Psycho Cross Day 2

This is going to be a short one.

The weather Sunday was awesome, 60 degrees, sunny and just a light breeze.  We had the pleasure of enjoying that right up until about 30 minutes before the A race went off.  In that half hour leading up to our race the clouds rolled in, temperature dropped to 45 and the rain settled in.

One of the reasons I enjoy these small races is for what happened next.  As all six of huddled under shelter trying to stay warm the official proposed a shorter race if we were feeling it.  After a short discussion we settled on a laps.  The faster we rode the faster we finished.

Ross Brody led through the first single track section, I sat second wheel and that's where I finished the day.  Without even trying I managed to finish second overall .  I definitely would have preferred first but hey, all in time.

Psycho Cross Day 1: Good Result, Crap Legs

It was a week of essentially no training and I was loosing motivation.  Fast.  As I type this I have 15 days and 4 races left in my season.  I had to race this weekend, if for no other reason than to remind myself I can still ride a bike somewhat fast.

Psycho Cross/OBRA State Champs: A New Way To Race Bikes

all photos courtesy of Will Sullivan Cycling

Over the past few seasons of both road and cyclocross I've gone into every race with a clean bike, a well prepared body and a plan.  I've been doing a little experimenting this season.  Part of it is out of laziness, time constraints, motivation and the willingness to try something new.  I didn't really plan it, it just kind of happened.

Awesome Photo

Normally I just tack photos onto the related post but I feel this one deserves its own post.

photo credit to PDX Cross for this one

PDX Cross always seems to put out an awesome set of photos each week.  This is easily one of my all-time favorites.  Thanks for being out there each week and providing free photos for all us cheap-asses!

Cross Crusade P.I.R.: I Got My Legs Back!

Sometimes it's just faster to run
(photo courtesy of Dave Roth)

Last Cross Crusade of the year and I pull the second-to-last number callup.  Not necessarily how I wanted to round out this year.  Before my race a teammate asked me if I was going to win.  Ha, not really a chance of that, but heck, I'll go out there and see how many people I can pass.  Have fun and pass people, that's all I was looking for today.

I raced this course two years ago at the USGP and it has always been one of my favorite courses.  Today was my chance to revisit that awesome course.

Edgefield CX: I like my bike again

The past few week have been kind of rough on the racing front.  First there was the flat at PIR then the next week I got turned into a speed bump, then the following day I flatted again.  Needless to say, I just wanted to go out and finish a race without anything happening.  That's what the Bend/Halloween races were for.  I didn't fo well but I got my confidence back that I can ride a bike without crashing, flatting or doing something stupid.  Plus, when you're dressed as Kermit the Frog it's hard to have a pissy attitude.

When this week rolled around I knew this was kind of the make-or-break for the season.  If I did well/put up a good fight then I knew I could keep racing for another month.  If not, then well, I'm pretty much just one more person on the startline.

Cross Crusade Washington County Fairgrounds: I want mine

the only time I'd be with the field
(photo courtesy of Dave Roth)

While I didn't have the best legs on Sunday I had the opportunity and I was going to take it.  With the last place call up last week I got to start third row and I had my pick of exactly which fast wheel I could follow through the first lap.  After the first lap, there I was, in the top 20 and legs were opening up.  I was leading a solid group and I knew if I hung with them I'd finally be able to get that result I've been looking for.

Het Meer: alex, the human speedbump

I'll keep this short and with lots of pictures (all courtesy of David Kindstorm).  This course was super flat and definitely a good day to work on tactics, something I was looking forward to.  Unfortunately, a crash about 600m into the race turned this into a training day for me.  I tangled with another racer and there I was flying through the air and staring at the ground.  After using my helmet as a shovel I just curled up and waited for the carnage to end.  At some point someone ran over my left arm and I definitely have tire marks all the way up my right side, up my neck and on my ear.  Whoever managed to pull that one off, I'm impressed.  Truly, I am.  After crawling out from under my bike I decided today would be a great day to take a spin.  This was a really fun course and would have given me a chance to work on tactics and sand sections but it wasn't to be.  Instead, I just worked on the sand sections.

Cross Crusade P.I.R.: Spectacular legs

Apparently a week spent at elevation and a week not riding a bike does wonders for one's fitness.  Who would have thought.

photo courtesy of Matt Haughey

Today's race was awesome, except for a few mishaps I rode a perfect races.  That is if you don't count the last place call up, thrown chain, crash and subsequent bent shifter and thrown chain.  Oh, and the flat on the last lap.  Don't count that one either.  Yep, first time I've ever flatted during a race, either road or cx.  Well, I guess it has to happen sometime.

