Building Blocks

 

Blink and life leaps forward.  It seems like just yesterday I was getting back from Tucson, filled with Vitamin D, a little color on my face, and a whole lot of miles in my legs in a short period of time.

The effects of the training camp were pretty evident right away, although it was my coach that noticed them first.  Early March I got a note from him saying my 28 day power profile was equal to my all time bests.  I felt strong on the team rides and in my training, but I hadn't yet "turned the pedals in anger" this season.

Banana Belt plans went slipping away when I had to work the weekend of the first event.  From there after I just passed on the racing as the thought of riding around Hagg lake 5 then 6 times just didn't appeal to me.  I'm happy to saw however the team got some great results out there, with Mitch Lee finally getting his first ever win in epic 60 mile breakaway fashion.  You rule my friend.

Because I had to work that one weekend, I took a few days off this past week because the weather said "SUN".  When its sunny and 60 in this part of the world, at this time of year, you take advantage of it.

Traci was still in the process of recovering from the "lung-crud" that popped up the week prior.  During the time of her convalesces, I took care of the house, including the cooking.  Because it takes me 2x the time to make something 1/2 as good as what she does, my riding sat on the back shelf with the exception of the weekends. 

Knowing that I was going to have a few days of riding, I put the call out to the team and was rewarded by the excellent company of Dave Haag and Mike Kender for all three days of the mini-camp and a host of other folks who were able to make it out on the other days.  Thursday we did Dave's special loop out of West Linn.  Friday was the PV Classic Timber route, and Saturday the team did a recon ride down to the new Piece of Cake course.  Sunday I just did an easy recovery spin.  By the end of the weekend I clocked in just shy of 250 miles, all on my brand new Corsa Concept carbon clinchers.

Sandwiched between it all was a wedding, (congrats Scott and Tabitha!), a party / fashion show (thanks Veloforma!), and some quality time with my finally healthy wife.

The funny thing about the mini camp was how my body reacted on day three.  Day three in Tucson was Mt. Lemmon, and that evening I ate and ate and ate and ate and was still hungry, and I barely had to take any insulin.  In fact, I had to dial down my insulin because I was consistently drifting low!  Day three in my mini camp was the same way.  We did 70 miles with some hard efforts thrown in for kicks, and when we got home I had a sandwich, had an early dinner, then Salvo and I ate about 2 pizzas between us at the party.  Again, barely any insulin usage.

Its pretty cool to see that my body reacts so well to exercise and especially multiple days of it in a row.

This week I'll take it easy at the start, with a slight ramp at the end to wake the body back up.  Piece of Cake is six days away!

Tucson Day 4

 

I slept horridly the night after Mount Lemon.  I tossed and turned endlessly, getting up multiple times for water, the restroom, or to flush out my quickly congesting sinus.

I dragged my ass out of bed at 7 and walked into the living area of TCH.  Owen asked right away how I was feeling.  I'm pretty sure I replied "Nnnnnnngggh!" and went straight to the coffee.  I had a fairly light breakfast, more coffee, and went back into our room for a long hot shower with the hopes that the hot water would help unclog my head.

Today Madera Canyon was on the radar.  The crew loaded their bikes onto "Big Blue" to be shuttle down south to starting point of the ride.  We get the opportunity to see "downtown" Tucson.  Not terribly impressive.

A short 30 minute drive later we arrive at a small coffee shop where seemingly every Tucson police officer in a 10 mile radius was heading to, where we suit up for today's ride.  We head almost due west out past some huge mining complexes.  The road is a steady uphill grade, and after yesterdays effort and the start of the head cold, I really have no desire to ride hard or at the front.

I languish in the back for a while until Traci drops off the front of the pace and eases back into the group.  It's been a long hard week for her, and we've had little time to ride together so I take the opportunity to pull in next to her and keep her company.

The wind relentlessly blows at us from the south.  It isn't driving, but its a constant reminder that the trip up Madera Canyon is going to be into a  headwind.

Gregg and local legend Mike Longmeier hand back with Traci and I as the group rolls along up the road.  We shelter Traci from the wind as we snake our way through the desert.   Traci mentioned she feels a bit dizzy as we hit a small climb so we ease off the pace.  We roll up to the support van and she decides to call it a day.

I take off down the road and try to wake the body up with a hard effort.  About 10 minutes later I hit the regroup point where we get some info about the descent into town and the turn off to the road leading up to the canyon.

The route to the canyon is an out and back, 13 miles one way.  The road is heavily used by cyclists and a favorite among training rides in the area.  A steady almost un-noticeable climb of 1-2% heads out for roughly 10.5 miles before the road kicks you in crotch the last 2.5 miles with an average pitch of 12%.

A split quickly forms on the trip out, with Paul, Mike, RC, Deanna and myself trying to keep on the wheel of Brendan and Jen from the TCH, who is just "riding tempo".  A few half hearted attacks are made, but no one is able to stay away for too long.  After about 15 wheels of running at threshold in a draft, my insulin pump starts beeping at me.  I gratefully take the opportunity to pull out of the pace line and figure out what's up with my bionic pancreas.

"SENSOR ERROR".  Ah, no big deal, was about time to change it out anyway.  I take a second to shut the sensor off and look up the road.  The group is about 50 feet ahead of me and I just don't have the legs to take another dig and close the distance.  Russell and Deanna roll up behind me and we ride on together until Mr. Cree takes a Big Blue motor pace back up to the group ahead of us. 

Cheater.  I was very jealous.

Deanna and I ride along together, keeping the pace high, but steady.  We eventually pick up Jen who backed off the silly pace that was being set by the boys up the road.

We leapfrog the van one more time as the road noticeable gets closer to the canyon.  The grade is starting to kick up a bit and our small three person group splits up.  I get a final water bottle from Traci's who is riding support shotgun in Big Blue.  Owen informs us that he can't bring the van into the park due to a dumb ass park ranger who fined him $700 last year for having Hammer Nutrition stickers on the side of the van.  Napoleon wannabe.

As I enter the final, steep, 3 miles of the ride, the United Healthcare pro team comes bombing down the hill the other way, their team car following behind.  I wonder if they got fined.

A few of the riders wave and say hello in the short moment they were close by.  I'm looking forward to the descent.

I climb on through the forest and past the small campsites and turnouts.  A roadrunner strides out in front of me and crosses the road.  I wanted it to go "meep meep", but I guess it wasn't in the mood.  I pass a flock of wild turkeys hiding in the shade under one of the large tree's.  I've never seen one before, and I'm fairly shocked to have seen on less than 25 miles from the US-Mexico border.

Eventually I hit the top of the climb, but not before one last knee  shredding wall I'm forced to grind up.  I reach the top and Paul snaps a photo of me doing my best "Ironclad Salute", complete with prerequisite gloves.

We hang for a bit while the rest of the riders roll in up that miserable last section.  The sun is warm, and the views are actually pretty amazing once you get the chance to look at them.  Owen rolls in on a borrowed bike, sans cycling shoes and with a big grin on his face.  He's been fighting a cold all week and its good to see him feeling better.

Gregg comes into view a few minutes later, and the cheers of "Big Meat" echo off the surrounding rocks.  We take a moment to get one final PV press photo with a stunning background.

 

We roll out, taking it easy the first few miles due to the rough pavement.  Once we are clear of the forest the gloves come off and I get a chance to open up the legs.  Russell punks Gregg at the van on the way down.  Rumor has it he told Gregg to regroup then punched it as soon as Gregg stopped.  Unfortunately for RC, Gregg and I are designed to go downhill, fast.  Although he's got a good gap, its a matter of time before we reel him in.  In the middle of the chase, I record a one minute effort at 400w doing 43mph.  Fun times.

We eventually settle into a 4 person paceline, having towed the "waffer-thin" Paul along in our wake.  We rip off the next 9 miles in just over 17 minutes, averaging close to 32mph in what has to be one of the best sections of road I've had the pleasure of riding.  A few half hearted attacks happen in the last half mile, but for the most part the 4 of us roll into the finish together.  The rest of the group isn't too far behind and we quickly pack Big Blue up for a stop at In'N'Out on the way home.

The night wraps up with an amazing Fiesta at TCH, which Kender, Sal, and Heidi join in on.  The food is amazing, the wine, beer, and margaritas are wonderful, and Traci / Tina whip up a batch of homemade truffles for the gang to enjoy.

Unfortunately all good things come to an end sooner than we wish.  Goodnights and Goodbyes are exchanged, and during the middle of the night a rainstorm moves in, washing away all chance of an easy spin the next morning.  We spend Sunday relaxing at the house, having the last flight out of the day.

The gang at The Cycling House made this week special for those who had the chance to attend, and although this is just the first week of February, I'm pretty sure this will be one of the highlights of my year.

Thank you Owen, Andy, Sam, Brendan, and Jen for a wonderful week!

Tucson Day 3

 

"Long ride w/ small climb."

Every night the whiteboard in the kitchen gets updated with the next days schedule, route, and a small sketch of the forecasted weather.  For the second day in a row there is a big smiling sunshine in the upper right corner.

