East Canyon and Antelope Island Road Races

The past 2 weekends have seen TE riders in the East Canyon Road Race and Antelope Island Classic. Both races provided a great early season challenge for our riders. Of the last 7 weekends in Utah, only one has been sunny and dry. Niether of these races fell on that weekend and what were already tough races were made even tougher with cold, wind and rain.

Jerald Olsen was the lone TE rep at East Canyon. The race starts with a brutal, steep climb. It tends to seprate the group. Even with an injured back, Jerald attacked the hill with strength and held on the rest of the race to finish his first race of the season strong. Jerlad travels a lot for work, but takes his bike wherever he goes. I'm sure he puts more miles under his tires than anyone else on the team.

Kevan Steed, Greg Stuart, Todd Anderson, Blake Mason and Ben Towery all tackled the Antelope Island Classic out on the Great Salt Lake. Conditions were nothing less than epic with rain falling steadily almost the entire race.

For Kevan and Ben, who are racing up one class from last year as Cat 4's, the race was eye opening. This is a super competitive group with strong weekend warriors and aspiring prod alike. The race started on the causeway and the leaders set a blistering pace of 28 mph. With spray from the tires, finding a good line to draft was difficult. We were soaked instantly.

Once on the island, we did 3 laps of the inner loop then took a 10 out and back to the south end of Antelope. It was here that all involved needed to prove their metal. Ben and Kevan took turns pulling each other ro finish near mid pack, which was the goal for this first race.

Todd, Blake and Greg all contested the Cat 5 class in the same brutal conditions. Greg and Todd both suffered flats but got back on the horse and finished strong. I think most everyone involved were happy to have that race over with. Our clothes were balck and soaked and it took quite a while to get warm. Congrats to all involved.

Next up is the Utah State Crit Champs in downtown SLC. TE shines in the crits and we have high expectations. Hopefully our training lives up to that!

RMR Crits

The racing season is now in full swing. Jerald Olsen will be representing the team at the East Canyon Road Race this weekend and we'll have no less than 6 racers at the Antelope Island Classic on May 2nd. Kevan Steed, Todd Anderson and Blake Mason have also been taking part in the weekly crit series out at Rocky Mountain Raceway. Here's Kevan report from last night:

"The race was fast and furious last night.

"They made some modification to the coarse. Only using the top or East half of the ¼ mile track and weaving in and out of the pit area. It was fun and exciting. A and B Flites were extremely fast and I was getting nervous. I arrived early enough to run through the coarse to get comfortable with it, noticing where the hazards are and the good spots to break. Blake and Todd arrived after the As & Bs were racing so they didn’t get to run the coarse, which I feel is a disadvantage.

"We lined up and I would say there were easily 45-50 racers in the C Flite. The first lap was neutral for those who didn’t get practice runs in, then it was off to the races. No one broke away at first, but the tempo increased with every turn. My only advice was to ‘not get dropped’. This coarse strings you out, most of the time in a single pace line. If you lose the wheel in front of you, you’re on your own. Which is what happened with Blake & Todd.

"My goal was to stay with the lead group, and for the most part I stayed top 10-15. When the call rang out with “3 laps to go”, I found myself in a small group of 5 off of the front and my HR at 180. Not knowing how much longer I could hold on, unfortunate or not, a few others were able to join us, which allowed me to slip in behind and recover. Just before that, I was sad to see that we were coming up on a familiar jersey, and ended up lapping Todd. With words of encouragement to my teammate, I desperately struggled to hang on to this lead group. As we entered the straightaway towards the finish line and having counted how many were in front, sprinting my guts out and making sure no one was going to pass me in a spread out finish, I found myself taking 10th place.

"Realizing afterwards how strung out the race was and 3 or 4 groups that were created and actually lapping others, I feel pretty good that I stayed in the 1st group and actually had a top 10 finish. For the first timers (Blake & Todd) not counting the oval, which I feel is a completely different race, I think they did great and most importantly learned a lot. They are anxious to do it again."

Thanks Kevan! And good luck next week!

Velo Vie Vitesse 300 SE review

For 2009 Team Excelerator p/b Pinnacle Auto Company has added an exciting group of industry partners: Velo Vie Bicyles and SRAM. Thanks to our shop, The Bike Shoppe in Ogden, UT, Jerald and I have been able to take advantage of the sweet opportunity to ride SRAM equipped Velo Vie Vitesse 300 SE bikes this year. Kevan will also be building up the "team bike" very soon. I have had about 2 weeks on the bike so far and I thought I'd write a little review.

When the frameset arrived on my doorstep I was amazed at how light the package was. After taking the new steed from the box it was quickly noticed that the box and packaging weighted more than the frameset! This thing is wicked light. I was also impressed at how sexy the bike is. My mouth was watering to get the thing built and get it out on the road. I felt like a kid at Christmas.

