Pain on the Peak: Pics of ME!....and others too.

The race report is the next post below. This is only pictures.

Thanks to Oregon Velo for these photos.

First newbie Jon Huntsman at his first cross race!


Brian Spears: Why so serious? By the way, were you able to stave off yourrookie crit faux pas?
And how was the maiden voyage of "The Peter"? Sorry, I just like to stir the pot a little. Or neti pot in your case.























And finally a few of me. Yes, I like to ride in the drop quite a bit during cross. I like the control that position better. I took off the sissy inline levers this season. We'll see if they stay off when it gets sloppy later in the season.



Coasting into the finish on a broken saddle.

Pain on the Peak: Race Report

When they named this race the "pain" part was correct. But the Peak part, well, not so much. At least not in my case. With regard to my race it should have been called "Pain on the Taint"

Notice the saddle in the above picture. Anything stand out? Perhaps the crack in the carbon fiber saddle with a bit of bike short still its serrated maw? More on this later. It was really a beautiful clear day out there. DTP was supposed to race but when I told him that I was not getting out to the race early enough for him to make his race, he chose not to go. This despite the site was only 25 minutes from his place. No biggie. It was a bit chilly when I arrived, but It warmed up fast. By the time my race came around it was nice. Here is a view from near the starting line.
Anyway, I had forgotten how the time immediately preceeding the race is the worst. Those last 5 minutes just suck. I had flashbacks of previous races where I was just miserable, where I was totally maxed out and spent. And I realized that I was about to do it again. Willingly.

I hoped that I was in good enough shape to not be in total pain. But at the same time I realized that no matter what kind of shape I am in, I always push it to the same point--to where it hurts pretty freakin' bad. It is just that at that pain threshold I maybe going faster or slower than at other races. So basically I am doomed to suffer regardless of my fitness. And I did. Sometimes worse than other times, but not entirely because of my fitness or pace. I will brake the race in to thirds for convienence.

The first third was the one where I nearly asphyxiated.

Dust. It was thick on several parts of the course. The dirt was easily stirred up by the riders and it was so fine that it seemed to go into every corner of my lungs. I have lung issues as it is, and the conditions were such that I almost just called it a day. During the third lap I felt almost on the verge of panic because I could not get enough oxygen. So I slowed down just a bit so that the dust settled a bit from the rider in front of me and to back off my oxygen needs. Basically, the conditions were not good for me. Rain would have been much better from a breathing standpoint.

And oh yeah, there was a run up.

I was really surprised that it seemed like it was the same old fatty going up that hill. I just could not run up that thing. At least not all of the way. The first lap I was in 6th or 7th place until the run up. At the top I was in 12th or 13th. I think that I sunk to as low as around 15th or by around the 2 and 1/2 lap mark before I started to be able to clear out some of the crap in my lungs by coughing up a bunch of stuff.

The next third of the race--from near the end of the third lap until about the 5th lap--was golden time of the race. I was feeling pretty good, well, pretty good for a cross race. My back of course was starting to kill me as usual from pushing too big a gear, and it had started to heat up enough that I was wishing for some water. But for a cross race I was doing great at that point. I passed a few guys to the point where I was ready at near end of the 5th lap to get back into the top 10. I had the course pretty well dialed in and I knew where I could carry speed in places where others seemed to be using too much brake (the bike handled great thanks to my tubulars in part). Somewhere during this middle third I heard a fairly loud crack from my seatpost or saddle. I was worried, but everything seemed fine. The saddle was still underneath me and it wasn't wobbly or anthing so I just hoped it was something minor. Umm, no. By the end of the 5th lap it was evident that my saddle had cracked and it was continually getting worse.

The last third of the race, or really the last 2 laps, were where my saddle wanted to take a bite out of my arse. And it did, twice. And it hurt like hell the first time. I had to pull both skin and shorts out of the crack in the saddle during the 6th lap. It had managed to grab both by bike shorts and the skin in the area that many call the "taint" or "chode". Yeah, I rode much more carefully after that as I whimpered just a bit.

See this saddle of mine is uber-light. It has no padding, but because of its shape it is pretty comfy. I really liked it. The part of the saddle that my tender parts rest upon is made entirely of carbon fiber. And if you have never had a carbon fiber splinter, I would advise that you try not to ever get one. I have had one once in my hand, and they need to be removed carefully. They can be hard to find and very uncomfortable until you remove them.

