Updates from Rich Houseman

2009 Mountain Bike National Championships - Sol Vi...

Tue, 21 Jul 2009 07:22:14 GMT

I’ve been taking a pretty big break from the competitive race scene, but one race that was on the schedule this year was the National Championship race in Sol Vista. I wanted to do my best to defend my National 4X Title from 2008!

I showed up late Wednesday night, and had 4X practice early Thursday morning. The course had an interesting layout, with a pretty gnarly start on a 6 foot drop straight out of the gate! We practiced the drop but minus gate starts the whole day, which I thought was a bad move. DH practice was later in the afternoon; the course was relatively short, rough, with some huge jumps towards the bottom!

After getting a new Tazer shipped out, I built that bike up and was confident that would be the bike for 4X. Practice was early, and I was feeling fast. We still didn’t practice gates off the drop at the start, and I just don’t know why? DH practice was later in the afternoon, and I finally sacked up and hit the big dubs! They were pretty fun, and by far the biggest gaps I’ve ever jumped!

Friday was another full practice day with DH in the morning and 4X in the afternoon. The DH was relatively short, but super rough up top. I did some tuning on my FOX 40’s, and I started to get my flow on the DH. I knew I’d be a little off the pace, since I hadn’t done much DH testing over the last couple months. I was having tons of fun on my Intense M6 though! I focused pretty hard on getting things dialed on 4X, and by the end of practice I was pretty confident on my speed.

Saturday was DH training in the morning, and 4X finals in the evening. I made sure to save enough energy in DH training, so that I could be fresh for 4X. After a pretty big fiasco over the start of the 4X, they decided to run the amateur start section. I’m bummed they did that, and bummed they didn’t allow us riders to do proper gate starts on the Pro section earlier in the week. I’m pretty sure we would have ended up using the big drop, if us riders would have had a chance to test it out from day one. 4X went really well and I ended up making the final, and getting 2^nd place. Mitch Ropelto was definitely the fastest kid on the course all week, and he ended up winning. Much deserved, and much respect for that kid. I’m stoked to see an American with that much talent!

Sunday was DH finals. I was pretty spent from the previous night’s racing, but I wanted to have a clean 2 runs, and have some fun! Qualifier went ok, and I was mostly focused on my boy Aaron Gwin winning the National Championship. My final run was smooth and consistent, and I ended up 27^th. Good news is Gwinny won! I’ve been coaching him for the last 2 years, and it was cool to see him win. Felt like a proud pappa!

Thanks to my sponsors this year, I really couldn’t have done it without you guys!

Rich Houseman

Photo by: Jesper Kristensen

Fontana #4 DH Race Run Video

Sun, 22 Feb 2009 18:48:00 GMT

2009:

Fri, 02 Jan 2009 17:06:31 GMT

As of today, i'm officially off Team YETI. It's been a great 4 years, with plenty of good memories, but it's time for change. Thanks to team YETI for the support over the years, I wish them the best moving forward.

Now it's time to shift gears! I'm ready to bring Team Houseman Racing Back!

See you in 2009!

Dylan Dean Photos:

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 12:48:38 GMT

Jeep Interview:

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 11:45:53 GMT

http://www.48straight.com/news/news.php?news_id=13

Workin, Workin , Workin

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 14:57:25 GMT

Workin, Workin , Workin

Next Stop Jeep Series!

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 09:48:24 GMT

I'm finally back on the bike and feeling ok. I went out to Vermont for the national champs, and I just wasn't eady to push it yet. I was stoked that I made it out there, but I was bummed I couldn't perform better. It was cools to See EC get the title though!

My next event will be the Jeep Series race out in New Jersey. They've gone to a Dual slolom format and I couldn't be happier about that!

See ya at the races!

Big HOuse

YETICYCLES.com

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 23:15:20 GMT

http://yeticycles.com/#/team/Rich_Houseman/video/
http://yeticycles.com/#/team/Rich_Houseman/photos/
http://yeticycles.com/#/team/Rich_Houseman/interview/

Just some links through my main sponsor www.yeticycles.com

Healing

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 15:29:43 GMT

My knee is getting better FAST!! I should be ready to go for MT. Snow.

