You know in the spring when it's sunny, warm, birds are out, and it seems like summer is finally arriving. It's those first carefree rides around town in a T-shirt that really make it hit home. Fri was one of those days. Spring break is a week away and it seems like summer is coming fast...
Then you decide to drive over the mountains and race your bike in the rain...Feels like winter all of a sudden again. Sat afternoon saw me making the trip over hood and to Portland for the eve.
Sun morning I was on my way out to Hagg Lake for the second installment of ye olde banana belt, where it was very un-summer like. It wasn't merely raining, it was a downpour, sheets of rain, rivers running across the road, grit, grime, and lots of spray. I found myself constantly spitting as we raced, mostly just to get the various road debris out of my mouth. I stayed towards the front to avoid sketchiness, it didn't really help. People went screaming down the hill towards the off camber corner (I'm on the outside in the picture with the black jacket) onto the dam...Me with my worn out cross brakes had to get down the hill and take the turn...one time even putting a foot out because my breaks were working so poorly that I barely kept it upright. Really it was a slow rather boring race. It ramped up a bit on the final few climbs, but nothing unbearable and a very sketchy group sprint to the finish.Number of laps...4
Number of times people made sketchy moves around pot holes that were in the same spot every lap...4
Number of times I held back from swearing at said people as they nearly took out the pack...3
Managed to stay somewhat warm, I was totally soaked through. The Mad Alchemy medium served me incredibly well, I can't say enough good things about this stuff, sooo choice. I'll dedicate a post to it soon. I told Ruth I would probably slather it on in the morning before school if I didn't think I would be answering questions about why I smelled funny.The drive back over the mountains was snowy to say the least. I guess it's that time of year, this morning there was a few inches of snow, this afternoon it was gone and the sun was out... a little bit of winter, a little bit of spring. ...I am ready for the latter bit.
A few photos from the trip...
Some pics from Oregon Cycling Action.
Gonna strech and chill out with some vino and throw Billie Holiday on Pandora
Posts
2 comments:
Matt - Sorry I missed this weekend, glad you went, stayed warm and upright. Swearing in the heat of battle is okay, what happens in the race stays in the race. Looks like you raced well.... when do you get to upgrade?
You have some serious dedication to spend the time and money each week to get to these races. Factor in the pounding rains and being bombarded by road grit and spray and it borders on crazy (unless it's a cross race of course) For me it was another Sunday race where family commitment kept me away so thanks for the great pictures!
Post a Comment