All of these have been tough races, mostly due to the strength of the fields. Fortunately, my team has been doing pretty well in most of them. My teammate Dwayne (listed in the results as US Military Cycling) is a climbing freak and teammate Kyle is super strong. So I have been doing lots of work to get them set up for some good results.
Some highlights so far:
Gorge Roubaix (See some photos here, here, here, and here) was one of the toughest and yet scenic races i've ever done. Day 1 featured miles of gravel and climbing plus some rain, wind and hail. Day 2 was similar minus the rain. I flatted after the gravel section on lap 1 of day 1, but was able to chase back into the group. I got dropped on the climb just before the final gravel stretch on the last lap. which made for a long ride into the finish with a headwind. Dwayne took 2nd both days. Day 2 I wasn't feeling very well. The race shattered up the first major climb and gravel section, and I ended up in the 2nd group on the road. Both days were awesome though. And the scenery was amazing (check out those pictures!)
King's Valley was a return to rural roads that I first started riding on at Oregon State University. (In fact, the first road ride i did with OSU racers was on part of this course!) Kyle won this race last year and was focusing on defending it. When he got into a breakaway with most of the other large teams in it, we focused on marking bridge attempts and keeping the pace steady. Kyle did his part and pulled off the win!
Racing here has been really fun. Not only are the riders out here super strong, but they are all super good bike drivers as well. I don't think there has been a single crash in a race that I have been to.
Some highlights so far:
Gorge Roubaix (See some photos here, here, here, and here) was one of the toughest and yet scenic races i've ever done. Day 1 featured miles of gravel and climbing plus some rain, wind and hail. Day 2 was similar minus the rain. I flatted after the gravel section on lap 1 of day 1, but was able to chase back into the group. I got dropped on the climb just before the final gravel stretch on the last lap. which made for a long ride into the finish with a headwind. Dwayne took 2nd both days. Day 2 I wasn't feeling very well. The race shattered up the first major climb and gravel section, and I ended up in the 2nd group on the road. Both days were awesome though. And the scenery was amazing (check out those pictures!)
King's Valley was a return to rural roads that I first started riding on at Oregon State University. (In fact, the first road ride i did with OSU racers was on part of this course!) Kyle won this race last year and was focusing on defending it. When he got into a breakaway with most of the other large teams in it, we focused on marking bridge attempts and keeping the pace steady. Kyle did his part and pulled off the win!
Racing here has been really fun. Not only are the riders out here super strong, but they are all super good bike drivers as well. I don't think there has been a single crash in a race that I have been to.
