Mudslinger XC

Mud anyone?

Austin flying through the mud.

Chalk up another fantastic weekend of racing for the guys! On the schedule was Round 2 of the Oregon XC Series in Blodgett, OR where they covered the beautiful blue and white checkers with mud at the wettest Mudslinger XC race on record!

Bob blowing through the 'canal'.

The trip started with a reasonable 9:00 am departure from the High Desert on Saturday morning, arriving in Corvallis, which is semi close to where the race took place. Two cars were needed to hold the Trinity Crew and our bikes – Myself (Austin Line), Bob Gilbert, Sean Lewis & Shane Johnson, along with professional cheerleader/supporter Sam Pharris, our phenomenal photographer,  Fletcher Jackson and of course the team’s best little furry friend, Kai Bears. A quick stop at Sisters Bakery and a new Gluten-Free option - Angeline’s Bakery, had us fueled up with some delicious baked goods for the drive over the pass. The snow was hitting pretty heavy up at the top of Santiam and Tombstone passes, but thankfully it was only sticking up there, which made for an easy drive. 

Snow on Santiam Pass.

When we arrived, we were actually greeted by *gasp* sunshine, in the valley. I know! Who knew right? Anyways, we headed over to Peak Sports to grab Fletcher a loaner bike from our good buddy Brian Persons. We wanted Fletcher to experience the fantastic trails Corvallis had to offer. While there, we met up with Buzzy A.K.A Brian Buzkirkleton. Ok...Maybe it's just Buskirk, but Buzkirkleton sounds cooler, no?

Bob trying to quickly change in the brisk temps.

After we snagged the bike from the shop, we were off on our way to sniff out trails that most of us hadn't yet ridden. Now let me tell you something...This team is basically full of a bunch of jokesters, so of course there were horns honking when another would stop at a red light or stop sign. I'm pretty sure we looked like a bunch of hooligans, but hey it's all in the name of keeping things light and cheery. We finally arrived to our destination, and began to get ready, but there was only one problem...How in the world were we all supposed to get dressed without exposing one’s self to another.


Well...it turns out ya gotta move quick, and pillows to cover windows are your best friend in this scenario. Of course Fletcher, who has never worn a chamois in his life, had to get used to...well how do I say this? How they fit rather snug…everywhere. So that was an interesting experience with his commentary on that. Before we knew it, we were all off and away on the trails.

How were the trails? AMAZING! It started off with a nice solid climb to the blood flowing. Now I'm about 99% sure Fletcher was wishing he left the bike at the shop, because it kept going and going, and going, and going, and going, and then we were at the top! Of course, at this point, everyone was a little weak in the legs, so we took in some great views of the city below.

There's a city down there...it's just small.

I had to be the one who rode around, and somehow managed to endo (flipped over the handlebars) over of the smallest root/rock, whatever it was, and yeah straight to the ground for this guy...So much much much ridicule later, we were off to enjoy some truly epic downhill! There's something to be said for descending in slick conditions with a group of friends. It's like Star Wars when they're in an X-wing Fighter as we hit one apex of a corner after another, and of course try to stay upright with sloppy conditions. Needless to say, it ended far sooner than any of us would have liked, but the best part of it was seeing the smile on Fletcher's face after his first true downhill on a mountain bike, and seeing the excitement grow for the anticipation for the arrival of his shiny new Marin he had on order at Trinity Bikes. Ya see, this is part of what the team is about, introducing people to cycling in the Redmond area, and it feels good to introduce someone to your passion, and see them enjoy it just as much as you do. Of course when we got back to the car we had to have the mandatory muddy pictures. I mean there was a photographer on hand wasn't there? I was slightly confused when Fletcher had his camera really close to me. In my mind I was hoping I hadn't missed a spot shaving if he was that close, but it was because he was using a fish eye lens, but nonetheless, the look on my face in that picture was priceless, as I was worried, and confused at the same time. Of course it was time to leave, and the crew was onwards to Shane's Mom's House, which would be our base camp for the weekend.

Being the amazing hosts they are, they had homemade Macaroni and Cheese waiting for us, and let me just say one thing, it was simply amazing! You couldn't ask for a better meal the night before a race. Simply put, it was perfect! After a little bit of socializing it was time to get to bed, because we had a race the next morning, and with the results of Echo weighing in the back of some our minds, we were going to do everything we could to make sure this race would turn out much better.

Dinner time!

Delicious breakfast.

Before we knew it, it was time to get up, for it was race day! Of course Shane's wonderful mom, Alice, had made a big ‘ol pot of oatmeal for us to down before we headed off to the race. Let me tell you one thing about having such wonderful hosts as Alice and her husband Ron - they make the entire race weekend so easy. We don’t have to worry about the majority of the logistics regarding meals before the race, making the whole race day 10 times easier. I have to say we we're pretty pampered, and it must be what it feels like to be a professional.


Anyways, on to the race! We arrived with plenty of time to spare, it was cold...Real Cold, and a little drizzly to boot! While in pre-race mode, we were informed that the Panama Canal trail was indeed pretty much an actual Canal with standing water on it. The team was prepared for such instances though with some fantastic Continental tires to grip the slick-as-snot ground. Before we knew it, it was game time! The moment we had all been waiting for had arrived and we were on the starting line, antsy to get this race started. Then just like that we were off! The course started with an epic climb to separate the field, and boy did it ever! The Pro/Cat 1 field that Shane, Sean, Bob and I were in, splintered to pieces, so we dug in deep to get to the top of the climb with the best positioning possible for the upcoming singletrack. Shane and I of course yo-yo'd back and forth up the climb with Shane taking the advantage and getting to the singletrack first, with another person in between him and I.

Shane and Austin on the slick singletrack.

That turned out to be a problem as I was held up by the guy in front of me on the slick downhill, as I had loads of confidence in my tire choice for the day! I was gripping to the trail like glue! Needless to say I needed to get by him to try and make my way up the field, and soon thereafter I saw my opening and took it. Never did see that guy again, but before I knew it Shane, and I were together again. It was the theme of the race going back and forth with neither one creating a sizable gap. We pushed each other hard throughout the race until I was able to squeak away on one of the last few climbs to gain some time. Afterwards, we knew we did decent, judging by how many people were at the finish, or really the lack of people at the finish line.

Brian cruising around a corner.

As it turned out, all the pushing each other paid off, as we finished 2nd and 3^rd. For the first time ever, there were two athletes of the Trinity Bikes Cycling Team on the Cat 1 19-34 podium with Austin (me) taking 2nd, and Shane taking 3^rd. Of course this led to some funny posing on the podium somehow, and some synchronized pictures.

Someone requested a gun show....Shane & Austin's 'gun show'!

The rest of the team dug deep through the mud to finish with some respectable results with Dave taking 5th place, Bob finishing in 10th, and Buskirk finishing in 18^th. I have to give Buskirk huge props on finishing the race, as he was cramping up bad and still sludged his way through the mud to bring in a finish for the checkers. Mr. Lewis (Sean) had a rough day in the mud, but he gave it all he had until he couldn't give anymore, and ya can't expect anything more from someone who gives it their all on a nasty day like that.

Sean slinging some mud!

Dave having a good time on his
way to a fantastic 4th place finish!

With these great results in the books, the team is super excited for our next big race...Sea Otter baby! We can't wait for some sunshine!


-Austin Line