Co-Motion Tandem Stage Race report

I spent this past weekend in Eugene, OR with three teammates for the Co-Motion Tandem Stage Race. It was awesome! How did I get roped into this little adventure? About a month and a half ago Z and I were talking and he asked if I would be his stoker since he really wanted to do this race. I said "Sure!" without ever having ridden on a tandem. About 5 rides, a tire blowout, and a crash later, we were confident we would go to Eugene and crush some souls. Every time Z talked about a certain top 10 or top 5 finish, Todd would smirk. I think he knew something we didn't.

So, the trip went something like this:

Thursday - Off to Portland
The plan was to leave Seattle around 4, drop off the dog in Lacey, and then head to Portland and spend the night with Z's friends Pete and Katie. Traffic sucked worse than bad so we spent hours on I-5 and got to Portland around 10. Pete and Katie rocked and we talked about bike racing, the Tour, and the Portland cross scene.

Friday - Eugene or Bust!

• leave Portland around 7am to get to Eugene by 10 for the "Meet the Competitors" fun ride
• have a long breakfast and end up pulling into the Co-Motion parking lot exactly at 10am
• Todd and Jason are wondering where the hell we are
• frantically get our stuff together and thank everyone for leaving late
• meet lots of people and talk about tandems and front tire blowouts on the ride
• figure out that we likely blew our tire due to hot rims
• after Jason and Todd tell us they know where the route goes, we watch them disappear into the distance while everyone yells, "Hey, come back!"
• Jason and Todd realize they went the wrong way and we meet back at Co-Motion after the ride
• drool over the lightweight tandems at the Co-Motion factory
• figure out that Z's tandem is about 20lbs heavier than those lightweight tandems
• boast that we're getting a top 5 - Todd smirks
• take lots of pictures
• get grub at the Laughing Planet
• Z and I get relegated to the kid's table at the Olive Garden social dinner
• meet Henry and Amy, two very cool fellow tandem racers in our "B" category
• reaffirm that we likely blew our tire due to hot rims
• get lots of advice on tandem riding, braking, etc
• drink foofoo drinks that knock us out
• crash to bed early!

Saturday - TT Time!

• discover that the hotel's continental breakfast consists of bite-sized muffins and brown bananas
• show up at the TT and laugh at Jason and Todd for having their tandem on a trainer
• we think, "Wait...should we have brought a trainer?"
• Z reveals his "surprise": iPod speakers
• we drop the speakers into his jersey pockets and decide we're rocking out during the TT
• pre-ride the course, test out the tunes, and are confident about our top 10
• watch Todd and Jason scream around the first corner on the TT course
• get to the start line: 5-4-3-2-1, we're off!
• jam to tunes on the course and work our butts off
• hit the turnaround and worry that the tandem behind us is gaining
• crank it hard on the way back
• hit the finish line and Z nearly dies from a side ache
• I can't breathe either
  
• it's Bob Marley time!
• do a cooldown still confident about our "top 10"
• cruise back to the parking lot with Marley blaring from Z's jersey
• fellow competitors try to discern where the music is coming from and Todd and Jason say we're crazy
• find out Todd and Jason won the TT by hundredths of a second!
• pack up and head for grub at the Laughing Planet
• realize we have little time to get to the crit and get warmed up
• eat too much food

Saturday - Holy Crit!

• get to the crit and realize we ate too much food
• look at results and find out we got 13th in the TT
• we missed our top 10? crap!
• realize we're only a minute down from the leaders and everyone is very close together
  
• hit the course for a warmup confident we'll rock the crit!
• try to find port-o-potties for nature's last call and realize they're really far away
• head back to the line to find everyone already lined up so we get stuck in the back
• Todd yells at us
• the crit is off!
• we get stuck on the back almost immediately and Z complains about his stomach
• on the second lap I start yelling for us to move up, Z says no
• on the third lap I yell for us to move up, Z says no
• a few laps in we make a sweet move on the homestretch straight to the front and lead the pack for a lap
• the headwind is strong and we end up in the back again
• halfway through we're dying and can't believe how hard we're going
• with a few laps to go the tandem in front of us clips their pedals and nearly goes down
• a few more laps to go: hang on!
• we get passed by a tandem team wearing helmet mirrors - WTF!?
  
