Mt Hood 2013

Welp, the supposedly final Mt Hood Cycling Classic is over. Also, it's getting increasingly easier to find pictures of myself racing now that I'm in the Pro-1-2 field.

As mentioned before I was on the fence about whether or not to do this race, but once I learned that it will be the last ever and with the consistent urging of my coach I gave in and signed up.  I'm glad I did.

Columbia Hills

Drove out there and was not really expecting the race to start like it did which was going from the gun.  We were going at full steam the entire first lap.  I was getting cramps because I hadn't warmed up at all.  I was just trying to hang on.  A few times up the hill I'd fall back to some chase groups and then fight with the others against the wind to catch up again.  By the downhills I'd be in the pack again.

There always seemed to be some kind of break up the road with some kind of Cal Giant contingent although not necessarily initiated by Cal Giant.  And then Hagens did us all a favor by making sure all those breaks didn't stay too far up the road.  That was def the toughest road race I had done so far this year.  I placed 51st in the main group (out of 111 starters) which was all I was hoping for.  In fact I was very excited when I finally saw the break continue to the finish on our 5th lap from the chase group because I was out of food and water.

Scenic Gorge Time Trial

It was a bit harder to figure out how fast I ought to go this year because unlike last year there was much less wind so the times would be faster.  I was going to shoot for sub-50, but hoping for around 45.  I think I coulda gone up Rowena just a little harder and also rode the final trail section with a little more intensity.  I only got passed by one person who ended up getting somewhere in the top 10 (Adrien from Garmin-Chipotle) so that was fine with me.  I ended up with 46:04 which again was good enough for 51st place (out of 105 starters).

Hood River Crit

In this race I knew that my goal was to hang out with the lead group for the long 75 minute crit.  I tried with very poor skill to get a good starting point by being ready to get on the course immediately after the women were done, but so was every single other rider and at the start line instead of corner 1 where I was.  So I went around and did a lap and lined up at the back.  Crap.

Well, the crit went well for me and I managed to move up to about halfway up the field after 10 minutes or so.  Then I managed to cut between two riders who had crashed on the corkscrew and quickly catch back up to the lead group.  Shortly thereafter I was at the back of the field and knew my fate was sealed for a pack finish.  The pace was fairly hot the duration of the race and I really couldn't tell you much about what was going on at the front except that I heard Steve Fisher's name being called out a bunch and I may have caught a glimpse of Cal Giant at the front a few times.

The last few laps the pace kicked up a notch, but I was able to hang on all the way to the same time finish, so I was very happy.  That's only the second time I've not been pulled from a crit this year and it was also in the toughest field I've rode with yet so that's great for me.  I ended up 60th (out of 101 starters).

Three Four Summits

I don't have many pictures for this one since I knew I was definitely going to get dropped on one of these climbs.  Sure enough, on the first climb I was just so slightly off the back and was going to count on my descending skills to catch up, but was getting passed on the descents.  I was able to catch back on shortly after the descent was over, but figured this was probably it.  Next time we hit the steeps all I remember is seeing a blur of Cal Giant red charging up the hill and that was that.  I descended down with two other people and we all climbed the next one together.  At the top I was feeling good and rode off on my own.  Eventually one of the other riders (another Evan) caught up to me and dropped me on the descent.  Then it was up the final hill and I was hoping I wasn't too far behind that I'd get the time cut.

I got passed by the masters field shortly after I got a beer from the Illegal Feed Zone (might be the last time I can get a beer from them at this race, so I figured I'd celebrate).  When I got to the turn-off to the ski area I saw all the contenders Cal Giant riders coming back down so I figured I wasn't massively far behind.  At the end I wasn't far back at all and actually was only 29:45 back (lol, not many races where you can be happy with that result).  My final result was 53rd on the day out of 93 starters and 66 total racers that crossed the finish line for a GC finish of 49th place.  Not bad.








And after that race I was super tired for numerous days.  Hopefully this family vacation will give me time to rest a bit without losing fitness.

And back to racing

Or should I say, back to HSP dominating to Oregon racing scene?

Well, I don't really have much to say except that I think I should try sprinting more often since it is kind of important. Over at PIR I got in a break and then went all out for a hot spot and only Beardsley and Trevor Spahr were able in the mood to hold onto my wheel so I got a point at PIR which is always an accomplishment for me. When the sprint came I wasn't going to get top 10 so I didn't really sprint, but then Christian Tresser, Eddie and Byron all flew by me and ending up getting like 3 or 5 points. I think I could've sprinted for maybe 3 points based on my position, so next time I ought to do that.

