New Friends

Humorous story... Once upon a time there were three cyclist, Jon, Michael, and Alan. There were on an evening ride one night heading towards Rt. 641 on running pump road. The air was crisp and the sun was setting. The temperature was dropping by the second but these young lads didn't mind. They successfully made a left hand turn onto Vaughn rd. and continued pedaling. It was not long before one of the most ferocious of all beasts came running out of a landowners yard... Two golden retrievers! (dogs) They quickly rode past them, but when the boys turned around to check for cars they were surprised to see the dogs still running after them. After running from the beasts for 5 minutes Michael decided that maybe they wanted the boys to pet them. So he stopped, and the dogs ran after him with their tails wagging. He scratched their head and told them they were good dogs but they needed to get going because it was getting dark. The boys decided to ride past their home hoping they would be tired by then and stop following them. The plan was successful and the boys returned home safely. The End.

beacon cross

Wow, forgot I had a couple of videos from the first day.

Note in the first video that "buddy" is apparently my motivational word of choice. Embarrassing... Less embarrassing, but equally annoying, is the realization that it doesn't make sense to shoot video portrait style as, obviously, all of our media devices (except, I suppose, phones) are landscape-style viewers.

In the second video you'll notice there's no Leroy. His crash and subsequent seat post failure occurred sometime between the first and second video.

Also, I'm not sure if it's clear, but it was raining, hard and cold, throughout all of this. Ah yeah...

beacon & hpcx fun

Leroy, Alan, and I ventured over to NJ this weekend for some bicycle racing goodness. Unfortunately, for most of the racing I forgot I had a camera in my pocket, but I finally pulled it out on the last lap of HPCX and got a few shots. Here you go:

Warming up (this was really the only "warm" going on; Leroy sat in the car for an hour afterward shivering).

This appeared by the car just before Alan & Leroy's race. It's still not clear what it is.


The primeval cyclocross soup.

Also, Leroy did this to my seat post on day one:


Too much power.

Ship Crit

Ok, so if you didn't know we have been talking about hosting a race here on campus. I took the first step and created a little power point that we could show to people that we are requesting permits from or to the ECCC board to convince them to include us on the calender. Take a look at it, tell me what you think, and give me your ideas. -Alan

2012 kits?

Some stuff a group of us whipped up last night for 2012. Whaddya think? (To compare with the 2011 design, click here. Remember, you're going to be wearing the stuff, so be honest. If you think it's hideous, say so.)

The "boat logo" will still make it on both sleeves. We want to do it two-color, so that it's white on black, but black on red/blue, depending on the sleeve. "SHIPPENSBURG" or "RAIDERS" on the side panels of the jersey...colored so that it's white-on-black, black-on-color, color-on-white. "SHIP" on the side panels of the bibs, same coloring strategy as on the side panels of the bibs.

black

white (option 1)

white (option 2)

bibs (from the back)

bibs (side view)

crashing?

Jon's been talking some smack to the freshman lately, complaining that they're crashing too much. To me, the stuff we've been seeing (with the possible exception of Alan doing the taco to my front wheel on the mountain bike) doesn't really qualify as crashing. What we've been seeing is more like taking a leisurely lay-down on the asphalt.

So, since Jon seems to have forgotten what a crash is, I thought I'd post this, from the recent Tour of Tasmania, as an example:

september starlight circle race #4

On an evening that threatened thunderstorms like God's impending wrath, six riders came to contest the finale in the September Starlight Circle Race Series.

Unfortunately, I was a bit under-the-weather so I didn't ride, but I did roll over to cheer, heckle, and try to take a few very bad pictures.

With the new three mini-race format there was opportunity to share the glory--Alan, Lee, and Aaron all taking wins. But it's the last mini-race that counts for points, and these are your results:

1 Aaron ......... 5 pts

2 Christopher ... 3 pts

3 Alan .......... 2 pts

4 Leroy ......... 1 pt

5 Jeremy ........ 1 pt

6 Steve ......... 1 pt

Congrats to Christopher for making the old men proud. Congrats to Jeremy on his first time out for hanging strong. Congrats to Alan and Leroy for keeping all their skin safely attached to their bodies.

Congratulations to Steve...he gets the Ironman Award for being the only rider to come out every single week. Awesome.

