Garrett Marking

Chico Stage Race Report – Elite 3

Posted on March 27, 2014 Updated on February 11, 2015

Paskenta Hills Road Race 2014 - The Gravel Lap 1 (Photo: Alex Chiu) — Paskenta Hills Road Race 2014 – The Gravel Lap 1 (Photo: Alex Chiu)

Chico Stage Race hosted by Chico Corsa Cycling Club and managed by Mike Painter is the event I’ve been most looking forward to in the early race season, I’ve been planning for this race weekend since November really. A 90 mile road race with two laps through a four mile stretch of gravel and a few well placed climbs, a challenging time trial that is usually windy, and Downtown Criterium finale add up to one epic race weekend. My team has similarly been planning to hit this stage race for months. Curt Mills setup a rental house; complete with pool, four bedrooms, three couches, multiple flat screens, and a large kitchen with bar stools for planning race strategy over beer, wine, and great food. We had a near full squad of cat three guys ready to race (Curt Mills, Andrew Shimizu, Eric Brickler, Tyler Janke, and Casey Fallon), while a few key players were temporarily sidelined and sincerely missed due to injury (Patrick Callan, Travis Retzger) or family travel (Nate Dunn). Collectively we planned to take this weekend by storm, and luckily for me the guys were willing to put together a race strategy aimed at landing me on the top step. Their confidence in me was apparent upon arrival when I was forced to take the master bedroom; while some of the others took up couches, shared beds, or slept in a twin. Confidence is a rare feeling for me but I did my best to start translating their humble support into a focused approach to the stage race weekend. Here is how the race unfolded… Read the rest of this entry »

This entry was posted in Race Reports and tagged Andrew Shimizu, Casey Fallon, Champion Systems, Chico Stage Race, Curt Mills, Data Driven Athlete, Data Driven Athlete Racing, Eric Brickler, Folsom Bike, Garrett Marking, Limitless Cycling, Nate Dunn, Patrick Callan, Race Rim, SquadraSF, Town of Paskenta, Travis Retzger.

A Soggy Weekend of Racing

Posted on February 9, 2014 Updated on September 25, 2014

I approached the weekend given the weather forecast with complaints and talk of being risk averse. Lately I’ve been trying to make better decisions given responsibilities I have or whatever should be focused on rather than going around in circles at 30 mph in a down pour on one inch of rubber. After much noise, I decide to race with the Data boys and indulge in some early season racing; rain, responsibilities, or not.

Bicycles Plus E3 Winter Criterium – Saturday February 8th, 2014

After riding up to Trailhead Coffee with the boss-man Nate Dunn I changed into a dry kit at Blue Ravine ten minutes before the race. Soaked when the whistle blows minutes later, let’s see who wants to race in the rain. I think I calmly took about half a lap of getting blasted in the face by rooster tails before deciding I would attack…the conditions were possessing me but my legs were telling me to chill the F out. Must have been about three or four attempts to get away then Mr. Garrett Marking put in a savvy little dig just before the speed zone (quick tail wind section on the backside) and I zipped up to him and figured we could give it a go, why not, who cares if we are only ten minutes into the race? Read the rest of this entry »

This entry was posted in Author, Casey Fallon, Race Reports and tagged Bicycles Plus, Cherry Pie, Criterium, Data Driven Athlete Racing, Garrett Marking, Jonathan Christensen, Trailhead Coffee.