Bend Weather...

I love thunderstroms, but this was a whole different thing. Still pretty fun to watch. Take a look at the photos. Something like 2 inches of hail on the ground and a bunch of flooding.

Pickett's Charge

Just had to post about what a ridiculously fun race that was. So much single track, twisty, technical, rocky, sandy...a little bit of everything just as a mountain bike race should have.

Sat morning I got to ride the course as we marked it and put up signs, ribbons, etc. It seemed great then, I knew it would be even better at full speed...It was!

Attended graduation Sat afternoon, then got to host Team Lazy Tarantulas as well as the Jr Team Lazy Tarantulas...Good times.

It was a chilly start to the race, but the sun came out at the start and it was just about right. A dusty run up the road to the single track and it spread out considerably. I went backwards on the first lap, feeling exhausted, thirsty ( I dropped my bottle early on the first lap as I fumbled to get it back in the cage), and slow. I had to pee so bad that I took a leak as I was going down a section of trail while riding (nobody was around and I just coasted). I got into a rhythm as the second half of the first lap turned down grand slam. I started catching folks, pedaling harder, feeling stronger. Made a move around some folks going into the second lap, caught some more on the climb and again at the first technical rocky section. Got a water bottle hand up at one of the intersections...THANKS! I kept feeling stronger as the second lap went on. Caught up with D and Mike for a while and rode together till mike flatted and D cramped. Started picking up a few more on the run in to the last rocky section and then just pushed it as hard as I could on the road out. A beautiful day to be out riding bikes with the team and friends.

A short week of craziness as school winds down and we pack everything up and get ready for Thailand. I'll ride bikes a bunch this week and jump in a crit on Wed. Almost summer!

Photoshop Fenway...

A while back I came across this image and I really liked it because it looked like a mini model. I wasn't quite sure what the trick was, but with a little work and help from photoshop, I think I have it dialed in. A big part of it is starting with an image that already appears like a model to some extent, it helps if its more of a landscape shot from a high angle, then it's just a matter of making everything look a little more fake with some color and focus...I tried it out with a shot of Fenway park. Once cross season rolls around I want to try and capture some shots that will work well for this. A pretty cool trick.

STXC, TT's, Dust, Rain, Thunder, Hail...

A quick update. Been riding a lot this week. Tues I jumped into the STXC race and just hung on. Some fast dudes out there...Took 5th out of 5, impressive I know. It was dusty and sweaty with two climbs that were just long enough to really hurt.

Yesterday, rode through some of the heaviest rain I have ridden in. Was on my way with Serena out the the local Wed night TT race. Serious storm we rode through was almost comical, it hailed on us briefly too. Puddle deeper than the bottom bracket, no joke. Just brought the road bike and no aero gear. Got in a quick warm up and off I went, it wasn't raining anymore. It was painful but over quick. I could clearly improve my time trialing, just not sure what it's gonna take or if I care at this pt in the season.

Only a few races left in me before the departure to Thailand...Pickett's this weekend should be sweet, it's been raining a bunch and the trails will be perfect. Next week a crit. That's it. Run a bit whilst traveling, hit it hard in Aug for CYCLOCROSS!