aaahhh, SNAP

You know what sucks? Being half way through a 27 mile mountain bike ride and having your seat post bolt snap. Yeah, that sucks...

I was doing a night ride this evening with teamie Nelson. We were in Forest Park and almost to firelane 5... I was on my single speed. I briefly sat down and SNAP.... suddenly no seat. I looked around on the ground and found my seat and seat post components. Apparently the bolt snapped.

At that point, my options were to either turn around or proceed. We were almost to FL 5, so I opted to press on to at least enjoy the short fun part of the ride (the only legal single track). We did opt to return back after FL5 though instead of pressing on. 9 miles later my legs were screaming. on the way home I stopped at Nelson's house and we jimmy rigged a bolt into the seat post clamp. It was loose but at least got me home.

This is btw the best time of year to be night riding...

Gear combinations

Like every other crosser, I constantly debate gearing choices. I've been debating the single ring thing for quite some time now but have been convinced otherwise by the guys at the shop. My problem, is my bike was designed around a mountain crank, so only a really small inner chain ring works.

I currently run a Ritchey WCS crank with a 34/50. The 34 is just to small and the 50 is to big for most courses. Basically, I end up staying in the 34 most of the time and end up spinning a whole heck of alot.

I'm not sure why I didn't think of this myself, but I was reading Brooke's blog the other day where he was discusses his gear choices and it hit me... instead of going single, why not compromise and put a smaller ring on the big side. I went and picked up a 44 today (I have a 46 & a 48 in my parts bin) so I have a variety of combos to experiment with.

I think the 34/44 is going to be a good combo. I really doubt I will need to drop into the 34 much anymore as the 44 will suffice for almost all courses.

Thanks Brooke.

Tis the season

I took a ride in Forest Park today at lunch... I saw almost as many cross bikes as mountain bikes....

'cross season is in the air!

Helmet Pads

I've never understood why when you spend 100 -150 on a nice helmet you don't get a second set of pads. Unfortuanetly, I'm a bit of a sweat hog, so I stink them up pretty quickly. Plus, with 'cross they can get muddy and beat up.


I have this:

And I needed this:

I emailed Bell, and they kindly sent me a replacement set. No charge!

Preliminary Cross Crusade Schedule up!

The preliminary cross crusade schedule is now up. Looks like a good one again!

Season opener at Alpenrose, then Wilsonville (I missed it last time around). Rainer which I heard was one of the best courses out there, a DOUBLE weekend in Astoria, the venerable Barton Park and a couple of TBA venues...

Hornings, Estacada and Hillsboro are all missing. Based on all the new construction out there, I am not surprised that Hillsboro is out. I've always liked the close proximity. I'm surprised that Estacada isn't there. I hope it is one of the missing ones though, as it is my favorites.

Also missing are the two USGP races in December. PIR maybe?

October 5	Crusade Series Race 1	Alpenrose Dairy
October 12	Crusade Series Race 2	Wilsonville
October 19	Crusade Series Race 3	Rainier High School
October 25	Crusade Series Race 4	Clatsop County Fairgrounds
October 26	Crusade Series Race 5	Clatsop County Fairgrounds
November 2	Crusade Series Race 6	Barton Park
November 9	Crusade Series Race 7	TBA
November 16	Crusade Series Race 8	TBA

http://www.crosscrusade.com/schedule/2008/index.html

Tahoe 2008

Got back from a week in Tahoe a couple of days ago (ok, it was a week ago).


I got some good rides, hikes and in general family time.

Helmet cam to follow..

Here is a couple of good shots that summarize the week:

The kids on a family ride

At the top of Mr. Toads. About ready to descend 3K... The lake is in the distance.

Simon and Dad - out for a 'big' ride.

Be careful out there

My wife was hit by a car last night while commuting by bike home from work. Thankfully she wasn't hurt (other than a few scratches & scrapes. Neither was her bike. She was however a bit shooken up (obviously).

