Post title

Well, I haven't been keeping up my blog much.  I ought to be tho, since I'm starting to be able to mix things up.  I'll give it a shot at catching up a bit from when I last wrote.  I'm definitely not writing as much because I'm trying to be wayyyy more political about what I write since it apparently offends people.  I also have been adding to these unpublished venting posts which will likely never see the light (darkness?) of the internet.  The big thing is that I'm trying to get along with a lot of people who have different, opinionated and seemingly habitual learned approaches to bike racing.  And I find myself disagreeing with that a lot, and it can sometimes come off quite sharply.  I want to be a good member of the community, however I am most definitely not sacrificing my philosophy on racing.

Anyways, I'll talk racing now and hope I don't offend too much.

Cherry Pie

That was a long breakaway I got into at mile 12 of a 75 mile race.  Probably good too because I was skipping numerous pulls and then got dropped badly from the break and then the peleton itself.  I can chalk up one DFL for the season, heh.  My fitness was not there yet.  That's for sure.  The team got a pretty good result with our 40+ year olds taking 2nd and 5th.

IVRR

Nasty weather/sun kinda day.  Break got away really early and nobody from our team got in it.  On the backstretch our team decided to paceline like we were going to catch it or something, but none of us really had the desire or fitness to accomplish such a thing.

I was moving backwards while climbing Michigan Hill.  On the 2nd to last lap I bridged up to a chase group and worked with them until I got dropped and rode in no-mans-land just to get caught by 2 guys at 200m.  Still got 13th and every other Portland rider from my team except Sherm who had a cold DNF'ed.

Santa Cruz

I had two wonderful rides thru Redwood forests and got to see the California Giant Strawberry Factory.

King's Valley

Got the beer prime for the 2nd year in a row this time in a solo attack.  I got chewed out for having a $7,000 bike with the squeakiest chain in the peleton.  The break got away and Casey got in it.  The pack was satisfied with going in borderline zone 1 levels so the break stuck.  I and a few others were bored out of our minds.

Walla Walla

ok, no, I'll write a full post about Walla Walla.  Look for that later.

I lost to a Triathlete

Well, I guess I should finally just say it.  I lost the Mt Ashland Hillclimb this year.  But more disappointingly is that I lost to a triathlete.  It was bad.

My sleep was so-so going into the race, but whatevs.  I didn't have a floor pump and was using my hand pump instead so I probably only put in 100 pounds.  At the top my front wheel was quickly going flat.  But the big thing was that when the triathlete made his move I didn't follow.  But he didn't even make a move was the thing, it was kind of like Eugene where everyone else is looking at each other waiting for someone else to do something and before you know it someone is up the road.  I guess nobody took him seriously, but damnit, he won.



That just really irks me about Oregon road racing is that it always seems like when you lose, you lose for a stupid reason and not because it was a hard bike race.  At least in cyclocross you do get your ass handed to you by the likes of Shannon Skerritt and Carl Decker, but all the roadie pros have left or just don't enter many Oregon road races.  Please Pros, come back and whoop on us so we are all taught what it's like to race a proper Pro/1/2 road race.

But hey, at least I won these in the raffle!

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.

My Bikes: For Sale (In Consignment) (In Austin, TX at Tsunami Cycles): Felt F75: $900

Purpose of this bicycle

To race, to ride, to use and abuse until it died.

Equipment

Frame & Fork:	Felt F75
Crankset:	FSA Carbon SLK
Chainring:	FSA 53/39
Stem & Handlebar:	Felt something or other
Seatpost:	3T Dorico
Pedals:	$3 pedals from a bike swap
Shifters:	Shimano Ultegra
Chain:	Shimano Ultegra
Deraileurs:	Shimano Ultegra
Brakes:	Felt Brakes
Saddle:	Good 'ol saddle from Tacoma Bike

Wheel Set:

Wheelset:	Mavic Ksyriums
Tires:	Maxxis Cormet 23c
Cassette:	Shimano 105 10 speed 25/13

Personal Stories about this bike

I find it pretty funny that the beginning and end of my ownership of this bike happened in extreme haste. In June of 2009 I had dropped off my Trek 2100 (I'll write up about that bike in a later blog post) over at Tacoma Bike expecting to pick it up for a weekend of hillclimbing out in Wenatchee. However, when I went in to the shop (at 4pm, expecting to ride out at 5pm) the mechanics informed me that the bike's headset cups are so worn out that I should just chuck that bike into a garbage can. I needed a new bike and so I picked up this Felt F75 on the spot and Tony gave me a real quick fit. Then off I was to Wenatchee. Tony gave me a stern warning to "not ride too hard" since it is good to slowly break-in the new components. I started smirking. Tony then warned me again "EEEVVAAAANNNNN!!" And then off I went to Wenatchee.

