Made the OBRA calendar into a google calendar.

HTML

http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=kenji73sugahara%40gmail.com&ctz=America/Los_Angeles

iCal

http://www.google.com/calendar/ical/kenji73sugahara%40gmail.com/public/basic.ics

XML

http://www.google.com/calendar/feeds/kenji73sugahara%40gmail.com/public/basic

With Cyclocross season winding down, I wanted to take a moment to talk about a misunderstood group of people: singlespeeders.

When I first decided to give Cross a try, I wanted to do singlespeed (or as I call it, one-gear). Galen Mittermann (Midtown Direct) asked, “Sal, why would you choose the hardest category?” At the time, I didn’t have a good answer. Now, I do.

‘Cause it’s awesome . . .

It takes a while to come to that conclusion, however. When you first start riding one-gear, you try to use it as an excuse or a handicap. You find yourself always in the wrong gear for every situation. You start thinking things like, “Oh, well, yeah, I could have ridden that run-up too, if I had gears.” You learn to hate B’s that come flying by you on straight-aways in their big rings. But, eventually the tide turns and you realize you are handi-capable.

This happened early for me. At my first Thrilla in Bend, Ryan Trebon lapped me halfway into the race. As he passed he said, “Come on Buddy!”

As I was about to yell back my excuse, I looked down at his freewheel, and I’ll be damned if he wasn’t a singlespeeder. Well shoot. By the time I figured out what to say, he was gone. He didn’t need any excuses, and didn’t have time to hear any from me.

As they say in British car racing, “Push on regardless.”

You learn to spin, you learn to mash, you learn to run and you learn to love the natural feel of it all. In talking to fellow one-gear riders, the one word that keeps getting repeated is, “simplicity”.

Maybe that’s why, as a group, we are thought of as “earthy”, riding unpainted frames with flat bars.

We may have some tattoos, and drink a little beer, but the truth is we are a bunch of hard-core bike racers that will stack up against anybody. So, the next time you see a singlespeeder racing in another category, give ‘em a shout. And the next time you see a hundred singlespeeders flying down the start straight, back up, cause it will be all knees and elbows. Oh, and the next time you buy a bike, make it a one-gear.

-Sal

All dates are tentative. Also- please be aware that Walla Walla is a WSBA/USAC race- it is in this calendar only for reference.

2010 Calendar

It’s nice to immediately bookend the Mountain Bike Season with something, well, else. What better activity than racing cars around in the prairies of Eastern Washington? Carl and I hastily departed Las Vegas at 6am (not soon enough) on Thursday morning in order to have time to take care of some last minute prep on the Rally Car and maybe, possibly, get a bit of rest before piling into the Dodge with Carl’s Dad for the seven hour drive from Bend to Pomeroy, Washington. We just barely got the car buttoned up at about 1am but were still on the road, Longboard Louie’s breakfast burritos in hand, by 11am on Friday. The plan was coming together…

After we left Tech Inspection and Registration with a (for our roving gong-show) minimal amount of being made to feel like complete novices it appeared that the weekend of racing was starting off without a hitch. Our decision to check out the sticking right rear brake was made quite effectively on the short drive to the Pioneer Motel (a whole ‘nother set of issues) during which the car refused to coast and the brake got quite hot, to say the least… We had the right tools for the job though. Anything you could ever need was right in the back of the Dodge. We had a Leatherman, some scissors, vice grips, a hammer and the impact wrench. And the bucket o’ bolts. An hour later we’d used the hammer and concrete wall out front in all manner of ways and eventually removed the offending seized part. It was honed and buffed with the most rudimentary techniques, greased liberally and reinstalled. Success. Fortunately on our midnight test drive we realized that the Odometer was already calibrated and promptly went to bed, wondering how triple digit speeds through the praries with only a Route Book would work out in the morning…

Our first instruction in the morning with said Route Book (not to be confused with detailed Pace Notes, a Route Book basically tells you where to go and where not to crash into people’s barns) was clearly at the end of what we determined, by listening to the cars in front of us shift through five gears before braking, was a “Pavement Ends/90 Left”. Carl used the slightly uphill braking zone concerningly late (code for perfect) to haul us down from around 90mph and flick the Subaru into a beautiful third gear slide past the first of many homesteads. It was ON! The stage climbed through Geiger Gulch on flowing smooth gravel and eventually crested onto the winter wheat covered plateaus that characterize the majority of eastern Washington. Good sightlines made up for the lack of accurate notes and we posted a solid first stage time as told by the volunteer timekeepers who were getting dusted out by every car. Thanks, timekeepers…

