Bier en modder

I’d been daydreaming, fantasizing probably, of a strong showing from November on out.  My plan was to start a gradual ramp-up of both speed and results until nationals in mid-December.  The first step was Saturday – OBRA Championships – down in Salem.

Starting last Thursday, it starting raining at a pretty solid clip.  Combined with a flat course, I guessed it would be a grind-it-out type of day.  I woke up early, after a lousy night’s sleep, to head down to work registration for the race.  I was tired, had a mediocre breakfast, and just kind of felt ‘blah’.

The morning started off cold, sunny (!?), and windy.  Race reports came back that the course was long with a few nasty headwinds but otherwise ok.  Oh how they lied.

Owen at OBRA CX

First, Owen did the Junior race.  I can’t tell you how proud I am that he finished 2 laps of that.  Amazing.  Among the 10-12 year old boys, he ended up 9th out of 10.  But for someone who is a month shy of 9 years old riding a 27 pound bike…I don’t know.  Over the barriers, through the mud, through the sand pit and motocross course.  Through those conditions, it takes a lot to finish it out and stay happy doing it.  I need to get him a real CX bike this winter.

My race was the last race of the day.  The sunny skies gave way to dark clouds and then opened up and collectively shat rain all over the course.  It was my intention to start out hard and hang with that top third of the pack.  Some solid riders came down for the race so I knew it would be a pretty fast, all-out race.

Off the start, the pack sorted itself out pretty quickly.  It didn’t take long to get into the mud.  Bikes were bouncing all over the place as the mud had a strong say in what direction you headed in.  Some of the time, it was best to just hold on and try to coax it into the right direction.

Bob Jacobs and I at OBRA CX

By midway though the 1st lap, a group of 6 or 8 representing the middle third of the race was together.  Ok.  Winning this little grupetto would be good.  So I buckled down and got to work.

A few of us took turns at the lead of this group over the next couple laps.  I found myself up front in the rough, windy, and slick back stretch.  Then, heading out of the mud and on pavement to the sand pit, I was suddenly last.

…and then 2 seconds off.  I’d gain it back only to lose it again about 200m later.

Lap 4…5 seconds off.  Lap 5…10 seconds off.

When you’re in a pack, someone is always driving the pace.  And if you’re not, you can try and sit in, take a break from the wind and ‘rest’.  Once you’re on your own though…you have to work for everything yourself.  It wears you down fast, which is why is critical to stay in a group.

Off the back, riding solo

It can get so frustrating.  There they are.  Right there.  30 yards away and I.  Cant.  Get.  Them.

So I spend the last lap or 2 churning away by myself.  I didn’t technically get lapped by Barry Wicks but he was close enough to finishing that I was pulled 1 lap short.  It was a mercy pull but a pull nonetheless.  I’m guessing I could have argued it and asked to keep going but I doubt it would have made a difference in the standings.  Ugh.

So after a forgettable race, Barton park is this coming weekend.  It’s the Cross Crusade finals.  I love Barton park, as I typically do well there.  THis year?  Who knows.

Both the GOP and the Yankees won over the past couple days meaning, despite civilizations best efforts, evil still prevails from time to time. Will we ever learn? Probably not.
Off-day today. Had a great ride up through the zoo yesterday with Chris and one of his co-workers. I love nice fall rides. I don’t love 5 minute intervals. Arguably the most uncomfortable duration I know of. Necessary but uncomfortable. So today is an easy day with the commute in and some light weights and core work during lunch.
Gluing the recently-rolled Grifos. Nothing like waiting until the last minute. Doesn’t really matter as I planned on going with the Racing Ralphs this Saturday anyway. It’d be nice, so nice, if I could get through a race without a mechanical. Yes, I’m talking about you Mr. Rear Wheel.
The rain is set to roll in later today. The few races I’ve done have been dry, dusty and bumpy. I’m ready for some mud.

