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.