Troupe Racing Co.

Rim Nordic. This course represents true mountain bike racing in California. Located in Running Springs, this venue is just 30 minutes (give or take a few) outside of Big Bear City in the San Bernadino mountains. Riders flock to this venue for the mountain scenery, the vibe, and of course competition. But this one is not for the faint of heart. The course takes place at around 6,000 ft. above sea level – which for those of us in SoCal is a big deal. That’s serious elevation for us. It’s also predominantly tree covered single track, making it a test between true mountain bike riders and road cross-over riders who do well on wide open power courses.

This race marked the second race in the So Cal Endurance Series and the first 12 hour endurance race at the Rim Nordic venue. Troupe showed up ready to race and had riders entered in a multitude of categories: our 4 person woman’s team (Megan, Michelle, Laura, and Monica), 4 person men’s team (Ben, Roy, Kevin, and guest rider Tom), 3 person (Errett, Greg, and their guest rider), 2 person (Randy and son Dan), and three solo racers (Damon, Tim and guest rider Mykyta). The course was familiar to most of us, since it covered the same trails as the cross country series, but seemed to take on a whole new meaning when a 12 hr race was at stake. This was also monumental for the team, because it marked Randy Profeta’s comeback race since his accident in August ’08. 

The race started off at 9am and had two short parade laps around the start/finish area to help string out the field and give the faster riders a chance to get out of the pack. This 9 mile course had 1300’ of elevation gain and did most of the climbing within the first 3 miles. Pit row was packed, but well organized and well managed with everyone helping out when it was needed.  

At the end of the day our woman’s team had their night on the podium with a first place beating out the Canari Queens by 4 minutes. The battle between these two women’s teams was one of the best of the day – it went back and forth, and in the end came down to a 4 minute lead. Our 4 men’s team had their strongest finish with 5th place, Randy and his son Dan (2 person team) had a solid performance completing 7 laps. Our Troupe guest riders team of three finished 7th and our two solo riders both finished 9th in the expert and sport class. 

As mentioned this race is part of SoCal endurance series of three 12 hour events put on by Jason Ranoa of SoCal Endurance. In a time when races are being cancelled, sponsors are backing out and funding is running low, Jason manages to pull together an amazing group of volunteers, sponsors and supporters and puts on a top-notch series. This event drew in over 150 teams, and over 100 solo riders. His events continue to be a crucial part of endurance racing in California and bring in a real “who’s-who” of racing.

Next race of the So Cal Endurance Series is scheduled for November and will be back at Vail Lake in Temecula and promises to be a showdown. Our women’s team has their work cut for them as they will be battling for 1st overall. Our men’s 4 man team currently sits in 3rd overall after two events and with a good performance they can keep it and hold off some serious teams. Damon currently sits in 4th and will be going hard for 3rd overall in the sport class. Finally, Tim sits in 3 in expert with spots 4th – 7th close behind.

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