“It’s been a while…and it’ll be a while”
So much for a late September update. So in a nutshell – trained a ton. Had a great result at Rainier (14th) and mediocre mechanicals at Heiser and Battle Creek (f-ing rear tires).
Registered for Nationals in Bend. Got my USGP license, applied for an upgrade, and got generously bumped up to Cat 1 (what?). Maybe it was a pity upgrade.
Regardless, I’m tentatively in 29th for start order. Nice.
Still building up to a peak for USGP and Nationals with OBRA CX Championships this weekend and Cross Crusade finals (at my favorite – Barton) next weekend. It’s all good.

Went out for 4×12x5 intervals yesterday along River Road.  At the end of the 1st, the Power Tap pooped out.  Couldn’t get a read from the hub.  After numerous f-bombs, I finished the workout and headed into work, finally realizing that I can’t really feel my toes.

Nearly broke Google looking for a solution and finally picked up some batteries for the hub unit.  I’d read somewhere that the cold temps really suck the life out of the batteries.  They should normally work on above 32F.  And Saris says about 300hr is average for battery life.  I’d just replaced everything in August but I have been riding a consistent 10-12 hours a week since.

Tried it out on the way home when it was warmer and it worked fine.  Got the batteries just in case so I’ll keep an eye on it.  With the weather gradually turning crappier and my broken trainer hopefully on it’s way back to me, this shouldn’t be too much of an issue.

Back from a week trip to Disney World.  After a week off the bike walking around the parks for about 6+ hours a day eating absolute crap for food, I’m not feeling so healthy.  Ugh.

It reminds me of a) how absolutely disgusting strip drive food (chilisgoldencorralromanosmacaronigrillpizzeriaunoolivegarden) can be.  Stupendously amazing.

And b) how good our food and tap water is here in Portland.  One of the first things I did after getting off the plane at PDX was to take a 5 minute drink at the water fountain.  So good.  Shortly after I had a garden salad.  It’s time to get the mail back on schedule.

The trip itself was good.  My family is good.  Disney was good.  Actually, it was better than good.  There isn’t anything else in the world like Disney.  And most importantly the kids had a real good time.  Owen and Ingrid are now officially roller coaster fans.  I love it.  Kudos all around.

The trip also was kind of a symbolic end of the summer.  We came back to temps in the low 80’s/upper 70’s.  Overcast.  The garden is slowly starting to fade.  Apples on the tree are about ready.  Pumpkins are mostly orange.  Plus school starts for the kids next week.  And, oh yes, cross training starts up full.

I’ve already registered for USGP (Sunday only).  I’ve got my training plan (in pencil) set up for the fall and lists of stuff to take care of before the season starts in full: tune-ups, wheels to be laced and glued, new cables and bar tape, bearings to be inspected and greased.  Exciting.  I like the occasional night in the garage with the music on and a beer while I work on one little item or another.  It’s fun.

Anyway, that’s where we’re at for now.  I don’t anticipate anything terribly interesting until late September when the training really picks up.

Man, it’s been a while. I think Facebook is killing the blog.  We’ll see how this fall plays out though.  There’s plenty of well-written race reports and witty commentators to go around…and sarcasm never goes out of style.

The summer season ended fantastically (is that a word?).  I did my first TOE 50, finishing well…for me at least…in just over 5 hours, despite the ridiculously painful cramps during hour 3.  Things looked good until then with a 2:20 split but the legs unraveled during that second long climb of the loop.  Maybe next year but probably not if it’s Father’s Day.

Remarkably, I didn’t get hurt.  I think I need to start adding this to my response when people ask me how I do.  “I came in 15th and best of all, I didn’t injure or seriously maim myself!”.

In a virtual 180° change of racing styles, short track started the next day.  I skipped the first one but did the rest.  The first short track is just…just…rude.  That’s all.  35 minutes of intense racing.  The first two from this year I finished and thought “Good God, what just happened?”.  It’s way shorter than PIR.  Shorter than a crit.  A bit longer than Tabor but without the rest on the downhill.  Shorter than a cross race but way, way bumpier and ’sprintier’ (another made up word).  Oh yes, plus the dust.

