Ken Morton

Hillsboro Stadium, or Mud Hens in the Field



One word can summarize Sunday's Cross Crusade Cyclo Cross opener: mud.

OK, it was not as bad as last year's race at Alpenrose, or last year's

Nationals event at PIR, but it was muddy. Muddy, and cold and rainy -

in other words, perfect Cycle Cross weather!



Sam and I were up early and made it to Hillsboro before 8:30. We made

a quick stop at Fred Meyer for breakfast (Maple bars & apple fritters)

and health food (banana's & Luna bars) and we headed over to the

stadium. The first place I parked was about 5 miles from the OBRA tent,

so after signing in, I moved the Llama Box (AKA Honda Element) closer

to the action.



Warming up was a chore. When packing this morning, I'd tossed in my

winter gloves: "I won't need these, but might as well take them". I

brought both my warm thermal Hammer Products jacket and my BBC rain

shell, just in case. I just got the Hammer jacket, and it's nice and

toasty great for loading stuff up in the morning. I have some Nike

knickers that are perfect for cross and wore those along with my BBC

jersey and an under layer. Up top, I was set.



Unfortunately, I wore summer weight socks and my mountain/cross shoes

are nicely vented. My feet were soaked before I even started the race.

Did I mention that it was POURING rain while I was trying to warm up?

And that it got really chilly? I crawled into the Llama Box more than

once and ran the heat to warm up.



While Sam and I were pinning numbers on (I wore the BBC jacket during

the race) we heard an announcement. "We have a special prize for Ken

Morton if he finishes his race." What the heck?" I wondered. Sam wanted

me to go check it out, but I declined. "Wait until I finish."



I raced in the Masters B class, so I was in the second race. Unusually,

I did not make a lap before the race. I decided that I'd be better off

today to start with fresh legs and a clean bike. Jay did the same

thing, although he did bring his spinner to warm up on. Next race I'm

bringing my spinner as well! And, I really need an Easy Up (tm)

shelter.



On the line, I asked Jay what air pressure he was going to run. Jay has

lots of mountain bike experience, so I listen to him about such things.

He was running around 50 lbs., so I decided the 60 lbs. I had in my

tires might be too much. I opened the valves and bled a little off, I

probably was running around 55 lbs. They worked pretty well, except for

the first time I went over the curb.....after the first time, I

remembered to lift the rear wheel as well!



At the start, Jay and I were in the back of the field. I got a little

better line over the madhouse that was the carpet, but then got shut

off going into turn one. I watched Jay slip through the middle of the

field, and that's the last time I saw him! I did pretty well in the

mud, and started passing a few people. The first little climb was mine,

and I rocketed around a couple riders. After the climb, there was a

little downhill, then an oversize "berm". The first two times, I took

the highline around the berm. On my second trip, I heard someone on the

side coaching another rider. "Take the low line, it's faster!" I tried

it the next lap, and it was, so I used that line the rest of the race.



After the berm, there was a short grass section, then a long gravel

section after a hard right turn. I flew down the gravel, feeling good.

Around another corner, and the course turns to mud. Paul Simon goes

through my head, "Slip sliding away, slip sliding away..." I stayed

upright, and eventually got pretty good at this section.



There was a short climb as we went back onto the grass, easily ride

able. Then there was perhaps the trickiest part of the whole course, a

side hill decent with a turn at the bottom. This was the only place I

came close to crashing. A quickly unclipped foot kept me upright and I

got back on course quickly. After the turn was the run-up, bark covered

to make sure it was not ride able.



After the run up, there was a flat section and then a downhill, covered

in bark. Next a flat grass/mud section and then gravel again. I found I

could pedal down the hill and just float through the mud, gaining some

time here. One of the great things for me this race is that I always

had someone around me that I could race with. It's hard to keep

motivated when you're all alone off the back.



Both sections in the back (south bound?) were into a head wind. The

first lap the head wind did not seem that bad, but it got worse later.

