Des Moines Crit

Racing in the sun, finally!!

Des Moines is a 4 corner crit on a small hill. Overall clean lines and smart riding made for a fun race without any crashes. Dan and I drove down (me eating a whole wheat English muffin with peanut butter-- Dan eating a glazed old fashion from Top Pot) and spun on the trainers to get "warmed up" in the 85 degree sun. My biggest foul was fighting to get into my pedal at the start making me work hard the first lap or two to move up in the peloton. Meantime Dan had everyone strung out from the front, actually convincing a few dudes that he was going to lead a break group. Dan settled back in and recovered most of the rest of the race. I played as lazy as I could riding wheels and staying out of the wind. I managed to get and stay top 10-12 through the last 15-20 minutes of the race and finished with what felt like a 400 meter sprint to finish 11th.

This race was a personal challenge for me because I finished LAST 2 years ago in my first cat 4 race (my first race after getting a cast off my arm) and then managed 4th last year, winning enough points to upgrade to cat 3. So thankfully I'm not going to cycle through a last place / top 5 routine every year.

And I wish I took a picture of Dan looking shredded in his pink velvet hat, red shorts, fishnet shirt, and sympathy knee bandage. (He's got the back hair of a gorilla)

ride safe.
A.

Boston Harbor Circuit Race

At the very least, I looked good. The Boston Harbor Circuit Race is short enough (30 miles for Masters C, five 6-mile laps) that I was able to break out the long-sleeve skinsuit for the first time, and it felt awesome. I was hoping that the sweet duds would give me a little extra mojo for the race.

It was a beautiful day for a race: mid-60s, dappled sunshine through the wooded roads. I noticed driving in that the final stretch was narrow; at 1200 meters to go, you turned from a wide-shouldered highway to a shoulderless narrow strip of macadam, so you really wanted to be up front before you turned in.

I was a little late getting to to the line, so I began from my customary spot near the rear of the pack, figuring that I'd take the first lap to scope out the good passing areas, then make my way up through the race. That aforementioned wide-shouldered highway was great; it started with a big downhill, then a big uphill to the final straight. I could zoom down on the shoulder, then crank up the hill, grabbing places in chunks.

I felt pretty good, so I marked my areas the first lap, then jumped up a handful of spots for the next few laps till I was up in the top 10-15 for the fourth lap, and moved up a little more for the fifth lap. I was still feeling strong, and I wanted to stay really close to the front, because that is what had worked for me at Tour de Dung, and I hoped to employ the same strategy.

I stayed in the top 5 or so until the final descent on the highway; I bombed it down (Derik would have been proud, although there was no actual handling prowess needed) and cranked it back up, one of the first couple into the straight. Unfortunately, my left calf, which had cramped up at Seward last week, was putting in an encore performance. Screw it, who needs a calf?! I was able to hang with the top 5-6 guys and recover for a couple hundred meters, but now I'm in the 2nd row. Crap. I really want to be leading all these guys out to make them pass me, I sure can't outsprint them from behind. I should have migrated over to the yellow line so I could at least go wide at 200, but there's a Cucina next to me now. We're at about 800 meters, no one is speeding up and I'm itching to find a way through - there's another Cucina guy (one of a dozen) riding the narrow shoulder, so unless I'm in the weeds there's no way through there. 500 meters and no one has sped up yet; if anything we're more crunched together. Okay, once everyone goes, maybe I can swing up between the Fanatik guy on the line directly in front of me and the Cucina guy. Still, everybody's waiting for the sign; the pack has caught up behind us, and no one has pushed the pace. Finally we hit the sign, everybody goes - except the guys right in front of me. I almost rear-end them as they ramp it up perhaps 2 mph as the floodgates open on the left and guys go streaming by. I'm completely boxed in, and lose at least 20 spots in the last 150 meters.

