New Machine

Check it out, I am the lucky recipient of a 2011 Kona Major Jake, the full carbon Kona cross bike.





Internal cable routing to keep it clean.



Full carbon fork with a tapered steerer for stiff and accurate steering. No more fork chatter when braking!



BB30 bottom bracket for bigger stiffer tubes



The bike built up with my old components weighs about 16.5 lbs! Not bad for a large sized bike.

It sure looks fancy, but it's how it rides that matters. I haven't had too much of a chance to put it through it it's paces but so far I can say that it is responsive. You can definitely feel the added stiffness. It also handles really well. The bottom bracket has been lowered, the chainstays shortened and I believe the head angle is steeper as well. Now I am not one of those people that can feel small differences between bike geometry, but when I was riding it around the park, it carved around the trees, just effortless steering. I am pretty excited to race it.

What makes it even cooler is that this bike is the result of Mark Matson, former mechanic at Sellwood Cycle and now working for Kona. So far I gotta say he did one heck of a job with it.

I'm pretty sure Sellwood is the only shop in the NW with any of these bikes, so stop in and check it out.

It'll get the first test tomorrow at PIR. Supposed to rain all night and most of tomorrow, once again a mudfest at PIR. With the new bike, I guess I won't have any excuses other than me sucking.

One More Saturday Night

CycloCross was back in full force this weekend, starting, yet again, with the double race weekend of Starcrossed on Saturday night and the Rad Racing Grand Prix on Sunday. Always a tough way to start the season, head first into the deep end off the high diving board. No dipping your toe-in first here. Actually kind of reminded me of the first time I went to jump off the high dive as a kid. It was a hot summer weekend at the public pool and there was a line up the ladder of the high dive as usual. I got all the way up there and out on the board, and promptly chickened out. Having to climb backwards down the ladder through a line of older kids. There were definitely times on Saturday when I wanted to back down the proverbial ladder and go buy a ticket to the Dead show on the other side of the park.

Fighting the urge to feign a mechanical, I picked up my number from registration. Apparently I had some kind of decent result last year at this race, as they gave me a front row start for the race. Such a shame I put it to waste. Not too surprising though, since I have been doing more 5 hour MTB rides than any kind of short effort to prepare for a sprint off the starters pistol. Had this been a 5 hour cross race though, I am pretty sure I would have fared better. All in all it wasn’t that bad I guess. My start, as expected, was pretty sad. I thought I tried but even riding as fast as I could, guys kept passing me for the first 30 seconds. With the wind taken out of my sails I just road along for a bit until I came out of the initial daze of racing. For the rest of the race I managed to slowly track riders down and move up, but the front of the race was long gone and I didn’t have a ticket for the train that was trying to chase it down.

As for my “race”, I think I ended up in 14th or so. Not sure and it doesn’t matter really. It’s how you race, and I felt like I was as much a cross racer, as that concert on the other side of the park was a Grateful Dead show. It may look like the real thing, but it’s missing something. That’s ok though, it’s only the start of a three month season, plenty of time to get there.

One nice thing about the weekend was the weather. OK, maybe most people wouldn’t consider it a nice weekend, but for cross it wasn’t so bad. It rained all day Friday and pretty hard Friday night, but that didn’t seem to make things too bad, and with morning sun it looked like we were in for another dry start to the season, until the black clouds rolled in for some rain by the time my race started. It wasn’t too bad, but enough to make a few corners slick and to keep it honest. As for the Pro Women and Men, it just dumped and things were nice and muddy.

The rain continued on and off through the night, and Sunday was filled with plenty of torrential showers. Like serious monsoon, let the heavens open up, downpours. This year, the course was a new one for this race. Going from the longest and steepest run-up in ‘cross to the uber flat lakeside course at Lake Smammish State Park. The course had plenty of off-camber root filled turns and two long sandy beach sections to make sure we got our fill of running in. We got there early as Margi was in the first race, so while she waited in the check-in line I got her bike ready and rolled around on it to check out the course. Turns out they set the course up on top of a Hornets nest and for some reason they don’t like bikes riding over their nest, and unfortunately I was one of those riders who rolled over said nest. I felt a sting in my lower back, right in the plumber’s zone and high tailed it out of there, but kept feeling a sting. When I went to show Margi, lucky lady that she is, I found the bastard was still in my shirt and even managed to nip me on my hand as I crushed the life out of him. In total, I was stung 5-6 times in my lower back. Ouch. Ironically, it wasn’t the first time I have been stung at a race. I once had a hornet get in my jersey at a MTB race. I just thought it was a stick or thorn stuck in my jersey until the end of the race when I pulled it out of my jersey. He stung me like 10 times. Over 24 hours later my back is still itching like crazy and slightly swollen. Luckily the course organizers changed the course to move it away from the nest.

Anyway, the racing. As I mentioned it continued to rain off and on all morning, and after several races, the course was pretty slick and muddy. I didn’t get a front row seat this time, I started in the 3rd or 4th row, yet still managed to get passed right from the start. As we left the pavement I heard a horrible crash behind me on the pavement as three guys went down in front of me on the grass. I managed to slip by ok, but had to pretty much stop to get around. From there I continued to ride too safely and got passed by guys on all the technical sections. Then we hit the sand and my running days came back to me as I just ran right past handfuls of guys. That managed to light a fire under me, and I went from thinking this was going to be one of the worst races of my life to actually moving up. I was able to pass guys on the straights where I could lay down some power, while giving some spots back in the slick corners. Even though I was just riding a little too hesitantly, I had a net gain on spots overall. I managed to somewhat settle in with a guy from Seattle known as “The Body”, or at least that’s what the announcer called him, and I was pretty determined not to get beat by someone called “The Body”. I would pass him on the sand and he would claw his way back through the twisty stuff and slip past me. I managed to follow his lead and after a few laps I felt I was riding it all a bit better. On the last lap I was determined to drop him for good and was pretty bummed to see him on my heels at the end of the sand. I drilled it the rest of the way not wanting to enter the pavement with him on my wheel. Luckily I was able to open enough space before the finish straight and he wasn’t able to catch me. In the end I think I was around 11th. Overall I felt better about the race on Sunday. It was definitely a fun race, and surprisingly my legs felt good before the race, hopefully all my long rides have helped with my overall fitness and will help carry me through a long season, something I think I was missing last year.

Aside from racing for two days, I also was the pit mechanic for Sean Babcock and Spencer Paxson both Saturday and Sunday. While I feel like I miss some of the spectating being in the pits all race, I also enjoy hanging out there. It’s definitely a different view of the race scene, watching the real pro squads and how they manage the pits and their racers. And it’s great to be able to support these two guys. They were both Team S&M young guns members, sort of our development team, and have both just been picked up by Kona, Spencer for MTB and Sean for Cross. And they both were killing it this weekend, Spencer was 21st both days, considering he just finished up MTB season making it to the US worlds team, it was really impressive. And Sean was 15th and 13th, Sat and Sun respectively. For awhile on Sunday he was in 7th right in the chasing group. It was a great performance. It’ll be fun to watch those guys this season.

Check out this classic Babcock interview

The only picture of me from the weekend:

Compliments of Sue Butler

MBO Prologue

This past weekend was our second trip to Mountain Bike Oregon (MBO). If you aren’t familiar with the event, think summer camp for adults riding mountain bikes. It's three days in Oakridge, OR, of adults getting on school buses and getting driven to some of the best mountain bike trails around, then coming back to Oakridge’s main park, that temporarily resembles a refugee camp to hang out in the beer tent drinking free beer all night while competing in mini-bike races and junk bike tosses. And no, I didn’t make those last three up for sensationalism.

