Ah, the Pacific NW in winter, who can beat it? To ride in the foothills of some of the most majestic snow-capped volcanoes on the planet, with views of the Pacific Ocean or Puget Sound (which is almost the same as a view of the ocean).
Anyway, take my word for it that all that is out there somewhere, because those who join us February 4th for the Portland Cogal will be be wrapped in clouds and drenched in a cold, drizzly rain. But a little bit of Rule #9 riding never hurt anyone.
Yours in Cycling,
Frank
—
Portland Oregon in Fabruary: Highs 7.5C, Lows 2.6C average. Near 16cm of liquid sunshine. This is not Palm Springs. I do have respect for those of us that ride in high temps, I actually prefer it hot most of the time. Perhaps I misunderstand Rule #9 as it addresses both ends of the mercury scale, but we Velominati seem to gravitate towards the spring classics, and the images of hardmen; cold, wet and reveling in the moment.
McSqueak and I, under direct pressure from Fronk, planned on doing this in December. As we talked, December is a hard month for folk to get out of town. There’s a lot of meditating on Airing of Grievances. Family obligations. Made more sense to have it in the year of the Mayan Apocalypse.
On February 4th at precisely V past VV, we roll out from Carter Park at the corner of W 33rd Street and Columbia Street in Vancouver, WA for 127K ride. It rolls out flat with a couple little bumps along the Columbia River. Then up part of the Historic Columbia River Highway along the Sandy River. A bit of Sur La Plaque climbing, then a quick decent back down to the Sandy. A few pretty big climbs and descents, a stroll through some wine country, back along the Columbia River and back to my house for beer and food (in that order). Fantastic views of green fields, evergreens, the mighty Columbia, Mt. Hood, wine country and great, lightly traveled roads most of the way. Except it’s fucking February in the PNW. Probably won’t see the mountains.
Couple of details; I’ll emphasize again that it is February. Probably won’t be any snow but I can almost guarantee cold rain. After about 30K, there is NO bailout point, except turning around and backtracking. The MapMyRide climb profile while accurate, understates the climbing. This is a hard route on a sunny day in July. I’m also suggesting a Casually Deliberate pace, but years of riding have taught me one indisputable fact: two or more cyclists going the same way will get competitive and drive up the pace. That, combined with the climbing, will almost certainly see separate groups forming. If the group splits, we’ll regroup at the top of the major climbs and at intersections where we need to make a turn.
Make an honest assessment of your ability to finish the ride (no sag support); we will be riding the rolling sections of the ride in the neighborhood of 25-30kmph and the climbs will be ridden at whatever climbing speed works for you. Let us know if you’re planning on attending so we have a head count for food, bring some hoppy beverages, and come bathe in the glory of a full Rule #9 day. We look forward to seeing you.
Route and planning details can be found on the Portland Cogal Page
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If you live in the US Pacific Northwest and like cyclocross, you need to check out Cascade Cross in Bellingham next season.
Ridiculously well designed courses with crazy features. They actually built a pro-style flyover in a public park for this one. Unlike other leagues, the lowest ranks ride about 45 minutes instead of the standard 30.
In the start after my race, someone spilled in the first 50 meters and took down two other riders. I've never seen spokes shredded quite like that. It was as if someone revved a chainsaw and sliced a line right through 1/4 of the spokes in the front wheel. Fortunately no one was hurt (someone caught the whole thing in video on a smartphone and replayed it on the spot!).
We had mud, rain, and a bit of snow. I felt really strong and finished 4th out of 13 in my division. A great end to my first year of racing cross!
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@G'rilla
Your a badass. Congrats.
@G'rilla
Is the picture of the brown tears from your knee after taking a day of punishment from those guns?
Joking aside, glad no one was hurt.
I'm in the front yard, washing mud and grass off my bike. I should have done it last night right after the race. I hear a voice.
"Hey, is that a Van Dessel with disc brakes?"
A man crosses the street, carrying a small baby.
"Yeah, do you race cross?" I ask.
"I used to, but I stopped riding bikes altogether when I had kids. I've recently started running to get some exercise."
"Dude, I have two kids age 2 and 4. That's no reason to stop riding."
His eyes brightened up. I saw a glint of gears turning, memories of that frame still in the garage, that box of spare parts that might just be enough to build something.
"It's good to see someone using a cross bike to ride cross," he said as he slowly walked away.
Rule 11, delivered.
@G'rilla
Congrats on the placing, and congrats on the Rule 11 Senseing!! Exceptionally strong work. Waiting for the crash video.
@G'rilla
We have a 3 n 6 yr old. The other dads, when they realize I'm gettin out to do cross, start asking a lotta questions. I like to describe cross as "fight club" for "normal" people. Or, reliving playing in the mud like a child to bring me closer to identifying with them (the kids) again(insert wifely eye roll here!). Either way, now that the breed n bloat is completed, thank god for bike racing- squash just was destroying my knees. Now scaler is trying to turn me into a roadie (makin him grayer by the day!).
NIce job at the cross race, btw! haven't had a chance to ride in such a small group, sounds awesome! Most of the pdx races have >100 (and occasionally more than 200...) in my class.
@G'rilla @gaswepass
Hah, awesome stories. The last place I lived across town before I moved in with the VMH, there was a guy who I'd always see walking his kid up and down the sidewalk. I finally met one him one day as I was getting ready to leave for a ride, as he started asking me questions about my Felt. Turns out he raced at PIR all the time and had broken his collar bone the past season. Sort of sad I moved shortly thereafter and didn't get to know him better.
@G'rilla
Very cool- well done. I was a recreational mountain biker until a friend of mine convinced me to race cross a couple of years ago... After one race I was hooked and the rest, as they say, is history. Now I am pretty regularly riding 800-1000k/ month and race on my aforementioned friends team (Road, CX, and Mountain). Rule #11 at work!
@G'rilla
@mcsqueak
@gaswepass
Nicely done G'rilla. Looking forward to following you and Frank up the climbs in a few weeks.
As to @gaswepass: I gotta convert him to the road. I love me some 'cross (watching form the sidelines), but RR is PRO. He's coming along nicely I might add. Just need to start working on McSqueek now. Just more to add to the fact that I'm the development team director for the team I ride for. Tho I feel like I'm turning into whoever it was that was yelling at Frank whilst smoking a cig, during his march up Haleakala. Going slowly from racer to coach.
@scaler911
That was Gianni