Tag: mtb

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News Racing Team

LifeSource Salem MTB Short Track Finale Wrap Up

Racers heading through the BMX track as the sun fades and the lights come up on the track
Racers heading through the BMX track as the sun fades and the lights come up on the track

(Flickr photos here. And Matt’s photos here.)

Well, it’s been a couple of days, but the LifeSource Natural Foods Salem MTB Short Track Series wrapped up a great month of racing Saturday night, under the lights of the bmx track, and with the glow of the Oregon State Fair in the background! Jeff, Jesse, Kenji, Matt, Lauren, and a bunch of folks really stepped up to provide a great series at the Oregon State Fairgrounds, and the last night went off great, despite the craziness that was the State Fair happening all around! You can see the complete series results on the OBRA results page.

James, still smiling as it starts to get darker...and despite going down in the BMX track.
James, still smiling as it starts to get darker...and despite going down in the BMX track.

Ok, you know I’m going to brag on the team, so let me just get on with it. My 12 year old son Aaron decided to give the series a try at the second race, and if you’ve been following, you know he won that race that night. After two more nights of racing, Aaron ended up taking 2nd overall in the 10-14 Juniors division! (We had a moment of extreme excitement when they announced he had taken first place for the series, but after the craziness of the night, found that he had indeed earned a solid second place finish, which is still amazing!)

Martha, focused on the up and over.
Martha, focused on the up and over.

James brought home a solid 3rd place finish for the series in Cat 2 Men, despite the fact that he tanked over a table top on the BMX track this week, and rode battered and bruised the rest of the race, with a slightly tweaked bike. Way to tough it out James…your flatted bike is still in my garage. Martha missed a 3rd place finish in Cat 2 women by just a few points, but represented nicely with a 4th place slot, and rode tough every week! Tyler, who ended up 6th in the large group of Cat 3 Men, was also just points away from moving up to a prize position.

Ellen, on her CRUISER, and she still only did one lap less than me...sheesh!
Ellen, on her CRUISER, and she still only did one lap less than me...sheesh!

Pat – literally 2 stinking points away from finishing in the top 3 in Single Speed, was right on the wheels of the guys on cross bikes, while on his mtb bike. People always point out how fast he’s moving around the track. Ellen, who raced in every race of the night, and (I think) rode in every race including the kiddie one, took home shared top honors in Cat 1 Women for the series!

Pat on his way past the bleachers.
Pat on his way past the bleachers.

As as for me, I know..that’s the news you’ve been waiting for. Check me out, 19th out of 29 for the series. Am I pleased…well, yeah, I’m not last. Actually, it was both easier than I thought, and harder than I thought in many ways. Easier because I was able to do it, didn’t crash or die, and came out enjoying it more than I thought, but harder because….well, it’s just plenty rough to ride as hard as you can for 20-30 minutes, in the heat, and after long days of work/family/set up, etc. I learned a few things from racing the series…but look for those lessons in an upcoming blog post!

Ok, hate to put up this shot, as it shows just how out of kit shape I'm in, BUT, I love that Tyler, Aaron and myself all came around the corner at the same time...so there you go.
Ok, hate to put up this shot, as it shows just how out of kit shape I'm in, BUT, I love that Tyler, Aaron and myself all came around the corner at the same time...so there you go.

Thanks again to everyone who came out and raced, set up, or supported the event! (Flickr photos here. And Matt’s photos here.)

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LifeSource Natural Foods State Fair Race Parking Info

fairmap

I know you’re waiting for a race report, but Jeff over at BuyLocalCycling.com posted some information about parking for the 4th and final race of the series, and I’m still keeping an eye out for results. When I get them, I’ll post the report. Suffice for now to say that Monday was a crazy day personally leading into the race, and I wasn’t even sure if I’d make it in one piece by the time of the race, but it turned out great, and felt really good to ride!

If you haven’t already, mark your calendars for the 4th and final race in the LifeSource Natural Foods MTB Salem Short Track Series at the Oregon State Fairgrounds. Here’s what you need to know if you’re coming as a racer or spectator:

“Ideally, racers should attempt to park in the lot South of the Monster Truck area outlined below.  If this parking lot is full try the lot to the West of the Monster Truck area or to the South of Sunnyview Rd.  Please check in at the gate/tent outlined in the picture below.  You’ll receive a free one day pass to the Oregon State Fair at this time.  Sorry, spectators will need to purchase a ticket for themselves.”

So, if you’re coming to race, you don’t have any a fair entrance fee, but if you’re coming to watch, you need to be prepared to pay for fair entrance which according to the State Fair website is $10 for adults, $6 for seniors, $5 for kids, and free for kids $5 and under. You can shave a couple bucks off if you pay in advance too.