My goal for STXC was just to finish the summer season strong.  Race hard.  Stay positive.  Improve bike handling skills and racing technique.  Most of all, enjoy racing again.  Stuff I can take and build on the the fall cross season.

By all accounts, I’d say it was a success.  I started slow for the first 3 races and really turned it on for the last 3.  I thoroughly enjoyed racing the Anthem, really making an effort to push it, which, on a side note, is an incredibly fast xc bike.  Really.

So STXC ended with me feeling very motivated for this coming season, probably more so than when I won the B35+ a couple years back.  I have a season of A35+ behind me so I know what to look forward to.  I know I’m heading into this season with a far, far stronger base than last year.  The importance of that can’t be understated given the rate and depth which I unraveled at the end of last year.

So no races for a while.  I’ve got Disney World next week (“Hey, I’ve got a great idea…lets go to Florida during the hottest and most humid time of year for a family vacation!!!  Did I mention it’s hurricaine season?”).  I took a rest week after ST and reset training back to endurance/tempo base work to give myself a little break.  I’ll start slowly ramping up once I get back from the House of Mouse.  There’s a long way to go until Nationals in December.

Tabor a couple nights ago.  Thought I’d get one last hard ride in before TOE 50 this Sunday.  Seemed to fit in well with a moderate taper-down.  I’m trying not to underestimate TOE so I’d rather be too rested and lose a little time than too tired and blow up halfway through.  From what I can tell, there’s an ass-load of climbing to be done.

Anyway…back to Tabor.

It’s a quick ride from home over there.  So I headed out, got there & signed in, and then took off to continue warming up.  This race is probably the exact opposite of PIR – it starts fast and furious up the hill and usually stays intense throughout the 8 laps.  There’s no 1 or 2 laps to get your legs going.  Getting to the start fully warmed up is important if you don’t want to get dropped off the back.

I skipped dinner with the family before heading over so I was a little hungry.  I made things infinitely worse by riding near Flying Pie on Washington St.  For the next hour, all I could think of was bacon pizza.

Got to the start and lined up with a few laps to go in the Masters race.  Seemed like the 4’s had a smaller field this year.  I can’t say how fantastic it is that the 4’s and 5’s are split into 2 races.

The first couple laps were pretty good.  I took off up the hill on lap 2.  I don’t know why.  There wasn’t a preme.  I just felt like it.  It didn’t cook me but it took a few laps of sitting in to get my legs back.  Once that happened, things started getting ugly.

In the lower categories, I think Tabor is pretty ruthless in exposing and exploiting ability and fitness.  There tends to be yo-yoing of riders from the front of the pack to the back during the climb and descent.  I’ve alwads found it important, and safer, to stay up sort of near the front.

Heading up the hill by the speed bump on Lap 6, I saw a space between a couple riders and took it.  The one on my left, probably near the seam between the pavement and the gutter, moved over into me.  Once he made contact, he leaned in and pushed me out of the way HARD.  I then bumped the rider to my right.  Nothign got out of hand.  A couple WTFs! but no one went down.  The rider to my right who I bumped into checked in with me once we got to the top.  No harm, no foul.  It’s all good.

Now for the last lap, it’s even more important to be somewhere up near the front.  If you’re not in the top 10-12 or so when the bell lap goes off, forget it.  The pack moves pretty fast from that point on and it’s tough to move up.  Maybe on the downhill but I don’t think that’s a strategy you want to count on.

I was up there but boxed in about 2 deep in every direction, which is not a good thing.  Heading down and around the reservoir things got squirrley again with another bump and run.  It’s been a fast race and it’s getting tense.  As we went by the gate and up the hill, all hell broke loose.

There’s always a few riders who take off way too early, pop halfway up the hill, and slow to half speed trying to hold on.  Then there’s people who got caught 20 spots back trying to aggressively weave their way up through the pack.  No one’s checking their shoulder for space.  It’s a flippin’ free for all.

