Cross Crusade - P.I.R. Heron Lakes Course

Juan went up to Portland to compete in the 3rd race of the Cross Crusade cyclocross series. This was held at Portland International Raceway and Juan was able to race a super solid race, working his way up from a back of field start position to 60th place out of a huge field of 197 racers. Here is a great slideshow and short video clip of the racing action!

Nationals Report

Staging area for the start!

Well, about 40 minutes ago, the CAT 2 National Championship race concluded with riders blazing across the finish line here in Ketchum, ID. The second person to cross that line was our own Bob Gilbert, only 8 seconds back from the winner!

Shane was out cheering him on and here are his thoughts: "Bob had a slow start which made me nervous cause with this course you gotta be on it right when the gun goes off, otherwise you'll get bottlenecked bad! Luckily he was able to hammer hard during the first lap of the prologue and moved into about 5th position. 

One more time up the prologue and he went into the brutal singletrack climb in the 2nd spot, which is perfect cause that climb is NASTY steep with some hefty roots to climb up. After that it's a waiting game for us spectators as the course climbs Bald Mountain before coming back around to the frontside switchback descents. First sights of Bob brought shots of adrenaline to me as he was in a super solid 2nd position! It was sick watching him go back and forth and back and forth along the switchbacks. I screamed and yelled until he was out of sight and then booked it back to the finish line where he had just crossed the line only 8 seconds back from the winner! SOOOO SICK!!!"

Bob had a few words, nice and simple as he's still on his endorphin high: "I knew I had to get out hard on all the climbs so I could be out front before the singletrack. It's a painful course so I told myself to dig deep. The descent is pretty technical and I was definitely testing my DH skills and pushing myself right to the edge."

Bob at the finish line after taking 2nd!

Bob with the hardware!

Pretty wicked awesome day for the Trinity Bikes team out here in Idaho! Next races will be for Shane on Saturday and Sunday!

High Desert Omnium

Over the weekend, we had four of our guys racing the High Desert Omnium road race in Bend! It was a great time and was extra special as it was Brian Buskirk's first ever Road Race!


Here is a link to Shane's write-up, which even has a video that the lead car driver put together. It's pretty awesome, enjoy!!


http://shanerjohnson.blogspot.com/2011/07/high-desert-omnium.html


Next up for the team is XC Nationals in Sun Valley, ID! We'll keep you posted!

Clif Bar Photoshoot

This post is far overdue, but better late than never. Back in February I was asked to come out and be an extra for a Clif Bar photo/video shoot that was being produced here in central Oregon. The shoot was for a short video that features various Clif Bar sponsored athletes doing their thing. Some of the sports that they were covering included: skiing, climbing, running, surfing, road and mountain biking.


I was asked to come out and help with the road bike portion of the shoot featuring Clif Bar’s pro
cyclocrosser Troy Wells. I really did not know what to expect for this shoot because it was a pretty short notice phone call saying “meet us at this spot at so and so time ready to ride, we will feed you and pay you for the day”. Sounded like a no brainer to me. So I met the crew out on Hwy 97 at the turnoff to Antelope in the morning. I was happy to see a couple of familiar faces from Bend had also shown up to be a part of the shoot. I was surprised to see how big of a production this was. There were about 5 Camera men, a handful of people from Clif Bar, and a couple of folks from a New York ad agency that were running the show.

After some introductions the cameras started rolling as we put on our gear and unloaded our bikes. Once we were all suited up we stuffed our pockets full of the endless supply of Clif Bar product and headed out on our bikes toward Antelope. We rode along as the camera men filmed us from the vehicles and sides of the road. I had never ridden on that road before and I will definitely be going back considering it was some of the most buttery asphalt that I had ever ridden in Central Oregon, not to mention the awesome rolling hills and great views.


When we showed up in downtown Antelope a number of the town’s people came out to see what we were up to. There was one guy who cracked us up when he brought out his Huffy that he had pimped out with a motorcycle gas tank strapped to it and a phony exhaust coming out the back. He would proceed to ring a cowbell and cheer every time we rode by his little house and even offered to make us a pot of coffee and hang out inside. We must have been the biggest thing to happen in Antelope since the early 80’s when the Rajneesh cult overthrew the town for a few years.


