Race Report
Cross Crusade #6: Estacada Timber Park
Estacada, Oregon
Sunday, November 11
Cross Crusade #6??? What happened to 4 and 5 (for those of you keeping track)? Well, #4, Astoria, I was out with the flu and Barton Park was the same weekend as one of our mountain bike events held in Echo, OR; couldn’t miss that. Plus, I was getting a little burnt out on driving to Portland every weekend.
Fully recharged and ready to hit the cx scene again, JohnnyG, Brian and I left the Tri-Cities last Sunday morning to attend Oregon’s 6th cyclocross race in the Cross Crusade series (
www.crosscrusade.com). Brian would be racing first at 10:00 am, John at 11:00 then finally I would race at noon. In order to make Brian’s race start we had to leave super early. We realized this as we pulled into Starbucks’ parking lot only to find a dark, deserted building leaving us with a dark, deserted pit in our stomachs. Luckily I had brought a thermos of coffee from home. At this point I was hesitant to reveal it in fear of being attacked but I decided as being the driver it was medically necessary in order to arrive at the venue safe and on time. …that was my defense and I was sticking to it! Stopping in Hood River along the way relief was in sight. We arrived at a brightly lit Starbucks with many happy baristas ready to take our order. Things were looking up. Already having my coffee I went across the street to grab breakfast at McDonalds. The Deluxe Breakfast consists of 3 pancakes, 2 scrambled eggs, 1 biscuit, 1 sausage and a hash brown (a pre-race meal adopted from a fellow triathlete friend of mine).
Brian was the first one to race in the Men's C category. Remembering his last experience at Horning's Hideout he decided to forgo the warm-up lap and jump strait into the race cold. A pre ride of the course wasn't going to keep him from racing this time. Still recovering from a dislocated finger immobilized in a brace, 4 laps and a middle of the pack finish and injury free, Brian was happy. John was next up in the Masters B 35+ category. 5 laps and dropping to a 10 place finish, this was not quite what he had hoped for especially after a strong 2nd place finish at Alpenrose. Still a great finish in my book.
12:00 pm: it was now my turn. After a 30 minute warm-up I was the first to arrived at the start line. I wasn't going to get a bad start this time. Front tire on the start line; the race director announces "one minute to start." Bang! Struggling to get clipped into my peddle, I immediately fall back several places. Not quite the start I had hopped for. Riders swerving this way and that, all I could do was ride safe and avoid getting my front wheel clipped thus falling back several more places. After making the first right turn I realized just how muddy and slippery the course was going to be. The sun was out and it was warm but the previous days of nonstop raining had turned the course into a true cyclocross mud fest. The first lap revealed a relatively flat course with many turns, a couple of them way off camber and a few steep descents and hills. The conditions were muddy and slippery but the new Michelin Mud 2s really gripped well. The off camber corners needed to be approached with caution. Just at the crest of the first big decent was a structure reminiscent of my childhood days. It was about 4 feet wide, 3 feet long, about a foot high in the back and tapered off to a point that met the ground in the front. Wee!!! I launched of that sucker with grace and style. I felt like I was in the air for an eternity. I must have caught a 3 feet of air! ...and every lap after that. I was a kid again. Later on the course was a narrow slippery bridge that exited to a sharp left causing a bottle neck every lap. The last climb would have been ridable under dry conditions, but alas, these weren't dry conditions. This was Portland and it was cross season. I would get half way up thinking I could ride it when my rear wheel would just start spinning forcing a dismount to run the rest. The remount was a struggle after clogging my cleats with grass and mud. It would be several yards before getting clipped back in. And just after fighting that battle. It was time to dismount again... The infamous "6 pack" of barriers were back. I haven't seen these since Alpenrose. The approach to the barriers was a muddy gooey mess on a 180 degree turn forcing a early dismount. Again, after running the barriers, the remount was a struggle, this time standing trying to force the cleat through the grass and mud stuck to the bottom of my shoe. The first lap was flawless, so the next lap I decided to pick it up a notch on some of the corners. Not 30 seconds into the second lap I was pealing myself up out of the mud. My entire left side was covered in mud and I had a tweaked the left shifter; also caked with grass and mud.
After a quick remount, systems check and loosing another few places, everything was operational and off I went. I was now behind this guy with obnoxious red socks that covered his entire lower leg. I don't know why but I had to beat him. At this point a top finish was out of the question and I needed a target. He and I were back and forth for the next 2 laps. He definitely had better handling skill than I. Every lap would pan out like this: He would gain some ground on the twisty section through the trees. I would catch and pass him on the strait flat sections and a few of the shallow climbs on the other end of the course. He would then regain his led on the final descent that led directly into the final steep climb just before the finish line. He was able to ride this climb but I was force to run it every time. The final lap was no different than any other except we were both giving it everything we had. I was ahead, and had some ground on the red socks guy going into the bridge. Making the final descent, I picked a wide line to get some speed going into the hill. I got halfway up before I couldn't go any further. A flash of red caught my eye. I quickly dismounted and started running but it was no use. He had already passed me and was still on his bike making his way to the top. ...but wait, trying to maneuver around another racer he got cut off and was forced to dismount. As he and the other racer were struggling to get off their bikes and start running I put the hammer down and sprinted up the hill giving it everything I had. All a while people screaming and cow bells clangin' to help us up that last hill and on to the finish. Quickly remounting, I powered through the last 20 yards in a dead sprint to the finish; beating Mr. Red Socks Guy and leaving with sense of accomplishment. I finished pretty consistent with my previous races in 16th place out of 80 or so riders. (Results:
http://app.obra.org/results/event/6466#race_89069) Definitely my favorite course so far. It was now time to shed the muddy clothes, remount the buddy bikes atop my car (now muddy) and exchange tall tells of our glorious victories as way make our journey home. Up next, the series finale at Hillsboro Stadium. Double the points, triple the mud, quadruple the fun!
‘Til next time, your humble race reporter,
Ryan Brown
"The 6-Pack"
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