And Congrats to Aaron for taking the September Series title.

Your overall results (ties were broken, when possible, by number of races entered):

01 Aaron .......... 11 pts

02 Christopher .... 6 pts
03 Alan ........... 5 pts

04 Zach ........... 5 pts

05 Stephen ........ 4 pts

06 Goates ......... 4 pts

07 Leroy .......... 3 pts

08 Jon ............ 3 pts

09 Chris T. ....... 2 pts

09 Michael ........ 2 pts

09 Ben ............ 2 pts

09 David .......... 2 pts

13 Joe B .......... 1 pt

13 Jeremy ......... 1 pt

Fourteen riders total. That's pretty good. Now, if we could just get everyone out on the same day!

Anyway, great work everyone. I had fun. And Aaron had so much fun that he thinks we should keep going. So what do y'all think? Had enough fun yet?

september starlight circle race #2 & #3

Ok, round #2 didn't really happen. I wasn't in town. Four riders came. The decided to ride elsewhere. I hear they rode through a stream. Apparently there was rain. Imagine that.

Anyway, we've decided to give the four of them (Stephen, Alan, Aaron, and Ben) each a participation point, but since they didn't race they get no more than that.

But round #3 was good times. We decided on a new format, three races of five laps each, the last counting for points. This proved to be quite a workout. Or, at least I was tired. Leroy, unfortunately, slid out around the sharp, swoopy, downhill turn which ended the second mini-race early...and then his heart wasn't really in it for the third mini-race. Who can blame him.

Anyway, your results from Sept 21:

1 Zach ........... 5 pts

2 Goates ......... 3 pts

3 Christopher .... 2 pts

4 Joe B. ......... 1 pt

5 Chris T. ....... 1 pt

6 Michael ........ 1 pt

7 Stephen ........ 1 pt

8 David .......... 1 pt

9 Leroy .......... 1 pt

So, the overall standings after three rounds:

01 Aaron .......... 6 pts

02 Zach ........... 5 pts

03 Goates ......... 4 pts

04 Christopher .... 3 pts

04 Alan ........... 3 pts

04 Jon ............ 3 pts

04 Stephen ........ 2 pts

08 Chris T. ....... 2 pts

08 Michael ........ 2 pts

08 Ben ............ 2 pts

08 Leroy .......... 2 pts

08 David .......... 2 pts

13 Joe B .......... 1 pt

Next week is the fourth and final round...and right now it's anyone's game!

See you next week.

september starlight circle race #1

Wow. Did someone say Biblical rains?

We started with wet roads, but no rain. After a couple of laps we were treading through torrential rains. Torrential. And somehow the rain breaks everything up, so that's fun. (Except for Alan and I, and of course he pipped me at the line.)

Anyway, results from Race #1:

01 Aaron ........ 5 pts

02 Jon .......... 3 pts

03 Alan ......... 2 pts

04 Goates ....... 1 pt

05 Christopher .. 1 pt

06 Leroy ........ 1 pt

07 Michael ...... 1 pt

08 Ben .......... 1 pt

09 Steve ........ 1 pt

10 David ........ 1 pt

(If I've got that wrong, let me know.)

Also props to superstar Tangina for coming out and riding the whole time and Garrett for making a valiant effort (though I'm assuming he bailed with the rain).

Fortunately, by the end of the run the rain had stopped again.

Anyway, Aaron's wearing the leader's jersey going into next week. Awesome blossom. See y'all next week!

upcoming events

TNR 9/6

LAST WEEK (8/30): A great start to the school year with 11 riders joining us for the TNR. Aaron was back in Ship and showed his dominance with a convincing win. Details here.

THIS WEEK (TODAY): We're pretty much guaranteed to get wet. While the rain isn't expected to be heavy, the possibility of rain always leaves people second guessing whether others are going. So, if you are going, send out a note so others will know and feel similarly motivated. (Full disclosure: I won't be there tonight, but not because of the rain.)

Wednesday, the September Starlight Circle Race Series...

Yup, back again in 2011 is the September Starlight Circle Race Series. Starts at 9:00 pm. (Yup, 9 o'clock at night, when it's dark.) Meet at the corner of Brenton & Richwalter streets at around 8:50 pm. Lights are required (there's no traffic, and the street lights are usually on, but you still need lights to keep others from hitting you), but I have several extra pairs of lights if you want to come play but don't have person illumination. In fact, I just got a few more from Mountainside so we should enough for everyone. (Hint: small flashlights taped to handlebars work fine. So do headlamps.)

