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...

(8/4/08) HFV got back to it's winning ways this week in an avenue where no other NW racer would dare to go... Competitive Eating!! HFV strong man Reid Block was introduced to the competitive world of eating meatballs this past weekend and won the inaugural "Rogue Brewing Kobe Blue Ball" competition by downing 6 of the bad boys in 30 seconds! Not only that, he kicked the cr*p out of the "World Lobster Eating Champion" who could only swallow 4 of the bad boys! Reids' secret weapon was the fact he was washing down the meatballs with our new sponsor Ninkasi Brewing's Total Domination IPA throughout the competition. Now that's the kind of win HFV can be proud of!

(7/29/08) While HFV enjoys racing and having a beer together, community work is also a big part of our team philosophy as shown in the fundraising efforts the team put forth for the annual Tour de Cure ride to Mt. Hood this past weekend. HFV came through with a big "win" in the fight against diabetes by raising over $3500 which put them in the top 10 in team fundraising.

The HFV gang on top of Mt. Hood is all smiles thinking about how fun
the ride down will be compared to the ride up!

(7/24/08) Sunny weather means track season and Steve Truesdale finished out a busy month of track racing that started with the annual Alpenrose Six Day races where all his work this winter paid off with some great results in the Masters categories. He then put that form to good use at the Alpenrose Velodrome Challenge where he mixed it up with racers from all over the NW placing in the points in a few of the categories!

Warm weather was the perfect excuse to head to Mt. Hood and take in a mtb race as well at the State Games XC race at Ski Bowl this past Sunday. HFV had a great turnout and made it count by taking home four medals on the day! Kevin Thompson had the fastest time of the team for a 3rd place finish in the Sport 19-39, Steve Basden and Brian Spears took 1st & 2nd place respectively in the single speed category, Eric Stouck won the Beginner 19-39 category and Donovan Grabowski finished with a solid 5th place in the Sport 40-49 in his first race back out of "retirement".

(7/4/08) Race #3 in the annual circuit race series at Mt. Tabor found a few HFV'ers in attendance including Saul Lopez who's hard work in the Cat 3's the last couple of races paid off with a great finish in the points!

Paul Anderson took to the dirt at PIR for the Portland MTB Short Track #2 where he scored an impressive 3rd place in the Sport 40+ category after a very brutal weekend of training. Kudos to Brian Spears finishing in the points as well in the Sport category on his cross bike!

Steven Basden is "focused" on his way to a strong finish in the single speed category
at the Portland MTB Short Track Series race #2.
Photo courtesy of Oregon Velo

(6/27/08) The HFV presence on Mondays increased with HFV'ers bringing out the skinny tires and the fat tires! Wade Goff kept the top 10 placings going by sprinting to 7th place after the strong teamwork on the night.

On the fat tire side of things, this past Monday night was the start of the ever popular mountain bike short track series at PIR where warm weather greeted a record crowd. Craig Austin got his money's worth by warming up in the single speed race before tackling the Expert 40+ where he scored a 6th place on the night!

Craig Austin brings out the "big gun"s for the first race of the Portland MTB Short Track Series at PIR.
Photo courtesy of Oregon Velo

(6/19/08) Clear skies greeted all the HFV'ers who raced at the OBRA road race championships in Ranier with racers in the both Masters fields led by Wade Goff finishing in the points in the Men's 30-39 and Robert Huff finishing strong in the Men's 40-49 field. Robert felt so good he decided to race the next day putting in another solid ride in the Masters field.

Monday PIR had a big HFV presence that Kevin Thompson didn't let go to waste by getting in the break of the night finishing in 4th place.

(6/5/08) This past Saturday HFV rallied the troops by putting together 5 teams to race the OBRA Team Time Trial Championships. HFV placed in the top 10 of every category entered led of course by the Senior Men team of John Bravard, John Browning, Doug Palmer and Aaron Sander who were the only HFV team to break the hour mark in one of their final rides in the HFV blue and orange.

The Cat 3 Time Trial Team of Wade Goff, Saul Lopez, Mark Magilner and Robert Huff still have the strenght to smile for the camera after turning in the 2nd best time of the HFV teams and 5th overall in the Cat 3's.

Sunday morning had some HFV'ers competing at the Falls City Firecracker mtb race while Mark Magilner opted for the pavement and raced the Silverton road race where he held on for an impressive third place on the day in the Masters field!

(5/21/08) A busy couple of weeks of racing had the HFV crew going up and down mountains on skinny and fat tires. The Mt. Hood Cycling Classic stage race had Aaron Sander mixing it up in the Mens Cat 2 field while John Browning made the final GC podium in the Masters 35+ category!

Over on the fat tire side of things, Mothers Day brought the annual Chainbreaker mtb race where Gant Enderle scored an impressive 4th place in the Expert category while Kevin Thompson rolled in with a 4th place as well in the Sport category.

This past Sunday, the snows melted away just enough for us to race the always challenging Bear Springs mtb race on some of the best single track in the state. Paul Anderson continued his hunt for the Sport 40+ overall by putting in a stellar ride to take 3rd place in his category and 5th overall!

(5/7/08) The race season is in full swing with the weekly PIR road races and track series in addition to the rest of the racing calendar. John Browning used Tuesday nights "training race" to get in a break with a couple of the local pro boys working his way to a stellar 2nd place on the night sandwiched between the two pro's!

Mark Magilner made the trek south to the Table Rock road race where he rode a great race as the lone HFV'er in the Masters field against a stacked Hutch's team taking 5th on the day.

