Vicious Cycle

Sapore di Fondo

jakemaedke — Fri, 31 May 2013 00:39:03 +0000

A couple weeks ago a few of us set out to get a taste of what’s to come for Gran Fondo Leavenworth. I had ridden parts of it before, but other parts I had only driven and I wasn’t sure how it would all come together. We set out and began the first climb up Eagle Creek Rd. We were all feeling very good. The road goes up, but rolls well and is twisty with plenty of scenery to keep your mind off the climbing. The route turns off Eagle Cr to Forest Service Rd 7520 and begins to get steeper. We made an effort to keep the cadence up and not push to hard, but as the grade steepened and the gears ran out it became increasingly difficult. Soon enough we were at the top though and in for a long fast down hill. The speed was kept in check by our bicycle/tire choice and by our desire to continue living. Once back on pavement at Ardenvoir we opted to skip the Mud Creek climb and head straight for Entiat. This made for a long gradual pavement down hill all the way to Entiat, and from there onto State Route 97, all the way down to Swakane Canyon. This is where the fatigue began to set in of all places. Miles and miles of rugged mountain gravel roads… then 18 miles of pavement (downhill) are what did us in. Maybe it was the wind, the heat, and the sustained effort, but we were feeling it. Or so we thought. Then we made a hard right turn onto Swakane Canyon Rd which is steep right off the get go -and were really feeling it. It was also on this particular day, hot! The first few miles are exposed with no break from the sun. Eventually we got into some trees and shade for some much need relief from the sun. At this point we were (mistakenly) thinking that we were near the end of the climb. In actuality it was more like half way. We were zapped from the heat and low on water and this climb seemed to drag on forever with lots of steep pitches and rough road. But the climb is survivable (barley) and the views at the top were worth all of the pain and suffering (okay, the views were great and all, but that was a lot of pain and suffering). Once on our final decent (FS7500) we were treated to a long, fun, twisty downhill all the way back to Eagle Creek Rd, which was even better going down than it was going up (surprise). We finished it up in fine Bavarian fashion, with a bratwurst and cold beer.

Set up for this type of ride is very subjective. A road bike will work for some, although it will be slow on the rough downhills, whereas others will opt for a mtb, which will rip the downhills, but will pay on the pavement. I rode my Trek Cronus Ultimate cx bike with 700×34 Michelin Jet tires set up tubeless at 45/50 psi. I felt the tires were a bit sluggish on the pavement sections which could prompt me to consider a 700×28 tubeless road tire. However the extra volume was super nice on the long and rough downhills allowing me to carry a little extra speed. The Avid Shorty Ultimate brakes on my bike are great, but were at their max in a few situations. Disc would be nice. Summery: there is no right answer. No matter what bike/tire you pick it will be wrong. This ride is very hard and will make you hurt. See you June 23rd!

Chelan

jakemaedke — Tue, 14 May 2013 04:47:11 +0000

Mountain bike race season is finally here! We are headed to the fast and furious Vin du Lac Echo Valley Rally this weekend for the Raleigh Fat Tire Revolution Series presented by Clif Bar. This is always one of our favorite rounds because, well, hello it’s Chelan! Come out for the weekend, beat the summer crowds, and get some Chelan. We’ll be having packet pick up/early reg going on at Vin du Lac Bistro Friday evening from 5-7 pm with a special buffet spread just for us. The course will be fast and rad like last year. We’ll also have Terri’s Treats on site cooking up all your favorites. Hope to see you there!

AND don’t forget Bike and Brews is just around the corner. Be sure to get signed up early, as registration is limited to 400 and fills up every year.

DU & Burn Preview

jakemaedke — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 04:07:31 +0000

A few of us got out for a pre-ride on the Duathlon course on Saturday. What a course! Beautiful scenery and rolling terrain, good stuff. I’m really starting to get excited for this one. 5k run, 16 mile bike, 5k run, on April 6 at Confluence Park in Wenatchee. We have already placed our order for sunshine!

Duathlon Preview

On Sunday I did some prep for the Lions Park Short Track Race. It should be a pretty good mix of grass, dirt, and even a bit of single track. Then met up with the gang and did a lap on the Burn course. I was on my Trek Superfly Pro hardtail… and can ride fast for one lap, but think a full suspension would be faster for multiple laps. The Beez is rough! The course will be very similar to last year with a little new section to keep everyone on their toes.

Sunland Ride Report

jakemaedke — Sun, 17 Mar 2013 04:35:26 +0000

A couple of us set out on a ride today that I had been wanting to do for awhile. Not because it’s some well know local hotspot or anything, quite the contrary. In fact that was the biggest draw for me, the fact that it’s not a ride many would have any interest in doing. It wasn’t a mountain bike ride. It wasn’t a road ride. I really don’t even know what you call this kind of riding. We covered close to 50 miles in total. Much of it was gravel and old rocky, over grown double track. Starting in Quincy, using canal roads and back roads as much as possible we made our way down through Ancient Lakes, behind the Gorge Amphitheater, past Sunland Estates and all the way down to the Columbia River before climbing our way back up the long switch back road out. Then through the Quincy Lakes and back into town. It is a pretty awesome thing to start in a town, ride your bike to a very remote area that you have never been before, then ride back. I highly recommend it!

All smiles rolling the fast gravel road along side massive basalt cliffs to Ancient Lakes.

Headed past Ancient Lakes and into the unknown. Awesome.

Some chose road tires, some chose cyclocross. They were both wrong at some point.

Some pretty amazing terrain back in here.

It just wouldn’t be a proper ride without a stream crossing.

Slickrock, Central Washington style.

