Oregon Gravel Epic Fail

The gloomiest/wettest/coldest spring in my four years in the PNW continues. Although it's been a week since the trip down to Oregon with some fantastically sunny/dry/warm-ish days in between, I'm currently sitting here listening to the sound of raindrops pattering against my living room window while I type this. 

I'll warn you now that there aren't that many photos of the ride itself. Constant driving rain has a way of encouraging me to keep my camera safely stowed away, especially when the roads are loose and bumpy. The Oregon Gravel Epic has been on the plans for the better part of a year and was meant to be one of the highlight rides of this season. With that in mind, you'd think that somebody that plans as meticulously as I do and has as much clothing for various conditions would be prepared for pretty much anything Mother Nature threw at us, but we'd both be mistaken. I was a victim of my own over-confidence in the forecast for shorts weather. Don't be like me; pack EVERYTHING.

ALL. THE. CLOTHES.

We woke up on Saturday morning to strong coastal winds, and though it was overcast and dry. That lasted for all of about 30 minutes or so because as soon as we left paved roads and hit the first dirt section, the sky sprung a leak and continued to empty itself for the entire morning. Long story short, Alex and I bailed out at the first aid station and took the option to do the short course instead of the full monty. When the organizer tells you that first aid will be at least an hour away if things go sideways and you're soaked to the bone with not enough foul weather gear, common sense and self-preservation should probably triumph over ego. It's a shame because despite the wet spring hampering my ability to get regular training in, my body felt fine and wouldn't have struggled with the terrain or ride profile at all. I had a handlebar bag full of om nom nom and with three total aid stations, it wouldn't have been a problem keeping up with caloric intake. There's always next year.

The good news is that we had plenty of fun off the bike hanging out with Alex's college roommate and his family and running into the usual spots in Portland. One of the highlights was Alex running into a former riding buddy who knows the owner of VeloCult and getting to venture down into the basement. If you've been there and seen the stuff that's hanging in the rafters on the main level, just imagine the cool shit that's packed away downstairs.

Year in review

The continued cold spell and the dangerously icy roads in the city have been keeping me inside lately, so there hasn't been much going on to document. I doubt you want to see the puddles of sweat under my rollers, even if I made it all artistic and ran it through ALL THE FILTERS.

Instead, I've spent the last week or so reviewing the archives from 2016 as I needed to pull some shots out for another project. I had toyed with the idea of creating a print calendar for fundraising but didn't get my act together in time to pull it off. I'd still like to create something physical and tangible this year, so that may take the form of a 'zine or a run of prints. 

Anyway, while reviewing, I thought it'd be interesting to look back at the year that was and pull the best from each month. Clicking on images will open them in a light box, which may be useful for fitting the larger portrait orientation shots on screen without having to scroll...

January 28. The weather at this point last year couldn't be more different. I was regularly able to go and do efforts up Cypress. It was really peaceful being able to get up there, dim my lights on the way up and ride by the glow of moonlight and the light polution from the city.

February 8. The snow did accumulate at the summit, but it was still completely rideable.

March 7. Looking at this, I can only reminisce about how nice it was before the traffic control measures put in place for the Burrard Bridge update. Looking forward to its completion, whenever that is... 

April 3. Gorge Gravel Grinder in the Dalles, OR. This was the first big event of my season with the usual gravel grinding crew. I love this one because it captures one of those quiet moments that's an integral part of any ride, race, or event, but is so often overlooked in the rush to get out there.

May 22. Gran Fondo Leavenworth, WA. I remember having to go pretty deep into the red to make it up the climb in order to get the shot of Calvin coming around that bend. It was also a nice reminder to slow down and look up from the Garmin every now and then; you never know what you could be missing.

June 20. Technically, I took delivery of my Naked steel racer back in April, but it took a few months to collect the small parts I wanted to finalize the build. This shot captures the combination of stainless steel, turquoise, and burple flake when the sun hits the frame juuuuuust right.