The first ride I did, I climbed all the way from Eastmont to the top of Badger Mountain. Twice. While I was descending I nearly crashed since the bike was really wobbling at 50mph. After the ride I decided to call the shop about this issue. The conversation went as follows:

Tony: "Halloo, Tacoma Bike!"
Evan: "Hey Tony, it's Evan."
Tony: "Heeeyyy Evan! So how's the new bike?"
Evan: "It's kind of unstable at 50 miles per hour."
Tony: (Speaking loud enough so that presumably whoever is at the shop can hear this) "IT'S A LITTLE UNSTABLE AT 50 MILES PER HOUR?"
Evan: "Yeah."
Tony: "Right, um... [long explanation from Tony and others about what might be the issue]"

And that first-complaint-after-getting-a-new-bike joke went on at the shop for a while.

Anywho, I did so much racing on this bike. The very first race race I did with the bike was at PIR (Pacific International Raceways). And I got in a solo-break with 3-to-go and won it by about 30 seconds. That was a big turning point in my season and I started doing great. I finished off the season placing 4th at Gig Harbor, scoring another solo win at PIR, 3rd at Franz, 4th overall at the Eugene Celebration and my first weekend win ever (in my category) at Mt Ashland.

Last season, I flew the bike down to Texas since I was going to be on an extended business trip that lasted a month total. I was so enamored with Austin that I was certain I was going to live there during the winter and ride to my heart's content, so I left the bike in the office down there. As noted in my last blog post, life caught up with me and now I'm leaning more towards building my transit technology career within Portland for the 5-years out future. So, I decided that it was time to go down to Austin and sell the bike there, of course after getting in a solid week of winter riding in Austin (look for an upcoming write-up about that in the next blog post).

Come the afternoon the day before I'm supposed to leave I still hadn't quite figured out how I was going to get rid of the bike. I learned about a few options and knew the next day was going to be a whirlwind of getting the bike ready for a sale, packing up and catching my 4:15pm flight.

At 9:20am I headed out for my final bike ride. By 10:20am I wound up at Frankenbike - a monthly bike swap that just happened to be that day. I knew I was going to take back my wheels, pedals and saddle so I was looking for those three items. With great luck, this one vendor happened to have my exact same saddle - except new, a pair of Ksyriums and cheapo pedals which I scored all for $275. I swapped out my tires and cassette from my current wheels, swapped the pedals and kept the old saddle on there and by 12:30 I had briefly cleaned up the bike. I biked up to Tsunami Cycles and they had that bike taken from me in 5 minutes flat as I ran south on Congress at 1:00pm.

I placed my lunch order at Wurst Tex and got to see my couchsurfing buddy before jumping into a car2go at 1:30pm. Then I loaded up all my remaining luggage as fast and as jam-packed as possible into the car2go from my final couchsurfing venue and set off at 1:50pm with an aim to catch the bus to the airport at 1:59pm. I drove over 12th to avoid Lamar and started throwing everything out on the ground near the bus stop at 12th and Red River at 1:58pm. And 50 seconds later the bus chauffeured me to the airport arriving there at 2:30. Done and done.

I don't quit

But then again, sometimes I get myself into trouble by just trying.

Moving

I have finally moved and hope to take care of the last mess I made while moving into my new place. The move was the worst and most unprepared I have ever done. The highlight of it for sure was the first move of the day. I drove into the loading dock with a pickup Zipcar loaded with 4 of my bikes. I then go check in with the front desk to say that I'm beginning to move and am informed that the building policy forbids bicycles anywhere except in the bicycle storage area which is completely full.

Now some people argue that I should've known this beforehand, but I present you this counterpoint: ARE YOU SERIOUS? What kind of building prohibits bringing bicycles up to your unit? Common sense should prevail. And in this case, this outlandishly strict bicycle policy (remember, this building is in downtown Portland) has met an abnormally fervent bicycler. I am raising a big stink about this to the HOA and hope the policy gets changed.

Over the Memorial Day moving weekend I pretty much had a meltdown in my old apartment. I was supposed to go on a 3 hour ride, but felt so overwhelmed and stressed so I layed down for a bit, and then lay on the garbage strewn floor and cried out "I donwannaridemabiikee noooo!" It was very pathetic. I was like a dog eating its vomit or an abused girlfriend staying with her abusive partner or in my case my disgusting life-sucking apartment. But on Monday I forced myself to get my move done and I did. Everything was out except for my race bike which didn't have a home.

Last week

Tuesday PIR came up and I had moved every last item out of the old apartment. And this time I left my new place at 5pm, got to PIR with plenty time to spare. It was an interesting race with a fair number of riders visiting the area specifically for Mt Hood. An early break formed which normally never gets away, but once we all saw that it would, I was able to work myself into a chase break and although I didn't have the sprinter skills it was good enough for 15th - the first time I've cracked the top 20 at PIR.

