Pre-Season Racing
Blog post by Reno Tahoe Junior Cycling Team members Matt Nugent and Jackson Miers. Silver Sage is proud to sponsor and support the team’s pursuit of excellence.
I’m Matthew Nugent, one of the members of Reno Tahoe Junior Cycling. All of our team members enjoy practicing, having fun, and racing together. Since mountain biking is our passion, we ride and race together outside of our season schedule. Some of our favorite pre-season races are part of the Total Body Fitness (TBF) series. The TBF races are comprised of short but speedy laps on the trails around Granite Beach, California. The laps range from six to eight miles each, and depending on what category in which you are racing, races are one to four laps. The terrain ranges from flowing downhill to technical uphill. This four race series presents a challenge to even experienced riders. My peer and fellow teammate, Jackson Miers, has a short description of one of the more rainy races from the series:
On February 8th, I got up at 5 am. I ate some oatmeal and then packed up my bike and gear for the second TBF race. Departure was at 5:30. Arrival was at 8. We hopped out of the car and went for registration. I put my number plate on and went to warm up. Zach and Tate warmed up while Matt and I warmed up. We lined up on our starting position and 10 seconds before the announcer said, “Go!” it started raining. During the first lap it was wild. People to pass, lots of people. Mud, lots of it too. And rain, as you can guess, lots of that too. As Matt and I came down a switchback, a man fell off the top and to the bottom separating us. On the second lap, there were less people, but more mud and rain. Towards the end there was a puddle that my rotor was even in. As I finished, I went over to take a picture with Matt and then he started to throw up. This happens when you do not drink a single bit of water during a race. It was a fun race; really fun. We all went to eat at Beach Hut Deli and then had a long car ride home. I slept most of the way.
Fun, right? Many riders would skip this race without thinking twice. It was cold, rainy, and muddy, yet our riders are committed enough to attend even the more unpleasant races. Why? We do not see racing as a burden, but a challenge and opportunity to improve our skill and technique by riding in all different environments, elevations, and weather. Our passion and commitment is part of what makes Reno Tahoe Junior Cycling so unique and exciting.
