Welcome!

The Cougars 5th overall

Sun, 26 Feb 2012 22:09:42 -0800

I am just going to mention our impressive top-10 finishers. Mark came in 7th, Zohe in 8th and Anna in 9th.

Congrats to all the racers for getting the Albany Cougars into an excellent 5th position out of 28 teams.

Thanks to everyone that made this great race day possible.

Keep it up and GO COUGARS!

Pre-season Race at Folsom Lake

Sun, 5 Feb 2012 20:20:40 -0800

For one more season the Cougars, with a fair amount of new blood, take on the race courses. The race today took place in the surroundings of beautiful Folsom Lake, north of Sacramento. Perfect weather for racing.

The day started with a bit of chaos since many new riders had to learn the pre-race routines. But thanks to the many parents present we got everyone race-ready in time. Now you know that it is not just arrive and race. Every racer needs to have the equipment, the food and water ready and all individual preferences need to be communicated to the Feed Zone crew. Also we need to be physically and mentally ready for the start. Most of you were at the venue on time and still you saw how we did not have a lot of time to spare. The race preparation today was especially challenging since all the riders went out at once.

Our first wave of racers took on the course with gusto and soon Mark went on a charge. He did a very smart race by pacing himself during the first lap and half and making an amazing charge for the rest of his race and coming in in third position, only 18 sec. behind 1st and only 4 sec. after the 2nd position finisher. If only the race would have been a mile longer, I am sure he could have fought for 1st position. Behind him Chris P. was having a different fight trying to keep his food inside him. Unfortunately, he lost this battle and had a DNF that he did not deserve. The other two male JV had a very decent race, taking into consideration that this was the first race for Massimo and just about the same for Chris A. since last year he only raced the pre-season race. Nothing but room to improve for all these riders in this very competitive class.

For the first time ever, we had both boys and girls starting a race together. Our JV girls and sophomore and freshman boys went out safely on a large group start, which always makes me nervous. Unfortunately, later in that first lap, Zohe crashed and broke her front brake lever in the process. Fortunately, she is very smart and asked me if she could continue racing and for safety reasons I told her to pull out. Anna had her usual race, working very hard and looking like she wasn't. She came through the finish line in an impressive 4th place. We missed Emily and we'll be happy to have her back for our next race.

Ray, our only sophomore, had a fantastic start and got ahead of all his team mates to finish the race in 4th position. Sam couldn't make it to the race and we are looking forward to having him with us next time.

And now for our young blood: Martin's race was very impressive and he came in 6th. I had a brief chat with him at the end of the race and decided to cut it short because I saw in his eyes that he couldn't follow me. He had given his all on the course and needed time to recover. Peter had the misfortune of receiving bad information from a race official that led to doing an extra lap. Looking at his lap times, he would have finished just behind Martin. It is impressive that he was able to maintain that pace for an extra lap. Now we know that we have a fast and STRONG rider in him. He also took his bad luck with grace and joked about it. Jason followed Martin for a 9th position ending. He was probably the racer that recovered the fastest from the effort, looking fresh just a few minutes after the race was over, although I am sure he had a good nap going home. He will be done with soccer very soon and will then practice with us during the week, not only on Sundays. Watch Out!!!! David had a fantastic race. It is a pleasure to see him powering through every obstacle that is in front of him. When we coach him how to channel that power he is going to be unstoppable. Ori also finished in the top half of the field, thanks to his great technical skills. As he becomes an even strong climber, we'll see nice battles between him and his buddy Martin. A solid effort. Andy, as always, gave 100%. He knows his limits and is always pushing them. Today he once again gave his all and finished the race with no energy to spare. He has improved more than any other rider this season and I admire the mental strength it takes to push his limits every time he gets on the bike. He also ties with Anna and Ray for 1st prize in the clean bike category.

