Race Across Oregon Blog


Double Double

Saturday August 21, 2010 by Terri Gooch
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Fans, Friends and Fellow Racers – Come to the first EVER RAO Halloween Party and Double Century. Happening October 16th in Maupin, OR. Ride a wonderful, sagged double century and bring along a costume for a awesome after party at the Imperial River Company.
This event is called Double Double – but it will come in just under 200 miles, with a couple thousand feet of climbing.
I will have the route and registration information up shortly!

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Quote of the Day

Wednesday August 4, 2010 by Terri Gooch
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You are made of stars!
~Serbian Proverb

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More Twitter

Saturday July 24, 2010 by Terri Gooch

if you search by #rao10

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Looking Good

Friday July 23, 2010 by Terri Gooch
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We’re getting there! Most racers have checked in – and boy do they look fit!

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Meet More of the Racers

Friday July 23, 2010 by Terri Gooch
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200 Jamais Vue Due
Mark Biedrzycki, Portland, OR
Phil Plath, Half Moon Bay, CA
Defending recupright champs! Combine a couple of strong bike racers and let them pick their weapon of choice and you get a very fast team. Phil Plath invented this division – combing a recumbent with an upright – and we love it. Plath is a multi time RAAM finisher on both 2 and 4 person recumbent teams. This is his 6th RAO and the 2nd time he has paired Biedrzycki. Mark knows this route as well as anyone having participated in our ‘ride the new course’ test ride a couple of years ago as well as multiple RAO Training Camps, DRVTTs and Rings of Fire (Ring of Fires?). Special prize for the first person who hasn’t met him (or know anyone with the same name etc) to pronounce “Biedrzycki” correctly.

211 Team Teal
Glen Gorrie, Okotoks Canada
Sharisse Kyle, Alberta Canada
I know very little about our 2 person mixed team other than I have heard they are fast. The pair raced at last year’s 508 and did very well.

Four Person Relay

401 Harder Cycling Team 1
Steven Kahn, CA
Braulio Calle, CA
David Wallerich, CA
Dustin Harder, Mill Valley, CA
I only know that Dustin Harder comes across as a nice guy in his emails. How he, David, Braulio and Steven race bikes will soon be learned.

402 Woodinville Bicycle
Jiri Rabas, Lynnwood, WA
Marcus Osterwinter, Bellvue, WA
Loren Roschen, Redmond, WA
Nick Matlock, Everett, WA
This team had a bit of a reshuffle. Woodinville would have had the oldest and youngest racer in the field but the 16 year old driving force behind the team fell ill and will be unable to race this year. We’re all hoping for a full recovery and having him race next year. The team has received quite a bit of pre-race advice from solo racer Mick Walsh. If they have Walsh’s lungs, legs, head and legs they are going to smoke the route. If they have Walsh’s stomach they are in for a looooooong weekend… We do know that Loren is an absolutely amazing climber who had a bad crash about a month ago. The story is that she received a concussion during the crash and was able to be talked in to doing RAO while in a daze.

403 Harder Cycling Team 2
Rob Fleskes
Craig Carter
Sam Caruso
Tom Dempsey
Again – do not know much about this team. Dempsey finished the 2001 RAO on Team Blood, Sweat and Gu. The goals of HCT2 are to have fun and finish. We hope you achieve both of those and more!

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Quote of the Day

Thursday July 22, 2010 by Terri Gooch
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The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn the past, worry about the future, or anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly.

~Buddha

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Quote of the Day

Wednesday July 21, 2010 by Terri Gooch
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“the time has come,” the walrus said, “to talk of many things: of shoes and ships and sealing wax – of cabbages and kings- and why the sea is boiling hot and whether pigs have wings.”
~Lewis Carroll

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Quote of the Day

Tuesday July 20, 2010 by Terri Gooch
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1. the path is not straight.
2. mistakes need not be fatal.
3. people are more important than achievements or possessions.
4. be gentle with your parents.
5. never stop doing what you most care about.
6. learn to use a semicolon.
7. you will find love.