If you’re smart and patient, you *can* find a few seams there as the pack opens up a bit.  Winning is out of the question but you can get a respectable finish out of it.  The dangerous part is that, in my opinion, those people who took off way too early do not seem like experienced riders.  Yes, we’re 4’s but I think a majority of the pack knows how far out to start an attack.  So as the pack starts to swallow them up, a few of the people moving up pass pretty close on the left (for example).  A knee-jerk reaction is to swerve a little out of the way…into the rider that is passing them hard on the right.

I got caught in one of these.  More bumping.  More swerving.  Elbows getting thrown.  I think at one point I had to put the brakes on so it was here that I checked my right shoulder, got out of the way, and shut it down.  I don’t need to get hurt over this, especially sprinting for 15th.

That’s Tabor for you.  Pretty intense night, more so than I remember from year’s past.  I wonder if it’s just that the 4’s and 5’s are split up.  I don’t know.

So TOE 50 this weekend.  I’ll finish prepping the bike tonight and pack up for an early Sunday drive down.  I’m hoping for a 5 to 5:15 time.  I’ve put some great workouts in over the past couple months so I’m optimistic.

Monday PIR last night.  I don’t do many road races anymore.  There’s a number of reasons I guess but it generally boils down to I just like off-road a little more.   I think it’s the challenge of seeing what I can do by myself.  My results are largely dependent on my fitness and ability to ride the terrain, unlike road which does require fitness but frequently takes team tactics, and a small amount of luck.  So late last year, I decided to upgrade one of my bikes and it was a no-brainer to go with a new MTB.

One of the other primary reasons I shy away from road is that I dislike road crashes.  You’re usually going fast.  The ground is ridiculously hard and unforgiving.  And it seems like there’s better than even odds that it won’t even be your fault.

It’s interesting though to see the perspective on crashes in the two (or three) disciplines: MTB, cross, and road.  In the first two, it almost seems like an accepted part of the sport.  It’s tough to push the envelope in uneven and unstable terrain without going down.  It’s almost a given.  Yes, you can get hurt.  Stitches, contusions, rashes, sprains, broken bones, whatever.  But we take our lumps and come back for more.

Without question, road is different.  I hate going down.  I hate seeing anyone go down.  I don’t even like hearing about it because odds are it ended badly.

So 11 laps into a 14 lap race, I found myself in the front after making a very poor choice to not attack on the tail end of a few other unsuccessful ones by other riders.  I surged up to the front with the energy but lost confidence at the last second.  With a ’shit or get off the pot’ choice, I busted out the Sunday crossword puzzle and stayed put.  We/I rounded corner 11 where we started getting waved down.  It looked like 3 or 4 women were down right outside of the corner.

With 3 laps to go, we neutralled for the lap.  By the look of it, I wasn’t optimistic they’d be up any time soon, but at best we’d have a 2 lap sprint to the finish.  Coming around the same spot again, we heard the ambulance in the distance and knew we were done for the night.  One woman from Ironclad, Kristin, was still down.

Rolling back in to the pit, one guy in our field seemed a little bitchy that we couldn’t keep racing.  I don’t know, maybe I’m reading too much into it.  Then again, maybe not.  I was a little tired and, admittedly, a little frustrated at the race being cut short.  But I also found myself slightly angry that someone got hurt doing something that is supposed to be fun.  So hearing some dickhole complain about not getting his 13 bucks worth didn’t help.

Relatively quietly, all of us got our shit and went home.

Ironclad has an update here.  Good luck to her and her family.  I hope she recovers soon.

Heading out for a lunch ride to take out some frustration on my bike.  It’s overcast and about 65 out.  I’m no weatherman but it doesn’t look like 79 and mostly sunny like the forecast said.

I dislike power testing.  Yeah, the best power data you can get is from a race but sometimes the timing and schedule doesn’t always work out that way.  So yesterday’s ride, and one later today, is for a quick test.

