Independence Valley Road Race

Event Name:Independence Valley Road Race
Date: March 26, 2011
Description: Road Race
Cat 2 Men: 9th - James Bender
Cat 3 Men: 3rd - Alex Telitsine
Cat 3 Women: 7th - Suzie Kauper
Cat 4 Men: 6th - Jed Barden
Masters Men 30+ 1/2/3: 2nd - Martin Criminale
5th - Greg Kauper

Masters 30+ 1/2/3 Race Report:

With Cherry Bomb a week out it was pretty important to get a race in with the T-Print Master Squad. So we all rallied, and drove south thru the rain and cold to Rochester.

Pre race plan, Ryan- don’t drop us on the hills.

Dave H. flatted in the morning race and decided to wait and race with the “young” guys in the afternoon. Apparently, he got a little antsy waiting, because… as the neutral honk blew, Dave was off and flying. “See ya later Dave”!

Two laps later, Dave was among us again. “Thanks Dave”! “Hope you're ready to race”. Martin and Greg had it pretty easy thanks to Dave and had a hard time containing themselves. As soon as Dave was in the pack again, Martin attacked. He was marked pretty well but he had a lot more in his legs and was just testing the pack.

As we headed into the big hill for the last time the climbers took off, their last attempt to get a gap on the big guys. Martin and Greg gave each other the, “hang in there” nod. Dave amazingly was right there too. We got gapped off a small pack of leaders at the top of the climb, Greg grabbed a handful of gears over the top and hit the gas for all it was worth. He knew he had to catch, and fast. It took him until the turn at the bottom of the hill to pull it off, but it was DONE. Thanks Cervelo and Zipp, dang that’s a fast bike! He's B- A-C-K. Right behind Greg is Martin. Sweet, time to attack!

Martin and Greg traded attacks, testing the pack and seeing who was still able to respond. Andrew Martin attacked again and Martin hit the gas in pursuit. This looked promising!

Greg got to the front with a Bike Saler and took inventory of who was responding, Garage and a few solo riders. This was it! As the solo or duo riders went off the front, it was obvious they could not catch the two big men. Alex R. made a few attempts to bridge. Greg really wanted third but realized that if he let Alex go his team would help dissuade the dangerous moves and he would be a distraction for the pack from Martin’s move. As we rolled across the last bridge before the finish we knew Martin had 1st or 2nd. Greg was in great position at the lamest handwritten ZOOM sign e-v-e-r. He went around several riders and got second in the field sprint, 5th overall.

Death Proof Martin got 2nd.

As you all know by now Ryan Dean attempted to help a road crew clean up a section of the IVRR course on Saturday. Unfortunately, it was during the race, and he put himself in the ditch shoulder first. Tough love Stunt Man Mike

Ryan Gist - Sequim Winner's report

Ryan, racing for the second time this year, stuck a powerful two-man break Saturday with Chandler Leach from team Audi. The duo motored away with five laps to go after an earlier break was brought back and were able to stay away for the distance. Patrolling the front along with Audi were steadfast teammates, Guy T., Alex T., Tony B., Jeff D. and a very rare appearance in the category field by Mr. Dave Hecht who normally reserves his fury for the old man's races.

Hecht's irascible wit, a tradition honed by years of practicing law as an attorney by day, is being artfully carried forward by Gist, whose office mates at Davis Wright Tremaine LLP first were perplexed by his absence at the office but then wondered who they could bill for his time off the front on Saturday. When not drafting briefs this winter, Gist could be found on the trainer, feeding his steady habit of "Battlestar Galactica" so much so that the theme song was all that kept running through his head during the break.

With two laps remaining of the 72 mile race, the workload skewed more to Gist, a former Army Ranger who was more than happy to pick up the slack and carry the pair to the end line.

Leach, a worthy adversary normally on the top step of the podium was in Ryan's words "a true sportsman". Here is Ryan taking in the enormity of his day's work and recognizing that it was worth training like Sly Stallone all winter for this moment.

Awesome Results at Tour de Dung#2 Road Race!

Event Name:	Sequim #2 - Tour de Dung
Date:	March 19, 2011
Description:	Road Race
Cat 2 Men:	6th - Olivier Humbert
Cat 1-2-3 Women:	6th - Erica Lorenzen
Cat 3 Men:	1st - Ryan Gist 9th - Dave Hecht 10th- Guy Tucker
Masters Men 35+:	9th - Martin Criminale

Skagit Valley Time Trial

Event Name:	Skagit Valley Time Trial
Date:	March 20, 2011
Description:	Time Trial
Cat 2 Men:	4th - Brad Kilcline
Cat 3 Men:	1st - Alex Telitsine 4th - Guy Tucker
Cat 3 Women:	3rd - Karen Kowalchyk
Cat 4 Men:	3rd - Jed Barden 4th - Andrew Eisen 6th- Tim Farrell

FareStart Named James Beard Foundation Humanitarian of the Year Award Winner

For more information on how FareStart contributes to our community, click here www.farestart.org

FareStart Named James Beard Foundation Humanitarian of the Year Award Winner

We are very happy to share some great news with you. FareStart has been named the 2011 James Beard Foundation Humanitarian of the Year! This is an honor that every student, graduate, supporter, donor, customer, volunteer, staff member and Board member has earned together.

