USA Cycling Permit numbers 2013-747 and 2012-752.

Garage Racing and the Audi Cycling Team present this year’s annual Sequim races on Saturday 16^th March and 23^rd March. The races take place in the rain shadow of the Olympic Mountains just outside Sequim on the peninsula. The course is same as previous years and is dry, fast and mostly flat with a few rollers and makes for excellent early season racing.

See Link for course details.

Pre-registration:
Be careful to register for the correct date!!
For the 16th March Race pre-reg closes at 9pm PDT on 14th March go to
Race #1

RESULTS
For the 23^rd March race Pre-reg closes at 9pm PDT on the 21^st March go to
Race #2

RESULTS
Also for pictures see
Race Pics

Day-off registration is available, but pre-registration is recommended especially for Cat 5 men as the race may fill up. For everyone else it’s just more convenient.

Prizes
This year we will have Cash Prizes totaling over $2400 for the two races.
We merchandise prizes from FSA, SKS, Osprey, boon, Swiftwick, Center Cycles, Garage, Golazo, Tutta Bella, and of course growlers from Georgetown Brewing! Thanks to all for supporting our local races!!

Note: Women’s Cat 1-3 race has the same prize money ($499 each race) as the Men’s Cat 1-2 race (as it should be). So Cat1-3 Women please come out and support this event!

In addition and new for this year, there will be a Women’s Cat 4A and Cat 4 B race. The Cat 4 B race is intended for beginner/starting Cat 4 racers who wish to race separately from more experienced Cat 4 racers. Please note however we do need to have a minimum of 20 racers registered for both these races by 12^th March for race #1 and by 19^th March for race #2, otherwise we’ll have to run the races combined at the 10am time slot.

Race distances for 16^th and 23^rd March are different for some categories.
See flyers at Race #1  and  Race #2

Directions – for more details see flyer.
Recommended route is via Edmonds-Kingston ferry for Seattle area racers. Total travel time to race venue from Edmonds (includes ferry) approx 1hr 40 mins, and from Kingston approx 1 hour 5 mins. For schedule see Edmonds-Kingston Ferry

From downtown Seattle via Bainbridge Island (travel time approx 2hours) from Bainbridge ferry terminal approx 1hr 25mins.
For schedule see Seattle-Bainbridge ferry

Riding in the back of a race gives one a great view of action that other racers miss out on. For instance, Andrew Bates proved that his carbon fiber bicycle pieces are no match for his climbing power and ripped his steering tube in half on lap 2! I got to see the whole thing happen because I was choosing to climb the hills at the back of the peleton! (Andrew is fine, by the way)

On the next climb, I was able to pass along a tip to a rider with a flat tire that was signaling with his left hand. I told him, "hold up your right hand if your rear tire is flat." He would have ended up with a fresh front wheel from the support can if I wasn't there to offer my expert advice.

A lap later I got to witness (and avoid) a broken chain flailing back and forth like a some sort of James Bond anti-pursuit device. (Bond was able to safely stop his bike without taking anyone out)

Finally, I'm able to get a lot of encouragement from spectators by climbing at the back of the field. I feel like I have my own fan club when I get to hear folks yell, "good job man, keep going!" or "come on John, you can get back up there!"

Of course I'm joking, and here's a little about the actual race: Independence Valley didn't disappoint. There was rain, there was sun, there were attacks, there were moments where I feared another field would catch us, there were really fast rides up the hills, there were sketchy descents, there was a 2-man break that stayed away for almost the whole race, and then there were the last 1.5 laps where things got crazy-fast! Hitch rode super-strong and managed 3rd place after getting in a 4-man break on lap 4. Zach held on to a front group after a solo attack and managed to finish 8th. And me? I pulled the plug after lap 3 and enjoyed a rainy ride back to the staging area.

Alex made his way onto the podium in the masters race with an impressive 3rd place finish.

Garage is two months into the 2010 season, and we have produced some outstanding results!

The season started back in February with the Frostbite TT, on a nice and dry and not even particularly cold day in Snohomish. Alex Rosenast chalked up Garage Racing’s first win of the year, with a stellar Cat 3 time. Kyle Farrell placed 5th in the Pro-1-2 category, Chad Marion was 7th, and John Sindell was 10th. Jason Bethel was 6th in Masters. Our season was underway!

The next weekend was the Icebreaker TT in Auburn, and Alex Rosenast dominated the Cat 3s again, with another win! Jason Bethel placed 8th in Masters, and Kyle Farrell placed 8th in the Pro-1-2.

