Storming at Steilacoom

Fort Steilacoom Park, south of Tacoma, is the last of the classic Puget Sound junglecross venues of the last millenium .  Since the sport has taken off in popularity, the increase in bicycle traffic have forced the course directors to abandon some of the gnarlier features of yore: the vertiginous downhill through the dirt-filled trench, the original brutal 3-story Knapp-time runup and the slightly kinder gentler Knapp-time runup Mark II, the single-track ramble through the brambles; with the disappearance of the ruins which once overlooked the course, the park has recovered a bucolic aspect more suited to its purpose.  But the recent course layouts have retained the basic character of the site: a long climb up the butte, followed by a furious descent, accessorized with a sinuous path among the autumnal trees and the faux-antique red barns.

The Pacific Northwest fall had arrived in time for this week’s cyclocross extravaganza, the second event in the Seattle Cyclocross series.  The cloud banks rolling off the Pacific Ocean had brought a dank chill and just enough drizzle to grease the grassy corners, turning the course into a test of skill as well as power.  At the base of the hill, a maze of yellow tape led riders to and fro through the fields, where the course included two sets of barriers, approached at speeds that imposed precise timing on the riders’ dismount.  A long straightaway led to the beginning of the leg-sapping climb that would repeatedly suck the oxygen from the brain.

RCR Base camp, Steilacoom

The Recycled Cycles Racing team set up their base of operations at course side, in proximity to facilities and conveniences.  Taking the start line for the 9:30 race, Rip and Rob represented the blue-and-gold among the open cat 4 men and the 35+ cat 4 master men, finishing respectably mid-pack in the most crowded fields of the day.  As they noted, position was established shortly after the start, and you tended to stay with the same little cluster for the rest of the race.

His race done, Rip stepped up to the RCR grill to throw down some sliders and links from Bill the Butcher, purveyor of fine meats from grass-fed organic livestock.

Next up, RCR’s new Category 4 ladies Rebecca and Heather joined a Category 4 women’s field that numbered over thirty starters, testimony to the sport’s increasing attraction to women (your correspondant remembers when total female participation at a race barely surpassed a third that number).  Unleashing her aggression from the start line, Rebecca was sitting in the catbird’s saddle when a treacherous curve took her down.  Then she had to struggle to extricate a jammed chain while most of the remaining field passed by.  Downed but not out, Rebecca responded with determination and vigor, managing to regain a good chunk of lost ground and finish just outside the top ten.  Heather in the meantime kept plugging away at a steady pace, finishing very respectably for a recent intiate to the discipline, with a lot more riders behind her than before her. 

Rebecca hi-stepping the barriers

Following the junior and tykes races which featured some future Recyclers, it was showtime for the elite Category 1/2 racers, with Alex displaying the Blue-and-Gold, relying on his exceptional handling skills to hold a valiant tenth place as the national-caliber leaders imposed a punishing pace.

Making it look easy...

The 1:30pm race is one of the most crowded of the day, as successive waves of single-speeders, masters, and women set off.  And we have a Winnah! as Jamie stormed to the top step of the Category 3 women’s podium, no photo finish here, and she should soon be moving up to the next level.  Jamie gave props for some of her success to the advice from the veterans Alex and Beth which improved her approach to the barriers, her power coming out of the turns, and her use of the slower men as inadvertent blockers.

Jamie going for the win.

Beth and Julie, RCR’s starters in the Cat 1/2 women’s field, had spent the previous week field-testing their immune systems, and consequently weren’t quite at the top of their game.  Beth had her usual blistering start, but a rare transition from the vertical to the horizontal positions robbed her of her impetus.  Nonetheless, the combative pair persevered, Beth and Julie riding together to finish respectively eighth and ninth in an always strong field.  The y-chromosome carriers in the single-speed and master 45+ fields couldn’t quite manage to equal the outstanding efforts of the distaff side, as both David and Andrew finished mid-pack, but happy to be there.

David singlespeeding through the woods

Meanwhile Alex was working the grill, feeding the hungry racers, officials, worker bees, and random passersby, eager to sample Bill the Butcher’s organic sliders.

