Crossaflixion Cup and Cross Nationals in Bend

Saturday morning I was up with the sun, heading out to the Inn at the Seventh Mountain to help Gina and the FreshAirSports crew get ready for the second Crossaflixion Cup race in Bend, Oregon. 

It had been 3 weeks since I had stepped up to the starting line and the fabulous workouts that Damian has been assigning me are my only reminder that Cross Nationals are only 2 weeks away.

A week of easy road riding while on a Pre-Thankgiving Trip to Maryland made me forget the 60 minutes of pain I have come to know as Cyclocross and helped me to recall the deeply rooted reason I love to ride my bike.  Empty roads, autumn leaves and the feeling of freedom that only two wheels turning under your own power can give you.

But back to Cross…Saturday’s course was super fun (thanks Brent).  Covered partly in snow, the course was mostly flat, with a couple of good kickers, a couple of curbs, and some twisty turns on the backside.  Turn out for the early races was strong and as the day went on, registration for the Men’s Elite field was looking pretty stacked; Ryan Trebon, Barry Wicks, and Ben Thompson all turning out to ride around in the Bend Sunshine.

Team Sunnyside was out with strong numbers and loads of smiles.  Renee took the overall Women’s race, beating out Tina Brubaker for the win with a blazing fast last lap!  Humble, solid, and determined, Renee rode hard, smart and skillfully and I was thrilled she got the win and a write up in the Bulletin and in CX Magazine.  Nice Work!!

As for me, I raced with the Men…. Both Heather and I did; making it easier for Gina to race and act as race director.  I rolled up to the startline with not 5 seconds to spare and didn’t even have time to be nervous.  I was excited to be racing and wanted to try out my legs.  The last time I raced was at PIR and I was tired.  Saturday I was well rested and my legs felt great! 

The boys from Kona went off the front within the first quarter mile and the rest of the field got pretty strung out during the first lap of the race.  I was ridding hard and having fun. 

There was no pressure, I as just racing for a good workout and to enjoy being on my bike.  I was smooth over the barriers, loved the downhill kicker and stayed upright for the entire race.  The off-camber snow hill took some wind out of my sail ever single lap, as I tried to find the best line.  It wasn’t until the last lap that I felt smooth around that corner. My technical skills are in constant need of improvement and it was fun to test them out without being worried about Megan or Rhonda or Erin making a move if I missed something.

I have four races left…. The USGP races in Portland and CX Nationals. 

The countdown has really begun.

In April, Damian took me out for my first 20 minute test. 

It was snowing.

You are training for the next time it snows… 10 months from now.

That was 9 ½ months ago.  Nationals are in 2 weeks.  I certainly hope it snows.

OLCV WInter House Party

The Oregon League of Conservation Voters, Deschutes County chapter cordially invities you to help kick off the 2010 election season at our Winter House Party fundraiser. Hear from 3E Strategies' executive director Cylvia Hayes about the state of green jobs in Deschutes County, meet OLCV’s new executive director Jon Isaacs and get a behind the scenes look at the 2010 election lay of the land. Come support OLCV and enjoy, dinner, drinks, and great conversation with fellow conservation enthusiasts.

Date: Saturday, December 12^th, 6-10 pm

Location: Host Betsy Warriner’s home,

119 Drake Rd.

Bend, OR 97701

Space is limited so RSVP today! Contact Ben Gordon, ben@olcv.org with any questions. Please feel free to email or text this invitation to friends who may be interested.

P.S.  If you are unable to attend, we hope you will consider making a contribution in your absence. Remember: donations to OLCV's Deschutes County Chapter qualify for Oregon's political tax credit!  This means that you can subtract up to $50 (for individuals) or $100 (for couples filing jointly) of your gift from your state taxes.  Read more 

A Sneak Peak at the Cyclocross Nationals Course in Bend

The fabulous folks at BendCyclingEvents have just posted the video we have all been waiting for... a preview of the Cyclocross Nationals Course!

Enjoy and make sure to check out BendCyclingEvents and BendCyclocross for all the info on Cyclocross Nationals!

This Year is Different.....Cyclocross Nationals in Bend Oregon

My lungs burn with each inhalation of cold, crisp air.  My legs turn over slowly in recovery from an effort that took some mental toughness to get through.  It is November, there is snow in the mountains, Mt. Bachelor is opening for winter operations tomorrow, and I won’t let myself wax my skis, lace up my skate boots or pull out my climbing skins.

I am still on my bike; protected from the elements in my Ibex wool knickers and windproof gloves.  This time last year my cyclocross season was over, ending with the finale of Cross Crusade.  But this year is different.

This year I am racing A’s.

This year I learned about intervals and power zones, and training.

This year I became a cyclist.

 

This year is one of transition. 

Transition from the B’s to the A’s. 

Transition from runner to cyclist. 