We proceeded to do some more filming and photos on the ride back to the cars and were greeted at the finish with hot coffee to warm us up. We then loaded up and the crew took us out to lunch where I devoured a bacon cheeseburger and fries. I was pretty pumped to have gotten the chance to get paid to ride my bike as well as receive the “pro” treatment for a day. That is something I could definitely get used to.


On a side note I was not the only Trinity Bikes team member to be involved with the Clif Bar shoot. David Allen was invited out to the Ski shoot where he slashed up the mountain and sent it for the Cameras. Below is the final video, some good little shots of checkers are in there!

Ian Eglitis

Dry Canyon Trail Build

Over the past weekend, we hosted the first trail build day in the Dry Canyon recreation area in Redmond. This was the first step towards our overall goal of creating a comprehensive multi-user trail network within the canyon. The section we worked on consisted of rogue trails, which we improved and re-routed through some sections to prevent erosion. The turnout was really good, we had close to 25 people show up (the donuts and Rocket Coffee really helped)! After a quick briefing on the day's goal and trail building technique we all headed out in small groups to tackle the tasks at hand.

The volunteers that came out really did some amazing work, in fact they were so awesome, we were able to build an extra feature trail that was not initially on the docket for our build day! Here are some great pictures of the work!

Echo Red to Red!!

Driving along the Columbia River on I-84.

Three of the five guys representing the team at Echo, Sean, Shane and Bob stayed for the entire weekend camping out while Ian and Brian did the day trip to race in Echo. Here is the report for the weekend!

Rolling into the camp area.

What an awesome time racing and hanging out with a great group of people! The city of Echo, once again, was an incredible host town. There was free camping at the trail head, a newly constructed fire pit stocked with firewood, along with another five foot tall pile of wood (logs) to keep the fire burning for the whole weekend. As we arrived Friday afternoon and saw all of this goodness, we were ecstatic for the weekend ahead.

Following some light off-roading action in the cars, we quickly claimed our spot and set up camp so we could get suited up and take a nice pre-ride into the sunset. The winding trails that have been cut into the rolling hills are so much fun. Full of short punchy climbs and descents with berms on the tight corners, create a fast and smooth flow like riding a roller coaster! Such goodness!

Cooking the pasta up!

Post-ride we cooked up some gourmet dinner. Aside from some slight mechanicals with the cooking apparatus, we were able to enjoy bow tie pasta smothered in an alfredo and chicken/mozarella sausage sauce. Yum! We wrapped up the night with with a little social interaction around the giant fire pit. After last year's freezing nights full of shivering, we came prepared with our new 0 degree down sleeping bags. Man they sure made the difference! There were multiple reports of waking up sweating from being so warm, it was great! Best sleep ever had while camping.

Sean glaring Bob off his pancakes.

We awoke to rumors that Echo Kiwanis was serving a pancake breakfast for $5 in the middle of town, right near the start and registration! Say no more, we were on our way to test the rumors....and they were true! The pancakes tasted better then IHOP and we got lucky, as our servers were super fun and rather good looking! :) Bob personally engulfed 10 of the hand made works of art! Mmmm!







Bob's Race Report

Shane coming across the finishing bridge.

After getting the fuel tank topped off with the pancakes, it was race time! The neutral roll out from down town Echo was packed tight full of racers ready to turn on the heat. We got to the gravel road, the flag dropped and it was on. Everyone opened up their legs to full throttle as we pushed for position at the front of the pack. My plan was to stick with the lead group but found my legs burning fairly fast. I had to slow slightly, which got me boxed out and I had to watch as the leaders broke away. As the gravel road ended, all 100 or so riders had to funnel onto the singletrack. I got lucky and made it through with little congestion. The next 18 miles, I was focused on my body to keep complete control. I kept setting small goals like spin up this hill, stay on this guys wheel to pass him, keep my speed by staying smooth.

Ian utilizing a draft to ease the SS pain.

Sean finishing the race!

With so much action with the trails in Echo, it's very hard to stay fueled during the race, but I took every opportunity to stay hydrated with Nuun that filled my bottles. Near the end of the single track I found myself behind a solid older rider. We had extremely similar riding styles and speed. When we got back to the gravel road and started the 3 mile ride back to town, we began working together and taking turns drafting off of each other, averaging upwards of 23 mph. With the strong finish I was able to finish 7th in my class.

