Outlaw Cross #5

Yesterday was the final race of the Outlaw Cyclocross series. It was held, again, at the Paradise Ranch development on the site of a future golf course. It was, again, muddy. Way muddier than last time. I decided that, even though I'm still sick, I was going to go out hard and see if I could keep up with Steve Law. Steve is a friend of mine who turned 50 and is racing in the 50+ cat for the first time this year. He always beats me unless he breaks down. I started hard and hung with him for a little while. He soon pulled away from me though. He ended up winning the 50+ race. We race with the rest of the B cat so there's a lot of other people on the course with us. I beat about 6 people. I beat Joe Davis who always beats me and I even lapped Vern. I didn't beat them with my riding skills or my fitness. I beat them with equipment. My wheel/tire combination was right on for the day. I ran the FSA carbon wheels with Dugast Rhinos. Everybody had problems with mud and leaves clogging their wheels. I should have taken a picture of Vern's wheels. He probably took a picture. If he sends it to me I'll add it. My wheels would feel clogged and hard to turn at one point on the course but on a following downhill section they would clean out somewhat.

We're going to Portland for Thanksgiving and I'm going to race in Eugene on the way home Sunday. Then I'm going to do a couple of races in Humboldt county and that will be it for the season. I'm already thinking about next year. I'm going to be way better.
Here's Vern's bike. You can see why he had problems.

Outlaw Cross #4

I raced at the drag strip again. I didn't take any pictures but here's a nice picture of Kristy Green taken by Chet Collins.
I was sick all week and didn't train at all. Well, I rode a couple of times but really easy. I don't get sick very often so I don't know how to act when I'm sick. I raced anyway. I took it easy to guarantee a finish. I just hung with Vern. He knew I'd been sick so I think he was trying to drop me. He wasn't going easy anyway. I decided to make my move with 3 laps left. I figured I would get lapped so it really would be 2 laps. When the lap board said 3 I left Vern on the hill and pushed to stay ahead. That lap was hard. The next lap almost killed me. I didn't get lapped by the leader and had to do the third lap. I survived. I raced for 1 hour and 2 minutes. I still haven't recovered from my cold or sinus infection or whatever it is that's bugging me. I hope I'm better by this weekend. I'm planning on racing hard. It's the last race of the series.

Outlaw Cross #3

I raced on Saturday in Medford out by the drag strip. If you've read my earlier posts you know that I did a couple of races there last spring. That's when I learned that a drag strip goes uphill at the end. The hill is still there. The course was mostly on hard dirt with loose gravel on top. It started down a little hill and then alongside the drag strip in dirt. Then it went onto the drag strip and up the hill. It was a pretty good climb. Very tiring. Vern had added the hill at the last minute before our race started to spread out the field and make it easier to score. After the uphill it was, suprisingly, downhill for a while. The downhill was on pavement so it was fast. Then it went up a slight hill to a runup with a barrier at the top and then a steep, short drop. Then it zig zagged around in the field to end with a couple of barriers. I got ahead of several people during the first lap but then didn't catch anybody until the last lap when I passed a guy in my age group who stopped to add air to his tire. During the fourth lap my rear tire felt really low and when I looked at it I thought it was flat. I pulled into the pit but found that it had just lost pressure. I thought it would be okay so I continued without changing it. I must have picked up a Goat's Head thorn and the Stan's sealant held. I'm glad I added the Stan's. I did have to slow down on the pavement section as I was afraid I might roll the tire off.
It was a good race. I worked hard and finished near the middle of the B class, 14th out of 21. I think I need to warm up harder and start harder. I get behind at the start but then don't lose a lot of ground. I'm always thinking about next week and next year. Then, all of a sudden, I'll think "wait a minute, I'm f***ing OLD. How many more years can I do this shit?". I guess I'll just keep doing it until I can't.
I found this picture of Lillian at the SSCXWC race in Portland this weekend. I bet she had a good time.

Mud

I raced yesterday in Grants Pass, Oregon. The second race in the Southern Oregon Outlaw Cyclocross series. It was wet and muddy. The course was on the site of a future Jack Nicklaus golf course. It was flat and would have been fast if dry. I guess I don't ride aggressively enough. I stayed relatively clean.








This guy rode a single speed mountain bike.


















Vern got dirty, even though I beat him again.


















There was a nasty run up.














A few guys were able to ride it.













My bike survived. I rode the Challenge Grifos at about 28 psi. I bottomed out on every bump but they worked well.

Next week the race is in Medford, out by the drag strip.

Yreka

I did the first race of the Southern Oregon Outlaw Cyclocross Series Saturday in Yreka, California. Yes, an OBRA race in California. Some of the regular southern Oregon racers live there and have put on a race two years now. It's a nice course. Some grass but mostly single track. There is a hard, rocky section so I left my carbon wheels in the pit. I raced my Racing Ralph tubeless setup again and it worked well. Several people flatted using tires with tubes including a guy in my age group who always beats me. He flatted twice so I came in third out of four in the 50+ age group. I kicked Vern's ass. He is in a different age group but we still race at the same time. The course included quite a bit of climbing and a very difficult run up.

I took a couple of pictures of friends of mine on the grass during the A race.

Richard Hogan












Thom Kneeland
It was a beautiful day. The series continues next weekend in Grants Pass. Guess who gets to design the course. Vern. I probably won't have a chance of beating him.

Bling

I want to build a single speed road bike so I've been looking at pictures on the forum to get ideas. I spotted a bike with a white crankset and thought that it looked really cool. I did some research and discovered that it was Shimano Sante, a groupset that they made in the late 80's. It was between Ultegra and Dura Ace. I've been told that they quit making the line because it was consider too yuppie. I first found the brake set on Craig's List Boulder Colorado and then the crankset on ebay. Brand new twenty year old stuff. This is just the start of my project. I don't even have a frame yet. I'm leaning towards a Soma Delancey. I'll keep you posted on the progress.

Cross Crusade

I did the Cross Crusade race yesterday at Ranier Oregon. It was a great course. Mostly on grass and dirt paths. Lots of climbing but with long sections of downhill to recover. Check out the photos on http://pdxcross.com/?p=284 to get a good feel for what it was like.

The race started on an uphill section and I took it kind of easy so I wouldn't blow up right at the start. Once we started downhill the guy in front of me was going too slow so I passed him. I continued to take it easy because I hadn't pre-ridden the course and had only walked part of it. The course was over two miles. I went back and forth a couple of times with the guy I had passed but eventually I got ahead for good. I held on but couldn't pass anybody else. There was a steep uphill section of hard gravel with some loose stuff on it. I must have had too much air in my tires because I couldn't get traction near the top and had to get off and run up. Well, I didn't really run. The Masters 50+ class had 48 starters. I finished 42nd. Maybe I need to push harder at the start. The other age 60+ guys didn't finish very far ahead of me.
Here's my heart rate with elevation. I guess I'm more fit than last year. Some times I wonder about that but I don't ever feel like quiting during a race like I did last year. It was a tough race though.

Next week is the start of the Southern Oregon Outlaw Cyclocross series. That's my favorite series racing with the people from Southern Oregon who have become my good friends.