Bear Springs Trap, by Csaba

Better luck next time pretty much sums up my Sunday. With that said,
Bear Springs was by far my favorite of the MTB race courses that I've
ridden in OR. I'm looking forward to camping and riding both days
next year.

As Fergus and Greg alluded to in their race reports, I had trouble
keeping air in my tires. I pinch flatted 1/2 to 3/4 of the way
through the race... and then again less than 1 mile later.

While the trail taketh my air, it provideth me with a patch kit. But
the trail was capricious..

.

My spare tube was either bad to start with or I managed to double
snake-bite my spare in flatting the second time. Finding and patching
all four holes was a frustrating task at best. Rhonda, Erik Tonkin's
wife, was kind enough to leave her pump with me as I'd spent my C02 on
the first flat (that's the abridged version, there's some more story
there that I'd share over beers if you're interested).

At this point I was paranoid about flatting again, was out of water,
and had nothing to prove, so I rode super conservative and hiked the
bike over anything nasty looking. I limped home for a DFL, though at
least I was not the last person on the course.

Lessons learned:

* For a remote race like Bear Springs, carry a pump as well as C02.
* ...and a patch kit. No reason not to as they are so small/light.
Better than hiking all the way home.
* Make sure pump and C02 gadget are operational before the race.
* Make sure zipper on seat bag isn't welded shut with mud from
previous races that I can not get it open.
* Knock the rust off technique to ride "lighter" and avoid pinch
flats. I've ridden some really rocky stuff in AZ, but it's been a while.
* Need to figure out how to stop blowing up on the first steep climb.
* Bring extra water to the start (and stand in the shade for roll
call) so that I don't drink most of my water before the race even starts.

I have a short video clip of the team from before the race start, but
uploading the video requires figuring out where my camcorder ended up...

Csaba

Bear Springs Trap, by Fergus

I hitched a ride with Greg and Tony.

A super tough 18 mile course on the backside of Mt. Hood. The start was a roll up a gradual hill where I was dropped into the back of the pack due to my single speed. Then I was in a group where I was able to pass some women and men and they were passing me (good). Then I had a flat tire.

I was on these huge knobbies with 40 psi in them. They feel really hard. I was glad I had put so much air in them as the course went on.

But it wasn’t enough. So I spent five minutes replacing the tube and 6 minutes (all guesses) pumping up the tire. Big tire with a tiny pump. Very annoying!

So, back onto the back of the pack. Great course. Huge variety of terrain, good maintenance of the trails, 90% singletrack, but had many places to pass, great stuff, and long as well.

I passed my teammate Csaba, on the trail while he was fixing his tire. He called out to see if I had a spare tube. I didn’t by that time.

Good race but I’d like to figure out how not to get flats. More air? tubeless?

Grand Is The Lore

Many years and many miles have made the legacy that is
the Lore, and these women are stalwart examples.
Jennifer Brinkman and Lindsay Liden can take racing or
leave it, but they are always rock solid for kids.

When the famous Cobb sisters suffered the loss of their 
mother back in 03, it was these women who came to 
their aid in a real way.

This is championship.  

JB

Best Start

Racing at the first big omnium of the season, the
Kautsky Memorial, Cyclisme racers found themselves in
total amazement immediately. Like gladiators arriving
in the greatest coliseum of them all, we humbly took
our place on the infield.


With rollers stations set up under our blue pop-up
tent, we were ready to brace ourselves for the cruel
lesson about to be revealed by the Gentle Lovers.

JB

Taking Our Place

Twice now, we have seen what all agree is the biggest
attendance of the season. Warm-ups on track before the
event are brutally congested tests of every ones
understanding of the rules. It was often hard just to
get from the infield, to up on to the track.

Eventually we tried to be confident as we ran a
paceline up high above the paceline - exchanging from
the blue line to the rail - every corner at Cyclisme.



Our ability as a team to understand rules is just the
beginning, as now we must come to understand how to
win.

Gentle Lovers gave us a great insight into how to win.

JB

Speech

Selecting who to watch, who to listen to, whose wheel
to be on, these are the concerns of a racer. I saw
Gentle Lovers attack and win, attack and score, attack
and trade the opportunity for victory to another
Teammate.

Gentle Lovers have put together a track team including
Steven Beardsely that is unlike any local track team I
have ever seen. They go off the front from the start
of the race. They are getting their full money's
worth. Then they race with magical timing and flawless
unity.

They counter attack only at the moment their teammate
is being caught by the field. As a result, both guys
share the glory.

JB

Elegance Starts On the Exhale

We have four edicts at Cyclisme that begin to shape
our philosophy, they are "benevolence, good form,
simplicity, and team."  On training rides, when a
beginner gets tired, we gain an opportunity to
practice pushing.

If we get tired of pushing with one hand, we switch.

Of course this style led us to create years ago,
Bicycles and Ideas for Kids' Empowerment, or b.i.k.e.
b.i.k.e. selects, pays for, or even creates all of
Dey' Shaun Lee's bicycle activities.

This is our pathway as a club to transform lives one
pedal stroke at a time.

Cyclisme is not just looking for answers, we are
providing them.

JB

Fire Up

Since 1992, so many great people have come through our
program, it is a long story to tell. But whether you
became famous as a racer, like Dey' Shaun Lee, or you
were a supporter dragged screaming into your first
race, like the legendary Jen Brinkman, you know the
power of Cyclisme.

JB