GPMC: Ninkrossi; that podium was mine

the start
(photo courtesy of Dave Roth)

This is still easily one of my favorite cx courses out there.  No, it's not a "true" cx course, more like a dirt circuit race with tons of climbing and a pretty unique course feature (below), but regardless, I like it.

Post-USGP Shenanigans

After the USGP I spent a few extra days in Fort Collins before heading back to Portland.  Below are some pictures of things we did in the sunshine before heading back to the rain.

visited the historic/haunted Stanley Hotel; Stephen King's
inspiration for The Shining

USGP New Belgium Cup: Day 2; Elevation is killer

I have decided I need to add two pieces of equipment to my arsenal in order to be competitive:  a mountain bike and an altitude tent.

definitely a better pick than yesterday's 72

Today was a totally different course than yesterday.  The promoters didn't even need to change the tape, the weather shift was enough.  Instead of the slip-n-slide we encountered yesterday today presented the perfect traction situation for me, tacky corners with a few rutted sections but just enough give to give your tires that little bit of extra traction.  While I could ride through all the corners and power up the hills without slipping I forgot about one thing:  the course is faster for everyone, not just me.

USGP New Belgium Cup: Day 1 Slip-n-Slide

After a crappy night's sleep I woke up to discover someones had turned on the tap, turned the fan up to 11 and turned the thermostat way down.  Outside my window it was raining like the apocalypse, with sustained 20 mph winds and a thermometer that hadn't broken the 40f mark.  This is cyclocross.  As if to get one more jab in I find that OBRA's Heiser Farm CX race is going to have perfect weather.

and I am missing this weather why?
(photo credit:  Matt Haughey)

Reflections on cyclocross

First of all, if you haven't seen the video below and have been even remotely following the state of our economy it's worth your time.  There is quite a bit of language in this.  You've been warned.



Ok, cultural quota filled.  I'm currently in Fort Collins, Colorado for the USGP New Belgium Cup this weekend.  I really wanted to do this race last year but logistically it just didn't work out; this year it did.

Cross Crusade-Alpenrose
(photo credit to Matthew Lasala)

Cross Crusade-Alpenrose Dairy: consistency

So originally this post was going to be about me sucking today.  Don't get me wrong, I didn't ride a great race today but I just made a revelation.

start line of our race today (photo unceremoniously
stolen from Embrocation Journal via Twitter)

Last year I placed 34th.  This year I crossed the line 34th.  That said, last year had 38 starters, this year had 81. I'll consider that an improvement.

Canby Cross-WORD Challenge

Short post for this one, Cross Crusade kicks off at Alpenrose tomorrow.

Well, I did it again.  Showed up at a race with a dirty bike and a race bag that had been thrown together that morning.  I really need to stop doing that.  

what 'PRO' means to me

yes, I've actually seen people
riding around before like this
(sans frame number, of course)

This week a Twitter post caught my eye.  mrjoestaples: "Let me tell you how PRO @stevencxracer is.... He is willing to do boring rides when it's the right thing to do..."  With this I began thinking back to what the definition of PRO means to me.

Battle at Barlow. I finally finished this one

Battle at Barlow.  A course marked by it's brutal railroad tie run up, long off-camber section and bumpy terrain. The past two years this course wasn't so kind to me.  In 2009 this was my very first cross race; I broke my chain after 1.5 laps.  Last year the course was almost impossible to ride due to the amount and consistency of mud; I broke a derailleur.  This year I wasn't even planning on going anywhere near this course but plans changed on Thursday and there I was, registered for this race yet again.

Rapha Focus GP

I was bouncing off the walls after Saturday's race.  At post-race
dinner the waitress made the mistake of giving me crayons...

I woke up Sunday morning and thought one thing, "ouch."  I knew Starcrossed was going to be a tough race and I knew that doing back-to-back races isn't easy but somehow I never imagined that I would be quite this sore.  I blame it on the sand.  And Belgians.

Starcrossed: Damn, Belgians are fast.

Here’s what I learned today:  if you eat Belgian waffles every morning you can make a bike go really fast.  Heck, even ex-dopers can’t keep up with you.

But seriously though, today’s race was awesome.  The course was bone-dry and super-fast; lots of bends and twisty-turnys but an all-around awesome course.  That said, I’m definitely not a fan of sand.  This course contained two sand sections, one which was mostly ridable and one that was unridable, unless you eat Belgian waffles every day. 