RCR’s double warhead of Nicks, known hereafter as Nick A and Nick B, took to the field as the horde of Category 3 men sped off for the last gallop of the day.  As mature & responsible adults, the Nicks suffered a disadvantage in a field dominated by some hormonal adolescents barely old enough to use a razor anywhere other than their legs.  As the youth wave trusted the first few positions, the ever-rowdy barrier crowd took to encouraging riders with shouts of “first adult!”.  Despite his handicap in years, Nick B hung on for a seventh place, with proud new papa Nick A showed the effects of his new paternal responsibilties as he slid just out of the top-ten despite a gung ho attack from the gun.

Dual Nick attack!

Thanks once again to our outstanding sponsors at Recycled Cycles, Raleigh Bicycles, FSA, and Schwalbe tires for their support in this season’s cyclocross campaign.  We’ll be doing it all over again next Sunday by the sandy shores of Silver Lake Park in Everett WA.

Hang on tight cuz it’s blowing hard

Seattle-area cyclocrossers gathered last Sunday at Marymoor Park for the opening event of the 2011 Seattle Cyclocross series beneath unexpected sunshine, courtesy of the high winds that drove the storm clouds before they had much of a chance to unload their cargo of moisture. But any unanchored tents were at risk of suddenly sailing across the parking lot, while the normal race-day hubbub was periodically punctuated by the percussive vibration of the course marker tape whipped into harmonic oscillation.

The course had been knit around the Marymoor velodrome, reprising some lines well-known to veterans of the Seattle cyclocross scene. Long straight sections outside the velodrome grounds led into a twisting maze of yellow tape that rose and fell along the velodrome’s exterior embankment, in a mix of off-camber swerves and swooping hair-pin turns. A summer under the sun had roughened the dry ground into a knobby and rutted surface that rattled and jarred joints and bones. Two pairs of barriers forced riders from their bikes: one set at the end of a stretch of tarmac required a dismount at speed; the other, placed right after a hairpin turn, forced the riders to a near-halt as they tried to hop off before the impending encounter with a large piece of wood; not all attempts met with success.

The Recycled Cycles crew had set up early enough to score a prime piece of real estate along the course close to the start line. The mounting wind forced an early removal of some banners that threatened to become sails, and we soon had to anchor the tents to the Recycled Cycles van with a variety of ad hoc lashing.

Ready to go sailing

First to set off from the RCR contingent, Tyler represented in the ever-growing Cat. 4 Men’s field, winding up with a mid-pack finish, but happy with the improvement in his sensations produced by his increased training load. His race done, he fired up the barbie for the first round of sliders from Bill the Butcher’s grass-fed organic beef.

Tyler, hurt those pedals!

Team members drifted in over the course of the day as the event progressed through its schedule. Ian, though not racing, spun over on his road bike and lent a valuable pair of hands in support during the day, schlepping wheels to the pit, helping to anchor the tent, ringing bells… Julie arrived with young Sam in tow for his cyclocross intiation with the 10-12 junior field. Alex showed the RCR colors in the noontime 1/2 race, while his lady friend performed yeoman’s service with the tent anchoring crew.

The 1:30pm race featured six different fields, with the largest rcr participation of the day: David showed off the blue-and-gold amongst the single-speed crowd, his kit accessorized by some awesome skin ink; at the start line for another season with the Cat 3 45+ men, Andrew spotted a few faces remaining from the old Master B days; Beth and Julie joined the Cat 1/2 women’s field, and Jamie took up the challenge with the Cat 3 Women. The black wall of cloud which had been threatening off-stage southeast finally arrived to hide the sun; the cold drops began to spatter jerseys, raising gooseflesh and shivers among an under-dressed crowd. But a lap into the race, the clouds passed, the sun was out, and though we were all wet, ’twas in a good way.
At the end of the first lap, Andrew barely managed to get out of Beth’s way as she muscled through the old men on her way to a convincing win in the women’s field, while Julie hung tough for a ninth-place finish. Sent off a mere thirty seconds after the start of an overstuffed masters field, the elite women had had to thread their way through the whitebeards before moving on to overtake the graybeards. Jamie overcame some tangles with the terrain to finish with an excellent showing in fifth place among the Cat 3 women, though ruing the mishaps that pushed a potential spot on the podium just out of reach.

