www.usacycling.org -- New cyclo-cross categories

So, it looks like USA cycling has decided to reform their cross categories from the traditional A, B & C... This is going to wreak havoc on those of us that race cross as our primary discipline (or those of us that race fixed road (no cat), single speed mountain (again no cat), and geared cross... What's a boy to do?

The new breakdown looks something like this:
Cat 1 CX = Cat 1 road and pro MTB
Cat 2 CX = Cat 2 road and semi-pro MTB
Cat 3 CX = Cat 3 road and expert MTB
Cat 4 CX = Cat 4 or 5 road, and beginner or sport MTB

Which would put me as either a Cat 3 or 4... (I used to race expert mountain, but never made it past cat 4 on the road and now race the 'freak' categories.

More info: attached -

http://www.usacycling.org/news/user/story.php?id=2221: "change was made to acknowledge the tremendous growth and specialization in cyclo-cross, and the fact that road categories are often not indicative of CX ability. Given this possible discrepancy, if you feel that your USCF road or NORBA XC category did not translate "

Cross Crusade Schedule Posted

Yippee - Only 6 weeks till 'cross!
Time to whip out the knobbies & add running into my training routine!

The cross crusade schedule has been published:

October 1
Crusade Series Race 1
Alpenrose Dairy

October 15
Crusade Series Race 2
Hillsboro Stadium

October 22
Crusade Series Race 3
Horning's Hideout

October 29
Crusade Series Race 4
Flying M Ranch

November 5
Crusade Series Race 5
Barton Park

November 12
Crusade Series Race 6
Estacada Timber Park

November 19
USGP Finale at Hillsboro StadiumRacing for all but not a Cross Crusade Series Race
Hillsboro Stadium

November 19
USGP & Cross Crusade Awards Party

Airborne...

Portland Short Track #4

Portland International Raceway (PIR)
Motocross coursePortland, OR
July 31, 2006

airborne!

I didn't realize I was a jumper, but apparently I think I am based on this picture and this one.

I raced the 4th race in the Portland Short Track Series on Monday night. Due do vacation plans, this will be my final race in the series so this report will also act as a summary 'thus far'.

As usual, the Single Speed race started at 6:30. Again the course was modified. Again I had a relatively slow start and played 'catch up' for the rest of the race. Fortunately, I was pretty fast, unfortunately I got off track (how do you 'get off track' in a short track race???) and had to back track back into the switch backs and thus lost a few places.

End result, I took 9th place - pretty much the same place as the past 3 0f 4 weeks (last week I didn't finish due to a mechanical). I'm actually pretty excited about the top 10 finishes.

I'll be on vacation next Monday for the 5th race and the 6th race (series final), so my short track season is over. All in all it was a fun series. It was fun to be doing a mountain bike race after so many years and it was fun to race Single Speed - actually, I think for this particular series, gears would have been a disadvantage. I can almost guarantee that I'll do the series again next year, if for the only reason that it was a great primer for 'cross!

Series summary:
#1 - 9th
#2 - 8th
#3 - DNF
#4 - 9th

Mechanicals Suck

I was tired, sore, it was around 97 degrees and I was cranky. BUT

I raced a great fast race and was in 5th place and gaining until my chain fell off midway through the race. I put it back on, and it fell off again. I gave up after my 3rd attempt. My second DNF ever. Both related to mechanicals. I've always prided myself in finishing races and now I have another 'Did Not Finish". Pisses me off and bums me out at the same time.

On a side note, they had sprinklers going on the course today so i ended up looking like I had done a cross race. It was funny that I actually had to hose off & scrub my bike on a 97 degree evening.

Day by day

Monday
Rode to work, road to PIR, raced, rode home

Tuesday
Rode to work, did Fairmont loop at lunch, rode home
Landis in the Yellow

Wednesday
Rode to work, "rest day" (went to the gym), rode home
Landis total cracks...

