A love hate sort of thing...

PRESSURE DROP
OBRA State CX Championship 11/20/10
By M.M. Blomberg

As a cyclo-cross beginner in 2009, Championship anything sounded pretty hardcore to me. But 2010 has been a year of learning what that intimidating word means in the world of cycling. Earlier this summer I competed in the OBRA Mtn Bike Short Track, Criterium and Track championship races. These races are like any other except for two things. Placing well at these races means big points for your OBRA stats (points lead to upgrades) and top 3 earns you a shiny medal to take home (with bragging rites if you so choose).
With my whole year of racing leading up to this moment, I tried to follow my own advice. Show up and do the best you can with what you’ve got for that day. No pressure, it’s just a race, right?

Saturday was a dry chilly 38 degrees when Beth Hamon (Velo Bela & bike mechanic) and I arrived at West Salem High School for early tent set up (Shane stayed home sick). Beth had been working all year to get a women’s singlespeed category established at cross races and she finally got her wish in Salem. I’m not quite ready to join the singlespeed nation for cross. Maybe next year Beth.

This course was a love hate sort of thing. Some loved it, some hated it but nobody was in the middle. Personally, I just found it to be exhausting. There was still grass and most of the technical sections were rideable during my AM pre ride. Lots of pavement and curbs (some wood ramps provided), two climbs, a wide steep run up and one set of barriers. The off camber section before the run up turned into a foot race run later in the day as the hillside threatened to kick you down the slick slope and off of the course completely. If you are a good climber, this was your day. Hill #1 in the trees on the fence line was muddy with roots and slick rocks with a smattering of forest debris (some ran this too). Hill #2 was a long bark dust running trail leading up out of the trees to pavement. For the less conditioned, this hill was taken on foot by mid race. After the bark dust climb, you are heading back through the school parking lot to the finish. Hard, square speed bumps were an unexpected obstacle. A section cut out of the middle of the speed bump was big enough for one rider to pass through but with a group of riders, your options were bunny hop it (my favorite), ride over it (ouch) or go around. Just don’t forget they are there as a few unlucky racers did.

By my race time, our weather had leveled out to a manageable 50 degrees, no rain and a completely chewed up and slick course. Two of the top Cross Crusade Master A ladies were absent; Sue Grandjean (Showers Pass) and Julie Swearingen (Mountain View). I started in the front row with Sarah Eustice (Bike Attorney), Sarah Tisdale (Sorella Forte) and Jill Hardiman (Existential Velo).

“TIMERS READY! RIDERS READY! GO!!” Our greasy start in the mud leads into a wide rutted S turn. We scramble like the cars in a demolition derby, narrowly missing each other in the hard left turn around the first stake, bikes sliding and wheels sticking in the muddy grooves. It takes all my energy to push my crank and keep my wheels in motion across in these 90 degree turns to stay with the leader. We spill out onto pavement and I hold on as part of top 4 with Sarah E., Jill and Renee Scott (Sunnyside Sports-raced A’s in Cross Crusade). I managed to ride the off camber before the run up on the first lap (not so lucky after that). Rolling downhill with a mucky dismount at the bottom and we slog up the very steep run up. At the top it’s pavement, curb and back to small downhill and another off camber before the only barrier. Reaching the back of the course, our climbing skills are tested at the hill in the trees (thanks Kevin for the pre race tip on taking the right side line). Passing the pit we maneuvered the soft bark dust decent with bank like S curves. A little soft for me to ‘rail’ but I do try to increase my speed each lap to carry me through to the next running trail climb. Climbing out of the saddle, my chase to stay with the front group continues. Passing through the finish for lap 2, I bunny hopped the speed bumps before a right turn up a curb ramp to the muddy start section. Just behind me I hear the familiar sound of metal hitting pavement. Rider down at the speed bump! From the sidelines my coach yells “GO FASTER!” Thanks J.B., the thought hadn’t occurred to me.

More wheel sucking mud and the passing begins.Wish I could say I was doing the passing. Sarah Tisdale gets around me before the pavement as we knock wheels in the turn. I go big chain ring on the pavement sections but the speed doesn’t help when rolling back into nuggety sections. Both are sucking my energy more than usual. Getting passed and passed but I have stopped trying to keep track of the kits. SUCKING WIND! Kim Rueter (Sorella Forte) comes by me, I pass her back but she ends up getting the better of me and I lose another position. In lap three, I take a technical down hill at a funky angle, front wheel sticks in the deep mud at the bottom and over the handlebar I go, leaving a chunk of knee flesh behind. Fans cheer! By final lap 4, I have slid into 9^th position and I am just trying to hang on a little longer. Over the sound of my booming heart beat I hear, “COME ON MARGI, YOU CRAP HILLS BIGGER THAN THIS, LET’S GO!” Margi Bradway (Team S&M) has finally caught me on the last hill before the finish. I ask my legs for a donation of speed but they already gave at the office. Passing me on the right, Margi whispered “good job”. My last effort, up out of the saddle to chase her home but just couldn’t catch her. Rolling into the finish, it’s 10^th place today. And just like any other race, it ended with a trip to first aid.

