New Kits!

Hidden in the shadows, the Dark Knights emerge, who are these masked men...the Oregon Peloton shivers in fear...

Deardorf and the Lore of Cyclisme!

Match Sprinter,

Keirin Champ,

and 

Development 

Coach.

Long has One been a pillar of strength in the development of Teams at Cyclisme Racing Programs, and whether  we remember his class on training rides, or his speed at the finish, Chris Deardorf always leaves people with an impression of class on the bicycle.

In the black Hincapie jersey he was the guy who never forgot to bring fruit on the team's training rides. He raced more road races then, but found his specialty in the sprinter's world of the velodrome.

Once a shot-putter, strength and power have again blazed his path. Now he races almost exclusively on the velodrome walls, and is a bastion of information and good coaching advice to all of us.

On the Infield, Chris's attentive father supports this already strong pillar of Benevolence, and Good Form.

Growing a Racer!

Fergus and the Crow.

Fergus Kinnel has grown a lot 

hanging out in the 

Cyclisme circle of development. 

He has practiced the way of a good mentor with the Kids of b.i.k.e., and in the process developed his own skills on a bike. As his forte is the mountain trail, he led young Naiqwan "Angel" Pellmen to glorify the Junior ranks of Oregon's dirtier peloton.

Meanwhile Fergus gets a lot from the rollers, the bowl of the velodrome with coaching, and long rides with fast race hardened vets like his Team Captain, Randy Word.

Sunset track practice on Saturday, and a morning Multnomah Falls with Bedford and Word on Sunday made for a "developmental" weekend.  Getting forced out of habits and tendencies is what happens in the Cyclisme Racing Program, and is not easy to endure.

Fergus had to be brave when he was flying around the wall with some of Cyclisme's fastest guys in his first paceline ever on the track. But starkly clad in the famous  garb from the late nineties of one of Oregon's great's Jon Leonard, Fergus's mojo bodes well for his career.

Consider further that the black crow in the back ground of this video "Fergus on the Rollers" would soon fly off with Fergus's car keys. but Fergus would jump off the bike and run, only to get the keys back after distracting the playfully troublesome bird.

Finally! Track Practice!

After weeks of the 

Cyclisme time slot 

reserved for 

practice on the 

Alpenrose Velodrome 

being canceled due to rain, 

we finally got to have a track practice.

Beautiful and breezy, 

temperature in the mid 

seventies made for a 

perfect day out at the track.

A big contingent of men and juniors 

made for three big groupings of ability. 

Thanks to three great coaches 

everyone received some quality instruction. 

Steve Garcia of OBRA, 

Bike Central, 

and my old friend, 

added great color and sound 

as he kicked off the practice by 

blowing his whistle and making 

sure we were all safe and paying 

attention to the rules of the track. 

Then a guy who started out as a bike messenger riding for a team called Cyclisme based out of a shop called Bike Central, but today is considered one of the best racers on the best track team in Oregon, Tony Kic gave us our briefing on velodrome pacelines. 

Of course our own favorite track Captain resplendent in a state champ jersey he won racing the Keirin took on the challenge of teaching the beginners' pack how to negotiate the steep banks of one of America's steepest velodromes.

Crackn the whip!

Finish Carpentry 

of building a team

requires a delicate touch 

especially when juniors are being 

introduced to training rides with the older guys.

At just the right speed with the right people taking the longer pulls,

a paceline can carry along even a diverse group of riders along at a brisk tempo.

Trying to weld together all the pieces in an encouraging way requires a little magic. 

Everyone's effort throughout the year shows in our improvement.

Word Learns to Lead

A Team. 

of horses traditionally line up in two columns 

and work together to create "horsepower," 

but taking a team in hand has traditionally 

been the work of great men.

Already a fine star and crit rider in his own rite 

Randy Word now finds himself in a place in his 

career where it is time to be "Patrone." 

Cyclisme is the perfect kind of team for this 

because the hierarchy of the lead-out is structured and strong.

Junior phenom DeShaun Lee is making his Debut, while big Stephen Bedford powers up, Hilderbrandt and Gomez-Meade prepare to serve, while Jake's back flattens, and heir apparent Alex Lightman continues to look very comfortable in the paceline.

Watch and listen to learn how Randy runs the Cyclisme 

machine.

