pdxcross

Sauvie Island served up a living Norman Rockwell painting on Sunday - autumn colors, a pumpkin patch, the corn maze, a bonfire, fresh produce and the general frolicking of the young and the young at heart alike.  Slightly off script, there was also a dead rat. As one of the more unique obstacles of the year, the extremely dead rodent provided great entertainment for those cheering as riders repeatedly ran over the carcass. It also got more “ewwww” and “disgusting” comments than even last week’s corral of animal waste stew. What a sport. Try adding a rat carcass to a basketball game or golf or table tennis - the reaction would be drastically different. We are not weak of heart or stomach or nose. 

But, we are tired. 

Nobody from pdxcross raced this weekend, but we felt like we did. Among our small band of photo-makers we had three illnesses, a knee injury and a gaggle of family members irritated at even the mention of cyclocross.

We just completed a two week marathon getting Dirty Pictures ready for print. Thank god for Deb, the pdxcross designer. Her creativity and general willingness not to strangle us are counted among her greatest attributes. Book updates to come next week.

So while the racers made swift laps through the fields and down the gravel roads, Sunday felt a cool down lap for us. A cold, foggy morning gave way to a gorgeous sunny day perfect for for laying in the leaves, eating frites and sipping a cold one. It was a nice little recovery before we slip into a holidaze and then hit the USGP for one last hoorah. 

Have a nice Thanksgiving. 

This must be what the bull feels like during the bull riding event in a rodeo: slipping and sliding through deep mud with an unwelcome weight clinging to your back.

But this was just another day, the final day, of the Cross Crusade series, and we were all there voluntarily, humping our way through the animal-waste-tainted mud without prodding or coersion. We were, we told ourselves over and over, having a good time. In fact, we paid money to do it.

And that’s what it looked like. As the ethereal morning fog gave way to plain old cheery sunshine, it revealed a whole buttload of people smiling like kids in a mud puddle.

There was racing, too. Maybe more than any other event of the season, the gathering at Washington County Fairground served up a heaping bowl of killer racing. It seemed like each group had at least a few people who were trying to end the season with a burst of competitiveness. The men’s Hot Shit racers fought like true heroes to a mud-slinging sprint that we’re still a little breathless about. The women’s Hot Shit race, in which three really, really fast women clawed their way over the course to an exciting finish. When Rhonda crossed the line to give her little boy a muddy hug, there were smiles all around.

We do love this weird sport and the lovely people who do it…even when they are covered in poo.

- torsten

We’re excited to announce we are publishing a book in December. The book will celebrate the 2008 cyclocross season and the sport that hundreds of mostly sane people think is a good way to spend a Sunday and think about the other six days.

We hope that you would like a copy.

Heidi Swift has kindly offered to collaborate with us by penning an essay for Dirty Pictures. It may mention whiskey, it may not — we’re not sure yet. But, we know it is gonna be great.

Her deadline is Wednesday. So is yours. ”My deadline?”, you ask with a raised eyebrow.

Yep, your deadline. Here’s an opportunity to be quoted in the book. Allow us to explain:

We would love for you to send us your thoughts about cyclocross. The comments we have received from you via the website and in person have amused, surprised and delighted us. We would like to include that spirit in our book. For example:

—What does cyclocross (and/or the season of cyclocross) mean to you? And, can you describe it in one sentence? —What was the best sound bite/comment you heard at the races this year? —How do you feel when you are in a race? Update: What’s the funniest thing you have heard screamed out during a race?

Share them with us. We understand this is short notice, but this book has come together quickly and unexpectedly. We may use some of your quotes in the book to complement the voice and dimension of the experience of cyclocross this season. While there are no guarantees of inclusion, we want to give you the opportunity if you would like it. If so, please email your thoughts to pdxcross@gmail.com by this coming Wednesday (November 19) night (9pm).

And, here’s what to expect about the book:

Dirty Pictures, Volume One will be 120 pages filled with black and white photos (some you have seen before, many you have not) printed on premium silk finish paper. There will be a softcover and hardcover option.

