Sugarhouse Crit

We had good numbers for the 4, 5 and 35+b race.
Weather was perfect and the fields were big.

The cat 5 race was fast, but stayed together to the finishing sprint.
although Luper is getting smarter, he made a mistake and led out the Spin rider that came around him and took him at the line.
Still a great 2nd place finish and enough for his upgrade. Judd came in 4th place, just back of the winner.The cat 4 race and the 35+b races were fast and we sat back until halfway into the race to do anything.
DC and the Robot attacked with 5 laps to go in the 4 race but only stayed off for a lap since the group was driving it so hard. With a lap to go, a canyon rider attacked and soloed to the victory as we all sat and watched him ride away. It had been so fast up to this point, no one thought he would stay away but everyone soft pedaled and watched him. Seth sprinted it out and took 4th in the 4's.
The 35+b race was similar but we all already had a race in our legs. Sit back and wait until late in the race. You would think that we would have learned from the 4 race, but we sat and watched a guy attack with 1/2 a lap to go and win as seth again sprinted it out for 4th.
We attacked but couldn't get anything to stick.

Matt on another one of his signature attacksDC sucking down the special juice getting ready for a first lap attack. Eric got the strongman/crazy man award for the weekend for racing 2 crits on saturday and 2 crits on sunday.

Stan Crane Memorial Draper Mtn Bike race

The original plan for the Stan Crane ICUP race was basically 3 laps up Clarks and 3 Laps down Ghost Falls. I think everyone was both excited and terrified to be racing this course. Last year if you remember the rain postponed the event from the originally scheduled monday, memorial day to a mid-week wednesday night race. This year looked as if the same thing would happen. At 7am the emails started coming in saying the start times would be moved back an hour to let the course dry. This would have put the start time at 10am. As it got closer to 10am, it was decided that the course would have to be “modified” to protect the crown jewel trails of Clarks and Ghost Falls. This modification to most everyone was not well received as it was thought the new route would be “flat and boring”. The groups would also be split into 2 starting flights. The Sport/Beginners would go at 11:15 and the Expert/Pros would go at 1:00pm.

The new race route, as it turned out, was neither flat nor boring (1000 ft of vertical per lap and a screamer downhill). Skullcandy had some good representation at the event and would have even been stronger if the event would have started on time (a bunch of guys had Memorial Day plans with the family that trumped racing). All in all it was a great course and a ton of fun. Attached is a map of the route. Here are some of the results from the team.

9 & Under
Kassidy Johnson-14th

Sport 19-29
Adam Clark-10^th (first race ever and chose the optional lap with the Sport 30-34 group)

Sport 35-39
Robert Johnson-2^nd
Tyler Seamons-12^th (first race ever)

Single Speed
Sam Clark-3^rd

Bikes for Kids

Join Bikes for Kids on May 30 and
help give 1,000 bikes to 1,000 kids.
It's a feeling you'll never forget!

· Ride the 5K course with your family first (The kids
will love the police escort!)

· Then, ride the 50K course for all levels or a tough
100K course for experienced cyclists

· 50K and 100K rides include rest stops and breakfast

· Your participation helps purchase bikes for local kids

go here for more information or to sign up.
and benefits cycling safety and advocacy projects

Derek Leyde state championship crit report

I wish i had a picture of Mike Luper crossing the line after a perfectly timed sprint for the cat 5 win, but i was too busy cheering for him and forgot to try to snap a pic with my camera phone. Anyway, Congrats to Luper for a strong finish. He learned his lesson in some past races, held his position and attacked at exactly the right moment. Now if we can just get him to stay in town long enough to do some more races and get his upgrade!

In the cat 4 race Dave C. Erik M. and I rode hard, pushed the pace, chased down attacks, but none of us had much at the end, especially going against those stinking speedskaters with legs like tree trunks. lesson learned: keep the pace high to pop those guys off the back so they don't make it to the sprint.