Our results for the weekend were:

Shane     4th
Ian          6th
Bob        7th
Brian     19th
Sean     22nd

Awesome band at the after party in the Koontz Building.

After the hard race we were beat and hungry. Luckily, the Kiwanis set us up with some great food again, this time some awesome baked potatoes filled with chili, cheese and onions. After the good food, we went back to camp and crashed for awhile getting some nice and relaxing nap time. Once we were feeling a bit more refreshed, it was time to head back into town for the race after party. It was a good and relaxing time getting to listen to a local country band while eating some delicious pulled pork sandwiches. Afterwards, we ventured back to camp to find a raging fire surrounded by 20 or so people and a keg. We did some hanging out and then hit the hay a bit earlier then expected. It was funny though, cause the majority of those who raced could be seen fading quickly that night.

Sean bundling up to stay warm from the wind.

For Sunday morning, we got to sleep in... yes! It felt great to get the extra sleep as we were all a bit sore in our legs and arms and back from all the racing. Cooked up a little breakfast then went out to rally the trails with our ridiculously fast buddy, Justin Finn, for a fun recovery ride. This time, we took our sweet time going up the hills and enjoyed every second of getting to shred the fast and flowy trails. Loved it! Sean and Bob ended their ride just in time for the wind to really pick up while Justin and Shane took off for another hour out in the blustery conditions.

Justin Finn showing how to rock the singletrack!

It was amazing how different it was to ride with the wind absolutely ripping across the ridgelines. It was strong enough to grab the bike and push you around, definitely some of the strongest wind we've ridden in! Thankfully, the rain held off until we just finished up the ride. A nice quick change out of the riding clothes and fast camp tear-down ensued so we could be nice and dry in the cars for the drive home.

We had a hankering for some good heavy food and we got super lucky when we found a great burger spot called C & D Drive In in Boardman, right along I-84. So delicious! Order the Bozo burger with onion rings and a shake and you won't regret it.

C&D Drive-In, Home of the Bozo Burger!!

Mmmmmmmmmmm!! Anyway got the car fueled up and decided to take the curvy way home. Out on Hwy 19 heading south from Arlington, OR, we found a great rain storm. Insane winds and rain acted like a pressure washer and took our muddy bikes and had them clean by the time we were home. The wind got so crazy it actually tweaked one of the wheel forks on the car...I'd say we hit a bit of a crosswind! After the weather calmed down it was a nice relaxing and uneventful drive back home where our beds were calling our names after the phenomenal weekend!







Already looking forward to next year, we can't wait to do it again! Hope to see you there!

Team Photoshoot

Today was our indoor photoshoot so we could have pictures portraying how wonderfully beautiful we all are in our kits and new Smith PivLock V90 Max sunglasses! We got to work with the awesome Fletcher of FJackson Photo, so we got some super quality shots today with him running the camera!


Here are some behind the scenes pics from today, enjoy!

Waiting to have our pictures taken.

Sean preparing for his awesome action shot...you'll just have to wait and see!!

Jack showing off his cycling legs!

2010 Season Recap

Oy! Where to begin?! Well, starting at the beginning makes sense, so I'll go from there. Now I must warn you, make sure you've fueled up and hydrated, cause this will be one heck of an adventure filled, on the edge of your seat read! Here we go...........


2010 was the inaugural season for our small start-up team here in Redmond, OR, but man what a season! The whole team idea came to being after a year of racing for Trinity Bikes, I wanted to have a cool jersey that represented the shop. It just so happened that a couple of really awesome friends were looking for a team and voila it was the start of the Trinity Bikes Cycling team!


Our first attack of the season was upon the Red to Red race, way up and out in Echo, OR. Lacking our official jerseys, we were able to rock some sweet Urban Camo jerseys, so we at least matched, thanks Marin!!

River crossing.

Over and under bridge.

Not only was this the first race of the season, it was also Bob's first XC race ever! There isn't much climbing, but it is brutally bumpy with embedded rocks along the entire course that end up taking their toll on you throughout the race.