The first few stages rolled along smoothly, getting our bearings and having surprisingly good time hauling ass through gulches and open fields. Initial fears of the speeds and unfamiliar terrain gave way to wide smiles at the end of each stage that Carl clearly drove very, very well. It wasn’t until stage four that we realized just how well Carl was driving though, the timekeepers handed us our card and said kind of excitedly, “nice work”. We inquired casually (not sure of protocol on this) as to just how “nice” our work was. They casually responded that our work was the “nicest” they’d seen as of yet. This meant quite a lot to us as the first car on the road was none other than Carl Jarvedall, a seasoned rally veteran who cut his teeth racing the Swedish Rally Series back in his home country. For those who aren’t familiar with the distribution rallying around the world, Scandinavia is the epicenter. Mr. Jardevall holds a variety of stage records around the northwest and pilots an absolutely immaculately prepared Mitsubishi Evo. When we saw him in Parc Expose in the morning we immediately were excited to see how close we could get to his times but never once considered besting them. Suddenly we had a race on our hands. Carl once again posted a faster time on the next running of Ball Grade Up, which happened to have a solid dose of down as well, allowing the all-out-attack skills of the formerly underpowered Wheels of Teal on downhills to shine through. The last two miles of that stage are the most impressive driving I’ve seen Carl put together to date, linking fifth-gear sweepers together over crests like it was a walk in the park. Stoked, and with smoking brakes, every time…

The day ended with back-to-back runnings of the Maxwell Hill stage around dusk. With Jardevall fifty seconds up we knew outright victory was unlikely but hoped to post another fast stage time or two. The cagey veteran had our number though, despite being within one m.p.h. of his speed approaching the spectator area there were some other places on the seven-mile stage that we were clearly slower, finishing ten seconds down on run #1. The second running demonstrated the value of early road position clearly as the Evo sped off into the sunset with no dust ahead and dying winds. We took off ten minutes later with fading light and hanging dust from the cars in front, losing a further twenty seconds to Jardevall in just one stage. Oh well, at least we had a little battle going for a few stages there. It was and exciting day and we were even more excited to eat a provided chilidog dinner and not work on the car with the wrong tools into the night.

Just to make sure we were still respecting our day job, Carl and I started Sunday out with a jog through town to check out our tracks from the day before. They were rad. And someone crashed. A quick brake bleed (they get hot with triple digit speeds) and we rolled the car into our new Parc Expo position, second on the road behind Jardevall. We were stoked to get to see his tracks and feel like we were really in the hunt for the win. Turns out Carl drives a bit, well, looser than the other Carl, we were consistently entering and exiting further outside, taking more liberties with the wide roads and adjusting the line on the fly. Decker was in his groove right off the bat, driving what we thought was a solid opening stage. Jardevall laid down some track that we’ll just call generous into a downhill junction, showing us just where not to go off the road, but somehow still beat us by ten seconds. Keeping us honest we supposed… The next stage was more of the same but we kept it much closer, only seven seconds over twice the distance. It wasn’t until stage two that we got the now-familiar look of approval from the timekeepers. The Breakdown stage is a great place for just that, the smooth flowing county roads were traded for a decommissioned, overgrown route through a narrow wash, which was crossed numerous times via car-breaking rocky ditches. No matter though, Carl just kept ‘er loose and took some even greater liberties with the line (and weeds) to post a time a solid ten seconds faster than the “too shiny” Evo of our competitors. Solid.

A nice mid-day service break, lunch, some weed removal and we were on our way out of town for the final three-stage loop of the weekend. First stage was a dead heat at 4:40, then Jardevall punched it again on New York Road to eke out another few seconds, leaving the gap at 23 seconds coming into the last running of Breakdown. We’d taken down some notes as to the roughness of the ditches and corners to be cut and reckoned a faster time was definitely possible, kind of like a busted in half car was possible. The spot-on Wild West Rally crew not only kept things on time all weekend, but actually let us start a couple minutes early on the final stage. We were more than ready. Carl continued earning his black-belt rally driver status, following my commands perfectly and taking a further 10 seconds off our first run of the stage. We allowed ourselves to consider the unlikely prospect of Jardevall having gotten slower somehow on the second running on the 18 mile transit back to service and the virtual finish line. Not surprisingly, the Swede got faster as well, but only matched our first time, we took the gap down to 16 seconds on the day. Not too shabby for a couple of bike racers learning the ropes in a conservatively (cheaply) prepped car. Jardevall, usually a quiet guy, was more and more stoked throughout the day to have someone challenging him and opened up to provide some valuable advice. His Co-Driver, Jason Grahn, did the same, in between talking shit about how we couldn’t hope to beat them… it’s this kind of camaraderie that makes racing cars in the dirt equally enjoyable to racing bikes in the same medium. Must be something about pavement that makes people take things too seriously. Or maybe it’s money…

In any case, it was a weekend of racing that exceeded even our loftiest expectations and got us fired up to learn more and get better at this intriguing new sport. Carl’s dad was even more stoked than usual, having gotten to go out to a few spectator areas to see just how well his son was driving that little white car with AC/CD on the hood.

