penny for a thought | Patrick on every & anything

Jay hooked up another super rad video documenting this past weekend’s Cyclocross race, which was the first Cross Crusade of the season. In the end, thousands of people showed up and Guinness had 3 riders in the top 10 of more than 90 starters; Garren WON, Jay took 8th and I rolled in at 9th. Enjoy!

In short, it was a weekend full of debauchery, questionable athletics, cyclocross and, on a more spiritual note, true love. Wait…that’s not to say debauchery, copious amounts of alcohol coupled with bicycles and a guy in a speedo isn’t spiritual. Never-the-less, here’s what went down, in chronological order of course:

The weekend kicked off with Chris’s bachelor party. Woot! Woot!

Then continued with the ?? annual Guinness “Back Woods” Beer Criterium:

Next was another Sunday of cyclocross, this time with the kick-off of this year’s Cross Crusade Cyclocross Series:

Finally, the weekend concluded with a more meaningful event, Chris and Kristen’s wedding. Beautiful!

What if The Shining wasn’t a “masterpiece of modern horror?” What if it was a story of trial, tribulation, success, failure, more success and then ultimate happiness? I’m sure it wouldn’t be a good movie, but the trailer’s flippin’ brilliant.

Thanks for sharing, Mikey V!

That’s the only way to explain today’s Battle of Barlow Cyclocross Race, CHAOS!

After two solid days of rain I woke up knowing today’s cyclocross race was going to be a flippin’ mess. Actually, that’s not not entirely true because I don’t entirely remember waking up this morning. Why? The evening before saw copious amounts of alcohol consumption coupled with a Thanksgiving-like feast, some karaoke and a man in a wedding dress (don’t fret, It’s not what you think.) Needless to be said, I probably shouldn’t have been racing my bike, but after a pot Starbucks and a steaming bowl of oats I was ready to roll.

Words can’t describe today’s race, so Jay and I I made some videos. Enjoy!

So I got a few emails asking where I’ve been during the past week. Actually, I got one email and, needless to be said, it was from my mother. Anyways, it has been a pretty crazy week. Not crazy like me getting married, having a kid or catching a deadly virus, but crazy in the sense that a lot has been going.

Between work and cycling, which already takes up the majority of each day and night, I had my brother, Nick, in town from Chicago.  Nick spent a week in Portland and I am quite sure that he now knows the city a bit better than I do. After Nick’s departure I hosted a small dinner party, did a local weekday bike race then headed to Eugene, OR for the Eugene Celebration bicycle stage race.

Mind you this is my first multi-day race in the category 1 & 2 field. That said, it is a relatively small fiels, which is good, but, at times, not as fun. In short the race is going moderately well for me. I am sitting somewhere in the back of the top 10 with one more stage still to come. On paper the final stage is weighted in my favor, but only time can confirm that. Stay tuned!

Well, it’s the moment y’all you have been waiting for…The verdict of today’s race. Put simply, today could not have gone much better than it did. Actually, it would have been best if I was able to go on a solo breakaway to make up the mere 35 seconds keeping me out 1st place in the general classification. However, the two riders-supported by their teams-ahead of me on GC were too strong to let that happen. So, after a few unsuccessful attempts and one “almost” successful attempt, I was forced to concede and think of another to have success on the day.

Success today didn’t just come in the form of a 3rd place overall finish in the stage race’s general classification. Yep! That’s right…Team Guinness (made up of Jay and myself) took both 1st and 2nd on the fourth and final stage of the Cascade Classic. Today’s result was a truly pleasant surprise to me, as I’m usually not one for sprint finishes, especially in the finale of a tough 70 mile circuit race with moderate amounts of climbing. Oh! I forgot to mention that we road today’s stage in less than 3 hours. Needless to be said, we were flying.

In conclusion, today was a great way to end a magnificent weekend of bike racing in Bend, OR. I captured 5th, 4th, 3rd and 2nd place stage finishes and left with a 3rd place overall finish-3 seconds out of 2nd place and another 30 out of first. OUCH! Oh well, I won’t lose any sleep over it, thought the 87 other men I beat might

Here’s some pictures to sum up today’s stage. Check out my Flickr page for more.

