Bavarian Bike and Brew

For those who are unfamiliar with the Bavarian Bike and Brew in Leavenworth, WA, it is an event not to be missed.  The course serves a capillary-bursting climb followed by a brake-burning descent that racers complete one, two or three times, but their efforts are rewarded with an all-you-can-drink-for-fifteen-bucks beer festival, a chance to win passes to Stevens Pass (and other great prizes) in the raffle, live music and delicious food, all set at the picturesque Gibbs Organic Farm.  And heck, what other race includes a beer stein with your entry?  On top of all that, the race is situated just minutes from the tourist-luring bavarian-themed town of Leavenworth, which, by the way, is on the dry, sunny side of the mountains; we enjoyed 80 degree weather all weekend!

After surviving traffic and nearly leaving behind a phone, wallet, and suitcase, Rueben and his wife Jill, Derik, Michelle, Rachel, Nancy, Bernie, Jamey, Lee and I met for some pre-race beer at the new Icicle Brewery in Leavenworth.  Lee and his buddy Mike left to camp onsite, while the rest of us once again made our home the Reflections "Cabin," a huge vacation home riding distance from the race site that came equipped with a BBQ and kitchen which came in handy for breakfast the next morning.  After some pancakes and smoothies, we were off for a day of racing, beer drinking, and sunburns.

Erin on lap 2

Much as I love this event, the course has gotten the better of me for the last few years - in fact, I distinctly remember being near tears on my second lap last year - and this year wasn't shaping up to be much better.  I had come down with a cold three days before and knew that within minutes of the start, I would be a wheezing mucus-fest, which was pretty much true.  Remembering last year, I started mellow and paced myself up the road climb and into the singletrack.  I slowly caught up to two other ladies on the four mile leg sapping climb, and then the payoff; four miles of nothin-but-downhill.  The downhill is screaming fast and nearly always causes a broken collarbone, concussion, or separated shoulder to a racer or three, so I was cautious; unfortunately, my caution cost me some time and one of the girls I passed on the climb passed me back on the descent.  After fifteen minutes of downhill bliss, I settled in to another forty of minutes of climbing torture.   Near the top of the climb on my second lap, I looked back and saw Rachel had nearly caught up to me.  Rachel has bested me on this course every other year, but this year, I was determined not to let her beat me again.  The climbing was my opportunity to stay ahead of her, as she had been ripping it up on DH and SD courses all spring, but I was set.  I opened it up and let it rip for my second lap, and was able to stay ahead of her all the way to the finish line AND shave 11 minutes off my time from last year.  Nothing like a little teammate competition!  Unfortunately, I still occupied the second-to-last spot in my age category.  Next year!!!

Derik: 2nd Place Expert Men 35-44

Other GL6ers ROCKED THE HOUSE!!  Both Derik and Rueben earned a spot on the podium, each taking 2nd place in two very competitive categories!  And, both Lee and Nancy scored some Steven's Pass weekend passes in the raffle!  We got our money's worth out of the beer garden, then rode back to the cabin and made use of the BBQ.  I can't wait for next year!!  Definitely one of the best bike events of the season!

Rueben: 2nd Place Sport Men 19-34

Results
Expert Men 35-44
Derik Archibald, 2nd
Lee Peterson, 17th

Expert Men 45+
Bernie Miller, 15th

Open Women 35-44
Michelle Kautzmann, DNF

Sport Men 19-34
Reuben Andrews, 2nd

Sport Women 19-34
Erin Roe, 7th

Sport Women 35+
Rachel Delateur, 7th

Sport Singlespeed
Jamey Poelker, 5th

Jamey singlespeeds it up the road climb

24 Hours of Spokane

Team Shredded Bits and the Funky Junk: 3rd Place!

For the 2011 Round and Round 24hr mountain bike race in Spokane, we combined a team of Green Line 6 and Olympia Orthopaedic racers to form The Shredded Bits and the Funky Junk racing in the 5 Person Co-Ed Category.  Team members were Derik Archibald (GL6), Michelle Kautzmann (GL6), Ann Mitchell (OOA), Brian Koder (OOA) and Brian Mitchell (GL6), we also had two awesome support people, Camp Bitch Karen Kimmel and Camp Bitch's Bitch Camille Terhune (Camp Bitch is what they called themselves, they even had embroidered aprons).  Our goal was to go out and have a great time camping and racing and that is what we did.

We determined that Derik would take the first lap which consisted of a 3/4 mile Le Mans run to help thin out the 200+ rider field.  The course was dry and fast and each lap was approximately 15 miles.  At noon the anticipation was shattered by a loud gun blast and the race was on!  Derik set the tone for our team by riding a smoking fast 57 min first lap including the run and putting us in 1st place!  Michelle took the second lap completing it in just over 1 hour, next was Brian Koder coming in at 57 min, Ann in an hour and 7 minutes and finally I got to race coming in at 1hr 4min.  This was a theme we would carry out for the next 20 hours, one fast lap after another.

The team was exceptional, we didn't have any flats or mechanicals and everyone stayed healthy.  There were a few hard crashes, lots of bumps and bruises, some failing light systems and a great deal of pain dished out over 24 hours but our team stayed the course and fought on.  At the conclusion of each lap we were met by a Camp Bitch holding a frosty beverage, for some it was Recoverite, for others it was beer or a bottle of booze. Back at camp there was always a hot meal waiting for the rider coming off a lap and lots of support and encouragement from the team.  We could not have raced as hard without our amazing support team.

In the middle of the night we were in second place in a hard fought battle for the top four spots.  We went back and fourth from second to fourth place through the night laps and into the next morning.  When the dust settled at noon on Sunday we were on the podium in 3rd place out of 16 teams, the top three places were separated by minutes after 24hrs of racing.  All three teams on the podium completed 23 laps in 24hrs.  Shredded Bits and the Funky Junk covered 338.1 miles at an average speed of 13.7 miles per hour!

It was a special event for me, we had an amazing team with an amazing support crew.  I feel honored to have raced as part of the Shredded Bits and the Funky Junk this year.  Everyone poured out everything they had on each lap, there was a lot of pain and a lot of fatigue but also a lot of fun. 

I saw two other GL6 racers in Spokane, Henry Gertje who was smoking fast putting in sub hour lap times and racing in a different category then me and Luke Brechwald who was camping with us and racing solo.  Great job to those guys who represented the team very well.

24hr racing is a very different experience, it is very difficult and painful but also very addicting.  For me, while racing, I cant stop thinking about how I never want to do this again but then when it ends I cant wait for another 24hr event.  Lee Peterson, Erin Roe and I will be representing GL6 in the 24hrs of Bend in September and yes, I can't wait.

-Brian