The closing race of the day beneath the increasing sunshine featured the men’s open Category 3 field, with CarlA and NickB.

Carl gets ready to high step

Racing around the course amid a select cluster of riders, Nick improved on his showing of the previous week with a seventh spot on the results board.

Nick puts rubber's coefficient of friction to the dirt test

As all the fun and excitement was taking place out on the parcours, the post-race post-mortem and hoedown was going strong back at the tents, fuelled by some more grilled meat from Bill the Butcher, and whatever else folks happened to bring. Finally, it was time to stow everything back into the truck and leave planet cx for the trip back to Earth.

Next Sunday, October 2nd, come on out to North Bend as the fun resumes with the MFG race presented by the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. We’ll have the fleet of Raleigh demo bikes on hand for a test-drive under real racing conditions.

Sunday in the Park with Bart

The late blast of summer heat and sunshine gave way to gray skies and drizzle in time for the Rapha Grand Prix on September 18, the Sunday conclusion to a weekend double-header of cyclocross which had begun with Saturday’s Starcrossed; headlined by UCI-sanctioned races for elite men and women, both days also featured a set of opening races for a mix of amateur categories and age-groups.
Set in a state park by the silvan shores of Lake Sammamish, east of Seattle, the course snaked its way among the trees on rain-slicked grass and mud, with a few tight curves to trap the unwary, before heading to the lake-front where two sections along the strand compelled racers to hoof it through the sand.
The Recycled Cycles Racing crew had set up base camp in a prime space in the vendor section along the course, where we featured the Raleigh demo carbon cross bikes. The RCR ladies squad showed up in force, bringing offspring and canines to add a welcome family ambiance to the tents.

Is that Mom again?

And we were happy to have the tents beneath the changeable weather, with intervals of drizzle giving way to the occasional sun-break.
The women got things off to a bang-up start with Rebecca’s win in the Cat. 4 women’s field.

Rebecca storming to the W

Then RCR owned the podium in the master women’s race with Beth, Julie, and Liz finishing 1-2-3 while Ali rode hard to finish just out of the top ten.

Hi kids!

Liz and Julie riding for the podium

Eric watched Beth cruise by him as he rode to a 6th place in the Cat 3 55+ men’s field.


The next set of waves saw Carl start with the Cat 3 Men 35+, Andrew with the Cat 3 Men 45+, and Jamie with the Cat 3 Women. Andrew thinks he has never seen a field that big; thanks to the sand, he was able to make his way from the back of the pack to the middle of the field. Jamie added to the women’s successful showing with a 6th place.
RCR’s last representation for the day was furnished by Nick B who claimed a 10th place amongst the Cat 3 men, and Busto who lined up with 76 (!) other single speeders in a stacked field dominated by Craig Etheridge and the Fountain Brothers.

Nick shows us how to do the Quasimodo

Leaping Busto!

The amateurs done for the day, we got to kick back and watch the pros conduct master classes in power and style. Katarina Nash rode away from the women, while the Belgian duo of former World Champion Bart Wellens and his up-and-coming teammate Rob Peeters dropped the hammer on the men, leaving current US champion Todd Wells and former multiple champion Jonathan Page well behind.
RCR’s next rendez-vous with the mud takes place on Sunday September 25, as the SCX series kicks off for the 2011 season.

Dust bowl labor day

Here at Team Recycled Cycles Racing, we are pleased – no, overjoyed – to announce the long overdue arrival of a contingent of strong women, who’ve joined us just in time for the 2011 cyclocross season. Welcome, ladies!

And for the first episode of their adventures with their new team, we have Beth’s report from the Labor Day cyclocross season opener.

Last Monday, it was four freshly-minted members of the RCR/women’s cross team who showed up for the first race of the cyclocross season: ” The Labor Day Bone Shaker”. The race was NOT the typical ‘cross race: a course consisting largely of bouncy grassy turns, on a day that was 85 degrees hot, in air full of dust.

