Vicious Cycle
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Whether you want a peek at the Beezley Burn course
or a road ride through spectacular rolling wheat land,
Vicious Cycle is where it's at.
Rides: Mon 5:30 p.m.(road) Wed 5:30 p.m.(off road)
Contact: Jake Maedke (509)754-6361 ephratabikes@gmail.com
Contact: Jake Maedke (509)754-6361 ephratabikes@gmail.com
Calender of Events
March 24: Canal Caper
March 31: Wenatchee Duathalon
April 1: Indie Series #2 Capitol Forest
April 7&8: Frozen Flatlands Omnium
April 21&22: Tour of Walla Walla
April 22: Indie Series #3 Seatac Shuffle
April 28: Beezley Burn
May 6: Chinook Road Race
May 12: Wenatchee Omnium
May 20: Indie Series #4 Whidbey Island
May 26&27: Spokane 24hr Race
June 2: Indie Series #5 Leavenworth
June 3: Chinook Road Race
June 9: Wenatchee Apple Century
June 10: Chinook Road Race
June 16&17: Methow Valley Stage Race
June 23: Indie Series #6 Winthrop
June 30: George Century ride
July 8: Indie Series #7 Padden Mtn.
July 21: Indie Series #8 Greenwater
August 11&12: Roslyn Mtn Bike Festival
August 18: Hot August Days 150
August 25: Crystal Mtn. Hillclimb
August 26: Seward Park Criterium
September 9: Mt. Hood Mtb race
October 5,6&7: Methow Fall Bike Festival
October 14: Darkside ride
October 27: Ephrata The Dark
USGP CX Portland OR 12/1/07 I had originally planned to do this race, but it just didn't work with my schedule. I wanted a minimum of two weeks off the bike yet I also wanted to start training in early December. That, and I would have had to leave Ephrata at like 3:00 am to make my 9:00 am start time. So instead I've been kicking back getting in some r&r since thanksgiving. That made this weekend more of a vacation instead of big important race. I went with my family, we slept in (as much as our early bird 6 yr old would let us) we took our time on the drive, and we had a fairly relaxing enjoyable trip. We arrived at the race just in time for the Elite Women who were treated to light rain/snow mix with gusty winds. Sounds fun huh? Having never been to a major cyclocross race I have to say it was pretty awesome! The whole course was lined with crazed cowbell ringing fans screaming and hollering, bbqs and beers aplenty, the announcer sounded like an out of work soccer announcer, it was wild! I was totally amazed at how fast the Elite men were. Watching Kevin Bradford Parrish finish mid pack and get lapped by the top guys was just unreal! Kevin is one of the fasted guys in the NW, on a my best days I'm about 8 mins behind him and he got lapped... wow. Pretty impressive stuff, if you ever get the chance to hit one of these races I highly recommend it, it was a blast.
Inland Northwest CX #811/18/07 The 8th and final race of the series was held at High bridge park in Spokane with rain the day before and cloudy cool conditions for race day. I brought along the fam and met up with the WAR gang there. For this race I felt even a little better than last week. I was able to stay out front for most of the race. There was this one fast down hill single track followed by a tight S turn that was a little muddy and slick. Being a mtb. guy a was able to make a little time in this section every lap. That is until the last lap when I was marveling at how well I'd done and slid out. I got up quick and didn't lose much time, just enough for one guy to get by. Turns out he wasn't in my class anyway, which was a good thing because I wasn't able to get back by him. Shawn Howard had a pretty good race out front with the fast "A" guys, Rocky flatted early but was able to grab a spare and finish. Shawn Letson was out front once again. "A" Shawn Howard 5th; 4th overall. "B" Jake Maedke 1st; 6th overall. Masters 40+ Rocky Crocker 4th; 1st overall. Shawn Letson 1st; 2nd overall; Rookie Tom Heywood 3rd; 2nd overall. Womens Mtb. Penny Hulbert 3rd; 2nd overall. Amy Anderson 2nd; 1st overall
Inland Northwest CX #7 11/11/07 Loaded up the family Suburban and made the trip to Athol Id again this weekend. Met up with the regular WAR guys there. The weather was cold, but it could have been a lot worse. They had rain earlier in the week so the ground was wet with even a touch of mud in a few places. Mud!? I can't take my cyclocross bike in mud! Well it wasn't what real crosser would call mud, but it was the muddiest race so far this season. As for the racing I felt much better than last week. I was able to hang on to the lead group in my division. At the end there was some confusion and we ended up doing a sprint for the finish on the second to last lap. (I won) By the time we got to the real finish line it was a three way sprint where, you guessed it, I was third. But it was a good time and I was happy with the improvement over last week. Rocky and Shawn Letson were at it again. Both of them worked together to set a pace that blew away the Master 40+ division.
Shawn Howard 4th "A", Jake Maedke 3rd "B", Shawn Letson 1st Masters 40+, Rocky Crocker 2nd Masters 40+
Inland Northwest CX #6 11/4/07 Brian and I met up with Rocky, Penny, Shawn Howard, and Shawn Letson at Riverside State Park in Spokane for the 6th race in the Inland Northwest Cyclocross Series. The course was a pretty fast 1.9 mile lap with one run up, some rough grassy, twisty turns, but nothing to technically challenging. At the start my class took a wrong turn, and we all did it so nobody lost any positions, but we had to fight though the slower Masters 40+ guys right at the beginning. I felt like I went to hard passing slower traffic trying to keep up with the leaders, then the next thing I knew I was the slower traffic. I just need to keep at it I guess. Brian had what sounds like a pretty good race going until his crank arm came loose at the last 1/4 mile of the race costing him a few positions. I know he'll be gunning for the Walla Walla man at the Final in two weeks. Rocky and Shawn Letson owned the Masters 40+ class, working the team tactics to move Letson up in points.
Shawn Howard 3rd "A" Jake Maedke 7th "B" Shawn Letson 2nd Masters 40+ Rocky Crocker 3rd Masters 40+ Brian Turnbull 2nd Rookie Penny Hulbert 1st Women Mtb.
Inland Northwest CX #3 10/21/07 Brian and I made the two hour forty one minute drive to Athol Idaho. No, I don't type with a lisp, the small town of Athol is about 15 miles north of Hayden Lake. After last weeks beat down I decided I would try out the "B" category, maybe get a little more experience before I jump in with the A's. The course was 3 mile laps that were kind of rough with a short run up then right back down, some log hurdles and some fast, slightly downhill pavement. We arrived early enough to get a good pre ride in with the rest of the WAR gang, Rocky, Penny, Tom, Shawn Letson, and Shawn Howard. It was helpful to ride with Howard, he was able to point out a few things I never would have thought of, like "lets try to ride up the run up" and "I think if you hit that hump fast enough you can jump the hole on the other side." Both suggestions worked out well for me. At the start the A's took off, then 30 seconds later it was the B's along with the Master men 40+. Immediately off the start Rocky came blowing by me along with 5 or 6 others. Half way though the first lap I caught up to Rocky and it was the two of us in front with Shawn Letson right behind. That was pretty cool, 3 WAR guys right at the front. Eventually Rocky and about 5 other got a 50 yard gap on me. At that point the gap wasn't getting any bigger, but it wasn't getting any smaller either. Flat! It wasn't instantaneous, it took maybe 5 minutes before it was totally flat. I thought my race was over, I was making my way back when I saw a spare set of wheels with a WAR jacket draped over them. I saw Shawn Howard's wife Sherry standing nearby and asked if she knew who they belonged to. She said they were Shawn's, go ahead and use them . I swapped out and was back on it. I knew I was way back now, but I was also rested up so I hammered down for the last bit of the race and was actually able to pass a number of guys. I ended up 4/11 which I can't complain about. Shawn Howard finished 4th, in a sprint to the finish in Mens A, Rocky took 1st and Shawn Letson took 3rd in Masters 40+, Brian crushed the rookie class and Tom took 2nd.