Yesterday was the 5 and 20 min intervals.  For me, the 5 minute one is the suckiest one of all.  Right around the 2 minute mark it feels like you’re Hammy on a Red Bull in Over the Hedge – time slows down to a crawl while you suffer away.  Ugh.

I tried something different yesterday by taping over the power portion of the head unit, leaving just the speed and time visible.  I’ve had this feeling that seeing the power value, especially during the longer tests, could prejudice you one way or the other in your effort.

For example, heading out with a preconcieved notion that since your last test was at x watts, then after a month or two of hard work of course you should be at least at x + 15, or whatever.  But if you get this realtime feedback during the test that you’re not quite there…then what? These flippin’ tests are hard enough without getting a proverbial sucker-punch to the gut that you haven’t improved.

So yesterday, with the power value blanked out, the test seemed a little different.  Instead of checking in at a number, it felt easier just to ask myself – ‘is this the hardest I can ride for the next x minutes’ and then adjust effort based on that.

Anyway, the tests I did yesterday showed a solid improvement in the 5 min and a return to the 20 min effort I was in at the peak of last season.  Seeing as I’m barely getting into the rough stuff, it’s all good.

Whats next…PIR next Monday.  TOE 50, hopefully as part of a 35+ team, at the end of the month.  Then short track.

Mid-May update here.  I swear I thought things would have gotten easier after taxes…but they didn’t.  It’s more work than anything else.  It’s really sucking my will to live here.  But I’d be a fool to say that out loud.  It’s a job.  A good job.  And a secure one at that too.  So I’ll just shut my piehole, be thankful for what I’ve got, and move on.

My knee is 95% healed up by now.  Knee?  What knee?  An ugly crash at Bear Springs caused my knee to get ripped open by the top of the front fork hydraulic cylinder.  Somewhere in the neighborhood of 8-12 internal stitches.  Plus another 11 to close it up.  Like I said, ugly.

BTW, is it a crash if you never fall off the bike?  Something strange happened.  I think the bottom of my right crank arm hit a stump or rock at the perfectly angle to stop me dead cold.  Ok, not me but my bike.  I kept going into the front of the bike, sacrificing my right knee against the fork instead of my bits and pieces against the stem.  I managed to hold on long enough to stop the bike by my own power.  So is it a Crash?  Incident?  Implosion?  I still don’t know how to describe it.  Whatever it was, it sucked.

Anyway, enough has been written about the snow at Bear Springs that I don’t need to pigpile on the topic any more.  I finished right at the top of the bell curve (11th out of 23/24)…as usual.  The new Giant Anthem X2 is as dreamy as I could want.  I’d only make 2 modifications:

1 – I wrapped 1 course of cork handlebar tape around the grips to make them bigger.  My hands cramped up during Hornings because the grips were too small.  The extra layer of tape is a little cushier and much bigger.  Bueno.

2 – I have a longer set of 180mm XT cranks on order.  Yes, the 5 mm makes a difference.

There were other substantial effects from the crash.  I’m just going to say that Rachel wasn’t all that amused.  I’m also only add that I need to rethink my MTB riding style.  I can’t keep getting banged up like this.  Sore?  Yes.  Exhausted?  Certainly.  But physically injured?  Um, not so much.

Moving on.  The crash caused me to move a rest week up a week.  Other than that, things are moving along right on schedule for short-track PIR.  I feel really good so far.

Looks like Tabor is in limbo, which I’m kind of ok with.  I like Tabor but don’t love it.  I feel like you need to train in a very specific way to be consistent at Tabor.

No road races yet.  I think about Monday PIR but haven’t gotten my shit together.  Perhaps next week.  The rest of my (older) teammates have been doing the 40+ races with decent numbers and organization.  At 39, I’ve got a year to go.  Honestly, I’m looking forward to it.

Not sure about the rest of the MTB season yet either.  I’d like to get out to Bend fo Picketts Charge, but I haven’t brought that up with Rach yet.  Same with Test of Endurance.

That’s all for bike-related things right now.  Hopefully I’ll have  PIR report early next week.