Erik Voldengen

Still Here...

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 15:33:09 -0700

Hi there. It's been a while since I've checked in. I'm still around, still enjoying the bike when I can, still the same guy.

I'm gathering up some creative energy. Regrouping, rethinking. I'll be back soon.

De Ronde 2012

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 10:27:00 -0700

It's coming...

2011 Blind Date #5

Thu, 27 Oct 2011 09:39:35 -0700

I somehow managed to make it to all five Wednesday night races this year. It was really fun.

Tonight's race was okay, I guess. I got the hole shot again, which makes three times out of five. They award a bag of Stumptown "Hairbender" coffee beans for that, so I've won three bags and be well caffeinated this Fall.

I led the race for a little while, but three guys were soon on me like glue. Eventually, they came around and rode off; I couldn't follow them. But it was a good time, for sure. They added some great chicanes to the course, and it was dry and fast. I didn't even need to clean my bike after the race.

If you're in Portland, consider giving one of these races a try next year!

photo courtesy dmroth

2011 Cross Crusade #4: Hillsboro

Thu, 27 Oct 2011 09:26:23 -0700

Washington Country Fairgrounds is flat. That's nice. The mud there is pretty awesome, so I've been looking forward to this one. Race day arrived and guess what? No mud. No rain. The course was fast, dry, hard and even a little dusty in a couple places if you can believe it. It was fun, featuring some tight chicanes, a sand flyover and lots of wide open grass fields to tear down.

My race number callup put me almost in the very back of 80 guys. And then there was a crash right in front of me where I had to either stop or run over a couple people (Yeah, I stopped). There were a couple of bottlenecks on the first lap that ensured the front guys got things stretched out while we sat with a foot down waiting to get through.

The course was really bumpy, and it kinda beat me up. I started to get a groove on the last couple laps but it was too little, too late. I'm a bit disappointed in my performance, but there is certainly a few things I could have done differently to help change that.

My next race will probably be at my favorite venue, Barton Park. It might even be my last of the season. With today's results, it's not looking very good that I'll get anywhere near a top 10 at one of these Cross Crusade races, but I am certainly going to try like hell at Barton. It's still taking me a good 30 minutes to start going fast(er). I'll try to get a better warmup next time. I hope that in two weeks, we'll have some good rain to muddy up the place. I don't want another dry course; bring on the mud!

Photo: dmroth

2011 Blind Date #4

Sun, 23 Oct 2011 20:18:05 -0700

I really like these Wednesday night races. They're pretty low key, and you can still get a race in without dedicating the better part of a day to it. I left my house for the race 45 minutes before start time!

The course was fun, as always. I lined up on the inside, but since I arrived to the 90 degree right-hander first, I got through it in front, accelerated, and "won" the hole shot Stumptown coffee bean prime. There was a power climb on the back side that just kicked my butt, especially in the first few laps. A group of guys formed in the front, and I was not on that train. Once I got warmed up, I worked my way up and held the gap to under a minute, but I could not catch them.

I might be improving. I felt better and I was able to go harder, but still not as hard as I would like. I think a proper warmup and a good start this weekend will give me a better idea. I also think my seat slipped down and I've been slowly inching it up every time I ride. Time to get out the tape measurer and check for sure.

2011 Cross Crusade #3: PIR

Tue, 18 Oct 2011 03:56:28 -0700

PIR is always fun. It's usually rainy for this venue, and the mud here is the good stuff: Grade A cyclocross mud. This year, however, we had dry ground and sunshine. I guess that's okay. I'll admit is was nice not having to clean the bike after the race.

I started slow and kept riding pretty slowly until about 20 minutes to go. Someone passed me and I finally switched on. I rode fairly good after that, and started to feel like a bike racer again. If I could do that from the start, I'd be elated. I'm not there yet, but I felt something kinda good. Good thing the race lasts a whole hour!

If I can make it to the race next weekend, it will be a fun one. I like the course at Washington County Fairgrounds. It's pretty flat and has some really fun twists and turns. It's kind of like a cyclocross crit.

