RIDE Cyclery had a great weekend of racing at Vail Lake!
Saturday started off as a cold January morning, rolling the RIDE 2U van into the SoCal Endurance 8 Hours of SoCal event at 6:30 AM. The temps ramped up quick as the racers were called up to the starting line.
When the race started, the temps were perfect and not a cloud in the sky! I was actually able to meet one cyclist I have admired for years, Tinker Juarez! Even at 54, he was out there tearing it up as usual.
Keith Omundson, a new rider for the Purely Dental/RIDE Cyclery team this season, raced in the 4 Hour Solo/Men's Open Division and finished 2nd! He has been a great addition to the team, also winning at the Dirty 30!
As the day wore on, the conditions got dustier and dustier. I was working a lot with one of the Purely Dental/RIDE Cyclery riders, Michael Sowinski, as he was racing Solo in the 8 Hour, Masters 50-59 category. Handing off water bottles and keeping them full. Mike ended up finishing 2nd! Congrats Mike!
Jim Salazar, the manager of the Purely Dental/RIDE Cyclery team was racing the 8 Hour with his 9 year old son, Mason! They did great, completing 8 laps. Juniors better look out, Mason is going to be a force to be reckoned with on the bike.
Teammate, Eric Wilson, finished a hard fought day just off the podium in 7th in the 8 Hour Solo/Men's Open Division. Great job Eric!
To close out the day, the Purely Dental/RIDE Cyclery 2-Man Team needed a sub 52 minute lap from Seth Watson to shore up a 4th Place finish, Seth had been working hard all day, but his times had been tailing off on his last couple of laps. As the announcer was calling off the remaining minutes in the 8 Hour race, Seth appeared! He finished with a 50:09! Way to push through Seth!
All in all, it was a very successful outing and I look forward to a great race season from the Purely Dental/RIDE Cyclery mountain bike team!