Half-Fast Philosophy...

"Amistades-Victorias-Cervezas" (translation:: "Friendship-Victory-Beer")

Half-Fast Velo was born out of the notion that amateur bike racing in the U.S. has become far too stodgy at times… Far too sponsored… Far too serious. We don't want to play that way. Just what is Half-Fast Velo serious about then? Find out more here

What's new...

(12/8/11) The local racing season came to an end this past weekend with the final race of the hugely successful GPMC Series with a 2nd stop at the Washougal MX Park for the binaural Winter Cross CX race. Racers found clear but cold skies and a frosty course but a couple kegs of Ninkasi at the finish to help warm their spirits.

Wade Goff showed there's no slowing him down even this late in the season with a 6th place finish in the Master A's followed by Robert Huff in 14th. Kevin Thompson didn't let the hilly course hinder him from taking 2nd place in the Clydesdales along with David Rosen in 6th place and Ian Penner taking a well fought 12th place in the Master B's.

(12/1/11) Racing continued even through the Thanksgiving holiday with a double dose of Psycho races in Eugene. Paul Anderson and Steven Basden made their annual trek south to work off some of the turkey dinner with Paul hammering his way to 4th place followed by Steven in 8th in the Single Speed category on Saturday. Sunday's final Psycho Series race found Craig Austin and Brian Spears joining in the fun with Paul, Craig and Steven pushing their single gear around for 5th, 6th and 7th place respectively in the SS while Brian used a few more gears to secure 3rd in the Men B's.

(11/24/11) The final race of the 2011 Cross Crusade at PIR signaled that the cyclocross season was winding down but far from over with the OBRA CX State Champs this past Saturday. The Eugene Psycho course played host to all the HFV'ers who stopped by to race on their way to the Ninkasi Brewing tasting room.

Sunday found most of HFV back in action at the annual Krueger's Crossing CX Classic where the infamous muddy course greeted racers even though rain had been at a minimum that week. Saul Lopez showed that his hard work finally paid off with 2nd place in the Master B 35+ category followed closely by Marcelo Silva rounding out the podium in 3rd place! Robert Huff took 8th in the Master A 35+ along with Brian Spears in 10th and Scott Ballard scoring in the points with a 15th place finish making for a very successful day for HFV.

(11/10/11) A triple header of local races this past weekend started with the first annual "Pedalers at the Poor Farm" race at the beautiful Edgefield McMenamins. Cold weather finally greeted the racers who took to the incredibly undulating and challenging course that proved to be a crowd favorite, probably due to all the post race "refreshments' provided by the brewers at Edgefield... Robert Huff used his great late season form to score 5th place in the Master A's followed closely by Paul Anderson in 8th place and Brian Spears in 9th place. David Rosen didn't let the hills keep him from taking a strong 3rd place in the Clydesdales while Steven Basden proved that one gear worked well on the course with 14th in the single speeds and Shawn McCloud's newfound enthusiasm for cx took him to a 15th place finish in the Master C's.

Robert Huff and Brian Spears on one of the many challenging run ups featured in each lap at Edgefield
Photo courtesy of Leonard Johnson of HotFootPhoto

The GMPC Series brought another challenge Saturday as well with a flat but uber muddy course at the 2nd annual Apple Core race. Mike Stockton took 9th place and David Saltzberg took 14th in the Master A's while Saul Lopez finally put his mechanical issues to rest to ride to a stellar 5th place in the Master B's.

Sunday brought stop #7 of the Crusade to the gravel pits of Barton which this year proved while not as technically challenging, was still as mechanically challenging to the racers equipments with the usual number of DNF's... John Baldwin scored one of the few results in the points with a 12th place finish in the Master C's oh and of course David Rosen represented the HFV Clydesdales with a top 10 as well before finishing off another box of donuts.

(11/3/11) The annual Crusade Halloween weekend moved it's traveling circus from the Astoria Fairgrounds to it's new home in Bend which was a rousing success despite the unseasonably dry conditions that made riders race by Braille through the dust storms on Saturday. Of course none of this mattered by Sundays "costume" race where the theme of the "Day of the Dead" was a huge hit by both racers and spectators alike. You can find full coverage of the festivities at pdxcross.com

Steven Basden makes a break for it on his single speed against the geared Master B's in Sundays race
Photo courtesy of Victoria J. Smith of Alpenglow Vacations in Bend

Back in Portland the GPMC Series provided the local Portland riders with a Halloween race on Saturday at the infamous David Douglas course in Vancouver. Kevin Thompson took 2nd yet again in the Clydesdales with Paul Anderson taking 10th in the Master A's followed by David Saltzberg and Brian Spears in 12th and 15th place respectively and Marcel Silvo eeking out a 15th place in the Master B's.