In keeping with my typical clusterf*** luck I dropped my bike on the drive-side, slightly bending the derailleur hanger.  Well that wasn’t part of the plan.  With my shifting slightly off my warmup went all according to plan but as soon as I put my rear wheel on and did a few openers I knew something was up.  Damn, broken spoke and 10 minutes to staging.  I was torn between riding the carbon tubular with a broken spoke or risk running a clincher with the same tread.  I opted for the clincher.  Good choice.

Start position 46 out of 60ish.  A small but relatively stacked field.  Looking around I recognized a lot of people near the front and not a whole lot around me.  That means one thing:  this is going to be one fast race.  Bam, gun goes off and we’re off.  As I enter the first corner and I look over to see that the leaders already have 15 seconds on me.  Holy crap, it’s been 100m and they’re really that far ahead?  Enter survival mode.  Because of my total lack of twitchy muscles at the moment I switched the diesel into overdrive and went after anyone I could see.  I settled into my rhythm and slowly picked people off.  I had trouble riding the sand section and lost a few seconds every lap but gained it back in other sections.  I wound up getting pulled with two laps to go because some waffle-eating fast dude was burning rubber behind me.  I really wanted one more lap but I’m pretty happy with my performance today.  I rode within myself and despite the equipment hiccup and poor start position I managed to ride my best race of the season.  No idea on placing but I’ll update it when I know.  It just started pouring so I’m sure whatever the course is tomorrow it’ll be drastically different from what we rode today.

Dust, blood, hay: Pain on the Peak cx

My number of bodily injuries have exponentially increased over the past two weeks.  That can mean only one thing, it's cyclocross season.  I won't go through all the injuries but let's just say I look like either a victim of the Cheese-grater Killer or a 5-year-old who just got done with a summer of climbing (and falling out of) trees.  Suffice to say, I'm getting a little better at cornering.

rawr, hills.
(photo courtesy of Mattew Haughey)

Psycho Cross; first double cx weekend of the year

Back-to-back races, traveling and jamming to obscene music for hours on end while stuck in traffic, traveling to yet another race.  Ahh, the season has begun.

Today was Psycho Cross in Eugene, OR and it was terrifically under attended.  Seeing as this would be the same venue for the OBRA CCX Champs in November I figured it'd be good to at least see the course and get a feel for it.

We had 9 people in our combined field, 3 As and 6 Masters.  Seriously?  This is an awesome venue and so much better than racing on the mountain bike course through the dust bowl that we're going to be at tomorrow.  Immediate race goal: don't let a Master pass me.  We'd start at the same time so I'd have a chance to throw down with the old guys.  And no, I'm not apologizing for the old man comment because I got asked what grade I was in today.  I'm seriously thinking I need to get a fake ID and start passing myself off as a junior racer.  If only.

The whistle blows and judging by the pre-race banter I was expecting an easy rollout.  Nope, race on, I go to kick into the pedal and totally miss, foot hits the ground and there goes the field.  Remembering my lesson from last week I keep my calm and start the battle.  Heck, worst I can get is third place and this is a practice race anyway.  Unfortunately, the two other As get the gap and they're off.

I really should have pre-ridden the course more.  It took me three laps before I eventually nailed down the right lines but I got it.  By then the damage was done and I just had to finish.  One interesting aspect of this race was the heat.  While the course was shaded the 95F heat, dust and open field sections really drained your energy, and moisture from your mouth.  Throwing a bottle cage on was the best decision I'd made.  I watched as I slowly lost about 10 seconds per lap and then made up about 20 seconds per lap for the last three.  Maybe I took it too easy in the middle but I definitely had a good jump in the closing laps.  

Successful day, I wound up third on the day and didn't let any of the old guys me pass me.  I'm kind of disappointed that more people didn't show up, this is an awesome course but I'm pretty psyched to come back in November.

Another night in Eugene, then back to Portland for Pain on the Peak tomorrow.  Great, another race in a dust bowl.

Today I kind of sucked

(photo courtesy of "richtheneighbor")

So, first cross race of the season and I kind of screwed up.  While I wasn't looking for or expecting a spectacular result I wanted to go out, get dirty and have some fun. Well, I definitely got dirty; fun is questionable.

