spring racing

Coverage of the Belgian spring races gets me all kinds of excited about racing. Who's going to be the first wearing a Ship jersey to bring home a win?

The forecast Tuesday is for temps in the 40s with sunny skies. The first step to winning the big ones is winning in your own backyard. Hoorah for the TNR!

...

Congrats to Pete, Aaron, and Tom for their top 10 rides this weekend at Navy. If only we could get Aaron to believe there's no shame in drafting...

Anyway, a promising beginning to the new season!

Navy Crit.

Well we had a great day to race at Navy. Sunny with a light breeze and 40's. I raced the C race which started out hectic on the first lap when a UMD rider went down on the front for apparently no reason and two VT riders immediately attacked while everyone else was slowing down. As soo as we got around the crashed rider we started hammering again, but it seemed like nobody really wanted to take a pull so I took several long pulls at the front. According to the countdown of someone from UMD we were pulling the VT riders in. They had a 15 second gap, then a 10, then a 7. I was taking another turn on the front pulling when I hit my pedal coming out of the sharp corner going onto the front stretch of the course and went down. I was a bit more upset about my torn leg warmer and handle bar tape than my brushburned leg and butt because bikes don't heal on their own. Anyway I lost contact with the chase pack and had to do some battling of my own with just 9 laps to go. I passed several riders on my own and then caught a UMD rider who was ahead of me. We were able to work together to pull back several more riders before the end of the race and I was able to outsprint him to the line as well which felt good. I finished 10th out of 25 and felt pretty good about it and confident that had I not gone down would have been sprinting up front for the finish line. Also some props. go out to Thomas Robson who got fourth in the C race and had a great ride.

Aaron raced the B's and looked very strong for the race. He also did a lot of pulling on the front which might have cost him some places on the finishing lap. He finished with the main field and rode very well.

I will try to post some pics on the blog once I get them from the photographer.

2011 tree & farm race - RESULTS

Last Saturday's Tree and Farm Race was a lot of fun. Ten riders put on their underwear of fortitude and thanked Lady Nature for the opportunity to get blown around a bit (steady winds of 15-20 mph w/ gusts around 35 mph according to weather.com). In response, she treated us to blue skies, mild temps, and...lots of wind. It was a good time.

As I said, ten riders started, six finished the entire course. JM repeated his victory of a year ago, having followed my move within the last kilometer on the stair-step uphill finish and then easily holding me off after we distanced the others.

The race for third was more exciting. From what I could gather, Alex and Pete bridged up to Carney as he tried to chase down Jon and I, then Pete edged Alex by inches in the sprint to the line.

Seventeen year-old Alan (on a campus visit to Shippensburg from Correy, PA) pulled in for sixth, the proud recipient of the Limp Chicken Award for the last-placed finisher.

Your 2011 results:

(1) Jon Marshall
(2) goat
(3) Pete LoBianco
(4) Alex Roberts
(5) Mike Carney
(6) Alan Royek

Non-finishers (but still awesome for coming):

Christopher Woltemade
Rider Big E
Chris Townsley
Cody Wertz

I'm sure the wind scared off many. Jon and I counted 17 folks who probably would have, had everything worked out, been there besides the 10 that were. But that's springtime in south-central Pee-Aay...

Half the starters; 5/6 of the finishers.

2011 podium.

Alan proudly displaying his limp chicken.

what it means to be a competent bicycle racer

Wade of cyclingtipsblog.com made a nice little post the other day linking Maslow's stages of learning with general racing competence. I liked it enough that I thought I'd quote it here.

1. Unconscious Incompetence

   The individual neither understands nor knows how to do something, and does not recognizes the deficit. An example of this might be someone giving racing a crack for the first time. He might be fit but still does not understand how to bike race. The best place to introduce someone to the race environment would be in D-grade.

2. Conscious Incompetence

   Though the individual does not understand or know how to do something, he or she does recognize the deficit, without yet addressing it. This would be after a few races getting comfortable in D-grade and then racing in C-grade. This is a pack of cyclists who have a good fitness base but still learning the major details of how to bike race and the skills required. Things are still being learned such as how to roll turns properly, how to corner, where to position yourself.

3. Conscious Competence

   The individual understands or knows how to do something. However, demonstrating the skill or knowledge requires a great deal of consciousness or concentration. Now we’re getting into the B-grade level of racing. Everyone who is good enough to be out there is committed to racing. Many people’s ambition is to make it into A grade but there is still lots experience required to put what has been learned into practice.

4. Unconscious Competence

   The individual has had so much practice with a skill that it becomes “second nature” and can be performed easily (often without concentrating too deeply). He or she may or may not be able to teach it to others, depending upon how and when it was learned. This should be the skill level of an A-grade cyclist. An A-grade cyclists should know how the game is played, the tactics involved, and not have to second-guess details such as cornering, positioning, attacking, counter-attacking, the direction of the wind, echeloning, holding your line, etc.

The "grades" Wade is referring to are how amateur bike racing is organized in Australia. From what I gather, it's more of a self-policing category system, unlike the more institutional USA Cycling category system here.

I like Wade's application of Maslow's model to cycling. However, I believe a distinction should be made between what I'll call race survival skills and race winning skills. Race survival skills are more or less technical in nature, easier to achieve competence in, and you don't necessarily need to race that much to get there. These include skills such as drafting, pace-lining, echeloning, cornering, holding a wheel when you think you have nothing left to give, how to close a gap, knowing how to eat and drink in the peloton, knowing when to eat and drink to survive the race, and countless other things you just learn by doing a lot of riding with others. Race winning skills are less technical and more nuanced in their application, and are thus harder to learn. These include skills such as positioning, attacking, counter-attacking, when to burn matches and when to save matches, how to race with teammates, how to race without teammates, etc.

The distinction between these two types of skills is important, I think, because the four levels of bicycle racing competence that Wade describes seem, at first, to map nicely onto the D-A category system in US collegiate racing, where D fields are comprised of novice, USAC Cat 5 riders, and A fields are comprised of elite, USAC Cat 1-3 riders. However, upon reflection, I think the comparison is a more appropriate typology only for race survival skills. Race winning skills, well, that's another matter. While every pro cyclist is likely fully competent in race survival skills, there surely is a great deal of variance in race winning skills (one reason I suspect directors are so adamantly opposed to the elimination of race radios--they want control over in-race tactical decisions because they don't trust their riders' judgment). And I think an argument can be made that some riders are natural racers, which is to say that they seem to have an innate gift for reading a race, attacking at opportune moments, conserving when attacking would bear no fruit, etc. These riders can't really explain how they do it and may be only vaguely aware of the difference between themselves and others in the first place. However, like any skill, no matter the rider's disposition, education and practice can make him or her better, whether that person is the equivalent of a tactical moron or race-reading genius.