(10/27/11) Zone5 Promotions was back it this weekend with the Het Meer cx race at a Vancouver Lake park which received stellar reviews for it's Euro course featuring a sandy beach section and lot's of flat power sections. David Saltzberg took a break from his promoting duties for an intra squad battle with Robert Huff in the Masters A's taking 12th and 13th place respectively followed by Paul Anderson finishing in the points in 14th. The Clydes of HFV made the podium with Mike Hall in 2nd followed by David Rosen in 3rd and Kevin Thompson just missing the podium with a 4th place finish and Sean McCloud making his cx debut in the Master C's finishing in 15th!

Sunday was stop #4 of the Cross Crusade at the Washington County Fairgrounds. Once again only the HFV Clydesdales made it into the points which makes sense considering the course ran through the fairground grazing fields and stalls they know all so well...

(10/20/11) HFV and Zone5 Promotions presented the 2nd annual Nikrossi cyclocross race this past weekend at the Washougal MX Park, also part of the GPMC series. Thanks to Ninkasi Brewing for the generosity in quenching the thirst of all those who snaked their way through the now infamous Ninkasi "N" course!

Kevin Thompson proved that even the big boys can climb by powering his way to 2nd place on the podium of the Clydesdales followed by David Rosen in 5th and Mike Hall riding on a flat for a couple laps but still securing 12th place. David Saltzberg took a break from his promoting duties to take 17th place followed by Bob Huff just making it inside the points in 18th place in the Master A's.

Sunday found the boys on a flatter course at the Heron Lakes PIR course, stop #3 on the Cross Crusade circus route. Ken James and Marcelo Silva finished 13th and 14th in a huge Master B's field to lead the day. The HFV Clydesdales placed well again today with David Rosen taking 5th place for the 2nd day in a row followed by Mike Hall in 7th place on a flat and dry course, perfect for Clydes! Although all the other HFV'ers missed the points in the race, they scored a bigger win by emptying the kegs leftover from Saturday, Prost boys!

The infamous Ninkasi "N" feature of the Ninkrossi cx course
Photo courtesy of Ninkasi Brewing

Cyclocross racing is all about the bling!
Photo courtesy of Jose Sandoval


Kevin Thompson on the 2nd step of the podium in the Clydesdales!

(10/13/11) The annual Heiser Farms CX race, stop #3 of the GPMC series, started another busy weekend of cross action. Dry, warm weather greeted the HFV'ers this year, unlike years past, which Kevin Thompson took advantage of in making the podium in the Clydesdale race. Ken James took another 5th place finish this week, this time in the "regular" B's. Over in the old guy, er "Master" categories, David Saltzberg and Mike Stockton grabbed 14th & 18th place finishes respectively in the Master A's with Marcelo Silva finishing in the points with 17th place in the Master B's.

Sunday was marked by stop #2 of the Cross Crusade, the infamous Ranier High School course, an HFV favorite. Mike Hall and David Rosen showed that the big guys can get up that freakin' hill pretty damn fast and make the top 10 again this week with 4th and 10th place respectively. Wade Goff rode a stellar race in the Master A's just missing the points, along by strong rides by the rest of the HFV Master A's crew for a great day of cx fun.

(10/6/11) The double headers of cross action started in earnest this this past Saturday with a new race on the schedule, the "Canby Cross-World Cyclocross Challenge" out at the Pat's Acres go-kart track. Ken James raced his way to a strong 5th place finish in the Master B's while Brian Spears was able to finally complete a race this season by taking 7th in the Master A's.

Sunday marked the opening of the cyclocross circus known as the Cross Crusade which rolled it's wagons en masse to Alpenrose for the true start of cross season. HFV threw it's weight around literally, with Mike Hall and David Rosen pounding their way to 5th and 7th place respectively out of 73 racers in the Clydesdales category. Marcelo Silva powered his way through a huge Master B's field to take 14th place on the day and kudos for all the HFV'ers who raced including an appearance by Steve Truesdale in the Masters 50+ field.

(9/29/11) The 2011 Cross season kicked into high gear this past weekend with the annual "Battle at Barlow" race in Gresham. The HFV Clydesdales used the power course to their advantage with Mike Hall scoring HFV's first cross win of the season followed by Kevin Thompson just missing the podium in 4th and David Rose riding to a strong 7th place. The HFV Master A contingent were quite as successful in the points but rode solid races as the last the last tune up before the Cross Crusade kickoff October 2nd.

