Eldora Race This Weekend

Good luck to everyone going up to the Eldora Escape races this weekend!
Short Track on Saturday and XC on Sunday. www.racemsc.com
Go Team F.I.Taos!!!!

Recent Race Results (Mountain and Road)

Some really great racing is happening! Remember to email your results to me so I can include your finishes. A lot of rides and races coming up throughout the rest of August and September so it’s not to late to get out there and give it a try…

Team F.I.Taos TSV Short Track XC Fun Race - Wednesday August 13, 2008

Mini Race
1st Nalia Kast (6)
2nd Berkeley Kast (3)

B Race
Women
1st Stacey McClurg (39)
2nd Sparrow Skywalker (3)
Men
1st Caleb Kast (13)
2nd Rio Graab (11)
3rd Forest Rach (8)
4th Ezra Tredwin (8)

A Race
Women
1st Victoria Henry (19)
2nd Haley Rach (11)
Men
1st Doug Kast (32)
2nd Brendan Curran (37)
3rd Caleb Maher (14)
4th Bailey Corry (13)
5th Boden Franklin (10)
6th Leroy Martinez (45)
7th Bob Franklin (62)
8th Greg Rach (36)

Pajarito Punishment Mountain Bike Race - August 9, 2008 Los Alamos, NM

Junior Beginner Women 18 and under
1st Carolina McGarity
2nd Sparrow Skywalker

Junior Beginner Men 18 and under
4th Bailey Corry
5th Caleb Kast

Beginner Men 40-49
1st Carlos McGarity

Sport Men 30-39
13th Tim Gallegos
14th Brendan Curran

Single Speed Men (Expert)
5th Doug Kast

Leadville 100 Mile Mountain Bike Race - August 9
Bob Crouch (raced Lance Armstrong and finished!)

Prison Loop Road Race - Santa Fe, NM - August 27
2nd Scott Warren

Gateway Colorado Road Races - August 9-10
1st Scott Warren (Saturday race)
2nd Scott Warren (Sunday race)

Frazer Mountain Madness Results

25 people raced from our team this weekend! Great courses, lots of truly stellar performances!

Hill Climb Saturday July 26, 2008
Macky Franklin 3rd Pro Men
Susie Fiore 2nd Pro Women
Lewis Gaffney 1st Junior Expert Men 18 and under (6th place OVERALL!)
Scott Warren 1st Expert 19-29
Sean Cassily 3rd Expert Men 30-39
Michael Wagener 4th Expert 19-29
Greg Rach 2nd Sport 30-39
Rich Meredick 3rd Sport 30-39
Jacob Gonzales 5th Sport 30-39
Brendan Curran 6th Sport 30-39

Participants in the Kid’s Race Saturday July 26, 2008
Haley Rach
Sparrow Skywalker
Forest Rach
Trempealeau Morninglight
Nalia Kast
Berkeley Kast

Cross Country Sunday July 27, 2008
Cat LeGere 1st Beginner Women19-29

Haley Rach 1s Junior Beginner Women 14 and under
Michaela Fiore 2nd Junior Beginner Women 14 and under

Robbie de Burlo 1st Junior Beginner Men 15-18

Caleb Maher 1st Junior Beginner Men 14 and under
Bailey Corry 3rd Junior Beginner Men 14 and under
Caleb Kast 4th Junior Beginner Men 14 and under
Bridger Fiore 5th Junior Beginner Men 14 and under

Tim Gallegos 1st Beginner Men 30-39

Doug Kast 1st place Single Speed Men

Rich Meredick 3rd Sport Men 30-39
Jake Gonzales 4th Sport Men 30-39

Lewis Gaffney 1st Junior Expert Men

Sean Cassily 4th Expert Men 30-39
Michael Wagener Expert Men 30-39

Macky Franklin 2nd Pro Men

Team F.I.Taos Results:
Allison Dunlap Junior Olympic Event
Haley Rach 1st Beginner 10 and under women
Michaela Fiore 1st Beginner 13-14 women
Bridger Fiore 2nd Beginner 11-12 men
Caleb Maher 1st Beginner 13-14 men
Bailey Corry 2nd Beginner 13-14
Robbie de Burlo 1st Beginner 15-16 men
Lewis Gaffney 1st Expert 15-16 men

FRAZER MOUNTAIN MADNESS

Frazer Mountain Madness is coming up fast! This coming weekend July 25 and 26 in TSV. Let's have a BIG Team F.I.Taos turnout and show 'em what it's all about. This is a big race in our backyard. The Hill Climb is on Saturday and the XC is on Sunday. Both events are part of the NM Off Road Series. The Junior classes are also part of the Allison Dunlap Junior Olympic Series. If you don't want to race, call Roger and Kerrie and volunteer to help. We can always use more support out on the course. See you all there! Go Team F.I.Taos!