Over at Rainier there was a lot of waiting around once all of us figured out where the corners were since the organizers thought it would be a more challenging race if the flaggers didn't point in the direction we should go or even be at their corner to stop traffic the first lap. Also, poor Sam Schartz managed to get in a breakaway that nobody else noticed that then took a 2 minute long wrong turn. So anyways after that, breaks weren't sticking left and right so it was a field sprint where HSP could very well have gotten the entire podium if it weren't for them having just a two person squad. I was trying to get onto Klipper's wheel, but when that wasn't going to pan out I tried my luck elsewhere and ended up 10th which is satisfactory enough for me.

Next up is Mt. Hood which I am now happy that I signed up for since the other two competing Oregon races were cancelled. Klipper says my goal is to hang on and I would concur. Then I'm not doing Baker City, but instead visiting family. Then I'm doing the High Desert Omnium Road Race and maybe also the St Honore Crit, sucks that they're scheduled the same weekend. And then the whole damn Northwest has a scheduling problem of doing the following 4 awesome races during the same July 12-13 weekend: Montinore (actually not that important, but it is Oregon Cup), Redmond Derby Days, Boise Twilight and BC Superweek (well they at least put Gastown on the 10th, so I guess that's ok). I may need to rent a Zipjet for that weekend.

Finally some rest

Finally some rest!  Sheesh, that was 4 weekends of racing in a row.  Time for a recap.

Mutual of Enumclaw

Logistics

Rented a zipcar and headed up Friday night.  Was hosted by the Barta's!  I knew Rian back from my Tacoma Bike days and he graciously let me crash in his guest bedroom in Puyallup.  His wife cooked up some delicious rice and chicken for dinner and the kids behaved very well.  Thanks again Barta family!

I also got to see the other lone Guinness Cycling Team rider that ever does stage races in the Northwest: Todd Gallaher.  We had lunch at the best Thai restaurant in Enumclaw.  He gave some inspiring words of wisdom as always.  Here is a gem of his regarding the Canadians:

Time Trial

Well, I still haven't mastered the time trial, but keep improving.  My coach wanted me to break 13, but I ended up at 13:30 which was good enough for 25th/82.  It was also a bit faster than last year's time of 14:32.  Next year I guess I'll hit 12:30.

Crit

That had to have been the fastest crit I have ever done.  Right away I was nearly slipping down and sprinting out of every single corner just to keep up.  Especially after all the crashes.

Ultimately, I got pulled with about 18 minutes left.  That kinda sucked, but man it was a fast frickin race.  And I've got numbers to back up my claim!  That there is an average speed of 29.5 mph for an 8 corner crit.  Ridiculous.

After the race, I found out why I was nearly slipping out of each turn.  Time for some new tires - first time I've had to replace tubies due to wear.

Road Race

Strategy: hold on for as long as possible.  And I did so by making sure I was very close to the front before each climb.  The last three times up the climb I got dropped, but since I was sinking through the field it wasn't so bad and I managed to catch up each time.  On the 2nd to last lap I actually attempted a breakaway/bridge attempt on the road right before the climb.  As I was off the front I was kind of telling myself: "you're going to regret this".  And I sure did as they caught me right at the base of the climb.  That was about it really for me in this race.  The Canadians really showed us who was boss.

A big thanks to Amara at Wheels in Focus for all of the pictures!

PIR

As you may have noticed in all the Enumclaw pics, it didn't rain at any of the stages.  Therefore, when it was the first legitimate downpour of the year at PIR I thought I had better put in my crappy weather racing time.  There might have been 20 total 1/2/3 riders there.  My strategy was attack until there were so few people left that I'd have a good chance of getting top 5 if not a solo win.  Unfortunately it came down to 7 or so of us on the final lap.  Beardsley won as always, followed by Bedford and I shoulda gotten 3rd, but wasn't smart enough of a sprinter so I tied my all-time best result at PIR of 4th.  Yay?

Ski to Sea

Friday I took the Bolt Bus up to Seattle.  First time in a while taking a bus and it sure has its plusses of being able to take my TT bike (no disassembly required), 2 more wheels and my big red suitcase nonstop to Seattle all for about $25.  It doesn't beat the nice legroom and ability to walk around on Amtrak Cascades, but that isn't really worth $59 to me.

