Stage 3 - Wy' East Road Race

Epic and Brutal are the first words that come to my mind when I think back on today's queen stage. Course preview: After 5 miles of descending the riders encounter the 7 mile, 1st Category FS 44 Rd climb that will take the riders across the cascade range into the arid farmlands of Dufur. After 15 miles of descending we reach Dufur and are faced with an immediate 1 mile climb then a short rest, then onto another 2 mile climb before a wicked fast 6 mile descent. From there the road gradually stair steps it's way to the heavens with 35 miles of ascending, finishing with a solid 6 miles of 8-10% brutality.


62 Cat 3's started at 10:40 with all of the original Team Cucina Fresca riders still intact. Michael Black hit a pothole only a mile into the race and flatted gifting him with a rough day alone after not being able to catch back onto the now going 50 mph blistering speed of the peloton. 1 against 60 isn't good odds.

Once onto the first climb of the day, Ryan Mongan set the tempo at the front of the group for the first 5 miles, indicating that he had recovered well from his stage 1 foot injury. During the climb, 2 riders attacked and stayed 2 minutes up the road for 30 miles, but soon after the climb into Dufur, they were caught. In between the two Dufur climbs the group decided to stop and take a "Peloton pee." Nothing feels more pro than stopping mid way into a race to pee as a groupetto on the side of the road. Once relieved, we soon encountered the second and harder of the Dufur climbs that absolutely SHATTERED the main field. At the top, there was only 20 riders left, but during the long descent about 20 more people caught their way back on.

The big climb out of Dufur split the field in half

2 miles into the 35 miles of climbing left in the day a group of 3 riders attacked and at one point put 4 minutes between themselves and the peloton.

Where the race really exploded was at mile 72 (out of 92). The leader of the race attacked and caused a big response from all of the GC contenders, just like in the Tour. After 3 solid miles of going 20 mph uphill it was down to the real strong men of the race: just 13 of us (plus 3 still up the road). I was the only cucina rider that made the split. Luckily I had previously downed some granola and a GU gel and could feel the imminent attack coming and was able to be in a position to respond. It was nonstop full throttle all the way to the finish line and where I least needed it.

With 6 miles to go we caught 2 of the 3 riders up the road, but unfortunately we didn't slow down at all. Into the last section up to Mt. Hood Meadows Ski Resort it was down to 11 now and was falling apart quickly. 2 miles to go and it completely falls apart from the constant, leg crushing attacks. With 1 mile to go, about 15 seconds separated each remaining rider. I was in 12th, but was gaining on the yellow jersey. I caught and passed him and was now looking for my next kill, but at this point there was no point, because there was just nothing left in the tank. after 10,000 feet of climbing, my usual nimbleness on the climbs had faded completely and I was happy to hang on for 11th, 2 minutes behind the winner. 8th place overall, 3:20 down from the leader.

Matt and Andy strolled in together 7:35 back, with Michael and Ryan coming in after that. Matt is now 15th overall, and Andy in 26th.

The Cat 4 race featured some excellent riding as well, with Patrick coming in 13th on the day, moving him into 10th overall.

All in all a great day of suffering. I don't want to climb hills at that speed for a while. My legs hurt.

35 minute Criterium tomorrow around the streets of Hood River. Don't let the distance fool you, it's sure to be FAST, with average speeds likely around 25-26 mph.

Later,

- Derek

Back end of the Cat 4 men. Nothing is more pro than having your own race doctor on hand

Matt and Andy finishing strong

Ryan at the finish

Something like that.....

Stage 2 - Scenic Gorge Time Trial

Day 2 of the Mt. Hood classic featured an 18.5 mile time trial along the Columbia River Gorge with a ridiculous headwind, completely opposite from last year's tailwind. The field headed out in 30 second intervals starting at 12:30 in reverse general classification order, (first place went last).



The course starts with 5 miles of nice flat road leading up to the big 2 mile twisty climb that averages at around 5%. Once over the top begins the serious wind that is strong enough to knock you all over the road. Riders will now begin a 1/2 mile descent right into another 1/4 mile climb. Then follows a 5 mile downhill section that is not nearly steep enough into the little town of Mosier. Into Mosier the riders switch from the road to a bike trail and encouter a power draining 1 mile climb. The final 3 miles of the race twist and roll along, until they finish back into the town of Hood River. Totaling 18.5 miles with just under 2000 ft of climbing, which is a lot for a time trial.

