ACC Blog

Hot sunny weather greeted a big crowd of 86 racers at the starting line of this year’s classic race that takes racers up & down two of Aspen’s most famous valleys: Maroon Creek & Castle Creek.

The SMA race held together all the way to the finish with 9 guys duking it out to the line.  Joel Mischke crossed the line first in the sprint, showing off the fine form he’s had this summer.  Ambre Levy continued a strong winning streak in the ACC races, while Mike Maple, Wade Smith, Nancy Pickard, Dawn Gordon, John Davis, Charles Brewer & Danny Pierce took top honors in their respective catagories.

There was some sort of road rage incident on the descent from the Bells that could have ended worse than it did.  As i was marshaling near the high school to bike path turn-off, a a big pickup truck pulled over to let me know how steaming pissed he was at two male racers… for… it was not quite clear.    It must have had something to do with his nearly running the two racers off the road.  The guy felt threatened & told me that (clean version) he desired harm upon these two racers…  Yikes, there’s no contest between an F350 and a carbon Colnago…  If i were to guess, this guy was not interested in “sharing the road”, and the racers were trying to pass him, perhaps aggressively, perhaps not.   Please let this be a reminder that we’re racing on the open roads & safety is in your own hands.  There is always going to be a few drivers out there who are not even close to being deferential to the needs or desires of cyclists.

Any more information to share from the 2 racers involved?  Please comment below… Anybody else have a crazy bike/car confrontation story to share?  Any good lessons learned?

Thanks to Jane for all her diligent work on this year’s race results!  Jane made a couple great points in her email today.  The rules clearly explain that you cannot draft off racers that you did not start with.  This is clear grounds for disqualification.  Reporting of this to race officials can be difficult… But please remember, it’s not fair to win a Citizen category if you’ve caught up to the Vets and gained the advantage of a draft off of this group.  If you find yourself in this situation, stay 2′-0″ to the side and at least 15′-0″ back from the racers you’ve caught… Since you’ve already caught them without the benefit of a draft, push on and pass the group if at all possible.  Rules & Regs here.

Lastly, please help to keep the finish line area safe.  If you hear Mouse or any other volunteer asking for racers to clear the road around the finish line, DO IT! And while doing so, please help to move the rest of the finished racers off the road while you’re at it.

Congrats & nice job to everyone, Mike.

Our scheduled mid season double-header week didn’t pan out as planned when the downpour started just before the start of Wednesday’s Smuggler-Hunter Creek race. Next up was the Missouri Heights Road Race. We couldn’t have asked for better weather and those that turned out hunting road points found generally calm winds, sun and lots of points. Jason LaPointe scored a victory in Men’s A with a nice solo breakaway on the third lap. Ambre Levy continued her winning ways with a solo victory in Women’s A. Dave Borchers scored a win with a strong sprint from the Vet A pack. Additional kudos to Chris Mckelvey, Fred Peirce, Charles Brewer and Ed Cross for wins in their respective categories.

At the risk of creating a firestorm, where was everyone? Sure, the Salida Omnium was this past weekend but was everyone there? In the spirit of open dialogue, the Board requests that members comment regarding this race or other future Saturday races. Are Saturday mornings generally bad regardless of schedule? This race too hard? Too far from the roundabout? The more we know what you’re looking for the better we can plan the 2009 schedule so fire away! 

See you on Wednesday for Highlands-Maroon Bells-Ashcroft-King Hill. Have a great race!

A large number of ACC members and other local cyclists spent much of this past 4th of July enduring the pain of the Firecracker 50 in Breckenridge. Once the suffering was over though local riders had plenty of time to celebrate while wearing new jerseys marking them as USA Cycling MTB Marathon National Champions.

Sari Anderson (Women’s Pro/Open), Joel Mischke (Men’s 35-39) and Jane Finsterwald (Women’s 50+) won their respective categories and the national champion’s jersey. Sari is an elite adventure racer and recent valley transplant from the Vail Valley. Joel, owner of Basalt Bike and Ski, was gunning for this race and rumor has it that he’s already framed the jersey and put it up on the shop wall. Jane has amassed an impressive number of championships in a variety of disciplines over the years and she’s still getting after it.

Other notable local podium finishes include 2nd place finishes for both Ambre Levy (Women’s 30-39) and Anne Gonzales(Women’s 40-49). Congratulations to our new local champs, podium finishers and to everyone else from the Valley who finished.

ACC racers,

We found out yesterday that Saturday, July 26th’s Missouri Heights Road Race is taking place the same weekend as the Salida Omnium.  We’re taking an informal poll here.  Were you planning on heading to Salida?  But bummed to miss the growing classic that is Missouri Heights?  There is a chance that the club may could reschedule Missouri Heights for later in August.  Please enter your comments below to help us decide.

Thanks, Mike