.
Please don't make someone come up with an "All Mountain" racing category

-B.

On Thu, Jun 5, 2008 at 5:51 AM, John Weathers wrote:

> I saw some of the threads about this race and felt compelled to make a post
> -- something I almost never do. This course was fantastic -- and with this
> year's improvements (e.g., single track climbs) it couldn't have been
> better, except to make each amazing lap even longer!
>
> To those that would like this sport to be more like triathalons, road
> races, running races, etc. I say feel free to do those events, or the pseudo
> mtb race stages you can do in the multi-discilpline (jack of all trade,
> master of none) adventure races. I like mtb racing, have been doing it
> since 1991, and the OBRA series has it nailed.
>
> Note to promoters: when I drive two hours each way to race I expect to race
> at least for two hours -- it just seems 100% wrong to drive more 2x the time
> you spend on your bike on a Sunday! Pls. don't shorten the expert/pro
> classes!
>
> Yes, xc mtb racing is hard, but let's not forget what people were
> complaining about in the late '90s when the sport fell off of its peak --
> Norba courses that were non-technical with short boring laps -- there was
> nothing "epic" about the racing. OBRA races have "epic" and "varied" in
> spades compared to the rest of the country (I have lived and/or raced in
> NorCal, North Carolina, Kentucky, Wisconsin, Colorado), and I love it.
>
> If you want a shorter race, race Sport or Beginner. If you are too fast
> for those categories, ask promoters for a new class -- perhaps the "I'm
> really fast, able and strong but would prefer to not get tired class" --
> maybe it will catch on. Just don't expect me to sign up! I want to be
> wiped out when I finish a race, and I want the course technical enough that
> there is no chance I will think about anything in my life for that 2 hours
> except the trail and the race.
>
> Want to increase attendance? Coordinate the races so they don't conflict
> with the road season -- that may mean races later into the summer, but hey
> wouldn't that be a good thing? Wouldn't the turnout at Horning's been
> higher if it was 75 and partly cloudy with dry trails than the slop we hiked
> through in March?
>
> If I have one complaint about the season is that I freeze my a** off and
> trash my bike for the first 2/3 of the season every year. But hey, that's
> Oregon and it's why I just got a SS!
>
> Cheers,
>
> jw
>
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--
-Ben

VFX Supe
Laika

[ ben.fischler@gmail.com ]