Two of the ladies entered the cat. 4 race. Heather finished well with a mid-pack placing, though her gloveless hands were decorated with open blisters raised by the bumpy course. Rebecca did well for her very first cyclocross race, and even decided she’d do more cross after such an epic opening day. We promise her better courses if she sticks with it.

Julie and Beth were in the Cat 1/2 field, with a grand total of seven women. Since Julie was swimming in a size small RCR jersey, she wore the long-sleeve RCR skinsuit for a slow bake over the course of the race. As it was still Labor Day, Beth could still wear a flowing summer white jersey without committing a fashion don’t.

It was an exciting first minute of racing for Beth: despite a pedal bobble at the start that cost her the hole shot she prefers, followed by a less-than-helpful shove from a former teammate as she tried to sneak up along the tape , Beth managed to managed to get into second place by jumping past local stalwart Kristi Berg. “I am not really easy to push around”, she warns.
Beth would remain in second position for the rest of the race as she and eventual winner Jenny Gaertner pulled away from the rest of the field on the technical turns. Suffering in the heat, just unable to close the gap to the leader, Beth had to work pretty hard to stay away from Kristi, but she managed to finish a minute and a half ahead of her chaser. Taking home a medal and a Redline stocking cap, Beth says she felt “pretty happy for an old lady with a marginal knee and no cross racing last season.”

Julie was psyched for the race as her riding had progressed significantly now that she and Beth were training together. Though Julie’s race didn’t end as successfully as she would have liked, she deserves the award for the gnarliest and toughest racer of the day. On the first lap, she was right up there with the pack until a hard crash on a technically challenging off-camber downhill left her battered and bloody, with deep cuts to her knee and forearm. But despite the mishap, Julie managed to chase back into fourth place – only to flat on the third of five laps. Running to the service pit, she had to search for her spare wheel, then suffer through a slow wheel change; she nevertheless made the fateful decision to carry on to the end.
Once across the finish line, Julie first had to attend to her waiting boys before making her way to the aid station, so the medics could dig the dirt out of her wounds. But while tending to her injuries, she somehow forgot about her overheated body’s need for fluids, and the medical triage thus progressed into treatment for a heat stroke that came complete with shakes and serious wooziness. Thanks to the assistance of various folks with some medical background, Julie recovered without serious consequences, but Beth did take the precaution of driving her and her boys home.

Stay tuned for further tales from the cyclocross season. Team RCR will have Raleigh bikes available for test rides at the forthcoming races; stop by the RCR tent with valid id and your favorite pair of pedals.

3 racers in search of a finish line

Two Nicks and a Carl report from the Capitol Hill 50-mile mtb race.

Nick Brown
Or How Not to Train for a Mountain Bike Endurance Race
 
When I saw teammates this summer, they always asked “What have you been up to? Where have you been?” And they were good questions because I didn’t spend the winter and spring riding and racing my bike. Instead, I focused on staying active and having fun. I went cross country skiing a ton. I skipped a bunch of racing in May and June to go motorcycle touring, hike across England, and attend the Isle of Man TT. I went to Northwest Tandem Rally and did a very nice overnight bike tour to Harrison Hot Springs.

Really, a great summer.
None of this helps you be a dominant crushing force in bike races.
 
When I noticed the Capitol Forest 50-mile mountain bike race was the next weekend, I waffled for a minute, asked my wife if I could borrow her dual suspension mountain bike, and signed up. I hadn’t raced a mountain bike in well over a year, but I was as prepared as I could be with only a week’s notice.

Carl Hulit and I drove down on Friday night and slept in the grass at the Evergreen Sportsman’s Club. I spent the night listening to howling coyotes and hoping I wouldn’t oversleep. Morning dawned cold and foggy. We met up with Nick Adsero, dropped our bikes in the grass along the dirt road, and lined up for the Le Mans start. The run to the bike went well, and after executing the only cyclocross re-mount of anyone I saw, I was off and pedaling, sitting in about twentieth place as we rolled up the road to the single-track.
 
My plan for this race was to keep moving quickly while avoiding unnecessary exertion until I was on my own, when I would simply ride my own ride. This worked out well. For a while.

