U.S. National Cyclo-Cross Championships

Well Saturday morning was a beautiful day with race temps around 40+ and the sun was out. Great conditions with wet splattery mud and fast carpet like grass on the brewery side of the course.
Phil and I really tried to relax in the morning to mellow out for our race. We were excited and nervous. We lined up in the 70's (ninth row) out of 195 racers! Wow! The gun went off and we headed down the start stretch just trying to stay out of trouble. Once we hit the dirt, Phil and I started to work up taking outside lines and taking chances. Within the first 1/2 lap, we had already passed around 30 other guys and were in the low 40's. Things were looking good. We crossed the road to the grass/brewery section and I went to pass another rider on the inside, and I rolled my rear tubular tire off of my rim. Phil, continued on as I stopped and shouldered my bike and ran another 50 meters to the run up. Up the stairs I went and at the top, stopped to remount my tire. I hope it would hold til I got to the pits, since I still had 1/2 a lap to go. Riding cautiously, it did, and Dave, Dom, and Kevin were there for a quick and smooth bike exchange. I tried to get back on it, but I could not generate any power. I was riding technically excellent and was having fun doing it, but for some reason, I could get anything from my legs. I had felt great and rested all week, and now this. What do you do? Phil maintained his position, and I began to fade back losing the positions that I had gained in the opening of the race. I eventually finished in 70th. I was very dissapointed with my result, but at the same time, I had fun on the amazing course and the crowds were amazing and huge. It was still a blast and overall a very successfull season.
After all, I did also receive an upgrade to "Category 1" for cyclo-cross from USA cycling based off this years results. All in all, a successfull season. I'm already looking forward to next year.
We had a blast in Bend at what was probably the best hosted/ran National Championships ever. One of the funnest times racing we have ever had. You will have to hear it from Kristi on how her Pro race went on Sunday, but I can tell you it went great, and she got a solid 17th after passing around 20 other riders in the first lap. What a great ride!
Thank you everyone for your support and help this season. We still have one left in January as the season is coming to a close. What a year!

Friday!

Today was another day to ride the course and dial in tire selections. I still can't decide since the course changes hourly with the weather and how many riders tread on it.
Kristi raced her Masters race today and wa off to a great start and settling in when she doulbe flatted after hitting something sharp on the course. She lost a few spots and had to battle back to finish in 6th. Not quite what her goal was for the year, but with a couple of flat tires, what do you do, that's racing. You will have to check her site for the details.
Tonight we had a Bicycle Centers/Collision 1 Team dinner. A good time, and discussed getting ready for tomorrows racing. Steve, Kevin, and Dominique go off at 9:30, and Phil and I hit it at 2:15. Phile and I are a bit nervous and anxious with nothing to lose. We are lining up in the 70's or so out of 190 riders. We have nothing to lose, and are gonna do all we can to work up through the field. They are saying that it will probably snow tonight and the temps are now only barely freezing. This could turn the course to a splattery mud mess, or a few inches of fresh new snow. Either way, we are happy. Bring on the mess!
Whish us luck, it's time to get some rest.

The "Course"

The course has been an absolute blast to ride and the video that came out a few weeks ago, does not do justice. There is alot of evevation gain, off camber, technical riding, a beautiful staircase, all of this would be cool even without the snow.
However, the snow makes it that much more cooler. Alot of folks are scared to death riding this stuff, and the fact that it's snow terrifies them. The reality is, this snow is easy (at the current temps). It's dry and light, and traction is not an issue. It's like riding on carpet both in smoothness and traction, though some ruts are forming and with day temps raising and then cooling again in the evening, some sections are gettting slippery.
You can see in the pictures above, of the wooken staircase, our team area with our True North OSV, and the awesome banner that those guys made that includes the trailer and the whole Berg family racing cyclo-cross. Pretty darn cool. We have Redline & ASC Junior Team on one side of us, and Stevens bikes on the other. Rob, one of the local RV reps brought in his portable fire pit, and has kept it stoked near the two True North Units. There side is for demo/sales, and our side it actually being used to demonstrate how a family or a team puts it into good use. The Bicycle Centers/Collision 1 Team is based out of this area, and it's a good set up.
Dave Pearson had a great ride this afternoon. He was lined up in the very back, in the "150" area, and worked all the way to the top half. It was fun watching him from the pits just continue to pick guys off. Not only did he look like he had good legs, but more confidense in the snow, bumps were obvious as he flowed on the course. Great race DP. Kristi races tomorrow at 2:15. I just got done wrapping up some new bar tape and put a new chain on her bike today as well. She is still tinkering with some tire selections and pressures but was RAILING the course today in pre-ride and she is loving it. I can't wait to see her hit the course. Her entire season has been focused on the Masters National Championships. A very tough field with a bunch of Pro 1's racing in their Masters Category. She is ready. We will keep you posted tomorrow night on how it went.

Holden and Sue arrived in town tonight and it's so good to see them. Holden's fired up to be here and had fun running into his buddies and all going out to dinner.
Thanks for reading.

Mid Week in Bend

It's been a fun and relaxing week in Bend as the National Championships are upon us. The temps have been extremely cold and in the single digits during the day until yesterday. This kept us in our hotel room on the traineres to keep the legs fresh.
We have received great help from Big Country RV here in Bend, as they are a True North Dealer. They even took our off our hands to wash it indoors and polish up everything so we look good in the venue/expo/team area that Northwood was so generous in securing. We really want to thank Rick, Lorenzo, and Rob at Big Country RV.
The pictures show the showroom at Big Country RV, and the other guys are Rob and Jay working the venue/expo area here at the race course.

We are there!

Well we arrived here in Bend, Oregon about 2 hours ago. To say the least it's cold. It was 9 degrees without the windchill factor and the flags were flying straight out as could be. There is also about 1-2" of snow on the ground. We have heard that its pretty cold at home to, so we feel your pain. Also, I have to add, that Oregonians are crappy drivers in the snow over the passes. They should stick with things that they are good at such as logging, trapping beavers, pioneering new trails, growing beards(sorry Micah), pumping your gas, cross-dressing, and of course recycling. They suck at driving their cars in the mountains.
We are shacking up in this little hotel for a couple of days before we transfer on Wednesday to the race's Official Hotel right in the venue/course area. Kristi is on the windtrainer spinning out the weekends pain, and I'm about ready to get my turn in. It sounds like the temps are gonna warm up towards the weekend with some extra snow coming. We are hoping that the temps come up with snow and make the course messy and technical. That will give us an edge over some other riders who don't handle those conditions well.
Kristi is now doing push ups and stomach crunches...........I better get to work and catch up on my work out. She is making me feel guilty.