Transition from “I might do okay” to “I want to do my best”.   

I have a long way to go to if I want race with the big girls.  I have a lot of work to do if I want to challenge Wendy and Emily and Alice.  Katie and Georgia and Amy and Sue still remain magazine cut-outs pasted inside of my training journal. 

But this year I have learned that it is possible.  I have learned that with patience and time and dedication and determination and focus, UCI points are within reach.  With rest and recovery and repetition, my legs will become more powerful, my lungs stronger, my mind sharper.  This year is different.

This year Cyclocross Nationals are in Bend.

This year my season ends on December 13^th, 2009.

This year is different……. because I am already making plans and setting goals for December 2010.

Cross Crusade #7 - PIR; and it was muddy!

Sunday

PIR delivered just what the doctor ordered; rain, mud, puddles 10 inches deep, slippery run-ups, off-camber side hills, and a sloppy, sloppy day of racing.

Team Sunnyside was out in full force and in high spirits, but with heavy legs after fabulous day of racing in Salem the day before.  Paired with the folks from Bend Bike N’ Sport, we built a pretty good tent city and were able to stay out of the rain, for the most part.

My day started out on a stressful note, as I watched my tubular tire being pryed off my rim by someone who thought it was a tubeless, rendering it unridable.  For the next couple of hours I worked to borrow a rear wheel that could handle the mud; the Sunnyside Team came through and I took Wade’s clincher to the starting line.

The race was tough, slow, muddy, and fabulous.  Splendid, torturous bliss.

Rhonda and I battled it out for the majority of the race. Neither of us wanting the other to get away.  In the end, she won, but I felt good about staying with her. As we rolled through the finish line, covered in mud, I felt a huge sense of relief.  I didn’t have my best race ever, my legs had felt heavy during warm up and by lap 3; I was tired.  Racing doubles every weekend take a toll after awhile.  (Enter Damian and Don: Time for some rest!)

After catching my breath, I rolled over to where Rhonda was standing. 

We smiled at each other…

Nice Race I said.

You too.  I passed you and thought you were gone and then you passed me back… you are a really strong racer.

Coming from you, that means a lot.

We made a bit more small talk and she offered up a couple of hints on how I could improve in the mud and over the off-camber down hill sections.

I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face.  Rhonda Mazza is not only a really nice person, she is a fantastic bike racer. 

This is what I love about cyclocross.

Rhonda giving me tips on how to improve, helping to make me a better racer and bike handler. 

The conversation I had with Wendy as I walked to the parking lot.

Covered in mud, we had all just experienced the same joy, pain, and oxygen deprivation and we stand their swapping highlights and tragedies. 

These are the big girls, the girls I have pinned to my corkboard along side Katie Compton and Georgia Gould.  They are my local heros.  Now I am racing along side them. 

The embrocation delivers a sensational burn as I stand under the hot shower.   Hard to believe cyclocross season will be complete in a month.  The USGPs in Portland and Cyclocross Nationals will finish off the season for me.

I will miss Barton Park, which will be good for my rest schedule, but bad for my ego.  I am sitting in 4^th over all in the Women’s A race for the Cross Crusade Series.  Barton Park is double points. Bummer.

To my dear Sunnyside Team; race strong, smart and skilled around the gravel pits at Barton.  Leap effortlessly over the concrete masses they call barriers and don’t break on the sketchy downhill.  Get muddy, keep smiling, and make sure not to pack up the shower before V, Matt, D and Mike get to take advantage of it!

Check out Matt's report here
Here are some more photos of the team

OBRA CX State Championships and Willamette Valley Series #3

It’s Tuesday night, darkness creeps through the open windows, I can hear the sound of rain between breaths.  One day of rest and I am back on the trainer.  With a month to go before Cyclocross Nationals, I have to stay focused and determined.  Train, rest, recover….With a week of recovery ahead of me and a great weekend of cross behind me, I take a deep breath before I start my 3^rd set.

So, lets back up….. A great weekend of cross behind me…..great for so many reasons.

#1.  The Mud

#2. The Rain

#3. The Hail

#4. The Wind

#5. Super sloppy run ups, off camber side hills, and bottom-bracket deep puddles

#6. My family braving the weather to see me and the Sunnyside Team race our bikes

#7. Winning the OBRA CX State Championship

#8. A conversation I had with Rhonda after Sunday’s race

#9. Spending time with my nephew, Max… who is just learning to ride his bike

By all standards, the weekend was prefect for cross.  39 degrees, pouring rain, sideways wind, deep mud puddles, hot showers, awesome teammates, and my introduction to Mad Alchemy Embrocation!!

Saturday….

Saturday was host to the OBRA state championships and the final race in the Willamette Valley Cyclocross Series.  The rain poured down and the wind blew hard, making the team tent impossible to keep upright; the team warm-up session took place in the fairground barns instead. 