We’ll be rocking around in the Mt Hood National Forest next weekend trying to get the same kind of cheers that people love to give a car that, upon first glance, appears to be a rolling tribute to who many consider the greatest rock band of all time…

Here’s a little video we found on the internet, after this quote from our friend Byron Garth we decided not to turn on the in-car camera… “If I had the camera running I would’ve stuffed it miles before I did…” (He rolled his freshly prepped new WRX on the same corner that claimed rally vet Paul Ecklund and fellow Impreza pilot Mike Goodwin)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vGq7GmsEpg

Team Rubicon-ORBEA
Norrene Godfrey
3014 L Street
Vancouver WA 98663
Tel: 503-806-2215

For Release: Immediate Release

TEAM RUBICON IN SEARCH FOR TITLE SPONSOR FOR UCI CONTINENTAL TEAM

Portland, Oregon –Team Rubicon-ORBEA, presently known as Land Rover-ORBEA; Benefiting the
Lance Armstrong Foundation, a first year UCI continental team, is in search of a title sponsor. Rubicon’s two-year partnership with Land Rover will end December 31st, 2009.

“For 2010 the team’s goals are to grow the young development team’s roster to 13 road riders and add three development track riders with a focus on the 2012 Olympics in London,” says Godfrey, the team’s co-owner and co-founder. “We are looking to grow the team slightly to help a few more young riders reach their dreams. While leading five-to-six charity rides throughout the US in 2010 and send even more cancer survivors to the LIVESTRONG Challenge events in Seattle, California, Philadelphia and Austin.”

In order to continue on with the team goals for 2010, Team Rubicon- ORBEA needs to come up with a title sponsor by November 5th.

“Securing a title sponsor by the UCI November 5th deadline will be tough, but not completely impossible, to meet,” said Godfrey. “If there is anything we have learned from working with the Lance Armstrong Foundation over the last nine years, it is that you never tell a cancer survivor they can’t. You build your support network and you ask for help when you need it. We are asking the global cycling community for help.”

“We have all been affected by the down turn in the economy, but we can never lose sight of the people in need and whatever we can do to help support Team Rubicon-ORBEA further in their pursuit, we simply must” –Celeste Moser, Schwalbe North America.

Team Rubicon-ORBEA was born when Godfrey, a competitive cyclist, lost her mother to cancer in the fall of 2001, after being diagnosed with lung cancer and given only 6 months to live. Although her Mother gave up on life after hearing the “c” word, Norrene was determined to not give up on her Mother. Norrene contacted a friend at Nike, who reached out to Lance Armstrong directly. Lance sent Norrene’s mother one of his race jerseys with the inscription, “Fight Mom -Lance Armstrong.”

That simple gesture of kindness encouraged Norrene’s mother to wage her own personal war on cancer; giving her the strength to fight and push through countless hours of chemotherapy treatments. Even though Norrene’s mother lost her battle, she lived longer than anyone ever expected; allowing her the chance to enjoy one last summer and watch Norrene get married. In order to repay Lance for his kindness and “pay it forward,” Godfrey dreamed of a cycling team that would ride in support of the Lance Armstrong Foundation and its fight against cancer.

In 2008, Team Rubicon-ORBEA partnered with carmaker Land Rover to create Land Rover-Orbea; Benefiting the Lance Armstrong Foundation. The team is built up of primary young development riders between the ages of 19–to-25 year olds from the US, New Zealand and Canada. When traveling to NRC races through-out the US, the young professional riders spend countless hours visiting children’s hospitals handing out LIVESTRONG wristbands and helping some extremely sick children have a moment of fun during long regiments of chemotherapy and other daily treatments.

However, the teams goodwill does not stop with hospital visits. The Land Rover- ORBEA team raises funds and awareness for the Lance Armstrong Foundation through leading charity rides in Philadelphia, Utah, Portland, and more, sending seven cancer survivors to the Seattle, Philadelphia and Austin LIVESTRONG Challenges and raising over $71,000 in donations for the Lance Armstrong Foundation.