Specialized Crux Review

photo from Specialized website

A few things before I jump into this:
-I purchased all of this equipment myself (I'm under no obligation to say anything positive, or negative, about this equipment, this is simply my opinion/reaction to it)
-I'm comparing this frame against the 2008 Specialized Tricross Pro I've ridden the past two seasons
-I'm 5'9" and 140 lbs (read:  I'm not going to be able to flex things the way you big guys can)

Homemade Larabars

So it's been a few weeks and I haven't touched ridden a bike for more than 30 minutes.  No injury, just taking a bit of a breather before the chaos that is my cyclocross starts in full force.  All of a sudden I have an extra 15-20 hours every week and have no idea what to do with myself.  Such was the inspiration for my most recent project, an attempt to my homemade Larabars.

High Desert Omnium Crit

Today was a first for me; I pulled out of a race.  If you've followed this at all you know I hate quitting.  I'll ride off the back of a race for 5 hours by myself or drag my broken bike through 2 miles of mud just so I don't have to see that dreaded DNF next to my name.

Cracked. Again.

So it's been a while since Elkhorn; I've finally forgotten about the totally shattered state that Mt. Dooley left me in and decided I could keep racing my bike.  3 days after the thrashing of Dooley I raced Tabor.  And got killed.  Off the back and then scored with the main field as I got lapped.  Yippie, skippy, yet another race off the back.

Elkhorn; the last 3 stages

Alright, it is now several days later and everything is unpacked so I figure it's about time I get around to posting about the rest of my race at Elkhorn.  Looking back on my report from stage 1 I realize I was more than a little cranky when I write that.  At the time I was actually pretty sick so that coupled with a poor performance didn't help much.  Here's a quick rundown of the rest of the weekend.

Stage 2:  TT.  I was actually really looking forward to going out and giving it everything I had in the TT.  I knew I didn't have a prayer of contending but I really wanted to see just what I could do.  Then the team needed me.  I wound up lending out a bunch of equipment to our faster guys and playing mechanic/soungier right before my start.  I wound up soft pedaling the TT and making fun of everyone that went past me.  In all honesty, I felt like death.  My nose, sinuses, throat and lungs were all full of crap and my stomach felt like an ADD kid on a teeter-totter; not settled.  I immediately got done and called a teammate who'd dropped out the day before and was prepared to beg for a ride home.  No answer.

With no immediate ride back to Portland I knew it was probably best if I just hung out and at least started the crit so if by some miracle I was feeling better by Sunday then I'd at least be able to start.

Pre-Stage 3:  I can't really talk about the crit without describing all the chaos that ensued immediately beforehand. It all started when teammate Andrew Boone decided to bring up that his rear shifting was a little off.  I took a look at it and recommended that we just lube the cable and hope because we were within an hour of our start time.  Nope, can't lube the cable, he had a full liner installed from shifter to derailleur.  Ok, easy enough, we just replace the cable.  Here's where things started going downhill.  This is Baker City, not Portland, there aren't bike shops open all day and night.  We scrounge around and eventually just pull a cable off my TT bike; not like it was doing me any good anyway.  Then the liner pinches, then it does it again.  We are now stuck 20 minutes before the start of a crit with a bike stuck in the 11T cog.  Oh, and he's pretty much our GC guy.  After 15 minutes of panic, 2 trips across town and begging for a cable and housing from every cycling team in downtown Baker we come up with a solution:  borrow a size-too-small bike and race on that.  Boone borrowed a teammate's Cervelo S1 and rolled to the start line.  Boone and I had no warmup but damn our heart rate was up.

Stage 3:  we flat out crushed the crit.  Eli got into a move nice and early which gave us a nice 20 minute break where we just set tempo.  As soon as that came back we attacked.  Again, and again and again.  We always had at least one guy up the road and as soon as anything came back we were right there firing off the front again.  I had a great race, didn't really do anything but somehow wound up on the front for a lap driving the pace.  My work being done I settled into my comfort zone, 5 from the back and just rode.  Boone finished solo after dropping his break-mate and grabbed 5 seconds over the field.  This alone did wonders for the team's (and my) morale.  We all rolled back to the high school (where we were camping) like we were walking on sunshin.  On top of this, I felt amazing.  My legs were there and I actually felt like a somewhat fit human being, not something that was dying in a gutter.

Stage 4:  for those of you who are not familiar Elkhorn's Queen stage is a killer.  Sadly, it's just a more tame version of Mt Hood's Queen Stage.  100 miles with intermediate climbs, all leading up to an 8 mile ball-breaker of a climb.  My plan:  sit in, take it easy, cover moves for the team (none of which will stick) and make it over the third climb with the field, from there, we'd see how I was feeling.  Reality: total opposite.

