I have to give a huge thanks to the Team Ironclad folks for the craziness pictured above. They were out Friday night at the Health Net Portland Crit trying to shame me into riding fast. And with my name on a 12 foot pink banner, and spelled correctly no less, how could I not at least try to do so? Big Murph deservedly took the win, but I put in one big go-for-broke attack on the last lap and barely held off Chad Hartley for second. If the finish line had been another 10 feet away, that probably wouldn't have been the case. But I'll take it. See Chad's take on the race, along with an eerily realistic rendering of the podium presentation, here.

The course was kind of ridiculous, but fun. There were six turns in less than a kilometer, and lap times were often under a minute. I probably spent as much time leaned over into the turns as I did actually pedaling my bike. And though the rest of the crowd wasn't quite as rowdy as the Ironclad crew, it was still big and raucous. Placing the course right in the midst of the nightlife district on a Friday night certainly proved to be a smart call. If the course could be made just a bit longer, it'd be nearly perfect. As it stood though, it was a great night of racing. It proves yet again that Portland embraces all things related to the bicycle. Thanks to everyone involved in putting on the race, and especially to those who came out and cheered. Someday I want to win that thing.

Five days prior to the Portland race, I was desperately trying to stay upright at the USPRO Crit Championships in Downers Grove, IL. My teammate Kirk O'Bee got second in the race behind Martin Gilbert of Quebec. Being the first American across the line, Kirk earned himself the stars and stripes jersey to wear in every crit he enters for the next year. I wish I could say I had a lot to do with that result, but I was basically just hanging out trying to avoid this all day. It was a stressful 100k.

I also had the chance to spend some time just outside of Madison, Wisconsin for the week leading up to the USPRO Crit. I'd always heard that the riding there was great, and now I can attest to that fact first hand. There is also an ever present scent of fermenting manure, but I won't quibble about the small things. It was a good week of training. Here are some photos:



All of this is building up to the last big race of the year for me, the USPRO Road Championships next Sunday in Greenville (SC, not NC. Duh!) Last year I made the first split on Paris Mountain by the skin of my teeth, only to have it caught just before the second trip up. That was pretty much the end of the day for me. I'm hoping for a bit more measured effort this year. It's difficult to make concrete goals on such a tough course and against such strong riders, but I'd be happy if I can stay with the lead group and not watch the finish on the jumbotron like last year. Of course, a result would be great. We'll see.

Anyone who's talked to me in the last few weeks has undoubtedly heard me bragging about getting to go the Tour of Britain next month. I was really looking forward to it. So one can imagine my surprise when I saw a press release printed on the BBC website Monday listing the 16 teams invited to this year's race, and Health Net was not one of them. It seems that the Health Net team management was equally surprised, as an invitation had been all but completely assured as far back as June. Whatever politics were at play completely elude me, but it's certainly frustrating. And with six of us set to race in Britain, the team for the new race in Missouri was already finalized and is unlikely to be changed at this point. So the bottom line is that I now have only 3 races remaining this season: the USPRO crit championships in Downers Grove, the Portland Criterium, and the USPRO road championships in Greenville, NC. All good races, but it'll lead to a much earlier end to the season than I would have liked.

So that's the bad news. When I really think about it, it does seem strange to complain about a longer off-season. It's sort of like a kid complaining about being forced to spend an extra 3 weeks on summer break. That wouldn't happen, so why should I be whining? Still, I'm a bike racer because I like to race bikes, and not getting to do so makes me unhappy. But so it goes.

Anyway, on to the good: another year of bike racing! Big changes are in store. After three years of racing for Health Net, I'll be moving on to a new team for next season. It's been a great experience getting to ride for such a strong, well organized team, and alongside so many great riders, for the last three years. I've learned so much as a bike racer and a person. Change, though, will be invigorating. I'm looking forward to the challenge of reestablishing my role in a team and hopefully doing some races that I haven't had the chance to experience. I don't want to scoop the new team on their roster announcement, so for now it'll go unnamed. Everyone will know soon enough. They have some big ambitions for next year and beyond, and it sounds like it's going to be a fun group of people to race with. I'm really looking forward to it.

Not too get too far ahead of myself, though. There are two national championships still to be contested this year, not to mention some serious hometown bragging rights up for grabs at the Portland Twilight Criterium. Come out and do some screaming on Friday, Aug 24th.