The course was fantastic, as it contained a great variety of terrain! There was lots of the bumpy, yet fast sections that coursed their way through gentle rolling hills, leaf covered trail that was buffed out along the river, some awesome log crossings, a bridge to ride over the barbed wire fence and a nice bridge that you rode over and then a couple miles later you rode under! The best part was the day after the race when we toured the course under cruising speed and realized how sheer the edge of the trail was on the one big climb on the course. It's amazing what racing "tunnel vision" blocks out! Haha. 

Near the top of the big climb at Echo.

Overall, it was a phenomenal way to open the season with some quality racing (snagged a 4th place) on a super awesome course and just to add to it, the sun was shining all weekend!!

















Next on the list was a split of the team. I headed out for an amazing week-long trip to Idaho and then California while Bob and Sean stuck around here to shred some mud up at Horning's Hustle!


My big trip was amazing, getting to ride and see so many cool new areas. The first stop was Nampa, ID for the Barking Spider race. It took place out at Hemmingway Butte Trailhead, an OHV area on BLM land, and had some pretty epic trail sections! 

On the Barking Spider roller coaster ride.

My favorite was this roller coaster/slide type section that had a bunch of banked turns that were created in a washout. It was so fun and put the biggest smile on my face! I think I re-rode it like three or four times!

SE Oregon....somewhere.

After wrapping up the racing and riding in Idaho, I headed south through the SE corner of Oregon towards my destination of Monterey, California. That is a desolate area out there, but really pretty too!





I could write several paragraphs of all the cool and beautiful things I saw along the way to the Sea Otter Classic, but I think this photo of Lake Berryessa between Winters and Napa, California helps to explain:

Lake Berryessa, CA

Sea Otter lived up to and exceeded all my expectations, it was such a cool event! All the big names were there racing, all the brands were there in full force showing off the latest and greatest. I felt like a kid in a candy store, getting to walk around and see all the new goodies that were being promoted and introduced for the very first time down there! The course for us (non-pros) was super cool, it was a two lap format that ended up being around the 38-40 mile mark.

Out pre-riding the Sea Otter course.

It had a lot of different conditions, buffed out singletrack, some loose/sandy areas, muddy sections and areas that had been washed out so there were super fun ruts you got to tightrope on a fast descent, hoping you chose the right spine to the bottom! Haha. The field sizes were pretty great as well, which is always a nice thing. We got to start out on Mazda Speedway and cruise through a couple corners before we turned it loose on the dirt!

Start of the Sea Otter Classic.

After racing was done, it was time to oogle all the bike stuff and cheer on in awe as all the pro racers I look up to, just killed it in their races. Definitely a wicked amazing week of bike racing and traveling! 


After a big week of traveling, the drive up to Bear Springs was wonderfully short and sweet! On top of a nice easy drive, the weekend turned out to be really good for racing as well! The XC Squad was up at Bear Springs, in the Mt. Hood National Forest and the DH Team was down in Jacksonville racing at the Bike Fest DH race. Both squads were able to snag spots on the podium, with Tessa solidly winning the CAT 1 women's DH race, Sean taking 2nd in the CAT 2 19-34 STXC and Shane taking 3rd in the CAT 1 19-34 men's XC race.

Shane with a 3rd place finish.

The course up at Bear Springs is super fun, with some really nice technical rocky sections, roots and fast flowing descents! On top of the great course, the trail conditions were epic, slightly damp and superbly tacky and fun!


After a great weekend, we were really looking forward to slinging some mud the next weekend. It turned out to be another good campaign for the XC Team as we went over to Blodgett to race in the 21st Annual Peak Sports Mudslinger. The course was on the dryer side compared to years past, but still had some good greasy sections that made you question your bike handling skills.

Bob finding out what valley mud is like.

Showing off our talents and newly created team shirts!

All four of us that went, Bobbers, Cory, Sean and myself felt pretty good about how each of our races panned out. The race went smoothly with no injuries or mechanicals, so thats always awesome! We were able to snag a top 10 and a top 5 finish out of the weekend, so definitely some good results! This was Cory's first race ever too, so hats off to him for having his racing V card taken on a tough course!

















With the mudslingin' done, we were stoked to stay home the next weekend and race in the nice high desert we are accustomed to! We were all sorry in advance to our mothers for racing on their special day, Mothers Day, but then we decided, what better way to celebrate than to go out and try to win the day for mom?!