The award is given to an individual or organization whose work in the realm of food has improved the lives of others and benefited society at large. FareStart will be honored at this year's James Beard Foundation Awards, the nation's most prestigious recognition program honoring professionals in the food and beverage industries, taking place on Monday, May 9, 2011 at Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall in New York City.

"The James Beard Humanitarian award is a fantastic honor that we at FareStart are humbled to recieve," commented FareStart Executive Director, Megan Karch. "It has always been our mission to empower homeless and disadvantaged individuals while creating nourishing and excellent food. To be recognized by the food industry is not only exciting, it's a confirmation of something we've known all along -- the power of community. For nearly 20 years, FareStart has provided opportunities for more than 5,000 people to transform their lives through culinary job training and placement. By awarding us with this prestigious distinction, it is clear that the James Beard Foundation understands the transformative and community-building power of food."

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FareStart p/b Cobalt Mortgage Podiums in Three Fields at Mason Lake#2

Event Name:	Mason Lake #2
Date:	March 13, 2011
Description:	Road Race
Cat 3 Men:	Alex Telitsine - 3rd
Cat 3 Women:	Erica Lorenzen - 3rd
Masters Men 45+:	Dave Hecht - 2nd

Sequim #1- Tour de Dung - Road Race

Event Name:	Sequim #1 - Tour de Dung
Date:	March 12, 2011
Description:	Road Race
Cat 3 Men:	Alex Telitsine - 5th, Ryan Gist - 10th
Cat 3 Women:	Zana Faulkner - 9th

Wawawai Landing - Time Trial Double Header

Event Name:	Wawawaii
Date:	March 6th, 2011
Description:	TT Double Header! 20k flat, plus 11k mass start hill climb
Cat 4/5 Men:	Jed Barden - 3rd Place

I don't know how to pronounce Wawawaii but since I was headed to the eastern part of the state I decided to give the race a try. Wawawaii is an area about 20 miles west of Pullman, somewhere in the Palouse. The weather report looked bleak heading in -- snow and/or 33 degree rain. When I woke up in Spokane to snowfall I thought there might be a second straight snowed-out race. But according to the promoter, and as I was to find, the Snake River canyon is quite a bit warmer than Pullman and Spokane. The 2000 foot elevation drop to the river has that effect.

The time trial was a 20k flat out and back along the river. The picture shows how incredibly scenic this area is. Especially cool was the snow visible at the top of the canyon. There was a strong headwind on the way out, which gave a nice push on the return. It took me over 17 minutes to get to the turn around, and under 13 minutes to get back. My sensor wasn't working so I did not get a speed for the tailwind aided section, which would have been interesting to know. But I was spun out in my largest gear (50x11) for most of the way back.

After the TT, those of us doing both events had a couple hours to rest up for the 11k, 2000' hill climb. This mass start event is very unique in that everyone starts together - men, women, all cats. The start was fairly chaotic with some of the faster climbers moving to the front. Eventually I found myself in a group of five, behind a lead group that was long gone within the first 2k. I didn't think drafting would play a factor, but we had a stiff headwind. Being in that small group was nice as we traded pulls until the final kilometer. At 800 meters to go I attacked and finished first out of the group, and was the sixth person to the top. There were some heavy hitters ahead of me, including a single speed national champion (who did the climb on a singlespeed, naturally).

Since we raced as a group we had a fun awards ceremony after the hill climb. The promoter (Ted Chauvin) made a point of saying that I was visiting from the west side. Ted talked about how promoters on the east side are trying to get more races on the calendar to grow the sport in that region. There is a lot of terrain and good roads over there and hopefully we do see more races in the future.
Jed

Mason Lake #1 - Road Race

Event Name:	Mason Lake #1
Date:	March 6th, 2011
Description:	Road Race
Cat 2 Men:	Olivier Humbert - 8th
Cat 3 Men:	Ryan Gist - 7th, Guy Tucker - 10th
Cat 3 Women:	Zana Faulkner - 7th, Suzie Kauper - 9th
Masters Men 45+:	Martin Criminale - 6th