cross season

for the few who actually tune into this blog, i’ll post a few results from my cross season. i was prepared to take it off to rest my ankle but after a test run on a short track course a few weeks ago i decided to go for it and get my license for another autumn of fun.

i went to the short track race the following week and was at the start. i had felt good in the preview laps but got schooled at the start which was an immediate hill climb and was at the back of the pack the entire race just trying to pick off a few riders. last year was my first season and so i raced with the beginners, getting a top 5 finish in every race. my team manager joked the entire season and off season that i was a sandbagger since i did so well as a rookie.

and so i am moving myself up a category to the C level where i face much stiffer and younger competition. that showed in the short track race but i learned a few things. it was a 1 mile bumpy and dry track. we went ten laps and i flatted out at the strart of lap 10. i ran with my bike for the final lap to avoid the DNF distinction.

the local twilight series began this week out at camp harlow. they had spread loose pea gravel along some of the roads which made the course very different from last year. out was my favorite long stretch where i could pass. now i was trying to stay upright as my front was fishing around for solid grip.

i held on with a selection of riders for the 4 laps of the 2 mile course and felt good about passing one chap at the very finish. i was 8th out of 23 in my category. that was a good ride for me.

i went to a clinic tonight and learned a few more things to try. saturday is another local race, the pycho cross series. i’ll line up at 10am and give it my all. at the end it’s fun to place well but the real fun is just being out there, loving the sport and thinking about the next race even as you’re gasping for air at the end.

april continues on

i’m still 100% with the daily riding.

wondering if anyone is reading this.

here are more photos.

some finds at the free library

sunset over the Willamettte

quality graffitti

a month of bicycling

i pledged to ride daily through april. it’s 4/14 today and i’m still on task.

here are a few photos i took each day so far.

my faithful Trek townie

 

river road free book library-sometimes i buy an armload at the holy roller thrift shop next door and fill the shelf.

spring!

lichen heart in the driveway

a new season

i ordered my 2014 team jersey the other day. there was a time trial last week, the first of the season. i skipped it as i’m still hampered by an ankle strain. an appointment yesterday give me hopes for a return to running and cycling by next month. i’ve been riding my Allez on a stand trainer in the house in a very spinny gear while watching Great Course art history dvds.

is anyone even reading this anymore? if 5 people respond i’ll keep it open.

i started this blog last year at the start of the 30 days of cycling challenge. that is now open for registration for April 2014 so go sign up and ride your bike all month.

Oregon state CX championships

raced in the states today and got a 4th in a field of 45 riders. grueling hilly course at edgefield/McMenimans in Troutdale. there are little things that stick out for me in every race. today i passed a guy just before the finish line after riding with him for a lap and a half. staying off the ground pays off. i passed quite a few who had crashed on earlier laps.

stellar work by the OBRA folks in setting up the course. season is going by so fast. a couple more races in eugene and one in corvallis to wrap it up.

photos on Bicycle Way of Life facebook page.

From the Cheap Seats.

[object Window]

via From the Cheap Seats..

 

good points here…

Horse power

Carbon Addiction

Giddy up!

View original post

adidas straightjacket?

i’m officially insane.

i rode 40 miles this morning with a much needed stop to pick and eat as many blackberries as i could find. this area is rife with blackberries and they are ripening. i had to spit and rinse after one. i think maybe i ate a resident spider. it reminds me of the time i grabbed a muffin in the dark and only after biting down did i realize my hands and mouth were full of ants. they taste bitter just so you know.

i wheeled home with help from stevie ray vaughn, elvin bishop and the pretenders in my ear.

after a light lunch i biked to the pool to do a straight 1500 yard swim-all freestyle, no flipturns, no breaks until a sip of vega beverage just before cooldown laps.

i rinsed in the outdoor shower, put on my running gear and ran out the door of the swim facility and onto the running path. i timed myself to do a 30 minute run as i had done a 25:34 5k a week earlier in a hilly race and figured the flat path and non-race pace would be around a 5k at 30 minutes.

then i rode my bike home.

it was a good test. maybe i will do a sprint triathlon next spring. who knows? it’s fun. it helps with the grief. i’m meeting fellow insane athletes. i’m heading toward being in the best shape of my life at 53.

i just need more sleep. and so i go off to do that part of my training right now…

but i do need to climb up on the roof to see the spectacular sunset…

top secret training aid available at trader joes

distractions

august bumps along and is taking the summer with it. i will admit i never have really liked the fall. people at work are quite excited about the college football season coming around in a couple of weeks. i don’t want to hear of it. i don’t want the summer to end. eating dinner out on the deck, drinking cold beer after a long bike ride or a run and sleeping with just a top sheet are small pleasures that evaporate when september rolls up.

rainy days will be here soon. we need the rain after this very dry summer but sometimes the rains last a week.

and of course barb died in early september and i’m not sure that month will ever be the same for me.

i’ve found that life’s rough bits are best tempered by a good dose of distractions. i’m not avoiding the painful realities but i am finding some balance by two things; good company and quality distractions.

i’ve got some good friends to join for an adult beverage, watch movies, eat in restaurants and just sit and talk. someone wrote that “no man is an island” and this is very true. i need people in my life to bounce off of or i risk going nutty.

earlier this year i wrote about joining a bicycling club. i’ve had a great time both improving my cycling skills and socializing. i also may have found a solution to my autumn melancholia-cyclocross.

team members have raved about “cross” all summer. it’s a fall/winter sport typically where one rides a modified road bike over off-road, rough terrain, sometimes carrying the bike to go up over over obstacles, with great amounts of mud everywhere and on most everything.

i went to my first clinic last night to learn some basics and came away completely hooked on the sport. i have learned over the years that people who know how to do things well generally love to teach others about that thing, especially if you admit your ignorance and show great interest. last night most in attendance were veterans of cyclocross. they were really helpful and supportive to those of us who are beginners and it was a great introduction to the world of cyclocross.

i don’t have any photos to post yet unless i sit here and learn how to export from facebook to wordpress. i won’t be doing that tonight. i need sleep. i have a long club ride in the morning and a 5k footrace in the evening.

there are some good things that come of fall. the birds return to the yard, NHL training camps open and the streets are empty on saturday afternoons for cycling and running.

and fine scotches and ports are tasty at day’s end.

wren says digging big holes in the lawn is much easier in the soft soils of autumn.

stay tuned…

f**king glorious

it’s in the books. 100 mile ride through what is surely quintessential pacific northwest wilderness. 6000 feet of elevation change, sun, clouds, hail and rain but had a great time.

a couple of us even saw a black bear cub. it ran across the road 20 feet from us. no mother bear in sight so we picked up the pace and got out of there.

i spent a lot of time taking in the scenery even though the pace was pretty fast. i thought of barb so many times, that she would have loved the beauty of the Aufdeheide.

surely i’ll sleep well tonight.

Note: pasting this into BITMoment blog on Monday. went swimming yesterday and felt fine. ran tonight and the legs were very much not happy to be out there but i slogged through and finished.