Dirty and Dateless!

WELCOME TO THE FUN HOUSE
Blind Date #5 finale
By M.M. Blomberg

COME ONE, COME ALL! Ride the “Wash Out” roller coaster! Test your strength against the A’s! Or, enjoy taste treats in the Midway!

Creative bike lights and a smattering of costumes made this final Blind Date feel more festive, even with a small turnout. My right knee is so carved up it went dressed as a jack-o-lantern. Transformed once again, our course was shorter but equally as challenging. Rain left the mud sections thick and sticky with huge ruts and the grassy sections were very deceiving, leading to many wipe outs in the early races.
The Amazing WHOOSH (Alice Pennington,Team S&M) was back tonight as the Big Top show stopper and series leader. Doing my best to steal the spotlight, I jumped off the line and stayed ahead, beating Alice for the Hole Shot preme. She chased me until just after the run up and passed me on the hill by the Velodrome ( just getting warmed up I’m sure). I stayed in second position for part of lap 2, then washed out, taking a grassy slick right turn too hard in the field. Crap! Getting passed! Back up again I begin my chase of Amy Rice (Lazy Tarantulas) and Sarah Eustice (Bike Attorney). Feels strangely familiar. By the time we hit the barrier section again, I try to pass Amy. Ooophff.... Down I go in the slick grass. Double crap, right knee bleeding again. Run Monkey Run!! Turning it on, I chase and chase, keeping on the wheels of Amy and Sarah, waiting for my chance to pounce. Back into the tree section, the generators were not working properly and the lights were going off and on with a slow strobe light effect (made me a little nauseous). Welcome to the Fun House! Who says you can race by braille? With 4 laps to go, I finally passed Sarah and Amy at the run up and continued my attack to create a gap. Slowing into the corners and up out of the saddle out of the corner. Attack! Attack! Amy kept chasing but I am set on riding the legs off of that little spider and my gap slowly increases. My brain is screaming “JUST STAY UPRIGHT!” Bell lap and it’s all out. Pushing my speed, I enter the final barrier section by myself. Ring Master Luciano announces to the crowd of 10 that I am a fighter and moving up quickly in the A’s.
I finished with a strong 4^th, just 15 seconds behind the 3^rd place position. No balloons or Cracker Jacks but I did win a bag of Stumptown coffee for the Hole Shot preme. With the series over, I guess I will have to settle for being dirty and dateless.

Csaba had an awesome race and moved up again, turning his finish into an all out foot race with two other riders, running his bike to the finish line. Sarah is still trying to shake off her cold and she humbly accepted the role of DFL. You get credit for showing up and racing Sarah. Pretty hard core if you ask me. THANK YOU, THANK YOU to Sarah and Sandra for staying late in the cold to watch me suffer and bleed!

from "Cup and Saucer" to Hayden Meadow

Two columns
rolled in the rain after meeting at the Cup and Saucer Cafe on NE Killingsworth.

Distance and tempo were reduced as new faces and early season made just gathering victory.


But still pro was the leadership of our women at the front.


Plowing around north St. Johns
with windward order at a decent clip
Mielle and Sandra commanded an excellent paceline formation all the way.


Jenn Leonard (see OBRA) unfortunately had a little tear in her calf,
so fortunately she rode in the car with me,
and was very helpful filming the riders and handing them up food.

She also paid Randy for her new long sleave skinsuit.

Watch for big things from her and her crew next year.

Into the wind!

In a paceline, one pulls off the front, into the wind.

el Presidente

A new Cyclisme!

Krugers Crossing 11/21/10

KINDNESS IN HELL By M.M. Blomberg

We must be crazy to do this thing called cyclocross. Right? Its 35 degrees, raining AND snowing and we think that sounds like a perfect day for a race. And yet, at the end of our race we are cold, shivering and grateful. Grateful we got through it and finished. Grateful for understanding partners and spouses that put up with mud EVERYWHERE. And, grateful for those friendly faces that lent a helping hand, a quick bike fix, or just agreed to hold your crap at the start line.

Frosty streets and sunshine at 8:00 AM left me half expecting a dry course on Sauvie Island. No such luck. Even without rain for two days, Kruger's farm had standing water everywhere and the mud was just plain greasy. At least it wasnt the sticky peanut butter mud from last year that took many a derailleurs life. Small but festive, a dedicated group turned out for what some consider their last race of their season. More than once I heard racers say they were just plain DONE with cleaning their bike this year. Amen to that.With Shane at home riding the sick couch, I was on my own for set up and take down of the borrowed Kona tent. Lucky for me I set up camp next to Tireless Velo, as my friend Mike Robinowitz is on that team. His friends and teammates were quick to help me with tent set up and continued to offer me beer all day including a 4 beer hand ups (that I politely declined).

