Bearmouth from the Press Box

And I'm not talkin' about the Grizzly Headquarters on Van Buren!


All I can say about today's race is WOW. I had the opportunity to put on my first ever race today with the Bearmouth Road Race. I am a little bummed that I wasn't able to ride it, but I'm very glad to have been there supporting my team and (hopefully) putting on a choice event for the bicycle racers of Montana.


Susan and I got up early this morning and started up the Rocket, our two-person, stove top espresso maker. Weekends were made for caffeine, especially if you're out camping with 3 dogs! And you know that I have to be keen as Race Promoter for today's 64 miler out in Granite county.


The early morning cloud cover and light breeze made me feel easy. I knew that it would be a good day of racing. We pitched the trademark, Team Stampede/Five Valley Velo tent and started signing riders in. At first it was slow, but then the rush came. Bozeman was there in force (as usual), Flathead, Sportsman's and Great Northern were there. Five Valley, of course, was present and even a Spokane rider, Anthony Aleto, from Spokane. With the Master's men and Women we had 50 riders in total. This was a good showing for a mid-summer event.


I scrambled to find even 3 wheel cars and I had to man the 2nd turn around/feed zone as there were literally, only a handful volunteers from our team there to assist. Thanks Dean, Kyle, John and Miles for stepping up. A HUGE thanks to NRO for stepping up and providing 2 wheel cars. You guys were AWESOME.


Even so, we started within 10 minutes of our scheduled start time. First out was the biggest group of the day, the Cat 1/2/3 men. 24 riders, half the entire showing headed out. In them were Matt Seeley, Elliot Bassett, Willy Zellmer and John Weyrich. Today would turn out to be a test of the riders' resolve and ability to negotiate the climbs in 90 degree heat. Think of a stage through the Pyrenees during the tour. As I said, I was Marshall at the 2nd turn around (~mile 32) and Brad Morgan had a 30 second gap when he passed us. The riders took their water from us (thanks G.A.S. ladies) and started lap two. I was thankful to see our team all in the main group at the half way mark. Now only another hour and a half til the finish...


At 2:30 or so I talked to Shaun, who unfortunately didn't finish, and he said that he saw Weyrich out on a solo break during lap 2. Shaun figured it a sacrifice, but I wondered if the cagey veteran didn't have another plan in mind. We waited, I worried, and then we saw them round the last corner. It was a big group. They must have caught John. Who would be the winner? It was going to be close, and it was an incredible finish. Anthony Aleto (Emde) took it by 1/2 a wheel from our very own John Weyrich. Russ Schneider (Cat3 Flathead) was third, and first in his category. If you listen to the reel from the video, "WOW" just about describes how it looked. Seeley took 6th.


After the race I met up with John and it looks like he and Brad had it going on for a little while, but then Brad got into trouble and that left John along to hang on. Without Brad, a hard chase ensued. If the two of them had been able to work together, the entire outcome may have been different.


Men's master's B contained 6 riders, two from Five Valley Velo. Dean McGovern and John Weston were there to represent. Dean hung on to Big, Cliff Sheehan's (NRO) wheel for a solid 3rd place finish.


Men's Cat3's: Willy Zellmer has shown that he is learning how to play with the big kids in the playground with a 3rd place finish (10th in the bunch sprint). He's the one that looks like everyone else, deftly hiding his 15 year age!


Cat4/5 was graced with the presence of Dr. Struckman, who had to remember how to ride a bike, but came in with 3rd overall. I thought he was going to have it as he and Michael Longmire (Master's A, NRO) had about a minute on the field at the feed zone, but both of them must have tired over the hot asphault on the backside of the course. NRO crushed the field by taking 1,2 in the Cat4/5's and first (Longmire) in the A's. Nice work guys...we secretly hate you.


The ALL WOMEN'S field, Cat's 1/2/3/4 took off last (but not least). It was a powerful group of 9 women who battled it out over every hill and came down to the finish. Tamara Bessette (NRO) took it in the sprint, but Mario Schat hung in there 'til the end. Nice work ladies! You Cat4 ladies need to keep your radar out for Caroline Roy (Delphine) who took 3rd overall and 1st in her category.


A big thanks to the many who came out to race and the FEW who volunteered. The Bearmouth Road Race is truly a great race that suits any racer and we at Five Valley Velo have put it on for years. It would be a shame to let it die due to lack of team support in putting it on. We need more local races, not less.