The crew gets up a bit earlier today, as our schedule departure from TCH is an hour earlier than the previous two days.  Today is the day we tackle the "small climb" called Mount Lemon.

I've tired to get some advanced scouting info on this climb.  I know its long.. really long.  Something like 21 miles long, or 29 miles, depending on who you ask and where starting / stopping point is.  It just goes on and on and on and on and up and up and up.   Very rarely does it get over a 7 to 8% grade, and when it does its for a very short distance.  It's miles of climb on a wide smooth road gaining over a mile in elevation. And we are climbing it today.

I've often said I'm not a huge fan of climbing.  I'm pretty sure I've mentioned it a few times in the past on this blog.  But there is something different about this climb.  It just has the feeling about it that it will grind down even the strongest of climbers, through the sheer length of the ordeal.  I'm looking forward to it oddly enough.

The group rides out of TCH and towards the foot of the climb.  We are meeting our friends today at the base.  The snowbirds Sal and Heidi, and Mike Kender, all friends and teammates are staying across town.  We roll into the final stop before the climb and they arrive minutes later.  Warm greetings in warm sunshine.  A full crew of gleaming silver, black and red PV kits and team Velo Vie bikes.  It almost looks pro.

As a few final water bottles are topped off and photos are snapped before the climb, I look around for Traci.  I don't see here anywhere and have a moment of panic.  I ask out loud if anyone has seen her and was told she took off up the mountain.  I know she's determined to get to the top and needs to ride her own pace.

The group rolls out, the shiny pod of white PV jerseys rides in a clump as we pass the "Mile 0" marker and the road slowly starts to point up.  As we ride along, I can see the first switch back rise hundreds of feet above us to the right.  A small figure on a bike can be seen spinning away up the road.  I know its Traci as her infamous red bibs stand out against the brown desert landscape.  I want to take a photo of the sight but know my camera phone won't pick out the small details at this distance.

The pack slowly starts to separate out.  We all have to ride within our self on this one.  Mike and I end up riding together.  He's a much strong climber than I normally, but on this day he's fighting a cold and is under the weather.  We enjoy each others company, and the stunning view of the valley.

It takes a good 10 to 15 minute to catch Traci.  She's moving along at a good steady pace, breathing hard, but not labored.  I tell her I love her and to stay strong.  She wishes me the same as I spin away up the hill up towards Mike.

About mile 6 Mike starts to slow a bit, his cold and the elevation are bugging him.  We are both riding in our zones now.  That almost mechanical state where the body is working hard, but working for the long run.  I slowly ride away from him.

After a quick stop at the support van around mile 7 to snag some more sunblock, I run into Russell who's coming downhill to check on people.  He doubles back and rides up next to me all smiles.  The others aren't too far up the road, but the majority of the climb is still ahead and I keep my pace steady.  We ride along idly chatting and taking in the scenery.  I sniff the air and smell skunk.

"Javelina?" I ask.  They are often known as skunk-pigs because, well... the smell.

"Javelina!" Russell says with a crazy accent.  We don't see them anywhere though.

Another mile up the road, Owen is stopped with the van.  Sal and a few others are there having a snack and refilling bottles.  Russell pulls off as I decide to keep heading up hill.  A short distance later I see Paul at an overlook with a few others.  I let them know the others aren't far down hill and continue to ride along.

I look over my shoulder and see they continue to wait.  I want to stay warm and moving.

Mile 10 rolls by and we start heading into the forested area.  The temperature drops noticeably, and I'm frequently zipping and unzipping my jersey to regulate my temp as I climb in and out of the shadows, wind, and sun.

I continue to climb, the occasional light grade or dip in the road allowing me to turn the big ring over and stretch my back and legs.  I frequently look behind me waiting for that pack of climbers I know lurks below me to come into sight.  The road is quiet save the occasional car that passes and the rhythmic sounds of my bike and breathing.

Mile 14 ticks by and I realize I'm over half way up this climb.  Owen once again comes by and asks if I need anything.  I'm running a bit low on water so we meet up at the next lookout point where I stop for a minute to tank up.  Only Deanna is ahead of me, about 5 minutes up the road.  I'd love to catch her, but know that isn't likely.  My only goal now is to delay the catch from behind as long as I can.

I set out once again, working hard to keep the speed and wattage constant and my heart-rate at or below 160BPM.  Mile 16 and Owen comes by once again.  I ask for my vest, its getting chilly and I've been riding past snow for the last few miles.  I find out we are going just beyond Palisades.  A information sign coincidentally shows up and I see that's only 6 miles ahead.   About 40 more minutes at my current pace. I get an update on Traci.  She's riding with Tina and moving along steadily.

17 and 18 roll by and the occasional steeper sections pop up a bit more frequently.  I actually get confused for a moment as I thought the previous mile post said 18 when I approached the one that actually said 18.  Crap.

Owen swings by for the last time as he's getting ready to stage at the top.   He says I look strong and I tell him I'm feeling pretty good.  I hold up three fingers and ask about the mileage.  He nods and drives up around the next bend. 

I try to increase my pace a bit, wanting to finish strong.  Unfortunately I'm someplace between 7000 and 8000 feet above sea level and have been climbing for the better part of two hours.  The body complains and the heart rate climbs quickly.  I settle back into the pace my body has run faithfully at and promise only to push it if I see the climbers approaching behind me.  I may get caught, but if I do, I'll have something in the tank to hit them with!

19 rolls by, then 20.  I pass the 8000 ft elevation sign and see notifications of the Palisades campground ahead.  I nervously look over my shoulder for the climbers that aren't there.  I keep expecting the hungry pack lurking just out of sight waiting to pounce like a pack of hungry wolves.  Or maybe a herd of Javelina?  I'm sure we probably smell pretty bad by now.

I roll through the turnoffs for the campground, keeping an eye out for the support van and Owen.  About a quarter mile later I come around a corner and see the crown of the road.  Owen and Deanna are there cheering, and I've got a big dumb dazed grin on my face.

20.8 miles in 2hr8m.  I averaged about 240w for the duration of the climb, and about 10.5 mph.  Burning close to 1500 calories during that time.  I'm the first PV guy to summit today, and I'm feeling pretty good about that, even though I know in the back of my head the other stopped a bunch.  Have to take those little victories where you can!

I get some fuel, check my blood sugar, and put on my warm clothes.  About 15 minutes later Deanna and I start rolling down hill together.  As we pass the Palisades we see the first of the rest of the group and cheer them on.  In groups of one and two they come into view, and I keep hoping to see those bright red shorts come into view.  About 5 minutes after I start the descent, and 2.5 miles down I round a corner and see my beautiful wife.

I slow and double back to ride with her for a few moments.  She's laboring, but determined to get to the top.  "How much farther is it?" she asks.  I lie and say another mile and a half.  She lets me know she's going to ride down with the van.  I tell her I'm proud of her and that I love her and turn my bike back down hill.

I ride hard for the next few minutes and catch up to Deanna.  We spend the next 40 minutes or so going down hill, taking our time.  I'm freezing by the time I hit the base and my neck and arms are screaming. 

We roll into the coffee shop regroup point and grab a snack. A short time later more people roll in in small groups.  There are smiles all around.  Mount Lemon has been squeezed.

We've got about 20 miles to ride back home and the pace is easy.  We end up with a bit over 80 miles and 5 hours of saddle time on this day.  An ice bath, massage, and big dinner cap of the evening.

I'm pretty sure I said more than once that I liked the climb more than the descent that evening.  There isn't anything like that that I've done before.  I wrote last year about redefining epic, and I certainly feel this ride qualified.

Tucson Day 2

 

Forgive my delay.  Well I doubt there really is anything to forgive, we traveled yesterday and most of the world was watching a football game or doing something that involved not watching a football game.  We were traveling most of the day, and got home late last night.  Was happy to sleep in my own bed for the first time in week.

Anyway, back to Tucson!

A bright yellow thing showed up in the sky early Thursday morning.  I vaguely remember slathering stuff on my skin last year to protect myself from it, so that was the ritual to start out the day.

We rode from TCH to a location called Gates Pass, which was basically a notch in a Mnt range south west of Tucson.  It's a pretty regular place for cyclists to head as its the gateway to the Western part of Saguaro National forest. 

The ride out had us go through a good part of Tucson proper, which wasn't a lot of fun, but it did allow us to get in miles in the sun.  Spirits were high as the temperatures allowed us to shed the vests about 40 minutes into the ride.  A quick stop to change a flat tire and we hit a section of rollers below the run up to Gates Pass. 

The eastern approach to Gates Pass is about 2.5 to 3 miles long.  It's a steady climb with a few places that kicks up into a grade that makes you get out of the seat.  I knew we had a lot of climbing the next few days so I was content to ride at my pace up the hill and watch the ultra light climbers run away from me.

Owen was at the top taking some great photos of everyone, and even managed to catch me smiling as I hit the summit.   I had about 3 seconds to zip my jersey and check out the view before the road made a 90 degree left turn and dropped like a stone down the other side.  Beautiful flat pavement with long sweeping turns and full visibility greeted me with open arms and it wasn't long before I found myself catching up to a truck that had passed me about a minute before I hit the summit.  The drive waved me around on a straight-away and I yelled out my thanks as I tucked out of his draft and rocketed passed him.

