LION OF FAIRFAX 2016

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Set in the foothills of Mt. Tamalpais, The Lion of Fairfax was back at the local middle school campus. With the year’s first real rain, the stage was set for some mildly wet/muddy cyclocross racing. Chelsea, Derek, Dylan, Eddy, and Rainier came out to race with the Bay Area community. This photo series was shot on 10-15-2016, and include some notes/thoughts from the races.Gabe went to school here, so for years, we called this race the Lion of Gabe’s middle school.Frank is a force of radness behind the scenes. Thanks FrankI laughed when I saw this “epic” mud shot in my selected images. Really playing up that one time it rained for us in 2016.The school campus is really beautiful, set among dry grass hills and native trees at the edge of town where some of the most famous singletrack in the world begins. Team Vive La TarteChelsea <<<Quill-stemmed OM Flyer set up like a beach cruiser. Quickly, these races get strung out. Chelsea sat 3rd wheel for laps.Cool Marin Hippie mural doubling as a wind tunnel illustration.The hecklers staked out this ride up waiting to see who would slip up.It was a toe spikes day. Yay!Chelsea held on to 3rd for the day in the Elite Women’s field.The SuperPro vibe is about stoke foremost and a lack of formality is part of the format.Wind can also play a factor in cross.Rainer DerekMtbers heard the call.Brandon, Jimmy, and Dylan launched the hole shot.We are so stoked on how the team bikes and kits came together. Thank you to the sponsors, and Al for doodling it up!Dylan rode up these steps later in the race.This part of the course was under constant repairs as riders blew it here.Cone zoneDerek handling the back set of barriers.Basketball courts, Soccer fields, and a Baseball diamond all made up the race course on this day.Brandon moving up (with a rear flat) finishing 2nd in the SS A’s.Rainier broke a spoke in the first lap. With no pit wheels, he had a couple hours to study for the GRE.Dylan set up some Ritchey Tires tubeless and was able to finish in the SS As, winning the group.Several scratchable dogs on course.The hecklers brought their best psych-outs.The ruling on handups… YES!They don’t do that in Europe. Do they?The wind brought barrier tape into the path of the racers. Some finished sooner then they had hoped.

Photos: Mike Martin

Words: Brandon Reif