2010 Vicious Cycle

Vicious Cycle
Road rides - Monday: 5:30 pm (none Jan.-Feb.)
Mountain bike - Wednesday: 5:30 pm
Meet at Jake's house- 139 E SW

7-26-10 Hot, hot, and a little more hot that's what's coming up for our final week of the Summer Criterium Series. But it is July, whaddaya expect? We've had some pretty good racing so far though, with the Wenatchee boys coming over to spice things up. In fact they've pretty much got a clean sweep going at this point. But enough about crits, lets find something more pleasant to talk about, I know, 100 mile mountain bike races! On July 11 I raced in the Cascade Cream Puff 100 for the first (and maybe last) time ever. I was totally blown away by the 16,000 feet of climbing to be had. I guess I didn't fully grasp that number until I was at approximately the 60 mile mark, that is when it began to sink in. I did manage to get through the ordeal in a reasonable time (much to my surprise) and even got myself inside the top 10 at 8th place overall, pretty happy with that. Although I have mixed feeling on my winnings, a free entry into the High Cascade 100 on August 7. Woo hoo, another 100 mile mtb race! At least I've got another sucker conned into doing this one with me, sorry Dale. That's about it for my summer, hope everyone is having a good one.

6-20-10 I made a run to Silver Falls this weekend for a little camping trip with the fam and to test out our new tent trailer. I decided to bring a bike along just in case I got the urge to take a little ride. We arrived Friday night and enjoyed a nice lazy morning Saturday. The girls and I rode around the campground and played on some log crossings. Then I got the map out, and after at least 5 minutes of careful planning I settling on a loop worthy of my afternoon. There was a two or three mile ride down the road to the trail head which was nice warm up because the trail went straight up from there. It was just the right pitch of not quite hike a bike but you almost wish it was so you wouldn't feel like such a little girl for stopping. Then it starts to rain, then your knee starts hurting, then you get into some snow. The next thing you know your cold and wet, pushing your bike through snow and trying to determine where the trail is. I figure I had less than two miles of nastiness to go before I got to the downhill, but it was too much. I turned around and rode the same trail back out at a fraction of the time it took me to go up. I got back to camp (and of course the sun came out) and made mango salsa and chicken tacos with a nice skinny dip - beer that is.

6-5-10 Its been awhile, so here goes. Our "big events" are behind us now. Beezley Burn was awesome this year, we had a record turn out and great racing. Our new event the Chainsmoker was a blast! The weather had me a little worried but it dried out nicely and turned out to be a great day. I'm loving Squilchuck State Park! As always big thanks to the Vicious Cycle gang for their loyal support! The very next weekend after The Chainsmoker was my favorite road race the Wenatchee Omnium. I was fairly happy with my performance at the race, but even more happy with the performance of Team Vicious Cycle in the community race where we dominated and lapped the entire field, no wait, maybe it was the entire field that lapped us, either way it was fun. Most of us took the next weekend off in preparation for the Spokane 24 hr race. We showed up with two teams, one five person coed (Charity Davidson, Dru Mcmakin, Dave Manville, Andrew Knopp, and Jeff Atkinson) and a corperate team with Dale Wentworth, Cory Clasen, Rene Dulany, Brian Turnbull, Derk Thomson, Steve Adler, and Tom Heywood. And then of course myself riding solo. Our five person coed and corperate teams placed 8th and 6th respectively and believe it or not I actually won the solo division. Kinda didn't see that one coming, get the full report here. Our Wednesday night gang has been treated to torrential down pours three Wednesdays in a row. What heck is going on here I thought we live in the desert!? I'm optimistic though, and think we're headed for summer weather soon. Looking forward to a summer of crazy fun that only Vicious Cycle roll out!

4-4-10 My new Gary Fisher Superfly 100 arrived on Friday after an agonizing wait. (I'm not so good with the patience) Of course I stayed up late to get it put together, and was up at the crack of dawn to ride Saturday morning. SO... here is my little review, and I will start by saying I hate every review I read in magazines. They're all sell-outs and never give you a real review, each one is a carbon copy of the next, gushing over whatever it may be. I had a hard time believing all the hype around this bike. I was worried about getting a full suspension, let alone a 29er full suspension. I'm a weight weenie, hardtail kinda guy and I was concerned this bike would be a big mushy turd. With that said... I LOVE this bike! The new G2 geometry keeps it feeling nimble and 26" like. The suspension is fantastic! The Fox RP23 has a Pro Pedal platform with 3 settings. I thought the bike was good enough in the open position, then I flipped the Pro Pedal and could feel an immediate improvement. It still had suspension, but somehow felt more solid and not influenced by my pedal stroke. I was able to stay seated and power though sections I'm normally bouncing all over. I hate to say it because it sounds so "Mountain Bike Action" of me but it climbs like a hard tail and descends like a full suspension. I'm also liking the finish on this bike. The white on smoke carbon looks sharp and ties in well with the white spokes on the Bontrager Race X Lite wheels and the Sram XO in Red trim. To keep this real though I came up with a dislike list albeit short. A remote lock out for the fork would be nice, I mean come on Fox, Rock Shox has had one for years now and you guys still don't!? The grips are a bit minimalist even for my taste. I may need to swap the seat, I'll know in a few more rides. That's about it, overall I'm quite pleased.

