update

Yeah, yeah, yeah.  I'm terrible about updating this thing.  I could make excuses that I didn't have my computer for a while or that I've been busy riding but it would be just that... excuses.

Anyway, quick rundown of the past month and a half:

-survived Junior year:  both fall and springs semesters this past year were incredible.  That's the only word I have for it.  Looking back at it I have no clue how I managed to go to class, get all my homework done, work, ride and maintain a full racing schedule.  Oh well, I survived and I passed.  It was a good experience but not one that I'd want to repeat next year.

-Eugene Roubaix:  this race is nothing like the actual Paris-Roubaix but the watered down Oregon version.  Only about a mile and a half of straight gravel every lap (we did 3).  Race was lots of fun but not really situated to my riding style.  Really flat with only one little riser at the start of every lap.  Field stuck together the entire race and managed to pull out 7th in the field sprint.

-Tuesday PIR:  ok, so I've done a few of these since last posting.  Results in chronological order:  16/26, 8/19, 3/50, 14/25, 23/38, and 2/60.  Looking back on that I just noticed how big of a spread that is.  I don't remember exact dates but one of those nights was cold/nasty and I felt like crap.  I just didn't want to finish the race but made myself.  The 3rd place had to have taken place in a field sprint.  Still don't know how I managed that one (oh yeah, it was dry that night).  The past two weeks (the 23rd and 2nd) I managed to get into a break with 4 laps to go.  The first night it was just three of us, Anna from Ironclad (holy s*** she's strong), a "Ten Guys Named Alex" guy and me.  We all worked really hard and were right at the redline.  As I remember it was dumping at PIR that night and I still had the slick tires on so I had to take the corners really wide. Anyway, we dropped Anna heading into the last lap and the "Ten Guys..." guy and I got caught with about 1K to go.  Crappy place to get caught because you don't get any rest before the sprint.  The next week we kicked the s*** out of that race.  Got into a break of 5 and everyone in it was just as strong as me.  Had some d-bag sitting in so I lagged off then bridged back up to the break to shake him off.  I have no clue what our lead was like but we got passed by the 1/2/3 field, then re-passed them because they were slowing down.  Kind of a goofy finish because we finished in the middle of a 1/2/3 prime lap and didn't really know if we were done or not.  Coasted across the line for 2nd but could have sprinted for 1st had I known we were done.  Photo to the right is the break (I'm in the red helmet).  Photo courtesy of Oregon Cycling Action.




-Mt Tabor race:  holy balls that race is hard!  I did this race right after my 2nd place PIR finish and went into it thinking "I'm light, I'm a climber and it's less than 10 miles, how bad can it be."  Haha, dumb-a**.  Race was lots of fun and the course was mostly dry so that helped a lot.  What I liked most about this race is it's not pack riding.  I get so sick of PIR and these one-day races where the race seems like one giant group ride until 3 miles before the finish when people start picking up the pace and the race inevitably comes down to a field sprint.  Tabor is awesome because it crushes the weak, plus the roads are wide so you don't get hung up behind someone slow a**.  Anyway, won a prime for half-off a deep tissue massage and grabbed second in a photo finish (for 2nd and 3rd).  First place broke away (and I think he did it again this week) and won by a long shot.  Next time I do this race I'm sticking on his wheel and not trying anything stupid.  The picture on the right is from Tabor.  It's hard to tell but I'm the rider on the left (just trust me, it is).  Photo courtesy of Oregon Cycling Action.

TEAM OREGON:  since school is no longer in session I joined up to ride/race with Team Oregon.  Bunch of cool guys and tons of support both on and off the bike so I'm looking forward to the development of my racing career with them.

Elkhorn Stage race:  at this moment I'm procrastinating packing for this.  I leave at 3pm today for the 5-6 hour drive there... yuck.  This race should be interesting.  4 stages over three days.  Tomorrow there's a 75 mile road race, Saturday is a time trial then an afternoon crit, another road race on Sunday (100+ miles with 7500+ ft climbing).  This race will be very telling for me as a racer.  I've done races over multiple days so I know what that's like but I'm concerned about the last day.  There's a 10 mile climb with an average 6% grade.  Yeah, I like climbing but I don't know if I like it that much.  Add to that I have no TT bike or equipment and we have a full field of 75 racers, some of which I know are damn good.  Over the past few days my goal has gone from winning this race to merely surviving.  Obviously I'm going to do my best but I just need to be patient and sit in the field for a while before making any moves.  I'm sure I'll keep you guys updated as to how it goes.

Oh, one last thing:  TT bike, new cross bike or damn-nice wheelset?

Sorry, not picture of the cross bike.  It's currently in prototype-only form but I can tell you it'd be a Blue and I'd get a good deal on it.