The weekend before last, the Team's season opened with the always fun XC mountain bike race - Echo Red to Red. This event has it all, a tough, yet epic course, great organization, delicious racer perks (you'll read about that later) and most of all, community support! The folks from the little (pop. 715) town of Echo, which is stocked full of incredible history, come out in full force to help support the race - helping with traffic control, registration, on-course aid and more! It's wonderful to see!
Blue sky in Biggs! |
Our (Shane & Sam's) trip began Friday morning as we headed out for the 3.5 hour drive up north from Redmond. The sun was shining and we were looking forward to a beautiful drive.......but when we hit Terrebonne (5 minutes north of home) we hit fog that got more and more dense as we drove! It was pretty nuts to drive in it, visibility was about 1-2 car lengths making for some very concentrated driving. You wouldn't see other cars lights, just suddenly a shadow in the fog and then BAM a car! Whew! Thankfully, the drive was uneventful and very minimal sightseeing, other than the yellow line and fog line. Haha. When we began to descend into the Columbia River Gorge, the fog dissipated into blue sky by the time we go to Biggs! Hooray!!!!
The last hour and a half of driving couldn't go by fast enough as we were ready to enjoy the nice weather on our bikes! When we finally pulled into the trailhead/camping area, we hopped out of the car and hastily laid out some of our camp gear to reserve space for our other checker clad teammates - Bob, Kodi, Jon & our awesome team support Natalie!
Cold toes LOVED the heater |
Sam and I pulled on our kits, a bit nervous about only needing thin layers to ride in, after all the severe weather we had endured over the last few weeks at home! Nonetheless, we got decked out and rolled away onto singletrack heaven with some other Redmondites, Tyler and his dad Jerry Fox! The first place we checked out was the always dynamic river section that is a new trail every year, due to annual flooding. We then proceeded to recon the starter loop, which was going to be a crucial point early in the race. After getting some good insight, Sam pulled off to keep her legs fresh and began camp setup as I headed out to ride more trail! I am still in my Base phase for training so I needed some hours on the bike AND the conditions were impeccable!! I ended up riding every last mile of trail that we would be racing the next day and man I couldn't stop smiling!! By the time I got back, Sam had the entire camp all setup! I was super thankful, as the sun had dropped below the horizon and temperatures were quickly following suit! I hovered over the heater, as I ate some yummy food and changed into comfy and warm clothes before we headed into town with our new friends/campmates Starr and Matt.
Sam & Starr enjoying the Koontz Building! |
The atmosphere was buzzing with excitement as we picked up our packets and checked out the newly renovated Koontz building. This historic building was built in 1904-1905 and has been a renovation project of the Sno Road Winery. Over the last three years, we've seen the progression and it's pretty impressive to finally see the finished product in all it's glory! After some gawking, we headed back to camp to sit around the fire and fine tune the bikes before heading to bed for a nice and solid rest!
We awoke to another beautiful day Saturday, although a few degrees cooler, it was nothing like the gross weather the forecast had predicted. With the cooler temperatures, our heater was struggling to raise the temperature in the Team Tent, so we turned to the BBQ, that Bob had brought along, for some supplemental heat. The warmth felt wonderful while we changed and ate a solid breakfast before all the pre-race jitters and nerves descended upon our bellies!
Thank goodness for the BBQ! |
Photographer = Wheelie Time! PHOTO: KENJI SUGAHARA |
Natalie provided much needed moral and sugar support!! |
With a fresh sugar rush, I grabbed some warm clothes and proceeded to spin out my legs along the course so I could cheer on my awesome teammates! Although the course had been nice to me, the trails of Echo had some devious plans for my checkered mates. Poor Jon got his flats out of the way for the whole season with 4! He had to hike out and grab a ride back into town. UGH! The rough trails and cold weather took their toll on Bob, Kodi and Sam as they all battled hard to finish the brutal race!
Bob pushing hard for the Finish Line! |
We all were able to re-group over some tasty post-race food though! Homemade macaroni & cheese and pulled pork sandwiches was the food served and they helped bring spirits right back up! With full stomachs, we packed into the Koontz building for the awards ceremony and raffle and then headed back to camp where we gathered around the fire to stay warm as the temperatures began to drop and snow began to fall! That BBQ that Bob and Kodi brought came into play again as they grilled up some awesome steak that we shared with the few hardy souls that braved the evening's cold weather! After some hard racing, eyelids got heavy fast and we all retired to the warmth and comfort of our dry tents!
Enjoying the warm fire! |
Nice coating of ice from the freezing rain. |
We caravanned with Tyler back to Central Oregon, but not before a quick stop at C & D Burgersfor our traditional burger and milkshake treat!
Back on the road, the drive was uneventful, aside from seeing the aftermath of a couple semi-trucks that had unfortunate encounters with black ice and slid off the road earlier in the morning.
Our first weekend of racing is in the books! It had highs and lows, but, as always, it was a wicked fun time for the Trinity Bikes Cycling Team athletes!! Next on the docket for a few of the riders will be their first road race of the season: Cherry Pie in Adair Village! Until next time!!
-Shane Johnson