We had a chance to race locally at the Cascade Chainbreaker XC race, west of Bend. This course is a favorite amongst those of us that have raced it in the past and we were really looking forward to racing again this year. After an awesome pre-ride on Saturday, doing one lap of the course, race day was upon us on Sunday.

This was a very serious pre-ride.....Haha.

We brought an almost full roster to the race with 5 of our 6 XC athletes showing up to race. The weather was beautifully warm with a few scattered clouds in the sky and the course conditions were wonderful and DUSTY! The fields were of really good size and the unofficial count was close to 400 racers overall!

Bob taking 2nd place!

Once the race started, we got a good full spectrum of highs and lows as the day unfolded. On the low side, due to a poor line selection, I punctured my tire with a hole that couldn't seal itself and then after getting a tube in that poor tire, got a thorn in the tube so I had to pull out of the race with the double flats. BUMMER! But luckily for us, on the high side, Bob took the bike by the handlebars and put together an awesome race. He got to step onto the podium with a 2nd place finish! Awesome work! Cory and Sean also put together some great racing, finishing in the middle of one of the larger fields of the day. Tom was also able to finish in the middle of his group even with a slight mechanical during the race!














The following weekend was the epic Spring Thaw XC race down in Ashland, OR. This race is awesome, because you get to climb 60% of your race time, time trial across a ridge line and then drop back into town on one of the fastest and most fun descents there is!

Shane's Marin CXR ready to rally!

The course was in great shape overall, and the downed logs and trees that you had to dodge on the TT section at 20+ mph just added some technical skills to what would normally be easy riding! The race went solid and I was able to snag a top 10 finish, allowing me to be qualified for the Kenda Cup Invitational race later in the year!



After a two week breather, we were back on our trusty Marin's at another local race, the Sisters Stampede!

Tom cleaning a rocky section.

The first of what I think will be a popular race for years to come. The course, which is all on the Peterson Ridge Trail network, was dry and dusty just like you'd expect here in the high desert! Along with the dust, came winding single track full of fun, technical rock sections and a relatively mellow elevation profile.

Cory rolling the rocks with ease.

The roster was Shane, Sean, Tom, Cory and I. We all had our new blue checkered kits that look fantastic. We all ran a hard race with Shane unfortunately getting a flat tire due to the wonderful lava rock of Central Oregon. The results were as follows. Shane 8th, Sean 21st, Corry 23rd, Tom 39th and I came away with the big 1st in the Cat 3 19-34.


We were all super stoked on this race with the fun terrain and layout of the course. Definitely one we are already looking forward to in 2011!










Whew!!! All this racing all condensed into this one write-up! The adrenaline is flowing! I hope you've been drinking fluids, but if not, now is a great time to grab that full bottle of Nuun you've got sitting next to you......what, you don't have one?! Dang! Come visit us at the shop to get a free sample so you stay properly hydrated! Perfect! I hope you're feeling better, cause now it gets heavy with a weekend chock full of racing!! Let's go!!!





Three of us headed down to Return on the Jedi in Merlin, OR and man was it a fun time, AGAIN! The Pistis Cycling Team based down in Southern Oregon always put on a good event. I would have to say the highlight of the weekend were the intense matches of 3-D Foursquare in the darkness of night. Racing you ask? What racing? Haha.

Bob playing some serious 3-D Foursquare.

Truly, the Foursquare was a blast, but the racing was awesome! The weekend was chock full of it, starting Saturday morning with the Short Track thats course loops around the perimeter of the campground and then directly through the main drag. Due to all the rain from the previous week, the course was reminiscent of Mudslinger with nice big high speed puddles and goopy, slippery mud sections. There was some good intense racing. For the Pro/Cat 1 race, all of us Cat 1s were uber amped that we got to race with the likes of Adam Craig, Brig Brandt and Timmy Evans. 

First lap of the Pro/CAT 1 STXC.

The first lap started and finished with us still all as one group, we were looking around wondering if we had just gotten really fast somehow, when Adam and the boys decided to actually start racing....we never saw them again. Such animals! Everyone on the team put together some good, solid racing for the Short Track, and once it was done, it was time to chow on some delicious catered food before we jumped into the back of trucks and trailers for a practice run down the wickedly fast Super D course.

Sean loaded up for a test run of the Super D course!