“Norrene and David Godfrey [owner and co-founder] are the two most “neverdie” people Orbea has met,” said Justin Slarks, Director of Marketing ORBEA-USA. “The two of them are the glue that has held this team together since its creation and are the two who have put all of their personal time and energies into one of the best vehicles for stewardship out there. “Team Rubicon – Orbea is the one constant in our sponsorship program and hope that we can continue as the teams bicycle sponsor for years to come.

The team earned great acclaim in 2009 for its criterium stage win at Tour of Gila by Roman van Uden. Mike Northey followed that win up with winning the U23 New Zealand Criterium Championships and Dean Tracy won the US National Team Sprint Championships in Carson, California. The young Land Rover-ORBEA team also won the best young rider jersey at Nature Valley Grand Prix, the climber’s jersey along with the team overall GC at Tour of Delta. “For a first year professional development team, the results were great,” said Norrene, “What’s truly amazing about this team is what they do off the bike, when not racing, that has them winning the hearts of so many.”

“It was a pleasure to have Land Rover-ORBEA at our events this year”, said Nature Valley Grand Prix director David LaPorte. “Our goal is to grow the fan base of cycling fans and they did a great job of interacting with the people in our host communities and at our events. They are excellent ambassadors for the sport and for their sponsors. This is a great opportunity for any company who’s interested in engagement marketing.”

More information can be found on the team at www.landrover-ORBEA.com including a short video, complete team resume and more. Contact us direct at landrover-orbea@comcast.net or by phone at 503-806-2215 or 503-806-5305.

The Constructor’s Design Challenge FRIDAY OCTOBER 2ND
A well-designed modern transportation bike is flexible, durable, able to portage reasonable loads with ease, and ready to accommodate the many small and large challenges of everyday riding. Transportation bikes should be sturdy and durable, yet nimble enough to provide all-around utility during a short trip or a longer haul.

Custom bike builders are problem-solvers. They’re able to craft integrated, highly individualized, and functional design solutions that larger production bikes can seldom accommodate. Hand built bikes are able to express beauty, utility, and individuality in equal measure.

The Design Challenge seeks to inspire builders to develop considered, integrated, and spectacular solutions for the everyday rider, as well as to educate the public about the quality, engineering ingenuity, and functionality of handbuilt bikes.

SPECIFICATIONS
• Judged by legitimately qualified judges familiar with bike fabrication and handling
• Points are awarded in 10 Design Consideration categories, weighted into 3 points groups
• Top 12 winners (and the 3 race winners) will display in the OM Bike Union for 5 weeks
• All entries will be on public display for 2 days during the Design Challenge and Race weekend
• Top winners will travel on in a display at the OBCA show and Cross Nationals in Bend, Oregon
• All participants will be featured in a coffee table book being produced around the event

DESIGN CHALLENGE CONSIDERATIONS
1.Truly sensational solution
A genuinely unique and innovative solution for transportation use. Amaze us.
2. Handling
The bike must handle equally well with and without load. Both options will be tested against turning and straight pedaling.
3. Integration
Design solutions should be integrated into a complete and harmonious whole, rather than a checklist of details.
4. Presentation and Execution
Fabrication refinement and final presentation are important indicators of skill and thoughtfulness. Extraordinary craftsmanship can be displayed equally well in the simplest brazing or the fanciest lug. Individual design solutions should build to a single visual and functional whole.
5. Overall response to the course and challenges
Entry bikes must take into consider all elements of the race course, the 10 design considerations and the overall challenges they present.
6. Load carrying
Bikes must accomodate and securely carry the rider’s award ceremony party attire, a provided 6-pack of beverage (in glass bottles), and a provided small container of party snacks.
7. Security
Bikes must be protected from theft while unattended. A smart, easy solution for securing the bike under different conditions is expected.
8. Portage
Bikes must accommodate being carried by its rider over a section of the course.
9. Utility
Bikes should accomodate the expected need for changing weather, lighting conditions, and visibility. We know that you know what this means.
10. Quality and Rattles
If elements are loose, rattling, or otherwise inoperable at the race finish, points will be deducted for each failure.

By Carl Decker

The first UCI Mountain Bike World Championships were held in Durango, CO in 1990. I was there. I was the 15-year-old on a Bridgestone bike with drop bars (just like Tomac), and a yellow “Team Decker” tee shirt. The kid who broke his brake cable on the start line after wearing it out practicing his “trials moves” in the parking lot the previous two days. The only solace in my ruined race was how cool I must have looked, wearing my peach/purple Hypercolor tee shirt and neon Bolle’ hat while hopping three or four times in a row on my (tenspeed looking) bicycle’s rear tire in that hotel parking lot on Friday afternoon.