Inland Northwest CX #2 10/14/07 I had a busy weekend. Saturday Brian and I made a trip to Seattle just for the heck of it. Sunday I went to Spokane to do a cyclocross race. I have never done one of these so I didn't really know what to expect. I signed up for the "A" division, which is the fast guys. I learned real quick what A means! I got smoked. 55 minutes of max heart rate. Shortly after the start I could see there would be no finding a comfortable pace like in a mtb race. There is nothing comfortable about cyclocross racing. The course had a lot of deep slow grass with a sandy horse arena, a rooty section, and two run ups, one of which was painfully long. I believe I ended up about 19/24. That said, I did have a good time and am looking forward to the next one. My new Trek worked great too. Almost immediately after my race I was back on the road heading up to Wenatchee for the Darkside ride. I met up with Mike Huebner, Kirk, and Brian. The Darkside ride is always one of my favorite events of the year. Awesome singletrack, food by Garlinis, beer, wine, shwag, what more could you ask for?
MVSTA Fall Bike Festival 10/7/07 Made the trip to Winthrop with the whole family crammed in the sube, it was a sight to see. Bikes, kids, dogs, total chaos! My race went pretty good, I ended up 2nd in my age group and 4th overall. Brooklynn did her race on a "real mtb" (mom's) and had an ear to ear grin the whole time. She raced the 3 mile kids race and made it up all the climbs. Brooklynn was the 2nd place girl. Madison didn't race, but I think she put on the most miles out of all of us. That kid never got off her bike! It was a great day of racing!
Pullman Cyclocross 10/7/07 Also this weekend was the Pullman cyclocross race where Brian and Brice raced along with the rest of the Team WAR gang. Sounds like everyone had a good time. They lucked out and had nice weather too. Brian finished 2nd in the Rookie class, Brice beat a girl on his mtb. (barely) Tom Heywood 3rd in Rookie, and Rocky 1st in Masters. Nice job guys!
Grand Columbian Triathlon 9/15/07 Congratulations to all the Vicious Cycle guys competing at the Grand Columbian. Kelly Moore Iron Man 40-44 4th Place. Sam Barnes Half Iron Man 40-44 14th place. Scott Brown Half Iron Man 40-44 19th place. Paul Harrison Half Iron Man Clydesdale 7th place.
Wednesday 9/12/07 Skylar goin big! Good luck at college. This Saturday is the Grand Colombian Triathlon. Kelly Moore, Scott Brown, Paul Harrison, and Sam Barnes are all doing it. I am planning to go watch and cheer on our bros. Anybody interested in coming along shoot me a call.
Mt. Hood XC race 9/9/07 I made the decision to buzz down to Mt Hood for a mtb. race Saturday night at about 8:00 pm. Threw my bike, gear bag, and dog in the back of the Sube, and I was out. This was my third year doing this race and I've lucked out with the weather every time. September on Mt Hood... you never know what to expect. There was a pretty good turn out of pros and semi pros and I felt pretty strong. This course has lots of steep, long climbs and some gnarly, steep descents. One of the climbs is a granny gear grind for about 10 minutes. I can't think of another race that I've actually had to drop all the way to the easiest gear, but this was one heck of a steep climb. Towards the end of the race I could definitely feel those big efforts and was looking forward to the finish line. I ended up 6th place in the semi pros, which was a little disappointing because I thought I did better. However, after a big sandwich and a cold beer I felt much better!
Labor Day Weekend Epic 9/1,3/07 Saturday Brian and I rode up the upper Mad river trail to Mad Lake. Then came back down by "two little lakes" and even got in some sweet black diamond. The trails were pretty dusty but what do you expect at the end of August. Even with the dust it was good riding. The black diamond stuff was too steep to ride on some parts, but the parts that were ridable were awesome. Monday's ride was the Sagebrush Flats, Hwy 2, Whitehall 50 miler. Riding was Brian, Bill T, Bill C, Scott, Sam, Dale, and myself. It was a stiff head wind the whole way back on Whitehall, but we all survived. Scott made sure we didn't get too comfortable on the downhills. I know it was a good holiday weekend of biking because my butt hurts.
Seward Park Criterium 8/26/07 Stayed at Shawn's Hotel in Enumclaw Saturday night then took off Sunday morning for Seward park in Seattle for a criterium. It had rained during the night so the course was wet and a little slippery. There were some painted lines on a tight corner that you really had to be careful. Otherwise the course was a rolling, fast .8 mile loop. At the start they informed us there would be a prime for sock on every lap. Now you wouldn't think people would go to crazy for a lousy pair of socks, but I'm here to tell you they do. I positioned myself toward the front of the pack so I wouldn't get accordion in the back, and every single lap people were blowing by me sprinting for the socks. At one point I thought I had a shot so I went for it and another guy got me by like 6 inches. I finally did get some, but I felt kind of dumb for wasting that all that energy. At the finish I made my classic fade to the back maneuver. I couldn't hang on to the lead sprint, but I was still ahead of the rest of the pack. I ended up 8th which was pretty good for me.
Crystal Mtn. Hill climb 8/25/07 Met up with Rocky, Dave, Shawn, and Tom at Crystal Mountain Ski area for a 6 mile hill climb time trial. You park at the top and ride down to the bottom to start, which was kind of nice, that way I was able to see the course without actually having to ride it. So I just go through my normal warm up routine and just as I'm taking my bike off the trainer getting ready to ride to the line Tom pulls in from his race and asks if I want to use his Zipp 303 wheelset. Normally I don't do last minute changes right before a race, but I'm a sucker for carbon tubular's so I went for it. We threw them on as fast as we could and off I went. Immediately I noticed the shifting was not quite right so I gave the barrel adjuster a couple clicks and it seemed to be better. About half way down the hill I couldn't figure out why I could make it shift good on the upper gears but not the lower or vice versa. That's when it hit me. How could I be so stupid! I just mounted a 10 speed wheelset on a 9 speed bike. I knew didn't have enough time to ride all the way back and switch it out so I adjusted it to shift good on the upper half of the cassette and figured if I needed any higher gears I could big ring it. Just as I pulled up to the start they were calling my name, meaning I was next in line. Immediately after I take off I remember I have a $2000 wheelset under me. Wow, talk about fast, those wheels are so light I barely had to peddle. I ended up with a time of 26:36 putting me in 5th place in cat 4,5. I was pretty happy with my ride, I felt strong and the wheels where awesome, I hated to give them back. Shawn placed 5th cat 1,2 with Rocky 5th masters c, Tom 19th, and Dave 22nd masters d.
