So much going on, so few postings
It’s been a while since I last wrote and I’ve been a busybeavergrrr (shout out to OSU Cycling who won the NWCCC D1 title for the second year in a row!). As is par for the course, I’m gonna do most of my updating with pictures for your enjoyment. My drive home from Sea Otter included a stop at a military surplus store. In these times, I can’t think of a much more contradicting message as in this pic.
I almost made a purchase, just incase I ever have a daughter.
If you can’t read it, it says, “Guaranteed Virginity *DrPolasky’s Approved* Chastity Protector.” Awesome.
The next stop was Santa Cruz to kill some time before dropping Jason and Alex off at the airport. I got a sweet case for my Ukulele, but it ended up being too small. Now I’m stuck with it. Anyone need a concert Ekue sized case? We also discovered the Bike Church. I’m so spiritual. It’s a co-op where they teach people how to work on their own bikes. It’s cool. They don’t do anything for you, but they teach you how to do it yourself. They get lots of stuff donated and I picked up a sweet 3 speed for cheap. Score.
I pity the fool who steals my bikes!
When I got home, it was a mini break and then off to Massachusetts for the new company party. I was there for a week, but it should have been shorter. I met the new owners and it was cool that I had my own place to stay. It would have been nice to have a tour guide though, since the area is pretty cool with lots of old roads to ride. I got to ride in and out a few times with Jason and we also met up with the H.U.P team at their training camp. Cool group of guys and a few weeks later I met the founder Zac up at CBS in Seattle.
I got home and it was a quick turn around to head up to Washington for a little more work. When I pulled into Bellingham I went into a burrito shop. As I was eating, and admiring all the bike jerseys hanging on the wall, I heard a familiar voice. It was Luke Pennington former Jr. national champ! Turns out he had just got back into town from Mt. Hood and worked there. Random and cool to see him for the first time in a while. I also went to Seattle for the first Urban Assault of the year. Sweet event and I highly recommend doing one if it’s in your area.
The next week I was in Portland for the second Urban Assault. Totally opposite weather from Seattle.
That’s Doug Ollerenshaw and Jason Sager winning by like 12 minutes. Gee, who would have thought? I guess the winning strategy was skipping REI and being the first ones to Fat Tire Farm. Apparently the second place team stood in line at FTF for 10 minutes.
Somewhere in between all this I did a MTB race. I was rocking for about 2 hours and 10min, and then it all went downhill. Looking sharp can only get you so far.
I also attended the rehearsal road race and Albany crit. I had to throw down late night in Seattle with my friend who is shipping off to Iraq, so I wasn’t really expecting much from the race, but I flatted in the first 5 min and never saw the group again. Not very cool for my first road race of the year. I did one lap hard and a half lap easy before hooking up with Zach Winter for another lap. Yeah, that was tough. Good workout though. The crit wasn’t too exciting either since I have limited riding and even less racing in my legs. Plus, I was on my cross bike and when the heat gets turned up, a 46/12 gear combo doesn’t do much good. I tried 2 attacks that got a gap both times, but when I got up to speed, I didn’t have anymore gears to click down into and just spun my legs around till the group got me…about 5 seconds later. Oh well. I avoided a big crash at the end, closed the gap then sat on the back for the last 5 laps till the sprint. Good times. I like crits, so it was fun to do one. Plus, being on the cross bike meant that I could pedal through every corner and make up ground at will.
I'm the Magnum P.I looking fool in the maroon and white to the right. Speaking of not having a road bike to race road bike races with, I went up and saw Russell at Herriott Sports Performance to get a proper fit, so I can get a new Marcroft.
Ever since my big, “base 1 week 1 post,” I have hardly ridden. Guess it’s back to the drawing board. I just wrote down my cross schedule. Very long. Very exciting, but more on that later. Thanks for reading!