Education and practice. With emphasis on the later. Unless you are orders of magnitude more fit than your competitors, wins will not just fall in your lap (and if they do, you're racing below your category). In bicycle racing, to win you have to try to win.

And, in my opinion, that speaks to one of the great ironies of bicycle racing--that those trying hardest to win the race often finish amongst the last in the standings. You see, once a cyclist reaches some standard of competence in race survival skills (and requisite fitness), it's not really that hard to hang on for a top 25 percent placing in any race. Race conservatively, and with minimal effort you'll find that's easy. But to win, you have to be willing to risk colossal defeat. So it would seem that the limiters to winning (if you're counting) include being willing to risk personal pride. And it may be useful, at least from the racer's perspective, to think of a race as having one winner and n-1 losers. No second place. No top 10s. There is just a winner and a lot of unhappy losers.

So that comfortable (and respectable) top 25 percent placing? Screw it. Exhaust your matches winning or lose big trying.

2011 tree and farm race

Announcing...

SHIP CYCLING'S SECOND ANNUAL TREE AND FARM RACE

FEBRUARY 19, 9:00 AM

Location: Meet at Southhampton Township Park near Shippensburg.

Description: Forty-nine miles gallivanting around southwestern Cumberland County.

(Click here for an interactive map w/ elevation profile.)

This "race" (we'll probably only end up really racing over the last 5-10 miles or so) is our annual unofficial kickoff to the collegiate season. The ECCC starts its season on the first weekend of March, but since the ACCC generally runs a race on the previous weekend, The Tree and Farm Race goes off on the third weekend of February.

Usually cold, usually windy, sometimes snowy, completing this course is no Sunday stroll. The route offers a survey of wonderful riding southeastern Cumberland County has to offer, with a survey of Mennonite farm lands, Pennsylvania game lands, and the edge of two Pennsylvania state forests.

Unless you plan on never leaving the wheel of someone who knows the course well, you'll want a cue sheet (provided at start) tied to your top tube. The course meanders along all manner of rural farm road, peppered with two sections of loose cinder rail-trail and about a half mile of double-track (if the snow is clear, otherwise we'll take an all-paved detour around these sections), though nothing is too intense for standard 23mm road tires at typical pressure. What with the weather and the terrain, it's our way of giving nod to the spring races across the pond.

And if you're not game for the whole thing, don't worry, the course offers plenty of opportunities to bail and head for the comfort of home or car. (However, packing your own map is recommended.)

The "race" starts at Southampton Township Park. It finishes at the top of Strohm road (the high point of the TNR course) at the "M & M Roofing" sign.

A view of the finish from the rider's perspective. The finish is at the white elbow sign which reads "M & M Roofing."

PAST WINNERS

2010: Jon Marshall (1st), Dr. Goatesauce (2nd), Tim Cusick (3rd) ... limp chicken award (last-placed finisher): Rider Big E.

***IMPORTANT***

We call this a "race," but it's really just a bunch of guys and gals out looking for a good time on a cold Saturday morning. We race, yes, and there's usually a little something fun for the first finishers, but there are no entry fees, no waivers, and therefore no whining if something bad happens to you while on this ride (like you crash and break your carbon frame or someone insults your girlfriend). If you're the kind of person that doesn't play well with others, please don't come. This non-event event is for non-fun-haters only.

For more about Ship Cycling, please visit us on the web.

Who has goals?

So I was riding today and thinking how much I am ready for Spring as my fingers and water bottle were equally frozen, and I began to think that it is time to post up some goals for this season. The first race is coming up in about two weeks so the moment is just about upon us.

Goals for the season and beyond:
1. Do not get dropped in the first crit. of the season at Navy.
2. No just sitting in the pack and being satisfied to finish with the main field.
3. Attack during every race.
4. Win a road race and a Crit.
5. Have enough teamates at a race to work together as a team.
6. Move up and be competitive in the B field.
7. Have fun every weekend no matter the outcome of the races or the weather, etc.
8. Gain enough cycling fitness to significantly improve my triathlons.

Hopefully everyone who is planning on racing this year is thinking about some goals for the season,so post them up so I am not all alone.

tnr, 1/25

We had a great turnout for today's TNR. Nine riders total. Last week's special Thursday edition of the TNR drew eight. And since not everyone who came last week was there this week, we've actually had a total of 12 unique riders at the TNR so far. That's something approaching critical mass.

And that's awesome.

So this is how it went down... A warm-up lap, then a lap of trying to ride a tight pace line. And then, on the third lap, we randomly picked a couple of guys to play rabbit, gave them a 30 second head start, and gave the rest of us about four miles of undulating terrain to catch them. (The terrain element is important, because if the road were a straight shot, flat number, all bets would be on the chasing hoard. But as the terrain is varied, keeping the chase organized and tight is more of a challenge.)

On the fourth lap we did the same thing, with two new rabbits. Three of the four rabbits beat everyone else to the line over the two tries.

Anyway, some pics...

Zach, Brian, Aaron, Tom, Jon, Garrett, & Conroy
(Courtney and I are missing from this picture...me, because I'm taking it,
and Courtney because she had headed home by this point.)

Time to start getting psyched

So here we are moving quickly toward the end of January with another semester of quality education ahead. That can only mean one thing; road racing season is almost among us. Since I am so excited, I spent some quality time at work on Tuesday before my night class checking out each race and trying to decide what a good schedule for our team might look like. This year a lot of the races in the ECCC are pretty far away and I am up for some driving, but some of the races in the ACCC look really good too. So here is what I came up as far as some ideas for hitting as many races as possible this season.

Feb. 26 - ACCC Navy Crit. - Ship to Annapolis, MD 2hrs. 23 min or 133 miles

March 5 & 6 - ECCC Rutgers Circuit race and Crit. - Ship to Piscataway, NU 3hrs 29 min or 190 miles

March 12 & 13
Option 1: ECCC Columbian and Stevens in NY City and Northern NJ - I am not really excited to drive to this area because of traffic, tolls, pain in my butt drivers, etc.

Option 2: ACCC George Washington U. - Ship to DC 2hrs. or 110 miles - my first choice of races for this weekend.

March 19 & 20 - ECCC Philly Road race and Crit. - Ship to Philly 2hrs 37 min or 146 miles

March 26 & 27 - ECCC RPI Circuit race and Crit. - Ship to Troy, NY 5hrs. 48 min. or 339 miles -Iam feeling a road trip for this weekend plus the nine turn crit. looks rediculous.

April 2 & 3 -
Option 1 - ECCC Boston U Road race and Crit. - Ship to Boston 7hrs. 42min. or 435 miles - Not feeling the road trip on this one plus the two races are 66 miles apart once you get there.