Somewhere along the preparation for MBO this year, I got the idea to ride from Bend to Oakridge. After talking to a couple people it became obvious that it wouldn’t be possible to pull that off in a day. It did seem possible to ride from Mt Bachelor (about 30 mins and several thousand feet from Bend )over to Oakridge. Using the vast resources of the interwebs, trolling on MTBR.com, and countless evenings pouring over paper maps, plotting courses on the computer and consulting with some locals, I decided on a route. Luckily, the amount of trails between Bachelor and Oakridge left me with a lot of options, and several bail-out locations to the highway where I could cruise down, hitch or call the wife for a ride in to town. My goals were to complete it in a day, and maximize the singletrack while minimizing pavement and roads. Interestingly, all the routes were about the same length, approximately 80 miles. The variable was how much of that would be highway versus singletrack.

The general plan involved taking the Central Oregon Breeze shuttle from Portland to Bend. It leaves daily from the bus station downtown (or the airport) and takes about 41/2 hours to get to bend. Not too bad for public transport. For an extra $5 you can bring your bike as long as you pack it in a box. Our good friend Celia picked me up from the shuttle in Bend and cooked a delicious sole for dinner. She also got up awful early in the morning to drive me up to Mt Bachelor. She also took advantage of the early morning drive to hike up Bachelor and get in some skiing. Yes, you can still find some snow in Oregon in August.

For my plan I worked out 4 potential routes for the trip:
1) If I was having a bad day, I would ride over to Waldo lake and meet up with some friends that were riding the Waldo lake trail and get a ride from them back to Oakridge.
2) If I was having an OK day but the ride was harder or taking longer, then I would bail after the Mt Fuji trail and ride down to hgwy 58 and then 20 some-odd road miles to Oakridge.
3) The route I was hoping to pull off was to ride up from the end of Mt Fuji to the Bunchgrass trail and ride the upper half of that and bail out to a gravel road and cruise that down 3000' and 10 miles to a 6 mile paved ride to town.
4) The optimal route, but seemingly impossible would be to ride the entire Bunchgrass trail to the Heckletooth trail and in to town.

Things started pretty well. I was riding by 7am with clear skies and a beautiful view of Mt Bachelor, the Three Sisters and Broken Top. About a couple miles or so in I realized my camera had fallen out of my feedbag so I had to turn around and go look for it. Luckily it wasn't too far back, and learned to keep the feedbag closed all day. I rode a trail through Mt Bachelor to the Metoliuos Windigo trail. It was a really fun, twisty trail, a few ups and downs to warm me up a little but nothing major. The Metolious Windigo was mostly a descent down to Lava Lake. It was a great way to start the day. At some point I managed to get a pinch flat in my rear tire. I'm not sure how as I didn't feel like I hit anything too hard but sure enough, I had a good snake bite on the tube. Took my time fixing it and even patched the old tube at the same time in case I needed later when I was more tired and pressed for time. Luckily it was the only real mechanical issue of the entire ride. From Lava Lake the Metolious Windigo heads into the 3 sisters wilderness. Leaving the only legal option to ride the road over to Cultus lake. I was tempted to try riding through the wilderness as it only cut through a short corner of it, but since it looked to climb significantly I thought better of the plan and reluctantly hit the road. After a couple miles I saw a sign for the Coral Swamp trail, 2 miles down a dirt road. A quick check of my GPS showed that it would allow me to cut out the rest of the paved road and take me to Cultus lake. What the heck. Well, any trail with Swamp in the name should give you pause. And this was one. It wasn't that bad, just sees a lot of horse traffic and as a result was more of a dust swamp. The climbs were real loose and tough to get up and the descents were equally loose and sketchy at best. At one point I saw a martin scamper across the trail and as I looked up to see where it went, my front tire washed out in the dust nearly sending me over the bars. Tragedy narrowly avert, the rest of the trail was fine. Wouldn't go out of my way to ride it again, but it sure beat riding the road.

From here I had a few miles of dirt road to the Lemish Lake Trail. This was the first real climbing of the day as the trail worked it's way up Charlton Lake. It was a series of short steep pitches, each one seemed to end with a big root or rock drop to get over at the very top, just when you would be completely red-lined. Sure had me glad to be riding the 29er.

Once at Charlton lake things leveled off, then a fun descent down to Waldo lake and the Waldo lake trail. For a lake trail it had some decent elevation gain as it climbed away from the lake and then back down nearer the shore and away again. Repeat. At one point I was riding along and noticed a lot of smoke on the trail. I wasn't too close to the lake so I didn't think it was from a campfire, also it was about noon not too likely for someone to be at a campsite. I could see that the smoke was coming from a spot about 20' off the trail, so I went and took a look. It appeared that there had been a lightning strike there and it was s till smoldering some. I made a note of the location and headed off to South Bay campground where my friends had parked to ride the entire lake loop and to fill up on water. They were still out riding but I took advantage of their tailgate and had lunch there. I also dropped some clothes and flipflops that I had been carrying from my bus ride to Bend. It was nice to lighten up the pack a bit. After a break and some lunch I filled up the camel back and happened to see a Forest Service Truck roll by, so I stopped her and was able to report the lightning strike.

Since I was still feeling good, I headed off for more. From Waldo lake I headed off to Betty lake then down to Gold lake. This was a real fun decent, highly recommend it if you are in the area. From Gold lake it was up Mt Fuji. This is a long grind of a climb. And at mile 60 or so it was tough. About halfway up I felt miserable and decided to bail out at the op and take the highway back to town. I still had 3 more days of Mt Biking after all, why kill myself and ruin a fun vacation. I took a short breather at Birthday lake and threw down some gel and Cliff shots. That was all I needed and I felt a ton better on the second half of the climb. So much better that I started to rethink my decision. At the gravel road at the end of the trail I sat on a log to look over the map and make my decision. Unfortunately the mosquitoes wouldn't let me rest much so I headed off and decided I would at least ride up the to the trail and see how that felt. Once up there I knew I wouldn't turn around so the decision was pretty much made there.

Now I had ridden the Bunchgrass Trail at the previous years MBO. It is described as advanced only and a hard to follow rough trail. My recollection from that ride was of a hard but fun rustic trail. There were some steep loose switchbacks I would have to deal with but nothing to insane. I also had downloaded the GPS route of the trail from someone who rode it so I wasn't concerned about getting lost. It is remote and on a high ridge, being late in the day I knew a bad crash could easily mean a night in the woods if not worse. So I texted Margi where I was and that I thought it would be about 1-2 hours or so to get back to town. What I didn't account for was selective memory. I could see off in the distance where I had to go, and it did seem a little intimidating, but the trail started off real fun with a good raw descent and twisty singletrack through the woods down to the last road and last possible bail out before I started climbing. Emboldened by the fun start I headed off. Soon enough things got harder. What started as a fun ridable trail turned into a series of on and off the bike after unrideable section after another. Granted some of it was me being overly cautious, but as I continued on, my memory from the year before came back to me and I seemed to remember thinking then that this trail was a bit ridiculous. This went on for miles with the hiking sections getting longer and climbing up and up. It seemed like half my energy was spent getting on and off the bike. While my foot was starting to bother me from the walking.

I started to wonder if I had died earlier in the day and I was now stuck in purgatory. My carrot at the end of this stick was the saddle above the sketchy switchbacks through an old burn, otherwise known as the toilet bowl. I had no shame in walking these too, why stop now. From here on it was more of the same. My now untrustworthy memory had me remembering one last grunt of a climb to a ridge then a short spin to where I could catch the road. Of course it was further along than I remember, had more walking and was harder to make it up the climb. I think last year I only got off once on the climb. This time I walked most of it. I was beat. And staring at the GPS screen for that darn road. In reality maybe it wasn't that bad, or maybe it was and my selective memory is already kicking in. What it definitely was, was a beautiful amazing place. And sure as heck better than a day at the office.