This Saturday I was back in Durango again for another World Championships. Again Jackie Phelan, Ned Overend, and Greg Herbold were some of the 1000 people racing. Again I was wearing a cotton race kit, but this time was a little different. This time it was The Singlespeed World Championships.

So I was costumed as Ron Jeremy’s character in the (wildly un)popular movie Orgazmo. My friends, Tina and Lana were going to come as my sidekicks, Haruko and Natsuko, the @$$ &%^* Twins, but Tina ended up sick and Lana’s a good friend, so I was pretty much just standing at the start in my underwear. At least I had my eyebrows and mustache (ample, and all natural, ladies) covered in mascara to match my black wig. But without my sidekicks, I looked like a peeping tom.

My esteemed teammate, Kelli Emmett, however, picked up the slack in the costume department. “Captain Hotter” was a real crowd pleaser wherever she went, with her amazing Sexycop ™ uniform, complete with police baton/marital aid and lots of shiny bits. It was apparent she was not wearing a bulletproof vest. Lovely.

Kelli and I had a pretty good idea of the course from our former Soigneur and SSWC09 host, Elke Brutsaert. The most recent reports cautioned us of a 4-5 minute hike-a-bike. Earlier reports had warned of a 45 minute hike-a-bike, so either the climb was shortened, or the earlier reporter had gout. Either way, a 40-minute reduction in walking was good news. This climb led to 20 minutes of a crushingly rocky cliff edge trail that would have been fun on a Reign or other 6” travel wonderbike. This was followed by a descent, into the finish area, where you were sent out onto the 2nd half of the course. Here a climb stair-stepped it’s way up Horse Gulch, and eventually turned into a 3-4 (or was it 34?) minute hike to the top of a tight, smooth and fun descent back to the finish. Things seen at the top of the climb: a shrine to Racers Past, neutral fresh cooked bacon and whiskey feeds, and the largest living rattlesnake I have ever seen.

With such a formidable course, everyone was keen to run a lower gear to be competitive. That is, everyone but me, Danny Pate, and his teammate Mike Freeman from the Garmin/Chipotle ProTour team, who knew we had the power to turn over the big meat. I chose 35/16 gearing. Danny had about the same. Heavy hitters, us. Kelli wanted to gear down, but we talked her into keeping what she had. “If you’re gonna have to hike-a-bike, you might as well have a big gear on your bike, right?” This was a refrain I used at least 7 times on Thursday and Friday.

Race day dawned warm and sunny. After a pleasant drive to the venue in our borrowed Miata, or Man-yata (thanks, Elke’s roommate!), we were greeted by a throng of singlespeeders perhaps larger than any the world has ever seen. The neutral roll-out through town was massive and excited. The official starter, Jerry Action, sounded the shotgun/airhorn at the bottom of the climb to the college, and we were off. As the pointy end of the race turned into the first switchback, some dude in a black kit with yellow shoes attacked like crazy, in his drop bars and ripping across the road to the left gutter to make sure nobody caught his draft. Two minutes later he had a 150 meter lead and was in front of the film car. A few minutes after that I attacked to catch and pass him and take the lead on the flat pavement. This would be the last time of the day that I would appreciate my gear selection.

Once on the ridge, I was passed by local, Travis Brown and “Rad” Ross Schnell on their fully suspended, properly geared bicycles. It was nice to follow their lines, as this allowed me to go a little faster on the tricky rock-ridge trail. For 15 or 20 seconds, I could totally see those guys. Then they disappeared. Bummer.

Going into the “easy” second half of the course, I was in 3rd place, and felt that I might be able to bridge the gap to the leaders. Kelli and I had sneaked onto the course at 1am the night before and hidden some 1 liter bottles of Coke near a tree. Just the kind of shot-in-the-arm that I needed to get back in the mix.

With a Coke in my belly (and mustache and crotch and ear—it was a hot and fizzy 1 Liter), I attacked the next climb with great gusto. The tricky part was the stair-step uphill, which had not very flat steps and vertical bits that were, well, nearly vertical. I was quivering like a dog shitting a pinecone. At times, I was nearly holding my breath I was pushing so hard to get the pedals to turn.

At the top of the hike-a-bike climb, I saw Ross (resplendent in full length arm/leg skinsuit) for the last time. He’d go on to win a medium-sized tattoo. I ended up humping my bike to 3rd place. Kelli turned her big gear (hey, sorry ‘bout that) to 3rd as well. No tatoos for Team Giant, but had there been an omnium including Pub dwelling and costume planning, I think we’d have been contenders. Big gears and all.