Option 2 - ACCC James Madison University - Ship to Harrisionburg, VA 2hrs 22 min. or 144 miles - sounds like a winner to me

April 9 & 10 -

Option 1 - ECCC Yale Road Race and Crit. - Ship to New Haven, CT 5hrs. 21 min or 297 miles - I am feeling this road trip as well because the road race looks like a lot of fun, or pain, depending on what you are into.

Option 2 - ACCC WVU - Ship to Morgantown, WV 2hrs 54 min. or 170 min.

April 16 & 17

Option 1 - ECCC Dartmouth Crit and UNH Road Race - Ship to F-ing far away 8hrs 24 min or 769 miles - The crit and road race are 92 miles apart on top of that.

Option 2 - ACCC Virginia Tech - Ship to Blacksburg, VA 4hrs 38 min or 283 miles - Half the driving, holla. This option sounds good to me.

April 23 & 24 - ECCC Regionals Penn State - Ship to State College 2hrs 5min orf 84 miles - Definitely excited for regionals this year. The crit is on frat row so I am if I have a mechanical or get lapped I am stopping for an adult beverage.

So that is my thoughts on the schedule. We are allowed to race in other conferences which is nice for us since we are basically the southern most ECCC school. The only downside is that we won't be scoring points if we place out of conference. This should not be a problem unless we suddenly get a team that is going to have a bunch of people racing who are also going to be competitive and scoring points in A & B races.

If you are on the team and plan on races put in your input. Also, I assume that the schedule will be discussed tonite at the meeting.

Underwear of Fortitude

So, I got out today for some of these SST Intervals. It definitely required me to HTFU and I could have used some of this so called underwear of fortitute that Goats was talking about. I did man up for 75 min. of riding though by the end I was having trouble braking and shifting because my hands were so called. Also, I had the joy of being thirsty since the water froze in the nozzle of my bottle. All in all I did feel awfully manly when I was done my workout. Hopefully it will be a tad warmer for Saturday's long ride.

Training Begins Tomorrow!

I am finally starting my training tomorrow and I can't wait. When I started my time off from the bike three weeks ago I was so glad to be away from it. Last season was great but it was a long one.

Yet this past week I could hardly keep my hands off my bike. I cleaned it the last two days and before that I was finishing up writing my training plan for the next several months. I'm hoping this plan will fix my extreme lack of power generation in efforts over a massive ten minutes (maybe less)! This will be the first year that I will be trying to stick to a training plan. Hearing Tim, Scott and Hunter at the Peaks presentation got me thinking that I really should try one out. It should be interesting and I am excited to see if I can get myself to ride 15 to 20 hour weeks repeatedly. Yet the thought of not only upgrading to a Cat II but also doing well in a 1/II/III race is an excellent motivator.

I even rode the rollers tonight to make sure I hadn't forgotten how but only for five minutes (I'm trying not to ruin my plan before it even begins). I put the rollers between my door frame and really only had to shoulder the door a few times to stay upright (success)

Oh and I saw this picture today - perfect technique

next friday's road skills practice

cultural education

the new ship cycling website

Yup. New. Shiny and new.

If you haven't yet, mosey on over and take a look.

Suggestions for improvement? I'd love to hear them.

Want to link to the site? Please use http://webspace.ship.edu/cycling/

cycles of life

Awesome.

For background on the film, visit Vimeo or CyclingTips...

what I do to stay warm in the winter

It hasn't really gotten cold yet in south-central pee-aay, but it's a 'coming...and so are the questions on how to stay warm.

Yesterday, I got a note from a friend asking how I keep my package warm when it gets cold--bibs and tights, just tights, two pairs of tights? I figured I'd share my response, along with some other cold-weather riding tips and just what-I-do sorts of things.

Everyone has to figure out what works for them, which is to say there won't be a universal right way to stay warm, but I think it's helpful to learn what those who have ridden through more than a few winters have learned.

...

On keeping male genitalia warm when cold-weather riding...

To start, I don’t have any padded tights. I always wear bib shorts under everything. When it’s cold enough to warrant, I pull on a pair of tights over them. Except that I cut all my tights off mid-shin, so I guess that makes them knickers.

I have two pair of knickers—one that’s not that warm, which I wear when it’s about 35-45 degrees out, and another that I wear when it’s colder. If it’s REALLY cold, like less than 25 degrees, I wear a modified pair of hiking pants over whatever else.

When it gets to freezing or below, I don’t leave home without my anatomically trimmed patch of fleece. I cut it from some old fabric I had lying around and, when it’s cold, I just stuff it down my shorts, wrapping my package in the warm, soft, comfy texture of 200 weight fleece.

It’s really the best solution I’ve found. My genitals never get cold when I have that thing in place.

There are other possible solutions. Craft makes a brief with a WindStopper patch on the front that you supposedly wear under everything. I think that would work ok, but I don’t like wearing underwear under my shorts in the winter not so much because of discomfort (though that's a concern), but because the extra fabric makes my butt all sweaty. And sweat, when it’s cold, should be avoided when possible. So if the fleece patch doesn’t appeal to you, I’d consider taking a look at the Craft brief. (Craft makes super stellar winter wear. IMO, Craft, Icebreaker, and maybe Patagonia are THE top-of-the-line in respect to cold-weather athletic wear.)

On keeping legs warm when cold-weather riding...

I'm a dedicated knee-warmer fan. Such a great piece of cold weather gear. If it's under 65 and cloudy, I've probably got my knee-warmers on. If it's under 60, they're on. When it’s cold enough to put my knickers on, it’s over the knee warmers. And I have several pair—those that are just lycra, and others that are fleece-lined.

As I said above, I always wear a pair of bib shorts under everything. When it gets down to about 45, I pull my lightweight knickers on over my bibs and thin knee warmers. When it gets cold enough that I want my shins covered (35 degrees or so), I wear tall socks.

My leg-covering strategy by approximate temperature ranges:

55-65: bibs + thin knee-warmers

48-55: bibs + fleece-lined knee-warmers

38-48: bibs + thin knee-warmers + thin knickers

20-35: bibs + thin knee-warmers (sometimes fleece-lined warmers) + warm knickers + tall socks

under 32: everything else + fleece genital cozy

under 20: everything else + specially modified hiking pants

On keeping feet warm when cold-weather riding...

Shoe covers are of course critical when the temperature drops down into the 40s. Sometimes they also make sense even when it's a bit warmer. Nice neoprene numbers are the best because they're waterproof.

However, the single best cold-weather gear purchase I’ve made in the past five years are my winter riding shoes. I have the Shimano MW80s. Such. A. Good. Idea.

I got mtb (as opposed to road) winter shoes because they’re much more versatile. They work well when mountain biking, obviously, but if I want to wear them on my road bike I just move my pedals over. Mine are a size bigger than my usual riding shoe size so I can wear a thicker sock and still have a little room in there. A too-tight shoe makes for blood circulation problems which accentuates cold-weather feet-warming issues.