Hi Micah, and Corrie!

U.S.G.P. #8/Portland, OR - "Here we go again"

Kristi works on her bike in front of our True North O.S.V. in the bitter cold morning air.
We woke up this morning to temps around 40 or so clear skies and crazy winds. With the windchill, it was about 20 degrees I'd say! Brrrrr! The course was obviously dried out comparted to yesterday, and a few changes were made from yesterday.
I went to the call ups and thought I might have a better shot than yesterday, but after the 115th riders was called up and I was left out as the last, the promoter told me that my name was not on the start list........Huh? Fortunately, someone else had it on theirs, but I got the shaft and had to line up dead last! Yeah, I was the 116th rider on the line. We took off and I thought, "here we go again" just like yesterday. I worked hard to pick off riders here and there with nothing really exciting happening along the way. I finished up in the top 25% again, and I was told that I got 26th place. Considering my start, I feel great about both my rides. I know I have good fitnes, good mind, tactical sense and now some good confidense on what I can do, if I get a better than "horrible" call up.
More good news today, I received an e-mail from USA Cycling saying that I have been approved for an upgrade to Catergory "1" in cyclo-cross. That's cool.
Kristi was having a great race working up into 14th position with 1 1/4 lap left when on a steep power section she snapped her chain. We had 2 spare bikes in the pits for her but after running a little bit, she decided to pack it in and call it a day. This was smart thinking considering she would have to run 1/4 of a lap to get to the pits, and with the ground so frozen hard and a long run, that would not be good for her feet, knees, joints, and muscles with her National race merely 5 days away. In my opinion that was a good professional decision to not let too much pride get in the way of good sense.
Thank you to my teammates Todd, Bruce, for being in the pits for me today and keeping me posted on my progress. I appreciate it fellas.
It's now 9pm in our hotel room and we are beat. Our faces are wind burnt, our bodies have been beat up by the technical conditions and constant position and acceleration changes. Tomorrow we will get up and go for a mellow easy spin to kick out the lactic acide and tight joints and muscles. After the ride, we will pack up the True North Trailer and head East to Bend. I will post once we get settled in there.
It's been a fun season, and next up the FINALE!

Bortolami's Pizzeria for dinner

Tonight, Kristi and I after showers, went across the river into Vancouver (WA) to a restaraunt called Bortolami's after the popular since retired Italian cyclist. The place was named after him but with no family relations. They had sooooo much great old cycling posters, pictures, jerseys, and bicycles. Great food and a bicycle museum surrounding you. I was in heaven and spent half the time walking around checking things out.
Check out the pic above of the large wheel. It has a diameter of about 15' across and the spokes are nearly 1" thick. Quite a giant wheel with actual jerseys woven all over it. The jerseys should put into perspective the size of the wheel hanging over our heads. Also, Kristi poses for a "thumbs up" at our Miguel "Big Mig" Indurain booth.
FYI, Exit 5 off of I-5 in North Vancouver (Hazel Dell area) one block West of freeway. You have to stop by!

U.S.G.P. #7/Portland, OR

Well, we had some great racing today in Portland for the 7th round of the U.S. Grand Prix of Cyclo-cross.
With temps warming up to about 40 degrees right before the race and the sun deciding to peak out, the muddy course began to thicken and get tacky and in some places very slippery and greasy. Unfortunately due to a last minute registration, I was called up to the line in 108th out of 120 riders. Not the way to get a good start, but hey, I was really only here to prepare for Nationals and have some fun. The start went off and 120 of us massed to the first mud section. Of course there was a crash, and I snuck up the left side in a clear line. Bam! I had just passed about 20 guys in 10 yards, that was cool. Then the legs were feeling good and I started to catch more. Another cluster of riders struggling up a steep slick run up, and leaving me an opening on the left inside line. I shouldered the bike and dug in. I give one "stiff arm" with my right hand going up and Bam! There were 10 more behind me. I continued to have great luck and good legs on a course that was about taking chances, and having good bike handling skills and good upper body strength. I had a great day, and worked from 108th place up to 20th! I think I could have gotten some more with a just a little more battle time. Wow, I would love to know what would have happened with a good second or even third row start position. My ride gave me a lot of confidense since alot of the National talent that will be in Bend next weekend for the Championships are also here testing the waters. Today was fun to say the least. Thanks DP for working the pits for me even though I never changed a bike. If anyone is interested I rode Challenge Grifo Tubulars with 28psi in front and about 32 in the rear. Beautiful traction! I never went down in the greasy conditions (but sure as hell came close a bunch).
Thanks also to Micah and Corrie for the use of their truck to pull around the True North OSV. We are lookin' good!
Kristi did a similar ride to me with a second to last row start position and worked all the way up to 16th place and rode beautifully. She beat most of the women that are top contenders for next weeks Masters National Championship. It's good for the confidense.
I look forward to letting you know how tomorrow goes here in Portland. They are possibly calling for snow! Bring it!

Thanks for reading.

S.C.X. Finals - My family and friends!

This entry deserved its own post. I'm so excited to add this entry of the success of Kristi, Holden, and my teammate Corrie.

