In This Issue
Jay Petervary 2nd overall at Cream Puff
Gate City Grind Reports
Elkhorn Classic Reports
Tim & Chellie racing mtn bikes?
Upcoming Races
2008 Team Kit Re-Orders are in
Shared Race Calendar
Dear Scott,

The team is getting the hang of race reporting and this week the reports are better than ever! Thanks for taking the time to send them in.

Traveling to races with your teammates rocks! JayP, Gabe Klamer, rival team member Mike Piker, and myself crammed 4 bikes, tons of race gear, and minimal camping gear into my Chevy Tahoe and headed to the land of loamy singletrack for the Cascade Cream Puff 100-mile mtn bike race. What could be better than making a run to the local Dairy Queen with your homies, minutes before they close, to celebrate successful races with a Blizzard or a dipped cone?

There was lots of racing this past weekend so let’s get to it! This issue is whopper.
Jay Petervary, 2nd overall at Cascade Cream Puff

Top Shelf racer Jay Petervary now holds the unofficial “Local’s Cream Puff Yellow Jersey” for being the highest overall Jackson, WY-area finisher in the Cream Puff since the race started in 1995. Troy Barry held the previous jersey with a 6th overall in 2003.

JayP 2nd
JayP looking pretty fresh after 108 miles and nearly 16,000′ of climbing

PreRide
Pre-riding fern-lined Oregon singletrack is a beautiful thing

More results and stories from the Cream Puff will surely trickle in but for now let’s just say that JayP killed it! This is one of hardest 100-mile mtn bike races in the US and always draws a strong field. The Orange train was three for three this year at the Puff as Gabe Klamer and myself finished the 108-mile race with solid efforts as well.

The Cascade Cream Puff lived up to the hype of being one of the best endurance mtn bike races in the US. The race really has all of the key ingredients; incredible trails, great course markings, great atmosphere, and tons of support for the racers. If you want to test yourself and take a great road trip, put this on your calendar for 2009.
Gate City Grind Reports

Saurman
David Saurman sitting at the front of the pack

Dave Saurman places 3rd in Cat 5 GC and sends in this great report. Congrats on a great race Dave!
“Great fun at the Gate City Grind in Pocatello. I love that race. This was the second year I did it. A good showing by Fitzy Team and by Jacksonites in general. Let’s see…Myself, Dave Ryan, Dina Mishev, Bergy, Len Carlman, Erica, Roxy, Brian Smith, Jeff Noffsinger, other locals like Forest Dramis, Jack Kohler, Troy Barry, Eric Stratton, and Brian Harder. A special guest appearance from Matt Schriver a hometown pocky boy who many of us know is a pro and used to race with us here in JH along with brother Zach and would usually crush the field! I am sure I am forgetting some but great local turnout.

So my race was best ever. Sat. morning I think 8th in Cat 5 road race, but finished with the pack. Forest(sandbagger)Dramis got away with another dude at the beginning of the second lap, I could not catch them, and no one would work with me to bridge the gap. So no worries.

Saturday evening was 10k Short TT. I was on fire. Got 1st in the stage, beating Dramis by 5 seconds, and beat the second place guy by 40 seconds + and I think I beat a bunch of Cat 3’s and 1/2’s. I was pleased. Sunday morning early Crit, I finished 5th again with the pack so lost no more time Giving me a 3rd place finish in the GC! Yeah, Now I really deseve a new bike!

Really fun, fast Crit. Again Forest Dramis got away, but he had a minute 20 on me, so not much chance of fixing that, so I let him go. We need to chip in and buy that boy an annual license and get him out of Cat 5. I think it may have been my last Cat 5 race. A lot of other great finishes. Len did not get last. Dina got 1st and not sure about the rest. Not all posted yet online.

The image I cannot shake….which is killing me is NOT the Ski Utah’s hottie chics in their lycra shorts and sports bra only, but riding over to fill my water bottle after the road race through the center of the main parking lot of the Marsh Valley High School and seeing Len Carlman Butt Ass Naked - not a stich of clothing in site, in the middle of everything, at least 5 feet from his car and not even bike socks on! The full Monty!! I may need therapy to erase that image. Live big Len, No one will ever accuse you of being shy. - Dave S.” (Editor’s comment - how could I NOT post this?)

