Bon Voyage Triathletes

Good evening in the Garden City!

Missoula will be noticeably more quiet this weekend as we give a big send off to many of our triathletes. There are a pair of 1/2 Ironman Triathlons this weekend, Oliver in B.C. and the Boise 70.3.

We are sending a big team to each of these two events and there are bound to be a lot of yee haws and cowboy hats to let everyone know that the Stampede is there. Good luck to all of you. You have trained hard and I hope you all have great races!

The half-iron is the perfect race as far as I'm concerned (not that I've ever raced in one). It pushes you to train long and hard, but isn't as devastating on the mind and body as the full Ironman. It tests one's endurance and takes months of preparation, something you can all be proud of. If I didn't
suck so badly at swimming, I'd be right there with you.
But alas I am more reptilian these days than amphibian, so you'll have to go it alone. But maybe next year...

Have a great weekend everyone and let the rest of us know how it went.


photos are from the '08 Grizzly, of course

More Photos

Now that's what I call racing.

Tour of the Bitterroot - Day 2

So this is what Sunday morning looked like. Do
like it? The Criterium, or Crit as it is called, is an
adrenaline-charged, fast paced race around a short
multiple corner course. It's exciting to watch and
even more so to race. The pace is set high and it's
survival of the fittest, literally.



The day began with the juniors (which I wasn't there to see) then the Men's Cat5/ Master's B. There were several new-to-crit racers including our own Travis Howard, who when I met up with him later said, "Man, what a rush." He's hooked!

The women's Cat4's were next and TS5VV's Jen Luebke rode hard and put up a good showing for our team. Way to go Jen!

The men's Cat4/ Masters A race was the big showdown between 5VV and G.A.S. and between Big Al Gallegos and Michael Longmire (NRO).
Alex put the hammer down from the start and began to make everyone hurt. This race saw many riders unable to keep up with the pace and those who were left were grimacing. It came down to Alex taking the "W" over Longmire. Brian Fryckman (G.A.S.) was also trumped by our own Jeff Twohig in his first Crit win. Right on Jeff!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A shout out for former teamie, Howard Williams for taking the Omnium GC, the whole tamale.

Alex's wife, Sarah returned to racing this year and fought hard in the Women's Cat1/2/3 race, but it was powerhouse, Tamara Bessette (NRO) who took top honors. Nice racing ladies.

In the men's Cat1/2/3 race it was hot from the word GO. Five Valley Velo had a solid team of 5 riders. John Weyrich and Adam Jensen raced the 2's while Elliot, Brendan and I cut our teeth as Cat3's. Our field was a combined total of 25 riders and was rockin'. Racing with the big boys is a lot faster, but also much smoother and generally safer. I felt good for half the race then fell off the back, but Jensen, John and Brendan mixed it up and did well. Elliot raced well, but it was Bob Presta (NRO) who took the field sprint and won it for the 3's. The Cat1/2 win was a two lap breakaway by Missoulian, John Curry (G.A.S.) who called his move, "perfect timing." Nice work guys. I'll talk more about the Time Trial tomorrow.

Tour of the Bitterroot - Day 1

Today was hard. Today was wet. Today was awesome.

Stage 1 of the TofB was the road race with distances ranging from 27 miles to 75 miles. The course is the same as last year with two major climbs per lap, Airport Rd. and El Capitan. They're not big climbs, but are always taken at a hard pace and often decide the outcomes of the races.

Five Valley Velo came out in force with all categories represented. Congrats to Sarah, Renate and Jen for representing the women's fields. You ladies rock! The men's Cat5/Masters B field had several triathletes (including Jeremy, Donn and John from the bitterroot), Travis and Greg. The men's Cat4/Masters A's was totally stacked with all the usual suspects and for the first race in a long time, we had 5 guys in the men's Cat1/2/3 race. Too bad we didn't get Seeley to race with us for a big 6.

Now I didn't get to talk to everyone after the races, so there will be a lot more info coming by the end of the weekend, but FVV did GREAT! Greg Larsen won the Cat 5 race, we had 3 of the top 7 spots in the 4's (Willy, Jeff T. and Rob Gillespie) and Adam Jensen WON the Cat1/2 with a killer sprint at the top of Airport Rd. Great job guys. Sorry, but I don't have the stats for the women yet, but will get them soon.

