Gene`s BMX News

[Guest]

Bavarian Bike & Brews Race ( June 3, 2006 )
( A Annual IMBA sanctioned XC race Leavenworth, WA )
http://www.dasradhaus.com/events.html


*** Racers Challenge Bavarian Bike Course ***

Leavenworth, Washington --
Brandon Bastell, 24, of East Wenatchee won the Clydesdale Division
— for cyclists 200 pounds or more — at the ninth annual Bavarian Bike
& Brews Festival race Saturday.

Bastell finished two laps in 1 hour, 44 minutes, 23 seconds.

The cross country race was made up of an 8.6-mile loop with
1,800-foot elevation gain per lap. Each lap also challenged riders
with four creek crossings, single track and water bars.

In the Sport men 30-39-year-old division, Todd Strahm, 36,
of Wenatchee, won the age group in 1:29:05.

Wenatchee’s Butch Lane won his Sport men 40-49 in 1:34:35,
while David Dunnell of East Wenatchee, age 50, won his Sport
men 50-plus in 1:40:21. Dunnell had the highest placing among
the W.A.R. (Wenatchee Area Racers team). Teammate Tom
Heywood finished second in 1:42:03, and team member Penny
Hulbert was second to Tiffany James of Seattle in the Sport women
30-39.

Other division-winning local riders included Scott McGlynn, 31,
(Beginner men 30-39); Zeke Reister, 57, (Beginner men 50-plus);
Erika Enloe, 36 (Beginner women 30-39); and Lucas Tilly, 10,
(Youth 10-and-under boys).

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

*** Bike & Brews Competitors Have A Thirst For Adventure ***

Leavenworth, Washington --
Splattered with mud and gasping, they came in, one by one,
ready to tell all, over a brew, about the agony of the monster
assent, the technical twists, hops and turns through the woods
and rush of downhill speed toward the finish line.

While close to 1,000 cyclists skirted the freeway between
Wenatchee and Chelan in the Apple Century Ride Saturday,
a smaller group of more aggressive riders took their knobby
tread bikes into the hills near Leavenworth for the ninth annual
Bavarian Bike & Brews Festival.

The festival is held the first Saturday in June each year at the
Gibbs Ranch in Freund Canyon. Close to 300 mountain bike
riders ages 9 to 59 participated this year in 20 different categories.

The race covers an 8.6 mile mostly single track loop on U.S.
Forest Service land with 1,800 feet elevation gain.

“This is the hardest climbing course in the series,” said Doug
Graver, a Monroe cyclist. He referred to the eight-race Indie
Series of mountain bike races of which the Bikes & Brews is part.
The next race in the series is Sunday in Winthrop.

“The climb isn’t as steep as some, but it’s relentless. You’re
climbing the whole time,” said Jeff Cummings, a Bellingham
rider who won last year’s Expert Men’s event. Three laps on
the course — a total of 25.8 miles — took him 2 hours and 4
minutes last year. He hoped to beat that time this year.

This is the second year the Bike & Brews race has been a
part of the Indie Series, said Christine Munly, race organizer
and owner, with her husband James, Das Rad Haus, a
Leavenworth bicycle shop.

Until 2004, the race drew about 70 mainly local riders.
Last year, registration jumped to 275. This year it’s closer
to 300. About 80 percent of the riders come from Western
Washington.

“People really like it because it’s the only race that is a festival.
We tell them to bring the family and camp out,” she said.

A half dozen breweries had set up tables under a large tent in
the pasture of the Gibbs Ranch. A technical bike course was set
up in the field for kids and adults who needed to show off. A band
was coming to play for a dance until dark. The big event planned
for the afternoon was the Huffy Toss, for those who cared to seek
revenge on the cheap bikes behind them. Most of the competitors
were riding brands like Kona, Specialized, Cannondale and custom
made bikes that could cost $5,000 and more.

Cummings said bikes don’t have to be that pricey.
At least not at first before you get the bug.

“You can outfit a kid in a good bike for less than $1,000.
It’s good family fun,” he said. He was waiting for his son
to finish his race in a youth class before starting his own
race.

Helen Chamberlain of Poulsbo was on the sidelines Saturday
to cheer on her 16-year-old daughter, Hope, and her husband,
Kerry. The entire family, including a son now on the professional
circuit, has been racing seriously for 10 years, she said.

“What’s really neat about this sport is that we play together
and we work out together as a family,” she said.

Chamberlain said competitive mountain bike riding is exciting
and challenging, but it’s not a sport for the faint of heart or for
those who don’t like to get dirty and occasionally get hurt.

“We’re not fair-weather riders. We’re from Western Washington.
It’s fun to ride in the rain and mud. We even ride in the snow,”
she said.

Nancy Bywater, a Leavenworth resident, said she rides in the
local race every year, but doesn’t do the circuit. She entered
the race this year with her brother-in-law and her husband,
Brett Johnson, who rode the course with a Tag-A-Long extension
on his bike so their 6-year-old son, Finn, could participate.

“This is a real family affair,” she said. “We love it.”