So I finished up another week of mountain bike camp. These were hands down the best kids I've ever had. They listened, for the most part. They are kids after all. They rocked the trails too. We covered 70 miles this week. 50 of that was by Wednesday! The final two days we decided to slow them down out of fear that they were too tired and would make mistakes. Really though, these kids got it. I'm not saying we had any Geoff Kabush's, Harlan Price's or any local Joe racers for that matter but we did turn out 12 fine mountain bikers. That the whole point of the program. Chip (trail crew guy) took pictures throughout the week. He then compiled these pictures (and some film) to make all the kids a 3-4 minute dvd of themselves hurtling though the woods. Things like that are what hooks kids into sports like these. It keeps them coming back on their own too.
On to Brownstown...It was another hot day. Temps were close to 90 and the humidity was something like 93% this morning. Yum! At the start line everyone was complaining about the heat so I decided to do a 'cross style start. 100% out of the blocks. This caught a few by surprise but the strong hung tough. After about 3 miles of attacks and backing off I decided I had weeded out the pretenders. As I was catching my breath after a long turn in front, two from Kelly Benefits (along with 4 others) went clear of the group. They put a nice gap on us too seeing as their teammates were sitting on the front blocking the peloton from catching them. Good team tactics. When the road opened up a bit I made an attempt to bridge but I only seceded in pulling another rider within 30 yards of the break before I was spent. I backed off and waited for the peloton to catch back up to me. I drifted to the back of the peloton and rested a bit. On lap three Chad, a rider on Vortex, and I decided that this was the lap to catch the break or it was over. Kelly was playing the race perfect. We waited for the road to open up again and all three of us went. The Vortex rider leading out. He faded, I was on his wheel and pulled through. I started to fade and Chad was launched into the break. A sigh of relief came as I quickly tried to catch my breath again as the peloton caught up to me. I hung on but my job was done, Chad was in the break. I sat in the peloton the rest of the race. The rain was pouring down on us but I didn't care, Chad was in the break. I eventually got a flat and had to bail but I didn't care, Chad was in the break. Haha! Chad is writing up a race report so you will soon have his side of the story.
Next week is Marysville. This is a three day stage race. Night TT, STXC, Hill Climb, and an XC race that is always harder than it looks. We will have five riders and potentially a film crew. It's a fun time.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Mountain Bike Camp
My job at White Clay has to be one of the coolest in the world. I get to work with great people and ride my bike with some pretty amazing kids. I take the weeks off from work (without vacation pay) because I believe in this program that much. I'd do it for free.
This week we have the level II kids. Most of them are 13-14 years old but some are as young as 11. That is a pretty big age gap. Today is Wednesday and we have over 50 miles in for the week already. 20 of that was today. These guys are lucky this week because the trail crew has donated the time of two of their full-time trail builders to ride with us. This is cool on several levels. First, they built the trails. They know all the new ones, secret ones, and future ones. Second, they know what it takes to build them. We really stress trail stewardship in this program. Things like being a courteous trail user, volunteering, and maintenance. Not every ride has to be a race. Good stuff to know. The trail crew guys can really enlighten the kids more than the rest of us because they know how long it took to build something. They know what riding on soft soil does to the trails and so on.
On Tuesday we sat the kids down and had a chat about all of these things. We asked them if they knew how long it takes to make a trail. Obviously, none of them really knew. We rode 10 miles at that point in the day so I said to Adam (one trail crew person) "How long does it take?" He said (which is pretty amazing) "10 feet and hour if cut by hand." (a lot of it has to be)
10 feet and hour!
I asked the kids if anyone knew how many feet were in a mile. We came up with about 5000. Close enough right? So I asked them how many hours it took to make the 10 miles of trail we just rode. They scratched their heads and realized it was 5000 hours. I think it hit home with them. Adam and Chip did some quick thinking and said that it actually took them about to 3000 hours to build those trails but still a long time.
Tomorrow is another day to teach them something else.
Saturday Chad, Jeremiah, and I will be in Brownstown racing for 55km. It will be hot and possibly wet since they are calling for T-storms.
One more thing...If you haven't been to Downtown Isaac's lately, GO! They really went the extra mile on the outside dining. Big planters, fancy plates, and linen! No more paper napkins. And from what I understand they buy their veggies local when possible. Care to comment on that Mr. Jacobs?
Go now.
This week we have the level II kids. Most of them are 13-14 years old but some are as young as 11. That is a pretty big age gap. Today is Wednesday and we have over 50 miles in for the week already. 20 of that was today. These guys are lucky this week because the trail crew has donated the time of two of their full-time trail builders to ride with us. This is cool on several levels. First, they built the trails. They know all the new ones, secret ones, and future ones. Second, they know what it takes to build them. We really stress trail stewardship in this program. Things like being a courteous trail user, volunteering, and maintenance. Not every ride has to be a race. Good stuff to know. The trail crew guys can really enlighten the kids more than the rest of us because they know how long it took to build something. They know what riding on soft soil does to the trails and so on.
