Past 3 Weeks

I feel like I've been neglecting the blog the last three weeks, but no more of that! The truth is there has been a bunch of new things in the past 3 or so weeks it's been hard to keep track of it all, and of course to eventually get it down in writing...errr...typing I guess? Well sit down, and make sure to crack open an energy drink of choice because this one is going to be a long one..

Let's start off with the new trails that will be at the Radlands very soon! For those of you who don't know, the Radlands is going to be a trail system in northeast redmond, and the trailhead is by the High Desert Sports Complex. You know the one with the BMX Track, RC Airplane Field, and some softball fields. I have to say I am really excited about this project that the Trinity Bikes Cycling team is a huge part of. There is truly going to be something for every skill level there from beginners to pros, but let's talk about the most recent trip I made out there.

From Left to Right (Bob Gilbert, and Chris Dodson)
 Checking out the massive amount of trail options out in the
Radlands in Redmond, OR.

My teammate Bob Gilbert, and I made the short trip from the home base out to the Radlands to meet up with Chris Dodson from the Central Oregon Trail Alliance to flag up some new trails to work on when we have our next trail build day. We spent approximately 5 hours wondering around like a small group of lost sheep scoping out all the technical features we could fit in to the new trails, and ya know what? It was worth it!

Bob popping a squat..errrr...I mean making a makeshift map
of the trail.

The phrase of the day had to be "That's a beautiful slab.", and it was for good reason. For those of you who don't know I'm talking about slabs of rock, which you can either ride up or down on your bike. There is going to be one section of trail with a rock feature littering the trail nearly the entire time you're on the bike, or at least that's what it seemed like when we flagged it out. I'm going to have to unofficially name this trail mini moab, and everyone will know why soon enough! But like I said before there is going to be something for everyone in this trail network, so if rocks aren't your thing, then there is plenty of other trails that will be smooth, and flowy for your riding pleasure.

All that being said we do need support from the community to make this happen quicker! The Trinity Bikes Cycling Team will be hosting a trail build day to continue improving, and expanding the trail system. It will take place at the High Desert Sports Complex on March 10th. I will have a link with more information as soon as it's up for everyone to check out! We need to get everyone out there!

Now let's move on to the following weekend. Sean Lewis sent out a text message to everyone, and before I knew it we were set for a Sunday breakfast followed by a ride up Gray Butte. Mr. Lewis as we now call him arrived right on time at 8:00 right when he said he would be there. The only problem? Well the rest of us were just waking up (Sorry Mr. Lewis). None the less shortly after he arrived everyone was up, and before

Shane Johnson Trinity Bikes Team Chef making some
yummy deliciousness. 

we knew it the aroma of eggs, and french toast filled the house, thanks to Shane of course...After we fueled up on some amazing omelettes, and french toast the 4 of us (Sean Lewis, Shane Johnson, Bob Gilbert, and I) were ready to shred it up on some Gray Butte action. For those of you who don't know it has some nice climbing in it...Not exactly the best idea after filing up on a massive amount of food, but it was largely agreed upon we would just take a nice easy Sunday ride. In fact, Bob and I joked that we would let Sean, and Shane beat us to the top of the climb after our 3 hour ride the day before, and for me 2 consecutive 3 hour days on the bike before that. Let's just say when you get a group of competitive cyclist together you can pretty much throw the idea of an easy ride out the window. Needless to say everyone was had there heart rate pinned to the max for the majority of the ride. I won't say who came out on "top", but I will say I wasn't going to let my long rides before this one be an excuse. At one point in the ride we were just riding into the fog, which gave you an odd sensation as you weren't to sure what was coming up next, but it was extremely fun as well. There was some close calls on the downhill with Shane nearly going down, and nearly careen down the side of the trail.

Hey wait a second, isn't that the 2nd crash in a short period of time Shane? Eh buddy? You need to learn how to stay ON the bike sir. All kidding aside it was a great ride that was mostfully mud free...Well until the very end, and our mostly clean bikes got covered in Mud. There was also a high speed downhill on a nice dirt road that reminded me of the Super D at Return of the Jedi in Merlin, OR...Oh boy, I'm excited to do that again! After all was said, and done it was time to head back to catch the Super Bowl, and of course enjoy some amazing Nachos! Hey....We earned it that day!

Now finally I'm onto the most recent....This past weekend! We were off to Salem again, only this time not for flagger training..Nope...We were going to OBRA Officials training! This time there was 5 of us crammed into the little Subie. It was Shane, Shane's other half Sam, Bob, Cory Tanler and I this time. Of course I completely forgot to call window on the way over, and I ended up sitting in the middle. Not exactly the most comfortable position with 2 other guys in the back seat. I took this as an opportunity to get my time trial position dialed in. Elbows together, shoulders in...Yup, you get the idea. All kidding aside we made the best of it, and before we knew it we were in Salem again!

