I've been negligent with my blogging and race reporting.  I'd better fix that, eh?

I was fortunate enough to be able to participate in the weekly race at PIR, both this week and last:

23-June:
Raced with the 1/2/3 field.  I don't remember much about it.  I do remember doing a few things with some very fast people, so I was happy about that.  And I think I finished in the top 20, which is a silly way of saying I finished in 20th place.  It's out of the points, so it's hardly different from 50th.  But I had fun and boy did I get a good workout in.

30-June:
I think I had ridden only once since last Tuesday's PIR, and I was feeling weird on the bike.  I just wanted to ride hard and have fun, and be able to do something aggressive without being laughed at.  So I jumped in to the 3/4 race instead of the 1/2/3 at the last minute.  I guess it went well.

I rode several laps up ahead by myself throughout the race, once on a hotspot lap to get the points.  It was a windy night and it was difficult to stay away, but the pace was so damn slow that I just couldn't handle sitting in for very long.  The pattern seemed to be go slow, sprint like hell, repeat.  Personally, I did not like this at all.  I did what I could to make the race more interesting, especially for me. 

I wanted to win the race in a breakaway, but I could not do it.  In the end, I don't know how I finished, but I didn't win or even get close, so it doesn't really matter.  I had a good time and got a good workout in.  Mission accomplished.

Photo courtesy of Jon Prettyman. Thanks.

Happy Fathers Day to all the dads out there.

Mine was great.  Got lots of love in the morning and headed out for a bike ride at about 9:30.  I was home in well under three hours, so there was plenty of day left.  My parents and sisters (two out of three) came over in the evening for dinner. 

Here's the route I took.  It's a beautiful ride, especially with all the rain we've had lately:

I have not made pizza in a long time, and I was kind of craving it tonight.  So I whipped up some dough and made a couple for dinner.

I didn't have any dough ready, and I certainly didn't have 8+ hours to let it rise.  I found a great recipe for grilled pizza dough in a book my sister gave me for my birthday.  It's fast, quick to rise, and works perfectly.  I used pizza screens, and cooked them on the upper shelf of the grill. You could probably also cook it on one side, with the burners on the other side (For indirect heat).

Cooking the pizza on the grill is a big win, because cranking up the oven to 450+ does not help keep the house cool in the summer.

We arrive at the Dairy Creek store, sprinters first, followed the stragglers, the kids, and finally the white VW van full of spare wheels, tools, and a water cooler.  The team regroups, gets some water, and Phil walks around his athletes, offering advice in his no-holds-barred way.  If you did something wrong, you will probably hear about it.

Sometimes a rider is told to ride in the hooks.  Sometimes to wear proper clothing.  Bend your elbows, spin faster, adjust your helmet properly, eat real food.  That's right, we eat real food.  I have seen Phil throw someone's snack in the ditch because it was not real food, handing him a medjool date and whole wheat fig bar in its place.  I once rode the Cascade Classic with a big chunk of ham in my jersey pocket.  Phil did not mind. 

As Phil makes his rounds, a new kid pulls out an energy gel and slurps it down.  He is about 13 years old, and has chocolate all over his face.  He will get chastised for this, for eating plastic.  I tell him to never bring this on a team ride again, and why.  I suggest we keep it to ourselves, and tell him to go wash the chocolate off his face.

Refueled, Phil tells the group our next destination: Pumpkin Ridge.  We gather ourselves and spin off down the road, Phil following behind in his van, making sure our juniors are riding in the hooks and spinning a sensible gear.

Tuesday's race at PIR was the last time most of us at the BBC would see our buddy Jerome for a long time, as he is heading home to France.

We tried to get him the win a couple weeks ago, but it didn't work out.  I had a new strategy this time around, and should have used it, but didn't.   The race was shortened to 12 laps, which was definitely not to our advantage.

We tried to get away numerous times, but people were more attentive to our moves this week.  I thought we had the win sealed with a four man break that lasted 1.5 laps but were caught at the end of the front straight with one to go. 

The team worked pretty well together.  We lost Joe, our strong kid, when he slid out on a tight turn leading to the back straight.  He's thankfully okay, but will be nursing some road rash for a few weeks.

I got a very good workout riding in and off the front so much, but not much to show for it other than tired legs.  Even the best plans don't always work out.  That happens quite a bit in bike racing.  Getting Jerome the win would have been nice, but I enjoyed giving it a go anyway. 

Jerome: Bon voyage, bonne chance.  We will miss you.

Going into the day of racing in the Giro d'Italia, Di Luca trailed Menchov by 20 seconds.  The final race is, of course, a time trail.  Menchov is a stronger rider against the clock, so you'd think he's got this one in the bag.  But wait, it's raining.  In downtown Rome.  With COBBLES!  Anything could happen.

