Sunday, March 30

Molly's WWU Race Report: Plus BONUS MATERIAL from the week before!

*I apologize in advance about the length of this post. It also jumps all over the place.*

You might be asking yourself, “Why is Molly writing a race report? Didn’t that girl graduate?” Why, yes! I did! I didn’t flunk out of college in the last few weeks after Nationals and am not currently racing as part of my fifth year curriculum at Whitman. I just live in Seattle now and Bellingham is a hop, skip, and a small jump away from my apartment. 

And speaking of my apartment... I had a few visitors last week. Lizzy (who also graduated last spring & raced on the team) and I are housemates in Seattle and we had the pleasure of hosting 8 of the Whitman Cycling racers all week in our two bedroom, one bath apartment. Needless to say, it was super cozy. I couldn’t go riding with the team since I was at work (boooo sometimes being an adult is rough) but I got to do things like laugh at them and take photos while they did core, practice my James Bond stealth skills when I left for work in the morning, and cuddle with Jenna every single night. Somebody at work the other day told me that I can make undergrad jokes now that I’ve graduated, but unfortunately I forgot to do that in front of all the undergrads in our house. Next time... Also a big shout-out to Jenna’s aunt and uncle who generously fed all of us on Thursday night! 

CORE! Also, put those tan lines away Luke. Nobody wants to see that.
So many bikes... 

Sadly the all-day-every-day slumber party had to end so that the team could race in Bellingham. The WWU race was your typical collegiate race weekend. We woke up before 6:00am. Luke and I argued a lot (think siblings fighting). We ate a lot. I GOT TO SEE MILES! I still struggle with the right quantity of oatmeal to cook. We raced a lot. Ok... Everyone else raced a lot while I watched. Miles was sassy. Tweeting happened (although apparently not as often as Debi & Whitney would have liked), laughing occurred more often than not, I took some creeper photos, my phone died, T-Swift was played, the bass was cranked up, and Whitman kicked butt.

I stayed with the team in the homestay Friday night (thanks to Nate, Veronica, and the rest of the housemates for opening your home to us!) and I had this feeling that I haven’t had in a really long time at race weekends. That feeling is called ‘no stress’ or ‘relaxed’. I felt like I should have been forcing people to sign waivers or figuring out what time we needed to leave in the morning, but lo and behold, I don’t have to do that anymore! Hahaha bummer for you, Luke, Berto, and Rachel! 

Luke also has a new nickname that everyone should address him by from this point forward. His name is now Ken. Luke was sitting on the floor in shorts rolling his legs out when Kristin noticed that from where she was sitting, his legs looked unusually shiny and plastic-like. Once she said this, Jenna exclaimed, “Just like a Ken doll”! At first there was some confusion because everyone had thought she said “Kendall” but then it was figured out. 

Moving on... The road race was mostly dry which was great! Forrest was an absolute beast on all of the climbs and later accompanied Berto, Talia’s parents (Gail & Don), and me while we drove around the course to watch the women race. As unfortunate as it was that Berto decided not to do the RR after slamming his already bad knee into the trailer that morning, I'm glad that I got to hang out with him all day. Jenna had requested a couple of songs for us to blast while they raced by, and one of my weekend highlights was definitely Jenna throwing an arm up in the air to dance to the music each time she rode by the car. I’m also still happy to say that Whitman continues to bring more women than men to the races every week. It’s awesome to see so much enthusiasm and support for the women’s fields at the start line. Not only from the Whitman men, but other teams as well. 

Mackinzie, Berto, Luke, and I at Forrest's start. Photo taken by the lovely Rachel Geiter.

Dessie, Mackinzie, & Andi at the Womens A staging.

Completely jumping topics, during the RR we were parked next to OSU. Apparently they thought we were entertaining... No, OSU. Your van windows are not tinted, but yes, that orange soda from the taco truck matches your kits perfectly. 

I also witnessed a particularly wonderful conversation between the OSU Men C TTT riders less than 60 seconds before their start time.
“So... have you guys all raced a time trial before?”
Two yes, one no.
“Well I guess I’ll teach you when we start”

That’s definitely the beauty of collegiate cycling though - anyone and everyone is encouraged to join. You see riders supporting, teaching, and helping each other at all levels and I can never get over just how awesome that is.

Zander & Luke getting pumped for their RR.

Jenna, Kristin, & Talia ready to cheer Luke on at the Mens A finish!

Before the crit on Saturday, Lizzy and I rolled up blasting music from Lizzy’s car, AKA the Bassmobile. Rolling into staging is the race that happens before the race that happens with your bike. We feel like we’ve won this race every weekend of the spring season so far. And when we say ‘win’, we mean we turned up the bass and played music louder than anyone else. Obviously song choice is important as well.

