Roslyn's Mountain Bike Festival is new to the Indie Series this year. All the hype before the race was "old school course with lots of climbing and lots of twisty single track and a fun descent." Well, they didn't disappoint. It was all that with a huge heaping of dust to make it all the more fun. The race started with a quick flat section that quickly started to climb up what seemed to be about a 25% grade that was short but hard. It then wound around and began ascending for about a mile. After your heart and lungs nearly explode, you hit it hard through a twisty single track and then some more climbing, some more twisties and just when you think you're clear, one more short slog of a climb. The trail then dumped you into a fast then furiously twisty section spitting you out onto old fire road back to the start. All that in 4.5 miles and nearly 1000' of climbing.
The other promise from the organizers was beer. The winners would get beer. Seems like a fair thing to charge to the line for. So, some beer and some more points for the overall standings in the Series were the important things in the race. As always, I make a point of getting off the line fast, then settle into a good rhythm (hopefully). The first climb was jammed to the gills with riders grunting and huffing and puffing their way up. Our group caught the previous starters mid climb and things were clogged. I took to running again (seems to be a theme) and passed about a dozen riders and remounted when I saw some light. I did finally settle into a good rhythm, started to simmer down and focus. Half way through the second lap, I got passed by the series leader. I stayed on his wheel for awhile, but he started to gap me. I turned it up and kept him in sight. Then a local guy totally stomped on it and dropped me. He just ground his way up the hill leaving me to watch him go by. Luckily, I gained on the descent, grabbed a good wheel in the flats to hide from the wind and started the third lap out front again. This time, the leader got around me again and damned if that fast local guy didn't smoke me too. I put the hurt on myself to keep those guys close. We were all within 10 seconds of each other or so. I got close to the top of the last pitch and saw Vince, the leader, hunched over his bike with no chain. Good luck for me, bad for him. He encouraged me on, I yelled to him to start running! I nabbed the local guy in the descent, held him off and pulled in for the win.
I was brining home the beer! That was a good feeling. Now, when a promoter agrees to give out beer to the top placers, you figure it'll be good beer. We've seen some Redhook, some New Belgium and others, but Roslyn's race was the first time I've seen Bud Light handed out. And it wasn't just any old Bud Light, it was Bud Light LIME. I'm still scratching my head on that one. It's on ice now here at home. I'll have to give another report on just that adventure of consuming one of those suckers. Come on over if you wanna try one.
Last race in the Indie Series is August 10th up highway 410 near Greenwater. Love to have some bunnies join me for the day. It's a great race!
-mjc
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Oregon Thursday Night Race Report
The past two weeks found me residing in Ashland, Oregon, where I was attending the United Bicycle Institute (UBI) brazed frame building course. While there, I ventured north to White City (outside Medford) to check-out the Southern Oregon Thursday Night training races at Jackson County raceway (drag strip). Monique, a fellow student who is a Kenda Tires elite womens team member from Wisconsin, accompanied me to the race. With our class finishing at 5 p.m., and a 6 p.m. start time, we were a little "rushed" to the race, arriving with the racers on the line. However, the race promoter and official were understanding and held up the start long enough for us to gear up and sign the waiver on the line. Luckily for us the race started slow, as we had absolutely no warm-up, not that you needed a warmup when it was 95 plus degrees. Oh, and we didn't know the course. Started OK, heading up the drag strip, turning right to follow the staging area, and then down a service road (although the disappearing pavement on the left side got my attention). The big surprise was when the field suddenly turned off the "road" and followed what was no wider than a golf cart path, passing right next to a ticket booth (I was later advised to be a little careful about taking the inside line, as they had "problems" last year - something about slamming into the side of the building I was passing by inches each lap). On about the third of fourteen laps a rider launched an attack, which Monique (the only woman in the race) felt obligated to chase down (with me muttering something about "instigators"). About halfway through the race Monique flatted and dropped out, one of about five flats, apparently caused by "goat heads" on the course. The pace gradually increased through the course of the race until such time I realized that, despite my attention to drinking my whole bottle, I was totally cooked (literally) and went into pass/fail racing mode, rolling in to finish 10th or so. The funniest thing all night was finding Monique (a "foreign" woman) surrounded by admiring men after the race, and being told by a local racer that the altitude was about 75 ft (actually 2,000 ft). All in all, probably a better use of time than going to the brew pub.