Today was torture for some as well. Steve Zellmer crashed hard in the Cat4 race and the weather was the demise of many a cyclist. I was bringing in a solid last place in the Cat1/2/3's until my chain snapped with 3 miles to go! There were lots of DNF's that took us out of contention for the Omnium overall, but we will still get to race for some of the cash and primes in tomorrow's Crit and Time Trial. Today sort of reminded me of Frozen Flatlands as it poured rain for almost the entire race. Brrr!

So lets hope for better weather tomorrow and for another great day of amatur bicycle racing here in western Montana. Signing off.

Tour of the Bitterroot - A Call for Volunteers

The Tour of the Bitterroot Omnium is this weekend and Team Stampede is sponsoring it. This means that we need LOTS of volunteers to make it run smoothly and safely. Now is the time for all of the triathletes and cyclists to step up and volunteer in any way possible. If you aren't racing definitely be there to help out. We need marshalls for the road race and crit, for the feed zone at the top of Airport Rd. and lots of registration jobs. Contact Robin Pruitt at robin.pruitt@bitterrootlandtrust.org or our own John Weyrich at john_weyhrich@yahoo.com

I'm not sure, but we should be getting together this week to discuss volunteer jobs. If not, just show up Friday night for the sweep as we will be driving down to the Stevensville Road Course to sweep up the corners. Or show up early on Saturday (~11am) at the St. Mary's Mission in Stevensville. You will definitely get a job. Thank you all so much for supporting the cycling half of the team!

It will be awesome to see all of you on the corners as we go racing by. Be sure to look for lots of orange as we will be out in big numbers this weekend. The Tour of the Bitterroot is a classic and is the highlight of our racing season. Our Cat 4 and Cat 5 fields are stacked! Cat 1,2,3 will see the likes of Elliot and I, John Weyrich and hopefully Matt Seeley (2nd last year). And maybe we'll even get some women this year.

The Long Awaited Belt Race Report

Hey Y'all. Sorry about the delay, but here is a nice, little report, courtesy of our own Jeff Twohig, recounting the day's events. Jeff took second in the Cat4/5 road race last Saturday and Five Valley Velo posted strong standings again. Way to go boys!

Jeff wrote: When I showed up for the RR with Kyle and our fresh legs, from not doing the TT, we were informed that Willie had rode a great TT (Willy took 2nd). Since he had the best shot at the overall (Omnium), Willy would be our protected rider for the day.

With the wind at our back on the first stretch out of Belt we cruised the first few miles of the race with Steve Zellmer (4th in TT- NRO), Kyle, Howard Williams (Great Northern Cyclery), Tamara (NRO) and myself up front. Andrew, the Mountain biker from Missoula, launched an attack on an early climb. With nobody giving chase, he managed to open up about a 1/2 mile gap. This gap was closed a mile or 2 after heading into the back stretch with the fierce head/cross winds.

After a few minutes of slow pace and no action, Miles and Tamara Attacked into the stiff wind and stretched out the peloton into single file. Guys were trying to find any draft they could. Once Miles and Tamara got caught, I decided to counter attack from about 7 spots back, at about mile 15. By the time I passed Tamara I had a good head of steam, put my head down and hammered into the wind.

I looked back after 3-4 minutes, expecting to see the peloton right behind me. To my surprise they were a good 200-300 yards back, so I continued to push. Knowing I had teammates to block or sit in, I pushed as hard as I could to make the other teams work. However the wasn't much willingness to chase a solo break early into the race. At the turn the peloton was about 3 minutes back, and I thought, "I might be able to stay away".

After the turn, Brian Fryckman (GAS) , another GAS rider and 2-3 others pushed hard to chase in earnest. I know Kyle, and Travis worked hard to keep Willy with the chase group, but the chase group got away. Just before the top of the last climb, having gapped the remaining chasers, Brian caught me and created a gap for himself. My 18 miles off the front had come to an end.

Working together to insure 1st and 2nd, Brian and I worked into the wind on the home stretch and with about 300 yards to go and Brian on my wheel, I asked my weary legs for one more good effort. I pushed down on the cranks, out of the saddle, but my legs told me we would be finishing second today...

