Capitol Forest 50/100

An endurance race in Capitol Forest, or in Washington for that matter, was a long time coming. Every year there was grumbling, but no one was willing or able tostep up and put it on. Then, like genies from the endurance-race bottle, Roger Michel and 4th Dimension Racing appeared to grant the wishes of so many sadistic mountain bikers. Those wishes were granted and then some. The course was well marked, aid stations were appropriately place and stocked with Clif gels, blocks and bars, FRS energy, Nuun and many other goodies to keep the bonks at bay. The swag and raffle prizes were plentiful, and the course itself was sweeeeet. Not only did Roger promote and organize the event, but he came out to several FOCF work parties to get the trails in shape, andbrushed nearly 40 miles of trail by himself in the week leading up the the event.

Matt, Henry and the other 100 mile racers started off from Mima Falls campground at 6:30am, while Erin, Derek, Jim, FOCF regular Darin and the 50 mile racers started at 8:30. After the Lemans start, the course followed Mima Porter 8, which started off with some fast rolling terrain that progressed to a steady climb up through an old clearcut and into the forest above. The climb ended with a quick fast descent into Lost Valley. This section of trail, known by the locals as "the valley of death," is notoriously muddy, rooty, a real energy sponge. Thankfully, we were descending through the worst of it! Aid station #1 was

at Fall Creek, about 13 miles into the race. After refueling with FRS drink and come Clif shots, the course climbed up out of Fall Creek and continued to gain elevation all the way to aid station #2 at Wedekind, about 21 miles into the race. From here, the course followed a short section of doubletrack, then picked up MP8 once again for one of the most flowy descents into the forest. The silky smooth rail is scantly wider than my front tire and flies through the trees and lush green undergrowth; the only time the brakes were needed was to get around a couple switchbacks. Near the bottom the course began rolling and dumped out on C-1000 road, which racers were supposed to climb all the way back to the Wedekind aid station. The climb was steep but thankfully not a classic CF gravel road puker like the C-7000 or C-8200. Back at aid #2, I thought that the course would hop on the Crestline trail with it's techni

cal climbs and rock gardens, but no, we were supposed to keep climbing the road all the way the base of the peak, where the course would hop on the Green Line Six, FOCF's pride and joy and our namesake. But riding the road all the way there? Ugh. That road ride saved some energy, but it was tedious and never-ending. Finally racers reached GL6, which was in prime shape. The corners that were dusty and dangerous during the CF Classic were tacky and perfect; I literally forgot that I has been riding for 45 miles when riding down 6! After reaching the Fall Creek aid station once more, the course stayed on GL6, climbing for 2

miles and then descending nearly all the way back to the start/finish/lap transition at Mima Falls, mile 50. The 100 mile racers would turn around and to the entire loop again. I stoked to have finished the race and felt pretty good, but there's no way I would have been able to turn around and do it again.

This was my first endurance race, so my only goal was to earn that finisher pint glass. On top of accomplishing this goal, I also walked away with 2nd place in the Women's division! Matt rocked the course and got 2nd in the 100 mile Men's Single

speed. This was an awesome event and I really hope Roger and 4th Dimension will put it on again next year. I didn't realize how much I had been looking forward to this event until it wasn't there to look forward to anymore.

Results

Open Men 50 miler

Jim Graham, 17th, 21st overall (5:16)

Derik Archibald, 51st overall (6:16)

Open Women 50 miler

Erin Roe, 2nd, 71st overall (6:53)

Open Singlespeed, 100 miler

Matt Jagger, 2nd, 10th overall (10:49)

Masters Men 45+

Henry Gertje, 16th overall(11:56)

Oregon Super D Series: Oakridge and Sandy Ridge

Oregon Super D Series stop #2 Oakridge, OR 8.29.10 The Oakridge course is the longest super d race in the country. 14 miles long with 4700' of descending and 900' of climbing. Rachel, The Jagger's and The Graham's got down to Oakridge on Thursday. We took a couple runs Friday, rested Saturday and raced Sunday. Matt landed in second CAT 1 19-39, Rachel got fourth in CAT 2 Open, and I placed third in CAT 2 19-39. The Oakridge course is epic by super d standards. It is absolutely huge. The descents last forever. I actually looked forward to the climbs so I could recover. Hopefully the OSS will stop there again next year. If not, I'm glad I was able to have raced there. Oregon Super D Series stop #3, Series Final Sandy, OR 9.5.10 Trey, Jamey, Theresa(team support), Matt, Matthieu, Rachel and I attended the series final in Sandy. The course is on some very well built use specific(MTB!!) trails on BLM land just outside of town. The course was 6 miles long with a couple thousand feet of descending and a few hundred feet of climbing. Very similliar to the GL6 course as far as the numbers look. The course was a surprising mix of many NW mtb elements. It was a mini version of A Line, The North Shore and Capitol Forest all in one. Dropping in from the top(literally) you went through a section of perfect berms and mini table tops, followed by a little climb and then a section of fast North Shore BC-ish rocks and roots followed by another little climb and then you are dumped out at the bottom into bermy, flowy clay bliss. Aaaahhhhhhhh. The conditions were greasy and a little sketchy from the rain the night before, but we all raced the same trail under the same conditions so no whining. A massive amount of schwag went away with the GLSIXER'S between the podium prizes and raffle. In fact, it was almost eerie the amount of stuff we all seemed to keep winning. Lucky day I guess. Props to the promoter for putting in the time to round up good sponsors and schwag galore. Super D racing is really starting to thrive in the NW. It's amazing how many SD races there are now in the NW. It's great. It's actually more than great, it may be a Christmas miracle. Santa did get my letters! Super D is a newer discipline in the world of mtb racing, and it is certainly the most inclusive. There really is no way to take sides in it. If you come from XC racing, downhill or trail riding you have any equally good chance of doing well. And you are garunteed to have a good time. This is the first year of the Oregon Super D series. I was grateful to have had the time to participate in all three events. They are on to something, and they did a fantastic job. We are lucky to have this opportunity to race in what truely is the best super d series in the US right now. There is talk of expansion of the series next year too, and if you aren't there you are missing out. -JimEG Sandy Results Matt CAT 1 19-39 2nd Trey CAT1 over 40 4th Jim CAT 2 19-39 2nd Jamey CAT 2 19-39 4th Rachel CAT 2 ? Series Overall Matt CAT1 19-39 2nd Jim CAT2 19-39 2nd Rachel CAT2 Open 2nd