Basically, a car decided they wanted to park and pulled into the bikelane without looking. She bumped and rolled over hood. Thankfully it was relatively low speed but could have been worse.

Please be careful out there, both on your bike and in your car.

We all just want to get home to our families safetly.

Short Track #5

Portland Short Track #5
Portland International Raceway
SS category
July 21, 2008

Again, I'm tardy in publishing this race report as I've had a ton going on with a really busy work schedule, and our upcoming vacation.

I had an almost perfect starting position and a good (not great) start. I made it into the first corner with the top 10 guys and mananged to stick with this group for the rest of the race, working my way up to a finishing placement of 4th (out of 54 folks). The course as usual was different than the previous weeks. The organizers added in a couple of logs and even a stretch of pavement(!). Fun times.

This is my last STXC of the year and probably my last race until 'cross starts so I'll do a quick recap:

#1: 3rd place
#3: 18th place
#4: 6th place
#5: 4th place


As compared to last year...

#1 22nd
#2 10th
#4 8th
#5 8th


Whoah - in a good way. Same as last year 3 top 10s, but in reality the competition was harder this year and I placed higher in each of the races. My best 3 races this year placed higher than my best all around last year.

I am bummed to miss the final race, but I should be having fun regardless :).

Short Track #4

Totally late post, so I am not going to create a lengthy description....

Details:
New Course
SS category
# of Riders: 43 riders
Final placement: 6th place

Cool picture:
http://photos.oregonvelo.com/p/pdxstxc071408r2/pdxstxc07140815940

The guy that took 1st in the race also races for Twin Six. His first race in the series. Nice work Jeff!

I followed up with the Twin Six guys and apparently he is also a good cyclocrosser so I am sure we will see more of him this fall.

Doper's Suck

It just never ends, does it?

The Grand Tour was rocked again today when Riccardo Ricco was busted for doping. Word on the street is that he was caught using a new generation of EPO that apparently release over a long period of time.

I think my friend Bryan summarized it the best:
"Now Riccardo Riccò is out for suspected doping. Between him, Moisés Dueñas, Manuel Beltrán, Christophe Moreau mysteriously pulling out in stage seven, and more likely to come as the list of 20 riders with “abnormal” values get subjected to more scrutiny, it’s starting to feel like déjà vu all over again.

It’s gotten to the point where I’m a little reticent to pump my fist for any rider these days…as it feels like only a matter of time before they are caught doping."

No shit, brotha. Seems like groundhogs day all over again.

Tabor #6: Final Race

July 16,2007
Mt Tabor Park

Summer must truly be midway because the annual Wednesday Night Mt Tabor race series came to an end last week.

The final race was pretty typical of all previous races that I have reported on. I had a good start, I pulled the field much of the time, I was involved in a full on uphill sprint on the last lap, I crossed the line and felt like my heart was going to explode. Good times.

I ended up taking 4th place, but due to a technicality, the winner was DQ'd because he forgot his # or to sign in... So, I actually ended up in 3rd.

So for the series, out of 6 races my results looked like this:
5th
3rd
3rd
3rd

for a points total of 236 (or 4th place overall). Not bad I guess since this was 4 out of 6 races.

On a side note: Here's a shout out to Cylepath Racing Teamie John Browning for the 1-2 punch, winning both the Senior Men and the Men's master (40+) race serie(s). For those of you following at home, that is 2 separate races each night!

Short Track #3

Short Track #3
Portland International Raceway
July 7, 2008

Wow, that was hard. Dusty, sweaty, bumpy, hot and hard. I'm not sure yet how I did, but I know it wasn't particularly well.

I broke the 1st rule of Short Track (no, it is not not talking about Short track). I had a bad start. Not just a bad start, but a horrible start. I was out pre-riding the course and doing a bit of scouting when the rest of the field was lining up. When I finally dragged my sorry butt over to the start line it was already 3 deep. Nice.