First off Corrie, in her first year of 'cross racing has learned so much and it has really shown that she is willing to do the work, and take notes when people such as Kristi, her husband Micah, and other teammates offer advise. This to me defines a someone with big fun future ahead. She has talent and the willingness to learn and the ability to listen and process information. Corrie went into the race 3rd Oveall I believe, and with the help of teammate Cristina working hard for her, WON the race out right! Holy moly was it a nail biter as the chase was on by the other girls only every chance they got close, they would fumble or crash in the greasy corners, and Corrie would simply ride away looking smooth and in control. Corrie went on to win, and with that win, netted the OVERALL victory in the Categort 4 SCX series! I'm really proud of her, and how much she has grown as a true cylco-crosser this season. She will be upgrading to a Cat. 2 next year. Look out Bitches!
Holden raced his last race of the year in the Jr. 10-12 year olds and finished in 6th place wich was good enough to get him 2nd Place overall in the series. Kristi and I are so pround of him, and how he has stuck out finishing all of his races in the cold and wet and tough days. We are hoping that his opportunity of being on a winners podium with a bunch of people cheering will be the learning lession reward for perseverance. Regardless of where he ever goes in the sport of cycling, Holden has began to learn what dedication and committment means, not only in sport but that in life. He's happy and very proud of his accomplishment, and so are we. Great Job Holdenator!
Finally, I have to give a big "Wahoo!" to Kristi for an incredible season. Kristi won convincingly at Monroe for her 8th win of the 8 race series. Yeah, that's right, she was undefeated in the SCX series, and took her 8th Title in this prestigious series. I believe that she is the most winningest rider in the series history. She works hard, she races well, she is a great sportman, role model, coach, and she deserves everything that she has earned.
I wish her all the luck as she heads to Oregon in search of a Masters National Championship. She is on the right path.

S.C.X. #8/Finals in Monroe

Well the S.C.X. series has come to a close, in the moist sandy, horse pucky confines of the Evergreen State Fairgrounds.
My mission today was to defend my 5th place overall placing in the series, which was a season goal from the beginning. I was sitting in 5th but with double points in the final race and everyone throwing out thier one worst race of the series, it was hard to do the math and know exactly what and who you were dealing with.
At the start of the race, the officials let us take a moment to remember the 4 following Lakewood PD officers that were killed that day, and to take a moment of silence at my request. Thank you USA cycling officials for that moment. A class act that we appreciated.
The whistle was blown and I was in my pedal powering up within 1/2 a second, I swear. I even remember hearing someone just behind me saying, "Good god Papa, how the hell do you do that?" I'm not sure who it was, but it brought a smile across my face as I led the field down the straight away to the first turn and grass climb. At this point, thats when one of the most decicated workhorses of any team came to the front. Dr. Phil, jumped to the front, and kept things strung out like a champ. Within a heartbeat, Ronnie Schmeer jumped out to attack. I told Phil to let it go, as Schmeer was behind me by a ways, and I would need feel throughout the race. As the race began to unfold, my legs were not feeling quite as snappy as they were in warm up. Not bad, just not great. Phil continued to pull me around the entire course for most of the race, which was truly one of the most amazing dedicated rides that I've seen this year. He had to be the strongest rider of the race that day, but yet unselfishly dedicated himself to me and my season goals. At this time, one must ask themselves what a "teammate" truly is, and what a "teammate" means to you. I know, and I saw it once again in Phil. One of our teams tasks were to keep Tom Phillips in check as he was just behind me in the overall point series. Phil knew this and constantly had Phillips in his sites. Slowly but surely we worked our way up to Tom Phillips with one lap to go. I came around Phil and checked to see how Tom was doing. He told me he was hurting, and I believed him. As we rounded the turn after the high speed turn into the grass climb, I attacked Tom with everything I had left. My loyal teammate Phil stayed back keeping an eye on Tom, as I continued on trying to gain as much as I could in the final lap. I had Matt Hill (Garage) in my sites and I was gaining on him. Unfortunatley I could not quite catch him in the final meters of the course and I finished a solid 5th place on the day. Dr. Phil came in behind me in 6th with Tom Phillips in 7th. I was happy with our ride, and even more impressed with Phil's ride. Quite possibly the strongest ride of the day, and all for the sake of a teammates goals. Thank you Phil, you are the secret weapon for anyone!
Unfortunately, the wary the "throw out" race worked, Tom beat me for 5th place overall in the series by like 6 points out of 600+ points. Ouch! What do you do? We did all we could and were very proud of our seasons work and our ability to ride together as a team. TEAM! TEAM! TEAM! TEAM! I don't know what else to say.
I also want to thank Micah, and DP in the pits. Even though we never needed to pit, it was great to know they were there and they kept giving us splits and "atta boys". Thank you also to my brothers from Ladder co. 72's; Bergeron, and Freer for coming to support me. That was good having them cheering out on the course for me.
Next up: USGP/Portland next Saturdat & Sunday. After that we will remain on the road heading to Bend for the U.S. National Championsips. We will keep you posted while out on the road.

Holden's State Championships 11/15

I think being a state champion was hard, but some people like a challenge. Yeah I was first, but I was the only one there. THANKS FOR READING THIS.

S.C.X. #7/Sedro Woolley

Yahoo! A day that brought lots of rain and temps in the low 40's begs for cyclo-cross racing. Today was the 7th stop it the Seattle Cyclo-cross Series taking place in Sedro Woolley. The course had lots of grass, mud bugs, standing water, gravel, and just mass amounts of MESS!
The race started off great knowing Dr. Phil, and Dan "Thor" were gonna be working hard for me. I didn't get my regular snappy start since I missed a pedal as the whistle was blown. It didn't matter, out of no where, Dr. Phil flew to the front and began to control things. I got towards the front fairly quickly and things were good. As we were headed into the first barriers/run up. Dr. Phil was leading, I was in 3rd, and at that moment "Thor" let me know that he was right behind me. It's pretty good for the confidence when things are starting to take place and it's you and 2 teammates in the top 5! That was darn cool. Things began to unfold and Series Leader, Kelsey and me began to turn things up at the front. Tom Phillips made the group and we were off. Within half a lap, Phillips took off hard and dropped Kelsey and me. I soon dropped Kelsey as he road a large mud bog and struggled, and I chose to get off immediately and run the entire section. I put a gap in him and now I was firmly in 2nd place. This was the majority of the race and with about 3 to go, Kelsey bridged back up and eventually passed me into 2nd place. I spent the remaining lap trying to catch him, but alas had to settle for 3rd Place today. I was super pleased with my ride in the brutal conditions. I love riding in real nasty conditions and bike handling is a must. My teammates rode great and worked hard to support me; Thank you Phil and Dan. I'm still sitting in 5th overall for the series and now got a few more needed points to solidify that spot. With one race to go (Monroe) and double points on the line. Anything can happen.
Congrats to Kristi for another win today. She has been undefeated this year in the SCX series and she has sewn up the series now. All she has to do is start the finals and she has won. Way to go Buttercup!
Hats off for Holden too. He had a rough race and stacked it up into a tree on a descent pinning his leg. Thank you Uncle "Wick" for being there to help him out. Holden continued on in the race and finished in 4th. With only 1 race to go in the series, Holden has enough points to ensure a top 5 overall placing in the series. Way to go Holdenator.
Also, thanks for our friends Gino, Trish, Mandy, and Richard for driving out in the cold and rain to cheer us on. That was cool, and we really appreciate it.
I'm looking forward to a good week of preparation leading up to the SCX series finals on the 29th.

