cross nat. obs.

[oracle]

1. i never wish to race in that portland slime-sheit (get a real cross course)
2. ksyriums seem to be even more of a hot cross wheel
3. my man gully rocks
4. my man wicks rocks and will rock even harder yet
5. my man trebon rocks, although i suspect that in the future, my man
wicks will rock more.
6. lots o' dudes & chicas riding clinchers
7. gina hall is too hot
8. cyclocross is reaching a feverish level of never-before-seen popularity in the u.s. of republican a.
9. serotta could benefit from a presence on the u.s. of republican a. cyclocross scene (see 8.)
10. sachs frames rock, vanilla frames rock

love,
oracle

[coylifut]

which day did you race? did you race last year? and where do you normally race?

[shinomaster]

you still in town??

Gina was hot...and the starbucks girl..

[shinomaster]

I saw one Serotta!!!

I met E-Richie ( cool dude)

I wished I raced

I want to meet that Starbucks girl.... :banana: :banana:

[alembical]

Shino,
While Gina (& the starbucks girl) are both attractive, Mary has always had a place in my heart and I got to meet her. :banana:

Alembical

[Bruce K]

You mean you guys missed the Velo Bella girls?

The were VERY cute in their Halloween get-up when they were here in Gloucester.

BK

[shinomaster]

Mary who????

[alembical]

Mary McConneloug. There is just something about her. I would agree that in pictures she may not be like Gina Hall, but Mary has always been one of the most interesting riders to me.

Alembical

http://www.cyclingnews.com/riders/2004/interviews/?id=mary_mcconneloug04

[oracle]

i didn't race. i stacked my bike descending some wet slime covered road and bruised my hip. on top of that, as stated above, the conditions were unbelievably bad for cross. good for spectators, bad for racing; i mean it's not really even cross racing when you portage and run so much. i'm a fan of euro-cross conditions and courses, alhough i admire the hard-man and
hard-chica mentality that exists in the northwest. you'd be better off on water skis being towed behind a horse, like on that famous mountain dew commercial that i wish would come back. i race in the u.s. and in europe when i'm there on 'buisness'. no, i'm not there. i hope you portlandians keep up the spirit and the good events, just realize that this is not mud wrestling! i'll be surprised if the u.c.i. allows portland to hoest the worlds because the euros would throw a fit; they would yell, cry, phone their mommies in bruxelles or antwerp, and then andre, to find out which tire pressure to use. god help them.

love,

oracle

[coylifut]

i didn't race. i stacked my bike descending some wet slime covered road and bruised my hip. on top of that, as stated above, the conditions were unbelievably bad for cross. good for spectators, bad for racing; i mean it's not really even cross racing when you portage and run so much. i'm a fan of euro-cross conditions and courses, alhough i admire the hard-man and
hard-chica mentality that exists in the northwest. you'd be better off on water skis being towed behind a horse, like on that famous mountain dew commercial that i wish would come back. i race in the u.s. and in europe when i'm there on 'buisness'. no, i'm not there. i hope you portlandians keep up the spirit and the good events, just realize that this is not mud wrestling! i'll be surprised if the u.c.i. allows portland to hoest the worlds because the euros would throw a fit; they would yell, cry, phone their mommies in bruxelles or antwerp, and then andre, to find out which tire pressure to use. god help them.

oracle

That wasn't entirely representative of NW cross. You'll find among the locals, that the PIR courses are the least liked. There are a number of courses here that are fast and drain water quite well. The challenge is to find a venue that can accommodate over 1,500 participants (another record), have adequate parking, access to an airport, lodging and most importantly - grounds that can be overrun by the Mongol horde. So, what do you end up with? The infield of a raceway developed on reclaimed wet lands. The place is diked on 4 sides. I really feel for anyone who had to race on that course the first two days. Day 3 was completely different. The wind came up, it stopped raining and they re routed the course around the water skiing sections.

That course won't keep Portland from getting a Worlds or W-cup. Portland wont get these events because it sits at lands end and makes for real tough travel. The edge that Portland does have is infrastructure. Last year, when Vervecken came, he raved about the course (albeit a different one). The Portland cross scene is a victim of it's own success. There are many great courses, they just can't handle the volume of people that the Crusade has attracted.

Maybe next year, if you’re out our way on business, we can show you one of our real cross courses.

[davids]

Mary McConneloug. There is just something about her. I would agree that in pictures she may not be like Gina Hall, but Mary has always been one of the most interesting riders to me.

Alembical

http://www.cyclingnews.com/riders/2004/interviews/?id=mary_mcconneloug04
As a Seven owner, I've been following her career over the last couple of years. She photographs best when she riding!

Here's a relevant little link: Mary's Cross Bike (http://www.cyclingnews.com/teamtech04.php?id=tech/2004/probikes/mcconneloug_seven)

[shinomaster]

If I knew you were in town I would have brought you a big bottle of Chimay for the finish!

YOu should have been here for the Stumptown Grand Prix...I think that it was much worse...

[oracle]

i definitely would have raced for a chimay..... oh well. next time?

[alembical]

Shino,
Did you see this short write up on Gina? http://www.cyclingnews.com/riders/2004/interviews/?id=gina_hall04

Alembical :D