Echo, Oregon. A small town that opens it’s arms once a year to the first mountain bike race of the season. The third annual Echo Red to Red was held and saw 435 racers showed up to race. Matt and I raced the long course and enjoyed every mile of it.

We showed up Friday night to a full campsite tending to a nice fire and made some new friends. The next morning we woke up to perfect weather.

At eleven, when the race started the weather was perfect. It stayed that way till shortly after it ended and the heavens opened up a couple times. Luckily I made it back to camp in time to set up the pop-tent before it got too nasty.

Soon after the rain stopped we were treated with a full on double rainbow that lasted for at least twenty minutes. Not soon after, Shane brought us a keg and the locals followed. The rest of the night turned into a blur which I thankfully emerged from unscathed.

Sunday morning wasn’t as easy for some folks, but we managed to get a ride in before heading home.

The river trail and climb up the bluff was a great way to end a weekend. Next year will be even better.

But since we’ve been back from Hawaii, I’ve been riding quite a bit. Weekly team rides, the regular commute, and finally some good racing. Last weekend the Dalles Mountain 60 happened and it was wonderful. I left Portland just before 7 and made it to The Dalles just in time to roll out. The race started from a coffee shop called Holstein’s around 9. Shortly after crossing The Columbia we started climbing up Dalles Mountain Rd shrouded in fog. The fog was thick enough to obscure anything past twenty feet, making the climb rather surreal. And then, just as we crested the top, we broke out of the fog into glorious sunshine. The descent was a tricky, muddy mess, which negotiated at high speeds was a real thrill. Finally out of the mud, the gravel kept dropping and at one point I glanced down to see 34mph on the computer, I was hauling balls. And then things started slowing down.

The route took us east to Hwy 97 where we dropped for about 1/4 mile before crossing the highway to take the old Maryhill Loops Rd. Tight hairpin turns on smooth tarmac made for a great descent.

Soon after we dropped back to the river and crossed over back into Oregon. A quick stop for a can of coke got me headed back towards The Dalles. The route back took us on Old Moody Rd which seems steeper every time I ride it, but eventually it leveled out. Five of us cruised back into town together fighting a headwind the rest of the way.

At that point I think most people headed home.

I decided to camp out and made my way to Deschutes State Park. It’s a nice place, and during the winter it’s practically empty. I found a good spot and made a nice fire. In the morning I woke up, made some breakfast and headed down the old rail-trail. About 6 miles in I stopped, enjoyed a nice beer, and watched a hawk fish from the river. It was slightly surreal, and although I had intended to ride the entire 16 miles in, decided to head home instead. It was a great trip, the race being the highlight.

All of the photos from this trip can be seen here.

Looking forward to Echo Red to Red this weekend! More great racing and camping is always welcome.

A friend of mine used to write a lot about arbitrary goals. It’s important to be motivated, and lately I’ve been a little overwhelmed with my current work situation. Spending a lot of time at a keyboard pushing pixels around can have a negative impact if it’s not matched up with regular riding. Add in the holidays and the chamois cream and there’s hardly any time for personal reflection/arbitrary riding.

But then Rapha comes out and throws down a gauntlet of sorts. I haven’t quite figured out how I’m going to document this, but I’ve got a computer and a digital camera. So they’re probably going to receive a large number of photos documenting the odometer and large cans of beer.

500km is just over 310 miles. In one week. I normally put in around 150 miles a week, so this is basically doubling the load. Seems like a good challenge. And if success comes around I might just get a sweet little patch to show off.

Rapha 500k Patch

I live in SE Portland so my usual haunt is Powell Butte. Again, this isn’t to say that the conditions are epic, but when you need just a little bit of dirt, it’s a good place to ride. In the last two months however I’ve found myself on the ground thanks to slick leaves and too much tire pressure. I generally only carry a co2 cartridge so I keep my pressure fairly high for the Springwater out-n-back. Riding home on 40lbs of skinny knobs is not how I like to roll. (Pun intended)

So the other day while working from home I fired up the google maps and started looking for parks nearby. I found a place in the SW hills that I had all but forgotten about. I used to read meters in this particular neighborhood and had only ventured into the park about 100 feet. Well last Thursday I saddled up and set out to explore the area.

It’s not a large place, but it’s fairly close to a couple other natural area/parks so I figured I could link up some dirt and make a good couple of hours out of it.