3-15-10 Gran Fondo final countdown. Dale and I rode the course again yesterday, I don't know why, it seemed like a good idea. If your dying to be a part of this event but can't convince yourself to ride it you can always volunteer. We'd love the help, and as a bonus at the end of the day your butt won't hurt.

LADIES NIGHT! The lovely ladies of Vicious Cycle will be riding Tuesday nights at 5:30 pm starting tomorrow. The ride will be on road at a beginner friendly pace, all are invited. Meet at my place. 139 E SW.

NO MORE HEADLIGHTS! WOOHOO!

3-7-10 Grand Fondo Pre-ride. I don't know what to say, the conditions where absolutely perfect today, almost too good! All of the gravel roads were in pretty good shape, fairly smooth and fast. I rode it with old worn out road tires (700x 23) on my cross bike and was ok, though it did take some finesse. I have some Shwalbe Marathon tires (700x 25) ordered that I think will offer just the right amount of cush and flat protection. There is some fast sections of gravel coming down Baird Springs Rd that could be dangerous, use common sense and don't ride over your head. There is a store at the end of Baird Springs, just across Highway 28 called Smith Brothers Antiques and Espresso. They will have some stuff available for purchase such as drinks, muffins, cookies, etc. We will also have an aid station at approximately the 40 mile mark (shortly after turning onto Palisades Rd). Three Devils is a series of (you guessed it) three very steep climbs -very steep as in barely ridable- at approximately 60 miles. From there it is fairly smooth sailing with a fast decent down Sheep Canyon then back into town. I had just over 4600' of elevation in the 78 miles with about 32 miles of it being gravel.

3-3-10 Primo Wednesday night riding, come get it while the getting is good!

2-7-10 Nothing like a little sunshine to get your cycling mojo going. I know some of the gang got out for some mountain biking on Beezley today. I was out for a fairly nasty 55 miler in the wind on Saturday, but the sun today more than made up for it. If that wasn't enough I even got some tailwind while in the sun! Oh yeah, it was good, in a sore butt tired legs kinda way.

1-13-10 Vicious Cycle winter training camp.

1-9-10 I took off for a ride this morning that I expected to be a two and a half hour base kinda ride with no real suffering to be had. My route was out Rd E, then East on the Frontage Rd, Mae Valley to Rd. 4, then back on Dodson. I've done this ride many times in the past as a flat and relatively fast 50 miles, but as you've probably guessed today's ride didn't go quite as expected. To start with I'm greeted in the morning with a nice sort of snow/ frozen rain mix. I rethink my desire to be a "cyclist" and momentarily entertain the idea of becoming a cage fighter... ok back to cycling. I'm off and the roads aren't as slick as they look. As I ride out Rd. E I can't help but enjoy the 20 mph speeds while remaining in the "base" heart rate zones. I should also note this is my first ride over one hour in I don't know how long. And that brings me to the part when I thought "oh man I'm hurting and it's only been an hour and one minute." As I neared Moses Lake on the Frontage road the nice frozen mix I had been enjoying began to thaw. The jacket I was wearing was fairly rain proof so I figured that maybe the tail on it would keep my butt dry. What I didn't figure is that the tail would act as funnel, collecting every drop of water on my back and directing it right to my ass. On Mae Valley road, normally one of my favorite sections of this ride along the lake, I now have a massive rooster tail coming off both front and rear tires and I am cursing that I took my fenders off for spin class. I'm totally soaked, parts of my body are going numb, and I'm consider calling for a ride home, but I think how much that would suck to fail at my first real ride of the year. So I crunch some number and figure if I can keep it above 16 mph I should be home sweet warm home in 30 minutes, I can suffer for 30 minutes. That is if I can keep it above 16... I soon find that I am at threshold to maintain 16, so much for base. I am so ready for Dodson, the home stretch, as I make the corner off Rd. 4 to Dodson it hits me, that 20 mph pace on E road wasn't due to my amazing fitness level, it was a tail wind, which is now a head wind. It was a 12 mph cold, wet slog all the way into Ephrata. My nice two and a half hour easy base ride had turned into three hours and 16 minutes of sub-threshold hell. It was one of those rides where I am literally questioning my ability to finish even blocks from my home. I must confess though, as bad as it sounds I wouldn't be doing this if some part of me didn't enjoy it. Plus think how easy this ride will be in June!

1-1-10 The elusive Yeti once again made fools of us all. Despite no confirmed Yeti sightings, all enjoyed the New Years day stroll in the park as well as sipping Yeti Juice. Scott R. Steve, Scott B. Cory, Rene, Dale, Dirk, Tim, and myself came in a nine way tie for first place. We all ate chili and drank beer to celebrate. Thanks to Garlinis and Wenatchee Velo for another great ride!

12-27-09 Hope Santa was good to everyone. I got some sweet new wool yeti socks. Hey, speaking of yeti, January 01, 2010: Yeti Ride! First Ride of the Year! Start time 12:00 at Garlinis in Wenatchee. We'll probably meet at my place around 10-10:30 and see if we can pile everyone into one rig. Be prepared for whatever the yeti throws down!

About Vicious Cycle

Vicious Cycle is a pretty laid back kind of bike club. Nothing too official here just some folks who enjoy biking. Our rides are usually pretty casual, and no drop. We meet twice a week to ride and discuss highly relevant topics. It seems we're always cooking up some new adventure... or questioning the logic of last one. New riders welcome, come check us out.