The Great Spring Norcal Adventure of 2007, Day 1

Sea Otter ho! Yesterday/today Zach Griffith and I drove straight from Boulder to Marin (it took 20 hours with heavy snow), and today we tasted the goodness in a big way.

XC with Mark Weir

Yeah, I know, always a hard thing; not always a good thing. He invited us on a “one and a half hour ride,” which in Weirspeak means you leave from his house, do a long approach, do a 90-minute+ climb, rip the descent and then ride back home.

The weather was perfect, the climbs were huge, the views were stunning and the descents were braaap. Good stuff.

Almost there … the locals rocked the climb with single rings and 36×34 low gears. The top pitch is 33 percent!

Zach ran a Tazer with a low seat and race gearing — and he suffered. Check out Mt. Diablo in the background. I lived there, working for the local newspaper, for six years.

Weir and Jiro Nakamura overlooking Novato.

Beautiful. You can see why Weir loves home so much.

Pumping it Up

Since I visited last Fall, Weir has doubled the size of his pump track. It’s even more ridiculous — and more flowy — than before. Give an obsessive man a mission, and he’ll take it all the way …

Zach and I were beat after the drive and the XC ride, but we had a great pump. I look forward to a mega sesh next week after the Otter.

Yeah, Weir’s pump track has bleachers. The Losers Lounge, or something like that.

This berm is easy, but the audience is tough! “Hey Lee, your shoelaces are pretty long … that’s dangerous, especially when you have to pedal so much!” Zach’s turn.

Jiro was a pro DHer back in the day, and he still knows what’s going on.

Weir rips Satan’s Tail, a series of S-turns that will blow your mind and make your tires say BRAAAP!

Next: Tomorrow we arrive at the Otter, set up camp, register and walk the DH course. I’ll be off the radar until at least Monday. Rock it!