Truckee XC

Truckee X-C on the road at Kirkwood Cross Country...

2012-02-07T21:47:00.000-08:00

February 5, 2012

Danny, Rik & Roger appear in this Kirkwood promo... Our friend Deb Waldear asked us if we would, and we were glad to oblige!! Skiing on a California blue-bird day in a spectacular setting? We managed!! We come into frame at about 1:20.

JNQ Classic Sprints: You know… Age & Treachery… Auburn Ski Club, CA

2012-01-07T21:45:00.000-08:00

December 28, 2011

Rik Eckert

Mammoth High School Nordic Coach Alana Levin was giving her boys a good ribbing as they milled around the start line before our head-to-head sprint heat. “You boys are racing against an OLD guy!” “I can say that…” she addressed me with a smile. “We’re about the same age.” Well, we established that I’m 46 and she’s, uh, a few years younger. Anyway, I took her cue: “Yeah, I can honestly say I’ve been ski racin’ before any of you boys were BORN… So… let’s GO!” I think that sufficiently riled them up! “Yeah, well,” one of them puffed… “We’ve been ski racin’ since before we could WALK! So… let’s GO!” Alana, the natural born coach, said to me under her breath: “Race your race. Don’t concede anything.”

So what was I doing racing in Junior National Qualifier Classic Sprint? In our Western winter of scant snow and racing opportunities, I think I was just blowing off a little mid-Christmas week steam. I showed up in the morning, thinking of more of volunteering, and asked the race organizers if there were any other Masters athletes signed in. “Sure!” Laura Clark told me. “A couple. Their coaches. Wanna jump in?” So, OK… I was in! I consulted with team manager Roger Chaney on ski and wax combinations. Things were warming up fast. The coaches were buzzing about the new Toko Red klister & dang if they weren’t spot on! I settled on a pretty stiff ski with that stuff and a Finite 'Flush’ structure and away I went…

I’m an OLD guy! I’ve never done a 1km Classic sprint before! I’m a clinician and a Biathlete… I started Nordic racing twenty years ago to kill time before bike racing season – a distance guy! A skate skier!

Imbibing the energy of these young Nordic racers was a reward in itself… When I was their age, I was into music and swimming. I was the staff photographer for the Reno High alpine ski team. I wasn’t racing. I skied halfway down the hill at races and took pictures. The amount of time and focus these athletes devote to Nordic racing is likely unfathomable to most kids. On this day, Elias Bucher, Matt Gelso, and Austin Meng stood on the Men’s podium – Katrin Larruson, Laurel Fiddler, and Cassidy Cichowicz on the Women’s.

I won that head-to-head heat. I led from the start, and when I stole a glance back at the top of the one climb, those boys were at the bottom! I knew I had it! It was a consolation heat, for those not advancing from the top 20 to the semifinals… Still, it was a win, and well… I’ll take it! Crossing the finish line, I caught a knowing glance from Alana… “All right,” I thought, “You’re and old guy. Sure. But you’re a pretty FAST old guy!”

Paco’s Fun Race, Auburn Ski Club, CA: A Shovelfull of Imagination…

2012-01-07T21:06:00.000-08:00

December 18, 2011

Rik Eckert

Nordic racing, like life, goes like this: We look up at the sky, or wherever we like to look, first expecting, then, praying for a blessing for our ritual. Life, it seems, is alternately generous or stingy with treasures. We get a sample of what we hope for, and then… nothing happens. We get over it. We look inside ourselves, throw things on the table, then scarcity of resources sparks up innovation. On December 17, our reliable old early-season friend Auburn Ski Club, usually one of the snowiest places in the country, had a 2km loop groomed, dirt showing in the trees, and a race to put on in the morning…

The club decided to throw a three round individual sprint, followed by a skier-cross style mass-start competition. It was the racer’s prerogative to ski in one or all of the sprint rounds. Anyone could line up for the ‘cross’! Really, the track was remarkable: wide and fast, with a taste of all that hilly terrain they’re infamous for.

From a spectator’s point of view, this was ideal – With a short track and racers starting at 0:30 intervals, there was all kinds of action to watch! Truckee X-C’s Debbie Hakansson kicked from the start gate and hit the finish line 4:03.5 later in her first sprint round. She rocked the individual rounds, with a combined time of 12:19.8, 2nd, just 0.7 seconds behind winner Ellie Phillips. She finished 5th in the 6km mass start in 14:03.5.

My only experience with this kind of format was from watching FIS racing on my laptop in bed, so it took me a round or so to figure it out! I finished the individual rounds feeling pretty good in 14th at 11:52.7. Elias Bucher took overall honors in 8:47.1. Up against a stacked & hungry field, I finished the ‘cross’ in 13:42.5, 20th place. Good enough! Matt Gelso won in 10:22.4.

Obvious Kudos goes to Auburn Ski Club for pulling this one off. I know a team of sharp minds and snow shovels preceded us. I’m always astonished at how beautiful the course is on a race morning at this venue… The only thing we lacked to make it ‘World Cup’ was a blast of Euro Techno Pop over the loudspeakers! Team manager Roger Chaney was on hand to hedge bets with Jet Stream, Finite structure and infinite coaching. I’ve probably slid up to the start gate at Paco’s a dozen times or more, in sunshine and snowstorm – this is the one I’ll remember best.

Real Snow & Real Bullets… NorAm Biathlon #2, West Yellowstone, Montana

2011-12-18T22:31:00.000-08:00

December 9-11, 2011

Rik Eckert

With nothing but sun & cold in the western forecast, instinct and persistent high pressure pushed me back to wild old Montana, where Truckee XC had found blessed snow over Thanksgiving. This time, though, the stakes were real… Would a summer’s preparation put me in the game at an elite level biathlon contest? Well, I was sure gonna find out!

I rolled road weary into West Yellowstone early Thursday evening & went straight to see our friends at Freeheel & Wheel for some encouragement and a welcome cup of coffee (plus a Toko thermo cork, which I had forgotten to put in my kit!)

Friday’s official training day started in typical winter West Yellowstone fashion… ten below and clear! The skiing was sublime though, and after a couple hours on the range, I was getting warmer and pretty comfortable with my shooting. Really, just training at WY’s brand new state-of-the-art shooting range is a biathlete’s dream! A little dinner with friends old and new from California to Calgary to Maine and a little ski prep with some Toko Jet Blue and I was in bed, dreaming of skiing fast & shooting straight!

Our weekend would follow USBA’s two day format: for Masters, Saturday a 7.5K sprint with two shooting stages, prone and standing (PS), and Sunday a 10K pursuit with standard 5 second interval starts and four shooting stages, (PPSS).

No surprise, at Saturday morning’s rifle zero hour temperatures were well below zero... Chief of Competition Marc Sheppard reminded athletes, tongue in cheek, that biathlon is ‘a winter sport’, and when we kicked at 10:00AM, things were much more tolerable. My thanks to Tom McElroy of Truckee for helping me with a quick and accurate zero. I skied to a 6th place in Senior Masters Men, with 2 prone misses, and, (dang!!), 5 standing misses in 34:48. Kirk Olson of Colorado Biathlon won the SMM race with 2/4 misses in 28:53.

Sunday morning ‘church’ was in the warming tent again, with coffee and powdered mini donuts, and athletes reluctant to head out into the chill. Race we did, though; and things went better for me on the range. I placed 6th again, with misses 2/3/4/3 in the PPSS stages, with a time of 48:56. Kyle Boschen of Colorado Biathlon took the SMM podium with 0/2/4/3 in 43:13.

Auburn Ski Club’s Jordan McElroy brought home gold in Youth competition in both Sprint and Pursuit, shooting prone clean in the sprint, and in one of two prone stages in the pursuit. Wynn Roberts of National Guard/USBA National Team took overall honors in the sprint, and Russell Currier of Maine Winter Sports won the pursuit. BethAnn Chamberlain and Katrina Howe, both of Maine Winter Sports won the women’s sprint and pursuit, respectively.

Sunday afternoon sun low, temperatures elevated into the low twenties, and hours of windshield ahead of me, I headed back out to ski an easy Rendezvous loop. I skied through the lovely quiet & thought of my summer - rollerski intervals, plyos, shooting combos, jumping in the odd mountain bike race... and of this weekend, where every missed shot potentially cost a place in the standings… I settled on encouragement – a year ago I struggled on skis. Today, I’m skiing fast enough that I have the luxury of feeling like shooting better is my opportunity. What a difference a year makes!

Season Wrap-up - What a long exciting ride it was...

2011-04-27T21:19:00.000-07:00

To our Sponsors,

As our season winds down and I have a moment to reflect on how our team performed, I can’t thank you enough for investing your time and products into our team.

We hope our weekly race reports kept you well informed as to how the team was doing throughout the season. Not only did we have a significant and professional presence at our regional races, we also provided five skate clinics throughout the season to bring new blood into the Nordic world. Your products were discussed at length at races, our skate/wax clinics, and anytime we were out skiing. If there is something you believe we have not sufficiently provided you as sponsored athletes please let me know so we can make the necessary adjustments in the future.

Our skis were fast thanks to our UltraTune grinds, Toko wax, Finite structure, and handpicked flexes by Robert Lazzaroni, the head of the nordic division at Rossignol USA. Our boots and poles not only performed strong, but never faltered throughout the season. Our hands and heads were spoiled by the warmth and comfort of our Toko gloves and hats, and we stayed looking clean and sharp in our Podiumwear kits. Our Rudy Project eyewear was unmatched in function and style not only on the snow. Before the snow even flew we were getting comfortable with our eyewear riding, rollerskiing, hiking and running in preparation for the upcoming season. Our skiers, too, have been fortunate to have the finest coffee in the region, thanks to Sierra Pacific Coffee Co., to have as a part of their pre-race/ski ritual. Having such a generous regional sponsor has given our team a true local representation which reflects our hometown support. Paco's Bike and Ski has also been a fantastic support throughout the season by making sure we received our equipment early in the season so we could begin the proper preparation of our skis and to assist us if we had any technical needs regarding our equipment.

We have become a resource to racers looking for the extra edge we seem to have on race day with how fast our skis are running. Our photogenic kits not only stood the test of competition, but also stood out in the field as well as against a snowy backdrop. Newcomers to the sport of Nordic skiing keep coming back (and bringing their friends) for more of our technical savvy and sheer, genuine, love and enthusiasm for the sport with our offered skate/wax clinics.

Thank you for another fantastic season.

