“[The 2018 US Open of Cylocross] was a great reminder of the planned uncertainty that is quintessential to the sport of cyclocross: temperatures can plunge, equipment can break, and ruts can change, but we just try to be ready to adjust.”
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Read MoreThere is no “I’m satisfied now, let’s stop”. Cyclocross does not permit such graces, but it provides a delicate sanctuary for learning process, and presence, and contentment. All of these things are gifts given to me by bikes, which I carry carefully into the rest of my life.
"At the beginning of the season, I remember this emotion I had the first night of Jingle Cross, way back in September. Erik had asked me what my feelings were before the race. I could soundly identify the sensation of excitement and anxiety, the fluttering heartbeats we all feel at the start of the race."
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On the eve of her last race of the '17-'18 season, Beth Ann penned some meditations on the season behind her and the road ahead. Congratulations on an awesome last leg of the season: a solid lead-lap finish at the Nommay World Cup in the messiest of conditions, and a top 20 at Cyclocross Rucphen. Read on...
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Are you headed to Cyclocross Nationals in Reno and hoping for one more opportunity to practice the fight? Do you just want to help “train” those who are? Do you simply want to race your ‘cross bike in January? Well, Team S&M & Sellwood Cycle Repair offer the opportunity!
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"Team S&M is my people. We ‘do it the hard way’ not by choice but by necessity, and the argument could be made that it’s the only path worth taking. Perhaps the compelling thing about 'the hard way’ is not fearing failure. Having "less" predicated expectations but "more" belief in what is possible."
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Just over a week ago we traveled to Texas for our last collective team race weekend before Nationals. The weekend was cold but sunny, and the course was ripping. Our friend, photographer Adam Koble, was on hand for Saturday's race and captured some really wonderful shots of the team in action.
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U23 rider Clara Honsinger recently had her first European cyclocross experience, joining USA Cycling's 'Cross Camp for ten days of training, coaching, and racing. This trip was made possible by our friends and sponsor BikeFlights.com, and this recollection of her experiences is cross-posted on their blog. Thank you, BikeFlights! #packshipride #bikeflights
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Bike racing is a sport full of creatives and romantics. We are storytellers, photographers, filmmakers, poets, painters, comics, dramatists, directors, players, and more. Most of all, we are collaborators, as evidenced by the ways in which bike racing (in its various formats) fundamentally works.
Drew Coleman of Local Cycling Network is a longtime Sellwood resident and friend of the shop and Team S&M. Drew is a rider, a racer, and a teacher of English as well as film making.
Drew has partnered with us throughout this momentous season to document our story and capture our message, beginning with an introduction to the team in September. This latest work of his, "Working Class Cyclocross: Do It The Hard Way" dives into the spirit of our team and of the shop. Please enjoy his beautiful presentation. We're so excited by and grateful for his work.
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Definitively speaking, the current league of American U23 cyclocrosser women are some of the fastest in the nation, regardless of age. Check out the results of any UCI or ProCX elite women's event this season and you'll see their names concentrated in the top fifteen more times than not.
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I’m a long time fan of Stages Cycling and use their power meters on all my bikes (road, TT, and cross), but this is the first season I’ve added them to my cyclocross race bikes, and I have to say, race day power numbers are really cool! As a caveat, my knowledge of power data is quite limited; I’m a big picture person and I generally give this information to my coach to dissect, but I admit it’s quite fun to see, especially with the large number of graphing tools available on the new Stages Link software.
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We are lucky in our grassroots community, built around the pursuit of bike racing, to continuously meet and connect with diverse, creative people. While racing is a pursuit that requires singular focus, taking everything that the individual can commit to offering it, it is also definitively a community-building practice, offering physical (both place-based and biomechanical) outlets of expression, passion, entertainment, and cooperation. It can take you out into your backyard or around the world, and it will continue to introduce you to motivated people. Your spiderweb of connections grows the longer you stay in the sport, enriching your race-day experiences, your closest relationships, as well as the health of your heart.
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Many thanks to Sellwood Cycle Repair friend Patrick Croasdaile for producing this great edit of Clara's winning ride at the first day of 2017 Cyclocross Crusade at Alpenrose Dairy!
Read MoreThe season opening race block for Team S&M CX wrapped up just over a week ago. We came away with a smooth operating dynamic and some excellent experiences, both on and off the bike. Riders Beth Ann Orton and Clara Honsinger also earned some excellent results in the UCI Elite Women's races. Here's a two-part recap of our first trip, from the voices of both riders.
Read MoreWe're very proud to unveil a project we've been working on with Portland filmmaker Drew Coleman. This is the first installment of a season-long collaboration with him, and the first in a series of films he is making to showcase women in cycling in Portland.
Read More“Hey there, you’re Clara, right?” called a tall and lean fellow with a trim, grey beard who was standing by the course as I fixed the tape at Corn Cross last weekend. “I remember racing with you in Klamath Falls a few years ago. My name is Jeff. How’ve you been doing?”
Read MorePreface: Nationals was cold. The morning of the UCI races it was 8° fahrenheit and didn’t get much above 20°. My toes still have chilblains but I can finally feel my fingertips. As a result of the cold, not many photos were taken by Tonkin or I. What appears below is scrambled together from the internet, as well as original drawings by Annalisa Fish, the bike fit and PT magician of EndurancePDX (she’s also my cousin).
Read MoreNobody really believed it would rain on Sunday. It may be November 20th, just a week before Thanksgiving, but it’s November in Los Angeles after all. Nobody expects rainy weather. I thought the only season in southern California was summer, with the occasional overcast display, thus… cooler summer, and still a far cry from the extra early, extra soggy autumn Mother Nature had delivered to us in Portland.
Read MoreIt’s good to have an adventure in your back pocket. I’m always planning something curious; daydreams are good for a busy mind. Thankfully, I have friends with similar intent. When my buddy Brenna asked me to join her on a last minute, weekend gravel ride to the coast and back, the answer was yes.
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