Mudslinger Race Report - GO

7:00 am departure from my house with me, Fergus and Naiqwan. We pick up Will at the Rose Quarter Max then head 2 hours to Blodgett OR. Some wicked rain on the way down created some nervous laughter in the van. Will, Fergus and I have all raced in the mud on Mike Ripley's courses west of Corvallis, and it makes for some super snotty/slippery/hairball singletrack.

We got there just in time to pick up our cool pre-reg race packs with water bottles, gels, and other stuff, and get Naiqwan signed up for the 12 mile Junior course. Naiqwan seemed up for the challenge, looking cool in Cyclisme kit and chatting up his new friend and competitor William (from Bend).

After a short warm-up we met at the school with 250 or so other racers for the pre-race meeting, then the downhill neutral coast to the start. The start was a cluster, with people in the wrong categories clogging up the space. Fergus went off with the hardcore SS group, then Will's 19-34 Cat 2's, then my 35-44 cat 2's. The race started with a 2.5 mile gravel road climb, that quickly put the hurt on me. I watched a group of 12 or so ride off, then maintained a steady pace at a quite high, but sustainable heart rate.

Upon topping out, the fun started with a short, greasy singletrack descent. This is where the roadies stuck out like a sore thumb. Dabbing, braking, stopping (I kid you not, a Portland Velo guy actually stopping and blocking the singletrack because he could not go down it-pathetic). Anyway, then more up, and down what they call Clavicle Alley which is a fast logging road descent with water bars every 50 meter or so. The ground is like grease, about 2-3" deep, and very slippery. The thing is, the faster you go the better, because your momentum keeps you going forward. If you brake too much, the ground picks your line, and the side-to-side shifting will cause you to go down-as many people did. I bunny hopped some of the water barriers, and on others used the 120mm of rear suspension to take it all as I would just wheelie the front over at 25 MPH.

My strategy became to bomb the downs and pass as many as I could, and climb in damage control mode to prevent cramping. I drank 50 ounces or so of water, plus a bottle of HEED, and ate 2or 3 Hammer gel shots from the flask and about 12 Endurolyte capsules. I felt "off" and tired the first 15 miles or so, then really got into it and rallied towards the end. I think it was a mental fatique, not so much physical. Hard to describe, but I think you all know what I mean.

At mile 11 I took off my rear fender (which in hindsight was stupid to have on in the first place) as it was getting loosened up and rubbing my tire. At mile 24 I stopped to pick it up on the way to the finish, and while I did that I let two guys past that I could not catch back up to.

Fergus greeted me at the finish, after turning in a very solid time in the SS category. His Cat is very tough. An example of the typical climb is me (granted, I'm not fast, but bear with me) in a 32 x 32 gear, spinning 50 RMP or so. Fergus ran a 32 x 22 I think, so that makes it a pretty tough grind. Word is that the Pro mens winner Carl Decker was riding a SS with a 35 x 16 gear, which is absurd.

We all then hung out, ate free food, and watched the awards and raffle.

Highlights: Naiqwan developing some solid technical MTB skills on very challenging trails (he will be on the podium very soon, I predict). Winning some gloves and Hammer gel in the raffle. Good company on the long drive. A great pre- and post-race festive scene. Riding fast down gnarly muddy singletrack through the forest. Finishing ahead of road heavies like Kent Johnston. Seeing friends and competitors that I only see at races.

Things to work on: Improve the power to weight ratio. Cut out the crap food and drop 10 pounds of fat so I can climb better.

All in all, a typical mid-pack finish for me. I'm getting motivated for some serious short-track action this summer at PIR.

Greg

Mudslinger Race Report - FK

After an early, early morning departure Naiqwan, Will, Greg and I,
drove through heavy rain to Blodgett.

The starting route was different from the previous year's but there
were some familiar sections. I raced single speed and was immediately
off the back. I didn't have the intensity of race mode and told
myself I was pacing myself. The downhills were very slippery and
nerve wracking, and thus not restful. There were many sections of
gradual downhills were I wished I had had a geared bike.
About halfway through the race (24 miles total) I picked up a bit of
steam and was able to pass some geared bikes which had passed me
earlier. And I started relaxing on the luge like downhills, which
made them much faster, and much more fun. I finished feeling strong
but mostly spent. I crashed only twice at the same section of the
single track. Both mild crashes and I'll take that any day.

Naiqwan came in fourth again. He rode some very sketchy sections and
had a good race. He also picked up some nice shades in the raffle.

Will and Greg also had good rides but I'll leave those stories up to
them. I enjoyed the company of our van load of guys. It was much fun!

Thanks!

Fergus