Thursday
HOLY SH*T LANDIS...
Rode to work, did the lawyer ride at lunch and inspired by Landis pushed myself up both climbs. I was 2nd up 53rd/Thompson & 2nd up Greenleaf (to two different guys), rode home

Friday
Road to work via Mt Tabor, did a few laps and road in for morning meetings.

Saturday
Landis back in Yellow!
Rode mtn bikes in Scappoose with Megan

Sunday
Landis takes the Tour. The third American to ever win it.
Rode mtn bike (solo) out at Gales Creek
btw: it was like 101 degrees today...

I'm tired and sore. I wonder how the race will go tomorrow... Ugh.

Portland Mountain Bike Short Track Series #2

Portland International Raceway (PIR) / Motocross course
Portland, OR
July 17, 2006

pre race jitters

Monday night's Portland Short Track single speed race again started under sunny summer evening skies at 6:30. Unbeknownst to me, the course promotor mixes up the course each week so it had a totally different layout than what I expected. (Note to self: Get to venue early enough to preride at least one time...) This week's course consisted of more single track weaving in and out of a grove of trees and less on the moto cross course. I'm fine with the change, however I wished there were more places to pass in the trees as I was often bogged down by inexperienced riders slowly weaving between the tight trees. Most were good about letting you pass, however as you were waiting to do so you watched the race leaders increase their lead.

Coming around the corner onto the moto track

For whatever reason (most likely field size & logistics), the Single Speeders race at the same time as the sport women (vs the sport or expert men). Being that the bulk of the SS riders lapped most of the women's field 2x this resulted in repetitive problems in passing. You could basically win or lose the race based upon whether or not you got in front of a field of slower racers and your competitors did not.

Don't get me wrong, it was a fun night. I did 9 laps & placed 8th (one place better than last week), so at least I am consistent. I know now that my strategy has got to be to get out in front of the group at the start of the race vs. my current 'strategy' of starting slow, picking up speed and spending the race picking off slower riders during the course of the race. I'm one of those racers that take a few laps to get up to 'race speed', and unfortunately, with just 30 minutes of racing you need to be firing on all cylinders from the get go. All in all, I think that Short Track is going to be a great primer for cross this year.

Portland Mountain Bike Short Track Series #1

Monday July 10th, 2006
Portland International Raceway(PIR)
Motocross course

Personalized number plates. Nice Touch Portland Racing!

Mountain Bike Short Track: A mountain bike race similar to a criterium where riders do multiple laps on a short 3-5 min course.

PIR hosted the 1st in the PDX short track series on Monday night. Straying from the fixed gear road scene, but remaining with only one gear, I raced my first mountain bike race in years, and my first single speed race ever. The race series takes place at Portland International Raceway (PIR) on a track that consisted of the motocross track as well as some single track weaving through the trees in the infield of the racetrack. Coincidentally, the weekly PIR road bike race was happening on the main (paved) raceway at the same time, so there were cyclists & fans everywhere.

Single speeders line up

The single speed races started @ 6:30 under warm summer skies with the 25+ SS riders jockeying for position after the starting gun to get a lead up to the first big set of whoop dee doos.

The race weaved around the track and I tried to get a good position before a steep 'run up' (which was actually totally rideable as long as there was no one slower in your way). Because of poor position on my part and the people jamming onto the runup, I was forced to do a cross style dismount and carry. This happened for the next couple of laps until the crowd of riders were spreadout enough to allow me to ride the hill (which I was able to do the last 4 laps).

Out on the moto track

I slowly picked of riders and had fun doing the course - riding the whoopdees, jumping the berms, riding the log barriers they layout on the course and trying to catch as much air on the big bumps. It was fun and fast. Each lap took about 3 minutes to do and I managed to complete 9 of them in the 30 minute race to finish with the leaders in 9th place.

Airborne! Coming in to the finish gate

I'd obviously love to have had a better result, however I am still pretty thrilled to have gotten a top 10 - especially since it was my first SS race. I'll definately be trying to improve my placing next Monday!