Dina Mishev, 1st in GC in Cat 4!!! Congrats on your win Dina!
“So the Elkhorn was good, but showing up at the start of the Gate City Grind and seeing two other women in Fitzy’s gear made this race even better. I’ve never ridden in a pack with other Fitzy women, so seeing Roxie and Erika was awesome. Especially since Erika’s a junior and decided to do the Cat 4 distance, which was twice as long as the junior distance and Roxie’s just home for the summer from Whitman College. I hope I’ll run into both of these gals again.

Aside from the Cat 4 women field, Jackson, and Fitzy’s, had a great showing: Dave Ryan, Dave Sauerman, Brian Smith, Forest Dramis, Brian Harder. Even better than having so many of us there though was that so many of us kicked ass in individual stages as well as GC. The road race course - a 17.5-mile loop - has enough climbing as to be challenging, but not so much to discriminate against those who carry a little extra wattage in their backside cottages. I won the Cat 4 women’s road race in my second-ever sprint finish. (It is my first ever race victory.)…I’m pretty sure Roxy was top 6. I know she was right there in the sprint finish. Apologies to those I forgot.

Saturday evening’s TT was short, a mere 6.5 miles. I had been warned the return trip was much more uphill than you would think and to make sure and save energy for it. But, as I’m lining up, Forest warns me to just go all out the whole time as the course feels even shorter than it is. If there was any false flat-kind of uphill on the return trip, I was unaware of it as there was a very friendly tailwind. I came back 5 mph faster than I went out.

Sunday morning’s crit, as all crits do to me, inspired some nerves. I had heard horror stories about all sorts of crashes and the most pot-holed, messed-up pavement ever. And it was in a parking lot. How uninspiring. And this was the first crit I had to actually do something in. After the TT, I was 2nd in GC by 1 second. As long as I placed ahead of the 1st-place GC woman, I would win GC…unless she won the 10-second time bonus awarded in the middle of the race. Coming into the finish on that prem lap, it was her and I out front. I cut a corner wide just before the start/finish line. She gapped me. I couldn’t catch her. She got the 10-second time bonus.

With the time bonuses awarded to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place overall in the crit, now I had to win and she had to do no better than 3rd for me to get GC. By this time though - about halfway through our 40 minutes - I was actually liking the course. There really wasn’t any sketchy pavement at all - although there was a sketchy Bountiful Mazda Master racer who tried to cross the course (twice) at the most inopportune times (i.e. when we were 20 feet away and coming at him at 27 mph) - the turns were fun, I knew there was no danger of me going off the back and, best of all, there was this great, tiny little power hill right before the finish. The last lap, the GC leader went in a straightaway just before the final corner and the power hill. Another woman (3rd GC) went with her. And I went too. I cut on the inside of the last corner and set myself up to be on the outside of the little hill. I gapped them going up it, crossed the line first and, realizing what I had done - won a crit!! - a few seconds later, feebly punched the air with a fist and adopted a goofy grin I’ve been wearing pretty much since. - Dina”

Len Carlman reports in from the Cat 5 race as well.
“Two new events for me in this lovely setting, between Lava Hot Springs and Pocatello, on mildly rolling 17.5 mile loop, travelled twice by Cat 5 riders, temps in mid-70s & climbing, light breezes under sunny skies:
1. After falling off the back on the first group surge (not a new experience for me . . .), I kept pounding the pedals until I caught back on. Yippee! Re-united with the pack! Nestled in the draft! Back on easy street!
2. After recovering in the shelter of the pack for a minute or two, I went to the front to join Fitzy racer Dave Sauerman to sit on the pack, mildly suppress its pace, while another Fitzy rider, also dropped on the first hill surge, bridged his way back onto the back of the pack. A team tactic! We took charge of the peloton! Sort of! Almost worked! Our mate got to within 50 yards, then some punk dashed off the front, the chase ensued, and the tactic was foiled. But ‘almost’ was still pretty cool. - Len”