Roslyn Mtb. Festival-8/11&12/07 The first ever RMBF kicked off this weekend with a short track race on Sat. followed by a XC on Sun. We had a good turn out with the Turnbull family, the Belles family, my family, Skyler Mehal, along with the WAR gang. Saturdays short track ran 15 min heats with top five advancing to 30 min finals. I figured I would have a pretty good shot at making the final because I didn't think there would be many fast guys there. Wouldn't you know it the seven fastest guys in the state show up. At the start the pace was fast, but it slowed after the first few laps and I started thinking I could do this. Right about then my bike made a noise like a stick was caught somewhere. I stopped briefly and bounced it, which seemed to solve the problem. I quickly caught back up just in time to have my rear tire start hissing flat. The noise turned out to be a 8d nail. Brice made it to the final for his division where he place 5th overall putting him on the podium. Penny also had a great race where her and another girl battled all the way the the finish line where Penny won, it was close! Next up the Pro/Expert final, as much as I would've liked to be racing it was a pretty good show to watch. The group held a fast pace and gradually wore down to just four. At the finish it was a mad dash with an impressive winning sprint from WAR rider Shawn Howard. Sundays cross country race was a 4.5 mile lap with lots of steep climbs and steep descents. First up was Brice and Skyler doing two laps. Skyler rocked that 38 pound free ride bike to a first place finish in his age group. Brice went out hard, got ahead of his nemesis Jimmy Roper and never looked back. Brice took first with a huge lead. Next up was the Sport class doing 3 laps. Brian whipped out three laps in no time placing 5th in a very competitive class. However, the ever elusive Borrego kid whipped out his three laps just a little quicker. Brian is going to have to step up the program. Finally the Pro/Expert division is up with four laps. As the song goes the waiting is the hardest part. I was feeling pretty good knowing I had pre rode the course the previous Saturday, and peaked my training for this race. The only fly in the ointment was that these guys were quite simply better than me. Immediately after the start is a long steep climb, the pace was faster than I care to go, but I know I have to hang in there or I'm toast. Shawn Howard passes both me and Steven Ettinger part way up. Shortly after I pass Steven, putting me right behind Shawn. After the climb, on the flat twisty single track Shawn is holding me up. I know that the sooner I can get by him the more space I can put between us before the big climb next lap. Part way down the downhill I squeak by and tried to get as far away as possible. Lap 2 on the climb I know he's back there, but I think if I can just make it to the top I'll get more lead on him with the downhill all to myself. No such luck, he passes me just before to top. I stuck on him like glue all through the upper section waiting for the right time to pass. Next thing I knew we were almost to the downhill again. Crap! I need to get by him! At the last minute right where the trail makes a hard right to the downhill I saw my chance. I launched to the inside through the brush and shot right in front of him, but I didn't stop cranking. Going downhill and grabbing gears I was not about to let off, I needed every second I could get. I managed to make it down in one piece and never let off the gas. The last two laps I was sweating bullets knowing he was back there, but I never saw him again. I ended up 5th place. It was either a good day for me or a bad day for a few others because I know some of those guys are better than me, but hey I'll take it anyway I can get it! All in all it was another great summer weekend of camping and bicycle racing with family and friends.
March 24: Canal Caper
March 31: Wenatchee Duathalon
April 1: Indie Series #2 Capitol Forest
April 7&8: Frozen Flatlands Omnium
April 21&22: Tour of Walla Walla
April 22: Indie Series #3 Seatac Shuffle
April 28: Beezley Burn
May 6: Chinook Road Race
May 12: Wenatchee Omnium
May 20: Indie Series #4 Whidbey Island
May 26&27: Spokane 24hr Race
June 2: Indie Series #5 Leavenworth
June 3: Chinook Road Race
June 9: Wenatchee Apple Century
June 10: Chinook Road Race
June 16&17: Methow Valley Stage Race
June 23: Indie Series #6 Winthrop
June 30: George Century ride
July 8: Indie Series #7 Padden Mtn.
July 21: Indie Series #8 Greenwater
August 11&12: Roslyn Mtn Bike Festival
August 18: Hot August Days 150
August 25: Crystal Mtn. Hillclimb
August 26: Seward Park Criterium
September 9: Mt. Hood Mtb race
October 5,6&7: Methow Fall Bike Festival
October 14: Darkside ride
October 27: Ephrata The Dark
USGP CX Portland OR 12/1/07 I had originally planned to do this race, but it just didn't work with my schedule. I wanted a minimum of two weeks off the bike yet I also wanted to start training in early December. That, and I would have had to leave Ephrata at like 3:00 am to make my 9:00 am start time. So instead I've been kicking back getting in some r&r since thanksgiving. That made this weekend more of a vacation instead of big important race. I went with my family, we slept in (as much as our early bird 6 yr old would let us) we took our time on the drive, and we had a fairly relaxing enjoyable trip. We arrived at the race just in time for the Elite Women who were treated to light rain/snow mix with gusty winds. Sounds fun huh? Having never been to a major cyclocross race I have to say it was pretty awesome! The whole course was lined with crazed cowbell ringing fans screaming and hollering, bbqs and beers aplenty, the announcer sounded like an out of work soccer announcer, it was wild! I was totally amazed at how fast the Elite men were. Watching Kevin Bradford Parrish finish mid pack and get lapped by the top guys was just unreal! Kevin is one of the fasted guys in the NW, on a my best days I'm about 8 mins behind him and he got lapped... wow. Pretty impressive stuff, if you ever get the chance to hit one of these races I highly recommend it, it was a blast.
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Inland Northwest CX #811/18/07 The 8th and final race of the series was held at High bridge park in Spokane with rain the day before and cloudy cool conditions for race day. I brought along the fam and met up with the WAR gang there. For this race I felt even a little better than last week. I was able to stay out front for most of the race. There was this one fast down hill single track followed by a tight S turn that was a little muddy and slick. Being a mtb. guy a was able to make a little time in this section every lap. That is until the last lap when I was marveling at how well I'd done and slid out. I got up quick and didn't lose much time, just enough for one guy to get by. Turns out he wasn't in my class anyway, which was a good thing because I wasn't able to get back by him. Shawn Howard had a pretty good race out front with the fast "A" guys, Rocky flatted early but was able to grab a spare and finish. Shawn Letson was out front once again. "A" Shawn Howard 5th; 4th overall. "B" Jake Maedke 1st; 6th overall. Masters 40+ Rocky Crocker 4th; 1st overall. Shawn Letson 1st; 2nd overall; Rookie Tom Heywood 3rd; 2nd overall. Womens Mtb. Penny Hulbert 3rd; 2nd overall. Amy Anderson 2nd; 1st overall
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Inland Northwest CX #7 11/11/07 Loaded up the family Suburban and made the trip to Athol Id again this weekend. Met up with the regular WAR guys there. The weather was cold, but it could have been a lot worse. They had rain earlier in the week so the ground was wet with even a touch of mud in a few places. Mud!? I can't take my cyclocross bike in mud! Well it wasn't what real crosser would call mud, but it was the muddiest race so far this season. As for the racing I felt much better than last week. I was able to hang on to the lead group in my division. At the end there was some confusion and we ended up doing a sprint for the finish on the second to last lap. (I won) By the time we got to the real finish line it was a three way sprint where, you guessed it, I was third. But it was a good time and I was happy with the improvement over last week. Rocky and Shawn Letson were at it again. Both of them worked together to set a pace that blew away the Master 40+ division.
Shawn Howard 4th "A", Jake Maedke 3rd "B", Shawn Letson 1st Masters 40+, Rocky Crocker 2nd Masters 40+
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Inland Northwest CX #6 11/4/07 Brian and I met up with Rocky, Penny, Shawn Howard, and Shawn Letson at Riverside State Park in Spokane for the 6th race in the Inland Northwest Cyclocross Series. The course was a pretty fast 1.9 mile lap with one run up, some rough grassy, twisty turns, but nothing to technically challenging. At the start my class took a wrong turn, and we all did it so nobody lost any positions, but we had to fight though the slower Masters 40+ guys right at the beginning. I felt like I went to hard passing slower traffic trying to keep up with the leaders, then the next thing I knew I was the slower traffic. I just need to keep at it I guess. Brian had what sounds like a pretty good race going until his crank arm came loose at the last 1/4 mile of the race costing him a few positions. I know he'll be gunning for the Walla Walla man at the Final in two weeks. Rocky and Shawn Letson owned the Masters 40+ class, working the team tactics to move Letson up in points.
