August road racing means one thing around here: fast paced circuit races of the Lake Washington Velo Series. The series started off with the Skagit Flats Circuit Race back in July. The cat 1/2 team was off to an excellent start with Ian Mensher finishing 2nd breakaway teammate Jay Hilwig also finishing in the points. The cat3 field had top 10 finishes by Dan Hazzard and Brian Estacapio. Meanwhile Alex Rosenast trumps all with a victory in the Masters field. Off to a great start!

Weeks later at the Gig Harbor race, consistency was name of the game. Contenders stayed in the points with top 10 finishes. The usual suspects kept themselves in the hunt by placing top 10 and picking up series points at the intermediate sprint points.

The Carnation Circuit Race in late August finished the series. After a season of top 10 finishes, Dan Hazzard pulls off a victory in the cat3 field. Mike Murdin finished 8th in the cat1/2 race.

For the series Ian Mensher took the overall in the cat1/2 field, Dan Hazzard does the same in the cat3's, and Alex Rosenast places 2nd in the Masters field. Excellent job and great team work in positioning, leadouts, and finishing the day with Garage at the top!

For the second year running, Garage dominates the Cat3 BARR (Best All 'Round Rider). Brian Estacapio wins the Cat3 BARR for 2008 with a strong overall performance, starting with a 2nd place finish in the state road race and ending the year with 5th at last weekend's Crystal Mountain Hill Climb. Consistent placing at other state events gave Brian a significant lead in BARR.

Rounding out the Cat3 BARR competition were Alex Rosenast in 3rd and Tom Wick in 4th. Alex had a win the individual time trial and shared victory at the team time trial with Brian, Tom, and Gibb Clarke. Tom won the Cat3 circuit race then moved up in BARR with a 9th place hill climb.

Aaron Lavin wins the Masters B BARR with wins in the Masters Road Race and Boston Harbor Circuit Race and held his lead with strong performances throughout the late season time trials.

The Cat1/2 team had a great season at BARR events as well. Chris Teufel lead the team with his placing of 13th in BARR by gaining points in the state road race and time trials. In the individual TT Chris faced stiff competition where he finished 5th. Additionally he worked with Ian Mensher, Mike Murdin, and Kyle Farrell to finish 3rd in the team time trial. Kyle gained a couple more BARR points at the Crystal Hill Climb with a 4th place finish.

Overall, these individual achievements would not be possible without a strong team effort. All Garage riders have helped these individuals to their high rankings in BARR. What a great year, and an excellent team!

If you've been to any races this season, you've probably taken notice of Alex Rosenast's Volkswagen Jetta. What you might not know is the team car runs off recycled veggie oil.

The 2005 Jetta TDI wagon was converted by Chris Goodwin at Frybrid.com to run off of waste vegetable oil (WVO). Garage Billiards uses 100% canola oil for those tasty fries and other menu items, perfect for fueling the converted Jetta. After its initial use, the oil is rendered, filtered, and used to get the team to the races.

Keep an eye out for the Jetta at races this summer.

With June here we usually expect sunny skies and warmer temperatures. That hasn't been the case this year; we're all still packing leg warmers, base layers, rainshells, and toe covers to the races. Fortunately the cooler weather hasn't hampered racing for the team as results from the past couple weeks show.

Chris Teufel brought June into play with a 3rd place overall at the Enumclaw Omnium. Chris gave a consistent placing of 4th in both the time trial and crit with a good finish in the road race against a tough field.

If that wasn't enough, Chris placed first at the following week's Carnation time trial. Flavio Rattazzi took 4th and is duking it out with Chris for top spot in the overall time trial competition which will be contested mid-July.

Meanwhile on the road race scene, Aaron Lavin took an impressive victory at the State Masters Championship Road Race in Glenwood. The team had a great turnout and was on the attack at every opportunity. Tom Wick provided a leadout good enough to propel Aaron across the line with room to spare. Hey Aaron, how about a victory salute?

Not only does the latest issue of Outdoors NW feature training tips from Garage rider/duathlete Chris Teufel, he also made the cover of the issue!

Congrats to Brian Estocapio for his 2nd place finish at the State Championship Road Race in Longbranch. The team had a rough day: after numerous attacks and counterattacks only a lone rider from TiCycles managed to break free from the peleton. With the race coming down to a pack sprint, Garage had numbers up front to push the pace. Brian hit the afterburners with 50 meters to the line to take the field sprint for silver. Dan Hazzard finished 4th with Alex Rosenast and Gibb Clarke taking 15th and 16th, respectively.

The FSA Tour de Dung in Sequim is this Saturday the 29th, brought to you by Garage Racing and Carter Subaru. This is part of the Washington Cup race series for Cat 1-2 Men, Cat 1-2 Women, and the Masters A fields. Be sure not to be late for the ferry. Race flyer available here.