Stoked!

Big HOUse

Broken

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 15:51:35 GMT

Not so good news.....I have a fractured patella. I'm pretty bummed about it, as this would have never happened if I were wearing my knee pads. You would have thought I'd learned a lesson from the last hole I put in my knee?!!

But it is what it is, I'll be out for 4 weeks, and hopefully i'll be ready for the US champs in Vermont.

Everybody, wear your knee pads!

Big House

Cut my Knee...

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 22:58:11 GMT

I just got back from getting my knee stiched up. Thank goodness my wife is my surgeon! Sewed me up in no time.

Check out the photos.

Before:

During:

AFTER:

Angel Fire Race Report:

Fri, 30 May 2008 14:11:53 GMT

I’m sitting here at the Phoenix Airport with a 2 hour layover, and I’ve finally had some time to reflect on the weekend. Besides my overall NMBS title in 2006, this has to be one of my most memorable weekends of my career. I’ve accomplished plenty of my goals throughout my career, and I can now add a US national championship jersey to that list!

I arrived late Thursday night after my flight got cancelled from Phoenix to Albuquerque. Upon arriving, there was talk of Snow for the next 2 days! Lots different than the previous weekend’s weather! I was only racing 4X this weekend, because there were 2 separate events with the Mountain States Cup 4X and the US National Championship 4X race.

Friday morning I woke up to huge snow flakes falling outside! Freezing cold and snowing….Great. We were supposed to have Practice and Qualifying for 4X, but the course was pretty jacked from the moisture. There were a few breaks in the weather, but the rain and snow ended up postponing the practice and ultimately the qualifying. The Mountain States Cup crew decided to run everything Saturday, as the weather was supposed to clear up. I applaud their decision, and commend them on making things run smooth!

Saturday morning was much better on the weather! Blue skies, little windy and comfortable temps! We finally had a chance to practice the course, and it was really fun to ride! The bottom jumps are a section of 3 sets of doubles, and they’re a tad intimidating at first. It took me about 5 runs before I hit them. Once I had those dialed, the rest of the course was pretty straight forward. I ended up qualifying 4^th overall, which I was pretty stoked about. Hanak was 1^st, Boice 2^nd, EC 3^rd. Next came the race which was the Mountain States Cup event. 32 men qualified, and my 1^st round went pretty smooth and I advanced to the round of 16. 2^nd and 3^rd rounds went as planned, and I made the final. In the final I had Peter Hanak, Erik Nelson, and EC. I chose lane 4, because I knew they’d be tough to beat to the first turn. Hanak and Nelson pulled pretty good down the 1^st straight away. I came out of the 1^st turn neck and neck with EC. I had a little more momentum than him and ended up in 3^rd coming out of the 2^nd turn. I pretty much just held my lines for the rest of the race to finish 3^rd overall.

Sunday was the US National MX Championship race. This was an American only one day event for the Stars and Stripes Jersey. They took the same qualifying times from Saturday, which bumped me up one spot to 3^rd overall. Boice was 1^st and EC was 2^nd.

I managed to get through all my rounds pretty safely to make the final. In the final I chose lane 3, with Carney in 4, Backus in 2, and Boice in 1. I knew Backus was getting good starts and would challenge Boice for the inside of the 1^st turn. I expected to get out ahead of Carney in lane 4, to try and put a high-low move on Boice and Backus in turn 1.

Unfortunately Carney gated me and I had to back out going down the 1^st straight. I still had a plan of going high-low in the first turn, and I expected to come out around 2^nd place. Fortunately, I really didn’t have to use any plan as all 3 guys took themselves out in the first turn. I basically rode around them, and cruised to my first ever Stars and Stripes Jersey!

You never know when or if you’re going to win another race, and I’m really happy to have won this title! I want to thank everyone who’s supported me over the years, I would have never made it without you!

Rich

US National Champs: Velonews Link

Tue, 27 May 2008 12:04:23 GMT

Click Here

R.I.P. John Carter

Wed, 21 May 2008 10:00:11 GMT

Just want to send out some good vibes for my brother EC. He just lost his DAD yesterday. John was a good man, and he'll be missed. Stay strong EC!

