The First Mountian Bike Race

 

I'm shitting bricks. Sorry, shitting rocks....

 

 

This weekend is my very first mountain bike race.

Ever.

The Echo Red 2 Red in the bustling metropolis of Echo, Or. For those of you that don't know where that is don't feel bad. I had to look it up too. It's right next to Hermiston, Or. Which might help if you live in Oregon. But for those of you that don't just Google it. I'm not going to hand everything to you...

 

 

Am I prepared?

 

 

Not really. But I'm usually not so why change now. 

I'm signed up. I've got my bike dialed in. I've got a place to stay. All these things seem like progress.

 

I even went to the 4 apple tall Buddha for some sage veteran racer advise.

 I got this...

 

 

"I highly recommend winning."

 

Great... Thanks for that.

 

So I guess I just need to go out and do it.

There are about 350 preregistered racers. I don't have any idea how many there will be in total by the end (They are predidcting between 500-600. But we shall see).

 

I've signed up for the Clydesdale category. For all the same reasons as I do it for cyclocross. 

 

So far there are 16 preregistered Clydes and my guess is the day of registration will be pretty minimal given the forecast...

 

 

 

 So I guess on top of the every stitch of team kit I own I'm going to need to remember my rooster cover.

 

Something like this might have to do.

 

 

Wish me luck! I'll have a race report and some photographs sometime next week.

 

Until then...

 

Rubber side down,

 

 

Big E





 









Brrrr.....

 

 

No, I'm not talking about the beer (Although it is delicious.). My title is; Brrrr and theirs is; Brrr.

Totally different.

No, I'm talking about the cold temperatures that have been sweeping this part of the country and appear to be here for a while.  Now I know there are going to be at least a few mid-westerners that are going to chuckle to themselves at our "cute" little cold snap.

"How precious!" I'm sure they will exclaim.

Kind of like we do with Californians and their inability to deal with rain.

But for us Oregonians (Valley dwellers anyway.) this is about as cold as we get.

So in that vain I'm going to tell you what I wear for a dry sub-freezing ride. If it's icy I just sit on the couch, drink beer and think really hard of ways to avoid the trainer...

From head to toes:

• Helmet.

• Thermal cap with ear flaps.

• Glasses

• Fleece neck gator (Optional: Depending on How Warm You Run.)

• Embrocation on all the bits of you that tend to get cold (DHWYR). Minus your eyes, nose or your neither regions.

• Long sleeve base layer

• Long sleeve jersey

• Vest (DHWYR).

• Wind front thermal jacket.

• Heavy weight thermal wind front bib tights (DHWYR. Just kidding. Don't ride naked please...).

• Wool cycling socks.

• Chemical toe warms (Aka: Toe tampons. DHWYR).

• Cycling shoes with the wind vents in the soles taped off (Make sure your cleats are clear to function correctly.) or a fancy set of cold weather cycling shoes.

• Defeet Slipstream over socks.

• Neoprene or fleece lined booties.

• Thin liner gloves.

• Thin wind front gloves (DHWYR).

• Lobster mitts.

I have personally taken this set up down to the mid-teens and been just fine.

There will always be different ways to make riding in the cold temps work for you. The biggest thing I would recommend is making sure your extremities are taken care of (Head, hands and feet.) and if you keep those things warm the rest will generally follow.

Riding a bike in cold weather is a bit like getting ready for extended deep sea diving but once you are out on the road its all worth it.

Generally...

Thanks for reading.

Rubber side down,

Big E

Being Thankful

I'm thankful for:

Two legs to pedal with.

The sound of a group riding down the road.

The smell of freshly cut hay fields cooling down from a hot summer day.

An ice cold beer after a long ride.

That completely empty feeling after a race is finished. Like you have no more to give.

The whir that deep dish carbon wheels make.

The sound of my heart in my ears. Telling me that I'm at my threshold.

Knobby tires in dirt.

Talking and laughing with my teammates before and after a race.

Family.

Discovering a new road to ride on.

Mastering a skill.