Shawn Howard 3rd "A" Jake Maedke 7th "B" Shawn Letson 2nd Masters 40+ Rocky Crocker 3rd Masters 40+ Brian Turnbull 2nd Rookie Penny Hulbert 1st Women Mtb.
Inland Northwest CX #3 10/21/07 Brian and I made the two hour forty one minute drive to Athol Idaho. No, I don't type with a lisp, the small town of Athol is about 15 miles north of Hayden Lake. After last weeks beat down I decided I would try out the "B" category, maybe get a little more experience before I jump in with the A's. The course was 3 mile laps that were kind of rough with a short run up then right back down, some log hurdles and some fast, slightly downhill pavement. We arrived early enough to get a good pre ride in with the rest of the WAR gang, Rocky, Penny, Tom, Shawn Letson, and Shawn Howard. It was helpful to ride with Howard, he was able to point out a few things I never would have thought of, like "lets try to ride up the run up" and "I think if you hit that hump fast enough you can jump the hole on the other side." Both suggestions worked out well for me. At the start the A's took off, then 30 seconds later it was the B's along with the Master men 40+. Immediately off the start Rocky came blowing by me along with 5 or 6 others. Half way though the first lap I caught up to Rocky and it was the two of us in front with Shawn Letson right behind. That was pretty cool, 3 WAR guys right at the front. Eventually Rocky and about 5 other got a 50 yard gap on me. At that point the gap wasn't getting any bigger, but it wasn't getting any smaller either. Flat! It wasn't instantaneous, it took maybe 5 minutes before it was totally flat. I thought my race was over, I was making my way back when I saw a spare set of wheels with a WAR jacket draped over them. I saw Shawn Howard's wife Sherry standing nearby and asked if she knew who they belonged to. She said they were Shawn's, go ahead and use them . I swapped out and was back on it. I knew I was way back now, but I was also rested up so I hammered down for the last bit of the race and was actually able to pass a number of guys. I ended up 4/11 which I can't complain about. Shawn Howard finished 4th, in a sprint to the finish in Mens A, Rocky took 1st and Shawn Letson took 3rd in Masters 40+, Brian crushed the rookie class and Tom took 2nd.
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Inland Northwest CX #2 10/14/07 I had a busy weekend. Saturday Brian and I made a trip to Seattle just for the heck of it. Sunday I went to Spokane to do a cyclocross race. I have never done one of these so I didn't really know what to expect. I signed up for the "A" division, which is the fast guys. I learned real quick what A means! I got smoked. 55 minutes of max heart rate. Shortly after the start I could see there would be no finding a comfortable pace like in a mtb race. There is nothing comfortable about cyclocross racing. The course had a lot of deep slow grass with a sandy horse arena, a rooty section, and two run ups, one of which was painfully long. I believe I ended up about 19/24. That said, I did have a good time and am looking forward to the next one. My new Trek worked great too. Almost immediately after my race I was back on the road heading up to Wenatchee for the Darkside ride. I met up with Mike Huebner, Kirk, and Brian. The Darkside ride is always one of my favorite events of the year. Awesome singletrack, food by Garlinis, beer, wine, shwag, what more could you ask for?
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MVSTA Fall Bike Festival 10/7/07 Made the trip to Winthrop with the whole family crammed in the sube, it was a sight to see. Bikes, kids, dogs, total chaos! My race went pretty good, I ended up 2nd in my age group and 4th overall. Brooklynn did her race on a "real mtb" (mom's) and had an ear to ear grin the whole time. She raced the 3 mile kids race and made it up all the climbs. Brooklynn was the 2nd place girl. Madison didn't race, but I think she put on the most miles out of all of us. That kid never got off her bike! It was a great day of racing!
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Pullman Cyclocross 10/7/07 Also this weekend was the Pullman cyclocross race where Brian and Brice raced along with the rest of the Team WAR gang. Sounds like everyone had a good time. They lucked out and had nice weather too. Brian finished 2nd in the Rookie class, Brice beat a girl on his mtb. (barely) Tom Heywood 3rd in Rookie, and Rocky 1st in Masters. Nice job guys!
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Grand Columbian Triathlon 9/15/07 Congratulations to all the Vicious Cycle guys competing at the Grand Columbian. Kelly Moore Iron Man 40-44 4th Place. Sam Barnes Half Iron Man 40-44 14th place. Scott Brown Half Iron Man 40-44 19th place. Paul Harrison Half Iron Man Clydesdale 7th place.
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Wednesday 9/12/07 Skylar goin big! Good luck at college. This Saturday is the Grand Colombian Triathlon. Kelly Moore, Scott Brown, Paul Harrison, and Sam Barnes are all doing it. I am planning to go watch and cheer on our bros. Anybody interested in coming along shoot me a call.
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Mt. Hood XC race 9/9/07 I made the decision to buzz down to Mt Hood for a mtb. race Saturday night at about 8:00 pm. Threw my bike, gear bag, and dog in the back of the Sube, and I was out. This was my third year doing this race and I've lucked out with the weather every time. September on Mt Hood... you never know what to expect. There was a pretty good turn out of pros and semi pros and I felt pretty strong. This course has lots of steep, long climbs and some gnarly, steep descents. One of the climbs is a granny gear grind for about 10 minutes. I can't think of another race that I've actually had to drop all the way to the easiest gear, but this was one heck of a steep climb. Towards the end of the race I could definitely feel those big efforts and was looking forward to the finish line. I ended up 6th place in the semi pros, which was a little disappointing because I thought I did better. However, after a big sandwich and a cold beer I felt much better!
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Labor Day Weekend Epic 9/1,3/07 Saturday Brian and I rode up the upper Mad river trail to Mad Lake. Then came back down by "two little lakes" and even got in some sweet black diamond. The trails were pretty dusty but what do you expect at the end of August. Even with the dust it was good riding. The black diamond stuff was too steep to ride on some parts, but the parts that were ridable were awesome. Monday's ride was the Sagebrush Flats, Hwy 2, Whitehall 50 miler. Riding was Brian, Bill T, Bill C, Scott, Sam, Dale, and myself. It was a stiff head wind the whole way back on Whitehall, but we all survived. Scott made sure we didn't get too comfortable on the downhills. I know it was a good holiday weekend of biking because my butt hurts.
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Seward Park Criterium 8/26/07 Stayed at Shawn's Hotel in Enumclaw Saturday night then took off Sunday morning for Seward park in Seattle for a criterium. It had rained during the night so the course was wet and a little slippery. There were some painted lines on a tight corner that you really had to be careful. Otherwise the course was a rolling, fast .8 mile loop. At the start they informed us there would be a prime for sock on every lap. Now you wouldn't think people would go to crazy for a lousy pair of socks, but I'm here to tell you they do. I positioned myself toward the front of the pack so I wouldn't get accordion in the back, and every single lap people were blowing by me sprinting for the socks. At one point I thought I had a shot so I went for it and another guy got me by like 6 inches. I finally did get some, but I felt kind of dumb for wasting that all that energy. At the finish I made my classic fade to the back maneuver. I couldn't hang on to the lead sprint, but I was still ahead of the rest of the pack. I ended up 8th which was pretty good for me.