July 29. There was a lot going on this month including Superweek, one of my annual rides up Mount Baker, and just generally awesome weather for being outside, but there was no doubt that July's pick would come from my trip down the Oregon coast with Tobin. 

August 29. A non-cycling photo had to make it in at some point. This one took some planning in terms of figuring out the exact time of day where everything literally lined up and finding a friend willing to stand in as a model, but this one will go down as one of my favourites of all time.

September 3. I did a double take as I was riding past Park Royale and had to turn around to get this. It triggered the aesthetic sense that had been buried pretty deep for a while and was a nice reminder that I used to be able "see" this kind of thing all the time. The proof is in this secret gallery. Sometimes I wonder whether I should put the links to my non-cycling related portfolio back up for public viewing.

October 29. This month was the low point of my year; I had been sidelined from most of the CX season by injury or illness and when I taco'd my front wheel and jacked up my knee at Valley Cross, I decided to just throw in the towel and try again next year. I'd been feeling pretty sorry for myself, but this sunset made some progress towards turning things around. The fried chicken I had right afterwards helped too.

November 12. With racing out of the way, I was able to focus on shooting at events instead of splitting my attention. Portraits have always been high on the list of styles I enjoy and this one ticks almost all of the boxes I look for: interesting textures, nice diffuse lighting, good "colouration" in the iris, and overalll suitable for a monochrome conversion. I usually prefer shooting candid portraits, but this one sums up Sven so well, despite the direct look into the camera.

December 4. I've already written about SSCXWCPDX16, but back to portraits: one of the reasons I love them so much is their ability to convey stories and emotion. This one serves as an apt representation of the community of friends I've been able to build through this sport since moving to Vancouver a few years ago. To each of you: thank you for continuing to be there to support me and what I do, in all the various ways that you've shown it.

'Tis the season.

The off-season, that is. Aside from twice-weekly jaunts down to the climbing gym, I've been doing a self-imposed boycott on "serious" bike rides since my last race in November. The polar vortex certainly isn't helping the motivation factor at all, but it's been refreshing not worrying about putting fenders back on, remembering to charge my lights, or worrying about sketchy drivers and/or black ice while doing monotonous park laps after dark. I was all set on staying off my bike until the new year, but knew I had to come out of hibernation, if only temporarily, for the second annual CXmas50.

The event is hosted by Joe and Christine up in Lynn Valley where access to a spectacular trail network is literally at their doorstep. The big question was what conditions were going to be like up in the forest given the snow and freezing weather that's blanketed Vancouver for the past week. The day's forecast called for a cold, dry, sunny afternoon, which was a (possibly) welcome departure from Last year's ride where everybody got soaked by continuous rain and then subsequently froze on the way back. The city of North Vancouver had also decided to close a good chunk of the Lower Seymour Conservation Reserve trails due to downed trees, so we knew we were going to have a shorter ride for this year. No problem; it just meant more time for admiring the sun streaming through the frost-covered forest and whiskey drinkin'.

Trail conditions weren't as bad as I thought they'd be. The gravel sections contained of a lot of icy sections, but as long as you kept turning over a steady gear without any sudden accelerations or abrupt changes in direction, you were able to keep things rubber side down. Richard Juryn and Circuit 8 trails were a bit more challenging due to the crusty-topped snowpack that had been pockmarked by hikers' footprints and more ice. The challenge was to find a tire pressure low enough to afford some tractions without getting low enough to pinch flat or roll your tire when things inevitably got a little sideways. When all else failed, you simply got off your bike and pushed/carried it until you could find a spot to get back on and try again.