I really didn't want one of those fibers finding a place in my backside. So I rode gently on the saddle and stood up for any places where I was going to be cooking at a good rate of speed or where their were bumps. Despite this I was about to pass a guy to move into 11th when I got bit a second time. I basically decided to just milk it in and try to hold my spot. And I did. 12th place out of 25 finishers in my class. 29 started, 4 guys DNF'd. Because of the stupid dust and the saddle I am fairly satisfied with my performance. There are places I could improve and my fitness is not good enough, but still...not bad.

Here are some more pictures I took of the race after ours. I think this is Men's 50+ and Jr. Men.







Other Notes:

As far as my predictions went; I was wrong about my placement, 12th instead of 10th. I was right about the number of people that showed, about 1/4 to 1/3 of those that show up for a Cross Crusade race. But considering this was the first time that this race has been put on and that it was a new venue, I was pretty impressed. I would love to do this race again...later in the year...when it is raining and less dusty. Also, I was right that Joel would not show up. And finally, I was also right that Mr. Spears would bloody one of his knees. Not too bad.

Oh yeah. And then tonight I get a picture message from this same Mr. Spears showing what came out of his nasal passage after using a neti pot to clear out the crap from this race. He had a little rock or pebble that came out. Nice.

Oh, and damage tally from today race: about $175 at wholesale prices. My saddle and Vermarc bib shorts are both ruined. My have pieces of the lycra material missing from my shorts that were eaten away by that man-eating saddle. Thanks goodness for the chamois pad, otherwise it would have been really ugly.

24 Hours until the First Cross Race of the Season!

Pain on the Peak is tomorrow. I have heard all sorts of rumors regarding the course. Some say it will suck (as in very hard with lots of running) other have said that they have heard that the course will be on the technical side but great. Regardless, it will be fun to get out there and pedal at a redline sort of effort for 45 minutes or so.

Predictions:

1) Participation will be good, though not probably what the Cross Crusade series draws. I don't know how it could draw that many. The Cross Crusade is 800 pound gorilla around here for cyclocross and many don't even know that there are other cyclocross races other than in that series. I hope it is good enough for this race to continue, I think that the promoters have worked hard and they have a pretty good selection of prizes and support from other cycling companies. It ought to be a good time. At least I hope so.

2) I will finish 10th. Hopefully this is 10th out of 40 or more riders and not out of 15.

3) Brian Spears will crash and find the final spot on his knees that has not been bloodied during the past few weeks and rip it to shreds. Geesh that is a negative prediction, but the guy seems to have had a rash of wrecks recently and so it is actually the safest of predictions.

4) Joel, the manager of the Tualatin Performance Bike shop will not show up to race. This is despite having just built up a new cyclocross ride and claiming for a couple of weeks that he will be racing.


Anyway, the race ought to be fun. I hope it goes safely for everyone.

Beard

Shaving, whether it be facial hair or leg hair, is not one of my favorite things to do.

If I am shaving my legs it means that I am feeling particularly good regarding my cycling abilities--or that I don't feel too much like a poseur. But not shaving my legs does not mean the opposite--that I am not confident in my current cycling prowess. It may just mean that I don't care about the leg hair or that it is too cold and rainy to care.

But with regard to facial hair, the amount of facial hair I have can definitely let one have some insight into my current disposition or what has been going on in my life.

Clean shaven face: I have either recently had a job interview or an important family event. I figure that being clean shaven makes me appear especially lawyerly when combined with the handmade custom tailored suit my Dad had made for me as a graduation gift from law school. Actually, I look damn good in that particular suit. There are sometimes circumstances for which I will remove all facial hair off when there is some event that we are going to--such as for an evening out at some uber-expensive restaurant or something else where it would be best for me to wear something more than a t-shirt and jeans. I do this to make my wife happy and to look like I actually might in some way deserve to be near my wife when she is dressed to the nines. It is a stretch, but I figure I should do what I can to mitigate the damage.

