(File photo)
Last night was not the type of roller-coaster ride I expected to have at my first mountain bike race of the year.
I rode out to Portland International Raceway (a short ride from north Portland) to revel in the whoops, turns and twists of Kris Schamp’s ever-popular MTB Short Track course. Minutes before the singlespeed race, Schamp let me hop on his beautiful new Trek 69’er (which fit like a glove).
I was eager to clear my head with some good, old-fashioned, elbow-to-elbow bike racing.
The gun went off, I tore into the first turn with a giddy grin. And then it was over. Rear tire blowout. I was bummed. But that’s the thing about racing: it’s full of highs and lows.
Fortunately, for the other 200+ racers that showed up, it was a perfect night for racing and the course was phenomenal.
But don’t take my word for it. Sit back and enjoy this short slideshow of the action:
Created with Paul’s flickrSLiDR.