DJ
P.S. The clothing vendor for the Kenda Tires team is, you guessed it, Verge. And would you believe that the seams on all their shorts is coming undone? Would you believe that supposedly Verge has yet to resolve the issue? I didn't think so!
DJ
P.S. The clothing vendor for the Kenda Tires team is, you guessed it, Verge. And would you believe that the seams on all their shorts is coming undone? Would you believe that supposedly Verge has yet to resolve the issue? I didn't think so!
Monday, July 14, 2008
2008 Padden Mountain Pedal
OK, we all know what a leMans style start is: you lay your bikes down at some predetermined point, then you go back to the line and on the word go, you sprint to your bike and your off on a race. That's what they do up on Bellingham for the Padden Mountain Pedal. Apparently, they've been doing it for 16 years. Its a great race and always brings out some good competition. This year, Eric Tonkin came up from PDX and there were some heavy weight Canadian World Cup Riders in for the Open race too. And yes, everyone ran to their bikes. OK, we didn't run, we had to skip. I skipped like a little girl to my bike 'cause I couldn't remember how to skip. I didn't get the hole shot either.
The course is the same one they've been running for awhile. You start climbing less than a kilometer from the start for about 5 minutes, crest the hill, descend on a twisty section, climb a little on a very hard to ride section that, at times, is faster to run than ride. From there, riders descend down a dicey single track with drops and hairpins and lots of roots. A short grunt out of that section takes you to the down hill back to the start finish to do it all again. This year, we ran four laps for the sport division instead of three. The extra length was great. It really made the race more challenging.
I had a great start. I jumped to the front and hung with the top three guys until the base of the climb. I was feeling great so I figured it was time to attack. I gave the gas and took off. No body went with me. I kept passing other age group people trying to put as much congestion in between me and the other guys in my group. It seemed to work. Starting the climb on lap 2, there was no one in sight. I settled in and started my "don't make stupid mistakes" mantra to myself. Lap two went well.
On the lap 3 climb, I was still feeling good and climbing well. I pulled back a bit just to ensure I had something for lap 4 in the tank. Coming down the back side on the descent, I managed to disregard my mantra. Another rider pulled up in the middle of the course and didn't know which way to go to get out of my way. I made a last second decision, went right around a tree and got through, but since I hadn't taken this line ever, I miscalculated (read dumb mistake) and went wide, washing out in the duff. I went down, but got right back up.
The bike seemed fine but wasn't shifting well. The next section is all down hill, so I didn't think about it until the next climb. I went to shift, but got no response. All I could do was shift the front dereailuer. The rear was stuck in my 12! My 12, that's all I had along with my 3 front chain rings and I had a lap and a half to go. At that point, I figured all I could do was go into 'cross mode and run if I couldn't ride it.
I chugged along ridding as much as I could, but having to run a fair bit. I wasn't overly concerned at first, but I knew if I didn't get the bike shifting, the big climb would be hell. I stopped once and tried to help the shifting. No luck. I stopped in the feedzone for some help. Still no luck! So I began my up hill battle. On the last time up the big climb, I ground away at what little gear options I had. When I could hardly turn 'em. I got off and ran. I ran for at least half of the climb. Crazy enough, I passed people on the run. OK, they were still on their 3rd lap, except for one guy, but I passed 'em!
Just before cresting the top, I got passed by the number 2 guy in our group. There went my number one position. I managed to hold on, with some more running, until the end and kept second. The number one guy only made about 30-45 seconds on me.
So, I guess, all in all, it was a great race regardless of the mechanical. I still need to work on my skipping, but that comes with more miles, right? Great thing is I managed to score some podium time for Joe Bar and brought home some beer and swag. Anyone need a new MTB tire?