I don't know how much longer my season will go. It's possible I'll close it out with my favorite venue, Barton Park. Maybe hit the USGP in Bend, but I'm just not sure I can do that. I'm just going to enjoy what comes my way, and hopefully keep improving as I go. This cyclocross stuff is pretty fun.

Photo: Dave Roth

2011 Cross Crusade #2: Ranier

Mon, 10 Oct 2011 00:07:00 -0700

The Ranier High School course is pretty fun. Lots of long sweeping turns and some fast downhill sections. It's also got this GIGANTIC hill that just goes up and UP and UP. I don't like that part very much.

I was hoping to have a better race than last weekend at Alpenrose, along with no mechanical problems. I might have done a little better, but I'm still very sluggish. I'll keep plugging away, hope to keep improving slowly but surely.

As far as my race, I think I started near the middle of the group. I felt pretty good in the start, getting clipped in okay and then really putting the pressure on the pedals. That's when my chain skipped with a load CLUNK. My foot came out of the pedal and I was in the middle of a charging pack straddling my top tube. That sucked. I have a new chain, new cassette and I just aligned the derailleur hanger the other day. Everything was perfect in warm up, so maybe I got something stuck in there just before the start. I don't know why it happened, but I'm glad I didn't crash and get ran over by 30 guys. Sh*t happens.

Anyway, I got going again and saw a huge heard of racers in front of me. I did okay for a while but then started to fade after a few trips up that damn hill.

I had a little crash about half way thorugh the race, and I broke my shifter's brake lever off. Turns out I could still shift okay, but I had no rear brake for the rest of the race. You can see it missing in the photo to the right. Something new to fix!

So I finished the race, and I'm glad I did. That hill didn't get any easier, but there was lots of fun corners and short hills that I needed practice on.

Next week is PIR. It's a little more flat than these first two races, so we'll see what happens.

Photo courtesy Shift Focus

2011 Blind Date #2

Thu, 06 Oct 2011 01:02:43 -0700

Oh yeah, this just happened! Rain and MUD in the dark! Holy cow, that was pretty awesome.

I took the hole shot and got a special prime of Stumptown coffee. That was cool. Then I slowly got passed by several people. Jeff Standish and I had it out for a lap or two, that was pretty fun. Riding in the heavy mud was great. It's so good to have a ride like that under my belt already. I think I'm getting better, slowly. Must be patient.

Having a light would have been a good thing tonight. I brought one, but it didn't fit on my 31.8 bars. After half way through, it didn't matter anymore. It took forever to get cleaned up in the dark but it's all good now. What a blast.

2011 Cross Crusdade Grand Opening: Alpenrose

Tue, 04 Oct 2011 00:35:00 -0700

It's on! Now that we have the first Cross Crusade race under our belts, the cyclocross season is officially in full swing here in Portland. As is tradition, the series started off at Alpenrose Dairy. This is a great venue, and the course is always good and hard. Today was no exception with a surprisingly heavy feeling course, with a lot of big bumps to inaugurate our backs into cyclocross mode.

I usually have a hard time here because it's the first big race of the season and I'm not really "in shape." Further, this course requires a lot of "strength" and "conditioning" and "hard work," which means one must be "in shape." I had an okay race, but nothing exciting. Overall, I'd say it's a performance worthy of a "meh," but at least I wasn't anywhere near last place.

I reckon I felt better than I did at Barlow last weekend. I had one minor crash, which hurt the ribs and I (in hindsight) kind of rode a little tenderly after that. If I can keep the training going, I hope to catch up to a lot of my peers in a few weeks. Just in time for the muddy races. Until then, I've got to face the music and go up against a lot of guys who have worked harder and are more prepared than I am. C'est La Vie.

It was nice to be out there again, to line up with a lot of the same faces I've seen in years past. The crowds were wonderful. I heard my name a dozen times every lap. Totally rad.

Next week: Ranier High School. This is another course that requires "cardiovascular conditioning." I'll probably go anyway. At least the ridiculously big climb is partially paved and not that bumpy. Goal: keep improving, getting stronger and smoother. I also really need to figure out my remounts. I've been doing this for a long time, and I think I've had 2-3 good ones in that time. Somebody please help me.