Sincerely,

Truckee XC

California Silver Rush, Royal Gorge, CA

2011-04-22T22:41:00.000-07:00

Silver Rush (aka “the ladies race”)

April 16, 2011

By Debbie Hakansson

I was committed, I was signed up, and I had my skis waxed. But....8am start? Melting non-frozen snow? Course change? Pouring rain the night before? OMG I was dreading this race like no other. Who would have thunk it was going to be the best race of my season!! First off, it was a mass start with all distances going off together. I love mass starts, the more , the merrier. We had a ski roller derby going on for the first few K’s. Fortunately everyone around me stayed upright and we were all just looking for speed thru the tight corners and downhills. I couldn’t believe what a great time I was having. The snow was fantastic, firm and fast but not icy. The course was mostly flat and downhill with a few mellow climbs. I had a rowdy group of 6 junior bronze rushers to keep me company on the first lap and then it was just me for the second lap. The course held up well for both laps, the sun was out, the sky was blue and it was a perfect day. Team Truckee XC had a good showing in the ladies race with Debbie Hakansson finishing second and Laura Stern close behind in third place. The race was won by Beth Thomas. http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifActuallyhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif it was Nick Grimmer but he is a guy and we never saw him so he doesn’t count. I had lots of structure on the Rossi’s, moly everything and I moved my bindings back a notch (good call Rick!). It was the best my skis have performed all season. I took them out for a beer after the race.

Thanks to all of our sponsors for their support during this very long excellent season: Rossignol, TOKO, OneWay, Sierra Pacific Coffee, Paco’s , Rudy Project and Finite tuning tools!

Photos courtesy of Mark Nadell/MacBeth Graphics:

Bear Valley Bjornloppet 20K Freestyle and 10K Classic

2011-03-14T16:06:00.000-07:00

Saturday March 12 and Sunday March 13, 2011

Laura Stern

This year marked the 38th annual Bjornloppet nordic ski races at Bear Valley, including a 20K (or optional 10K) skate race on Saturday, followed by a 10K (or 5K) classic race on Sunday. Field sizes were slightly down this year with a few of the usual suspects being away at World Masters in Canada, but on the flip side, a few new faces were in attendance since this year's Bjornloppet doubled as the Nordic events for the CA Senior Winter Games. Saturday's skate race follows one of the most "skiable" courses anywhere, starting and finishing on the flat and super-wide "Runway", with a hillier middle portion that rolls and winds through beautiful aspen groves before a final plummet down the Bjornloppet hill to Orvis Meadow and the Runway. Twice around for 20K. The course was slightly extended this year, with a flat but twisty section added to the end of each lap that then opened up into a double-lane sprint zone to the finish. It was a great course! With a late morning start and warming conditions, Toko HF red/yellow mix with JS yellow top coat was the choice of the day, with a fairly aggressive structure. Roger was there to help finish our skis, so we had no excuse to go slow!

In a nutshell, this year's Bjornloppet belonged to Truckee XC's Danny Buchanan. On Saturday, he rocketed off the start line and never slowed down, winning overall by nearly 2 minutes! The fight for 2nd place came down to a sprint between Scott Fairman and Dave Stover, with Fairman nipping Stover on the line. The women's race also came down to a sprint finish, with Rossignol's Julie Young narrowly edging out Truckee XC's Laura Stern for 1st and 2nd. (I'm not sure if shoving a foot forward would have helped me on Saturday, but in hindsight I wish I had tried!)

A somewhat smaller field assembled on Sunday for the classic race. With freezing nights but warm days we figured it would be a klister race, and the waxing seemed a bit tricky due to the variation in snow conditions in and out of the tracks. The classic race traditionally follows a different route from the skate course, although like the skate race it begins and ends with a long drag down the Runway. There's one "good" hill in the middle though, up "Equipe". Twice around the course for 10K. Roger was again there to help us with waxing and structure, recommending Toko HF red/yellow for glide and Toko red klister for kick. While most of the field was the same as on Saturday, ex-Olympian Beth Reid showed up on Sunday to push the pace at the front end of the race. Danny B. was successful in holding her off though, winning again on Sunday and for a weekend sweep! Beth finished 4 seconds back, 1st woman and 2nd overall. Next in were Scott Fairman and Peter Mayfield, placing 2nd and 3rd in the men's race, respectively. Julie Young finished 2nd in the women's race, and I was a somewhat distant 3rd after (badly) misjudging my klister pocket and basically double-poling the full distance, including Equipe. (Yet another lesson-learning race for me, particularly since I was using the same klister as Danny!)

Thanks to Paul and Diane Peterson and their staff at the Bear Valley Cross Country Center for once again hosting this superb race weekend! I'm already looking forward to next year's edition.

The Great Ski Race - Tahoe City to Truckee 30k

2011-03-13T21:35:00.000-07:00

Sunday, March 6th, 2011

Danny Buchanan

The race itself was an interesting start. Some Young kid snuck into line next to me in the start and he was quick to get out after I tangled poles with Julie who was on my other side, but he got so excited on the first constriction when everyone bunched up he tripped on his own pole and fell. From there on I hung with the first group until the first down hill of green (Tav was in sixth and I was seventh at that point). I just wasn't gliding with the group and by the bottom of the hill they had 50 yards on me. The second group caught me about 1/2 way up orange and I hung on until fiberboard rd. from then on I skied with peter Hansen and Beth reed and a guy from anchorage (he finished just in front of me). I let Peter go up the hill until the last 1 k to top and then we reeled him in. At the top little Beth just took off. She tucked and just glided away while the rest of us skated our asses off the keep up. I caught her on the climb after the whoop dee does but again she took off on the down hill. Then about 1/2 way down the hill to TK someone applied glue to my skies! And the rest was just a thrash to the finish. I thought for a moment I'd catch the anchorage guy and was within 5 seconds of him when he realized I was catchin up and he sped up. I had some panic too as Peter was catching me, and given another 1/2 k he'd have beat me.

Waxing for the day was Toko HF Red/HF Yellow 1:1 covered with Jetstream Yellow. Finite structure was a single pass of the V05 followed by a light pass of the 00G (blank) to soften the V05, then finished with a single pass of the L04. This combination ran very well for 2/3 of the race. The last 5 - 7 km was soaking wet new snow which very few skiers managed to have quicker skis.

This was a fun race! I did my best and was way ahead of my expectation of top 20. So the end was the end. A couple of beers lots of socializing with people I talk to only at that event and lots of others too. Then rush off to get the kids from ski team.

Let's do it again next year!

Yosemite Nordic Holiday Races February 26-27th, 2011 Yosemite Cross Country Ski Center, Badger Pass

2011-03-01T10:12:00.000-08:00

Nordic Holiday 18K Classic / Telemark / Glacier Point 38K Skate

Laura Stern

This year marked the 39th annual Nordic Holiday Races at Badger Pass, a super-fun two-day event including an 18K classic race on Saturday morning, a downhill telemark race in the afternoon, and a 38K freestyle race on Sunday out to spectacular Glacier Point and back. An overall "Trifecta" is awarded based on placing in all 3 races, although many (if not most) racers do only the classic and skate events. Field sizes were smaller than normal this year, likely due to late-week storms that brought even more new snow, and lots of it! Race conditions, however, were perhaps the finest I've ever experienced in Yosemite. Saturday brought partly sunny and cold conditions, a perfect hard-wax day for the classic race. The course heads out Glacier Point Road to Mono Meadow before turning back, with long, gradual hills but nothing technical. Grooming was impeccable, with 3 sets of tracks set the full distance. My Rossi C2's ran great with the recommended Toko HF Red and Blue mixed 1:1 for glide. For kick, Toko Carbon Blue grip wax with Viola underfoot worked perfectly. Temperatures were single-digit at Badger Pass in the early morning, so I was happy to try my new Podiumwear warm-up pants. Like the matching vests and jackets, the pants not only fit great and move well, but have zippers that are actually maneuverable with cold/gloved hands. Plus, they're just the right weight; warm but not bulky. Super-star Beth Reid took the overall win in the Classic race, stopping the clock in 1:09:08. Next in were Peter Mayfield and Russel Reid for 2nd and 3rd overall. Rossignol's Julie Young and Truckee XC's Laura Stern took 2nd and 3rd in the women's division. We were lucky with the weather, as within 10 minutes of finishing it started to snow heavily again. In the afternoon Tele race that took the combined time for 2 runs through the gates on a NASTAR course, Dan Warren smoked the field for the overall win. Beth Reid placed "only" 7th overallŠ but on skate gear! A late-afternoon awards party completed the day.

With another cold one predicted for Sunday's Glacier Point Skate Race, I waxed my Rossi WCS skate skis with the same Toko Dibloc HF red/blue glide wax mix as Saturday, finished with solid Blue Jetstream corked in. (In hindsight, straight blue may have been preferable given the earlier start time.) Conditions couldn't have been finer for the 38K race, with crystal clear skies and the best views I've ever seen in Yosemite. The course was beautifully groomed and only slightly punchy in a few spots, no mean feat given the logistics of grooming all the way to Glacier Point after a storm! The scenery en route is simply spectacular, and the race is sufficiently low-key that you can actually enjoy it. The stupendous view of the snow-covered Clark Range while climbing "4 Mile Hill" is almost just a teaser before the jaw-dropping view of Half Dome as you swing around Washburn Point during the final descent to Glacier Point. After a quick loop around Glacier Point, you soak it all in again on the return! Despite the exquisite scenery I was still feeling pretty trashed near the end of the skate race and truly appreciated the ultra-light swing weight of our OneWay poles. Really nice! Beth Reid soloed off the front to again take the top spot overall in the skate race, finishing in 2:08:59, and also winning the "Trifecta". Russel Reid and Peter Mayfield finished 2nd and 3rd overall in the skate race, respectively, and Julie Young and Laura Stern placed 2nd and 3rd in the women's division. Dan Warren finished 4th in the men's skate division to claim the men's Trifecta win. What a weekend! A big thanks to Dave Bengston and his staff at the Yosemite Cross Country Ski Center for organizing this fantastic two-day event!

President’s Cup Race – Feburary 21, 2011 – Auburn Ski Club

2011-02-28T15:40:00.000-08:00

By Debbie Hakansson

Monday morning dawned clear and cold as Team Truckee XC found itself, once again, at Auburn Ski Club, this time for the annual President’s Cup race. Racing on top of seven feet of fresh snow was no problem thanks to the fabulous packing and grooming done by ASC’s Bill Clark. Two separate mass starts proved stress free due to the widest course set in history. The 5K race loop was the best ever, taking racers up Pink Lung Hill and challenging us with many thrilling ups and downs and twists and turns. Never a dull moment and the 10K racers got to ski it twice. Truckee XC men did well with Rick Reynolds finishing 5th overall and 2nd in his age class, just .4 seconds out of 1st. Daniel Buchanan was 12th overall and 1st in his age class. On the distaff side, Susan Reynolds led Truckee XC with a third place overall finish and 2nd in her age class. Laura Stern followed in 5th place, winning her age class, and Debbie Hakansson was not too far behind in 6th place, taking 3rd in her age class. Austin Meng and Beth Reid were the men’s and women’s 10K race winners. Brandon and Skyler Flora (twin brother/sister) won the 5K race. A softer flex Rossi ski with Toko HF Blue/Red and topcoat of JetStream Blue was the fastest setup for the day and our feather light OneWay poles were a joy to behold (en’ onto).