The softcover will cost $45 (plus shipping) and the hardcover will cost $65 (plus shipping). Both will look sweet on your coffee table.

One important note: Dirty Pictures is not available to purchase just yet. We’re still in production. In fact we just finished shooting in Hillsboro, and are proofing pictures as we post this. But, there will be a proof copy available to view at the Cross Crusade Season End Celebration on December 7th and at that time we’ll have all the details on how to order Dirty Pictures, Volume One. We’ll be there celebrating with you.

And as a heads up, in order to receive your copy for Christmas, you will need to order by December 9th (for ground shipping) or December 15th (for next day air). We’ll remind you of this when when we see you at the party on the 7th.

Planning ahead, we’re hoping to host a little shindig early next year with some beer, books and lots of sharpies so you can write fun things in friends’ books such as, “Stay sweet; see you next fall.” or “BFF, don’t ever change!”. You get the idea.

Oh, and one more thing (yes, thanks for hanging here through this long post): If you DO NOT want your photograph to be published in Dirty Pictures, please let us know asap. We want everyone to feel comfortable with this project and with us so please shoot an email to pdxcross@gmail.com and let us know.

Thanks. It’s been an honor spending Sundays with you.

Knowledge comes in chunks big and small. Understanding is more difficult to achieve.

SSCXWC08. I learned that this is not the name of a printer cartridge. It stands for Single Speed Cyclo Cross World Championships 2008. Learning what SSCXWC08 means is knowledge. Thank you.

Understanding what SSCXWC08 means can only be achieved by going through one. Seriously.

And by going through one, I don’t mean just passing through the wall of foam. The wall of foam, you ask?

This wall of foam is much more difficult to explain, and to understand. Our pictures will help. Look at them. And please, say thank you to the kind and slightly absurd folks at Yakima for creating the wall. Not the wall in China. That’s different altogether, I’m almost certain.

If you now understand SSCXWC08 and haven’t looked at the pictures and weren’t there, you have a higher IQ than us.

Thanks for stopping by.

- Mike

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the smoke from the bombs planted inside the giant windmill on the hill filled my lungs and i nearly fainted. an intense drumming seemed to come from within my body. clanging from cowbells and cheers surrounded me adding confusion to my disoriented stumbling. blurred figures were coming toward me carrying wheeled metal objects. they stopped to hurriedly drink fluids. some wore clothes, some did not. some wore mud. all wore bubbles.

i moved to a clearing where the smoked lifted and i remembered, “oh yeah, i’m at the singlespeed cyclocross world championships. sweet.”

-Tim

Whoa. Talk about random. There I was, minding my own business, out for my Saturday morning stroll in the industrial sales section of Northwest Portland when I saw a hullabaloo over at Chris King Components. About 200 bicyclists seemed to have congregated…all of them on single speeds. What are chances of that!?

I ambled over to investigate. It turns out they had gathered to discuss the ride they were about to embark on. And, weirdly enough, no one knew where they were going except the tour guides. Ah-ha! It was a single-speed touring club of some sort. At 11 o’clock everyone gathered around the tour guides to find out the route for Saturday’s adventure.

Forest Park! Portland’s playground.

I learned it was going to be a quick trip - “a high-speed tour of forest park.” Evidently these tourists were in a hurry.

The tour started in the middle of the park - the intersection of Saltzman road and Leif Erickson Drive to be exact. Stagnated by 15 second intervals, one by one the single geared ramblers climbed up Saltzman, turned right on a wee little single track to Firelane 5, returned downhill and back to the starting point.

Did I mention it was raining? Kinda cold? Do not shed a tear for this group. Someone was nice enough to hand out tequila along the way. I mean, who doesn’t need a warmer-upper on a chilly Autumn Day - right before dropping a few hundred feet on a slick path earlier in the day coined “the widow-maker.”

The tour ended at a very official looking “you are here” spot on Leif where someone repeatedly dragged their foot through the mud in a line - designating the end. You could almost call it a “finish line”…if it had been a race.

-rob

will have SSCXWC08 photos from Sunday up as soon as i can. sorry for the delay.