What a beautiful day for a race. I miscalculated how long it would take to get there, so I showed up at 9:30am for a 12:35 start… oops… I decided to walk up and watch the early races go by. I was standing there and the cat 3 group came rolling by with a bunch of stragglers coming up after the main pack. It seemed odd to have so many guys trickling through, but I figured “oh well”.. Then John O’brien came up and I started pitching him some crap until I noticed he was holding his arm funny. Turns out there was a massive crash at the start/finish line and John was caught up in it and went down re-injuring his shoulder. I stood there for a while watching the carnage roll up and eventually walked back down and gave John some Advil… There was at least a broken collar and a broken wrist along with all the other road rash and destroyed equipment. Here’s hoping everyone heals fast…

 So, my race. There were about 40 starters or so and a couple of teams had 4 or 5 guys in the race so I figured I’d sit in and see what they did. For the first couple of laps it was pretty much business as usual. Then part way around the second lap a guy soloed off the front. I figured he wouldn’t last out there for 2+ laps so I wasn’t too worried about it. I’m guessing everyone else thought the same ’cause we all just let him go. We were told that he had a minute on us starting the last lap. Since I was riding solo, and there were a couple of teams with numbers, I was determined to let them do the chasing, unfortunately none of them did. Nick (Bike Tires Direct) tried a solo bridge, but no one was letting another break get away and he was eventually reeled back in.

As we were approaching the big hill for the last time, I was trying to position myself up near the front to cover anything that might go on the hill. Sure enough, Nick and his teammate fly up the left hand side and go. Another guy took off with them and four of us were trying to catch them. We crested the hill not too far back and started heading down to the next little right hand climb. I got on the front of our group just about as we caught the initial break and we all climbed up that little hill together. It started to slack off a bit when we hit the flat up there and I figured no way am I going to let up now, so I got on front and drilled it as hard as I could. Part way down the final descent a guy came up past me and pulled in front. Iwas pretty thankful for the rest and was able to recuperate a little bit. Just before the right hander across the bridge, a couple of guys started coming by on my left. I swung around the guy ahead of me and was with those two as we hit the last little kicker up to the 200 meter line. We gave it everything we had up the roller and then whatever I had left down to the finish. I kept waiting for guys to stream past me, but no one did. So, I ended up 3rd in the field sprint and fourth overall. The guy who won the field sprint took his hands off the bars and saluted as he crossed the line, but I think they’ll just warn him. He didn’t seem like he was doing anything dangerous to me, but who knows. 

They’ve fixed some pavement out there and they are planning on racing in the opposite direction for BB2. I’ve never raced it going the other way, so this should be interesting.

Edit:  It looks like we caught the solo breakaway and I just didn’t know it. So I ended up third after all… :) 

Dean

Posted on behalf of Steve Long:

With some heavy hitters in the field like Ivan Meadors and Harry Phenney, I must say I was a bit intimidated after the results of my last two races. However, both of those guys threw down a couple of attacks and I was still there toward the front of the field. I noticed that there was this one United Finance guy (Ivan’s team) that kept trying to go off the front. On the last lap, Jim, (this same UF guy), went off again except this time he had two guys with him. It seemed like the impetus had gone out of the peloton and with barely a 1/2 a lap remaining, I reasoned that I could go nearly all out for that long. So, I launched an attack of my own and bridges to the three riders that were upstream a bit. After resting for a moment, I told them we had a good gap and tried to get everybody working together. So, after having worked together for most of the way in, at 4K to go, we had 38 seconds on the field. By 1k to go, we still had 25 seconds and I kept urging working together to stay off. We did that and the field never caught us. I went a little early and ran out of steam before the finish and Jim & Jamey both beat me but I got the other guy. It was completely awesome going off and staying off in that field. However, I have to give credit to Ivan and the rest of United Finance as they weren’t going to chase down one of their own team mates. Thanks guys. Awesome race.

I arrived at 7:30 and set up the tent with Allen.  Man it was cold!  It had been below freezing that night so the sun was a welcome thing.  We set up on the very south end of the Port building which turned out to be a good quiet area.   Weather looked as good at it gets in February around here. 

Allen and I were joined by Ronny and Steve on the trainers.  Dean and Joe Kline showed up to show support and help out as needed.  “Mr. President”, Jon was out taking pictures on the hairpin.  Thanks very much.   Joe Cipale, Larry and Georgann were in attendance but in a different spot. 

The Race officials got a late start for some reason, delaying all starts by 15 minutes.  That created some understandable confusion with riders checking in constantly at their correct time only to find out they had 15 mintues more.   

The start had one small piece of entertainment.  Another rider, just out for a sunday ride on his bike, went past the start tent exactly as I left the tent.  Now I have a rider directly in front of me (with officials just behind me of course….drafting penality?), a car coming behind and nowhere to go.  That passed pretty quickly so very little time lost there but made me a bit anxious for moment. 

The race was “below expectations” but no excuses.  Weather was good, not much wind, position felt good, no real impediments on the course (unlike some contending with all the traffic), been doing the training etc.  My quads just didn’t like it at all yet my heartrate was 5-6 bpm below LT and never came back up. 

I do prefer having the start in the original location by the park.  The congestion, traffic etc at the new start was messy plus having to ride back after the event, adding more bikes on the road. 