If it’s really cold (less than 25 degrees), and I’m going to be out for more than two hours, I’ll put shoe covers over them. But really, I’ve found the problem with keeping feet warm on a bike in the really cold is the negative heat transfer from your cold metal crank and pedal to the sole of your shoe. Shoe covers do nothing to solve that issue. So if my feet get cold in 20 degree weather I find I just need to get off and walk a few minutes and they’ll warm right back up. This is of course easier in mtb shoes than in road shoes.

On keeping the torso warm when cold-weather riding...

Keeping your torso warm is a good deal about managing sweat and wind. I've found that when heading out for a long winter ride I'm going to sweat a lot more in the first, say, 60-90 minutes than I am the rest of the ride. So I like to bring along a spare base layer. After 90 minutes or so I strip off my sweaty wet one and put on the fresh dry one. Or just take the sweaty base layer off and then put everything else back on. Makes all the difference in the world.

Bulking up with extra layers is less important than making sure you've got a good wind shield in the front. So a good wind vest with rear ventilation is critical.

I've found that with our new (last year) Shippensburg jackets that it's so warm I don't want to put it on until the temperature drops well below 40 degrees, and then with just a base layer under. But I always bring along a vest, and if I get cold later, I either swap out base layers (for a dry one) or put on my vest under the jacket, or both. I can go a long way in 30 degree weather using this strategy.

On keeping your head warm during cold-weather riding...

When it gets down to 50 or so I like to throw on a thin hat or ear-covering thing (actually, I used to do the ear-covering thing, but now I only do hats). I have low tolerance for cold ears, so I keep them covered.

When it gets below freezing, you might benefit from wearing a balaclava. I find, however, that keeping a nice full beard does the job and balaclavas often leave me over-heated.

When it’s under 30 degrees I usually wear ski goggles right over my helmet. This works surprisingly well. I've found goggles make an amazing difference in keeping your entire face/head warm. A skullcap + goggles keeps my head much more comfortable than a balaclava + sunglasses, but I generally pack along an extra balaclava when it's cold just in case. Goggles + balaclava makes your head virtually impenetrable to cold, which I've found advantageous when it's cold, the wind is blowing, and, if that wasn't enough, it starts to snow.

On keeping your hands warm during cold-weather riding...

This one is easy: wear gloves.

Really, it's that easy. If your hands are cold your gloves aren't thick enough. Ski gloves work best.

I've also found leather work gloves to work really, really well until about 32 degrees. And leather work gloves are an awful lot more economical than fancy full-fingered winter cycling gloves.

Now, if your hands do get cold when you're out riding, it helps to windmill your arms several times really fast to push the blood out to your finger tips. When people first see this trick they're generally skeptical, but then they try it and they believe. Trust me, it works.

...

Well, I think that about covers it. Have your own cold-weather riding tip? Post away if you're not afraid...

Not how to start a TT - 28 sec in

Skip ahead until about 28 or so sec in

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIslEGylGu0&NR=1&feature=fvwp

2011 custom ship gear

Basic black (default kit colors):


Snazzy white (alternate kit colors):


They're bad pictures, I know, but you'll get the general idea. The "boat logos" on the sleeves will be straightened out so that they align horizontally with the cuff. And the jerseys will also be plastered with our sponsors, so be prepared for that.

What sponsor logos will be on the jersey? I'm glad you asked:

(1) Sunrise Computers & Electronics, prominently on the front/back, billboard-style beneath the SHIP banner.

(2) The Carlisle Group, one shoulder on the back above the SHIP banner.

(3) Mountainside Ski & Sport, other shoulder and back pocket.

(4) Wertner Signs, back pocket.

Want one? Get in touch. We'd love to sell you one.

(Custom bibs, wind vests, and winter jackets also available. Vests and jackets will have no sponsorship logos--just SU stuff.)

Summer Cell Pictures

the (almost) half world championships, 2010

It's back. The (Almost) Half World Championships, 2010.

Saturday, September 25, 9:00 am.

Last year was so much fun (more fun), we've decided to do it again. Bigger (more people) and better (fewer miles) than last time.

Here's the course (a link to interactive map, below a picture):

The course is 8.8 miles long with just under 750 ft of climbing. To encourage participation, we'll do SEVEN laps, for a total of 62 miles. Don't want to ride 62 miles? Just come anyway. Do what you want. Enjoy the fun.

We start at the corner of Strohm and Chestnut Grove (search for 190 Strohm Rd, Shippensburg, PA).

Special prizes for the first finishers and last finishers.

You. Could. Be. The. (Almost.) Half. Champion. Of. The. World!

Shippensburg University Cycling Hosts Youth Bike Rodeo

For Immediate Release:

Shippensburg University Cycling Announces Youth Bike Rodeo

Shippensburg, Pennsylvania – September 16, 2010 – On Friday, September 24, 2010, Shippensburg University Cycling will host the Fourth 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 4:30 pm and will continue until 6:00 pm.

The rodeo will be held on the Shippensburg University campus, in the parking lot between the student recreation fields and the Luhrs Performing Arts Center. 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. In 2009-2010, Ship Cycling boasted 28 members, 10 of which competed in at least one USA Cycling sanctioned race, accounting for 60 rider race days in total.

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), Historic Preservation Services (www.hps-preservation.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://shipcycling.blogspot.com/

# # #

september starlight circle race #3

A post-action blurry iPhone shot of the crew, minus one.

We had a total of nine riders last night (Zach was too occupied with his intervals to pose for the picture), a good showing. But the race was sort of weird...

Props to Brian for showing up and riding his 40 lb 26" wheeled wunderbike. We'll get this kid rolling on a library bike and he'll feel like he was shot out of a cannon.

Grass Track this Tuesday!!

When: 6pm Tuesday August 10, 2010
Where: The park at Hershey rd/Neil Rd and Airport Road

What: Grass Track
Grass track is like velodrome style racing, but on a short grass oval. A good activity to get in some short, high intensity racing. Plus its a lot of fun to try all the different kinds of track racing events. You don't need any special bike to race, anything willl work: road bike, cross bike, mountain bike, trike....anything! Come out and play.

Hagerstown Crit

Jon, Goatsause, and I attended the Hagerstown Challenge Crit a couple weekends ago. I found a helmet cam from our race so I decided to link it: http://vimeo.com/13345310

You can see me a few times in my MU Kit (Yellow) and you can see the crash that caused Jon to go off the road and over the curb (unharmed) but blowing out a tube and busting up his front wheel.

2010 summer smackdown round two...RESULTS

Eighteen riders came out Wednesday night to contest the second round of the 2010 South Mountain Summer Smackdown.