Future Racers

July 10, 2006
Kid's Short Track Racing
Portland International Raceway


Monday evening the organizers of the PDX short track series put on a Kiddie race. Kendall & Simon both decided to try it out and had their first race (and (non)competitive event for that matter). I guess they had seen Daddy race enough times to get the bug. Granted, training wheels & dirt tracks don't work so well, so Daddy & Mommy did some assisting. Both were great sports and had a great time each 'winning' a bag of fruit snacks for their effort.

Lining up at the start

Mt Tabor Race Series - Race #5

July 5, 2006
Mt Tabor Park
Portland, OR

A quick recap of last nights race as the race played out pretty much the same as my previous 2 reports.

The Race started and a few guys took off up the hill for the initial lap. At the top of the hill, we took a hairpin corner to the right and down, down, down, we go - this time reaching speeds of 36MPH+ (again, really, really fast when your legs are spinning as fast as your wheels). The first lap had a prime/preem of a Surly Jethro Tool. I unfortunately missed out on it by a hair, but oh well, I already have one (Ironically, the guy that won the preem/prime (and ultimately the race) does not use track bolts on his bike.

After the first lap, David & Dan (not me) started putting distance on the pack. JV, Jackson & I took the bait and tried to chase them down while leaving the rest of the field in our dust. We got closer, but alas, they were the stronger riders on Wednesday night. With them 'out of the picture' so to speak, the race became a battle for 3rd place (3rd place has a cash payout as well as 1st & 2nd). I'd lead up the hill, Jackson would pull in front of me on the downhill (he's heavier & running a bigger gear), I'd draft behind him and JV would draft behind me. On the straightaway prior to the start of the next climb, I'd pass and start my sprint to the top. This went on for 3 lapsÂ… Unfortunately, JV passed me on the final lap prior to the hill. I took off after him and started to close the distance.Unfortunatelyy, the old afterburners ran out of gas and I was not able to maintain the power up the second half of the hill. JV took 3rd & I cruised in a few bike lengths behind him at 4th place.

It looks like this will be may be my last Tabor race of the series due to family constraints next week (the final one is next Wednesday), so out of the 5 races (so far), I've done 3 with the respectable finishes of 6th place, 2nd place (!) and last nights 4th place.

Mt bike short track racing is up next, so stay tuned!

-Sprocket

My family, the poster children of bike fun...

A friend of ours sent us this link:

http://www.providence.org/oregon/events/bridge_pedal/events.htm

We had no idea that this picture was even taken at last year's Bridge Pedal. I wonder if I should ask for free entry into this year's event. Only bummer is that you can't see Simon as he is on the seat behind Megan. You can kind of make out his red helmet behind my arm though...

Mt Tabor Series - Race #3

Going into the final lap

It was a beautiful Wednesday evening for racing at Portland's Mt Tabor. The format of the race and description is listed in my previous post (Fixed Gear, 4 laps, up and down the mountain). To spice my post up a bit, I wrote a little Haiku to try to describe what the race was all about...

Race Tabor Fixed

Mash up, spin down, can't shift

or breathe

The race itself went great. I tried out a new gear combination (42 x15 vs. 42 x17 from 2 weeks ago). I was a bit nervous about the bigger gear, but it paid off. The bigger gear was definately harder on the climbs, but allowed me to sail down the downhills with out nearly as much 'out of control' spinning. At one point I noted my speed on the computer at 36MPH (which is a pretty fast rate on a fixed gear). In addition, I have been working on my form a bit and decended in my drops (I am more comfortable on the hoods). This made me a bit more aero and seemed to give me more control and speed.

Going into the second lap

Anyway, the combo worked. I placed 2nd in the race tonight, a full 4 places better than I did last time. I lead or was in the lead for most of the race on both the climbs and the descents.

The guy that beat me was a fellow that consistently beat me last year (He didn't race 2 weeks ago). Fortunately, he only beat me by about 2 bike lengths. Last year he beat me by half a lap...

Oh - Top 3 fixed finishers win cash (so for second place, I brought home a bit of money!) Always appreciated!

