Things that happen in Bend should stay in Bend........except for this! Once again there is video proof that Bike racers can't dance. It helps if you know who the people are but it's still funny if you don't.

Still paying the price for the long road trip. Pretty travel weary and my honey do list is long.

USGP Day 2

Sunday morning came with cold and clear conditions and we were pumped. Everybody on the team rode well Saturday and we felt like we could do it again. We were up early and at the venue to everything in place for the races. I was one of those early races so I was kitted up and ready to pre- ride the course between the first couple of races. There were only a few course changes so my hope was to check them out and get on the trainer to finish warming up. I got out a little late and before long I heard the announcer say the course was closed so it was back to the trainer until the race was over. Mark and I tried once that race ended but after a short time on course we were thrown off the course by an angry official. Turns out that OBRA(the local sanctioning body)has a rule that nobody can pre-ride the course once racing has begun for the day. I had no idea there was a rule since we had pre-rode on Saturday but it took a lengthy discussion to get them to let me race. Kind of hard to focus on warming up for your race when you are talking to race officials 30 minutes before the start. In the end it got sorted out and it was race time.

I got a decent start and once again got the lead before the technical part. Right away I knew that I had messed up on tire pressure. The course was a little bit faster than Saturday and my pressure was a little low. In fact it was low enough that I had to be careful no to bottom out the tire on the many rocks around the course. Now the issue was that I was in the lead but Bart Bowen was chasing and closing in. If I changed bikes right away he would catch me or I could try to stretch out the lead and then come out of the pit still in the lead. I tried to run but in the end I had to take a bike just as Bowen was catching me and that was it. Bowen had a 10 second lead as I exited the pit and I just didn't have the legs to close the gap. Other than getting taken down by a lapped rider the rest of the race was pretty uneventful. 2nd place, not too shabby.

The drive home was a 2 day marathon on the sprinter but it really was not too bad. Overall I think both Mark and I came through the trip in pretty good shape. Now it's time to focus on Nationals and Worlds.

I found a couple of videos of my 45+ races.

USGP Bend 45+ Day 1

 

 

USGP Bend Day 2

 

More pictures to come as I find them.

USGP Bend Day 1

Wow, what a great day for the Trek CXC crew. Two wins and a 3rd and 4th in the 35+ race as well.We woke up to cold and cloudy conditions for the first races of the day but it quickly started warming up as the day wore on. Course conditions were also changing with the warming temps. As the sun started popping out and the frozen ground started to thaw leaving a layer of mud on top of the frozen ground. Usually that would make for pretty challenging conditions but with the volcanic soil there was still traction.

In my race I got a pretty good start slotting in 3rd or 4th going into the first few turns. I decided to jump the leaders so I could lead into the technical wooded section. After the wooded section I had all ready established a 10 sec lead and that was it. The rest of the race I stretched out the lead a bit and could ease up the last few laps and hopefully saving something for today's race.
In the end I won by 30 seconds or so.

I got cleaned up and soon it was time for the 35+ race. We had 3 TrekCXC riders in the race so I was in the pit ready to go. Mark got a good start and after the first lap was in the lead with one other rider. Throughout the race they pulled out a lead and then with 2 laps to go Mark got away from the other rider. Our other 2 riders, Shannon Skerrit and Jesse Reints were right in the mix. At the finish Mark won with a good lead with Shannon 3rd and Jesse 4th.

Mark in the series leader Jersey

Finally got a Win

Katie's in Europe winning

Pretty artsy shot by Anders

Popping over the flyover

This is what happens when your tires don't fit through the gauge

The team area was rocking all day

 

So just about time to head out for day 2. Similar conditions to yesterday.

USGP Bend, OR Pre-ride day

Here's a few pictures from today's pre-ride session plus a video from the Cliff Bar crew.

Got done with set up a little early so Mark and I walked the course.

Fast narrow sections in the woods

there are a couple of steep ride/run ups

Tod Wells is back this weekend

Found this picture on Cycling Dirt. Velonews is going to stream live coverage both days. Pro races only 

Nice video from the Cliff boys.

 

Should be an interesting day tomorrow. Cold but clear and not much mud. A little more technical course than in the past but there is still the slog in the grass by the brewery. Since Mark Legg isn't here I ended up with #1. Hope it's a good sign.

Traveling to Bend OR

Traveling to races can sometimes be a pain but usually I'm so amped to race that I have to remember to calm down just to make sure I don't get a ticket getting there. But this trip is a little different. In the past my trips to Bend have been a 30 hr straight through slog that totally drained the life out of me. So this year we went the opposite route and did the drive in two days. There is no doubt the easy pace of the two day drive is much more relaxing and today I'm sitting here totally fresh and ready to go. So today we are waiting for some of the other CXC riders to show up at the house and then it's off to the course to set up the Trek compound and pre-ride the course.

Um, yea, Mark's not texting......somewhere in Utah.

Somewhere in Idaho, pretty much looks like Utah

Got to the house just at sunset, pretty sweet place on top of the mountain.

The 2 hour time difference is wreaking havoc on our bodies. up at 4 every day!

 

Time to get rolling and get ready to head to the course.