My early morning pre ride of the 2 mile route gave me plenty to ponder before 2 PM. Slick rutted flats, a pumpkin barrier, hay bail run up (some tried to ride it and failed), and three barriers sections. A 4^th barrier positioned in front of a huge mud puddle was taken out before my race. Long gravel and paved road sections allowed for more big gear pushing before you dropped back into the grit and grass. Many sought warmth at the bonfire as our sun faded before noon, leaving us with the rain/snow mix that didn't let up all day. At least the rain would keep us from dragging five pounds of mud around the course.

A poorly timed last minute trip to the porto potty was almost a missed start. Running to the line, I was trying to hold my bike and pull my rain pants off without much luck. Seeing my struggle, a nice guy came over and gave me a hand. Lucky for me Jenn Levo (Bridgetown Velo) was at the start waiting to take my stuff since she was not racing. Thanks Jenn! My mind is clear, it is very cold. I am in the front row with Sarah Eustice (Bike Attorney), Sarah Tisdale (Sorella Forte) and Beth Burns (Veloce). Whistle blows and we shoot down the long muddy road with the corn fields our right. My fingers are already frozen, I've got mud in my eyes but I can't get distracted and give up the fast past. Dropping onto the long gravel road, the pace increases and I've set my sights on Beth (chased her plenty at Blind Date). Right turn off the road into the mud is followed by a hard left up a set of 4 railroad tie stairs with a slight uphill at the top. A quick remount by the farm house and we are back down a small hill that turns us back to the road we just came from. I am in the front 5 as we hit another right onto the muddy tractor road into the fields and one girl goes down in front of me. Next is a hard left into a very muddy technical rose bush section that leads you down hill and out to a barrier. By this time I have passed the group and I am getting in behind Beth, our current leader. Mentally I'm patting myself on the back for catching her so quickly. Staying on her wheel to pace her, we roll through the barn by the finish for lap 2.. The course sends us around the thick mud path next to a green house and then back to the barriers by the team tents. We run the farm gauntlet. 2 barriers, huge puddles, pumpkin barrier(smells horrible over there), hay bail run up , back to pumpkin barrier again and through the huge mud puddles to the 2nd set of barriers at the team tents. I pass Beth when she trips and falls in between the barriers. Knowing that we are rounding the corner by the start shoot, I kick my gears up in an attempt to reach the road first. Fingers are numb and pushing my shifter is almost impossible. My determination pays off and I finish lap two in the lead with Beth 20 seconds behind me. Lap three I fail to get my foot unclipped at the single barrier on the back section and fall right on my butt. No damage done, but Beth passes me at the barrier. We make the greasy turn around the huge tree into the long grassy mud road leading back to the barn by the start. I pass her back and she pants good job, as I a take the lead in lap 3. Lapping the slower riders, I do my best to say Good Job but my lips are so cold it sounds like, Guuu Japhhh. I call and my quads respond in my attempt to build a bigger gap but the pumpkin barrier and hay bail run up slow me just enough for Beth to get close. Unaware we are being stalked, Megan Schubel (Sweatpea Ladies) passes me after the barriers and she is cookin. Beth kicks her pace up, passes me on the flats and chases. Fifth and final lap and I am chasing them. Nobody is even close to us on the rear to worry about (we were the only 3 that did 5 laps). I pushed as hard as I could on the final run in but Beth finished in 2^nd with me seconds behind her for 3^rd. We high fived and congratulated each other on a fine race season at the finish line.

The elation of having raced well evaporates when I realize I can't feel my fingers. Finding me at the finish, I get my rain jacket from Jenn but can't make the zipper on her backpack work to get the rest. Unable to remove my wet cold gloves, she pulled them off for me so I could find a place to warm my fingers. With my bike leaning against me, I Shoved my hands inside my jersey (it wasn't very warm in there), and stood frozen in this position, grimacing with pain shooting through my finger tips. I knew Jenn had someone waiting for her so I gathered my rain pants and sweatshirt, wrapping them around my hands and forced myself to slog back to the tent. The shaking gets worse when I try to get out of my wet muddy kit and into something dry. Hands waging like the pooches in the doggy cross race. I managed to get my top half dry and covered and put on my No Peak towel skirt over my bib shorts. Leaning against the car, removing my shoes and shorts was grueling with shaking frozen fingers. Seeing my frigid struggle, Mike and his wife come to my aid. With Mike turning my car on and cranking up the heat, I had a seat on the back of my rig, with the hatch open. They each took a leg and peeled off my filthy knee highs that felt like muddy ice packs. Hands and arms shaking wildly from the bone chilling cold, I now look like I am having a seizure. Retrieving towels from my back seat, they proceeded to clean my gritty legs and put clean wool socks on for me while Mike jokes that maybe I should eat more pizza and bacon. Ohhh!! Is that how you stay warm? I shivered on my own into sweatpants and mud boots, climbed into the warm front seat and burst into muddy eye burning tears. It took about an hour for the shaking to go away completely. A trip to the bonfire helped warm me up before I retrieved pinky from the pit and cleaned my bikes. Mike's last good deed (other than taking pictures for me with my camera) was to help me put the tent in the car.
I am truly grateful that we as racers have such a wonderful group of people to spend a cold day in hell with.