At the bar that night, Danny Pate and I were swapping stories and I realized it was he that attacked at the first climb like he was going for a TDF stage win. The black kit with yellow shoes was actually a penguin costume, so I didn’t recognize him. And when I passed him, he thought “that dude in the TT helmet and wife-beater is going pretty good”. He and Mike called me filthy things for advising them to keep their tall gearing. And then Danny bought me a Black Butte Porter.

The Durango Crew did a bang-up job hosting the biggest SS Worlds ever. Kudos to them. SSWC10 is in New Zealand next year. Bring your Velcro gloves.

Hilarious. Click on the HD button if it’s not loading for you.

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM
THE CROSS CRUSADE REUNION TOUR ‘09

Responding to an unprecedented outpouring of grief from bewildered racers and fans, and acquiescing to the demands of the masses, Brad Ross, Director of the Cross Crusade is proud to announce, the Band is back together! After 6 months of agonized floundering in real-world pursuits, the Directors of the Cross Crusade will be reunited for the greatest tour ever.

-Brad, emerging from a 2 week coma induced by excessive blood loss from shaving nicks and the lack of oxygen resulting by the constriction of a collared shirt, has decided that the corporate world can wait for his retirement from race promotion.

-Rick’s Arch-i-talk Home Improvement show is still mired in negotiations with HGTV and he finally realized that no one cares what crown mold goes with which base board.

-Russ’ practice with a real guitar resulted in blistered fingers and continuous noise complaints from disgruntled neighbors. Friends staged an intervention and took the air guitar away as well.

-Rich’s dream of Olympic Gold was dashed when his Swiffer iced up at the US Curling Trials… his last hopes were dashed by the Jamaican Government, which declared vacationing there as a kid did not earn him citizenship.

-Jon is filing an age discrimination action with an un-named modeling agency and will not be sending Barry an E-Christmas card this year. However, he will be a stunt double in “Napoleon Dynamite II”.

-Andy’s coffee plantation was picketed by animal rights activists and closed by the Brazilian authorities. He has since developed an appreciation for Sesame Donuts house blend coffee.

-Doug started writing his doctorate thesis on an IBM Selectric typewriter in Prague, and discovered that correction tape is no longer in production, thus abandoning the project after 1378 typos.

So… with nothing else going on…the Band is looking forward to a great Cross Crusade 2009. See you this Fall!

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS FOR CROSS CRUSADE 2009—

READ THEM ALL THE WAY!

SCHEDULE

Oct. 4 CC #1 Alpenrose Dairy, Portland, Oregon

BORDER CLASH WEEKEND
Oct. 10 Airport Golf Center, Tumwater Wa. Grunge #1
Oct. 11 CC #2 Rainier High School, Rainier Oregon Grunge #2
Oct. 18 CC #3 Sherwood Equestrian Park, Sherwood, Oregon
Oct. 25 CC #4 Washington County Fairgrounds, suburbia
HALLOWEEN FEST WEEKEND
Oct. 31 CC #5 Clatsop County Fairgrounds, Astoria, Oregon
Nov. 1 CC #6 Clatsop County Fairgrounds, Astoria, Oregon
Nov. 8 CC #7 Portland Intl. Raceway, Portland, Oregon
Nov. 15 CC #8 Barton Park, Barton, Oregon

THE USGP WILL RETURN TO PIR, Dec. 5 & 6, 2009
THE US NATIONAL CYCLOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIPS will be produced by the Cross Crusade in Bend Oregon, Dec. 10-13, 2009

THE CROSS CRUSADE WELCOMES OUR NEW SPONSORS
Therapeutic Associates, and Deschutes Brewery.

THE GRAIL DELLA GRUNGE IS BACK AND SEATTLE CROSS RACERS ARE CHOKING ON THEIR CARMEL LATTES
The Grunge battles will be fought on one epic weekend: Oct. 10 in Tumwater, Wa., and Oct. 11 at Rainier High School.

SCHEDULE/CATEGORY CHANGES FOR DAY OF RACE
The Elite Women will race in the same time slot as the Elite Men. The Women’s M35+ will be replaced by Women’s Masters A and Women’s Masters B. Women’s M45+ will remain. (Fun Fact: The women’s categories are the most consistent in the Crusade, and often have more competitors at the last race than the first!)