All in all, our first race of the season was a success on many levels and a big part of that was the fantastic parent participation that made this all possible. I would have to write many pages to individually thank all the coaches and parents who made the day run so smoothly and I won't subject you to that, but please know that we all benefit and we are all very grateful. It will be a pleasure to work with you at future races! A special thank you to Jim Z and his wife Kitty who give so much to the team even though they have never had a rider on the team. The community is so lucky to have people like you!

Today, we had the additional participation of our wonderful club sponsor, Dean Becker, who brought his son Erik and friend Michael to join us. They all had great races and Dean thoroughly enjoyed passing all the speedy downhillers on the long straight paved section. The smile on his face said it all. Too bad he can't race with us at the NorCal races. But you know you are always welcome to join us, Dean!

Race 2, Granite Bay Challenge

Tue, 15 Mar 2011 21:00:37 -0700

Hi Cougars,

As always on race day the alarm clock went off too early, but this one was especially cruel due to the fact that clocks were moved one hour forward before going to bed. Chris A. wasn't planning on racing but still he walked at 5 a.m. from his house way up in Tilden on Wildcat Road to Mark's house by the school to be with us and to take some cool pictures. That is team dedication.

We went off for a pre-ride of the course at 8:30 am to find a pile up of riders at every tricky point of the track. Although it was frustrating not to be able to ride those difficult sections, it was very beneficial for everyone to have a sense of the terrain and the course in general. The fact that it was the first time racing with the whole NorCal field (almost 600 riders) was noticeable and the start was challenging for everyone, not only because of the numbers but also because the racers had to deal with an uphill sandy terrain. I'm sorry I missed part of the girls' races and I really appreciate how everybody helped and kept it together while I had to go to the E.R. It was a great relief to see everything functioning when I got back as if nothing had happened.

Looking at the overall Team results, Albany High MTB Team is in 10th position out of 27 teams, not bad at all, keep it up!. Emily brought in the most points for the team. David went out still not completely recovered from injury and had a wonderful race. The individual results also showed that the Marin boys and girls are back but as a team we are working very well, not only because of the results but because of the great team spirit that all of you are creating.

If you like to analyze results click here.

Thanks for your participation with the Team and the League Sunday!

Daniel

--
Daniel Santos
AHS MTB Team
510-525-5216
510-809-5064
ahscougars@gmail.com
www.ahscougars.com

2011 Norcal Prologue Race Report

Tue, 1 Mar 2011 16:31:20 -0800

Hi Team,

We made it to the first NorCal Race.

After a horrible Saturday pre-ride with rain, hail and snow, Sunday was a beautiful day with cold winds and a clear sky and much more pleasant temperatures than anticipated.

We started the day by finishing setting up our space, taking team pictures and announcing that Emily is now, and for the two seasons to come, a Girls Varsity Racer. Way to go Emily!

This was a memorable race day for all our racers. Emily started getting the grasp of the highest cat possible at NorCal by giving her all on the course. Watch out for her improving throughout the season. Anna went out for her first JV race and managed to get the highest result of any of our racers with an excellent 5th position. Chris P. also had his first contact with the Soph. boys and managed to have a very good ride without any incidents bringing home the 50 pts. in contention. The new generation of Cougars went out and raced very close together. Mario came through the finish line first on lap one with a small gap on Ray followed by Sam in a teammates battle. Ray pulled an excellent second lap to finish ahead of Mario who was followed by Sam. There is a lot of determination in this group of "Cougar cubs". Alberto took to the start line with the butterflies of being in his first Varsity race. He had a decent start and managed to get into a solo good pace for four laps, on the last lap he started reeling in another varsity rider and was able to pass him close to the finish line for a very good 10th position finish. Last on course were our two JVs of the day. Lucas raced a very smart race, pushing himself to the limit but not over it. His face and body language at the end of the race told us anything we needed to know about his effort. Mark showed again how much he has matured as a racer and was able to put some very consistent laps to finish an excellent 7th place in a very tough field.

Our other Varsity rider Miguel came along to support his teammates. Thanks Miguel.

Thank you to all the parents and coaches that helped by contributing food and by helping with the Team and League needs for the day.

