Team Portobello-A Better Cycle

Meet the Team Ride!!

2012-01-10T13:49:00.000-08:00

Smokin' Grass!!

2011-11-14T21:34:00.000-08:00

This is a great video from the 2011 Women's Cyclocross Championship of Europe. The course is pretty unique, unlike anything you typically see in the World Cups or World Championship courses.

Championnat d'Europe cyclo-cross 2011 from Petitesreines on Vimeo.

The End of an Era

2011-11-09T22:00:00.000-08:00

Well, I knew it was just too good to last. I've had a great run, sandbagging my way through four years of cyclocross. Mechanicals, crashes, food poisoning, intoxication, I've done everything possible to keep my cross performance at a respectable level of mediocrity. It's not easy to make it look like you're actually trying when in reality you're putting out just enough effort to get by and not totally embarrass yourself. During my first year in the Master C's I was new to cross and trying way too hard. I managed to get a few decent results and it looked like an upgrade to the Master B's was inevitable. Fortunately I found help:

Brian Jones' Complete Sandbag Training Course saved me from the dreaded upgrade. Utilizing Jones' patented method I managed to finish out that first season with a couple of top 100 places and the threat of being forced to race with people who actually take bike riding seriously was narrowly averted.

Over the next few seasons I took my sandbagging training to new heights. I purchased DVD's:

Found a fantastic group of training partners:

And even hired the man himself, Brian Jones, as my personal trainer:

(Disclaimer: this isn't a picture of the author of The Complete Sandbag Training Course, Brian Jones. This is actually the "other" Brian Jones. The famous rockstar, and original Rolling Stone, Brian Jones. And you have to admit, this is a great picture of him.).

Right, so where was I? All was good in my cyclocross world. My palmares in those early years included epic 44th place finishes, sprinting for the line with doughnut eating dudes from Team Muffin Top (what ever happened to them by the way?). That's back in the day when I was rockin this look:

But then, something strange and incredible happened. It started last season, at the OBRA Cross Championships. All of a sudden, the entire Master C field started to really suck! They all collectively got really, really slow, seemingly overnight. I can testify to the fact that in four years I haven't gotten any faster, yet I seemed to be placing a lot higher in races. I tried everything I could to avoid getting top 5 finishes and risking my coveted Master C status. But to no avail. No matter how hungover I showed up to races, no matter how many times I crashed, or how many times I threw my chain, those damn Master C's just kept getting slower and slower. And so, on Monday of this week I got the bad news via the OBRA list serve. MANDATORY UPGRADE! No congratulations, no peck on the cheek from the podium girls, not a shred of recognition for my long career of under achieving. Just a cold, impersonal email from Candi, my name listed with a handful of other equally unlucky slobs who managed to place just a little too high in their second to last race of the year.

So, this Sunday at PIR I'll be lining up with the Master B's, doing my best not to get lapped. If you see me out there this weekend looking like this:

I'm either a) looking for the leaders as they come pedaling by or b) checking out how good my ass looks in my skinsuit!! Either way, cheer me on and feel free to offer up a beer, or two!! I'm gonna need to try a lot harder if I want to downgrade back to Master C's next year.

Halloween Cross

2011-10-31T21:02:00.000-07:00

The annual Cross Crusade Halloween costume race is an event not to be missed, unless of course you spent the previous night rocking the Clydesdale Championship of the Universe. Since all of us Porto's who made it to Bend weigh in a fair bit shy of 200 lbs. we don't have that excuse going for us. However, when race time came, only the Mighty Matt Cline answered the call. Cline had a little unfinished business to settle with this course. At Nationals last year Matt barely made it 100 ft. before a pedal/cleat malfunction forced him out of the race. Yesterday, during Day 1 of racing here in Bend Matt made it about 200 ft. before he managed to throw his chain and wedge it between the chain ring and the chain keeper (I'm still not sure how he accomplished that). So today Matt vowed to complete an entire lap or he was gonna give up bike racing forever. Fortunately for us, he made it about 10 ft. past the line after completing his first lap before he flatted! Nice one Matt!! Victory tastes so sweet. For the USGP this year (which will be raced here in Bend, on this same course) Matt has set his sights high. Two laps or bust is his new mantra.

Despite our team's lack of results today all of the Porto's in attendance had a good time. We were treated to some great racing without the hassle of actually having to race ourselves.