Next race is in Roslyn on July 27th. Anyone interested in going to be my pit crew? Come on. It'll be hot and fun. Check out the Indie Series website here:www.indieseries.com
Matt Clark
The course is the same one they've been running for awhile. You start climbing less than a kilometer from the start for about 5 minutes, crest the hill, descend on a twisty section, climb a little on a very hard to ride section that, at times, is faster to run than ride. From there, riders descend down a dicey single track with drops and hairpins and lots of roots. A short grunt out of that section takes you to the down hill back to the start finish to do it all again. This year, we ran four laps for the sport division instead of three. The extra length was great. It really made the race more challenging.
I had a great start. I jumped to the front and hung with the top three guys until the base of the climb. I was feeling great so I figured it was time to attack. I gave the gas and took off. No body went with me. I kept passing other age group people trying to put as much congestion in between me and the other guys in my group. It seemed to work. Starting the climb on lap 2, there was no one in sight. I settled in and started my "don't make stupid mistakes" mantra to myself. Lap two went well.
On the lap 3 climb, I was still feeling good and climbing well. I pulled back a bit just to ensure I had something for lap 4 in the tank. Coming down the back side on the descent, I managed to disregard my mantra. Another rider pulled up in the middle of the course and didn't know which way to go to get out of my way. I made a last second decision, went right around a tree and got through, but since I hadn't taken this line ever, I miscalculated (read dumb mistake) and went wide, washing out in the duff. I went down, but got right back up.
The bike seemed fine but wasn't shifting well. The next section is all down hill, so I didn't think about it until the next climb. I went to shift, but got no response. All I could do was shift the front dereailuer. The rear was stuck in my 12! My 12, that's all I had along with my 3 front chain rings and I had a lap and a half to go. At that point, I figured all I could do was go into 'cross mode and run if I couldn't ride it.
I chugged along ridding as much as I could, but having to run a fair bit. I wasn't overly concerned at first, but I knew if I didn't get the bike shifting, the big climb would be hell. I stopped once and tried to help the shifting. No luck. I stopped in the feedzone for some help. Still no luck! So I began my up hill battle. On the last time up the big climb, I ground away at what little gear options I had. When I could hardly turn 'em. I got off and ran. I ran for at least half of the climb. Crazy enough, I passed people on the run. OK, they were still on their 3rd lap, except for one guy, but I passed 'em!
Just before cresting the top, I got passed by the number 2 guy in our group. There went my number one position. I managed to hold on, with some more running, until the end and kept second. The number one guy only made about 30-45 seconds on me.
So, I guess, all in all, it was a great race regardless of the mechanical. I still need to work on my skipping, but that comes with more miles, right? Great thing is I managed to score some podium time for Joe Bar and brought home some beer and swag. Anyone need a new MTB tire?
Next race is in Roslyn on July 27th. Anyone interested in going to be my pit crew? Come on. It'll be hot and fun. Check out the Indie Series website here:www.indieseries.com
Matt Clark
Monday, July 7, 2008
Friday Night Track Report
The skies were dark, but the Joe Bar Verde shone bright last night at Marymoor as bunnies Ben and David made their presence known, with a with a brilliant WIN BY BEN in the first race of the evening! 15 riders started the first race of the evening, the mens cat 4 10 lap scratch race. After a mid race break was pulled back the pack set up for the finish. Note I didn't say slow down for the finish, as the pace was fast all night, with speeds maintained in the 27-31 mph range and a max speed of 34.2 MPH in the first race. Coming into 2 laps to go the bell range for a $10 prime. Ben, followed by David, started to follow Alden of Broadmark as he swept over the top of the pack in search of 10 bucks. Preferring points over cash, Ben backed off of Alden's ultimately unsuccessful, while David decided he simply lacked the go to follow. As the bell range for one to go and the pack came out of turn two and down the back straight, Ben made his move, carefully picking his wheels and perfectly timing his move into the front straight breeze to capture the WIN. Meanwhile David managed to find a little something in his legs, allowing him to pick throught the field to a 7th place finish.