Goatee: I don't have any life altering functions near at hand and I am in a comfortable space at home and work. A goatee for me is the norm. If I am rocking one it means that 9 times out of 10 everything is fine, no major blips in my life. I like the way it looks on my face, it hides some pudge and elongates my face. My facial hair is thickest around this area and I like the look even if it is outdated, current, or fashion forward. Basically, I don't care if you like it, I do. Oh, and I always combine the goatee with a moustache. They go hand in hand on my face, never one without the other.

Full beard. Untrimmed. Watch out. I have occasionally tried to trim a beard so that there is an even line under my chin going from ear to ear, but usually this is not the case, and I haven't done that in years. I figure if I am going to grow a beard I am going all the way, otherwise I will just to a goatee. A full untrimmed beard usually starts because I am distracted by other things and just don't care to trim any facial hair. During law school a beard always seemed to start growing about the time I would be getting my outlines together and then would grow until finals ended about a month or more later. For some reason I felt more dedicated and singleminded with the beard. With the beard I was making a statement to myself and to others that went something like this: "Beware, if I don't give a crap about how I look, what makes you think I just won't slap you up side the head for interrupting my studying for the hell that is Securities Regulation." My grasp of going through a routine in preparation for finals improved during the second half of law school, but still I rocked the beard. It gave me an edge. I liked it. Even if it was freaking ugly. And it was ugly, very ugly.

A full beard may also mean that I am feeling like I just don't give a crap, or that I am feeling sorry for myself, down on my luck, or whatever you want to call it. I am currently in one such phase right now. I admit it, and don't like it. And yes, I am rocking the beard right now. I have thought that maybe all I need to do to change my mental disposition is to shave off the beard. I will look clean cut and so maybe the change in my external appearance will affect the inner outlook. Maybe.

But a full beard may also mean that it is cyclocross time. For some reason I feel like growing the full beard for cross is acceptable, even admirable. What could be cooler than frothy saliva/mucus/spittle hanging on to an unkempt beard during a cyclocross race? Not much really in my book. People just sort of stay out of the way of that guy. And if that guy is me, so much the better. So while I would like to experiment with shaving off the beard to see if a more clean cut appearance leads to a happier me, I would like to have it for the edge it gives me mentally out on the cyclocross course. Shaved legs and beard, yeah makes perfect sense to me for cross. So maybe I will wait on shaving, that is unless anyone wants to interview me for a job at a firm around town. I would shave whatever for a good gig right now...hmmm, maybe not whatever, but definitely my face.

Bottom line is, if I am sporting an untrimmed face full of hair and I am looking more ugly than usual, don't push your luck. I am focused or distracted on something or another, and whatever it is has me cranky.

P.S. and if for some reason I seemingly say simply "Beard" around you, it means that you are taking way too long doing whatever you are doing, as in I am growing a beard while I am waiting. Speed up, man, or get out of the way. I picked that up about 15 years ago, and I still say it occasionally. No one ever know what the heck I am talking about though, yet I persist.

Cross Season Approacheth

First of all, our little boy has been pretty good so far. Sleeps a decent amount and when he is awake the only reason he cries, at least for the most part, is when his diaper is being changed. Still the day is busier for me. Bridget more or less stays at home and I get Ryan to the bus stop and then take Jack to preschool and then get them both when the time comes. And then I get myself to work. This doesn't give me enough time to ride to work or really even get in a ride. So in the short term I will be running a bunch more.

Running is not really so bad. Boring. Slow. Painful at times. But really other than that it is great.

I am pretty excited about the first cross race of the year, the Pain on the Peak race on Saturday. It is awesome that there is actually a cross race on Saturday near Portland.

I will be racing in the Master C category and I have high hopes. I am embarrassed to say that I am hoping for a top 1/4 finish. I am embarrassed because for some it is sort of a wussy goal. I am not aiming to win or anything like that, just get in the top 1/4. I figure that is a good goal though since last year I was lucky to get in the top 3/4 or top 2/3 or the Master C field. But I am lighter, fitter (hopefully I still am after not doing many hard rides lately) and I am going to be racing on tubulars for the first time ever.

