Racing and Drive in the Mountains

I haven't written anything since the Southern Oregon Time Trial Series got over. Some might think that I am bummed out because Vern beat me again. Not true. I'd rather beat him but it doesn't bother me to lose to him on the road. I was surprised though, in the last race when he caught me and passed me, on an uphill. I knew he was faster going downhill but I thought I was faster going up. I learned something that kind of explains why he's as tough as he is. He told me he went to college on a swimming and water polo scholarship. WATER POLO! Those guys are animals. That's got to be the most physically demanding sport there is. He may look like a softy, but he's not.

I'm racing the mountain bike next weekend at Mudslinger up west of Corvallis. Should be better than last year when it snowed. I'm racing the sport class this year. Three years as a beginner is pushing it.

Yesterday we went on a ride into the mountains with Frank and Sally. We drove up highway 199 to Patricks Creek, turned up Patrick's Creek Road and drove up Shelly Creek and over the mountain to Obrian, OR. Nice drive.
This is what it looks like up on top.


















We came across a Darlintonia bog. Interesting plant.

Racing Again

Somebody mentioned, at the race today, that I haven't blogged about the Southern Oregon TT Series. Okay Vern, I'll tell everyone that you've beaten me two weeks in a row now. I have raced the first two out of three races in the series and my times have improved over last year. Unfortunately Vern's times have improved as well. During cyclocross season if the course is mostly uphill I can usually beat him and if there are a lot of fast downhills he can usually beat me. These TT courses are up the hill, turn around and come back down the hill. Today he started two minutes behind me which has been his usual margin of victory over me. When I turned around at the top of the hill and started down I saw him coming up too soon. I knew that he would catch me and that would mean a two minute victory for him. I pushed myself beyond my comfort level going downhill and he didn't catch me until right before the finish line. What fun though.

New Single Speed

I finished the single speed today and Susan Roberts came over to take some pictures before it gets dirty. I felt pretty ridiculous when working on it because I had to wash my hands so often. It was fun though.








Lots of white parts.












I don't know when I'll ride it. I wouldn't want to get it dirty. Maybe when it quits raining.

















Cool Nitto components.












Shimano Sante. Brand new, twenty years old.












The build is:
Soma Delancey frame and fork
Cane Creek headset
Nitto CT-80 stem
Nitto Raundoneur bars
Shimano Sante brakes and levers
Shimano Sante crankset
MKS pedals with Soma toe clips
White Industries bottom bracket
Velocity Fusion rims on Paul high flange hubs
Vittoria Randonneur tires
Nitto 65 seatpost
Selle San Marco Zoncolan saddle

I forgot to mention:
Shimano Biopace (oval) 42 tooth chainring
White Industries 16 tooth freewheel

I'm Back

I'm always slightly upset with other people who don't post to their blogs and now I haven't posted to mine for over a month. Not since my birthday. It's not that my birthday upset me. I just haven't been doing much of interest. No racing but I've been putting a lot of miles on my bikes. I'm hoping to start the season in better shape than last year. Speaking of birthdays, I've learned that your racing age for cyclocross is your age the following year. That means that I'll get a new age group a year early, just in time for the Nats in Bend. There have only been 6 racers in the 65-69 year age group the last two years at the Nats. If I work really hard maybe I'll have a chance for a podium position.
I really can't afford to be buying more bikes but I couldn't resist this one. I've been gathering components for a single speed road bike and this is the frame that I wanted. I scored a complete bike. It has the same bars and pedals that I have already purchased so I guess I'll sell the brand new ones to help defray the cost. It has a flip flop rear hub and I rode it fixed the first day I had it. I don't know if I'll ride it fixed again. It's a lot more comfortable with a freewheel. Consider this the "before" picture. I'll post lots of pictures of the completed project.

Birthday

When i get older losing my hair,
Many years from now.
Will you still be sending me a valentine
Birthday greetings bottle of wine.
If i'd been out till quarter to three
Would you lock the door,
Will you still need me, will you still feed me,
When i'm sixty-four.
You'll be older too,
And it you say the word,
I could stay with you.
I could be handy, mending a fuse
When your lights have gone.
You can knit a sweater by the fireside
Sunday mornings go for a ride,
Doing the garden, digging the weeds,
Who could ask for more.
Will you still need me, will you still feed me,
When i'm sixty-four.
Every summer we can rent a cottage,
In the isle of wight, if it's not too dear
We shall scrimp and save
Grandchildren on your knee
Vera chuck & dave
Send me a postcard, drop me a line,
Stating point of view
Indicate precisely what you mean to say
Yours sincerely, wasting away
Give me your answer, fill in a form
Mine for evermore
Will you still need me, will you still feed me,
When i'm sixty-four.

I remember when that song came out. I liked it. I didn't think it had anything to do with me though. I had a birthday today. Guess what.

Bogstomp

I found a video of the race I did last weekend. This guy was able to ride the whole course. He must be tougher than me. He rode the 30 minute race. The course was more torn up when I rode the 50 minute race.

Winter

Winter is here, finally. Saturday morning I loaded my cross race stuff, including my pop up canopy and heater, into the truck and headed for Eureka. It was snowing lightly on Crescent City hill, snowing heavily on the Redwood Park bypass and raining heavily at lower elevations. It reminded me of something I always tell people new to the Pacific Northwest. If you plan an outdoor activity and the forecast is for shitty weather, just go do it anyway. It almost always works out. By the time I got to Eureka the weather was almost nice. It didn't rain at all while I was at the race. It rained hard as I was getting ready to leave the race. Perfect.
The race was called Bogstomp and was held out on Elk River, enlarge the picture and you can see route from my Garmin. It was on the Wrigley property which was an apple orchard until Pacific Lumber Company raped the forest and caused the river to flood every year killing the apple trees. There's a book's worth of story about that. As a child I used to ride my bike out there to go fishing and sneak into the old abandoned town of Falk. The race course was two sections of single track through the woods connected by old road sections. The single track was so muddy that I, as well as most of the other racers, ran it carrying our bikes. Even the roads were muddy to the point that you couldn't ride a straight line. It was the muddiest race I have ever done. Muddiest cyclocross race anyway. The Horning's MTB race was muddier. It was fun though and rewarding to finish. I think the some people abondoned the effort. I raced the long race, 50 minutes. It took me slightly over an hour. It was fun to meet new people who like to race bikes. I beat a couple of people.
That was my last race of the year. It even snowed at my house today, at sea level, so I didn't ride. I now need to figure out my training for the next month and a half. I probably won't race again until the Cherry Pie road race in February. Base building I guess.