Wednesday's event was a 22-mile road race, a route that followed Pine Grove Rd southwest from Pine Grove Furnace SP to Shippensburg Rd, over the Piney Mountain Ridge, then northwest along Wenksville and Coon Rds, back over the mountain on Pine Grove Furnace/Bendersville Rd, and finishing with 1.5 hilly miles back to Laurel Lake.

There were a few half-hearted attempts at attacks and breaking away on the route out Pine Grove Rd and back again on Wenksville, but nothing proved decisive until the Bendersville Rd climb. Brian (YBR) and Chris (YBR guest rider) put in short digs on the lower slopes of the climb that were easily marked by 2M (Ship Cycling). Though the gap hadn't grown to more than a few bike lengths, the goat recovered his sauce, moved up to and passed the earlier aggressors and, with 2M on his wheel, countered with a move that would see the rest of the field distanced and eventually fighting for third place.

"Brian has been climbing really well lately, so when I saw Brian and 2M with a little gap, I thought I'd be watching them duke it out for the win from behind," the good Dr. Goatesauce said after the race. "But when I'd recovered from the initial surge and worked my way back to Brian I saw that he'd blown and realized the time was now, so I rode around him and with Mike on my wheel I just gave it all I had."

All he had was enough, the effort soon left 2M behind and Dr. Goatesauce had 75 yards over the summit. From there it was just a matter of keeping his head down until the finish.

Behind, however, the strung-out riders regrouped and put in a good-faith effort at catching 2M, who survived the sprint for second place by only half a wheel. Brian, Scott (SMVC), and Pete (Ship Cycling) rounded out the top five, an excellent result for the novice Ship Cycling rider.

Individual results:

(1) Dr. Goatesauce (Ship Cycling)
(2) Mike Maret (Ship Cycling)
(3) Brian Hopkins (YBR)
(4) Scott (SMVC)
(5) Pete L. (Ship Cycling)
(6) Pat Hankins (SMVC)
(7) Chris Flegal (YBR guest rider)
(8) Jere Ballard (SMVC)
(9) Joe Kaehler (SMVC)
(10) Rider Big E (Ship Cycling)
(11) Tim Rohrbaugh (SMVC)
(12) Paul P. (YBR)
(13) Jim Hartnett (SMVC)
(14) Chop (Ship Cycling)
(15) John (YBR guest rider)
(16) Rich Shaffer (SMVC)

Donna Wiser was also out, though she didn't quite ride with the group so all I can say definitively is that she was the first female finisher.

Dan Daly started with us, but then took a circuitous route back to the finish, more to watch the action than to compete, methinks.

Team results:

(1) Ship Cycling (1+2+5 = 8)
(2) SMVC (4+6+8 = 18)
(3) YBR (3+7+12 = 22)

Official team standings after round two:

(1) SMVC 8 pts
(1) Ship Cycling 8 pts
(3) YBR 1 pts

Good times!

(See you next Wednesday for round three: the South Mountain hill climb.)

starlight circle race #5 (june 23)

Fun to have Bri-Hop join us for the fun (though not fun that I couldn't drop him, try as I did). Many happy returns...

Also awesome to have the flegal eagle with us again. He broke his bike on Sunday and still found a way to make it.

D Grace had to work. 2M was playing with a girl, so he was excused. But Chop, Cody, and Zach...would have liked to see y'all...


Results from Round 5:

(1) jonny m, 25 pts
(2) bri-hop, 20 pts
(3) dr goatesauce, 16 pts
(4) chris, the flegal eagle, 13 pts
(5) jimmy, 11 pts

Combined point standings after five rounds:

(1) dr goatesauce, 93 pts
(2) 2m, 90 pts
(3) jonny m, 70 pts
(4) jimmy, 42 pts
(5) d grace, 39 pts
(6) conroy, 32 pts
(7) chris, the flegal eagle, 26 pts
(8) bri-hop, 20 pts
(9) kelly flantastic, 19 pts
(10) co-dee, 11 pts
(11) su track & cc runner whose-name-I-can't-remember, 11 pts
(12) brad, 11 pts

Women's standings after three rounds:

(1) kelly flantastic, 50 pts

Next round: Not sure. On the next three Wednesdays we've rounds two, three, and four of the South Mountain Summer Smackdown scheduled, so we probably won't pick up the Starlight Circle Races again until after all that wraps up. At least, that's my thinking. I could be persuaded otherwise.

See you next week at the Smackdown RR!

starlight circle race #4 (june 2)

Kind of a sad showing for round four. And we even had a new-comer drive all the way from Mechanicsburg.

Nonetheless, it was pretty exciting race. For the second week in a row it ended in a four-up spring. Had Chop and D-grace been there we'd had quite a race.

...

Round 5 on JUNE 23rd! (Postponed one week...because I'll be out of town on the 16th, and to get nestled in the off week from the Ironmasters.)

...

Results from Round 4:

(1) jonny m, 25 pts
(2) 2m, 20 pts
(3) dr goatesauce, 16 pts
(4) chris, the flegal eagle, 13 pts
(5) co-dee, 11 pts

Combined point standings after four rounds:

(1) 2m, 90 pts
(2) dr goatesauce, 77 pts
(3) jonny m, 45 pts
(4) d grace, 39 pts
(5) conroy, 32 pts
(6) jimmy, 31 pts
(7) kelly flantastic, 19 pts
(8) chris, the flegal eagle, 13 pts
(9) co-dee, 11 pts
(10) su track & cc runner whose-name-I-can't-remember, 11 pts
(11) brad, 11 pts

Women's standings after three rounds:

(1) kelly flantastic, 50 pts

Next round: Wednesday, June 2, 9:30 pm!

2010 summer smackdown round one...RESULTS

Last Thursday saw 14 riders throwing down on the Ironmasters TT course...competing for summer club pride. The event was enough to inspire several PRs (I know of at least four) and bring out at least a couple of newcomers.

Individual results:

(1) Pat H. SMVC 23:09
(2) Dr. G Ship 23:18
(3) Brian H. YBR 24:09
(4) Tim R. SMVC 24:53
(5) Jere B. SMVC 25:08
(6) Joe K. SMVC 25:17
(7) Paul P. YBR 25:25
(8) Jon M. Ship 25:30
(9) Jim H. SMVC 26:17
(10) Chris Lost Boys 26:21
(11) Rich S. SMVC 26:51
(12) Pete L. Ship 27:26
(13) Chop Ship 28:40
(14) Gary K. 29:54

Congrats to SMVC and Ship Cycling for fielding full teams. Sorry, YBR, only two riders disqualifies you from team scoring.

