Mulholland Double Century and KOM Series Race Report

[RojoRacing]

This actually took place several weeks ago but it took me at least a week to write and another while longer for CruzBike to post with their recent bike model release going on. This was my hardest race to date on the Vendetta but also one of my best performances based purely on riding to my potential. 12-13k feet of climbing in the first 106 miles and 18k feet of climbing for the whole 196 miles. Every descent is a complex twisty canyon road requiring the best for your bike control skills. This event was one of my favorites this far so enjoy the report.

http://cruzbike.com/blog/2017/04/25/...llenge-double/

 

[Zzzorse]

"The way I see it is I was already so close to a win today that all I need to do is go a little bit faster next time and I can win with shenanigans and all."

Destroyer of all shenanigans upright.

 

[trapdoor2]

Very nicely written, enjoyed reading that. My elder brother drove those canyons back in the '60s in dad's Model A hotrod pickup. Dad had to drive up from San Diego to help him one time as he peeled the tires off the front rims in one curve. We left CA when I was 8, so I never got to drive the canyons.

 

[castlerobber]

Love it. My heart rate was up just reading about those descents. Great job, riding and writing!

 

[super slim]

Jason, an excellent ride and result!!!
What happened to the police car?
When pushing to the limit like you do on descents, then the Hydraulic brakes superior feel comes into it own!!!

 

[RojoRacing]

Jason, an excellent ride and result!!!
What happened to the police car?
When pushing to the limit like you do on descents, then the Hydraulic brakes superior feel comes into it own!!!

Police car may have gotten stuck behind the truck that let me pass, I never saw him again. The feel of quality hydro brakes is just something else, in the cycling world we really do use some pretty crap braking systems and call them good. I normally used stock brakes on my race motorcycles to meet super stock regulations and they are damn good, way better then the cycling stuff. The times I would test or race for a team on the world superbike circuit I would get to ride bikes with $10,000 braking systems which would be like comparing the raw speed of a fat bike to the vendetta :lol

I raced in the era before traction control and I was know to have superior throttle control to the point I could spin the rear tire just fast enough to arch the bike into a tighter turning radius without the tire completely braking loose. Even more unique was my clutch lever control and my bizarre reverse use of it as a rear brake. The clutch control directly transitions over to the method I use to keep the rear tire of the V stopping but always in contact with the ground.

 

[bazzawill]

Great report Jason. What brakes to you use? Also I imagine riding motorcycles with full leathers have helped you corner/descend (plus just being pretty awesome). I would love to learn to corner better but I am always mindful that one wrong move = disaster. I have considered going out in downhill mountain bike gear just to boost confidence. Although I am a big wuss especially as I get older. I swear I descended faster in my youth on a DF.
Congrats on a awesome ride mate.

 

[bladderhead]

All of what bazzawill said. In a tight downhill corner I just cannot bring myself to trust the tyres to stick to the road.

I crashed my Grasshopper and broke my elbow. Each winter I get scared of ice, and wonder if I should get elbow pads. I never wear a lid, but I never worry about my coconut.

Motorbike brakes are very good but very heavy I suspect.

In the last part of the race you were eating your headrest. No wonder you went so fast. The sooner you reach the end the sooner you can rest your neck. Did you get neck ache?

 

[RojoRacing]

I'm using sram red hydro brakes 160mm rotor front and 140mm rear. If it makes you guys feel any better as soon as the road gets a little wet I turn into a big pussy on the DHs because I have no experience of where that traction line is. In motorcycle racing you try and pick a slower corner to focus on in the rain and force yourself to go faster with each lap until you crash. This way you can find that fine line and hopefully the damage to the bike will be minimal. Ice is a total shit shoot, no two ways about it. The thought of dawning my full leather racing suite and blasting down Mt. Diablo has crossed my mind but I have yet to try. High end motorcycle brake are heavier due to their shear volume in material but extremely light weight given their size due to the everything being made out of mono block forged magnesium and the rotors are full carbon fiber or ceramic. I always wear a lid and fear major injury on the vendetta more so then on my DH bike. I feel when a ride T-bones a car or object it was due in part to them poorly reading the situation, trust me cyclist are no better drivers then the mass majority of drivers we complain about. On the other hand being rear ended by a car is something almost totally out of my control and I feel being rear ended on the V when you head at the rear would almost certainly lead to a broken neck. The promotion that recumbents are safe in a crash due to their feet being first to impact is something I'm highly opposed to and see as single sided marketing.

 

[RojoRacing]

257 views on the BROL thread, that's a lot of riders visiting the Cruzbike website.

 

[bladderhead]

When a rider T-bones a car... That rider was me. Totally my fault. That is how I got the elbow, but what was worse was feeling like a Nobel prizewinning dork. Hydraulic disk-brakes are brilliant. As long as you use them.