The course was flat, exposed and altogether tough, thanks to the head wind that made it nearly impossible to get off the front and stay there, the hail that pelted down for the majority of the race and my frozen fingers that made braking pretty much out of the question.

After a slick, asphalt start and a sweeping left turn, I took the lead, but quickly hit the deck on a tight right-handed corner on slick, muddy grass. 

It was bad move, I was excited to be out front, knowing I could win this race, and went into the corner much to fast.  My foot was stuck in the pedal and as I struggled to get off the ground, Veronica came by…

Get up, lets go she shouted. 

V’s voice snapped me back to reality. 

Get up Bishop, What are you doing in the mud?

I had to shake the shock and disappointment from my mind and get back on my bike.  I chased for the rest of that lap, making my way up to the front of the group and on to Sunny Gilbert’s wheel, who sat in second.  Alalia Berry was in the lead.

Over the barriers and around the “S” curves, I got in front, taking the lead right as we hit the windy straight away.  I pulled hard, Alalia right on my wheel.  We dropped the rest of the group and got a gap, but I had just done a ton of work.  

You are smarter than that Bishop… don’t get stuck in that position again.

Around the course once again, Alalia and held our lead, but neither of use were putting out 100% into the wind, and Sunny was closing in.  I followed closely as we ran through the sand pit, through the barns and over the moto-cross track, across the start/finish line. 

As we got back on the pavement on our on our 3^rd lap, Alalia shouted, Let’s work together, Sunny is closing in. 

Okay, I shouted back.  Work together, okay, but I am NOT doing all the work was the thought going through my mind.

I took my turn out front, into the wind and then backed off, thinking Alalia would come around me and do some work.  She didn’t.  I slowed down, I had to be smarter than to pull her around for the next 1 ½ laps and then get out-sprinted at the finish.  Sunny caught up with 1 lap to go and I sat tight, 3^rd wheel, thought the barriers, the “S” curves, the windy straight away.  

I knew I had to get into the barns first.  If I could do that, I could win.  Headed toward the gravel section right before the sand pit, I made my move. 

Accelerating out of the corner and onto the gravel, I stoop up and punched it.  Over the sand I lifted my knees and sprinted.  Into the barns, I didn’t look back.  

I heard Damian yell, This is what you are training for, the State Championship. 

I stood up out of the last turn and flew toward the moto-cross track.  My fingers were nearly frozen and braking was next to impossible.  I rounded the last corner, leaning way over, knowing I was going in too fast and just holding on.  My right hand couldn’t pull the brake lever.  The finish was 30 meters ahead.  I had a 15 second lead.  I put my head down, in the drops and crossed the line smiling. 

I had raced hard, smart, and with determination.  I had won.  No, the big girls weren’t there (Wendy, Alice, Megan, Emily, and Rhonda) but I had won none the less.

 

Later in the evening as I looked at my medal and put it around my little nephew’s neck, I couldn’t help but laugh.  I had an identical medal at home that I had won last year, but with one exception.  Last year I was racing Bs, this year, I was racing As.

At the end of the day, Team Sunnyside come home with 3 State Championships, a ton of top tens and a team unity that can only come from sharing Peppermint Essential Oil and Embrocation.

Read the VeloNews Summary Here

Check out Matt’s race report and what he has to say about Cyclocross Nationals Here

Photos of my most excellent Sunnyside Team

Sunday's Cross Crusade Race at PIR coming soon......

A Team Called Sunnyside and Cyclocross Nationals

With cyclocross season well underway, Cyclocross Nationals just 5 weeks away and the snow beginning to fall in the Cascades, the days are growing shorter, the air feels crisper as I fill my lungs and the cycling booties have come out of hiding and are now showcased on afternoon rides.

Autumn has arrived, winter is not far behind and I find myself smiling, zipped into my down sweater, sitting in the living room. Soup is on the stove, cobbler in the oven and Ben milling about, finishing up some projects before he heads East for a work conference. 

I smile because I have found my place. 

I have surrounded myself with people who make we stronger, wiser, and hold me to a higher standard.

I have friends that genuinely care about me; about my successes, failures, and my life.

I am engaged to a man that loves me; covered in mud, gasping for breath, he will still give me a kiss.

I have a family that believes in me, supports me in my hair-brained ideas and will encourage me in whatever it is I am passionate about.  They come to cyclocross races, stand in the rain, learn to heckle, bring cowbell. 

How many women find their mom waiting at the finish line at a Cross Crusade? 

At least one.

I have a team that is made up of friends.  Friends that meet at the House of Pain for an hour or two of intervals and perfuse sweating.  Friends that train together, travel together, exchange emails, phone calls and share meals.  Friends who all ride for Sunnyside Sports… a shop made up of friends.  People that whole heartedly care about each other, their customers and their team.