Riding tandem with my wife.

Imparting some wisdom to someone new.

Watching a child get their first bicycle.

Having philosophical discussions at the bike shop.

Rolling out in the rain.

The sound of wind blowing through the pines as I climb.

An espresso at the turn around of a ride.

Technology.

My team.

That the strongest doesn't always win.

Tactics.

For wind to make me stronger.

For climbing to make me slow down.

For down hills to make me go faster.

A safe wheel in a sketchy group.

My local bike shop.

My friends.

The best group of people anyone could as to ride with.

That I'm always learning.

But Most of all. My wife and kids...

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Rubber side down,

Big E

Goals

Goals are an interesting thing. In my opinion they are one of the most important things in life to have and yet they aren't necessary. Or at least the necessary that I'm thinking of at the moment. Sure most people have the 'goal' of surviving another day, of putting food on the table and keeping a roof over their head and for some that can be a herculean task. But for people like me that won the lottery of being born in the United States. Being white and male its hard not to feel super spoiled and privileged because, well, I am.

It's like being spoiled and having a really good idea of how spoiled you are but not letting it stop you from complaining. Or perhaps even trying to discover some greater purpose. And I guess that's where the idea of setting goals, working towards them and attaining them comes into play for me.

There are large goals that I've had for a long time. Stuff to do with religion, being a good husband, family and friends, work and enjoyment. But there have been other goals that have more to do with the point of this blog. Ones to do with sport. With cycling. When it comes to those goals it's as though they have been scattered to the four winds. Life has overwhelmed me, beat me down and then tossed me out to the curb on my ear over the past 6 months and I've been trying to dust myself off and find my bearings. Which hasn't been very easy for me. I've always thought of myself as tough and resilient. But dealing with things that life hands you is if nothing else an ego check. Back to my original point...

Goals.

I want to have the desire to race and race hard again. I want to feel that total exhaustion after a race or a really hard workout that can't be replicated in any other fashion (That I've experienced anyway.) And I want to feel that excitement and that satisfaction of reaching a goal that I have set for myself on the bicycle. Knowing that there wasn't anymore that I could have put out and being totally fine with the outcome. Because I can tell you that those goals. That process is AWESOME. It's part of what keeps me coming back to cycling. Well, that and it's fun.

Now the big trick it to figure out how to get it. I have the sneaking suspicion that it will involve mud, knobby tires, team tents, beer, and good friends.

Here is to having goals everybody.

Rubber side down,

Big E

Danny MacAskill's New Video

I know it's been forever since I posted here and I know that sharing a video is kinda "cheating". But I don't care. It's an amazing peice of bicycle handling, skill and most important, imagination. Hope you enjoy it.

Thanks for hanging in there kids.

Rubber side down,

Big E

Somethings Change, Some Don't



Me, my Mom, my sister (Yellow cap) and Tootsie the wonder dog.


My Mom died one month ago today...

It still hurts to type that.

She had battled cancer for almost three years. When they diagnosed her they figured she had 3-9 months. I guess that just goes to show what a tough old broad she was.

It's been hard.

And it's been easy.

Sometimes its easy to get lulled into the day to day and forget for awhile. Then something will remind me or a memory will fly into my brain and my heart gets squeezed again. Even if it's just for a moment.

Your probably wondering what this has to do with cycling and that's a fair point.

That has to do with what hasn't changed.

The bicycle.

It's my anchor in a sea of happiness, anger, frustration, sadness and joy.

I did my level best to ride as much as I could without shirking any of my responsibilities.

Sometimes I'd go out thinking that I'd rip peoples legs off only and to go to the front and take one strong pull. Then drift through the group and get spit out the back to ride alone.

Other times it was nice to ride with some people that had no idea what was going on. Talk to people about normal things. Day to day things. Things that were such a welcome distraction at that moment that I wanted to say so...

Things are slowly getting easier.

Then they aren't.

I guess that's just the way it is sometimes...

But I thank God for my wife.

I thank God for my family.

I thank God for my wonderful friends.

