Stomach Churn 2010

The annual Stomach Churn cross/mtb race has came upon and left us. There was a great turn out again this year with over 20 riders in each race. Since I've been chained to the computer trying to get something accomplished on my thesis and absolutely no time on my bike I opted to just go shoot some photographs and watch everyone else suffer. I know, lame excuse, but I'm really much better at taking photos than bike racing anyway.

The 30 minute race started around 11am. It was good to see woman in the field as well.

The traditional Stomach Churn puke bucket made it's appearance on top of Cardiac Arrest hill as usual.

Dan from Adventure's Edge made a quick jump on the lead right off the bat, and despite burping his tubeless tire manged to keep his lead with a pretty nice gap at the finish. Don't let those downhillers trick you - they've apparently got some skillz on the cross country terrain as well.

The 60 minute race takes off. Chris Johnson pulled away for for a quick lead...

Until Graves turned on the burners and practically lapped everyone on the field by the time 60 minutes was done with.

Some brave souls actually did ride cross bikes including Jennifer. (Although Jennifer was screaming the whole time wishing she had her mtb.)

Evan took the cross dress competition home with his sexy Daphne ensemble.

While others wanted to take a little something home of their own. The gallery can be seen here (for now). I'd like to personally give a shout out to Vic for his continuous hard work putting this race together, Adventures Edge for their continuous support, and Revolution Bicycles.

More Paradise Royale

It seems as though I can't stay away from this trail, or at least try and get down there whenever I possibly can. My buddy Matt came down from Portland, after family activities in Eugene, to come hang out for a few days and get on some dirt after a long hiatus. We first had some wrenchin' to do on his steed before making tracks, and all but the wavy rotor we got it rolling. The community forest chanted only a few blocks away where we got a training ride in, but the real mission was to head south to the King Range.

This was the first time actually staying down at the Tolkan Campground, which is literally a spit's distance from the trail. We left camp setup for our return, ate a bagel sandwhich, a apple cinnamon hammer gel and hit the trail.

This was Matt's first time on Paradise Royale. The ascent can always be a bit frustrating but Matt kept a positive attitude. The weather was perfect which made the riding that much more enjoyable.
The crazy Tanoak grove heading back up to the trail head is always a delight. My buddy Scott calls it the octopus forest for good reason. The second day of riding was quite brutal. The moment we departed the trail head it started raining hard and didn't let up the whole ride. The ridge up top was fiercely cold and windy. I lost feeling in my hands and feet for most of the ride and could barely enjoy the downhill section. I realized then how as minimalist as v-brakes may be, only having about 5% stopping power that day was a little scary. My hands and wrists were sore from squeezing what little friction I could create. Once I figure out how I'm going to pay for school this semester it looks like some disc brake research is bumped up on the priority list.

The fungus photo is the only shot I took on day two. With the rain coming down I kept the camera holstered safely in the Camel Bak, putting most of my energy toward getting out of the woods alive.