If I am still way back in the pack I may just can the whole season. Seriously, this is a do or die race for me. It will set the tone for just how hard I want to try to train for the next few weeks/months. With the newborn it will be a sacrifice for everyone to train a great deal. Plus, I am going to have to put some serious hours in starting Christmas time for my next half ironman tri. No matter how crappy I do I will still get out there and race, I am just not going to go nuts about it if I don't see a big improvement over the past years. Hell, 18-20 lbs lighter and I should be faster. Anyway, whatever will be, will be.

You know before Colin was born I had some pretty good ideas for posts. No after his birth I can't remember one of them. I will say this though, the bacon at St Vincents Hospital Cafeteria is good. Really good. And I ate a lot of it while Bridget was there over the weekend for Colin's birth. I am sitting at 190-191, but I don't feel bad. I will run a bunch and get rid of the extra weight. I haven't had bacon in, like,....well I don't remember the last time I had it. Salty, fatty goodness.

We have a new boy!

Colin Henry Flynn is the name, born 9/6/2008 at 11:26pm with a weight of 6 pounds 7 ounces.


Mom is doing great as well.

Read and see more here: Family Blog

Kill the Creak

I love the way my Curtlo S3/OX Platinum Singlespeed 29er fits and the way it handles. It would seem to be the sort of bike that would allow me to ride brainlessly for many miles because I don't have to worry about shifting and the wear and tear associated with all those needless gears. I even recently installed a suspension fork because I was feeling a little old and stiff after some recent rides. In essence, the way it is step up now it will work me wear I want it--my legs and lungs--but not where I don't my neck, hands, shoulders because of a lack of front suspension. I have taken just one ride on the thing since I put the fork on. There was a creak that was so loud and consistent that it drove me to end the ride after just a 1/2 an hour. This has been going on for a while, even before I put the fork on. I thought I had it fixed twice before only to have it reappear, now worse than ever.

I have tried the following:

-Cleaned and lubed the Bushnell EBB

-Installed the EBB in different positions

-Installed a different set of cranks

-Installed a different rear wheel

-Installed different pedals

-Totally degreased and disassembled the Bushnell EBB and then reapplied grease in all the areas where metal contacts metal.

-Wrapped EBB in teflon tape

-Loctited the EBB

In fact I have done some of the above a couple of times and there is still no stopping the creak. All the above did was let me know that it could only be in the EBB area. Sometimes it is easier to get to creak than at other times, but nonetheless it is always there.

So I have ordered what I hope will be the fix:


If this doesn't do the trick I am afraid that this bike and I will have to part ways. I have done my due diligence. My little Crest Toothpaste Curtlo--you better like this new EBB or you and I are done. Either I kill the creak or the creak is going to kill our relationship.

The new Carver EBB with its nylon outer layer will be here in about a week. I have heard a couple of good things about it, and it makes sense, if what is making the noise is the interface between the EBB and the frame. Please, please, please work...

This One is for You, Moron in the White Toyota

To the jerk that told me that I was doing something illegal by turning left from the left turn lane at the corner of Barnes Road and Cedar Hills Blvd: Here is proof that you are not only a moron, but you were wrong as well.




You thought I deserved a ticket for my actions. Instead you showed that old white men in old Japanese cars can not only be jerks, but flat out wrong. Next time you go calling me or another cyclist this and that, interspersing F-bombs into your irrational monologue aimed at me and all of us "f-ing p---- bicyclists," try to get your it right. You were never going to win me over with all of your expletives to your side of the argument. I told you we should call the police right then and there but all you did was continue to berate me and give me the finger. Nice...staying classy all the way.

As the second snip states, bicycles are in fact vehicles. I have all the rights and duties that you and every other vehicle has on the road for the most part. There are some laws that are particular to bicyclists and I must obey those. In fact, I even signaled with my left arm appropriately to get over to the left turn lane (which I included in the first snip). But no, you thought that I had to stay in the bike lane, then go to the next corner of the intersection and wait again for the signal as if I was a pedestrian. Umm, no. That is not correct.

You basically accused me of an improper use of lanes, which is described in ORS 814.430, which is shown in the last of the three snips above. You are correct that I must stay as far to the right as is safe, but there are exceptions. One of them is for a LEFT TURN, which as you noted is what I was doing. You sir, who ever you are, have earned my first ever RCMT Asshat Award. If you would just let me know you name an address I will get this Asshat, pictured below, right to you. I would also send you the ass, but I see that you have that one covered.


