Tour of Walla Walla 2012

Not a whole lot to report on last weekend's Tour of Walla Walla.  The weather was incredible.  80+ degree temperatures on saturday and sunday.  Really glad to have a bunch of margarita clif blocks with salt because of the abnormal heat.  I felt strong in every stage (road race, criterium, time trial, road race), but rode too conservatively.  There were 115 starters in the Pro 1-2 field, including a bunch of heavy hitters from around the northwest.  When it comes to road racing, I guess I just don't have the eye of the tiger like I do when I'm racing on dirt (or mud).

Whitney had a great weekend and made a dent in her Cat 3 upgrade points.

Walla Walla was still a lot of fun and a great block of training.  My most exciting moment was escaping a big crash on the last lap of the crit.  It happened at the front of the pack right in front of me, but I shot through the carnage like the millennium falcon out of the death star.  A dude fell so hard against me that my shifter was twisted in.  I don't know how that can even happen.  I'm sure glad I kept the rubber side down though.  My hairy mountain biker legs don't handle road rash like those smooth road racer legs do.

Next up is Beezley Burn in Ephrata.  Can't wait to get back on some dirt.

The race season continues...

Yeah, I know, I haven't updated this thing in a while.  Honestly, I have just been really focused on my studies and on riding my bike.  The last month has really flown by as a result.  You can tell I've been having fun on the weekends though!

1st place at Fort Ebey Budu Race.  Super fun trails on Whidbey Island.

Volunteer Park Criterium.  Ian Terry (friend from Premanon study) got this cool shot.

Whitney having fun as well.  This one is from Independence Valley.

 Last weekend we raced the North Shore Road Race up here in Bellingham.  Sure was nice to ride from home to the start line of a race.  That's one thing I miss about living in the Seattle area. The abundance of weekly and weekend races that are within riding distance of home is much greater down there.  I finished in 8th place at North Shore which was a decent result for me, but I felt like I was easily capable of better.  Really fun race though.  I wish there were more challenging road race courses like this one.

This weekend is the Tour of Walla Walla.  The three day event is always a great way to get some sunshine and hard miles in.  Until next time...