The best time of the day was set by Matt Heck of the 3's, who screamed his way into 2nd place with a 49:05: an average speed of 22.6 mph, and also went from 29th in the GC to 3rd, just 1:20 down from the leader!!! Matt also caught and passed 10 people!! Derek Titus placed 15th with a 51:24, and moved up from 12th overall to 9th in GC, 2:53 back. He "only" passed 4 people. Cucina Fresca is in great position for some good results this year. (On the average speed, last years winner in the Cat 3's averaged 26 mph, and it's not slower riders this year, it was that dang 30 mph headwind.)

In the 4's Tim Kibler slotted into 9th place on the day with a 55:36 with Patrick Dean not too far behind in 11th with a 55:57.

In the pro's, the winner blazed in with a 42.44, averaging 26 mph. Matt Heck's nearly winning time would have gotten him 65th place out of 106 people in the pro race.

All in all a great day of suffering against the clock. We're all anxiously/nervously awaiting tomorrow's queen stage, which features 92 miles of racing with 10,500 ft of elevation gain. The race is FAR from over. Time to eat some more pasta and whip out the massage oil.

Matt Heck

Derek Titus


Tim Kibler

Cooper Spur Pain Cave.

Pain. It's what we are all here for. In large doses.

Large doses are what the Cat 4's received during the Cooper Spur Circuit Race.

With the climbing beginning about 3K from the start, the usual surging began in spurts and by the time the group hit the final 5K of the climb on the first lap, it began to come unglued. Patrick Dean and Jeff Spaulding remained at the front as Matt, Tim and I began to float backwards. Kibbler and myself joined up with a chase group on the descent and had the peleton within striking distance, but we made a group arrangement to keep it steady as the second lap of climbing was to begin shortly. At this point, Spaulding jumped on a move that took ten riders of the front as Patrick stayed in the splintered pack with Tim and I just down the road and Matt right behind us.

As we made the turn onto the second climb with our group about to make a bid to make contact with the peleton, I heard my seatpost/seat clamp bolt make a horrific noise as my saddle slid to a 45 degree position...nose up. That was how I rode the second lap...all 18 miles of it. AT the top of the climb, I borrowed a 6mm wrench from a spectator and fixed my issue. However, the issue of my legs not having anything and me still feeling like they stuck me on that machine in the 'Princess Bride' that sucks years of your life away after the 24 hour race two weeks ago was not so easily fixed. Tim waited for me to catch back on and we rode the descent together again, picking up a few riders. As we made the turn for the last 15k climb, the weather turned evil and a head wind hit me in the chest like a sledgehammer. Rain and hail beat on us the whole way up the last ascent.Tim felt good and was climbing well, so up the road he went and I opted to pull the chute and save it for the TT, 90 mile RR and crit.

Up the road, Jeff's group stayed away and he pip'ed some guys in the break at the line for a stellar 2nd Place. Patrick rolled across as the next CF'er in the main group as Tim, Matt and myself tricked in with bigger time gaps.

I promptly drank 17 gallons of cane sugar soda. We all headed to Partick, Jeff, Tim and Andy's condo to face some Cucina Fresca Pasta. We touched each other with electric back massagers that I'm certain were meant for another purpose (Yes, I've seen the Sex in the City episode). Derek, Blackness and I rolled to the race HQ to check TT start times for the next day and I was given the ominous start time of 13:13. Lucky, huh?

DiRtY. Out.

Stage 1 - Cooper Spur Circuit Race

Everyone has arrived and is ready to roll for this year's Mt. Hood Classic. Our team line up goes:

Category 3: Derek Titus (me), Matt Heck, Michael Black, Ryan Mongan and Andy James.
Category 4: Ian "DiRtY" Mullins, Patrick Dean, Tim Kibler and Matt Stanigar.

Today's stage was set out to be 47 miles with 5100 feet of elevation gain, rolling out from Toll Bridge park and climbing 15 kilometers up to the Cooper Spur Ski Resort with a hill top finish followed by a long twisty descent back into the orchards to do it all again 3 times. 3 ascents, 2 descents. The stage profile resembeling a triangle.

72 Cat 3 men rolled out at 2:05 into a 2 mile neutral roll out to hwy 30 to begin the long drag up to Cooper Spur. The race featured only a few attacks, however the speeds were fast. The great thing about Mt. Hood is that it's a race of attrition, not a race of tactics. It's about survival, not playing the breakaway game. The field gets widdled down mile by mile.

Matt Heck was holding good position up at the front the entire race, while me and Andy were chillin towards the back. The first 2 times up the climb featured nothing exciting as far as attacks or crashes, but it was hot (85 degrees) and fast.

At the base of the climb for the final time, ominous clouds loomed in the distance. Thundershowers were forecasted, but the start had high temps and blue skies. With 5 miles of climbing left the wind picked up and it began to rain (some of the california guys were whining about it, but I couldn't be happier).

With 2 1/2 miles to go the peloton took the right hander off of the highway and onto the Cooper Spur road (the steeper part of the climb, 6-8%). A few riders attacked while I chased hard to close their gap with a few other non-contributing riders in my slipstream. I never did catch them, which is impressive because I was hauling up that mountain at 17 mph!!! I got counter attacked by a few people that were sitting in my slipstream with 1 kilometer to go, but I still hung on to finish at the back of 5 riders for 12th place, 20 seconds behind the front group. Matt Heck finished notably as well, 1:20 down in the General Classification. And Andy James some 2 minutes down.

Time to eat a truck load of cucina fresca pasta and recover for tomorrow's 18.5 mile grueling Time Trial featuring 2000 feet of climbing and a gnarly headwind. It truly will be the race of truth.

Thanks to Beki and Gaylord Waisath for providing the pictures. We'll try to get a few on here, until then you can view them at http://www.teampics.smugmug.com/gallery/8445374_hup27#555088408_KFAo2

- Derek

And now to DiRtY to recap the 4's pain.....

Mt. Hood 2009 Is Here!!

Everyone is here and ready to roll for stage 1 of the Mt. Hood Cycling Classic. 47 miles, 5100 feet of elevation gain and overcast skies (YES!!!!). More to come as the day rolls on.

Stage 6 - Enter the Critasm!

Stage 6 - Location: Downtown Hood River in front of the Full Sail Brewery

Course: 6 Corner Technical Criterium

Race Time: 45 minutes of HE double Hockey Sticks

It was our last day in da Hood and everyone was looking forward to finishing up a very tough race. We had a great time suffering together over the past 3 days, building a bond between teammates that only a trip down to meet Lucifer himself can build but now was the time to finish strong. Criteriums are short races and that usually means going very fast from the starting gun and drilling it until the end. The courses are usually pretty flat so even the big guys can actually have some fun in these races. Our goal for the day, get as many Killer Tomatoes across the line as possible and try to get J-Dub in line to get a shot at the win. The morning started out as usual. We enjoyed our normal big country breakfast and coffee except for Patrick who continued with his traditional 40 lb sack of oatmeal and fresh fruit. After breakfast we began packing our bags, cleaning up the house and loading our cars. We finished around 10:30 and headed downtown to get a parking spot and to start our warmups. The weather forecast called for a cooler day but it was hard to tell from where we were. What we did notice was the wind was starting to pick up from the west which would make the sprint to the finish a climb into a headwind...hmmmm...yeah...sounds like a blast. Jeff Spaulding was the first of the tomatoes to go off as our lone representive in the masters race. He looked pretty strong, hanging in a tough race before getting gapped within the last few laps. Determined to hang in there, he kept going only to be pulled by the officials on the last lap (why we have no clue). Meanwhile, the remainder of the 2/3 squad that included J-dub, Travis, Derek and Michael were out getting warmed up. After the masters race, the 2/3's headed out onto the course to get a couple of laps in before the race. While the course is closed to traffic and is very nice in regards to pavement quality, the technical aspects of this course are pretty tough. Corner 2 is a down hill, off camber, 180 degree hairpin that almost always sees people crash and today would prove that things wouldn't change. Back to the start. The officials decided that since there was a gap in the abilities between the 2's and 3's, they decided they would line up the 2's in front of the 3's in order to avoid any early pileups as the stronger riders moved forward. This also gave the 2's an incentive to drill it from the very beginning in order to drop the weaker riders and have them pulled. This left the tomatoes split up, with J and Travis up front and Michael and Derek in the back. As soon as the starting gun went off, it was apparent that the officials plan to thin the pack was working. Within 5 laps, close to half of the pack was getting pulled from the course. J-dub was in good position toward the front and Travis in the middle and Michael and Derek were bringing up the back. Around 30 minutes into the race, Travis started to move forward in the pack, determined to give take his one shot for J on the back stretch of the last couple laps. Michael and Derek got gapped and were soon pulled. Inside of 10 laps, Travis was about mid-pack when the big crash happened in turn 2 taking him out before he could make it up to J. All those in the crash were pulled from the course which left a pack of about 25 people out of 100 starters. Last lap, Jason comes around Corner 6 about 5th wheel and holds his spot for a 5th place overall and 3rd place in the Cat 2's for the day! After the race it was off to Dirty and Michaels hotel room for showers before enjoying a big honkin burger and a couple of pints at the Full Sail Brewery. After that, it was in the car to head back to Seattle.

Well that's a wrap for another year in da Hood. We want to thank everyone that worked very hard supporting us this year.

1. Ian "Big Dirty" Mullins for your job as our race director and soigner

2. Beki Waisath for documenting all of our races with your awesome photography skills

3. Brad at Cucina Fresca for your sponsorship and support. By the way...your expermental Mac and Cheese is off the hook!

4. Bryne and Michael for donating your car as the team car complete with signs...very cool!

5. To the rest of the team that sent us your words of encouragement and support throughout the race!

Till Next Year!

Stage 5 - Killer Tomatoes get a lesson

The day started off as any other day here. People quietly start meandering into the kitchen around 7:00 in the morning, coffee is made, breakfast is started, a truck pulls up to deliver Patrick's oatmeal for the morning (ok, maybe I'm exaggerating a little bit). The guys are little quieter this morning as Stage 5 is going to be tough. 74 miles and 8000 feet of climbing with temps projected to break into the 90's again. What makes it even tougher is that we will be starting in the eastern foothills of Mt Hood where it is much more arid than the where we are in Hood River. Around 8:30 the team car with our Race Director arrives. Dirty will have help today as Michael's wife Bryne arrived last night. Combined with Beki Waisath, we will have 3 cars on the course today, ensuring that all our riders all have transportation. We head out to the start around 9:15 and arrive at the start in Dufur about 45 minutes away. The riders sign in and begin preparing for another grueling day. To keep our spirits lightened up, Big Dirty and Derek decided to show everyone their car modeling skills before the start which was delayed by 1/2 an hour. At 11:30 the Cat 2/3's roll out followed shortly after by the masters toward Mt Hood which is looming a long way off in the distance. The pack rolls out into a series of rolling hills before hitting the first climb inside of 10 miles. At this point the 2/3 pack starts firing riders off the back including Trevor, Neils and Travis who are suffering from the extreme heat. Michael gets gapped but manages to catch back on before getting popped in the second climb. Our climbers, J, Derek and Andy were all looking pretty strong sitting nicely in the pack. Around 25 miles in is the first feed. Bryne up front, Dirty in the back flawlessly handoff ice cold water and cokes. Somewhere along the way, Trevor and Niels pull out of the race. The pack continues on with Travis and small grupetto in tow pick up Michael shortly before entering the foot hills. The masters catch up the Michael and Travis and Spaulding is riding strong but Patrick is missing (who also was having trouble with the heat). Shortly before the second feed, Derek pops off in order to avoid an emergency exploding bladder and decides to wait for Travis and Michael who at this point are riding by themselves. Up the road in the pack, Andy is taken out in a crash shortly before the last 20 K, busting his derailler and taking him out of the race. J-Dub is alone and manages to duke it out for 13th place, losing only a few seconds to the leader and holding his position of 12th in the GC. Spaulding finishes a little bit behind the pack in the masters, having had a great day in the saddle and moving up in the GC. A little while later, Travis, Derek and Michael roll in together, happy to have completed another day. Dirty was there at the finish with cold packs and wet towels to rub everyone down and get them loaded up to head home. The guys immediately hit the showers while Dirty and the crew unloaded bikes and gear. After the showers the guys plowed through another boat load of the best pasta aound, roasted chicken, and garlic bread. Brad at Cucina Fresca also provided us with an experimental Mac and Cheese which is absolutely out of this world. As a matter of fact, most of us agreed once you've tasted it, Kraft should no longer be allowed to call their stuff mac and cheese. Once fed an cleaned up, the guys headed into town where to their surpise, Bill Clinton arrived to stump for his wife. A very interesting twist to a crazy day in the saddle! The mood is a bit relaxed as well as the hardest part of the race is over. Stay tuned to hear about the Crit tomorrow!