Here's how it all happened:  on our neutral roll out on the way out of town Eli rolls up to me and says "we need you on the front this first part."  Of course, I go to the front and think "meh, this can't be too bad, no one's dumb enough to go before the first climb, I'll have an easy warmup."  WRONG.  3 miles in Gabe from Yahoo attacks.  I'm there, it's my job to follow his wheel.  Life Cycle and Hagens come with.  That's the day's break.  I really, really didn't want to be there but I knew it was necessary.  All I wanted to do was sit in the field for an easy ride over the first few climbs but it wasn't to be.  We immediately got to work and quickly built our lead.  I knew from 7 miles in that I wouldn't have a lot of gas to give to this break but had to hang in as long as I could.  I lasted for 50 miles of headwinds.  If you've ridden with me you know I hate headwinds.  I came off right before the third climb.  We made a left hander and when I looked up there were 4 bike lengths between Hagens and me.  He looked back and knew I was done.  I blinked and they were 15 seconds up the road.  I sat up attempting to recover so I could rejoin the peleton when they passed and suddenly they were right there, not a minute after I came off.  At our last time check we had an almost 5 minute lead, where'd that go?  I went straight through the peleton like a cement brick through water and was promptly spit out the back.  Hey, at least it was a balanced race, 50 miles off the front, 50 off the back.  10 miles later all the caffeine hit.  I started singing, making sheep noises at the cows and having conversations with ground squirrels.  Yep, I probably looked like one of those crazy people that's been lost in the woods for the past 2 years.

Regardless, I finished.  I soft pedaled (with the tail wind I may add) to the base of Dooley with the intention of giving it one last go in an attempt to reconcile myself.  I put in a solid climb until about 3.5k to go.  At that point I ran out of gas, no warning, just empty.  I spent those last few kilometers watching myself get passed by everyone I'd just shelled as I clumsily threw my body from one pedal to the other.

If you've managed to read this entire thing and are still bored check out Oregon Cycling Action's recap of the stage.  I get a nice little mention.

All in all it was a good weekend.  If you look at the results you can see I did terribly but with sickness and not great fitness at the moment I've accepted that.  The thing I'm most impressed with this past weekend was the team work; from scrambling around Baker City in search of cables and housing to getting in a break knowing it would make the team's life easier.  Overall, I'm happy with the weekend.

There, no longer cranky.  I still want cx season to be here...

Elkhorn Classic-Stage 1

Yes, it's official, I'm a pretty sucky road racer.  No, this isn't me being dramatic or feeling sorry for myself, when compared to the guys I'm racing against I am definitely sub-par.  True, I made it more than halfway through the race without getting dropped but as soon as the road goes up I go out the back.  Alright, in all fairness we were climbing steady up Catherine (Hill, Mountain?) and then Gabe from Yahoo went to the front...

I go off the back of yet another race.  I'm getting sick of this.  I joined up with a group of 3 on the descent and we made an honest effort to make contact but it wasn't to be.  I came off the back of that group and was faced with a pleasant ride through gorgeous Eastern Oregon.

Ok, no more whining.  I'm here, this is an awesome race and I'm going to enjoy my time.

In all honesty I'm just biding my time until this:

Mt Hood Cycling Classic: Stage 4; Queen Stage

Well shit.  That was hard.  It all started by covering the first 5 miles in 8:08 and the next 5 in 7:52 in a balls-out descent from the start line.  Yes, a 38mph average for the first 10 miles.  Even as we were descending it I knew I'd hate climbing back up it, but I knew I had to finish this stage.  I'd made it this far and even if I had to crawl to the top of that hill I was going to finish.  Sadly, I didn't know how close to the truth this would be.

Mount Hood Cycling Classic: Crit

As previously noted, I was fairly anxious heading into this race.  Not only for the sheer speed of the race but also the fear of doing something stupid and causing a crash.  Yeah, it sucks to crash but I realize that it happens.  What's even worse than crashing (in my mind) is crashing someone else.  Call it chivalry, call it stupidity, call it what you will but I'd hate to crash another person.

Ok, crit time.  After some aggressive maneuvering I was able to get a start position about mid-pack.  Not the best but still a lot better than I usually fare.  The race went off and it was just like any other crit, full gas, except these guys have a lot higher top end.  After about a lap I almost started having fun, then I slowly lost about 2 wheels/lap.  I knew I had a cushion as my goal was simply to finish 20 minutes but I didn't want to spend any more time off the back then I had to.  Wheels kept slowly slipping by me but I was holding my own.  When I did come off the back I made the cut and stayed upright.  Mission complete.