In the end it took over two hours to get through the Upper Bunchgrass section. And I still had 16 miles to get to town. I stopped and called Margi to let her know I got out. She was still stuck in traffic in Eugene. I downed a whole bunch of dark chocolate chips I had been saving as a reward and headed down the road. Not sure I pedaled for the next 20 minutes. If I did, I didn't need to. It was nice sitting and cruising. After some 10 miles of descending on gravel I hit the homestretch of 6 paved, slightly downhill miles. Rode straight to camp where I was lucky to run in to Laurie who pointed me to our camp area and the clothes I left with Sarah and Thor, I was glad to get out of the chamois I had been wearing for over 11 hours. And within a few minutes Margi arrived with the rest of our stuff for the weekend.

After a hot shower, it was off to dinner at the Trailhead Cafe for a quesadilla, a delicious tempeh burrito, a chocolate chip cookie and a coconut macaroon. I was hungry three hours later!

In the end it was just under 88 miles and 11,000 feet of climbing in 9.5 hours of ride time and 11 hours total. The longest non-race Mt bike ride I had ever done. And there was still three days of hard riding at MBO to come...

Season 6 Episodes 10 and 11

The soap opera of my ‘cross life continues to unfold. Although I guess if it were a real soap opera it would have been canceled a long time ago. Can’t see the adventures of a 38 year-old bike racer even getting in the door for a pitch.

As mentioned in the preview from last week’s entry, this weekend was another double race adventure. Saturday was the Oregon State Championships race in Salem, fittingly the State’s Capital, also fittingly for the cross racing as of late, it was the third straight week racing at a fairground. Excluding the fact that the course terrain was so flat, the course designers made a pretty fun course, with lots of variety from dry dusty barns, running through a sand volleyball court, a motocross course and of course lots of muddy grass. Being the defending Masters 35 champion I chose to defend my title and race the Masters race. It was fun lining up with some of the guys I had raced with for the past two years. Erik Schultz has been killing it in the Masters this year so I expected him to be the main person to stick with, as well as Tim Butler, Tim Jones and John McCaffrey. Sure enough, from the start it looked like most of the above were in the front along with Doug Reid from Seattle who made the drive down for the race. After about 3/4 of a lap, Erik, Doug and I were a bit off the front heading into the barns. Surprisingly, the slipperiest part of the whole course was also the driest. The course wound through the Fairgrounds main arena that had about 4” of dry dirt on the floor, if you went the slightest bit off the main track you were bound to wash out. Even knowing this going in, I still lost a little in the first barn, then on to the moto cross track where I found out my front brake wasn’t working so good, resulting in me crashing in the first sharp turn and Tim Butler and Joel Wilson catching me. Over the next lap I almost got back up to Erik and Doug, when I almost crashed on the moto cross track again. For the rest of the race it was more of the same, I would open a gap on Tim and Joel and then screw up the moto-cross section were-in they would gain on me. Meanwhile Erik slowly separated from Doug who I never seemed to gain on. Finally I managed to open a bit of a gap on Tim who had gotten away from Joel. Feeling like I could ride it in on the last lap, Margi yells to me that Doug just had a mechanical and is just ahead. So I high tail it and catch him just as he goes in to the pit for a new bike with less than a lap to go. Fortunately I held him off to steal 2nd place.

The rain continued to fall Saturday night, setting Sunday up for some real cross. Throw in that Sunday was also the Single Speed Cyclocross World Championship (SSCXWC) and it was a heck of a day of racing. Too bad my racing didn’t live up to it. Had another miserable start as I found my rear wheel spinning when the whistle blew. I was about to call it quits after the first 1/4 lap, but seeing some Weaver and Steven Hunter in front of me kept me racing. The first lap was crazy, all the off-camber sections were just slick as can be. There was a lake of a puddle to ride through that had some bump in the middle of it that you couldn’t see but made it feel like you were riding a bucking bronco (Margi actually got bucked on her first lap). The race quickly turned into a race of attrition, and I felt like one of the attritioners (not a word is it?).

I managed to get away from Weaver and some others, and found myself on my own. In my effort to make up time on the paved straight, I had my head down and looked up too late to see a pothole. I pulled the front wheel up but the back wheel slammed it.

Score: Pothole 1; Carbon rim 0.

That made a crappy race, crappier, and really expensive. I could hear the rim creaking as I kept riding it, but I unfortunately missed the pit entrance, and as I cursed it out loud, Patrick Wilder heard and asked if I needed a new bike, I told him I had a green Kona and sure enough, next time around he was standing there with my pit bike ready for me and gave me a PRO hand-off to boot. On top of that he went and got a replacement wheel for the A bike in case I needed it again. What a guy. Didn’t get a chance to thank him after the race, so if you’re reading this PW, thanks! About this time Matt Fox had caught up to me so I had something to race for. We went back and forth for a couple laps. The last time he got up to me, he says “lets go get ‘em Scott”, then three seconds later I hear a grunt and crash and look back to see him down. I dug in and cruised to the finish to get pulled early so they could start the SSCXWC on time. For the first time I was happy to be yanked early. In the end I was 20th place. So sad.

A bright point of the weekend was Margi taking 2nd in the Women’s B State Championship race, she then went on to race the A women race on Sunday. Her result wasn’t as good but she was smiling the whole time. I give her a lot of credit, that was one of the hardest races of the year, not an easy one to have to as your first foray into the A’s. She’ll be killing soon enough.

Astoria, oh how I love to hate you

Or is it how I hate to love you?

Yes this past weekend was the Halloween double race weekend extravaganza at the Clatsop County Fairgrounds in Astoria. After a storm late last week, Saturday’s race was a good old muddy mess. Not the epic powering through ankle deep mud, but more of the slick as snot corners and rutted wet grass kind of mud. The type of race where you are riding along at a good pace and WHAM! Your front wheel slips out and you are sliding across the ground as the guy behind you yells out “Oh-Shit” as he tries to avoid running over you (Thanks Aaron!). I wasn’t thrilled with my race. After getting caught behind a crash in the first half lap and a couple other mishaps, I found myself in a similar position, on the outside of the points looking in. Spent the rest of the race chasing guys down and trying to keep it upright to come in at 17th. Not pretty, but fun none the less.

We spent the night at a hotel in Seaside, the Inn at Seaside to be precise. Got a good deal, $55 for a king bed and a kitchenette. We decide to bring Quinn the hyper-dog with us for the weekend since the hotel allows them. After a day of trying to chase bike racers he seemed pretty chill so we left him in the room to go get some dinner. (Note: While one would think that sushi 2 blocks from the Ocean would be fresh, it aint. ‘nough said) Anyway, we get back to the room and no dog! Seriously, we have a small room with 3 bikes. It’s not easy for an 85 pound dog to hide. We’re also on the 2nd floor, window was closed. What the? I head to the front desk and as I get there, sure enough, there’s Quinn tied up behind the desk! Turns out he freaked after we left and started barking and throwing himself against the door. Luckily for us the lady at the front desk was not only the nicest person ever, but also a dog obedience trainer! Seriously, I ain’t making this up. She went up, opened the door a crack, told Quinn to sit, he did, and she brought him down to the front desk where he was an angel, hanging out greeting all the guests. What an attention whore of a dog we have. But if you're heading to the coast, I definitely recommend the Inn at Seaside.

