We put so much into it

As athletes we put so much into our chosen discipline.  Time, energy, money.  We train in the freezing rain while our friends are at happy hour only so we can come home, clean a bike, grab a quick bite to eat and hop in bed so we can do it all over again.  We sacrifice time with loved ones yet they understand this is important to us so we try to make the most of the time we have together.  They even put up with us dragging them to races and stand in the rain for hours while we completely ignore them while we obsess over tire pressure and the perfect line, all so they can watch us ride by eight times before we get back into the car and go home.  As athletes we put an incredible amount of pressure on ourselves.  It doesn’t matter if it’s a 500+ lbs. man trying to lose weight, a seasoned PRO or an amateur balancing a career and engagement with just a dream of one day being called “pro,” we all put an enormous amount of pressure on ourselves to perform and make our team, friends, family and even sponsors proud to say “I know that guy.”

Zaandercross: Now that's a cyclocross course

photo courtesy of Dave Roth

Lots of pictures from this race so I'm going to let them do the talking.  I will note that this was one of the hardest (and most fun) courses I've ever raced.  A lot of promoters describe their course as "dynamic" but this one truly was, probably a little more sand than necessary but this course favored the racer who is strong throughout the entire race, rather than just the fast starters.  Perfect for me.  Major props to the promoter for this course and I hope it returns for next year.

Oh So True...

Some truth found on the internet this past week.  First, I will start with a quote from Bike Snob NYC: "For a romantic fall getaway, take that special someone to a cyclocross race and ignore her for 48 hours as you obsess over tire pressure."

Double Cross Day 2 pictures

Sorry, only one.

alone on the power section
(photo courtesy of Brian Nelson/541 Images)

Hood River Double Cross: Day 2

Today is what I was talking about when I said "missing the train."  Today's course was still very similar to yesterday's, just reversed.  Some sand, lots of single track and me losing a lot of time because I don't ride mountain bikes.  I don't say this to sound melodramatic but it just is what it is.  Some courses suit me and some don't.  This weekend's courses didn't.

Hood River Double Cross: Day 1

If I had to pick a phrase that most accurately described my performance this weekend I would be hard pressed to beat "missing the train."  Actually, "A.D.D. emotions" would come pretty close to describing Day 1.

running the sand; so much faster than riding it
photo courtesy of Dave Roth

Driving out to the race I wasn't really psyched about this race for a number of reasons but nothing I haven't dealt with before.  This race is typically the same weekend as the UCI Starcrossed weekend in Seattle but since that isn't UCI C1/C2 this year I'm keeping it local.  I will now continue this post with my train of thoughts for the rest of the day as that's probably the most descriptive.

GPTB: Het Meer

photo courtesy of Matt Haughey

I've been sitting on this one for a week now so I should probably clear it out of the cache.  Forgive the brevity but the race was fairly uneventful.

and the season is upon us: David Douglas #1

And just like that the season is here.  Instead of taking my typical "race from February through December" approach I decided to try something a little different this year.  If you've been "following" (what little there's been) I stopped racing mid-May and never really started back up.  Until cyclocross!

the start
photo credit:  Matt Haughey

Yesterday's race at David Douglas was your typical season opener:  smaller but lots of enthusiasm.  Except for the fact that Ryan Trebon and Carl Decker showed up.  Here's a sample of a conversation between a friend and myself on the starting line:
Nat:  "so how do you think this race is going to play out?"
me:  "well, he's [pointing to Trebon] going to ride really fast, he [pointing to Decker] is going to ride almost as fast, and he [pointing to Shannon Skerritt] will be right there.  The rest of us are just going to finish"

2012 Season Schedule

With my first race of the 2012 cx season only a few short hours away from starting I figured it's about time I posted where I'll be racing this year

September
1-  David Douglas CX #1-Vancouver, WA (GPTB)
9-  Het Meer CX-Vancouver, WA (GPTB)
15-  Double Cross-Cascade Locks, OR (GPTB)
16-  Double Cross-Cascade Locks, OR
22-  (undecided), most likely Zaandercross at Frenchman's Bar (Vancouver, WA) (GPTB)
23-  (TENTATIVE) Future Cross
29-  Fazio Farms-Portland, OR
30-  Battle at Barlow-Gresham, OR

