The Kenda Cup has injected a large infusion of enthusiasm and interest in the Sothern California XC racing scene. The competition and numbers of racers increased dramatically this year. I’ve greatly enjoyed chasing points this year in my quest for the Kenda Cup. I had a very strong first have of the series which started to fall apart midpoint at Firestone. I had cracked my Gary Fisher early in the year and started racing reliable Specialized bikes with excellent outcomes. Then for some reason, perhaps nostalgia, I decided to race my freshly warranted Fisher Paragon at Firestone. Halfway into the race, I had broken my bike and was lucky enough to patch it together long enough to finish DFL. After that my season started to turn sour. After a disappointing late season, I somehow was able to have enough points to be in contention for a top finish at the unification race. Not wanting to jinx my race, I considered racing my trusty Stumpjumper. However, I was still reeling from the smackdown Chris had handed me at Howell Mountain and wanted to try out my Epic recently purchased from JP. I had ridden the epic 5 or 6 times without incident and felt confident racing it. JP had recommended I bled the front brake, but as it was working great I put it off.

Racing at Bonelli and Fontana is great for me as gives me opportunity to visit with my family living in Diamond Bar. The only hazard is sometimes I tend to eat or drink too much the night before while visiting with family. I had resolved not to over indulge and ate dinner before arriving so as to have an excuse to resist my uncles world class cooking. Like so many things in my life, my plan horribly back fired. By the time I arrived, my stomach had almost completed digesting dinner and was relatively empty.  I walk through the door and was greeted with “It’s Heineken night” by my uncle. I was surprised by the words “No, thanks I’ve got a race tomorrow” as they escaped my mouth.  It’s a well known fact that Heineken is my favorite beer, not counting Firestone, and I’m powerless against it. Within a few moments I had cracked one open, promising myself to only have one…

The race started at 10:00. It was hot, dusty and I was hung over. The race started with a rush to the first hill. I was holding the leaders by a few feet. It was important to stay near the front as the dust was pea soup thick. I managed to make it to the first crest of the major climb in relatively good position. But then the race started to unravel. The brakes I had neglected to bleed had serious fading on the downhill, so bad I lost control and almost went over the edge of a switch back. Having the willies and afraid to bomb the downhill I lost considerable time. I was determined to recover the time on the next big climb and attempt to pump my brakes on next downhill. The next major climb went great. I was standing up at times hammering it, pulling back at least 10 riders before the summit.  As I reached to top, a wave of nausea hit me and I vomited up my Starbucks spinach feta cheese wrap. Taking a moment to recover I determined to finish the race. The vomiting to my surprise made me feel significantly better. It must have been the combination of skunky Heineken and the feta wrap holding me back. I quickly learned to pump the brakes to prevent the fading and managed to finish the race. I finished in 3rd and managed to win the points series by one point. The folks at Team BigBear were great at the award ceremony. I was awarded a unification jersey and bottle of Stone Brewing Co Pale Ale. Until next year, I can’t wait for the return of the Kenda Cup and another race at Bonelli.

Gary- GLOCK

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