Thanks for reading.

What I'm racing on.....

For the 2009 cyclo-cross season I am riding a Redline Conquest Team. I have two matching bikes with only a couple of suttle equipment differences. My bikes are spec'd with TRP Euro brakes which I have come to love. Very tough to beat in both cost, set up, and perfomance. Nobody else comes close. The bikes are equipped with a full Shimano Dura-Ace drive train, which has been very dependable over the last couple of seasons. Stems, handlebars, and seat posts by Full Speed Ahead(FSA). I do run Shimano XTR pedals which is a contrast to most other Northwest 'crossers that chose either Time or Crank Brothers. I love my pedals and the adjustability and cleat consistancy they provide. I run basically three different tire selections. The first one being Challenge Grifo 32mm tubulars. These are most often used and tend to be my lightest set up. My other option is two clincher models whick inlcude; the Hutchinson Bull Dogs (meaty with good knobs) or the lower resistance/fast rolling Hutchinson Pirahna.
I have been fortunate enough to ride Redlines for the last 3 seasons, and I have been very surprised and happy. The quality of ride, snappiness, dependability, weight, and costs make this a very worthy racing frame. Special thanks go to Tim Ruttledge and everyone at SBS for giving me the opportunity to ride a true American cyclo-cross tradition. Thanks for the support.

M.F.G. Series Finals/Woodland Park

Woodland Park might go down as one of the best cyclo-cross courses/venues that we have seen yet in the Northwest. With huge evergreen cedars and many deciduous trees to provide cover, the course weaved in an around and included some grass meadows as well. With all of the recent rain, many corners were greasy and slippery and provided plenty of entertainment to the onlookers and fans.
The Bicycle Centers/Collision 1 Team had a plan to work for T.M.T. as he was sitting in 2nd place overall behind "Gallagher". The thought was that if he could beat him and Dr. Phil and myself and others getting ahead of Gallagher, this would be taking possible points away from him and enable TMT to get a point spread. On the start, TMT looked good and Dr. Phil and myself had our work cut out for us. With little points in the MFG series, we didn't get ideal start row positions. After the first lap, we were sitting around 13th place with TMT in 1st. We continued to move up as the race wore on in the attempt to catch and pass Gallagher for our team leader. At the halfway point, Phil and I began to turn up the heat, go get Gallagher. We continued to bring down what was at one point a 40 second gap. Every lap we were catching up to him. Unfortunately, I only got within 8 seconds or so of him and TMT faded to 3rd. There wasn't enough of a point spread so TMT finished the series in 2nd. Still very respectable.
I myself finished the race in 6th place. Considering that I left everything out on the course the day before at the State Championships, I was happy with my result. I only wished that I could have helped TMT a little more. However at one point during the race, I did offer an unknown rider $10.00 and a 6 pack of beer if he beat Gallagher. He said OK, but soon faded behind Dr. Phil and myself. Well, it was worth a shot!
Way to go Kristi for a great well deserved win. She came from behind and won the race on the last lap to beat the series overall winner from Idaho! What a great win, and how exciting of a race to watch.
Next week "Hilly Cross" in Bellingham on Saturday, and SCX #7 at Sedro Woolley (Woolley Cross)on Sunday. I'm looking forward to this race and feel good about it. Hell, it's MY neck of the woods.
Thanks for reading.

Washington State Championships/Pacific Raceway

The 2009 Washington State Championships were held at Pacific Raceways near the Auburn/Kent area in King County. The course was stretched out and very fast with paved sections and long fast grass sections as well. There were two power climbs with hairpins at the bottom on loose marble rocks that often would force us to dismount and run to the top.
My goals were high for today, and I had some intentions to do well. Even though the overall racer turnout was low, the top guys were all in attendance for the most part except our own TMT, and Dr. Phil. I got a front row call up (that's always good) and off we went. Within the first lap, the front group began to materialize with around 8 riders with me sitting in 2nd. Half way through the race the number was wittled down to 5. I was at my max just trying to hang on at that point, and thats when the surges started. Dale Knapp and myself were dangling about 15 meters back from the other three. That's when they began to attack eachother, and Knapp and I had missed the opportunity.
Both of us continued to attempt in working together to bridge up, but our riding styles are so different that we just yo-yo'd past eachother every now and then. In the end, Knapp ended up being the stronger of the two of us today, and crossed the finish line about 20 meters ahead of me. Nonetheless, I came across in 5th place and I felt like that was a descent accomplishment considering the talent that showed up.
Hats off to Holden for nabbing a State Championship today in the Jr.'s. Yes, he won, and had fun doing it. What a champ!
Also, the family fun included Kristi storming to 1st place and racking up another State Championship. She led big right from the gun, and never looked back. So out of the 3 Berg's we got 2 Championships and a 5th place. Not bad in my book. A good day to say the least.
Tonight we are shacking up in the True North O.S.V. at Cycle University in West Seattle. What a place, to be able to wash your bikes in an underground 4000 square foot parking garage all to yourself. As I write this, I'm in the office using their computer. Thanks for the hospitality Craig, and everyone at Cycle University. Tomorrow we are headed across town to Woodland Park near Green Lake for the M.F.G. Series finals. Should be a great time at a new venue.
Thanks for reading.

"Papa" Berg........I'm out!