On Tuesday we sat the kids down and had a chat about all of these things. We asked them if they knew how long it takes to make a trail. Obviously, none of them really knew. We rode 10 miles at that point in the day so I said to Adam (one trail crew person) "How long does it take?" He said (which is pretty amazing) "10 feet and hour if cut by hand." (a lot of it has to be)
10 feet and hour!
I asked the kids if anyone knew how many feet were in a mile. We came up with about 5000. Close enough right? So I asked them how many hours it took to make the 10 miles of trail we just rode. They scratched their heads and realized it was 5000 hours. I think it hit home with them. Adam and Chip did some quick thinking and said that it actually took them about to 3000 hours to build those trails but still a long time.
Tomorrow is another day to teach them something else.
Saturday Chad, Jeremiah, and I will be in Brownstown racing for 55km. It will be hot and possibly wet since they are calling for T-storms.
One more thing...If you haven't been to Downtown Isaac's lately, GO! They really went the extra mile on the outside dining. Big planters, fancy plates, and linen! No more paper napkins. And from what I understand they buy their veggies local when possible. Care to comment on that Mr. Jacobs?
Go now.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Neshaminy
What can you say about Neshaminy? It's a fun course. It has lots of flow. There is a super cool switchback off-camber 60% (probably steeper) grade downhill. They used the EMT's like 5 or 6 times steep. I thought it was awesome. I had no idea I was riding in 5th when I had a mechanical. I decided to pull out (instead of fixing it) and missed a chance for some good points.
I did manage to take some pics of the guys coming through though. Not a complete waste of a Sunday. Everybody did awesome. Brooke took third in her class. Tom 9th. Shawn 7th. Rocketman Joel with another 4th.
I did manage to take some pics of the guys coming through though. Not a complete waste of a Sunday. Everybody did awesome. Brooke took third in her class. Tom 9th. Shawn 7th. Rocketman Joel with another 4th.
Marysville is next for the mountain team. It starts 7-4 and goes until 7-6. It is a great time.
The road team has Brownstown on the 28th but we are still undecided on how we want to handle all that has happened. First they canceled all the races. Then they re-open two or three. There is all kinds of gossip going around about it and we think it may be best to step back and let it settle. I don't want us to get caught up in the emotion of it all.
Monday, June 16, 2008
Today was my first day back at White Clay. The mountain bike camp is a blast. I have a great time teaching the kids how to ride trails. It's awesome when you see them "get it". Like when you show them how to apex a turn or go over a log. It's just really cool. Today we probably put in about 7-8 miles. Not bad for a bunch of little legs on the first day.
If anyone is paying attention they would see that our team is moving up in the standings. Tom is 10th. Shawn sits in 8th after a 4th at Danville. Joel is in 6th and about 200 points up on 7th. I moved into 3rd about 30 points up on 4th.
This weekend is Neshaminy. It's a cool course and reminds me of Granogue. My favorite section is in the beginning in the twisty, fast, wooded section. We should do well here.
We are still working on getting the road team reorganized.
If anyone is paying attention they would see that our team is moving up in the standings. Tom is 10th. Shawn sits in 8th after a 4th at Danville. Joel is in 6th and about 200 points up on 7th. I moved into 3rd about 30 points up on 4th.
This weekend is Neshaminy. It's a cool course and reminds me of Granogue. My favorite section is in the beginning in the twisty, fast, wooded section. We should do well here.
We are still working on getting the road team reorganized.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Finally...
I finally replaced my broken camera. It's about time. The blog was pretty boring with me just typing away. Here are the pictures I promised from a few entries ago. The green dome is the copper clock tower on the Lancaster courthouse. The crane/steeple picture is of the parking garage being built for the convention center (that I took the picture from). It was taken from the 6th floor. I will be leaving for a few weeks to teach the rug rats at White Clay to ride mountain bikes. That takes us to the rug rat picture. I was guest of honor at a daycare. They were learning about bikes so I was requested to answer their questions. They knew all the basics like shifters, brakes, and tires. What they didn't know was, "Do you like hockey?" " Do you like to fish?" Hey, they are pre-schoolers (and that is why they are all holding papers in front of their faces).
Next week I will be at White Clay. No racing. Shawn, Joel, and Tom will be at the Stoopid. Chad will be at the Strawberry Festival Road Race.
Keep the rubber side down.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
It's the Simple Things.
I've never been so happy to pee. Here we are 7:15pm or so and it's the first time since before the race at 10:30am. It might not seem that long but when you consider what I drank in that time, it's pretty amazing. Here's the list: 2-32oz Gatorades. 2-16oz bottled water. 4-21oz water bottles. 1-16oz Naked. 2-pilsner glasses of water (16oz I believe). 228oz of fluids to one urination. That's a heck of a ratio.