This park is about 7 acres in total with about two to three miles of trails, and it’s open to bikes. Well, I should say that there were no signs forbidding bikes, and the people walking in the forest were kind and friendly. I was laying down the only treads, and although it wasn’t a high speed kind of place, there was just enough shimmy going on to keep me happy.

In the SE corner of the area there is a hidden bit of trail that winds under a small tree tunnel before emptying out into a root filled short climb. This may be the only technically challenging spot in the area, but it was good nonetheless.

Tree Tunnel

Roots everywhere

After a couple laps, I headed to the next park. This was a much more developed area, with wide paths for the most part. Marshall Park does have a couple narrow, steep, switchback areas though. The day that I chose to ride was a bit wet so the hikers were few and far between, which suits me just fine. One of the more difficult sets of switchbacks started from a crossing of Tryon Creek which was pretty cool in and of itself.

Alongside Tryon Creek in Marshall Park

A dirt ride is never complete without a nice break at the top of a climb.

Rainy days keep the hikers away

Marshall Park doesn’t have much in the way of trails. Tryon Creek State Park just around the corner is off limits to bikes, with the exception of paved paths. So running a couple loops in Marshall Park can be fun.

Headed back to Tryon Creek

This is not destination riding, but with some creativity and free time it could be worked into a long cross-town ride. I’m working out a good network of off road paths/trails around the city in order to create a long training ride for next years long gravel races. Stay tuned for more dirt gravel reports.

Bar ends are the only way to go

Before the temperatures dropped into the twenties we had a couple nice days. By nice I mean slightly rainy and cloudy. Recently I’ve been riding out at Powell Butte due to it’s relative closeness to my house. I enjoy Forest Park for the mileage it contains, but I can be on the dirt in less that 30 minutes if I choose Powell.

The trails are usually empty, and when there are other people out there, they’re friendly. During the winter there are signs saying that the trails are closed when they’re muddy, but thanks to the trails being under cover, the mud is minimal. Riding at Powell Butte when it’s wet is one of the best times to be out there.

West side, headed south

West side, headed north to the open field

This is not a trail for bikes. Whoops.

New PDW goggles? Check.

You Look Mahvelous!

Ride it? Run it? Ride it!

Brujo: Team Captain, Chief Heckler

A's get smoke in the lungs

The grail. Now with cyclocross themed decal!

Never leave your grail unattended.

Protect me Cthulhu!

Sweet. Thanks Colin!

This is why it takes me days to put something up. I’ve been off the train for four hours and I’ve got nothing to say but huh. Or heh.

A great way to start a trip

Even when I leave for the train early I end up rushing. But Matt and I both made the train, and promptly set up shop in the dining car. Sit with the savages in coach? Please. Although we had a very interesting sleazebag across from us. Hitting on the high school girls and polishing off a four pack of Seagrams Peach Fuzzy Navel before passing out for the remainder of the trip. Needless to say, we were pumped to finally be riding in Seattle.

Originally we were scheduled to qualify around 11am, but our train arrived at noon. Lucky for us we knew the jerks handling the affair and we set off around 1. In each wave of qualification, around 6- 8 riders would take off on the course, the top four of which would go on to qualify. Well Team Better-Late-Than-Never only had two racers. Accompanying us were our friend Dan and Collin, the latter being a photographer for Bike. Sweet.

I think the average qualifying time was around 45 minutes. We took 2.5 hours. A quick stop to pay for new Cthulhu shirts, and halfway up the greenbelt I flatted. Not being anywhere near a bike shop, and having brought no tools whatsoever, we raided Sally’s house for a wrench to remove my rear wheel. Case found some beers in the fridge, and a Lucha mask. We were pleased.

Thanks Sally!

Moving on to the first checkpoint I flatted again. We found the pinch in the first go around, and the second time was a large piece of glass. But we were not dismayed. We pressed on, stopping frequently for photo ops with Collin. At first we thought he’d get tired of taking pictures of us doing stupid things, but he kept pressing us for more. It was the best qualifier I’ve ever experienced.

Being the last group out on course, the checkpoints were relieved to see us finally come through. The rain wasn’t very serious on Saturday, and the spirits were still high.

Checkpoint #2. Thanks for the beer!

Moving on we found an abandoned checkpoint and cleaned up. A foam hand type thing, and some race ribbon took a ride with us back to the start.

Here Dan sports the latest in cycling fashion.

By the time we got back to the finish, the event was mostly torn down. But thanks to our natural talents and dashing good looks we qualified. We felt a little bad for the folks that tried but didn’t succeed. Then that faded.

Portland totally did that yesterday. Sheesh.

