That was it, I was done, now I could just drink beer and cheer on Mark and Pepper while taking in the pro races. Radness ensued. I shot a bunch of video with my little camera and, in most of them, you can hear me, drunk and hoarse, usually yelling the name of a Canadian. Ah well, I was on vacation so there’s no shame. Here’s a collection of photos, videos, and other bits and pieces from the experience. I can’t help but feel compelled to do something with all the media and memories that you end of collecting on the way. 21st century journal, I suppose. But that’s it, all out and I can stop blogging about this thing. Can’t wait to go back for more.
A funny thing happened on the way to a bike race.
Mark had requested some pump up tunes for his last USGP (and race) of the season. I thought quickly and came up with some Daft Punk. Good beat. Energizing. Dope. And poetically appropriate for a guy that started racing his bike in March, competing every weekend while holding down a 9-5 as a bike messenger. Mark ought to get a chamois surgically grafted onto his ass. I queued up the track and hit play just as we hit a round-a-bout on the drive down. Mark was feeling inspired and we ‘One more timed!’ the round-a-bout approximately six more times. Yes, we drove around and around and around, laughing hysterically while all the traffic nervously held back from entering. I’ll be 39 in April but I’m going to tell you – you don’t stop playing ’cause you get old, you get old ’cause you stop playing. It was a riot and just the kind of stuff that makes driving your bikes 1500kms south to do some obscure, European sport, the brilliance that it is.
Some cool locals gave me this sticker and some beer. From the keg in their truck.
That’s ‘cross in Bend. We talked Canada-US relations, discussed the state of beers, talked about our races, and hoped to cross paths again in the future.
Jeremy Powers is really fast but also really nice. And I look like a muppet. Why does only half my face ever smile?
I can’t understand why anyone says anything bad about this guy. I guess people hate success, but he’s practically impossible to dislike. Sure, maybe you don’t dig Behind the Barriers, for whatever your reason, I happen to really like it, but as a racer and a human being ‘J-Pow’ is straight up and top notch. He was going into the outhouse just before the start of his race and I thought I’d take a photo of him coming out – that might be sort of funny, like, ‘hey look he’s human.’ So I’m standing there with my camera and he pops out. I’m about to take the pic when he goes, “Hey, want our picture together?” I wasn’t about to explain that I was taking a pic of him at the outhouse, and why not have a pic? So he got someone to take it. It didn’t work the first time so we had to redo it all while he’s racing in about 3 minutes. He was totally calm, cool, collected and considerate. I’m a fan.
Leaders charge the dusty singletrack on the first lap. I grunt something at Mark.
Its funny ’cause there are always jokes on The Twitter Feeds about Chris Jones crashing. And then, right there, he goes down!
This is the punchy little hill that you had to line up right to clean. Otherwise you were a’runningggg like Forest Gump. Best part is the guy going “Come on Sean Babcock, you’re killing it, dude!” So CX.
Some Random Pics
[...] keep the record up to date on the club blog. I recapped my own experiences at these races through a series of more detailed posts over on my personal blog, but as Mark and I were Synergists representing both club and country in the US of A it’s [...]