California Dreaming

Just returned from a brief holiday trip down in the Los Angeles area, and was lucky to borrow a S&S travel bike for the trip. This nice titanium machine was built by Davidson bicycles, a fixture in the Seattle area. Lightweight and strong, titanium is a great choice for a travel bike, ready for anything you might run into, and ready for years of service.

The great part of the S&S design is that these bikes are full-size and ride like a standard bike, while breaking down into a plastic case that is standard luggage size (no oversize charges or random surcharges here). Once you arrive at your final destination you simply reassemble, and within a hour you are ready to hit the road.

The Davidson looked and rode great, and this model has already seen more than 4 years of good use. I had never ridden a titanium frame before, but this beautiful machine was a perfect first example. Fine, even welds and a clean brushed finish drew a few looks on my rides, and the beefy tubes created an excellent ride. I have heard plenty of talk about titanium running soft after years of hard use, but from my brief experience, I noticed nothing to give that impression. I put the bike through only about 200 miles and about 15,000 feet of climbing, but it felt stiff and ready for each climb I approached. Multiple trips into the mountains around Santa Clarita were solid tests, and I also accompanied some friends on a hilly trip through some great spots in LA.
I hope to get some more ride time on this great bike in the future, but was definitely pleased with the performance this time. Some great ride reviews shortly!

Glimpses of Cyclocross

My girlfriend just forwarded me a collection of Instagram photos she took this past Cross season. Even though the racing is over, it is fun to look back and remember the races. Enjoy!

Wet and Cold

Now that Cross season is over for the year, it is time to change gears and get into training time. I need to get building up for my first season as a Cat 2 on the road, since I will have some tough challenges ahead.
I have been trying to squeeze in some longer rides over the past few weekends so that the jump from Cross racing to road training isn't as harsh, but it is definitely still a change! Nothing like 4 hours in the saddle in the wet and cold Washington winter to harden you up for racing.
This past weekend I met up with the rest of the elite men to head up north and get some good training miles in. Heading up from Seattle we cut through Bothell and started to ride up to Everett. After riding through a lot of neighborhood roads, we were dumped out into the Snohomish valley and onto the rural farm roads. As we rode up to the southern end of Everett and then out to Snohomish, we battled against a killer headwind while trying to keep a high pace. We were making great time, and keeping the group together well until we were almost into Maltby. At this point, Dave, Doug, and I had fallen off the back of the group, unable to keep up with the high pace. The morning of cold and windy weather was now turning wet, and as we moved into Maltby, there were signs of snow on our jackets. We re-grouped shortly down the road at a gas station and everyone to the time to get re-fueled. Right as we were preparing to start up again we noticed that my front tire had gone flat - likely due to the small chunks of glass and other road debris all over the roads.
Once that was quickly changed, we started going again, heading out of the rain luckily. We were getting up to a decent pace again when suddenly we heard a metal snapping sound and everyone came to a halt. Matt's bike had popped the chain into the rear wheel, which ended up snapping off his rear derailleur. OUCH!
Joe and Doug spent a few minutes pulling the chain apart and setting up Matt's bike for a limp home single-speed conversion. He tested to make sure it worked and we were gearing up to start when we realized - I had another flat...
This time it was the rear, but still quite annoying to flat twice during a ride. (especially since I had flats in both wheels the previous weekend as well!) We changed the tube pretty quick and were once again on the move. As we rolled down into Woodinville, the temperature dropped noticeably. It was getting cold fast, and we were deciding it was time to get back home. We were partway through Woodinville when I again felt the small bouncing of a tire flat. Looking down, the rear we had just replaced was again sagging. So, unfortunately another stop and quickly changed out the tire again while chill set in. Once this was finished we got going again and finally made our way back into Seattle. A little over 4 hours of riding and over 60 miles of road travelled - How is that for a difference from a 50 minute Cross race! I think it is time to fill my rain-bike's tubes with sealant so that I don't have another incident like this down the road - I am done with having flats this year.
Next weekend I will be down in California for a nice little vacation and some warmer weather. Bringing a bike down, so I should have some good stories from riding down there as well. I'll take some photos too, so you have something cool to look at.

