...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.