The course consists of some crazy fast fireroad that eventually dumps you into the epic, rolling Jedi trail. The fireroads were unique this year as about halfway down there was a nice creek flowing back and forth in the tire tracks for at least a mile. It was a good way to keep cool! After the pre-ride, we loaded back into the rigs for the ride up and once atop the mountain, it was GO time! The race went smoothly for myself, but unfortunately, Bobbers and Sean had to endure my luck from earlier this season which consisted of some tire flattage. Super bummer, but that is bike racing! At the end of the day, we ate more good food and went to bed early so we wouldnt be SO tired the next day for the XC Race.

Bob heading out from the XC starter loop.

Shane, amped about the podium!

Sunday morning brought us nice cool, drizzly conditions but that didnt deter a good influx of a bunch of new riders that came out just to race the XC portion of the weekend. As the race started the drizzle held off nice and lightly and stayed that way for the majority of the day. It worked out well to keep the temps low and perfect for pushing some big time exertion up the many climbs out on the course. 


We were all able to pull in Top 5 finishes in the XC race, to cap off an awesome weekend down in Southern Oregon. As we all gathered ourselves (with more food of course) the sun broke out of its cloudy shell and shone down for us as we 
wrapped up the festivities and tore down camp.


With another Jedi weekend, full of mountain biking awesomeness, in the books we began to dream of the pain that we would encounter in two weeks at the Test of Endurance, but first we were called up on to get the local Cub Scouts all dialed in on some bike safety so they could shred safely on their bikes!


Bob, Shane and Eric from Trinity Bikes headed out to Sam Johnson Park and held a clinic where they taught the kids how to look over their bikes to make sure everything is proper on the mechanical side of things (all nuts and bolts tight, tires pumped up and chain lubed), then went over proper helmet fit, which you must test by lifting the kids up by their helmets......haha just kidding! 

Shane and Bob fielding bike racing questions.

After getting the helmets situated, next on the list was proper etiquette when riding on our local multi-use trails here in Redmond.

Shane not yet feeling the exhaustion.

Ahh the Test of Endurance, or is it the Mudslinger? With the conditions as they were this year it became pretty hard to tell...Test Of Endurance might've actually been the nastier of the two especially when the exhaustion from the first lap starts in and you have to commit to another 25 miles! 

With a constant mist for most of the day, temps under 60 degrees and tons of sticky mud, it was tough, painful going. My shoulder found a tree once and I'm sure I'm not the only one to pull such a graceful move, but I think we all improved our bike handling skills a bit that day and thankfully avoided any injuries besides the basic aches and pains.

Bob, Shane and myself (Sean) were in attendance and first off, congrats to Bob on his upgrade to CAT 2 allowing him to complete his longest ride ever and to Shane for finishing in 5th place with 55 minutes off his previous time! Coming in 11th, Bob was ecstatic to finish and I pulled a 10th place on the day with 20 minutes off last years time.

Hanging out at the finish line!

At the end of the race, huge delicious burritos awaited us along with the coveted "Finisher" pint glasses. Another good day of racing Trinity Bikes Cycling Team today!

After some good distance conditions from Test of Endurance, we were stoked to be racing back home again at Picketts Charge! It was hot, dry, dusty and technical. Perfect conditions for racing your mountain bike! The team was 4 riders strong today and definitely had a good showing. 

Post race with a nice coating of dust!

This was one of the most technical rides of the season and it was definitely a good test of our riding abilities, so we brought our A game and made it happen. Shane was battling for the top spot in the Oregon XC MTB series and was able to come out with 2nd for CAT 1! Bob rocked it and came away with a 2nd in the CAT 3 Oregon XC MTB series so it was a great finish in the series for them. On the day, Shane came in at 6th place for CAT 1 racers, and the rest of the team was racing CAT 2 today. Sean came in 10th, I (Cory) rolled in at 16th and Bob came in 18th after some serious gastrointestinal issues....perhaps we need Charmin to sponsor us? Haha 

So overall, it was definitely a great way to finish the Oregon XC Series, for the Trinity Bikes Cycling Team and we'll be back even stronger next year!

Whew what an epic year so far!! Unfortunately my keyboard is now fatigued and needs some rest, but don't worry......this post will be updated very very soon, we're talking, within 24 hours....so keep your eyes peeled and the rest of this awesome 2010 season will be here for your reading and imagery pleasure! Thanks for reading!!