TSV Time Trial Hill Climb Results!

July 16 was a perfect day for a hill climb...unless you were counting on a huge tailwind like we had for the last event! We were missing some riders (lots of folks out of town and maybe a few enjoying some couch time) but still had 20 come out and try their hardest. The pizza afterwards at Pizano's was mmmmmmmm good.

Results:
Men Road Bike
Juniors 14 and under
1st place: Caleb Kast 1:02:27
Juniors 15-18
1st place: Lewis Gaffney 36:48
2nd place: Isaiah Tyree 43:18
30-39
1st place: Greg Rach 36:30 (single speed)
2nd place: Doug Kast 37:06
3rd place: Sean Cassily 40:31
40-49
1st place: Dave Mount 37:20
2nd place: Shawn Howard 37:50
3rd place: Eric Graab 43:40
4th place: Anthony Marlar 46:02
50+
1st place: Alan Mahrenholz 47:16
2nd place: Ted Schupbach 1:08:15

Men Mountain Bike
Junior 14 and under
1st place: Boden Franklin 1:03:01
19-29
1st place: Tony 1:12:35
30-39
1st place: Brendan Curran 45:53
50+
1st place: Bob Franklin 54:05
2nd place: Tom Mastor 1:01:51

Women Road Bike
19-19
1st place: Beth Krieger Fritsch 45:34
40-49
1st place: Taz Schurman 40:40

Women Mountain Bike
19-29
1st place: Victoria Henry 1:01:37

Sandia Peak Challenge and Snowmass

The mountain bikers of Team F.I.Taos were out in full force on July 12th, competing in both Sandia, NM and Snowmass, CO. The Sandia Peak Challenge course was basically 8 miles of climbing followed by 8 miles of gradual descending. Beginners and Sports did one lap while Experts and Pros did two.

Haley Rach was the youngest finisher out there and won the Beginner Women's 18 and under division with her usual gutsy riding style. Cat Legere had a great race to take 1st in the Beginner Women's 19+ group. Though she really had no competition, she rode hard and had fun anyway. Bob Franklin won his race for about 30 seconds until he discovered that there were two other "old guys" (his words, not mine) in front of him at the finish! He took 3rd place and is riding stronger and faster every race. Caleb Maher, Bailey Corry, and Boden Franklin were all in the Beginner Junior Men's 18 and under group. Boden had bad luck with a flat tire he was not able to change (I think he now has a quick release skewer). Caleb punched it and took the win with Bailey finishing strong in 2nd place. Next time, I think Caleb will double check the air pressure in his front tire and not race with 70+ psi in there. Tim Gallegos, a new team member from Albuquerque, showed us his best and took 1st in the Beginner Men's 30-39 division! Greg Rach and Jacob Gonzales both raced the Sport 30-39 race and finished in 5th and 6th place, respectively. Sean Cassily finished 10th in the Expert 30-39 field. The Team loved the course but there could have been more organization (like finish times). Susie's ankle provided some colorful entertainment for the whole team during the BBQ (and is healing quite well, thank you).

While most of us were in NM, young up-n-comer, Scott Warren needed more competition and raced a Mountain States Cup event in Snowmass, CO. It sounded like it was ridiculously hot and dusty for Blast the Mass. Scott pulled off a 7th place finish in the Expert 19-29 race, in spite of running out of water early in his last lap (ooops).

EVERYONE SHOULD PLAN ON RACING OUR LOCAL KICKIN' RACE: FRAZER MOUNTAIN MADNESS ON JULY 26-27!!!!!!

Wednesday Evening Mountain Bike Rides Cranking!

This past Wednesday we rode Talpa Traverse with a great group. We rode together most of the way and helped pick cactus spines out of at least one rider! Some really strong girls and women riding with the group...yeah Haley, Tierra, McKenna, Linda, Page, and Cat! This coming week we will not have our usual mtn bike ride as we will be doing our TSV Hill Climb. See you there!

Weekly Rides Getting Bigger!

Our Tuesday Evening Road Rides are already growing...9 strong riders showed up last week for a ride up the Ski Valley road. Uphill with quite a headwind made me dig deeper than I intended to stay in Shawn Howard's draft! The descent was a blast and we very narrowly avoided a HUGE rainstorm. Good timing. Thanks Beth for organizing these rides! If you have a road bike, come out an ride with us.