The downhill gently transitioned into a long set of rollers, and I wasn't really sure where we regrouping so I eased up.  About 5 minutes later I hit the stop sign at the end of the road and the lead climbers were there.

We regrouped and rolled out to the national forest area and the promise of some great roads to ride on.  We heard the story of the wolf man, a legendary figure that is often seen riding around the Gates Pass area (not to be confused with the Gray Wolf, another Tucson legendary rider), in nothing more than cut off jean shorts and a hairy back.

We hit another long section of power rollers and the group splits as the pace picks up, favoring the power riders.  We play cat and mouse for a few miles before we make a turn on to "Mile Wide Road", a straight and an arrow road with a slight down hill.  A few of us sat up and relaxed before getting countered by Gregg with Dave in tow. 

Not being one to let a sprinter go unchallenged, I took off in pursuit with Jeremy, Paul, and Deanna chasing behind me.  Just as we caught Gregg who had sat up the tell-tale "fssssssssssst" of a flat came from behind me.  Everyone, except Dave, sat up to see who was the lucky victim.  Paul drew the lucky straw this time and Jeremy stopped with him, as the rest of us soft pedaled along for a minute.

By now Dave was a good 200m up the road and ride along without the acknowledgement that anything happened behind him.  "What do you think, 1-2 minute effort?" I asked Gregg.  He pondered a moment and said "yeah, looks about right."  He jumped on my wheel and Deanna on his and I set off after Dave. 

About 30 seconds later a car passed us, which would have been fairly un-noteworthy in most instances.  I glanced down at my Powertap to check our speed, 35mph and holding steady.  Looking back up the road the car lock up all 4 wheels and smoke pouring from the sides of the car.

"Holy Shit!" was all I could get out.  I didn't see Dave.  Gregg and I immediately started sprinting towards where we expected the worst.  As we approached the rear of the car, we saw Dave picking himself and his bike up and limping to the side of the road.  His entire side was ripped up from skidding across the ground, but he didn't look like he had gotten hit.

The lady in the car pulled to the side of the road, along with a City of Tucson truck that had been coming the other direction.  Gregg immediately started checking on Dave while I talked with the motorists who had stopped at the scene.  Cell phones came out and offers of help came from all the by standers. 

"What happened?" I asked the lady in the car.

"He fell over in the middle of the road in front of me, he just lost control of his bike and crashed."

I thanked her for her attentiveness.  She offered the use of her house, a half mile down the road.  Owen arrived on scene and the rest of the riders caught up. Dave stiffly walked over to the bed of the truck and sat down.  It was a bit of a surreal scene.  From best we could piece together from Dave and the guys in the truck, Dave tried to look behind him over his left shoulder, turned his bars sharply and lost control of his bike and crashed.

The sheer luck of the situation was not lost on most of us, but apparently it was on Dave.

Owen took Dave and Deanna to the local hospital while the rest of us finished the ride, our spirits fairly subdued. 

We finished our loop and made our way to the western climb up Gates Pass.  The descent down the other side was long and fun and the rollers heading home were mostly down hill.  Gregg and I took large pulls at the front of the line into the winds with the remainder of the group sitting safely in behind us.  Russell yelled out "Big Meat at the front!"

Gregg had a new nickname.  We christened it with bacon buffalo burgers that night at the house.  Tina arrived at the house, and Dave returned to the house later that evening, battered, bruised, but remarkable in good condition for what had happened or could have potentially happened.  The day ended on a happy note, and Lemons were in our future.

Tucson Day 1

 

We woke up to mostly overcast skies.  I donned the long sleeve jersey, knee warmers, vest, and shoe covers, and packed my second windbreaker in the support car.  We knew this day was going to be hit or miss on the weather, and we all prepped for the worst.

We rolled out at 10 and headed east to Saguaro National Forest East.  The trip there was filled with rolling hills.  My legs felt very thick the first 10 minutes, so I gradually moved to the front and stayed there for the next 45 minutes.  Eventually the steady pace worked out the kinks of travel and a restless nights sleep.  Traci, Gregg, and Paul along with myself made up the contingent from PV that made the jaunt down to The Cycling House this year, along with our coach Russell Cree from Upper Echelon.  It’s great riding with familiar steady wheels in unfamiliar territory. 

We hit the first climb of the day and Paul and RC fly away with Jeremy, a super-strong Mountain Biker from NYC in close pursuit.  These three will end up trading blows for the remainder of the trip.

The first climb separates the campers into two groups, with Gregg, Paul, RC, Jeremy and I joined by two Canadian triathletes, Deanna, and Dave.  We ride a quick tempo up the hills for the next 10 minutes, no one wanting to expend a ton of energy on day one or really knowing how strong the others are.  Salvo the snowbird makes a short appearance as he’s finishing up his ride.  He looks fast and lean.  We say our goodbyes as we approach the entrance to the park, knowing we’ll see him in a few days.

It starts raining.

Owen is there with the support van and rain capes get donned.  We break into small groups of 4 so gain passage into the park, then amass a short distance down the road.  The park is a one way loop of about 8 miles, filled with twists turns and short punchy rollers and one sustained climb on the backside.  A rollercoaster track for bikes, lined with all sorts of nasty cacti waiting to eat you alive if you overshoot a corner.  I curse the weather for being what it was that day.

We ride hard to get warmed back up, road spray flying from the bikes and wind blow rain pelting us.  At least its 60.  We hit the base of the climb and we are sheltered from the wind.  The rain feels far less, and even non-existent in some places. 

Cree, Jeremy, and Formiller along with one of the TCH riders Brendan spread their wings and fly up the incline.  I stay with them a short bit before I settle myself into a tempo climb. We’ve got a lot of climbing over the next few days and I know I can’t burn myself out.

Deanna catches me about half way up the climb, and the two of us ride the rest of the climb together.  She’s a solid rider with great engine for going uphill, which she’ll prove numerous times over the next few days.

We hit the regroup point and decide to do another lap.  Paul, Jeremy, Brendan, Deanna and I head out a second time, pushing things a bit faster during the first section to get out of the rain.  At the base of the climb Jeremy and Brendan take off with Deanna in hot pursuit.  Paul and I decide to ride mellow to the top then hammer the rollers to catch back on to the trio out front, catching them right at the regroup.

The ride home is evil.  Rain fails steadily and our progress is slowed by standing water in the bike lane in many areas and Dave’s cramping legs.

We finally get home where hot showers and hot food is waiting for us.  I treat myself to a massage and a glass of wine. 

Tomorrow we climb.

Tucson Day 0.5

 

I’m snowbirding… even if it’s only a week.  We got into Tucson on Tuesday afternoon, flight landed at 3:35 local time.  Owen from The Cycling House picked us up and got us to home base by 4:45.   A quick sandwich and kit change, and we are on our bikes by 5:15.  We only have time for a short spin due to the rapidly approaching darkness, but it was good to stretch our legs.

The first thing I notice, after the nasty cacti wanting to impale my body and bike if I happen to drift off the road, is the elevation.  Base camp for us is at ~2200 ft, which is 2000 ft higher than home.  Every small roller has me breathing harder than I anticipate.

Dinner is ready shortly after we get home.  Three different types of grilled salmon, all delicious.  After dinner we have a quick pow-wow to set the schedule for the next day.  Forecast calls for rain.

2009 Wrap-up

 

Woah.  Haven't been here in a long, long while.

In a strange mix of circumstances, life got busy all at once and when that happens the little, less important things have a tendency to fall off the plate.  All about priorities right?

So why the sudden silence?  Well, work for one thing.  WW46 (that's the second week of November for all the non-Intel folks,) was the week that the almost year long software project I was the lead QA engineer for released.  Unfortunately the release was on a weekend and overran what sounded to be an amazing PIR Cross Crusade event.  I missed this race last year with my bum knee, and I really wanted to do it this year.  Oh well.

What else got in the way?  Well, about that same time I was handed the reigns of the Portland Velo Racing Team.  Ty Lambert, after 3 years of being the DS for the team needed to step down and was confident enough to put one of the most successful powers in OBRA racing in my hands.  It's a humbling experience in many ways, but mostly because of the sheer volume of things I took on in the space of a few weeks.  Ty did an amazing job laying the foundation for our success and I can only hope to continue on with what he's done.  I have some big plans that have been in motion for about a month now and I'm happy that things are going well.

So here I sit, on the eve of the eve of the decade.  10 years ago I was busting my ass getting ready for the Y2K rollover.  5 years ago I was hanging out with Traci and our best friend Irena, watching movies, shopping, and eating the amazing creations that two very talented cooks put together.  Last year, I was sitting on the couch, probably icing my knee post-surgery and playing video games.   So what did I do on the bike this year?  We'll, lets take a look!

