Crankworx, Whistler B.C.

I made the trip up to Whistler, BC for the biggest mountain bike festival in the world (Crankworx). It's really cool to see all the pros and freeriders that we watch on DVD and ride the most baddass trails. Everytime I go Whistler my riding skills progress exponentially. All the manufacturers are there with their 2011 bikes and components. SRAM and FOX set up service tents to work on forks for all the racers. The food and hotels are great. The atmosphere is buzzing with mountain bike goodness. I raced the Garbonzo DH. It's the longest DH race in the world. The upper section is super gnarly, rocky and rooty with some really big rock drops. It had rained the day and night before the race. Adding to the challenge. I crashed OTB near the end of the upper section. No injuries or mechanicals though. I finished without further incident. What an awesome race! I'm definitely doing it again next year. I also raced the A-line Big Air DH race which included over 40 jumps and berms. It's a super fast and flowy trail which requires racers to "squash" and/or "scrub" the jumps to maintain speed and not over shoot the jumps. Easier said than done for me. I flat landed some of the bigger jumps (scary). On the way back to the US we stopped and rode some of the "Northshore" trails on Mt.Seymour. One word IMPRESSIVE. The amount of work that

goes into these trails is amazing with all the rock armouring and ladder bridges. I'll be back for more!

-Trey

Results: Trey - Garbonzo DH MASTER MEN 30+ (38th PLACE out of 67 riders) 17min.56sec.

A-Line Big Air DH MASTER MEN 30+ (28th PLACE out of 46 riders) 5min.2sec.

NW Cup Finals: Port Angeles, WA

We had 3 GL6'ers show up to race the final Northwest Cup DH race in Port Angeles, WA on July 24-25th.

Rachel, Edward & Dani, and I (Trey). The weather was dry and hot! Riding in the back of a U-haul truck

for shuttling riders to the trailhead was like being inside a pressure cooker with a bunch of brussel sprouts.

Funky! Racing went off with out a hitch. This year at the DH race series has been good with hot food served

throughout the day with a spaghetti dinner following practice on Sat. One of the best things about racing the

NW Cup series is the instant race times posted on a flat screen for all to see with rider ranking too! The

campground we all stayed at would have been great if not for the younger crowd that partied till 2am. I

only raced 2 out of 4 races in the series this year but it has been great to ride a different trail each time.

Variety is good.

-Trey

Results: Trey - CAT 2 MEN 40-49 (3RD PLACE).

Rachel - CAT 2 WOMEN OPEN (10TH PLACE).

Edward - CAT3 MEN 19-39 (3RD PLACE).

Dani - CAT3 WOMEN (4TH PLACE).

Olympia Traverse

This year was the first ever Olympia Traverse, sister race to the Bellingham Traverse, a four-part relay race from Middle Waddell Day Use area to the Fishbowl Brewpub in downtown Olympia. The race was intended mimic the journey of salmon and the proceeds of the race went toward local conservation groups (and FOCF!!) GL6 racing showed up in force; the Middle Waddell starting line was splattered with bright green jerseys. We had a four person team (Natalie, Theresa, Mike C., and Dave S.) a two person team (Courtney and Erin) and two solo racers (Jamey and Kyle) representing GL6 and FOCF.

The race kicked off with a quick 3.5 mile run that looped up Waddell

Creek Road and then back on the Mt. Molly trails. Kyle was the first FOCF/GL6er to finish the run, with a time of 26:46. He quickly transitioned to his On One singlespeed and was off to do the mountain bike leg. Courtney was next out of the forest at 28:15, with Jamey and Natty close behind at 28:30 and 28:47.

I got on my mountain bike and sped out of the parking lot and down the road

to the Margaret McKinney TH. The course was dry, rolling and fast, a course FOCF/GL6 teams knew well. I passed several people in the first two miles of the 10 mile course, but my only goal (other than to ride as fast as I could) was to not let anyone besides Jamey pass me, which I was able to do! After passing that first group and inevitably being passed by Jamey, I was on my own for the rest of the race. Kyle kept the top FOCF/GL6 spot, finishing the course in 48:29 but by this time Jamey gained on him, finishing in 49:00. I was next across the line at 53:00 and Theresa came in at 57:13.