Well, I’m off to sleep now, but thought I’d give those waiting, once again, by there computers a quick update. In short, today was another successful one. I road a smart race and with the help of my dedicated teammate, Jay, road to a 3rd place finish [see podium pic].  Jay’s stellar performance bumped me up to 3rd in the General Classification (GC). Today’s stage wasn’t quite as difficult as I expected, but it was grueling nonetheless. I guess I just kind of psyched myself out since I new we’d be riding upwards of 7,000 feet above sea level. That said, the elevation had little, if any, impact on my performance.

The weather today was magnificent, though pretty warm at times, approaching somewhere in the low 80s. I kept my cool for the better part of the race and tried to distance myself from unforeseen danger. In the end I was pretty happy with my result, of course I would have loved to win, but I did what I could. Check back tomorrow to see if hold, or possibly increase, my GC position. Night!

p.s. The race organizer was reluctant to give me the podium six-pack of beer, as she wasn’t certain I was of age. Flattering? A little! Embarrassing? Yes!

I meant to post this last night at Day 1’s end, but fatigue set in early so I put it off until now. I am sure all of my readers (Mom, Dad, Aunts and a few others) were waiting by their computers all night. That said, Day 1 ended in successful fashion. The day started with an individual 15 mile individual time trial; the course suited my riding style well, so I gave it my all and ended up 4th out the 90+ starters.

After about a 4 hour rest the day continued with an hour long criterium, where everyone raced around a short and technical course in downtown Bend, OR. I am usually not an aggressive crit rider and my primary objective is to just stay safe, as chaos can break loose quickly. So, I stayed in the front for the beginning of the race, sitting about 10-15 riders back, but that wasn’t close enough as pile up happened right in front of me. I dodged the big pile-up and road onto another riders body before ejecting from my pedals. Luckily I escaped safely and was back on the saddle in seconds. However, the crash forced me to chase back onto the main field. Once back on another crash occurred, then another and another. In all there were roughly 5 or 6 crashes, all of which I avoided. Hurray!

With about 3 laps to go I found myself in the back 25% of the field, which is not a good place to be when everyone is bumping elbows for a solid position. So, I knew I needed to advance and it quick…really quick. For the next full lap I went all out and used every trick I knew to cut through the field around the corners and ended the lap in the top 10 riders. From there I was still feeling snappy so I throttled it. In the end I took 4th place, which I was happy with since the I typically sprint like prepubescent little girl with a sprained ankle. [see image-this is when I initiated the attack on the field and brought a few guys with me.]

The race continues today with a long (90 mile) and difficult road race. It’s going to be hot and hilly so I am expecting it to be a race of attrition. Stay tuned for an update tonight.

Like most weeks, this one is shaping up to be another busy one. However, like last week, this one will be cut a day short when I take off a day early for an extended weekend. On Thursday night I depart for the mountain town of Bend, Oregon where I will participate in the Cascade Cycling Classic (CCC). The CCC is the final of a series of three multi-day stage bike races in Oregon.

If you remember back a few weeks you may recall me competing in the Elkhorn Cycling Classic. That particular race went extremely well for me-that is until the last day when I…well…fell apart to say the least. That said, I aim to have my vengeance this weekend in Bend and pity the rider(s) who try to foil my plan.

Until Thursday evening, when I depart for Bend, I will continue my training regimen, which includes a few hours of easy riding each day, maintaining a regular sleep pattern and storing copious amounts of glycogen, carbohydrates and protein. The race kicks off Friday morning with a 15 mile individual time trial followed up by an hour long criterium. The race continues with a 90 mile road on Saturday, then ends with an 80 mile road race on Sunday.

Stay tuned because, like Elkhorn weekend, I will be blogging daily updates from the race. That’s assuming the Best Western in Bend, OR has WiFi.

Yesterday was an exciting day, to say the least. Why? You ask…Because Le Tour de France kicked-off with a short prologue time trial in London, England…Don’t worry, it’s normal for stages of le Tour to take place in Franc’s surrounding countries. After one more stage in London, then another in Belgium, the 3 week long race heads to France.