Right now, it looks like there's a pretty good chance we'll get wet tomorrow evening too, but I'm committed. The race only runs like 35 minutes, and once you're over the initial shock of getting wet, riding in the rain in 70 degree weather isn't any big thing.

Everyone who comes gets at least one point. Leader's jersey (the ugliest one I can find in my closet) for the series leader.

If you have questions or need directions, comment on this post.

Thursday, Dan Daly Hosted Team Time Trial on Pine Rd/Rt 233

We had a lot of fun (I say "we," but I wasn't there, unfortunately) doing a team trial this summer as part of the South Mountain Summer Smackdown, so we've decided to try to get one more in before the end of good weather...and now its supposed to rain all week. Anyway, 2-4 (maybe 5?) teams on a beautiful 20-mile course in the woods.

Meet at the Twirly Top restaurant at the corner of Pine Grove Rd and Rt 34 at 5:30 pm. Thursday.

Don't have a team? Don't worry about it. Just come and we'll get you put together with whomever.

A lot of fun. No entry fee. Totally low-key. Just come out and ride 20 miles with your friends as fast as you can.

*** I haven't talked about this with Dan, but as I suspect few will come if its raining, we may postpone until next week or the next in the event of rain. Stay tuned to your email for the latest.

Friday No-One-Gets-Dropped-Ride

We'd love for you to join the students on their weekly, casual (very casual) Friday afternoon jaunt through the countryside. Ride lasts 60-90 minutes and we ride no faster than the slowest rider wants to go.

Meet at 3:30 pm at the hockey rink by the student rec fields on campus (Shippensburg University campus). Everyone is welcome.

This Weekend...

A quick plug for two great local events this weekend competing for your competitive inclinations.

(1) The Ernie Simpson Memorial Time Trial. The boys of South Mountain Velo have been putting this on for years. Always well-organized and always a good time. Plus, big, juicy local apples for your consumption afterwards.

If you don't want to race, rumor has it they could still use a few bodies to help with marshaling the course and/or registering participants. If you're interested, shoot Jim Hartnett (hartnett_AT_msmary.edu) or Christopher Woltemade (cjwolt_AT_ship.edu) a note and they can fill you in on details.

(2) The Terror of Teaberry. Part of the great Michaux Endurance Series. Jes and his crew always do a marvelous job with these events, as I'm sure many on this list know. Ten, 20, and 40 mile options for your mountain biking pleasure.

Funny story: I did this race in 2007. It was like my second mountain bike race ever so I did the ten mile option (which was really 13 miles, but who's counting). Won. Went home with warm fuzzies. Later, I get an email from I-don't-remember-who expressing extreme displeasure that I, a pro road rider, would enter the 10-mile option of this little mountain bike race and beat up on the beginners. (In case you need help, this is funny because I've never been anything close to a professional roadie and, if I must say, am still a remarkably poor mountain biker.)

Anyway, Dr. Woltemade and I were riding through the Teaberry area the other day and remarked, that while we've both had teaberry-flavored ice cream, neither one of us really knows what a teaberry is. Here's hoping Gettysburg Bicycle supplies a basket of sample berries at the race for the curious. :-)

back to school...

Great rides on the first week of school. First, the TNR. Eleven riders, two newbies. Let's see...there was Aaron, TT Brian, Luke & his dad, K-town Kyle, the inestimable Rider Big E, Christopher W., Chris T., newbies Stephen & Michael, and me. An impressive crew!

A few pics:

I think this is Luke, but I'm not totally sure. :-)


TT Brian

newbie Michael

K-town Kyle

Then, today, a great nine-rider turnout for the Friday No-One-Gets-Dropped-Ride. Probably the fastest, tightest No-One-Gets-Dropped-Ride ever.

More pics:

The crew, menus eu, pre-ride.


Between the stalks.


A shot of the cockpit from the cockpit. (Why the brake cable over the stem, you ask? Well, it's a XC rig, and there's a cable stop right there, and this strategy left a less aggressive bend. I like it.)