Crystal Mtn. Hill climb 8/25/07 Met up with Rocky, Dave, Shawn, and Tom at Crystal Mountain Ski area for a 6 mile hill climb time trial. You park at the top and ride down to the bottom to start, which was kind of nice, that way I was able to see the course without actually having to ride it. So I just go through my normal warm up routine and just as I'm taking my bike off the trainer getting ready to ride to the line Tom pulls in from his race and asks if I want to use his Zipp 303 wheelset. Normally I don't do last minute changes right before a race, but I'm a sucker for carbon tubular's so I went for it. We threw them on as fast as we could and off I went. Immediately I noticed the shifting was not quite right so I gave the barrel adjuster a couple clicks and it seemed to be better. About half way down the hill I couldn't figure out why I could make it shift good on the upper gears but not the lower or vice versa. That's when it hit me. How could I be so stupid! I just mounted a 10 speed wheelset on a 9 speed bike. I knew didn't have enough time to ride all the way back and switch it out so I adjusted it to shift good on the upper half of the cassette and figured if I needed any higher gears I could big ring it. Just as I pulled up to the start they were calling my name, meaning I was next in line. Immediately after I take off I remember I have a $2000 wheelset under me. Wow, talk about fast, those wheels are so light I barely had to peddle. I ended up with a time of 26:36 putting me in 5th place in cat 4,5. I was pretty happy with my ride, I felt strong and the wheels where awesome, I hated to give them back. Shawn placed 5th cat 1,2 with Rocky 5th masters c, Tom 19th, and Dave 22nd masters d.
Roslyn Mtb. Festival-8/11&12/07 The first ever RMBF kicked off this weekend with a short track race on Sat. followed by a XC on Sun. We had a good turn out with the Turnbull family, the Belles family, my family, Skyler Mehal, along with the WAR gang. Saturdays short track ran 15 min heats with top five advancing to 30 min finals. I figured I would have a pretty good shot at making the final because I didn't think there would be many fast guys there. Wouldn't you know it the seven fastest guys in the state show up. At the start the pace was fast, but it slowed after the first few laps and I started thinking I could do this. Right about then my bike made a noise like a stick was caught somewhere. I stopped briefly and bounced it, which seemed to solve the problem. I quickly caught back up just in time to have my rear tire start hissing flat. The noise turned out to be a 8d nail. Brice made it to the final for his division where he place 5th overall putting him on the podium. Penny also had a great race where her and another girl battled all the way the the finish line where Penny won, it was close! Next up the Pro/Expert final, as much as I would've liked to be racing it was a pretty good show to watch. The group held a fast pace and gradually wore down to just four. At the finish it was a mad dash with an impressive winning sprint from WAR rider Shawn Howard. Sundays cross country race was a 4.5 mile lap with lots of steep climbs and steep descents. First up was Brice and Skyler doing two laps. Skyler rocked that 38 pound free ride bike to a first place finish in his age group. Brice went out hard, got ahead of his nemesis Jimmy Roper and never looked back. Brice took first with a huge lead. Next up was the Sport class doing 3 laps. Brian whipped out three laps in no time placing 5th in a very competitive class. However, the ever elusive Borrego kid whipped out his three laps just a little quicker. Brian is going to have to step up the program. Finally the Pro/Expert division is up with four laps. As the song goes the waiting is the hardest part. I was feeling pretty good knowing I had pre rode the course the previous Saturday, and peaked my training for this race. The only fly in the ointment was that these guys were quite simply better than me. Immediately after the start is a long steep climb, the pace was faster than I care to go, but I know I have to hang in there or I'm toast. Shawn Howard passes both me and Steven Ettinger part way up. Shortly after I pass Steven, putting me right behind Shawn. After the climb, on the flat twisty single track Shawn is holding me up. I know that the sooner I can get by him the more space I can put between us before the big climb next lap. Part way down the downhill I squeak by and tried to get as far away as possible. Lap 2 on the climb I know he's back there, but I think if I can just make it to the top I'll get more lead on him with the downhill all to myself. No such luck, he passes me just before to top. I stuck on him like glue all through the upper section waiting for the right time to pass. Next thing I knew we were almost to the downhill again. Crap! I need to get by him! At the last minute right where the trail makes a hard right to the downhill I saw my chance. I launched to the inside through the brush and shot right in front of him, but I didn't stop cranking. Going downhill and grabbing gears I was not about to let off, I needed every second I could get. I managed to make it down in one piece and never let off the gas. The last two laps I was sweating bullets knowing he was back there, but I never saw him again. I ended up 5th place. It was either a good day for me or a bad day for a few others because I know some of those guys are better than me, but hey I'll take it anyway I can get it! All in all it was another great summer weekend of camping and bicycle racing with family and friends.
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Summer Criterium Series
Results
July 28, 2007- Saturday was the Grand Finale' to our 2007 Summer Citerium Series. Shortly after the start Paul was off the front, but Andy, Sonia, Scott, Kelly, and myself didn't chase. It was early and we figured he would tire up there by himself. Wrong! We never saw Paul again, he was gone. Thanks to for Andy doing most of the work in our group, I was able to mount an attack on what I thought was the last lap. Turns out there was actually 2 laps left. Lack of oxygen to the ol' brain I guess. Sonia nearly caught me at the end, but I held my position. Afterwards we all went to Kelly and Janice Moore's to celebrate. We gave awards to the top 3 overall finishers. 3rd place Scott Ramsden 105 laps, 2nd place Sonia Tonnemaker 113 .laps, and 1st place me 113 laps. There were faster guys than me out there, but I was at all 5 races and I had a pulse therefore I won. We also recognized all of the kids out there week after week logging in the laps. That was my favorite part of the whole series, to see all the kids out there riding their bikes! Next we had some shwag to hand out thanks to our friends at Moses Lake Multisport. It was a very nice evening of great food, beer, and friends. A HUGE thanks to Kelly and Janice Moore for opening there beautiful home to us and hosting a fantastic evening! Thanks to everyone who brought food, so much good food! Thanks to my mom Jo Maedke for the overwhelming task of counting our laps. Thanks to everyone else along the way who jumped in to help out here and there. Thanks to Bill W. who had the idea for a crit series and all the Vicious Cycle regulars who refined the idea and made it happen. Finally thanks to everyone who pedaled a bike around the 1 mile circuit. The response was better than I could have ever dreamed. Getting all ability levels together and excited about biking, that's what this was all about.
July 23, 2007-
Our biggest turnout yet, we had over 50 crazy people riding there
bikes around and around. The fastest one was once again Andy with
Wayne close behind. There were also a lot of families out there.
This is turning into a true family event! It totally amazes
me at the amount of laps some of the kids are doing too. Kids,
moms, dads, that's what this is all about, getting people out on their
bikes and having fun! Our next and final crit will be this
Saturday the 28th and 6:00 pm. Immedialtly following the race we
will meet at Kelly and Janice Moore's for a BBQ and fun.
Thanks to Sonia for the cherries, Barnes family for water, Scott for more water (can't have too much water) my mom, aunt Mary, and Heather Wood for scoring, and a big thanks in advance to Kelly and Janice Moore!
July 16, 2007- Another great night of racing, with Andy missing I expected the pace to be a little slower. Sonia, Scott, Cory, and Wayne would have no such deal. We had a fast pace for the entire hour with no breakaways, setting the stage for a five way sprint for the finish line. At the beginning of the last lap Sonia dropped the hammer and blew by all of us. Cory and Scott proceeded to sprint after her catching and passing her on the back side. Wayne and I reeled them in on the last corner. With about 200 yards left I went for it not knowing if I could hold them off that long, but I had to try. Wayne caught and passed me with about 20 yards left. It was a good race! Once again a great turn out of families. I saw Kimmy Hock riding with a trail a bike attached to hers and a trailer attached to the trail a bike! I also saw Sarah Moore ride a unicycle for a whole lap. WOW! Thanks to Sonia for the apricots, Kurtis Wood for the photos, and my mom and sister for scoring.
Thanks to Sonia for the cherries, Barnes family for water, Scott for more water (can't have too much water) my mom, aunt Mary, and Heather Wood for scoring, and a big thanks in advance to Kelly and Janice Moore!
