Of the 5 people who read this thing with any degree of regularity, 3 or 4 of you know that I rarely take a day off the bike. And more often than not, when I do take a day off, it's not because I NEED a day off. It's simply because life gets in the way, or like today, I just didn't feel like it.
Instead I drove down (out?) to Portland to drop off a check, in order to pay for new team clothing for this summer. Hopefully it (team clothing) gets here quickly. The season is approaching a rolling boil, and I haven't done anything more than two different weekly crit/circuit series, and a couple of MTB races. The weird thing about racing in Oregon is that the road and MTB scenes are over by July or early August, or so it seems. Hell, tomorrow is the OR State XC championship, and they've only had 3 races in the series so far.
Tomorrow is going to be a long day on the bike. I can feel it. I'm looking forward to riding tomorrow, and hope that the weather holds up. Never know around here. It can be pouring 5 miles away at Post Canyon, and dry as a bone on the east side of town.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Friday, May 1, 2009
Bike Racing...for Real
When I first heard about the opportunity to move out here, I promised myself that every race I did would have some sort of epic climb, and that I'd get so used to high altitude that when I descended upon the mere mortals of the Midwest, the air "down there" would be like soup to me. Thick, and delicious soup. With potatoes in it.
Well, I started my season off in typical less-than-grand style. A series of also-ran appearances on the road, winning a mountain bike race, making the "podium" (4th...top 5 in MTBing...which I didn't stick around for) in another upon upgrading to the next level, not a single road race (yet), a couple of Tuesday night Portland International Raceway (PIR) efforts, and finally, this week's iteration of the Hood River Criterium Series.
Let me preface this by saying that yes, I realize that my racing achievements are few and far between, so for me, it's the effort that counts.
Race recap:
18 starters. 4 corner industrial (several breweries, actually) crit with a set of railroad tracks to cross on the back stretch. A solitary rider went up the road, got 5 seconds, and I jumped after him. I caught up to him shortly, and we began putting time into the field. We were away for somewhere around 15 laps, and as the field began shattering behind us under the constant attacks, we lapped two riders. Normally I'd hope that they would have the good sense to remove themselves from the course, but they weren't getting in the way, and they more than likely drove 60 miles from PDX, so I had no problem with them getting in some training miles.
I have to give credit where credit is due; my partner in the break was killing me. Or maybe I was killing myself. Either way, a quick run down shows that he did about 60% of the work during our escape. Although it appears that I was taking slightly faster pulls, albeit of shorter duration. 320w during that ~30min effort.
Now for the downer. We both began running low on coal, and steam production faltered. Or the 6 man chase behind had enough power that we were doomed regardless. Whatever. We were caught with 4 laps to go, and shortly before we were swept up, I told my break partner that I'd do whatever I could to help him at the end of the race. He was stronger than me, and I appreciated him not attacking me towards the end of our time off the front. So, for the next two laps, I chased down everything I could, and then blocked when he and another guy attacked with two laps to go. With 3/4ths of a lap to go, we started to close in on them as people started attacking out of the new chase group, and I attempted to bridge up to them solo. Failed, and ended up not only blowing what little I had left, but dragging the guys I was trying to ditch up to a decent position. I rolled it in for 8th. Break partner ended up winning the race, which was pretty cool. Not a great result for me, but my legs are coming around, and I'm getting some speed to go along with the endurance/time trial strength I've been building.
Well, I started my season off in typical less-than-grand style. A series of also-ran appearances on the road, winning a mountain bike race, making the "podium" (4th...top 5 in MTBing...which I didn't stick around for) in another upon upgrading to the next level, not a single road race (yet), a couple of Tuesday night Portland International Raceway (PIR) efforts, and finally, this week's iteration of the Hood River Criterium Series.
Let me preface this by saying that yes, I realize that my racing achievements are few and far between, so for me, it's the effort that counts.
Race recap:
18 starters. 4 corner industrial (several breweries, actually) crit with a set of railroad tracks to cross on the back stretch. A solitary rider went up the road, got 5 seconds, and I jumped after him. I caught up to him shortly, and we began putting time into the field. We were away for somewhere around 15 laps, and as the field began shattering behind us under the constant attacks, we lapped two riders. Normally I'd hope that they would have the good sense to remove themselves from the course, but they weren't getting in the way, and they more than likely drove 60 miles from PDX, so I had no problem with them getting in some training miles.
I have to give credit where credit is due; my partner in the break was killing me. Or maybe I was killing myself. Either way, a quick run down shows that he did about 60% of the work during our escape. Although it appears that I was taking slightly faster pulls, albeit of shorter duration. 320w during that ~30min effort.
