I further violated my “no pack racing” rule this Tuesday by riding the 4/5’s at PIR. My first infraction was helping Dean (Mr. Blog”)at Piece of Cake in March and that ended well.

My stepson Aaron started racing this year after only 2 years of riding.  He rode with the PSU collegiate team as well as a couple other races.  He called me up and said he was going to do PIR again this week.  I thought it’d be fun (and it was) so I agreed, all the while remembering the reason for not doing pack racing was to not test the quality of my health insurance plan’s hospitalization coverage.

Looking around at the perhaps 35-40 riders, there was a very diverse group of barely teenagers, old guys with “enhanced” midranges, several collegiate riders, and a few regular teams.  With the “no crashes” motto running through my mind, I went right near the front and stayed there most of the time.  Aaron and I stuck reasonably close as well.

Fortunately, bike handling of those that remained in the group was not sketchy so that fear was reduced as the race wore on for 6 very short laps.  We yo-yo’d from 21-27mph, averaging around 24.5mph for the whole ride.

No real attempts at breakaways other than one brave soul on the last lap.  I bridged up but then it was gruppo compacto.  We would up for the usual bunch sprint at the end.  I had one dicey moment when a rider in front of me suddenly decided to pull right abrubtly and got against my front wheel.  I rode it out but wasn’t sure how it was going to end for a moment there.

Aaron put more into the sprint than I did, getting 10th, me showing at 22nd.  I sprinted some but didn’t really care about where I finished, just wanted to end the experience upright. Mission accomplished.

I did some quick math on my last PIR when driving to the track.

In fact, it as 32 years ago in 1977.  Man I’m old!

I meant to write a race report after I did the Silverton RR and a PIR, but the motivation quickly fled. I’ve been thinking about it since then, and Dean’s encouragement at PIR last night helped me decide what I would do. So, here is a brief (not in the literal sense of the word, but it’s all relative, and it’s true if you compare it to what you could have got — I mean, I can go on and on sometimes . . . like there was this one time . . .) summary of my races and experiences since joining North River Racing.

My first official event as a member of the team was Estacada TT #2. My first race of the season was a Tuesday nighter at PIR earlier that week in the Cat. 3/4 field, but I wasn’t flying the NRR flag, though I did finish alongside Joe C. The race had been easier than I expected. I thought I would get dropped. I didn’t know how the points worked and didn’t ride aggressively, something illustrated by placing 48th that night as Joe and I both sat up and avoided the bunch sprint for 30th at the finish. I think PIR will be a good place to work on tactics and positioning, and hope my teammates that come out can give me some pointers.

Estacada was hard. I got passed before the turnaround by a Portland Velo guy that went on to win Cat. 4, I think. I finished 5th (out of eight) with a time of 52:18, over three minutes off the winning pace. I felt completely spent at the line, though, so I definitely left it all on the course. I probably could have benefitted from better pacing and a more specific TT setup, but still happy that I did okay on that long TT.

Next event was another Tuesday night at PIR. I felt a lot more comfortable in the pack and tried to be a little more aggressive. I was part of a small breakaway at one point, but it seems so many of the guys in the 3/4 field bust their guts getting away from the pack and then slow down and give up. It’s frustrating to get up there and wish they were working harder and smoother instead of constantly looking back and giving up the fight before it has truly begun. Back in the pack, I worked on maintaining a decent position and staying comfortable. I did my best to sprint for the finish, but didn’t quite hang on to the wheels in front of me and ended up 12th for the night (highest placed rider with 0 points). I felt pretty good about that, although I obviously need to start getting some points if I want to do better.