The best part of Racing at Tabor is that the course goes right by a playground:

My kids - Future bike racers

of waterfalls

I topped a wonderful weekend (riding bikes with the family to the Grand Floral Parade, celebrating our 8th wedding anniversary) by going on a nice solo ride at Siouxson Creek. The kids were at my inlaws house until the afternoon, so I took advantage of the free afternoon by heading out of town. It was an 80+ degree day, so doing a ride along side a creek was a great idea.

Siouxson Creek is a great ride that is relatively close to town (actually it's over an hour away, but I *thought* it was closer). It's one of those perfect trails that has a little bit of everything - buffed out singletrack, rocky technical areas, a good climb and descent. Plus most of the trail parallels Siouxson Creek and a multitude of waterfalls.

I arrived at the trailhead and got my gear together. I chatted with 3 guys that were also starting out. They were starting at the parking area while my plan was to ride back up the hill for 3 miles to take advantage of the 3 mile down hill prior to starting the 'real trail'.

I raced up the hill and after about 15 -20 minutes of fast climbing I was at the start of the downhill.

The start of the trail

I personally like starting a ride with a climb as it warms up my legs and body prior to hitting the technical stuff. Anyway, I raced down the trail hitting the buffed out corners and jumping as many things as possible. Loving the way the Titus performed. A few minutes later I connected to the main trail and passed a couple of other riders as I continued to zig & zag along the trail.

One of the great things about this trail is how scenic it is. I'm trying to make a point of taking more pictures when I ride - usually I just hammer from point A to B. This trail has so many beautiful waterfalls that you just have to stop.

Waterfall #1

Waterfall #2

Yet another waterfall...

It's almost boring how many falls there are on this trail. Almost

There were quite a few riders out today. Alot of girls out on the trail which was good to see. I think there must have been an organized 'women's ride' of some sorts. Also lots of hikers. Some were friendly, some were cranky. Oh well. I tried to be courteous with 'hellos' and 'thank yous'. Little do most of the hikers know that PUMP actually maintains this trail. I be willing to bet most hikers have never done an ounce of maintenance. Oh well.

I did catch up with the 3 guys from the parking area resting which is funny because they had about a 6 mile headstart on me.

Prerequisite bike picture. Isn't she pretty?

I ended the ride and loaded up the car before heading back into town, but not before trying out my 'dirtworker' which allowed me to get my bike all clean again prior go loading it onto the rack. I'll have a full review of this cool new piece of 'must have' equiptment soon.

Pain is weakness leaving the body...

The 2006 Mt. Tabor series began with an exciting start as the fixed gear field kicked the competition off. The Mt. Tabor race series is a Portland institution that goes back over 50 years. It is one of the best and most popular weekly series in the state. It consists of a 1.3 mile technical, hilly, rollercoaster like loop around the upper reservoir of Mt. Tabor Park in SE Portland.

USGS map of Mt. Tabor Park

This park is actually an extinct volcanic cinder cone, a small mountain in the city. Miles of trails and roadways wind through the tall trees and well-maintained landscape. The top of the park (where I proposed to my wife btw) rewards the biker/hiker/etc with breathtaking views of downtown and the West Hills from one side, Mount Hood and the outer Eastside from the other.

I left work at 5:15 and rode the 5 miles from downtown Portland to Mt Tabor arriving at around 5:45 (traffic). The ride there makes a good warmup for the race as most of the way there is uphill.

The course starts & finishes on a straight away that is mid way up the uphill portion of the course.

Just after the start of the race: The pact riding up the first hill

With a bang the fixed gear riders were off. A contingent of about 5-6 riders (including myself) sprinted off the front to get the first climb out of the way before hitting the long downhill with speeds of about 34MPH (really fast on a fixie). At the bottom of the hill the course takes a sharp right hand turn and the riders are 'treated' to about a 1/4 mile straight away that cruises between 2 of the reservoirs before starting the climb back up to the completion of the first lap. At this point I was hanging on to the lead group at about 6th place. The front 2 riders did a breakway and were not seen from again. The next 3 riders followed suite. I tried to hang on and bridge the gap as much as I could. I managed to close the gap in the 3rd lap. Unfortunately my 42 x 17 gearing wasn't enough to keep up on the downhill and straight away and I could not maintain my speed. I ended the 4th & final lap in the 6th place I had maintained the whole race. Not as spectacular as the 2nd and 3rd place finishes last season, however I'm not particularly upset as the field was larger and alot more competitive.