David, my roommate, and I were up at 6:30AM Saturday morning, not missing a minute. Fabian Cancellara (Team CSC) wasn’t the only person Exuding Ferocity on Saturday morning, as David watched a portion of the opening stage wearing cycling shoes and arrow booties (pssst, tool.)

This past Sunday was the Oregon State road race cycling championship (say that 10 times fast). We couldn’t have asked for better weather during the 96+ mile suffer festival-it was warm (around 80) and sunny, though, at times, difficult to stay hydrated.

In short, the race was a success. Some big names showed up-Aaron Olson (from T-Mobil), Ryan Trebon (National Cyclocross and MTB champion) and Doug Ollerenshaw(local favorite) just to name a few. After the big boys left us simpletons in the dust and went on to have their own 8 man race I launched off the main field with 5 other riders and initiated a solid break-away. After 40 miles of hard tempo riding it was clear that our break would stick and we would be sprinting for a top 10 spot. I don’t know the results yet, but I think I was somewhere between 10th and 13th. I know that doesn’t sounds great, but considering the circumstance I am truly stoked.

Oh! And friend/teammate, Jay, made the break too. Needless to be said, we were both exhausted after the effort [see picture].

I am going to keep this one short and sweet. Mostly because I’m not the happiest bee in the hive. So, no suspense, no lead ins, just the meat and Potatoes.

I went into today’s stage 3rd on GC. Jay was 8th. Needless to be said, we were both sitting pretty. Everything was going as planned. Then a break went. We thought we were in good shape because the race leader wasn’t in the break and 2nd and 4th on GC were. To make matters better the race leader had a big team. But, unfortunately, his big team didn’t have big engines and ran out of gas early.

Then about 40 miles into the race Jay made another breakaway which would later catch the first break. I on the other hand was stuck. My legs were fresh, everyone in the main group was dogging and I was anxious to to win the race. In an act of desperation I left the peleton at the base of the day’s second big climb. I didn’t even have to bury myself and I still put several a huge gapped into them. I few guys try to follow but my ferocity was too much to handle (obviously my modesty is as well). In short, I road 40 miles in “no man’s” land and, at time, came withing a few hundred meters of the breakaway group. If only Jay could have heard my girlish screams of “slow the heck down” and “wait a damn second”

When I got to the base of the final climb I was completely cashed. My tank was empty, as were my water bottles and a jersey once full of energy gels. My lifeless salt covered body then began to crawl up the climb, only to be passed by about twenty other men.

In the end, I dropped to 20th on the GC. Jay’s heroic effort got him to 4th on the stage and 3rd overall. Jay is truly brilliant. I, on the other hand, will wait for my day, or rather, my weekend.  Thanks for listening!

This morning’s individual time trial was excellent. My plan from the beginning was to go fast and that’s what I did. I finished fourth out the ninety men who started. Which catapulted me from tenth to third place in the General Classification(GC). Jay finished about 20 seconds back from me to take twelfth-he now sits eighth on the GC.

Thanks for my speedy time trial goes to my teammate Marc Duff, who’s the owner of Veloforma bicycles. I wouldn’t have gone nearly as fast without Duff’s generous contribution of a Veloforma crono bike. That was truly the fastest I have ever ridden.

The Elkorn Cycling Classic kicked off today with an 89 mile road race. In short, it was arguably one of the more difficult races I’ve done. I was uncomfortable from the start, primarily because it was in the high eighties and the sun was shining like it was going out of style. As a result of the heat, both my feat and bottom-side suffered.

In the end it was a success. My teammate, Jay, and I road just as we planned. We didn’t ever exert ourselves and we stayed at the front. On the final climb the field got shelled. Luckily we finagled ourselves into a decisive group of about 25 riders. With 2k to go Jay tested his luck and took a heated flyer, with on other rider following his wheel. Because I had a teammate off the front I was able to sit up at the front and do squat. Jay’s courage and strength prevailed when he came around his journeyman and threw his front wheel out for the win[Above, Jay chills in the shade of the caravan after an impressive win]. As for me, I finished six seconds later with the main field-somewhere between 5th and 10th.

More tomorrow as we embark on an individual time trial in the morning then a fast and furious criterium in the evening. The real thrill will com during Sunday’s 101 mile suffer fest.