Next up was the road bike leg, which proved to be the great equalizer for the FOCF/GL6 teams. Kyle struggled a bit on this leg, already two legs in and pedaling an old road bike with downtube shifters, finishing the 25 mile road bike course in 1:20. Courtney held strong for her second leg of the race and finished with a time of 1:15. Meanwhile, Mike C., rocketed ahead and was the second FOCF/GL6er to finish, with a smoking fast time of 1:09, and Jamey, coming in at 1:08, was the first into a kayak for the final leg of the course. What this looked like at the road bike finish/kayak transition was three FOCF/GL6ers starting the kayak leg together.

I was the last to get in the water, but David and Kyle were just a minute or two ahead of me and I had the advantage of a better boat and previous paddling experience. I quickly passed Kyle and Dave and was determined to leave them behind me. Nothing like some friendly competition between team members =) David kept close to the stern of my boat for awhile, but as soon as I was out of the Budd Bay crossing (and current!) I was able to pull away from him and glide into Swantown Marina with a time of 42:00, where Courtney was waiting to make the final trek to the finish line at the Fishbowl Brewpub. David finished behind me at 47:15, followed by Kyle at 51:15. Jamey was already waiting, having a head start on us and finishing in a time 46:45. I relished this one and only moment where I was actually faster than Jamey and Kyle since they smoke me regularly on the bike.

The last leg of the race was the "trek" from Swantown Marina to the Fishbowl Brewpub downtown, where all team members finish together. Our participation prize for this event was a free beer in the BBQ/beer garden that was set up at the finish line. Great event, with a reasonable turn out and a fun course. I'm hoping it returns for next year!

Indie Series Final: Padden Mountain Pedal

The 18th Annual Padden Mountain Pedal marked the end of the 2010 Indie Series, which was only four races this year. Theresa, Erin, John and Kyle made the trip to Bellingham for the last race, where Theresa, Kyle, and Erin were in the running for an overall series podium (although mine was little more than a participation award for showing up at all the races.) Morning clouds quickly dissipated and by the time the beginners started their race, the mid-July sun was in full effect.

The course remained unchanged from previous years (I'm hoping for it to move to Galbraith at some point) which mean multiple laps on a short, technically challenging course. I prefer long laps or no repeated trail at all, so this course was not one of my personal favorites. I didn't pre-ride, so I relied on my recollection of the race last year to guide me. I remembered that the climbing wasn't significant but the technical challenge was, so I hammered the first climb right out of the gate and tried to stay on the wheel of the woman in front of me. By the time I reached the intersection where the beginner course branched off the from the sport/expert course, just shy of a mile into the race, I was wheezing and drenched in sweat. As the woman in my sight slowly pulled away, I realized my mistake; last year I did the beginner course, so I remembered less climbing and spent all my energy too quickly. Trying to keep my frustration at bay, I reached the top with another woman on my back wheel and started down the switchback-laden downhill. This was no time to relax, however; this downhill kept racers on their game. Fast sections abruptly ended in sharp turns, huge roots or quick hills that caught riders in the wrong gear.

Below the intersection where the lower trail reconnected with the upper loop, the trail became more technical with steep dusty chutes, a root drop and sketchy line choices. Thankfully, I lost the woman on my wheel in this section, and as the trail flattened out and began climbing again, I saw that I had gained some ground and caught up to the woman ahead of me. The last section included two technical climbs that required me to get off my bike and run up, and another fun downhill section that swooped down into the lap transition. I was budgeted my energy better for the climb on my second lap, but this time the woman behind me caught me right below the top, though I passed right by her on the downhill section again. By this time, the open/expert racers had started. It was cool to see them ride the steep technical climb section that I had to run up. Unfortunately, my nemesis caught me again early during the climb on the final lap and I couldn't reel her in on the downhill, though I came close to catching her in the finish chute. Thankfully for me, she wasn't even in my age category! This race wasn't timed, but even though I finished 3rd in my category (out of 3) I finished within a minute or two of the other female contenders.

There were a couple hours of down time between the race finish and the awards ceremony/raffle, so we enjoyed delicious food from a taco truck that was at the race and promoted our upcoming event, the Capitol Forest Classic (August 14-15!!!) People showed a lot of interest, which was exciting. Theresa also did some networking with a local screen printing company Liet Industries, which did T-shirts for the Indie Series, and ended up getting them to print up some FOCF shirts for our event!! Next up is the best mountain bike race event of the summer, the Capitol Forest Classic!

Results

Beginner Women

Theresa Nation, 4th; 2nd Series Overall

Sport Women 19-39

Erin Roe, 3rd; 3rd Series Overall

Sport Men 45+

John Curtin, 16th; 12th Series Overall

Expert U-18

Kyle Curtin, 1st; 1st Series Overall