I have done Ski to Sea perhaps 3 times before, but I always used to do the XC Ski leg on a team organized by my frat bro's high school friend David Couvrette.  I stayed up at David Couvrette's place on Friday night and did an awesome TT ride from Kenmore to Golden Gardens to my sister's place and then outrunning a rain cloud down Lake City Way in the bus lane back to Kenmore.  Was great to be back in Seattle.

But we all headed north the next day.  Typically the Couvrettes put together a mix of very competitive athletes and some people of the kind who just came back from a 10 month trip to Asia and Africa with very little exercise and haven't skied in like years, but are going to do the XC Ski leg.  This year I was one of the big time hitters on the team and I was going to pre-ride the whole 42 mile course while our XC skier taught himself how to skate ski that day (chuckle chuckle chuckle).

The pre-ride was rainy, but I felt good about the course if not slightly sketched out by taking all those downhill corners at 40 mph without pedaling in the rain.  The weather forecast was somewhat optimistic for less rain the next day...  not!!

I had a brain malfunction and decided that I should not try to find some place dry to hangout since I had to leave my stuff for our runner to pickup at a certain spot.  I warmed up in my wool dress coat and fleece jacket and skinsuit.  By the time I was done warming up I was completely wet before the race even started.  Our runner came in and then I began passing every single rider on the road ahead of me.  It was so frickin cold at elevation, but it became somewhat tolerable as I descended.  I was really hoping to find someone to pace off of, but I was passing everyone very fast, I even passed a few pacelines.  I got right around the time I wanted of 1:30, but compared to all the other racer names I have heard of I was kind of at the bottom of that list.  Oh well, I'll take it.

PIR

A break got away from the big group and I was in it, but I didn't body check some Wooly Mammoth rider when he took Kyle Medlin's wheel from me, so I totally botched the sprint and ended up 10th overall.

Capitol Stage Race

Logistics

I was not feeling in the best mood going into this weekend.  I was mentally tired - both from a frustrating work project and racing again.  And then the night before I was going to glue the tire, but I didn't have the right valve extender.  Then the previous Zipcar user didn't return the Zipcar so I had to go get another one somewhere else.  And I had to do my bike workouts too which I didn't do very well I think.  I finally headed out at 9pm.

Luckily I had arranged to stay at my great aunt's place in Olympia which had an excellent guest bedroom.

TT 5k Sprint

I got in a pretty good warmup and felt good about my ride.  Comparing to 2011 when I last did the race I improved from 8:00 to 7:15.  Yeah, pretty good.  My Mom and Dad came over to watch me race, so of course, my Dad took tons of pictures:


Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Crit

The crit was pretty close to a disaster for me.  Something was very wrong with my rear wheel.  It felt like it was rubbing on the brakes, but it totally wasn't.  I think something is wrong with the bearings.  I got pulled only 25 minutes in.

Road Race

In the morning, I knew I wasn't feeling very mentally well, so I tried to do something about it.  Fortunately for me, one of my most favorite TV shows SpongeBob SquarePants was playing on a channel that was doing "SpongeBob's best wins" showing all winning-themed SpongeBob shows.  That helped me put this whole bike racing thing in perspective and sent me off in a good mood to the race.

I had to be very careful to discipline myself to not do any stupid stuff since the 90 mile race doesn't really start until mile 65 when there are 3 decent sized hills that the peleton goes crazy on.  The rest is flat - basically.  A big break that I guess didn't have any HB guys in it got away at mile 9.  Then HB sat on the front keeping the pace good all the way until mile 65 just as expected. 

I hung on on the first two hillclimbs then attempted a few breakaways, but then I'm not quite sure what his tactics were, but Steve Fisher was always going on solo rampages so no solid break formed.  On the last hillclimb Max 'Missle' O'Neal went KOM hunting and got a good gap.  Colin Gibson made a good effort to bridge up and then I did as well with about 3 miles to go but then the field was led back up by HPC. 

For whatever reason I was doing ok with maneuvering thru the cluster of the field sprint and managed to get 13th out of 27ish in the field sprint which I think is fairly decent for me.

Rest Week!

Yep, a whole week off the bike!  I'm currently mulling over whether to do Mt Hood especially now that it has been announced that it's the last one ever... but $175 entry fee, I dunno.