UM Cycling Fuels Rolling Thunder

For those who have been living under a rock or don't know what VeloNews is, this past Saturday was Rolling Thunder, a day of cyclocross racing ending with a race under the lights. All of this mostly powered by UM Cycling's patriarch Shaun Radley. Fortunately, we had the opportunity to be a part of this event by feeding the Thunder hamburgers, beer, and home-made cookies. It was a good fundraiser for UM cycling with the grills going non-stop from the kids' race to the podium at the end of the elite men's race. We had a great location right in the action, with a superior view of the finish and the barriers where we could cheer our UM comrades on. In the first-timers race, future UM cyclist Luke Juras looked strong coming in first followed by another recruit. Bryce's lil' sister Meredith came in second for the ladies. We were excited to see the newbies out racing and looking at home on the bike. There were many Griz kits in the men's 4 race and I almost lost my voice because I had to cheer so much. Josh Goldberg, Jens McAller, Agner and Wes represented us well giving a wink and a nod as they passed the BBQ pit. However, the UM result of the day came from Johnny Montana who led the race almost from start to finish but was passed at the very end (ironically by someone from John's "team": Fitzgerald's bicycles). John ended up in second by a hair: a great result from a completely stacked men's field. Johnny brought home some W's for UM Cycling last year and we hope to see much more of him this coming spring.

Here's Chez wondering if he'll be able to hit the high "C"

It was a great day for UM Cycling showing talent and enthusiasm for the upcoming season. We would like to thank montanacyclocross.com for letting us set up and Finley Pt Orchard Management for jump-starting the fundraiser.

Race Report: Collegiate Nationals (Fo Co Fo Sho)

Sorry this race report is incredibly late but between finals and my sister’s graduation I just didn’t get around to it...but for those of you who are still on the edge of your seat wondering what went down at collegiate nationals this year read on...

Wednesday 5/6

Bad Bryce and I left town early afternoon after I took the anatomy practical. It was raining and hard to see but I had taken Shaun’s advice and brought enough snacks to keep everyone happy. We stopped in Bozeman to pick up the rest of our posse: Montana’s very own conference champ, Corey Meyer, who would be racing, Kyle from MSU cycling along for support and Kyle’s dog Ronald. Needless to say it was a cozy 11 hour drive in the van and the five of us were the best of friends by the time we rolled up to Kyle’s sister’s house in Fort Collins at 2:30 in the morning.

Thursday 5/7

The next morning we woke to blue skies, no wind, 75 degrees and it was sunny...weather none of us had seen in a while. Everyone was really anxious to get on a bike but we ate a leisurely breakfast of waffles and turkey bacon in the lawn first. Next we rode the course. It started low and quickly climbed up in the foothills where there were beautiful views of Fort Collins and the reservoir. My one impression was: these hills don’t mess around! They were both long and steep and I knew I’d have to pace myself. I could just imagine the field exploding into a million pieces on them. Later on we went to the Hilton to pick up numbers and all that other junk. We saw the Women’ Cycling Magazine trailer and there were actually people getting interviewed. That was when it hit me that collegiate nationals was a legit event and I was there!

Friday 5/8

Friday I woke up and it was really windy. And I mean really windy. It didn’t matter though women’s D2 started at 8:10 and at least it was sunny. When we lined up I was really nervous. I waved at Bryce. I kept telling myself it didn’t really matter how I did because I made it there and that was more than I was expecting. I just didn’t want to get completely dropped. Once we got out of neutral the race got fast quick. Everyone knew that the first big hill was going decide a lot. If anyone couldn’t keep up it would be really hard to chase because the wind was so bad. When I saw the hill it looked like a giant wall and my stomach dropped as I got ready to hurt. A bunch of girls just took off but I knew they would die and I tried to find a good hard pace that I could keep. I’m not going to lie: I felt like crap. I kept thinking “Oh, if only everybody could see ‘the climber’ now...suffering like a common flatlander.” By pacing myself I was able to overtake a bunch of the over ambitious ones but at the top I saw there was still work to be done with about ten girls up ahead. I heard my friend Daisy from Western behind me so luckily I was not alone because Daisy can do serious work and we were able to catch them with minimal difficulty. There was still much climbing to be done and the pace stayed pretty rough. Finally, things began to flatten out and a group of 20 or so coalesced. All of sudden I felt like I was going to bonk and I realized I had just climbed all over the foothills without taking one sip of water or eating anything at all. The problem was that I was breathing so hard water couldn’t really make it down my throat. I kind of panicked but then after searching my pockets I realized I had my trusty bag of M & M’s! I stuffed a giant handful in my mouth and breathed with my mouth open until they melted and the candy coated chocolate dripped down my throat in between panting. Then I would pour water in there too and let it trickle down, trying not to choke. After doing this several more times and also stuffing goo into me too I was able to recover. The pace relaxed and I was able to just hang in the draft with all my friends from the NWCC. We realized that as a conference we were looking pretty strong especially Lydia Tanner from Bozeman who was just eating up the hills while breathing through her nose. We were also the most friendly conference, we were like one giant team almost. The camaraderie was awesome. The race continued, a few crappy attacks happened mainly coming from MIT, but things didn’t get serious until the final stretch. Of course there were hills so as the pace picked up things got strung out but then there was the final wall and this time there was a head wind going up it. This is where it really mattered. Everyone was in their lowest gear and just suffering...we must have been going so slow. I was reminded of that scene from Fantasia where all the dinosaurs are walking across the desert and they just keep falling over dying. I mean seriously, one girl from Whitman literally just fell over and Daisy said she saw people walking up it! I don’t even remember the last part, I just kept telling myself not to faint. Then there was the descent and the finish. There were about ten of us...we were coming into the last stretch...I was in the back of the group sucking wheel waiting for the sprint but still working really hard...then there was this huge gust...Emily R. from Whitman got blown over and some of us lost the wheels in front of us...I was out of winning contention but was still able to sprint past a couple people into seventh. I was so happy I was smiling before I even crossed the finish line. I had finished with the top group and I couldn’t have been more elated.

