"We're last!" shouted JustinT, as he went by. I glanced behind me - sure enough, there wasn't a rider in sight. What he really meant was "You're last!" - not a great start to the Falls City Firecracker race, a race where I usually do pretty well. Two years ago won my first race here in Sport, and last year got onto the podium in Expert class.
Today just wasn't feeling motivated - had been on the fence about coming to this race the whole previous week. It's a 3.5 hour drive, meaning a full day's commitment, and I had a shitload of backlogged chores and other stuff I've been trying to do and can't find the time for. So thought I'd just skip it. But then I already paid the entry fee - OK I'll go. But if it's just the $, then driving down there will probably cost me $50 - OK skip it. Then there was the weather forecast - not good, with rain expected the day before and day of. And when they say rain on the Coast, it usually means it will be pissing down, not the sporadic showers you get around Bend. So yeah, that seems like a good reason to not go. But wait, maybe then a lot of people won't go, so if I show up I'll have a better chance of podium'ing. So on it went... somehow I found myself in my car driving over there Sunday morning, looking for any reason to turn back. Hit snow in the pass, then rain on the other side. Stopped for a leak, and the tempation to U-turn almost overcame me, but then I figured what the hell I'm 3/4 of the way there. How about I just keep going, and if the overall experience sucks, then I won't do it again.
So as the race started in a light rain, I was totally unmovitated to be there, and didn't give a crap about being last. But went up the initial long climb as best I could, and soon was passing people. Ten minutes in, all self-absorbed crybaby talk was gone, and I was determined to do well. There was a new downhill section this year, with plenty of loose slippery sections, and crashes were plentiful. I took good advantage of these, and was having a pretty good time. Starting the 2nd lap of 5, I heard someone yell 'Go Romasco!', the name of someone who had beaten me by a bike length a couple of races ago. Man, if I beat anybody today, it has to be that guy ! So now had another reason not to slack off. One pesty orange jersey had been shadowing me for a few laps, and on the climb on lap #4 he made his move and passed me. This did not bother me at all, and I stayed close on his tail. On lap#5 climb, he seemed to wilt, and I returned the favour. Now just have to rail the descent and hold him off on the last climb. Yep OK, and I finish up with absolutely no cramping - probaby because it was 84F last year, and only 48F this year. Grab the last podium spot, and was in the top half of the young punks 19-39 Expert class. So ended up being worth it after all.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Chainbreaker
Race.
Last year a dust storm, but got a bit of rain day before this year, so was great conditions.
The usual tough Bend crowd.
I managed to squeak into the top half finishers in my class.
2 laps for us. Last year 3, but too many finishers came in over 3.5 hours in Expert 40+, so there were complaints, so they reduced us to 2 this year. But there were lots of complaints over that ! I checked times from last year - just as many slower finishers in the Expert 19-39 as Expert 40+, so no excuse. I didn't care - not the most exciting course, so 2 laps enough. First lap I was 30s faster than last year, and 2nd over 2m faster, but didn't have to conserve for last lap, so probably about the same. Finishing in around 2 hours almost seemed like a sprint.
Video : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0I_OSk_sQ6o
Last year a dust storm, but got a bit of rain day before this year, so was great conditions.
The usual tough Bend crowd.
I managed to squeak into the top half finishers in my class.
2 laps for us. Last year 3, but too many finishers came in over 3.5 hours in Expert 40+, so there were complaints, so they reduced us to 2 this year. But there were lots of complaints over that ! I checked times from last year - just as many slower finishers in the Expert 19-39 as Expert 40+, so no excuse. I didn't care - not the most exciting course, so 2 laps enough. First lap I was 30s faster than last year, and 2nd over 2m faster, but didn't have to conserve for last lap, so probably about the same. Finishing in around 2 hours almost seemed like a sprint.