Rich

Ryan Cleek's Mbaction.com Report: Santa Ynez

Wed, 21 May 2008 09:49:36 GMT

Click Here for Report:

Santa Ynez Race Report:

Tue, 20 May 2008 09:45:36 GMT

I made the trip north up to the Santa Ynez Valley for the NMBS national last weekend. It was about a 3 hour drive for me, so the commute wasn’t bad. Unfortunately, the weather was terrible, with 100+ degree temps, and no shade to speak of! I wish I had a more positive spin on the overall race, but realistically it wasn’t the most fun I’ve had at an event. I definitely made the best out of it though!

Friday was DH practice and DS qualifying. The downhill was a short 2 min run with a few man made features, and long pedaling section at the bottom. I decided to try out my 4X YETI on the first run, and it was the right pick. There wasn’t anything that I needed my 303 for on the course, and with the pedal at the bottom it was the right choice. I did 4 runs, and decided to rest a bit for the Dual Slalom qualifying. The slalom course was really fun to ride. It was on the short side, but the turns and flow were cool. I rode my YETI DJ, with Larsen 2.35’s front and rear. I felt good on the course and with only 20 pros, I was confident about qualifying well. My first run I might have been a tad conservative, and should have opened it up a bit more. Second run I broke my chain towards the middle of the course. Fortunately, I managed to pump the course pretty well, and get my skateboard push on at the bottom to qualify 4th overall. EC was 1st, Chris Powell 2nd, Mike Haderer 3rd.

Saturday was DH practice and DS finals. By 9am it was already 90 degrees, so my plan was to take it easy in DH practice. I cruised 2 runs, and then took it easy until Slalom finals. With a few scheduling problems, it ended up that Pros only got a few runs of practice before the finals. I have no idea why after 15+ years of running races, these guys can’t figure stuff like that out? But that’s a whole other story there. I managed to get 3 runs on course, and I felt ok. I decided to switch up my front tire to a 2.35 High Roller, as the berms were getting a little blown out. First round I had the salty vet Orlando Martinez! Actually, it was a good wake up call because he snapped me in both runs and made me work to get by him. Thanks O! 2nd round I had Ryan Condraschoff. He’d just beat Peter Hanak in the round before, so I knew he had some speed. I started timing the gate better in this round and took a .3 advantage into the 2nd run. Ryan ripped our second run, and I was playing catch up towards the end. Fortunately he made it easy on me, and slipped a pedal at the end.

Semi finals were with the ol’ brother in law EC. EC qualy’d 1st and it’s always a struggle to try and beat that guy! I snapped him pretty good in the first round, and had one of my best runs of the day. I took a .4 advantage into our 2nd run. 2nd run I got another good start, but EC was hauling! We were pretty close towards the bottom, and he made a slight bobble at the end. I advanced to the finals with Chris Powell. After hiking up each run to the top, I was admittedly pretty tired for the final! It looked like Powell was equally as tired though! So, first run of the finals I had a solid run even though it had gotten pretty dark and it was hard to see. Powell made a small mistake that gave me a .7 advantage for the last run. I needed to just keep it close for the final run, and I’d be fine. I managed to stay even with Chris the whole way, to take my first victory of the year! I was stoked for sure, as this was one of my goals for the season to win a dual slalom.

Sunday was DH Finals. Sunday morning I made the switch to Larsen 2.35’s front and rear on my 4X bike. I thought that with the head wind at the bottom and the short course, it would be an advantage. I would have to be a little conservative in some of the sections, but I’d be rolling fast in other sections! In the qualy, I took it easy and tried to save up some energy for the finals. My final run wasn’t what I’d hoped for. I think I just took it too easy on the top section, and really didn’t sprint the bottom as well as I’d liked. I ended up in 6th overall, and I was honestly pretty bummed with it. But, it was still a good weekend overall. I’d really like to thank Joe from BikeCo, my parents, and my wife for the awesome support that weekend!

Also, thanks to all my Sponsors!