At the end of the first section, there was a hard turn and a dip. The

course took a narrow sidewalk, so you had to hit the corner right, as

there was a curb on the outside. A quick straight stretch lead to a

hard right and a transit across the grass, parallel to the road. I

rocked this section. My IRO is at it's best on bumpy grass. The steel

frame and fork combined with the curved seat stays and plush tires give

me a great ride over the grass. I'm able to mash the pedals and just

hover over the seat. I blew by a couple riders on this section by

staying close to the road in the grass.



The second run-up might have been ride able with less mud. It was a

short, off camber climb with a sharp turn. The first two times, I rode

as far as I could. When the tires slipped out, I hopped off the bike

and ran. The only problem was, I was on the wrong side of the bike! I

swapped sides with the bike while running through the second corner,

but I'm sure it slowed me. On my final laps, I dismounted while still

in control so I'd be on the right side of the bike.



Another bumpy grass and mud section, then a fast part of the course,

with gravel leading to pavement. The gravel section was into the

headwind, and every lap I looked for a wheel to suck. For the most

part, if I found one they were going too slow and I ended up passing

them, or I had to work to catch them, and then we'd hit the 180 degree

turn onto the pavement. The pavement was my Achilles heel, as I did not

have the gearing I needed there. Saturday, I changed the gearing to

38/18 (from last week's 38/20). I could really have used a 39 or 40

chain ring, but I don't have one yet. On the first lap, I was able to

spin up to about 21 mph on the backstretch, but on the rest of the laps

17 mph was about the best I could hold.



After the straight, all my road skills came into play making the fast

corners on the pavement. I barely slowed, in fact pedaling out of both

corners. Then there was the hard right back to the front stretch and

the only barriers, a six pack just before the finish line. I did 'ok'

for the most part through the six pack, but my technique could use some

work!



I had people cheering for me all over the course. Sam was at the last

turn, and yelled every time I came through. Lisa Graham was helping

with scoring and cheered me on and yelled at me to "go faster!" There

was someone else out back in the grass, but I never saw who it was.

Either that, or there was another "Ken" racing close to me!



I felt great, except for the 3rd lap. That lap, I ran the barriers

really well, but I was just a little TOO aggressive. After I remounted,

I couldn't catch my breath. I pedaled slowly past the pit entrance. It

was everything I could do to turn the pedals over, as I gasped and my

chest heaved. I settled into a slow cadence and consciously worked on

breathing out. Slow the legs, slow the breathing, and push out. I kept

moving as one rider passing me. Finally, I made it to the hill. OK,

have to push now and spin the legs up to get over. That's better, I'm

back! After that I felt OK again, which I always think is weird!



I got lapped by the 'C's on my 4th lap, making it my last. I think only

3 or 4 of them passed me, and I was passing other 'C' riders towards

the end of my lap. My last trip through the six-pack was classic - ride

up too fast, just barely clear the first barrier with the bike as I'm

slinging it through the air. Finally, get it shouldered and run through

the barriers and all the way to the finish.



As I was approaching the finish, again I heard the announcement about

the special prize for me if I finished. After finishing and turning in

my timing chip, I stood around for a few moments getting my breath.

Then I approached the announcer. "OK, I finished, what's my prize?" I

asked.



It was my checkbook, which I'd left at registration! Doh!



According to the chip computer, I got 41st. There are lots of problems

however, so I don't know how accurate that is. I hope I did better, but

even if I didn't, it's better that the 50-something I averaged last

year in the beginner class. And I did it with one speed!



Sam had a hard race. He got a bad start, and had to work his way

through the field. By the end of the 1st lap, he was in 3rd and looked

like he was closing. I went to change and get cleaned up and the next

time I saw him, he was 4th and sliding. Among other things, he had too

much air in his tires, and the wrong tires for mud. He crashed a bunch

and as he said, just did not have the legs to keep up. He finished 4th

I'm pretty sure, and Jake finished 3rd, so it was not all that bad! Sam

also lost one of his brand new Voler knee warmers.



Sam and I will miss next week's race, as we'll be in Vegas. Lisa and I

are getting married Saturday. We will be back the week after though,

where hopefully we'll both do a little better.



Ken









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