Race Report - Rainier

Hey all, HV newbie here! My race report can be read on my blog.

Can't wait until I can remember everyone's name so I can yell at you while racing :)

Kandra's Alpenrose Race Report

Can be found here.

Good racing, folks! Although I am disappointed that Dave didn't crash Ryan Trebon out of the SS race. Dude, you gotta use that starting position to get your 15 minutes of fame!

Survival of the Fittest: Race Report from Our Newest Clydesdale Racer

Posting this most entertaining race report for Jamie Fitzgerald, a recent addition to our pinstriped family. We'll soon get him as comfortable on dirt as he is on the track.

----

Here goes……... Rode the Clyde category with Bryan. Lotteried into mid-field at the start line just ahead of Bryan. The first mile or so scared the living daylights out of me. All the mad bastards resentful at being banished to the rear of the field vented their frustration by attacking on the start of the long downhill alongside the velodrome. This was expected but the intensity of it took me by surprise. It was about this time that I was overtaken by Bryan - that was the last I saw of him…..

The pre-race ride of the course paid off with the uneventful navigation of the dreaded RH turn at the bottom of the hill. I accelerated up the hill passing a few riders moving backwards - so far…..so good….. Picked up a few more down the long run alongside the car park and again past the tents. The tail end of the C’s were being caught about now which made for some traffic. Shouldered the bike all textbook-like for the run-up. Sped ‘round the velodrome apron - home turf for me. Although, riding the wrong way ‘round the velodrome felt very naughty. Alas, my time in the velodrome comfort zone ended far too quickly and it was time to get dirty again. The rest of the lap was uneventful as were the next two. Passed quite a few riders but most of them seemed to be the slower C’s - I didn‘t seem to be moving up through the Clyde field. Where were they? - had I taken a wrong turn somewhere and joined a unrelated race? Then, as I was considering this possibility some more…..the chain jumped off mid-sprint for no apparent reason in the straightaway before the switchback steps. This threw off my (until now) flawless (!) on-off technique and I arrived at steps with the wrong foot still in the pedals and little room to correct. Managed not to fall over and ascended the steps without incident. However, not before a few riders passed by - curses!

Then it was the bell lap - I was engaged in mortal combat with a Showers Pass rider - I would pass on the straights with a blinding burst of speed and he would tuck in behind and get me on the corners in the grass. I overtook him on the run-up and was first into the velodrome. All was going well until the final barrier when the front wheel caught the barrier flicking it back. One of the arms of the cantilevered brakes wedged under the downtube and the wheel was locked in place almost turned around. This was not obvious at first and precious secmins (seconds that feel like minutes) were spent puzzling over this disturbing juxtaposition of wheel and frame. Aha …..through the fog of oxygen deprivation I spotted the problem. The wheel was wrenched back into place with unreasonable force and, following the remount, it was a sprint to the line. This last minute mechanical left me a bit deflated. Oh, and the front tire was also 80% deflated - not sure when it occurred but probably pretty late in the race.

Final placing 14^th. Looks like about 6 places were lost with the mechanical at the end since the Showers Pass guy finished 8^th. Oh, well - I guess that’s how it goes. Overall, I was pretty happy with how it all went. The support was great from the sidelines. Lookin’ forward to next week……………..

Cross Crusade #1 -Alpenrose Dairy Master B's Race Report or 'Master B'n at the Dairy'

It's business time. Read up here
The Cross Crusade kicks off at Alpenrose Dairy with almost 1400 participants including 125 others in the master b's!

The Dairy giveth, the Dairy taketh away.

Blind Date at the Dairy Race report, or 'Why I Miss Crit Racing'.

short and sweet.

Starcrossed 2009

My race report is up on my blog. Anna and I killed the Cat 3/4 women's race, but the highlight of the day was German dominating the first barrier by crashing into it full speed during the singlespeed race. And by dominate, I mean that barrier was at a 45 degree angle for the rest of the race.

Hope your thumb heals up quick, Dave!!!

Decent into Madness

Cross is in the air...you can feel it. Aside from some conversations about Eugene on the team ride, its all about cyclocross. The road season is over, and while I'm both happy and sad about that, the prospect of riding in the rain, mud and sleet of cross season fills me with dread....and joy. That's whats weird about cross. We did intervals last week, the standard weekly suffer fest...the session was all cross focused. It felt like cyclocross- sprint hard, timetrial, sprint hard, rest short, repeat, repeat, repeat..until barf. Why is that fun? Add miserable weather, mud, muddy grass, and lots of water, then it becomes fun? I'm still not sure how this all works out on the balance sheet of fun to suffer. Because when I look at it on its face, it looks to be about 80 percent suffer, 20 percent fun. Not usually a recipe for "a good time." But so it is. Try and explain it to a friend who doesn't do it. You'll see (but if you do cross and road, you probably don't have any friends who don't).

I spent three hours working on my cross bike yesterday, my hands still hurt. I converted to tubeless- we'll see how that goes. I need to do some testing. But getting those damn tires on after sealing the rim was a pain in the arse. Worst part is that I still have plenty to do. Deraileur hanger is bent, chain is too short, head tube is too long, and my breaks sorta suck. But other than that, good to go.

So is there any wisdom to this, about this, from this adventure into madness? I'm not sure. Is it the pointless, slipping, sliding, silliness held in juxtaposition to the road season that makes it important? I try to stay loose during the road season, not take it too seriously, even though I invest a fair amount of energy, effort and suffering in getting better at it- but its still a pressure cooker in some way- lots of frowning determination during the road season. Whereas cross there is far less long mile rumination and expectation built in- at least for me. Short hard efforts, lots of factors beyond one's control, the simply fact that its a silly sport, all contribute to the carnival. Mix in some beer and its shirt-up, pants-down stupid. I hope it stays that way.