Photos courtesy of Mark Nadell

Paco’s Valentine Day Race

2011-02-14T21:55:00.000-08:00

February 13, 2011

Rick Reynolds

Sunday in the Sierras proved to be a busy day. Tahoe Donner was the site of the inaugural “Paco’s Valentine Day Race” and Auburn Ski Club hosted a junior olympic qualifier. The combined races diluted the field at TD but by no means diluted the efforts of the racers or the race organizers. Day time temps leading up to Sunday were mid 50’s and over night temps were in the low 20‘s. Conditions were going to be firm corduroy turning wet in sun exposed areas. Conditions very similar to the BMT and I made some adjustments from what I had learned in Ketchum. I decided I wanted my stiffest skis and I wanted a wax that would give me a hard base and be resilient to dirt. My ski choice was my new Rossignol WCS2, an absolutely phenomenal ski. I waxed Toko LF moly and LF Blue first, then HF moly and HF Blue, then roto corked in moly jet stream for a fast top coat. Right before the race I rubbed on another layer of moly JS and buffed it in with a thermo pad. One issue I had to deal with was my stiff ski of choice has the cold Ultratune S2 grind on it so I used our Finite structuring tool to add some structure. I made one pass with the LO4 and one pass with the V10. One more adjustment I made was moving my binding forward one notch. I typically ski with my binding just back of center, but with the firm snow I opted for more control and to be able to get a little more from the ski when attacking. Bottom line, my skis rocked. Only problem, young guys keep getting younger!
In the men's field Tav Streit took home the gold with Michael Collins second and myself third.
Beth Reid won the women’s race, Kari Rust 2nd, Beth Thomas 3rd and Truckee XC team member Susan Reynolds 5th.

For complete race results go to:http://farwestnordic.org/raceresults/results20102011/td_pacosvalentine11.html

Race Photos by Mark Nadell www.macbethgraphics.com

Western Regional Biathlon Championships, Soldier Hollow, Midway, UT

2011-02-10T11:05:00.000-08:00

February 5-6, 2011
Rik Eckert
Saturday, 10K Sprint:
Dawn brought new snow to the venerable Olympic range. At 0:830 Zero Time there was three inches of wet-ishdust over old crust, and it was still snowing lightly. At the range I received a wonderful gift – Former US Biathlon Team member Casey Simons came out to help me and his college buddy Phil Violett zero rifles. All business on the Carl Zeiss scope, Casey called out sight adjustments, and I was set with only three magazines fired. I skied the punchy, soft course once to warm up – two short but steep climbs out of the stadium, a long descent to the creek bottom, then a challenging gradual climb with one steep ramp back to the range. A dream came true for me at the start gate as the clock hit zero and I kicked onto the Olympic trails… My skis ran respectably with a heavy coat of Toko HF Red on the Ultra Tune i5 grind. I felt like a champion after hitting 4/5 targets prone. Casey yelled ‘Good shootin!’ trailside and I hit the second lap hard. My standing shooting suffered for it – I came in a little too hot, and hit 1/5. I finished in 58:11, 21stoverall in the field of 46, 6th in Civilian Masters, satisfied enough, but hungry to make up some ground in the Pursuit. Marc Sheppard of West Yellowstone, MT won with a time of 45:52. My pal and Far West racer Phil Violett of Brownsville, CA was fourth at 47:27.
Sunday, 12.5K Pursuit:
Skies cleared overnight to reveal a spectacular Utah morning. Almost exactly nine years ago, I stood in this desert basin and saw the flags of many nations hanging still in the same cold air, watching as athletes and coaches spoke in languages I didn’t understand, and rowdy Norwegian fans drank American beer for breakfast… I would have scarcely believed that, years later, I’d be skiing with a rifle on my back on this perfect, firm track, warming up for a race! Phil and I set up a scope and fired at paper. My zero from Saturday held true, and I skied the course once on WCS2 skis that, with a Jetstream Red topcoat, ran like lightning! A Biathlon Pursuit is exactly what you’d imagine – a profound chase. The shooting format is PPSS (two bouts prone, two standing). You have to focus on your individual effort, in both skiing and shooting, but you’re hyper-aware of what is happening around you, especially ahead. I skied very well, chasing down 3 or 4guys that started ahead of me. My shooting was OK – 2/5, 3/5, 0/5, 3/5. At one point, I fell in the skier-cross style penalty loop, tripped by another racer, but recovered to finish 18th in the field of 43, 6th in Civilian Masters at 1:16:52. Phil Violett won with a time of 49:28.After he finished, he stood on the climb out of the range, urging me over top and helping me gain a valuable few seconds on the long descent. Congratulations to Phil for running down those three guys ahead of him… THAT’s Pursuit!
Thanks to Soldier Hollow and the US National Guard for hosting this great event, to Roger Chaney and Toko for providing wax and tools, and to Casey Simons, a real straight shooter!

Alpenglow 20K Freestyle, Tahoe XC

2011-02-01T17:40:00.000-08:00

January 30, 2011

Laura Stern

After several weeks of sunny and dry weather, it was a treat to wake up to several inches of new snow for the Alpenglow. Suddenly it looked and felt like January again, with intermittent snow flurries continuing almost until race start. This event, hosted by Tahoe XC and sponsored by Alpenglow Sports, has long been one of my favorites. It's a 20 km single-lap course that includes some fairly sustained climbs and fast, curvy descents, as well as flat to rolling terrain with stunning views of Lake Tahoe. Waxing was straightforward, Toko HF Red finished with corked-in Jetstream Red, and our Rossi skis were running great as always! Over 100 racers lined the start, including a separate women's wave that was released 5 minutes after the men. The last-minute new snow made for slower-than-normal race conditions, and UNR coach August Teague, overall winner of the day, was the only racer to crack 1-hour this year (59:47). Former world champ Beth Reid won the women's wave, stopping the clock in 1:03:41 to place 3rd in the overall standings, and not far from 2nd! Truckee XC's Danny Buchanan and Laura Stern finished 5th in the men's and women's waves, respectively, each also taking 3rd in age group. Thanks to Kevin and Valli Murnane and their staff at Tahoe XC for preparing a great course for us and putting together this very fun day on snow (including t-shirts and post-race burgers and cider!) and to Alpenglow Sports for their generous and on-going sponsorship of this race.

Tahoe Rim Tour

2011-01-27T07:57:00.000-08:00

January 23rd, 2011

Val Licon

In 4 years running, the Tahoe Rim Tour is quickly entering the must do list of local xc skiers and snowshoers. The race, a fundraiser for Far West Nordic Ski Education Association, saw 242 racers competing in the three divisions, kick and glide, all glide, and kick without glide. Truckee XC was well represented by Debbie Hakansson, Susan Reynolds, Laura Stern, Rick Reynolds, Danny Buchanan, and Val LiCon.
The classic race brought all the challenges of klister conditions. In the end it was a matter of finding the right number of Toko Multiviola Carbon klister layers for the right mix of longevity on the abrasive snow without slowing the skier on the downhills. Laura Stern finished 3rd in her division in the classic race.
For the skaters it was firm and fast. Toko HF Red and Yellow, with Jetstream Red topcoat added to the speed. Congratulations go to Rick Reynolds for finishing first in his division and first overall in the skate race. Susan Reynolds also saw the podium in the skate race as first in her division and second overall woman.
Thank you to all the volunteers from Far West, Tahoe XC, and Northstar Ski area, for making this such a great event. Bring a friend back with you next year.

A reminder that this Saturday, January 29th, from 9 to 11, Truckee XC will be at Tahoe Cross Country for a Rossignol/One Way Skate and Toko Wax Clinic. The clinics are free with the cost of your train pass from Tahoe XC.

For full race result of the Tahoe Rim Tour go to http://farwestnordic.org/raceresults/results20102011/txc_tahoerimtour11.html

Sierra Skogsloppet

2011-01-27T07:55:00.000-08:00

January 17, 2011

Sierra Skogsloppet, Tahoe Donner XC

Laura Stern

For this year's edition of the Skogsloppet, a 15 km (or shorter for juniors) freestyle race hosted by Tahoe Donner XC as a fundraiser for local middle and high school nordic teams, over 200 skiers were treated to blissfully sunny and warm conditions for a great day of racing. Our Rossignol XIUM skate skis were movin' fast with Toko Dibloc HF red and yellow mixed 1:1, and extra fast after Roger worked his usual magic prior to race-start by buffing in a top coat of Jetstream yellow and dialing in the perfect structure. The course was beautifully groomed and both fun and challenging to ski with plenty of twists and turns and a couple of short "power" climbs, and the initially icy corduroy softened just perfectly in the brilliant sunshine for the 10 am race start. Definitely one of those days when we wouldn't have wanted to be without our Rudy Project sunglasses! Top honors for the 15K went to Austin Meng in the men's division and Kari Rust in the women's. Truckee XC's Danny Buchanan finished an impressive 10th overall in the mens race, taking 2nd in the M1 age group. Val Licon finished 55th, placing 13th in a deep field of M3's. In the women's race, Susan Reynolds put in a very strong effort to place 5th in the overall women's and WIN her age group. Laura Stern and Debbie Hakansson followed in 6th, and 7th, placing 4th and 2nd in their respective age groups. Thank you Tahoe Donner XC for putting on this terrific race, and to all our sponsors for our great gear! Also to Mark Nadell for compiling yet another awesome set of race photographs of all the competitors throughout the day.

Race photos by Mark Nadell.
http://macbethgraphics.smugmug.com/NORDIC-RACING/NORDIC-RACES2011/sierra-skogsloppet-2011/15491960_7nrMb#1160097795_W7VPp

Paco's Fun Race

2011-01-05T10:39:00.000-08:00

January 2nd, 2011 Auburn Ski Club

Debbie Hakkanson

A fun time was had by all at the Paco’s Fun Race at Auburn Ski Club. The snow was fast, the course was a blast and the flakes stayed away. After fueling up on some Sierra Pacific French Roast, Team Truckee XC was ready to go! Danny Buchanan led the charge with an 8th place finish for the men and 1st in his age class. Cathy Howard saved it up for her first race of the season and smoked it for a 3rd place overall women’s finish. Laura Stern followed with a stellar performance finishing 9th for the women and 2nd in her age class. Susan Reynolds, Debbie Hakansson and Rik Eckert had the most Fun finishing 3rd, 4th and 9th (respectively) in their age classes. Our Rossignol XIUM WCS skate skis were waxed with a TOKO HF blue/red mix and were gliding fast, thanks to Roger, under the tent, buffing us out with a top coat of Jetstream red.

Race photos by Mark Nadell.
http://macbethgraphics.smugmug.com/NORDIC-RACING/NORDIC-RACES2011/pacos-fun-race-2011/15303051_aHLLP#1144900707_8Wr3J

65th Annual Snowshoe Thompson

2010-12-28T11:04:00.000-08:00

December, 26th, 2010

Rick Reynolds

This weekend 113 Farwest racers met at Auburn Ski Club for the 65th Snowshoe Thompson classic race. Athletes were welcomed with new snow and blustery conditions. As usual ASC put forth a challenging course with excellent grooming.

Kick wax was pretty straight forward with three short layers of Toko red being the wax of choice. Glide wax was a mix of HF Red and HF Yellow. The ratios depended on start times and racer preference. Rotocorked, brushed and polished Jetstream Yellow was used as a topcoat.

