On a Crusade for Cyclocross!

Boy, time sure has flown by since the last blog post, it's been a whole month, can you believe it?!

After a two weekend break from racing, Sam and I (Shane) got back into the cross race scene we dearly missed! Our first weekend back was the Cross Crusade that took place in Bend at the Deschutes Brewery. Being a local race, we had six other Trinity athletes join us in the battle: Patti, Marny, Dale, Mike, Gary and Steven! The checkers were flying over the two days of racing.

Saturday began with a 'normal' day of racing, where Sam, Marny, Patti, Dale and myself put together a solid day of results, against some great racers!

Sam nearing the top of the long stair run-up.
PHOTO: DAVE ADAMS

The short sleeve jerseys were pulled out to stay cool in the beautiful sunshine, as we raced around the fun course!

Shane riding over the 'fly-over'.
PHOTO: DAVE ADAMS

Sunday was the day costumes came out, in celebration of the upcoming Halloween! Marny, Patti and Gary busted out some great ones, but the highlight of the day was when Steven, who has been a huge behind-the-scenes team supporter got a chance to fly the checkers as he rode a 16" wheeled bike in his first Cross race ever!! Mike G also enjoyed his first cross race as he and Steven completed the fun course.

Steven and Mike battling it out on the run-up.
PHOTO: 541 IMAGES

Yes, those are 16" wheels! Steven doesn't need big wheels to crush it!
PHOTO: 541 IMAGES

After an epic and fun Cross Crusade: Deschutes Brewery weekend, it was only five days later and we were in the car, headed to the valley to race again!

Next on the table was Cross Crusade #6, which is hosted at Washington County Fairgrounds in Hillsboro, OR. Sam and I crossed over the mountains to meet up with teammate, Brian Buskirk, and duke it out against other racers in the mud. The rainy weather had briefly lifted, but the prior days of rain left it's mark on the course in the form of some sluggish and heavy mud. Sam was the first of us to step up to the challenge and race in the peanut buttery conditions.

Sam making the goop look easy!
PHOTO: KENJI SUGAHARA

As Sam pushed herself to the limit, Brian and I sat on our Blackburn trainers, getting the legs warmed up in preparation for our race, which took place immediately following Sam's.

Brian firing up his engines.

The WA guy tried to cheat, but OR had won!!
PHOTO: LASALA IMAGES

Thanks to some epic cheering from Brian and I upon our trainer perches, alongside the course, Sam was able to take 21st out of 43, improving by 10 spots in only a week!! Sam quickly switched hats from racer to heckler as Brian and I got over to the start line. Our start time consists of two categories, the B's (our category) and Singlespeed (SS). To determine who goes first, representatives from each group volunteer to compete in strange competitions to get the start. This day was very unique, as the SS'ers had been infiltrated by racers from a rival Cross series based in Seattle, that were there to create some havoc. The competition involved taking a shirt that had been frozen solid in water, breaking it apart and putting it on. During the breaking process, a wrestling match started up as the Washington folks were losing and had to try and cheat to beat us Oregonians. Thankfully Oregon is also better at wrestling and were able to win the shirt competition allowing the B category to start first!!

With a mid-pack start, I was able to work my way in to the Top 10 with the lead group just slightly out of my reach. It was tough to be so close, but it was fun battling back and forth in the chase group on the testing course. 

Shane working his way through traffic.
PHOTO: KENJI SUGAHARA

The course had a lot of variation, especially with it's offerings of mud: sticky/gummy, sloppy chocolate shake and very greasy. I had an unfortunate slide out in the greasy section onto pavement, but thankfully it was a super quick slide and damage both physically and in the race was minimal! I was able to hold onto 9th position for the day!

Some proper refueling was in order after our hard racing, so Sam and I snagged some pizza with Brian and his wonderful lady, Becki, before heading back to the High Desert!

After a nice and quick week of work, we were back in the Subie for some more racing! This round was a doubleheader for Sam and I, as we raced the OBRA CX (cyclocross) Championships at Edgefield on Saturday and Cross Crusade: Portland International Raceway Infield on Sunday.

With afternoon start times, we headed over Saturday morning to arrive at the sloppy, slippery grass parking area for the day's race. The race, aka - Pedalers at the Poor Farm, was being held on the beautiful grounds of McMenamin's - Edgefield. While walking the course to preview what we'd be tackling for the day, our legs hurt just looking at it, but the masochist inside us was all kinds of giddy!! Although brutally tough, the course was SO epic! It had fast grass, mucky mud, sketchy off-camber sections, painful climbs and plenty of other great features!

Sam getting excited during the Course Preview

We got checked-in and began the setup of our brand spanking new tent that Trinity Bikes supplied us to create team HQ at our races! I got it all put together, right as some light rain began to fall, allowing Sam to hop on the trainer and stay nice and dry as she prepped for her race.

The framework for the new Team Tent!

When the gun went off, Sam nailed her pre-race game plan of getting to the front of the pack, working her way into the front group heading into the narrow singletrack.