July 4th Short Track

What you’ve all been waiting for…results form the first ever July 4th Short Track Mountain Bike Fun Race in TSV!!!! Many competitors thought our timing was off as they agreed that it was possibly the longest 20 minutes of their lives. We had tons of spectators and the Taos News sports guy even showed up. Great turnout for the 4th of July…it will only get bigger and better! If you missed the first one, don’t worry, the next TSV short track is on Wednesday August 13 at 6:00pm! Thanks to Doug at Taos Cyclery and Crossroads Pizza for kicking in some prizes.

Mini-Race (all under 8 years old)
This race was great with some really small riders getting in on the fun!!! Nalia dominated the field from the start to win it and represent the girls with style and class. Look out for the Smith family out of Albuquerque as those boys were tough.
1st Nalia Kast
2nd Harrison Smith
3rd Wyatt Smith
4th Jett Smith
5th Berkeley Kast


Juniors 12 and under
Peter was in front from the beginning with some really strong, consistent riding. He held onto his lead as Caleb and Bo fought it out for 2nd and 3rd. Nick and Ezra did amazingly well in their first race EVER!
1st Peter Hunt
2nd Caleb Kast
3rd Boden Franklin
4th Nick
5th Ezra Tredwin


B Race
Bob Franklin took the early lead before succumbing to Tim’s steady surging pace (Tim made it up the big hill nearly every lap). Joe, who doesn’t even own a mountain bike, rode with guts and took second place. Bailey, the token junior kid in the race, rode smooth and strong throughout the race. Tom was hammering but had to take a break at the top of the hill to puke (oh yeah…that’s short track racing). Haley rode super strong for the first two thirds of the race before having a small technical challenge involving her camelback and the wheel of her bike but she didn’t give up! Page showed great strength in her first race and kept her pace till the finish.
Women
1st Haley Dallas
2nd Page Mastor




Men
1st Tim Gallegos
2nd Joe Floch
3rd Bob Franklin
4th Bailey Corry
5th Tom Mastor

A Race
The A Race was a Macky showcase as the closest competitor was Doug who races expert (Macky races Pro). Some called it unfair but what better way to see up close what the pace is like for a Pro! Doug fought hard and was able to hold off all the charging juniors who were fighting it out in his dust. Brendan maintained a smooth, controlled pace and didn’t let the Pit Bull catch him. This was Brendan’s first mountain bike race. The Pit Bull surged from behind to take fourth place while Duke was literally nipping at his heels the entire race. Robbie had the race under control but suffered from mechanical difficulties that cost him a lot of time. AC mixed it up with the boys for much of the race and was showing them her smooth riding style until she, too, faced mechanical difficulties. Stacey persevered and rode strong and steady for the entire race.
Women
1st AC Franklin
2nd Stacy McClurg

Men
1st Macky Franklin
2nd Doug Pickett
3rd Brendan Curran
4th Caleb Maher
5th Duke Jackson
6th Robbie deBurlo

CREATIVE WAYS TO WEAR YOUR TEAM F.I.TAOS SHORTS!

Very nice.

Practice Short Track Entertainment!

We had 18 Team members do the "test race" on the very new short track course in TSV. We all rode the lap several times to ride in the course and learn the corners. The climb on the long course proved to be short but steep and loose. There is one fun single track section and some fast descents. We a bunch of Team members show up to just ride and/or cheer everyone on or just to see what "short track" is all about. Racers included Haley and Forest Rach, Sebastian and Tom Mastor, Sacha Wilde, Nick, Scott Warren (fastest rider of the evening), Lewis Gaffney (second fastest on a borrowed single speed), Bailey Corry, Robbie deBurlo, Caleb Maher, Duke and Jean Marie Jackson, Ted Schupbach, Bob, Boden, and AC Franklin, and Victoria Henry. Shawn Howard and Carlos McGarity rode up to the Ski Valley. Spectators and non-racers included John and Peter Hunt, Tim and Erin Gaffney, Joe Floch, Cat Legere, Greg Rach, Monica Mastor, Dennis Hedges, and Susie and Sean. It was great to see so many Team members out for an evening in TSV!

I witnessed something I have never seen in a "race" context...half of one field (the juniors) decided to take a break on the deck, remove their helmets, sit down, and chat! They were keeping things in perspective, for sure. The Junior 12 and under race had 5 riders who rode for 15 minutes plus one lap while the A/B race (which will be separated for the real thing) had 12 riders who went for 20 minutes plus 2 laps.