And I absolutely thank God for the Bike....

Rubber side down,

Big E

PS~ I can't promise that I'll write here real often in the near future. Even though there have been and are a lot of things in the cycling world to talk about. What I can say is that I haven't given up on the blog. I just needed/need a break. Hope you all can get that. Thanks, you guys are swell....

Spring Hath Sprung



I love lamp.

The weather forecast and cycling go hand in hand. I can't think of the last time I did not look at the weather report before a ride. Maybe its not as big a deal where in an area where you are assured good weather all the time. But in a place like the Pacific Northwest if  you don't it can make for an awesomely crappy ride.

Now that I've been Captain Obvious speaking in generalities I wanted to talk about something specific. Precipitation percentages and what they mean to a cyclist....



This is obviously not from around here. Whens the last time we had an 82 degree day with rain?! I think it was last... never.

Precipitation percentages can confuse people except for when it says 0% or 100% but even that changes when you are looking at an hourly forecast app and things are constantly in flux.

Here is a basic run down.

10% chance or rain- This means that there is no way on God's green earth that it's going to rain. But what it does mean is that there are going to be a few big puffy clouds out there. And if you happen to be on the very tippy top of a mountain or a high mountain pass that one of those puffy clouds floats into. You might feel some moisture on your face and the meteorologist doesn't want you to call them a liar.

20% chance of rain- This means it could rain. But highly unlikely.

As a cyclist you may get a little wet if you happen to ride into one of these passing clouds. But it's not really even worth putting a rain cape on. Because you're going to have to take it off in less than 5 minutes anyway.

30% chance of rain- This is were things start to get a little more interesting. This means that you are more than likely going to get wet. But it will only be for brief period of time. This is where the weather man likes to start using the term "showers". 

Bring a rain jacket and a hat if you're paranoid.

40% chance of rain- We are now fully into the "showers" mode. Really the only difference between 30% and 40% is that the duration of the rain... err, um shower patches will be longer.

This is where I probably would add gloves and booties to the clothing line up depending on the temperature.

50% chance of rain- This is when things go from being described as "showers" to being described as "rain". More than likely it will be raining a greater percentage than it is dry. Think like an hour or two of rain followed by a brief dry period between fronts moving in.

This is were the winter bike with full fenders, a buddy flap, tough wheels and tires comes into play.

60% chance of rain- You are now in the full Pacific Northwest winter wheel house (Say that three times fast...). This is where the term "drizzle" comes around. Usually drizzle is a light rain that comes down consistently for a long period of time.  Any true Oregonian spends from the end of October through the end of June (July 5th is when the unofficial summer of Oregon begins.)in this stuff. Usually the only difference in the time of year is in the air temperature.

By this point you are pretty much decked out in as much clothing and equipment as you are going to be in. From here on out it's really just a matter of the insulation factor more than anything.

70% chance of rain- This is a heavy drizzle or a good consistent rain. There might be a tiny little pause in there somewhere, but not much.

Basically you are going to get wet. And it's just a matter of staying warm on the bike. I've not owned or tested an article of clothing yet that didn't either wet through eventually or create it's own micro climate (Some sort of tropical humid jungle comes to mind.) underneath that gets you just as wet. So it's more important to keep warm without over heating than it is to stay dry.

80% chance of rain- This is full blown rain.  Drizzle is no longer mentioned. Rain makes drizzle its bitch. And really the only thing that changes from here on out is the volume of rain that is coming down from the sky at any given moment.

90% chance of rain- I really think they just have this one so people will feel a little better that it doesn't say 100%. It's exactly the same.

I think the idea is much like the extended forecast. Just look at the ten day forecast some time. They always put a "partly sunny" or "sunny" day out there around day 9 or 10 even if the rest of the days are rainy and glum. I think it's like the proverbial carrot dangled in front of our noses. Just so we continue to have a little hope.

So there is my weather cycling theory. Promise to use it for good and not evil.

Until next time...



Here's two tickets to the gun show.

 Rubber side down,

Big E