It is one thing to have a disagreement, but it is another to come at a stranger on a bike who could have--even with his shaved legs--kicked you tail from here any bike lane of your choosing no matter how many f-bombs you used. It is a good thing I am peaceful at heart and that you were going straight instead of also turning left. And it really is too bad you didn't take me up on my offer to call the cops. That would have been awesome. You yelled it was too bad that the cops didn't hand out more tickets, but in reality it is too bad you are just so rude and ill-informed.

Thoughts about the Cross bike on Trails

1) Inline levers would be a good thing for drops. I almost went over once, instead having the saddle jam up into my "boys" pretty hard and scarring the crap out of myself. I just couldn't get back far enough to do that sort of thing safely. I mean I did--unsafely--but I wouldn't recommend it without some inline levers.

2) I installed an XT Shadow rear derailleur instead of the XTR rapid rise one that I have had on that bike since the beginning. I was sick of the rapidrise deal. This XT shifts better than that older XTR one. 20 grams heavier than the XTR one, but whatever. So now the Curtlo has a mix of XT, Dura Ace, and Campy Record. Seems like a reasonable set up to me.

3) I really had fun trying to do things on a cross bike that I found occassionally challenging on an mtb. Browns Camp was almost new again. It was amazing how fast I could ride certain sections.

4) Skinny tires, even if they are tubular, are still bone jarring at times. The Curtlo did beat me up a bit, especially while descending. If I road on the edge of reason I could keep up or almost keep pace with DTP going downhill. But after awhile, it wasn't worth it. I started riding at a more reasonable pace, which wasn't much slower, but since I would catch up quickly when the trail turned up again it wasnt any big deal. With clinchers the trail would have been more uncomfortable. I was able to run my tire pressure in the upper 30's without any problems. On clinchers I would have hed to be running pressure up around 60psi to avoid pinch flats.

5) Skinny Tires don't like rooty sections. Talk about tricky--there are a couple of spots where roots criss-cross the trail at weird angles. It can be a little tricky to get past these spots without dabbing on fat tires. On skinny tires, it was even more so. Still it was a fun challenge.

Browns Camp

After way too much road biking lately and Saturday's triathlon I decided it was time to go on a mountain ride. The only real issue is that I still haven't resolved the super creak issue in the Curtlo SS 29er so I didn't have a mountain bike to ride today. Or at least not one I was willing to ride. But...I do have the Curtlo Cross bike. It has proved itself to be pretty capable in Forest Park, perhaps it is time to take it on some real trails. Yeah, I decided I was up for it.

DTP came with me. He tried to minimize his nausea by eating nothing unhealthy, fatty or carbonated before the ride, but he still felt off for the first half of the ride or so. I felt great though. At least on the first half, which is less technical than the second half of the ride.

I have never taken a cross bike on a trail like this. Not that Browns is too difficult, but certain spots are a little challenging to clear even on a mountain bike with fat tires. On a cross bike with its steeper angles and skinny tires it became impossible for me to get over one spot in particular. That spot is recorded in the video below. It looks easy, but it is not--I assure it is not at all. With a geared mtb it is not so bad. But with gearing that is similar to riding a mountain in stuck in the outer ring of the crankset it is hard to get the torque needed to climb over some roots and rocks. What looks like it should be easy, becomes hard. Oh, and did I mention that my cross tires don't like to stick to roots or rocks too much? Yeah, well they don't. On packed dirt they totally hook up though which meant it climbed most of the trails like a scalded monkey. I was amazed at how during the first half of the ride I was able to blast up some of the steeper climbs. This bodes well for cross season. Anyway is the video(with low quality thanks to youtube's bulk video installer)


DTP and I had a good time. We stopped on the way back and ate too much food at Muchos Gracias, but it was worth it.

And speaking of overeating--I ate almost an entire medium-sized Super Combo Pizza (ham, sausage, beef, pepperoni, green peppers, mushrooms, olives, tomatoes, onions, and extra cheese with a serious amount of red pepper tossed on to get the heat right) from Godfather's Pizza last night. It was just about the only thing I ate all day, but still...I was surprised I could pack that much away at one time. Hooray for gluttony!