Portland rocked!

Portland delivered an epic weekend of racing in the mud, wind, and pouring rain. A few times Saturday we even had some snow flakes coming down (see picture at left). The crowds were crazy, loud, and obnoxious and the racing was nonstop.

Saturday morning I lined up with JoAnne for the Women's B race. Despite the dry conditions the course was muddy from the previous days' rain and it was barely 35-degrees out. Brrrrrrr. Both of us narrowly avoided a nasty crash right at the gun that took out several gals on the pavement. The first lap of our race was pretty marred with crashes and I quickly got stuck in the back, but managed to slowly move up and pass a few gals. The course was mostly flat, fast, muddy, and slippery. I had a blast despite not having a clue where I finished. I was just out there to have fun and get dirty! The highlight of my day was being able to ride a slippery uphill section of the course that gave a lot of people trouble. It's great to get crowd feedback about that sort of thing!

Zoka had a fantastic showing on Saturday. Landon finished with a decisive victory in the Men's C race and Andy would have had a great finish but was forced to abandon after his rear derailleur detached itself. JoAnne got 13th in a large, strong women's field despite her saying that she had a bit of an off day. In the Men's B race, JDub visited the podium with 3rd, Jeff was 13th, Chip nabbed 22nd, and DiRtY was 46th in a field of over 100. Rick claimed a 9th place finish in a large 60+ field of Master's. I know Bill was out there too but I'm not sure how he finished. Rock on!

Watching the elite racers later in the day highlighted the whole weekend. It's unbelievable how friekin' fast they are! Tim Johnson won the elite men's race averaging just under 16mph for the entire course. Crazy. Georgia Gould put in a great effort and overtook Katie Compton (negotiating a turn in this picture) for the win in the women's field. The crowds were rowdy and the mud made it even better!

I would liked to have raced both days this weekend, but I'm still working out a calf muscle tear that continues to bother me. I should get a clue and take some time off. I showed up Sunday as a spectator and cheered on our racers. Unfortunately I didn't get too many great shots because the pouring rain wreaked havoc on my camera focus. Though the temperature warmed a bit for Sunday, the rain fell steadily and turned the course into a muddy, soupy mess.

Landon doubled up for the weekend and won the Men's C race again today. Awesome! JoAnne had a great race and killed her fellow Seattle competitors to nab 10th. A large crash at the start of the Men's B race took out Chip and DiRtY, but Chip was able to finish the race strongly. DiRtY suffered bike damage and had to withdrawal. He lamented how his 30-second race cost him $1 per second. JDub revisited the podium with 2nd place in the Men's Bs and I think Jeff finished in the top 10.

Unfortunately I didn't stick around as planned to watch the elite races. After spending three hours on the course I was soaked, frozen, and ready to bail. I'll be eager to hear how the rest of the day turned out for the people who stayed. I read on Velonews that 40mph wind gusts took out a tree during a later race. Crazy!

What a blast of a weekend! I did snap a few more photos, but didn't get that many mostly due to the weather.