Team Training Ride at Sedro Woolley

Today, Kristi, myself, and several members of my team got together for our "hard day" Wednesday workout. The group included Micah, Corrie, Shane, and Dave B.
We decided to skip the Arlington stairs and drive up North to Sedro Woolley and ride on the Woolley Cross course which will be stop #7 in a week and a half for the Seattle CX Series. The course is very sloggy and heavy to ride and forces you to push a big gear and power through. Very hard on the muscles. Riding there also gives us a chance to dial in the course and get used to line options and rythm/flow of the course.
We all did a 2 lap warm up together, and then everyone completed their own workout within their own racing time. I rode the course tempo for 30 minutes with Dave Bennet right on my wheel then with 30 to go, I pegged it and rode at race pace for the remainder of the hour. It was a great workout and we got pretty muddy and wet from the slog fest.
We finished off by enjoying some coffee at Starbucks and headed home. Good day of training and things are coming along for me. Wish me luck, cause I've had some lately and it's been working.
Thanks for the ride Team and great job out there!

S.C.X. #6/Sprinker

Wow, what can one say about the racing yesterday.

Stop #6 of the Seattle cyclo-cross Series took place at Sprinker Park in Spanaway. The course consisted of two long pavement sections, a sand pit section and lots of fast grass with bumpy sharp rocks laid throughout the course hidden in gravel and dirt. Last year I suffered 2 flats during the race, and this year I was chosing my tires and pressures carefully. After pre-riding the course with my team and trying a couple different wheel/tire options, I opted to ride Grifo 32mm tubulars with 35psi in the rear and 32psi in the front. This proved to be a good choice! We had a team meeting before our race as we warmed up and came up with a good strategy/plan to take to the start line.
We lined up for the start in perfect conditions; drizzling rain and about 50 degrees with the ground wet. At the start, I got the hole shot off the tarmac and started to string things out. I was feeling good as we progressed through the course and riders began to pull through. Within the first lap, Bicycle Centers/Collision 1 had 3 riders in the top 10 to include T.M.T., myself, and Oppenheimer. Todd went away to the front and I got in a group of three that included Doug "The Grave Digger" Graver, and Matt Lynch. Phil was just behind us and always in view through the turns riding defensively and refusing to pull anyone up to us. What a guy!
My group was working good together and were taking turns doing the work. As we were going through the sand pit, Lynch had a bobble, and The Grave Digger plowed right into him, in turn, I hit Graver's rear wheel and went over the bars flipping in mid air. We quickly got up and remounted. My right lever was twisted in, and with only 20 meters to the pit, I should have gotten a new bike. My thought was that if I took the extra 5 seconds to pit, I could lose contact with the two, so I elected to stay on my "A" bike. While on the paved tarmac at about 20mph, I was able to reposition my lever back to its normal position and the bike was still running flawlessly. I had a made a good decision. Two laps later, I attacked Graver and Lynch. When I looked back, I hade a 20 meter gap, so I pinned it with another hard effort and didn't look back. With 3 laps to go, I caught up to our Team Leader, Todd Morse Tucker(TMT). Knowing that I had put in a big effort to bridge up, TMT took the reigns and pulled me along so I could recover. What a teammate. As we were picking off lapped riders things were going well and we were riding in 3rd and 4th positions. On the last lap, TMT went down just in front of me on a slippery turn. I was able to avoid the crash, and heard him say to go, and he would ride defensive for me. Again, what a team! I pushed hard on the last lap to keep out of reach of a hard charging Kelsey coming from behind. I crossed the line in 3rd Place with teammate TMT coming in 4th. What a race, and everything worked for us just as planned. We had 3 riders in the top 10, Oppenheimer getting the next spot, and we were very happy with our results and even more our teamwork. Super thanks to our pit crew; Dave, Micah, and Dave for doing an outstanding job for us today.
Not only a great race with another good result, but I got to celebrate my birthday with my teammates and enjoy a big carrot cake Kristi had brought.
Congrats also to Holden who got another 4th place today and caught one kid just before the finish. Kristi snagged another tough win. She wasn't feeling herself today, and just dangled out in front of the chasers to snag her 6th SCX win of the season out of 6 series races. Nicely done.
The season is 2/3's over and everything is coming together at the perfect time for me. I'm climbing in the standings, and feeling faster and faster every race. The only thing I'm missing is a Win! You can bet, that I've put this on my short list of goals for the season. I'm going to continue to work hard, and turn up my training another notch as it comes down to the wire. With a team like Bicycle Centers/Collision 1, I have everything I need.

Thanks for reading.

Wednesday = Stairs & Coffee

Wednesday, myself, Kristi, Micah, Corrie, and Nick rode out to the Arlington Stairs for an intense group workout. It was good having Nick there to push me on what is already a crazy hard interval set.
We finished up our great workout and then road back into Smokey Point to Starbucks for some coffee and conversation. Maybe we are starting a regular Wednesday = Stairs & Coffee. Sounds good to me!

What a life!

S.C.X. #5/Maris Farms

Sunday was a good day as we loaded up the True North O.S.V. and headed down to Buckley to Maris Farms for the 5th stop on the S.C.X. Series. Maris Farms is a privately owned theme farm with pumpkin patches, corn mazes, petting zoo, animal acts/shows and more to promote the fall harvest time of year. This made a great location for a new cyclocross race with good terrain and plenty of challenge.
The course included some deep "peanut butter" mud through a huge pumpkin patch, twisty greasy mud through a portion of the corn maze and then a turning, and bumpy grind up and down some of the bumpiest grass I can remember. This finished up with a turn up a gravel road climb and starting all over again. With some key teammates not on hand; Todd Morse Tucker and Phil Oppenheimer, I knew that it might be up to me to anchor the team up front. Our team had a brief discussion before the race to discuss tactics and agreed that on this course, there would be little opportunity. With sitting 8th overall in the series, I was called up to the front row and lined up to the right. The gun went off, and we headed up the gravel climb, through the muddy turn, and dropped down into the muddy pumpkin patch. As soon as we hit the deep stuff, I noticed that five or six of us made it through with a gap. After the next section, it was down to three of us and we had a 15 meter split to the rest of the field. After the 2nd lap the three of us had probably a 20-30 second lead with Ronnie Schmeer joining us and the front two starting to pull clear of Schmeer and myself. The majority of the race looked like this with me and Schmeer going back and forth. My legs felt great, and the technical nature of the course was suiting me well. Many of the guys who are normally in the top standings were struggling leaving the door open for whoever had the fight.
With two laps to go, the sharp rocks caught up to me and I suffered a pinch flat right before dropping back into the pumpkin patch mud. I was able to roll the descents but had to pick it up and run the flats and climbs. This enabled a couple of riders to catch up to me before I made it to the pits for the bike change. My Bicycle Centers/Collision 1 Team in the pits were great and made the bike changes super smooth (as always). I continued riding out the last 2 laps trying to survive as the running effort with the bike began to take effect and fatigue front the course was setting in. I crossed the line in 6th place which I felt very good about. I'm riding very well, and my work is paying off.
I also have to congratulate Kristi on a well deserved win in the Elite Women's class. She went back and forth with Kari Studley and finally attacked her and stormed off for a convincing win. She is owning the series this year and looks good doing it.
Thanks again to my teammates for the support and sportsmanship that we constantly get. I love it.
Next week will be stop #7 at Sprinker Park in Spanaway. Great course and only 2 races in the SCX series left, means the fight for points will be fierce.
Talk to you soon.