The second cat 4 race of the eveining, a 4 x 5 points race (20 laps), started fast and never slowed, maxing at 33.4 mph. The bunnies went to work after the first points sprint, when Ben and Alden (Broadmark) launched a pre-arranged attack off the front while David positioned himself just above the redline to try to maintain control over the field. Unfortunately the combination of lack of horsepower (Ben confessed to being whipped after his victory) and conflicting interests of Alden (who was competing with Ben for overall omnium points for the evening) doomed the effort. David went to plan B, scoring points by taking third in the second sprint, and basically following Ben around the track to survive. At the end, Ben finished 5th in his attempt to be the highest finishing 0 pts rider, and David finished 7th or 8th, again trying to win the tie-breakers.
Regrettably, results were not posted before Ben and David left for the evening, so the final omnium standings are not yet known. It is fairly certain that Ben added to his count of upgrade points for the year. In the end, another good night for Joe Bar green!
The second cat 4 race of the eveining, a 4 x 5 points race (20 laps), started fast and never slowed, maxing at 33.4 mph. The bunnies went to work after the first points sprint, when Ben and Alden (Broadmark) launched a pre-arranged attack off the front while David positioned himself just above the redline to try to maintain control over the field. Unfortunately the combination of lack of horsepower (Ben confessed to being whipped after his victory) and conflicting interests of Alden (who was competing with Ben for overall omnium points for the evening) doomed the effort. David went to plan B, scoring points by taking third in the second sprint, and basically following Ben around the track to survive. At the end, Ben finished 5th in his attempt to be the highest finishing 0 pts rider, and David finished 7th or 8th, again trying to win the tie-breakers.
Regrettably, results were not posted before Ben and David left for the evening, so the final omnium standings are not yet known. It is fairly certain that Ben added to his count of upgrade points for the year. In the end, another good night for Joe Bar green!
4th of July Weekend Road Race Report
Friday: Joe Matave Crit
Matt did the 4/5 race and stayed strong in the pack throughout. No crashing and a kick butt workout is a good day.
I did the A/B race and got into about 5 small breaks, but nothing managed to stick. It came down to a sprint and I got 9th or 10th.
Saturday: F&S Grade RR (Sedro-Wolley) - 66 miles
The field was small - about 23 at the start - which means everyone had to do a lot of work. I was feeling tired and sore from the beginning thanks to the crit on Fri. 2 went off the front and stayed away from lap 1. I started to cramp on the 4th time up the climb but held on to the group, now only about 18 strong. I knew going up the climb on the last (5th) lap was going to be the real test. I dropped off the back mid-climb and couldn't stand without my quads cramping, meaning I couldn't keep up. I decided to finish the climb and plow solo for a few more miles until I knew that there was no way I was going to catch back on. There were only about 12 left in the group at that point. I was bummed I couldn't hang on, but I was REALLY bummed to realize how far away the parking lot was at that point! I gimped my way back over the next 25-30 minutes. Today seems like a good day to rest.
Ride On!
A.
Matt did the 4/5 race and stayed strong in the pack throughout. No crashing and a kick butt workout is a good day.
I did the A/B race and got into about 5 small breaks, but nothing managed to stick. It came down to a sprint and I got 9th or 10th.
Saturday: F&S Grade RR (Sedro-Wolley) - 66 miles
The field was small - about 23 at the start - which means everyone had to do a lot of work. I was feeling tired and sore from the beginning thanks to the crit on Fri. 2 went off the front and stayed away from lap 1. I started to cramp on the 4th time up the climb but held on to the group, now only about 18 strong. I knew going up the climb on the last (5th) lap was going to be the real test. I dropped off the back mid-climb and couldn't stand without my quads cramping, meaning I couldn't keep up. I decided to finish the climb and plow solo for a few more miles until I knew that there was no way I was going to catch back on. There were only about 12 left in the group at that point. I was bummed I couldn't hang on, but I was REALLY bummed to realize how far away the parking lot was at that point! I gimped my way back over the next 25-30 minutes. Today seems like a good day to rest.
Ride On!
A.
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