Team results:

(1) Pat H. SMVC 23:09
(2) Dr. G Ship 23:18
Brian H. YBR 24:09
(3) Tim R. SMVC 24:53
(4) Jere B. SMVC 25:08
(5) Joe K. SMVC 25:17
Paul P. YBR 25:25
(6) Jon M. Ship 25:30
Jim H. SMVC 26:17
Chris Lost Boys 26:21
(7) Rich S. SMVC 26:51
(8) Pete L. Ship 27:26
(9) Chop Ship 28:40
Gary K. 29:54

SMVC 1+3+4 = 8
Ship Cycling 2+6+8 = 16

Official team standings after round one:

SMVC 5 pts
Ship 3 pts
YBR 0 pts
Lost Boys 0 pts

ROUND TWO: Pine Grove RR, Wednesday, June 30 (rain date July 1). Meet at the Laurel Lake parking lot.

...

In case you can't get enough, I proposed the following alternative team scoring strategy, but it was nixed for simplicity's sake. The order of overall results would be the same, the difference being that incomplete teams would also score points, in accord with the following complicated scoring algorithm.

Say you've got 20 riders that come out one evening. The worst score a three-rider team could get is 18+19+20 = 57. An incomplete team is awarded points such that it must get a worse score than even the worst performing complete team (to award participation), but could still get on the board and compete with other incomplete teams. Incomplete teams would be assigned one or two "ghost riders" that score one point worse than the last placed rider, in this case, 21, PLUS they are given a penalty so that they couldn't score more than the worst complete team, in this case, 57.

So...if there are 20 people that show up for an event, and only one rider from team Hot Shots, and that rider places first, the team scores 1 + 21 + 21 + 15 (penalty) = 58. That way the team is still in the standings, but they're obviously going to lose over any team that has three riders.

If there are 20 people and the first two riders are from team Hot Shots, the team scores 1 + 2 + 21 + 34 (penalty) = 58.

If we did it that way, the results for Thursday would look like this:

(1) Pat H. SMVC 23:09
(2) Dr. G Ship 23:18
(3) Brian H. YBR 24:09
(4) Tim R. SMVC 24:53
(5) Jere B. SMVC 25:08
(6) Joe K. SMVC 25:17
(7) Paul P. YBR 25:25
(8) Jon M. Ship 25:30
(9) Jim H. SMVC 26:17
(10) Chris Lost Boys 26:21
Rich S. SMVC 26:51
(11) Pete L. Ship 27:26
(12) Chop Ship 28:40
(13) Gary K. 29:54

One rider penalty = (11 + 12 + 13) - (1 + 14 + 14) + 1 = 8

Two rider penalty = (11 + 12 + 13) - (1 + 2 + 14) + 1 = 20

So...

SMVC score = 1 + 4 + 5 = 10
Ship score = 2 + 8 + 11 = 21
YBR score = 3 + 7 + 14 + 20 = 44
Lost Boys score = 10 + 14 + 14 + 8 = 46
Gary K. team score = 13 + 14 + 14 + 8 = 49

Standings...

SMVC 25 pts
Ship 20 pts
YBR 16 pts
Lost Boys 13 pts
Gary K team 11 pts

Y'all should see my grade book. I just can't help but make things complicated.

2010 south mountain summer smackdown

(Should have posted this a couple weeks ago. Posted now for record-keeping's sake. And the calendar.)

...


Back for 2010, it's the battle of South Mountain (or something similarly grandiose and awe-inspiring)!

o^o o^o o^o

Yup, this summer, like last summer, Ship Cycling is going to collaborate with South Mountain Velo and Yellow Breeches Racing for the 2010 SMVC/YBR/Ship Cycling Summer Smackdown. This is how it works:

There are FOUR events, an individual time trial, a road race (its only like 23 miles or something), a hill climb to Big Flat, and, new this year, a team time trial.

Each event is scored kind of like a cross country meet. Each team's first three riders to finish score points for the team. The fourth and fifth riders displace the points riders from other teams would score. Additional riders are excluded from team scoring. Lowest point total wins.

So, say the first four riders that finish an event are Ship Cycling and the next three riders that finish are South Mountain. Ship Cycling would score 1 + 2 + 3 = 6 points for their first three finishers. Fourth place is Ship Cycling; he doesn't score any points, but he pushes South Mountain riders down the scale so they score more points. South Mountain would score 5 + 6 + 7 = 18 points. 6 < 18 so Ship Cycling wins.

Even though it's billed as a competition between the three area clubs, EVERYONE IS INVITED! Others can form their own teams (I'm campaigning for Lost Boys to send a contingent) or just vie for individual glory. Non-team riders displace the points teams would earn.


HERE'S THE CALENDAR (everything subject to change):

** Thurs, June 3, 6:00 pm - individual time trial. YBR hosts. Meet at the campground on Pine Grove Rd about five miles north of Pine Grove Furnace SP. (This is the regular Ironmasters TT, hosted by the much loved and probably underappreciated Mark Laser.)

** Wed, June 30 (rain date: July 1), 6:00 pm - road race. Ship Cycling hosts. Meet at Pine Grove Furnace SP. The parking lot by the reservoir. (Probably the same course that we did last year--south on 233, left on Shippensburg Rd, left on Wenksville, left on Coon, left on Bendersville Rd, right on Pine Grove Rd. Probably the same course... It's negotiable.)

** Wed, July 7 (rain date: July 8), 6:00 pm - South Mountain hill climb. SMV hosts. Meet at Southhampton Township Park. (Mass start hill climb up the seven-some miles from Cleversburg to Big Flat.)

** Wed, July 15, time tbd -- team time trial. Dan Daly hosting. (Not sure on the details yet. Probably we'll run this on Route 174, Dan's normal time trial route--for those of you to whom that means anything--from a few miles south of Carlisle to a few miles short of Shippensburg and back again. 40k. We'll have to do this a little later in the day so as to not have to fight traffic, but probably by 7:00 pm we should be fine. We also have to agree on rules, but there's plenty of time for those mundane details...)


EXCITING!

starlight circle race #3 (may 19)

Well, as tomorrow is race #4, I suppose I ought to write something up about race #3, eh? But now that it's been two weeks my memory is getting fuzzy. (If someone else would like to take over posting results, by all means...)

The standout performance of the night came from relative newcomer D-Grace. He's been on a bike for what, maybe one month, and he's wholly capable of keeping pace with the leaders and even throwing down for the sprint on the last lap. Very impressive. Just makes the fun that much more fun.

The glory of the night, however, belonged to 2M, who lengthened his slender lead (being tied on points with dr goatsauce) by taking the sprint in a photo finish over Jonny M. The not-so-saucy goat limped in for third with D-Grace right behind. Ship track and cross country runner whose-name-I-can't-remember followed with an impressive gap over nighttime race veteran Jimmy S. (I hope I'm not forgetting anyone...)

