OBRA Road Race

I wasn't quite sure what the deal would be going into this one...It wasn't racing by category, rather by age group, for me 30-39. There was a senior mens group that was open, but that's where a bunch of Pros were racing and I decided against it. I figured that most cat 1/2 riders would be in the open group and I would be racing with mostly 3's( actually though there was a pile of 1/2 riders in the 30-39 group). It would be a good test I figured. We had perfect weather and a beautiful course with a bunch of hills, more of a power course and less of a climbers course as the hills were fairly short.

The race started at a decent clip, and I worked my way towards the front of the group. I was surprised at how strong I felt on the short climbs and kept ending up on the front. Somewhere in the middle of the first lap there was a break, it seemed early and I didn't chase after it, nor did most others. I think somewhere else in that lap a couple folks bridged up to the break without a lot of folks realizing what was happening, I should have gone here as I felt strong and could have possibly pulled it off at this pt. The break of 5 had 30 seconds on the group when we came through the first lap...We picked it up a little on the second lap, but not enough to catch them and this is where they must have opened it up, because the next time we came around the gap was up to 1 min 30s (going into the last lap it was nearly 4 min). There were a couple small attacks and I joined a few, but nothing stuck and we kept together. The race was a little longer than most of the cat 4 races I have been doing so I was glad going into the final lap that I still felt fresh. A few more attack attempts, but towards the last 3k we were all together still. The finish was on a hill about 600m long...a bunch of folks jumped right at the base of the climb and I picked it up, but saved a little something...folks were blowing up quickly and I made it around quite a few, I lost a bit of steam by the last 200m and got passed by a few folks, but managed to finish with the front of the chase group in 12th overall. Not a bad race. I really wish I had gotten in that break, but it was a fun race and I was glad to be out. There was a lot more racing than in a cat 4 race, not harder really, just more tactical. It was good to be racing with some fast guys to see how I stacked up. (I ended up in front of a lot of 3's and some 1/2 racers as well and never really felt like I had gone too hard.)

A great day of racing in the sun. Probably only have a crit left in my schedule before we take off for the summer, that and some mt bike racing still. It's winding down fast!

Sunnyside Sports

I have spent a lot of time in bike shops over the years, I like spending time in bike shops, looking over gear, maps, magazines, tools...Ruth knows that when I go in there is no telling how long it will be before I am out. If I start talking races, bikes, whatever, it's all over and there is no shortage of great folks down at Sunnyside to talk bikes with. I joined the Sunnyside team because I saw them at cross races and they looked like a group of friends who like to race together, that's what I want in a team, not just a jersey and a shop, but a group of folks who like to cheer for each other, help each other out, and race bikes together. I feel lucky that I stumbled on not just a great team, but an amazing bike shop. Sunnyside sports is the kind of shop I would wish for if I could only have one shop in town. Now Bend has no shortage of bike shops, but I love that when I am out riding I usually end up running into someone from the shop. The other day I did a little road ride and ran into Don, we rode together for a while, he was on his way to mt biking and I was off on a road ride so we went our ways, maybe 20 mins later I ran into Barb and friends coming back from a road ride. Barb is probably one of the friendliest bike mechanics you'll ever meet. As I finished my ride I thought of how many times I have run into someone from the shop on the trail, the road, training for cross, at a race, at restaurant, a bar, out hiking. It's group of folks who are very much a part of the Bend community and a great great shop. They have taken plenty of their time to help me out with projects and issues that don't deserve the attention I get, but I am sure I am not alone. Just wanted to once again say THANKS. You guys rock!

Project Thailand

We got some pics of the project site where we will build a community center and of the rural community of Baan Pok, the village in the Samoeng District of northern Thailand where we will live and work while in Thailand.









It's coming quick, there's a lot to do before we leave. We are excited and anxious.

A giant thank you to the folks who have donated or shared the link to donate. Please share it with as many folks as you can, and if you have a way to donate, even $5 helps.
Click here
http://firstgiving.com/mfox

A photo

From my ride today...actually it's 4 different pictures from my cell merged together with photoshop (it looks better when you click it). A little twin bridges loop in the sun...ahhhhh.