Trying to close the gap

As always, the race was a hoot, but hard as hell (I can't wait until the next 0ne). Unfortunately, I'll be missing next week, but fired up and ready to roll the following.

The start of the final lap... all alone on the climb

Giving Back

I did my first bit of trail maintenance for the year this past Saturday (June 3rd - National Trails Day). I'd have rather been riding, but once in awhile you need to "give back".

The work was done out at Hagg lake. I helped a team of 15+ PUMP/mtb volunteers put in a combined total of 75 hours of trail time cutting new trail to a new bridge that was being constructed by a kid working on his Eagle Scout badge/certification/whatever (he was also a rider). Basically, we constructed 90 feet of trail. moved two dozen ferns and primed the old trail for quick closure and restoration. In addition, a Kona rep was on hand to let folks demo bikes (including their new road bikes which are hydroformed and pretty sweet). I won a cool t-shirt in the raffle for my efforts. I wish I could have stuck around after for a ride around the lake, but since I brought the family and the kidlets were getting antsy, I felt it best to head on home.

On a side note, Tabor starts tomorrow…

Peace.

It's a sad day

My Kelly, Sans Knobbies

I just found out that Chris Kelly of Kelly Bikes is shutting his doors and closing down production of his so fine high quality steel bikes. I for one am riding a Kelly Knobby X. This is a sweet steel bike that has treated me really really well both on and off road. I don't know why they are closing shop, but whatever the reason, it bums me out.

Giting er done

Swan Island Criterium
Portland, OR
May 21, 2006

The Swan Island Criterium took place in the Swan Island industrial park. The road is flat and in good condition. Two wide right hand turns and a sweeping arc returns racers to the start/finish. It was a full day of racing with a full list of road categories- including the fixed gear group which was a motley crew of 25 plus racers that included roadies, trackies, messengers and those of us freaks that just prefer it fixed. What's the cliche?: "If it's not fixed, it's broken."

Overcast skies met racers and spectators at the Swan Island Criterium on Sunday May 21, 2006. The clouds broke occasionally for some hot Oregon (is that an oxymoron?) spring sunshine. For the most part it could not have been better race weather.

I raced the fixed gear category with a 42 x 15 gear ratio (I rode out to the course with a 42 x 17 and smartly flipped it 20 minutes before the start (thanks to my fixed/fixed flip flop hub).

The race was a 30 minute + a lap affair that started at 12:30 pm. The first and only crash of the race took place 50 feet after the start. Thankfully I made it through unscathed. The rest of the race was fast (21 -28 mph... fast for fixed gear) and smooth. My first race of the season jitters eased off after a lap or two.

Coming around the corner in the pack

There was a breakaway by a single rider after the first couple of laps. He rode about 1/8 lap up from the front group for the next 4 or 5 laps as the guys in the front group seamingly refused to exert any extra energy to work together to catch him. I took off the front to chase him down mid way through lap 7 and closed the gap only to have the group come around me for the first prime. I did manage to keep my momentum going and I hung on to the tail of the lead group to rest. I took my turn at the front a few more times through out the afternoon up until the last 2 laps which turned into a full sprint to the finish with the 'lazy' (or maybe 'smart?) guys from the back of the lead group coming around the leaders.

Leading the pack for a lap or two

I was able to mostly hang on to the lead riders and ended up in 7th place. I cracked the top 10, so I am happy with myself for my first race of the season. Especially since this is on of my first flat fast crits. I did have a bit of a photo finish with a guy that tried to pass me on the line. I beat him by less than a wheel length.

Just past the start/finish line. Note the bozo that tried to pass me...

