Oh boy, look!

August 20 is the first downhill race in the cccx series!

"The course: Courses will consist of Single-track, Fire Roads, Natural Obstacles, Technical Sections. Some routes may have Pedal Sections. The trails in this park have Steep Sections and lots of Elevation. Most trails will favor a Medium Range Bike and not a Ski Resort DH Rig. Routes will feature Fun DH riding and good overall practice for DH Fitness and Skills. "

Well, I know for sure I can ride fireroads. Single track I can usually ride. Off camber, I'm pretty okay with it, rocky sections still give me pause, but I'm better than I use to be. I really struggle with going over (down?) drops. Steep sections. Mmm. Well...I wonder how steep is steep? I'd rather go down a steep hill than climb up it. Which brings us to Elevation. Oh, ugh. That means climbing. Seems rather unfair in a downhill race. Medium range bike? Got that covered.

So Toro park, huh?

"Large state park area with a large variety of trails, but understand that you will be doing a lot of climbing before you venture in."

Climbing. Eww.

"The main loop in the park includes "1800" which is a HUGE climb up from sea level to 1800 feet, and dominates a large portion of the main loop."

Yeah, okay I get it. This is beginning to sound like a cross country race.

"Decents (throughout the park in general) are steep and are technical from the standpoint of having to bunny-hop or ride through many water bars added by the park staff to prevent run-off problems and erosion. "

Bunny hopping? Damn. Now, not only do I have to practice riding uphill, I'm going to have to go over to the highschool and practice bunny hopping.

"My arms were sore for several days after my last ride in there from all of the pulling and pushing on the bike. If you are a fairly experienced rider, in decent shape and want a different experience than what Fort Ord has to offer (across the street) Toro Park will give you a butt busting workout. Give it a try!"

Ummm, nevermind. Maybe I'll just go and watch the downhill racers.

I guess a field trip to Toro Park is in order.