CAPITOL FOREST CLASSIC!!

The Capitol Forest Classic was only the best race weekend of the season. I'm biased, you say?Okay, let's look at the facts: two days of racing, free onsite camping, a delicious BBQ included in the race entry, a raffle that included a car stereo and $2000 gift cert for a new bike both days, accurate timing by a crew of well-organized volunteers, fabulous weather, a Super D and XC course that served up some of the best singletrack the NW has to offer, maintained by the one of the hardest working (and definitely the most kick-ass) trail crews in Washington, Friends of Capitol Forest. Try and beat that. Just try. That's what I thought. You can't.

Day 1: Super D

This course went down our namesake trail, Green Line 6, and anyone who raced could probably see why we named our team after this trail. A mix of tight switchbacks, swooping berms, flowy singletrack, roots, rocks, and even some small features, this trail has it all. Recent logging made conditions extra dusty and dry; the loose corners in the fresh clearcut caused even the pros to hit the brakes and proceed with caution. This didn't stop GL6 racer Matt Jagger from getting a smokin fast time of 20:21, winning the Open Men's category and coming within a minute of Nathan Riddle's sub-20 minute course record. Unfortunately, there was also some carnage on th

e course. Two people took a trip to the emergency room with injuries, one of them being GL6 ripper Kerry Tarullo. Kerry broke her collarbone and now has a steel plate and a number of pins in it, courtesy of Green Line six (the trail, not the

team.) On the bright side, her recovery is going well and hopefully she can get back on the bike soon!

Super D results:

Open Men:

Matt Jagger, 1st

Luke Brechwald, 4th

Derik Archibald, 5th

Kyle Curtin, 6th

Open Women

Michelle Kautzmann, 2nd

Expert Men 36+

Bernie Miller, 2nd

Henry Gertje, 7th

Glenn Graham, 8th

Lee Peterson, DNF (mechanical)

Expert Women

Rachel Delateur, 3rd

Sport Men 36+

John Curtin, 4th

Sport Women

19-34

Courtney Anderson, 1st

Erin Roe, 6th

Kerry Tarullo, DNF (injury)

Day 2: XC

FOCF has had a problem with rain in the past. In fact, the sloppy conditions of the 2008 XC race are near legendary. Not this year. But the cunning weather gods were just as punishing; instead of rain, we got heat. 97 degrees of heat. On a course with 2,500-4,000 ft of climbing, that's like twisting on a rotisserie in hell's BBQ. Many a strong racer was brought to their knees, or rather, their granny gear. Where Saturday's Super D saw broken shoulder sockets and collarbones, Sunday's carnage came in the form of cramping, vomit, and DNFs. The XC course started out with a fast rolling warm up, then began climbing through clearcuts on trail 8, which was like pedaling through an oven. However, once the trail entered back into the forest, the heat became more manageable. After reaching Wedekind, racers went across the "Crestline" trail, which served up some technical uphill sections which were hike-a-bikes for most. Racers were rewarded with a run down the Super D course from Saturday. Sport racers were done after reaching Fall Creek (16 miles), but the Expert/Open racers had to turn around and complete another 10 mile loop, which meant one more climb up though the clearcuts on 8. Despite the heat, GL6 had another excellent showing, Michelle earning 2nd in Open Women, and Erin and Courtney crowding the Sport Women 19-34 podium in 2nd and 3rd place. This was also Kyle's first XC race in the Open category. Although he had some incredibly bad luck with mechanicals, suffering both a broken chain and a flat tire, he and his bike still managed to finish the race!

XC Results:

Open Men

Matt Jagger, 6th

Luke Brechwald, 11th

Kyle Curtin, 12th

Bernie Miller, DNF

Open Women

Michelle Kautzmann, 2nd

Expert Men 36+

Henry Gertje, 8th

Expert Women Singlespeed

Erica Keller, 1st

Sport Men 36+

John Curtin, 13th

Sport Women 19-35

Erin Roe, 2nd

Courtney Anderson, 3rd