July 16, 2007- Another great night of racing, with Andy missing I expected the pace to be a little slower. Sonia, Scott, Cory, and Wayne would have no such deal. We had a fast pace for the entire hour with no breakaways, setting the stage for a five way sprint for the finish line. At the beginning of the last lap Sonia dropped the hammer and blew by all of us. Cory and Scott proceeded to sprint after her catching and passing her on the back side. Wayne and I reeled them in on the last corner. With about 200 yards left I went for it not knowing if I could hold them off that long, but I had to try. Wayne caught and passed me with about 20 yards left. It was a good race! Once again a great turn out of families. I saw Kimmy Hock riding with a trail a bike attached to hers and a trailer attached to the trail a bike! I also saw Sarah Moore ride a unicycle for a whole lap. WOW! Thanks to Sonia for the apricots, Kurtis Wood for the photos, and my mom and sister for scoring.
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 Ouch.
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July 9, 2007- Once again Andy put the hurt on us. Sonia had a spectacular save after flying off the road on a high speed corner and still managed to launch a chase on Andy. Scott and myself were left to duke it out where I squeaked by at the finish. We had a great turn-out of families also. There were the Barnes family, the Hock family, and three generations of Turnbulls. What a great time! A big thank you to Sonia for bringing cherries, to my aunt Mary, sister Erin, and mom Jo for scoring and my wife Karen, who is the mastermind at all our "computer scoring tally". I couldn't do it without her. Thanks!!!
 Brooklynn with an early lead.
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 Jake, Andy, Brian, Scott, Bill W., Wayne
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 Alice, Taylor, and McKenzie talking stategy
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 Rob making his tag along do all the work.
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July 2, 2007- Our first criterium, I had no idea what to expect. I didn't know if we would have 2 people or 10, let alone 15. I didn't know if people would love it or hate it. It seems everyone enjoyed it, well maybe enjoy is not exactly the right word, but at least they're still speaking to me. As for the racing Andy didn't drive all the way from Moses Lake to go easy on us. About 10 laps in he pulled a gap that nobody could close. There was also a good race for 4th place where a finish line sprint erupted between Scott and Brian with Scott coming out on top. I thought the most exciting part of the whole thing was all the kids. It was so cool to see Brice, Gavin, Taylor, and Alice out there mixing it up, and I was amazed when I saw how many laps they got in. Awesome!! A big thanks goes out to Wendy, Kendra, Theo, and Jake for all there help, THANK YOU!
 Don't do this, don't do that, blah, blah, blah
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 Gavin, with Brice in the draft.
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 Kelly in all his glory
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 Brian and I being scored by Theo and Jake
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Indie Series #8 Greenwater-The eighth and final Indie Series race took place in Greenwater, WA just west of Crystal Mtn. The forecast was calling for rain all weekend, but we lucked out with just cloudy conditions. It seemed to be a pretty small turn out probably do to the weather forecast and the fact the this late in the summer I think a lot of people are getting a little burned out. I met up with Rocky, Penny, Shawn, and Liz. Penny and Liz were first up. Both of them had a great ride, Penny won her division. Next up was Rocky and I. We did a start loop (2 miles) and two big loops (10 miles). The start loop was fairly flat with a lot of twisty rooty single track. I don't know why but I really stink on that rooty stuff. I watch other guys and their smooth and quiet. Me on the other hand, I'm bouncing all over, chain clattering. The big loops were a long 4.5 mile climb that seemed to go on forever, and then a rippin fast decent. I was able to make a little time on the climbs, but nothing outrageous. My first lap down I was slightly held up by a guy in front of me, the next lap I rode with him most of the way up the climb and right at the top I squirted in front of him. I wanted to put a gap between us so I really let it hang out on the decent. I was tired and sloppy but it worked, he was gone. I got to the bottom and was pushing hard, I knew I only had 2 miles left to the finish line. All of a sudden my bike started handling funny. I looked down and saw my rear tire half flat. For a second I thought maybe I could make it the rest of the way, but the next thing I knew it was all the way flat. As I sat on the side of the trail changing my flat, watching people pass me I tried miserably to be optimistic, at least I had a good ride. After it was all said and done I ended up 9/11, I probably would have been 7th. Rocky had a great ride, he caught and passed me right at the end and finished 5th. I finished the series 5th in the Pro/Open class. We camped out there so we were able to have a few beers and visit with friends. It was a good time.
Indie Series #7 Padden Mtn.-7/8/07 Once again it was me and the dog making the 4hr drive to Padden. I met up with Rocky, Tom, and Shawn there. The weather was beautiful, it was 100+ at home and at the race it was partly cloudy and 75. I was liking that. For the start of the race they thought it would be "exciting" to start all experts and pros at once with a $100 holeshot prize and a $100 first lap prize. The only catch is there's about 100 racers aiming for a 10 foot opening between a tree and a fence that is about 50 yards away. I just barely avoided the pile up and came through somewhere around 20 I would guess. It was real hectic the first lap, until everyone got sorted out. Things cooled off a little by the second lap and I started to feel pretty good. I had one guy that kept passing me on top of the climb then on the quick, twisty single track decent would hold me up. I was finally able to hold him off on the climb of lap 4, then put a little gap between us. Soon I caught a few more and passed them. On the final lap with about a quarter mile I had caught another, but I had a guy right behind me also. Once the trail opened up it was a three way sprint to the finish! It was real close, but close don't count. I couldn't make it happen, but I did hold off the other guy. It was a fun race and I felt good so I was a little disappointed when I saw I scored 15/20. Oh well, it was still fun. Tom made the podium with a third place in the Expert 50+. Rocky ended up 6th and Shawn 15 in Expert 40-49.
Indie Series #6 Winthrop-6/23/07 I got back from my vacation just in time for Winthrop. We left Rapid City SD at 5:00 am and pulled into Ephrata at 10:30 pm. I kind of knew that with a two week vacation and 4000 miles of driving I wouldn't be in the finest of shape for racing, but I wanted to give it a go anyhow. It was just me and my dog saddie in the Sube and I met up with Brian and fam, Big Mike and fam, Rocky, Dave, Tom, and Shawn Letson. My race was the first to take off at 10:00. I got a quick 30min warm up in and got to the line, it was warm and dry a big difference from last years thunderstorms. The gun went off and I got in around 5th and was holding that feeling pretty good... for the first half a lap anyway. It didn't take long for my vacation to catch up with me. I realized I had two choices: DNF, or slow down significantly. After much deliberation I reluctantly choose the latter. It was a slow painful ordeal, but I made it through and finished 10th out of 13. Enough of my sad story, everyone else did good. Brice finished 2nd in his race, his sister Alice crushed the Free Kids Race and won by a country mile. Rocky and Dave also both scored 2nd place finishes. Lee crashed pretty bad, like stitches bad, but toughed it out to stay for the Kids race and awards, where she scored a case of beer for the gnarliest crash. Hope she heals up quick. Otherwise it was a great day of racing.