Video : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0I_OSk_sQ6o
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Ashland Spring Thaw
Once again, the race that many people have negative comments about, but then show up in droves for. This year it was the designated "State Championship Race", so you get extra points, and bragging points - this helped drive the record attendance. Last year in my report, I pooh-pooh'd those who said the race is won or lost on the extended flat fire-road middle section, which you're on for 40-45 minutes. This is after a gruelling 3000 ft climb. This year they ran the course in reverse direction, so the climbing grade was a little easier. The bonus was the awesome 3000 ft descent on rolling switch-backing singletrack - the same course used for the downhill race (which you could probably win on a hard-tail btw). Anyways, I now officially eat my words about the flat section, as I was a victim of the 'all-alone' factor. More on that later.
Due to the gas price crisis, I was forced to be sociable and share a ride down to the race. Hooked up with TimJ, another WebCyclery rider, who had a Google map of a new shortcut to Ashland, and an address of a floor of somebody's house to stay in. We didn't read the map until too late, and missed the first half of the shortcut, but found the other half, descending down this crazy steep switchbacking road into Ashland, which might be fun to ride up on a bike...or not. Found the house easily - a 1 bedroom microplot - and saw the living room had been staked out already by several sleeping bags and piles of gear. So we're not the only ones crashing here... Yep, 5 in total - but hey, more convenient than a campsite.
The rest of the crew returns, and everybody is involved in getting ready for the next day - wolfing down carb-meals, tinkering on equipment, etc. Some are stretching, munching on granola. I crack open a beer and get dirty looks - "What, you're drinking beer the night before the race?". Oh shit, now I'll get kicked off the team for drinking and showing up at the race all hungover. That Marc, no he's not serious - he's making us look bad - tear up his contract. Maybe he can join the Guinness team.
I grab a sleeping area outside the kitchen where the washer and dryer would be, and try to get to sleep - difficult due to the bedspins from that one beer.
The first of is up at 5:30 am, and we get to the race early enough to grab some of the few all-day parking spots. I do my warmup, and am feeling rather crappy - not unexpected, as have spent 3 of the last 5 days between races doing hard intervals. So cut short the warmup. The race starts promptly at 9am, and spend the next 45 minutes or so chugging up fire roads and single track. Am feeling not too bad, and passing more than I am passed. Arrive at the top with another rider, and start pairing up for the long flat traverse. Another rider catches up, and the 3 of us move along for a few minutes. Then the pace is upped, and I"m having trouble hanging off the back. Feeling like it's a bit fast for me, I let them go, and decide to wait for the next paceline to come by. Well guess what, 40 minutes go by and not a single group has come up from behind. I'm getting quite shagged, and finally, a few minutes before the downhill starts, a couple guys go by - they are actually in my class, and people I normally finish well in front of. I latch onto the back, and amazed how it seems with only 50% of my previous effort, I can float along behind them. The singletrack starts - one lets me by, and follow the other guy for a while. He's slowing me down, but not by much. We get onto the final road for the finish, and he's puts down the hammer and goes for it. I draft behind, and I swear I barely have to pedal to keep up. I decide I'll tag along for the ride, and then just before the finish, kick down and scoot by hime. But I've actually never tried that before - I start my sprint a bit late, and am gaining on him, but not quick enough for the finish line, which appears sooner than I expect. I end up placing 8th out of 12. So yeah I should have killed myself trying to stay in the paceline with those guys at the top - looks like I would have finished around 5th - 5 minutes faster. Oh well, next time.
The ride home is again a bit adventurous, as try to find the mysterious missing link in the short cut. But with the gas guage reading low, and heading down a dirt road that seems to be going nowhere, we turn around and take the sure way out.
Due to the gas price crisis, I was forced to be sociable and share a ride down to the race. Hooked up with TimJ, another WebCyclery rider, who had a Google map of a new shortcut to Ashland, and an address of a floor of somebody's house to stay in. We didn't read the map until too late, and missed the first half of the shortcut, but found the other half, descending down this crazy steep switchbacking road into Ashland, which might be fun to ride up on a bike...or not. Found the house easily - a 1 bedroom microplot - and saw the living room had been staked out already by several sleeping bags and piles of gear. So we're not the only ones crashing here... Yep, 5 in total - but hey, more convenient than a campsite.