October
6-  Heiser Farms CX-Salem-ish, OR (GPTB)
7-  Cross Crusade-Alpenrose Dairy, Portland, OR (Cross Crusade)
13-  Ninkrossi-Washougal, WA (GPTB)
14-  Cross Crusade-Rainier, WA (Cross Crusade)
20-  Canby Cross Race-Canby, OR
21-  Cross Crusade-PIR, Portland, OR (Cross Crusade)
27-  (TBD)  either Bend, Eugene or Vancouver
28-  HALLOWEEN CX-Cross Crusade-Bend, OR (Cross Crusade)

November
3-  Canby Cross-Word CX Challenge-Canby, OR
4- (TENTATIVE) Canby Cross-Word CX Challenge-Canby, OR
10-  TBD
11-  Cross Crusade-Hillsboro, OR (Cross Crusade)
18-  FAVORITE RACE EVER-Cross Crusade, PIR Pro Paddock, Portland, OR (Cross Crusade)
25-  Psycho Cross-Eugene, OR (Psycho Cross)

December
1-  STATE CHAMPS-Psycho Cross, Eugene, OR (Psycho Cross)
2-  Winter Cross-Washougal, WA (GPTB)

(lots of running)

January
12- GET MARRIED!!

I was torn about travelling this year and racing as big of a schedule as I did last year but there were a few key deciding factors.  First, Cross Vegas became invite only and with no UCI points a start spot in that race would have been next to impossible.  Furthermore, Seattle's StarCrossed would not be a UCI event this year.  Without those two big races early on I had a hard time justifying a UCI license just for a weekend in Colorado and another in Bend for the USGP series (which may not even happen this year).

In short, I'm staying local this year.  I have a couple goals in the back of my mind but I'm going to focus on building and just having fun this year.  Boulder, CO is hosting the 2014 National Championships so next year will definitely be big.  I'm definitely looking forward to this season and hope to see all of you out there at some point.  If we haven't met before please stop by the Team Oregon tent and introduce yourself.

Ok, time to go ride out to a race.  Look for a report tonight.  Let's see just how badly I get spanked by Ryan Trebon this year.

...and I'm back

I'm not even going to attempt to make excuses about my total absence over the past few months.  Let's just say I stopped consistently training in March, rode my fitness through April and promptly lost it all in the middle of May.

This upcoming season has a huge question mark written all over it.  I really wanted to go to Cross Vegas this year, both for the experience and to race on the national level again but just a few weeks ago the organizer dealt us all a surprise:  this year's event would be invite-only.  With no UCI points to draw from I have a better chance of beating Ryan Trebon in a slam dunk contest than I do of gaining a spot on that star-studded start line.  Oh well, maybe one day.  

After that "snub" I'd planned on just keeping it simple, staying close to home and having fun.  The last few weeks of training have changed that.  This year I feel fast.  On almost no training.  Maybe there's something to this whole 'don't overtrain' thing.



There have been a few hiccups over the past few months but I'm happy to say I'll be out there for a full cx season.  My schedule isn't completely set in stone yet but I'm aiming for at least two USGP weekends but with no Cross Vegas or Starcrossed (not UCI this year) it's going to be tough to pick up any UCI points.  Anyone want to fly me to Japan or New Zealand?

OBRA RR Champs Rehearsal Race: End of the line

This one is going to be short because...well, you'll see why.

With the actual 6-lap, 95 mile state champs race being held in June this race gives everyone a good chance to see the course, and exactly what they've gotten themselves into for the real race.  State champs are always tough and this course was to be no different; a 16 mile loop filled with crosswinds, lots of ups and downs and very few flat sections.

We showed up with 11 guys in what looked like a 70+ rider field.  We had one goal:  win.   While it's never as simple as a number's game we had the cards to play and we knew we should be able to do something.

