As we all know, rollers can be a great way to warm up for a race or get a workout when you can’t actually ride outside. But, I bet all of you have been riding fancy on Kreitlers, which are for wusses. These are some REAL rollers!

Pugsley on the Logs

HTFU,

Jordan

PacNW AllStarz

Oregon Syndicate decided to take advantage of the unseasonably dry weather (thank you Al Gore) to head up to the hills for some mtn bike action. It was also a time to “interview” our newest recruit to the Pac NW family, John ‘FroHo’ Frohning.

nice shorts

John recently moved here from CA (originally from AK) and is an avid rider but even more serious freestyle skier. We met through a mutual friend several years ago at University of Portland. FroHo brings his love of road racing & his endurance for mtb events thanks to his 2nd generation Surly 1×1 with it’s monstrous wheels (he rocked 2.5s today & not his 3.0s).

go Mary go!

i_r_beej didn’t get the memo as he brought his too-high gear for a very hilly ride. But this also meant he was right behind you on the flats & downhills…Mary-bar + squeaky shark + Crossniacs kit = coolest cat on the mtn.

blurry all day

This is an accurate image of how Frosty rode all day…fast & in front of us. He’s obviously gonna kill in any singlespeed race. Poor bastards.

I was behind the camera most of the time with the exception of when I dropped my camera in the creek…it’s drying as we speak (fingers crossed).

-will aka buddhabelly

Crossniacs will be holding an open house at our esteemed sponsor Hollywood Cycles Wednesday February 24 from 6:00pm-8:00pm

Come and see what we are all about, and sign up for the team. We will have team only deals and talk cyclocross. CJ, Guy, and I will share our experiences of racing in Belgium at Masters Worlds.

Because it is never too early to start thinking cyclocross.

The Clement brand, that disappeared from cycling roughly five years ago, is back. Its first tyre to production will be a clincher cyclo-cross tyre for soft soil and muddy conditions called the Crusade PDX.

Sweet

The new Taiwanese made 32mm tyre has an open tread pattern molded from 60a durometer rubber, a 128 tpi casing, Kevlar bead and protective belt. It will sell for an estimated $US40-50.

compared to Mud2

“We’re testing the tyre to refine the mould,” said Donn Kellogg, general manager of Donnelly Sports, the new licensee of the Clément name. “If all goes well, production will begin in April and we’ll have tyres for sale by June.”

similar to Dugast Rhino tread

This tire is totally gonna sell out in Oregon. I mean, a tire inspired by the Cross Crusade…money in the bank.

-buddhabelly

Holstein, Frasier & I HTFU’d on Sunday to join 3,497 other riders to take a 45+ mile tour of the metro area on the statistically worst day of the year with respect to rain & temperature. It was advertised as being a 40-miler so…

Frasier found out we did almost 3500ft of climbing on what was supposed to be just a “challenging” course but totally kicked our butts…especially on the singlespeed rigs. Holstein flatted & had a pit bike handy…no joke as the course came within a block of his house. Jim was also able to set up 3 signs advertising cyclocross season along with our www.Crossniacs.com website. Nice job Holstein!

our steeds await

Pretty girls abound. I wish I could rock a GoPro cam to make the pic-taking go that much easier. I’ll have to settle for taking inconspicuous pics like this one to catch the pretty gals go by. Are there even any in the picture??

no fenders - HTFU

Turns out we didn’t need the fenders really since it rained for all of about 15% of the ride.

Jordan's sweaty thong

Jordan really needs a kit so if any of you guys have a spare you’re willing to sell before the order date later in the year, it’d be helpful (he wears a medium bib & jersey).

-will aka buddhabelly

Jordan Frasier and I hit the trails last Sunday at the local fav, Brown’s Camp; located in the Tillamook State Forest of the Oregon Coast Range. True to Oregon, the trail was soggy, technical and promised to keep us on our toes.

twinkies!

Jordan sold his Bianchi San Jose after he was unable to race ‘cross for medical reasons but recently picked up a sweet singlespeed, 29er Motobecane from some chump off of Craigslist. Frasier is gonna be a force to reckon with as he brings his mad ss abilities (sprinter legs) to XC & short track for the summer racing season.

I brought out my ‘08 Kona Kula complete with some new additions; namely white Elixir 5 brakes and some honkin’ 2.3 tubeless Hutchinsons to take the sting out of racing a hardtail.

smooth

Coming up:

1. on Valentine’s Day, Jordan Frasier, Jim Hendrickson and I will be riding Portland’s annual Worst Day of the Year 40-mile tour. Jim aka Holstein is gonna showcase the Cannondale roadie he picked up in the off-season and Frasier and I will be hoofin’ it on the ss bikes.
2. the Oregon Syndicate aka Pac NW AllStarz will have a table at the NW Trails Alliance annual swap  meet in order to fund-raise for Oregon team dues, t-shirts, etc.
3. we’ll also be holding a local team meeting the weekend before Spring Break.

Peace.