That was a bit frustrating, as I was sure I had myself up for at least top ten, maybe top five, but I'll chalk it up to a learning experience that will serve me next time. I had a fun time, was able to race how I wanted (well, except for that last half-mile), and had a good workout on a gorgeous day. What more could I ask for? (Other than a state championship medal?) :)

Methow Mountain Challenge - Podium

I love riding in the Cascades: the lush forests, the rich greens of the moss and trees and the technical, rootey, greasy, muddy, twisty riding, but I grew up riding in the Rockies: Dry trails, wide open sections, rocky technical trails, lots of climbing and fast down hills. I can't get enough of that kind of riding. When I get out on the trail someplace like the Methow Valley, I realize I miss those days of riding back home in Montana. The one thing that I notice first in the experience, is the smells of the Ponderosa Pines, sage, dust and lupine. All these aromas come alive when the sun beats down on it all and as you ride through mile after mile of trail you become aware of the changing micro climates: shaded creek side trails, open range sage down hill or miserably long climbs with the waft of pine trees to spur you on. Those are things we just don't have on the wet side of the Cascades. I guess I was feeling at home in the Methow.

For those of you that haven't gotten out to ride in this race, I suggested you make it a priority next year. The course is great and technical and hard but keeps you interested with beautiful vistas and crazy fast down hills. (here's a link to the map: http://www.indieseries.com/map_methowcourse.jpg)
This course has everything you'd want for a race. Couple of highlights of the course: an 18" wide trail that was super exposed. If you screwed up and went down, you'd be swimming in the lake 20 feet below. STEEP climb at the top, but a wicked downhill that was ultra fun and a great prize for making the climb. Climbing, lots of it. Did I mention there was some climbing?

My goal for the day was top ten to gather points to hold my meager 10th place in the Indie Series. I was also hoping, secretly, that high fuel prices would keep some of the fast guys at home. The race started nearly on time. We went off in a ball of dust. I jumped out and stayed in the top five for better part of the first section. The first 45 minutes of the race was rolling terrain with some technical sections and one grunt of a climb that lasted for about a kilometer. I was just trying to settled in to a good rythm and save something for the big climb. We rolled through the start finish to go for the long climb. I then noticed I lost my water bottle. Good thing I had a second in my jersey. I took two cups of water at the feed zone.

The big climb is just that. 5 miles of climbing greeted us on a mix of single track and road. Let's just say I'm glad I rode Cayuse pass last week. My legs felt ok. The trail just kept going up and up. I did manage to pass several people in this section, but didn't know where I sat overall in our group. At the top, the trail gets super steep. I found that running was faster than riding. After the race, one of the guys chasing me said I dropped him while running that section. Hmmm....call it early season cross training?! I was just glad to get back on the bike and head down hill. Tricky in spots, but certainly fast, the down hill truly was a prize after all the climbing. I'm confident I hit 40 mph in one section. Full suspension was a good choice on the day.

With one more short climb and a twisty downhill, we were back to the finish. After it was all said and done, I pulled off a third place finish. I was certainly happy with that! I never did see the top two guys until I hit the podium. They were fast. And for all my efforts, I got a six pack of beer. Pretty sweet.

The loose, rocky conditions certainly suited me and the fast, technical downhill didn't hurt either. I gotta get back to Winthrop to ride and train. The weather is great. Dry conditions prevail and the warm temps make it pretty easy to get out. It isn't Montana, but it sure was a lot of fun.

OK, next race is Padden. Anyone want to join me?

-matt

Cayuse to Cayuse Ride Report

This last Sunday (June 15th). Aaron Shaw and I along with Kevin Delahunty (Carter Team AKA Team Blood Sausage) and my brother Ben (Montana Velo) hit the road for a long day in the saddle. Our plan was to tackle my brother's hair-brained idea of Cayuse to Cayuse Pass. http://www.mapmyrun.com/run/united-states/wa/enumclaw/1042958494

This route he had picked out took us over Cayuse pass to Naches (just outside of Yakima) and then back into the mountains, up and over White Pass, into Rainier National Park, over Chinook Pass and back to Cayuse. It is suppose to be about 113 miles long and with just a little over 10,000 feet of climbing. This was suffer fest 2008.

The ride started nicely descending towards Naches with high speeds and warm temps. We quickly stripped our leg and armwarmers off and figured it would be awhile until we needed a jacket, if at all. The climb up to White Pass was tough. Some solid winds added to the tough climb but we all made it to the top and had lunch. Aaron got the KOM points for that climb.