Riding with Micah & Corrie

I just finished up a good ride with my Bicycle Centers/Collision 1 teammates Micah and Corrie(pictured to the right). Two great people who love 'cross and love life.

We decided to ride out at River Meadows Park, East of Arlington and do some technical intensity work on what could be a great 'cross course. We started out with about 30 minutes of pre-ride warm up, and then did 1 hour of hard efforts in the run-up and and in the sand trails along the river bank. In between we would just maintain tempo along the grass and paths throughout the park. After every lap, we would regroup, encourage eachother, and have another go at it(insert Aussie accent here). We finished up with a cool down lap and enjoyed the area, and solitude it provided. After all, this park is probably one of the largest and least known parks in Snohomish County.........Ssshhhhhhhhhhhh!

What can I say about the Bicycle Centers/Collision 1 Team. A great group of not only racers, but of people. Individuals that have a similar passion for the sport and a similar one for life. I abosolutely love this team and missed it! It's good to be back.

Afterward, we drove back into downtown Arlington to the Stilly Coffee House for a cup of hot Jo. Thanks for the latte Micah, and Corrie, and thanks for a good ride and great company.

As my friend "Sherpa" promotes; "Life is good".

I would add to that; "If it's not, you are doing it wrong!"

Talk to you soon.

Holden's thoughts on the True North O.S.V.

I think the true north trailer is cool because it works for us. My favorite part is the radio. My other favorite is sleeping in it. It works for us outdoors. I'm only 8 but that's what I think.

From,

Holden

High Intensity Training Day = STAIRS!

Today Kristi and I rode to a great location to work on run up/stair work outs. Right outside of downtown Arlington there is a set of stairs that weaves through the maple trees up the bank to a housing development. To say the least, the staircase is crazy steep and has several different rhythm and pitch changes. Kristi had found these stairs a few weeks ago and even found a full loop leading back down to the base that took around 5-6 minutes. Just enough to recover and hurt some more.

We did a total of 5 sets and running pace and would finish each one with a quick remount back on the bike and put in a hard effort going up a fairly steep road for roughly 2 blocks. Can you say Max Heart rate? We split up and focused on our workout and got it done, and then went back for pics. A good 30 minute warm up ride from home and 30 minutes worth of stairs and then a nice 30 minute rainy, windy (sideways) through the farmlands back to our house.

Tuesday done - Check!

S.C.X.#5/Steilacoom

On Sunday, we once again headed down to Steilacoom Park for the 4th round of the Seattle Cyclo-Cross Series. After a good race the day before, I was anxious to see how I would feel the following day in a the "Big" Series.

The course was laid out similar to usual with lots of fast grass with some wet greasy tight turns, a paved climb, and a loose gravel road climb, high speed descent, and more fast dirt trail. We only had to dismount once at a double set of barriers down in the start/finish area. For this race, the course designers decided to take out the legendary "Knapp Time" Run-Up (Thank you 'cross Gods). It had rained significantly over the days leading up to the race, but this course is famous for its ability to drain well, and only leaving behind a few greasy turns. The Bicycle Centers/Collision 1 team discussed race plans and tactics before the race and the idea would be to start out hard with our guys setting the pace high to string things out for our team Captain, Todd Morse Tucker who could go for the win. After that, the goal would be to go for our own and work together to move up. We have a good team, and seem to really trust each other, and nobody thinks twice to sacrifice themselves to better a teammate. I love it.

I chose to run a new set of tires/wheels we just glued up; Challenge Grifo 32mm tubulars with 32psi in the front and 35psi in the rear. This was a good choice on both tread and pressure and made a big difference during the race. We lined up by series points which put me on the 2nd row with a 15th overall ranking. The whistle blew, and we were off. I got the hole shot headed around the barns through the pits all the way out to the paved road climb. Just as planned, the pack was strung out in single file, and people were already hurting. Just as I was peeling off, teammate Phil Oppenheimer took the pace/lead and kept it high. All the while, Todd began to move up on the narrowing course. The plan was working. After a couple of laps, I caught back up to Phil, and he was not having his best day, and I had to go for it. I got in a group that worked together that included the legendary Dan "Snortin' " Norton (7 time National Masters Champion) and we began to pull clear and catch racers getting shelled off the lead group. On lap four heading up the paved climb, Norton put in an attack and got a gap. The other rider, couldn't hang on and dropped back just as Norton passed another. This enabled me to bridge back up to his attack, and once again we had a group of 3. We took turns the entire 2nd half of the race pulling and sharing the load, to stay away from a hard charging chase group from behind.

Kristi was in the pits for me, and was giving us information that was helpful and we knew that we were in the top 10. With this in mind, I knew that I could outsprint the other two riders for 8th when it came down to the finish. On the final chicane through the grass, I positioned myself 3rd wheel with Norton leading the group. I knew that the other guys were gonna start their sprint once they hit the pavement to the finish. I also knew that we were gonna run out of real estate with the paved section to the finish only being about 50 meters long. With that in mind, as we were weaving through the turns, I punched it and started the sprint earlier than the other guys expected. The move was perfect as I was already in full sprint 3 gears higher than them as I came around. I got them by 15 meters at the line, and earned a solid 8th place.