~marion winik

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Meet the Racers

Monday July 19, 2010 by Terri Gooch
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Okay – five hours till race check-in, bike/vehicle inspections, pre-race meeting and lots of butterflies in the stomach. As resumes arrive from those of you I don’t know, I will add to the list. It’s always kind of nice to see whom you will be sharing the pain with so:

First of all meet the directors. I do this after having an incredulous crew person ask us at the finish line “Have YOU ever done this???” Yes, we have and quite often :)
Terri Gooch won the Women’s Division of RAO in 2001 placing third overall behind Allen Larson and Andrew Otto. Terri went on to finish Race Across America (RAAM) twice – on a tandem in 2002 and 2 Person Relay in 2004. Terri crewed RAAM in ’01.
I’ve been involved with endurance cycling since 1984 when I raced the inaugural Spenco 500 on a 5 person relay team. We placed fourth and I was hooked. Since then I’ve finished RAAM and RAW (Race Across the West) a bunch of times as well as a number of other long races. We love this sport and we look forward to providing our racers and crews a safe, rewarding, memorable weekend that – if maybe not exactly ‘fun’ the entire time – will be an incredible experience.

SOLO FIELD
Wow – what a group. Picking a winner from this bunch is impossible. The women are amazing, the 60+ men are total studs and there are some of the best racers from the northwest in the open men’s field.

#101 Mick Walsh, Seattle, WA – Mick is originally from Dublin, Ireland and now calls Seattle home. Needless to say, Mick loves cold, wet weather. RAO is going to be hot and dry. Watch for Mick to make his move during the night when his crew will be continually soaking him in water. His favorite activities during endurance rides include vomiting, passing out on the side of the road and sleeping in ditches. If he can keep his food/liquids down, stay conscious, by-pass sleep AND Karen, Leah, Paul and Larry have bad days Mick has a great shot at a top finish. Seriously, the 47 year old is one of the best bicycle racers the Northwest has to offer. He is absolutely awesome on the climbs. Some of his accomplishments include:
Two stage wins FBD Ras, one in ’85 one in ’87
2nd place Irish Senior RR 1989
Wa State Cat 1/2 RR champion 1999
S2S 2005?
Ring of Fire Tandem 12hr 200 miles 2007
Lewis and Clark 12hr solo 215 miles,2009
RAO winning 4 man team Koenig’s Kronies 2009
2nd place 2 man RAW 2010
Mick has been racing bikes since 1977 and his goal is to add a solo RAO finish to his resume.

#102 Lap Lai, Vancouver, WA – Lap is a 55 year old Vietnamese/American who immigrated to America in 1975 near the end of the Vietnam civil war. In Vietnam, one of the major forms of transportation is bicycling. One of his first bikes was given to him as a gift from one of his brothers for high school graduation.
A few years after moving to the Pacific Northwest from the East coast, he joined the Vancouver Bicycle Club in the Spring of 1995. Since then, he has participated in the 2008 and 2009 Ring Of Fire 12/24 TT, 2008,2009 and 2010 Lewis and Clark Ultra 12/24 TT and some of the randonneur rides in 1999, 2000, 2001 including the Cascade 1200 in 2005.
After crewing the RAO in 2001, he became interested in racing. In 2007 and 2008, Lap was part of a 4-person men’s team in the Master Division (team Master Blasters). Last year, he was part of the 4-tandem/8 persons team (team Coed-Coasters).This year, Lai challenges himself to finish the RAO solo.
Lap says: “Race across Oregon is a very tough race! To be able to accomplish this challenge will fulfill one of my biggest goals.”
We’ve seen Lap training on the RAO course and he looks great. One of the nicest people you’ll meet in the sport – and a very tough competitor.

103 Max Hogan – Camarillo, CA – I haven’t met Max and didn’t receive a resume. Unlike years past I won’t make anything up about racers with whom I am unfamiliar :). What I do know is that we were expecting to see him at Race Across the West this year and were wondering how he would fare with RAO only a month later. Hogan bypassed RAW and is focusing on RAO.

#104 Eddie Page, Portland, OR – Page doesn’t think of himself as a cyclist. He enjoys cycling but it is the exhilaration and adventure of long distances that capture his imagination. Until about two years ago, Eddie was a fairly dedicated rock climber and spent most of his time climbing in places like Yosemite and Joshua Tree. Page started to transition into triathlons and adventure racing, and found that running ultra-marathons has that epic quality that drew him to climbing. About two years ago Eddie and his wife went on an unsupported bike tour of the Oregon and California coast and they where amazed at the beauty of Oregon. It was not long after they finished the bike tour that Page found out about the RAO and felt inspired by the thought of exploring Oregon’s mountains and deserts on the bike.

105 Nicholas Rice-McDonald – Santa Clara, CA – Did not receive a resume so another racer who is keeping it close to the jersey.

106 John Lehrer – Toledo, OR – Did not receive a resume. If John is training in the Oregon Coast Range he’ll be ready for the climbs.

