Wooley Cross
October 22, 2011
Julie Grialou


I participated in my first-ever cyclocross race today, the Bellingham Series’ Wooley Cross in Sedro Wooley.  The race took place on the grounds of an old state mental hospital.  Around the registration area, there were a lot of old, abandoned buildings, kind of spooky - would make a great haunted house site.   
I did a warm up lap on the course.  It was raining, but not cold.  The course was wet with a combination of grassy, muddy, and  gravelly areas.   There was one run up and two barriers that were near the end of the lap.  As far as the race goes, it was a blast!!  I think I missed my calling 20 years ago with cyclocross.  Dealing with mud, tight turns, barriers, etc. , all on a glorified road bike, is a lot of fun.  My bike, a Jake the Snake, handled beautifully.  Coming from a mountain biking background, it’s surprising to me how well those relatively skinny tires can do in loose conditions.  Everyone out there was friendly, encouraging, and accommodating.  I was even offered a Rainier beer at the end of the run-up on the fourth lap.  I told the guy I’d be ready for it on the my 5th (and last) lap.  True to form, the guy handed me a beer the next time I came by.  A few sips hit the spot, and after a few more turns and the barriers, my race was over.

Starbucks GP Race Report
Cody Cupp
Oct. 2nd


The Starbucks GP course, held in North Bend, was super flat and really bumpy. Many other racers liked it but it wasn’t my type of course at all. I struggled with holding onto the wheel ahead of me through all the long, flat, straight stretches and had trouble powering through all the bumps to keep my speed going.
    
I managed to get a great start and shot out ahead with another junior quickly putting a small gap between us and the rest of the pack. A ways into the first lap I started to drop back a little from him and one other racer who had passed me then quickly fell back into the next group of about 8 to 10. For the most part I stayed up towards the front of the group, taking the lead numerous times, while we tried to chase down the front two.
    
As soon as we came around for our last lap I broke away from the group and managed to create a big gap pulling quite a ways ahead. I kept the distance for a minute or two but once we came into the final stretch the group came chasing me down. I had to sprint as hard as I could to the finish line and just barely managed to hold onto 3rd place for the Cat 3 men.
    
In the last race the junior that was ahead of me beat me by over a minute but at the Starbucks GP I was able to close the time down to only 17 seconds so hopefully next race I will be able to stick with him the whole time and manage to take it at the end. 

c. A Malakoff

2011 Rafa Focus Race Report

Cody Cupp

Sept. 18th

The second MFG cyclocross race of the season was awesome! The course was super fast and fun. There were two killer sand stretches, one that ended with a ledge so you had to dismount and run over it and one that was too deep to ride altogether, along with lots of fast, slick turns to blast around. 

Due to the fact that I didn’t finish last race and didn’t have any points for the series I had to line up about half way back in the pack but as soon as we started I managed to weave my way through everyone and get in the front pack of about ten. A few people crashed and fell back in the first lap so by the time I came through for my second I was sitting in about second or third. 

Catching one more racer on the barriers, I was able to stay at the top four or five for pretty much the whole time, always trying to catch back on to the leader that had pulled away early.  It started to rain pretty hard about half way into the race and I was trying to gain time and was taking chances.  Going too fast through a few corners I ended up falling as I slid through the corners and fell once more in the sand just because I was so tired. 

In the final lap of the race a guy that I race with quite a lot and know pretty well managed to catch up to me but I managed to battle him off and pull away from him in the running portion of the sand.  I caught one more racer going over the barriers right before the end of the race. I ended up taking second in Category 3 men, losing to another junior that I have also raced quite a few times and yet to beat so that is pretty much my only goal for the next couple of races.

MFG Series Cycle U Kick-Off Cross

Cyclocross!!!!

Sorry that this report comes a bit after the fact but better late than never.

The MFG cross series opener on Sept. 11th marked the beginning of the official cross season for Methow Cycle and Sport / Blue Star Cycling team. After Joe bailed the night before we were left with Cody, Keelan and my self for the long haul to Seattle and back.

It was a pleasant surprise to meet Dan and Meg from Blue Star in the parking lot. They have stepped up once again to support the MFG cyclocross series, and were in attendance of their first cyclocross race. I really don’t know how they manage to be so generous to so many diverse causes in and out of the Methow. Thank you guys!!

For those of you who are not familiar with cross I will spare you the explanation here, and just say that it is pure pain, suffering, and extreme fun.  For the Juniors the racing went great. Keelan, in his first cross race ever did wonderful looking smooth and confidant on his shiny new Kona, the entire race pulling out a 27th place in the cat 3 men. Not bad at all. Cody, after flirting around in the top 3 to top 5 had an untimely flat on the last lap and had to call it a day. All and all I am very proud of them both, For where they are in their training and their limited racing experience I could not be happier with their progress.

As for my self, things went about as expected for only having ridden my bike consistently for two weeks prior to the race. I relied heavily on experience and survival skills to pull out a top 5 in the 1/2 race. I had a blast, as usual, and worked out the kinks in both my legs and my equipment.  If felt really good to represent our local sponsors and show Seattle that we Methow folk have some decent legs over here in the boonies.

We plan on attending the entire MFG series and will keep you all updated with reports and photos (when I remember my camera).

Thanks for all of your support.

Solomon

Park City Point to Point

Jake Whipple

September 3rd

For my last endurance race of the year, I had high hopes of a strong finish at the Park City Point to Point.  I had heard that it was a tough race on many fronts, three prominent aspects being altitude, lots of technical riding, and almost all single track.  I was most worried about the altitude because the opportunities to train for elevation in the Methow are fairly limited; as for the technical single track, well that just makes for a more fun and challenging race, right?

For the second race in a row, the early morning start saw everyone shivering in crisp 33 degree temps.  I was in the third wave of starters trying to patiently wait my turn...  Once off, the sun started to rise, the trail turned up, and things got nice in a hurry.  Save for the low angle of the sun making the trail difficult at times, the first ten miles or so flowed fun and fast around Round Valley.  Coming through the start/finish again I tossed aside the jacket I was wearing and started to warm up looking forward to more climbing.  Once the trail started climbing in earnest I started passing quite a few folks and was feeling great.  I kept wondering why the race director said quite a few times that he thought the race was a “Camelback race.”  Once I was racing for a bit, I quickly discovered why: the trials were pretty unrelenting.  Not crazy technical, but fast enough and difficult enough that you really needed both hands on the wheel at all times.  Trying to find a stretch where I could grab a bottle would be a recurring difficulty throughout the day!  Hmmm, maybe my aversion to Camelbacks could be overlooked next year?  Topping out at about 9075 ft I suddenly realized that I felt fabulous!  The elevation wasn’t turning out to be a big deal which was great news.  I could definitely feel it, but it wasn’t weighing me down like I thought it might.  With that question out of the way I started to ride a bit harder, trying to pick off as many people as I could.  The race continued great for most of the day.  I was lucky and had no remarkable mishaps again, and slid across the line good enough for 9th out of single speeders.  I was pretty psyched about that result because of the competitiveness of the field.  I got a little strung out towards the end, but that’s been the norm for me each race this year; it’s been hard to keep slamming fluids at the end of each race as it’s felt like my gut has started to shut down.  

As a whole the Park City Point to Point was great event.  I will definitely try to be back next year as it’s one of only two stops in the west for the NUE series which I will try to be focussing on more next year.