ALASKA COFFEE ROASTERS FIVE-STAGE MOUNTAIN BIKE RACE Alaska Coffee Roaster Five Stage Mtn Bike Race -- May 30,31 2008 -- 17.5/40.5 miles "Finally! Finally!" said Reese Hanneman after defeating Rocky Reifenstuhl in the Alaska Coffee Roasters Five Stage mountain bike race, staged on May 30th and 31st. It had been Reese's goal for a few years now to beat the aging Reifenstuhl (self-proclaimed "Freezer Geezer" for all his winter biking and considerable years), and this year he did it with time to spare. Reese was ahead of Rocky by ten and a half minutes, with a finishing time of 3:03:16 for all five stages. A total of 22 riders showed up for the stage race, with 13 riders completing all five stages, riding under blue skies and the first real warm weather this spring. Expert class riders like Reese and Rocky completed over forty miles of trail and road, climbing over 7000 feet total. The other divisions (Sport Men, Sport Women, Junior Men) rode about 18 miles, climbing about 3800 feet. Steve Clautice claimed first place for the Sport Men division, posting a time of 2:06:36, Laura LeBlanc took first in the Sport Women division with a time of 2:14:00, and Logan Hanneman just edged out Wyatt Mayo with a time of 1:52:24 in the Junior division. Theirs was a hotly contested and closely watched race, with Wyatt winning the hill-climb seconds ahead of Logan on Friday evening, and Logan making narrow wins on Saturday in the remaining four stages, finishing 0:43 seconds ahead of Wyatt. It is definitely worth noting that both their times were significantly faster than any in the Sport Divisions. Stage 1, held Friday evening, was a hill climb up Ester Dome. Racers started near the intersection with Sheep Creek. They went up Ester Dome Road, turning off on the Equinox Marathon trail, and rejoined Ester Dome Road near the top of Henderson. They continued up the road, passing the first "top", did a quick lap around the first group of antennas, then came back to the first "top" at the finish line. Stage 2, held at 10AM Saturday morning, was a cross-country race, with a longish road lap thrown in for the Expert riders. Starting at the Moose Mountain clubhouse, the Expert Men division rode up Spinach Creek, turned left on Old Murphy Dome Road, made another left on Murphy Dome, turned a final left at the base of Spinach Creek, and headed back to the clubhouse for the next lap. They checked in and then proceeded up the same course that all the other riders had gone up. This consisted of riding up Moose Mountain Road, past the gate, all the way to the top. They then followed the powerline over to a dirt road, angling downhill for nearly a mile to an intersection with Old Murphy Dome Road. They made a hard left and enjoyed more fast descent for almost two miles, then made a short climb to a well-marked left turn into the woods on the "Rabbit Trail." There were a few hazards over the next few miles, including seriously bumpy trail, deep muddy sections, and low-hanging trees and branches. Finally, after what seemed like forever to some riders, they popped out on Moose Mountain road, with less than half a mile to ride back to the finish line at the Moose Mountain Clubhouse. Stage 3 was an observed trials course, consisting of a rickety teeter-totter, a gap-jump, a 17-foot long balance beam, a water-bottle zig-zag, an unmounted car tire lying flat on the ground to ride over, and 4' x 6' outline of a box on the ground that riders needed to stay in for six seconds. All elements needed to be performed without putting a foot to the ground Each rider was allowed three tries at each element, and ten seconds was added to the riders time for each failed elements. Most riders did very well at the trials. Stage 4 was a predicted time course. Racers rode a circuit around the Moose Mountain clubhouse, measuring how long it took to complete one lap. After predicting how long it would take to ride two laps, the "race" took place, and the actual completion times were recorded. The difference between the predicted time and actual time was added on to the riders overall time. The fifth and final stage was a "Miss and Out", a fast paced race using the same circuit as the previous event. Riders raced around the course, and the last one across the finish line was pulled out. On each consecutive lap, the trailing rider was pulled out, until there was one rider left. The winner received no added time penalty, the second place finisher received five seconds, the third place finisher received ten seconds and so on. The Expert Men rode as a group, and all other riders made up the second group. Thanks to race organizer Rocky Reifenstuhl, volunteers Megan Boldenow, Amanda Byrd, Tom Clark, Nancy Hanneman, and Susan Kerndt. As Rocky points out, these races wouldn't happen without volunteer help. Stage Stage Stage Stage Stage Overall Place Rider Name 1 2 3 4 5 Time EXPERT MEN ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1 Reese Hanneman 0:31:43 2:31:22 0:00:00 0:00:11 0:00:00 3:03:16 2 Rocky Reifenstuhl 0:35:59 2:37:27 0:00:00 0:00:10 0:00:10 3:13:46 3 Jeff Oatley 0:38:39 2:43:33 0:00:00 0:00:08 0:00:20 3:22:40 4 Sergey Streltsov 0:37:57 2:45:12 0:00:10 0:00:31 0:00:15 3:24:05 5 Rob Adair 0:38:29 2:56:38 0:00:00 0:00:46 0:00:30 3:36:23 6 Matias Saari 0:35:26 3:03:12 0:00:40 0:00:01 0:00:25 3:39:44 DNF Henry Irving 0:37:11 - 0:00:00 0:01:24 0:00:05 - DNF Jeff Gimbel 0:37:58 2:54:49 - - - - SPORT MEN ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1 Steve Clautice 0:42:55 1:22:52 0:00:20 0:00:14 0:00:15 2:06:36 2 Todd Redinius 0:47:49 1:27:56 0:00:00 0:00:03 0:00:10 2:15:58 3 Ken Woods 0:49:29 1:41:56 0:00:40 0:00:16 0:00:35 2:32:56 DNF Pete Wilda 0:43:45 - - - - - DNF Matt McBride 0:43:53 1:27:32 0:00:20 - - - DNF Karl Hanneman 0:46:12 - - - - - EXPERT WOMEN ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ DNF Melissa Lewis 0:39:18 - - - - - SPORT WOMEN ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1 Laura LaBlanc 0:46:10 1:27:21 0:00:00 0:00:04 0:00:25 2:14:00 2 Katelyn Bennett 0:43:42 1:34:14 0:00:10 0:00:09 0:00:20 2:18:35 DNF Gail Koepf 0:49:24 - - - - - DNF Amanda Byrd 0:59:19 - 0:00:30 0:00:00 0:00:30 - JUNIOR MEN ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1 Logan Hanneman 0:35:57 1:16:20 0:00:00 0:00:07 0:00:00 1:52:24 2 Wyatt Mayo 0:35:52 1:16:44 0:00:10 0:00:16 0:00:05 1:53:07