Back to the races. In the tradition of Sunday ‘Cross racing, it was decided to make Sunday’s race the Costume day, even though it was the day after Halloween. Wouldn’t expect anything else from Brad Ross. I had had great visions of being a Great White Shark, until I ran into technical issues on Thursday night. I knew that showing up to the Halloween race without a costume would garner the wrath of the drunken fans, so I had to scramble for a costume. I checked out Margi’s costume boxes (yes boxes) and found a pink long sleeve shirt that said Snow Bunny. Just add in a bunny tail and ears, and voila, lamest costume ever is born.

Luckily it was good enough to satisfy the blood thirsty drunken masses and even garnered me some ‘go Snow Bunny’ cheering. Unfortunately it wasn’t good enough to get me anything more than 16th place. The only thing I will say about the race is that I was having a great start, best first 50 yards EVER! Until I blew the first corner rode out of bounds and lost a good 10-15 spots. What makes it even funnier is that before the race Mike Benno was asking me if I preferred to be a starter or behinder, meaning do I like to get out in front right away or fight from behind. I said I prefer to start ahead but seem to keep killing myself and fighting from behind. Another self full filling prophecy! At least the race was a blast with all the mayhem and costumes.

This weekend is the Oregon State Championships on Saturday where I will try to defend my title. But to be honest with all the attention it has brought I will be glad to give it up. It gets old not being able to go out in public without people asking for my autograph or women throwing themselves at me. I won’t even go into the paparazzi. It’s a heavy burden being the masters state champ. So think twice boys before you try to take it from me ;)

On Sunday we are racing at PIR, the North Course. That will be fun if for no other reason than after my race is the Single Speed CycloCross World Championships, which means I can hang out, watch some racing eat some fries and drink a beer. Should be fun. Oh that and Margi is Racing A’s after her upgrade! Nice job babe! If you get slapped on the ass while being passed, it isn’t me, promise!

Hillsboro Fairgrounds

Ok, a little late for this past Sunday’s race report. It has been a busy week at work but don’t tell my boss, that’s where I like to draft my blogs. I try not to write for free so I will make this quick.

We were back at Hillsboro fair grounds this past Sunday, which is the site of my State Championship victory. Yes, I am still basking in that one. As I’ve gotten older, I have learned that you need to hold on to the past as you’re quickly running out of future. Anyway, I was hoping that maybe this course was “my” course and I would have another amazing race here. Then reality set in, and all the good karma I used up last year was finally paid off on Sunday.

With the recent rain, we were finally treated to some slick conditions. Well maybe some people were treated, I was more accurately tricked. I had a great call-up, second row. Followed by a good start, going into the first corner inside the top 10. And then I went backwards. I lost a few spots here and there, and started to panic a bit, resulting in forcing a bunch of corners, which made things worse, and cost me a few more spots, which resulted in me panicking and forcing a few corners which made things even worse. As I was about to loose a few more spots I pulled my head out of the arse it had been hiding and started to ride smarter; relaxing through the corners and saving my energy for the straights. I pulled back a spot or two and was sitting in 11th, closing in on David Roth and Steven Hunter. Then I was surprised to hear the bell lap. I am never surprised by that, so I am pretty sure it was early. As I tried to give everything I had left I realized my rear tire was going flat. I thought about pitting but thought I could squeeze out the remainder of the lap on my flat tire. I did, but lost 3 spots in the last ¼ of the lap to finish 14th.

Overall 14th is a great result I would be thrilled with if I had ridden a solid race. But I know I could have done better and rode pretty poorly, so I’m still a little bitter over it. Oh well. I’ll get to race again soon enough. As a matter of fact this weekend is the double race Halloween weekend in Astoria. Now I need a costume. It never ends.

Wild Horses

Friday night I joined some friends to hear Joe Parkin give a talk at the Oregon Manifest show. At one point he was talking about racing on the infamous cobblestones of Paris-Roubaix. While he said there is no way to express what it is like riding over these massive cobblestones, he did say that the sections of pavement in between the cobbles would feel like the smoothest pavement in the world, like riding on glass. So while I am sure yesterday’s course doesn’t compare to the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix, the bumps and holes of the horse pastures at the Sherwood Equestrian Center we raced on sure made the gravel roads feel like smooth asphalt under my wheels, and a welcome, if not short, respite for my aching back and blistered palms. Too bad the gravel section also happened to be an uphill, not quite a respite for my aching and burning legs. And so it was Sunday, a course of pain no matter how you sliced it.

Despite a week of promising forecasts calling for rain, complete with the remnants of a typhoon on Saturday, it turned out to be another warm dry day. The only dirt on me was from the dust kicked up in the fields. Which of course explains the rough and tumble course. And being on the side of a hill, there was plenty of climbing. Maybe not all at once like last week at Rainier, but more broken up, interspersed with life sucking bumpy meadows and bone jarring descents. Have I mentioned it was bumpy?

For yesterday’s race I had the luxury of being the last guy called up before the random number staging thanks to the one series point I scored the week before with an 18th place. This put me in about the 3rd or 4th row. Which was good as the start straight was short followed by a lot of turns and single track that would make moving up hard for the first half of a lap. My start was decent and I felt like I made the cut into the front clump of riders. From there all I could do was try to move up and get some more series points. After a lap or so I was told I was in the top 15. Sweet. A couple more laps and I am just outside the top 10! Are you kidding me? I so wanted to just ease up at that point, but to be honest I never thought I could ever stand a chance at a top 10 in a Crusade A race, I couldn't blow a good opportunity. So I just dug in and kept plugging away. Got to 9th place with 2 laps to go and no one right behind me, so at that point I was pretty content to just hold my spot. But no, both Gant and Margi had to tell me that Mike Benno was just ahead of me, and since he just beat me the past few races I had to at least try. I got on his wheel at the barriers for the second to last time when lady luck would take my side, as he dropped his chain. He gracefully got out of way and encouraged me on. I just kept a solid pace for the last lap to be sure no one caught me, and came across the line in 8th! Really? This is a joke right? I just couldn't beleive it until I saw the results posted. I finished ahead of or right behind a lot of guys I have always looked to as the fast guys. I just don’t consider myself as one of them. I’m supposed to be pack fodder, a 'have not', a 'never was'. Certainly not a fast guy. As psyched as I am for my fitness right now, it will take a few more similar results before I can begin to think I am in the same zip code as some of these guys.

Maybe Margi's speed is rubbing off on to me, as she finished 2nd for the 2nd week in a row! She is tearing it up on these hilly courses. The lady likes her some hills.



Me, not so much...

Doing all the wrong things in the right way

If I could make a list of all the things you shouldn’t do before a race, it might look something like this:

- Get drunk at a wedding the night before, standing around in really uncomfortable shoes that hurt your back.
- Only get three hours of sleep.
- Wake-up at quarter to 4am to spend all morning on a plane with a woman who had some sort of plague that required paramedics to take her off at the destination.
- Rush home to load the car and drive an hour to the race.
- Have a warm-up that consists of riding around the course and watching races.
- Get lined up at the back of the pack.

(Cue mellowdramatic music)

That is EXACTLY what my pre-race looked like. I know, I know, poor me, eh? Even more amazing was that I had a solid race. Steadily moving up to finish 18th. The race was hard, really hard. And I really have to thank Ian Leitheiser for working with me and keeping me motivated to keep moving up. It was a good time considering all the suffering. I was pretty amazed I finished so well as I don’t remember passing half those people. It was really dusty out there so my vision was like looking through Vaseline smeared glasses. In hindsight the race is literally just a big blur to me.