Structure played a significant role with our skiers using either the Stucturite red bar or the Finite V .075 bar to address the high moisture content in the new snow.

Matt Gelso held on to his title and Beth Reid won the women’s. Strong efforts from the Truckee XC team led to 3 podium finishes with Danny Buchanan taking the top overall spot and a 3rd in his age group. Rick Reynolds and Laura Stern each won their age groups.

For complete results go to: www.farwestnordic.org

Race Photos courtesy of MacBeth Graphics

A Note to our Sponsors...

2010-12-18T17:39:00.000-08:00

December 18th, 2010

Roger Chaney - Team Manager

Beginning the season with an early gift from Mother Nature we have been out playing in the snow and enjoying ourselves a great deal. I would like to thank all of our team sponsors for their support in providing us with what we have needed to be ready for the season. Paco for allowing us to get our team order in early enough to get the product, and for taking the time to process and organize each individual's equipment. Sierra Pacific Coffee Company for providing the financing and design input to put us into our new team kits. Toko for your current and past support with our hats, gloves, ski ties, and of course, support with what keeps our skis as fast as they can be. Rudy Project for both helmets we needed for roller-skiing and eyewear for out on the trail and on out on the town; Nordic Ultratune for your guidance and fantastic grinds to suit our regional demands; Tahoe Center for Sports and Health Performance for your support in acquiring our team kits; Podiumwear for your patience, insight with our kit design, and flexibility with pricing for our team; Finite Ski Tools for giving us the secret weapon in preparing our skis specifically for each race condition; Rossignol and OneWay for your support with our hardgoods, the best skis, poles and boots for the job. Thank you all for allowing us to continue to do what we love to do, and what we do so well. Skiing, and sharing our love for the sport. Here is to a great season!

Race #2: Royal Gorge Early Season Opener

2010-12-18T17:36:00.000-08:00

December 12th, 2010

Susan Reynolds

With racing season well under way in the high sierras and an abundant early snow pack everyone is smiling from ear to ear. This weekend Royal Gorge hosted a 10k freestyle race with the timing being done by Auburn Ski Club. It was a California day with a perfectly groomed piste and temps expected to reach the mid 50’s.
Early in the race Reynolds took the lead so he could lead the fast descent and he and Tav Streit gave the juniors a lesson on how to descend. Opening up a large gap didn’t prove to be too much trouble for Austin Meng who worked his way back into the front battle. It turned out to be a sprint finish with Tav taking the win with Austin and Reynolds 2nd and 3rd.
In the women it was the local Olympian Beth Reid winning with Beth Thomas and Laura Stern 2nd and 3rd. Julie Young and Susan Reynolds were 5th and 6th.
Rossignol skis with an Ultratune d5 grind were the choice of the day with a HF moly and JS moly rotocorked on top.

Photos courtesy of MacBeth Graphics

Season opener: Kirkwood 10km Freestyle

2010-12-18T17:35:00.000-08:00

Kirkwood 10K, Sunday Dec. 5, 2010.

Laura Stern

Always a good sign when there's enough snow for this early season race! For this year's edition, we awoke to fresh snow, blue sky, and very windy conditions. A small but psyched group of 32 racers lined up at the start, including a number of juniors from the South Lake Tahoe high school team for the 5 km race. Mass start for both distances combined. For the 10K, the course was twice around the Kirkwood meadow (1 lap for 5K), and super fun to ski with a number of quick turns and continual buffeting by the wind. The crazy-strong tailwind had us literally sailing into the lap/finish zone! Some sections of the track were quite hard, fast, and wind-blown, while other sections were covered by powdery drifts. My Rossi's ran very well with a mix of Toko Dibloc LF red and blue (about 2:1 red:blue) with some solid blue Jetstream rubbed in on top. I skied a bit conservatively due to it being my first hard effort of the ski season at altitude, but was happy to finish 1st in the womens race. Across the meadow I could see Truckee XC teammate Rick Reynolds skiing in the lead group with 2 visiting Australians who were training in the area for a month before heading over to Europe. Rick finished an impressive 2nd in the mens race, only seconds behind the winner. Way to go Rick! A big thanks to Debbi Waldear and the Kirkwood cross country staff for putting on this race. It was a great way to start the season!

Toko / Rossignol Skate / OneWay clinic schedule

2010-10-05T11:36:00.000-07:00

Rossignol Skate/Toko Wax Clinics 2011

Rossignol Ski Company is pleased to offer you an opportunity to learn more about the skating technique, and demo our highest level of racing skis, boots, and OneWay Poles.

The skate clinics will address a spectrum of aspects involved in the skate technique: Body position, glide, and timing of effort. Our objective is to give you a technical foundation where you maximize the use of your efforts as you become more comfortable and efficient on your skating equipment. We encourage all levels of ability to attend. With the number of instructors provided and high level of technical experience we are able to offer something for all abilities.

Toko will have a wax clinic after each skate clinic, devoted to waxing questions, application techniques, and general recommendations.

When and Where:
Saturday, January 15th - Northstar XC (11 - 1)
Saturday, January 29th - Tahoe XC, Tahoe City (9 - 11)
Sunday, February 6th - Kirkwood XC (9 - 11)
Saturday, February 19th - Northstar XC (11 - 1)
Saturday, February 26th – Tahoe XC, Tahoe City (9 - 11)

Cost: FREE with purchase of trail pass

Instructors: Val Licon - PSIA level 3 instructor, Truckee XC Team Member
Rick Eckert – PSIA level 3 instructor, Truckee XC Team Member
Dave Eastwood – Truckee XC Team member
Danny Buchanan – Truckee XC Team Member
Roger Chaney – Rossignol/Toko Technical Representative

Be sure you bring your own equipment (skis, boots, and poles). Rossignol and OneWay will have skis, boots, and poles available for you to try as long as we have the sizes to fit you. Both Tahoe XC and Northstar XC have rental equipment available and great food and refreshments if you wish to stay and have lunch after the clinics.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact Roger Chaney at rossi_nordic@yahoo.com.

See you out there,
Rossignol/Toko/OneWay/Truckee XC

New Face at Truckee XC

2010-05-03T14:15:00.001-07:00

Truckee XC would like to welcome Roger Chaney as the new team manager.
Roger steps up to the plate with a wealth of experience. He has been
involved in skiing his whole life and has a wonderful passion for the
sport. He hopes to take Truckee’s local nordic team to the next level in his continued support of team members preparing for Master's Worlds and Master's Biathlon Nationals. He
has been a technician for Rossignol for six years, a Toko Tech Team Member for three years, as well as an elementary school teacher.

What a season!

2010-04-08T11:41:00.000-07:00

As our season comes to an end we would like to thank all our sponsors for
helping us reach our goals. It's time to enjoy some spring sunshine, go on
some crust cruzzing adventures, and get back on the bikes. Your support
helps us live the dream and represent cross country skiing in the
professional manner that we fell is so important.

Below: please take note of a letter Truckee XC teammate Laura Stern wrote
thanking the Farwest Nordic committee for all it does for our sport.
Have a great summer,
Truckee XC

To the Far West Division organizers and committee members;

As the season draws to a close, we on the Truckee XC Team wish to thank you for yet another terrific season of racing here on our Far West circuit.

We truly appreciate the enormous amount of time and effort that you all have contributed to make our ski season and schedule filled with such a wide variety of races, events, clinics, Masters programs, and Juniors programs. We are also extremely grateful for all the work that has gone in to maintaining the continuity of season-long race series, in particular the Fisher Cup, the Sierra Ski Chase, and the inaugural Masters Challenge. There's always something on the calendar for everyone, regardless of age or skill level. Nearly every weekend brings a race that's been tremendously well organized ahead of time, not to mention the great grooming we always find on race-day, plus food, prizes, raffles, pre-race technical support, race-day photography -- the list goes on and on! We also extend a special thanks to all the volunteers who patiently stand along the course on race day handing us fluids and gels, often in stormy conditions when it's impossible to keep warm when not skiing! And after the races, somehow all the results and series standings seem to get tallied, updated, and posted on-line before anyone even gets home.

In regard to the race series that are available to us, we also appreciate the effort that has gone into setting up the specific schedules such that they allow us to visit and enjoy many different x-c ski areas throughout our region and to race both skate and classic technique. We equally appreciate the time you have devoted to creating rules or requirements for each specific race series, that in our opinion, are very well designed to promote fair competition while simultaneously serving to promote the sport of x-c skiing here in the Far West Division.

Again, thank you all for creating such a strong, well-organized, fun, fair, and competitive season of skiing for us. You've made Far West simply the best.

Sincerely,

Truckee XC

The Gold Rush

2010-03-30T14:49:00.000-07:00

Rick Reynolds skiing strong

Chris McGovern, Sufferin'

Royal Gorge and Auburn Ski Club hosted this years Gold Rush under sunny
skis on Sunday and conditions were as good as ever. A fast and hard piste
meant sub 2 hour times for the mens podium, but once again the "Hurt
Locker" door was open and those who ventured thru it finished looking like
death warmed over.
Matt Gelso continued with his NCAA dominance by taking the gold after a
high speed crash on the second of 3 laps. Andrew Johnson representing
Steinbock Racing took the silver with Marshall Greene captured the bronze.
Team Rossignol members Jon Engen and Rick Reynolds (Truckee XC) were 9th
and 15th and 1st & 2nd in the 50+ age group. Chris McGovern of Truckee XC
was 23 and 1st in his age.
The womens Gold Rush was won by Maria Grafnings with Beth Reid and Laura
McCabe taking 2nd & 3rd.
In the womens 30k Silver Rush, Julie Young of Team Rossignol was 4th and
2nd in her age. Truckee XC women Susan Reynolds and Laura Stern were 7th &
8th, both winning their age groups.
In the womens Bronze Rush Debbie Hakansson was second and 1st in her age.
Another great day for Truckee XC with each athlete on the podium, either
1st or 2nd in their age group!
Many thanks to Roger Chaney who once again was invaluable with his
pre-race support and feeding.
For complete results go to:
http://farwestnordic.org/raceresults/results20092010/rg_goldrush10.html

Thanks to Mark Nadell at Macbeth Graphics for the pics. Check his site out, I bet there is a pic of you there if you raced.

Russell Kennedy Checking in from JO's

2010-03-22T08:37:00.000-07:00

After arriving in prescile Maine our only question was what the skiing would be like. So after a delicious lunch we all hopped into the vans and headed to do some skate skiing. We arrived at the ski area to find a warm 50-degree weather. After skiing the roller coaster like trails we headed home to catch some sleep. This was my first time skiing on the east and I was liking the courses the snow was very granular. After one more rest day we were off to racing. The sprints came first; Far West had one of its best sprints ever qualifying 8 racers in the quarterfinals. After a good prelim I had a good quarterfinal but just didn’t quit have it in me to qualify in second. With New England tactics knocking me out of the lucky loser position I did not make the semifinals. However Katrin larusson had a marvelous race finishing 10^th grabbing the last medal. We all looked towards the next race. Race day came, after watching the girls race and finish well with Annika Taylor grabbing a 9^th, I was ready to go. After racing as hard as I could after the disappointing switch from mass start to interval start, I finished and collapsed. After cooling down I found out that I was sitting at third OJ. When the race had finished I had maintained 3rd. Behind David Noris and Sam Tarling. After an awards ceremony and a rest day we were back for the skate interval start. It didn’t go that great for far west. I finished 14^th feeling like I was getting a cold. We went back to the hotel to prepare for the relay our final race. We started and coming into one of the turns I got tripped up and lost a lot of time. When I tagged off I was in 9^th we my team raced hard but we ended up in 10^th far west didn’t have the best day but we raced hard.