I heard that this sports arena drew hundreds of people last year, so there could be a decent crowd. Also remember that race times are slightly different for this last event, and 10 minutes longer for each category. From the Buy Local site:

Race # 4 Start Times & Race Durations
5:30pm – Course open for pre-riding
6:00pm – Kiddie race – racing for 5′ (this race is FREE, but registration is required)
6:15pm – Cat 3 Men, Cat 3 Women, Junior Men & Women: racing for 30′
6:50pm – Cat 2 Women, Cat 2 Men, & Singlespeed: racing for 40′
7:40pm – Pro Men, Cat 1 Men & Pro/Cat 1 Women: racing for 50’

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BMX News Racing Team

Race Report: LifeSource Natural Foods Salem Short Track – Race 2

Racers negotiate the quick double up and over in the 2nd Race of the LifeSource Natural Foods MTB Salem Short Track Series at the Oregon State Fairgrounds.
Racers negotiate the quick double up and over in the 2nd Race of the LifeSource Natural Foods MTB Salem Short Track Series at the Oregon State Fairgrounds.

Monday night was the 2nd race in the LifeSource Natural Foods MTB Salem Short Track Series, or as I like to call it, the longest named race around! And this week it was even hotter than last week…I think we were in the low 90’s by the time the first race began. The high temps keep hammering racers with a dry, dusty, hot course to race on. We also changed up the course from last week to accommodate all the groups using the grounds the day we’ll be racing during the fair, and the reports were the course was much faster than last week. Photos from the 2nd race are up on Flickr. Matt’s photos are on Flickr too. And Matt made a cool video as well, which is on Vimeo.

Ok, PacificPedaling.com team props out of the way here right off the bat. I was waiting on official OBRA results, but wanted to get the post race up, so I’ll go from the email. James Cloyd, not only took 1st in Cat 2 (again) but then turned around and raced in Cat 1, back to back! Ellen Miller also raced back to back, first as the fastest singlespeed lady around, and then taking 2nd in Cat 1 Women. Martha Paulus put in a solid 4th in Cat 2 Women, and Tyler Jackson knocked out a nice mid 5th spot. So proud of the team! Once they are posted, you can see all the results at the OBRA site.

Im thinking about putting a Great James Race Face photo up each week. Heres one to kick it off...
I'm thinking about putting a "Great James Race Face" photo up each week. Here's one to kick it off...

Now, this was also my very first race of any kind on a bike, and the good news is…I’m still alive! I hadn’t planned on doing any racing until cross season, but couldn’t find any more reasons NOT to, so with borrowed bike in hand, I took my turn around with the Cat 3 men. How was it? Really hard. Brutal. Besides being still way overweight, and not in any kind of race condition at all, it was also stinking hot. But the good news is, I didn’t go down, and I finished in one piece! I started off in the back of the group, figuring it was the safest place for the first time out, and pretty much stayed there. I tried to catch up after a couple laps, but never really made up much ground. Apparently, someone felt bad for me and decided to have a mechanical or just pull out because I wasn’t listed as dead last…just one shy of it though.  I may not ever be a fast racer, but I think I’ll find plenty of enjoyment in the times I get out to do it.

Even better than experiencing my first race though, was the fact that my 12 year old son Aaron decided to get out and give it a go as well…and get this, he won his junior category! He came out with me at 3:30 to help set up the course, and after running around the BMX course with other kids there, he decided to try the short track race. Tyler let him borrow is 24″ cruiser, and he cranked away on the larger BMX with the 10-14 Junior class.

Aaron Lopez, about to negotiate a descent, and rockin the PacificPedaling.com team jersey. At least one Lopez can represent the team kit....
Aaron Lopez, about to negotiate a descent, and rockin' the PacificPedaling.com team jersey. At least one Lopez can represent the team kit....

Since Juniors and Cat 3 raced at the same time, my favorite moments of the race were catching up to Aaron and getting a chance to tell him he was doing a great job and to keep pedaling! At first he was worried that he wouldn’t be able to even complete a lap, but he actually completed just one lap shy of the old man! My buddy Nate snagged photos during the Cat 3 race and got this shot of us together:

Father and son, both racing together for the first time.
Father and son, both racing together for the first time.

Overall a great night, and a continuation of a great series down here in Salem. Even with the heat, there seemed to be more spectators out cheering on the racers. We had the music blasting (sorry about the offensive word in the track…I found it and have removed it! oops!) and the water guns spraying. Next week wraps up with races on Monday and Saturday, during the fair. Hope to see you all soon!

Categories
News Racing Team

Race Report: LifeSource Salem MTB Short Track Series!

Cat 3 riders waiting for the race to start.
Cat 3 riders waiting for the race to start.