Eugene Roubaix: Finally, a race goes "according to plan"

For as many pre-race plans as we make, they rarely, if ever, work out.  Today was a little different.

I always really like this course but never seem to do really well down here.  I had a 7th place finish in the 4s two years ago and a 9th in the 3s last year but my main goal was to avoid last year's fisaco where I jettisoned both bottles on the first time through the gravel, resulting in a hot 50 miles without water.

The solution to retaining your bottles:  rubber bands

This year the fiasco was different but at least we planned for it.  With a smaller squad (just Scott, Robin, David and myself) the plan was simple; David and/or I was to get in the early break and take the pressure off the other guys.  Robin's job was simple:  sit around, look like a badass and in the event of a sprint finish, lead out Scott.  Scott was free to make the field hurt as he saw fit.

King's Valley RR: Best Road Result in Two Years!!

Saturday I did something I haven't done in almost two years:  I podium'd at a road race.  The last time I did this was in June 2010 as a Cat 4.

close but couldn't close it
photo courtesy of Leonard Johnson

To be honest, I'm still a little shocked but more than anything I'm disappointed with how it all played out.

Review: Gore Oxygen Jacket

Life is full of no-joy purchases; underwear, training tires and rain jackets.  These are all things we need but it's never fun when we have to replace them.  If you're anything like me, replacing any of these things is simply a matter of walking past the appropriate aisle and throwing it in the cart.  No discussion, no second thoughts, I know what I want and that's what I'm getting.

When my rain jacket crapped out this past winter I decided to change it up.  I'd been riding in a Cutter Cyclical jacket (eVent fabric) which I'd picked up at 90% off.  With that, the bar for performance and value had been set pretty high.

I picked up a 25th Anniversary Oxygen jacket by Gore Bike Wear on closeout for 40% off.  I was just looking for a jacket, nothing special, just something that would work.  To say I've been blown away by this jacket would be an understatement.  I wanted to write about this jacket earlier but wanted to hold off until the right moment.  Following Portland's wettest March in recorded history seemed like an appropriate time to write about a rain jacket.

Back to Oregon for some crazy bananas

all that really needs to be said about Sunday
photo courtesy of Oregon Cycling Action

After spending the past few weeks racing up in Washington we brought it back south to race the third Banana Belt, which just happened to be the first race in the Oregon Cup series.  We didn't really have any plans for either series, we were just there to race as a team and see what we could come away with.

The plan was simple, keep the race together for the first two (of seven) laps and then start putting people up the road.  Kolben, Eli and I covered the early moves which essentially turned into a group ride.  I'm not sure if it was the presence of 8 Team Oregon riders in a 33 rider field or just the favorites marking each other.

Mason Lake: Round II

This post will be a little short and you'll see why in a minute.

My race yesterday can best be described as this:  you need to have bad days in order to have good days.  As you can guess, it wasn't a good day.  I'm not going to dwell on the negative or make excuses.  I knew where I was physically and mentally and I knew what I could and couldn't do.  It's been a long time since I didn't listen to my body but I did exactly that yesterday.  I ignored all the little warning signs.

Took a trip up north to Mason Lake

Instead of riding in aimless circles around Hagg Lake this past weekend five of us hopped in the van and headed up north to ride in aimless, faster circles around Mason Lake.


And ride we did.  As with any race there are always attacks.  For example's sake let's just say that the field is represented as a block of concrete and each attack is a hammer hitting the concrete.  Hit the concrete enough and something will eventually fracture off, allowing the break to go up the road.  That is every other race.  Yesterday it felt like people were using hand grenades, not hammers.

Reflections on road racing

After re-reading yesterday's post about the Keller Rohrback/Eatonville Circuit race I realize that I came off like I knew what I was doing and that everything went exactly as we'd planned it.

yesterday's hard man (Adam E.) finishing in the snow
(photo courtesy of Catherine Cooper)

Let me tell you, when I came across that line ahead of the field, and in fifth place no less, I was as surprised as anyone.  I'd always been the racer that would throw in a few halfhearted attacks, yet always be content with sitting in the field and letting someone else go off the front.  In the lower categories I could get away with this because teams never really worked together (or understood the tactics of team racing) and I was smart, and strong, enough to get myself into a "good enough" spot for the finish.

