I’m feeling some pride and humility these days.  After going on a bit of a tear through the early Cat 3 races, Gant confirmed by winning the Cat 3 GC at Cherry Blossom.  He got huge help from Nelson (somebody scan him – he might be a robot) and Bryan J and capped off a fantastic start to his season.

If that weren’t enough to make me feel humble, John Browning took the GC honors for the 40+ field, and Ryan Carlson was super tough on the final day to jump up to 22nd on GC in the Pro/1/2.

Put it together with Aaron’s early season run – winning BB 1 and the overall and taking a strong fourth at Piece of Cake – and it feels like enough good bike racing times for a season, and it’s only April. 

Some of us not stage racing this past weekend enjoyed a shockingly awesome course at Horning’s Hideout, which is sort of like a hippy time warp at the bottom of a misty, spooky glade in the woods.  Love that place.  The revamped course was sweet.  Dan Porter pretty much crushed the SS field, David Diviney put his new baby fitness to the test, and I sucked it up – honorably enough, I thought – to slightly exceed my goal of ‘last or better’ in my category.  Joshua and Hillary came out and broke stuff on their bikes, allowing them to start sampling the free beer early.  Smart, those two.  I was pretty wrecked trying to help Greta during the post-big kids’ race little kids’ Easter egg hunt/bike practice, and I didn’t even drink, but that’s my real reason for going out there anyway. 

I’d be remiss by not giving a nod to Aaron, who showed up to Horning’s on an off weekend (for him) to enter and complete his first ever MTB race.  Now that Aaron’s raced the MTB and Bill Larson has raced on the road (nice job, Bill), my season’s true goals have been met and it’s nothing but fun for me from here on out.  Peace!

Defining moments

http://www.veloreview.com/obra3/2009/03/cyclepath.html/

Cyclepath Racing.  Too busy riding for socializing or moralizing.

Aaron wins BB1!

That was about as much fun as local road racing gets.

Without dragging out a dreary play-by-play, this gem came from JB and deserves a retelling: as the break hit 1km from the finish, JB noticed the two best sprinters of the six escapees watching each other.  He knew then it was game over, probably even before Aaron saw his chance and took his shot a second later.  Great riding by all six of those guys.    

A lovely day, grit and all, for everyone.  The Cat 3 guys rode well.  The still slightly gimpy Gant gave it a go in the finale, doing his best Kim Kirchen in the rain thing.

 Let’s do it again.  The riding part, anyway.  Winning is gravy.

Although there’s been bike racing the last two weeks, Banana Belt One always feels like the real Oregon season opener.  For some, it seems to be the race they love to hate: we’ve all heard variations of the same nit-picking about Christmas stars, when the “real” season starts, and so on.  Still, the trip out to Hagg Lake the first Sunday in March has become reflexive for many of us, whatever kinds of bike riding we focus on and whenever we’d like to race bikes well.  It’s a standing date for the annual class reunion, but one that most actually want to attend. 

With that in mind, a few of our riders joined the other early birds for some more warming up last weekend.  My goal was simply to get to a race and get that painful, it’s-been-a-while discomfort out of the way sooner rather than later.  Sublimity did the trick, and was awesome both for the course and for the good-natured vibe in the small-ish 1/2 field.  There was a lot of love and respect out there when we weren’t getting slapped around by a parcours that was tougher than people anticipated.  Aaron and Ryan rode well, netting 6th and 7th place finishes.  I ran out of juice near the end and dragged myself in a bit behind the real action but otherwise felt fine for the first race of 2009.  

Aaron, Dan Porter and Bryan Jorgensen did that weird thing the next day where you get all scrunched up and try to ride fast on a flat windy road; Aaron stopped the clock in 8th, although I think the winner was on a recumbent or a scooter or something. 

Further east, Nelson Snyder completed what I think was his first race since knee surgery at the Echo Red to Red.  Unfortunately for me, the last time I saw Nelson was on New Year’s Day, when he spent several hours on his mountain bike following a bunch of us on fendered road bikes through what was one of the most grim, sustained downpours in a long time.  I recall him saying it was more or less his first time back on the bike since surgery, so I’d say last Sunday showed he’s been coming along nicely.

See everyone Sunday.

Fruit season

Cherries and Bananas. New old danger man Ryan Carlson returned to bike racing after several years away (much like that other big racer guy, come to think of it) with a 7th at the Cherry Pie.  Like that other big racer guy, Ryan has graciously agreed to ride without drawing a salary. Ryan’s a good bloke, and he’ll make friends in the group fast. Welcome, Ryan.