This time I came knowing they would have all sorts of goodies to eat once we arrives, and boy did they! They took care of us with Bagels, Muffins, and an assortment of juice, and of course coffee..I was excited to learn more about what it takes to put on a race on the OBRA side of things since I will be putting on a race this year.

Sunset in the Valley from my perch on the bike

Oh I almost forgot! Trinity Bikes was there in full force, not only did we have Bob, Shane, Cory, and I there, but Juan Ramirez, and Sean Lewis meet us there. That's 6 out of 9 of the team members, not a bad showing at all...We learned the ins and outs of OBRA officiating, and scoring. Basically what it came down to was we need to get ourselves out there on some crews and learn from some first hand experience.

After that was done we needed to stretch our legs after the long cramped ride in the car. It was a brisk hour and and half ride followed by some Jack in the Box. Not exactly the first choice when you're an amateur cyclist, but hey we were hungry and a burger sounded good. After an amazing 1,500 calories with the water cooler of strawberry fanta. No Bob, It doesn't taste like syrup that sir is a lie. Before we knew it were back home, and next up on the plate? A 4 hour ride with Shane the following day.

Shane Johnson after the majority of the climbing

We were determined to get at least 4 hours in on the bike, so we headed out on lost pine to Prineville, and then out to Prineville Reservoir. I severely underestimated the amount of climbing that would take, and what was supposed to be a zone 2 aerobic ride quickly turned into a threshold get to the top as fast as possible ride, before to long we had to turn around and head back or the 4 hours we were shooting for would soon become 5 or 6. Everyone knows the old saying "what goes up must come down?" right? Well, that 4 mile climb turned into a 4 mile downhill with the top speed being 59.8MPH according to the Garmin. That's right, faster than the majority of speed limits in Oregon.

Now I must confess I am a bit odd when it comes to on the bike hydration, and nutrition. Odd being that I can go for long distances of time without water or food. By long time I mean 3 or 4 hours. Of course not all of us are built that way, and Shane was out of shot bloks after we reached Prineville for the 2nd time, which happened to be at hour 3 and approximately 57 miles in. Needless to say Shane needed energy, and he got it in the form of a Snickers bar at the local grocery outlet. He said it was the most amazing Snickers bar he had ever had, but I know that was just because he was on the bridge of bonking big time. With Shane now fueled up we continued our way back to Redmond, and let's just say I still had energy left even without eating anything, while also having about half the water still in my water bottle. So of course I decided I would set the pace for the ride back, and I did just that. It was just that someone who will go unnamed didn't draft like he should have, and ended up yoying back and forth. When all was said and done we got back 20 minutes over the 4 hour mark we set, and at 77 or so miles.

Of course Bob was sitting there all kitted up, and hadn't gone for his ride, so I joked to him come on Bob let's go! And well we did...We went for another 26 miles with some steep hills thrown in. Let me tell you one thing those steep hills hurt real bad when you have already logged 90 miles in before it. It was the good kind of pain I was experiencing though! The kind that you know will make you a stronger cyclist in the end. By the time we got back I had put in 103 miles in five and a half hours. By far the longest ride of the season, and one of the longest rides I have ever done, but I'm sure with this 20 hour week of training I will get close to that mark again very soon! What doesn't kill you makes you stronger right?


Thanks for reading, and until next time keep the rubber side down

-Austin Line

It's almost here...

So it's been awhile since I've made a post, and I thought that with the first race of the season approaching now is a better time than ever to make one. Of course just because I haven't updated this blog in a few weeks doesn't mean I haven't blogged at all...I blogged about our recent trip to the Valley for some flagger training, and since I don't feel like re-posting it. You can check it out here on the teams blog here..

http://trinitybikescycling.blogspot.com/2012/01/flagger-training.html

It's been a whirlwind past few weeks to be honest. I just completed my first week of Base 1 training, which is putting me right on schedule to be in top form for Mountain Bike Nationals in Sun Valley, Idaho and of course the Cascade Cycling Classic in my good old hometown of Bend, Oregon. To be honest the legs aren't feeling to bad after the 15 or so hours I put on them this week, so I'm extremely excited to keep this going, eventually building up with some high intensity stuff...Oh did I mention in two weeks is the first road race of the season? Yup in two weeks Shane and I will be heading down to Corvallis to test our early season legs..I'll be sure to let everyone knows how that works out. Although I'm not expecting much, I would love nothing more than to have a decent result down there, but it won't be the end of the world if I don't...If there's one thing I have learned it's that people who are fast in the spring usually are toast by the time summer comes around, which is when the racing really begins.

I have to mention one last thing before I wrap this post up. I have to give a huge thanks to Bob, and Shane. They are not only my teammates, but are two of my best friends whom I consider family more than anything. We push each other to train, and when were training we push each other harder than anyone ever will. There's an extremely positive vibe within the team right now because of that. We are expecting big things out of ourselves, and the team this year. Everyone better watch out for the blue and white checkers this year! The Trinity Bikes Cycling Team is going to be making some noise!


-Austin Line