Having spent enough time in the south end, we found our way through downtown and had a stop for food at the Athenian. With extra time to kill, we moved on towards Shorties. And after a while we headed to the post qualifier party. Finally putting the bags down for a couple hours was a nice relief. The party was great. Except for the shit talking on my fair town of Portland. But have no fear, we stood up for Stumptown. Then some people rode stationary bikes and we took some liberties with the unsupervised belts.

I believe it was first placed fixed. Unless there was another?

Did you remember to wash your hands?

At some point, Cory and I were sufficiently annoyed with the party and we found our way home. In the morning, the sun came through the windows and I was wide awake. For a few minutes there is was touch and go, but after a short walk for coffee and a pastry that solid feeling came right back. We watched the Steelers barely eek out a win, drank expensive Bud Lights and watched the sky open up on the city. Finally around 1 we felt fully prepared. Justin picked us up at the bar, and after the race he even dropped us at the bar. Justin, you made our weekend!

Torrential downpour. Absolutely gnarly amounts of water fell on the highway as we headed towards Kent. Within 100 feet of exiting the car, every article of clothing was completely soaked. The mud was like soup. The 45 minutes before the race was wet and very cold.

And then there was the race. That thing we came up to Seattle for in the first place. We lined up, sort of, and then we were off. The course was twisty, tight, fast, and always on. The run ups were perfect. The barriers were a foot and a half high. There were six of them after the gravel run up. The whoops were steep and air was had. There was beer everywhere. The start of the race was a hill climb. It was wonderful. Justin all the race photos, Thanks again!

We're taking the hill. And throwing waterballoons in your face.

Perfect course for a fixed wheel. Fast and soupy.

One of my favorite styles of barriers, the over-under was steep and fast. It dropped right to the track crossing, the sides of which were fun for hopping.

Over and under. Ride it!

I’m not much of a fixed gear fan, but my crappy 6 year old Iro was awesome. Great gear choice, complete commuter style with the front disc brake, rear fender, and blinking lights made the race not only fast, but fun for the haters.

Taking the inside line.

Every time I passed the finish I was amazed they weren’t pulling me. Low and behold I didn’t get lapped and I completed as many laps as the winners. The last two laps were getting faster, and my group of racers was getting hot. There was a Yakima Vigilante trading spaces with me for most of the race, and finally I pulled away from him and took my middle pack placing. Results aren’t up yet, so you’ll have to take my word for it.

The best kind of mud, loose and fast.

After saying our goodbyes Justin took us back to Seattle. Matt and I met up with Cory and watched Favre throw to the Packers all night. For reasons you don’t need to know, I ended up walking up Queen Anne, and the rest of the night floated away. Cory and I had some beers at the house, shared some laughs and the alarm came much too quickly.

So thanks for the fun times Seattle. I’m not sure why the rest of Portland couldn’t make it up, they missed out on a great time. The course was one of the best I’ve ridden, the support was top notch, the organizers were having a great time, and I managed to come home with a bunch of extra crap. At this point, San Francisco feels a long ways off, but we’ll see what happens.

I think it’s time for a nap.

Forest Park was pretty great. I would estimate over 100 people showed up at the Thurman Gate to voice some concern over the lack of singletrack in the park. I don’t know if we made a difference, but it was nice to see a show of support from the community. Something that I did notice, that I wish was more evident, was the amount of “normal” people who showed up. The biggest voice of disapproval seems to be fearful of opening trails to the adrenaline junky crowd. What I saw was families, kids, adults, teenagers, and dorky dudes in neon. These people aren’t knuckleheads who huck off jumps. We’re just normal, tax paying citizens, who want to ride some trails and get cozy with nature.

It was a great ride though.

After Forest Park I made my way across the St. John’s Bridge and hauled ass for a garlic meeting. I must have been pushing too hard on the fixed gear, because about an hour later I started getting a real sharp pain in my ankle. Then it progressed into a shooting pain in which I couldn’t even stand on it. It was hella lame I have to say. About an hour into the Noise ride I bailed and headed home. Bummer bro. I was looking forward to that all year long.

But I had a good time while I was hanging out. And Drew seemed to have it all under control. Good times! Can’t wait for next year.

I found this spot fairly quickly after we moved to Portland. It's a great kick-it spot

The WIllamette is moving slow today

St Johns bridge on my way to pick up seed garlic

Across I-5, for the first Noise stop

I like this game, but my ankle was toast. I was this close to the belt this year! Not.