Stage result: 124th; 3:08 back
GC after 124th; 40:36 back

Hey, at least I've got consistency going for me.  But I get to start the stage today and that's all I care about.  I'm going to finish this race and I will be going one with one big learning experience.

Mt Hood Cycling Classic: Stage 2 TT

Photo courtesy of Pat Malach
at Oregon Cycling Action

Ok, so the above photo is from the prologue but whatever, I'm on the TT bike, same thing.

Mt Hood Cycling Classic: Stage 1 RR

Wow.  136 racers, 84 miles, almost 8000ft of climbing and a 32mph 'neutral' rollout.  Talk about baptism by fire.  I always knew this day would be harder than I anticipated but I never really expected it to be that hard.

Here's how it all went down. Mile 8, first climb of the day, we go tearing up it like we were running from the rapture.  I'm already cross eyed and am slowly losing wheels and it's 8 miles into the race!  I hate to say it but I came unglued.  Part of it was poor positioning and part of it was too much testosterone on the front of the race.   Still, I came off and spent the next 76 miles chasing.  Great, it's San Dimas all over again.  Then again, the time cut was a little less merciless this time around so I didn't have to worry about making the 105% of the winner's time, instead just a cushy 130%.  That I can do.  I don't really know what else to say so I'll just let the numbers do the talking.  Normally I wouldn't share power data but at this point there's not a whole lot for anyone to gain from it.
Final results on the day:  finished in 4:01:58, good for 124th on the day, moving me into 128th overall.  Like I said, quite the change of scenery.


Oh, the one condolence for the day came upon my arrival back at the team car where the entire Peanut Butter & Co. Cycling Team was lined up having a team meeting right behind us.  Hey, it's life's little victories, right?

Oh, one last note:  today's course was awesome!  Besides the fact it was ball-bustingly hard all the climbs were longs, steady and hard, the descents were fast, twisty and never ending and the combination of sunshine and Gorge scenery was absolutely breathtaking today.  Overall, not a whole lot to complain about today.

Survived another day, TT tomorrow morning and crit in the evening.

Mount Hood Cycling Classic: Prologue

Dictionary.com defines a prologue as "a preliminary discourse; a preface or introductory part of a discourse..."  Instead, I define it as "as exercise, equivalent to repeatedly striking oneself in the head with a hammer, in which one wastes an entire day to go race for less than 10 minutes for the simple purpose of establishing who sucks more."

Mt. Tabor. Cat 2.

Sweet baby Jesus that hurt.  The picture above describes about where I spent just about the entire race.

Cat 2 is a whole different ball game.  Just like my just from B to A last cross season I was blown away by the speed and smoothness of the riders there.  The Pro/1/2 road field is no different, I don't know why I expected it to be.

Silverton: RR State Champs

After 2 of the most hectic weeks of my life to this point it's off to another race.  This one the OBRA Road Race State Championships held at Silverton, OR.  Never heard of it?  Me either.

Gainful Employment!

Someone recently told me that the average college graduate must send out 38 resumes/applications before obtaining their first job.  I don't know if I refused to believe this because in my mind that was an obscene number or because I didn't want to admit that I was fast approaching that number.  SRAM, Acumed, Stryker, Johnson & Johnson, Biomet, Miosek, Specialized, Trek, Nike, Oakley, Intel (just to name a few); they all had my resume and all I'd received were polite emails (read: form letters) explaining that although my skills and background (I have no background) were impressive they've chosen to go with another candidate.  And then out of nowhere I receive an email from a teammate essentially say "send this guy your resume."  End of message.  After a blind email thinking I was throwing my resume into yet another abyss I received a prompt reply and an interview the following day.

Shortish story even shorter:  I'll be working at Renovo Bicycles as a design and test engineer.  I had to choose between working at a bike shop mindlessly adjusting derailleurs and building kids bikes and a real, honest-to-God engineering job.  No contest.  Work starts Monday.  Welcome to the good life.

Life at Mach 3

The last few weeks have been kind of hectic.

Tuesday PIR

Another Tuesday, another PIR.  I typically don't post race reports for PIR simply because it's a training race but I found a few pictures from last night so I thought I'd share.  Both photos are from Jose Sandoval.  Hit the jump to see them.