Season started December 29th, 2008, which was my first ride post surgery.  It lasted a whole 35 minutes, and I averaged 35w and just a hair under 16mph.  I remember how bad those first few pedal strokes hurt since the range of motion on the pedal stroke was more than the range of motion my knee had at the time.

The end of the season is a bit ambiguous.  My last race was Krugers on the 22nd of November.  It was pretty crazy and very very muddy.  We'll call the last ride of the season this past Saturday, so December 26th 2009.  Of the 363 days in my 2009 season, I have 205 PT files.  Figure there were probably 20 or so rides I did on bikes that didn't have my PT attached to them, be it CX or track.  I'm going to estimate that I rode 225 days this year.  Crazy, but not uncommon in these parts.

WKO has me down for 6055 miles during that time frame.  At one point I thought I had flipped 10k miles this season, but I just now realized I didn't reset my ODO on the PT at the start of the season.  Oops!  I'll estimate another 500 miles for the non PT rides and guess I logged about 6600 or so miles this season.  Enough to cover the round trip between my home and our friend's Danny and Irena house in Stow, MA.  Along the way I can dip down south in KS and swing through Abilene and get a Clif bar and a new water bottle from my friend Julie.

Total wattage in kJ recorded: 191154.

Total calories burnt: 45730, or approximately 228 pints of Guinness.

Total time in saddle: 14 days, 22 hours, 34 minutes, 52 seconds.  No wonder my hips were sore more of the year!  Average speed for the year was 17mph.  Gotta love those recovery miles.

Weight at the start of the season was 192lbs, weight at the end was 186lbs.  I floated around 185-187 most of the season.

Longest day in the saddle, 6hrs 41mim 41s, spanning 65 miles.  This was the day of De Ronde Portlandia which had me climb two of the steepest climbs in the Portland area at approximately 26% grade and 28% grade.  That's about a foot of elevation gain for every 3 feet you move forward.

Longest single ride was 103mi, which took place at the Vine Ride with some teammates.  Was a good day on the road.

Highest mileage month was April with 833 miles.  Hardest month from a TSS/mile rate was June, however April through August was all very intense from a TSS/mile standpoint, which is probably why I felt like crap at the start of September, which was my lowest month in terms of training.

Highest recorded HR was 189BPM on a random Saturday ride.  However, I'm going to guess that my highest seasons HR was probably during the Kilo I raced at the track.  Didn't have any measure for that event but it took me almost 10minutes to recover from that effort and I thought I was going to blackout at the end.

Highest recorded speed was 51.4mph.  No clue what I was descending on that day.  Fastest flatland sprint was 41mph out at PIR.

Mean Max Power: (Max historical wattage shown at any time.) Last season vs this season:

2008

Time	Wattage	w/kg
1s	1375	16.35
5s	1315	15.64
10s	1196	14.22
20s	928	11.04
30s	844	10.04
1m	640	7.61
5m	343	4.08
10m	314	3.73
60m	256	3.04
120m	216	2.57

2009

Time	Wattage	w/kg	Difference
1s	1472	17.41	97w
5s	1411	16.69	96w
10s	1257	14.87	61w
20s	1072	12.68	114w
30s	835	9.88	-9w
1m	605	7.61	-35w
5m	349	4.13	6w
10m	320	3.78	6w
60m	244	2.89	-12w
120m	220	2.60	4w

I increase what was already a pretty good top end.  I felt very strong when sprinting this year.  I figure next year I'll break the mythical 1500w barrier.  My 1m wattage was probably higher this year than last since I was just stronger all around, but I didn't really ever have the need for a 1m burst other than my Kilo which wasn't tracked for power.  I know I increased my FTP over the season as well.  Last 20m effort I did was around 297w.

I had a few goals for 2009, with the biggest being "come back from knee surgery".  In April, I won my first of three races this season (two out at PIR and one out at the track.)  So I called that goal completed.  I also wanted to get my upgrade to Cat 3, which happened in May. 

I wanted to be successful against the 1/2/3 field out at PIR.  I raced in that field 4 times with 2 DNF's (1 mechanical, 1 due to a crash that I was behind and helped with the aftermath of.)  I took a 6th and a 4th in the other two finishes so I know I can hold my own in the sprints out there.  Now if the rest of the field would just learn to race safely...

I wanted to do the TTT this year, and I did.  The experience was fun, but painful as all hell.  I sold my TT bike roughly 1 week later.  I am not a TT rider by any means.  If I have to do a TT in the future, I'll slap clip-on's to my road bike and call it good.

I wanted to be a stronger rider on the team, and I was.  I will never ever  be the strongest climber on the team, nor will I even remotely be considered a climber.  I did however manager to hang on to every team ride this year, and often times I was an instigator on the road rather than pack fodder. 

I wanted to race more on the velodrome this year.  Unfortunately I didn't manage that.  I only raced once this year, but I made it count by winning a state championship in the kilo.

I wanted to be competitive this year in Cross.  I started the season in the Master C's.  I finished 3 races in that group with 2 top 10 finishes, including 7th out of 190 at Alpenrose.  That got me a call-up the rest of the season for Crusades!  Rainer I was looking at another top 10 finish before I flatted.  After that I upgraded to the Master B's and promptly started falling apart.   Next season I look to come in a bit fresher and hope for a better showing.  I'll probably also try to race more of the smaller races vs Crusades.  They are just getting to big for their own good.

My 2010 goals are pretty simple.  I want to gain more fitness, I want to get down to 175lbs by April, and I want to help the team become stronger.  These goals are very obtainable and I look forward to taking the necessary strides to achieve them.   I may toss in a stage race if I'm feeling frisky, but it would be solely to support one of the guys on the team.

2010 will probably provide is share of twists and turns and opportunities, and before we know it, we'll be talking about 2011!

Mixed weekend caps off a mixed season

 

Astoria.  For those outside of the racing community, this small coastal town in Northwest corner of Oregon may only be known as the filming location of the 80’s movie “The Goonies”, but for the last few years its hosted a 2 day sufferfest/party of Cyclecross racing at the Clatsop County Fairgrounds.  Last year we had a great time and we were looking forward to this years event since the start of the CX season.

Unfortunately building something up in your mind often leads to letdown.

I took the day off on Friday to allow for plenty of time to clean the house and pack our stuff.  Traci’s workday just got more and more hectic as it progressed, but we still managed to leave the house exactly at the time I wanted to.  Her small-car Tetris packing ability never ceases to amaze me.  In the end, the Mini was stuffed to the gills with 2 days worth of racing gear for both of us, our mud bin, beer, food, 1 spare wheel, and 15 costumes for the team.  We both agreed that we were going to try and enjoy the weekend rather than race hardcore so the trainer / trainer wheel, and spare front wheel all stayed home.

A few of us booked reservations this year at a condo in downtown Astoria.  Traci and I were the first to arrive at 4pm.  The accommodations were beautiful albeit a bit cramped as 15 of us bunked down in a condo with beds for 8.  (There were a few very sore housemates in the morning.)

Over the next few hours the rest of the folks staying started to show up, and the weather progressively got worse.  Weather reports were continuously being updated on iPhones until at about 11pm a full blown storm was battering Astoria.  Sustained 20-30mph winds with gusts of 50mph we recorded, and our small condo perched on one of Astoria’s many piers was taking the full brunt of it.  The wind howled and whipped rain against the building.  Gusts slammed nearby doors and rattled the windows.  Every time I started to doze off another noise woke me up.  Eventually around 1:30am, the storm blew through and I fell asleep.

The next morning our weary crew departed to the fairgrounds for Day 1 of racing.  We hauled the first trip of our gear up from the parking lot to find someone had decided to pitch a quarter of their camping tent under one of the team shelters next to the course.   No amount of polite asking, dirty looks, or obviously directed “who the fuck put their campsite in the middle of our tent?” like comments prompted them move their stuff.  Srsly?

Since we arrived later that normal, race time crept up on me.  Before I knew it, I was on a borrowed trainer, doing a half hearted warm up.  Ok, I’ll admit really all I was doing was getting the embrocation on my back activated.  The course was super muddy, similar to how WashCo was last week.  Since the Fango’s had issues the previous week I decided to use Traci’s Bulldog front wheel and swap the rear cassette off my tubular to my Bulldog clincher so I would have better traction and not crash.. in theory.

The 8’s drew last position on Saturday which was good on a few levels.  First I didn’t have to put any “I’m in the front so I should at least try and race hard” pressure on myself.  Second, I got free beer for my effort.  Third, I wouldn’t get in anybodies way as we went through the course.  The whistle blew, and the race started.  For the next 42 minutes I played “lets see how muddy I can get without actually crashing.”  Answer, pretty muddy. 

At the end of the race I was bummed about how I was feeling because Astoria was a course I probably could have done well at if I was at 100%.  The climbs were hard, but not grinding like Rainer or Sherwood.  The sloppy mud sections I could probably power through, if I would have been able to put power into the drive train consistently.  At least I got some really good course recon that I was able to pass on to my friends and teammates who were racing later. 

A couple hours sitting around in the cold / damp made my legs and back hurt and by the time we made our way back to the condo, I wasn’t a happy camper.  A good hot shower, my SKINS and a nice beer did go a long way to improving my spirits though.