(9/22/11) While some HFV'ers headed north to Seattle to race and watch the Belgian contingent school the American pro's, the bulk of HFV headed to Hood River for the annual Double Cross with new recruit John Baldwin taking the only HFV top 10 on Saturday with a strong 6th place in the Category C's.

Sunday found the boys back at it again with Wade Goff continuing his stellar racing season with 10th place in his Master A's debut! New recruit Mike Hall, took 2nd place in the Clydesdales followed by David Rosen in 5th place and Marcelo Silva finishing in 11th place in the Master B's making for a very successful day for HFV!

(9/15/11) Another weekend of blistering hot temperatures greeted the HFV'ers who made the trek to Eugene for the first race of the Psycho Cross series. Donovan Grabowski, Paul Anderson and Steven Basden tackled the flat and fast course on their single speeds taking 6th, 7th and 9th place respectively followed by a stop at the Ninkasi Brewing patio for proper cool down!

(9/8/11) Labor Day normally signals that summer is almost over but this year it signaled the start of the cyclocross season at the infamous David Douglas park in Vancouver, WA sponsored in part by HFV & Ninkasi Brewing and the first race in the new GPMC series.

95 degree temperatures and smoke from nearby forest fires didn't keep away the masses with over 400 racers making their season debut! HFV turned out in force led by Mike Rosenfeld taking 13th place in the Master B category Derek McCammon taking a strong 16th place in his Master B debut with Caan Zarosinski racing one gear to 14th in the single speeds.

(9/1/11) Hot weather and a dusty course at the Krugers Kermesse greeted the races who toed the line as the final tune up before the early season cyclocross races. David Rosen used his roadie fitness to make the podium with a strong 2nd place in the Masters Men B 35+ Category with Mike Rosenfeld finishing in the points in 14th place as well.

David Rosen uses his podium photo opp to promote as many sponsors as possible!

(8/18/11) Half Fast Velo finished out the mountain bike season on a high note this past weekend at the OBRA MTB XC Championships with Kevin Thompson taking home the 2nd State Champions jersey for HFV this season. Kevin took the win by "upgrading" to Clydesdale and showed that the term "Clydesdale" speaks not only of using their weight advantage to descend fast, but climb well too setting some of the fastest times on the day! Kudos to Craig Austin for taking a top 10 in the Masters 40-49 category coming in 9th place in a very stacked field as well.

(7/14/11) Once again Wade Goff makes it onto a podium but this time on asphalt in place of dirt at the road race portion of the High Desert Omnium this past weekend in Bend. Wade placed 3rd in the Masters Men category after the teamwork of Mark Magilner in helping setup a break that would stick yet leaving enough in the tank to take 10th place for himself.

(6/30/11) The final stop in the 2011 River City Oregon XC Series found the racers back in Bend for one of their fave courses at the Picketts Charge XC race. Sunny skies and a few new twists and turns on the course made for a great day to be on a mtb with Wade Goff once again in his element concluding the series with a podium finish taking 2nd place in the Single Speed category! Geoff Raynak proved the previous weeks "Test of Endurance" efforts paid off by breaking into the top 10 with an 8th place in the Single Speeds as well.

Wade Goff makes the Single Speed podium at the Picketts Charge XC race
Photo courtesy of Matthew Lasala

(6/23/11) Another Elkhorn Stage Race is in the books and while the tried an true HFV Masters survived, HFV newcomer Ken James made his debut loud and clear by taking home 3rd place overall in the Masters Cat 4/5 Men! Mark Magilner made up for the rest of the HFV Cat 1/2/3 Masters who were blind sided by roadside baked goods instead of staying with the peloton by taking 16th over all in a very stacked field.

Over on the dirt side of things, Geoff Raynak made yet another post-retirement appearance as the lone HFV representative at the Test Of Endurance 50 mile mtb race. Geoff didn't let that fact that his longest ride of the year had only been 2hrs stop him from putting in a stellar ride to finish 11th in the Single Speed field in under 6 hrs!

Geoff Raynak stomps his way up the hill at the Test of Endurance race
Photo courtesy of Shane Young of Oregon Velo

And speaking of dirt, week 3 of the Portland Short Track Series found HFV's David Rosen stopping by in between biz trips yet riding a solid race to take 9th place in the Cat 2 Men 35-44 category followed by Mike Rosenfeld coming home in the top 30.

