The drive was great. Long, but great. It rained off and on, fortunately not raining in Portland for our Tuesday night criterium on the local Portland International Speedway.
Entering Oregon, greeted by fog.
Very beautiful roads here.
They have triples here! Insane!!
Scott getting fresh air.
Portland
We left early just to make it to this race, which turned out a huge success! Jeff met up with his old college instructor who had introduced him to cycling. Jeff was also pumped about the race because it's on the Portland International Speedway which is as smooth as butter! I soon realized that this wasn't a NASCAR type of race, it was the race track that was weavy and had lots of sweet turns (with the red and white cautionary bumps on the insides). I ran my carbon wheels, not daring to pass up the opportunity to ride my tubulars on this wicked course! Sure enough, we had a game plan and the race was on its way. Dave, Jeff and Mike C. got in a sizeable break (10 riders) and the rest of us (Scott Mike P. and I) did what we could to block. Blocking was somewhat difficult because all the riders wanted to go really fast on the speedway so they'd just cruise right around us since the raceway was so wide! It was windy, giving us sweet tailwinds on the backside and brutal headwinds on the straight finish/start runway.
Scoping out the course.
Wheels galore!
Lots of riding, lots of laps. (24 total?) On a 1.9 mile course, we did about 45 miles. That was a lot more than I was expecting! I decided to "take it easy" by coasting to the back in the last 5 laps since we were not in the points range (thus not needing to sprint for anything). This was a bad idea because sure enough, someone's wheel got taken out in the headwind and down he went right in front of me. I was hoping he'd roll towards the wall but it was an unlucky roll and I ran right over him. I never thought I'd be in this situation.. but when your bike gets stopped (when your wheels hits someone), your momentum sure carries you with or without the bike! I hit the deck pretty hard but didn't bust anything up. Skinsuit in tact, elbows hands and knees all good to go. The wheels, THE wheels got untrued, but I think that's fixable. Just my luck with those wheels. Good thing I brought the backup pair just in case.
The PIR, such a smooth course. Quite an experience to ride on the speedway!
Food was great today. We ate at a nice Diner in Ashland for breakfast, then finished the day with some good food at Shari's. Now time to sleep. It's 12, but this day feels like it's just started! Our race didn't even get over till sunset! I'm off to bed, see ya later!
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