107 Ian Fillinger – Kamloops, CAN – Ian was with the lead solo racers at RAO last year till succumbing to problems with the heat. Fillinger had a spectacular ride at the Rocky Mountain 1200k and was using RAO to gain experience for his crew as preparation for the 2010 Race Across America. We were (and continue to be) big Ian fans so were really pulling for him to do well at RAAM. He was having a great race until he was forced to withdraw due to pulmonary edema – yes the condition that high altitude climbers are so concerned with. Needless to say, we were shocked to see Fillinger’s Facebook post that he’d sent in his entry to RAO! I’m hoping you’ll bring a white jersey Ian – it’s painful to watch you race through the desert dressed in a motif which honors Johnny Cash

108 Bernie Comeau – Tacoma, WA – I’ve never met Bernie but I’ve known the name since I did my first 508 in 1993. I remember reading Bernie’s hilarious account of his solo attempt at The 508 which was written by his skeptical, new to crewing girl friend. Bernie is still racing – is she still crewing? For you?

#109 Tom Letsinger, Coos Bay, OR – Suffice it to say that Tom likes to ride bikes, road and mountain, and occasionally do so with a bunch of like minded people while a clock is running. Tom has learned a lot about long distance riding – he assembled a strong crew who have told me he is not allowed in the van till the finish. And, he’ll kill me for doing this but…, if you’re looking for an amazing deal on a bike check out Tom’s website GVH Bikes for some killer frames and custom builds. Terri and I can also give a personal plug for his UNREAL custom hand built wheels. Tom is the guru!

#130 Dennis Johnson – The Woodlands, TX – In 2005 Dennis and his wife, Laurie, decided to give themselves a mid-life present and adopt a little girl from China. While they waited for the adoption to be completed, (it took four years!), Johnson started riding to lose weight and get fit. In 2006, after crewing for Jim Kern’s solo RAAM attempt, he decided to give ultra racing a try. Later that year Dennis established the recumbent 12-hour record at The Texas Time Trials. Races since that time have included his first 24-hour race at Sebring in which he RAAM qualified, and a first place overall finish last year in The Texas Time Trials 24-hour race. In the five years since Johnson started riding he lost 55 pounds and got reasonably fit, found a sport he loves, and just celebrated his daughter’s third birthday.

#131 Alex Kohan – Salem, OR – Alex is a man of many words…here is the resume he sent me:
_2008 Finisher Furnace Creek 508 40:49:52
Twice Super Randonneur Award_
Leaving out what a total stud he was at the age of 16 racing the 24 hr Ring of Fire and what a superlative fencer he is. Whatever you do during RAO this year DO NOT challenge Alex Kohan to a duel – no slurs about recumbents either. Would love to see the Father/Son combo be the first such to finish RAO in the solo division.

#132 Keith Kohan – Salem, OR – 2005 first Ultra race at age 51 – 4 person Team RAO – first place 4 person team. Now hopelessly addicted to ultra racing!
2006 4 person Team RAO. First place recumbent team, second place 4 person team
2007 Ring of Fire 12 hour. Second place overall. First person over 50.
2008 Ring of Fire 24 hour. First place overall.
2009 solo RAO. Fourth place overall solo. First place recumbent. First finisher over 50. Survived to tell about it!
2010 solo RAO. Diagnosed in January with Rheumatoid Arthritis. But the chemotherapy drug I take has Keith walking again without a whole lot of pain now so he’ll give it a go. Performance enhancing drugs? You betcha…but I think we’ll let medically necessary chemo slide…just this once….unless you come back for Ring of Fire :)

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After finishing RAAM solo in 1995 I received a letter from one of the other racers. One of his questions for me (seriously) was how I felt about my manhood after being beaten by two women. I had no problem whatsoever losing to two of the greatest racers (male or female) in the history of our sport – Seanna Hogan and Muffy Ritz. Guys I hope you’ll take a cue from that. RAO has a history of having some excellent women racers – Terri Gooch, Sandy Earl, Becky Smith, Cassie Lowe and Karen Armstrong have all fared extremely well overall. The following three racers are going to be right in the thick of it. *******************************************************************1

#140 Karen Armstrong – Spokane, WA – The defending champ! Karen is a two time finisher of The 508 including her 2008 win with a sub 35 hour finish. Karen also took first place in the 2009 Ring of Fire 24. With super crew chief husband Eric the Armstrongs make a difficult to beat team. I guess they keep coming back for those amazing prizes we give away…Karen will be going for her third plastic ivy laurel wreath :)

#141 Joan Deitchman – Sunnyvale, CA – Joan has been a multiple top finisher in the California Doubles. She came to RAO last year with high hopes but was done in by a painful lower back as well as the freak headwinds that slowed racers to a crawl on the Bakeoven descent. Joan rode tough all the way to Maupin but decided and official finish was not going to happen due to the combination of injury and weather. She took her revenge out on the Hoodoo 500 field winning the women’s division. Joan is back this year with super crew Lee Mitchell and Sandy Earl to bag an RAO finish.