The group stayed in on Saturday night, choosing to have a big sit down dinner rather than going out on Halloween.  Traci and I cooked dinner for the team, and by 9pm the number of folks nodding off in the family room equaled those awake.  By 10 we were all in bed.

Sunday we awoke to a thin fog hanging over the shoreline.  We ate and packed the cars and cleaned the condo for our departure.  Sunday was a new day with a new race.  Costumes where the theme and many of us decided to ride as “Guy Fawkes” aka “The V for Vendetta Guy”.  It was a clever costume and had a great impact when there were a number of us all together.  Next year however, no masks. :P

Today was about fun for me.  I carried with me to the start line a bag of treats (candy) and tricks (plastic mice and skull rings and severed fingers).  Also included in the bag was a hand-down of epic proportions. I had tipped Cap’n Dave off earlier to be ready for it.   The whistle blew and I stayed with the front of the race until the first set of barriers.. where I promptly found Dave, pulled over and unzipped the bag.  Inside was a 4 foot Skull and Spine Halloween beer funnel and a 22 of Rogue “Dead Guy” ale.  The crowd erupted in cheers but sadly at this point no photos have surfaced of the hand-down.

I remounted my bike and sprinted off, quickly catching Javad and Mike who were waiting for me.  The three of us rode easy together in identical costume’s getting a great deal of cheers from spectators.  In the orchard I bit it on the off camber section and ran my bike to the next set of people, tossing out candy and prizes to those cheering.  We rode on, over the barriers and up the road, next stop was going to be the OBRA tent.

My chain didn’t make it that far.  With an audible snap and rattle of metal on pavement, my chain exploded into 3 pieces.  I passed the bag off to Javad and Mike with the instructions to “carry on the mission”.  I’m happy to report they did to the joy of the crowd.

I shoulder my crippled bike for the fourth time this season and set off at a run.  Terry Camp saw me from the bridge and yelled down that she’d radio ahead to the Shimano pits to be ready for me.  Through the Start / Finish I ran, barely able to see through my skewed mask.  You know you’ve had a lot of mechanicals this season when Splinter actually singles you out.

Eventually I make it to the pits where the tech is waiting.  Three minutes later I’m back in business rolling to the barriers for the second time.  There are coffins now, and a pumpkin.  I run through the barriers and b-line for the pumpkin where I jump on it and smash it to bits.  More crowd cheering and I’m laughing along with them.  The course is slick and slow through the stables and orchard, and I practice corning with a foot out of the pedals in these areas.  It’s something I had never done and will be adding to my skill set next year hopefully.

The crowd continues to go nuts by the barriers, and I try to entertain them.  Iron cross bike carries, dances on top of the coffins, its all in the name of fun.

My race ends early since I’m a lap down and in dead last. I roll directly to the bike wash.  There isn’t a line, one of the few benefits of having a really bad race from a placing perspective.

I have a lot of time the remainder of the day and on the long drive home to reflect upon the weekend and the CX season as a whole.  I had a lot of anticipation leading up to both, and in the end there was some moments of brilliance and delight in a series of unfortunate events, disappointments, and mishaps.   It could be the reality of it all or it could be my tired attitude and sore body after a very long racing season. Time will tell.

Recovery and reflection this week.  Plans are being made, goals being set, announcements are starting to leak out.  Next season is right around the corner.

Where did this week go?

 

It's Thursday night, a mere 16 hours before we head to Astoria and I'm just now getting to my write up of this last weekend.  It's been a busy hectic week at work and when I get home I'm content to stretch and work the soreness out of my legs and lower back.  My cross season will be over in a few days due to work, but this weekend should be a great way to put a wrap on things.  But first, back to this past weekend.

Saturday we get up bright and early to head south down to Salem.  The second event in the Willamette Valley Cross Series was held at the old Battle Creek golf course which was as cool as it sounds.  The day was cool, but bright and sunny at the same time.  The early morning damp fog and sog made for a chilly and messy pre-ride with the thick grass course creating mini moss monsters on people's bikes.

I had an 11am start time so after a few pre-ride laps it was time to get ready for my race.  I got a good warm-up in, but my body was still feeling the effects of the Sherwood race the previous weekend.  Mainly my lower back.  Jeff B arrived right as I was finishing my warm-up and with him came my newly mounted rear tire.  The Fango that flatted at Rainer had another, different flat at Sherwood which Stan's wonder-goo couldn't plug.  Ah well.

I got to the line early enough to scout the first straightaway and corner.  The previous races had carved some lines in the course and things were soggy, but not horrifically slick.  The field is a good size, about 30 riders, so start position wasn't as crucial.  I tucked into the back row on the left side and we were off a few moments later.

My start was good, much like its been all season.  Going into the first turn I was sitting in 6th or 7th place, and maintained that position all the way to the first barriers.  Unfortunately I tried to remount in the sand pit, failed and ended up duck walking my bike through traffic back to the next flat area.  Lost contact with the front group and another few positions.  Noob. :)

A small chase group formed behind, only a second or so off the first group.  We stayed that way for the first lap and a half when my back started to tighten up on me.  My pace dropped and soon I lost contact with the second chasing group. Ah well.

The course itself was deceptively hard.  The wet grass smooth, but thick and soft.  Riding on a wet sponge was the best way I can describe it.  There was no place to recover on course.  No small downhill to coast down, no flat section you could just spin through.  I found myself flipping between front rings for the first time all season on a flat course.  My back hurt too much to power the 46, but I was spinning out the 36.  After two laps of toying with the gears, I mentally flipped off the "this hurts" and just rode the 46.

With a lap to go I really wanted to be done.  I wanted to pull off the course and jump on the HPChiro table and have Seth and Laura beat my back until submission instead of it doing it to me.  I took solace in the fact that I was maintaining distance to the riders behind me and steadily reeling in a trio of riders in front of me.  I made it my goal to catch them before the lap was up and dug deep.

With half a lap to go I came to the first of the two bridge crossings each lap.  These golf cart wide bridges spanned a small creek that ran through the middle of the course, and were slick with mud.  I made sure to cross them cautiously, but in my desire to make the catch I put effort into the drivetrain too soon, spinning my rear tire and washing the bike out from under me.

I hit the deck of the bridge.  Hard.  Body and bike literally bouncing with the impact.  I was fortunate enough to stay compact during the fall, landing on my shoulder, forearm, and hip all at the same time.  (Yay for years of Karate and Hapkido!)  I was more fortunate to land ON the bridge and not fall over the side.  I was dazed by the impact and it took a moment for me to collect myself and get my bike and body out of the way of the riders bearing down on me.  A dropped chain and bent brifter were all I could see as far as damage.  Two riders pass me as I remount my bike and slowly get back to speed.  The first few corners are hesitant as the body and mind replay what went wrong and anticipate the worst.

My chase begins a new, but now to try and regain lost spots.  I make an aggressive pass on the inside of a 270 degree turn to pick one spot back up, but I'm unable to catch the other rider.  I finish 19th.

While the race might not have gone the best, Seth was able to work on my back shortly after.  The S-I joint is not happy.  I'm thrilled to get the Hand Down (even if it was Budweiser) from Dave as he speeds through the first lap of his race, and Jose Sandoval  is in the right place at the right time to capture it.  Jeff B, Alex, and B-Rat crush the B race with Jeff and Alex taking first and third. 

Unfortunately the day ends with a bit more trouble as Traci is forced to pull out of her race.  Seth and Laura along with B squad show their true colors and help me take care of Traci while I get the car packed.  We get home late and get the bikes cleaned off.  8pm and I'm exhausted.  Fortunately the next race is 2 miles for our house.

Sunday is CC4 at Hillsboro Fairgrounds.  We wake up later than normal and take our time getting ready.  No hour drive to this venue!  We load up the car and leave the house at 7:30, and roll into the parking lot at 7:38.  My kind of commute!

Sal and Heidi get us a primo spot and we unload the car.  The pre-ride is fun and I get to see the course for the first time as I was injured for this race last year.  The sun is out, but a front is moving in.  The temp drops by 10 degrees in the first hour we are there and it starts to drizzle on and off.  Spirits are high.

PV turns out in force today, with the tent overflowing with racers and teammates here to watch the final Crusade race of Matt Couzens.  Cuz is moving back to Denver soon and we picked this day to be his going away party.  The wall of sound is deafening every time he rolls by the tent during his race, and he smiles through the pain reflects the joy of the sport and those that bear witness to it.

The time draws near for me to start my warm up and suddenly the PV tent is a flurry of activity.   The 11:40 race has Mstr B's and 50+ racers, and with 7 racers in the Mstr B and 5 racers in the 50+ field we attract some attention.  Jonathon Maus from  BikePortland comes by and shoots a bunch of photo's for a great article about the event.  He really has the pulse of the scene in PDX.  I warm up easy, sore and tired from the previous day.

Eventually its time to race.  We roll to the starting line and this race I was fortunate enough to get the third starting grid.  I hope for a fast start and to hold on.  The rain starts to fall lightly as the whistle blows.  The front of the race accelerates away as the remaining riders file out of the chute.  Such a difference from the previous days race.