In Sunnyside tonight, picking up my Yeti, I had an unexpected conversation.  I should probably stop being surprised by what I learn while spending time in Sunnyside, but I don’t really want to.  I never what to take these experiences for granted.

Questions of life and love and living are asked, answers are batted around, solutions may or may not be decided upon.  Smiles are exchanged, knowledge transferred, and in the most unexpected corners, wisdom is imparted.

While I might be wrong, I am fairly certain that Sunnyside Sports is unique.  Unique to Bend, unique among bike shops, unique among most business establishments in general.

Sunnyside Sports is my shop, my team, my friends. 

To everyone that helps to make Sunnyside Sports much more than a bike shop; I can’t thank you enough.

A weekend of Cyclocross in Astoria

A double header of Cross Crusade is a full weekend in and of its self.  Through some rain, wind and Halloween into the mix and you are sure to have a party!

The Sunnyside Team was out in full force this weekend, many of us spending the weekend at a house in Seaside, sharing stories, meals and Rad Racing (Thanks Matt).

Friday night the rain started to fall and although it subsided slightly on Saturday, the deluge from the night before made for slippery, sloping racing… just the way we like it!

Saturday

The course on Saturday contained a little bit of everything and was the first race of the season that really epitomized cyclocross.  Fast downhills, technical off camber 180s, slippery slopes, sloppy run-ups, quad-burning climbs, barns, grass, and a lot of mud.

We all slipped and slide all over the course, the best lines changing with each lap.  The start was fast.  I got off the line well and took the lead.  I stayed up front for at least a lap before getting passed by a couple girls and settling into 3^rd position. 

Wendy had a mechanical in the 2^nd or 3^rd lap and had to run to the pit, giving me the chance to move into 2^nd place.  Megan was right on my heels and it was a hard fought battle for the second position.  With 3 laps to go, Megan got past me on a downhill section, but I was able stay with her and with 2 to go, I got a burst of energy and was about to put some room between the two of us.  I held the gap through the finish… smiling.

Don and Ben had been yelling me throughout the race and found me at the finish. 

Covering in mud, I gave Ben a kiss.  He didn’t seem to care that my entire face was plastered with dirt.

Don came over and gave me a hug.  I got his clean Sunnyside Jersey all dirty, but he didn’t seem to care.

Happy with that?  He Asked.

All I could do was smile!

Check out the Velonews recap photos.

Sunday

I raced hard on Saturday.  Much harder than I had on Saturdays before at the Willamette Valley Series Races and on Sunday my legs remembered what I had put them through the day before.   

The field stacked and adorned with Halloween costumes; even Sue Butler was dressed up for the occasion.  The course had changed, the conditions had changed, the weather had changed; but the goal remained the same.  Get off the line fast, ride fast, then ride faster, be smart, stay upright and ride with the big girls.  

I got off the line well, focused on the sweeping left hand turn in front of us.  Right before the turn I heard a crazy sound.  Had my tire just exploded?  Had somebody crashed?  Had I just taken someone out?  I still don’t know what that sound was, never the less, it caused me to pause, loose my concentration and a couple of spots, right from the start. 

I chased up the first hill, trying to hang with Wendy, Sue and Alice.  There was a pack of about 8 of us going into the first barrier section.  I was right behind Rhonda; I needed to stay right there.

 

Through the technical muddy corners I passed a couple of girls, only to passed right back. 

I was trying to hang, but my legs weren’t responding to the instructions I was silently yelling at them.  On the bumping up-hill traverse, I tried to hammer;I should have been able to make up some ground… but all I could do was hold on.

Through the barns, I focused on nailing the corners and tried to accelerate on the straight-aways.  I was riding fast, but not fast enough. 

Come on legs. 

I saw Ben as the barns, Come on, get up there. He yelled.

I’m trying......

I was tired.  With 3 laps to go, I knew I was tired.  It was a realization that I had not yet experienced this year.  I was riding well, but not as well as I know I could.  I tried to punch it on the uphills, charge out of the corners, and take the technical sections smoothly, but it wasn’t enough to bridge the gap up to the girls in front of me.

Just hold on Bishop.

I crossed the line in 7^th position.  I raced hard, as hard as I could.  I pushed the pedals as fast as my legs would allow.  Saturday I had given everything, on Sunday I tried to do it again.  7^th place was my everything on Sunday…. And I was proud of it. 

I am proud of the way I have been racing this year. 

I am proud of the time and effort I have dedicated to my cycling. 

I am proud of the decisions I have made that allow me to smile every time I get on my bicycle. 

I am proud of the determination it takes to stand at the starting line every week. 

Cyclocross Nationals are only 6 weeks way. 

This week I am going to follow the advice of a good friend.

Remember the word REST.... Promise? 

I promise.