Eatonville Road Race

Today I was able to drag out my road bike for the first time in a long time. Since maybe September. Has anyone else noticed that it is always either wet or dark this time of year?

I'm pretty sure I was the only person using downtube shifters or a 20+ year old bike. The bike worked wonderfully, like it always does, except for one problem: my rain bike (that I always ride this time of year) has a rapid rise derailleur and down tube shifters so I had to constantly remind myself to shift in the opposite direction. I wish there were rapid rise short cage derailleurs available.

There was a dusting of snow and black ice on some of the hills approaching Eatonville on the way to the race but thankfully the race course was in good shape- no ice. It was a good circuit, with a couple of decent hills to keep things interesting. A starbucks rider went off the front right after the first lap and stayed there for at least 1.5 laps before a 6 man chase group including myself caught him. We had to ride hard to catch him. He was willing and able to immediately start taking turns pulling after being caught. After drilling it for most of the race in our 7 man group, and riding solo for 1.5 laps, he won the sprint- this dude was really strong! I was feeling a little worse every lap and with 1k to go, when the accelerations started happening, it was everything I could do to stay on a wheel, let alone counter. I didn't contest the sprint and wound up seventh. I think my man Todd Morse Tucker was third.

Just the facts

I've noticed that in the last 10 years there has been a trend for ski manufacturers to print the dimensions of skis on the ski itself. I like this. These are my backcountry skis: 184cm long, 105mm at the shovel, 71mm at the waist, 90mm at the tail. These dimensions, along with the method of construction and stiffness, give you a good idea about how the ski performs. This is a fairly narrow ski by recent standards, moderately stiff, foam core. A good lightweight ski to handle variable conditions in the backcountry.

It would be nice if bike manufacturers would do the same thing. Rather than pointless subjective descriptions like "laterally stiff, vertically compliant" we could have numbers for top tube length, head angle, fork rake, tubing diameter and wall thickness. That and the type of tires on the bike determine how it will handle. Put it in fine print on the seat tube. Just the facts.

Mashel Nisqually kermesse

First road win! Granted the field had 12 riders. Due to the big turnout for ASK there was a Cat 4/5 race at 9am and everyone else at 11am. I guess nobody wanted to show up at 9am to race. It worked out well for me though- being my daughters birthday I could do a race in the morning without being gone all day and being a deadbeat dad. Maybe everyone went skiing instead, which I was tempted to do too. But then I would have been a deadbeat dad and also maybe a dead dad given all the avalanches yesterday.
Anyway, even given the small field I was proud of myself because Todd, Nolan, and I formed the initial lead group and I couldn't keep up with either of them at ASK. They may be Cat 4 on the road but both of them are badass Cat 2 cyclocrossers and this is a 1 hour race that is half dirt. Todd started riding off ahead of us after a few laps. I thought that might be good, Nolan and I could let Todd dangle off the front and wear himself out. The distance got to be a bit much though so I bridged up to Todd and Nolan didn't come with me. Todd and I rode together the rest of the time. I tried to drop him on the Mur du Mashel on the last lap and it didn't work. Coming onto the road I was in front and forced him to lead out the sprint, tucked in behind him, and came around at the last minute.

Andy Salmon kermesse

Great day for a bike race. Mt Rainier stood as a proud sentinel over the course. I wish I had pictures but its hard to do when your pulse is 180. Or more. I saw some strong cyclocrossers at the start and figured those are the guys to watch- Todd Tucker, the OTB crew, Bill Booth. And I did watch them ride away from me with a few other people. Nothing much I could do about it. I fell in to a group with Hahn Rossman, a couple of Apex guys, and a Starbucks rider. I would usually pull on the road, Hahn would take over on the dirt and downhills. It worked well because Hahn is a good descender- there was no touching of the brakes down the rocky Mur du Mashel. He and I were both riding on wider 32mm tires which probably helped. We were never able to put too much time into the Apex riders on the dirt though, and they were not too eager to help pull on the paved section. There seemed to be a lot of flats/mechanicals- not very surprising given the bumpy dirt section. It must have taken a toll on the lead group too because at the end there were only 3 guys ahead of our group. On the last paved uphill leading to the finish I was able to drop everyone except one of the Apex guys, who of course pipped me on the line.

This was my first kermesse- style race and it was a blast. I used my cyclocross bike with 32mm Panaracer Paselas and didn't change out the gearing- I've got 46-36 chainrings and a 12-27 cassette. 45 psi in the front and 55 psi in the back. I wouldn't have changed anything with the setup and the other racers I talked to seemed to feel that cyclocross gearing was plenty adequate too.

