Photos and Recap Race 8 Beats Heat

Race 8 was hot. But it was buzzing at OTH. The sturdy and stalwart racer braved the (what we call in Orange County) “blistering heat” at race start. Good news it was 10 degrees cooler that the IE. (and forecast is predicting 10degrees cooler this next Tuesday- Family Night on July 31).
Hey, don’t get me wrong, it was a night to not be missed. When race start rolled around the long shadows of evening, along with the cool trees, water misters and welcome edition of the Soak Zone was amazing. The souls who enjoyed OTH last night, actually had a beautiful evening…heat played a factor and kept about 100 weekly racers away, clearing the trails and opening the standings improvement opportunities for many of the classes. The reason some racers found to come enjoy an evening sweat session: “never know what will be making the podium difference August 21.”
Team Competition
Teams finished Team Registration last night, and going into the night the team competition got everybody involved. last week team count jumped from 9-14, and while Fullerton/Buena Park Bikes took the win, it was by a slim margin over Docent Brewing Racing. Docent held onto the heat of the competition. Team Race finishes and individual Race 8 results can be found here
Women’s Intermediate, a new class at Over the Hump this year, came flying fast with teammates Courtney Gustin and Kaelin Laubscher collected Mazda’s Fastest Lap win for the night.

Kaelin Laubscher and Courtney Gustin finished 1st in their Women’s Intermediate classes and led the Docent Brewing Race Team to a second place finish in the team competition Tuesday.
Oakley’s “Crankshaft” and “B Line” moved from Staging to Race action for the Elite / Sport Course. While a majority of racers went for Oakley “B Line” the adventurous like Jeff Laubscher and Matthew Woodward, turned right at the fork into “Crankshaft”. Here’s a quick sample of the deceivingly steep kicker in the climb.
At the venue and on the course we stayed cool with misters, the Simple Green Soak Zone, and Kona Ice coming out out.
Shimano Night was a hit. Rolling out the new XTR Mountain Bike Component line was hot action, at the Shimano booth. Shimano displayed 3 demo bikes with the buttering smooth shift and sound we’ve found in Shimano gear. (Note: I got to ride a bit on it before racers got out there Tuesday.) My 30 second review on the new Shimano XTR drivetrain: simply smooth shifting uphill, precisely linking into the next cog, no front derailleur to gunk up the works, and literally a silent slide rather than a clunk as the chain engaged an up and downshift. Bottom line, the only guys that are winning bigger than the 4 junior racers that when home with Shimano Backpacks are the first people to be inline for the new XTR in October.
Before the race world Champ Downhill sweetheart and charger, Leigh Donovan, who runs ichoosebikes.com pedaled out before the race, with an intimate, Over the Hump only ride clinic provided by I Choose Bikes and Liv bicycles. Then she got her fun on with some of the ladies from Incycle and the Path Bike Shop to shower racers with welcome relief from the heat on the course.
Don’t ever forget the kids. And kids, don’t forget your helmet stickers. Collect 6 by the end of the series, one per race, and you get some prize booty at Linked Cycling on Tuesdays. When you get to 10 this season we’ve got bigger rewards. Race all 12 and we’ll get you a custom Over the Hump prize, with your name and number on it.
There were 4 watering/cooling holes on Tuesday. Simple Green Soak Zone was a hit on the hot race course with racers. Standing by were Leigh Donovan and friends from Incycle our featured shop on Tuesday), hosing down riders to keep them smiling inside, too. Back at the ranch the venue was bubbling with misters at the Fluid Hydration station, where we were busy refilling the water and hydration coolers with ice and h2o to keep everybody well liquified. Do not count out the smiles last night that came from the two most popular cooling stations at home base for the mouth and the tummy…Kona Ice and our friends at Docent Brewing refreshed the little and big kids respectively after the race.
- Fluid Misters/Hydration Station in action
- Simple Green Soak Zone kept racers playful all night
Next Week, July is 31st is Family Night and though forecast is it’s 10 degrees cooler than this week, we still thought we’d invite Kona Ice to join us for some cool fun, in addition to the Disney Face Painters, bounce house, climbing wall and the Lil’ Tikes Trikes and Bikes Race.
As you’re waiting for the full gallery of free photos for you to grab and download from MSD Photography, here’s a gallery of last night’s action. When it’s live you can find your own photos for free download here
- Simple Green Soak Zone kept racers playful all night
- Fluid Misters/Hydration Station in action