While the team was busy demolishing the competition in the crit, I demolished a few of my own goals, which included:
  1. Meet Sam Waples’ girlfriend, Mackenzie
  2. Meet Ryan Short
  3. Meet Peter Buco
  4. Ring the preme bell 
It would take way too many words to describe why each of these was a goal of mine, so I’m not going to.

All in all it was quite a success. I met Peter right after he came out of a porta potty and my conversation with Ryan went something like this**:
...Molly sprints across the road to meet Ryan...
“Hi, are you Ryan Short?”
“Yeah - you’re Molly? Have you eaten any strong cheese lately?”
“Ugh, no.”
“That’s a shame”

**This is a condensed version of our conversation. Mostly I just picked out the best part.

Meeting Mackenzie was much more normal, which is probably good since we actually plan on going riding together in the future.

Another highlight of the crit (other than the women’s A group working to help Dessie out with a WIN & Talia placing 4th in Womens B) was the Porta Potty Party that Zander had where he just played music really loud from his phone while he was in the porta potty.

Celebrating Talia's Birthday! (from left to right: Lizzy, Talia, Jenna, Berto, Kristin, Mackinzie, Dessie, Me)

Highlights after the race weekend included buying froyo from a slightly sketchy store that sells ‘bourbon-to-go” in Kirkland with Lizzy & Kristin, and hosting three of the OSU riders Sunday night in our apartment before they left for a spring break bike touring adventure. I learned all about their teammates, potatoes, and how to use my laptop that I apparently hadn’t figured out in 4.5 years.

I had such a good time meeting the new Whitman riders (Fiona, Dessie, Zander, Forrest) and hanging out with the old ones. Everyone is so upbeat, optimistic, and fun! The collegiate atmosphere is so much different than what you see anywhere else. There are definitely rivalries and everyone is there to race, but at the end of the day the conference acts as one big, slightly dysfunctional family and I am so lucky and excited to be wearing the same colors as four current & previous collegiate racers this year (Lizzy, Alexa [Central Wa], Misha [Central Wa], Neal [UI]) as part of the Hagens Berman Society Consulting team.

Thanks to WWU for hosting the race! You guys did an awesome job. And thanks for chaperoning and letting me give you a hard time all weekend, Justin! Also thanks to Gail, Don, and Talia for dealing with my hot chocolate order. You guys are the best :) And most of all, thanks to the Whitman Cycling team for letting me tag along and bother you all weekend! Also thanks for not changing the password to the blog so I can put this up without permission from any of you :)

Race Director Dan just doing his job. Someone has to restock the port potties, right!? This would also be one of my creeper photos...


Most frequently used words/phrases of the week/race weekend:
-Struggle Bus
-Sketch
-Bass
-Sooooooo
-Why are they staring at us?
-Viscosity
-Core
-Turn up the music
-Tom Hanks

Most frequently played songs/artists of the week:
-Electric Pow Wow Drum
-Shots
-Spice Girls
-Ke$ha
-Timber (yes, this is Ke$ha but it warranted it’s own mention)
-Stuntin’ Like Mufasa (Simba vs. Lil Wayne)
-Go Girl

Love,

Molly

P.S. Get excited for a report after the Whitman home race weekend as well as all sorts of exciting tweets from a campout that may or may not happen with the elusive Mister Whitney Griggz!

Wednesday, March 19

CWU Race Report

Race weekend number three has come and gone with another strong weekend of racing. A change of destination was in order as the team spent their first weekend of spring break heading out to the windy area of Ellensburg for some hard racing.

The weather held out for the races which all proved to be exciting and thrilling. There was even time for everyone to get some sun tanning done in between races on Saturday. Everyone had a blast and cannot wait for a much needed rest from school.

Big thank you to the Ayla and Chris opening up their home to our team again, it was greatly appreciated. Another big thank you to CWU for putting on a great race weekend, everyone seemed to really like the road course changes. Again thank you to Debi Toews for chaperoning for the team and keeping some of us running on caffeine when needed!


Central Washington University Omnium
March 15-16

Road Race

Women’s A
  • Rachel Geiter (senior): 3rd
  • Dessie Weigel (freshman): 4th
  • Mackinzie Stanley (sophomore): 6th

Men’s A
  • Luke Ogden (senior): 9th

Women’s B
  • Becca Mellema (sophomore): 8th
  • Talia Rudee (senior): 10th
  • Jenna Stanley (sophomore): 15th
  • Rose Baunach (sophomore): 17th

Men’s B
  • Kevin Wallin (sophomore): 11th
Men’s D
  • Nick Davies (senior): 20th
  • Forrest Watkins (senior): 23rd