#143 Leah Goldstein – BC – Canada – there is not enough space on this blog to list Leah’s accomplishments. Goldstein is a former Canadian National Team Cyclist and former member of Israel’s Olympic Team. She’s won the Mt Hood Classic three times and also won he women’s division of The 508 with a sub 36. Leah has overcome some outrageous injuries throughout her career and is determined to do well at RAO. Google ‘Leah Goldstein’ for some truly fascinating reading – including her stint with the Israeli commandos… ******************************************************************** #160 Laurence Kluck, Eureka, CA – completed 4 Paris-Brest-Paris, 5 Furnace Creek 508’s, 16 Terrible Two’s, 3 solo 24 hrs in the Old Pueblo races and hopes that this year he will complete his 2nd Race Across Oregon. Told you the 60 year olds are studs…

#161 Paul Danhaus, Wausau, WI – third person over the age of 60 to ever finish Race Across America. Paul completed his RAAM in 2009. Starting a day ahead of the rest of the solo men, Danhaus was only caught by eventual winner Dani Wyss, 2nd place Gerhard Gulewitz and 3rd place Marko Baloh. One of my best memories of Paul is of him hallucinating badly in Illinois and asking us how far behind everyone he was – he was 100% convinced of being last. It was so cool to assure him that he was the fourth solo racer on the road. Paul was featured in Bicycling Magazine last year and gets in plenty of training in the Arizona heat. He and Larry are going to have a great race. ********************************************************************
TWO PERSON RELAY

201 Team Falcon
Jim Ryan, Sammamish, WA
Gary Baierl, Lake Forest, CA
Defending champs of the upright 2 person relay division! Jim Ryan has been around RAO since 2002 when he raced 2 person with Stuart Kroonenburg. Ryan’s Team Falcon raced 4 man in 2003. He then officiated for us a few times and now, for the third year in a row is racing 2 man with Gary Baierl. Jim and Gary have both finished the 508 solo at least once and I know Ryan has also finished the Cascade 1200 solo. This is a talented and highly experienced team that should have another great race.

