Bear Springs Trap is one of my favorite courses. The race is put on by the crew from Mt Hood Skibowl and they have been promoting races forever.

In fact, my second race EVER was at Skibowl several eons ago. I have had many great times racing with these guys, but this event was NOT one of them. Right now I am looking for excuses not to keep racing the same old events, so thanks for the BIG FAT one folks!

Seems that myself and many others noticed the news report stating that areas around Mt Hood had received record snowfall during the month of March–as in nine FEET! So we inquired during the weeks leading up to the event if snow would be a problem on the course…

We were assured that snow was NOT going to be an issue. but rather downed TREES. Since I know these guys I trusted them and Kurt, Brett and I headed up for the whole mealdeal (short track included). We arrive to 36 degrees, snow flurries and snow on the ground.

I immediately asked what was going on since snow was NOT going to be an issue. Again, I was assured that the snow was not the problem… Well, it ended up being one for me when I dropped my chain on the first short track DISMOUNT and never saw the front again. I still fought back for second place, though.

Whilst trying to thaw our bodies we tried to “pre-ride” part of the XC course and made it about 100 yards before meeting an endless glacier of snowpack. Hmmmn, the alarms are going off and other racers are leaving! Should we?

NOOOOO, instead I corner the promoter and ask AGAIN about the snow on the rest of the course. Answer: just a little on the start loop and tne part we saw, but there are “trails” around it.

Fast forward to the race… SNOW, SNOW, SNOW. The most walking I have ever done in a race. Total joke, waste of time, debacle. Thanks a lot chump!

We asked–you lied. Period. RIP B.S.!

Do you want to know the worst part? The Willamette Stage Race was cancelled this week on account of lack of entries… Makes me wonder how many folks were mis-led into this at the expense of losing Willamette forever…

Alas, the state of the sport is still… RIDICULOUS! Moral of this report: promoters be honest about your events–and remember, it is never too late to postpone or cancel!

Ride on, friends…

Before I digress too much… I have to clarify that while I didn’t win the Eugene Roubaix bicycle race Saturday, I did WIN the annual mullet competition!

Even more gratifying than beating most all of the(ninth place) local wheel-sucks (roadies) was my utter domination with my hair, outfit, equipment ensemble!

I hope you all enjoy this as much as I did… Kudos and thanks to “The Uncommon Cyclist” for photos and special effects!

http://commoncyclist.blogspot.com/2009_04_01_archive.html

Check it out, now.

I had originally planned to double up with the Table Rock Road Race this weekend but my wife’s work schedule precluded our planned road trip to sunny, southern Oregon–hope to get another crack at that one again next year!

-VP

I just got done racing the local Kings Valley road race. It is typical of most Oregon road events in that most everyone stays together to the end.

Obviously those who are out of shape or in the wrong category get dropped but the rest just battle for position going into the final sprint.

The best part about this event is that it takes place about 1/2 hour from my home on roads I used to train frequently on when we lived in Dallas.

Unfortunately this year I lost the battle for position when some other yahoo ran me into the gravel with a couple k’s to go. By the time I fought back up toward the front, things had already gone off.

Instead of sprinting for a place I was simply passing all the dudes who blew up! Oh, well, that is why I focus on racing MTB–generally the best finish at the front and typically it is a handful or less!

Otherwise it was a nice day and some good hard riding, so I will be better for it in a month or two.

Cheers!

—> Many of you know that I opened the 2009 racing season with a visit to the 10th annual KONA 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo. This was to be my first attempt at a 24 SOLO event, so I wanted to be well prepared. With support from my family and teammates, I was able to train consistently since the 1st of January and arrived at the race in decent shape for this time of year. The race began with a “shotgun” start and a 1/4mile lemans run. I was able to get out in the top 20 and settled into a reasonable pace. My plan was to maintain my 100 mile pace for the entire 24 hours. It worked well and soon I had caught and passed the early leader Tinker Juarez and was riding alone in the lead as darkness approached. I stopped for about 10 minutes to install my lights and add some more clothing. Throughout the night I maintained consistent laps and stopped only at midnight to lube my chain and change batteries. My form was good until about 5am when temperature seemed to drop and the wind began to pick up. I started to get cold even after daylight and another quick stop to remove my lights. I wasn’t able to warm up and my lap times did not improve even though it was daylight. At 11:11am I lapped Tinker and decided that it was time to rest. We had a little recovery meal, pulled some cactus spines out of my legs (overzealous cornering!), and crossed the finish line victorious at 12:01 pm. I want to thank all of my sponsors, but especially NoTubes.com for the totally rad new race wheels/tires, Magura for the new brakes, fork, and rear shock, and Scrub Components for the sick brake rotors that all arrived just in time to win! Even though I rocked it last year, this was a tough year for sponsorship. This race was on me, but I appreciate all of you out there that believe in my dream and support my cause. Thanks again and savor this one with me! The best is yet to come… VP

Lots going on these days at home, so Brett and I made the short trip to North Plains, Oregon. Hornings Hustle was the second race of the state XC Series.

I chose to ride singlespeed because the course is a very short up/down loop and the conditions have been quite muddy during past renditions.

Since I ride my singlespeed at least a couple times a week for training, I assumed this would mean that I’d be minimizing my chances for mechanical failure. I even put on a new (old) stretched chain the night before to help ensure that I wouldn’t stretch and drop my chain.

Things were going great (as planned) and I was out front after the first lap leading Carl Decker (Giant). Then I missed a turn and some other guys caught up. That was fine, but then I dropped my chain at the start of the second lap. Uh, oh! Thinking it may have been a fluke, I remounted and poured it on only to lose the chain again, and again, and again!

In the end, I must have stopped six times and could only manage 3rd place since I was never able to pedal hard or fast. It leaves me hoping for a little better luck next time around.

Thanks for reading!