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I got a new bike! It’s a Bottecchia. My dad and I went on a 54 mile ride today to test it out, and it works great. It’s super-light and feels really fast when I accelerate. Here are some photos.

Yesterday was the Oregon State Championship time trial, in Peoria. This was my third year doing it, and this time it was twice as long as before: 20k (instead of 10k). I finished 6th out of ten people, which, I’d say, is good for someone who didn’t train for it. Also, my time was 34:45. Last year, in the 10k, my time was 17:53. So, this year I averaged 30 seconds faster per 10k than last year.
Here are some pictures from the event.

My dad and I went to Alpenrose Velodrome again yesterday. Unlike last week, where I just tipped over in the grass, this time I wiped out on the corner, taking out four other people (including my dad). We were doing a mock race, and on the first lap, my foot came out of the pedal (the fact that my cleat had come loose was at least part of the cause). Unfortunately, it happened right before the curve, and so I wasn’t going fast enough to stay on. I tried to slide off the track, but somebody happened to be passing on that side, causing the Pileup.

I bruised and scraped my hip, but other than that, everything’s fine.

Update: This picture has a striking resemblance to what happened…

My dad, Eric and I went to the Alpenrose Velodrome in Portland yesterday for a track racing class. It was my first time riding a fixed gear bike; it felt weird at first to have no brakes or gears, but I got used to it.

But then I had to get used to riding on what felt like a wall: the bank on the turns is 43°, and the minimum speed to stay on it is 12mph. It literally felt like being on a rollercoaster.

Amazingly, the only time I crashed was when I was going 1mph in the grass (it’s hard to get used to a fixed gear).

We saw a real live bike messenger while we were there. He did a track stand with no hands and one foot!

I wish I had some pictures, but since I don’t, just pretend I took this.