|
Keyesville Competition - March 2-3, 2002
Lake Isabella, California
Photos
Report by Jon Maeda
The sunny weekend of March 2-3rd saw a total of 20 riders take to the hills
outside of Lake Isabella for the annual Keyesville Classic. While this used
to be an event of great proportions, involving 50-75 volunteers and over 400
cross country, downhill & trialsinners, the millenium has seen a dramatic
drop in the sport overall. While the number of trialsinners has dropped, we
have held relatively strong compared to the drop in downhill & CC racers.
Thanks to the efforts of trials directors Kurt Hathaway & Howard Phelps, the
Keyesville event remains one of the best on the West Coast. The accompanying
photos show enormous granite boulders and loose, gravelly streambeds, which
make up the sections of this premier event. Efforts are in the works to
include a BIKE MOVE type event next year, highlighting the more showy aspects
of the sport like bunny-hopping, gap and trackstand contests, either in the
Keyesville parking area, or in the parking lot of some shopping center in
nearby Lake Isabella.
The biggest class of the weekend was the Vet class, who were spanked by
perrenial class-topper Mr. Mike Morris. A true retro-hero, clad in
skin-tight lycra shorts, Mr. Mike maneuvered over the rocks and boulders in
true East Bay fashion, leading the way to the podium over Andy "AT" Trickel
and relative Left Coast newcomer, Trayce Shires. Shires was astride a brand
new Echo stock bike, assembled hurriedly only hours before the 12 noon
kickoff on Saturday. Attracting lots of attention, the new Echo looked
stout, yet feathery light under a smooth Trayce. San Jose's Todd Danen, a
Sandhill Ranch regular and Hoss Onnen, a skin-headed fixture on the SoCal
scene, rode to 4th & 5th places among the Vets.
Riverside's Brian Davis took the Expert Stock win, while Zak Maeda rode to
1st in the Ex Mods over a rapidly improving Tim "Turtlehead" Halberg. A
recent returnee to the comp scene was Sport Mod winner Paul Bray of San
Francisco, over Monica Thompson and Sam Phelps. Pete Sturtevant, as the sole
Stock Sport competitor, had only to finish, to top his class. Two first time
competitors topped the Beginner Mod class, Kyle Menzies, brother of rising
star Sam Phelps, and Kernville's Zane Tedder hopping their bikes to 1st &
2nd respectively, as Thomas Elam was among those arriving for only one day of
competition.
Pros Shaun Miller and Andrew Fulton gave the assembled crowd quite a show on
both days, with Scott Thompson making an appearance on Saturday only. The
appearance of pro riders is always a treat for the uninitiated, as they hop,
skip and balance their way across the seemingly impossible lines laid out by
the section builders.
All in all, a most enjoyable weekend of sun and boulder hopping. Hopefully,
more riders will attend future events, in an effort to make the event
worthwhile. Organizers Hathaway & Phelps put in an incredible amount of work
making the sections look great with pro style markings and a challenging
loop...it's just a shame more riders don't partake. Don't miss it next year!
Results
BEGINNER MODIFIED
Kyle Menzies 35
Zane Tedder 41
Thomas Elam 15 (one day score only)
SPORT STOCK
Pete Sturtevant 35
SPORT MODIFIED
Paul Bray 34
Monica Thompson 36
Sam Phelps 61
EXPERT STOCK
Brian Davis 44
Richard Clasen 65 (one day score only)
EXPERT MODIFIED
Zak Maeda 28
Tim Halberg 72
Phil Lucero 29 (one day score only)
VET CLASS (35+ years)
Mr. Mike Morris 40
Andy Trickel 44
Trayce Shires 57
Todd Danen 76
Hoss Onnen 132
PRO OPEN
Shaun Miller 18
Andrew Fulton 44
Scott Thompson 45 (one day score only)
© 2005 BikeTrials.com
|