Indie Series #5 Leavenworth-6/2/07 Leavenworth is always a good time and this year was no different. The weather was hot, as in mid 90's, but it's always hot for Leavenworth. We had a good turn out of locals, myself, Brian and Brice Turnbull, Mike Belles, and his daughter Lee, all of Ephrata, Also Dave Lahn and Aaron Jones. Then the Wenatchee guys and gals, Dave Dunnel, Tom Heywood, Rocky Crocker, Shawn Howard, Jesse Ham, Penny Holbert, Chet Manning, Bart Tilly and probably more I'm forgetting. It's fun to have a big gang of friends at the races. Beginners were first race of the day taking off at 9:30. Brice was out for a full lap in the 11-14 division which he finished 2nd place. He had a little spill on the down hill but it didn't slow him down much, a 59 min lap is rippin. Even with some road rash on his leg he still had a big smile on his face! I went out for a warm up lap shortly before the 10:30 start of the sport class. About 3/4 of the way up the climb I started thinking maybe this wasn't a good idea, it was hot and I still had 3 laps of this climb to look forward to. I finished it up, got back to my car and drank some water, took some Endurolites, lubed my chain, and headed for the start. On the line I counted about 20 other pro/open guys. The gun goes off and it's on, climb, climb, climb, 1800ft up, everyone is going hard, I hate the start. I think I was close to last place for the first 5 minutes or so, then I gently started to make my way up. I jumped in behind teammate Shawn Howard and tried to hold on. The upper part of the climb is single track, we passed a few more guys before we reached the top. The decent is a fast smooth swoopy trail with water bars and a few steam crossings. On the way down I think my pre ride helped. I felt fast and was looking for a chance to get around Shawn. About 3/4 down he let me by and I really let it rip. I tried to put as much ground between us as I could. Starting lap 2 I made it about 1/2 way up the climb before Shawn caught me. I was able to hold on for a while but he eventually got away. Once again I caught and passed him on the decent. This time I wasn't able to get very far. The third and final lap he passed me almost immediately and got away. At that point I learned we were battling for 4th place when I saw Logan cheering for us. (he would've beat us both, but he snapped his carbon Reba world cup, yikes!)I kept thinking if I could just ride this lap like the last few, I'll pass him on the way down just in time for the finish. He must have been thinking the same thing. I pushed pretty hard up the climb knowing it was my last time I'd have to do it, but I was starting to feel cooked on the upper section that is exposed to the sun. On the way down I really let it hang out trying to make up time. I kept looking up hoping to see him, but no luck. I crossed the finish line in 5th place at 2:06:41 about 2 minutes behind Shawn. Truth be told I was happy to be even remotely close to Shawn(he's fast), let alone within 2 minutes. 5th place was good enough to make the podium and even get cash. This was a first for me, I was pretty pumped. Shoot, I might as well quit my job now that I'm raking in all this cash racing bikes. Ok, maybe not quite yet. Afterwards we all hit the beer garden for some coldies... ahh it don't get any better! All in all it was a great day of racing, a little hot, but better than snow.
Spokane 24hr Race-5/26&27/07 24 hour mountain bike races are not easy. I raced with Team W.A.R. in the corporate division. There were seven of us: Shawn Howard, Rocky Crocker, Dave Dunnel, Tom Heywood, Mike Sirot, Brian Turnbull, and myself. Shawn was first up. As expected he ripped out a wicked fast lap coming in just behind Keven Bradford Parish. I was next up. I quickly caught and passed Kevin's team mate putting us in the front. I was feeling pretty good leading the entire field of racers until out of nowhere this guy came up and passed me. I didn't even see it coming and before I knew it he was gone. I tried to hang on, but man he was moving. Other than that I felt pretty good and turned out my fastest lap of the race 53:54. I was feeling kind of bad for Brian because everyone had ridden the course before except him so his first lap was his first look at the course. He said he was trying hard to go fast and blew a lot of corners, but his time came in at just over an hour. Not bad for not knowing where the heck your going. Our Team ended up winning the corporate division with 25 laps in 24:47. We were a full lap and a half ahead of second place! We had a real strong team and everything went just as planned. With seven people and approx. 1hr lap times you get around six hours between laps. That means I only got in 4 laps. That doesn't really sound like much, but with all that rest you are able to go that much harder. I found myself being more worn out than I thought I would have been. But I guarantee I wasn't hurting as bad as Kris Holden who won the solo division with 19 laps! Anyhoo, It sounds like everyone had a good time and can't wait for the next one.
Indie Series #4 Whidbey Island-5/20/07 Once again it was me and Dave Dunell for Whidbey. We met up with fellow Team W.A.R. racer Tom Heywood over there. The weather report was calling for rain all weekend. I had just gotten my new Trek frame built up, new cables and all, and didn't feel like trashing it again so I brought the single speed. When we pulled in it was just starting to sprinkle, but the ground was dry, even a little dusty. Dave and I both went out for a warm up lap, the course was a nice mix of twisty, tight single track and double track with no major climbs to speak of, just a couple short grunts. We decided arm warmers was all that was needed. Just before our noon start time a breeze started to pick up that was cold. I wussed out, put my jacket back on and decided to race with it. A decision I would later regret. I seem to run a little colder than most, and I would rather be a little too warm than too cold. At the start I tried to get myself up front thinking maybe if I was in the front I would be forced to run at that pace. The plan worked out great for the first 20 minutes then I made my patented charge to the back of the pack. Luckily after things calmed down a bit I was able to grab onto my buddy Luke Brechwald and hang with him. We worked together setting a pretty good pace (ok he did most of the work, I just tried to keep up) catching 3 or 4 guys. On the last lap he turned it up and really started to rip. I don't know how but I was able to stick right on his rear wheel. I thought that was about all he had left, but then with only a couple miles left he went even faster! That was about it for me, he started to put a little gap between us, then we caught another guy that I took to long to get around. Next thing I Knew Luke was gone. Afterwards we told each other great job and he said he thinks we were about to catch a few more. I ended up 10th out of 16. Dave finished 3rd in his race and Tom said he crashed a few times and had a little bike trouble, but still finished strong.
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Wenatchee Omnium-5/12/07 The time trial on Saturday morning was windy, other wise it was sunny and fairly warm. The course is a 9 km out and back. I was warned ahead of time that it is a nice tail wind out and a stiff head wind on the way back. Sure enough! I tried to be conservative on the way out, but it's hard to hold back going 30 mph with a tail wind. Once past the turn-around and in the head wind I was wishing I had saved a little more on the way out. I remember thinking wow I'm tired now and I still have two more events to do! I ended up with a time of 25:48 which put me at around 30th place out of 60 or so. That was a little disappointing, but I gave it all I had. On to the criterium. Saturday evening 4:45. Down town Wenatchee. All warmed up and ready to go. My goal was to finish the race and come through it in one piece. Right off the start the fast guys get away so I try to not explode and find a pace I can sustain. Ok, that's not working, time to go to a pace I can't sustain! I end up grabbing on to a group of 5 or so and hang with them until the 21 min mark when we were pulled. (they pull you out of the race if your about to be lapped) At the end I was actually feeling ok and thought I might make it, I guess I didn't realize how far back we were. Once again a little disappointing, but hey, I tried my hardest and made it though in one piece. Sunday road race. Start time 9:10 am. 42 miles, 2200 ft of climbing. We roll out the tt course, same as Saturday fast out, slow back in the wind. I told my self this race I would not get beat up in the back of the pack, I would try to run toward the front. So shortly after the tt course I got my 15 minutes of fame. I got all the way out front, like as in 1st place. I wasn't going to hard because I knew we had a big climb coming up, but man did that feel good being in front, especially after my severe beating the day before. I lost about 15-20 guys at the beginning of the climb because I didn't want to go to hard to early, it's a long climb. I had a good pace with about three guys following me. Once we got through the climb and started down I finally got someone else to pull and give me a break. It wasn't much of a break though, these guys were gunning hard for the lead group. I was able to hold on all the way down to the flat 9 mile return, then they dropped me. Luckily the wind was at our backs now so it wasn't to devastating. I watched as they caught the lead group and I noticed I was making ground on them as well. I think they were all holding back for the finish sprint. I did close the gap a little, just not enough. Once we neared the finish I notice their pace pick up drastically. I didn't let up, but I knew it was over. I crossed the finish going as hard as I could go, I don't know why, I just did. I ended up in 18th place for the road race which placed me 21 overall for the omnium. All in all it was a good weekend of racing. I would've liked to place better but I'm happy with my effort. If nothing else it was a great work out!
