Here it is! The much
anticipated debut of our first local rider profile! We are kicking
it off with none other then Jake "No Brake" himself. In the scene since
before I can bear witness. He destroyed many a course on his hardtail,
and in recent years has become when of the "boys to beat" and a threat to
win any race. On a leisurely Sunday morning we headed out to ride Hoopa,
as Jake sparked one, I pushed play, and what follows is the result.
January 11th, 2004. Interview with Jake Todd Jake: Hello, Hello
Let's start off with your vitals; name, age, class, disciplines, height,
and weight.
Jake: Ok, name Jake Todd, age 26, race expert... downhill, freeride, and
a little bit of dual, play around with it. Height/weight, 6'4", 225.
What about your equipment rundown;what frame, wheels, tires,
etc. are your choice? Jake: Currently tire choice is Michelin or Arrow Racing, like larger tire
in front a little narrower in rear. Frame of choice at the moment is
my Turner DHRlove that bike, oh my god, it's made me a whole 'nother
rider. Wheels, Mavic rims, like Hadley hubs, DT swiss spokes, Race
Face products, Easton Stem and bar, even thought right now I am using the
Marzocchi direct clamp on my Shiver.
What about suspension are you a Manitou man, Marzocchi, or Rock Shox? Jake: Marzocchi of course, is there anything else?
How do you like your girls, big or skinny? Jake: I like 'em every size and shape.
What about flare, tattoos or piercing? Jake: Both, please.
Stance on the bike, left or right foot forward? Jake: Depends on what corner is coming up.
Who do you think would win in a fist fight, Steve Peat or Brian Lopes? Jake: Peaty What if they're drunk? Jake: Again, Peaty.
How many years have you been racing? Jake: Racing... ah jeez, maybe nine years.
What was your first race experience? Jake: First race experience, Hollister, way down south. Long time
ago racing on a hardtail, old Specialized Stump Jumper with Manitou forks,
racing Clydesdaleclass, my first race ever. Did you rip it? Jake: I won. Won with a crash, it was kinda scary.
How has the local scene evolved since you first got into it? Jake: Local scene when i first got involved was actually a lot more involved
, when i first got into it, just because there were a lot more
people around at that time, and it was such a new thing that everyone wanted
to do it, and so it was still pretty vital at that point.
What type of course and terrain do you think favors your style and ability? Jake: I like rough rooty stuff, things where you have to hang on, really
fast wide open sections. Learning to jump a little bit better, so as
long as my tires are on the ground i'm happy. What it your favorite place to ride locally? Jake: Either Star's, down in southern Humboldt, or Horse Mountain, Tish
Tang area.
What local riders do you think are your close rivals? Jake: Let's see here; Sean T, Justin Graves, probably John Bonham and
Star. How does your style of riding compare with theirs and where do you have
an edge on them? Jake: I think where I have an edge is where you have to hang it out a
little bit more, I definitely feel really comfortable at super high speeds,
and sketchy stuff, at least that's where I feel I have an advantage I'm not
really sure. I have a tendency to blow up sometimes because i do ride
that fine line a little too much, so they might have an advantage because
they are all really cool, level headed riders. Tend to ride over the top? Jake: Try not to, but I have a tendency to get there pretty fast.
So Jared edged you at Pirate #1 (Dia De Los Muertos DH, Tish Tang) how'd
that happen, and what's you strategy going into ride #4? Jake: Ha, ha, Jared. Well I honestly have no excuses about that,
I would like to say its because I got my bike and put it together the night
before, I was still tweakin' on it during the race runs... You'd been off the bike for a while? Jake: It had been a month and a half since i had ridden my bike... He's
(Jared) been riding a lot, and that is definitely his course out there, I
was totally stoked that he won.
You missed the last couple of rides due to work commitments and injury,
how's the thumb doing? Jake: Thumb's killing me still. It's been a month now and i still
can't really lift up my left hand. It's kinda gettin to the point now
where I can ignore the pain, just ride, and have fun. So I'm starting
to ride again. How'd you hurt it again? I heard something about a thumb cartwheel
off the log in Hoopa. Jake: (laughs) Exactly, when I showed up in Hoopa, the first day out there,
there was a log drop on the course which at that point no one had cleaned
yet, so that set up an early challenge for the day. My first
attempt going off of it, they still hadn't benched the landing, so I just
kinda looked at it, went off of it, endowed off when I landed cause I had
too much weight over the front end, grounds super slippery there, somehow
tweaked my thumb on the bars coming off. There it is, that's the story.
What's your most memorable result of accomplishment? Jake: Most memorable... Most memorable result was racing Lemurian
three years ago I believe it was. I was racing hard tail at that point.
All my friends had gone down in front of me. I went down the
course, and some of my friends had gone down, Fritz and Justin. I got
down to the bottom and there was a bunch of people just standing around saying
that a bunch of Revolution riders had gotten hurt. I don't even remember
finishing the course, I just remember getting over the finish line and seeing
a bunch of people there, and everyone saying that someone had gotten hurt
really bad, and freaking out, and running over to where the camp ground was
to find out that you (Justin) had gotten carted off and Fritz had a nice
little puncture in his side. And I found out that I won the hard tail
class over there, a couple days later, by I think a good 50 seconds or something
like that.
I remember that one, it was a rough day. What has been you most
significant set back or injury? Speaking of stacking. Jake: Probably my ankle, when I was in Florida before I started racing.
I was riding my bicycle though a gas station parking lot, was turning,
and hit an oil slick with my rear tire, foot went down, it was still in the
toe strap. When I pulled it out my foot was facing backwards, grabbed
it twisted it back straight and it kinda flopped over to the other side.
I kinda freaked out at that point. My ankle was totally shattered,
I have a permanent pin now in my ankle. It hurts every now and then,
don't have quite the mobility that i do with my other one.
How do you prepare for an event; physically, equipment setup, mentally? Jake: (Laughs) I like to consider myself an off the couch rider. Equipment
wise I just like to make sure everything is working, don't have to work on
it race day.
Where and what do you see yourself riding in five years? Jake: I would like to see myself maybe doing some semi-pro racing, but
at this point right now that would mean me actually racing more races. I
think results wise i could do it if I really wanted to, just gotta make myself
do it. Is work holding you back? Jake: Not work, money (laughs).
Let's do some word association, say the word or phrase that comes to
mind with the ones that i throw at you.
Lycra - No way Freeride - Love it Ski Lift - Oh yeah Patriot - Yeah sure Budweiser - Nooo Way Fitness - Eh, I'll try Clipless - Of Course Transgenders - To each their own Wade Bootes - Ehhhhh, (laughs), that's about all I can say Gripshift - Of Course Jib - I try to NORBA - Not On Race Day, but Ok... I don't know, No thanks Straight Edge - Not Today Shimano - If I have to Road - Sometimes
That should do it, thanks Jake, any closing remarks? Jake: Ride free and live happy.
No Brake Gallery