Results from Round 3:

(1) 2m, 25 pts
(2) jonny m, 20 pts
(3) dr goatesauce, 16 pts
(4) d grace, 13 pts
(5) su track & cc runner whose-name-I-can't-remember, 11 pts
(6) jimmy, 10 pts

Combined point standings after three rounds:

(1) 2m, 70 pts
(2) dr goatesauce, 61 pts
(3) d grace, 39 pts
(4) conroy, 32 pts
(5) jimmy, 31 pts
(6) jonny m, 20 pts
(7) kelly flantastic, 19 pts
(8) su track & cc runner whose-name-I-can't-remember, 11 pts
(8) brad, 11 pts

Women's standings after three rounds:

(1) kelly flantastic, 50 pts

Next round: Wednesday, June 2, 9:30 pm!

2010 eccc road survey

If you haven't seen the 2010 ECCC Road Survey results, check them out.

Note that Ship Cycling finished second in the vote for best kits. Awesome. (And congrats to Chop and 2M, who designed them.) The second place finish is all the more noteworthy for our having received more votes than we had voters. (I don't know how many of you voted--if I were to guess, I'd guess zero--but I know it was less than 14.)

And that bit about that UVM guy's road-converted mtb?

Very cool. I'm inspired.

now that's bike racing...

Such an awesome stage of the Giro today. Crazy awesome. Awesome as in I'm awe-struck.

No spoilers... You'll have to watch it. (You really should. At least the last two videos.)

I wish I looked like that at the end of bike races. So awesome...

bit by a racoon

What E would look like if he were riding the Giro. (Focus on the mouth.)

starlight circle race #2 (may 5)

The action was hot at the Cinco de Mayo edition of the Starlight Circle Race last night. Word must be getting out because last night we had spectators. Six of them--five humans and one dog.

The night belonged to 2M. Not wanting to disappoint the crowd, 2M opened fire immediately after the mandated three lap warm-up period. A gap opened and a three-man chase (Brad, Conroy, and the Goater) formed. The gap held at around five to six seconds for most of the race, 2M reasonably motivated to hold his lead and the chase group, slowing dwindling in numbers (Brad was the first to fall off the pace, then Conroy), not super motivated to reel him in.

"Our plan was to let him dangle out there," said a unenthusiastic Goater afterward. "If we caught him within two laps to go that would be perfect. Although we weren't planning on a 'catch,' but blow-right-past humiliation."

But the catch apparently came too soon--with three laps to go--because no one "blew right past" anyone, until the finishing stretch, where a recovered 2M asserted his dominance with a furious finishing sprint and won by two dozen bike lengths.

Results from Round 2:

(1) 2m, 25 pts
(2) dr goatesauce, 20 pts
(3) conroy, 16 pts
(4) d grace, 13 pts
(5) brad, 11 pts
(6) jimmy, 10 pts
(7) kelly flantastic, 9 pts

Women's results:

(1) kelly flantastic, 25 pts

Combined point standings after two rounds:

(1) 2m, 45 pts
(1) dr goatesauce, 45 pts
(3) conroy, 32 pts
(4) d grace, 26 pts
(5) jimmy, 21 pts
(6) kelly flantastic, 19 pts
(7) brad, 11 pts

Women's standings after two rounds:

(1) kelly flantastic, 50 pts

The podium:

The DNF pile (there was something about some stupid track meet):

Two-thirds of our spectators:

See y'all again on the 19th!

Qualified for Nationals!

Mike and I qualified for the nationals road race which is next Friday in Wisconsin. I guess Mike isn't going to make it due to shrinking lungs but I have decided to make the trek instead of walking on graduation. It's a sweet excuse to miss graduation.

Who's pumped for the meeting tomorrow night! and the bike rodeo Friday... SHIP

I remember the results!

I remember the results from the last twilight crit!

Winner: ME (JON M)

I still have the yellow jersey which Dr. Goates needs since he is the current leader. Unless he has a new one because I have it framed in my room with my other leader jerseys. Well it could be in the living room or kitchen, I just have so many framed I can't remember where they all are. It might even be in the bathroom or basement or...

starlight circle race #1 (apr 21)

Shippensburg nighttime racing is back and oh how fun it is. Moonlight. Cool air. Freaky shadows. So much fun.

A few laps in a Mike Maret that had hitherto been uncharacteristically grumpy (even for Mike) rolled up beside me and said something about loving to race at night. I agree.

...

Six riders came out for the inaugural race in the 2010 Starlight Circle Race Series, Kelly and Dillon riding the loop for the first time.

We kept it tight for the first several laps, warming up, working on our paceline skillz, until 2M got antsy and shot off the front with an over-the-shoulder look that just dared us to try to keep up.

Things quickly exploded after that. Mike and I traded punches at the front (mostly me attacking every other lap or so and Mike easily keeping on my wheel). Conroy and Dillon worked well together just behind. Jimmy kindly rode clean up (sacrificing himself to clear any stray water bottles or power bars that might have been dislodged in the heat of battle). Meanwhile, Kelly dominated the women's field.

With about five laps to go, Mike caught me napping and got a little gap. I let him keep it, for a lap or so, then charged around him with what I hoped was enough speed that he wouldn't be able to hold my wheel. It worked. I was lucky. (I'm sure he won't let me do it again.) And despite Mike recruiting the help of a lapped Conroy, I held on through the last three laps for the W.

Don't let this old man run away with the thing. That isn't the story you want to tell your kids.

Combined Gender Standings After Round #1:

(1) dr goatesauce, 25 pts
(2) 2m, 20 pts
(3) conroy, 16 pts
(4) d grace, 13 pts
(5) jimmy, 11 pts
(6) kelly flantastic, 10 pts

Women's Standings After Round #1

(1) kelly flantastic, 25 pts

...

Note the new scoring scheme. Rather than the Fibonacci sequence deal we used in September, I've elected to use a more traditional points scale which awards points to the top 15 riders (it seems unlikely we'll ever have more than 15 riders) like this: 25, 20, 16, 13, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1.

...

By my count there are five riders who wanted to be there who weren't for some reason. If we can get a few non-students there, we could easily be running fields of 12-15.

...

I was looking at the standings from the 2009 September Starlight Criterium Series (same course, four rounds) and I'm not sure who came out on top. After three rounds the points looked like this:

(1) Mike Maret, 16.5 pts
(2) goatesauce, 16 pts
(3) Jon Marshall, 13.5 pts
(4) Matt C. (Chop), 11 pts
(5) Matt Conroy, 3 pts
(6) Cody Wertz, 3 pts
(7) Alex Krayo, 1 pt
(8) Kevin Melnick, 1 pt

Does anyone remember how it ended?

...

Round #2 of the Starlight Circle Race Series is scheduled for Wednesday, May 5, 9:30 pm. Cinco de Mayo, baby.