Behind the Gorge Amphitheater looking toward the Columbia River and threatening clouds rolling in over the Colockum.

Steep switch backed “road” all the way down to the Columbia.

Switch backs! Looking down hill toward Sunland Estates.

Switch backs! Looking up the hill, away from Sunland Estates

Finishing it up, coming through the Quincy Lakes. A cool area.

Gran Fondo Ephrata Coundown

jakemaedke — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 15:39:54 +0000

We are down to the final week leading up to the 2013 Gran Fondo Ephrata and a couple of us got out and rode the course last weekend. Overall it was in great shape. We came across a little snow on top of Norton Canyon, but that will easily be all be dried by March 10. I was running a standard 700×23 road tire on my Trek Cronus cyclocross bike. A road bike would do just fine too, but I think a 700×25 tubeless road tire would be the cats meow. The weather is the big unknown here. Every year we pre-ride with great conditions, but come the big day get slammed with foul weather. Is this going to be the year we break the curse? See you March 10 for a ride that is sure to leave its mark, regardless of the weather.

Officially Official

jakemaedke — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 08:30:47 +0000

We are officially open for business. We have a Duathlon, three Gran Fondos, and 11 rounds of the Fat Tire Revolution! All of which are now open for registration. The Apple Capital Spring Duathlon is a new event for us that we are excited to have handed off to us from local legend and SET Coaching founder Jason Jablonski. Also super excited for another new thing: the Gran Fondo Triple. This is going to be crazy, Ephrata, Leavenworth, and Winthrop, each with it’s own unique rugged terrain, but all with LOTS of climbing! People are either going to love them or hate them, not quite sure. The Fat Tire Revolution is up to 11 events, featuring cross country, short track, and enduro, with four new venues. It’s going to be a great year for mountain biking! With all of this going on be sure to register early to ensure your spot. Yep, it’s going to be a busy spring/summer, can’t wait!

New Year

jakemaedke — Thu, 27 Dec 2012 20:39:04 +0000

What an awesome year… dare I say epic. Well buckle up, next year is right around the corner and promises to be even awesomER! Beginning with the Yeti ride (by our friends at Wenatatchee Valley Velo) on Jan 1. Might as well start the new year out right, on the bike! And it’s loads of fun! Ride begins at Garlini’s in Wenatchee at noon.

As for our events the FTR Series is going to be bigger and better than ever. Also we’ve been working on a series of three Gran Fondo rides! Ouch!

Spindependent is right around the corner as well. Every Monday through-out January and February we’ll be meeting at the ERC from 6-7 pm for an indoor “spin class” I use the “quotes” to show my feeling of disdain toward the term “spin class.” You see your typical spin class is lead by a gym monkey who knows nothing about cycling. Mine on the other hand are lead by a tall skinny man in spandex… who knows nothing about cycling. But hey at least he’s in spandex, that’s worth the price alone, right?

And if your still reading this after that then there’s a good chance you’ll be interested in our (sort of) ongoing Saturday Winter rides. We seek out the road less traveled. And then we travel them.

Hope all had a nice Christmas and wish you a happy New Year!

Monument Hill Ride

jakemaedke — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 04:26:54 +0000

It felt much more like a March base training ride than a miserable December death march. Although in an effort to stay upbeat and motivated to ride I’ve forbidden myself from using the term “training” or “death march” for awhile. And really, I am feeling quite motivated to ride, if anything I’m worried that I’m too motivated for this time of year. Especially considering how nice it was for our ride today. I was able to con three others into coming out with me for a 2-3 hour mellow pace ride with some gravel and dirt thrown in for good measure. We took off up the access road on Beezley which is usually done on mountain bikes but not this day. From there we bailed off the backside on a double track that had just enough thawing action to make a nice layer of slimy mud and keep the descend exciting. We then climbed Baird Springs, through rolling green winter wheat fields and sunshine. Shortly after the climb the pavement ends and the fun begins as they say. The gravel was amazing! Super smooth and fast. We made our way up to the top of Monument Hill where you can see forever (hey, it is the highest point in Grant County) then a long fast down hill. Once at the bottom and on pavement we found a good road to keep us off the beaten path and take us to the nearest gravel canal road and back into Ephrata. It was an awesome day, and I’m hoping to ride the stoke out on this one for awhile.

Coming down the backside of Beezley -not much of a road, but fun.

On top of Baird Springs with wheat fields as far as the eye can see.

On top of Monument Hill, pondering our very existence... and which energy bar is best.

Workin’ it

jakemaedke — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 05:54:14 +0000

I hear it often. “Thank you so much for doing this.” I assume that means all the work that goes into creating an event. And to be real about it… there is times when it does feel like work. Like when I have to get up at 5 am to see if my course markings survived the night. Or miss the better part of cross season planning the 2013 season. Okay, so other than the missing out on cross part (which does suck, especially since I got a new cross bike this year) planning the 2013 season has been pretty awesome. I travel to awesome places, to ride with awesome people, AND tell my wife I’m “working.” All of the hard work is near complete though, and we hope to have a 2013 schedule out very SOON!

Cross Stoke

jakemaedke — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 05:26:51 +0000

I know at Vicious Cycle we may seem to lean a little more mtb, but man we love this time of year. And what’s not to love, cooler temps, fall colors, octoberfest beers, oh yeah and cyclocross! ‘Cross brings out the best of road and mtb racing and compresses them into a nice little slice of dirty roadie goodness that we just can’t seem to get enough of. Luckily there’s plenty to be had. Seattle Cyclocross Series, The MFG Series, and The INWCX Series to name a few. Hope to see you out there!

Blue Heron Cyclocross -INWCX Round 8