Let me tell you, this is definitely going to be fun to race or to watch! It is truly an event where all ages and abilities can ride (the slower you are, the fewer laps you end up doing!).

The first "real" short track will take place on Friday July 4th.

“Juniors” 12 and under: 9:30am (15 minutes + 1 lap)
“B” Race: 10:00am (20 minutes + 1 lap)
“A” Race: 10:30am (20 minutes + 2 laps)

Awards (men’s and women’s divisions) and unofficial results after the “A” race.

$5 per rider (free to Team F.I.Taos members)

See you there!

Juniors ride like Pros in Durango Mountain Bike Camp

Eleven Team F.I.Taos Juniors (the more advanced teens) spent the past week in Durango. The week began Monday with a ride from Garcia Park to the top of South Boundary (and, of course, back down). Duke started the week out with a spectacular crash (he had to get a new helmet), reminding us that the week was going to be fun.

Sean, Susie, and Macky took the group (along with tons of gear) to Durango on Tuesday and, after an entertaining drive, set up camp at the Junction Creek Camp Ground. That afternoon we rode the Log Chutes trails. This ride began with a nice climb on a dirt road (well, some of us thought it was nice), turned into a really fun single track section filled with sound effects (thanks William and Lewis), and finished with some crazy hike-a-bike down some downhill sections that Dan Weinman would have liked. Burgers and a campfire wrapped up the day.

Wednesday began with a 5:45am wake up so we could get to Phil's World near Cortez, CO and ride before it was too hot. Another new trail for all of us and within 10 minutes of riding,
everyone agreed that it was worth waking up so early (that says a lot about the riding, considering these are teenagers we're talking about). It was smooth, winding, fast, and fun single track. We rode the entire "big loop" which included, among others, Lemon Head and Stinky Springs (great trail names, huh?). Some really, really fun downhilll sections! Carolina and McKenna improved dramatically on this ride (and throughout the week) as they started ripping through the turns. There were, of course, a few crashes but nothing too major (tell Tegan that). We drove all the way back to Durango and had a picnic lunch by the raging Animas River, followed by some chill time at camp. The group headed to the Durango Rec Center to swim (and shower) before going to our traditional dinner at Nini's Taqueria in Downtown Durango. After ice cream, there was a hotly contested spontaneous pull up competition that Chubby nearly dominated with his one-armed technique...but due to interference, the Pit Bull won.

Thursday was a leisurely morning in camp before we headed up to the Lower Hermosa Creek area. We rode Jones Creek to the Pinkerton Trail and almost to Mitchell Lakes. Jones Creek was a long, gradual climb (over 4 miles up) with cows, big drop offs to one side, and some incredible swarms of mosquitoes that only landed on you if you stopped. Bailey decided to roll part way down one steep hill but changed his mind and grabbed some rose bushes to stop himself. Once we were up on the ridge, the views were amazing and the riding changed. Up there the trail rolled along the ridge with some short, steep sections both up and down. Lewis actually got tired (this is a very rare occurrence). Tegan broke a spoke (cool!) but luckily her wheels survived the entire descent. Speaking of the descent, there is only one word for it, "WEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Sean almost got us dinner on the way down (cow standing in trail, Sean coming fast around the corner, Sean-cow impact narrowly avoided). After a late lunch at almost 5:00, we took another trip to the Rec Center (including timed racing down the water slide) before going back to camp for the last night. We said goodbye to Haley (not only does she ride great, but she is also a theater star and had places to go, people to see). Camp fire, late dinner, singing "a cappella" (thanks to Tucker, Robbie, William, Lewie, and pretty much everyone else but just not as loudly as them) and stories.

The last morning we had Susie's famous chocolate chip pancakes, packed up, and went to Big Canyon for our last photo shoot. There is a really cool bank turn on rock that is fun to ride and looks great in photos. I never saw Robbie "turtle" or "cow" the entire trip but he must have since it was his first week really riding with clipless pedals (pretty amazing). We got back to Taos at 3:30 (only 30 minutes late!) and unloaded the van. Imagine a van that 11 teenagers have lived out of while camping and riding for a week. It was both scary and impressive.

What an amazing trip! This was our 3rd year doing this trip and this time we rode trails that most of us had never ridden. Each day we rode hard and laughed harder. These kids are riding so well as their skills, endurance, and mental focus just keeps improving. Thanks!