MANO A MANO/ TEAM VS TEAM
This year the Cross Crusade is introducing team competition… and with any luck, we may even know the results by Wed each week…. The top 8 results
by members of each team across all categories will be scored each week. At the end of the series, the final tabulation will be made and a prize of indescribable value will be awarded to the best team. See the website for complete rules and a convoluted explanation of scoring.

TECH SUPPORT… or “hurry up, my race is staging”
The Cross Crusade is proud to have SHIMANO provide tech support for all races, in both the Expo area and the Pit. They will provide a professional
level of service, so show respect.

LEARN TO BUNNY HOP THE BARRIERS
Or at least clear them without falling… Erik Tonkin will host his popular clinics Sept. 2nd, 9th, and 16th, 6-8pm at Alpenrose Dairy. Instructors include Erik and Rhonda Mazza, Jeffrey Struck, and Shannon Skerritt.

$50 BUCKS FOR 50+
The Masters 50+ Category will have betting pool, (no, its not Bingo) for all contenders or would be challengers for the three steps on the PO-dium.
Series top 3 split the pot. See the website for rules. Other categories are encouraged to set up their own wagers!

FIRST ANNUAL “CRUSADERS GOT TALENT” VIDEO
COMPETITION
The Directors of the Cross Crusade challenge all crusaders to create their own videos, showcasing their talents. Videos may be based on the reunion
tour theme or any talent you may remotely possess. Videos will be posted to a YouTube “Crusaders got Talent” channel. All videos will be automatically entered into the competition and will be judged at a special gala screening. See website for rules and suggested prizes!

QUEST FOR THE GRAIL
New route, new quest, same old missing Grail. Find the Grail and win a trip to Tabor, Czech Republic to see the 2010 World Championships of Cyclocross! Or just find one of the other artifacts along the route, and be eligible for the CCXWC raffle.

Posted by Jon Myers on the behalf of the entire Cross Crusade board.