Tour of Walla Walla: Stages 2, 3 and 4

So I've done a poor job of posting updates about Tour of Walla Walla.  Below is a brief recap from each stage:

Stage 2:  time trial
I was sitting 5th GC after Friday's 1 second time bonus.  Looking back this was really stupid.  1 second doesn't mean crap if you can't protect it.  I went a little too deep on Friday's stage chasing that KOM bonus and definitely felt it Saturday morning.  At the start gate I was chasing guy on a regular road bike and getting chased by a Canadian junior on a TT setup that was worth more than a year's worth of college.  Between my mind and sore legs I wasn't totally into this TT.  I tried, I really did but I just couldn't will my legs to push any harder.  I could blame it on the wind, the course or Canadians but in the end I didn't get it done.  This was my course and I was ready to tear it apart but I let my mind get in the way of my legs.  Wound up 29th, 2:20 off the leader, putting me 21st on GC, 2:22 back.  Definitely not ideal.  I guess this is just one hard lesson that every race matters, every second counts and there's no place for mental weakness in a race like this.

photo courtesy of Wheels in Focus

Tour of Walla Walla: Stage 1

Yep, another stage race, this time in my old stomping grounds:  Walla Walla.

While I'd targeted this race since November I lost almost all motivation after Cherry Blossom.  Part of it was the depression/denial about the Jamis but also my legs were totally shot after Cherry Blossom.  The other part was that I graduate in 3 weeks, have no idea what I'm doing and trying to wrap up our senior project and projects while still training.  Not the best combination.  This past week was a cascade of little sleep, poor eating and too much stress.  Whatever.

(another) new bike

So remember the picture below and how I described myself as "cracked out of my mind"?

Cherry Blossom Stage 4

So, no recap for Stage 3.  Easy 4-corner crit, stayed safe and burned as little energy as possible.  Tried making my way to the front but kept loosing spots so resigned myself to hanging on the back.  Yeah, not the ideal spot but it was safe.


Stage 4:  2 small circuits, 2 big circuits, 41 miles, how bad could it possibly be?  The proper answer is "holy f*** what the hell just happened."

Cherry Blossom Stage 2: The Humbug crushes the TT

As you saw in last night's post The Humbug, my TT bike, is finally built, decaled and ready to race.  I've spent a whole 6 minutes on it just making sure it kind of shifts and fits alright.  By the way, 6 minutes is the optimal break-in time for a new bike.  Not 5, not 7, 6.  Let's just say I was a little anxious racing a completely different type of bike with no actual workout on it.

New TT build

Behold my new TT bike.  I have spend a whopping 6 minutes riding this thing (in 2 minute sections) and am racing it tomorrow morning.  No fitting, no workouts, no nothing.  This is a good idea, no?

Cherry Blossom Stage 1: Crash

Yep, starting another stage race this weekend.  Coming off San Dimas I knew I had the legs but just not the luck.  My goal was to change that this weekend.

Picture from San Dimas

Found this photo from Stage 1 at San Dimas.

photo courtesy of Annette--SDSR Media

San Dimas Stage 2--I killed it today

I straight up dominated today.  I had read several reports (1, 2) from last year's race so I expected this to be a tough race not nothing out of my grasp.  This course is notorious for cross winds and natural attrition due to the climbs.  Also, the KOM and Sprint points on the line tend to keep the field together.  Looking at it, I didn't think it would be that bad.  Plus, I had some business to take care of after yesterday's sub-par TT.

So, race goes off, the pace is high but not unbearable.  "The climb" comes and goes.  If this is considered a climb these people need to go ride some 'real' roads.  Yes, there's a small 13% pitch in there but this thing is short.  Next lap is the KOM.  Speaking of which, the KOM is about a 200m before the summit and descent so all the climbers immediately sit up before actually cresting the summit.  KOM 1 comes and I'm with the lead group.  Everyone sits up and I attack off the front.  I get my gap on the descent and they let me just ride off the front.  The tailwind pushes me all the way through the finish line and I'm gone.  The entire field just sat up and looked at each other, waiting for someone else to chase.  Over the next 6 laps I built up a 4 minute lead and I think the field forgot about me.  40+ miles off the front, in the wind.  I'm now holding the overall with a 2:37 lead over second place.  Assuming I can just finish the crit tomorrow I've got this thing in the bag.

Right.  Want to read what really happened?  Jump past the break...

San Dimas: Glendora Mountian Time Trial--Disappointed

Today reminded me of one thing:  I need to work on time trialing.  I know I have the physical strength, now I need the mental component.  I went into this race with both a time and wattage goal, I didn't hit either.

a look at one of the switchbacks

San Dimas Stage Race: holy crap, this is happening

Here I sit in Southern California, still amazed that this trip is actually happening.  When I was initially presented with this trip proposal I thought "yeah right, there's no way that could happen" and then things started falling into place.  Next thing I know I'm on a plane and then riding along the California coast.