Washington State CX Championships 2012

So, it is now officially finished. The 2012 cyclocross season for Washington wrapped up this past Sunday with the State Championship races in Arlington.
Using a new part of the airport than last year (and the race earlier this season), the course featured plentiful s-curves, a short run-up, and tons of energy-sapping thick mud. The rain from the week had collected to form a few deep mud puddles, and most of the back half of the course was a churned up, wheel grabbing mud-fest.
I was hoping to have a good placing in this race, however the week of healing from my crash was thinking otherwise. I got a nice front-line start position and even had a decent start, coming into the first corner in roughly 6th position, however a small bobble over the tall log barrier in the next corner saw me fall back to about 12/13th spot. Not the best way to start a tough race.
I quickly got going and chased through the tight series of s-curves trying to keep with the lead group. After finishing the first lap I had crawled back up to 9th place and was within sight of the lead group. Over the next four tiring laps I managed to climb up to 7th place, although in the last lap I fell back to 8th and would hold that position through the finish. Not my best showing of the season, but decent given that I was coming off of injury the previous weekend. Still, I was really hoping to be part of the battle for the win. Maybe with the course change next year I can duke it out in the 1/2 race.
All-in-all I was very happy with my season this year and while narrowly missing the overall win in the SCX series, I think that winning the MFG series and almost winning the SCX series was a good sign that I am ready for the challenge of the 1/2 field. For now it is time to get back into the road mind-set and prepare for racing in 2013!
Congrats to everyone for their great results this year!

SCX #7 Monroe Fairgrounds

Well, the main season is finally over - next weekend is the state championship and then the cross bike gets a good clean and hung up until summer (unless it gets super snowy again this year).
Monroe is a challenging course that always taxes you with mud, tons of technical corners, and a steep (although thankfully short) run-up. This year's course was a little altered from last year and removed the painfully long slog through ankle-deep mud but added some tacky but slippery mud section at the top of the run-up. With the light rain through the day and from the week prior, the sand section was well-packed and handled like a shallow banking in the corners.

I have been running a great season and was hoping to cap it off with a series win after this race as I entered with a slim lead (40 points, which would normally be tough to beat, however Monroe is double-points). As we started I again had a great position and was about 4th as we were headed into the sharp 180 to climb to the back section. This is when my race took a turn for the worse - As we slowed to make the corner, a rider tried to squeeze through on the outside despite myself being right near the tape. As a result he knocked me and my bike sideways and sliding across the gravel into the front of a truck parked near the course. OUCH!!

As I picked myself up and determined I was ok, I quickly straightened the bike and sped off to try to catch the back of the pack. Now, just like at Enumclaw, I was racing from the back to try to catch back up. From the single incident I was almost a minute behind the leaders.

Over the rest of the race I slowly picked up places and climbed up to 12th place, although in the final sprint I was a little slow to gain speed and finished a decent 13th for the day. Not great, but better than many expected given the crash. I was happy to hear that most of the riders felt really bad about seeing the crash and were happy that I was ok. I was not confronted by the rider who caused the incident however, hopefully he feels bad though. Pretty silly to push so hard at the start of a Cat 3 race with $0 on the line for the winner.
So, battered and bruised I ended up doing well enough to hold onto 2nd overall in the series, which I think is pretty nice given that this series has seen me race sick once and also have two starting-lap crashes requiring a mad-chase from the back of the field.
I just now need to heal up good and hopefully I can snag the states race next weekend to crown off the season.
Great racing was done by:

Dave Matthews - Singlespeed Men - 22nd for the day - 15th in the series!
Kevin Raymond - 1/2 Masters - 15th for the day - 21 in series
Roy Colven - 1/2 Masters - 8th for the day - 12th in the series