The Sag Wagon had food and water for us at the top. Yes, I said Sag wagon. My brother's wife took care of that and oh how nice it was!

The descent down into the park was fast and fun. High speeds and wide open roads. The damn thing was we lost a ton of elevation. When we hooked the right to go north, our climbing began again. After about 10 miles, the road ramped up and really started to climb and I really started to run out of steam. I managed to stay with Aaron for a bit, but he eventually rode away from me. Even my brother rode away from me. My pace slowly declined and after coming through a short, albeit scary tunnel, I saw what I was in store for: another 5 miles of climbing that was super steep, had switch backs and looked like it would hurt. I was cooked. I had to pull out there. Luckily I did. Kevin wasn't far back and he was fighting leg cramps. He was so cramped up he couldn't turn the pedals. I rode back and we stuck out our thumbs for a ride back to the car. Luckily, the Sag wagon picked us up and we got whisked back to the parking garage.

I have to say, it was a hard ride, but man was it beautiful and fun and epic. I can't wait to do it again and beat it this time. I'm bringing the 12-27 this time. Oh and Aaron got more KOM points to be crowned King of Cayuse 2008. He is a strong man, even after 3 weeks in India.

Here's the photos to see how cool it really was! How 'bout ya'll join us for our next outing up there sometime later this summer?

http://elizabeth.a.clark.home.comcast.net/~elizabeth.a.clark/2008_06_15.html

Leavenworth MTB Race Report

More than a week has gone by since our fun race in Leavenworth. Dan
Wren and I piled into the car at 6:30 am to make the 10:30 start for
the sport division. We went in "Green" style with an extra passenger
in Mike Rolcyk from Second Ascent. Carpooling really is fun! The
weather was dreary on the West side of the mountains, but opened up
for a sunny day on the East side of the mountains. Temps in the 60's
to 70's made for great racing.

For those of you that don't know the course, it goes something like
this: Climb 4 miles, go for about a quarter mile on flat then descend
for four miles while navigating huge water bars and two creek
crossing, turn left at the bottom and do it again. Sport class did
two laps, the experts did three, and if you are Dan Wren in 2007, you
did 4 laps. That's another story, but let's just say the parking lot
was empty when Dan finished his race last year.

Anyway, it is more fun than it sounds. The climbing is a mix of dirt
road, single and double tracks. It isn't super steep, it just goes
forever. Like all mountain bike races, the start is important. I
managed to get away with 4 other riders and hung on to them for half
the climb. I slid back a little, but as soon as the descent came up,
I passed a bunch of folks and stayed upright. There were several
crashes this year resulting in one rider getting an ambulance ride out.

My second time up the climb was OK, but I wasn't staying on pace that
well. I caught one rider right at the end of the race and I thought I
nabbed him at the line to move up a spot. I thought I sprinted for
5th, I guess I got 6th. Where is the finish line in a mountain bike
race anyway? Interesting side note is that my overall time was only
off by about 30 - 45 seconds over last year and I got 2nd in my
division. Guess the field is getting faster.

Mike had a great day, he won the expert 35 - 45 group. Dan didn't
have as good of a day. He DNF-ed due to a painful nerve problem in
one of his feet and he said he just didn't have it. Well, good thing
is we weren't the last out of the parking lot and Dan drove making my
day easy. Can't complain there. And did you know that Dan's kids are
super cute? I'll let him tell that side of the story.


Matt

Monday Night at the Track

I had my first night of track racing tonight. Lots of fun turning left I must say. The women get put in with the juniors. It is a bit of a mixed bag - I feel conflicted and want to let the kids win yet don't want to let them beat me. After 3 races this evening I think I have already done more sprinting than I did in all my road races last year combined. Next week I think I will try to race in something other than my warm up gear. That was some fun bike racing!

