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!!
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| River crossing. |
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| Over and under bridge. |
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.
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| 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!
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| 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!
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| 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:
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| 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.
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| 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!
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| Bob finding out what valley mud is like. |
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| 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.
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| 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!
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| Bob taking 2nd place! |
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!
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| 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!
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| Bob playing some serious 3-D Foursquare. |
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| Bob heading out from the XC starter loop. |
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| 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!
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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!!
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