TTT

Women’ A: 2nd

Men’s A: 4th

Women’s B(1): 4th

Women’s B(2): 5th

Men’s B: 5th


Crit

Women’s A
  • Rachel Geiter (senior): 1st!
  • Mackinzie Stanley (sophomore): 6th
  • Dessie Weigel (freshman): 7th

Men’s A
  • Luke Ogden (senior): 4th
  • Alberto Santos-Davidson (junior): 12th

Women’s B
  • Talie Rudee (senior): 5th
  • Becca Mellema (sophomore): 10th
  • Fiona Bennitt (freshman): 12th
  • Sam Fata (freshman): 20th

Men’s B
  • Kevin Wallin (sophomore): 11th
  • Zander Guzy-Sprague (freshman): 17th

Men’s D
  • Nick Davies (senior): 9th

Team Standings

RR: 3rd (behind PSU, UW)

TTT: 3rd (behind PSU, WWU)

Crit: 2nd (behind PSU)

Whitman is 4th overall in the conference after week three and 2nd overall for DII

Wednesday, March 12

Becca's OSU race report

The pack surged around the corner. Again.

As the pace slowed down to our normal speed, I turned to the girl next to me and said, “Well, someone’s had their coffee today.” She agreed. After every corner or at the base of every hill, someone kept attacking off the front without fail. By the third lap, it was getting slightly irritating.

Only slightly, though. I had to also remind myself that this was the first time I had ever kept up with the breakaway pack (quite by accident, actually. I managed to hold onto a choice wheel when there happened to be a breakaway of about fifteen girls from the main peloton). Maybe this was how it always was: speed up, slow down, speed up, slow down, repeat. There was a certain excitement amongst all of us in the group, though, despite the irritating accelerations/decelerations. We all were itching to get towards the front, to show how strong we were… or, at least get behind that certain someone who kept making those attacks so that we could just hang in their draft (cyclists can be lazy occasionally, even during a race).

As we reached the bottom of the final hill, I felt my knee begin to burn. Uh oh. I had a feeling this would happen. I hadn’t stretched out my IT band, which meant that by now, it was probably inflamed. I turned to Fiona and laughed, “Well, my knee hurts.”
“It does?"
“Yep. This does not bode well.” Just like the good old cross-country days, I thought.

The pack spread out as we asceneded. “Low and go” I said huffed wheezed out. At least it wasn’t as long as last week’s race. Now THAT was a hill. At about 1 km left, I found myself pedaling past another girl. Under flatter circumstances, we would have said encouraging words to each other, like “You got this,” or “Look at you kick butt!” but we could only manage swift glances, curt nods, and grunts. Before I knew it, I had finally passed the finish line.

I pedaled next to my teammate Dessie, who had just won. “Do you know who kept on attacking?”
Dessie grinned. “Oh, that was me and two other girls.” I laughed. Oh, the irony.

-Becca

Fiona's OSU race report


Our weekend was just fantastic! It didn’t rain as much as Eugene, and I felt so much better. Most people that I talked to remarked that they did too. The road race was a rolling course with 4 or 5 moderate hills not including the finish. The Women’s B voted at the start line to reduce the race from 42 miles to around 32, due to the fact that the C’s were combined with the B’s at the beginning of the season, and it would have been a stretch for many in the peloton. I was just fine with that decision! The race itself turned out to be one with few attacks. The group split at the first hill and stayed apart for the rest of the race, and though at times it seemed as though the lead group might splinter, the attacks were never sustained and we reeled them back in shortly. One crash occurred, and though we had to divide our pack suddenly down the middle to avoid the rider, no one else went down and the woman was alright. The final climb, a 2-mile long hill not included in the previous loops, was the only other truly eventful part of the race. Luckily, I was sitting in the back of the leading group with Becca, and she was telling me that I could do it, that I was a climber, that I had it. Those words were what I needed to hear. A little way into the climb, the group started to shuffle and I was able to dart in through the center of the crowd towards the front. I was sitting seventh wheel at that point, and that was the position I would end up crossing the line in! Then Dessie attacked, and I yelled as loud as I could for her to go for it, and go for it she did. The pack strung out, and I was surprised to ride away from the girls behind me. We all finished strong, expending considerable effort, and I was overjoyed! The race was capped off by a swift descent back down the hill, with the Oregon Cascades visible in the distance. I yelled encouragements to the other Women’s B riders making their way up, as well as the men finishing in the mix. Teamwork goes a lot farther than one realizes, especially the mental kind, and I am excited to see what next weekend will bring!

Fiona

Tuesday, March 11

OSU Race Report

Race weekend number two is in the books with another strong showing from the Whitman crew. Heading down to Corvallis with the promise of better weather than last weekend, spirits were high going into the weekend.

While many of the younger riders started really getting a better feel for racing, we still had some riders who were experiencing racing for the first time. Overall there were plenty of smiles, laughs, and dancing to go around.