I think I should get props for not crashing while taking this pic.


Ship alums Jon & Jimmy slumming it with the crew.

2011 south mountain summer smackdown round #1

Yup, it's that time of year again--time for the competition for South Mountain area cycling club supremacy.

(Unfortunately for Ship Cycling, no students bothered to show up for round one, so they obviously didn't score well. I guess we like to play the underdog...)

Round One: Ironmasters Time Trial

Individual results:

01 Ben F. ....... composite team A .................. 23:19
02 Nathan G. .... mountainside p/b city islanders ... 23:31
03 Michael G. ... composite team A .................. 23:48
04 Brian H. ..... YBR ............................... 24:11
05 Jere B. ...... SMVC .............................. 24:31
06 Tim R. ....... SMVC .............................. 24:49
07 Pat H. ....... SMVC .............................. 25:06
08 Jon M. ....... mountainside p/b city islanders ... 25:49
09 Jim H. ....... SMVC .............................. 27:04
09 Joe K. ....... SMVC .............................. 27:04
09 Mike M. ...... mountainside p/b city islanders ... 27:04
12 Dean S. ...... YBR ............................... 27:56
13 Dawn C. ...... YBR ............................... 32:00

Did you notice that three-way tie for ninth? Uncanny.

Team results:

1 SMVC: .......................... 5 + 6 + 7 = 18
2 composite team A: .............. 1 + 3 + 14 = 18
3 mountainside p/b city islanders: 2 + 8 + 9 = 19
4 YBR: ........................... 4 + 12 + 13 = 29

(Composite team A didn't actually have three riders, so I gave their "third" rider the score a third rider would get if they came and finished last. They probably should also get a penalty, but I'm nice, and also want to be inclusive and for others to come out and play if they're so inclined. So that's the way I'm doing it for now, though I reserve the right to be persuaded or coerced
otherwise and change the results. However, because SMVC actually brought 3+ riders, they get the tie-breaker. I think it's only fair. Also, Brian isn't really YBR, but he sometimes plays one on TV, so that's the way it's going down this summer.)

So Round One of the 2011 South Mountain Summer Smackdown goes to South Mountain Velo Club.

Congrats, gentlemen!

Round Two, our ~22 mile road race, is scheduled for Wednesday, July 6, 6:00 pm at the Laurel Lake parking lot of Pine Grove Furnace State Park (Thursday is the rain day).

Tell your friends. Bring your kids (we need photographers). Hope to see you all there!

tnr 4/26, results

Crazy big turnout for the TNR for the last of our April series. Unfortunately, because the third week was weathered out and because this last week no one kept track of their sprint points, the results are a little weird, but we'll do it anyway...

In case you've forgotten where we are, check back here for results from 4/12.

So last Tuesday's race is a blur... We had quit a Carlisle contingent descend on the place and that really shook things up. Josh, Tom, Luck, Daniel, and Micah all rode down to play. Then there was newcomer Chad from Boiling Springs. And relative new-comer Phillip from up that way somewhere too. Great to have them all here. Not great to get dropped...

Yup, I'm getting dropped on my own ride. It's a sad day in Shippensburg...

Anyway, things lit up at the end of the second lap. I went off the front just to collect some sprint points and on the downward slope following the line Josh and Micah motored by me like I was standing still. I figured a crew would come around and I'd be able to jump right on, but instead it was first Jon coming around sprinting at mach 9 to bridge up, then Aaron jumping off my wheel with the same idea, both coming around so fast as to leave me rather breathless, and rather unmotivated for the self-pain I would have to inflict to even try to catch up. And that bit of action pretty much obliterated the field. Tom and I rode two laps alone together while Josh put the hurt on the others in the lead group, and I'm not sure exactly how the race was playing out behind me.

And all that action after Flegal broke his chain and TT Brian suffered massive tire failure on the TNR warm-up ride.