Rich

Photos by StiksandStones:

Chalk Creek Stampede: Race Report

Wed, 07 May 2008 14:42:47 GMT

Last weekend was the Chalk Creek Mountain States Cup event held in Nathrop, CO. It’s held on a ranch owned and operated by the McMurry Family. I’d never been out to the ranch, but I’m glad I made the trip! Although initially I was bit scared by the Snow falling in the Denver area, I was assured that Nathrop would be dry, as the 14,000 ft mountains surrounding it would block the weather!? Sure enough, after driving through winter like conditions for 2 ½ hours, we were greeted to sunny skies and dry ground upon arriving into the Nathrop area.

This race was only a Mountain Cross, and Dual Slalom event for the gravity racers. I brought both my YETI DJ, and YETI 4X rigs to make sure I was covered for any type of track. After checking out both courses, it looked like I was going to get away with using only my DJ for both events. We parked the YETI trailer in the pits Thursday afternoon, and decided to set up the awning Friday morning. We had practice Friday from 3:30pm-6pm on the 4X only. The course had a rather short first straight-away, and an interesting decision maker towards the bottom. The talk of the day was “Which way are you gonna go?” Initially I felt like the right side line was faster, but after testing it with a few of my teammates, it seemed like the left was consistently faster. I felt pretty solid on the course, and was confident that I had all my lines down for qualifying on Saturday.

Saturday was set for 4X qualifying, and Finals. My qualifier went ok and I ended up 5^th overall. First round I had a bit of a scare, and wound up chasing James Stiber all the way down in 2^nd place. My first straight power is lacking a bit these days, so I knew I was going to have to be creative to advance each round. 2^nd Round I had my teammate Gwinny, Stiber, and Wentz. Once again I found myself trailing in 3^rd place coming out of the first straight. I followed close behind Stiber till the decision maker, and I went right. I nailed the right side, better than I had all weekend and ended up passing Stiber right at the line to advance to the semi final. Semi-final had both my teammates Rudy Unrau and Gwinny, including #1 qualifier Peter Hanak. I was in lane 3, and knew I had to get a good start. Peter was killing everybody all day, so I knew he’d be leading into the first turn. Gwinny was in lane 2, and I was hoping to get ahead of him. I got a decent start and was 2^nd going into the first turn. I managed to hold my position to the bottom, and advanced to the finals. Finals were Peter Hanak, Ross Milan, Eric Carter, and myself. I had last pick in the gate, and was relegated to the dreaded lane 4! The course wasn’t set up for much passing, and this proved true in the final. I basically rode around in 4^th place from top to bottom, pretty uneventful to say the least. I was stoked to make the final though. We ended up having a bit of Slalom practice right after 4X finals.

Sunday was Slalom day. The course was super hard packed / blue grooved! It reminded me of the Sonoma Slalom a few years back. I chose to run 2.35 larsen tires front and rear! They were hooking up so good! We only did one run for qualifying and I ended up 2^nd behind Peter Hanak. 1^st round was a bye, since only 26 riders qualified in. 2^nd round I had James Stiber, and I managed to get by him. 3rd round I had one of the Buell brothers. He made a race out of it, but I advanced on to face John Watt in the semi-final. John was riding really good, actually he beat my older bro EC in the round before. I knew I had to step it up! In the first run, I was on the slower course and he got me by .4 sec.

Next run I had one of my better laps and advanced to the final by beating John by .5sec. I ended up facing my protégé Aaron Gwin, who was killing it in his 2nd ever Pro Slalom event. He’d dispatched 3 of my other YETI teammates already, and seemed to get faster with each round. I was prepared to step it up, but unfortunately he was too! In the first round, he smashed me through the top section, and I was playing catch up. He ended up jumping this tough double on the red side, and it forced me into making a mistake in the next turn. Being 1.5 seconds down going into the last run, was a long shot that I’d make up the difference. I tried to go balls out, and had an ok lead going into a tight bowl turn towards the bottom. When I went to crank out of the turn my chain snapped, and I slapped the ground pretty hard! I put a pretty gnarly gash in my knee, but it was a bitter sweet moment for sure. I was super proud of Gwinny for winning, and super bummed I let him beat me! Haha. Hopefully I’ll get a chance to return the favor by the end of the year!