Mike Rosenfeld puts his cross skills and bike to the test at the Portland Short Track race
Photo courtesy of Shane Young of Oregon Velo

(6/9/11) Congrats go out to Wade Goff again this weekend who showed no signs of slowing down after podiums in Bend the previous week by winning the Cat 3 race at the Vanport Kermesse on Sunday. The "cyclocross style" road course suited Wade to a "T" where he was able to put his power and skills to the test. Kudos to Mike Rosenfeld and John Baldwin as well who used their cross skills to take 7th and 9th place respectfully in the Cat 4/5 field.

The weekend began with HFV's David Saltzberg and David Hart's promoting the first annual 6 Hours of Washougal mtb race at the scenic but brutal Washougal MX course. The sunny and warm skies greeted the racers who ended up suffering through the heat after a rainy spring but found relief in the kegs of Ninkasi at the finish. HFV had their own inter squad battle won by the Co-Ed Masters 80+ team of Brian Spears and Robert Huff finishing on the podium over Kevin Thompson and Craig Austin who came home in 5th place. Mike Hilbrandt and Dan Silvernail one upped them by torturing themselves solo with Mike taking 6th in a tough Solo SS field and Dan finishing in 13th in the Solo Men 40+ category.

(6/2/11) A busy weekend of racing in Bend started with Saturday's Bend Don't Brake Road Race where the threat of snow flurries in May (?!) was just the motivation Wade Goff needed to make the podium with 3rd place in the Masters 40+ category. David Rosen kept warm by riding a strong race in the Cat 3's which paid off with a top 10 placing.

Sunny but cool weather greeted the HFV mtb'ers on Sunday who showed up in force for the 2nd annual Sisters Stampede XC race. Wade Goff didn't let his podium celebrations from Saturday night keep him from storming to a 4th place finish in a very stacked single speed field! Geoff Raynak came out of hibernation and finished in 11th place in the SS category followed by Craig Austin in 15th and Devin Flynn rode his shiny new steed to 22nd.

Over on the geared side of things, David Rosen powered his way to 11th place in the Cat 2 Men 35-44 field with Derek McCammon finishing in 11th place as well in the Cat 3 Men 35-44 field rounding out a stellar weekend for HFV!

David, Wade, Craig and Geoff strike a pose after finishing the Sisters Stampede XC race
Photo courtesy of Gretchen Raynak

(5/19/11) Congratulations to HFV's own Ken James on winning the Masters 40+ Cat 4 OBRA State Road Race Championship this past Saturday! Kudos go out to Mark Magilner as well for making the podium with 2nd place in the Masters 40+ Cat 3 Championships and Wade Goff finishing in the points in 13th place.

This years State Road Race Championships were held on the Silverton Road Race course, infamous for being one of the most challenging courses of the year which didn't keep Mark Magilner from toeing the line again on Sunday for the 2nd day of Championships. Mark had enough left in the legs to finish 12th in the toughest field, the Masters 40-49 Open category with Robert Huff rolling in for a top 20 finish in the category after tireless work for the team capping off a very good spring season for HFV.

(5/5/11) HFV put off the 2011 edition of "team camp" until late April hoping for warm weather and while the temperature didn't cooperate, the hospitably and planning of TM more than made up for it. Camp started on Friday with a mellow team ride in prep for Saturdays Eugene Roubaix road race where Mark Magilner powered his way to 7th place followed by Robert Huff in 16th and Nathan Hobson and Saul Lopez rounding out the top 25 in the Masters 40+ category while John Baldwin finished in the points in the Men Cat 5 coming home in 13th. Of course the highlight of the day was the afternoon sun that shined down on the patio of the Ninkasi tasting room for post race beverages after a rough day in the saddle.

After a Saturday night feast worthy of Lance's little setup back in his Tour days, the boys hit the road on Sunday for a torturous 6 hr hilly ride out of Salem with enough elevation to make even the climbers swear off doing that route again. Needless to say we can't wait for the 2012 edition!

HFV is all smiles before heading out Sundays hilly ride to close out the 2011 team camp
Photo courtesy of Bob Huff Photo

(4/30/11) New and improved HFV Bios are back online for your amusement here. Enjoy!

(4/28/11) Mark Magilner showed no loss of early season form by powering his way to yet another win this time against the clock in race #1 of the Raven Time Trial Series. Mark set the best time for the Masters 40-49 category with Ian Penner showing his stealth training has paid off by taking 8th place in the category as well.

(4/14/11) Partly sunny skies and warm temperatures greeted HFV as they lined up for one of the team's favorite road races, the Kings Valley road race. Mark Magilner's early spring form proved right on track as he stamped his name on a 5th consecutive win in the Masters category! Early work by HFV'ers Nathan Hobson, Wade Goff, Robert Huff and Saul Lopez setup Mark for the first big HFV win of the season!

