Whew - It's Over!

After being in Hood River for just one year, I some how managed to find the courage to race the Mt Hood cycling Classic ( http://www.mthoodcyclingclassic.com/ )

If you have never heard of this race it is a four-day, leg-breaking stage race renowned as much for its incredible difficulty as for its breath-taking beauty.

The first day is a circuit that totals just over 47 miles and over 5100 ft of climbing (My gps data: http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/8377911 ) I blew up trying to hang with the front group on the first climb but finished strong and rode away from the small group of five I was with most of the day.

The second day was the time trial. For those of you that don't know, this is purely a race against the clock. No drafting, no riding in a peloton. Just you, you bike, a NASTY headwind, 19 miles, and almost 2000 ft of climbing. I rode with aero bars on my bike and did OK despite the amount of guys with full time trial bikes and aero helmets - like my friend/teammate below who beat me by 10 seconds!! Must have been the helmet!! ( http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/8383179 )

After the time trial was stage 3 - the BIG day. 92 miles with 10,500 ft of climbing!! A monster of a day. I held on with the lead group and the yellow jersey for about 67 miles but then it turned into a LONG uphill climb to the finish and I fell off. I still feel I did pretty well and am happy to have finished! I finally settled into a group of five guys again and we rode together until the last 5 K and it turned to every man for himself. 2 finished before me and 2 after. Below is the start and finish of the day - Mt Hood Meadows right on the edge of the mountain.
( http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/8390138 )

This is what a group of guys looks like after riding this stage. The asphalt was warm and it just felt good to lay there and soak up the heat:

The last stage was the downtown crit. It was FAST - 27 mph avg. Pretty good when you consider it had 2 small climbs and a CRAZY turn that was almost a complete U-turn! I was nervous going into it but actually had my most fun of this whole race with it. I finished with the main group and even moved up 2 spots on GC (General Classification - overall race standings)

Overall, this race was very fun and challenging. I hope to ride it again next year! My performance was not the best but for racing Cat 4 I did OK. Finished 26 out of almost 70 who started. (only 40 some finished) I'm happy to say I finished and had fun doing so!

As always - a quick pick of Cam. He got new biking gloves like daddy!!

The Pro Teams are already calling

As anyone who has ever read this blog knows, I am a cyclist. I love the sport, the exercise, the camaraderie, the views only seen from a bike and the true sensory experience that riding a bike is. None of the great rides or races can compare to the bike race we had this past weekend!

The Mt Hood Cycling Classic has kicked off with The Kids Race in the Dalles. We asked Camden if he wanted to "race like daddy" and he jumped on the idea. Seeing him get second place and stand on the podium with his red ribbon was more excitement than I can explain! I was shaking for an hour afterward!

It was a very hot day - in the 90's - when we headed out to the race. We got Camden registered - with the same OBRA forms I fill out to race - and got his number pinned on.

From that moment - IT WAS ON!!! He was hilarious and all business. When he saw all the bigger kids doing "warm up" laps on the course around the downtown city block, he just had to go with them.

He was focused and probably rode 10 times the distance of the race at "warm up"

He even managed the slalom course of cones without a problem

Finally, about 15 minutes before start time we had to pull him aside for some proper hydration to get ready for the big race!!

After he had done so many laps on the big kids course we found out that the 3 yr olds were only doing a straight part of the course - A SPRINT. We knew Cam was more of an endurance guy but still had high hopes for his chances today!

Everyone lined up:

And just like that - they were off. Cam had started right in the middle, but got bunched up in a small group elbowing for position at the start (or in other words, a couple kids wobbled their bikes sideways into Cam as they got started)

Camden quickly moved to an outside lane that he found open and then saw that the pro racer who was in place to pace the leaders was just in front of him. He put his head down and his little legs pumped faster than I had ever seen. He quickly moved into second place where he and the leader had opened a huge gap on the main field! As he approached the finish line he knew he could sit up and relish in a podium spot of second place!

He and the days winner (biggest 3 yr old in the race - I want to check his birth certificate) pulled off to the side for a photo op with the races sponsors......

and then it was off to the podium for a few kisses from the podium girls (in this case - mommy) Obviously from the photo you can tell my level of excitement seems to be outweighing Cam's by just a bit:

I don't think he was to sure as to what was going on here and he asked me if he could race again.

I'm very proud of my "bestest buddy" and look forward to many more of these days.

This race was awesome and I was totally overwhelmed with the amount of kids/families that were at this event. They raced every age group from 3-12 yrs old. It is fun to be part of a community like this and one that promotes a healthy lifestyle. We love where we live, work and play!