I was so exhausted after the race, I went to bed at 9pm and slept like a rock, except for when I was woken up by Margi trying to push me off the bed because she was dreaming that I was our dog Quinn trying to climb on the bed! Hilarious.

The best part of finishing 18th is that it gives me one point in the Crusade series, and I believe when they do call-ups they call-up everyone who has any points. However, even if I get bumped in the final results, being the “beer number*” this week means I will get to line-up right behind all the riders who get a call-up. We’ll see if I can turn it into something good.

And if anyone is wondering, the Paul’s chain watcher really works, neither me nor Margi had any dropped chains yesterday. (knock on wood) And Margi had an awesome race, finishing 2nd in the Women B's. She sure does love hills.

Looks like we may see some real ‘cross next week too, the 7 day forecast is for rain and showers nearly every day. Though I will believe it when I see it.



*beer number: every week, staging for racers with no series points is done by a random order of numbers 0-9, where riders are called to the line in that order based on the last digit of their race number. The last number is the “beer number”, entitling all such riders to a six-pack of beer from series sponsor Deschutes. And the following week that number is automatically called first. This week that last number was 4, my race number is 44, so I get a sixer of Deschutes.

Nats Pre-qualifiers

Or, why I hate SportsbaseOnline.com and USAC.

For those of you unfamiliar, the Cyclocross National Championships are being held in Bend, OR for the next two years. With Nationals being so close to home, one of my main goals for the season is to have a good result in the Masters 35-39 race. Of course, to have a good result, you need a good starting position. And that is where my hate for USAC and sportsbaseonline.com comes in. The USAC determines start order for the National Masters races based on order of registration through an on-line registration program. So a podium spot at nationals could be determined by your internet access and registration savy. There-in a race with-in a race, or e-pre-qualifiers if you will. Welcome to the virtual generation

A couple months ago, it was announced that registration for Nationals would be done through SportsbaseOnline.com sometime in October. For two months there was no additional word on when registration would open, until, out of the blue on Friday they announce that it will open that night at midnight Eastern time! Yeah, the national governing body for cycling decides registration will be a pop quiz! It also just so happens that Margi and I were traveling to Denver for a wedding on Friday. Luckily I brought my laptop and happened to check the OBRA e-mail list Friday afternoon when we landed. I was also lucky in that I had already set-up an account with sportsbaseonline (a warm-up lap if you will) so I felt ready for it. I got back to the hotel in time, and with a few minutes to go I was all logged-in and one click away from the registration page. I even got so geeky as to have the Atomic Clock website up so I knew exactly when it was 12:01 eastern standard time. So at the exact moment I click the “masters” button and voila……nothing……still nothing…..nope still nothing….five minutes later still nothing. Waiting….waiting…..I open a new browser window and go to Sportsbaseonline and get a “cannot reach the server error”…yup, the rush to register crashed the site. I spend the next half hour refreshing and clicking, to no avail. At one point I actually get to the registration page to be told it won’t open until after October 10th! WTF? I check all the interwebs sites and I hear the same thing from all over, seems no one can get in. For the next two and a half hours I keep trying. I tried it all, pulling up page visits from my history, fresh browser windows etc..nothing. Eventually I just had to go to bed. After about an hour of sleep at 2am Mountain time I wake up to go to the bathroom and decide to check the site. Finally, I am in and registered. In the morning I take a look at the registered riders page and, assuming they are listing riders in order of registration, I am listed around 25-30th on the list. Throw in the automatic front row call-ups of the last years top 7 and that puts me around the 4-5th row. Not so hot.

However, I may have one ace up my sleeve, I hope. With this system in the past years, a Cat 3 or even Cat 4 rider could register first and get a second row line-up. So for this year they are still doing order of registration, but by Category, all Cat 1s before Cat 2, before Cat 3 etc… So my ace is that last week I had requested and received (barely) my Cat 1 up grade from USAC. I could be wrong, but I don’t think too many Masters have a Cat 1 license as it takes some work to ask for it, and besides Nationals there really isn’t much reason to request it. But I could be wrong. I guess we will see in December.

No matter where I end up, the whole thing just ticks me off. USAC is the National organization that is supposed to promote and manage our sport. I think it says a lot about an organization that only provides 12 hours notice for a National Championship series event registration that can determine your placing. And on top of it, chooses a vendor that isn’t capable of managing the registration. And since this has been the format for the past few years, there is no reason why USAC and Sportsbaseonline couldn’t have known that there was going to be the response there was. But in the end, I and 99% of the rest of the participants, are really just amateurs participating in a hobby. Luckily no-one’s life is relying on this and probably none of the racer’s careers. So it really isn’t worth getting too worked up about, it’s just a race. That said, it still won’t keep me from being a little pissed off all day though.

Completely unrelated, it has been snowing in Denver all morning and the airport was shut down for a while this morning (note: there was only a dusting, so it isn’t just Portland that shuts down at the sign of a flake). While it is nice to see some snow, we are flying out at 8:30 tomorrow morning to try to get home in time for tomorrows race at Rainier. It’s gonna be close.

Took a Bruising

As most of the free world was completely un-aware, Sunday was the start of the 2009 Cyclocross Crusade series. Advertised as the largest cyclcocross series in the world, it did not disappoint, with over 1400 racers showing up at the Alpenrose Dairy for the 2009 inaugural event. Compare that to Alpenrose back in 2004, the first ‘cross race I ever did, when there were 600 plus racers, or even to the 300 racers in 2001. At this rate, there will be over 3000 racers in 2012! God help us.

As for my race....meh. Not horrible, not great. For a variety of reasons (preparing for nats, peer pressure, guilt, stupidity) I am racing in the A Men category this year, instead of the Master A 35+. So I get to race against (or maore accurately behind) all the young fast kids, and some really fast older guys too. There’s Not just faster guys, but more of them. Being the first race of the year, staging was done randomly except for some visiting pros/celebrities and top ten or so from last year. I still can’t figure out why I, the reigning Masters State Champ, didn’t qualify for an automatic call-up and was forced to line up with the rest of the civilians. Come-on Brad, you give Trebon a call-up for his National Championship, why not me? Just another instance of the man trying to keep me down. I am so sick of it. I'm calling my AARP rep over this one. Age discrimination.

Anyway, so yeah, there I am, in the middle of the pack for the start. And, unfortunately, that is about where I finished, mid-pack. I was actually moving up a bit after the first lap sorted things out a bit. I think I was even closing in on the group that was fighting for the back of the top 20. That is, until I dropped my chain. I knew it was going to happen. After dropping it three times last week, I tried altering a chain watcher to do a better job. But I learned during warm-up that it wasn’t as bomber as I had hoped. Luckily it happened right before the pits and I was able to run there and change bikes, only losing 3-4 spots. The down side, is I learned the hard way that I don’t like how my B bike handles compared to my A bike. The saddle is a tad higher, the bars feel different and the tubeless tires just can’t compare to the carbon tubulars. They handled like crap. Not that I am a good cornerer (is that a word?) to begin with, but on the B bike I was pathetic, over cooking corners left and right. Coming out of the velodrome on one lap I had to take the turn so wide I crossed over into the on coming lane and scared the heck out of an A woman coming down the hill, sorry. So I spent the rest of the race duking it out with Teammates Neal Bibler and Chad Swanson, and Ian Leitheiser from team Cyclepath. On the bright side, I managed to finish ahead of all of them and hold off a few fast charging guys. So I guess I have that going for me. On the down side, I fought like hell for 28th place or so. A far cry from 9th a week earlier.

Despite all the bumps on the course, the biggest bruise I suffered from yesterday is the one to my Ego. I certainly don’t feel like a Cat 1 that's for sure.

