Kruger's Kermesse 2011

Finished 14th in the singlespeed cyclocross race.  My first top 15 singlespeed cyclocross finish. Had a pretty good race and just basically kept the pedals turning just about as fast as I could (38x18 gearing) for 55 minutes thru the gravel, dirt, grass, dust, and mud the fun farm course had to offer.  Fun race followed by a fun and entertaining team relay race afterwards! 

Alsea Falls Switchback / OBRA XC Championships

 

Lots of races since the last post, but just going to add a new one now and possibly add some past races later.  Alsea Falls was a fun race (as they all are for the most part) with one major climb that included a painful 370 feet of climbing in 1/2 a mile.  Generally not too difficult for a road bike, but a 30 pound mountain bike can be a bit tougher. Started out the 3 laps race pretty damn good, until the 3d  (and last) lap going up the climb.  Whether it was the lack or nutrition (only had one gel for the entire 1 hour, 50 minute) race, or not being ready for this hill, my hamstring knotted up halfway up.  Had to walk it off for a few minutes and then I was back on the bike to finish up the race.  Tough shortish race, but another fun MTB course.  Finished 12th out of 13 in my category.  Actually not too bad when you consider the competition.  http://obra.org/events/18650/results  

WIlliamette Capital Cup Criterium

First criterium of the year!  I felt good, I felt bad, I felt unsure, and then got it together for a strong sprint on the uphill finish to end up 6th out of of 32 Cat 4/5 racers.  Actually, this is my best criterium finish to date.   

Echo Red to Red

I consider this my first mountain bike race.  400 mile round trip drive to Echo, Oregon.  21 miles & 2 hours of racing pain.  Some how I had in my head that this race was going to be a little over an hour- not sure exactly how I got that in my head.  From the start to the finish it was a none stop give it all I you got effort.  Up a hill down a hill, up a rocky hill, down a rocky hill.  My descending skills are still not where I want them to be, probably a little timid after taking a few good falls at the end of last year in CX races.  Actaully passed a decent amount of Cat II racers along the way and finished 6th out of 21 in the Cat III Age 35-44 group. 

Bridge of the Gods Ride

95 Mile team training ride into Washington, to Bridge of the Gods, past Multnomah Falls, up to Crown Point, etc. on President's Day:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/69597506

Cherry Pie Road Race 2011



"The Face of Frustration"

Bounced around from positions 1-5 for the first 1/2 of the Masters 40+ Cat 4/5 26 mile Cherry Pie Road Race.  We battled a vicious wind during this entire time period and in hindsight maybe I should have stayed in the pack more to conserve more energy.  When we made the turn our speed increased a good 7-10 mph on average.  The legs were feeling much burn as we raced the final 10 miles to the final 1/2 mile were 2 back-to-back hills were expecting our arrival.  I dropped to the back of the peleton, but hanged tough as we approached the first hill - up we went - I dropped my chain into the smaller crank ring, stood up, and grinded past 6-7 cyclist.  I was eyeing the next bunch to pass as we topped the first hill and decided to shift into the big ring to get a little extra power.  It turned out to be a bad move as the chain went flying off the crank and all hopes of finishing strong quickly pedaled away as I stopped to fix my chain.  Took about 10 seconds to fix as I rushed and flubbed around - as I rushed back onto the bike, I watched the cyclists I had passed head towards to finish line.  As the photo shows, I was frustrated.  A lot of hard work to end up with a easy ride up the hill as I finished last, or so I thought.  A itty bit bit of disappointment was taken away the following day when I noticed that I actually finished in the same place (22d) that I did last year at my first ever road race.  Apparently we had dropped a good group of racers of the peleton somewhere along the line and I didn't finish last afterall.  Garmin race file: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/69597508

It's about that time....

First race of the year is less than 5 days away.  Ecstatic that my neck/disc injury is mended (knock on wood) and excited about the coming year.  Anticipation of the first race is a killer!