202 Team Simorgh
Lorne Sachs, Woodland, CA
Paul Vlasveld, San Jose, CA
I have not met the Simorgh team before and look forward to learning what a Simorgh is or stands for :)
Meet Lorne:
I do some organized road races or hill climbs through the Norther California and Nevada Cycling Association, crits have not worked well for me. I have been doing this since 2006, time permitting. I am currently a Cat-4 racer. Non-racing wise I have done your standard century rides, I have completed double centuries and California triple crown, the Death ride, the Hammer Highline (2x), the Climb to Kaiser, and of course FC508 as part of a 4-person team. I am also signed up to compete in the solo division of the 508 this year. This year is actually my first year back to any serious riding. I had taken time away for at least a year, other than bike commuting, for finishing my Masters in Molecular, Cellular, and Integrated Physiology. It has been a challenge going from 12.5 flat mile rides to hundred plus milers again, but I am there. Non-biking wise I began doing Crossfit workouts over a year ago (at Crossfit Davis) and love them. During the off season I was doing them 3x/week, now in the midst of the cycling season I only have time for 1x/wk. I am a member of the Davis Bike Club and race team
A little about Paul:
1. PBP:
a. 1995 – DNF – This was attempted on a Triple bicycle with a stoker from Minnesota and a captain from Australia. We had to abandon after 400k due to mechanical problems(broke the pals in the hub. It was an interesting experience for my first PBP.
b. 1999 – Solo – 69hrs – Only 2 hrs sleep due to paranoia about finishing.
c. 2003 – Solo – 75hrs — Bike Friday – Had much more fun this time with a better ride strategy.
d. 2007 – Solo – 83.5hrs – Bike Friday – This time there was wind and intermittent rain from the north the entire distance.
2. BMB:
a. 1997 – 80hrs – Had an accident during the ride on this one and completed the ride on a damaged bike.
b. 2006 – 80hrs – Had an accident with a car 4 days prior and had to rent a bike.
3. Rocky Mtn:
a. 2000 – 65hrs
b. 2002 – 77hrs
4. Great Southern – Australia-Melbourne
a. 2004 – 84hrs?? – On this one I saw a Koala in the middle of the road one of the mornings
5. SBS — Super brevet Scandinavia:
a. 2001 – 86hrs — Bike Friday – This was the most fun I have had on a 1200k brevet. This was ridden Audax style with an overnight every night and leaving each morning as a group.
6. Cascades 1200k:
a. 2006 – 88hrs – Bike Friday – This was a very hot June ride. I liked this one as well as it also had a place to rest every night.
7. PAP – Perth-Albany-Perth – Australia
a. 2006 – 86hrs – Bike Friday – There were only 18 riders on this late October 2006 ride. I even helped assemble the rider packets. On this ride I was alone for long periods of time.
8. SVS – Sliven-Varna-Sliven – Bulgaria 40k climbing
a. 2008 – DNF at 900k — Bike Friday – Had issues with flats and tires. I had forgotten several rules about 1200k rides including making sure that a spare tire is on the bike with you at all times. On this ride I had lost my spare tire and had not picked one up at the prior control.
b. 2010 – 90hrs – Bike Friday – This one had the usual unmaintained roads along with more rain than in 2008 and the route was reversed. In my opinion, This is the toughest 1200k ride there is.
9. Furnace Creek:
a. 2005 – Solo – 42hrs
b. 2007 – 2-man team – 33hrs
c. 2008 – 2-man team – 32hrs 17min
d. 2009 – 2-mixed MW team – 42 hrs – extreme wind on this one.
10. Doubles – Many double centuries since 1994
11. Fleche – several team 24hr Fleche events including one in Australia(Fleche Opperman)

203 Aging Warriors
Allen Larsen, Cle Elum, WA
Larry Larsen, Cle Elum, WA
Yep – this is THE Allen Larsen. Allen took RAO by storm in 2001 when he raced through numerous snow/rain storms to demolish the field (I will NEVER forget watching Allen ride through the night at top speed wearing a snowmobile suit – too funny that we now worry about it getting too hot). The following year Allen took Rookie of the Year honors placing third overall at RAAM. Allen returned to RAAM in ’03 with the goal of winning – he did just that with a sub 9 day crossing. Second that year? Rookie racer Jure Robic. And crewing for Allen through all these successes has been his brother and now teammate Larry. This one is a total family affair with Allen’s wife Teresa and daughter Kimberly both on the crew. We hear the teams goals are to ‘just have fun’ – which translates into ‘win by as large a margin as possible’.

200 Jamais Vue Due
Mark Biedrzycki, Portland, OR
Phil Plath, Half Moon Bay, CA

210 Flying Aquarians
Kevin Van Dyke, Forest Grove, OR
Lauren Bayard, Beaverton, OR
Directly quoted from Kevin Van Dyke: _Really not much to say about the 2x team Flying Aquarians. I am a member of the 4x team Old Goats 4 Cycle One that set the RAO divisional course record in 2008….by 2 hours and 7 minutes! I went on to DNF in the Furnace Creek 508 last year as Desert Coyote, a solo entrant. I just rode my 6th consecutive one day STP. I am joined by Lauren Bayard, who’s been riding less than 2 years but has a good heart and a natural ability. _
_We have a couple of goals,
1) to finish
2) to finish respectably
3) to have as much fun as we can!_

211 Team Teal
Glen Gorrie, Okotoks Canada
Sharisse Kyle, Alberta Canada

01 Harder Cycling Team 1
Steven Kahn, CA
Braulio Calle, CA
David Wallerich, CA
Dustin Harder, Mill Valley, CA

402 Woodinville Bicycle
Jiri Rabas, Lynnwood, WA
Marcus Osterwinter, Bellvue, WA
Loren Roschen, Redmond, WA
Nick Matlock, Everett, WA

403 Harder Cycling Team 2
Rob Fleskes
Craig Carter
Sam Caruso
Tom Dempsey

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Quote of the Day

Monday July 19, 2010 by Terri Gooch
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Beginning today, treat everyone you meet as if they were going to be dead by midnight. Extend to them all the care, kindness, and understanding you can muster, and do it with no thought of reward. Your life will never be the same again.
~Og Mandino

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