Now that I joined Facebook, I see Margi is threatening a "sit down" with her mechanic about dropping chains, so I'm gonna set both mine and Margi's bike up with a Paul's Chain keeper. We'll see how that works. Hopefully it keeps me from getting a "sit down" conversation. But then again, you get what you pay for. I hope to try it out tomorrow at the blind date at the dairy, if not I'm going back to 2x9.

Back to School

Just like when I was a kid, going back to school meant the end of summer, and so did this past Sunday’s cross race at Sam Barlow High School. Only when I was a kid I never looked forward to the end of summer, much less going back to school. If going to school was this much fun, or if I had put in as much time preparing for school as I do for ‘cross, who knows, I may have actually learned something. But High School, at least Morris Knolls High School, was never this much fun, although it may have been just as painful; My ass hurt just like it did when the varsity football team gave me a wedgie, I dropped my chain at the wrong times, just like I dropped my books just when the cool kids were passing by, and the warm weather left my mouth just as dry as it would get when I tried to talk to that really hot chick that sat next to me in Geometry. That about sums it up really. It was a hot dry course, fast, and bumpy with a brutal giant sized stepped run-up. But it was also a lot of fun.

For this week’s race I lined up with the really fast Sr Men A category instead of normal Master 35+ A’s. Out of the start I was somewhere in the middle of the pack. I got lucky and avoided a couple early crashes that probably helped me gap some of the guys chasing behind me. After a few laps of riding through some guys I started to find myself somewhat alone. Then Margi told me I was in 10th place. I couldn’t believe it. I had no clue I was in such a good position. I had to make sure that I kept up the pace and didn’t let anyone catch me from behind. Luckily we were moving through the back of the Masters riders so I had people to pass to keep my pace up. Then I noticed that I was gaining on Mike Benno and Cary Miller. That really got me motivated. With two laps to go, I got to where I about two bike lengths off of Cary when I dropped my chain and lost some ground. After another lap I was reeling them back in when Mike rolled his front tubular. I caught up to him and then got past him in the run-up. He told me he wasn’t going to try to get back around with the bum tubular so with him encouraging me on, I tried to chase down Cary while I held off a fast charging Mike Gallagher and Evan Plews on the last half lap. In the end I pulled it out and finished a few seconds behind Cary in 9th place.

If Barlow marked the end of summer than this weekend marks the end of the preseason and the start of the regular season with the first Cross Crusade Race at Alpenrose Dairy. Rumor has it that Ryan Trebon and Adam Craig will be there. Man it is going to be a fast race. If I can manage not to get lapped I will be thrilled.

And just on cue for the fall:

Today
Scattered Showers
Hi 63 °F

Tonight
Slight Chc Rain
Lo 49 °F

Thursday
Chance Rain
Hi 64 °F

Thursday Night
Chance Rain
Lo 52 °F

Friday
Chance Showers
Hi 63 °F

Friday Night
Chance Showers
Lo 48 °F

Saturday
Chance Showers
Hi 62 °F

Saturday Night
Chance Showers
Lo 48 °F

Sunday
Slight Chc Showers
Hi 62 °F

Double-Up

The past weekend marked the start of yet another ‘Cross season, my sixth, which I guess means I am no longer a rookie, too bad I still tend to race like one at times. It wasn’t that bad, actually, the weekend was down right good for me. There being two pretty competitive races, I had my best overall weekend of racing.

Saturday was the now world famous Star Crossed Cyclocross race at the Marymoore Velodrome outside Seattle. Sometimes billed as a party with a Cyclocross race, it is a pretty boisterous event in and around the velodrome. The day culminates with the Elite Women’s and Men’s races after dark under the lights. My race was a little earlier in the evening during the daylight hours. I was lucky to get a good start number and lined up on the front row. Even luckier was being able to get off the line quick and up near the front going into the first corner. It didn’t take long for Richard Feldman to break off the front and ride away solo to victory in first class style. Meanwhile I was back in business class with three other guys. The announcers and spectators may have called us the chase group, but I can tell you there wasn’t much chasing going on. It was much more of a battle for 2nd and 3rd place. We were eventually joined by two others and spent a good part of the race testing each other, trying to break away and figuring out how to pull off a spot on the podium. That’s where I raced like a rookie, being beat at the line by Rich McClung to come in 6th overall. Still, my best finish at Star Crossed, and within seconds of 3rd. So I have nothing to complain about.

Sunday was the Rad Racing Grand Prix of Cyclocross at Steilacoom State Park near Tacoma Wa. The day started with Margi’s race at 9am. She was looking to improve upon an already impressive finish the day before at Star Crossed. She had a great start and made the cut to the lead group of six or so ladies. They spent pretty much the whole race battling it out. With a couple laps to go Margi went down, and even though she was back quick it was enough to gap her off just a bit. But she fought back on the last lap, getting back on the group on the famous Knapp time run-up and the climb after it. She was in great position coming into the final sprint finish and came in for 2nd place! Sweet!

I was the unfortunate victim of spectating and somehow tweaked my back while running around the course cheering for Margi (how pathetic, but worth it). Since my race wasn’t for another four hours I had plenty of time to warm up and loosen it up. Some ibuprofen and embrocation later, it felt pretty good to go for the race. I was lucky once again to get the last spot on the Second Row right behind Sean Kelsey, former Oregon racer now up in Wa. My start was pretty good once again, and I was in the lead group first time up the run-up. From there the race was like a do-over from the day before. Richard Feldman rode away from us all. Initially Sean and I were a bit off the rest, but were eventually joined by two others. Our group of four turned into six. I was having a hard time keeping on during the descents (I hate loose gravel descending with too low a pressure in the tubulars) and had to chase back on after each time down. But on the flip side I was feeling pretty good on the run-up and climb, even though it was killing my back. As we came in to the run-up on the last lap I was sitting second wheel and planning to give it all I had and try to get a bit of a gap and ride away for second. Unfortunately when I hit the run-up it felt like I dropped anchor. Between my back and two days of racing, I was the one that got gapped. Add in my poor descending, and I found myself way off the back and rolled in alone in 6th place for the second race in a row.

All things considered, two sixth placed finishes in some big marquee races to start the season is awesome. But I can’t help but feel a little disappointed being so close to a spot on the podium both times. But looking at the big picture, I raced real strong and feel like I am just getting going and still have a lot of room for more fitness. Of course I bet there were 80 other guys in each of those races who feel the same way. The real question will be if I can turn it all into results. Fist things first though, I have to get this back of mine sorted out. By Sunday night it was killing me. I could hardly roll over in bed, and each time I did it woke me up. I did manage to see Kurt Marion at PACE yesterday and he did a good job of working some of the spasm out of my back. Luckily it doesn’t seem to hurt when I am on the bike, and it was much better last night. Hopefully I will have it worked out by the start of the Cross Crusade.

Winter Update, Part II: Quit While You’re Ahead

First race of the season: dry course, sunny, 75 degrees, I came in first in the Cat 1 35-44 category. That’s it. The pinnacle of my cycling career, it can’t get any better than that.

So yeah, I’ve been doing some training. Back in December I didn’t intend to be training this hard. After ‘cross ended I was feeling pretty done with racing and training for awhile. That, and overstretched finances lead me to stop working with my coach, Adnan Kadir. I took up watching Battlestar Galactica, drinking lots of beer and just an occasional run here or there, but that was no fun, turns out it hurts, so I didn’t do that much. Just ski. And drink. And watch Battlestar. Until one night drinking a few beers at Ira Ryan’s shop, a few of us started reminiscing about last year’s Cream Puff 100. Next thing I know I wake up in the morning to this in my inbox:

You are registered for the 2009 CCP.
Eventually you will see your name on the official site as a registered racer.
I'm looking forward to seeing each of you this July.