Race started and based on my excellent starting position I new I had my work cut out for me. I went as aggressive as possible and muscled my way on up. Unfortunately, as soon as I was gaining ground I lost my chain on the top of a crest and spent what seemed like an eternity getting it back on...guess I should have checked that ahead of time...

By the time I had it back on, the majority of the field had passed me, thus I spent the rest of the race trying to make up time. I'll be lucky if I placed mid pack.

On the bright side, it was still fun, but a hard fun.

Update: Looks like I placed 18th out of 54. Not great, but not as bad as I thought under the circumstances.

Also, looks like my new nemisis at Tabor this year took first. Darn 19 year olds..

West on 5th

A good friend of mine who lives in Austin created this video. His wife is the star.

Anyway, it totally captures the essence and fun of riding a bike.

Tabor #5

Surveying the course. (New Kit)


My posts are starting to bump into each other... I wait until my next race until I am forced to report on the last. Not very exciting reporting to say the least....

Tabor #5 was much like Tabor #3 (I missed #4 due to my wonderful wife's birthday). I raced fixed as usual and the field was a bit smaller, but all the leaders were there so I knew I would need to race smart again by not making a break
when the leaders were going slower than I wanted to. I stuck with
them and did my share of pulling until the final lap when the
lead guys attacked. I hung on for dear life and took home the
bronze. Hey, at least I paid for my race fees!

Best Part of the race was my cheering section:

"Go Daddy, Go!"

Portland Short Track Racing #1

June 23, 2008
Portland International Raceway - infield
Single Speed

I knew it must finally be summer as I rode my mountain bike from downtown in the summer evening sun out to the race track. A beautiful evening with sun shining and the crowds of cyclists all around (roadies on the race track, mtn bikers on the infield). This is my 3rd season racing SS STX and I definitely have something to prove. Last year I did a couple top tens, but for the most part I had a pretty mediocre season. My first race in the series last year resulted in a crash.

If I've learned anything from 'cross, it's that a good crash is critical to a good finish. I took that to heart and got a good starting position on the right side and after the starting bell I took off and took the hole shot. Next thing I knew, I'm with the lead rider - Weaver - the series winner for the past 2 years. Although he was going fast, it didn't fell like I couldn't at least hang on, so I went for it.

A lap later I'm still sitting in 2nd when another guy comes screaming around me. I wasn't sure who it was so I returned the favor on the whoop dees and went around him. We did this a few times until he (ended up being Butler) put the hammer down and him and Weaver started pulling away.

I kept up my pace and ended up the race in 3rd place. My best result in a short track race in 3rd place our of 48 riders. (Big Group!)

Update: Video of Monday's race. All Categories including Kiddies


2008 Short Track Series - RACE 1 from Scott Barker on Vimeo.

On a more somber note, mid way through the race a fellow racer (30 yrs old) collapsed from a cardiac arrest. More info on this at BikePortland.org. Scary stuff, but as it turns out the first responders did all the right things and the fellow is going to be just fine.

Lucky Tabor #3

June 18th
Mt Tabor
Portland, Oregon

I missed the previous weeks race due to travel issues, thus I was fired up to race this week again. I noticed in the last weeks race that the same kid won the 1st and 2nd race so I planned my strategy... At all costs stick with Walton...

Anyway, the fixed gear category had ~23 starters. One of the larger of the fixed gear races I've been to.

Back to race - race started as normal - quick as all hell sprinting up the hill and around the first corner to the downhill. I was hanging with lead group of about 5-6 guys going down the hill. As opposed to race #1, I opted to not try for a lead out and instead held back and let the other guys do the work. This paid off by allowing me to save energy - while at the same time tiring the guys leading out. By the end of the 2nd lap I was sitting in 3rd place in a group of 4 guys.

Going into the final stretch of the 4th lap I made my move and pulled to the front. The other 3 guys had the same idea, and 2 of them pulled in front of me. The 3rd tried and I held him off until the end. Ended up taking 3rd and bringing home the bacon. (Cash payout for the top 3!)