-beth

Seward Park Summer Classic

Masters A/B and Cat 3 . Masters is a cruel thing - no big bunch to hide in and you’re racing with guys that are fast and smart. The race started off with 2 big guys from the Dark side / aka garage trying to soften things up with fast exertions then Cucina & Excel all had multiple guys in the race. They had a preem almost every lap to get the speed up; one guy with a comp said we averaged 26 mph. So halfway into our 40 minute race 6 guys went off the front and I watched them ride off. Then I took a look, said, “This is the race,” and jumped across the gap leaving the guys behind. After a big effort I made contact, rested, and went to work powering the bunch and working well with the bunch. I got 6th place in the sprint and also nabbed a bunch of the prems. Now, the Cat 3 race was the usual race - 60 minutes of not much. I was a bit tired from my race just before so I stayed up front for the first 30 minutes then I started to dehydrate - no water. That's when super team mate Big DDDDD gave me a supper slurpy !!!! thanks. then I was recharged I new I had no sprint so I offered my legs to the Rubicon team (love the way they race, true team) the plan was to send one of their guys after we caught the break which never got more than 10 seconds ahead. So, I went to the front, exploded and watched the sprint from the back. Having no team to work for it was nice to get a big thanks from the Rubicon Boys. Summery fun day, lapping the bunch in my first race was a blast.

-Dan

Methow Valley Stage Race

The short version: Judd and Jeremy from Joe Bar raced their bikes for 2 days in the Methow Valley.

The long version:
SAT 6/14
Time Trial: 9.6mi. of rolling hills, out and back in Mazama. The last hill on the way back was the killer. I felt good thanks to suggestions for a solid warm-up and Charlie's TT bars. Also, I had the opportunity to pre-run the course a couple of times. Since I registered so dang early, I was 2nd out the gate. The guy behind me (30 secs back) caught me on the first hill, about 1-1.5mi. in. I made up for it by passing the man in front of me :). I, of course, had to mess something up, so at the turn-around, I swung a little wide and rope into the gravel by the side of the road :) I recovered without falling or getting off my bike (thank you cross season!). I ended up with something like a 25min time, putting me in 29/46. I think Judd's bro, Andy got 7th or so and Judd was a bit further down the list from me. I averaged something like 22mph which seemed reasonable, given the course and my TT experience (which is none).

Crit: 40mins around 4 blocks in old-town Twisp. A few chunky bits of pavement, but nothing too bad. Turn 3 was a bit sketch since it was downhill into the turn, then a bit off-camber and uphill comming out. It also featured several small potholes in just the right places to make it interesting. My plan was to get behind Judd or Andy and just stay there. It sounded good in theory, but in execution, not so much. Just like my cross race starts, I didn't really jump on the gravy train right away and missed my chance to get behind Judd, who was already moving up before turn 1. I tried to relax and wait for things to spread out before trying to move up. On lap 2, I went for an opportunity to pass a dude from Der Sportsmann and blew past him on the back straightaway. This of course meant that I entered the infamous turn 3 much faster than I had before, and took a different line. This "new" line featured at least 3 potholes previously described and as I bounced around, I tried to self-correct by sitting up. This was not smart as it meant that I stopped turning mid-turn and (go on, guess...) I rode into the dirt on the side of the road (anyone catching a theme?). Again, cross handling came in handy and I managed to not go down, but by the time I was back on course, I was now at the very back of the pack. A la cross season as well, I started to pick people off and re-advance. Every time I caught someone, they would slow down, hoping for me to pass them so they could ride my draft up to the next people. Every time, I bit. It seemed like good racing strategy to them (and I would have done the same if someone came from behind me), but we weren't getting anywhere by playing games with each other, so, like I said, I bit. Slowly we advanced, catching person after person. I was feeling good, but couldn't go any faster than I was. Apparently the main pack was much faster and after 22mins, I got pulled. I can at least console myself because I was one of the last people to get pulled. Oh well. I got to watch the rest of the race go down. Andy got a prime (free massage!) and with Judd, made it to the end of the race! (sorry, I forget what places they got). Our race started with about 50 and only 23 finished, so again, I don't feel so bad.