That said, if there's interest--especially from the folks who will be leaving us over the summer--to throw in one more round next week, Wednesday, April 28, I'm game.

New TT Shoes...

So we budgeted for these next year... right?

Dr. Goates invades South Park

Referring back to Jon's post:
http://shipcycling.blogspot.com/2009/12/dr-goates-twin-or-acting-career.html

I think I have spotted Dr. Goates in the latest South Park episode, what do you think?

Let's examine the picture:

• Dr. Goates' body type
• Chest hair (hard to see in the photo)
• 5 o'clock shadow
• Definitely the same hair!
• Eyebrows...

Despite being a little too tan... I think we can successfully say Dr. Goates has been in a Gamefly commercial and has worked his way into a South Park episode. This is a fun game... "Find the Goates!"

too quiet

Things seem to have quieted down on the blog just a little too much. Everyone's racing, there's drama all around with crashes and ovalized bottom brackets and a result here and there...where's the chatter?

In an effort to spice things up a bit, I'll give y'all a snapshot view of the trophy I took home this weekend:


This picture was taken after I got all cleaned up, obviously. Immediately after the injury it was much more exciting. My eye socket was completely filled with blood, I had sweet blood streaks down my cheek, and I've still dark red splatter spots sprinkled on my top and down tubes. My DNA is everywhere.

The story: Went to play on Saturday in Zach's Michaux Mash--a four-hour mountain bike race on a nine-mile loop of Michaux's worst (that's not true--there is much, much worse). For those that don't know, endurance mountain bike events are often timed. Riders try to run as many laps as possible within the time limit. The rider with the most laps wins. Or the rider that finishes the most laps in the least amount of time wins.

My accident occurred after I went over the bars in a particularly rough section of trail just 30 minutes in. Scraped up helmet, broken sun glasses, slightly dented top tube, and a cut on the forehead. I immediately began bleeding everywhere. I had to take a few minutes to stop the bleeding and assess how bad I was hurt. After five or six minutes the cut stopped bleeding, I felt ok--if maybe a little deflated--so I figured I'd soldier on. I rode another 3 1/2 hours and finished (I think) 10th in the under 40.

The gash above my eye was cool and all, but through the course of the ride I also rubbed the tip off my left nipple. (Sorry, no photo.) Frankly, that hurt a lot more. Couldn't hardly shower afterward, the pain of water spraying on my chest just a little more than I could bear.

I love bike racing.

Princeton/Stevens pictures

Heres a link to Greg W's photo album from the Princeton Crit on Saturday

Racing C's

Okay, so now it is pretty much official. I just signed up for the Men's C road race at Bucknell. Nothing like going from a longest race of the season at 17.6 miles to 36 miles. I am sure it will be good times had by all. Anyone else from D's want to join me?

Racing

Racing has been great so far. Mostly because it is fun, I have finished every race I entered, and I have seen improvement each weekend. It has been nice to finally be in the mix the last two weeks and be able to score points. I am looking forward to a great road race this weekend and the predicted nice weather. It will be a treat after starting the road race Sunday at Princeton in in 30 degree temps. All of you guys and girls out there who have not been out to the races yet are missing out on all the fun. We would love to see a few more of you out racing in the D's with Matt, Brad, and myself.

Princeton/Stevens Results

Results from the Princeton/Stevens can be found here.
Overall I can state that the weekend was a success, we all did fairly well and came back unscathed. The weather was a bit colder (30 degrees at the start on Sunday for mens D) than Philly.

Criterium
A's- 50 minutes, 52 starters

• Mike Maret- 25th
  
• Jon Marshal- 22nd
  

D's- 25 minutes, 41 starters

• Matt Conroy- 8th, 2 points
  
• Brad Quinnan-15th
  
• Pete LoBianco- 18th, 3 prime points

Road race
A's- 35 miles, 47 starters

• Mike Maret-30th
• Jon Marshal-44th

D's- 18 miles, 47 starters

• Brad Quinnan-12th
• Pete LoBianco- 14th
• Matt Conroy- 23rd

Bucknell next weekend, weather's predicted to be in the 70's!

saturday's ride

Click here.

If you don't want to do all of that...maybe just ride the first, flat 15-20 miles with us and then turn back. Whatever. It's all good.

fast

Care to estimate their finishing cadence?

grant's tomb's women

A fun little write-up in the Times about the first-timers who braved the rain last weekend at Grant's Tomb.

Spring Break Training Camp Day No. 2

A jaunt to the north...

Just 2M and I this time.

About sixty miles in about 3:20. A head wind t h e w h o l e w a y. Really. Some time during our trip up and over and back over the mountain the wind changed directions and we fought it both out and back. Why doesn't it ever seem to work out the other way (a tailwind both directions)? (I know the answer.)

But we shouldn't dwell on the negative. What we should dwell on was how awesome the weather was. Low 60s. Sun-shinny the whole ride. Spring is...springing. Super awesome.

And it was a great workout. Which is a good thing because Spring Break Training Camp Days Nos. 2 and 3 may turn out to be a bust, given the massive storm that is apparently headed our way. But I have fenders, so we'll see.

...

Good luck to Jonny M., 2M, Petey, and Chris T. at the bike games in NYC this weekend!

Spring Break Training Camp Day No. 1

A tour of South Mountain:


Seventy-seven miles in 4:15. On board with moi were Tim Cusick and 2M. It was a nice ride.

Tomorrow, the ride leaves my house at 11:30 (weather permitting). 2M is in. Tim, maybe. Me, of course. Headed up Doubling Gap. Maybe down the other side, then back...some way. Shooting for about three hours.

If others want to join, but don't want to ride the full distance, just come along and turn back whenever.

Get it in now. The weekend looks to be wet.

Race number two under the belt.

What a great weekend for racing. I managed to be in the races this weekend rather than watching the racing happen from behind the pack. The Crit went much better this week as I was able to stay in the race for almost the entire race. The front runners didn't pull away until about 1.5 laps to go which resulted in a 22nd place finish out of 63 starters. Unfortunately I was dumb enough to take a pull toward the end of the race so I wasn't able to respond to the finishing surge as well as I would have liked. Lesson learned for the next race.

Onto the circuit race on Sunday where I managed to be in the field sprint at the end resulting in a 14th place finish out of 60 starters. This race was a lot of fun and I was fortunate enough to avoid the crazy wreck on the last lap. Check out the pick where the Bucknell riders is eating pavement, the guy in the background is freaking out, and the bike is flying in the air. Hopefully everyone was okay and it looked worse than it was. I know that there are riders who have wrecked and those that are going to wreck, I just hope that when I do go down I don't eat pavement as bad as some of these guys did. This wrecked happened on a downhill surge at give or take 25-30 mph.

Hoping for another good race weekend in NY.