Team
David
Name David Marsh
City Apple Valley, CA
Age When I'm on the bike, I'm 13
Category Cat 2
Bike Trek Fuel 9.9
Favorite Food salmon or chicken and brown rice
Favorite Music A little bit of everything
What year did you start riding? October of 2009
What is the most and least number of hours you ride in a week? I ride between 6 and 12 hours a week, in addition to cycling I do a 1-hour trail run and (2) 1-hour sessions of weight training.
What is your favorite place to ride? Idyllwild, Honda Valley and Sycamore Rocks
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Do you use supplements or sports drinks? Perpetuem and Heed
What aspect of racing is most fun for you? Racing enriches the whole cycling experience and pushes you beyond your limits.
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Hank
Name Henry Valenzuela
City Apple Valley, CA
Age 46
Category Cat 1 Mountain, Cat 3 Road
Bike 2006 Giant XTC hardtail, 2007 Trek Madone 6.9
Favorite Food prime rib, pizza, apple pie
Favorite Music Led Zepplin and Led Zepplin tribute bands
What year did you start riding? I've been riding a bike ever since I was a little kid. I started doing triathlons in the 80's while stationed in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii and then stopped riding for about 20 years. This will be my 7th consecutive season racing.
What is the most and least number of hours you ride in a week? If I am training for a 12 hour race, I will log about 25 hours. If I am tired or taking a recovery week, I'll log about 4-6 hours.
What is your favorite place to ride? Anytime I can just roll out of my garage on my road or mountain bike I can always find a great place to ride. If I have to load up my truck and drive it's not so much fun.
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Do you use supplements or sports drinks? For long races and training rides I use Hammer Perpetuem. For short races and rides I use Gatorade. Anytime is a good time for a Powerbar.
What aspect of racing is most fun for you? At this age just finishing a race is fun and rewarding.
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Freddie
Name Freddie Espinoza
City Idyllwild, CA
Age 43
Category Cat 1
Bike Trek Superfly and Siren "John Henry" (handmade custom steel frame)
Favorite Food Consuelos Chile Verde Burritos and Homemade Coconut Milk/Blueberry Ice Cream
Favorite Music Classic and Alternative Rock
What year did you start riding? 2007 so I could get in shape for fire season after recovering from a broken leg.
What is the most and least number of hours you ride in a week? 5-15 Hours per week in all weather conditions.
What is your favorite place to ride? Idyllwild, May Valley, and anywhere in the San Jacinto/Santa Rosa Mountains
Do you use supplements or sports drinks? Mostly just water. On hot days, I mix an electrolite replacement in one of my water bottles. I carry a flask of Hammer Gel for long endurance rides and races.
What aspect of racing is most fun for you? Training and trying to figure out the best combination of conditioning, rest, and nutrition to be prepared for race day.
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Nacho
Name Ignacio Jimenez
City Apple Valley, Ca
Age 31
Category Cat 3
Bike Giant Trance
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Sarah Alvarado
Name Sarah Alvarado
City Hesperia, Ca
Age 29
Category Cat 2
Bike Giant Trance
Favorite Food I like to bake deserts
Favorite Music Classic Rock
What year did you start riding? When I met Ely
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Matt Gregg
Name Matt Gregg
City Phelan, Ca
Age 30
Category Cat 2
Bike Trek Remedy
Favorite Food Organic
Favorite Music My drums
What year did you start riding? What year was I born?
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Iceman
Name Gary Forester
City Newport, DE
Age 40
Category Cat 3
Bike Giant Reign
Favorite Food Monster Energy Drinks
Favorite Music American Pie
What year did you start riding? The year my brothers stopped stealing my bikes.
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Joey Musser
Name Joey Musser
City Big Bear, Ca
Age 15
Category Cat 2
Bike Don't know yet
Favorite Food Mexican food
Favorite Music Heavy metal music
What year did you start riding? 2008
What is the most and least number of hours you ride in a week?
Most hours a week 8, least 2.
What is your favorite place to ride?
Rim nordic.
Do you use supplements or sports drinks?
I use supplements and sports drinks
What aspect of racing is most fun for you?
Competition and adrenaline is most fun for me!
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Anthony Musser
Name Anthony Musser
City Big Bear, Ca
Age 35
Category Cat 3 but would like to be cat 2 by years end
Bike Don't know bike yet
Favorite Food Mexican food
Favorite Music Anything that brings glory to jesus
What year did you start riding? 2006
What is the most and least number of hours you ride in a week?
Most hours of riding a week 8, least 2.
What is your favorite place to ride?
Love to ride the single track all over Big Bear.
Do you use supplements or sports drinks?
I use supplements and sports drinks.
What aspect of racing is most fun for you?
So far it is training for the next race and seeing improvement.
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Ely Woody
Name Ely Austin Woody
City Oak Hills, Ca
Age 28
Category XC=Pro, Downhill=Pro, Road= Category 2
Bike Trek Top Fuel
Favorite Food Mmmmm food.....