I was super happy with my ride and raced a very strong tactical race. With many of the guys ahead of me in the overall, having not such good days, the overall series points took a major twist, with me moving from 15th overall all the way up to 8th Overall! Wow, seven places in a single race? I finally had some good fortune, and now I'm back in the game for my season goals. Not only that, but our team plan worked perfectly and our team Captain sprinted for the win with 2 other racers, and came up with 2nd! He was happy, greatful, and the team came away with 4 guys in the top 16.

Congrats to Kristi, for an early crash and resulting mechanical that put her dead last and nearly out of site of the next girl. She remained calm, cool headed and savvy in her pursuit, and within 2 laps was back in the top 6. Over the next half of the race she worked back into the lead and walked away with yet another win! Very impressive, and she now leads the Series for Pro/Elite Women convincingly.

Next weekend we head to Maris Farms in Buckley for the 5th round of the S.C.X. Series. I'm looking forward to a good week of training, starting with a good easy spin today, and tomorrow Kristi and I are doing stairs in Arlington for some high intensity workouts.

Talk to you soon.

"Silly Cross" in Bellingham

Today, we headed up to Bellingham for "Silly Cross". Silly Cross is part of the Cascade Cyclo-Cross Series that takes place in Skagit, and Whatcom Counties. Though a much smaller series than the Seattle CX series or the MFG CX series, they do put on fun events and always seem to design great courses. Today they didn't disappoint.
The Civic Center Atheletic Fields Park was located right off I-5 and in the center of Bellingham. The course had everything. Fast rolling gravel paths, wooden bridges, muddy grass, off-camber twisty turns, paved climb, curb transitions, and some very technical riding all together. In this series, the Masters age is 40, so being a "young" 35, I had to race as a Pro/Elite rider (1/2 Elite). The field was small but had some good riders on hand including BRI's Logan Wenzel, the recent winner of the SCX #2@ Beverly Park. We also had Worlds Team Member, Steve Fischer of Rad Racing NW. I got a 3rd row start position, and we were off. The top 8 stayed together for the first lap, with a fairly mellow pace, then on lap two, $#!+ hit the fan, and things got serious. It took me a couple of laps to catch the flow of the course, but once I did, I was feeling really good and having fun. They even gave us a "approved short-cut" on the course, only you had to drink a beer and do push ups to pass. Our front group did this on the 2nd lap. I nearly puked up my Rainier as I did my push ups, and decided I would stick to the normal route on the next laps. Another added feature unique to this race was an added "snow" section. Yes, snow! These guys had snow brought in for a short 10' section that was about 12" deep, and didn't really slow any of us down.
I finished in 7th place, and was very happy with my ride on my kind of course. Kristi chose not to race today, to keep fresh legs for tomorrows SCX #4 race in Steilacoom. So instead, she worked the pits for me, which I never even needed. My bike did have a fair amount of mud on it, but everything worked great and shifting continued to stay crisp and precise. I rode really low pressure today to keep good traction on the off camber slippery grass. I ran with only 30 in the front and about 35 in the rear. Perfect amount of traction with the Hutchinson Bull Dog tires. Holden was on various portions of the course yelling "Go Dad", "Good job". Thanks buddy. It was also nice to be able to take a shower at the race venue in the atheletic locker rooms. A nice hot shower after a muddy race was top notch and made for a very "professional like" venue. Thank you Bellingham Parks Department.
Good day on a great course, and now we are headed back down the freeway towards home to get the bikes, gear, and body ready for tomorrows big race in Steilacoom. I think we will chill out and carve some pumpkins tonight.

Stay tuned for tomorrows report.

Training at River Meadows Park

Today was another good fun day of training. Instead of just hard intervals or a mid-week time trial, I went out to a "secret-squirrel" location in Snohomish County. River Meadows park is a large County Park East of Arlington. It has wide open grass fields, deep sandy trails, great fall leaves all over the ground, run ups, all along side of the Stilliquamish River. I would truly love to someday host a race here. Maybe I will have to work on that for next year.
I started out with a 30 minute warm up on my loop and then went at a good high tempo speed for 20 minutes, then mellow for 20, then again followed up with another high tempo of 20 minutes. Once the work was done, I continued to cool down for another 15 minutes or so before packing it in.
I do have to say, that the smell of dead salmon permeated the park, as I'm sure those that didn't make it up to the smaller streams "bought the river bank". I guess that it's part of the "cycle"!

Talk to ya later.

S.C.X. #3/Silver Lake

Another great day of racing at yet another new venue for the Washington State Cyclo-Cross scene. Round #3 of the S.C.X. Series brought us to Silver Lake Park in South Everett. The venue was right on the water front with gorgeous oak and maple trees in true fall colors, and two sand sections of the course that rivals the Lake Samammish course in the MFG series.

With my lack of points from past races I had to line up in the back of the pack for the start. From the start we had a 150 yard paved descent and then straight into the sand on the beach to the joy of the crowds awaiting the chaos and mayhem as racers fight for position and crash in specatular displays. By the time we hit the sand, I had moved up to about 10th position, and by the time we got through the sand, I was in the top 5 heading back up into the woods. I felt very good to get a good start and I was feeling alright. I continued to work battling back and forth having a great time racing on probably one of the toughest 'cross courses I have ever raced. The course was very technical, twisty, and busy. The course also demanded alot of power from the rider and never a chance to recover and rest. AWESOME!

It was great having so many friends and family come out for the race since it was in Snohomish County. It was cool to see my brothers from the firehouse; Colby, Tickle (Sherpa), and Ekse come out with their friends and family. We also had my Mom, sister, nieces, sister in-laws, in-laws all out to scream on Kristi, Holden, and I. We definitely had a good fan base.

I ended up in 15th place on the day, and was very content with my ride, and I had a blast racing this "hard ass" course.

Congrats to Holden for getting 2nd place today working his butt off on a tough course, and to Kristi for downright, "smoking" her competition. It was over from the gun, and that kind of course was made for her. She now has a firm lead on the SCX Series overall.

Hats off to my friend/teammate Phil Oppenheimer for securing a new venue and designing a great course.

Talk to you soon.