Saturday 5/9

The crit started at 8:00 for us the next day. Warming up on the course I wondered what the race would be like. Every other crit I’d done had at least one hill or a hard turn that people could take aggressively to break things but this was all flat and really wide corners. The race started fast but we remained one be group. On the first prim lap Lydia and I were trying to move up but then some MIT girl swerved and crashed Lydia. It slowed a bunch of us down but we were all alright and Lydia was back after her free lap with all kinds fury. By the second prim I was kind of bored. I didn’t think I would be competitive in the crit at all so I just decided to put myself out there and see what would happen. I was up front and I ended up sprinting past all kinds of people to get third. I was so surprised, I just looked at my legs in awe because I had no idea they could do that! The next prim I was second and I heard the announcer say something like “And that was Lindsy Campbell from the University of Montana..?” as if he was really surprised or something. By then I was just like “Damn strait it’s me, I didn’t ride a steel bike through a Montana winter to come here and screw around.” The fourth prim I was in a bad spot with Kendi Thomas and some others on my wheel chasing down Daisy. I thought for sure they would all sprint past me but I just went for it and rode them off my wheel and got second again. I think that was the best part of the whole trip. I got third on another one but by the finish I was pretty tired and everybody was getting aggressive. I couldn’t get a good spot but I gave it all I could when I had room and ended up in twelfth. Later I found out I was tenth overall. I was ecstatic. Still am.

Thanks for listening. I can’t put into words how awesome it actually was. Also, thanks to everyone in Missoula. It was so cool to check my email, f-book, and my phone every day and see that everyone was cheering me on and excited for me. I hope to have more UM cyclists there next year!

UM Cycling - Race One - Corvallis/Eugene

This past weekend an incredibly mangy crew from Missoula headed out to Oregon to race some bikes, and soak up the balmy (relatively speaking) temps. I am going to try to give an accurate glimpse of the weekend, and then work in a little Radley blog end style...enjoy.

We had some wins! That's right, we had two Ws this weekend, as well as top tens and serious workers aplenty. In her race debut Lindsy Cambell (aka Squiggles), after realizing she didn't have to be, "so nervous she was going to puke," killed the women's C field by going solo with her mean face on up the final climb to close the gap on the leader and steal the victory. If you didn't already know, LC can climb.

Also, John (aka -ney on the spot) took a 15 mile solo flyer, climbing and then descending like the devil to take the men's D field. He said he hurt really bad afterwards, but got the upgrade over night.



Ivy had a super consistent weekend with a 5th place Crit finish and a 6th place RR finish in the C field. Ivy and Charlie (who just got off the snow and onto her bike two weeks ago), did work early allowing LC to get set in the front group. The NWCCC ladies I fear are going to get sick of the steady hurt Ivy can dish out on any course by the time May rolls around.




Agner finished 8th in the D RR after helping John get away, and then lit up the D crit with a 3rd place finish helped along by the diesel Daviess brings out to play with. Bryce mechanical-ed in the RR but was ready to go on Sunday. With a big grin on his face Bryce pulled the field around slowly shattering it for about 20 of the 30 minutes they were racing, all the while waving, (I think with his A game downtown wave), at the fans. Roltastic put on a sweet show in the crit groupetto after mechanical-ing out of the RR, and Levon had a good showing as well.

I ate all of my food during the RR and so was a little hungry during what turned out to be a surprisingly long race. A group of four got off the front that never got caught, but thanks to Dusty's voice yelling at me somewhere in my head I was able to get second out of the group at the top of the final climb. The crit was fun - I forgot how scary they can be.

All in all we had a great weekend. People put on shows, grabbed Ws, learned how to race, and even caught some romance in a dusty Oregon rest-stop. Let's hope for more of the same next week in Bellingham/Seattle.











I wonder if Rollo brushed his teeth...

The Start to Our Season

My merry Peddle Pushers,

All of the the riding/trash talking/planning we have been doing this winter is really neither here nor there. The here and the there boil down exclusively to the reintroduction, by UM cycling alumnus Shaun Radley, of the Taco Wednesday Time Trial series. Come and show everyone what you are made of!

