[Posted by Andy Schultz on SchultzBrothersRacing, part of the Cyclingdirt Network.]

I've settled back into life at The Cycling House after spending the weekend racing in So Cal.

The race was so so.  I knew coming into it that I wasn't going to be riding fast so I had pretty limited expectations and didn't leave the race disappointed.  Actually I left it pretty fired up to train hard and bring the fitness along so I can ride near the front with Sam.

Sam had a really good weekend and pulled off a great result in the XC.  It was no surprise to me though.  He has been riding super fast and training hard all year.


Sam on the podium for 3rd in the XC

I had a really good time at the race.  On the way into the race Sam and I made a stop at the Oakley Factory in south LA.  The place is gigantic.  When I first saw it I didn't think there was any way that the entire place could be actually used for producing sunglasses.  I honestly thought that they had to have some basketball courts or something in there.  On our tour with the man, Steve Blick, I found out different though.  Every pair of Oakley sunglasses is made right there, in the U.S.  Not only are they at max capacity at the factory, but as soon as they finish a pair of shades they have to ship it another warehouse that houses the finished goods.  Upstairs is where all the design work for glasses and the soft goods gets done.  There is a lot of creative energy flowing through that place.  

Considering that I got my hands on my Felt frame at 7 o'clock on Thursday night, built it up until midnight, and took it to a bike shop to get a few things tweaked on Friday it rode really well.  I spent my preride on Friday making sure that the shifting was working and that the bike fit me and then raced it hard on Saturday and Sunday so I haven't really evaluated the ride of the bike so I can't say whether I'm a full convert to the 29er.  

The venue was in a really nice park that forms a bowl so you can't see the city around you.  After we pulled off the interstate and found our motel the thought of L.A. almost disappeared from my mind.  San Dimas is pretty quiet and quaint and I was able to ride my bike from the motel to the race venue on some pretty quiet roads.  The thought of all that concrete and those 16-lane interstates drifted into the back of the mind but there was always some reminder of it.  Like the nice snowcapped mountains in the distance that were really hard to see because of the haze:


Or the really brilliant sunsets, made more stunning by the pollution in the air:


They did a great job with the course.  It was a great example of a good XC course in the middle of a big city.  It wasn't something that I would want to ride everyday but was perfect for a race course.  It was a short loop so it was great for spectators too.

Now it is back to training in Tucson.  The weather has made a switch when I was gone and now it is starting to get hot.  The jersey is unzipped and I'm making lots of water refill stops.