State Stage Race Champs

Things were going fast for a while.
We were all putting in the miles in order to catch up. Get faster or just get fast....
This has been an epic summer for me(Cris) personally and all of us as a team. I have been fortunate enough to not have too many schedule conflicts so It's been nice to feel and see the results of that.

The Road Trip
Bellingham Stage Race
WSBA Stage Race Championships
Cat 4

This trip would include Roger, Mark and myself along with our support crew of Jessi and Emma. Our sage and president Pat had business to take care of in the Chelan area. We missed him.
Stage races are our favorite. Roadtrips are fun. We like to sing along to songs such as "We Are The World" and some Bobby Brown and such....you know, the usual....anyway, We made it into Bellingham which I describe the trip as Seattle with an extra stomp to the face at the tail end....

Forecast, beautiful.

Stage 1
8 mile TT

A quick TT down by the bay with the salty sea air. Mostly flat with a deceiving head wind on the way back.
There were 62 registered racers for our category. A real field!

There was pain as there should be in a TT. Mark felt the pain that coincides with an overtime career work schedule, I felt the pain of trying to prove that I belong in the top half of the cat 4's and Roger felt the pain that put him into 1st place by 44 seconds with a time of 17:32.5
I found myself in 21st place about a minute out of the top 5. Ratio-wise this was turning out very similar to Whitefish.






with a little help from Master Yoda and Darth Vader we made it back to the hotel to chow and rest and prepare to almost miss the start of the criterium.

Stage 2
Sedro-Wooley Crit

I liked this course in small town Sedro-Wooley. Basic 4 corner but it had some character....I was able to get a 1989 start and said see ya later poleshot bye bye...you'll see me soon when I blow up...I'm still off the front after a few laps, Mark and Rog are at the front, but fading fast hello pack keep it going fast Roger's riding the front what's that noise? Hello Mark! I got a flat, get to the pit, get a wheel...the only 7 speed wheel there is mine push me back in...avoid almost crash, slowly work my way up, bell lap Rog on opposite side, we have to move up to avoid the crash if there is one...he does...I try to...final turn sprint past some guys Rog holds off for 2nd and I get a 10th and we stayed upright! Sweet.



..i liked that tire. a lot.


So, time to go recover and try to sleep whilst telling all sorts of jokes and giggling. Emma is a world class bed jumper and so good at stopping right at the time limit. She's gotta be, like, the best little big kid ever. ...not sure how she got that way with such goofbags for parents...he he. :)
Mark and Cris Lucas-Hodgson continued to crack jokes until the wee hours....idk, maybe 11pm? ..party animals

Stage 3
Road Race

Well, the stage was set. Someone...we didn't keep track...but SOMEONE was only 44 seconds behind Roger so the goal was to make sure no one got 44 second away off the front. Not so sure why we didn't mark the guy but...hey...whatever.

The race was a 4 lap circuit with some good climbing, a plateau and then a long descent down to the lake...I liked the course. We all noted that the neutral roll out was quite fast for a neutral roll out. ..pretty sure a few guys got dropped before the race even started...Pretty uneventful first lap and a half...I had to work my way up the large field but finally made it up to the front where Roger and I started in on our song..."There comes a time, when we heed a certain call, when the world must come together as one......(USA for Africa...duh)...of course the peloton thought we were geeks...we are...so, one guy decides to go and he gets off the front maybe 25 seconds or more...well, this can't happen so it's time to actually do some work. I popped up and drove the chase with two almost consecutive and pretty monsterous pulls up the gradual climb to the plateau and through the most technical corner of the course at a speed that almost sent me off the road...Roger was right behind me and as he pulled through he said something like, "that was cool.." while grinning ear to ear...I sure felt cool and there that guy was off the front about 10 seconds....we let him hang there for a bit. Some guy in a white jersey decided to attack about 3 feet over the center line...we all decided to let him go and make sure he was DQ'd....it didn't matter...we caught him on the last big hill, whizzed around the final turn, positioned ourselves for the finish....oops, I'm on the opposite side as Rog again...hope I picked the right wheel for the steep hill finish....ooops, the guy in front of me just shifted down into his small chainring going 30mph.....HEY Roger won the sprint!! We're the Washington State Stage Race Champions!! ...it's a team sport, right?

neutral my butt

We Are The World(happening right here)

I. Am. A. Monster. ...i like to think so



this guy crossed the centerline about 9 times. speaky engrish?

the REAL state Champion...of bed jumping..and picture taking!







It was another awesome experience for me/us. It's all about fun and fitness and pushing personal boundaries....In the end I was able to bump up to 16th overall. This racing season has been exactly what I had hoped for. The road racing is coming to a close soon but Cyclocross is right around the corner!


We want to thank Pilgrim's Market in CDA for partnering with us for our first season back and more. If you haven't been to the Market and Wellness center do go. It's a wonderful place to get everything from food to vitamins to workshops on health related topics and great beer and wine...which is very healthy....especially if you drink way way too much cause it cleans out your whole system by way of barf o rama and puke athons....no really though CHECK IT and our other sponsors:
Pilgrims Market and Wellness Center
and Organic Valley
and The Insurance Guys

Have a great late Summer. See you on the roads and in the mud.

To B or not to B

Ok, last night was a mini nightmare, and I mean MINI.

The twilight series transferred ownership for a day from the Baddlands club to Spokane Rocket Velo. First of all, thanks to BOTH of these clubs. Racing exists in this community largely from the efforts of these groups.

The course promised something I love, few hills. Rolling terrain was used many times in description. "Pat," I thought to myself, "this is something you would do pretty well at." (I know, I ended a sentence with a preposition, but heck, it's my inner voice...


So I drove out to the race, paid my thirteen bucks, and got ready to roll with the A pack.


Herein lies the first problem. The A pack. I'm coming back to cycling from a MULTIPLE year layoff. Fitness is coming, but not quite there yet. My teammates, RT in particular, were 'upgraded' to the A pack the day of my birthday. Did they/we win a lot of races, forcing us to move up? Nope. Sure, RT won some, but not in a dominating style. CL managed some placings, but at the expense of his complete energy reserves. B pack racing was fun, competitive, and I was able to participate in the action of the race.


Last night, not so much. I basically paid $2 for every mile I was in the pack. Yep. That's just over six miles. These guys were flying. It's as if we had all stolen something, and were being chased. My heart rate was anaerobic in the friggin' NEUTRAL start! After turning around (no way I was going to ride 23 miles alone in 90+ degree heat), I pedaled back to my car, packed up, and drove home in self produced shame. I probably looked like a kid who got picked last for dodgeball. I had thought about using the Pat Cam for the race, but thankfully didn't as the footage would have been basically of the Palouse countryside. No other racers in the picture...


The fitness is not there, yet, but I'm racing with my teammates. Sure wish there was a way to keep the team in the time machine of one month ago, at least for a few more weeks...sigh.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not complaining. I know this is bike racing, and fitness must be earned.

I just wanna earn it faster, with very little effort on my part required.