You know those places you see pictures of with palm trees, resorts on the ocean and surfers everywhere?  This is it.  Ok, I'm a few months early but you get the picture.

PSU Collegiate RR

Been sitting on these pictures for a few days with the intention of writing something in more detail but I realize that's not going to happen.  Below are a few pictures from the collegiate race last Sunday (3/20).  I used this race as practice and finished 9th out of 19.  The major accomplishment was staying with the group and learning exactly how these guys work together--good prep for San Dimas.  Well, enjoy and I'll keep you updated as to how San Dimas goes.  

All pictures taken from Wheels in Focus.

San Dimas Stage Race

Holy s*** this is actually happening.  You know how you dream about something happening but never really believe it will and somehow everything falls into place?  That about sums it up.

March 24-28 I will be in lovely Southern California.  Yes, I realize it's "So Cal."  Think about it, I've been training and racing in the snow, sleet, ice and rain for the past few months.

Forecasts for tomorrow:
Portland:  100% chance of rain (aka, rain all day); high of 55; gusts as high as 34
San Dimas:  Mostly sunny; high of 77; calm wind

F-yeah!
A HUGE thank you goes out to Team Oregon and Lana Atchley for making all this happen.  I would not be able to do this without all of you.
More details later.

Crosswinds Blow

I pride myself in being able to ride and race in just about any condition.  Yes, part of it comes from necessity if racing in Oregon but through racing cyclocross I've realized that if you can capitalize on the conditions and psych others out you've already beat them.

Climbs, descents, gravel, mud, snow, freezing rain and excessively long races:  I'll do them all.
Cross winds:  f*** that.

Banana Belt 2 and breakthrough

After our previous attempts at a plan we went into this race without one.  No protected rider, no designated sprinter, just ride hard and make people hurt.

this picture tells the story of the day.  Drowned rats, that's all
(courtesy of Oregon Cycling Action)

To tell you the truth, the weather took care of that last part pretty well.  Cold and rain, hello Oregon road racing, about time you returned.

new kits and Banana Belt 1

Alright, Team Oregon.  I know you created a huge stir back in the winter when you presented the new kit design without even informing anyone it was in the works.  Also, I thought it was one of the ugliest designs I'd ever seen.  That said, I would like to change my opinion and state that the new design is pretty freaking sweet!  I thought I'd miss the red-orange but this new grey-scheme is pretty sharp (see below).

a teammate modeling the new kit
(courtesy of Oregon Cycling Action)

Cherry Pie race report

Yeah, I know this is late.  Get over it.

Nope, not me.  One of our teammates looking a whole
lot more badass than I ever could
(courtesy of Oregon Cycling Action)

Let's just say I put off writing this because Cherry Pie didn't quite go as planned.  We (Team O) went into this race thinking it would stay together and that we'd be able to set up a decent leadout for the uphill finish.  Heck, we had 3 guys who could contest it so we were bound to put someone in the top 5, right?

God's Country

I still can't get over just how gorgeous the Pacific Northwest is.  True, Colorado has it's domineering mountains, Nevada it's deep blood-red canyons and Louisiana it's bayous (...right).  Still, after riding yesterday I came around the bend and this was laid out before me.  How do you beat that?

I still have no clue what I'm doing with my life post-graduation but how could I possibly leave a place like this?

Update

So, it's been a while and I've neglected this again--here's the shortest, most complete update I can come up with.

Since returning from Colorado I broke the Scott yet again.  You know how something bad is going to happen even though you really don't want it to?  Yeah.  That's my relationship with that bike.  I was tired of messing around with it so I dropped it off with the guys at Veloce Bikes in Hawthorne and let them work their magic.  And magic they did work.  2 weeks and $30 later I had a bike with a replaceable hanger!!  Let's just say this has been a huge relief knowing that if/when I break that sucker again I can fix it in 15 minutes, not 15 weeks.

If you're gonna bonk, do it right.

I would like to start with noting that I've never really bonked before, I've had rides where I've gotten tired or just haven't been feeling it and been on the edges of a bonk but never really bonked hard.  Take for example the last time I rode Pumpkin Ridge (65 miles or so) near the start of base miles.  It was one of my first rides back and I probably should have started with something a little shorter/easier but it seemed like a good idea at the time.  The last 10 miles up Thompson were rough; gear-grinding, teeth-clenched and then I got passed by a couple of 60-year olds...  Regardless, at the top I caught my second wind and made it back just fine.  Not today.