Bear Valley Weekend

2010-03-15T15:40:00.000-07:00

The Girls!

Bear Valley Bjornloppet 20 km freestyle (Sat. 3/13) and 10 km classic (Sun. 3/14)

One of the race volunteers tried to remind me of a year when it was actually stormy for the Bjornloppet weekend, but I can't remember doing these races under anything short of brilliant sunshine, crystal clear blue skies, and superb snow conditions. This year was no exception! The skate race follows a 2-lap course that starts and finishes on the dead-flat and super-wide "Runway", and this year we were lucky to have a strong tailwind that blew us along that exposed section before we turned into the hilly middle portion of the course that's sheltered from the wind and loops through gorgeous aspen groves. Truckee XC did well today, with Debbie Hakansson and Susan Reynolds taking 1st and 2nd in the womens race! I watched Debbie rocket off the start line and she apparently never slowed down, finishing 4th overall and being the only woman to clock a sub-hour time this year. And Susan was not far behind. Way to go you two! Julie Young (Rossignol) finished 3rd in the women's race, then myself in 4th. In the mens race, Dave Stover finished first with Scott Fairman about 30 seconds back, and Dan Warren in 3rd. I was initially worried that my Rossi's might be somewhat stiff and Leki pole baskets too small for all the new snow that had fallen the previous night, but instead found that everything worked GREAT, and clearly worked well for Deb and Susan too! Another feature of the Leki pole system that I appreciated on Saturday was the 2nd velcro strap on the grip that allows you to either snug down or loosen around your thumb, something I personally like (and need) to adjust depending on glove thickness and Reynauds-related hand issues. My skis ran great with the Toko HF dibloc red that I had waxed with, even though for logistical reasons I had needed to guess on the wax two weeks in advance of the race. Overall a great day!

The classic race on day 2 was held under even better conditions than Saturday. Another bluebird day with cold snow, but a bit less wind and firmer track. Perfect hard-wax conditions - what a treat for a springtime classic race in California! The classic course traditionally follows a different route from the skate course, but again begins and ends with a considerably long section of flat track across the meadow. The middle of each lap then brings a lengthy climb up to the hut at the top of "Equipe", with great panoramic views at the top (glad I had my Rudy Project sunglasses with their superior ventilation, so I could actually see something!) The climb has a few steep pitches and is almost completely exposed to sun, so usually the trick for this race is finding the right kick wax to get up the hill but without sacrificing too much glide on the flatter or colder portions of the course. I went with 2 short and thin layers of Toko red grip wax mostly because I've always found Toko red to work very well even in conditions substantially outside of those listed on the container, and I wanted to be able to work the hill. And my skis did indeed run great, particularly on the 2nd lap. Dave Stover and Scott Fairman again took 1st and 2nd respectively. Julie Young was the next racer in, taking 3rd overall and 1st in the womens race, and beating me to the line by 4 seconds. I had a slight gap on her as we crested Equipe the 2nd time, but she was quicker off the hill and along the double-pole section to the finish.

A big thanks to Paul and Diane Peterson for once again hosting this superb race weekend. The post-race festivities also make this a great event! Thanks also to Roger Chaney for all the technical support and waxing advice he provided, not to mention moral support! He seemed to be everywhere along both courses, either cheering or behind a camera. For anyone who has not raced at Bear Valley before, definitely mark your calendar for next year, which I believe will be the 38th (!) annual Bjornloppet. And don't forget your sunscreen.

The Great Ski Race

2010-03-08T10:22:00.001-08:00

Susan Reynolds

Rick Reynolds

Chris McGovern

Debbie Hakannson
All of these great photos are from Macbeth Graphics. I bet there is a picture of you if you raced!

The Great Ski Race lives up to its name once again.
If you ask why, here are the top 10 reasons to be in Truckee/Tahoe every year on the first Sunday in March.
10. The greatest added features: talk about some “whop de do’s”
9. The greatest competition: over 1000 racers including 4 Olympians.
8. The greatest weather: “It’s California Dude”
7. The greatest course in North America: a great climb to separate the field and then screaming technical descents.
6. The greatest spectating: Daron Rahlves even comes out to watch the skier cross finish!
5. The greatest grooming: perfect corduroy.
4. The greatest cheerleaders: “California Chicks Dude”
3. The greatest organization hosts the race; Tahoe Nordic Search & Rescue, if you need help in the wilderness these are the guys you want coming to assist you!
2. The greatest awards party: live band, dancing, food and
1. The # 1 greatest thing: they never run out of beer!

Truckee XC/Team Rossignol had another “Great” day with 4 podium finishes.
In the men’s race: Adam Swank was the overall winner with Ian Case second and Philip Violett third.
Rick Reynolds of Truckee XC/Team Rossignol was 7th and first in his age group.
The women’s race was won by Beth Reid in a hard fought battle against fellow Olympian Katerina Nash, with Cathy Howard taking 3rd.
Julie Young of Team Rossignol was 7th and 3rd in her age group.
Debbie Hakannson of Truckee XC was 8th and 2nd in her age group.
Susan Reynolds of Truckee XC was 12th and 3rd in her age group.
Special thanks once again to Roger Chaney for the pre race and post race assistance and team leadership.
For complete results go to: http://thegreatskirace.com/results/2010.htm

Thanks Royal Gorge

2010-03-01T09:18:00.000-08:00

What a day for skiing. Just wanted to say thanks to Royal Gorge for putting on one fun ski race. I also, wanted to thank Mark Macbeth Graphics for all the pictures. I think Mark got in some interval training sprinting from photo op to photo op. see all the photos here:
http://macbethgraphics.smugmug.com/NORDIC-RACING/Nordic-Races/royalgorge-midseason-race-2010/

It was a busy weekend in the northern Sierras.

Fri. & Sat. Auburn Ski Club hosted the high school state championships.

On Sat. Rick Reynolds taught a “Ski Downhill’s Faster” clinic at Royal Gorge.

Sun. the master racers were welcomed to a new race on the schedule. Royal Gorge hosted a 10k skating race and it was a spectacular day. The course was perfectly groomed on hard packed new snow & Toko yellow with helix was the call.

The race started off into the wind and tactics played an important roll.

In the men’s race Philip Violett attacked first, Reynolds waited for a cross wind to counter and shortly after that Tav Streit made his move to bridge up. The “3 Escapeodos” stayed together until the finish with Reynolds leading the sprint. Streit won the photo finish, with Reynolds second and Violett third. Chris McGovern came in with a respectable 7th. In the women it was Debbie Hakannson 4th, Susan Reynolds 7th and Laura Stern 8th.

Thanks to Royal Gorge the Farwest has a new race on the schedule offering some speed work on great terrain just before The Great Race.

For complete results go to www.farwestnordic.org

Ski Racing in Yosemite

2010-02-25T08:01:00.001-08:00

Laura Stern represented Truckee XC Nordic Ski team this past weekend in Yosemite. Here is her report:

Yosemite Nordic Holiday 18 km Classic & Glacier Point 36 km Freestyle Races.
This is a wonderful weekend of racing out of Badger Pass in Yosemite National Park, and the Nordic Holiday is (I believe) the oldest continuously-held nordic race in California. 54 racers showed up on Saturday morning for the 18 km classic race, and another 12 skied a shorter 10 km (juniors) course. A bit of fresh snow covered an otherwise icy base with warming temperatures, making for tough waxing conditions since conditions near the start line were quite different from those farther out along the course. Five of the top 6 finishers were in fact on Rubbers, Zero's, or Multi's, although the race was won by Scott Fairman onŠ arm power! Scott tried some sort of kick wax tape ("one red and one white" he told me) but basically double-poled the entire course, out-sprinting Peter Mayfield at the finish line to win by 1 second. While none of the hills are overly steep, some are quite long so I was quite impressed by this double-poling feat! Rossignol's Julie Young skied very impressively to take 3rd place overall, and handily winning the women's race. I placed 2nd in the women's race (and 8th overall), after struggling a bit with the waxing. I started with a hard wax mix of Toko yellow and silver, but opted for a very last-minute thin layer of multi-viola klister covered lightly with red hard wax. Not optimal, but I think my skis ran better than nearly everyone else's waxable skis. With all the extremely last-minute waxing changes and ski testing, I was very happy to have my Leki poles with their quick and easy entry! Not to mention their very light swing weight for all the double poling sections.

On Sunday we woke to more new snow and heard a general prediction for 1-3" of accumulation throughout the day, although the sky looked only partially overcast as race time approached. (We had limited cell service and no internet access where we were staying, so relied on hear-say for weather and waxing info.) 48 racers turned out for the skate race, and we enjoyed excellent course conditions as we headed out. It was about 27° air temp at the start, and I went with Toko Dibloc red (HF) with corked Jetstream red, and my Rossi skis ran very well out of the start and particularly while riding the classic tracks on the downhills. On a clear day, the scenery en route is simply spectacular, offering great views of the Clark Range while climbing "4 Mile Hill" and then the jaw-dropping view of Half Dome as you swing around Washburn Point during the final descent to Glacier Point. There's little time to soak it in though, as once you reach Glacier Point the course loops around the (summertime) parking lot and then heads straight back up. Peter Mayfield took an early lead and held it to the end, with Dan Warren pulling out an excellent 2nd place finish and Julie Young again in 3rd overall (and 1st in the women's race.) Way to go Julie! Scott Fairman placed 3rd in the men's division that day, and I was again 2nd woman. The snow started coming down as I climbed back up from Glacier Point, with heavier snowfall and significant accumulation well before the finish line. In hindsight, I perhaps should have chosen softer skis with less structure to stay closer to the group in front of me, but nonetheless, it was still one awesome day of skiing! Visibility also became quite an issue on the return, and I was once again very impressed with the lack of fogging I experience with the Rudy Project eyewear and the great ventilation they afford.

If the classic and skate races are not enough, there's an optional 3rd race during the weekend, a tele race on Saturday afternoon following the classic race. Dan Warren showed his alpine background and placed an excellent 3rd in the tele race (the top two tele finishers did not participate in the classic or skate races) with Scott in 4th and Peter in 7th. A final "trifecta" score is then awarded based on overall placings in all three races. Scott took the overall trifecta win for the weekend, with Peter in 2nd and Dan in 3rd. In the women's trifecta, Louise Wholley took the top spot with Janet deHaven in 2nd.

A big thanks to Dave Bengston of the Yosemite Cross Country Ski Center for organizing this fantastic weekend of racing! For those of you who have never done this weekend of races, I highly recommend it. After the skate race, several of us skied back out to Glacier Point to spend the night at the lodge out there, and I finally had a chance to stop and take a picture along the race course by Washburn Point. World-class scenery, no doubt about it.