There were some great costumes out there today. The Grundel Bruisers came with a mariachi band theme, Dia de los Muertos style!

Don't let the Cowardly Lion costume fool you, Serena Bishop was fierce out on the course. She easliy won both of the Elite Women's races this weekend.

Adam Craig pulled out all the stops for his first ever Halloween Crusade race. He rocked that lime green body suit to a second place finish today, and only a flat tire stood int he way of him and a victory.

Here's my man Ross Brody, tearing it up in a homemade chicken suit. Ross has had a great season so far. The dude was moving so fast the feather were flying everywhere.

The Femmebots were out in force today, representing Team S&M Feminine!

And last but not least, one of my personal favorites, the Rock Racing rider, complete with IV and blood bag!!

A Dust Bowl Steinbeck Would Have Been Proud Of

2011-10-29T21:42:00.000-07:00

Today it felt as if Burning Man met the Cross Crusade. I always considered my worst dust experience to be getting caught out on the playa at Burning Man in a sand storm. Completely lost, wandering around in a daze, coated from head to toe in a fine powder, I felt like I was right back in Black Rock City (minus the drugs, nudity, and large burning objects).

The two members of Team Portobello that had the courage to brave the biblical dust storm survived the experience relatively intact. Marc managed to keep his streak of crashing alive, he is now five for five in Cross Crusade races. Today's crash was fairly mild; the toll = a minor abrasion, a decent amount of swelling, no real blood to speak of, and the bike was still rideable. Plus he hobbled his way to ninth place so it couldn't have been too bad (despite the amount of whining he engaged in afterwards).

Cline managed to keep a streak of his own alive, but we'll report more on that after tomorrows race, Day Two of the Cross Crusade Day of the Dead Celebration!!

Ouch!!!!!!

2011-10-26T22:09:00.000-07:00

Well, Jeff managed to crash, AGAIN. But this time he at least drew some blood. Now, judging by Jeff's smile you'd think that the little scrape above his eye is just a little scratch, and all that blood is just much ado about nothing. So to dispel that myth I give you exhibit A:

The best part is that the flapper still has wood chips from the livestock pen that Jeff crashed in. Here, lets get a closeup of that, shall we?

Wow, lets hope Jeff's tetanus shot is up to date! I have to admit, I was a little bummed after he went to the first aid tent and got cleaned up. Blood dripping down your face makes you look like tough, and our Jeff truly is tough. He's so tough that not only did he jump right back on his bike after his forehead plant, but he finished the race in a very respectable 32nd place. And he did it while smiling the whole time! Yeah, I'm not just saying that either. He really was smiling the whole time!

You are awesome Jeff!! Glad to hear the damage wasn't too bad, nothing that a little crazy glue couldn't fix anyway. Looking forward to seeing you back on the race course!!

PIR Part 1, Heron Lakes

2011-10-19T21:04:00.000-07:00

Beer! Lots and lots of beer. This week was the first venue that allows beer, and Team Portobello took full advantage of that. We weren't the only team to bring a keg, but we were the only team to use bike power to deliver their full-sized keg to the venue. Mike Cobb, you are my hero! Mike wasn't even racing, he just wanted to pitch in and support the team. Mike's cargo bike is rated to 425 lbs., and a keg only weighs in at 160, so we figure next time he needs to bring two kegs, to even out the load!

As for the racing, a bunch of us raced, and some did pretty good. Mark A. got his best Cross Crusade result of the year (ok he DNF'd at his only other Crusade race this year but he got robbed on that one) and his wife Shannon made some really awesome treats for us, so he gets this soulful, black and white picture of himself in the post.

Justin really did look like a guy who started drinking before his race, but he managed to finish and he beat some people too. The rest of us did just fine. Brent still doesn't have a team skinsuit so were not posting his picture. Erik raced hard but his son raced harder than all of us combined. Marc and Jeff managed to crash a few times. Marc left more skin on the course than Jeff, but Jeff managed to crash in front of a bigger crowd of people, so he wins. We all managed to stay awake to watch the singlespeed race and I think Hutch did great, but I'm not sure. I nodded off near the end. However, you can check our sensational results here: http://obra.org/teams/13084/2011

Rebecca raced her first cross race of the year (yes we do have women on the team) and she managed to get the best result of the day for Portobello! I was too busy picking gravel out of my flesh to get a picture of her racing so this picture of Tina Brubaker will have to suffice. Tina is cool and she has a cool bike. Some day I'd like to have a bike like hers.

