Starcrossed!!!

Formerly a UCI race, now just a big local race, but still a very good time. Today was a combo effort for me, mostly with FSA Neutral but with a quick break to pit for the Hagens boys (presented by Raleigh, FYI)

The day started with setting up the pit. This is just one sample, it was a large pit.

Home base. It's very nice wrenching in the lap of luxury.

Also the pit was just down the way. Which is always nice.

 

Oh, and also a view of the course. Even a cool portion of it. This is a new and exciting trend I hope continues.

As we got to the big event, the Category 1/2 race, the spectators came out in force. Lights come on to boot.

My fellow mechanics in the pit.

 

and again. Oh and if you think my camera just takes crappy pictures (aside from the fact that you're correct) the dust was also flying like crazy. Most of the people who raced reported some respiratory issues. Now we're praying for rain.

 

 

Cyclocross: it's for real

After what seemed to be the longest cross pre season in a while, cross now seems to be the biggest racing discipline in the northwest, I got to go out and work MFG #2 at Lake Samamish State Park.

The pit had a very nice view of the east end of the Lake. I think this was the last rider to clear the course before the first race of the day.

Our van was set up right next to the finish line. It made for some great spectating when not tuning bikes or changing flat tires.

 

Looking the other way from the van. Aside from a few sponsor tents, Clif Bar, Bob's Red Mill, and nuun, all of the tents are from different teams represented. There were even a few tents when we showed up more than an hour before the first start. Serious business.

 

And yes I did get a picture of some people actually racing. My view from the pit, similar to a Nascar style, where riders get service while on course. These guys look like they're doing okay.

 

More from Bend, well...not technically

After almost a week in beautiful Bend I'm back home in Seattle. I didn't end up getting a ton of pictures, so the 5 days of racing are getting compressed into one post.

 

Food is one thing that we try to keep in ready supply in the support vehicles. Since the days are long and sometimes not on schedule its good to be prepared. For the morning of the TT we got to enjoy a variety of Safeway muffins. I think apple cinnamon won the day.

The TT course was along a river around Prineville, OR. Very nice scenery. Also, in the morning at least, shade.

 

One of our support cars ready with some spare bikes for the TT. As you may be able to see from the background, we usually start our day pretty early.

Spare bikes ready to go at the TT turnaround.

And not just any spare bikes. USA labeled spares courtesy of Felt.

 

One shot of the actual turnaround. We moved several times during the day as the length of the course changed. We also had varying degrees of success staying in the shade. I think this shot was taken from the shade of a big road sign.

 

This was the first Shimano 11 speed cassette I have held in person. Not currently available to the pubic, but if you're Wayne Stetina I guess it's okay. (Wayne is apparently the highest ranking non Japenese person working at Shiamno. I belive he is in charge of their road line.)

What to do when you have to use the honey bucket but you are also walking your dog? Well I guess you improvise.

 

The view from pit one at the crit. Finish line ready to see some national criterium chapions.

 

The pit. In all its glory.

 

Toolboxes and hats. James' red hat much more prominent than my blue one. A good part of our downtime was spent discussing and comparing various tools in our boxes. There is a lot to learn from other mechanics. I was glad to get a chance to meet a few more.

 

Despite my iPad ownership I'm still a firm believer that using it to take pictures looks really funny. This case, although you can't see it in the picture, is a fine example. Expect more evidence of this as time progresses. Well, that and dogs encountered on the road.

Back to Bend

Once again, after what feels like a few short week break, I'm back in Bend, Oregon. Home of nice people, tons of bike shops, and (in this case) the 2012 USA Cycling Masters Road National Championships.

A few quick nature shots from the drive. In this case Detroit Dam. Didn't know that was in Oregon, but still a nice place to stop and strech your legs for a few minutes.

 

 

Complete with tower

 

and lake

When I got the Bend I joined the other mechanics outside of the registration spot. Apparently a lot of people wanted to be the first ones registered.

 

We looked at bikes, talked to people and enjoyed a nice afternoon in the sun.

The almighty jig. Used to measure the legality of time trial bikes. We did have to do a few adjustments for some displeased people because they didn't pass. (And if you look closely you can see the bolts from my toolbox holding it together.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

But no matter where you are the day always seems to end the same.

Get gear where it needs to be.

Have a beer.

 

Ronde Ohop

Sunday this weekend brought the second Ronde Ohop outside of Eatonville, WA. Its a fun mix of road circuit racing with a bit of trail riding mixed in. Makes it a bit more exciting for the neutral team.

My Subaru even got a makeover for the event. You can't have a good follow car without good decals. This one even went on mostly straight.

 

Joe was kind enough to join me bright and early on Sunday. Here getting a last minute lean in before we get to driving.

 

Geared up and ready for the first race. As always: a view from the back seat.

And all the way in the distance you can see the pelaton. I swear at some point I'll get a better version of this picture, but I swear it looks really cool in person.

Officially today Joe and I are FSA Neutral mechanics. It's very nice of them to allow us to get out and support a lot of local races.

After being in the follow car for the longer road portion we hit the partial off road section. This is one of two wheel pits, in this case at the exit of the woods. Lots of business here.

 

So much business in fact that we ran out of wheels during the last race. Ran out! 22 wheels changes total including three riders who were on complete replacement wheel sets and two who flatted three times. This is the virtual yard sale we had after the last race trying to get the neutral wheels back. Thankfully they were all accounted for.

 

Thats all for now. I'll be headed to Masters Road Nationals in Bend, OR in a couple of weeks so stay tuned for pics of that. Unless something else exciting crosses my path before then.

 

Masters Track State Championships

This past Saturday I got a chance to do some work out at the Marymore Velodrome. It was a very exciting opportunity and my first day as a neutral track mechanic. Luckily for me track bikes are pretty simple machines and track racers seem to show up well prepared and ready to race.

 

This meant that my day looked a lot like this. Sitting under my tent, waiting for something to do. But there was lemonade and shade. I couldn't complain too much.

 

Getting the podiums ready for the day. Turns out with multiple races, two genders, and several different age groups there were a lot of metals to give out.

I enjoy having the helper dog feature of this blog. On this particular day Max, Tre's dog, hung out in the tent for a bit while Tre was getting things set up. Still though, no thumbs = not too much help.

And even when there isn't much to do, there is still a lot to watch. In this cast one of the men's kerin qualifiers.

When the wind blows, things get interesting. While it does kill the view the angled tent does endow a certain amount of confidence that the tent will remain. Once the work day picks up, it's best to not spend your time chasing a tent around the infield.

Last shot of the day: the future of track racing. Not yet on track bikes but learning a lot of valuable lessons about rules of the track. Many of the kids stayed later to cheer their parents to victory.

 

 

San Diego

I'm not in San Diego for work. But at the same time, there seem to be bikes here, so pictures may appear here that are slightly different than the norm.

This one actually looks weirdly similar to some others. Nice TT bikes, nice wheels, wait...am I at a bike race?

 

Ah, no I'm not. This is apparently one of the rental bikes available on Coronado Island. Recycled cycles customers have it good.

The T shirt reads, "I [heart] boys with accents". I only wish I'd gotten a better picture.

 

More news as it comes.