The first section of single-track went well, as I moved past some slower riders and generally settled into my groove. The bike felt great, I felt great, and I was looking forward to the day. The first long single-track climbs were a bit of a handful on a long-forked trail bike. I eventually got on top of the bike’s wandering ways, and soon arrived at the first aid station. I grabbed a banana chunk and stuffed a bottle of Nuun in my jersey pocket and was off. Again riding my own pace, happy to let faster riders by me, I dropped the people I was riding with as the trail transitioned to gradually climbing rollers. Soon I was on my own and free to crash as much as I wanted without losing places.
 
With plenty of food and drink on board, I rolled right through the Mile 19 aid station and hit the trail again. I passed a few more people on the single-track climb and really started to move. When we emerged from the woods and began a short fire road climb to the next section of trail, a hand patted me on the back – Mike Rolcik. He and the woman on his wheel moved in front of me and hit the trail first. I managed to hold their wheels for about eight minutes until an overwhelming sense of fire and sluggishness hit my legs. I tried  standing up, shifting gears, and humming party songs to myself, but to no avail. Twenty-five miles into the race, I was cooked. I went from feeling awesome to legs in pain in about five minutes.
 
I kept eating and drinking and doing what I could to keep moving forward while minimizing losses. As tired as I was, I didn’t lose anyone else on the single-track. What killed me was the long fire road climb. It was supposed to be eight miles, but I swear it was more like fifteen. I climbed forever, with each pedal stroke feeling like I was driving the bike through a pool of flaming molasses that was splashing on my legs. Lots of people passed me on that road climb: single-speed guys, Nick Adsero, fat guys with hairy legs. I caught up with Nick A at the Mile 31 aid station, where we were told we were the forty-sixth riders through. Still way up the field, so it wasn’t all bad. I downed some water, a banana and a gel, and kept on moving. 

After a year or two of additional climbing, the course finally dropped back onto the Green Line trail. I reached between my legs and flicked the shock back to “full cush downhill mode” and pointed the Yeti down. As tired as I was, I still passed a few more people on this descent. But I positively crawled up the ensuing small climbs. At one point, I simply got off the bike and walked after I misjudged a root in the middle of a tight, uphill switchback. It was easier, and I didn’t lose any places. I did that a few more times. It felt really good to walk.
 
Before long the trail started to look familiar. I was on the trail we rode out on and the finish was near. I rolled back into the sportsman’s club to sounds of gunfire as the firing range and the trap shooting range were in full Saturday afternoon swing.
 
This was enormously punishing for me, but still really fun. The race was very well organized, and the other participants were all really nice and supportive. The overall atmosphere was one of friendly competition, where
everyone gets a burger and a beer at the end. This is my kind of racing, and I need to actually train for it next year.

Carl Hulit

My race felt similar to Nick’s, if a bit further up the field. The Le Mans start demanded a good long run, probably two minutes or so which got the heart racing, but thanks to strategic bike placement and some effort I was in the front group going up the fire road, and I was able to hit the single-track in second place. The eventual winner set a faster pace than I thought prudent, and he soon left me behind to pace the chase group. I set a moderately hard pace through most of the first climb until a spinout while crossing a fire road put me back into the middle of a group of six riders.

After the climb, we entered some nice wooded single-track where I could recover; the two riders in front let me and a few others by, and I opened up the pace again. I worked to keep this solid pace until about halfway through the second big climb around mile 20, when I let Matt Lynch and Trevor from team Mafia go by, with the intention of following wheels for a while. My body had other ideas, so Matt and Trevor were quickly up the road; I started to bonk when the pitch steepened a few miles later, and two more riders came by.

I hit the fire road in sixth place and started to cram down as much of my pbj and gatorade as I could while suffering up the hills. Halfway up the neverending road I was cramping badly, and yet another rider caught me as I was dreaming of beer and ibuprofen to make the pain stop. When the Green Line descent finally came, I rode conservatively down the trail to minimize mistakes, and the constant jarring actually eliminated the cramps. I caught one rider back at the bottom of the hill, and set about trying to drop him on the remaining rollers and climb, blowing through the last aid station on the memory that it was close to the finish. I was running on fumes, just trying to keep the pedals turning as fast as possible through the last climb in the knowledge that I had riders on my tail.