I want to see some of you out there, including Wes in his skin suit with aero wheels on. Let's get some...Also, TWTT will never be canceled due to weather, unless the powers that be explicitly say. This means if you don't hear anything there is no need to ask, even if there is a foot of snow, because TWTT is still on.

Below is an intro note from Shaun.

Always and forever,

JDunph


Dear UM Cyclists & Triathletes,

My name is Shaun Radley. I think I've met most of you. I was a 3 year member of UM Cycling and captain in 2007. I'm writing today to inform you of a UM Cycling tradition.

This coming Wednesday is the first Taco Wednesday Time Trial of the year. The Taco Wednesday Time Trial has been ridden by the best UM cyclists and triathletes. It's a great way to test your fitness and hang out with other team members. You can ride as a team or individuals (or both). Sense it's a short course I encourage riders to race individually and as a team. After the time trial we will be eating tacos at Elliot Bessette's house in the Rattlesnake.

Now for the juicy stuff:

- Wednesday official start time is 5:30 (you can start earlier if you'd like just email me)
- Meeting place is the Luther Church parking lot in the Rattlesnake (just after the 90 degree right hand turn)
- Prizes for top female and top male and anyone who beats their best time
- 5 week series, with overall winners, dates: 3/4, 3/11, 3/18, 3/25, 4/1
- Points go 10 deep
- 4 mile out and back course
- Course records - Phil Grove 12:54, Jen Nerrison 13:33

Message from the record holder:

"Can anyone touch my SMOKIN TTTT RECORD? All i keep hearing is how UM is stronger than ever, lets see what you guys got (lil matty, bryce d, J. Dunph)! I remain" -Pipo

Hope to see you out!

Love,
Shaun

Snow and Such

So basically, yesterday was my twenty-first birthday. I did it right and went DT with a mangy crew of some of Missoula's finest and it was great. And by that I mean it was really fun. However, there is one detail that I had been planning that I was not able to see through. You see, today I was planning on riding my Madone to hang-over freedom OUTSIDE. This was to be the best birthday activity of all but was deemed not an option by me with the snow storm and such. Instead I was forced to eat scrambled eggs and groan about my kidneys while I watched the snow blow in and cover my birthday wishes in a damp blanket of disappointment. Oh well such is life. I guess this means I'll be showing my twenty-one year old face at the Lab tonight for more pain cave spelunking. I hope the music is good. And by that I mean I hope its cheesy rap music.

UM's own mixes it up in AZ

This weekend UM's Ivy clashes with some early season gladiators down in AZ. In her road cycling debut Ivy is in Phoenix stomping it out at the Valley of the Sun Stage Race. I have very limited info on how things are going for her, and the other MT riders who made the trip, but stay tuned. What I do have I got from a text received yesterday telling me she finished the TT somewhere in the middle of her 30 or so women field. I did some stalking and found out Ivy threw down a respectable 40:58 in the TT, only 2 mins. and change behind the leader!

By the looks of things, and knowing how Ivy likes and is capable to riding, if a break goes today and she gets in it without the big stomping TTers she could kill that 2 min. gap in no time...

My vote puts Ivy in the top five by tonight!

Oh, and happy V-Day...

Sloppy Snow, Slippery Skis and Severely Sleepy Cyclists

This past weekend a fleet of local cyclists turned skiers headed north(ish) to Seeley Lake, for the annual OSCR 50k. Naturally, the crew was mangy, with the likes of Radley, Brian, Joel, Jeffro, Ms. Carim, KG, Laurel and myself in attendance.  Having not ski raced in over six years,  I apprehensively committed to racing the night before after a few beers and a healthy dose of peer pressure.

We woke up early Saturday morning, packed up the cars and chugged up to Seeley Lake.  After registration, a few trips to the ol' port-a-loo, a gel or two and some last minute hyperventilation fits, I was ready to race. 

We all lined up, partook in a bit of nervous chatter, and after a shot gun blast, we were off!

After navigating through raging rapids of poles, skies, and tightly spandexed bodies, I found myself in 4th behind Zack Strong. 

I knew from past experience that his namesake describes him well and felt if I stayed with him I could be in the running.   The course was brutal, with soft snow underfoot, we climbed for 25k to the top of a ridge far from anything. By this time, I had dropped Zack while he shed some clothes and was skiing more or less alone.

Over the next hour or so, I would bonk then unbonk, get lost, rebonk, get passed, get passed a few more times, experience complete bio-mechanic shutdown, and eventually, drag myself to the finish in 7th.  Zack played it smart and flew by me with a kilometer or so to go.  

Whilst I was in a complete state of delirium at the finish, the race of the year was unfolding behind me.  Jeffy, Brian, Laurel and Shaun were in a heated battle.  In the end, Jeff came out the victor, barely holding off a late charging Laurel at the finish line, Brian followed and Shaun, who veered way off course, pulled in a few minutes later.  

I'm sure Jeff would like to thank the infamous Joel Brown for his one and only "Hot Bacon Aid-Station" at the 40k mark.  That crispy, cured pork undoubtedly gave him the fuel needed to hold off Laurel in that final kilometer.

After a hot bowl of chili and cornbread, we headed home with sore legs and droopy eyes.  

Nice work everyone, 

Matty Ice