Road race reporting is fraught with subjectivity and prone to misinterpretation even when you’re in the race, so about all I can say about last week is that Ryan placed well, Aaron “Sidler” Sander rode aggressively, and the boys started off 2009 in good shape. Have any of you 1/2 guys ever noticed that Sander is often not really there until he needs to be there? Sort of invisible, until BAM, he’s in a little move? That’s the Sidler. He sidles. Low profile.

Our other new rider, Bryan Jorgensen, raced at Cherry Pie in his first outing for the team. Bryan’s another experienced guy who can’t seem to break the bike racing chains. Sound familiar to anyone? We’re glad to have Bryan aboard.

Meanwhile, Folske added his eerie talent to a four-rider squad at the 24 Hours of Old Pueblo, helping them to fourth in their division. When praised for his efforts, he demurred, asserting that the Kona boys must have been drinking to let his team within a lap of their pro-ness. Kidding aside, the guy is fast. If he decided to really race bikes and drop the running, swimming, and bean counting, we’d all be taking more frequent beatings.

Otherwise, the shop is humming, Patrick is using satellites and sophisticated technology to manage a manhunt for Portland’s Most Wanted Scumbag Bike Thief (BOUNTY!), the wounded are recovering from their respective knee surgeries (Nelson, Bravard, and Gant) and we’re all ready to start turning the pedals in sweet, holy anger again.

Stay safe and enjoy another season’s beginning.

Dog days

Nevertheless, a lot has been happening. After racing the Creampuff, Nelson is on The Continent racing TransAlp. Gant and Grant (I love typing that) rode a super consistent race for the entire BC Bike Race and did themselves proud.

For those with less time on their hands, Portland STXC is keeping Julie, Brynje, David, Dan and Patrick busy. The latter two have been helping bring some little grommets along by holding a junior clinic, and it looks like David wrapped up the Expert 40+ series.

Christian continues to rack up PIR points like there’s no tomorrow. If it’s flat, fast, and hard, he’s your man.

Browning and I decided to race Cascade on a lark. Despite the somewhat last minute decision, we did a credible job of faking it in the 35+ field despite each being on the downslope of some previously decent form. John was 9th on GC and I was 10th.  Aaron Sander also had a very good GC effort.

John, of course, took the Tabor series title the week preceding Cascade. My series result was more a reflection of showing up to race every week than actually riding fast. Sometimes showing up is half the battle, eh?

More to come soon. The mornings have been a bit chilly lately. What does that mean to you?

Kevin Thompson is a farking genius

Why? Because he proclaimed that, after finishing second in the master race tonight, John would assuredly flip-flop what’s become his Wednesday night 1-2 routine by winning the big boy race.

Kevin was right. John finally got the win after a string of close calls. Aaron rode really well, and even though my strength seems to have left my body with the steady stream of green snot I’ve been expelling for several days, I tried to make it hard a few times and covered here and there before just hanging on to the end. John handled it by his own badass self tonight. Tuckerman handed out post-race margaritas. It was lovely.

Tresser gets the shout out for a fourth in the master race, and Dan got a strong third in the fixed category.  Well done lads.

Not to be outdone, Catherine and Ann accomplished their goals of hanging on longer in their respective races than the previous week. A good night.

Finally, although I’m green with envy (and snot), big warm hugs to Gant and Grant while they’re in the midst of the BC Bike Race. What I wouldn’t give…go boys!

Win and out

Bravo celebrated winning the 40+ race at Tabor last week by going out and breaking his collarbone on the mountain bike this weekend. Odds are very good John will be rested, fresh, and ready to break legs come October.

It’s the season of low-impact, easy-to-get-to racing. Gant finished a fine fourth at Tabor last week in the Cat 3s, and Dan Porter and Nelson Snyder pushed OFS at last night’s STXC to good finishes. The ladies of Cyclepath Racing are emerging too, with Julie, Brynje and Catherine all racing Monday night. Team co-DS Joshua Hutchens showed up to prove shop owners really can ride, and ride well.

David Diviney finished 3rd in the Expert 40+ at Pickett’s Charge and rode well at the next day’s STXC. Gant and Grant are about ready to graduate from Cyclepath Racing’s triathlete rehabilitation program by starting the BC Bike Race later this week.

On the road side, Aaron Sander and Patrick Wilder soldiered through Elkhorn for admirable GC efforts in the pro/1/2 and 3 fields, respectively. Finally, John Browning is sitting pretty atop the Tabor series standings.

It’s the BBA. Ask John.

Word is apparently getting around

Hardware

The super-domestique rushes to take the 2008 OBRA Road Race Vice-Champion’s steed.

“Some tall skinny guy beat me, but I waxed everyone else.”