With one mile left, I was out of water and food. I came off the single-track onto the finishing road and briefly relaxed, glad to see the trail markers indicating the end was near. But as I was rounding the final corner I noticed a rider closing on my tail, so the chain jumped down the cogs and I threw everything I had left into the final sprint, crossing the finish line to collapse onto the grass.

I was able to hold out for a sixth place, lower than I had hoped for but still requiring lots of suffering, and I knew I’d given up all I had to give. Like Nick, I find this racing very enjoyable, and I spent most of the afternoon eating, drinking beer and hanging out with fellow racers. Maybe next year I will be back on the real training plan so I can make the hurt end sooner.

Nick Adsero

I took the first thirty miles fairly easy before starting to push hard over the last twenty. I was passing a lot of the fast starters and moved into thirty-something place. With ten miles left, I went for it and started picking up quite a few spots. With my Garmin showing forty-seven miles down, I was coming close to Mike Rolcik, and I’d moved up into a placing in the mid-twenties. But with less than a mile to go, I took that last right when I should have gone left, and that started me on the first loop again. Since my Garmin was off by a couple of miles, I didn’t know I was off on another loop.

To shorten a long story, I did sixty-six miles and lost 120 places. It was my fault for getting too pumped up at the end and not paying attention to where I was. That made it a long and very hard day.

A Round O’ Hop

Recyclers Matt and Josh report from the Ronde Ohop (Aug. 21, 2011).

Matt, Josh, and Erik went on down to Eatonville WA for the 1/2/3 race in the Ronde Ohop, whose parcours consists of an outer road loop followed by numerous laps of a short unpaved circuit. Only about 20 guys started with the 1/2/3 group, and the pack would thin out quickly from there…

Josh suffered a flat a mere 4 miles into the race, and was on his own for the remaining 22 miles of the road loop. Matt and Erik rolled along in the pack for an uneventful ten or so miles, until a little dog’s curiosity propelled him out of a driveway, with the result that a few riders (including Matt) wound up in the ditch.

All of a sudden, there’s Matt lying on the ground, looking up at the blue sky, and wondering Whiskey Tango Foxtrot just happened! Matt recalls: “Damn little dog… the beast never even made it into our lane but it was close enough to make a bunch of guys grab their brakes and swerve into ME… dammit.”

At this point in the race, things looked grim for the Blue-and-Gold. Josh was still chasing solo after his flat; Erik busted his rear derailleur in the wreck; but Matt’s only damage was to his elbow/shoulder, so he kept rolling.
Matt: “The chase was a tall order, duh, but no way I was driving that far for a 10mile race!!”

So Matt did like RCR always does, and kept on fighting. It didn’t help his chase that he was pulling thorns from his hands as he rode along… he picked off a few guys along the way but never made it back into ‘the pack’.

Once the road portion was over, it was time for the dirty dirt loop! The surface was really just a bunch of huge rocks surrounded by dirt.. and Matt concluded that it really is true that the faster you go over those rocks, the smoother it feels.. he found the little climb on the dirt loop wasn’t bad, but if you hit it too slowly, the rocks rapidly eroded your speed and handling ability, so it was best to power up the incline. In fact, the continuous application of power provided the best solution to the whole ‘dirt’ loop problem!
Matt sez: “I had a lot of fun bouncing off those rocks, and my awesome SRAM S30/S40 wheels were bomb-proof!!” He did flat on the dirt/rocks loop, but that was bound to happen, everyone was flatting…

In the meanwhile, Josh was still slogging on his own, making his way through the riders scattered along the dirt loop. It was a mixed blessing that with a two-lap gap by the time Josh made it to the unpaved section, he “only” had eight laps to complete.

But after it was all said ‘n’ done, Matt finished in 6th place: now that’s making attrition your friend!

Matt comments that he ran the same setup he uses for crits.. the only thing he might do differently for next year would be to wear gloves!! The bouncing of the handlebars on the rocks yielded him two new blisters between index and thumb on each hand..