Brian Smith raced the road stage and reports in from the 45+ race
“Road Stage of Gate City Grind - Masters 45+ - Three laps of the circuit, which became three different races for me. The climb comes early in each circuit. The first time over the climb the peloton broke into two pieces. I was in the right piece. The really fun part was that fellow Jacksonites, Dave Ryan and Brian Harder, were also in it. Its not often that I get such hometown company in the category I race in. The next 15 miles was attack after attack - super good fun. Next time up the climb my “check engine” light started flashing. Off the back I went to begin a new part of the race. Now I got to do a 15-mile TT dangling off the back, with the group in view, in hopes that a few more would fall back. A few did fall back and were in sight when a 4-man chase group caught me. That began the 3rd chapter of the morning. A final circuit of riding hard with the chase group, but not hard enough to bridge up to anyone. The usual silly chase group sprint at the end. Happy with the effort, but not the result. It was great to see lots of folks from Jackson/ Teton Valley/ Fitzy’s in many categories. The best part of the race - starting without arm warmers! Ah, the simple pleasures of real summer cycling. - Brian”

Elkhorn Classic Reports

Headquartered in beautiful Baker City, Oregon, the Elkhorn Classic Stage Race is a three-day, four-stage event ridden throughout the Powder River Valley, the base of the Wallowa Mountain range, and the Elkhorn Mountain range, culminating with the Elkhorn Classic’s signature 8-mile finishing climb to the summit of Dooley Mountain.

Lunner ElkHorn

Dina ElkHorn
Dina in the race of truth

Dinae Mishev is a racing machine this season! She sends in a great report from Baker City, OR where she placed 5th in the Cat 4 GC. Nice work Dina!
“How is it possible to hate and love the same race as much as I do this one?

Day 1: 75-mile road race (hate)
The first day’s start-in-the-middle-of-the-hot-afternoon 75-mile road race is one of the biggest beat-downs ever. Ever. 6,000 feet of climbing, with none of it over more than an 8% grade, over 75 miles doesn’t sound all that bad (at least if you’re used to the grades on the pass). But at mile 58, when your pack has been splintered like N’Sync after Justin Timberlake realized he could do better solo and when you’ve been climbing for nearly four miles already and when you reach your seventh (or maybe it was only the third…whatever the number it was demoralizing and I lost count) false summit to see the hill stretch on, up and around for what must be another two miles, it sucks. Big time. Yes, I dropped into my granny gear and my goal became merely to make it to the top. Although if an air-conditioned, drink-supplied car had driven by slowly and asked if I wanted a ride, I can’t say I wouldn’t have gotten in. It really was that bad. But still nothing compared to the same stage (on a different course) the year before. 108-degree temperatures and the one water feed having run out of water by the time the women reached it. Fun times.

The climb finally ended though and - joy of joys - it was only a 70-mile road race. At the top of the climb when I was expecting 8 more miles, a photographer told me, “only 5k to go.” If my lips weren’t crusted closed, I would have kissed him. Never have I been so happy in my life. Except when I was pounding a double cheeseburger and a fresh huckleberry milkshake 45 minutes after finishing.

Day 2: 10-mile TT, major afternoon power nap and 40-minute crit (neither love nor hate - ambivalent)
The TT course is actually pretty challenging with a few small and medium climbs both out and back. Checking out my start time in the Cat 4 women though, I was shocked to see that there were nearly 15 Cat 4 women who were more beaten-down than I was the day before. I was 7th out of 21. I had kind of given up on the race after what I felt was nothing but a completely abysmal performance the day before, but seeing that I was in the top half of the field, I threw what I had at the TT. Got 5th and bumped myself up to 5th in GC.

Had a 2-hour Cat 1 nap at the host housing I was hooked up with.