GC Place Rider Num. Rider Name CTRY Team Name GC Time Time Down in GC
1 263 Evelyn Stevens USA Webcor Builders 13:28:36 0:00:00
2 255 Amber Rais USA Team TIBCO 13:29:54 0:01:18
3 316 Alison Powers USA Team Type 1 13:30:12 0:01:36
4 251 Julie Beveridge* USA Team TIBCO 13:30:13 0:01:37
5 303 Cath Cheatley USA Colavita Sutter Home p/b Cooki 13:30:36 0:02:00
6 278 Chrissy Ruiter USA ValueAct Capital Cycling Team 13:31:02 0:02:26
7 252 Katharine Carroll USA Team TIBCO 13:31:14 0:02:38
8 353 Jessica Phillips USA Team Lip Smacker 13:31:16 0:02:40
9 274 Robin Farina USA ValueAct Capital Cycling Team 13:32:17 0:03:41
10 253 Joanne Kiesanowski USA Team TIBCO 13:32:26 0:03:50
11 257 Alison Starnes USA Team TIBCO 13:32:34 0:03:58
12 276 Kristin Mcgrath USA ValueAct Capital Cycling Team 13:32:49 0:04:13
13 291 Marisa Asplund USA DFT p/b Treads 13:32:57 0:04:21
14 318 Kori Seehafer USA Team Type 1 13:33:28 0:04:52
15 254 Meredith Miller USA Team TIBCO 13:33:31 0:04:55
16 362 Kristen Lasasso USA Team Lip Smacker 13:33:34 0:04:58
17 376 Rachel Neylan USA PROMAN Hit Squad 13:33:41 0:05:05
18 361 Kathryn Donovan USA Kahala LaGrange 13:34:37 0:06:01
19 307 Stacy Marple USA Colavita Sutter Home p/b Cooki 13:35:05 0:06:29
20 379 Teri Sheasby USA Bend Bike N’ Sport 13:35:05 0:06:29
21 281 Ruth Clemence USA Touchstone Climbing 13:35:32 0:06:56
22 262 Rebecca Much* USA Webcor Builders 13:36:18 0:07:42
23 271 Kristin Sanders USA ValueAct Capital Cycling Team 13:36:39 0:08:03
24 358 Toni Bradshaw USA Team Lip Smacker 13:37:13 0:08:37
25 264 Erinne Willock USA Webcor Builders 13:37:25 0:08:49
26 381 Alison Shanks USA Bike NZ 13:37:58 0:09:22
27 338 Alisha Welsh USA Wines of Washington/bikesale.com 13:38:37 0:10:01
28 333 Gillian Moody CAN Wines of Washington/bikesale.com 13:38:40 0:10:04
29 386 Marilyn Mcdonald USA Specialized D4W/Bicycle Haus 13:39:04 0:10:28
30 308 Carmen Mcnellis USA Colavita Sutter Home p/b Cooki 13:39:47 0:11:11
31 326 Alice Pennington USA VELOFORMA 13:39:56 0:11:20
32 363 Erika Graves USA Kahala LaGrange 13:40:16 0:11:40
33 395 Heather Kay USA 13:41:45 0:13:09
34 355 Anne Samplonius USA Team Lip Smacker 13:43:08 0:14:32
35 348 Erica Zaveta* USA Team Group Health 13:43:26 0:14:50
36 301 Tina Pic USA Colavita Sutter Home p/b Cooki 13:43:53 0:15:17
37 282 Olivia Dillon USA Touchstone Climbing 13:44:11 0:15:35
38 261 Katheryn Mattis USA Webcor Builders 13:44:52 0:16:16
39 327 Robin Secrist USA VELOFORMA 13:44:54 0:16:18
40 352 Amanda Miller* USA Team Lip Smacker 13:45:07 0:16:31
41 365 Melinda Weiner USA Kahala LaGrange 13:45:27 0:16:51
42 375 Ashley Anderson* USA PROMAN Hit Squad 13:46:28 0:17:52
43 258 Lauren Tamayo USA Team TIBCO 13:46:30 0:17:54
44 267 Gina Grain USA Webcor Builders 13:47:02 0:18:26
45 396 Lise Olivier USA Tulsa Toug Racing 13:47:13 0:18:37
46 346 Rachel Warner* USA Team Group Health 13:47:38 0:19:02
47 328 Christina Smith USA VELOFORMA 13:48:35 0:19:59
48 323 Brei Gudsell USA VELOFORMA 13:48:47 0:20:11
49 331 Patricia Bailey USA Wines of Washington/bikesale.com 13:48:48 0:20:12
50 372 Jane Robertson USA Metromint Cycling 13:49:09 0:20:33
51 285 Heather Pryor USA Touchstone Climbing 13:49:40 0:21:04
52 385 Kathryn Bertine USA Specialized D4W/Bicycle Haus 13:49:52 0:21:16
53 266 Amy Dombroski* USA Webcor Builders 13:50:28 0:21:52
54 332 Amity Elliott USA Wines of Washington/bikesale.com 13:50:37 0:22:01
55 335 Annie Malouin USA Wines of Washington/bikesale.com 13:51:49 0:23:13
56 256 Emma Rickards USA Team TIBCO 13:51:52 0:23:16
57 294 Anna Milkowski USA DFT p/b Treads 13:52:12 0:23:36
58 380 Rushlee Buchanan* USA Bike NZ 13:52:33 0:23:57
59 336 Lindsay Myers* USA Wines of Washington/bikesale.com 13:54:04 0:25:28
60 383 Tracey Jacobs USA Specialized D4W/Bicycle Haus 13:55:07 0:26:31
61 392 Melissa Sanborn USA Vanderkitten Racing 13:56:06 0:27:30
62 321 Gabriela Ferrat USA VELOFORMA 13:57:34 0:28:58
63 302 Kelly Benjamin USA Colavita Sutter Home p/b Cooki 13:59:16 0:30:40
64 343 Arielle Filiberti* USA Team Group Health 13:59:41 0:31:05
65 364 Morgan Kapp USA Kahala LaGrange 13:59:51 0:31:15
66 387 Melanie Meyers USA Specialized D4W/Bicycle Haus 14:00:59 0:32:23
67 295 Tiffany Pezzulo USA DFT p/b Treads 14:01:41 0:33:05
68 344 Jadine Riley USA Team Group Health 14:04:00 0:35:24
69 293 Ambre Levy USA DFT p/b Treads 14:04:03 0:35:27
70 275 Lauren Hall USA ValueAct Capital Cycling Team 14:05:14 0:36:38
71 377 Coryn Rivera* USA PROMAN Hit Squad 14:06:08 0:37:32
72 342 Cara Bussell USA Team Group Health 14:10:47 0:42:11
73 286 Kristina Seley USA Touchstone Climbing 14:11:24 0:42:48
74 378 Kendall Ryan* USA PROMAN Hit Squad 14:12:16 0:43:40
75 283 Cara Gillis USA Touchstone Climbing 14:14:44 0:46:08
76 373 Amanda Seigle USA Metromint Cycling 14:19:15 0:50:39
77 277 Martina Patella USA ValueAct Capital Cycling Team 14:23:38 0:55:02
78 292 Linsey Bradshaw-Sandoval USA DFT p/b Treads 14:26:23 0:57:47