Presidents Cup!

2010-02-16T09:08:00.000-08:00

all of these great photos are from Macbethgraphics.com

150 athletes showed up at Tahoe Donner XC for the annual Paco’s President Cup race Monday. There was not a cloud in the sky and any racer who came thinking he/she could sit in and wait for a final sprint came to the wrong race. It was “game on” right out of the start and the attacks kept coming!

The day started off warmer then expected and the snow softer then expected. Experienced racers were adding rills and some Toko Jet Stream Molly before the start. Hey: it was a California Day and racing in and out of the sun and shade showed how valuable the Rudy Eyewear proved to be.

The ladies started 5 minutes before the men and got the opportunity to watch the men come by at race pace and jump on the train if they felt the urge. It was another great day for the Rossignol/Truckee XC Team and the women provided a photo finish. Rossignol skier Julie Young got her toe across the line first and Truckee XC skier Debbie Hakannson took second. Beth Thomas was third and Truckee XC skier Laura Stern was fourth.

The men’s race started off in a frantic pace more resembling skier cross and finished much the same for some. Philip Violet and Tav Street set the pace out of the start and the field broke up in the first few kilometers. About half way through the race Team Rossignol/Truckee XC skier Rick Reynolds bridged up to Violet and Street and got a short breather. The youngsters decided they didn’t want a 52 year old hanging on so they turned on the gas and said “see ya”. It wasn’t long after that, when Beth Reid (racing in the men’s field & for the record, aka. Beth Heiden) bridged up to Reynolds. At the bottom of the final climb Violet turned on the after burners and dropped Street. When Reynolds and Reid got to the same location Reid did the same thing to Reynolds. The final results were: Violet, Street, Reid, and Reynolds. Ben Grasseschi and Danny Buchanan of Team Rossignol took 5th & 8th respectively and Chris McGovern from Truckee XC was 11th. It was another great day for Rossignol/Truckee XC.

Special thanks to Roger Chaney and Ben Grasseschi for the invaluable pre race support.

For complete results go to: http://www.farwestnordic.org/raceresults/results20092010/td_presidentscup10.html

Alpenglow Freestyle

2010-02-01T09:03:00.001-08:00

Truckee XC went into this weekend with guns a blazing!

Participating in the Supper JO Qualifiers at Soldier Hollow, Utah, Russell Kennedy had 2 podium finishes. A second in the freestyle sprints and a first place in the 15k classic. (This classic course is known as one of the toughest in North America!)

Back at home the scheduled race was overlooking beautiful Lake Tahoe at the Tahoe City Nordic Center. This is a very popular annual 20k race sponsored by Alpenglow Sports. It is a one lap course, with spectacular views and has all aspects of Nordic racing. Good climbing and good descents broken up with flat rolling terrain.

Truckee XC and other Rossignol skiers proved they weren’t too old to play with the youngsters on these beautifully groomed trails.

In the women’s race;

1st Debbie Hakannson Truckee XC

2nd Julie Young Rossignol

3rd Susan Reynolds Truckee XC

4th Laura Stern Truckee XC

In the men’s race:

1st Adam Wright Sugar Bowl Academy

2nd Rick Reynolds Truckee XC

3rd Dan Buchanan Rossignol

7th Chris McGovern Truckee XC

Snow conditions were hard and fast with air temp. at the start in the mid 20’s and climbing under sunny skies.

The Toko wax choice was simple RED/RED!

Special thanks to all our sponsors, without you guys results like this wouldn’t happen.

Pacos Fun Race

2010-01-06T09:55:00.000-08:00

What a great day on the skis. Last Sunday was the Pacos fun race, a 2, 5 or 10 km freestyle event held at Auburn Ski club. Events at ASC are always tough, because of the terrain available and Sundays race was no different. Weather and snow conditions were top notch, although I think the skiing got slower as the day went on. That Being said it was a great day out for Truckee XC.
to view results for this event check:
http://www.farwestnordic.org/raceresults/results20092010/asc_pacos10.html

action shots

2009-12-30T13:56:00.001-08:00

A big THANKS to Mark Nadell for the images

Far West Nordic Racing is in Full Swing

2009-12-28T07:37:00.000-08:00

It just a few days past Christmas, and the Far West nordic ski racing season is in full swing. Check here for results: http://farwestnordic.org/raceresults/results20092010/asc_snowshoethompson09.html on yesterdays striding race at Auburn Ski club. Check back soon, for some pics and race reports.

Rudy Project comes on board for 3 years

2009-08-26T09:48:00.000-07:00

We must be doing something right here at Truckee XC... Rudy Project has just come on board for 3 years as our official eye wear supplier. In addition to glasses, you will see Truckee XC members sporting Rudy Project helmets out on their bikes and roller skis. A big thanks to the folks at Rudy Project for getting behind us in our quest for fast skiing!

Gold Rush Lives Up To Its Reputation

2009-03-23T21:54:00.000-07:00

Gold Rush Lives up to its Reputation

24" of new snow had fallen in the pre-race hours and the Sierra blizzard wasn’t letting up. At 5:00 AM the Far West Race Committee was forced to make some changes, and good changes they were. For safety and grooming reasons a new course was designed. The result: the best Gold Rush course ever. Royal Gorge stepped up to the plate with 3 machines and provided an excellent piste to race on. The course had a great flow to it and the steep/long climbs were taken out. The course was very similar to the Rendezvous marathon course. No need to say, looking at the times, the conditions were tough.

The race started off at a gentlemens pace, after about 5km Zach Violet moved to the front and launched the first attack. That splintered the front train and it was "Game On". On the second lap things settled down, partially because the sky opened up and you could hardly see the skier in front of you let alone the course. On the third lap the storm let up and it was full throttle for the last 15km.(if you had any gas left in the tank!)

Congrats to the winners, and many thanks to Auburn Ski Club, Royal Gorge, the Far West, and all the sponsors.

Rossignol, Toko and Truckee XC would like to make special thanks to Roger Chaney for "Being The Man"

46km Gold Rush Top Ten Men
:

1 GMM1 M Adam Swank 2:28:49

2 GMS2 M Nikolai Anikin 2:30:36 2

3 GMS2 M Ian Case 2:34:17

4 GMM5 M Jon Engen 2:38:04 Team Rossignol

5 GMM3 M Peter Hanson 2:39:50

6 GMM3 M Dan Packman 2:40:33

7 GMS2 M Zach Violett 2:43:55

8 GMM1 M Tav Streit 2:44:44

9 GMM5 M Rick Reynolds 2:44:57 Truckee XC

10 GMM3 M Barry Makarewicz 2:47:00

Gold Rush Women:

1 GFM1 Katerina Vinogradova 2:45:21

2 GFM1 Sarah Max 2:51:03

3 GFS2 Lenka Palanova 2:56:00

4 GFS1 Chelsey Holmes 3:02:29

5 GFM3 Julie Young 3:07:34 Team Rossignol

6 GFS2 Stephanie Howe 3:08:25

7 GFS2 Abbie Harris 3:09:25

8 GFM4 Carol Bennett 3:12:41

9 GFS1 Kara LaPoint 3:13:41

10 GFM2 Dayna Deuter 3:26:28

14 GFM4 Laura Stern 3:33:22 Truckee XC

30km Silver Rush
overall

1 SFM4 F Beth Reid 1:47:46

2 SFM3 F Cathy Howard 1:57:48

3 SMJO M Adam Wright 2:00:58

4 SMM6 M Glenn Jobe 2:01:21

5 SMM3 M Scott Fairman 2:01:30

6 SFM2 F Kari Rust 2:04:09

7 SMM2 M Ben Grasseschi 2:05:39

8 SMM3 M David Eastwood 2:06:56

9 SMM5 M Steve Miller 2:10:35

10 SFM5 F Debbie Hakansson 2:12:15 Truckee XC

New race reports, UPDATED

2009-03-19T09:43:00.000-07:00

Russell Given'er

Truckee XC has been doing a lot of racing lately here are some reports.

Russell Kennedy Junior Olympics:

The Junior Olympics was a good week, as I had been looking for some good race results. In the sprint races, I went into the final heats in 13th place and was hoping to capture a few more places and go home with a medal. I ended up getting boxed out and maintained my placing of 13^{th. After a rest day we picked up racing again with the mass start 15K freestyle. This had been my best race in 08 and I was excited. After a well-skied race I finished in 4th place, my best JO finish ever. Friday was the interval start classic race. After a fall, I finished with a disapointing 16th place. Relays were on the final day and I had the lead off leg. I came in 5th and the team ended up bringing home a 9th place medal.. Overall it was one of my best JO’s ever.}

Debbie Hakannson reports on The 5th Annual North Routt des Bois 90k:

After one big loop thru the Routt and Medicine Bow National Forests: temp at start time just above 0 degF. We started out at 8200 feet with a 14K loop around Steamboat Lake, wide open and cold! Stayed on the lake just long enough to get frostbite and that frozen spastic feeling in the legs. Then headed out into the woods, away from civilization, some good climbs, lots of rolling and flat terrain to the Wyoming border. 50K down and feeling pretty good. Then the hard part starts, climbing up and over the Continental Divide (at almost 10,000 feet) was as steep as climbing UP I

’m OK, snowmobiles on the trail, no relaxation possible on the downhills, grooming sketchy, turns sketchy, legs cramping. More flats and rollers to final big climb at 80K. More agony and leg cramps for 2k,then leg massage at final aid station at the top. Wild ride down thru the aspens (which took out 2 ex-olympic downhillers!), and 8k flat out race to the finish. The race had beautiful scenery, weather and aid stations. Grooming and sno-mo’s a bit of a bummer. The field was small but stellar with ex WC mtn bikers, ex-olympic downhillers, ex and current Nordic combined world champions, Western States 100 winners and more…My goals were to finish, break the 50 year age group women’s record and have fun. Mission accomplished on all 3 counts – finishing time 6:35.
Laura Stern: 2 days of racing in Bear Valley

Just back from a superb weekend in Bear Valley -- it has to be my favorite
race weekend of the season. The snow and course conditions (and grooming!)
were outrageously good, and Paul and Diane just go SO out of their way to
put together a fantastic weekend for everyone, with a big Mexican feed
after the 20 km skate race on Saturday (with prizes for pretty much
everyone) and another smaller post-race awards party on Sunday after the 10
km classic race. And did I mention the spectacular grooming?! Couldn't
have been better. Perfect weather, too -- not a cloud in the sky the whole
time until midafternoon today... yet perfect hard-wax conditions for
classic this morning. Was great that Roger was there too with Rosi demo's,
and helping everyone with last-minute ski prep and advice. He's the best!
Julie (Young) beat me by 2 seconds in the skate race yesterday, but I was
somehow able to hold her off today (but not by much!) So was happy with a
2nd and a 1st. Peter Mayfield won the mens races both days, with Scott
Fairman taking 2nd both days.