The three of us then joined Seth for the 35+B race. Dave and Seth took up position near the front and held that for most of the race. I chased down a couple of attacks by spin, but ultimately it was hard to keep track of the lappers and the attackers. With about three laps to go there were two spin riders off the front. Dave and Seth had been driving the chase, so i went up and pulled for a lap to close the gap. Dave paced me to pull within reach of the two off the front without totally reeling them in. With two laps to go Dave drilled it, caught the two spin riders and crossed the line first pumping his fists in victory. It wasn't until seth told him we still had a lap to go that he realized he had miscounted. He had done his job, however, and set seth up in perfect position for the final lap. Seth came around the final corner and held onto Inacio's wheel for 2nd place.
Then we were told there were actually two riders up the road. We had lost track amidst all the lappers. Bummer! This is the 2nd time Seth thought he had a 2nd place finish only to be dropped to 4th (two guys snuck off the front last year at Lotoja, and we think, jumped in on other groups and finished ten minutes ahead of our main field—cheaters!) and the 3rd time he's been dropped in the final results. Last week at antelope island he went from 4th to 8th after they awarded Dave and his group of four 1-4 positions after a bum steer from the officials.

Now i know last week after Dave did a lap more than the rest of us and Seth polled "king or dunce"? i voted king. After his miscount this week, however, i have recanted my vote and now vote dunce. As Pasternaky aptly commented to me at DMV tonight, we need to get a team car and radios just to help DC keep track of where he is. Pay attention kids, too much home brew will rot your brain cells.

Womens Only Group Ride

Thursday 5/14 there will be a women's only group ride.

Meet at Revolution 6 pm. 

We will be heading towards Draper on 700 East.

It will be an easy pace.... NO DROP RIDE... approximately 1 1/2 hours long.
This is a great opportunity to meet other women in the area who ride.

Everyone is welcome....beginners to seasoned riders.  

This ride will be headed up by Melissa, the smiling face behind the counter at Revolution.

Antelope Island; An Epic Race of Adverse Conditions

The temperatures were in the 40's and it was raining and windy. Most people just wished they stayed in bed. I don't have final placings since they haven't posted them yet and it was too cold to stick around and wait for them at the finish.
I did see a couple guys get into the ambulance with hypothermia, but luckily no one from our team was hospitalized.
We had guys racing in a bunch of different groups from the 4's to the 5's (who had 2 groups) and the 35b's.
In different conditions that could be a fun course, but these conditions made it crazy. Potholes covered with water so you couldn't see them. The air was so salty that you could taste it and it felt like you were at the ocean. Maybe it was the water that was coming off the tire in front of me and into my mouth that i could taste.
I realize we live in a desert and we are in a drought, but having a Saturday race without rain could be nice.

Now to the poll of the week:
HERO OR DUNCE?
DC showed up to the start of the race complaining that he might have the swine flu and he wasn't feeling good and was probably going to pull out after a lap or 2.
The race started and within the first mile DC was off the front attacking. A couple team mates tried to stay with him but couldn't hold his wheel. They sat up and the group caught them. Within 45 seconds, DC and a few other guys attacked again. This time getting off and puting some time into the main group. They had a break established before the group was even off the causeway.
Now some history about DC. He is a highly educated man who has been successful in the business field. He is happily married to a beautiful woman with 2 kids. You would think he would be able to count to 3.
After coming off the causeway, he was supposed to do 3 laps and then turn right on the ranch road and go to the end then turn around and come back. This would put the race at around 37 miles, which is short of the 40 miles they claimed the race to be.
DC was in was the group off the front, so they got a motorcycle to lead them out. There were course marshals to help point the direction as well. After finishing their third lap, the motorcycle was leading them on another lap, when they got ready to turn, the course marshals told them not to turn and to do another loop.
The main group that was chasing, turned on the 3rd lap and now became the lead group. The 4 guys in DC's group now became the chase group doing and extra lap.
Do you disagree with course marshals and turn when you think you know you should, or do you follow what they are telling you to do?
DC followed what the marshals said to do and finished a few minutes after the leaders because they ended up doing an extra 4 miles.
In the end, the officials listened to their protest and rightfully moved them to placings 1-4 instead of in the 30's somewhere. They deserved it because they were definitely the strongest riders on the day.
After the race, i was standing as close as i could to DC, trying to catch some germs and even stole a drink from his waterbottle when he wasn't looking, hoping to catch whatever it is he thinks he has, because he rode like a man possessed. He is my hero, even if he can't count.

antelope island carpool

If you want to carpool to Antelope Island, meet at revolution at 5:50 am (leaving at 6:0 at the latest) to head up to the race. See you in the morning.