Race Recap: Family Funduro
Brooks, Clint, Aidan, Cullen, Juan, Philip, Dale, and Marcus. The whole squad.
The Team Trail Party Familily Funduro at Flat Creek Crossing Ranch is a fan favorite for many reasons, and this year there was a new reason to adore it: the weather. The Texas Enduro Cup normally begins with this event in September, but this year it was moved to November 12th.
FCCR is one hell of a venue, which is why it is such a shame that it is closed for all but two events each year. The highlight is a trail called Texas 2 Step, a name which makes sense when you realize how many doubles there are. By memory, I think there are 7, not including a shark fin, a road gap, and two step downs which have a gap. There is only one speed if you want to clear it all, and that is flat out. From top to bottom the whole thing rips. Pipeline is also mentioned in conversation as being special, and indeed it is the only stage the beginners do not need to run, and when it rained the day prior to the race, the decision was made to remove it for amateurs as well, which included everyone on our team. The main reason is a g-out feature across a rock ledge that can be quite slick if there is water running down the hill. A bunch of us had an opportunity to pre-ride the Sunday before the race so we were not flying blind, and Brooks, Marcus and I raced here last year.
Negotiating the crux of ‘Saloon’
Mind Tha Gap is the trail with the possibly most consequence if you choose the main line and come up short on talent - or speed. There is an absolutely ridiculous high speed drop, as well as a “creek gap” feature which gets a little smaller every time I see it. I choose the B line the whole way down with the exception of the road gap, which I only skip for my race run. I was bamboozled this year on my first run by the addition of a tape chicane shortly after the start of the stage. I went in a bit hot, but luckily I was able to manage but it was not optimal. My second run was fine.
Saloon, Lookout, and Snakeskin are long and pedaly and the whole reason why you will be completely beat after a day out here. Saloon was slightly altered this year and the finish beacon was much sooner, skipping a steep ledge that you must pop up followed by a bit of a climb. This was greatly appreciated. The transits out here are not exhausting. If Spider Mountain is a “0” and Sansom Park a “10” then I would rate this a “4” in terms of difficulty pedaling to the next stage. Most of it is on asphalt or gravel road.
The entire team was signed up for this one, all eight of us. The weather was sublime. As I mentioned, it rained the day before, and the event was rain or shine. It was also cold on Saturday Morning… 38 degrees when I left the house. We expected the trails to be in poor condition, but to our suprise, they were not terrible. They were however slow, and we expended a great deal of energy on the first two stages before Aidan mentioned that it would probably be wise for us to wait for the trails to dry out a bit before giving it the beans. A wise call.
We got a full lap of all the stages in, and then took an actual lunch break. With five hours to complete everything as many times as we wanted, nobody was in a rush. The whole concept behind the Funduro is to get people into Enduro racing without it being too overwhelming, so the whole mood is quite chill.
After lunch, Philip, Aidan and I took off to complete another full lap while Cullen, Juan and Marcus tackled Texas 2 Step and Mind Tha Gap again. On my second run through 2 Step I pulled the trigger and committed to the doubles with the exception of the hipped double and the last two. Philip also sent the gap on Mind Tha Gap. I skipped the big step down on 2 Step because the big double comes right after and I was worried if I botched the step down I would be in trouble with very little time to correct before the double ruins me. Later after we turned in our timing chips we went back up to session the top part of 2 Step and I felt I made progress hitting the “little” step down.
Cullen bringing goodies from Idlewild Coffee.
I left the venue a little bummed about losing one of my Rode wireless mic transmitters, and posted a picture of what it looks like to my story asking if anyone happened to find it on Saloon, where I was confident I lost it. I did not have much hope of getting it back, but then someone reached out to me and had found it on the transit after Saloon. They were probably hiking the bike which is why it was spotted! What are the odds?
We were all pretty stoked about Philip’s 7th place result, just a few places shy of a podium. It was so cool to have the whole team out sporting the kit and in high spirits. The squad definitely got a few compliments! The next race will be at Reveille Peak Ranch in Burnet, and this will be my first time racing there; although I have definitely hit every stage before. I am a little nervous about Super D, but I think I may feel differently when I see it again. I am a different rider now than I was then.
We look forward to seeing everyone at RPR in December! Cheers.
