Echo Red to Red Mountain Bike Race

Quick summary for the ADD among you, I am pretty solid pack fodder.  I finished basically dead center of my category (cat 3) and age group (45+).  Thirteenth out of 24 riders in that demographic is not too bad for my first cross country mountain bike race.

For anyone still reading here is my more detailed breakdown of my perception of the race:  My fitness level is pretty competitive for a Cat 3 mountain biker.  Legs and lungs were never the issue, most of my progress through the field was made on the climbs, the longer the better.  Descending is another matter altogether.  I know how to go downhill, I just  don’t do it well.  I foresee lots of rides down the bottom half of Hide and Seek at Sandy Ridge to get the muscle memory dialed in.

For months I have been hearing about what a great course Echo is, and now that I’ve experienced it myself, I have to agree.  Cat 2 and 3 road a 22 mile loop, 28 miles for the Cat 1, Pro, and single speed riders, almost all of it on private property owned by Sno Road Winery

(www.snoroadwinery.com) on dedicated mountain bike trails.  A one mile neutral roll out from downtown Echo, about a mile on gravel road, then pure single track until you hit the gravel road again to return to town and the finish line.  After spending the winter looking for single track that is dry enough to ride on the west side of the state, some sweet eastern Oregon dryness was heavenly.  No so heavenly was the eastern Oregon winds, which were out in force during the race.  The best thing I can say about the wind is that is sucked equally for everybody.  On some of the exposed faces, it was hard to stay on the track on strait, level ground just due to the crosswinds, and some of the down hills required hard pedaling in to the wind to maintain forward momentum.

As I was busy racing, photographer duties were turned over to my lovely wife.  Here is a sample of what she got- sorry, no race course shots, but some good stuff of Echo.

Registration happened at the historic Koontz building, which is also owned by Sno Road Winery, and is undergoing restoration.  There is some beautiful woodwork, sculpted tile ceilings, and prism glass tiles to go in the front.  I can't wait to get back and see this when it is nearer completion.

The population of Echo is just north of 600 people.  We added an extra 527 racers, pretty much filling up the streets.  The town seemed to welcome the racers, as they have done for four years now.

Coach Brian of Brihop Cycling rocking his Bike Central kit.  Brian is mostly a track guy, so this was the last we saw him smile for the day.

Yours Truly, waiting for both the start and the arrival of his team kit.

Rolling out of town behind the pace truck.  22 miles to go.

New Bike Announcement!

Better late than never, here it is, the New Bike Announcement!  Except I am slow enough at posting to this blog that it is about a month in my possession now.  The simple truth is, as much as I enjoy writing, riding my bike is even more fun, and Coach has me on the bike a lot as I ramp up for Tour Divide 2013.

Enough with the excuses, on to the Bike!   

There she is, the steed that will carry me through the 2745 miles of the Tour Divide, after we both survive many times that in training miles and shorter races.  2012 Redline D680, the top of the food chain for Redline’s mountain bikes.  I started my bike shopping with a list of features and components I wanted, rather than a particular brand.  I knew I wanted a 29er hardtail in either steel or alloy, with SRAM X9 or X0 drive train and a 100mm travel fork with a through axle, rather than a quick release. The one feature I had hoped for and did not get was either dropouts or a bottom bracket that would allow easy conversion to single speed.  I guess I will just need to build up a SS out of parts if I really need one.

I went to a lot of bike shops, surfed a lot of bike manufacturer’s websites, even talked to a couple of frame builders, and found a lot of good options, not only from the big names but a lot of lesser known brands as well, and of course a custom build could have gotten me anything I wanted, but at a budget somewhat outside my comfort level.  What finally made the decision was not anything specific to this bike, but the dealer.

Portland Bike Commuter is, as the name would suggest, primarily oriented toward commuter and practical riding.  I had been in the shop before, purchased some stuff there, but I can say that about a number of the Portland area bike shops.  What sealed the deal for me was the level of excitement when I told Eric, the owner, what I was going to do.  He is not only familiar with the race, but wants to ride it himself.  Since having a family and a business make that difficult, he is willing and eager to make sure it happens for me.  Other shops had seemed mildly intrigued by the notion, but no more than that.  Eric not only promised to help a bit on the purchase, he went to Redline on my behalf and convinced them to sweeten the deal a bit as well.  How could I not do business with Bike Commuter?

For the bike geeks:  2012 Redline D680, aluminum alloy frame, Fox 100mm fork, SRAM two by ten X9 drive train with an X0 rear derailleur and Ritchey cockpit.  I added Shimano XT pedals and swapped the stock tires out for WTB Nanos, because that is what most of the Tour Divide finishers ride on.

So far, I love it.  The 21” frame fits me perfectly, the geometry works well for my riding style, and some intangible quality of the bike makes me want to push harder and faster than anything else in my stable.  This is my first experience with the two by ten (two gears up front with a ten speed cassette in the rear) drive train and I am sold on it.  I haven’t had a climb yet that has forced me in to the lowest gears, and anywhere that I can push the tallest gear I am probably going to want to coast anyway.

Tomorrow (3/3/2012) is the Echo Red to Red mountain bike race, so we will see how the Redline and I do in a short 22 mile race.