SUN 6/15
Road Race: 54 mi.; 4 laps on 13-ish mi loop on rolling country roads
The biggest hill was right at the beginning, so I was happy when I found out that we would roll neutral up that then begin racing. Some of you may remember my (in)famed performance out at Longbranch, which I did not want to repeat. I had a healthy b-fast early on and a good 30min warmup on the trainer. I showed up early to the lineup and got a good spot. We took off at 8:30 and I felt great. we went up the hill at a nice gentle pace and even when we began racing, we only picked it up a bit. I was holding 5/6 wheel in a 2X2 train and having a pleasant conversation with a guy from Byrne. The course starts by going up several small hills, so I don't think anyone was complaining about the pace. Once we hit the first downhills, however, things started to get fast. Then we hit another hill and dropped to 9mph :).
Finally, after 1/2 a lap, the strong kids got bored and we were racing. Every time I got too close to the front, I tucked in behind someone who looked safe. I was feeling warm and strong (and NOT blowing up) and grabbed an awesome spot behind Benny the teenager. We moved up a bit more and I moved over behind Der Sportsmann again. BEEP!!!! WRONG ANSWER!! Please goo to jail, do not pass go and do not collect $200. For whatever reason, on a perfectly flat section of road, he locked his rear wheel and started to fishtail. I did the same, only I was a bit to the right of him and fishtailed into (any guesses? c'mon just one...) the dirt. Now I'm 3/3 for stages during which I end up in the dirt. I dabbed one foot and quickly made it back to the road as the last man in the peloton passed me. The follow car was nice and sat behind me, giving me a chance to catch back up, which I did in about 1 mi.!
Feeling strong and psyched, I immediately started vocally announcing my way back into the pack. "One your right!" "Comming through!" "Oh sh@#t!". The reason I caught the peloton was because it was accordioning at the beginning of an uphill. Some DB pulled directly in front of me and locked his rear wheel up. "Not again", I thought to myself. YES, again. I was in the ditch. I am now entirely convinced that the Bike Race Gods have chosen me for off-roading and not for road-racing. I wasn't the only casualty though, 2 other folks had gone down on the pavement near the back of the pack. Unscarred and undeterred, I was back on the bike while the follow car took care of the other two. I was off on another TT to catch the pack, only this time I was on empty. As hard as I could try, the pack still got gurther and further away. Eventually the follow car passed me and I was left to the warm sun and smell of flowers. I made an honest effort for nearly 20 mins to regain the group, but eventually I just settled in for a 40mi. TT behind them (it was like a break, but backwards). I thought about it for a few minutes and finally decided to "pass" this race, regardless of position.
On the back half of the 2nd lap I caught a guy who had been dropped, so we chatted and pushed each other a bit to keep the pace up. He left once we got back to town, but thankfully a break had gone off the race behind me, so I got to go through all the stop signs in town between the break and the pack (it was womens 1/2/3). Their peloton passed me on the main hill and I went back to smiling and enjoying the sun.
As I crested the next hill, I could see their follow car way ahead. I got closer, though, but it hadn't moved. Then I got even closer and saw Der Sportsmann standing behind it. As I slowly rode around the car, I saw the carnage. Probly around 12 men 4/5 standing, sitting or in one man's case, lying down with a blanket over him. Bikes were strewn across the road and in the ditch, one was even broken in half. The guy on the ground wasn't doing well. Complaining of chest pain, shaking uncontrollably, labored breathing and a slew of other issues didn't give me much confidence that he would re-enter the race anytime soon. The official had already called an ambulance, but I put down my bike anyways and talked to the guy a bit to try to calm him down and get him as relaxed as possible. As I looked around, I realized that several of the people who were involved had been people I had picked out as "safe" wheels to follow. I was able to piece together the story that someone had tried to swerve a bump, crossed the yellow line and pulled back in ASAP, knocking the guy next too him over and taking out the entire middle line of the pack plus some (including, I found out later, Andy, Judd's brother, but I think he is alright). A very sharp reminder of some of the dangers of road racing.
After the ambulance arrived, I hopped back on my bike, still intent on finishing the race. While I had been with the accident group, though, the Cat 4 women passed me, so I was now at the back of everything. Whatever.
As I finished my 3rd lap, I saw a rider with a bib number ahead of me. A carrot. With renewed psych for hunting people down, I chased this person up the steep hill and soon caught her. She seemed quite content to hop on my wheel and after a few mins of pulling, I backed off and started a covnersation. It turned out she had been in the Women 1/2/3 race and dropped her chain and just never caught her race again and, like me, just wanted to pass the race. It was nice to have company to push me a bit and to stay focused even on the windy hills. With the 200m sign in sight, we agreed to sprint for it and soon crossed the finish line, much to the amazement of the 1 official eating her lunch there (she had to throw her food down to write down out bib numbers). I only chatted with Judd for a few moments after the race, but it sounds like he only arrived a bit before me. After dropping his brother off at the car, he and his friends did the same as me and simply finished.