Peugeot uo8

From what I can tell it's an early 70's...maybe '73. I got the frame for $5 at a garage sale down the street, built it up with some parts from Damian's garage (hooked me up with a sweet half campy half dura ace crank), my garage, and few parts from sunnyside. Pretty happy with it. It's the new townie/grocery getter.

She still needs a name...Suggestions>?

Videos...

A couple new ones up over at race.cx including one of Richard Groenendael...you may remember him from posts such as shoving Steven at Scheldecross...He's using his fist in this one. And an excellent video of Julien Absalon, an incredibly strong mt bike racer showing what mt bike racing feels like. Brian is right...I can relate.

Check em.

Il Campionissimo

Saw this image in the NY times. Just wanted to share it. I am always in awe of the riders of these days. They were heroes in a way that doesn't seem to happen as much anymore. I am always inspired by the greats...Coppi is right up there on my list.

Fausto Coppi during the 1952 Tour de France

Pole Pedal Paddle

I'm gonna make this a short one...it was six different races, and I am not about to write six different race reports.

It was a fun day, well maybe the skate skiing and running weren't that much fun. In the end though, it was a great day to be out racing around in the Bend sunshine.

I got my mug (1st place in the male individual 30-34 group). Now I am gonna have to step it up next year and race in the elite category. My time was 2hours and 8 minutes. Next year I want to be closer to 2 hours or under...I think actually running and skate skiing before the race would help. Going in the morning with the elites would also speed things up as the snow is a little more firm at that point in the day. That and a faster boat would certainly shave some time off.

Anyways, a great time. My first PPP. I am already looking forward to the next one.

Bend: Pole Pedal Paddle

It's great to see all the boats on cars around town, people out on bikes, and folks running along the river all in prep for the pole pedal paddle. I love the fact that it seems like the whole town is out training. Went for a paddle last night with Serena who is racing with the Elite women (watch out...she's fast!) Ruth came along and took the Dogs for a little swim. The river was full of boats and everyone seemed to be practicing turns, working out the kinks, and getting ready. Seems like it has taken me all week to get ready. I have been waxing skis, checking over gear, finding the just right boots, skis, clothing, boating equipment, mounting aero bars, and securing bike gear that will make it go smooth. I'll drop off my boat Fri afternoon and go home to check that everything is ready. I haven't done the Bend PPP before, so I am going into it without a lot of expectations. The weather is going to be perfect...sunny and probably in the 60's during the early morning, getting up to 80 by the afternoon. I should be done before it gets too hot.

People joke that it's the Bend Olympics...it's not such a joke as there are probably more former and current Olympians competing than can be counted on both hands. A lot of strong competitors out there to be sure. I didn't register in the elite field this year as it's my first, but I am curious to see how my time will stack up. I haven't really trained for the nordic leg or the running leg, both places that one can gain or lose a lot of time. Sure I can get down on the skis fast and on the bike, but neither of these will be a huge advantage...if the bike ride had some more hills to it that might be another story, but alas it's mostly downhill. The paddling this week has felt good, I felt strong enough at least. I certainly won't have the fastest boat out there, but I have paddled enough to feel ready for that leg.

Regardless it's gonna be a good time. I'll see what I can do.

Chainbreaker

Ahh mountain bike racing in Bend. It sure was nice to wake up, sit around drinking coffee, throw a few things in a bag, and head to the race 10 min down the road.

After a long race last weekend and some good racing and training over the last week I went in feeling ready. The weather couldn't have been better. The trails got some rain early in the week and were in great shape with minimal dust.

A tough start uphill and I was feeling pretty worked at the top of the hill. Went backwards a bit, but eventually got into a good pace and worked my way up...I kept catching folks and worked at moving up. There was a real good mix of slight uphills, downhills, and lots of singletrack...not a lot of places to rest, you had to be on top of it the whole way, but a lot of fun sections and a good mix of up and down.

I did this race last year without really any training, I had barely touched the bike all spring, but just decided to jump in... ( I had been finishing grad school, selling the house, and moving). It was miserable. It took me about 30 min less this year...that's pretty significant. More importantly, it was a hell of a lot more fun this time around. The third lap was tough, but I felt strong going into it, I moved up a bunch, catching some more folks, and nearly catching one of the pro racers. Ended up finishing third in my group and was happy with the result.