I'm missing the race on the 25th (tonight), but I should be back for #5 next week. Let's go for the win!

PS - first race in the new kit. Hotness!

Tabor #2

Didn't race. I got back home from Texas (work related) an hour later than I had hoped and didn't make it back to my house until after 4. I still planned to make it until I walked in the door and found that my daughter was feeling under the weather. I opted instead to go to the playground with the boy.

Anyway, I hope the race went well. I am looking forward to seeing the results.

Until next week.

PS - Driving in Dallas is awful. The city is like a spiderweb of freeways with the city like a cocooned fly with all of it's blood sucked out.

Mt Tabor #1

The first in this summers series of 6 races occurred on June 4th 2008 at Mount Tabor. For those of you that have not read my past years race reports, Mt Tabor is a dormant volcano in SE Portland. Each summer there is a mid week race series. It's basically a crit with multiple laps that are either climbing up or going down. All in all a pretty hard race.

I raced in the fixed category. There was a pretty sizeable group of 19 riders. The group basically stayed together vs. there being any major breakaway by any riders. I felt strong and pulled the group for the first and final lap. Unfortunately, I dug a bit to deep and couldn't maintain my pace for the final climb to the finish. I ended up in the lead group taking a solid 5th. Not great as I have a goal of a top 3, but acceptable especially after racing just 3 days ago.

I finished the race and tasted lunch (blech) before doing a recovery ride home.

Until next week!

Falls City Firecracker Presented by Cyclepath

Sunday June 1 2008
Falls City Oregon
Single Speed

The promoters were serving pain by the cup and I was drinking it by the pitcher. This is a great mountain bike race and one of my favorite of the year. Half Fast Velo (another local team) puts on the race and Cyclepath is the primary sponsor. It takes place in Falls City at the Black Rock Freeride area.

I awoke in the AM to pouring rain and the sinking feeling that it was going to be an utter slopfest. As I loaded the car and headed to the pick up point for the carpool down I was really feeling a sense of dread about the weather. Thankfully, as we drove south, it dried out and by the time we were in Falls City it was perfect.

The race was billed as 80% single track which in my opinion was pretty accurate. The course itself was a multi-lap format where each lap was about 4.5 miles with 1400 feet of elevation gain per lap. Basically, each lap consisted of a prolonged uphill grind up single track and fireroad and then a bombing single track & fire road descent. The promoter of the race did incorporate some routes that had ladders and drops into the course which did add to the excitement. It also pushed my rigid single speed to it's limit.

The race start & finish was midway up the fire road climb which resulted in both the start and the finish being on a hill (nice...). At the starting gun, I took off from the very back of the pack. I spent the first part of the climb working through a mass of bodies and was towards the front by the time we hit the first single track section.

By the time I made it to the top and the beginning of the downhill there were about 4-6 guys ahead of me. I picked a couple of them off on the descent and all but one on the next climb/descent combo.

Ended up finishing the race in 2nd place. The 'other' guy was Nelson Snyder. A Cyclepath Teamie and my copilot on the drive down to the race. I can't say I am disappointed.

Cyclepath Racing Press Release

Cyclepath, the premier custom bike shop in Portland, is proud to announce the launch of Cyclepath Racing. Proprietors Bill Larson and Joshua Hutchens are excited to have a group of dedicated local riders racing together under the Cyclepath Racing banner. While the shop will continue its tradition of support for other OBRA teams and riders, the new squad will represent the shop directly at OBRA events and beyond. With a range of talents and focuses, the team will be competitive across a range of different races.

Cyclepath Racing is:

John Acevedo
John Bravard
John Browning
David Diviney
Gant Enderle
Grant Folske
Ian Leitheiser
Dan Porter
Aaron Sander
Nelson Snyder
Christian Tresser
Patrick Wilder

cyclepathracing.wordpress.com

cyclepathnw.com