Anyway, here's your finishing order:

4/26 results:
................. points
01 Micah Engle .... 16
02 Josh Beck ...... 11
03 Aaron Snyder .... 7
04 Jon Marshall .... 4
05 Goatesauce ...... 2
06 Dickinson Tom ... 1
07 Luke Bateman .... 1
08 MTB Chad ........ 1
09 Phillip ......... 1
10 Pat Hankins ..... 1
11 Daniel .......... 1
12 Conroy .......... 1
13 Brad Q. ......... 1
14 Chris T. ........ 1

Since no one reported their sprint points, we'll just leave the point total at what you see above. That means that these, below, are your final standings for the 2011 April TNR series!

overall (after all April Tuesdays)
................. points
01 Jon Marshall .... 68
02 Goatesauce....... 57
03 Aaron Snyder .... 31
04 Dickinson Tom ... 18
05 Micah Engle ..... 16
06 TT Brian ........ 12
07 Josh Beck ....... 11
08 Phillip .......... 3
08 Brad Q. .......... 3
10 Chris T. ......... 2
11 Chris Flegal ..... 1
11 Dickinson Mike ... 1
11 C. Woltemade ..... 1
11 Luke Bateman ..... 1
11 MTB Chad ......... 1
11 Pat Hankins ...... 1
11 Daniel ........... 1
11 Conroy ........... 1

In case you're counting (I am), that's 18 total participants in April. I like that. I like that a lot.

University Student Standings:
............................. points
1 Aaron Snyder (Ship) ......... 31
2 Dickinson Tom (Dickinson).... 18
3 Brad Q. (Ship) ............... 3
4 Chris T. (Ship) .............. 2
5 Dickinson Mike (Dickinson) ... 1
5 Conroy (Ship) ................ 1

What I want to know is where is the Gettysburg College representation? Come on, GC! We need you!

bike rodeo flyer!

it's rodeo time!

For Immediate Release:

Shippensburg University Cycling Announces Youth Bike Rodeo

Shippensburg, Pennsylvania – April 26, 2010 – On Friday, April 29, 2010, Shippensburg University Cycling will host the Fifth Semi-Annual Spring/Fall Youth Bike Rodeo. Intended for children in Kindergarten through fifth grades, the event will include activities such as helmet fitting, minor bicycle maintenance, bicycle fitting, safety tips, and a skills-testing obstacle course. The event begins at 4:00 pm and will continue until 5:30 pm.

The rodeo will be held on the Shippensburg University campus, in the Queen St. commuter parking lot at the corner of Queen St. and Richard Ave. While there will be no adult specific activities, parents are encouraged to stay and participate. All participants should bring a bicycle and wear a helmet.

This event builds off the success of previous SU Cycling Team sponsored youth bike rodeos. Thirty to forty children participated in each event.

About Shippensburg University Cycling: Shippensburg University Cycling is organized as a university club sport. The mission of Shippensburg University Cycling is to promote cycling socially as well as to prepare athletes for collegiate competition.

Ship Cycling competes in road and mountain bike events in the Eastern Collegiate Cycling Conference (collegiatecycling.org/eccc) under the auspices of USA Cycling (usacycling.org). The team is funded by the University Student Senate as well as the generous support of area businesses including Sunrise Computers and Electronics (www.digitalsunrise.com), The Carlisle Group (tcgrecruit.com), Mountainside Ski & Sport (www.mountainsideski-sports.com) and Wertner Signs (www.wertnersigns.com/).

The team holds regular training rides, open to all area cyclists, in the rural farmland and mountainous terrain of Cumberland and Franklin Counties.

For more information on the Shippensburg University Cycling Team, please contact Nathan Goates, faculty advisor (nwgoates@ship.edu), Matt Conroy, club president (mc3923@ship.edu), or visit our blog at shipcycling.blogspot.com.

CONTACT:
Dr. Nathan Goates
Shippensburg University
717-477-1214
nwgoates@ship.edu
http://webspace.ship.edu/cycling/

# # #

tnr 4/12, results

(Results updated at 12:00, 11/13.)

I wish I had a screen shot of the weather radar from yesterday afternoon. All morning I'm reading "100% chance of rain," but in the hours leading up to the TNR the radar showed a pretty massive northward heading swirling system to the east, and another pretty massive northward heading system to the west, but about 100 miles in between of just scattered bits of precipitation here and there. It was as is Moses split the Red Sea above south-central Pee-Aay just for the TNR, so I figured it would have been a sin to give it up.

Six others felt similarly and we had a nice ride. Though that's not to say it didn't rain. I think we made it through the first couple laps on relatively dry tarmac, then it rained a bit, but not hard, and it wasn't terribly uncomfortable. As Brian commented afterward, 50 degrees is about the limit...which is to say that if it's above 50 the rain can be dealt with, below 50 and the rain is just miserable.