Di Luca came to the start on a road bike for the improved handling.  Menchov rode a full TT setup, making a crash more likely in the slippery conditions.  The stage was set for an exciting showdown.

Di Luca started the show by hitting the first time check faster than anyone else, and five seconds faster than Menchov!  However, by the second checkpoint, Menchov had gained those five seconds back, and added 14 more to his lead over Di Luca.  Menchov was flying on the straightaways, and stayed upright on the tight turns.  It looked like he had victory in the bag as he flew into the final kilometer.  In fact, it looked like he was going to win the stage.

That's when it happened - Menchov slid out on a slippery section of cobbles and went down.  I watched him helplessly spin on his back down the road, desperately reaching for his bike all the while.  It could have spelled disaster, but it didn't.  Nope, it didn't, thanks to the most amazing bike change I've ever seen.  Menchov was on a new bike and rolling about 10 seconds after hitting the ground, and a good chunk of that time was spent by him sliding to a stop from 30 mph.

Check out the video.  The mechanic has the bike off the car, even before it comes to a stop!  That guy saved the day. 

What an exciting end to an exciting Giro.  Wow.

Made it out to PIR tonight.  It was a good one.

I went back to the 1/2/3 race to pick up where I left off two weeks ago.  That is, to try to position myself to contest the sprints.

I intended to go for some of the intermediate sprints tonight, but it was so fast out there, I could barely hold on sometimes.  It's times like those when I ask myself why I'm even out there, but then I realize everyone is hurting as I am, and it slows down a notch for recovery.  It's very hard and painful sometimes, but that's really what I need out there.  I can ride comfortably on my own!

I should probably be bummed I didn't finish in the points, but it was a tough race and I did some good things out there that I'm happy about.  I was in a break for a lap (for some reason), I bridged up to another move, and my acceleration is coming along.  So it's not all bad. 

Team Land Rover made the race really fast tonight.  Nice job.  Shannon Skerritt rode a MTB, complete with fat knobby tires.  I'd heard of him doing it before, but I'd never seen it until tonight.  Classic.

Last week, I raced at PIR in the 1-2-3 field with a goal to sprint in the points on the final lap.  I'm looking forward to trying again soon.  This week, however, I shifted gears to help a brother out.

My buddy and teammate Jerome, or "Mista Beeg Powa" as we call him, is heading back home to France in a couple weeks.  He's a great guy and I decided we should try to get him a win at PIR before he left Oregon.

He said his sprint was "not so good," so we decided we'd try a breakaway.  Several teammates were on board for helping, and help they did.

I should say right now that we raced in the slower category, the 3-4, instead of the 1-2-3.  So racing the race how we wanted was a LOT easier.

When we reached the pre-determined spot for our breakaway, I got Jerome on my wheel and went to the front.  The wind was pretty stiff, and I just kept pushing until the long string of riders finally broke, and we had ourselves a break.  Behind in the main field, John, Cliff and Joe helped chase down any moves, letting only moves of one person get away.

Our breakaway stayed away.  It wasn't pretty, nor particularly fast, but with the help of our teammates, it worked.

On the final lap, my legs felt great, and I was itching to use them.  I found Jerome on the back straight and wanted to make a break for it right there and then, surprising everyone from behind.  Jerome was nervous and asked to go from the front instead, to which I agreed.

As we approached the final turn, I kept telling him over and over "I'm gonna go, here we go, here we go."   Into the final turn, into a stiff headwind, I started my leadout.  I stayed seated, and was so pumped I didn't even notice the wind.  After 20 or so pedal strokes, I looked back to see a large gap, Jerome in company with the rest of the breakaway.  Ooops, I'd left him behind.

I sat up and coasted for a few seconds, thinking I should wait for him.  But then I realized that was a stupid idea and started pushing for the line.  I thought since I was up front, nobody would expect Jerome to chase me down and he'd get someone else's wheel for a "plan B" leadout.

I turned forward and focused on the finish line.  With the wind now quite evident, it looked very far away.  I accelerated again and tried to hold it to the line.  It was not coming as quickly as I'd hoped.  I looked back.  Still a gap, keep going.  I pushed as hard as I could, but I was out of gas.  Not even 100 meters to go, I got passed by several people, and finished right behind Jerome.

I'm bummed I couldn't get Jerome the win.  We might try again next week.  If we do, it will be a completely different strategy.

I much prefer the 1-2-3 race at PIR, but it was cool doing the 3-4 for once.  We raced the race exactly how we wanted to, and it was fun to be able to do that.

10 years ago, I became a father to this wonderful girl.  Here she is at the farm today, goat in a headlock, wrestling it into submission...or something like that.

Happy birthday Annelis!

I seriously worry about the future of our home for my kids. I think it will last long enough for my lifetime, but theirs? I hope so. I hope things can change.