Post race shot. Note the pain

This was a really well organized raced. We are blessed here in Oregon for our bike friendliness and our wonderful bike promoters as well as the overarching race organization - OBRA.
BTW: The best part of the race was probably having my own cheering section - My wife, daughter and son were there to cheer me on each lap. There is nothing else like it.

Photo credits: Megan Porter

Riding in the Rain

Yes, that is a bone(!) up in the tree.








It was 94 and Sunny on Monday, 85 on Tuesday, 84 on Wednesday, 85 on Thursday and 60 degees and raining on Friday... Unfortunately, Friday was the day I decided to take off work a few hours early to hit the twisty turny trails out in Scappoose with my friend Bryan. It was his first time out there, so I had a good time showing him the trails.

Scappoose is a sweet trail system that was originally built (and still maintained by) an older Scappoose local who got permission from the land owners (Longview Fibre) to build. Full on grassroots mountain bike advocacy at its roots. The trails have gotten quite a bit more popular since I first rode there a few years ago... Now others have started building - teeter toters, ladders, skinnies, drops, gap jumps, etc... It's a fun time and I enjoyed showing the various stunts to Bryan though I am to chicken to ride a big percentage of them. Maybe later in the summer.

Anyway, long story short, we agreed to meet at the trail head at on Friday afternoon earlier in the week when the weather was nice. It started raining HARD around noon and didn't stop. Thankfully the trails clear water pretty well and the deep tree cover does a fairly good job of protection from the elements. I meant to take pics, but the rain (and the fun) kept me from taking many.

For those of you doubters out there, I do get my new bike dirty:

Not 1, not 2, but 12 bikers...

Just had to make a quick post... Not sure if it is the beautiful weather we are having or if it is the +$3/gallon gas, but we are starting to see "biker congestion" at the stop lights here in Portland... On my way into work today coming off of the broadway bridge I counted 12 (including me) guys and girls of all shapes sizes and styles riding. This doesn't include the stop lights ahead of us or the ones behind us which had even more. Crazy - I think that at the light more bikes were lined up than cars... Go BTA!..

peace

Part 2: "Politicians: You can't live with em, you can't live without em"

BikePortland.org � Blog Archive � Blumenauer on the Colbert Report

Seriously - How cool is it to have one of your congressman be such a bike advocate. God I do love Portland!

I was just riding along...

My wife and I went on a good fun ride with some friends of ours yesterday. I forgot my camera so no pics to post. Anyway Bill & I both rode single speed while Megan & Sam road their geared bikes. I haven't rode SS or hardtail for awhile as I usually only ride SS on the street (running errands, pulling my daughter on the trail-a-bike, commuting to work, etc.). However the SS is really a great equalizer for my wife and I so it makes the outing more fun + Bill was riding his.

Luckily I remembered to switch tires the night before - I've been running Maxxis Hookworks on the bike and they would not be particularly appropriate for a mid spring ride here in Oregon.

Funny thing I have to mention. This is first time I have ever ridden with Bill - He is the owner of my favorite shop (Cyclepath)and he & Joshua always treat me really well. (I'll be wearing their shop colors this year if Joshua (are you reading this?) finishes the design...

Well anyway, a few months back when trying to get the Cyclepath guys to go on a ride I joked with them about how I only wanted them to ride because then I would have a ridalong mechanic. Hahaha. (I was totally joking). Anyway at the trailhead on Sunday, I referred to the comment and Bill joked back with me. Funny thing is, before we even got on the actual trail, Megan was having trouble with her shifters (maybe she should go SS?)and Bill went ahead and got her going. About a 1/2 mile into the trail my brake started rubbing and boom - Bill disassembles my brake and readjusts my pads.

I'm really pretty competient when it comes to bike maintenance. I just find it funny that Bill totally did what I was joking about (and what I never expected him to.)

Oh, starting to get freaked out about the start of the Tabor series... I guess that is a good thing... Been riding up there once a week already - I probably need to ramp it up...

ride on
-Sprocket