(As an aside, I never, ever get excited about the prospect of riding in the rain, but when I'm actually doing it--riding in the rain--it never seems that bad and I generally feel pretty good about myself for choosing the hardman's path. There's a lesson there. Somewhere.)

Anyway, on to the action...

TNR newcomer Phillip came out to play and initiated hostilities by riding away from the group at the beginning of the second lap. However, three-fourths the way up the Strohmsburg and Jon was attacking. So over the top we had a group of five--Jon, Aaron, Brian, Brad, and I--but Phillip managed to bridge back up after a couple of miles.

The third time up the Strohmsburg Aaron unleashed a vicious acceleration in search of KOM points, with only Jon able to follow. I caught back up in the next few hundred meters, and that left three of us rolling in front with Brian and Phillip collaborating (for a while) to catch us from behind (they didn't).

On the fourth time up the Strohmsburg I put in a dig at the top to try to separate myself from Jon and Aaron. Despite the satisfaction of Jon telling me I put him on the limit, he was able to stay on, but, perhaps because of an earlier mishap with his cleat, Aaron was unable to make it so Jon and I rolled in for the sprint and we all know how that turned out.

4/12 results:
................. finish .. sprint/KOM .. points
................. points .... points* ... total
1 Jon Marshall .... 16 ........ 17 ........ 33
2 Dr. G ........... 11 ........ 17 ........ 28
3 Aaron Snyder ..... 7 ......... 9 ........ 16
4 TT Brian ......... 4 ......... 4 ......... 8
5 Phillip .......... 2 ..................... 2
5 Brad ............. 1 ..........1.......... 2
7 Chris T. ......... 1 ..................... 1

* That's two weeks in a row the sprint/KOM points recorded total much less than the total points available...by 7 last week, by 6 this week. Where are these points going?

overall (after two tuesdays):
................. points
1 Jon Marshall .... 64
2 Dr. G ........... 55
3 Aaron Snyder .... 24
4 Dickinson Tom ... 17
5 TT Brian ........ 12
6 Phillip .......... 2
6 Brad ............. 2
8 Chris Flegal ..... 1
8 Dickinson Mike ... 1
8 C. Woltemade ..... 1
8 Chris T. ......... 1

There's a rumor that Jon may take next week off...and I may follow suit (by next week, I'll have quite a bit of racing in my legs in not too many days), but I'll probably still come and just ride with the B group or something. If that all goes down, that would make the race for the overall still pretty wide open.

See you next week!

mavic gets a win...

...on it's first go with this wheel. Lucky ducks.

"40 Incredibly Cool Biking Tools for College Students"
Cool link that sums up all the different aspects of biking as a college student.

http://www.onlineuniversities.com/blog/2011/04/40-incredibly-cool-biking-tools-for-college-students

brittany spears guest appearance at the tnr

Footage courtesy of Dickinson Tom.

tnr 4/5, results

Four Tuesdays in April...just enough to make a series out of the TNR!

On laps 2-4 points are awarded at the two traditional sprint lines. Three points for first place, two for second, and one for third.

And we've added a KOM...the hanging white sign at the top of the Strohmsburg (the highest point on Strohm Rd). KOM points are also awarded three for first, two for second, and one for third. (If I were good, I'd separate KOM points from sprint points, but who can remember all that while still racing? So, as someone kindly pointed out Tuesday, there's really just three sprint lines now.)

Points are also awarded to overall finishers:

1st............16 pts
2nd............11
3rd............ 7
4th............ 4
5th............ 2
everyone else.. 1

Winner of the overall series (so long as its not Jon) gets a special prize! (Sometimes promoters give winners shot commemorative shot glasses. I'm considering a generic juice glass.) And a separate prize for the highest placed Ship student. (I still have a $20 gift certificate to the bookstore to give away.)

-----

This last Tuesday eight riders braved the considerable drop in temperature from Monday and strong southwesterly winds for a lively TNR. Woltemade, TT Brian, Aaron, Dickinson Tom, Dickinson Mike, Flegal, Jon, and Dr. Goatesauce.