Mark Magilner is a little too proud of his honorary "portapotty" trophy
awarded for winning the Masters category at the Kings Valley Road Race
Photo courtesy of Saul Lopez

Saturdays nice weather was short lived for the HFV mtb'ers who showed up at Horning's Hideout on Sunday for stop #2 of the Oregon XC series. Overnight rains turned a "dry" course into a slick mess causing riders to spend more time running up and down the trails than attempt to ride them! David Saltzberg, one of the few HFV finishers on the day, slogged his way to 12th place in the Cat 2 45-54 group with Kevin Thompson dragging himself to 17th in the Cat 2 35-44 group. The rest of the team was smart enough to pull out early and hit the tent to "re-hydrate" in order to better enjoy the carnage.

Cameron Vander Stoep is all smiles as he breaks in his new Papillon 29er SS at Horning's
Photo courtesy of Shane Young of Oregon Velo

Amazingly enough, Craig Austin is still smiling on his 3rd time down the muddy descent
Photo courtesy of Shane Young of Oregon Velo

(3/31/11) A busy weekend of road racing started on Saturday with OBRA's version of a "Spring Classic" at the Piece of Cake road race thanks to a long gravel section for 2011! HFV took advantage of their off road skills with three finishers in the top 13 of the Masters 1/2/3 led by Mark Magilner in 4th place just missing out on the podium due to one of the numerous flats on the day. Wade Goff and Robert Huff survived crashes and flats of their own to finish in 9th and 13th place respectively on the day.

Mark used the race on Saturday as a warm up for the final Banana Belt road race series on Sunday where he made the jump to the podium this time taking 3rd place followed by Saul Lopez making his season debut finishing in 11th place and David Saltzberg finishing out a successful series in 13th place.

(3/17/11) The sunny skies of Eastern Oregon greeted the mountain bikers for the opening race of the 2011 Rivercity Oregon XC Series, the third annual Echo Red to Red mtb race where 450+ racers made it the largest attended mtb race in years! Kevin Thompson dusted off his mtb showing his work on the road paid off by leading the way with 12th place in the Cat 2 35-44 field followed by David Rosen in 17th place while Steven Basden opted to torture himself on the longer single speed course once again rolling back into town just before everyone had gone home.

The sunny skies on Saturday were replaced by cold rain for the 2nd Banana Belt making for miserable conditions. David Saltzberg took advantage of the weather to finish in 10th place again this week in the Masters 1/2/3's followed by Wade Goff in 13th.

Kevin Thompson brings out the "gun show" in attacking the sweet Echo single track trails
Photo courtesy of Shane Young of Oregon Velo

(3/10/11) Winter decided to pay one last visit delaying the start of the Banana Belt Road Series until this past weekend. Cold weather but clear roads greeted the racers who turned out including HFV's David Saltzberg who found his racing legs finishing in the top 10 in the Masters 1/2/3's while Shawn McCloud came out of a self imposed road racing hibernation of sorts to finish in the points in the Masters 4/5 category.

(2/24/11) After bunkering down for winter with our bounty of Ninkasi beer, HFV rolled out of hibernation and toed the line for the 2011 season opener, the infamous Cherry Pie road race. Mark Magilner led the HFV Master racers working a break to 4th place in the Masters 40+ category showing he's on form early once again while some new HFV "crossers" made the plunge to road racing. Congrats to Dylan, Devin and James for finishing their first road race upright!

Sunday found the HFV crew out in force at the first time trial of the year, the aptly title Jack Frost Time Trial. Mark Magilner didn't let Saturdays efforts from keep him from posting the best HFV time of the day taking 7th in the Masters 40-49 followed by Nathan Hobson racing with HFV again in 8th place and David Hart, Saul Lopez, Paul Anderson and Craig Austin completing the top 20. Cameron Vander Stoep showed his winter workouts paid off rolling in for 4th in the Masters 30-39 category followed by Kevin Thompson in 5th.

(1/20/11) Half Fast Velo is proud to welcome a couple of new sponsors to the HFV family for the 2011-2012 seasons. Along with returning title sponsor Ninkasi Brewing, HFV welcomes Cycles Papillon, custom titanium bicycles and Atomic Auto for all of your SAAB repair needs. Of course we couldn't do it without our long time returning sponsors Cyclepath custom bike love, Pizza Fino, Pacific Pathology Associates, Clif Bar, Revolution Wheelworks and Voler custom cycling apparel. Thanks to all of our sponsors in helping to make 2011 a success for HFV on the bike and off!

Back to top