Rainier! Hooray for big hills!

2011-10-10T20:30:00.000-07:00

Rainier! Big hill, lot so of off camber stuff, and great fun. As a bonus, everybody finished with a functioning bike (unlike last year). We even stuck around for the singlespeed race to let Hutch know he still has a team! Here's photographic proof that at least one of our team members stuck around to watch Matt race. Great job Matt! Well, I really don't know if it was a great job to be honest. I just stuck around long enough to snap this picture of the first lap from my car window as we were getting the hell out of there. I think he finished. If you wanna know how he did just check our OBRA standings here: http://obra.org/teams/13084/2011

Matt had his first A race in the crusade and even beat a few people.

Marc only crashed once! That's a big improvement over last weekend!!

The Crusade Has Begun!!

2011-10-05T22:34:00.000-07:00

Yes. Finally, the Crusade has begun. This is the favorite time of year for the Portobello bike racing team and we are pumped to finally be racing cross. We even got some rain last week to get the ground a little slick, and to get us salivating for what's to come.

It was quite a day! Brent was so excited for the start of the Crusade that he soiled his Portobello skinsuit! Fortunately one of our awesome sponsors (Russell Cree/Upper Echelon Fitness) stepped up and gave Brent some new threads. Brent sure is looking like a Euro pro in that tight, white skinsuit. He also managed to kick some serious ass in the Master B race with a 4th place finish. Can an upgrade be far off? Stay tuned for details.

Jeff also had a great race. Despite racing against giants who were riding bikes with enormous tires. Jeff pulled off an impressive 20th place.

This random fellow in a Rapha Kit looked like he was having a good time. He should be smiling, he's leading Tim Butler on the second lap of the Master A race. He might also be smiling because he's Slate Olson, the North American Rapha guru and he doesn't have to pay for his Rapha kit! However, it could be that Slate is demoing some special Rapha chamois creme for Jeremey Powers. I know that would make me smile! Let's hope Slate's smile didn't fade too much when Butler smoked by him on the way to 3rd place.

Well, a whole bunch of other Portos raced on Sunday, and we all did pretty good. If you want to see how good we did just check out our full 2011 team results here: http://obra.org/teams/13084/2011 Just do us a favor and don't check out the current standings for the Crusade team competition. We are holding strong in 52nd place, but at least we're ahead of Team Bacon! And as a bonus, none of us ended up like this guy:

David Douglas Cross, Act 1

2011-09-05T18:17:00.000-07:00

Yeah, cross is here! Finally. This weekend we were up in Vancouver, WA at the first of two races at David Douglas park, which is an old school Cross Crusade course. This race is also the first round of the new Molly Cameron Grand Prix cyclocross series, a nine race series.

The racing went well for us, with solid performances for everyone who raced. We've got a few more tune up races in September before the Cross Crusade races kick off in early October.

Kreuger's Kermesse

2011-08-29T18:16:00.000-07:00

Oh boy! Cyclocross season is just around the corner. The days are getting shorter, it didn't get above 70 degrees today, and there was rain in the forecast for the first time in weeks this past Monday. Yep, all of the signs are pointing towards our favorite time of year for Portobello. Yeah, mountain bike racing is cool and road racing is fun (if you're into that sort of thing), but cross is the living, breathing, soul of this team and we are getting prepared to rumble!!!!

As a warmup several of us raced the kermesse up at Kreugers Farm on Sauvie Island on Sunday and we had a blast. Don Kreuger was kind enough to reposition a few of the farms sprinklers to give us a little mud on the course, and that left us with a nice coating of mud and dust. A perfect prep for cross!

Short Track Finale

2011-08-01T20:28:00.000-07:00

Tonight was the final race of the Short Track XC mountain bike series here in Portland. The last race of the night, and the season, was a 10-person relay race contested between 25 different teams of riders. It was an absolute blast. Here is a shot of our team, with Directuer Sportif/vegan gourmet guru Aaron Adams with us! Thanks to everyone who participated in the relay and everyone who raced during the short track season. Now we have a few weeks to rest, gain some fitness, and get ready for the cyclocross season.

