introducing the tuesday night races

Once school starts back up it'll be time to start getting serious about training, and getting serious about doing some training together, as a team.

To that end, I'd like to introduce the SU Tuesday Night Races. The idea is simple. A mid-week race simulation training ride, open to everyone. Several laps over a short loop, a loop short enough that if you get dropped you can catch back on with the group on the next go around, or cut the course with a fast downhill run on Airport Rd.

Yesterday, I scouted out what I think will make a good course:

The course has nothing that I would call a "climb," but this is south-central PA, so it's not exactly flat either. According to Bikely, there's about 250 ft of elevation gain on the five-mile route. So, if we started off running a four-lap, 20 mile "race," we'd finish with 1000 feet of elevation gain, which is a pretty decent stomp in the cornfields.

There's little traffic on these roads, but obviously we'd still have to keep a lookout for cars. If you'd like to scout the course, run it clockwise, making all righthand turns. We'll have to sweep the turns before we race it.

The course is also convenient. It's obviously close to campus, but also easy access for Gettysburg College folks if they'd like to join us (their adviser earlier approached me about doing some training "races" together), as well as folks from Chambersburg and Carlisle. I wouldn't be surprised if by April (after the time change) we regularly get groups of 15-20 riders out on a Tuesday night.

Anyway, I hope to get a trial run on the course with y'all the second week of classes, Tuesday, January 20th, 4pm. As the days get longer, we'll move the time back gradually to accomidate more riders.

Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a Happy New Year to all!!!!!!

Suprisingly Great Ride Today!

So it was beautiful out today and all throughout church I was itching to get out and ride... so I did! Broke in the new (and stylish) SU Kits today as well. They feel great, especially the windproof vest! I'm glad they came Friday!

Anyways, I started out for about 4-5 miles from my house, did a few short (but STEEP) climbs in "The Hills" part of Harrisburg, then coming out, I ran into a guy (Paul) who happened to be riding by, and he invited me to join him! So, Paul was like a Cat3-2 rider, but I stayed with him (for the most part...) except for the climbs. Long story short, he was a great guy and we ended up going 32.8 miles... (wasn't planning on that so my legs are pretty shot now) but it was a lot of fun!

Just thought I would share... Have a good break!

A Hike to remember

With the weather getting cold, I find it hard to get out and cycle. This Saturday, Eric and I mixed things up with hike up to the falls in near white out conditions. Luckily for us, we had the trail blazing dobermans leading the way. We moved at a brisk pace, only to stopping at the top to take in the amazing view. It is not everyday you climb a mountain, but it is a good feeling when you do.

Crazy Night Tonight

So I almost got killed tonight. I got out late today... around 3:50 ish and decided to take advantage of the semi-tolerable weather. hovering around 44 degrees isn't too bad I guess. I had no trouble once I got into town around 4:55, but once I got onto campus around 5:00 ish, all hell broke loose. I almost got hit like 4 times, people were yelling I was crazy (literally), and one girl yelled "Where's your blinkers". It's 5:15 now and it's pretty dark, but at around 5:00 I had on sunglasses and still thought it wasn't that bad. Just thought I would share, so watch out for crazy drivers on campus! ha ha. See everyone thursday at the shin-dig!

ps. Matt, if you went out today, sorry I couldn't make it at 3:15, at least you had some light!

recognize anyone?

The billboard is up. I'm told that if you're headed south on 2nd Street in Harrisburg, about to get on 581, you can see it right there. It'll be there for two or three months, then moved to another location.

Y'all are famous.

clothing order...

Money for clothing orders are due this Friday, 12/5.

Details on who owes me what and how to get me the money are posted on the private email group: shipracing@yahoogroups.com.

(If you're an SU student and you're not in that email group, you can either email me and I'll send you an invitation OR go to yahoogroups.com, search for "shipracing", and request membership. Be sure to tell me who you are.)

Cody found this fun bike website. Its worth checking out the theater room.

Ship Cycling Website

Everyone feel free to send me your ideas for the design of our Shippensburg University Cycling Club Website. Also if you would like any pictures posted send them to me and I will try to put them up. If anyone wants to help in the design and maintenance of the website feel free to do so just let me know if you are interested. Email me at jb0633@ship.edu

places to buy bike crap

The fanciest shops. Sometimes these places have good closeout or clearance deals, but mostly I use these sites to get more detailed information about products.

competitive cyclist
colorado cyclist
excel sports

There are a host of other online bike shops that are similar to these in their product offerings and prices, but these are a good representation of the category.

The ole standbys. Performance Bicycle Ship and Bike Nashbar are old mail order catalogs that have been around for ages. Their pricing is often discounted, and they very often have 10 and 15 percent off sales (occasionally a 20% sale), and they have store brand stuff that is cheaper. A word to the fashion conscious: Performance and Nashbar branded stuff is kind of ghetto. You can get away with Performance kneewarmers here and a Nashbar skullcap there, but outfitting yourself entirely in this stuff would be a fashion no-no.

Performance and Nashbar are good places to find commuter-style gear and entry-level stuff, but bad places to look for the high-end. Also, Performance has actual bricks-and-mortar stores in PA, so you'll pay sales tax for your orders.

The discount sites.

eBikeStop.com. Often has the absolute lowest price on components. Plus, price matching.

Price Point. Same deal as above, minus the price matching. More mountain bike stuff on this site.

