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…

I just got back home about midnight from Mas O Menos, but I couldn’t resist getting up the next morning to race with the TEAM (www.capitolsubarucycling.com) at Cherry Pie. The CP is one of Oregon’s early road races and this year the course was right in my back yard. Running on caffeine and “what might have been” we rolled out into a cold but amazingly dry February afternoon. I race CAT 3 on the road and we had three other riders in the group. Unfortunately, about five minutes into the race a breakaway formed and while we worked hard, we could never bring it back. For me, it was a tough race. I had only one gear in my legs and whenever there was a jump, I was struggling. Then as we hit the finishing climb, I discovered that the chain I had hastily robbed from my TT bike that morning was too short for the ‘cross bike I was riding. Needless to say all I could do was finish mid-pack (26th) once I got going again. The other guys and gals on my team did great so I was just happy to get out and race with them!

Skibowl is the best course in Oregon. Always well run races by Petr Kakes and nice mix of technical trails, ridiculous climbing, and beautiful scenery. Erik Tonkin (Kona) and I showed up with our big bikes and faced off here like so many other times. Luckily for me, Erik had just come off his best result ever at a NORBA national in Park City the day before. I wasn’t going that well and a flat tire for Mr T on the second lap was the break I needed. Riding my 6+ inches of Ransom plushness, I cruised to another win in the cold mist, high on Mt Hood.

The Mas O Menos 100k in Texas was the first “national” endurance race of the year for me. The event was going well and I sat at the back of the lead group for most of the first lap. As we went through the mid-lap feed, I went to the front for a pull and to make sure I didn’t miss my handup. A couple minutes later I noticed that no one was with me and I looked back to see a sizeable gap to a chasing Travis Brown. I was in a comfortable pace with 40 miles to go as we hit the major climb. The gap continued to open to over 2 minutes by the halfway mark of the race.

Shortly thereafter, disaster struck in the form a sharp rock and a 1.5″ cut to the sidewall of my tire. With a little help from my number plate, I was going again but now in 7th place. Knowing that the fix was likely only temporary, I rode conservatively and made it to the tech/feed. Loaded with more tubes and CO2, I also grabbed several gel wrappers off the ground. By the first part of the climb, I was back in 3rd place and in sight of the leaders when the tire went again. I booted it this time with the gel packs and survived for 4th place–passing two riders on the way to the finish.

While my misfortune was disappointing, I was super pleased with the level of fitness I have so early in the season. I haven’t raced this early in years and my heavy schedule last year combined with some relentless training since late December has me in some of the best shape ever! With really only base miles and low intensity training so far, hopefully I am on the right track for results later on this year.