But yea, Rox is spot on. Why are there so many really good races in Norcal all before June? It's like the race calendar is all filled up every weekend early season. April is nuts, for example.
Talking to the locals, they say they don't ride this track come Summer... way too hot. Based on the absolutely perfect conditions I've experienced in '09, '13 & '14 for Big Sandy (weather, wildflowers, green grass, trail tread), I wouldn't be excited about racing in 90°+ temps if it was pushed back. I recall in '12 they had snow though!
Just curious, were there other NorCal races this past weekend competing with Big Sandy? Other than the High School race at Fort Ord, I don't think so. Sure Millerton Reservoir is a hoof from anywhere but Fresno, but so is Boggs, Downieville and Mendocino.
While the pro and masochistic experts (from a couple hours away) pretty much needed to be in town the night before in order to make the 8:30am start, the 10:30+ start was pretty cush for long course and the short course participants. Tyrone and I stayed in Clovis the night before, 30 minutes from the start. Easy cheesy. (Thanks Ty).
I'm just saying that there will always be excuses and reasons for not committing to a race. Fitness should not factor into the decision making around this race. I NEVER have been all that fit each time I've raced, but I've podium'd each time (SS long course, Vintage short course, age group sport long course). But regardless of whether you podium or not, sometimes to participate in a truly exceptional event is to win. Nobody here would regret the ya-ya's they experience from this fantastic course and the folks who make it happen! :thumbsup:
p.s. shuttling to get your car is pretty dang easy if you simply talk to people.
FWIW.. my favorite races, due to them not being loopty-loop lap races:
- Big Sandy
- Shasta Lemurian
- Downieville Classic
- Tahoe Sierra 100
- Mendo Hundo (even though it was 82 mi. in '13)
