SNOW DAY

Get up and go to school!


Professor Hansen has returned to give a lesson.

Dressed to kill in his new Hagens Berman kit, Jake was swarmed like a moviestar by the paprazzi
when he arrived for the ride.



Heads full of steam and with good momentum toward the new year's strategy for 2012, we celebrated with a big before-practice-breakfast at Kornblatt's Deli in NW.

Pete Kirby brought his nice family, and shared some brilliant ideas he has about development.
It was a unifying force to know so many were working behind the scenes.

All with radios, anxious junior racers finished their breakfast and waited outside like mafia to announce Jake's arrival before he was two blocks away.

After a long luxurious breakfast,
folks were charged up to barrel out into the snow. When Jake arrived it was just one more exciting reason to ride.

Once on the road, the Radio-Juniors took control of the pack.


With a 500 foot freezing level, there was not a lot of Stumptown left to work with.

Two columns in downtown right up Broadway Blvd. made sense. The warmth and familiarity gave some solace in the face of the radical weather.

Once past the freeway though, the muzzle came off and the white fangs of winter were revealed.



Jean Dey Shaun and Kent attacked immediately, but the patient hand of Cyclisme stayed in two columns.


Terwilliger was engulfed in a blizzard.
Huge wet snowflakes blew parallel to the ground, biting any skin they found.
The back road climb to Hillsdale was covered in snow. Hillsdale proved to be about as high as we could go, so the team dropped right back down to Barbur.

Once on Barbur a full speed paceline carried the team all the way to Naito Parkway, then lights threatened to split us up.

The break was a welcome reprieve for some.

Soon more snow would come just from the climb over the steel bridge.

Williams was desolate as the threat of snow was enough to keep the famous NoPo commuters on the sofa.

Swan Island saw the first major attack of the day as the radio controlled mod squad launched in perfect unison going down the long strait descent down Going.

Many laps and monsterous motor pacing made cutter's circle poignant but not decisive. Waiting for Csaba to rejoin our ranks after a post breakfast parking debacle, most rode in the protection of the pack.

Climbing out from the lowest point in the city rain and wind blew the climbers sideways.

Rolling out the Overlook Bluff the columns flew with the help of a tail wind. Right past UofP and up onto the St. John Bridge.

While up there riders could see the snow line as a jet pilot can see the cloud line.

Back down on HWY 30 it was a gritty gross mess.
Jake got a flat. Folks were really starting to crack.
It was hard.

But next came the climbs through the top of NW up on 25th, then Vista - straight up, no chaser.

By this time though, the day had warmed and the freezing level had gone up.
The team climbed Montgomery and went by the Mojo Tree.
Jake Keegan and Kent climbed "Paris-Roibaix."

The rest went around to meet them on Patton.
With 7 minutes left in our three hour goal, everyone agreed to go around Fairmount.

The sprint from under the bridge saw Kent challenging Jake, and Jake was very kind to let Kent lose by only a little.


Happiness does not come from doing easy work but from the afterglow of satisfaction that comes after the achievement of a difficult task that demanded our best.
Theodore I. Rubin