The first annual “ SoCal Fat Tire Epic 50, “ 2009 West Coast Marathon Championships is now in the books. With temps in the 70’s and not a cloud in the sky it was a perfect day for racing. Riders flocked from all over to battle for the coveted SoCal Endurance winner’s jerseys. The course was truly an epic blend of Southern California desert singletrack and swooping rollercoaster ridgelines. With 2 twenty-five mile laps and over 3100 ft of climbing per lap this was set to be an epic challenge for all categories!
Tinker Juarez toes the start line
The men’s pro field was deep in talent as endurance legend David “Tinker” Juarez (Monavie-Cannondale.com) lined up with the likes of Manuel “Manny” Prado (Sho-Air/Specialized), Super Bike champ turned endurance mountain bike phenom Ben Bostrum (Sho-Air/Specialized), and adventure racer extraordinaire Paul Romero to name a few.
It was great to see such a good group of pro racers! When the bell sounded and the race was on and Tinker took the lead. Closely followed by Manny, Ben, John Nobil, Chuck Jenkins, Dez Wilder, and Bryan Van Vleet. The train pulled together for most of the first lap. As the first lap came to an end Tinker pulled a 2 and a half-minute gap on Manny and Ben. Even as the teammates worked together Manny and Ben could not reel Tinker in. By the end of the race Tinker held a 5 minute lead over Manny and a 9 minute lead over Ben with Chuck Jenkins and John Nobil coming in 4th and 5th. Tinker finished in 3:21:45 with the fastest lap of the day being a 1:39.
Charles Jenkins chases the leaders
The women’s pro field saw Team Sole’s Karen Lundgren take the top place honors with Bernice Pierson coming in for second.
Once the race was over, the party at Vail Lake was on! With live music and the saloon open, everyone was having a great time. Racers, families, and industry folks enjoyed the evening’s festivities and partied into the night.
When Sunday morning rolled around it was time for the SoCal Bike expo and demo day. We had some of the top bike makers out on site to demo and show the SoCal mountain bikers the latest and greatest. The shuttles were packed and everyone enjoyed some of the best that Vail Lake has to offer.
The SoCal Endurance team looks forward to making this race and expo weekend a Southern California main event.
Up next on November 14th is the “12 Hours Of Temecula #2,“ SoCal Endurance final.
For more info please check out www.socalendurance.com
TInker shows off his cash and championship jersey