Now for the downer. We both began running low on coal, and steam production faltered. Or the 6 man chase behind had enough power that we were doomed regardless. Whatever. We were caught with 4 laps to go, and shortly before we were swept up, I told my break partner that I'd do whatever I could to help him at the end of the race. He was stronger than me, and I appreciated him not attacking me towards the end of our time off the front. So, for the next two laps, I chased down everything I could, and then blocked when he and another guy attacked with two laps to go. With 3/4ths of a lap to go, we started to close in on them as people started attacking out of the new chase group, and I attempted to bridge up to them solo. Failed, and ended up not only blowing what little I had left, but dragging the guys I was trying to ditch up to a decent position. I rolled it in for 8th. Break partner ended up winning the race, which was pretty cool. Not a great result for me, but my legs are coming around, and I'm getting some speed to go along with the endurance/time trial strength I've been building.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Hood River Part Deux
So I've been in the Hood for 6 days now. The highlights? Work is pretty cool (learning = best thing ever), and the riding is awesome.
Lowlights? The Dupage Credit Union f***ed up, and my cell phone has one foot in the grave.
This is probably the shortest update ever, but I have some pretty rad pics to make up for it, so check them out. Please note that the one trail pictured is pretty uncharacteristic of the area; many (most?) are still under a bit/a lot of snow, but are filled with 20-60min climbs and wind through the timber of Mt. Hood National Forest. However, being a Midwestern boy, a 30min climb and 50 degree weather in March are both amazing, so I'm willing to get over the semi-drab surroundings until the other trails open up for business.
Lowlights? The Dupage Credit Union f***ed up, and my cell phone has one foot in the grave.
This is probably the shortest update ever, but I have some pretty rad pics to make up for it, so check them out. Please note that the one trail pictured is pretty uncharacteristic of the area; many (most?) are still under a bit/a lot of snow, but are filled with 20-60min climbs and wind through the timber of Mt. Hood National Forest. However, being a Midwestern boy, a 30min climb and 50 degree weather in March are both amazing, so I'm willing to get over the semi-drab surroundings until the other trails open up for business.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Hood River, OR.
Well, this has been a long time in materializing. Some time, in the middle of April, I will drive my champaign colored Subaru Impreza from Winfield, IL, to Hood River, OR, loaded down with as much junk as it can safely hold.
In the rare event that anyone ever reads this post, no, it has nothing to do with the town that I grew up in, or the people I've come to call my friends. Really, leaving Wheaton/Winfield and my friends will probably be the hardest thing I've ever done. I'm moving to a place I've never been, where I know one (1) person, and the only frame of reference I have comes from friends, Google image searches, GoogleEarth, and MapMyRide. After 5pm every day, I won't have anyone to talk to, to hang out with, or otherwise spend time.
Those of you that know me fairly well understand that I am a person who does just fine by myself; since I've been home from college, and aside from riding, I have maybe 15min of conversation/interaction a day with parents, friends, or people at the local coffee shop. So really, I don't foresee that part of my life taking a downward plunge. If anything, this will finally force me out of my shell a bit, and I'll actually make an effort to meet new people.
However, I'm hopeful, and confident, that I'll meet plenty of people who are into the same sort of crap I'm into. Campfires, nights skies, and laughter. Bikes an added bonus.
Why Hello There, Sun.
Like many of my fellow Midwesterners, I have been bitching for quite some time about the weather we've had this winter. And, like most of those who complain, I check the weather pretty regularly, looking for a day or two when I won't get dumped on from the heavens, or freeze to death should I stop riding for 30 seconds outside.
Well, turns out the tide is turning, so to speak. While I'm certain that we'll get another 3 inches of snow before spring is officially here, I'm please to see that we'll be getting several days in a row of 55 degree weather. Will I get rained on from the turnaround point, all the way home, on every ride? Most certainly. Will I flat both front and rear simultaneously, resulting in the cyclist's version of the walk of shame? Pretty bloody likely.
But, I've waited all winter for this, and I'm willing to take those risks. As long as it's not 40 and pouring, in the Biblical sense, I'll be outside for at least an hour a night, until next winter.
Well, turns out the tide is turning, so to speak. While I'm certain that we'll get another 3 inches of snow before spring is officially here, I'm please to see that we'll be getting several days in a row of 55 degree weather. Will I get rained on from the turnaround point, all the way home, on every ride? Most certainly. Will I flat both front and rear simultaneously, resulting in the cyclist's version of the walk of shame? Pretty bloody likely.
But, I've waited all winter for this, and I'm willing to take those risks. As long as it's not 40 and pouring, in the Biblical sense, I'll be outside for at least an hour a night, until next winter.
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