Yet another strong sunnyside showing...Don won his group, our junior teammate William won his and there was a pile of Sunnysiders out racing. Solid!

Gonna ride a bunch this week, sneak in a little paddling, and some running, in preperation for the Pole Pedal Paddle on Sat and a road race on Sun.

Thailand

So Ruth and I are going to Thailand, leading a bunch of High school kids in some community service work for an organization called Global Routes. Global Routes is a tax-exempt non-profit, non-governmental, non-sectarian organization committed to strengthening our global community through voluntary work overseas.

All of the participants (leaders included) are asked to fundraise for our project. This year we will be building a community health center. We need to raise money to to pay for materials, pay local villagers who will teach necessary skills and buy books for the children with whom we'll also work. I realize it's a tough time to be asking for money so I am trying to ask as many folks as possible. The donation is fully tax deductable and the nice thing is One hundred percent of your donation will go directly to our groups project. It just goes right to a project fund for our group...I literally take the money myself to purchase supplies and pay for help, the more money we get the more options we have with the project and the more we can supplement the project with things like books and supplies for the community we live in.

If you can even find a way to donate $5 that is greatly appreciated. Please pass this along to friends, businesses, family, anyone you know that can help. With the Economy the way it is we are really trying to find all the sources we can for the project.

Here is the link to a site where you can Donate...Thanks so very much for all your support and thought. We will most definitely keep everyone up to date with photos and stories from the trip.
khob-kun ขอบคุณ (thank you)

http://www.firstgiving.com/mfox

Short Track Mounatin Bike Racing in Bend!

Just wanted to give a plug...if you are in Bend and wanna race a short track mountain bike race: come on out, some really fun dirt to ride around on and a bunch of fast folks to race against. It's nice to have a weeknight race in Bend! Come on out!

Mudslinger - Mountain Biking

All the photos can be found here




Sooooo. I thought last weeks mountain bike race was tough. Well I stepped it up this week. That was even harder. I couldn't say if the actual race was harder, but my race certainly was...you see, I decided somewhere in my mud induced haze that I would take a wrong turn and do the incredibly long and difficult climb again. What should have taken me 2 hours...instead took me some 3 hours and 20 min. I was utterly wasted by the time I finished and realized what I did. Why? How? Some questions I have been wondering myself...my best explanation is that I just really thought we were doing two laps up that climb...The whole first lap up the big climb I was cursing the fact that I thought we would be doing it again...it was never ending. The two laps we actually did were some other laps entirely, I just couldn't keep track of where we were on the course. I had gone into some single track and pushed it to pass some folks, I came flying out to the road where I should have turned left towards the finish (a short two miles away) instead I made a right and in an effort to get away from the folks I had just passed took a little pull up the next steep set of hills...I would probably climb for 5 miles. I continued climbing for a good half hour before I started to wonder why I hadn't seen folks in a while, It started to creep into my head that maybe I took a wrong turn, I was in a lot of pain at this pt, running out of food, and looking forward to running into the aid station where I could also get some more water which I was rapidly running out of. I had already finished my water bottle and one that I had found alongside the trail...desperate I know, but this climb, it was long. By the time I got to the aid station I asked them what was up..."should I be here again?" They looked suprised and sent me back down a little shortcut to catch up with the finishing section, probably another 5 miles and just to add insult to injury it started pouring rain. I rolled into the finish to see everyone already changed, cleaned up, and eating.

The guys I had passed in the singletrack finished somewhere around the top 10...ah well. It was some good training I suppose. I was still a lot of fun with some great singletrack and a lot of mud.

What else...well Sunnyside represented. Rode over with Jim and Don, but there were 6 of there. Our new Junior teammate William took third in state for his group, and the ever strong Don won another state championship (Don's got some photos up on his blog). Don has been racing bikes and winning races since before I was born (no offense Don) and it is always impressive to me to see him still out there and doing so well. I only hope I can be doing the same in 30 years, he really is someone I look up to. Both Jim, David and Veronica had strong races too. I guess I have the bicycle disease...I think Ruth would agree to say the least.

This weekend, we'll be racing in Bend at the Chainbreaker...a tough, but fun race. I should be ready after my long ride this past weekend. It will be nice not to drive and conditions should be excellent.