On Wednesday, my race bike still didn't have a home and I was ready. I was ready to drop $5,000 for a van to store my bikes in. All the things I hate about having a car I was willing to put aside for the sake of bicycle racing. My Dad spurned me on to give it one last shot to find somewhere else to put my bikes and also my roommate with his BMW and his friend with her Mercedes make much better fits for the garage than a beater van would. On Thursday this lady with PBOT that rents out bicycle lockers finally got back to me and hooked me up with a bike locker right across the street that costs $50 for 3 months. I could've gotten 2 lockers, but by having to take off the wheels of my race bike it will force me to clean my bike after every ride which is something I need to be doing.



And one more random thing about why the new condo is great is that there is a 24 hour fitness right across the street which will be great for weight training in the off-season.

Mt Hood Cycling Classic

At the advice of my coach I decided not to be a quitting wussy and race in the Mt Hood Cycling Classic. It was a great decision to do so, it was the funnest race weekend I think I've had all year and I didn't even get a podium.

Friday:

Friday was a 56 miler with a big climb in the later half of the race. Before the big climb there was more than just a few miles, so I tried my Wenatchee strategy again. I attacked just before the Rowena descent and eventually a Recycled rider bridged up to me. On the flats going back towards The Dalles, the Recycled guy was absolutely hammering taking 20 seconds pulls and resting only about 2 seconds on my wheel. At some point I realized he thought we were nearing the finish of the race (the course passes the finish line one time) and indeed he sprinted for the line. All I could do is say "you're not done!" and try to maintain a break. The hillclimb came and it was long. The climbers caught me about halfway up. I stayed with them as best as I could, but got dropped on the last mile of the climb and could literally see the pack begin their descent with no chase group in sight. Eventually a chase group caught up to me, but we were only able to get within 1:30 of the climber kids. I ended up 20th and had a fun race with the gorgeous scenery.

Saturday:

Time Trials can suck it. I did absolutely horrible in the TT. A number of things make me bad:

1. I don't have a TT Bike
2. I don't have a Disc
3. I don't have a skinsuit
4. I am borrowing a really small TT helmet that I believe cuts off blood circulation to my head.

This got me to thinking that if I was willing to drop $5,000 on a van, I have got to be willing to drop $5,000 on a TT setup. I therefore made a promise to myself: I will have a full TT setup before Eugene which I will then win by 3 minutes. Back at Mt Hood/Adams though, I got 51st and dropped 9 places in GC. Uggh. But, again the TT race had something great to make up for it: Good things to look at: Mt. Adams and Pro Women Cyclists!



The crit was coming up later in the evening and in the meantime I got to chill over at a house that one of my teammate's friends owns. It had a great view of the river and was 3 blocks from the crit. Most people I had talked to about the crit had warned me that it was super sketchy and/or a crash-fest. After having done the Wenatchee Crit in super sketchy and rainy conditions I need something really crazy to get me nervous. Something like a bridge with a metal grate or maybe a 30 foot cliff on the outside edge of a corner. The hood river crit had none of these, was dry and sunny. I thought Walla Walla was a sketchier crit course. Anywho, the crit has happened like a lot of other crits I have done which seems to be a maximal effort for 40 minutes. I can't even tell when the primes are usually because I'm so gassed. But with 3 to go, I latched onto a great wheel that ultimately set me up for 9th place. Still not good enough for prize money, but a top 10 is always satisfactory.

Sunday:

I honestly can say that I don't care if I'm a crappy climber, I love climbing and the ensuing descending. We had a 70 mile course with three major climbs. The Recycled guy jokingly told me I should go from the gun. Little did he know, that was exactly what I was going to do. The pack kept me within sight for a while, but once we got into orchard country I joined a 3 man break. At the very bottom of the hill the race officials had a lapse of course awareness and turned us around once only to realize that the direction we were going the first time was actually correct. The officials still gave us our break before starting the field and our 3 man break turned 4 man break made it to the top of the first climb before the rest of the climbers caught us. The next climb I got dropped and began the inevitable joyride back to the finish.

I don't think I have ever had more food and water in a race than in this one. I drank 2 water bottles with heed, ate 4 gels (including one I begged for from another rider), 2 packages of power energy blocks, 3.5 neutral water bottles, 1 plastic water bottle from the com car, 0.5 bottles of gatorade from the illegal feed zone (I regret throwing the rest away) and still felt like I could or should have eaten more. The final descent was amazing - I was all by myself and just cruised down at about a 35mph average down this paved logging road. I managed to catch and pass a few other 3s on the final climb and ended up 21st.


This next weekend is the Capitol Stage Race and it is perfect for me. Two longish road races with no epic climbs, a technical crit and a really short 3 mile time trial that includes a turnaround. Oh and then Elkhorn is the weekend after that. I'm stage crazy this month.