Photos Courtesy of Eddie Clark / Photo-Cycle.com

Hole in my Knee

Mon, 05 May 2008 11:58:43 GMT

Thought i'd show a pic of the hole I got in my knee last weekend. I should probably wear knee cups next time!

Woodward Race Report:

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 14:42:04 GMT

Round #2 of the Golden State Downhill Championships was held up in Tehachapi, CA at Woodward West. I’d never been out there, so I decided to drive out early Saturday morning for the race. After about a 3 ½ hour drive, we arrived. Donny Jackson set us up with a room right at the top of the hill, which was super convenient!
The Course was definitely on the short side, but was really fun to ride. I tried the first run on my ASX, but soon realized that my 4X YETI would be much faster. I could pedal out of the turns lots quicker, and I could charge the jumps harder on it. I had my 4X bike set up really stiff, so I needed to take out some compression from both the forks and rear shock. I also changed my rear 2.0 Larsen out for a 2.35 Larsen super tacky. I did about 6 runs on Saturday, and I really felt like I had the course dialed.
Sunday was race day, and about 15 pros had signed up. Including my older bro EC, who I know won the event last year! I did 3 practice runs in the morning, and although my legs felt a bit heavy from the day before, I knew I had a solid chance of finishing well. The format was 2 runs, combined time for your overall. My goal was basically to sprint the top section, Sprint the middle traverse, and maintain speed all the way to the line. As I left the start house in the first run, it was cool to hear the crowd yelling for me, and it gave me some extra motivation. I had a really solid run, and finished 2nd behind Brad Bennedict by only .1 of second. Interestingly, both Brad and I were the only 2 pros on 4X style bikes? Looks like we made the right choice! For the 2nd run, I knew I had to dig a little deeper, especially on the traverse in the middle of the course. The cheers on my 2nd run were just as loud, and I found myself sprinting hard right from the top. I nailed all my lines, and threw down as hard as I could on the pedal section in the middle. I knocked off a little time from my first run, and ran a 1:11:99. This was good enough to win the event! I’m stoked to win again, as it’s been sometime since I stood on the top Spot!

Thanks again to Donny and his family for putting on a solid race! See you next time!

Big HOuse

Sea Otter - 2008

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 11:31:09 GMT

For the first time in a LONG time, weather was nice throughout the entire event, besides a little wind! I drove up Wednesday morning and arrived late afternoon. The venue was pretty much set up the same as always, except the YETI pits were on the opposite side than in years past. After talking with a few of my teammates it sounded like the Downhill was in really good shape, with some of the top section redone. I brought up the ol’ Fontucki Flyer, (ASX) because usually the course suits that bike well. The Dual slalom looked similar to year’s past and I’d definitely be riding my YETI 4X for that.

Thursday was DH practice in the morning, and I was doing a clinic with Kirt Voreis and Joe Lawwill on the Dual Slalom in the afternoon. I set up my ASX with a 2.35 high roller in the front, and a 2.35 Semi Slick High Roller on the rear. The DH was really fun this year. The top section had some cool jumps and the rest of the course had really good flow. For the first time, you were actually stoked to go back up and do another run! I did 4 runs, and called it a day. I felt pretty solid on the ASX, and decided to stick with it. We did a clinic with 6 riders on the Dual Slalom and that was really fun. There was one mishap with one of our students taking a digger and separating his shoulder. All in all the riders learned a lot and hopefully will be faster because of it!
Friday was DH practice in the morning, then the rest of the afternoon off. Practice went really well for me, and I was feeling like I could crack the top 20. The field was pretty stacked with numerous world cup riders in attendance. I still felt like I had a decent shot, as the short course fit my style!
Saturday was Slalom day! The course was a bit choppy, but really fun. I went with my standard tire choice of 2.35 high roller front, and 2.0 Larsen TT rear. I also softened up the front and rear suspension a bit, to get it to stick a little better in the off-camber stuff. On my very first run down the hill I ended up rolling my tire off the rim, so I added a bit more pressure to make sure that didn’t happen again! I qualified 8th overall. I had one pretty fast run on the red side, but sort of rode tentative on the Blue side. My first round I went against Dave Wardell. I managed to get through that round pretty smooth and won both rounds. My 2nd round I went against my old buddy Steve Peat. I got a really good start in our first round, and managed to squeak out the advantage by .09! 2nd round Peaty got a good jump, and I was behind from the beginning. I tried to make up the difference but Peaty was riding really solid. He beat me by .5 to advance. Day over for me, but I was stoked on my riding.