The rest of the crew returns, and everybody is involved in getting ready for the next day - wolfing down carb-meals, tinkering on equipment, etc. Some are stretching, munching on granola. I crack open a beer and get dirty looks - "What, you're drinking beer the night before the race?". Oh shit, now I'll get kicked off the team for drinking and showing up at the race all hungover. That Marc, no he's not serious - he's making us look bad - tear up his contract. Maybe he can join the Guinness team.
I grab a sleeping area outside the kitchen where the washer and dryer would be, and try to get to sleep - difficult due to the bedspins from that one beer.
The first of is up at 5:30 am, and we get to the race early enough to grab some of the few all-day parking spots. I do my warmup, and am feeling rather crappy - not unexpected, as have spent 3 of the last 5 days between races doing hard intervals. So cut short the warmup. The race starts promptly at 9am, and spend the next 45 minutes or so chugging up fire roads and single track. Am feeling not too bad, and passing more than I am passed. Arrive at the top with another rider, and start pairing up for the long flat traverse. Another rider catches up, and the 3 of us move along for a few minutes. Then the pace is upped, and I"m having trouble hanging off the back. Feeling like it's a bit fast for me, I let them go, and decide to wait for the next paceline to come by. Well guess what, 40 minutes go by and not a single group has come up from behind. I'm getting quite shagged, and finally, a few minutes before the downhill starts, a couple guys go by - they are actually in my class, and people I normally finish well in front of. I latch onto the back, and amazed how it seems with only 50% of my previous effort, I can float along behind them. The singletrack starts - one lets me by, and follow the other guy for a while. He's slowing me down, but not by much. We get onto the final road for the finish, and he's puts down the hammer and goes for it. I draft behind, and I swear I barely have to pedal to keep up. I decide I'll tag along for the ride, and then just before the finish, kick down and scoot by hime. But I've actually never tried that before - I start my sprint a bit late, and am gaining on him, but not quick enough for the finish line, which appears sooner than I expect. I end up placing 8th out of 12. So yeah I should have killed myself trying to stay in the paceline with those guys at the top - looks like I would have finished around 5th - 5 minutes faster. Oh well, next time.
The ride home is again a bit adventurous, as try to find the mysterious missing link in the short cut. But with the gas guage reading low, and heading down a dirt road that seems to be going nowhere, we turn around and take the sure way out.
Friday, May 04, 2007
Bear Springs Race
Race#2 of the season for me. This time I started a little fresher, as had been resting the last couple of days as opposed to doing intervals. This race was a blast last year - lots of technical sections, some good downhills and a few ramps.
I arrived about 45 min before the race start - not in a big hurry, as last year everybody showed up late, and the start got delayed by an hour as everyone had to file their paperwork. But this time I was one of the last to arrive, good except for the fact that I bottomed out the van in one of that last available crappy parking spots. A quick warmup, and all ready to go on time at 11 am. Here's the play-by-play from my perspective :
The relatively large group of Pros and Experts take off. As usual, I have strategically placed myself near the back of the pack. We blast down the tarmac for a minute, then it's off to the right up a steep unclimbable dirt road - everybody off their bikes and running raggedly up the rutted incline - stupid start, much chaos. A stretch of wide dirt track for a while, where passing is possible. I finally pass a few poeople after 20 minutes or so, and right after I drop my chain on a downshift before a dirt road climb, and all those I passed and more get by me ! I don't seem to have much wind, and notice I am riding alongside people who usually finish near the back. Catch up to ChrisS - we had a great neck-and-neck race last year, maybe more of the same this year ? I get by him and then later a few more, then time for some downhill. Someone's right behind me... hey it's ChrisS - alright the race is on !