Willy finished just off the podium in 4th Overall (9th in the RR) & I finished 6th (I should have done the TT!). Other finishing numbers were: Kyle (11th RR), Travis (13th), Ely (17th) and juniors Joel Kramer (2nd in 13-14yo) and Adam Cook (1st 17-18 yo). A job well done. I (ErikD) struggled the entire day and placed way down in the Cat3 Omnium. All I could think of was high school initiation...ouch.

Team Stampede's First Annual Spring Potluck/Kickball Tournament

That's right, you heard it. This Monday night was what I hope will become an annual tradition-the Spring Kickball Tournament. We had a blast!

It was a beautiful night...no rain, and there was A LOT of food and beer. Being athletes, most of the dishes were some kind of past, but the college kids didn't disappoint and served us up with Taco Bell and Albertson's chicken. YUM.

Kyle passed out the new team kits and they are sharp. Although Jeremy's tri suit does look a little see through. It should make for an interesting Bitterroot Triathlon.

All-in-all it was a good night of socializing and team bonding. It's events like these that keep me coming back to the team. Thanks guys and gals for a fun night.

Belt, Montana

The Belt Omnium is this weekend! This is the first road race after the Rocky Mountain Roubaix and Five Valley Velo is planning on sending a strong group of Category 4 and 5 riders. So far we have Jeff Twohig, Ely Wilkinson, Kyle Shannon and Willy Zellmer. All of these guys have been coming on strong over the past few weeks. In the Cat 1,2,3 we won't be as well represented, but I'll try and make a go at it.

Belt is a great, early season road race and is a must-do for anyone who is planning on racing The Tour of the Bitterroot. This race consists of a 5 mile time trial in the am and the 40 mile road race in the pm. The road course is a rolling hills course without any big climbs. The one thing that riders may have to contend with is the wind. Let the Orange Crush dominate like we did at the Roubaix. I'll post a report after the race.

Check this guy out!

Glory Days

I worked this weekend at the hospital and when I rotate through my weekend I have to take a couple of days off, one each week. So today, I had the day off. It was one of those perfect days. I got to sleep in, make a bacon and eggs breakfast, caffeinate (on tea, remember..wife, no coffee) and get ready for a late morning group ride. Now that is my kind of day!

But it got me thinking about old times as I never get to do this sort of thing, being the 8 to 5'er that I am. I did get a nice taste of this last Monday, too. Thanks for the company Linsey.

So I rolled up to Le Petit and grabbed my pre-ride croissant. I have to say that I'm liking the whole Le Petit vibe, not to mention their awesome baked goods. The group gathered. Alex and Sarah, Monica, Travis, David G. and I and we headed out.

The sun was warm and the pace was easy. I could have happily napped on the back of the paceline. I started daydreaming about my days as a college student...when I had free time to make the daily group rides that our local club put on. I was a club rider long before I was a racer. My idea of fun was a few hours of casual riding to a nice bakery where we could have a pastry and espresso and then motor back home. We had all of our favorite routes, determined by the destination food stop. But don't think Missoulians on Bicycles folks. These guys (and gals) moved along nicely and we covered some ground. And there was always one significant climb that was involved.

We cycled up Hwy 200 and Alex reminisced about his racing days, when all he had to do was ride the bike. Sara wore her vintage, Louisville club jersey and the two of them rode side-by-side like boyfriend and girlfriend, no kids, no worries. David could've been on a country road west of Kalispell and Monica on Ironman Canada, both putting in endless miles. And Travis was sporting a symbol of a past conquest with his LOTOJA jersey. There was a great mix of riders, just like the group rides of my past.

Alex and Sara turned back at the Potomac store and the rest of us headed up towards Lubrecht. At the Garnet turn off we made the right and began the nearly 4 mile climb to the end of the pavement. It has been a few years since I've done this hill and with its 14-18% grade sections about ripped our legs off. It reminded me so much of the canyons in the Santa Monica or San Gabriel Mountains that we used to ride. Our food stop was the Potomac Store, a far cry from Cafe Casino in Santa Monica, but allowed us a few minutes to refuel before working the last 25 miles home.

So thanks to everyone who played a part today in jogging my memory and stirring up some happy images.