Best Image of the 2011 Tour

2011-08-01T10:07:00.000-07:00

Perhaps one of the best cycling images of all time. Laurens ten Dam had a wicked, face first crash on Stage 14 of the Tour, earning him the Jens Voight hardman of the Tour award.

USGP of Cyclocross!!!!

2010-12-08T19:29:00.000-08:00

Yeah! Here we go! With the Cross Crusade finished it's time for the annual visit from the USGP of Cyclocross. This is one of the most entertaining races on the Oregon cycling calendar, with top pros from across the country descending on Portland for two days of racing before heading over to Bend for the National Championships.

Both days of the USGP are filled with racing in all categories and several of us Portobellos raced on the sweet course out at PIR! The course was incredibly muddy in a few spots, including shin deep mud that was completely unrideable during the morning races. However, most of the course was wide open and fast, which made for really fun riding.

Once our races were over, we took a well deserved break and watched the Elite Men and Women battle it out. All of the favorites for Nationals were in the hunt for the podium at least one of the days, and many Portland locals put in great showings.

Sue Butler is always a crowd favorite and she did not disappoint on Saturday! She rode an outstanding race and crossed the line in third place behind Luna teammates Katerina Nash and Georgia Gould.

Speaking of crowd favorites, Jeremy Powers really stole the show. Not only did he win both days in the Mens Elite races, but he bunny-hopped the barriers pretty much every time he came to them.

But the rider who got the biggest cheers, despite his performance, had to be Chris Horner. He was decked out in his Radio Shack kit and attacking the course. Although he didn't crack the top ten on Saturday, and he didn't race on Sunday, it was great to see him out there.

Barton Park Crusade Finale

2010-11-30T18:02:00.000-08:00

Grey skies and cold rain, a prefect way to end the 2010 Cross Crusade. And what better place to end it in than the gravel pit of Barton Park! Through the years Barton has provided some memorable races for the Crusade. The combination of typically cold, wet weather, and the unforgiving terrain take their toll on rider and bicycle.

We had a pretty big crew out racing for the finale, with Eric, Todd, Tony, Mark, and Dan in the early races, and Matt H., Justin, Tym, Matt C. and the "Prodigal Son" Pablo rockin the afternoon contests.

Mud, Sweat, and Gears - PIR

2010-10-29T00:40:00.000-07:00

Finally, the rains have come and cross season has fully actualized! It was feeling a little weird for a while, racing in the sun at Nincrossi and the dust bowl at Sherwood. I was thinking that buying the new Clement Crusade PDX mud tires was a mistake. But PIR never fails to bring the mud, and even though the race there was three weeks earlier than the last two years, we still managed to get some great, wet conditions.

We had a nice big crew out for the races on Sunday so it's a good thing we brought both tents! Big thanks to Jeff who volunteered to come out early and help set things up and take pictures all day, despite not racing. Another big thanks goes out to Team Oregon presented by Laurelwood Brewing. We were set up right next to them and their FOUR kegs, and they treated us to great beer all day long.

Nincrossi

2010-10-19T18:52:00.000-07:00

Well, this Saturday was the inaugural Nincrossi cyclocross race, held up in the hills of southwest Washington at the Washougal Motocross track. Tony, Ben, Matt and Marc we're treated to a fantastic day of weather and racing, and of course, beer. The race was sponsored by Ninkasi Brewery and they came armed with three kegs of their finest, and every racer got a free beer with registration! Yeah! This was great for us, seeing as how the first two Cross Crusade races have been dry events.

Well, this picture makes the course look pretty flat but it was really anything but! No section of the course could be described as flat, and each lap included two hard climbs that really separated the fields. Each lap also included a trip through the signature "N", which was a twisty course feature that was set on a steep hillside and shaped like the Ninkasi logo.

Despite the tough course we all had a great day and some pretty good results were had. And after it was all said and done, it was nice to kick back and relax with a cold one!

Heiser Farms

2010-10-12T08:59:00.000-07:00

While the Cross Crusade races have continued to grow and field sizes regularly run in the 200's, the growth of the popularity of cyclocross has also led to the addition of many other smaller races. On Saturday, Dan, Matt and Ben went to race at Heiser Farms, outside of Dayton, with field sizes topping out at 25.