I had a good time otherwise.  Hanging around with the team was great.  Next race for me is Piece of Cake.  

 edit:  Here are some pictures that Jon took:

I’m a little late with this, but what the heck. The season has officially begun! Steve, Ronny, Allen, and myself all signed up to toe the line on Saturday. Unfortunately, Allen caught a nice cold so he couldn’t make it. I picked up the canopy from him bright and early on Saturday and started the drive south. I made good time and got to the parking area by 7:45am. Needless to say I had my choice of spots to set up the canopy. It took a bit but I finally figured out how to set that big monster up by myself and headed down to sign in.

The rain was pretty off and on and was finally off again by the time the race started, the ground was nice and wet for the race though. The 40+, 50+, and 60+ 4/5’s were all in the same race and there were around 60 of us or so. The race itself was a nice fast group ride. You could tell it was the first race of the season as there was some serious sketchy action going on. Let’s see, where to begin, there was the random hard braking, swerving around while reaching for your water bottle, not holding your line in the turns (two guys actually hit each other as one swung wide and the other cut in.. not sure how they stayed upright..) A guy slid up from behind me and tangled his bars up with mine, I was able to get it undone pretty quickly, but it could have been a nasty situation…  Other than that kind of thing it was a nice ride, some surges, some lulls, a couple of breaks that got about 100 yards away before everyone jumped for them…  I had decided that I was just going to hang out in the pack until the end and try my luck on the hill. I started moving up towards the front when we were on the last couple miles of flats and eventually was around 4th wheel when we made the first right hander up the initial little hill near the finish. I pushed it a bit up this hill ’cause I didn’t want a bunch of guys coming around and boxing me in. Everyone pretty much soft pedalled down the backside of that first pitch toward the finish hill. I was second or third wheel coming into the bottom of that little beast and tried to hold off dropping the hammer as long as I could. When the guys in front of me jumped, I went as well.  We were at about the 200 meter mark when all the skinny guys who had been boxed up behind got free and came flying up past me…. I was looking over my shoulder as I was getting closer to the line and there was a guy about 5 feet back… So I just kept going as hard as my short little legs would pedal. They were completely and totally on fire. I’m talking like 5 alarm, habenero type of on fire. I was almost to the line and I looked back to see I managed to put some distance between us so I sat down and coasted over for 8th place… 

 After that, I rode back to the parking lot and flushed some of the lactic acid from my legs. Then I met up with Ronny and Steve and hung out a bit while they warmed up. I rode back to the finish line and cheered them on as they came through on their first laps. They got what they wanted from their races, which was distance at a good race pace and called it a day.  So there ya go…… Next up for me is BB1, but there are a ton of y’all ready to do some booty kickin’ at Jackfrost… Good luck with that, I’ll come down and cheer…

 A few of us got together Sunday to support a couple of our intrepid Crossers. Myself, Allen, Ben, and Justin braved the bad weather to watch Tony and Jeff rip it up in the mud and rain. I got there around 7:30 to set up Casa de NRR and then waited for everyone to show up. We got a nice spot near the start/finish and by the food and beverage area, so at least we didn’t have to go far for sustenance :)  Tony was first up and he raced the 35+ C race. He got off to a good start and was in the top 10 until he was taken out of contention by a flat. The results haven’t been posted yet, so I’m not sure where he ended up, but I’m guessing mid pack somewhere. It’s kind of hard to tell after a couple of laps ’cause they’re spread out all over the place…..  Next up was Jeff. He moved up to the 35+ B’s, so he had a bad starting position. He still battled it out and made a great showing of it.

Justin, Ben, and I (Tony was wandering around somewhere too, but we lost him) hung around to watch the SSXCWC. I’ve never seen this race before and it was a real party. Hanging on the Thunderdome while the racers came through was just surreal. There was someone twirling fire pots, a bag piper, the drum corp up by the main spectator run up, a band belting out vintage Black Sabboth, and even a stripper bus that was used as a short cut. The rider needed to present a dollar tip to the ‘dancer’ inside to run through the bus and cut out a chuck of the course…. We missed that one as it was strategically place on the far back side…..  We all packed up and took off around 5. It was nice to get home and warm up after being out in the cold for the day.  I think I can speak for all of us in saying that it was a GREAT time!  ( I even have some beer and brats left, bonus…..)

Here’s some Thunderdome action -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4V89AgwX-FQ

The rain may have came & went but the mud was there to stay!Saturday’s race…Saturdays race unknowingly started Friday … or I should say that my Friday festivities played a part as to why I showed up late for my race on Saturday …. Good time as any to cat up to Master B’s. I had a good race, started in the middle of the pack & held my own. LOVE my new Vittoria Cross XM Pro 700 x 32 tires!(please forward endorsement check to my PO box)And to top it off … I caught the “White Night” and won a new pair of KEEN shoes! (Please see endorsement note above) If you don’t know about the White Night … come out to a cross race.Sunday’s race …Master C’s I’m back! Today was the costume day, let me be the first to warn you that wearing a button on your NRR gear that reads “Alcohol Monitor” does not qualify as a costume in the eyes of the cross crusade clan. Lesson learned. I actually pulled off a good start and found myself in first place half way thru the third lap … this is when about 8 spectators in orange jumpsuits positioned themselves in the course like the barriers they were portraying and persuaded (threatened) me to dismount and jump over them (punishment for not having a real costume)… I did what was asked of me, happily! Unfortunately I lost the lead and fell into third at this point … I’ll take it, my best finish to date!Next race … PIR Sunday November 8th

Don’t forget about the team ride on Sunday.  Should be dry.  (fingers crossed) 

9am at the Starbucks near Esther Short Park 

Hope to see you there

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