SCX #6 Steilacoom 2

Here we are, just a few weeks left in the season. Boy that went by quickly!
Back to Steilacoom for race #6 of the Seattle Cyclocross series, this time with a new course layout and much different weather to challenge riders. Now in the middle of November, the temperature has dropped into the 40s and the course is now a complete mix of fast grass and dirt, loose gravel, oily mud, and even some deep gooey stuff. Once again the Pro/1/2 field hosted special guest Tyler Farrar to keep things interesting (although he didn't fare as well this time, finishing 12th).
As we lined up for the 2:30 race, the temperature dropped a little more and the light rain started up. Off the line I managed my best start of the season (roughly 4th off the line) and then pulled to the front for the holeshot into the weaving lines of the front section of course. As we shot into the barn area I was passed by Miles from Hammer and quickly grabbed his wheel. We worked our way over to the run up and stuck together through the climbing sections along the upper course. As we shot down into the lower section I remained tight, but the work was getting to us both and we soon had additional challengers in the form of Tyson from Mafia and the spritely Evan from JL Velo. The 4 of us worked the front for the next 2 laps before a small collision slowed Tyson and Miles. Tyson was able to recover quickly and now he and I chased after Evan who had rolled through the quickest. Miles unfortunately took longer and would lead the chase group for the rest of the race trying to bridge to us. After another short while of chasing, we caught Evan, and Tyson actually managed to jump past to take the lead.
Finally, 2 laps to go. I was working hard to stay tight to Evan as we worked through the front of the course and Tyson continued to put in distance up front. As we hit the run-up I caught up to Evan and we were neck-to-neck up to the top of the climbs. I passed Evan in the downhill and was actually able to bridge to Tyson on the front stretch. Unfortunately as we hit the tight winding section leading into the final lap Evan was once again in front of me. It was time to put in all I had. I screamed up the run up, getting to the top just as Evan did and was on the bike before he was pedalling. I threw down on the climbs and gained some ground and pushed a bigger lead on the downhill, again starting to approach Tyson, but not quite close enough to bridge up. As we hit the winding corners for the last time I was pushing to make ground as Evan started to reel me back in. Finally we hit the straight and he was breathing down my neck, however I punched it on the sprint and stayed a bike-length ahead to take 2nd for the day.
This strong showing was enough to put me back in 1st place for the series with one race remaining. I will definitely have to work hard at Monroe to keep the series, but at least I have a slight margin for the time being!
One race left - next weekend the 25th at Monroe Fairgrounds - this race is always a wet and muddy affair, so it could be a real crowd-pleaser!
Congrats on the strong showing by the Bikesale racers -
Pam Massey - 9th Place - Women's 4 Masters
David Matthews - 16th Place - Men's Singlespeed
Roy Colven - 5th Place - Men's 1/2 Masters 45+
Kevin Raymond - 17th Place - Men's 1/2 Masters 45+

MFG #6 - Woodland Park

I can't believe we are already nearly halfway through November! This season sure flew by. Sunday was the series-finisher for the MFG series and was once again hosted by the awesome Woodland Park.
The weather, though cold, was mostly dry this week, so the course was running super fast, and the slight rain of the day smoothed out a few sections and only made a few of the corners squirmy, so it remained fast even into the afternoon races. A slight change to last year's layout, the course featured a steep uphill that most ran but a few continued to ride, and an extended running section over 3 sets of barriers and two shorter log barriers further up the hill.
It was fun to watch the 1/2 field race through the course, and after a few laps I noticed that a rider was wearing a Garmin-Sharp kit. Since I know they won't let you race in team kit without being on that team I was trying to figure out who this racer might be. Turns out it is local PRO Tyler Farrar, getting in some fun off-season rides while he is in Seattle this winter. Check out that disguised Redline bike... Too bad Cervelo doesn't offer a cyclocross option.

When the 2:30 races started, a light rain began that would continue through the race and keep racers on their toes in some of the paved corners. On the gun I managed an ok start and climbed back into a good spot by the first corner. Miles Frank of Hammer nutrition got the hole-shot and quickly established a gap he would hold for the remainder of the race. My closest competitor, Patrick Leonard of Soft-Like-Kitten, had tried to catch his wheel but dangled off the back for the entire first lap as I pulled to connect with them. As we entered lap 2 Patrick had a mechanical that would drop him down the rankings (he would end up clawing back to finish 14th, but lose his 2nd place in the overall).
After a few laps of trying to reel in Miles alone, I was joined by Mike Foster of Starbucks and we battled for 2 laps before another rider (Matt Hornland - Mighty Riders) would join our group. Our group traded attacks and allowed us to extend the gap from the next group and for the next 2 laps we would switch leads as each rider gained the front in the section that suited their abilities.
For most of the last lap I was stuck hanging to the back of this group as we thrashed the course trying to shed each other for podium results. As we entered the final segments of the last lap I decided it was time to make a move and shot past both of them on the sustained gravel climbs and was first into the infield pit area. Confident that I had made it through the race without issue (I was now secure in my series win as there was a large gap to the next group and we were less than a minute from the end of the race) I let up as we hit the last two corners to make sure I was 100% safe and rolled across the line 4th for the day (out of 55 starters!) and carried a nice 6 point lead above Miles for the series championship!
One series in the bag, we next move back to the SCX series for the remaining 2 races of that series. I am currently 3rd place and heading into Steilacoom for our next race I hope to put down some killer speed and try to seize control of that series as well.

Congrats to everyone who made it out to race this weekend - I saw some new faces!
J Irons - Men's Cat 4 - 17th
Dave Matthews - Men's Singlespeed - 63rd
Jenny Dallas - Women's Singlespeed - 1st Place!!!