Cathys Report

Now that I had done my first cross race since 2000, somehow the next step seemed to be the UCI Elite race in Portland. I should have known it might be a questionable decision when I was informed my UCI racing age is 39. (When did this happen?) I arranged for time off from my day job as school principal, and Claire and I left Sonoma County late Thursday after work. We had dinner in Williams in the bar with all the taxidermy specimens, then nabbed the last available, overpriced hotel room in Redding filled to the brim with Army recruiters. We woke up early, determined to get to Ashland in time to spin out our legs before driving the rest of the way to Portland.

Claire found an awesome bike path, and we had a blast riding between Ashland and Jacksonville. Then (drum roll...) we found the local BMX park, and had fun watching all the little home-schoolers get air on the jumps. Low and behold, as soon as the kids leave, Claire starts taking her cross bike on the jumps. I think, "Shes channeling Leo!" Shes doing all these awesome moves, complete with the appropriate Napoleon Dynamite quotes. Im bowled over, thinking Claire has found her true calling, when suddenly I hear the crash. Claire has survived her near-tabletop move only to succumb to the piles of gravel and broken concrete at the far end of the jump. Besides some obvious road rash, the main problem appears to be a hole in her elbow the size of a doctors index finger (you can imagine how we learned that interesting fact).

Adrenaline flowing, Claire rides one-armed through two construction sites, one railroad trestle, and one private senior citizen development to visit Ashlands ER. She was tough! Super Claire! She even raced the next day with stitches and and a gross drain tube coming out of her arm. I finished almost but not quite last in 28th, but felt some satisfaction knowing 14 girls DNFd. I wondered if I would be better off in the 35+ category, but what the heck! I got to race with Lyne Bessette and Anne Knapp! After the race, we had some incredible Japanese food in a strip mall and some Sapporos with Allison and Hillary, then the four of us NorCal girls went to the worlds largest bookstore in downtown Portland. Heaven!

Allisons Report

So there we were flying into Portland looking out the window but something looked very odd....the streets were dry! Impossible! Yes, its true, we raced in Portland and it wasnt raining. The conditions for Alpenrose started out with peanut butter mud for the first races, but after (get this) 650 racers went around the course 5 or 6 times each, things got pretty darned good. My race was great considering everything. I think I was headed for a 13th place finish when I pinch flatted my unpinchflattable $100 (thus ruining forever) tire. I had just passed the pit, so I trotted along with the entire field passing me, but as I got close to the pit after 10 minutes of trotting I noticed some of the local cross crussaders on the side of the course with beer. Hmmm DFL with no beer or DNF with beer? Decision made. Theres a throw out anyway right? One really notable thing about Portland was the immense size of the non UCI womens races. No kidding, there were probably 75 women racing. If you like cross, Portland is a good place to be.

2008

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