For budget reasons, I went with SRAM's Rival groupset. SRAM doesn't make anything low end, and Rival is no exception. You get plenty of carbon and sexy black componentry in a package that weighs less than Shimano Ultegra SL but comes in at a price slightly below. Jerald's bike is equipped with SRAM's top end Red, but Rival has benefited from some trickle down tech from Red. Many pro teams actually spec Rival parts for their rigs. Bontrager Race Lite wheels, Race Lite handle bars, Race X Lite stem and Race X Lite seatpost round out the spec on my bike and is how Kevan's will be equipped as well. My bike weighs in at a respectable 16.5 lbs with pedals and bottle cages. Jerald's Red equipped bike comes in just under 15 lbs. with Reynolds carbon wheels.

Nate Folger at The Bike Shoppe built up the bike with incredible attention to detail and the bike was dialed from the first pedal. "Pleasantly surprised" was his reaction to the finished product. Kudos to Nate for his mad building skills!

The finished bike is striking to look at. The in-your-face graphics scream "this is a race bike" and the ride matches the message. From first pedal, I could tell this was no beach cruiser. It is stiff, very stiff. And according to Velo Vie's marketing, it is unabashedly so. Why such a stiff bike? Well, its built from ultra high modulus carbon in order to have every available watt of power to be put down on the road, where it should be. All this stiffness rewards the rider with a ride that is fast, very, very fast. This is a true to the core race bike.

The sensation is hard to describe. I came from a relatively high end aluminum frame to this bike and I could tell instantly the difference. The Vitesse 300 SE is such an upgrade, I feel like I may have unfair advantage. It's now up to me to make sure I have a motor in good enough shape to be worthy of such a thoroughbred. I have been able to hammer a bit and the bike reacts with excellent quickness. With every pedal stroke I can really feel the power being put down. Nothing is lost in the frame and fork. I love the feeling of speed and responsiveness with this bike.

The SRAM drive train is also impressive. The shifting is quick and deliberate. I also like the minimalist carbon lever set up. All the cable housings are run under the bar tape for a clean and aero cockpit. The hollow cranks are plenty stiff and there's nothing cooler than black colored stuff.

I'm super stoked about my new rig this year. I'll be focusing on crit racing this summer and I think I have the right tool for the job. Thanks to Velo Vie, SRAM and The Bike Shoppe for getting Team Excelerator p/b Pinnacle Auto Company race ready for 2009!

2009 Jersey Revealed

Here's a snap shot of what you'll see Team Excelerator p/b Pinnacle Auto Company wearing this year. Thanks again to all our sponsors!


A big shout out to David Bunnell of Bunnell Concepts for creating the jersey. You rock, Dave!

Team Excelerator p/b Pinnacle Auto Company 2009

Our inaugural year was nothing short of a huge success! Here's a brief summary:

4 riders moved up in racing category.
A few of us raced for the very first time.
Our founding female member completed her first century.
22 top 10 finishes.
11 podiums.
4 wins.
3 crashes.
1 photo with Miss Utah (see below).

Because of this, we head into 2009 with even bigger goals. We lost a few riders but have gained even more and we have even more depth this year. We have a group of 4 women now. We have added key financial partners and industry sponsors. We have adopted a bike trail in Davis County and will be hosting a hillclimb this summer boasting the highest finish of any road race in Utah.

Keep an eye out for Team Excelerator presented by Pinnacle Auto Group!

A special thanks to our sponsors: Pinnacle Auto Company, Peregrine Health, Price Orthodontics, Vitality Nutrition, The Bike Shoppe, Velo Vie Bicycles, SRAM, Bunnell Concepts, Best Impressions Photography, Matrix Signs and World Bicycle Relief.

Ogden Criterium

The last road race of the season was a fast and furious one as Ben, Kevan and Joel lined up for the Mountain to Metro Criterium this past weekend. The short and fast course was set up on 25th, Washington, Grant and 26th streets in downtown Ogden. That race was part of a bigger festival so it was fun to race in front of a crowd. Our Cat 4 and 5 riders raced together in this one.

The pace was fast from the get go for the 40 minute race. Not long into it, many of the lapped riders dropped out and the group was whittled down from around 50 riders to 30. 2 riders broke away early and forced the peloton to chase for the duration. Kevan kept the heat on throughout while Ben battled to stick with the leaders. Joel suffered through some late race cramps. With such a short course, the corners were scary fast with numerous "almost" accidents. With 3 laps to go, Ben made his move but was swallowed up the last lap and finished with Joel towards the back. Kevan however motored to third place, his best finish of the year! Congrats to all 3 riders for representing TE well.