Big thank you to the Fields family for hosting us at their home and providing dinner for us on Saturday night. Another big thank you to OSU for putting on another fantastic race weekend. Thank you to Debi Toews for chaperoning for the team and not only cheering us on but providing food and entertainment for the team.

Oregon State University Omnium
March 7-9

Road Race
  • Women’s A 
    • Rachel Geiter (senior): 2nd
  • Men’s A 
    • Luke Ogden (senior): 12th 
    • Alberto Santos-Davidson (junior): 21st 
  • Women’s B 
    • Dessie Weigel (freshman): 1st 
    • Fiona Bennitt (freshman): 7th 
    • Becca Mellema (sophomore): 10th 
    • McKenzie Momonay (senior): 18th 
    • Sam Fata (freshman): 26th 
    • Rose Baunach (sophomore): 27th 
  • Men’s C 
    • Ari Appel (freshman): 8th 
  • Men’s D 
    • Nick Davie (senior): 19th 
    • Alex Ihle (freshman): 22nd 
    • Forrest Watkins (senior): 43rd 
TTT
  • Women’ A: 1st 
  • Men’s A: 5th 
  • Women’s B: 6th 
  • Men’s C: 3rd 

Crit
  • Women’s A 
    • Rachel Geiter (senior): 2nd 
  • Men’s A 
    • Alberto Santos-Davidson (junior): 10th 
    • Luke Ogden (senior): 23rd 
  • Women’s B 
    • Dessie Weigel (freshman): 1st 
    • Fiona Bennitt (freshman): 4th 
    • Becca Mellema (sophomore): 15th 
    • McKenzie Momany (senior): 23rd 
    • Rose Baunach (sophomore): 26th
    • Sam Fata (freshman): 27th 
  • Men’s B
    • Zander Guzy-Sprague (freshman): 8th 
    • Kevin Wallin (sophomore): 10th 
  • Men’s C 
    • Ari Appel (freshman): 14th 
  • Men’s D 
    • Nick Davies (sernior): 14th 
    • Alex Ihle (freshman): 17th 
Team Standings
  • RR: 3rd (behind WWU, UW) 
  • TTT: 3rd (behind UW, WWU) 
  • Crit: 3rd (behind UW, WWU) 

Whitman is 4th overall in the conference after week one and 2nd overall for DII

Monday, March 3

University of Oregon Race Report

March 1-2

First race weekend of the 2014 season!
Finally, after many months of preparation, the Whitman Cycling team packed up the trailer and headed off to Eugene for a little bit of fun on bikes.  We made a statement at the opening race letting the other teams know that we are back this year and better than ever.  We had multiple podiums and big smiles from all of our new riders.

Big thank you to the Watkins family for hosting us at their home and evening and for providing dinner for us on Saturday night.  Another big thank you to UO for putting on another fantastic race weekend to open the season. Thank you to Cassie for chaperoning for the team and cheering us on during our races.


Road Race

·      Women’s A
o   Mackinzie Stanley (sophomore): 2nd
o   Rachel Geiter (senior): 4th
·      Men’s A
o   Luke Ogden (senior): 3rd
·      Women’s B
o   Dessie Weigel (freshman): 3rd
o   Talia Rudee (senior): 8th
o   Becca Mellema (sophomore): 13th
o   Fiona Bennitt (freshman): 17th
o   Jenna Stanley (sophomore): 27th
·      Men’s B
o   Kevin Wallin (sophomore): 7th
o   Zander Guzy-Sprague (freshman): 20th
·      Men’s C
o   Ari Appel (freshman): 6th
·      Men’s D
o   Alex Ihle (freshman): 11th

TTT

·     Women’ A: 1st
·      Men’s A: 4th
·      Women’s B: 4th
·      Men’s C: 3rd


Crit

·      Women’s A
o   Rachel Geiter (senior): 3rd
o   Mackinzie Stanley (sophomore): 4th
·      Men’s A
o   Luke Ogden (senior): 10th
·      Women’s B
o   Dessie Weigel (freshman): 1st
o   Talia Rudee (senior): 8th
o   Becca Mellema (sophomore): 11th
o   Kristin Nesbit (sophomore): 16th
o   Fiona Bennitt (freshman): 18th
·      Men’s B
o   Kevin Wallin (sophomore): 16th
o   Zander Guzy-Sprague (freshman): 20th
·      Men’s C
o   Ari Appel (freshman): 10th
·      Men’s D
o   Alex Ihle (freshman): 18th

Team Standings

·      RR: 1st!
·      TTT: 2nd (behind UW)
·      Crit: 3rd (behind PSU, WWU)
·      Whitman is 3rd overall in the conference after week one and 2nd overall for DII