Javad catches up to me quickly and tells me to latch on.  The two of us ride together, the familiar comfort of riding on the road for the past 3 years transitioning quickly to the race.  He picks out fast lines as I direct traffic and call out obstacles in the course.  We steadily move up the field together, passing the team tent in tandem.  The team cheers loudly urging us on.  All through out the course members of PV are there, shooting photos and cheering like maniacs.  I hear the booming voice of KRhea behind his massive camera lens, Dean and Barb Lee by the huge mud puddle, Tom with his dual cowbells and crazy grin pops up everywhere, Brad Sigler in the barn.  We ride with wings.

Sasha catches us during the first half of lap 2 and the tandem becomes a trio.  The aches and pains of yesterday are gone, filled with need to stay on Javad and Sasha's wheel.  We fly towards the backside pit entrace for the second time when disaster strikes. 

A racer from the Filth and Fury team moving up through the field suddenly crashes into me from behind on the right side, his front wheel doing its best to intimate the chariot race from Ben Hur on my right leg (see 6:30 in the clip).  The rider managed to pull out of the collision, but in the process hooked my right arm and handlebars with his left arm and yanked the bike out from under me.  I crashed hard on my left side again while he managed to stay upright and rode away. 

The race as it was for me ended at that point.  My teammates made it through the melee and continued on.  My left brifter once again had been bent inward making braking difficult, not to mention the toll the spill had on my mental attitude.  I was mad about being wrecked, and managed to crash once again in that same lap in some very slick mud.  Battered and mentally beaten, I work on staying upright in the rapidly deteriorating course.  I crash once more right in front of team tent at the "killer corner".  At least there was a smile on my face then.

Four laps later, the race mercifully ends and I immediately head towards the bike wash.  

My body and bike are filthy and my leg is bleeding freely.  I'm angry.  I'm also angry I wasn't able to ride angry.  Traci offers to take my rig so I can get to the medical tent to have them look me over.  Under the caked mud and congealed blood hides a 6" by 15" pattern of curved gouges and tireburn.  My leg becomes photography fodder for a number of folks standing nearby.  The scene is almost comical and quickly lifts my spirits.  Beer awaits at the tents.

The day caps off beer, burgers, beer, a great race by Traci, and more beer.  We scream our voices hoarse for Molly and Tina, and cheer wildly for all those putting it out there for the beauty of it all.  A slice of heaven right in our back yard.

Bring on Astoria.

Meh.

 

So I’ll state right up front that I was not a big fan of the Sherwood venue.  The first part of this post is going to be a bit of a rant, so skip down if you don’t want to read it. 

Just about everyone I’ve talked to today is battered and bruised, including those who didn’t go down.  You are going to hurt after a cross race but today my hands feel like I repeated punched someone, and Dave Aldersabaes thinks it was him.

We arrived early, like normal, to help get our team’s tent setup.  Upon arriving at the venue we were told the North parking lot will not be opened due to the conditions of the field, so we went down to the south lot where we were probably the 5th or 6th car there.

The course was no where near the south lot.  In fact the course only popped near the north lot, which was opened after the south turned into a total fluster cluck of cars.  (Hint, get people to organize parking if you don’t want that to happen.  Don’t come through after the fact complaining at the people who are trying to get ready for your race.) Viewing was pretty limited to the starting area, and small on-course section after the starting area.  By the end of the day our team’s tent stood near the Hammer Velo fortress and a fairly empty and quiet lot.  Boo.

The course itself was.. meh.  The elevation wasn’t really a problem, there was plenty of time to recover from the climbs.  The problem was the course was about 90% single track.   Yes, the course was 8 to 10 feet wide in most places, but it was really only ride worthy on the single track paths.  Attempts to ride the non-track were met with bone jarring, bike breaking impacts.  The gravel downhill section was filled with small fist size loose rocks.  There was blackberry bramble hanging into the course in a number of locations.  I saw a few people who looked like they had been slashed with razor blades, and Jeff B was picking thorns out of his arm when he finished.

Wheels were destroyed, chains busted, handlebars snapped, derailleurs ripped from bikes.  The Shimano neutral support guy said he ran out of wheels almost every race and saw more busted bikes come in on this race then the others combined.  Not a winner in my book.

Ok – I’m done ranting about the venue for this year.

I self upgraded to the Mstr B’s after enough goading from my friends and teammates.  I’ve been a top 10 finisher of my of my races this season in the C’s and the ones I finished outside of the top 10 in I either started in the back (Blind date #2 / #4) or had a mechanical.

PV has a ton of guys in the Mstr B’s and Mstr 50+ so seeing all the other kits on course is a great deal of fun.  I didn’t have big expectations for this race since A) it has climbing in it. B) I’m racing in a new, faster category and C) its not my style of course.

The pre-ride was muddy, and I seriously considered riding my Bulldog clinchers on the course rather than my Fango tubs.  After some insistence from Jeff and Ben, I tossed the tubs on and went to the starting line.  My new number (which can be worn right side up or up side down!) had me with a mid to back starting group.  I had a pretty descent start, but 4 corners in the first 200m’s of the course makes it really hard for anyone to pass. 

We had a new section of course to ride which was opened up starting at our race. It was an out and back winding route that went through the orchard.  By the time I hit the 2 way section, the leaders were already on their way back.  They were already 1m30s ahead of me after half a lap!  I felt sorry for anyone who expected to contend today and had a bad call up number.

I rode my race the best I could.  I used the power sections to pass people, the single track sections to recover since it was very risky to try and ride outside of them.  I suffered up the climb, happy that I had my 36x28 to climb on.  I wasn’t happy seeing the big black “3” on the lap counter after my second trip up that hill though. 

My own little race formed with Jeff Harwood of Ironclad, a top notch sprinter that I rode with and against for most of the year.  We traded positions for most of the second lap and the start of the third.

Murray caught me heading up the hill on the end of the second lap and I latched on to his wheel.  Shortly there after my rear tire started to flat.  Coincidence?  I think not.  Long time readers of this blog may remember that Murray ruthlessly ran me over at Rainer last year.  I hefted my bike on to my shoulder at the start of the orchard, and ran / walked the next mile to the neutral pit.  I got to see most of the field go by during that mile, and heard some very interesting remarks from some of the racers going by.

My favorite was “get out of the course” by a guy who tried passing me in the narrowest, most twisty part of the entire route.  Uh, hi, I’m actually part of this race, and I can’t jump off the course when its taped up.  You sir, are an idiot, and I can understand why people don’t think very highly of your team.

I eventually made it to the neutral pit after some very hairy sections of fast single track where I was fortunate enough to have some spectators letting me know when it was safe to run through.  A quick wheel change and I was back riding with relatively fresh legs.  I surged up the hill and was able to catch up with a couple of teammates whom I rode in with on that last lap.

The highlight of the day was probably watching the start of the women’s race, heckling our friends to make up for our lackluster performances.  Heidi, Kristin, Beth, and Lindsay all felt the wrath of being friends with PV while the PV ladies, Ellen, Ally, Cindy, and Traci all put huge efforts out on course and were cheered wildly for.  Afterwards the team rolled back to our fortress and fired up the grill.  Slabs of meat and sodium rockets sizzled and beer was shared.  The sun came out and we reminisced on the days events.  I don’t think any of us watched the elites race.  Kind of a shame.

All in all, I didn’t get much out of a race I wasn’t expecting much of.  The Fango that flatted appeared to get a small staple in it, or possibly a two pronged thorn.  The Stan’s that was in it didn’t seal it during the race or after as we were inspecting the damage, so it looks like a new tire is in the cards for me.  I also feel I need to run my tubs with a bit more air pressure as every race I’ve run sub 35 PSI on I’ve had problems.

With four more Cross races this season on the horizon for me (boo work schedule).  I’ll be doubling up the next two weekends.  This coming weekend looks to be a bit more suited to my racing style, and Astoria… well that’s just a craziness of its own.

“Blind Dates are more fun when they end up having slick spots.”

 

Credit goes to Joel “Burger! Burger! Burger!” Morrissette for that awesome quote.

Trio of race reports here.  Cross season has kicked into full gear with the Blind Date series having its 3rd and 4th run at the Dairy the previous two Wednesday’s in addition to Cross Crusade #2 at Rainer High in Rainer Oregon this last Sunday.

The Blind Date events I’m treating as a super hard training exercise, and this week wasn’t an excuse.  Blind Date #3 I started closer to the front than last weeks event, wanting to work on the hole shot and then run one lap on, one lap off intervals.  Cow, Strader, and Jordan were again in the field with me and we all sorta half-joked to do the same sort of exercise.

The whistle blew and the race started, while I didn’t get around the 2 guys directly in front of me for the hole shot, I was up near the front and had a good few lines into those first few crucial corners.  I’ve been doing a lot of my over/under intervals on loose gravel roads and this opening section of Blind Date felt like practice.  As the lap progressed I picked off the few riders who got out of the gate in front of me, and finished the first lap in the top spot.