Mason Lake 1 was the next day, the first Sunday in March. The weather was again surprisingly nice, and results flowed. David Hills placed 8th in a very fast Masters 2-3 race. In the Cat 3 race, Aaron Berntson spent most of the day off the front, and he was only caught 1km before the finish. After a pretty harrowing crash around 500m that removed Morgan Coleman, Aaron Lavin, and much of the rest of the field, Tom Wick sprinted for 3rd place. In the Pro-1-2 race, Brian Hitchcock was active and off the front for the end of the race, and he ended up placing 4th.

Garage Racing and Kryki Sports co-promoted the Sequim Road Race #1 the next Satuday. We had record numbers, with just shy of 500 racers! People loved coming out and racing on the peninsula and getting more good dry weather racing in. We all volunteered to help the event run smoothly and we didn’t end up in any results from the day.

The next day was Mason Lake 2, and “Mr. Consistent” David Hills chalked up a 9th place in the Masters 2-3 race. Michael Wasserman was 10th in the Cat 3 race.

The next weekend was Garage Racing/Kryki Sports’s Sequim 2. Again we had huge numbers of racers, thanks to the good weather and the well-promoted race! David Hills was 7th in the Masters event, which proved to be our only result of the day. (Way to go, David!)

Mason Lake 3 followed, and Kyle Farrell was good enough for 8th in the Pro-1-2 race. Michael Wasserman turned in a 7th place in the Cat 3s.

The Independence Valley Road Race, on Garage Racing’s “home course” was a mixed bag. In the morning races, Michael Murdin placed 7th in the Masters race. We had no Cat 3 or Pro-1-2 results, unfortunately: many of the Cat 3s were victims to various problems (crashes and mechanicals, mostly).

The Ravensdale-Cumberland Road Race was the next day, and though we didn’t bring a huge Garage contingent, our Brians still did well. Brian Estocapio was 3rd in the Masters race after spending most of the day off the front in a break. Brian Hitchcock placed 10th in the Pro-1-2. Hitch spent a large part of this rainy day off the front with a few others. And (non-Brian!) Michael Wasserman placed 5th as Garage Racing’s lone rider in the Cat 3 race! Nice!

The first weekend in April saw a race on the east side of the state, the Frozen Flatlands Omnium near Spokane. Two Garage riders made it over there: Chris Broyles raced Cat 4, and Brian Hitchcock raced Pro-1-2. Brian placed 9th in the first day’s (cold!) time trial and then he won the first day’s (cold!) road race. The next day, Brian placed 4th in the second road race, enough to WIN the overall Pro-1-2 omnium! Congratulations to Brian for his first Pro-1-2 win!

The Volunteer Park Criterium was the next Saturday, and Nikos Mills placed 5th in the Masters 1-3 race. Michael Wasserman placed 8th in the Cat 3s. Chad Marion placed 9th in the super fast Pro-1-2 race.

The next day, Olympic View Road Race near Elma was a new race for the calendar. Several Garage riders went to this race. In the Masters 1-3 race, Jason Bethel placed 4th, Aaron Lavin placed 6th, and David Hills placed 9th. In the 90-mile Pro-1-2 race, Kyle Farrell spent more than 50 miles off the front with a few others, and he ended up placing 2nd. Brian Hitchcock placed 9th.

The first Washington stage race of the year was next: the Tour of Walla Walla stage race. Garage Racing brought several racers to the event. The Pro-1-2 and the Cat 3 events started with a road race on Friday evening. Brian Hitchcock placed 9th in the Pro-1-2 category. In the Cat 3s, Matt Heck and Christian Kittleson stayed with the front group. Saturday was a TT and then a criterium. In the Masters TT, Alex Rosenast placed 7th. Matt Heck was 7th in the Cat 3 TT (with what I think was his first time on a TT bike!) In the Masters criterium, Nikos Mills and Dan Hazzard picked up some primes, and Tom Wick finished 7th. In the Cat 3 criterium, Matt Heck and Michael Wasserman gained some time on some of their competitors by staying with the front group in the blistering-fast race. Sunday was the road race. The Masters race ended up coming down to the final 3km climb, and Kevin Masterson stayed with the front group and placed 7th, gaining lots of time on most of his competition. Alex Rosenast was near the front as well, also solidifying his general-classification standing. At the end of the event, Alex placed 7th in the Masters GC! In the Cat 3 race, Matt Heck stayed in contact with the front group, and ended up taking 7th place in GC. Nice job, all! (And thanks for arranging the team house, Steve Z!)

Garage Racing has started the season with lots of high placings, a few victories, and a lot of great teamwork and comraderie. Here’s to more of the same!