This has been an awesome first year. TE has posted 22 top 10 finishes, 11 podiums and 4 wins. Not bad for an inaugural season. Thanks to all who have participated and keep in shape this winter. We will be making some announcements in the next few weeks about sponsors and some ideas for next year.
We still have one racer not done yet though. Targhee will be racing cyclocross this fall and we'll keep tabs on him.

The Big One: LOTOJA!

Here it is folks, the big one. The race that many of us trained all year for. Logan to Jackson is the longest one day race in the US that's sanctioned by US Cycling. Its 206 miles of climbs, wind, cold, beautiful vistas and sore keesters. Some race to win, others just to finish. Either way its an amazing experience. One that rewards those who conquer with pride and the overwhelming feeling of an awesome goal accomplished. LOTOJA is on many a bucket list and this year Team Excelerator had 12 riders in the race. Here's some of their stories:

3-5 Man Relay

Ben Towery, Kevan Steed, Targhee Child and sponsor Cory Price on "Team Excelerator White" battled it out against sponsor Rob Perkins and his buddies on "Team Excelerator Blue" for bragging rights in this competitive relay category. The loser was to buy lunch for the winner in this showdown that was a year in the making.!

Targhee and Rob led the two teams off to Preston. Last year Targhee averaged 17 mph for the first 35 miles. Much to the teams' surprise, Targhee and Rob rolled in to Preston at an average of 23 mph! Ben was to take the next leg to Montpelier for the White team and was barely ready as they came in so fast. After sizing Blue's next rider up for the first few miles, Ben put in the climb of his life, motoring up Strawberry Pass and into the next stop in just over 2.5 hours. It was then Kevan's turn to show his climbing prowess. He raced into Afton to pass the batton to Ben completing the tough stage with an average speed of 22 + mph. Ben was able to warm up prior to taking a second stint on the road and hammered the windy leg at just under 23 mph. It was then up to Cory to bring it home.

We had been hoping to get in to Jackson in 10.5 hours. It was a huge surprise then when Cory raced thorugh the finsih line with a total time of 9 hrs and 53 minutes! 6 teams finsished within 5 seconds of each other and the White team took 16th place overall out of 58. Cory absolutely slammed his way to Jackson and won the White team a nice dinner. The Blue team rolled in a little over a half hour later all smiles. While they lost the bet for dinner, they still finished in the top half and knocked over an hour off of Rob, Cory and Targhee's relay time from last year. Rob and his boys put up some impresive numbers up the climbs and on the flats.

Fun Ride Relay

Team members Kirk Johnson and Troy Headly also participated in a relay. Here's a shot of Kirk in this year's Xterra Triathon in Ogden. This was supposed to be a family event for Kirk but unfortunately his wife was hit by a car earlier this year and broke her hip. One of many horrible car/cyclist encounters this year on the roads of Utah. In her place, Troy took over and put in the most miles he has all year. A true LOTOJA addict now, Troy wants to ride the race solo next year. Good job to both of you and we hope Kirk's wife recovers well.

Cat 5

Our long hauler, Jerald Olsen, competed in LOTOJA for his first time this year. There isn't anyone out there who prepared better for and rode more miles than Jerald to get ready for LOTOJA this year. With his family supporting him along the route, he put in an incredible 10 hour and 45 min time on the clock. What was amazing was how good Jerald looked at the end. He was smiling ear to ear. Last year, when Ben and Kevan finished, the ylooked like death warmed over. Not Jerald. His preparation paid off in a big way. Having climbed more than 120,000 verticle feet this year, the LOTOJA climbs were no match for this mountain goat. Way to go Jerald!

Master's 55+

Jim Gilland is our inspriration. Riding as much as he does and as fast as he does, gives us all hope for all our athletic futures. Having done LOTOJA multiple times, Jim was wanting to put down his best time ever this year. Illness struck however halfway through the race and it almost put the breaks on the race for him. This is where it gets inspiring however. Jim dug deep. He thought of friends who have experienced much worse during their rides and decided to push on through. Looking quite pale at the end, Jim also had the look of someone who didn't quit. Good on 'ya, Jim

Cat 4

Joel Rackhem, Casy Marker and Russ Parry all represented in the very competitive Cat 4 division. Joel won the event last year in his class and was looking to repeat. Casey is another one of oru workhorses on the team and can climb like a mad man. Having missed their meals in Montpelier, the raod looked long in front of the three. They however also dug deep and bridged the gap back to the leaders in the group. Hanging tough all the way to Jackson this class had 2 riders break away and the battle for third came down to a field sprint. The fast and furious finish saw Joel come in 5th, Casy 6th and Russ a very respectable 12th. Russ had to bridge a big gap to get to where he was. Way to go guys!

Good job to all. This has been an awsome year for TE. We have one more race, the Harvest Moon Crit on Sept 27th. Watch for TE to take the podium in at least 2 classes.