This In from Kris Krone:

March 14^th, 2009

North Routt Courer Des Bois

Steamboat Springs, CO

45K and 90K

The North Routt 45km race was to be my first longer than 30km event that didn’t also lose elevation. My first real ski marathon. And after 3 days of constant carbo loading race day was finally here. Trying to keep up with the 90km athlete’s pre-race calorie consumption program may not have been the best strategy. Nearly one week later and I am still full.

Race day: We drove to the start in the dark. Arrived 35 miles from civilization at Steamboat Lake and as the light of dawn appeared and an indoor bathroom seemed to be available in the modern looking lodge the morning was off to a good start. That was until we stepped out of the vehicle. “Hello Colorado.” The squeak-squeak of snow under foot, the steam emitting from breathing outside, meant two things: didn’t wax cold enough and didn’t bring enough clothes. Though by start time an hour later things were looking up. Air temp warmed 5 plus degrees and the sun was clearly out and on! Off the line at 9:00a.m., the skis felt a bit grabby on the cold snow, but enough glide to not be too concerned about the 45km ahead. The course starts with a visual display of Colorado’s beautiful landscape. I was admiring the scenery and then reminded myself that I was in a race and refocused!

The first 30km went smooth and was over relatively fast, though conditions on the climb were challenging as the snow was marbled and granular over ice. It was a push/pull with the skis which made for extra work but I felt I was climbing efficiently. When I reached the 30km mark aid station, (I am normally finished at this point) I decided to stop for Heed and was thinking “great, almost there, it’s all down hill from here. Wrong. When I took off from the aid station legs were cold but thought of course there would be a stretch of recovery, instead it was about 5km of slightly up hill against the wind and cold slow snow. This shot my legs. Heart/lung package still felt good so I continued on in good faith. I was told there was a steep but short hill at the end of this course and here I was. As I started to climb the actual verticalness forced a herringbone maneuver. I thought I could sustain this for a short period of time. After 25 minutes (not a short period of time in my world) I had achieved some of the ugliest “skiing” ever witnessed. Perfecting the falling forward and just catching yourself herringbone technique. I was mentally demoralized. The words “never again” and “why” intermixed with some explicitives now resonated in my oxygen deprived head. I imagined that I must be close to the finish now. Just around the corner. Well 12 –14 corners later and what seemed an eternity the finish was at least in sight. At one point, about 2 km out there was a steep short downhill. My legs were jelly so I just ran it straight down. At the bottom instead of the trail running out it did a sharp hairpin turn back up the hill. I didn’t even attempt to slow down. I was so tired it just seemed easier to stuff myself into the oncoming snowbank. And I did. I had to throw myself backwards, (well lean at this point) to extract all body parts and skis from the bank. Luckily it was soft snow. I gathered myself together and headed home. I tried to stand up straight and V2 with pride as I dragged my carcass over the finish. I felt a bit queasy and light headed, which may actually have been the proudest moment of my race season. Finally I had pushed out of the comfort zone, this was a breakthrough. Finally made myself almost sick through effort. I thought, “I have arrived.”

One of the highlights of this race was watching my friends come through the finish after completing 90km, a truly remarkable feat on this course, with smiles on their faces. I found it difficult to explain my undoing after 35km to them. And of course as soon as I had changed my clothes and refueled the body I was making plans for next year. So much for “never again” and “why.”

check these links for complete results:

www.xcjuniorolympics.org
www.steamboatski.org
www.farwestnordic.org

2009-03-03T13:03:00.000-08:00

Deb Hakanson

The Great Ski Race was held sunday and EVERYONE was thankfull the rain held off untill the race was mostly over. The track was soft and dirty with a 7:00 am temp. of 45 degrees in Tahoe City. Rick Reynolds says it was the toughest GSR he can remember. You had to work the down hills and the corners were treacherous with spectacular crashes proving to be great entertainment at the finish!

The race was won by Tad Eliot. Marcus Nash came out of retirement to take 2^nd and Zach Violet was 3^rd.

Representing the Truckee XC Team, Rick Reynolds was 6^th and first in the 50-59 age group.

Steve Axt, who was a little tired from his 2 wins and 45km of racing from the weekend before was 24^th and 4^th in his age group.

The un-touchable Rebecca Desault won the womens race followed by local Beth Reid and them Ekateina Vinogradova

On the womens side Kristin Krone was the 9^th female and 3^rd in her age group.

Debbie Hakansson was 12^th and first in her age group.

Special thanks to Roger Chaney and Gary Bishop for the superb support at both the start and the finish. Support at that level allows The Truckee XC Team to concentrate on the race.....and.....people notice!

The wax choice of the day proved to be the old Gold Rush stand by: LF Molly/HF Molly/JS Molly ironed in and minimal structure. Reynolds said he didn’t have the fastest skis in the beginning but they were ok. After 10k he was gliding even with anyone. After 15k he had the fastest skis out there!

Axt strides and skates to victory, while Rick gets all wet!

2009-02-24T09:18:00.000-08:00

So a wet weekend sent folks traveling to race or braving the rain.
Rick got all wet at the Tahoe Donner Relays but managed to be on the winning team of Schloss, Daley. I dont know who skied what leg, but what a great team.

Yosemite Nordic Holiday 18 km Classic & Glacier Point Freestyle 37 km. A handful of the usual suspects made the drive to Badger Pass in Yosemite National Park for the oldest Nordic races continuously held in California. Saturday's classic race featured tough California waxing conditions near freezing on a constantly undulating course. My skis were on the grabby side then started desperately slipping on the final 1-mile climb. I fended off Peter Mayfield with my hardest double effort of the season to take the win. Little did I know what was in store for my sore abs on Sunday. A wet Sierra storm blew in hard, leaving the 37 km course covered with 6+" of mash potatoes even after the groomer had made a final pass just before the gun went off. After using every technique available, I resigned myself to double poling at least half of the course. The set tracks and corduroy were only a memory. I skied through a massive bonk and took the second win of the weekend ahead of a charging Peter Mayfield. I recommend the weekend to anyone who hasn't made the trip. Race director and former El Cap climbing wiz Dave Bengston puts on a great weekend of races on California's most uniquely scenic course.

Nice job guys!

More pics from Paco's Presidents Day Cup

2009-02-17T13:11:00.000-08:00

Steve

Deb

Rick

Susan

Laura

all these great pics are from Mark Nadell. Thanks Mark

Presidents Cup

2009-02-17T08:37:00.000-08:00

Epic Conditions

The storm door has opened in the Sierras. Some might say the Garage Door has opened, since February 8th 62-87 inches of snow has fallen along the Sierra Crest.

While some athletes legs were suffering from some epic backcountry ski days on others it didn't seem to matter!

It was blizzard condition racing throughout the weekend.

Russel Kennedy performed exceptional well during the weekend sprint races at Auburn Ski Club.He took a 5th place in a stacked field of college students.

On Monday the annual Paco's President cup was held at Tahoe Donner in tough racing not to mention tough driving conditions. It was a smaller field than normal due to the road conditions, proven by the fact the Chris McGovern couldn't reach Truckee due to closed roads.

Two days of powder skiing at Squaw Valley didn't seem to slow down Tav Streit who took first place over Jeff Schloss and Rick Reynolds.

Steve Axt's body wouldn't respond to the race effort but he stuck it out and ended up muscling out an 11th place.

In the womens field it was Beth Reid unchallenged again, followed by JoAnne Reid and Cathy Howard

Susan Reynolds showed off her new and improved form and came in with her best finish of the year a 5th place.

Debbie Hakansson came in 9th with Laura Stern 10th

relay hardware!

2009-02-04T08:32:00.000-08:00

I got a brief race recap from rick about their relay results:

This was quite the feat!
I got moved down to the m4 class, 3 of us top 10 skiers, and one top 20 skier. We've got a shot at a medal!
Milan, our lead of skier reports in this morning with the FLU! Coach JD does some juggling and moves Doud Armstrong ( a m7) down to be our lead off skier. Doug skis his heart out and come in 5th, we're minutes out of 3rd! Scott does the 2nd leg and moves us into 4th place! (I'm still thinking we're in 5th and don't have a chance) (believe me, it's chaos just trying to get permission to get into the tag zone) Anyway, I get the tag, get tripped up and lose about 10 sec. We're still 2min down from 3rd!
I get it going and throw it down. I gain a min. on 3rd. Kent Murdoch has the anchor, he throws it down, he's got 3rd place in site coming into the finish!
It's a sprint finish for a USA Bronze!
People were telling me we got 3rd and I'm saying No Way, that ca't be. But we did! I couldn't believe it!
45k tomorrow
RR

Rick has the 45 km race left...keep it up rick!

Ricks Worlds update

2009-02-03T06:43:00.000-08:00

So from the small bit of info I have gotten about Rick and his exploits in France, it sounds like the trip had a rough start. Like the airline lost his luggage and skis! If I am not mistaken he got his skis but not luggage prior to the 45km start, just barely and dropped out early in the race. Rick finally got all of his stuff regrouped and hit the 2nd race and took 5th. That is a great example of some mental toughness!

here is a link to a video of the 2nd race

http://sharing.theflip.com/session/b81574b9d92c059a019bd1a7465f3190/vide
o/3021941

I think Rick has relays today and a 45 km in 2 days time. GOOD LUCK RICK!

This is a good time to point out one thing that I make all my athletes do when we travel abroad on airplanes. You pack in your carry on bag what ever you would need to start a race... off the plane. Of course, minus skis or bike. Boots, clothing shades...you can always borrow skis or bike, but having the right boots, shoes or pedals makes the equipment hunt that much easier.
I am not saying Rick did not do this, I am just taking this opportunity to pass this tid bit along.

Rick is off to France!

2009-01-28T08:41:00.000-08:00

Rick Reynolds of Truckee XC is off to France for the 2009 Masters World Nordic Championships. Hopefully Ricks travels go well and he can get down to business! Check back for updates on Ricks progress!

BIG RACE WEEKEND

2009-01-21T18:29:00.000-08:00

The Truckee XC nordic ski team had quite a weekend. Russell Kennedy started things off racing Saturday and Sunday. A high School Race, which he won and a JOQ race on Sunday, where he took second against a stacked western field. On the Masters side we had the 15 km Skogsloppett. Complete results can be found at the Far West Nordic site
Laura Stern, 11th and 6th M2

Rick Reynolds 3rd, 1st M3

Chris McGovern 5th, 2nd M1

Debbie 8th, 1st M3

Steve Axt 4th 1st M2

Russell Kennedy

The Sierra Nordic Duathalon

2009-01-17T10:35:00.000-08:00

Susan Reynolds

I was not at this event, and I did not get a race report from anyone. I did however get this ripping picture from Emma Gerrard.
Thanks for the pic

The SNOWSHOE classic

2008-12-29T18:03:00.000-08:00

This past Sunday was the Snowshoe Thompson Classic 10km race held at Auburn Ski club. Once again, Truckee-XC had a great showing with 5 athletes competing. Before I get to the results I wanted to mention that Rick Reynolds had the opportunity to race on the new X-IUM Classic C2 NIS "Rubbers" What? Thats right the Rossignol Rubber. Its a new technology in classic skis that uses a specially formulated rubber in the mid section of the ski...no kick wax required. This ski is intended to be used in tough waxing conditions around freezing. From what I have heard the ski was very fast...but dont trust me! Go check them out!
Rick Reynolds, 11th, mm5 2nd

Susan Reynolds, 12th, FM4, 3rd

Steve Axt, 22nd, MM3, 1st

Laura Stern, 2nd, FM4, 2nd

Russell Kennedy, 6th, MJ1, 1st

Great job to everyone. Up next, the Sierra Nordic duathalon.
Be sure to check toko.us for the race wax tips!