-will aka buddhabelly

I couldn’t do the whole weekend due to some family obligations.  But I was itching to race again, so I got up at 5:00 am and made the trip up to Knoxville.  Although I think it is clear that what little fitness I had is now gone, I still wanted to race.  It was cold and it was even snowing a little.  When I pulled into the park, I was excited about the looks of the course.  However, when I did my preride, I quickly learned that it looked fast, but was really soft and muddy in most spots.

In the CX4, I got a good start.  After a lap the leaders began to split into two main groups.  I tried to stay with the first group, but I just didn’t have the legs.  So, I ended up in the second group.  Rode with them awhile, but all of a sudden, my bike stopped shifting.  Turns out the der. cable came loose and was totally frayed.  By that point I had passed the pits and was being passed by every one.  So, as much as I hated it, I pulled out and went to fix my bike before the next race.

The 2nd race was the Masters race.  It had a small field of 4.  We started off together and I was in second.  However, halfway through the 1st lap, one of the guys hit the afterburners and took off.  No one could stay with him.   That guy was flying and he ended up lapping everyone.  2nd place pulled away from me and the other guy.  We rode together shortly, but then my legs just gave out.  He gradually pulled ahead.  I finished, but I was just dead.  Those 3 weeks off the bike while I was sick really hurt.

Not sure about being able to make any more of the Knoxville races this month.  The next 2 weekends are full with family stuff and I’m slammed at work right now as well.  But I’m not giving up on making the last weekend of the month.  Maybe by then, I will have my legs back under me.  I just can’t give up with the possibility of a few more cross races. Plus, Cycle Therapy has let me borrow a old set of tubulars.  They are a little heavy, but at least I can get a feel for riding on tubulars to see if I really want to switch.  I must admit they feel pretty good.

Talk to ya’ll later.

DS

Hey guys,

  I joined the team after the kit order for this year (by the way the kits are sweet).  Will aka Buddha was kind enough to give me a skin suit, but with XC and Short Track just around the corner I am looking for something with short sleeves.  If anyone has anything please let me know.

Thanks,

Jordan Pac NW AllStarz

P.S. I wear a medium jersey and bib/shorts

Please RSVP to me with how many people you are bringing.

Jared Roy
jaredmroy@hotmail.com
970-389-8456

Well, if you read my last post, you know that I have been sick. So, I did not go up to Tennesee for the TN State Championship.  I was bummed, but there was no way I could pull a decent result without spending any time on the bike the past several weeks. But I was itching to get back on my bike.  So, even though I had been sick and had not been on the bike in the past 2 weeks and only once in the past 3.5 weeks, I heading up to the final race of the Rome winter mini-series.  My LBS (Cycle Theraphy) is the main sponsor of this race and one of the local guys has a few acres where they put this on.  It was a lot of fun.  Not a huge turnout, but we have to start somewhere.  And in the past there have not been any races in Georgia after the 1st weekend of December.  But with the milder winter, it is a great time to do some races.  Hopefully this will pick up speed.  Bob Kuhn, with HUP United really helped pull this series together.

So, I didn’t have any high hopes, but I wanted to race and wanted to support the local scene.  Of course, we had tons of mud again like we have had most of this season.  I’m starting to feel a little more comfortable with the bike handling in the mud, but it really sucks the power out of your legs.  It was like riding in quicksand yesterday.  I did a brief warmup and starting the first race (CX4).  I was comfortably in the lead group after the start.  Then one of the guys made a hard push and broke us up.  I tried to stay with the leaders, but the extra effort killed me.  My legs felt like crap and I couldn’t catch my breath.  So, I bascially sat up  for the last half of the race.  Just spinning to get through it.  At least I was not DFL.  AND the fans were doing hand-ups…beer, etc. and somebody starting pinning cash on the course tape.  I was able to get $10 in handups.  Not bad.

Then I took a break and caught my breath.  I watched the A/B race and then decided to give it a go in the masters race.  Several of the masters raced the A/B, so not many in the actual Masters race.  We were combined with SS race as well.  I got the hole shot and was just cruising when a SS guy passed me.  I grabbed his wheel and held on for a while.  He manged to pull me clear of the other Masters.  I finally let him go and then just tried to keep my pace steady without over doing it.  I rode pretty clean and only had one miscue where I went through the course tape.  I got back on course PDQ but a couple of the guys tried to come back to me.  So, the last lap, I had to push pretty hard to hold my lead.  My legs and chest held on and I won by about 15 seconds.  They did cash in the A/B men and women races, but I got some nice swag for my effort in the Masters race.  I didn’t win anything for the series since I only did 2 of the 4 races. But it was great to be out there.

Racing is done in Georgia, but there are a few more races up in Tennesee.  I’m not sure yet if I will be able to make it up for those.  My lack of training the past several weeks and my family is starting to grumble.  Plus I coach my little girls travel softball team and we start playing tournaments in March.  So, it might be time to hang it up for this season.  We’ll have to see how it goes.  BUT I am stoked about Master’s Worlds and the World championship being in Louisville in 2012 and 2013.  So, I am really going to redouble my efforts to start the season in shape and try to get ready for Masters.  I’m hoping this will help bring Nationals down south as well.

Talk to ya’ll later.

DS