The race after that was supposed to be a set of intervals, but that competitive spirit took over for all of us.  I battled hard with a few guys, trading 5th through 10th places as the race progressed.  My main goal at this point was to keep Cow behind me, (specifically because he kept telling me to go faster.  Ass!)  He got in front of me at a couple places but had some bad luck with people crashing next to him or directly in front of him which allowed me to sneak by.  The last lap I attacked hard out of a group of 4, making them chase me through the slower lapped traffic.  Cow and I were neck and neck coming through the last set of barriers, but I got a better entrance line into the last corner allowing me to not-so-subtlety cut  off his line.  We finished right behind each other for 7th and 8th in the field and had a good laugh when it was all over.  Jordan somehow managed to teleport in front of me in the last quarter meter to take 6th place, then turn invisible until I rolled passed him.  Have to watch out for that guy! ;)

Cross Crusade #2 was the following Sunday (10/11).  I was a bit worried about this event due to my sucktackular performance on this course last year.  I consider this course a climbers course, and I sir, am not a climber!  I was fortunate to get a call up due to my placement at Alpenrose and was in the front row for the very first time in my CX career.  The power / speed work I did this year paid off and I was able to take the hole shot when the race started.  I wanted to be the first person into the woods and down through the super nasty gravel corner where we had seen a ton of people go down in the earlier races.

My race progressed pretty much as expected.  I flew past people in the flat, downhill, and technical sections, but lost ground on the pavement section of the climb.  The course took a toll on a lot of bikes and I saw at least 3 of the guys who were ahead of me end up with a mechanical of some sort.  I was managing to hold on to a top 10 finish until the last half of the last lap when my rear tub flatted just before the run up.  Doh.

I managed to nurse the bike in the downhill section, then tossed it on the shoulder and ran the remainder of the course, including right passed the pit.  “It’s the last lap, I’ll just run it in.” I said when I ran by.  It’s only 400m I told myself. 

Oh yeah, its all up hill.  About half way up the hill I realized the folly of my decision.  A 20 second wheel change would have saved me probably 3-4 minutes of race time and most likely preserve a top 20 finish.  Rookie move.  Lesson learned.

All in all, I was happy with how the race went.  Rainer last year owned me, and this year I felt competitive.  I plan on rolling with the Master B’s next week at Sherwood.

The last Blind Date was probably the most fun of all.  Some hard bursts of rain through out the day had the potential to change the course conditions from the previous runs, and the cloud layer plus it being later in the year made the lighting conditions deteriorate fairly early.

Since I’m on a rest week, I started in the last row of racers and passed on the call up I was given.  The whistle blew and I, along with the other hundred plus racers that didn’t have a clear line slowly moved into the first set of turns.  As always I moo’d as we progressed along.  By the time I got down to the parking lot switch backs, the leaders of the race were already heading the other way with open course in front of them.  I spent the remainder of the opening lap riding through traffic at about 80% speed, and running over more than my fair share of cones in the process.  I kid you not, I think I hit a cone in every corner that first lap. 

By the time the first lap ended I was probably in the top half of the field.  I worked on my handling in traffic and in the slick spots on course.  Ran short intervals to pass people and used the course and people in it to slowly make my way through the field.  I eventually got to the head of the huge midfield pack and had some open road ahead of me on the last few laps.  The light faded quickly the last two laps and it was a struggle to avoid the ruts at high speed.  I used the “aim and pray” strategy fairly effectively and made it through to the finish in one piece in a respectable  27th place.  I was muddy, the bike was muddy, and my legs were on fire because I tossed embrocation on them thinking it was going to be colder, but it was smiles all around.

If you didn’t get a chance to race the Blind Date series this year, you missed out on a seriously fun time.  The mid-week event fits in perfectly with recovery from your weekend races, and gives you the opportunity to work on skills or try new gear out in a “low stress” environment.  With all the race focus on Crusades, I really hope people don’t overlook the fact that some great racing is happening elsewhere.

That wraps it up for this week.  This Sunday is Sherwood, followed by two week ends of Saturday / Sunday racing!

Two scoops of Alpenrose goodness, and a side of fail

 

We’ve got a trio of race reports here and we’ll start things off with the side of fail.  Barlow.  I’ve heard awesome things about this course, and it really looked tremendous.  The legendary rail road tie steps, the bridge, the crazy descent leading down to it all.  It’s a fast course, with some sections a powerful rider can open up a can of hurt on the field.

If you get to them.

I didn’t get a chance to pre-ride the course due to the distance from the house and the fact that they change the schedule up a bit to accommodate all the riders.  No big deal.  I got a lot of course recon time in the morning and felt pretty good about learning the lines quickly.  My warm-up wasn’t the greatest, I had been fighting of some sinus crud the previous 24hrs and I just couldn’t get my HR up to where it needed to be.  Ah well.  Time to line up! 

I didn’t get the greatest of starting spots, but I did line up on the edge, which was important.  The lead ref was pretty adamant that you had to stay inside the cones once you crossed the Start Line but since the starting chute was so short and narrow, make due with what you had available.  The whistle blew, I went outside the cones, around the slower riders and and ducked in before the line, putting myself in the top 10 before the first turn.  Half the battle over.

This was the first opportunity to ride the new tubs and I was impressed with how quickly they spun up.  I was not impressed however with how quickly the tire came off the front wheel.  About 4 minutes after the start, I dove inside a rider making a wide corner and the front wheel rolled off the rim.  Game over, thanks for paying $6.25 a minute to race.

Needless to say, after inspecting the rim and seeing that entirely not enough glue was used, the wheels went back to the shop were a very embarrassed and apologetic service manager re-did both wheels using a ton more glue free of charge.

On to Alpenrose!

This year an additional weekday series popped up last minute on the OBRA calendar.  I was out of town for the first one, but after hearing the rave reviews I decided to take part in the mid-week race to get some more time on the CX bike.  My training plan said “CX Practice” so I treated the race as a handing exercise by lining up in pretty much the back of the pack to see how far I could make it through before the end. 

I’m going to guess I started about 100 riders deep in a field of 140 and ended up finishing 15th after 8 brutally fast and bumpy laps.  I felt great and was really moving through the field effectively.  Was only passed by one guy who flew past me on the run-up but paid the price for his effort about half a lap later and blew up.  It was a total blast to race in the evening and gave me a lot of confidence going into the Cross Crusades series opener on Sunday.

After a few pre-ride laps on Saturday with the newly re-glued tubs, I got the tire pressure dialed in and felt confident I wasn’t going to roll a tire off this time.  Sunday rolled around and we got to Alpenrose early to get a parking spot near our tent.  Holy crap did that place get busy fast.

My race went really well.  I was in the third column to be called up, which put me about 6 or 7 rows deep.  I parked on the far right next to the curb so I could get water from Traci and chat with my family who came to watch the race.  The whistle blew and other than slipping on the curb a bit, my start was pretty clean. 

By the end of the first lap I was in the top 10, second lap I was sitting in the top 5 but at one point was in the top 3.  A few of the fast riders I’ve been competing with this season caught me and steadily pulled away over lap 3 when I starting to get a bit of fatigue.  I felt pretty slow in the technical sections but fast in the open areas, and from the gaps I opened or closed during those sections I know where to look to improve my future races.

The bell lap came a lot sooner than I expected and I was few seconds behind the 6th place guy and few seconds in front of the 8th place guy.  No mans land isn’t a bad place to be in at times.  I had a carrot in front of me and a bit of pressure behind me to keep me honest and working hard.  I was slowly pulling the guy in front of me back but alas I ran out of race.  7th place out of 190 riders, good enough to score some points and get a call up for the remainder of the season.

I’m pretty happy with how things are going this season.  PV has had some awesome showings this year so far and we are currently sitting in the top slot in the “Feudal War” team competition.  We are getting some attrition in our women’s team, but the gals who have stuck around and the new ones who have joined are bunch of troopers and the guys bend over backwards to make sure they are ready to roll. 

Personally, I’ve had some great results in my field with out being overwhelmingly dominant or getting shelled.  I know there is a huge difference between the C’s and B’s, but I also know your starting slot will give you a big advantage over your competitors.  Cross is a mix of fitness, skill, and sheer luck, with a lot of beer and cowbells tossed in.

It’s also a hell of a lot of fun.  Just ask the 1493 people who raced on Sunday!

“Thanks for the wheel.”

(Note: this post has nothing to do with the tire roll-off incident I had at Barlow, so if you are looking for a race report, sorry!) -m

In 2005, I worked in a very small building at our mammoth company.  While this had a number of bad aspects, it was nice to know just about everybody that worked in the building.  So when a group of guys around my age moved into the cubes around me, it wasn’t long before we got to know each other and found we had a lot of similar interests.