Keller Rohrback/Eatonville Circuit Race

Instead of doing the equivalent of slamming our head against a wall and racing the Jack Frost TT six of us traveled up to Eatonville to race Washington's season opener, the Keller Rohrback Circuit Race.  The forecast predicted 39* with 3" of snow on the way.

Almost every one of us admitted to being willing to pull the plug on the race, none of wanted to be "that guy" so there we were, racing.

6.5ish mile circuit, 8 laps, one big-ring climb.  After pre-riding we thought it would be a race of attrition with no real break being able to stick.  With this in mind we formulated a plan of who we needed where and when.    Eli described the day's racing style as "passive-aggressive."  Heck, we're from Portland, we can manage that.  Just like last week, our plan went to total shit after about a lap.  Instead of sitting around with our hands in our jersey pockets like last week, we adapted.

Cherry Pie: still a lot to work on

First road race of the year.  We had a plan and we followed it as best we could but as we all know, that means we accomplished about 10% of it.  A break of two established itself  early at the start of the second lap (I think?) and a solid chase effort never solidified.  That is until we managed to set up a beautiful little chase effort with a TIA guy, an Ironclad rider, two teammates and a sitting-in Gentle Lovers rider.

Chase 1.
Photo courtesy of Mary Stephens

Cyclocross

As a true crosser I feel an obligation to share this with all.  Enjoy.

stolen from Cyclingdirt.org 's facebook page

Those of you that are out there traveling and racing every weekend from September through December will fully appreciate this.

and the season is upon us

Seems like we just wrapped up cross season and here we are, a week away from the first road races.  We've been doing some huge rides lately (see below) and hopefully it all pays off.  That said, this year is all about balance, both on and off the bike.  Somehow I'm still managing to put in almost the same amount of hours I did last year but I'm both happier and stronger when it comes to it.  I've heard so many people talk about FTP numbers and TSS scores but they rarely remember to factor in one thing:  life.



Some may be wondering why all this talk about this thing called 'life' and why I'm taking a more laid back approach to things this year.  Well, I'll tell you, this happened.

courtesy of Katie Doyle Photography

Bikes are awesome and all but they only last so long.

That said, here's to another awesome season with one of the best teams around.  2012 road season, here we come.  2013 cyclocross season, hurry up and get here already.

Doing things a little different for 2012

This year: no coach, no rigid structure, no staring at tiny screens just hoping it will finally display that magical number, just fluidity.

This past cx season I noticed that I was able to train at a higher level without focusing on the numbers.  Instead, I based everything on feel.  Maybe this was stupid and foolish but I feel it left me in a better place physically and, more importantly, mentally.  The few times I did hop on a road bike and actually measure power during cx season I was blown away by the quality of the workouts I'd been doing.  I'd never been able to hit some of those numbers on the road but somehow I was hitting and exceeding them with shocking consistency.  The reason for this:  I actually enjoyed riding and racing my bike again.  I was no longer attempting to fight a schedule and hammer out an interval when everything was falling apart around me.  That is the model I am going to take into the 2012 race season.  Yes, I will write a schedule but if I feel like doing intervals on Tuesday instead of Wednesday then Tuesday it is.  So often racers become so focused on their prescribed schedules they forget why they're even doing it.  We do this because we love racing.  We love pushing ourselves and we love the feeling of going out there knowing we're trying to be better than we were before.  No one is paying us for this so why don't we all just take a few deep breaths and enjoy ourselves.

This year I will be there at the finish.  No more off-the-back in the first 8 miles.  No more trying to will myself to get over just this one more hill.  No.  This year I am going to be there.  I make no promises as to winning races or obtaining my Cat 1 upgrade but I will be there for my teammates, turn myself inside out for them and use my brain and legs to be as close to the front as I can.  All of that aside, I'm going to have fun and I'm going to enjoy every mile.  Like I said, we're not paid so we may as well enjoy this silly sport if we're going to spend as many hours on the road as we do.