• pack finally splits and I think we can still get a top 10 if we win the field sprint
• we have no juice and limp across last in the group, but finish :40 or so down from the leaders in 14th place, ahead of some other teams
  
• we averaged 26.5mph - WTF!?
• Z and I realize that's the hardest crit we've done all year
• finally get changed and watch Todd and Jason and the "A" crit
• no fair! they're barely going 5mph out there
• with only 7 teams the "A" race is pretty uneventful until the end
• Todd and Jason win a prime for $50 off next year's registration
  
• on the last lap Todd and Jason come screaming to the line and would have won if there were a few more feet
• they settle for 2nd while Z and I still can't believe how fast and competitive our race was
• Z and I head out to recon the road course
• we take note of the fast descents, hairpin corners, and nasty chipseal
• oh, and there's a 3-mi 7-8% climb in there too
  
• meet Todd and Jason at the brewpub to watch the Tour, have dinner, and drink some beer
• Z and I reaffirm our "top 10" by saying we will crush souls in the road race
• Todd smirks
• head to Sam Bond's Garage to drink more beer
• Jason drinks water
  
• Jason is smart

Sunday - RR!

• we have breakfast with Todd and Jason
• Z and I wonder if our race will be mellow until the first climb
• the officials tell everyone to be very careful on the chipseal and that they will control the descent through it with a lead car
• Z wears pigtails so we match
• I make Z change his hair since I can no longer see around him with pigtails
  
• we line up and the race starts
• almost immediately someone is off the front
• there's lots of surging and the pace is high but not horribly difficult
• so much for our warmup
  
• I'm nervous riding in the peloton for a while but things finally smooth out
• get to the chipseal
• it's not too bad
• get nailed by a huge rock from the chipseal
• hit the first climb and we're doing pretty well and pass a few teams
  
• hit the first descent and we get passed back
• people are screaming down these descents!
• we take it easy on the descents preferring to stay upright
• hit the long climb and grind it out - no prob!
• eventually end up in a paceline with 4 other tandems and stay together to the end
• scream down some descents
• super fun!
  
• we're convinced we're the strongest team so we try to open a gap on the last climb a few miles from the end
• we got a gap!
• we put our heads down and pedal our asses off on the 1.5mi flat section before the finish
• shit! the group is organizing and narrowing our gap
• wait, no they're not
• we hit the climb to the Winery and pour it on
• the group behind us hits the climb and looks like they're closing the gap
• I yell at Z to "Go! Go! Go!"
• we urge each other on and realize this hill sucks
• halfway up we nearly fade
• we still have a gap!
• we dig deep and make it across the line ahead of our group - we're stoked!
• nearly have a stroke
• recover and realize we finished 13th
• we're ecstatic that we finished ahead of the group and our plan worked
• got 14th in GC still shaking our heads at the strength of the competition
• cool down and get changed
• Z complains about his groin
• I have to change Z's shoes since he can't bend over
• we talk to fellow competitors and rave about the race
• watch the finish of the "A" group
• Todd and Jason are sprinting it out with another team but surge ahead of them and take the win!
• Todd and Jason try a no-hander after the finish and nearly crash
• everyone is happy
• Z complains about his groin
• we figure out we need to stand more on the tandem
• we all stick around for awards and food
• get an invite from fellow competitors to come mountain biking in Bend
  
• go back to Steelhead and get food and margaritas
• have a few more margaritas....
• ...and some more...
• decide to go jump in the Willamette
• Todd gets beer
• Todd smirks
• the current is so strong we watch Z jump in and swim nowhere
• we whine about the 30-degree water, make it across to a rock island, and throw rocks for a few hours
• drink some more beer
• wait...we need to go home!
• finally head out of Eugene around 7pm
• Z goes 95 on I-5 to chase down the Keen truck to show him his Keens
• the dude gives us a peace sign and flashes his lights
• we crash in Kelso for the night and head back to Seattle Monday

All in all, an awesome weekend!

My photos
Z's photos
Todd's photos
More of Todd's photos