A few months later, another member of this group moved to Oregon.  Shortly after he arrived, I noticed a lot of bike gear in his cube and stopped by to say hello.  Jeremy introduced himself and we chatted for a while, talking mainly about cycling and what brought him to Oregon and parted with a “we should ride together some time.”  Little did I know…

My first attempt to ride with him was a dismal failure.  A combination of my (lack of) fitness, a lack of sleep due to some major blood sugar issues, and a horridly cold May day caused me to cut the planed 75mi RACC route short after just 15miles of riding with him.  A second friend who joined us reported back that Jeremy effortlessly pulled him along for the remainder of the ride and it was all he could do to hold Jeremy’s wheel.

Jeremy, as it turns out had a few years of racing in him back in AZ and was somewhat of a fitness nut.  (We used to joke that he ate “Cyborg Food” at lunch since he always had odd healthy snacks.) I on the other hand was just starting to get back into riding after a number of years of being out of the saddle and enjoyed Doritos.  My fitness was coming back, but it obvious I wasn’t anywhere near the level where he was at.  The good news though was that we had fun together and we continued to ride on Saturday PV rides throughout the summer when he could make it out.

At the end of 2006, the Portland Velo Race Team formed and I joined in on its inaugural season.  I became more dedicated in my riding and rode frequently with the fledgling team.  I was new to racing, and to race tactics and frequently asked Jeremy about things I saw or read.  We swapped weekend ride stories when we couldn’t get together, and shared routes that we had found.

In April of 2007, a friendly rival team invited PV down for a “social ride” of the Monster Cookie Event in Salem.  Ten of us, including Jeremy and I, traveled down to Salem for the event.  It was clear from the start that this “social ride” had “hammerfest” written all over it.  Jeremy towed my sorry ass back into the group on a number occasions, postponing my inevitable ejection from the speeding pack.  When I finally cracked for good, he selflessly pulled out of the paceline and waited for me so I had someone to ride with the rest of the way in.  It wouldn’t be the last time I limped home on his wheel.

Over the next two years we rode together frequently, my fitness improving by leaps and bounds due to dedicated training and racing until it got to the point where we were on about equal footing.  On the bike friendship spilled over to surround our wives and another couple whom we spent a great deal of time together with.  The six of us formed an extended family and enjoyed countless hours in each others company. 

Unfortunately for us, Jeremy and Kimberly found a beautiful house in Arizona and will be leaving the land of liquid sunshine this coming weekend.  We knew the day was approaching, but its always a shock when it arrives.

So this past Saturday, Jeremy and I rolled out one last time on a PV group ride.  I had no intentions of going hard since I had a race the following day and when the pace heated up, I drifted off the back.    And as it had happened so many times in the past, Jeremy waited for me and we rode together.   We picked up another group along the way and traded attacks, laughing at the pain we joyously lobbed at each other.   Ten miles from home we left the group and struck out on our own, determined to make it back before them.  We traded pulls into a howling headwind, wordlessly knowing when to pull through.  It was a fitting way to log the last miles of a great journey with a great friend.

So to Jeremy I say, “Thanks for the wheel.”

Cross(country)

 

Been a whirlwind 3 weeks since I last updated.  Pain on the Peak 2009 was a raging success with 20% more racers year over year, 100% less dust, and 100% more pain!

This years course was longer than last years by about a 500m and saw some great racing action.  Big thanks to all of our sponsors and racers for coming out, and congratulations to Ryan Trebon and Sue Butler for their wins.

Unlike the 2008 edition of the race, I actually the opportunity to race!  My first race of the 2009 cross season, first race on the new rig, and first cross race since the knee injury.  I’m happy to report everything worked out fine, although I’ll need to do some tweaking on the bike to get a few final things dialed in.  Hopefully I’ll have them all ready for this weekends Battle at Barlow!

My ultra-sexy wheels showed up last week, and Bryan over at Bike’'N’Hike in Hillsboro did a stellar job getting the Fango’s glued and mounted on them.  Now I have a fast bike and fast wheels.  Hope the engine doesn’t suck this year.

Training took a bit of a back seat the last two weeks as Traci and I traveled to the East Coast to visit a number of friends in the Boston area.  We were graciously hosted by Irena and Danny, the same folks who we ventured to Miami to be part of their wedding in May.  The trip was perfectly timed (with the exception that the Sox were away rather than home) and we packed a ton of fun into a short stay.  Got the opportunity to see some amazing things at 38 Studios (what they are doing is going to explode minds.  No, don’t ask me, I can’t tell you.) and meet some really great people.  Didn’t see a ton of people cycling, but I hear that Mountain Biking is huge out there so they were probably all in trails.

I was lucky enough to get some pizza at Depot in Andover, which made my day.  We don’t get pizza like that out here.  Irena, Traci and I went apple picking and I probably ate a dozen apples while there.  The ladies then made an amazing pie which vanished as soon as it entered 38 Studios.

The highlight of my trip (that I can talk about) was Sunday when I spent the day catching up with friends new and old.  Danny, Irena, Traci and I  met in Boston with Chris, Jay, and John for brunch.  We ate and laughed and mostly made fun of Chris.  The time sped by and we had to head out sooner than we would have liked.   We then hit the Blue Man Group show, and Irena and I were pulled out of the audience before the show started and made fun of about 25 minutes later as “LATE ARRIVERS”.  Irena hammed it up by hiding under her jacket.

After the show ended, we met with Jim and Dorothy.  Jim and I were friend all through out grade school and into high school.  He hosted my going away party when we moved out to Oregon and was one of the folks I really missed those first few years out here.  We unfortunately drifted apart in the following years but thanks to the miracle of Facebook we were able to get back in touch.  I hadn’t seen Jim in 17 years, but it was like yesterday when we got back together.  Jim and Dorothy took us to a great place for dinner then another place for desert.  We talked and caught up on old times and told stories that made us laugh.  We parted ways late in the evening happy to have had the chance to see each other.

By the end of the trip I was craving some bike time, my legs hurt and were “twingey” which made for an entertaining flight back.  Barlow should be entertaining this weekend.  My ride yesterday I felt fresh, but ya never know how you’ll do after a layoff!

Pain is almost here….

 

Just a few more days until the 2009 edition of Pain on the Peak.  The team has been busy at work these past few months putting together an even better event than last year.  With the lucky addition of rain this past weekend, the course should be significantly less dusty than it was last year as well!

A number of us spent Sunday morning last week up at the venue in a driving rain / wind storm to get the course cleaned up, parking area staked off, and make some new changes to the route the course will be taking this year.  The fast downhill “aim and pray” entrance into the woods has been re-routed into a technical pair of corners to let racers scrub a bit of speed and enter the woods not directly facing the sun.

The course will clock out longer this year than last year, which means the “evil climb” will be visited less times than last year.

My new rig, a Velo Vie Versa 300, has been built up and I’ve been able to ride it a number of times this year.  Dan Barnes of Velo Vie was kind enough to help me out in a pinch and sent me the paint test frame he had set aside for himself.  The Versa 300 will be on the market soon, so I’m riding a one-of-a-kind rig!  It’s a great bike, and I look forward to crashing racing it this season. 

Off to CX practice at Alpenrose!

Crossroads

 

Daylight hours quietly getting shorter…

Cloudy skies, cool temperatures, an extra blanket on the bed to fight off the morning chill…

The road season winding down, team rides become social endeavors rather then leg ripping suffer-fests…

Anticipation is in the air, an almost palpable feeling in the community. The closeness of the new season can be seen all around; the signs are everywhere if you know where to look.

“I’m not happy with how my body feels after running for the first time in months…”

“Let the debate begin: Tubes or Tubeless”

“Where is that link for home PVC barriers?”

“Jesus, my bike still smells like cow poop!”

Cross season is almost upon us. (Glee!)

Last Wednesday Traci came home after visiting Russell with a gaggle of bikes and not so subtlety told me “Russell said this frame fits best.  Since tomorrow is the woman’s CX clinic with Tina, Russell said you should skip your workout and build up this frame for me.”  Okay, she didn’t exactly say that, but it was pretty close.

I got home at 5:15, went inside to change my shirt and went back into the garage.  Five and a half. hours later this beast was born.

Traci will be sporting a VeloForma Carbon Cross this year.  This is the same make of frame I’ve ridden on the for the past two years and while I absolutely loved the ride quality of the bike, the frame geo just didn’t work out for me from a remount perspective. (I’ve got short legs!)  VeloForma owner Mark Duff was kind enough to trade me down a frame size in the hopes that I didn’t fit between frame sizes, and unfortunately I did.  Traci however, fits on this new frame perfectly.

She went out the next day and properly baptized it in the fields around Alpenrose at the clinic.  The smile on her dusty face was worth the effort.

I’m currently sans cross-rig, but I’ve got a few lines on super sekrut weapons of mass distraction. I’ll hopefully have some news about that soon.

Here is some cross pr0n, complements of Pain on the Peak 2008.  I still get goose bumps watching this.

Pain On The Peak from Burk Webb on Vimeo.

Now that we got you all excited for cross, Pain on the Peak 2009 is right around the corner.  (September 12th to be exact.)  Same location, slightly different course, most likely more pain.  We’ve got some great prizes and vendors lined up this year.  Official announcements will be up on the OBRA list in the coming days as we solidify final sponsors.

Stay tuned. :)