The young 'uns picked up the pace pretty heavy early on in the second lap, which unfortunately trimmed the group to a selection of five, then four rather quickly (next week, A/B group divisions for sure).

That left Jon, Aaron, Tom, and I together at the end of the third lap, where I tried to take advantage of the strong tailwind and shed the other three on the finishing (third lap) climb. Jon stayed with me, then gave up (partly gassed, partly thinking I probably wouldn't be able to stay away), but later bridged the gap (which by this point wasn't very big) on the Strohmsburg, leaving Aaron and Tom the rest of the course to reel us in. Aaron was having a bit of an off day and that effort proved fruitless, about as fruitless as my two attempts to shake Jon prior to the finish, where Jon quickly dispatched me in the sprint.

4/5 overall results:
................. finish .. sprint/KOM .. points
................. points .... points* ... total
1 Jon Marshall .... 16 ........ 15 ........ 31
2 Dr. G ........... 11 ........ 16 ........ 27
3 Dickinson Tom .... 7 ........ 10 ........ 17
4 Aaron Snyder ..... 4 ......... 4 ......... 8
5 TT Brian ......... 2 ......... 2 ......... 4
6 Chris Flegal ..... 1 ..................... 1
7 Dickinson Mike ... 1 ..................... 1
8 C. Woltemade ..... 1 ..................... 1

* Yes, I know there are 27 + 18 + 9 = 54 sprint/KOM points available, and that's a lot more than the 47 points recorded above, but I can only record what people tell me. Think those extra 7 points are yours? Let me know!

See y'all next week!


ps If anyone knows a better (easy) way of making charts in blogger/html, I'd love a tutorial. (I thought my old school courier strategy was pretty good, until I saw that blogger removes extra space characters, so that's why all the periods.)

mass relay

Pete, Conroy, Dustin, and Garrett...the Ship boys at the MASS Relay in Marysville on Saturday. It was Dustin's first time on a mountain bike ever, and the first mountain bike race for all four of them. They did great. (Unfortunately, there are two seniors in that group, but perhaps we can get the others to a few ECCC mountain bike races in the fall. Eh, Garrett?) Photos courtesy of Pete's dad.

ronde van vlaanderen

Oh Flanders. I love you.



Live coverage via steephill.tv...then Versus coverage on Sunday at 4:00 pm. Don't miss the fun!

glossary of bicycling

I was searching for something else entirely and came upon a fabulous Wikipedia entry--a glossary of cycling terms.

It probably ought to be required reading.

...

Some random mtb action to get y'all excited about Saturday's relay.

RPI Race Weekend

The RPI race weekend was definitely a success for all who participated this weekend. It was and excellent road trip despite the freezing weather. The first race of the weekend was Sat. morning's ITT in 22 degree weather. The course was a flat 4.5 mile out and back. We made a good faith effort to warm up but as we stood in line at the start the quads definitely cooled down. The hands and feet were not too happy during riding either. But, the ITT was a great way to warm up for the road race since Men's C was last in the ITT and then first in the road race. So here are official results: Pete: 34 out of 60 in C Brad: 54 out of 60 in C Chris: 27 out of 30 in DII Next up was the road race. It was a bit more balmy out now at 27 degrees and we were ready to go until the course marshalls weren't on course and we had to wait. Brad and I decided to wait in the car instead of outside and as a result we started in the last row of an 82 rider field. Wow, that was something else as the accordion effect at the back was rediculous as we sprinted and almost stopped repeatedly in the first couple miles. As a result of attrition and some good climbing, we managed to make our way further up in the pack. The last lap was expecially tough after the last downhill, which was so sketch due to the bumpy pavement and tons of gravel on it, where we had to put in a huge sprint to stay on the back of the main field. Then things settled down before the finishing climb. Brad and I put in a nice finish where we were able to pass tons of riders and nobody passed us once the climb started. Note to self, don't start in the back of such a huge field. There is absolutely no way to pass when the official's car is honking and freaking out if anyone violates the yellow line rule. So, results: Pete: 19 out of 82 in C Brad:29 out of 82 in C Chris: 21 out of 31 in DII Then onto the best part of the which was Brown's Brewery in downtown Troy, NY. Good food and festive drinks were had and enjoyed. We were intent on replenishing our glycogen stores and carb. loading for Sunday's Crit. So Sunday's crit was so much warmer, probably low 30's by the time we raced, and the course so nice that we were in good spirits before the race. The crit. course was absolutely great. Nice wide turns and smoot pavement, excluding the grates and manhole covers. Chris rode a great race sticking with a nice pack of guys throughout in the D's. The CII race was tons of fun because there was very little braking and you could just fly around the course. Brad and I were working throughout the race to get to the front but because of attacks and other things, like a crash, kept getting shuffled to the back. I took a couple pulls at the front of the main field to pull in two attacks. On the next to last lap I was in the back of the main field when coming toward the bell lap at the start/finish everyone sort of relaxed so I decided I must attack. I went by the entire field on the outside and got a jump into the first turn. I led the field and managed to string them out nicely and put some guys in trouble on the back as I drove towards home. As I came out on the finishing stretch I was sprinting as hard as I could, but it wasn't enough as several guys went past before the finish. I felt that I needed to attack and it felt great. Brad stuck in there and had an excellent sprint to the finish line. Crit. results: Pete: 12 out of 36 in CII Brad: 15 out of 36 in CII Chris:16 out of 32 in DII I think that I can speak for all of us that is was worth the road trip and racing in the cold for a successful weekend of racing. I am looking forward to some more races and putting it out there for a win.