Good Day to ski

2008-12-27T17:44:00.000-08:00

DEMO DAY!

Today was a great day to ski. I know, what day isnt a great day to ski... But today was demo day at Tahoe Donner and Roger was there with his fleet of skis and boots spreading the love. I dont know if any of us did anything to help, but we look good! In addition to Roger being there with his armada of Rossignol gear, John Clausen was there as well showing off the LEKI pole system. If you have not tried the LEKI pole / grip system, you need to. You wont be sorry. The skiing was great! The weather was great! A+ job on the grooming and the amount of km's groomed. I dont know what else to say...it was one of those days.

Good luck to everyone tomorrow at the Snowshoe classic and Auburn Ski Club. GO TRUCKEE-XC

Pacos Fun Race Report

2008-12-21T17:14:00.000-08:00

Today was Pacos Fun Race, a 10 km freestyle nordic ski race. The conditions were tough as the weather cooled and the rain turned to heavy snow...a lot of snow accumulated and the visibility diminished. Truckee XC athletes faired pretty well, its hard not to when you have such great equipment.

I dont have any pictures yet but here are some results.
the guys:

4th-Rick Reynolds, 1st MM5
8th-Russel Kennedy, 1st MJ1
11th Steve Axt, 1st MM3
12th Chris McGovern, 1st MM2

The Girl:

10th-Susan Reynolds, 2nd FM2

Nice showing in the firs race of the year. Send me some pics and or race reports and I will post them up

Thanks to Roger and Co. for the support out there today!

Toko Wax Tips

2008-12-15T14:55:00.001-08:00

Just a reminder now that the snow is falling, you need to to check the TOKO website for race day wax tips:

http://www.tokous.com/Waxtips/California/CALIFORNIA_waxtips.htm

That is, if you want to have fast skis!!!!!

UNR roller ski race

2008-12-08T07:06:00.000-08:00

Rick Tearing up the asphalt

Well there is still no snow in the Sierras. But that has not stopped some folks from racing. UNR put on a roller ski race this last weekend on old 40. Rick blew out the cob webs. I have not seen results yet...but I heard those college kids went fast.

Truckee XC sightings

2008-11-24T07:14:00.000-08:00

What did you do this weekend?
There were some sightings of Truck XC members out in the brisk air having some fun before the snow falls

Deb and Susan ran 13 miles out in Carpenter Valley...nothing major, just a half marathon!!! Rick and Chris Rode up to Drifter Hut and down to the Donner Rim trail. We found a touch of snow, some high winds and that Rick had no brakes! But what a fantastic trail and great weather.

I wonder what Steve Axt is up to??

T-XC representing at the Turkey Trot

2008-11-17T19:25:00.000-08:00

Mark and the Redpath twins

I heard Mark ran and pushed his way to 10th place overall. Nice arm warmers Mark, we like the orange.

Kristin Krone

Kristin, a world renown Alpine skier, races the skinny skis too. The Turkey Trot provided a nice day for some cross training. This Fall (summer) weather we are having is nice, but isnt it time for some snow!

Rick Reynolds has been named to the Rossignol Masters Team

2008-11-16T21:10:00.000-08:00

RICK ON HIS PROVEN TRAINING GROUNDS

Rick Reynolds has been named to the Rossignol Masters Team. The team list is bellow.
Congrats Rick!

Elite Master team: Muffy Ritz, Kim Ruud, Jon Engen, Rick Reynolds, John Bauer, Mark Gilbertson, Michael Myers

2008-11-10T19:49:00.000-08:00

The following article has been written by wax master, Rick Reynolds. If you ski with him or see him at the races you know he has fast skis. Well, Rick is going to let us in on some secrets...

Fast Skis.........? I’ve got almost 50 years of skiing experience and some people think I’ve got fast skis. If this is true it’s because I keep things simple. But, keeping things simple can take some effort and you need to be meticulous to get quantifiable results. As an alpine coach I got a reputation for "Nailing the Wax" I was always asking other coaches questions and I learned what waxes worked well in different parts of the country and different conditions. To me there were no secrets, it was a matter of keeping things basic. I always kept notes I could refer back to, and kept a close eye on the weather. At speed events I would make the extra effort to set up our speed trap. I’d have one coach whose sole responsibility was to monitor the speed trap. Our speed trap had 3 lights, the first 2 lights were 10 meters apart and told me the speed my athletes had coming in to the trap, the first and third light, 100 metes apart, told me there elapsed time. This not only told me who was skiing well, what lines were the fastest, but it also told me whose skis were running fast. Keep in mind this occurred in the 80's before stone grinding became the art it is today. While my guys were learning the course and working on their technique they were also testing wax combinations for me. After 2 days of training (sometimes 4 runs) I new better then anyone what the wax was going to be, providing the weather stayed the same. If the weather changed I had more notes to refer to at another time. One year at the Eastern Championships things backfired on me a little bit. I nailed the wax so BIG, 3 of my guys ended up in the hospital. One crashed in a fence(he missed a turn) and 2 caught so much air off one of the jumps they both crashed. They all said with a smile on there face " those were the fasted skis they had ever been on" Again the wax wasn’t anything special it was tweaked just right! I’ve taken the knowledge I gained as an Alpine coach and now use it to help me as a nordic racer. As most of us know "Fast Skis" today is 3 fold.
1. You need the right flex.
2. You need the right stone grind.
3. You need the right wax. And, all of the above need to match the conditions for the day! Finding which skis run fast in certain conditions is simple but there’s some effort involved. I keep all my skis waxed with Toko System 3 Red. This is the wax I use on a daily bases and if a snow condition exists that I want to test skis in, all I need to do is scrape the skis and go. My favorite place to test is on the Yuba trail at Royal Gorge. I use a straight section with a downhill that allows me to gain a descent amount of speed, and then the trail goes immediately uphill. While testing skis you need to be very meticulous. All the skis need to be prepared the same way, your start needs to be the same each time, your tuck needs to be the same, you can’t take clothes off or put them on, and you’re wasting your time if it’s windy. The track will get faster with each test pass so you need to switch test pairs after each run. If you’re meticulous you’ll be surprised at how quickly you’ll see which skis are running the fastest. Now, make some notes of the conditions and what ski ran the fastest. What’s the stone grind, what’s the flex, etc. Next step, test again in different conditions. Then test again. One of 2 things will happen, you will have one pair of skis which are consistently faster or some skis will run faster in different conditions. After 2-3 tests you will know what skis you want to race on. Now it’s time to try and make your slow skis faster. It’s simple, change the grind. The Start Haus right in town can usually do a new grind overnight ( hot boxing takes longer). Look at what grind/s are working for you and what grinds aren’t working. My favorite grind is a Fine Linear grind. It works in tons of conditions, in wet snow you can add a rill, in dirty snow it doesn’t pick up to much dirt and in cold "Sierra" snow it’s fine enough to run well. At the Start Haus ask for the "Universal Linear with a dressing speed of 10." (In the Nordic World this would be considered a Fine Linear) If you want to match a grind, take that pair of skis in and they’ll match it. Keep in mind if you put on a new grind you’re going to want to ski it in before you race on it. To say the least "Brush the !@#$" out of them if there is no time to ski it in. I have raced on a fresh grind before and my skis ran very well! (But it’s risky) Now here are some tips I strongly believe in:
1. New skis....Use em! Waxing and skiing on skis is what makes them fast. Don’t save them for racing until you know for certain they are fast.
2. If you’ve got a really fast pair of skis. Protect them. Don’t let anyone else use them and don’t use them in marginal conditions. I’ve got a pair of skis that only come out for "Big Races."
3.. Be careful using good/fast skis on frozen corduroy. You’ll burn the edges. In some cases you’ll have to stone grind the skis to get it removed.
4. Change the grind on your slow skis. What the heck, if it’s the same grind as your fast skis, open it up, make it more aggressive, or maybe they could become your cold skis, minimize the grind. Do something, what have you got to lose.
5. A general stone grind rule: cold snow = fine grind; warm wet snow = agressive grind.
6. The longer the race, the more aggressive the snow, the harder the wax needs to be. Don’t be afraid to add a little hardener (with Toko a touch of blue) to the wax on these days. This was something I did very often as an Alpine coach and still do today, when the conditions call for it.
7. The Great Race: generally, go a little colder with the hot wax and add a rill. When the gliding really comes into play, the snow is on a Northern exposure, and the altitude is plus or minus 7000', the snow is cold. Near the end of the race the snow will be wet but that’s when you need to count on your warm floros and the rill.
8. Take notes that you can refer to from year to year.

Good Luck!!!!!

UVEX COMES ON BOARD WITH TRUCKEE XC

2008-10-22T06:49:00.000-07:00

This coming season the members of Truckee XC will be sporting eye protection from UVEX. We are very pleased to have the support of this great company. More info on UVEX product later, but until then check out www.uvexsports.com

Check out the Truckee XC cycling kits

2008-09-12T08:44:00.000-07:00

Rick Reynolds had a great idea about 10 weeks ago..."why dont we get some Truckee XC cycling kits made?" And from that, we have kits. The members of Truckee XC agreed that having these kits made would do two things. First it would allow us to say thanks to the supporters of our team. And Second, we would get some new clothing to ride in all Summer and Fall!
What a great place to ride! No cars messed with us during the Photo shoot on old 40 the other day. I am pretty sure they thought we worked for Cal Trans. Personally I think the Orange looks pretty sharp. I believe we are putting in another order for the clothing...so if you want some new duds and show your support let us now through the comment link on this post, or get a hold of Rick.

Debbie, Susan, Chris and Rick were able to come out to show off the new duds

Looking Good!

Thanks to all the Sponsors and Supporters of the team. And a special thanks to Mark Nadell for taking these pics.

IT IS GO TIME

2008-06-18T07:34:00.000-07:00

Truckee XC and its fine athletes are already back at it. Getting back in shape and building fitness for the 2009 ski season. Luckily for us we live in the beautiful Lake Tahoe area and we get to go "train" in the Sierra Nevada Mountains!

Rick Reynolds and Chris McGovern recently went "training" on a hike up to Castle Peak. What a day! The weather was great and the views were spectacular. Oh, and the "training" was great too.

SUMMIT SHOT

Snow, we should be skiing.

I know for a fact that some of the other members, like Susan and Debbie have been out riding their bikes a bunch. These girls like to ride and ride a ton of miles. I think 100miles is a warm up ride for them. Regardless of the activity, you can be sure that all the team members are out getting fit and enjoying the "off season"
Stay tuned for more training updates, team news and adventure.