Notice at the 1:15 hour mark I'm starting to get tired - not going to be a big day it would seem. Hit a bit of a climb though, and I'm chugging along nicely. The trails are great, and I allow myself to forget I'm racing for a bit and just have fun. Now approaching the 2 hour mark, which based on last years time, means about another hour or so to go. But is the race longer or something, because there's some points of reference which I haven't seen yet - so yeah either I'm slower (not impossible), or the race is longer. A group of 3 surge past me on the road. I decide to try hanging on to their wheels just for fun - see how long I can last - but I end up staying with them for a while. A little bit later they are hanging onto my wheel, and later yet I've dropped them. Thanks guys. I guess I didn't know I could go faster. Now getting into the last half hour of the race. Lots of techy stuff that wears you out, but I'm feeling great (as opposed to last week's race, where I was in 'survival mode' for the last 1/4 of the race). Passing a few more people here and there. Now hit the rooty slick riverside trail - the bike and me are rolling this stuff great (29'er advantage). Then the steep climb out of the ravine - lowest gear grunting and several dismounts up steep switch-backs. Up to the last, steepest climb, and feeling pretty wasted, am about to dismount, when up ahead I see someone still on their bike, almost reaching the top. Inspiration, and I try it and make it as well - hey it was a girl - the top pro female.
Inside 10 minutes to go and I push hard. Pass several casualties - poeple collapsed on the side of the trail cramped up, some just leaning on trees still on their bikes. Onto the road for the final stretch to - and no one behind me, so don't have to sprint too hard. I get 4th out of 17 - one of my best results ever - quite the reverse from last week, which was probably my worst. And I learned a valuable lesson - go faster !
I arrived about 45 min before the race start - not in a big hurry, as last year everybody showed up late, and the start got delayed by an hour as everyone had to file their paperwork. But this time I was one of the last to arrive, good except for the fact that I bottomed out the van in one of that last available crappy parking spots. A quick warmup, and all ready to go on time at 11 am. Here's the play-by-play from my perspective :
The relatively large group of Pros and Experts take off. As usual, I have strategically placed myself near the back of the pack. We blast down the tarmac for a minute, then it's off to the right up a steep unclimbable dirt road - everybody off their bikes and running raggedly up the rutted incline - stupid start, much chaos. A stretch of wide dirt track for a while, where passing is possible. I finally pass a few poeople after 20 minutes or so, and right after I drop my chain on a downshift before a dirt road climb, and all those I passed and more get by me ! I don't seem to have much wind, and notice I am riding alongside people who usually finish near the back. Catch up to ChrisS - we had a great neck-and-neck race last year, maybe more of the same this year ? I get by him and then later a few more, then time for some downhill. Someone's right behind me... hey it's ChrisS - alright the race is on !
Notice at the 1:15 hour mark I'm starting to get tired - not going to be a big day it would seem. Hit a bit of a climb though, and I'm chugging along nicely. The trails are great, and I allow myself to forget I'm racing for a bit and just have fun. Now approaching the 2 hour mark, which based on last years time, means about another hour or so to go. But is the race longer or something, because there's some points of reference which I haven't seen yet - so yeah either I'm slower (not impossible), or the race is longer. A group of 3 surge past me on the road. I decide to try hanging on to their wheels just for fun - see how long I can last - but I end up staying with them for a while. A little bit later they are hanging onto my wheel, and later yet I've dropped them. Thanks guys. I guess I didn't know I could go faster. Now getting into the last half hour of the race. Lots of techy stuff that wears you out, but I'm feeling great (as opposed to last week's race, where I was in 'survival mode' for the last 1/4 of the race). Passing a few more people here and there. Now hit the rooty slick riverside trail - the bike and me are rolling this stuff great (29'er advantage). Then the steep climb out of the ravine - lowest gear grunting and several dismounts up steep switch-backs. Up to the last, steepest climb, and feeling pretty wasted, am about to dismount, when up ahead I see someone still on their bike, almost reaching the top. Inspiration, and I try it and make it as well - hey it was a girl - the top pro female.
Inside 10 minutes to go and I push hard. Pass several casualties - poeple collapsed on the side of the trail cramped up, some just leaning on trees still on their bikes. Onto the road for the final stretch to - and no one behind me, so don't have to sprint too hard. I get 4th out of 17 - one of my best results ever - quite the reverse from last week, which was probably my worst. And I learned a valuable lesson - go faster !
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