UPDATED: My Flickr photos of entire event are now uploaded, click here. Also, my brother shot a ton of shots (mostly of the team) and those are available as well, click here.

The LifeSource Salem MTB Short Track series was HOT last night, and I’m not just talking about the temperature! Jeff McNamee and crew put on a great first night of the short track series right here in Salem. 68 riders turned out for the first event and rode across fields, dirt, over bmx rollers, table tops, around hairpin turns and even had some cross-like dismounts and run-ups. There was plent of heat as the Cat 3 race started in near-90 degree temps.

Martha Paulus
Martha Paulus

I shot tons of photos of the series, which I’ll post soon to our Flickr page, but this was the official first race with out team kits, so allow me to be the proud team poppa and post some shots of the Pacific Pedaling team members rolling in their kits throughout this post. Results are posted at the OBRA site, but I’ll take this opportunity to point out that Pacific Pedaling came home with 2 top place finishes for the night! Yeehaw!

Tyler Jackson
Tyler Jackson

James took first spot in Cat 2 Men and Ellen took first in Cat 1 Women. It’s worth noting here too that both Pat and Ellen rode two categories back to back – Single Speed, followed up by their Cat 1 races. That’s 30 and 40 minutes of racing with just a 5 minute break in between. Just long enough to hit the restroom and change a race number.

stcx5_out
Ellen Miller

And everyone rode great last night. Tyler was up in the front of the Cat 3 Men for most of the race…next week I’ll be relying on him to show me where to go, and how to get there. Martha rocked it in the Cat 2 Women. And as mentioned, Pat not only raced two races back to back, but pulled off and fixed his bike in the middle of the second race.

James Cloyd
James Cloyd

In addition to the amazing efforts of the entire team, I’m also proud of the fact that Pacific Pedaling team members volunteered as much as possible before, during and after the race to help the event go smoothly. We really want to help do what we can for cycling in Salem…the rest of this series should be great!

Pat Kudszus
Pat Kudszus

Matt Haughey also shot a bunch of great photos of the night (including Ellen pointing to her jersey as she crossed the finish line hill) and this video, which has Pat rolling at the beginning.

LifeSource Salem Short Track Series Race 1 from Matt Haughey on Vimeo.

Ok, enough of my rambling on about the team like they are all my children! Great first night of the series, and great first team race for Pacific Pedaling!

Categories
News Racing Team

LifeSource Salem Mountain Bike Short Track Series Starts Tonight!

LifeSource MTB Short Track Series, Salem, OR from nwduffer on Vimeo.

My buddy Brock and I hopped on down to the State Fairgrounds to meet up with Jeff McNamee, Matt Haughey, Kenji Sugahara. The three of them, along with Pacific Pedaling team member, Pat Kudszus spent the evening pre-riding the course, and determining the final layout.

Having never been to a short track event, we took a few moments to ask Jeff and Kenji about the upcoming race series. Jeff helped lead the way on the Willamette Valley Cyclocross series last fall in the area, and it’s great to see another event added this year. Even if you are a beginner and have never raced before, this would be a great event to make your first!

Come down to the State Fairgrounds tonight and support local cycling and racing events! For more information about the series, be sure to visit their site.

Categories:
Pro/Cat 1 Men & Women
Cat 2 Men & Women
Singlespeed
Cat 3 (Beginner) Men & Women
Junior Men (10-14, 15-18) & Women
Kiddie

2009 MTB Categories vs. 2008 MTB Categories:
Pro 2009 = Pro/Elite 2008
Cat 1 2009 = Expert 2008
Cat 2 2009 = Sport 2008
Cat 3 2009 = Beginner 2008

Race # 1-3 Start Times & Race Durations
5:00pm – Course open for pre-riding
5:45pm – Kiddie race – racing for 5′ (this race is FREE, but registration is required)
6:00pm – Cat 3 Men, Cat 3 Women, Junior Men & Women: racing for 20′
6:30pm – Cat 2 Women, Cat 2 Men, & Singlespeed: racing for 30′
7:05pm – Pro Men, Cat 1 Men & Pro/Cat 1 Women: racing for 40’

Race # 4 Start Times & Race Durations
5:30pm – Course open for pre-riding
6:00pm – Kiddie race – racing for 5′ (this race is FREE, but registration is required)
6:15pm – Cat 3 Men, Cat 3 Women, Junior Men & Women: racing for 30′
6:50pm – Cat 2 Women, Cat 2 Men, & Singlespeed: racing for 40′
7:40pm – Pro Men, Cat 1 Men & Pro/Cat 1 Women: racing for 50’

Course Description:
All races will be held on the BMX track and adjacent grassy field at the Oregon State Fairgrounds; Salem, OR.  The course will include a combination of grassy flats, twisty singletrack and bumpy dirt track (BMX course).