Photo courtesy sosvelo

Alprenrose is tomorrow

Sun, 02 Oct 2011 01:46:23 -0700

The big season opener is tomorrow. It's gonna be nuts.

Still haven't gotten word from the doc about my rib/s. It's probably fine. Still hurting, but I went for a good ride on Friday and everything but standing was quite bearable. No problem.

See you at Alpenrose, 1500 crazy cyclocross racers. My goal is to not get last place. Totally doable.

2011 Blind Date #1

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 00:35:00 -0700

I made it to the first Blind Date cyclocross race Wednesday night. Since it wasn't until 8:00, and I was able to go straight after soccer practice. It worked out pretty well.

I felt better in this race. A lot better than Sunday. I was sitting in 2nd place for the first lap and a half before I went down hard after lapping wheels in a corner. It hurt like crazy. It took me a while to get up, and then get the bike operable, but I kept going and was still in an okay position I think. A few laps later, my left crank fell off. That wasn't very awesome. I went and got a wrench, tightened back on and kept riding for another 5 or 6 laps. I lost probably almost 10 minutes doing that, so I'm sure I got last place, but at least I was the fastest DFL'er of the day.

I had a lot of mechanical mishaps today. Crank fell off, and then the stem came loose from the steerer in my crash and kept slowly turning more and more sideways as I rode. I finally had to stop and straighten it out after it got beyond 30 degrees out of alignment. Kind of trippy to look down and see your bars so sideways! My seat slipped down, too. But that's fine. I should have everything dialed in on both bikes by Sunday.

I'm hurting pretty bad today. I am hoping I didn't crack a rib, but I have a feeling that's what happened. My daughters were enjoying seeing daddy writhing in pain when they made him laugh. I'm waiting on x-rays to see, but all that will really give me is a time frame for how long until I'm feeling better.

The good part is I felt good out there. I am not going fast, but I was faster. I was quite comfortable on the bike, especially in the corners. It was my first ride on tubeless tires this year. My oh my, I've missed them so. I'm trying a new tire out for this dryer weather. I only had it on the front but it will be on both wheels this Sunday.

So I'll fix things up and hopefully make it to Alpenrose for the Cross Crusade kickoff! You can't stop me. You can't! Ow.

Photo courtesy Dave Roth, dmroth.com

Tired guy in the woods

Tue, 27 Sep 2011 01:36:00 -0700

Oops, I don't think I was supposed to put this photo here...you can click here to look at it.

Ah yes, this sums it up. Tired, defeated, still pushing and having a good time.

Bad luck, bad legs, bad race

Sun, 25 Sep 2011 23:50:06 -0700

Alright, so I decided to go hit Barlow High School for a little race before the big opener at Alpenrose.

What a mess.

We started off, things were okay, but then people started riding away from me. The bumps just killed me today, in more ways than one.

It took me a while to realize my front brake was rubbing my rim. Well, I knew something was wrong, but when I actually tried to spin the wheel with my hand and it would not budge, I knew I had a little problem. Turns out I hit a bump and it knocked my left hood down the bars a bit, which tightened the brake to the rim and also screwed up my front derailleur. I just didn't think it was rubbing that hard. I hate it when that happens. Took me a couple laps to realize this.

My rear wheel also managed to come loose, so I had to stop and tighten that up. And I lost a chain at the top of a run-up. Lots of stopping today, but that wasn't my biggest problem.

Biggest problem: I'm slow, kids. Slow. But it's okay, I'll keep plugging away and we'll see how things go.

I had fun, so that's what I'm going with for my Barlow race report: Slow, but fun.

Photo courtesy Dave Roth.

Mini V-Brakes for Cyclocross

Thu, 22 Sep 2011 19:10:52 -0700

While it's looking like disc brakes are going to take over in a few years, we're still using Cantilever brakes these days.

Cantilever brakes work okay, but they aren't great. You've got your low-profile brakes such as the Avid Shorty, which are easy to set up but can squeal like a pig and lack power. You've got your wide-profile brakes such as the TRP EuroX, which have awesome rim/pad clearance but are a bit underpowered. There's also the problem of fork chatter, where applying the front brake makes the whole bike shake and shudder...not fun.