In the end, I was probably over-dressed for the occasion:
- bib shorts with windblock tights over top
- Craft Active Extreme baselayer (best damn cool/cold weather base I've ever tried)
- Thermo-roubaix long sleeve jersey
- Puffy down vest
- Arc'teryx Beta AR Gore Pro Shell jacket for the layering room
- Black Diamond ski gloves
- Smartwool ski socks with toe warmers adhered underneath
- Giro VR90s with Endura MT500 neoprene booties over top
- Merino neck buff and cap

My body tends to run on the cold side and based on last year's ride, we'd spend plenty of time standing around shooting the shit and swigging out of hip flasks so I wanted to make sure I wouldn't get chilled when we stopped. The puffy vest overkill given the dry conditions, but I ran with my pit-zips open for most of the day and was able to regulate well enough. The biggest problem was with the gloves: while they kept my hands plenty warm, they were too bulky, resulting in some forearm cramps as I struggled to find the least awkward grip on the levers while getting rattled over the lumpy terrain.

In summary, an excellent day of bad decision making amongst good friends, fuelled by alcohol and peer pressure. A huge thanks for Joe and Chris for opening up their home and being the gracious hosts that they are.

Only 364 days until we get to do this again.

Bad decisions abound. . #cxmas50 #crossruinseverythingaroundme #blameroni #fringesports

A video posted by Hung Mai (@hungmaiphotography) on

Aaaaand that's a wrap.

I think we can make it official now; I've pulled the plug on my 2016 CX campaign. My motivation has pretty much been drowned by the 28 days (out of 31) of rain during October and what I'm assuming will be a similar stat once November wraps up. Things didn't exactly go the way I planned this year and I'm ready to close the book and start planning for next year.

My season finished last weekend with Valley Cross Mill Lake, the venue of the first annual Valley Cross race last year. The organizers ran the course in reverse, but that didn't make things any easier on us. A paved start into a slight kicker of a hill then put racers onto some tricky off-camber including a 180 degree traverse. A paved downhill followed, leading into the flooded sand pit before forcing riders off the bike for the course's defining run-up and some tight 'n twisty stuff in the upper woods. The course finished with a fast sweeping left gravel downhill and a tricky multi-surface transition back onto the paved start straight.

It shouldn't come as a surprise that staying out and imbibing the night before would not be conducive to race performance, but I regret nothing. I thought I had done enough to re-start the hydration process before heading to bed, but was quickly proven wrong during my first pre-ride of the course. I blew what little energy I had on the opener and guzzled what remained of the fumes the first time up the run up. At that point, I switched to race plan B, which was essentially "how many hand-ups could I reasonably consume and still finish the race?" The answer, in no particular order:

  • beer
  • rum (I think)
  • marshmallow(s)
  • some disgusting chocolate covered cookie thing
  • mashed potatoes, possibly with some brisket mixed in. *FAVOURITE ITEM. MOAR PLZ*

At some point, the commissaires stepped in and shut the hand ups down (BOOOO), so I focused on not killing myself on the gravel downhill and finishing the race. Mission accomplished. For what it's worth, I was able to finish in the top half of the field (barely) and the bonus was having a few nice snaps taken by James Lissmore Photography.

So, what's next? I'll probably be shooting at provincials this weekend and will be down in Portland for SSCXWC in Portland next week to drink/party/heckle. There's still the season closer at Hastings Racetrack on December 10th, but that's something for future me to think about.

 

 

Nothing goes according to plan

Took a little day trip down to Washington to climb Hurricane Ridge. The plan was to head down on Saturday morning, do the climb, camp out, and then sneak in another ride somewhere on Sunday before heading back.

The departure for the trip down was made at a (relatively) reasonable hour and was uneventful. Instead of paying the exorbitant BC Ferries rate, we drove through Anacortes and took the much better priced Coupeville-Port Townsend ferry. Even with the drive time and fuel cost, we still came out ahead compared to passing through the Island. Alex and I enjoyed pretty much perfect weather for the entire day: sunny, but a cool 20°C with a slight breeze and were able to enjoy a very recently repaved road up to the summit.

Camping plans didn't quite pan out, so huge thanks to Julie for enduring a long late night drive back to Vancouver.

5/7. Would do again.