Sierra Trading Post. I love this site. They by no means have a comprehensive selection of gear. In fact, it's usually old model year or discontinued items...and often you'll order something and find that it just doesn't work...but they have an awesome return policy, so there's no risk. The thing with STP, however, is that the stuff they do have is marked way, way down...and they are constantly having promotions which takes an additional 10-30 percent off. A great place to look for performance clothing and outerwear.

backcountry.com. At the outlet site (there is both the normal backcountry.com and the backcountry.com outlet) it's sort of the same deal as with Sierra Trading Post. The deals are not quite as spectacular, but still pretty good.

backcountry.com also runs several "one-deal-at-a-time" sites. The bicycle related ones are bonktown and chainlove.

Other places. Don't be afraid to shop eBay for goodies as well. If you're tentative about bidding, there are plenty of folks running eBay stores that have great deals on all kinds of stuff. When I buy things like chains and cassettes it's usually from an eBay store.

I also really like google shopping. Google whatever product you want. Then at the top of your results page you'll see a link to "shopping." Click on that and you'll be introduced to about a bazillion online bicycle shops. Careful, though, often the prices that appear lowest are prices in Euros or Pounds, and after converting your currency, taking into account the conversion fee your credit card company will charge you for ordering from the site, and the added shipping expense, it's not as good a deal as it appears. Sometimes, however, products are much cheaper in Europe than they are in the US (things like Victorria tires), so it is worth it to buy from a European site.

Good luck.

a note on goings-on

Last Thursday we had a informal fix-it gathering in my basement (y'all are going to think I'm afraid to let you inside). We replaced Matt's crank and bottom bracket and threw Jon's cassette on his new wheels and most just sat around and listened to Big E's tall tales of intrigue and glory. Also met Kristin's dog.

Saturday's crappy weather drove us to leave our wheels at home and get our heart rates up hoofing along the AT from Caledonia SP to where the AT crosses 233 south of there a bit. We returned via the old AT on the east side of 233. For those of you in the area over the holidays, look for more hiking to come.

Upcoming...

Tuesday night spin class at the Chambersburg YMCA. I think the class starts at 6pm. Be there fifteen minutes early. Bring your SPD or street shoes.

Thursday, Dec 4, special end-of-the-year party. Details forthcoming...but the short of it is this: food and flick in Michaux. A very big screen. A cycling movie. A comfortable environment. Dress very warm.

deal from Honey Stinger

[The following is addressed to ACCC clubs, but I'm sure we could get the same deal if anyone is interested.]

Dear ACCC cycling clubs and teams,

I am contacting you in order to offer you our elite athlete pricing on all Honey Stinger energy products. For those of you not aware, Honey Stinger is an all-natural, honey-based energy food that has been steadily gaining popularity in cycling circles over the last few years. You will find it to be better tasting as well as a more effective source of energy for your training and racing. Attached is some basic info, as well as our elite athlete ordering form which discounts the product to wholesale pricing for you. Additionally, we are doing an even deeper discount on our protein bars in order to get them in the hands of the people that need the product most – athletes. Boxes of protein bars will be $14.79 (20% off of wholesale) and if you order four or more – we will ship to you free. We at Honey Stinger hope you can take advantage of this offer. Regardless, best of luck to you in your cycling endeavors.

Nate Bird
nate@honeystinger.com
Sponsorship Director
Honey Stinger
PO Box 771162
Steamboat Springs, CO 80477
1.866.GO.HONEY (464.6639)

Sting or BEE Stung!

accc

2009 ACCC schedule.

Notice the event at Navy the week before the ECCC season opener.

Also, Maryland on the 14th. That's two hours closer than NYC.

2009 Road Season Calender

2009 ECCC Road Calender Link

The 2009 calender is up and it looks pretty good. I was disappointed not to see a race in Pittsburgh but I'll survive. The biggest downer for me is the Philly Phlyer race which takes place on March 28 and 29. This happens to be the same weekend as the concert band dress rehearsal and concert. I'll see what I can do to get out of the dress rehearsal so I could race on Saturday. Other than that I'm pretty excited to do some serious racing come spring. March 7, Rutgers/Princeton, is the first race of the season and hopefully we can all make it our goal to have a strong showing here. I've been getting some good runs in but I haven't really done any indoor training on the bike. I hope to pick that up in December.

Next Weeks Meeting

Hey Guys (and Gals)...

Thanks everyone for coming to last weeks meeting!
Special thanks to Rider Big E for his training tips and advice!!!

Club meeting / Bike fixing & cleaning @ Goates' House
Thursday Nov. 20th 8pm

BYOB (bring your own bike)

December 4th Meeting
End of the semester blow out!
More details to come...

Cool...

Well, this looks pretty cool!

I just created a personal blog a few days ago, that is somewhat about my cycling adventures, and I was surprised at how easy it was and how cool it was. This was a good idea, and I was actually going to say something at the next meeting how we should have one....

Cycling Club Meeting
Thursday Nov. 13th
8:00pm
Grove 404
Special Guest Rider Big E!

the SAW ride

Introducing the Shippensburg Area Weekend ride.

Last Saturday we had a good little group of six. Moats, Zach, Rider Big E, Dan, Tom, Goates. Around 51 miles in 2:56. The route. A casual, conversational pace.

So... IT'S A REGULAR GIG! Plan on it.

Saturdays. 10am. 116 W King St, Shippensburg. Two and a half to three hours of riding. Plenty of parking on the street.

Be there or get slower.

first post

First posts always suck. You just have to get it out of the way.

Done.