2012 Portland Twilight Crit and end of Season

Portland Twilight Criterium July 2012


Wow. That really is all that needs to be said. I was amazed by how large the crowds were. The course was 10+ corners and a bit bumpy in spots. It was narrow and fast. All things I enjoy, maybe not the narrow part, but all the other parts. Ed, Joel, and I drove down on Friday as the race was that night. We had 70+ in the Cat 3 field and I was concerned about my starting position which was middle of the pack. Once the gun went off and we started to get clipped in to the pedals there was almost a crash. At first I didn't think much of it as sometimes with 70 guys & gals all tightly packed into a narrow two lane road you tend to have some issues. Then as we come around the last turn to get back on the start/finish straight several bikes and bodies went flying straight into the curbing and park bench that had people sitting at it. Oh that didn't look good. I wondered how they missed the turn and why they would ride straight into a curb and body slam bystanders. What can you do? I got out of the saddle and sprinted to close the small gap that had opened up only to see another crash in turn 4. This time it was a girl that was upside down with her bike in the fencing and a dude tangled up with her. The crowds again were awesome and were the largest I have seen at any criterium that I have raced in. Having a beer garden in the middle of the criterium is the way to go for any future crit promoter. Every single lap there was crashes. I ain't kidding either, every single lap. My problem was getting to the front and staying there. It seemed I would get close then some yahoo would do something crazy and I would find myself closing down gaps or narrowly missing a crash. I was finding that most of the field did not know how to ride a bike, especially in corners. It was scary to say the least. My golden ticket was moving up on the outside of the right hand turn 1 as all the noobs (yes, these are Cat 3 racers but it was hard to tell at times) would slow down and dive to the inside of the corner. I barely touched the brakes and rolled around the outside and gained multiple positions and this set me up brilliantly for the quick right hand corner that followed. Lap after lap I used that line and was able to get in the top 20 positions and maintain that.

With 70% of the field crashed out or pulled it was down to about 30 racers with 10 laps to go. At one point I was patting myself on the back for making it to the final 10 laps but you know it was bound to happen. My luck ran out on lap 8 and someone punched my golden ticket. It went down pretty fast which is unusual as most crashes people talk about how everything slows down. As I came around turn 1 there were two guys MMA wresting over the curb onto the sidewalk. At that point I knew I was screwed, I was on the outside already up against the curb and had no place to go. I locked up the brakes and smashed one of the guys that were still on the ground. This launched me over the bars, over the sidewalk onto the grassy area. I sat there for a second and realized I was ok minus my face when I took a bike part off the sunglasses. I turned around and gathered up my bike which had a destroyed front wheel. This is the reason I won't race the good carbon wheels in a crit. I ran back to the pits which were through the beer garden to get a wheel change. I did think of throwing the towel in and just getting a beer and call it a night but I wanted to finish. Ok here comes the pack. I got going again and caught back on for the last 6 laps but with 2 laps to go another crash happened in front of me and I said enough is enough. I sat at the back of the group and finished. I proceeded after the race to drink to many micro brews with Ed and Joel watching the Pro 1/2 field. After we got back to the hotel and went to bed I found myself outside our hotel room in my underwear wondering where the bathroom was. Ed was puzzled when he answered the door. Dude what are doing? A night to remember!

A few weeks later I wrapped up the Pacific Raceways or Tuesday night World Championships:


Myself and Gabe locked up the Cat 4/5 category this year going 1, 2. It was a fun battle and we could not have done it without the help of the team. Travis, Greg, Craig, Ken and everyone else who came out to race, thank you. Gabe was a little bit unlucky as we did most of the hill racing, March thru June as it always rained on Tuesday nights. He was able to build up a good lead as I suffered a bit to hang on to 2nd place. From June onward it was flats and sprinting, which is my specialty. Gabe was able to maintain 2nd place and we, for the most part dominated. It is a great feeling working together with Gabe and the rest of the team putting together our nightly tactics. I feel this really assisted me this year in getting my upgrade to3’s. Having a dismal year last year with illness and crashes, it really beats down your confidence. For me PR was a great place to increase my confidence and try new things. I got in my first break away at PR this year, which involves a lot of pain. I prefer sprinting but this was a great place to try it. I also learned having a game plan prior to a race helped hold myself accountable. I led out Brian Lockhart for a sprint win to welcome him back to racing. Funny we are now teammates!