The Pursuit of PRO: Cycling, it's been a year

Cyclocross training
in April 2009-terrible
form and all
(photo credit: Stephen Street)

Today marks my one year anniversary of my first bike race.

When I started training seriously in May 2009 I really had no clue what I was getting myself into but I knew cycling was something that I enjoyed and would hopefully satisfy my longing to be competitive once again. Little did I know that it would take hold of me and transform me into (what I hope has been) a better person.

During tonight's race at PIR I began thinking that exactly one year ago I was being pulled around in the 4/5 race and just holding on for dear life. Here I was a year later in the 1/2/3 race putting in attacks, blocking for a teammate up the road and racing alongside some of the best amateur racers in the nation. Ok, enough blabbering, here's a look back at some of the past year's highlights: (after the break)

-8/25/2009: first bike race ever: Tuesday PIR--I get 11th out of 28 racers only because I got lucky on one hot spot

One of the more painful and expensive
lessons that technique is half of cross racing
(photo credit: PDX Cross)

-Cyclocross 2009: my first cross doesn't go quite as planned--I'm feeling great and loving the race but break my chain after 1.5 laps of racing. Lame. Second race doesn't go quite as planned either--I double flat both tubular wheels and ride them flat for half a lap. I wind up 35th out of 158 riders but know I can do better. From there it's just progress: a 3rd, a couple of 6ths and two wins. Too bad it's only Cat C. Still, I get forcibly upgraded to the B's and am greeted by a nice late season surprise--I'm place 6th and 7th in my only two B races of the season. By the end of the season I'm not a half-bad racer but still have a ton to learn. Regardless, I'm hooked.

Taking the win at PIR before
being forcibly upgraded.
It was about time...
(photo credit: PDX Cross)

-Winter/Off-season 2009-2010: following the US Gran Prix of CX I had every intention of not touching a bike for a least two weeks. That lasted about 2 days. While I wasn't riding/training aggressively I was still riding when I shouldn't have been. Screw it, I like my bike, I'm going to ride it. Off-season training went well but in the end I probably didn't do as many base miles as I should have. That said, it's kind of hard to get base miles when it's 20 degrees and there's 4" of ice in the street. Yeah, I know, excuses... During this time I laid the final plans for the UP Cycling Club and planned my assault on road racing.

Relatively unscathed but
still shaken and sore
going into the first race

On the start line of my first
"real" road race. Holy crap
I look fat and apparently
can't pin a number worth crap

-Spring races 2010: My road season didn't start quite as well as I'd planned. I had my first "real" road crash (see picture) 4 days before the first race of the season (which as a Cat 5 I was planning on destroying). Sore, bruised and shaken I still managed 2nd to "Steve." That's how the rivalry began. That race set things in motion. Following that race I raced every weekend (sometimes up to 4 times per week) all the way through April (ok, so there was one weekend I didn't race). After decent placings at the Banana Belt series I quickly got my Cat 4 upgrade and began feeling better about things.

Finishing Sublime Sublimity race
still looking big
(photo credit: Stephen Street)

Winning collegiate circuit
race in Walla Walla

My first win on the road was at the Walla Walla circuit race--only the C's though. I followed that up two days later with a win in the 4/5 field. Ok, it's time to get out of the lower categories now... Raced a bunch of Tuesday PIRs and Eugene Roubaix to round out my spring racing. I'm still a 4.

-Summer road races 2010: PIR, PIR, PIR, Tabor... So come summer the one-day races kind of die out and it becomes stage race season. I realized if I was going to be in Portland and wanted to race I'd do much better if I was on a team. Enter Team Oregon. First stage race ever: Elkhorn Stage Race. Good Lord this type of racing is completely different. That said, I loved every moment of it. Here's reports from Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3 and Stage 4. This race was a major turning point for me. Not only did I have a team behind me supporting me and riding for me but I managed to pull of 3rd overall giving me plenty of points for my Cat 3 upgrade! Ok, so maybe I went and won Tabor once before I upgraded...

Well crap, my goal for the season was "Cat 3 by the end of the season," it's two months before the end of the season and I've already met my goal. Well, let's go for more points!

The Cat 3 life: training became more aggressive, I became part of the planning/strategy of races and we straight up rocked some people's s***. The High Desert Omnium (TT, Crit, RR) was kind of a flop. These 3's are a little quicker and a hell of a lot smarter than the 4/5 field. I suck it up in the TT and crit but manage to pull out 4th in the RR resulting in 8th overall. Sure, I'll take it for my first Cat 3 race. From there my road season began to wind down. Another Tabor, a few more PIRs and the terrible OBRA Road Race Championships. Oh, and we can't forget the Rapha Gentleman's Race now, can we?

THEN I won a cross race (in the Bs')!

Ok, I realize this is getting long. If you're still reading, thank you. If you've stopped, very understandable.

I have to give a HUGE thank you to Team Oregon. Without them I would not have developed into the racer I am right now. I would like to make a few quick comparisons then close with a few pictures.
Here are a few things I would not have imagined myself being able to do that Team Oregon and cycling in general has made possible:
-race 122 miles in a day (with a very good portion of it on gravel climbs)
-ride away from a field on a climb and not have to worry about being caught
-race alongside the likes of national pro racers and the New Zealand National Criterium Champion
-safely pilot a giant hunk of carbon through a corner at 40+ mph with 3 people inside a 3' radius of me
-get better grades in school (it's true, this last year was my best yet)
-just enjoy more life in general. True, I do live up to the nickname Grumpy Gus and I still dislike people as a general rule but rather than just going through the motions of life I look forward to every single day for one simple reason: I get to ride my bike.

On that note, I will end this with a few of my favorite pictures: