Race Team Blog

Kelowna BC Cup Stage Race

August 15, 2008
This past August long weekend Jen, David, Colin and I headed up to Kelowna for a 2 day, 3 stage race. We left after work Friday afternoon at about 4:30 and were expecting to hit bad long weekend traffic but somehow avoided it and were making great time until we missed the exit to Kelowna and took a slight 134 km detour to Kamloops.....the car chat must have been good. Because of our detour we got into Kelowna at 10:30 which was much too late to pick up our race packages.

After not too bad a sleep, (you can only sleep so well when you have 4 people in one hotel room) we went to pick up our race packages at 8:00 only to find out Jen's scheduled start was 6 minutes later and we had left our bikes at the hotel. Although they were running about ½ hour late poor Jen had no prep time for the hill climb. Stage one was a 3.5 km individual hill climb up Knox Mountain. Basically you go as hard as you can straight up hill for somewhere between 9 and 15 minutes. For me the stage went quite well and was sitting in 6th place amongst the cat 1/2 women after stage one. David also did very well and placed 5th against the cat 3 men. Somehow Colin's name didn't make in onto the original start list so he ended up having to start last so between Jen's start time and Colin's there was about 3 hours so lots of waiting around for a short race.

Stage 2 was a criterium late Saturday afternoon. Again since between the 4 of us we were racing in 3 different categories, our races were quite spread out. Jen's race was first and went very well with Jen finishing 2nd in the sprint but was actually the first cat 3 because 1st place was a masters category women. The men's cat 3 looked fast and Colin and David were in good position most of the race but the sprint didn't quite go as well as either up them had hoped. My race was last and typically crit racing is my weakness but I managed to get in a break with 2 other women with about 20 minutes remaining in the race. One of the women wouldn't do any work because 2 of her teammates were leading the overall points for the BC Cup so the other girl and I worked well together and managed to hold off the pack. I ended up 3rd in the sprint of the 3 of us but it was a great result for me and put me in 4th in the omnium going into the road race.

Sunday morning was the final stage which was a hilly road race. My race was 7 laps of a 13 km loop for a total of 91 km. Leah Goldstein attacked half way through the first lap even before the first hill but we all let her go because there was no point in chasing as no one can ride with her on the hills anyhow. On the steep hill of every lap the pack spilt apart and riders would chase back on. For all categories the race became one of attrition. I managed to come 6th in the sprint for a 7th place finish on the road race. I tied in the ominium in total points for 4th place so for me a great weekend of racing. Jen also had a great omnium result placing 5th in her first weekend of racing as a cat 3.

Kristine Brynjolfson

My First Podium?

May 10/11, 2008

I've been riding at the track since November, so I thought I would throw my hat in the ring for this weekend's May Days races. For a couple weeks before the race, I skipped out on riding outside in the nicer weather and made sure that I got to the track on Wednesday evenings, so that I would at least have enough skills to compete in May Days.

Saturday morning came and I woke up feeling pretty nervous and unsure of what to expect out of the day. I packed up my riding gear and lunch and headed out to the veldrome for the 10:00am start. Once there, I was completely overwhelmed by the number of bikes on the infield and I had no idea where to park myself. I found Anselmo and asked him what I should do and he told me that I could put my trainer anywhere, so I stuck it in the centre of the room. I hopped on my trainer and in the first race I watched, I got to see Andy George kicking some butt in a B race. The race was a points race, so there were sprints thoughout the race that were worth points. Coming into the final sprint, Andy was tied for first with points. I saw him set himself up perfectly for the win. Unfortunately he got nudged out at the line by the other contender and took 2nd place. It was an impressive race and made me want to go out and show my teammate that I too could give it my all.

It turned out that I had a lot of waiting to do as I had registered in the new women racer category. This meant that I would be doing 3 races throughout the day, but it turned out that my first race didn't start until 2pm. So I did a lot of watching, making new friends and warming up. Finally it was the new racers' turn. First up was the men. Their race went by quickly. Actually it probably wasn't just my perception and actually did go by quickly because all though these men were new to racing at the veldrome, they were not new to racing being mountain bike racers and downhill ski racers. Roman Torn, who ultimately won, is a vetern Canadian skiier. Then it was my turn, I rolled up to the rail and I expected 2 other new girls to do the same, but wait.... where were they? I don't know what happened to the other two women that had registered as new racers, but it looked like I was it. Because Jeremy Storie didn't want me to race by myself, he got 3 other women to race with me. So my first track race was quite an experience. As the other women passed me they told me to get on their wheel so they could pull me to victory. On the bell lap, Jenny Trew moved to the front and I got on her wheel. Then she pulled off before the finish and I rode my way in to 1st place. This may possibly be the only time I'll beat Jenny Trew.

For my final two races, Jeremy asked me if I would race with the new men. I thought I would give the girls who had already been racing all day a break, even if it meant forfeitting my chances of winning, so I took the challenge. And what a challenge it was. These men were fast (at least it seemed that way to me). Luckily the first race that I did with these men was a no-attack points race; so no attacking was allowed until we heard the bell for a sprint and after the sprint was over, we had to regroup. This allowed me to stay with the pack for the entire race and I even picked up one lonley point on the last sprint. Yay me! Then it was the last race of the day, the new racers & new women racers (me) tempo race. I knew this race was going to be tough as points were given to the first two riders every lap... and attacks were allowed. This meant that I was going to have to go all out to keep up with those guys. Immediately into the race I knew that I was in trouble. Again, these guys seemed so fast. Within the first couple of laps, there was a split in the field, with one rider being off of the front and me being off of the back. But, I had a strategy... With a bit of help from the crowd telling me what to do, I took a lap. This meant that I lost 20 points in the race. Since I was at 0 points, I was now at -20 points. But I went high and when the leader passed me, I got on his wheel. Now I was again eligible for points. I rode around on the leaders wheel for virtually the rest of the race and picked up 1 point every lap. Since it was only a 20 laps race, I guess I never made it back into the positive points, but hey, if the race was longer, I could have done well. I finished the race pretty happy with how my first day of track racing went.

Before I left though, I was in for a surprise. Jeremy annouced that there would a podium for the new racers and for the new women racers. I thought about it and then thought that he must have meant me. And wouldn't you know it, but I won the new women racer podium. I've won and placed in a few races over the past two years, but I've never stood on a podium. Either the race never had an actual podium or I've never been able to wait until the end of all the races before I could stand on it. So it was my first podium. I climbed on the top block and recieved a BC Provincial Champion jersey. Yes, that's right. I was now a BC provincial champion. I was really starting to like this track racing thing. Then the men had a podium, with the winner also received a jersey. Then I climbed on the top block with the men's winner, and we all placed our hands in the air and gave lots of photo opportunities. The top man and I had some champagne and we shook it up and let it out. I learned another thing that day. If you get sprayed with champagne, close your eyes. I went home that evening stinking like alcohol, but I was pretty proud.

Okay, because I was the champion on Saturday, I decided I would give Sunday's racing a shot too. I figured that I was now an "elite woman", hah!, so I raced for the women's omium. The first race was a Miss & Out and boy did I not know how to race this race. Every two laps the last rider across the line was pulled, until there are only two racers left in the race. So we do our neutral rollout and then the bell is rung. I wonder, should I go high, should I go low? I'm near the back, but not last. Unfortunately the girl behind me is Steph Rooda, so she easily passed me. We crossed the line the first time in a big bunch and I don't know if I was at the back or not. But I hear my name called, so I'm out. My first race with the big girls lasted 2 laps. Not impressive, but the field is whittled down, so I don't take it personally. The second race is a 4x10 points races, so 40 laps with a sprint every 10 laps. I hope that I can just finish 40 laps as this would be my longest race of the weekend. So we're off and I hang on the back. There are lots of attacks during the race, I just give it my all to keep up. Another Devo rider pulled back a lot of the attacks, but it hurt her in the end. During one of the later sprints, she couldn't get on the wheel and I came around her and managed to jump on the back of the pack. After it felt like attack after attack, we were down to 3 laps left. Then another attack, and I just couldn't follow it. I cruised around to the finish at a more manageable pace and finished slightly behind the group. I was actually pretty happy with that as, going into the race, I was worried that I would be lapped. The final race was a 30 lap scratch race. I think everyone was a little more tired by this point and it was a bit tamer than the points race, just a bit though. Early on in the race, Steph Rooda attacked and lapped the pack. This virtually assured her win. This race was a little more mentally tiring for me and I just hung out at the back. I could tell that girls were getting tired though and I managed to come around some during some attacks. At two laps to go, I think Steph Rooda attacked, probably just to make it difficult for me, and that was it for me. I've rarely been so happy to hear a bell lap, but finally the race was over. Overal, I did better than I thought I would as I managed to stay with the pack for most of the elite women's races and I was never lapped. In fact I wasn't even last. I might even do another track race sometime.

Jennifer Gerth

Pacific Populaire

April 6, 2008
Today's race wasn't officially a race, but it was as difficult as you made it. Today marked the date of the 23rd annual Pacific Populaire and it was easy to see why this has been a favourite for 23 years. There are 3 routes, 25km, 50km and 100km and a variety of different abilities. You are welcome to ride any bike you want and you are given a map of the route that takes you through Vancouver and Richmond and you must bring the map to the control point around the half way mark and get it stamped.

Kristine and I elected to ride the 100km route to prove that we were hard-core. Okay, really, we just wanted to make sure we rode 100km at least once this year, so this was it. The ride started off fast. I was with a group that missed a light right at the beginning of the route, on King Edward and Arbutus, but I saw that Kristine made it through and I hoped that I could catch up to her after another light. Alas it was not meant to be as it seemed that our group missed every single light on McDonald, but we eventually made it to 4th Avenue and I planned on how to stay with my group up Spanish Banks. Since hill climbing is not my forte, I rode near the front, so that by the time I got to the top of the hill, I was at the back of my group, but I was still with them. After the major hill was over and I was still with the group I felt much better and we settled into a rhythm.

Along the dykes in Richmond there was a lot of headwind, but the day was surprisingly sunny and I was feeling pretty good. I even found myself taking some good pulls sometimes. And then we were at the control point. There were probably about 30 of us who came in together and we did some practicing for Harris Roubaix (i.e. riding on gravel) and then it was off our bikes and running to the line to get our maps stamped. I'm lucky that my group seemed to want to enjoy some of the refreshments that were available, so I scarfed down as many date squares as possible in 5 minutes and then took a banana and a cookie for the road.

Most of the people that I went into the control point with made it out with me so we regrouped and fought the headwind on Westminster Hwy. Finally we got to River Road where we got to enjoy a tailwind, just in time for some pounding rain. Unfortunately I forgot my glasses so I ate dirt the whole time. I'm glad that it was sitting on top of date squares at least. There must have been some attacks on River Road, because I was just trying to follow wheels and then I noticed that we had a lot less people than before. After I was unrecognizable from the dirt, we made it to the Arthur Laing bridge and were treated to some dryer sky, not roads, but sky for the rest of the ride.

I gave it everything I had to stay with the group on the Arthur Laing bridge and it paid off as we ended up dropping more people on the ride around UBC and 16th and picking up some people who had fallen off other groups. By the 95km mark, I was really starting to feel it and the last little hill on King Edward and Arbutus did me in. I was definitely dropped and I hoped that I could just make it in. However luck was on my side and my group got stopped at a light on Granville and there I was back in there. We rode the rest of the ride back to the Riley Park Community Centre at a pace I could live with and then me and my 7 other newest friends were done. My time was somewhere between 3:20-3:25 and I think I was the second girl, so I felt pretty good about that.

The first girl was, of course, Kristine, who kicked some butt and got a time somewhere around 3:15. Unfortunately she spend at least half of the ride alone which probably didn't help her time as she had to periodically stop and consult her map. Unfortunately she couldn't stay with some animals on Spanish Banks, but she was too fast for the rest of the guys that caught her and she rode them off her wheel.

The ride was was organized, was a lot of fun and even had a cheering section take us by surprise on Marine Drive. Oh and the food was great both at the control point and at the finish. Did I mention the date squares? It felt like a great community activity and I even saw my neighbours there. I will definitely plan to do this ride next year and I hope to see other Coastal members out as well.

Oh and guess where I found my glasses by the time I got home. In the pocket of the Coastal vest that I was wearing.

Jennifer Gerth

Comedy Night Thursday, Armstrong Sunday. Who's laughing now?

March 12, 2008
Our fundraiser last Thursday went great. We had some laughs and raised some money, which is about all you can ask for in life. Thanks again Rob and Wayne from South Shore Cycles for organizing the event and providing all the draw prizes. Luckily none of the comedians had any jokes as cruel as the one that was played on me 11 times the following Sunday: I don't remember the whole joke, but I do remember that the punch line was something about "power to weight".
There were two races this weekend: The Horse-course and Armstrong.
I elected to skip out on The Horse-course (otherwise known as 232/zero ave) because I wrongly assumed that it would be another crashy, flat sprinters race. It turns out it was a crashless, flat sprinters race which I probably should have gone to. Since I wasn't there, here is Anselmo's report on the day:
"The second race of the 2008 Spring Series was a fun one and much safer than the first one, with no crashes and all the Coastal Crew road well while keeping the rubber side down.  This course has a more varied profile and thus caused some of the field to eventually get dropped on the more difficult portions of the race
Colin, Darin, Hans, our newest member Andy George, Kristine and Anselmo rode the B's, while Jen and Neena rode with the in the C's.  The racing was fun, fast and not too eventful with a few attacks attempted throughout the race.  Hans tried an aggressive attack along the only hill on the course during the final laps of the race, but the unfortunately the pack was quick to react to bring him back.  Anselmo joined a couple breaks to test his legs and body after a crash the week previous, but like all the breaks this day none would be successful.  In the end Hans and Anselmo managed to hold positions in the front of the pack ready to sprint, but rounding the final corner, both succumbed to horrible cramps preventing them from properly contending for the finish.  The rest of the crew kept out of trouble finishing safely and happily after a good day of enjoyable racing.  "
 
For the Clydesdales amongst us, Armstrong wasn't quite "enjoyable". There's nothing pretty about dragging 195lb of lankiness up a long hill 11 times. Thankfully we also had some flyweights in orange, so Coastal did all right.
Top honours go to the very talented Kyle Buckosky, our 14 year wonder kid. He stormed past  a field of older, more experienced C racers to an grab an impressive 5^th place in only his second race ever!
In the B race, Andrew Lea easily stayed with the front group until the finish, but couldn't manage to unleash all of his thunderstick fury at the end. I'll agree with his comment that some of the B's are obviously peaking for the spring series. Further back in the pack, Colin and I watched in horror as an impossible-to-cross split opened in front of us early in the race. We spent the remainder of the race battling it out with the rest of folks who were unfit, unluckey, or just plain old unfast.
Next week: The Snake!

David Gerth

Spring Series Race #1: Blood, Sweat and Beers...In that order.

March 3, 2008 

Congratulations to Coastal Racing's Bruce Denis, who managed to fight his way to a 2nd place finish this Sunday. Bruce used his years of racing experience to avoid all the crashes and chaos that were thrown at the B pack, and managed to have some legs for the big field sprint at the end of the race. Nice work Bruce.

Unfortunatly everyone's favourite Howard Stern look-alike, Anselmo Rossiello, took a tumble and injured his shoulder. Lets hope that clears up soon...we're running out of flat races fast! Anslemo's crash was one of many. The C pack ended their race with a big one, (in which our own Mike Rhuland was involved in-he's okay!) there were a few in the A's, and the B's managed to put the rubber side up once every few laps.

So why were there so many crashes??

This Sunday was the "perfect storm" for road rash. The course is flat, so the speeds were high and the pack stayed together. The road is rough in sections, it's narrow, and the shoulder is soft. There were 85 riders in the B pack, which is probably too many for the course. But all those factors shouldn't really add up to what we experienced this Sunday. 

From my perspective (way, way back in the pack), it seems like most of the crashes were caused by people who were high on fitness but low on experience. As far as I saw, none of the crashes happened on the corners. Instead, people went down while crossing wheels, slamming on brakes, cutting people off, or, as Colin Hale expererienced, just plain old ridin' crooked.

 Next week should be better.

 David Gerth

Let's Begin, Shall We?                                

February 28th, 2008

Can you smell that? Breathe in deep. Flare your nostrils and suck the air in.  You might catch a hint of spring wafting amongst the stench of Vancouver's wet weather. And really, that's all us Canadians need. Every year at this time we latch on to the idea that summer is coming and that racing must start. And so it does. 

The Spring Series begins this weekend. It'll crack off with the infamously boring River Road circuit. The best thing you can say about this course is that it's the Nascar race of the spring series. Expect lots of crashes on the four perfectly manicured (read: rough, wet and sketchy) corners, as riders fight tooth and nail to start their season off with a win. 

A win here is actually pretty big. The speeds are fast and the pack is huge. Every sprinter worth their reinforced bottom bracket shell will be trying to prove that he or she has more power, guts, and tactical wits than all the other sprinters that just spent their last three hours sucking wheel.  
But all is not lost for the scrawnier, slower twitched amongst us. A break can win here. Cody Campbell and crew proved that last year. With that in mind, expect to see an orange jersey in any attempt to go up the road. It'll be worth the risk, as we'll have some capable sprinters in the pack should all the breakaway attempts fail.  When it comes to wheel sucking sprinters, Team Coastal Racing is proud to say that we have our share. 

David Gerth