So downtown Baker City is just too cute to be wasted on eastern Oregon. Sorry, but that’s the truth. Why can’t Jackson have a coffee shop as cool as Mad Matilda’s. Or even a place that makes chocolate chip cookies that are half as good. Anyway, the crit course winds through this flat, Norman Rockwell downtown. I was a little nervous because 1) historically, I suck at crits. I’m too afraid of crashing and injuring my delicate frame. 2) What’s awesome about Elkhorn, at least if you’re a woman, is that they race Pro/1/2/3/4 all together (but scored separately). But that means that instead of worrying about crashing with the usual 10-15 women in my start packs, I had to worry about crashing into nearly 100 women. So I was nervous. But I really didn’t need to be because 1) I got pinched on a tight right-hand turn on the third lap and pretty much lost contact with the main pack and 2) 10-minutes in it started raining and 18-minutes in there was a nasty crash up in the main pack that caused the officials to cancel the women’s crit…as well as all of the rest of the crits for the day. Kind of sucked for the people who aren’t as scared of crits as I am.

Day 3: 105-mile Dooley Mountain Road Race (love, love, love, love)
So this is really the best road race ever, or at least it’s tied with LOTOJA. In the first 70 miles there are three little climbs of around 1,000-1,200 feet each or so, the group of them introduced by a 600-vertical foot climb that, last year, had me off the back faster than you can say “block of concrete.” I stayed on up the little intro climb this year though, and even through the first climb. The second climb broke the pack up nicely though and I got in with the lead chase pack of perhaps 20 women. The third climb was actually almost fun. But they really save the best for last. There’s a screaming descent off the last of the little climbs and then 25-or-so miles of flat that can be quite pleasant when you’re not pedaling into a stiff headwind. And we weren’t so it was great. Greatest of all is the 1,500-2,000-foot climb up Dooley Mountain to the finish. People say this climb is so steep they have to get off their bike and push. I invite these people to come and ride up Teton Pass. Dooley is about the most fun climb around. Six miles of six percent. I’m not a climber at all, but my body seems to love six percent. Within two minutes of my pack starting up, I had dropped them all - I actually first thought they had all gotten simultaneous flat tires as I’ve never, ever dropped a pack on a climb. Never ever. I might curse the entire time I’m muscling my way up Teton Pass, but it’s great training. If only to teach you how bad a climb really can be. Anyway, you get to the top and there is beer and cookies and all sorts of goodies waiting. My favorite goodie was a 5th in the Cat 4 GC.

I know Baker City is a long drive - 8 hours - but this race is totally worth the drive. Next year - June 19-21, 2009 — hopefully it’ll be more than Kris L. and me there! - Dina”

Tim & Chellie racing mtn bikes?

Tim Kelley has seen the light and sends in this report from Boulder, CO. Does this mean there is a good deal to be had on sweet Colnago C-50?

“Why didn’t you guys tell us? We’re mtn bike racers now! Dirt, sun, scrapes, blood and mud, free beer and cute girls at the after parties (my favorite part), stunning settings like ski resorts instead of road races at dumb truck stop towns in the middle of nowhere…we wish you’d told us sooner

Chellie and I raced short track on Wed and loved it! We then road a big dirt road and jeep road cross bike ride in the mountains above boulder on Sat…and I went and raced my mt. bike at Winter Park on Sunday…and chellie rode a Super Walker yesterday (Walker Ranch Mt. bike loop from Boulder). We’re fired up and headed to the Firecracker 50 (50 mile race on 4t h of July in Breck…with Amanda Reilly and hundreds of others)…heck…with three mt. bike races in the past week between us…we’re ready for a 50 mile race, right?!?!

TK Mtn Bike

Ps - Sandbagging in Sport Class…Maybe, but it was my first true mt. bike race…and the winner in my group was a super pro looking Spaniard on an all carbon Giant prototype looking bike that hadn’t even debuted in the states yet…so, I’m not feeling to bad. 2nd and 3rd passed me on the downhill going so fast over steep, loose bowling ball terrain in deep woods that I thought I’d later find them in pieces splattered across the tight lodgepoles pines…so, I don’t feel bad at all. If only I could descend! - TK”