This year my teammate Ryan Eisele and I decided to make Bear Springs Trap XC our first race off the year. This would also be my first race in the single speed category and Ryan also chose to race the SS. Bear Springs is one of my favorite races especially when the course is 99% free of snow. It is a true cross country race with sweet single track sections but enough double track and gravel roads for convenient passing. The course has a couple of very technical trails. I rode 32-16 gearing, but it was a bit tall for this course especially with 29″ wheels. I struggled to make the climbs, but felt fast in the flat sections. By half-way through the race, I had only been able to pass a few single speed riders so I thought I was pretty much last in the class. I had hit a wall with about 3 miles to go, but I managed to latch onto a geared riders wheel and cruise to the finish. I was pleasantly surprised to check the results and discover I had crossed the line in sixth place and Ryan had finished in fourth!

Jeremy Warnicke

Welcome to the mudslinger, Oregon’s wettest, muddiest and probaly most miserable race. Why do we torture ourselves every year? For the great raffle at the end of the race? This year was like most other years–cold and very wet. After the wettest March on record there was water running everywhere. Dave goodier and I were the only REALL Racing riders to brave the conditions. After we pedaled 20 plus miles Dave finished third place and I managed fourth in our respective categories. We got some dry and clean clothes on and there was a never ending supply of stories of mishaps. However, we both survived unscathed, but I still would be cleaning dirt of my body for the next two days! Ridiculous conditions made for a real test of your bike skills and mental fortitude. Either riding down a trail of peanut butter or climbing up a trail against the waterfalls coming and getting to the top of the mountain only to have it start snowing! Then going back down the trail of slop in pouring rain, but we made it!

David Hill

Sometime last May, I was at wits end. I hadn’t been recovering since sometime last year and I had virtually quit training. My race results this season were inconsistent and derived from guts rather than form. I had dramatically won the Whiskey Off-Road only weeks before but it was more of a “last gasp” than a sign of improvement.

I notified my friends and sponsors that I had to take time off and get to the bottom of it. My EB labs had shown recent activity, but I was sure there was more to it. I took two weeks off the bike and sequestered myself to the bed and couch. Only folks close to me knew the real story and some offered encouraging words like: “you just need a break–you’ll be back in no time.” Others threw gas on the fire of doubt with comments like: “you aren’t a kid anymore–maybe its time to give it up.”

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Winning it all on the SS!

Last year I was bummed to miss a new marathon race just two hours away from home in Oakridge, Oregon. One of our boys checked it out and gave it a couple thumbs up so I made sure it was on the calendar this season!

Ryan and I headed south after work Friday and checked in at the Oakridge Hostel (great place to call home for any Oakridge adventure). We had a decent rest and were up in time for the 8:30 start. There was small but decent field that included some local and out-of-state riders. boys checked it out and gave it a couple thumbs up so I made sure it was on the calendar this season!

Steve leading former teammate Brett Luelling!

The Hood River Double Cross turned out great. This is my first ever back-to-back cross race and it was a blast. I got a nice call up for Saturday’s race and the pace was furious from the get go. Donald Reeb and I sprinted for the single track and from there he slowly distanced himself. I was joined my Brett Luelling and Molly Cameron on the first lap and we stayed together for several laps until Molly slid out. Brett and I set out to close in on Reeb, but he was simply too strong to catch that day. We kept the pace high and stayed together until about a minute before the finish where I put in an attack in the sand pit to finish 2nd on the day. Brett is a great racer and I had fun pushing the pace with him until the end. Sunday’s race started out similar with me, Brett, and Molly quickly distancing ourselves from the rest of the field. Molly dropped back after about a lap and it was Brett and I riding together again. Brett set a blistering pace and I held on until about the half way mark where I’d dropped my chain on a run up and then had to back off– I settled in to my own pace, but I was quickly going backwards and ran out of gas with about 3 to go. Molly caught and passed me and I had to settle for third on the day. I finished 2nd overall on the weekend and I feel that the back-to-back racing was a great stimulus as we get closer to the opening Cross Crusade race on October 2nd. This is going to be a fun season!

Thanks for reading,

S.

My sponsors and I had targeted this event from the beginning of the season and I hoped earn an elusive stars-and-stripes jersey from the outset. While I enjoyed the three hour drive over the Cascades after so much travel to other events this year, it was hardly a home course feel. I rarely visit Central Oregon but had recently had a chance to ride the upper loops of the course. It was typical of the region this time of year–dry, dusty, and rough with little sustained climbing. The trails bend to and fro constantly and with the incessant chatter racing in Bend can be deceivingly difficult. The marathon course was no exception.

We began in the Old Mill District south of downtown and headed out of the city on pavement toward Mt Bachelor. The single speed race immediately came apart with the high speeds as Cary Smith (Hammer Nutrition) and I set the pace. Read more »