philly phyer photos (march 19, 20)

Aaron doesn't seem to play well with others. In Saturday's circuit race he took off on his own during the first lap and rode +/- 20 miles solo for the win (first image). During Sunday's crit he tried it again. Not given the same leash, he had to settle for second place in a field sprint.

Matt Good finishing strong for an impressive fourth in the Men's Intro. This was Matt's first race.

Conroy, too sexy for his shirt, finishing the in the DII C field (first photo), a race won by Ship training buddy Dickinson Tom (Tom Robson from Dickinson College). Tom attacked at the bottom of the final climb, quickly distanced his rivals, and continued to extend his lead through the +/- 700m from the top of the climb to the finish line (second photo). You can watch a video of the DII C race recorded from a helmet cam mounted on the second place finisher Joe Near of MIT here.

tnr, 3/22

Another great TNR this past week. Eleven riders total with newcomers Mike from Dickinson College and Josh Beck from...well, y'all know Josh.

Actually, the race turned into one of the most exciting, tactical races in memory. Josh pulled out the win, with Rick Fesler sprinting to an impressive second place in front of Goatesauce, Jon, and Aaron. Brad and Conroy rode strong races to come in next...followed (in I'm not sure what order) by Brian, Tom, Chris T., and Mike.

As the race is becoming more competitive (it seems each week that really anyone could win), perhaps soon we ought to create a little series. A points series. We've already got the two sprint lines, so points for sprints. More points for the overall. And then throw in KOM points on the Strohmsburg. It'd be a little complicated, but as long as I remember a pencil and paper and get down the results as they're happening I think we could make it work.

oops

That last post...totally posted on the wrong blog. It was supposed to go here.

Sorry about that.

forget the radios, let's ban the tyrants

Generally speaking, I'm in favor of the radio ban in professional cycling. Notably, however, I express that opinion as a fan and an amateur cyclist, which is to say that I don't have any real idea what it's like to live and work in professional cycling.

That said, Pat McQuaid (the president and face of the UCI), is handling the conflict that has arisen from the ban in typical fashion: horribly.

"...the system does not have to adequately represent the interest of the teams and their employees (interests which, by the way, conflict among these two at many times) - or of any other particular stakeholder..."

Really?

Legally, of course McQuaid is right. Practically, however, it's hard to imagine a less enlightened leadership strategy.

Navy Crit

The collegiate road season is officially underway for the Ship Cycling Team!

Some pictures from the Navy Crit from two weekends ago in Annapolis, MD.  SHIP had one rider in each the B and the C fields, along with one C rider from nearby Dickinson.  Tom and Pete both had strong rides in the C field, finishing 4th and 9th respectively.  Pete had to recover from a crash in the nasty downhill hairpin corner but came back for a strong finish.  

I hacked it out in the B field, taking pulls and keeping the hurt on the field as long as I could.  Essentially doing everything you shouldn't do if your trying to win a race.  This meant that by the end, I was totally worked over but still satisfied by a hard fought workout.