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Beezley Burn-4/28/07 Woohoo! We pulled it off for the third year in a row! Everything ran smooth, seems all had a good time, it's almost like we know what we're doing. We had 10 show up for pro class (nothing like $1000 pay out to bribe them into coming) and 90 racers altogether. We gave away over $4000 in shwag, I think everybody won at least once. Hey If all else fails pay the pros good and give away a bunch of shwag. My wife and I had a great time putting this race together and are extremely thankful for all the help we had. I'm also glad it's over, now I need to get my butt in shape for the Wenatchee Omnium.
Indie Series #3 Sea-Tac-4/22/07 Myself and Dave Dunell of Wenatchee made the trip to Sea-Tac in Dave's sweet new FJ Cruiser. The weather report called for rain, sick of thrashing my race bike, I choose to bring my single speed. So we roll in and the sun is shining! Well I'm not going to complain about sunshine that's for sure, but had I brought my race bike it would've poured. I went out for a warm up lap and felt pretty good, a lot better than the last few cold and wet Indie races. Went to the line with about 19 other pro/open racers. We take off and the start goes on a paved road for a couple hundred yards which puts a poor single speed guy like myself at the back of the pack. The good thing about being in last place: you can only improve, you can't do worse. I passed a few guys and was battling pretty good to get by them. I got into a good pace and tried to put some gap between us and look up to catch some more. I wasn't able to catch anybody else, but I felt strong and over all was pretty happy with my race. I placed 16/19 which isn't all that great, but I rode hard and don't think I could have asked for much better. Dave raced in the expert class so I wasn't able to watch but I know he did quite well. It was his first ever expert race and I could tell he was a little nervous. Apparently he had nothing to be nervous about because he got 2nd place! I heard he had a good battle at the end and got the best of it. At least somebody from team W.A.R. made the podium!
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Frozen Flatlands Omnium-4/7/07 I love getting ready for road races. Step 1: Lube chain. Step 2: Throw that out dated hunk of aluminum(road bike) in the back of your out dated hunk of aluminum(subaru)and rock and roll. I flew solo to Cheney, but met up with some friends there. About a half hour before my race, I'm getting warmed up and I look at my back tire and see a big bald spot with cords showing. How did I miss this with my rigorous maintainance program?! At this point most people were already racing, I was the last cat. of the day, so there wasn't many people to ask if they had a spare tire. Next thing I know I'm on the starting line thinking to myself man this is stupid, is it to late to get out of this? I was pretty nervous the first half of the race staying in the back just waiting for that loud POW. I eventually started making my way to the front of the pack and before I knew it I was out front and pulling a group of 15 or so of the main pack. That was fun! I was out front on and off for the rest of the race...until the finish line that is. At the 1 km. mark I ever so gently started pulling away knowing in the back of my mind it wouldn't work but thought it might set me up better. At the 200m. a sprint broke out and I tried to hold back a little bit thinking they went a little to soon, but I might have held back a little to much. I ended up about 8th ish, but think I could have done a little better. It was a learning experience for this mountain biker, but I had a good time and was happy with my performance. Bonus: my tire didn't blow and take out half the peloton!
Indie Series #2 Capitol Forest- 4/1/07 Capitol forest, muddy?! Shocking! Yes, believe it or not it was a slimy mess. However, other than a couple showers it was a fairly nice, sunny day. I pre rode the course on Saturday afternoon on my single speed and camped out in my sweet Sube Saturday night. After a "wonderful" night sleep and a raccoon incident I met up with the Turnbull family for the race on Sunday. Brian was the first to take off. He pulled off a solid mid pack finish in one of the biggest classes of the day. Next it's Brice's turn and it is raining hard. I was feeling sorry for the little bugger until I saw him pull up to the tent after his race with an ear to ear grin. It was a good thing we had him with us, he was the only one of our group to podium. 2nd place, congratulations Brice! Next up was me. The end... ok, ok, I'll tell the rest but it isn't pretty. At the start I strategically placed my self at the back of the pack and then spent the rest of the race defending that position. I did manage to pass a few mid way and had a sizable group in sight but I wasn't able to hold on to them and they got away. All in all it was a fun weekend racing mountain bikes with friends.
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3/15/07- Our first day light Wednesday ride of the year, finally no more headlights! We've had 10 riders for three rides in row now, pretty cool. Lots of new bikes too. Hopefully as the weather gets nicer we will continue to grow. We had some good riding tonight the big loop plus buckrabbit with Huebner getting some cool video of the decent.
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Devils Slide Race- 3/04/07 The Devils Slide race in Lewiston ID, was basically my chance to redeem myself from Belfair. That ate at me all week! The only problem was that I had a 75m. road ride planned with Andy Jenson on Saturday. Oh well, we'll just go easy I figured. With Andy? yeah right! I should have known better. Actually, I felt pretty good until the last 10 miles. Then it started to hurt. Fast forward to Sunday, we're on our way there (me and my dad) my legs feel like lead weights, and I think to myself oh crap what have I done. I sure hope I have enough juice left to finish this race or I'm really going to feel like a loser. Much to my relief after warm up my legs felt fine. The weather was pretty nice, 50 degrees and sunny, but the wind was blowing hard 30-40mph. Still it was a huge improvement over the previous weekend. The course was open and fast, sandy in places, and rocky in other places. The first half of the lap was a nasty head wind along with a big ugly climb, but the second half was a tail wind with swoopy fast single track. It wasn't a real nail biter of a race, we took off and I got a good pace going in mid pack and that is right were I ended up. I passed a guy half way though the first lap, but he passed me back shortly after and I could not get him back. Half way through the final lap I could see I was catching a guy so I gave one last burst to run him down. Unfortunatly it wasn't quite enough, but it was still a good race. My new Trek 9.9 handled awesome. I ended up 6th place out of 12 guys and feeling 100% better than last weekend.
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Valentines Challenge- 2/24/07 The first Indie Series race was not what I expected. Well it was what I expected just not to that extent. I knew the forecast a week in advance- Belfair, WA ten day forecast: RAIN. Actually my plan was to race Belfair on Saturday, camp out there then head North to Bainbridge Island on Sunday for the Chilly Hilly, a popular 30+ mile road ride. I arrived at the race to find two inches of fresh snow, and gigantic puddles, oh yeah, and it was raining. I get changed and sit in may car waiting for the start. Five minutes before I hop on my bike and ride up to the start, nice warm-up huh? We take off and go up a short climb on the road to get to the single track where that first puddle awaits us. (which just so happens to end at the finish line) It felt like somebody dumping a bucket of ice water on you. Actually I heard other guys complaining their hands were cold and I was thinking hey, I feel pretty good, but by the end of the first lap my hands and feet were numb and getting worse. It was half way through my second lap whan I realized it was over. The numbness in my feet had now worked its way to my knees, and the rest of my body is cold, wet, and shivering. I get back to my car, crank the heat, get out of my wet gear and into the fetal position shivering for about a half hour. That's got to be quite a sight to see for anybody walking past my car. I finally quit shivering enough to get my clothes on and load up. I walked up to check the Pro/Open results and sure enough there I am big ol' dnf, ouch. But to my relief I wasn't the only dnf, about half the other guys dnfed too. After hanging around for the awards I decided I had enough of the cold and wet and I am going home. Hot tub time! All in all it was kind of a disappointing weekend, not so much the weather or anything, but my ability to deal with it. I've always been able to stick it out when the going gets tough, but this time was just scary cold and I had to do what I thought was safest for me. It was pretty darn fun for awhile though.
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