Oh Crap. Stupid beer and good memories. Since then I have been spending my weekends riding my Mt bike in the rain at Scapoose and Forest Park, gotta get those miles in.

Which brings me to this weekend. For the third year in a row, the first weekend of April has brought the double header of the Ronde de Oeste Portlandia (Tour of West Portland) on Saturday and the Horning’s Hustle Mt Bike Race at the local Jam Band, Hippydom of Horning’s Hideout about an hour from town.

The Ronde is an un-official ride ‘organized’ by Brad Ross (Cross Crusade fame). The ride is based on the Tour of Flanders, one of road racing’s most prestigious Spring classics. Every year, on the Saturday before the Tour of Flanders, part of the course is open for the amateurs and public to experience part of the famous race. And from what I gather it is quite the event. Brad wanted to do something similar in Portland, hence the Ronde. He made up a route in the west hills that has some of the hardest climbs around. He appropriately marks the course with the Lion of Flanders. So on Saturday morning, around 600 people met up to do the ride. It was pretty amazing to just witness such a large group riding out Highway 30 to the start of the first climb, up Saltzman Rd. I can only imagine what the poor drivers on Highway 30 were thinking at the time. Overall it is just an amazing event, if you can even call it an event. It truly is an unorganized ride, no registration, waivers, fees, permits, support, nothing but the spray painted markers to mark the way, some other crazy cyclists to ride with, and the occasional house that has some water (or beer) at the end of the driveway. Overall it’s a 47 mile course, with 5400’ of climbing. So it is no picnic by any means.


(Margi climbing College Ave, pic by Dave Roth)

Being a glutton for punishment, I reluctantly decided to also do the Mt Bike race on Sunday. I must have fried some brain cells on Saturday, as I decided that the Mt Bike race would be even better if I took the light rail to the end of the line in Hillsboro, then do the hour ride up to the race on my Mt Bike. I did the same thing last year, and it sucked. Somehow that lesson didn’t quite set in. On the bright side, I was warmed up by the time I got to the race. Long story short, it was a 4-lap, 20 mile race. And it hurt, after one lap my legs were on the edge of cramping. I had no idea how I was going to finish. I kept waiting for the masses to catch and pass me, but they never came. I guess the early season and heat had us all feeling it. Somehow, when it was all said and done I came in first for the 35-44, and fourth overall in the Cat 1. Not bad. This year they were having a special award for the riders who did both the Ronde and had the best finish in the Mt Bike race. I figured being in first I had it. Nope. Carl Dekker, the overall and pro winner, did both as well, and beat me by about 30 mins in the Mt Bike race, ouch.

Three days later and I am feeling mostly recovered from the weekend. Overall, I feel pretty good about my form right now. It has been a bit different this year. As I mentioned, I haven’t been working with Adnan, and have been trying to apply what I learned from him over the past couple seasons and develop my own training plan. If money wasn’t an issue, I would definitely continue to work with him, and I have been fortunate that he has been so awesome to continue to give me some advice and guidance. And if things work out, I hope to have him back in my corner for ‘Cross season. If you have ever thought about working with a coach, I definitely recommend it. Give Adnan a call, he will hook you up. Unless of course you race in my category, in which case, I recommend drinking some more beer and watching Battlestar Galactica.

Winter Update (part I)

Now that the time has changed and I’ve somewhat adjusted to getting up even an hour earlier, I guess it is time to come out of hibernation. That and my mom has been asking me to update this blog and post some photos from the trips.

I have had a pretty good winter so far. After taking a few weeks off and just lounging around after the end of the ‘cross season, Margi and I went on a great ski trip up to Canada. As a Christmas gift to each other, we had 4 nights/5 days at the SOL Mountain Lodge in the Monashee Mountains in Central BC. It was definitely the most posh backcountry ski trip either of us had been on. It started with an incredible Helicopter ride in to the lodge (my first), and was followed by 5 days of hilarity thanks to a bunch of wacky Canadians. Even with temps dropping near -20 F (that's not a typo) we had a great time, and got in some really good skiing. Some photos.












After Christmas I headed off to the Wallowas and Halfway Oregon for a Level II avalanche safety course. It was great course, got to learn a lot and get in some good skiing in beautiful terrain. And as a bonus, one of the instructors was Allen O’Bannon, co-author of Allen and Mike’s Really Cool Telemark Tips. Sadly though, Allen wasn’t even on Telemark gear, he was (gasp) on Dynafits!

That trip was followed by six weeks of unusually cold and dry weather. The lack of new snow forced me back on the bike. Luckily we had planned yet another trip, this one to a yurt in the Smokey Mountains in Central Idaho. It was a reunion trip of sorts, with myself Margi and our friends Beth, Ryan, Ben and Celia (of Wild Heart Cycling) and their friend Matt. All of us, except Matt, had gone on a trip together to the Wallowas 3 years ago, hence the reunion theme. It was a great trip. We got lucky with the weather, as the that pesky high pressure that was responsible for the previous dry weather was starting to budge allowing some storms to make their way from N. Cali up to Idaho. We had several dumps of 4-6” with around a foot total during the trip. Enough to make for some great skiing but not so much that the avy conditions got out of hand. Even if the snow hadn’t been good, the company would have easily made up for it. Had lots of laughs, and got in a lot of skiing, close to 9 hours each day. Even got to name a few new ski runs: Socks on Fire (in honor of Ben’s sock that fell on the stove at 2am and stunk the hell out of the place) and Yum-Yum, Ha-Ha (after the newest backcountry game). One added bonus of the trip is that our friend Ryan is also a professional photographer, so we got some great photo documentation from the trip. Check ‘em out here. And if you’re getting married, or know someone who is, you should check him out, he does great work and is a great guy. I took a few shots, so did Margi, and Matt.

On the way home from Idaho we made an impulsive stop at the Anthony Lakes ski area. A classic local ski hill with one 900’ foot lift. Even though it was a Friday, the 9” of fresh snow meant the place was packed, with a full parking lot. Ok, so that really meant there were 30 cars there. Pretty funny. One of the best parts of Anthony lakes is that they let you buy a one ride ticket for $6. Since we had all our backcountry gear with us, we went for the one-ride ticket, rode up and headed out of bounds for some fresh turns. Extra double bonus? It was a bluebird day and we had a professional photographer. Yup, photoshoot day. Overall a pretty sweet trip, the sign pretty much sums it up:

(The Obama admin should look into Haines for some economic recovery)

Now that the winter trips are over, we’re balancing time on the bike with some time taking advantage of the late winter dumps we have been getting these past few weeks. And just enjoying some time at home.

The End Has Come

Monday Morning: Woke up with a hang-over,mud crusted eyes, dirty cross bike in the garage and a sense of freedom mixed with a lack of purpose. Ah yes, the end of Cross season.

This weekend was the last two races of the year for me. The USGP of cyclocross was in town for two days of racing out at PIR. These races, being part of a national series, attract some of the best riders in the country, so it is a good measure of where you stack up. Being December in Portland, it normally means ridiculously muddy courses. Well, Saturday was not the typical December day in Portland. It was a sunny dry day, and with the exception of a big puddle and some nasty thick drying cement like mud in the moto-cross section of the course along with a couple slick corners, it was a pretty straight-forward, yet really fun course. The short and sweet version of my race begins with a horrible start, followed by some hard work all the way to a group of four fighting for 3-6th place. One guy got away with just over a lap to go to take 3rd, and I fought it out with Erik Schultz for 4/5th. In a sprint finish Erik took me by inches. I got Schultzed. Again.