(4/23/08) As the saying goes "April showers" are supposed to bring "May flowers" but who would've thought snow would greet the racers in mid April?! The threat of cold snow couldn't keep the HFV mtb'ers away from the annual Mudslinger mtb race. Gant Enderle led the way by riding a stellar race in tough conditions to land on the podium with a 3rd place finish in the Expert 18-39 category. Paul Anderson put his road fitness to use in taking a spot on the podium as well in the Sport 40-49 group with a solid 2nd place finish!

Racing a mtb in cold and wet conditions is just part of the sport but racing in a time trial in the cold rain with a threat of snow is just plain crazy! Of course leave it to HFV to have a few racers show and actually turn in pretty good times led by Bob Huff with a 3rd place in the Masters 40+ and Saul Lopez making his TT debut with an 8th place finish in the Cat 3's.

(4/14/08) A beautiful and warm day greeted the racers for a change at the annual Kings Valley road race where racers are usually met with cold temperatures and rain this time of year. Mark Magilner obviously thrived in the conditions by storming off the front of the Masters field to end up in a 2 man breakaway then left his counterpart in his wake at the end to solo for the win! John Browning continued his streak of great finishes in the Pro 1/2 category by taking yet another top 10 placing. Aaron Sander showed he's coming into form by finishing in the points with a strong 15th place.

Dry but cooler weather greeted the racers on Sunday for the Estacada Time Trial. Mark Magilner didn't let Saturdays efforts slow him down by flying to the fastest HFV time of the day placing in the top 10 in the Masters 40-49 group. Robert Huff showed his form is coming around nicely by finishing in the points in the Masters group as well. Props to Kevin Thompson and Craig Austin who HTFU by racing twice and both finishing with great times in their respective categories!

Mark Magilner in the break of the Masters race on his way to the win.
Photo courtesy of Melissa Boyd

(4/7/08) April showers made for a muddy and brutal course to kickoff the mountain bike season at the 2nd annual Horning's Hustle mtb race. Gant Enderle and David Diviney thrive in that environment and it showed by Gant winning the Expert Men 19-39 category while David muscled his way to a strong 2nd place in the Single Speed category.

David Diviney bombs down the only dry section of the Horning's mtb course.
Photo courtesy of Oregon Velo

(4/2/08) Congrats to Wade Goff for taking the win in the Cat 3 field at the Piece of Cake road race this past weekend! All his early season work paid of big time as the Woodland course played to his strengths namely that huge motor of his! Props to John Browning for another strong ride in the Pro 1/2 field as well!

(3/19/08) The final race in the Banana Belt series included the longest miles in the series which worked in HFV's favor with John Browning scoring a stellar 10th place in the Pro 1/2 field, Wade Goff and Saul Lopez scoring top 10's in the Cat 3's and Robert Huff scored a top 10 in the Masters 40+ category as well to finish out the series on a high note.

The onset of spring signals a return to mountain bike racing as well. Although racing in Oregon is a month off, Paul Anderson and Steve Basden headed north to Olympia for the 2nd annual "Burn the Winter Coat" XC race. The course was all single track which were amazing even in the soupy mud and played to their stengths with Paul making the podium in the Sport 35+ category and Steve grabbing the "win" in the single speed category. Ok, so he was the only one in the single speed category...

(3/11/08) The road season is in full swing with the Banana Belt series which brought out the HFV roadies out of hibernation for the first two races. The first race found John Browning leading the Cat 1/2 crew to a top 20 placing while in the Masters 40+, Robert Huff led the way by finishing in the points with a strong 12th place.

This past weekend brought sunnier weather and faster fields. Mark Magilner and Robert Huff rode strong again in the Masters 40+ to represent HFV in the points while Gant Enderle put in another great ride in the 3's to show he's on form in this first part of the season.

Mark Magilner is all smiles as he solos off the front of the Masters 40+ field.
Photo courtesy of Oregon Velo

(2/28/08) Racing continued this past weekend with the first time trial of the year, the annual Jack Frost TT in Vancouver, WA. HFV's Aaron Sander tested his fitness against the clock and showed he's right on track with a blistering ride to take 4th in the Mens Cat 1/2 field! HFV powered their way to multiple top 10's across the different categories they entered.

Paul Anderson tests his early season form against the clock at the Jack Frost Time Trial.
Photo courtesy of Oregon Velo

(2/22/08) The Presidents day holiday marks the official start of the road racing scene in Oregon with the infamous Cherry Pie road race. Unseasonably dry and clear weather greeted HFV who showed up in force in the Cat 3's led by Mark Magilner and Wade Goff who went in an early break to shake the racing cobwebs from their legs before rejoining the main field for the uphill sprint which took it's toll on the boys but a good test for the early season fitness.

(2/6/08) The threat of snow and cold temperatures didn't keep the racers from showing up at the final race of the Vanport Kermesse Series. Bob Huff raced his way to a 3rd place finish on the day securing the overall win in the Masters A category while Wade Goff used his great early season form to storm to wins in not one but TWO races on the day in the Men B and Men Masters B categories!

(1/31/08) HFV showed up in force for race #2 of the Vanport Kermesse Series with Bob Huff leading the way with a win in the Masters A race to solidify his lead in the series points heading into the last race next Sunday. Wade Goff turned took advantage of his cross skills in the gravel section to pull away and grab 2nd place in the Mens B race.

(1/24/08) The 2008 season is off to an early start this year with the first annual Vanport Kermesse Series at PIR. A few HFV'ers used their late season cyclocross form to score strong results in the Masters A and Master B races on a very cold and wet January afternoon.