“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. :)

Baked or Broiled?

 

I survived the heat wave of ‘09.  How hot was it?  Well, a few days the temps here in Portland were hotter than the were in Austin TX.  My drive home from work out in Hillsboro was 106 on Monday, 108 on Tuesday, and 113 on Wednesday.  113? WTF?  You know its hot when people on Facebook start complaining about the people complaining about the heat.

I’m not a huge fan of the heat, and exercising in that weather when your body isn’t used to it can be downright dangerous.  Props to the officials who canceled racing events or had some other creative ways of dealing with the heat.  Oddly enough, on Thursday when it was only 95 on the drive home we had the windows and sunroof open and no AC on.  Its good to be a mammal!

I took an alternative path to beating the heat.. I rested. :)  For 6 days my bike sat in the garage and I sat in my house sipping on Gin & Tonic or beer, and eating nachos in the AC.  The weather had cooler temperatures coming late in the week, so I busted butt at work to get everything done early, and took Friday off.  It was a great week.

The team sent a bunch of folks to Cascades last week, and they had a great time and brought back a lot of good stories.  With Cascades and the State TT Championships done and Crit Championships just around the corner, the road racing season is coming to a close.  Saturday rides become more mellow and training plans start to have threshold intervals in them again.  That means cross is right around the corner!

Contrary to some of the rumors out there, Pain on the Peak 2009 is in fact happening, and will be at the same location as last year.  Website and flyers are being built, sponsors are being finalized, and the course is being planned.  As with most of the world, the finances are tight so prize packages might not be as good as last year, but we are working hard to make it as exciting of event as it was last year.  Keep watch for more details!