Sunday was DH day! I switched out my rear tire to a 2.35 Larsen which ended up tracking a bit better than the Semi Slick. I did 2 fast runs, and 1 slow run in the morning. I felt like I had the track dialed. After a really good warm-up, I was ready for my race run. Right out of the gate, I could feel that my legs were feeling pretty good. My run was smooth and consistent, and I ended up 13th on the day. That’s a pretty solid result for me, and another good ride on the ol’ Fontucki Flyer!

Big HOuse

Fontana Round #5:

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 21:06:33 GMT

Last weekend was the finals of the Fontana Winter Series presented by Shimano. I was pretty stoked to race this one, as I had missed Round 4 while attending my boss's wedding on Catalina Island. The whole crew was on hand including the official THR motorhome, and our trusty mechanic Joe "The Show" from BikeCo!

Saturday was a perfect day for riding, with little wind, and plenty of sunshine. My 303 felt really good on the course, and I’ve recently been trying out the flat pedals. The more I ride them, the more fun I have! It just takes a little pressure off of me, and allows me to be a little more aggressive in the corners. Plus my feet don't get as sore walking up the dang hill! 4X was late afternoon, and after 3 runs on the DH I did a few practice runs on the 4X course. Nothing had changed except a few hundred more rocks laying on the course, but that's nothing new! (Note to Donny.....Rhino....chain link fence behind it.....all good!) There were 4 gates of pros, which was by far the biggest field we've had to date. The format was to race 2 heats with low points moving on to Semis. I ended up winning my first heat, and getting 3rd in the 2nd heat, which advanced me to the Semi final. In the Semi I had my old pals Brian Schmith, and Dale Holmes along with a youngster Blake Carney. I chose lane 4 because I knew I'd get squeezed in the first turn by either Dale or Brian. I pulled a pretty sneaky move in the first turn going from 4th to 2nd! I held that position to the line and advanced to the Final. The final was pretty uneventful for me, as I didn't really have much left in the tank. I tried making a few moves that didn't stick, and ended up in 4th. Congrats to Dale for the win and EC for taking the overall.

Sunday we were greeted with some heavy winds, similar to the first round where gusts were upwards of 50 mph! I took 2 practice runs and felt like I was pretty dialed for the final. After some last minute prepping from Joe, the 303 was race ready! I decided at the top of the hill that I wasn't going to hold back on the top section of the course, and I was going to try and pin it from top to bottom and see how I'd hold up on the WALL. By the time I reached the wall, there was a pretty nasty head wind that put the burn on my legs! I tried to power through it, but it was only good enough for 9th on the day. That's been where I've been finishing lately, so I wasn't too surprised. I was stoked that I pushed as hard as I did though, as it really gave me a gauge on where my fitness is at. The National is in 3 weeks, and hopefully I can come up with some good results for the hometown crowd!

See you there!

Check out the Photo from Daniel Pena! Thanks!

Pappa Big House!

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 13:25:43 GMT

I'm proud to announce that my wife is pregnant! Due date is Sept 21st!

We're so excited!

SoCal YETI Development Team:

Thu, 24 Jan 2008 21:54:07 GMT

I'm proud to announce the 2 new riders just signed to the SoCal YETI squad.

Kevin Aiello & Aaron Gwin!

Congrats Boyz!

Fontana Winter Series Round 1 4X update:

Tue, 22 Jan 2008 16:12:22 GMT

Read it here:

Supercross on Loop'd

Sun, 06 Jan 2008 00:08:53 GMT

http://supercross.loopd.com