Of the Ronde Ohop, Josh concludes: “If you choose to take the challenge next year, it is hands down one of the hardest races of the year yet the most rewarding once finished.”

T-Town Hot and Skagit Flat

Recyclers Josh & Andrew report from the weekend’s races
(photos used by permission, courtesy of www.wheelsinfocus.com ).

Nick A, Matt, and Josh went down to Tacoma to show the RCR colors in the Cat. 3 Men’s event of the Twilight Crit this last Saturday evening of July.  It was a great racing venue, the weather was outstanding, and the racing was fun.  The Plan was to set up Josh for a shot at the ‘W’.  Matt did a phenomenal job at the front, chasing primes, riding super hard, and looking out for Josh during the whole race.  Nick, ever patient, sat in the pack until a good break formed; he then shot across the gap so RCR could have some representation. Great move, Nick!

Great move, Nick!

  Josh quickly moved to the front on patrol for any attackers who harbored hopes of bridging to the break; one guy did: he towed Josh around for a while, until Josh could drop him and bridge to the escape.

Josh on the attack!

But the pack got restless and chased the break of 10+ riders down.
From that point on, the Recyclers fought for position in the first 10+, Matt doing his thing riding the front!

Matt does his thing!

Josh was sitting on Nick’s wheel with 2 laps remaining, but when Nick absolutely drilled it up the hill on the backside, Josh could not hold the speed through corner 3; he notes: “it was either lock up the brakes or go over the curb.  Nick is a hell of a bike handler!”  With Josh regretfully unable to hold the corner, RCR unfortunately finished well out of the money, though Matt’s 8^th place may have scored him some upgrade points.
Josh says: “Thanks Nick and Matt for the support!”

The next day, Andrew M joined Josh in Silvana WA as the Cat 3 men lined up for the short and fast Skagit Flats Circuit Race through the coastal farmlands north of Seattle.  After the previous day’s sunshine, the return of gray skies and drizzle hovering over Seattle thinned out the non-believers, making for a small field, but the roads remained dry in Silvana. The course followed narrow country lanes among corn fields and sheep pasture, with some sharp corners and a couple of tight passages beneath the railroad trestles.

rcr in da house...

After a moderately-paced start, the race hit its stride in lap 2 of 7. Josh bridged to a break that was soon caught, but as he settled back into the field, about 10 people rolled off the front.  Josh could only muster an UGH! of discontent as he was pinned behind wheels on the narrow roads.  He managed to bully his way to the front and sprinted to get onto some chasers, joining another rider; they then chased like hell to bridge a gap larger than they expected.  Josh recalls: “this effort hurt, I dropped and waited for the dude 3 times.”
Meanwhile back in the pack, Andrew was rolling along towards the front, taking up space. But when the Bike Sale trio finally jumped in pursuit of Josh, he was boxed on the wrong side of the road and had to chase back on. At the >90 degree turn, some guy decided to take his own funny line that threatened to intersect with Andrew as he followed the last wheel through the corner. The gap opened when Andrew was forced to slow just as the guys in yellow mashed the accelerator on the flat straight road. Andrew recalls: “at one point in my chase I looked down at my computer and saw 31mph and 189bpm; unfortunately, the speed and the heart rate were travelling in opposite directions.” He managed to close within a couple of bike lengths, after chasing for half a kilometer. Then someone saw Josh up ahead and stepped on the gas again… no revista baby…
When the pack finally caught Josh, he recovered for a few minutes then went back to work trying to bring back the break or at least keep them close.  The Bike Sale had one guy in the break, who flatted which caused them to take up the chase effort as well!  And it was once again gruppo compatto!  The peloton rolled easy for the next two laps, but things got interesting again with about 2K remaining.  Josh fought for position, and he was 10 or so wheels back coming through the last corner. He still had a pretty good kick in his legs, since he managed to sprint into second place, just missing the win by barely a foot.

Good throw, Josh!

All in all, a great race weekend.  There is limited racing remaining this year, so get out there and soak up the sun and the racing!