Rest and recovery

The experts all tell you that you have to take a bit of time off the bike at some point during the year, otherwise you will mentally or physically burn out. You would think it would be easy and welcome but I have to constantly remind myself to ride easy this time of year.

And in a setting like this I sort of find myself wishing I was at home buzzing around on studded tires or skiing. Sort of! The truth is that I get sick of the 40 degrees and raining that we have most of the year here- and some change in the weather is always welcome. Whether that is Mexico or an ice storm at home. Too bad they happened at the same time.

Is USA cycling losing their relevance?

Interesting article on junior cyclocross participation over at http://www.cxmagazine.com/healthy-junior-cyclocross cyclocross magazine. No surprise that Oregon has the best participation at the junior level. The article states how it was accomplished: a dedicated junior race in a good time slot, and reduced registration fees for junior riders. Made possible by http://obra.org OBRA, an independent (non USAC) sanctioned body. Ask any junior rider or their parent what USAC has done for them lately. Todays juniors are the future of the sport.

Another recent article at cyclocross magazine describes how USAC took over Colorado's independent cycling body and is now taking aim at OBRA.

Its a shame because the two largest cyclocross series by participation in the country and probably the world are independently sanctioned: the Cross Crusade (OBRA) and the MFG series here in Washington. I doubt it is coincidence. These guys are trying their best to introduce young riders to the sport, and it seems USAC is really only trying to stifle it. Or forcibly take over once the grass roots folks have grown it to the point that USAC senses there is some money to be made.

I just saw some results for the single speed cyclocross race at Nationals in Wisconsin. I had to laugh, because USAC pretended that single speed cyclocross didn't exist until a million people started showing up for ironic "single speed world championship" races. The womens field at Nats was 15 deep. That is maybe 10 percent of the privatteer "world championship" race.

I just renewed my USAC license for 2012. The USA cycling officials really do a great job at local races around the northwest and I don't mean to disparage that. I just wish USAC would throw a little bit more of our money towards junior development.

Bring on the new year!

2011... For the world at large was kind of a bummer year. A lot like 2010. There is still a global financial crisis. I'm losing more faith in the white house every day. Wait, I lost all of my faith sometime last year. At least the war in Iraq is over. Or is it? A lot of natural disasters. Sometimes it seems like the wolves are knocking at the door.

Luckily for my family, in the northwest, it was a great year. We all have jobs we like, awesome kids, good food to eat, and good health. I count those blessings every day.

The bikey highlights of 2011, from my perspective:
1. Increased number of people riding bikes out there, and increasing blowback from the media and car culture as a result. I guess that is to be expected. One fundamental problem is that the vast majority of cyclists also own cars. The reverse is not true. When I drive I have no problem whatsoever sharing the road with pedestrians and cyclists. For a lot of motorists it doesn't work that way. They probably have never ridden a bike for transportation in their life, and can't see it our way. The solution? Support your local bike advocacy groups, ride a lot, especially for errands/commuting, and always be courteous and wear a smile. Lucky you, you're on a bike and having fun! Invite a non cyclist to go on a casual fun ride.

2.
I intended to spend 2011 getting acquainted with the track, but managed to get some good results and was booted up into the elite category. For better or for worse, Viking Sport split up- the triathletes and some of the cyclocrossers will stay with Corpore Sano, the track and road racers are now First Strike Racing. I felt somewhat caught in the middle as I focus on both track and cyclocross, but it was natural to go with First Strike as we picked up a lot of great riders in 2011 on the track and have even more for 2012, including a guy named Kenny Williams that some of you may know. First Strike is looking to dominate elite/masters track racing in Seattle. For my part, I'm going to have to change the way I "train" to keep up in the elite races. By train I mean busting out the heart rate monitor and doing intervals or something. Something more than the ride easy in the winter on my commute, then ride harder as the days get longer that I did last year. No power meters or fancy stuff though- just can't do it.

3. I snagged a podium finish in a Cat 3 cyclocross race this year. I wanted an upgrade to the elite category but it didn't quite happen. I had fun racing cyclocross this year- it might be better to be an instigator in the Cat 3 rather than a clinger-on-for-life in the elite race.

4. I accepted a position at a great veterinary hospital that is much closer to my house. Gone is the 2 hour daily bike commute- its now 10 minutes each way. Its already made family life so much easier. The kids respond differently to me when I am at home so much more. l aim to get in some more longer training rides in the morning; hopefully I can maintain fitness with the reduced commute time. I still don't subscribe to the "junk miles" theory of road snobs. No such thing as junk miles. Any time on the bike is worthwhile.

Happy New Year!