Sunday turned out to be a cloudy day. The course was slightly different with a reroute into a lot more mud in the motorcorss section. Most of it that nasty thick stuff. So bad that I managed to snap my derailleur hanger on my first warm-up lap. Not a good sign. Thanks to some awesome help from Mark Madson at the Kona tent I was quickly hooked up with a new hanger and my race bike was working again. While we were getting ready for the race I said to Brian, who was in town from Kentucky for the races, that it would be perfect if it started raining right as our race started. Sure enough about 15 mins before our race it stared to rain, and continued for a good part of the race. It is amazing how a little bit of rain can change a course from pretty fast grass and tacky mud to an ice rink. As for my race, I had a better start than Saturday, going into the first run-up in 5th place or so. Turns out that was the closest to first I would get all day. Apparently not riding in too many wet courses this year meant I forgot how to race on slick courses. For two laps I struggled to keep my bike upright. I’d make a mistake, loose a bunch of spots, start to make some up and then repeat the process all over. I took one good spill that had me sliding twenty feet on my butt. Dropped my chain, and was passed by what felt like 10 guys. After two laps I remembered to just take it easy in the corners and put all my effort into the straights. That’s when I finally started to make some progress, eventually coming across the finish in 10th place. A very respectable finish to the season.

That all explains the muddy bike and crusty eyelids. As for the hang-over, well it should be obvious that if you haven’t been drinking much for the past three months, then drink three bottles and four pints with no dinner after a race, chances are you’re gonna be pretty drunk. And I was last night. And still was when I woke-up Monday morning. Haven’t felt this miserable in a long time. Yes, serves me right, but I was expecting to eat some food at the awards party but all they had was the meat variety, so I decided to make up the extra calories in alcohol. Needless to say I had a good time at the party. I won a pair of Mavic Mt Bike shoes in the raffle (I never win those things), and I got some SWAG for finishing 2nd overall in the Master A’s. It was also nice to be nominated for best blog post. I didn’t win, but whoever nominated me, thanks!

Now all we need is some snow in the Mountains because ski season has un-officially begun.

Kruger’s Crossing

Sunday was the 10th straight weekend of racing, and race number 12 for the season. It sure feels like it has been a long season. This race was out on Sauvie’s Island, so it was close enough to ride out there. Since it was a non-series race, myself, and a few other usual Master A guys all lined up in the regular open A field, aka the really fast guys. Only, as I mentioned, it not being a series race and the 10th weekend of the season, the field was not as deep as a Cross Crusade race. That’s not to say it wasn’t as fast, or at
least it sure didn’t feel any slower.

I lined up in the second row and had a decent start. After a lap or two I settled into a group with Ryan Weaver, Jeff Bannik and Matt Wills. We spent several laps together, while I stupidly spent a lot of time on the front, although I eventually pulled away. I even managed to momentarily get on the wheel of the next rider, but as soon as I got there he turned on the afterburners, and I just couldn’t hang on and blew-up. That allowed Ryan Weaver, on a single speed no less, to take advantage and close back up to me, and then right past me with two laps to go. I was helpless to do anything about it. I dangled there for a lap then fought vainly to get him back on the last lap but just ran out of time and energy. I came across in 9th. Not bad, I was hoping for a top ten, so I can live with it. Just always seems like Weaver finds a way to beat me. One of these days Weaver…one of these days.

I have one free weekend coming up then finish the season with a double race weekend at the Portland Cup, the USGP finale. Always a fun way to end the season.

Hope to see you out there racin’ or cheerin’

State Championships

Finally! I had been trying for this all season long, and it couldn't have been better. Not only was it a race where all the top guys were there and avoided any major mechanicals (as far as I know), it was a neck and neck battle to the final hundred yards. On top of it all, it was the series finale' and the Oregon State (more precisely OBRA) Championships. It also came at a perfect time for me.

With all of the mishaps (colliding with Butler), bad luck (being sick, broken derailleur)and mistakes (hitting the barriers, loose shifter)I was feeling a bit down about my season and feeling like I had lost some of my excitement for cross. I really wasn't even motivated to race on Sunday. The course looked kind of boring; real flat, soft yet bumpy grass, and a livestock corral of nasty mud/manure. Sounds exciting, doesn’t it?. But I was there, and I had already paid for the series, plus I had to try to beat Tre to defend my third place series standing.

After a half-hearted warm-up I was off to the line-up. Once I was standing there, I decided I should focus, and thought "what the hell, let's see what we can do". I got off to a good start, somewhere around 3rd going into the first turn. Most of the race is a blurr, but I took the lead for a while having no idea who or what was still behind me. At one point Jeff Bannik, a strong rider who had been racing in the A's, came around me, which was impressive as he was lined up in the back of the field. Once he got on the front, the pace really picked up, shattering the large group at the front, and leaving Tim Butler, me, John McCaffrey and Erik Schultz (maybe Tre was still there?) with him. We kept up for several laps trading off at the front. Slowly, Tim, Jeff and myself opened a gap on Erik and John. The three of us continued to battle, each trying to attack, but unable to shake the others. With two laps to go, I managed a gap in the mud section as we tried to ride through some A riders. I decided this was my chance and I gave it all I could to try to open a lead. No Dice, Tim was able to get back to me near the end of the lap. As he took the lead I remember hearing that voice in my head try to give up, saying, no, more like pleading, to 'just hold off Bannik for second'. Luckily I ignored the pleading and followed Tim's wheel. I caught back on to him as we passed the pits for the second time in the lap. This was a stretch that I felt strong on every lap, and I decided then that if I was with Tim when we came through on the final lap, this is where I was going to make my move, if I could get around him, it would be tough for him to get back in front until we hit the mud corral, and even there, passing would be tough. I might have a chance.

As we passed the finish line for the final lap, I heard the announcer say that Bannik had dropped back a bit, so it seemed like it would come down to Tim and me. As the final lap progressed I tried to get around a few times, but Tim always managed to counter and hold the lead, while at the same time Bannik seemed to be closing. Finally we were approaching the pits for the last time, I carried as much speed as I could through the preceding corner, got out of the saddle and gave it all I had to get past Tim, and hold him off to the next corner. As I came into the corral Margi was at the entrance cheering me on, Tim was on my wheel, with the race on the line. It was like the showdown at the OK Corral. I hit the mud thinking “don’t ‘f this up, just keep pedaling’. Out of the corner of my mind I thought I may have heard Tim bobble, and did I hear someone yell to Tim to run? No time to think, just pedal. I got through the hole in the first puddle, caught the inside line, and had to pedal through 10 feet of very thick mud. As I hit the thick mud it was a grind and I almost came to complete stop, I could hear Tim’s footsteps behind me, and I gave it all I had, I pushed through the last few feet of thick mud and into the easier going puddle. Then like a man posessed, fearing Tim would pass me, I pedaled as hard as I could the whole way to the line, Victory!

Tim came in a few seconds later followed by Bannik, John McCaffrey and Erik Schultz. One hell of a race. Had to be one of the most enjoyable and exciting races of my short career. While Barton was a similar back and forth to the finish race, that seemed to be a cat and mouse sit and wait type if race. This race felt more like 60 minutes of constant battling. And of course, battling it out with Tim made it even better. And hats off to him as well, he was just as congratulatory afterwards as
anyone. I am sure he wanted the win as much as anyone, but you wouldn’t know it after the race. Thanks Tim. And congratulations on the Series win.

With the victory, and double points for theseries final, it looks like I may have moved into second palce for the Cross Crusade series. But most importantly I'll get the all important call-up for the USGP races in December.