Good Training Day

Yesterday, I was up in Bellingham for a fire gig, and made sure to bring my bike to get some training in afterward. I wanted to get in some "race simulation" speed/technique so I headed to one of my favorite courses - Cornwall Park, in the North end of the city. A gorgeous park with fast wide trails, grass fields, and paved walkways.

Lots of squirrels, dogs, frisbie golfers, and XC runners were the order of the day, but I still had a great ride and felt pretty good. Cornwall Park, is pretty much a cyclo-cross paradise. They just need a starbucks right outside the park gate.

S.C.X. #2/Beverly Park

Round two of the Seattle CX series took place at Beverly Park in White Center (South of Seattle) in a residential neighborhood school/park. The course was very technical, and bumpy with some great descents and a cool run up.

Has anyone seen my luck, cause I seem to be missing some? In the opening of the first lap, I felt my front tire suddenly losing air as we headed for the descent. As we bombed down the drop, I applied my brakes only to have my front brake cable slip and my lever went straight to the bar. The result was me "T-boning" Mike Rolcik in the bottom turn, and trying not to roll my deflated tire on the dry grass. Unfortunately, I had just passed the pit, so I would not see it again for an entire lap. By the time I got my pit bike I was towards the back once again. I finished in 21st place. What can I say, my days MUST be coming. I will just continue to train well, and keep positive, and know that my days are approaching. It's been such a bummer not being able to catch a break so far.

On another note, I wanted to thank my teammates for a great bike change in the pits. Very smooth fellas, and appreciated. Also, great job to Holden for completing a very tough course for an 8 year old as he continues to race with the 10-12 year olds. I was very happy to see him finish and run the run ups and be able to ride the steeper climbs. Way to go buddy. (Holden's photo at top of article)

Kristi killed it today with big win in very commanding fashion. She left everyone in her wake and won by over a 1.5 minutes. That's big in 'cross.

Next race is S.C.X. #3/Silver Lake (South Everett). It will be nice racing in Snohomish County. I'm hoping for some crappy weather, and a technical course.

Thanks for reading.

M.F.G. #4/Cross Clash @ Steilacoom

Today we headed down to Steilacoom for the 4th round of the M.F.G. series and a race that touted Portland, Oregons 'crossers against Seattle's.
The course consisted of lots of fast paved roads, fast bumpy grass, and an actual dirt trail climb followed by a loose gravel road climb. Very fast course and tactics played a huge role. Things got off to a rough start with me getting edged to the outside into the first turn and ended up having to roll through the pits. There are some big rules about rolling through the pits without taking a bike and the ending result can be disqualification. With this in mind, I sat up and had to let the pack pass by, and then jump in on the tail end. Not good, going to dead last in the first 20 seconds of a race. Not long after a rider went down hard in front of me in a turn, and I was barely able to avoid going down myself. I now had my work cut out for me. After the first couple of laps, I realized that I had some decent legs and I had the chance to make up lost ground. Half way through the race I caught one of my teammates Tim and asked him to help pull me up to the chase group that was currently holding a fourth place position with 6 guys in the group. Tim, shredded himself for me in an effort to help, knowing that he wasn't going to have anything left. When I went by on the climb, he was even kind enough to give me a big sling shot push. That's a loyal teammate. Thanks Tim.
I finally caught the chase group at the top of the gravel road climb and needed to sit in for a bit after such a hard effort to get back on. Unfortunately, this was about the time, that they started to attack eachother and the pace picked up fast, and I started to see a distance forming. I continued to chase and picked off a couple of more guys by the end to get a 10th place for the day. I was content considering the start lap for sure. Congrats to one of my team leaders Todd Morse Tucker for snagging 3rd today in our race just losing out on a 3 man sprint for the win.
With the True North O.S.V. in tow, Kristi cooked us some spaghetti in the galley, and we took our time leaving the race course. I even got the chance to mount all of the sweet new bike mount trays that Northwood Mfg, and Thule just sent us. Thanks Lance, they showed up on Friday. You are a magic man. The bikes were loaded onto the roof, and we headed to Federal Way.
We stopped in at South King Fire & Rescue 62's firehouse. I got some brothers who work at this house, and to say, Kristi, Holden, and I were treated with top hospitality. We got a shower and tour and a good safe spot to park the truck/trailer and sleep for the night. In the morning we will be headed to Beverly Park in Seattle for Seattle Cyclo-cross Series #2 (SCX). I look forward to letting you know how the race goes. For now, I'm gonna get some sleep in here with the family. Thanks for reading

Mid week Training

Yesterday was a good high intensity day of training. I drove out to Sedro Woolley to ride the "Woolley Cross" race course at the park just outside of town. A great race was put on out there last year around the delapitated dairy farm (it has to be haunted with ghost cows) and now the entire area has been turned into a beautiful park.
What was also cool, is that the parks department (or someone) actually has the 'cross course mowed and marked! Holy cow, that's cool! I started off with a couple of laps just warming up to get the muscles going. After that I began to hit it harder and harder every lap for one hour, with the last 30 minutes at full race pace. With "Woolley Cross" being so bumpy and dragging because of all of the boggy turf, you are forced to push a big gear just to not get beat up. Though this hurts, it's great for lactic acid threshold building. A couple of great run ups, and a long false flat made for one heck of a workout. I felt good and was finding good rythm, and it started getting me fired up as a David Lee Roth was yelling into my ears to "Jump"! Last year I really enjoyed this course and venue, and now I'm really looking forward to racing here again this year on November 22nd. I want to do well here and I think I can on this course. I will be putting some focus on this race.

Thanks for reading.

Northwood Manufacturing Tour

Though this tour took place back in early August, I just found the pics and would like to share our trip to LaGrande, Oregon where the True North line of Outdoor Support Vehicles our made. Our tour was greeted by Lance and Rich who are instramental in designing, engineering, and promoting this new unit. Everyone we met at the factory was great and we were made to feel like we were becoming part of a family. We were able to take part in a photo shoot with the first purchaser of one of the units, and check out the original "prototype" that Lance himself tested out with his family over the last year or so. This was a great trip for us, and we really appreciated the hospitality that Northwood MFG displayed to us. I can say, that its really nice to see a business, a group of people, and the individuals that we have worked with; Lance and Rich, really put their money where their mouth is!

Thanks guys.