Favorite Music Aesop Rock, Junior Brown, Atmosphere, Tiger Army, The Pogues, Willie Nelson, Bad Religion, A Tribe Called Quest..... The list goes on for days!
What year did you start riding?
My grandparents bought me a half-way decent bike back in 1994, and my uncle introduced me to the sport. I definitely had a passion for it then, but didn't really have people to ride with or the support to race. Then, when I was about 14 I got caught doing a 65-70 mile ride up to Crestline from Apple Valley... Alone....I was subsequently grounded and my bike was taken away. I didn't really get back into cycling until 2002. In 2006 I did my first XC race at Rim Nordic. I jumped right into the expert class, won, and I've been having a blast ever since... Win or lose!
What is the most and least number of hours you ride in a week?
A big week during the winter or early spring will be 20+ hours. During a rest week I'll still put in between 4-6 hours.
What is your favorite place to ride?
I don't really have a favorite place to ride. The great thing about a bicycle is that it enables you to see the details of your surroundings more-so than a car. I have fun wherever I'm riding for that reason. I do enjoy the variety of terrain we have in the High Desert though... As far as racing goes, I definitely prefer the courses with steeper, looser, technical sections. For XC, the scarier the course the better.
Do you use supplements or sports drinks?
Yes. I ride for Hammer Nutrition and use several products. For shorter racing and training rides I use HEED or Hammer Gel. For longer events I use Hammer Perpetuem. As far as supplements go, I generally don't use them. I don't think there's a better way to get what your body needs than eating a good variety of nutritious foods. Unfortunately, that means a lot of time spent cooking but there is just too much extra junk in processed food. However, I have been using Hammer Race Caps Supreme as a nutritional boost during intense training and racing weeks.
What aspect of racing is most fun for you?
Winning!
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Bryan Taylor
Name Bryan Taylor
City Poway, CA
Age 39
Category Pro
Bike Trek Top Fuel
Favorite Food Indian, although it doesn't do much for my training so my wife and I save it for special occasions!!!
Favorite Music I enjoy anything with Acoustic guitar. Favorite bands are Snow Patrol, Oasis, Travis, Texas.
What year did you start riding?
I got my first bike when I was really young, and have been cycling ever since. I was born and raised in Scotland and did mountain bike racing for a couple of seasons there in my early twenties before getting into rock and ice climbing and mountaineering - I still cycled regularly as a great way to keep in shape, but was mostly long endurance rides rather than for speed. I moved to the US/Southern California in 2001 and spent most of my riding on a road bike [being scared of rattlesnakes, I had images of getting attacked when-ever I went onto a trail], and tried my hand at a few triathlons. After spending a few years hiking the local trails, I finally realized there are not snakes hiding around every corner and again combined my love of cycling and mountains and purchased a new MTB. I did my first Rim Nordic race 3 years ago, and have started to get a bit more serious about training and racing over the past couple of years.
What is the most and least number of hours you ride in a week?
I average around 14 hours per week on the bike, along with a couple of hours in the gym. Unless I have to travel with work, my minimum is not normally less than 8 hours per week. I have never really taken a structured approach to training, just tried to do as many long hard rides as possible - while I think this has helped get me to a certain point, a different strategy is likely to be needed to get to the next level.
What is your favorite place to ride?
Anything with some good hills. I am lucky to have a park "Sycamore Canyon" that is a short ride from our home, I spend a lot of time training there, it has fun single track and some steep climbs. I also really enjoy getting up to the higher mountains of Big Bear, Mammoth etc.
Do you use supplements or sports drinks?
Have experimented with various sports drinks, but haven't managed to find one that was not too sweet or sickly after a few bottles. I normally train with just water, and have a mix of Gatorade and water for races. I don't use any supplements.
What aspect of racing is most fun for you?
For the racing itself, I enjoy the challenge of pushing myself to the limit and the feeling of achievement when the dedication and hard work pays off with good finishes. In general, I find the races a great excuse and motivation to travel to areas that we may not otherwise go to. Also, my family and I enjoy the social side of the racing and have met some really nice people over the past couple of years.
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Romolo Forcino
Name Romolo Forcino
City Oak Hills, Ca
Age Old
Category Pro
Bike Trek Superfly 29er
Favorite Food Rice and Beans
Favorite Music Van Morrison
What year did you start riding?
I started riding a bike when I was 5 years old. My grandfather taught me in the driveway. I still remember when he took off the training wheels. Since then the bike always meant freedom.
What is the most and least number of hours you ride in a week?
Some weeks I ride way too much. Some weeks I relax, drink a beer and eat some ice cream.
What is your favorite place to ride?
Radford Grade in Big Bear has a special place in my heart, but the best trail is Wildhorse Trail on Sugarloaf Mountain.
Do you use supplements or sports drinks?
I use Hammer Nutrition products when I can. I think that they are the best, but any calorie will keep you going.
What aspect of racing is most fun for you?
During a race, you can truly live in the moment. Everything else disappears.