I warmed up under the new tent, as Sam's race strung out along the long course. Having a new tent, we had setup a bit back from the course, but it was OK, because I worked on my dismounts to run over and cheer Sam everytime she passed during my trainer warm-up. She rode solid for the day, taking home 7th place out of 16 very strong racers!!

Sam pushing a furious pace.
PHOTO: TIM SCHALLBERGER

Next up, it was my turn to enter the pain cave. I had a decent spot in the starting grid, but when it was go time, I was frustratingly boxed in...UGH!!! Thankfully, it opened up before any bad damage hit and I was able to move into the top 5. I kept a steady pace throughout the race, trying to win each little duel I encountered. I wasn't able to hang with the top 2 on the climbs (gotta train more!) but I was able to move into a solid 4th, or so I thought, during and after the race. More on that later. The race hurt, but was so fun! There was a brutal climb, that took all of my guts to keep the pedals turning and not get off and run, then a long flat section which was my strong point, followed by some tight chicanes, then a decent that included a transition from pavement to muddy grass where you could easily get some good air with a tiny bunny hop. It was scary each time I jumped, as you had a right hand corner just after the landing area, but I had to try and impress the fans. Sadly, no special cheers, but man was it fun to test my luck like that! With 2 laps to go, I was beginning to catch glimpses of the two racers ahead of me, but I had a guy right on my wheel, which needed to be dealt with. So, I dug deep and was able to build a slight gap on him with about a half lap to go, allowing me to taper off the gas to try and ride as smooth and mistake free as possible to the finish line for 4th place.......or was it 3rd?! 

Shane on one of the painfully steep run-ups!

After some discussion with the two in front of me, we verified that they were 2nd, 3rd and I was 4th, just off the podium. I was very wrong though: When the race began, a solo rider went off the front and after a lap or two we never saw him again. The two riders in front of me, along with myself, assumed he was just that fast, but in reality he had flatted on the last lap and DNF'd (DNF - Did Not Finish). We all finished, thinking we were 1 spot back from where we actually were. Embarrassingly, I learned my lesson; always wait for the official results to come out. I ended up missing out on one of the best steps a racer can take, onto the podium. DANG! 3rd is super cool though, and I'm very happy to have raced a solid race with some tough competitors, both the course and fellow racers!

We wrapped up the evening with some super delicious BBQ'd food from Famous Dave's near the Portland Airport. Oh man, was it good!!! The other big plus was that they had some Crater Lake Root Beer on tap for me to enjoy, MMMMMM!!!

The PIR: Infield party central!!

When Sunday arrived, we headed west from Estacada, where we stayed the night at Sam's parent's house, towards Portland International Raceway for the 7th race of the Cross Crusade Series, 'PIR Infield'. The atmosphere at this event was insanely awesome! The way the course is laid out, it compresses all the fans, tents and vendors into a small area, creating a real festival/party feeling along the course, SO awesome!

After checking in, we cruised along Tent Row and were able to lay claim to a prime spot right at a switchback turn, which slowed riders down so they could be more easily heckled! Sam got situated on the trainer to get her legs rolling as I finished setting up camp and doing a quick check-up on the bikes to make sure they were in tip top running shape! Before we knew it, Sam was on-course racing away and I was on the trainer warming up for my upcoming race! Being on course was much more optimal than the arrangement I had setup at Edgefield the day before, as it allowed me to get some high quality heckling in while Sam crushed the course taking her highest Cross Crusade finish yet, 17th out of 42 riders.

Sam burning her way through the tight turns.
PHOTO: KENJI SUGAHARA

Next, it was my turn to try and enter the pain cave, and this course made it quite easy to suffer! A fast, pavement start emptied you onto a sticky and slow backstretch that made your legs want to cry. Further into the grassy infield, the riding surface was a bit faster, but the tight/weaving course forced you into a lot of brake/accelerate/brake situations.....classic cyclocross! I was able to pick my way through the field a bit to somewhere near the top 10, but I just wasn't able to hang with that upper group as they were able to put a gap on me. I pushed hard, hoping to catch any stragglers, but by halfway through, I had pretty well locked down 10th position......until the very very end. After some twisty sections through the trees, there was a barrier followed by a sharp right hand turn into the 150 meter finish stretch. I came into the barrier with a much smaller gap on 11th place than I realized, as he passed me with some smooth running through over the barrier. I wasn't super worried as I felt I had a solid sprint in my legs. I was so bummed though, because in my haste to get back on the bike and pedaling, I missed clipping into my pedal and mis-shifted, completely botching the finish. ARGHHHH!! Such a frustrating way to end a decently contested race, but I still had so much fun on this tough test of a course, especially thanks to the loud cheering of the crowd and fantastic heckles that I endured all along the course!!

We packed up and began the trek back home, over the mountains, in the snow, barefoot, uphill both ways......OOOOPS, wrong story! Haha. Overall, a very fun and successful trip, gaining some good fitness and experience with a two-race weekend! Next on the calendar is Barton Park, which is supposed to be a brutal one!!!





-Shane Johnson