See pictures here (This page will be updated with more pictures soon)
Results here

Go Cougars!

Daniel

P.S. Please visit our website http://www.ahscougars.com/AHS_Cougars_Mtb/Sponsors.html and check out our sponsors. Remember how generous they have been to the Team and if you need any of the services that they offer, please consider them first.

--
Daniel Santos
AHS MTB Team
510-525-5216
510-809-5064
ahscougars@gmail.com
www.ahscougars.com

Great race day at Ford Ord

Mon, 14 Feb 2011 20:44:48 -0800

Hi everyone,

The Cougar's participation yesterday at CCCX race #1 in Fort Ord was a success. When we got there early in the morning the temperature was 32º F; luckily Thomas B. showed up with Peet's Coffee that got us warm and going. Our pit area was set up quickly thanks to the participation of all the team members, their families and Mr. Becker (Math Teacher / Clydesdale Cat Racer / all smiles racer / 4th position finisher / Beasty Guy). I also want to mention how wonderful it is that the guys who are temporarily out of commission (Miguel, Lucas and Chris P.) were there to support the team and enjoy this race. Special thanks to Thomas B. for all his invaluable help with all aspects of the day.

The first wave saw our newly-arrived Freshmen leading the pack on the paved road after the start line and very well positioned to start the adventure onto the single track. A little latter into the race they played "team work" and piled up in a crash. Ray wasn't much affected by it since he was at the front but Sam and Mario had to get up, pick up their scattered water bottles, jump on the bikes, and continue. The three of them did more than expected in their first race ever. They all had solid finishes and were very focused and determined during the race.

Behind them our two J.V. young women took to the course. Both of them were recovering from illness and injury, but managed to step up onto the podium, Anna 2nd and Emily 3rd. They might be the only two women in a pack of guys, but they produced the best results of the day. They don't know how to hold their horses and, like always, they gave their all out there. Watch out, they are recovering quickly and they will be unstoppable. When you see the pictures, look at their relaxed faces, it looks like they are not working hard. I think that is part of their strategy.

Second waive, three of our J.Vs. , one of our Vars. and the aforementioned Mr. Beasty Becker took to the track. Our new J.V. Chris A. had a very challenging 4 lap race as his very first race ever. He is coming on board with good spirits into a very competitive field. David, recovering from illness, did really well and pushed himself beyond where he should have. It was tough to see him struggling with deep breathing at the end of the race. He will be in top shape very soon and delight us with his consistent race results. Mark went out with his usual explosive energy. You can feel his maturity as a racer; a lot more consistent lap times and ready to challenge his J.V. peers in his first year in this cat. Alberto went out hard trying to catch the wheel of the leader; but settled into a group of four in pursuit, had a crash, lost contact with this group, and finished in a solid 6th position. To finish the day Mr. Beasty Becker came in 4th, we don't know if he did his mandatory 4 laps or if he did 5 laps. The officials at the finish line kept telling him one more lap because he always looked so fresh. Unfair. He looked great out there, all smiles and having a good time. (Do you think he was remembering the Pythagorean Theorem?). Thank you Mr. Becker for joining your pupils in this race.

Last, I want to thank our sponsors for the generous donations that have allowed us to purchase racing uniforms (shorts, jerseys and vests) for all our racers and jerseys for our coaches. I want to remind you who these good people, organizations, and businesses are:
Solano Avenue Cyclery, Albany Ford Subaru, Mechanics Banks, Velocity Lock Smith, Bicycle Trail Council of the East Bay, Flowerland, Rutherford Boats, Clifbars, Kenda Tires, Peets Coffee, Cafeina, Steve's Autocare, Sticks Framing, Albany Berkeley Optometry, Stone Bridge Press, and R.C. Imports Auto Repair. Thank you for your sponsorship of the Albany High School Mountain Bike Racing Team.

Looking forward to a great season to come.

Go Cougars!

Daniel

Daniel Santos
AHS MTB Team
510-525-5216
510-809-5064
ahscougars@gmail.com
www.ahscougars.com