HORNINGS HUSTLE 07

A new race on the Oregon calendar, so I couldn’t resist throwing my hat in the ring! Horning’s Hideout is just outside Portland and offers visitors a variety of outdoor activities. This was their first MTB race and maybe the last after they look at the course devastation. Anyway, it is March in the Willamette Valley and of course it rained most of the week. I set up my Scott Scale single-speed for this one because I knew it would be a short up/down race with lots of mud. I was a little ambitious with the gearing and chose 38-17. Unfortunately, I think my highest cadence was about 50 and the course just got muddier and stickier as the day went on. I jumped to an early lead but was passed about halfway around the first lap as I struggled up one of the many steep climbs. Fortunately, I got my legs back and settled into a somewhat manageable pace. Soon, I was in the lead and things were looking pretty good. Then the sun came out (rare indeed) and the mud got thicker and thicker. My 38-17 now felt like a 42-17 as we began to lap the field. My old buddy Erik Tonkin took the advantage and caught up and eventually passed me with one lap to go. He allegedly had gears on his bicycle (I couldn’t really see them, though) and was able to make up little bits of time whenever we slowed down for a rider or a corner. We came in only seconds apart, but alas second place for me…