Keepin' The Streak Alive

It turns out I like short fast prologues. Who'd have guessed? It was pretty much dark by 8:52 when I started the 4 mile course, and the constant rain on the oil-slicked PIR motor speedway made some of the corners pretty harrowing. Earlier riders finished with two seemingly contradictory things to say, "A couple of times I felt my wheels slipping out," and, "I wish I'd gone faster in the corners." Tyler gave me a last minute pep-talk while Haldane swapped wheels for me. He said, "The first gnarly left-hander has a pit lane on the inside, making it look a lot tighter than it really is. Its an optical illusion. You can rail it. No guts, no glory." So with that advice in mind I lit out.

I almost crashed on the first turn of the course. It was just a gentle bend, but the conditions were so dicey that I had to stop pedaling and come out of the sticks. After that I decided to play it cool. It was pretty much just 7 minutes of suffering punctuated by a few moments of terror where I felt the wheels start to slip. I felt that I was riding like a total sissy. On the last turn I thought I had flatted my disc and actually stopped pedaling and hopped the back wheel to see if it was flat before getting back in the sticks and hammering to the line.

Whatever I did, it worked. I ended up running a 7:16, just 5 seconds slower than Paul Mach's (Bissell Pro Cycling) winning time and good enough for 3rd place behind Morgan Schmitt (UnitedHealthcare). I'm damn proud of myself.

I'm also incredibly proud of my YCT! teammates. We ended up with 4 riders in the top 21, and if not for a bit of bad luck it would have been 5, with 2 in the top 4. Philip Mooney is not like the rest of us. He has no fear. He was absolutely FLYING around the course and was on track for a winning time until he pushed it a bit too far on the trickiest corner and turned the racetrack into a slip'n'slide. What do I mean by on track for a win? He crashed, slid over 100ft until he hit the grass, ran backwards to get his bike, clipped in, unclipped and got off to fix his chain and only then got back on and finished. He still ended up 72nd out of 153, and only 35 seconds off of Paul's winning time. That, ladies and gentlemen, is insane. Luckily his wounds are minor and his will is strong. I foresee serious crushing in his near future.

But again, huge props to the team. Those are solid rides by all the guys, especially Adam, who's been spending most of his time taking tests or hanging with his Virginia based GF, and Tyler, who just two days ago wasn't sure he was fit enough to race at all.

This evening is the Mt. Taber Criterium, a hilly, technical slugfest to be contested in the standard Oregonian downpour. Its gonna be a doozy.

Here Comes Hood

After a delightful jaunt in a motorized carriage, or ten hours of mind-numbing driving, we've all arrived in Hood River, OR for the Mt. Hood Cycling Classic. Its a week long stage race and its going to be amazing. We pre-rode the stage 3 individual time trial today and it is one of, if not the, most beautiful courses I've ever seen. It rolls along the Columbia River Gorge and includes a snaking switchback climb, a no-brakes descent and a stretch of bike path converted from highway that goes through a tunnel carved through the cliffside. Amazing!

The race kicks off tonight with a flat 4 mile prologue on the motor speedway at the Portland International Raceway. Bomb! Its going to be a wicked fast run and you can bet your britches the winners will be averaging well over 30mph. Go hop on your bike and try to hit 30 mph on flat ground and you'll have at least a tiny bit more respect for bike racers. Not much, but a little maybe. Just be sure to ask a physician if its safe first.

Its a twilight race (my start time is 8:52:30) so Phil's already whining about how his start is after his bedtime. It is a late race, and we have to transfer all the way back to host housing in Hood River an hour away after we're all finished. Report says its already raining so this should be one hell of a ride, or in all likelihood the most painful 8 minutes of my life.