Enter the v-brake. For mountain bikes, this was the go-to brake type before disc brakes took over. They work great and are very efficient and transferring force into stopping power. However, the road levers we use in cyclocross don't pull enough cable for these brakes to work. Think of it as a leverage thing. A longer lever requires you to move the lever a greater distance. So if you want to use normal v-brakes with road levers, forget about it. Not going to work. But there are workarounds.

Cable Adapters:
You can get a cable adapter (e.g. Travel Agents) to effectively change how much cable your road levers pull, making v-brakes usable. I did this on my single speed. Works great:

Mini-V Brakes:
If you shorten the arm length of a v-brake, you shorten the lever and therefore don't need to pull as much cable. That's why mini-v brakes can work with road levers.

Mini-V brakes seem to have arm lengths between 8 and 9 centimeters. The shorter the arm, the less power, but the more pad travel. I think pad travel is the most important factor here, because even the above pictured mini-v brake with a travel agent adapter works fine.

TRP makes a sweet mini-v brake targeted for cyclocross usage:

These have 9 centimeter arms, which some SRAM and (I believe) Campy users had trouble with because those road levers don't quite pull enough cable for even minimal pad clearance. So TRP came up with the 8.4, which obviously has 8.4cm arms. That will give more pad/rim clearance, which as I said is most important factor. I don't know why anyone would buy the cx9 (9cm) model when you can get more pad travel from the 8.4s. So if you're going to buy these, get the 8.4s.

Tektro also makes some viable alternatives. They made some TRP knock-offs in the RX6 (9cm arms, do not want), and the RX5 (8.5cm arms, better). Not as cool as the TRPs, but they probably work fine.

What you may not know, however, is that BMX kiddies have been using mini-v brakes for years, and there are some good, cheap brake sets available. After doing a lot of poking around, I found the Tektro 926 has 8cm arms (more pad/rim clearance!). These things were cheap...I think I got the pair for under 30 bucks. I also added a Jagwire adjustable noodle, which is quite handy. The reason I chose these is I wasn't sure if the rim/pad clearance was going to work for me, so this was a cheap gamble. Also, the 8cm arms would give me the most pad clearance I could get with a mini-v brake.

How do they work?
I got a test ride in today with the 926 brakes in Forest Park. Included in the ride was a trip down Fire Lane 5, which is quite demanding of brakes.

The brakes performed well. I could slow down with less hand force than my wide-profile cantis. The pad/rim clearance is okay, at least for dry conditions. I've been able to set the pads up loose, such that I have a little wiggle room should one of my wheels get knocked a little out of true...that stuff happens all the time in cyclocross, so it's stupid to not plan for it.

These brakes exceeded my expectations. I'm pretty pumped. And it's worth noting that I'm using the stock brake pads. I'm sure they're nothing special, so I'm anxious to see how they perform with some Kool Stop Salmon pads. It can only get better.

Minimize Cable Play
If you're going to give these a try, I think the name of the game is minimizing cable play. When you just barely squeeze the levers, you want the pads to barely move. If you have any kinks in your brake cables, replace them. If your cable housing is dirty, replace it. Otherwise, when you squeeze the brake lever, the cable first needs to get tight, then it will start braking. You really don't have any cable pull to spare! These brakes are only going to work well if the system is clean and there is little to no play in the cables.

Conclusion:
They work! But that rim/pad clearance could be a deal breaker if your wheels get wobbly or in the mud.

PROs:

Good stopping power
No fork chatter
Clean looking lines with no canti cable hangers

CONs:

Minimal pad/rim clearance (could be a dealbreaker in the mud)
Less forgiving setup
Harder (and slower) to change wheels out

Broken Egg Beater

Thu, 22 Sep 2011 18:02:23 -0700

So...I guess this is why you buy the higher-end Egg Beater pedals:

One of the wings broke off today while riding around. The other sides work fine, so maybe I'll keep it on the trainer bike.

I still think these pedals are the best thing for cyclocross. Just go with the stainless steel models.