a midway bikelog

The smell of ozone in the photocopy room is trying to dredge up some childhood memory, but i can’t quite figure out what it is.

As mentioned in the last post, i spent a week or Oregon visiting my dad and stepmom, bringing the kids on their first visit to God’s Country (as the locals humbly call it).

It was a really fun trip. We ran on the beach, hiked the dunes, chased sanderlings in the surf and collected shells, and that just was the first day.

Sunday was the bike race in Eugene. It was a damp day in the mid-30s, and the girls were happy to have a nice warm gym to play in while i flailed away for 45 minutes. I had a lot of fun racing, and i was happy to change into warm pants and socks after 7 laps through the 33° creek.

The next day, we took a trip down the coast a bit to see the light house at Haceta Head and had a lovely hike there. On the way home, we stopped at Strawberry Hill and hiked down to the beach and saw a couple of dozen seals resting on the rocks just before sunset.

The rest of the week, we fished in the lake, visited great-grandma Connell (94 years!) a couple of times, visited old town Florence, watched river otters from the kitchen window, and on the last full day, a trip to the Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport. That was a lot of fun. Fiona kept wanting to see the sharks, right up until we got to the shark tank, then she was ready to go back to the touching pool.

The flights out and back were mostly fine, just one fairly well-contained urping on the way out and a 2-hour sit for hydraulic repair on the way back, but the girls were good travelers overall. As soon as we were on the plane they were both asking to stay longer, and when we’d be going back. Soon, i hope, and longer next time, and in the summer.

Lots more pictures in the main photo gallery for the trip.

6th place for the Singlespeed category… out of a field of … 6

I’m in Oregon with my girls visiting my dad and stepmom for a week, and as it turns out, my dad’s cario rehab guy is also a cyclist. He (Chris) generously lined up a bike for me to ride so i could get in on some real Oregon cyclocross action. It’s Wintercross, 3rd race in the Psychocross Series on Dec. 9, and their second-to-last race of the year. This at a time when the high temp in Minneapolis is 11F, and there’s a foot of snow on the ground.

The borrowed bike was a singlespeed Surly Karate Monkey from Chris’ teammate Mike. It’s a nice bike, a light CX-style setup with flat/riser bars and a steering damper. The gearing was in the neighborhood of 32/18, though i didn’t count it myself. A little low for the course perhaps, but it would have been fine if the lungs and legs were in better form. I still managed to drop the chain a couple of times, i never did figure out why it kept loosening up with 2 chain tensioners.

The course was a long lap, 1.5 miles, winding through a summer camp. We went through a triple barrier, then across the horse pasture and down a sharp drop through a sand pit and across a creek within the first 1/4 lap. The creek soaked me from the knees down every time, and was followed by a good long stretch of singletrack. There was a nice log barrier about 2′ off the ground in there, and a double barrier past the conestoga wagon-styled bunkhouses into the back loop. There was a stair runup in there somewhere, and a couple of short but slippery runups that were rideable with the right momentum. A good mix of bike handling and fitness skills, a really well-done course.

The race was the Bs and Singlespeeds, 12 racers in all, evenly split, 45 minutes. I started right in the mix, and that lasted about 1/2 lap before i had the first chain drop and fell to last place. I was spinning like mad to stay with the pack on straights, and held my own through the technical parts, but didn’t have the fitness to maintain. I passed a geared rider after losing 2 places on the chain drop, but he dropped out later, leaving me to DFL. I was pretty much on my own after that, but kept on keepin’ on, and didn’t get lapped. 5 laps in all over the 45 minutes.

It was a good time, and even though it was 35F, it was a damp and cold 35. My feet were numb after a couple of laps. I’d finish a lap with feet just starting to feel something before the next dunking. Thanks to my dad and stepmom Sandy for race support, which mainly consisted of keeping the girls entertained for a couple of hours (no small feat) and warm clothes afterwards, and to Chris and Mike for the loaner bike.

Here’s the link to the full results:
http://app.obra.org/results/event/9656

My new 3-speed setup on the Surly:

16, 18, 20t cogs on the cassette hub, manual shift. I don’t know how much i’ll end up shifting, but it’s a pretty nice 57-63-71″ gear spread. My usual road gear is 71″, winter & windy day/hill ride the 63, and the 57 for dirt. I’ll give it a few months and see how it works. And i really liked the 8-speed system i had, just in the mood to try something new. The chance to get 3 practically brand-new Surly cogs for 1/2 price also helped.

It’s back in super commuter mode, with the generator hub, the triple/single drivetrain and road tires. I won’t be riding a lot this winter because of the kids’ afterschool and running them around, but this will be nice when the weather warms up a bit too.

I debated doing a full refresh, but decided to leave the fully beausaged bar tape in place – maybe i’ll change it in the spring

Iconic Daredevil Evel Knievel Dies at 69 (NYT)

I dressed up as Evel Knievel one halloween in the late ’70s, and he was certainly one of the reasons we used to build plywood ramps to jump our bikes. It seems odd today, but i distinctly remember gathering around the tv to watch him jump the Snake River Canyon or 14 busses at King’s Island. I wouldn’t say he was a hero of mine or anything, but i probably owe him some credit for making me want to learn how to jump a bike and walk off a bad landing, sorta like Mad Dog Vashon taught me wrestling moves to practice on my brothers.