All in all, it was a really fun event. It was great to have small fields (none were bigger than 50), especially for my first crit. I felt happy with how I did, not necessarily my results, but my physical efforts and my attempts to try new tactics. I especially liked doing the stage race. it was fun to get up early and do an event and have to spin out and stretch and eat, then do another the same day, spin, stretch and eat, then race the next day! the whole process of it, i guess, is what i liked.

sorry for the novel!
-jeremy

Whidbey Island Mudder report

Thad and I commuted up to the the ferry last Sunday. The weather was nice, we were on schedule and things were looking good. Our race (Sport Division) was set to take off at 2pm. A noon ferry seemed perfect. We parked, loaded up and rolled to the ferry terminal. We weren't driving on. Forget that. We were gonna ride on so we could warm up on the 4 mile ride to the race course on the island. We got our tickets from the handy dandy kiosk, jumped in front of the cars just about to load, but something seemed weird. No other bikes were spotted going to the race. Hmmm. Then, a crackle came over the radio of the ferry attendant "Hey, those bike guys have the wrong tickets!" She sent us back up to talk with the ticket taker. He said "You guys got the wrong tickets. You bought ones going from Mukilteo to Clinton (Whidbey). Thad and I looked at each other like What? It started to creep into our thick skulls that Damn, we were at the wrong Ferry!! This isn't Mukilteo, this is Edmunds!

We piled back in the car and shot up to Mukilteo. I can't believe we went to Edmunds! Good thing we didn't get on that ferry or we'd have been in Kingston. We missed the next ferry out of Mukilteo and had to settle for the 1 p.m. ferry to Whidbey. Luckily, we didn't repeat Thad's performance of getting a speeding ticket on the way to the ferry like he did on his way to Flagler last fall for the Cross races.

Anyway, we did the math. The 1 p.m. ferry would be fine, we just didn't have much margin for error. We changed into our kit, got some funny looks on the boat and bolted for the start finish once the vessel docked. We certainly warmed up on the way to the race. It is pretty much all up hill, but the warm up was perfect. We had about 15 minutes to spare before the race started. We registered fast and lined up and we were off!

Now the thing about the Whidbey Island Mudder is that it is twisty, kind of technical and long! I was grateful to only do about 16 miles or 3 laps. I think the experts did 5! A good jump at the start got me away from the inevitable pile up when the double wide went to single track. I burned it up in the what I thought was the first lap. To my surprise, we had only done a half lap. The twisty course made it hard to keep up with where you were on the course. This was gonna be a long one. Luckily, I had no mechanicals. I only went down once, it hurt, but nothing major. I hooked up with another racer and I managed to tow him around for a ways. In hind sight, I should have let him pass me so I could sit on his wheel! During the race, he chatted me up while we chased down the leaders "hey, what's your name? I'm Henery." I yelled back "hey, I'm Matt. You gonna use me like you did Andrew Novikoff?" Henery: "Ouch, that hurt." Andrew warned me. Henry prowls and hangs on wheels just to use you up just before the finish. Henry was a gentleman, he waited for me when I went down. On the last climb, I attacked and managed to drop him for a bit, but I used up what was left in the tank. On the next roller, he caught me and proceeded to use me. I didn't see him until the finish.

In the end, I stayed on track, slipped up a little but hung on to a 7th place finish. Thad wasn't too far behind in 12th. The heat wasn't too bad either, the dust stayed down, the course was a ton of fun and Joe Bar had 3 racers in attendance. Dan Wren held on in an Expert race that was super fast all while consuming at least 100 water bottles staving off the heat and came in 14th. His re-con of the course proved valuable to me and Thad since we didn't actually pre-ride the course. Thanks Dan!

Now I have a new arch enemy on the MTB circuit. I'm coming for you Henry! Just watch out. Leavenworth is next on June 7th.

-mjc