That weekend was the Silverton RR. My expectations were pretty low, especially considering I felt ill the night before and didn’t sleep much. I was quite happy with my sensations (as the Euro-pros like to say) during the race. I was able to work my way to the front and didn’t feel like I was put into any real difficulty on the climbs. I tried to stay out of the wind and toward the front. On the third and final lap, I got a little too close to the front and in the wind coming through the start/finish area and rolling to the main climb. I was 2nd wheel behind a Team S&M guy who hammered it up the hill. I decided to let him go and not try to hold his pace, fearing I would blow up, so I slowly slid back through the pack. In retrospect I should have pedaled a little harder. I found myself off the back at the top of the hill and chased hard for at least five minutes, but I wasn’t gaining on the pack. I saw some riders behind me and thought we could work together. I waited for them, but they weren’t working together very well and my legs were fried and hadn’t recovered. I let them go, latched onto another rider here and there until I saw two guys up ahead riding side-by-side and chatting, their own groupetto. My brain checked with my tired legs and returned with the idea that it looked good to ride at their pace, so I got off the train I was riding and we made friends (my brain and legs with the other riders). Ended up 40th, but happy with my first two laps.

That’s about it. The OBRA TTT has been written about. I had a ton of fun and think we can go faster next year. I raced at PIR last night with Dean and John L., but I’m trusting in Dean to write up a report, as usual. I don’t think I could remember the details, anyway, what with my eyes being crossed so much of the time. There have also been RACC’s of pain, climbs to Mt. St. Helens, team rides in the wet and in Ridgefield, and Mari’s group rides galore. I’ve had a good time so far, and have enjoyed getting to know some of you (you being NRR guys and gals). I’m looking forward to more.

Justin

Seems all the TTT folks are too shy to post.  NRR did indeed have a very solid Sunday at the Team Time Trial with both teams placing 3rd in their categories and also Joe Cipale getting a bronze with some other Team Rose City men. 

The weather was certainly nice but on the hot side for sustained hard efforts.  Our team, NRR 2, was composed of Justin Griffith (a recent member), Colby, Dave Lofstead and myself.  Dave is a regular at the Mari Saturday rides and was on NRR 2 last year with me, Scott Goodrich and Cal Stone.  We only had one practice as a complete team but we worked very well together. 

 I had looked at last years times in Cat 4 and figured that we should be able to get 3rd if all went well.  There were less teams overall, but especially in Cat 3 and Cat 4.  8 teams this year, 15 last year.  I devised a plan to ride at 25mph on the first lap and each take 30 second pulls.  Ramp to 26mph on the second lap with the same pull time.  After that, it was more flexible based on how everyone was doing. 

 Colby was his usual strong self and Justin and Dave did well too.  By the 4th lap, my butt was really uncomfortable and my hamstrings were sore in a way I have never experienced.  Coming out of the corners, getting back up to speed wasn’t much fun:-).  We did all stick together for the finish which was a good sign.  We had passed at least 5 other groups in front of us and no one passed us so it looked good for a strong placing.

 The official times were certainly not right in our category but the relative placings seemed correct based on the groups we’d passed.  I’ll take it either way. 

It’s surprising how much the little things can add up in this event.  The cornering and getting back together are always areas to pick up time if you’re super smooth.  There’s also a bit of pushing your comfort on cornering speed.  Those small differences really add up by the end of the race, both in time and extra energy expenditure. 

 My wife Carol took a bunch of pictures, some good, some not as good.  I emailed the link to most of those interested as well:

 http://www.wooljersey.com/gallery/v/garywatts/TTT2009/

Gary Watts

Wow, it looks like the medals are still rolling in. Colby started the weekend off with a gold medal in the Jr. 15-16 OBRA championship road race. I haven’t heard how it went down, but I can imagine that he rode away from the pack on the first sustained climb and no one ever saw him again……  Way to go Colby!! Your jersey drawer has to be getting full with all these OBRA Champion jersey’s you’re collecting..

 Sunday saw the NRR squads out again in the OBRA championship TTT.  Colby was part of the cat 4/5 Bronze medal team along with Gary, Justin, and Dave Lofstead. In the cat 3 race, the team of Allen, Ronny, Bruce, and John Obrien also brought home a Bronze medal.  Joe Cipale raced on a team with some Rose City guys and also brought home a bronze in the Master 160-199’s.

Great job everyone! What a great weekend for racing!!!!