Saturday started with a downpour and the rain stayed through the afternoon races making for a great, but very challenging race. While the very challenging greasy mud conditions left many struggling.....

.... Matt was able show off his handling skills and finish an impressive 2nd. Dan had a great race as well coming in 9th.

...and Ben managed to stay alive and get plenty of running in as well.

More pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/Portobello.Racing/HeiserFarms#

Hammer and the Nail

2010-10-11T09:43:00.000-07:00

Well, as Lance Armstrong once said, "Some days you're the hammer and somedays you're the nail." Today, we we're the nail! The muddy course at Rainier High School took it's toll on us resulting in 3 DNF's, bloodshed, and a long week ahead for our tool kits. The tough guy of the day award goes to Mark Adamski for running his bike across the finish line (see above) to avoid the DNF, and he still placed 61st out of 95!

Here's a shot of Dan powering up the final hill enroute to a solid finish.

Would you trust these guys with your daughter? Uhh no, I wouldn't either!

Zak moved up to the B's this week and rocked a great race.

Congratulations to Matt Hutchinson for getting the best result of the day for the team, 19th in the B race!

Cross Crusade Carnage

2010-10-11T09:19:00.000-07:00

Cross Crusade - Alpenrose

2010-10-06T21:28:00.000-07:00

Wow! Cross Crusade broke their own record for the biggest participation for a cross race and Portobello did its part with 13 riders lining up in their respected fields. Lauren decided last minute to try her first cross race and raced back home to get her shoes...luckily Aaron had her practicing dismounts the night before after Portobello closed up at midnight. Aaron brought Field Roast sausages and fixins', Tym brought coffee, Mark brought Shannon's raw energy treats(yum!), Jeff brought the grill and Marc organized having the tents up and ready the day before.

We had lots of people hanging out at the tents all day watching the action and cheering on our teammates. Just about eveyone crashed at least once on the fast and technical course that had everything but mud- sand pits, rutted grassy pasture, gravel, off camber sections, and barriers and hairpin turns in the velodrome. A shout out to Dan Werle who stopped during his race to take care of Tony after he was knocked down and run into. We'll be bringing ice to the pain cave at the next Cross Crusade!

Hood River Double Cross

2010-09-19T20:20:00.000-07:00

Some of the team went to Starcrossed in Seattle while others headed east for two days of racing at the Hood River Double Cross that was the plan anyway. The rain held off until late in the day, but the course was still wet in the grass and muddy in places, particularly at the dreaded wooden bridge where I saw my feet, trees and the sky all at the same time on 3 consecutive laps before deciding that walking would be a better option.

This course brought tears to many and Tony managed not to throw up after the race. Justin raced single speed in a pair of basketball shoes? Matt Cline had mechanical issues while Matt Hutchinson smiled for the whole race (no tears). Plans were made to camp next to the river, but when we arrived it was dumping rain and the campground looked like a Harley convention, so we cut our losses and headed back home for a soak at Kennedy School. Matt Cline, Justin and Todd raced on Sunday on what turned out to be a beautiful day.

Kruegers Kermesse

2010-08-29T20:13:00.000-07:00

One word: dusty. This was a transition race between the end of road season and beginning of cross. Looping around Kruger's Farm in a dust cloud then a downhill stretch through the trees and back into the brown snow globe. I used 8 q-tips after the race... per ear! On the bright side, Tracey and I left with a heaping box of veggies and the largest head of garlic ever got turned into delicious butter on the grill.

Horning's Hustle

2010-07-19T18:45:00.000-07:00

Well Ben, Matt and I tore it up at Horning's Hustle this weekend! Horning's Hideout is a great venue for a mountain bike race and the course was pretty awesome. This was also the first race for us in our brand new kits (thanks again Brent!) and we did our best to get them muddy and bloody! I think all three of us are looking forward to hitting the trail again at Bear Springs in two weeks.

Kit design is complete

2010-02-13T21:14:00.000-08:00

To feel like a team it helps to look like a team, and this week we got one step closer to realizing that goal. Brent created a really cool looking kit for us and he has been working with the folks at Champ Sys to turn his sweet design into reality. Well the design has been finalized and Champ Sys is ready to start making everything. It will probably be a few weeks before we see our order but it is really exciting to know that they will be here soon!!