Let's just say today was HOT! It was 95+ with a humidity level that was up there. I don't know if it was the weather or what but I never really felt right out there. Danville is a good course for me with lots of climbing. 4500 feet (I've never granny geared so much) in 18.5 miles. Compare that to Sewell with about 1000 feet (Big ring all day) in 22 miles. Shawn and I knew that we had to pace ourselves and gauge our efforts closely. It was just too hot to hammer every climb. So we did just that and we paced ourselves into a 4th (Shawn) and a 5th (me). Now I know when someone checks the results they will see only 7 finishers. This is true but today was a day of hanging on. There were very few who managed to ride at their best. Plus, 4th and 5th are the same points whether you have 7 riders or 50. Points are points right?
Next weekend the team will be at the Stoopid 50 (www.masuperseries.com) for a 50 mile day in the park. Lucky for me, I have to go to a wedding. Shucks.
Let's just say today was HOT! It was 95+ with a humidity level that was up there. I don't know if it was the weather or what but I never really felt right out there. Danville is a good course for me with lots of climbing. 4500 feet (I've never granny geared so much) in 18.5 miles. Compare that to Sewell with about 1000 feet (Big ring all day) in 22 miles. Shawn and I knew that we had to pace ourselves and gauge our efforts closely. It was just too hot to hammer every climb. So we did just that and we paced ourselves into a 4th (Shawn) and a 5th (me). Now I know when someone checks the results they will see only 7 finishers. This is true but today was a day of hanging on. There were very few who managed to ride at their best. Plus, 4th and 5th are the same points whether you have 7 riders or 50. Points are points right?
Next weekend the team will be at the Stoopid 50 (www.masuperseries.com) for a 50 mile day in the park. Lucky for me, I have to go to a wedding. Shucks.
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Chad's two cents.
Another Astana?
As you read in the most current blog, we have no more licensed road races. After reading the e-mail from Butterworth, I just could not believe it. With me and Jeremiah being 100% road and a few team members 50% and our team covering every part of cycling Cross, Mount., and Road this is a huge set back. With my hopes now destroyed of not being able to do the race that our team wanted to do well in, and me trying to get the points to upgrade to Cat. 3 I am in a frantic mode. I feel some what like Astana did at the beginning when they could not do the races they planned on, or having to train differently to peak for other races, (not to mention the Giro at the last minute) and luckily their sponsors stood behind them. I am now looking all around for races, even in different states, because this just does not affect just me, but also Team Allied Milk. My next month and a half is now open to any thing. If any one knows of any USACycling races please let me know. Who knows, maybe this will turn out like it did with Contador, wanted to do the Tour but won the Giro instead. Only time will tell. Out.
Chad
Updated MASS standings show the team currently in 7th place. Not too bad. We are about 400pts away from Mountainside Racing and have a slight margin of 130pts on Human Zoom/PBR (yes, that is Pabst Blue Ribbon).
As you read in the most current blog, we have no more licensed road races. After reading the e-mail from Butterworth, I just could not believe it. With me and Jeremiah being 100% road and a few team members 50% and our team covering every part of cycling Cross, Mount., and Road this is a huge set back. With my hopes now destroyed of not being able to do the race that our team wanted to do well in, and me trying to get the points to upgrade to Cat. 3 I am in a frantic mode. I feel some what like Astana did at the beginning when they could not do the races they planned on, or having to train differently to peak for other races, (not to mention the Giro at the last minute) and luckily their sponsors stood behind them. I am now looking all around for races, even in different states, because this just does not affect just me, but also Team Allied Milk. My next month and a half is now open to any thing. If any one knows of any USACycling races please let me know. Who knows, maybe this will turn out like it did with Contador, wanted to do the Tour but won the Giro instead. Only time will tell. Out.
Chad
Updated MASS standings show the team currently in 7th place. Not too bad. We are about 400pts away from Mountainside Racing and have a slight margin of 130pts on Human Zoom/PBR (yes, that is Pabst Blue Ribbon).
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
What is a team to do?
So part of our deal with our sponsors was a road team. We've (really Chad has) had some good results lately. The best part is that we haven't hit the races that were to be our primary races. Those being the ones coming up like Peiffer Hill and Mt. Penn. These were to be big races for us. Notice I said "were to be". Yeah, the whole series has been canceled. RedRoseRaces.com as of 6-7 will officially cease to exist. Turns out the guy running has some money issues and is liquidating all his assets. This leaves the riders without races. Here's a copy of the e-mail that probably about 600-700 racers received:
Effective June 1, 2008 the business of Red Rose Races.com, Inc. has been suspended indefinitely and Rich has resigned. As a behind-the-scenes investor in this enterprise I will attempt to liquidate whatever assets Rich turns over (trailer, equipment, etc.) and make restitution to everyone owed money in some proportionate and fair way, but this will take time and Rich’s cooperation. Rich has been a friend and great cycling enthusiast and it’s terribly unfortunate that things snowballed out of control to the point that past debts and current spending overwhelmed the business operations and things simply could not continue. Beginning with the Rapho Road Race™ on Saturday, June 7 all of the 2008 events have been canceled. I am in discussion with Pennsylvania Cycling Association and USA Cycling representatives to find potential answers to the crisis this situation represents for bicycle racing in the Mid-Atlantic region.
Sincerely,
David S. Butterworth
CEO
Red Rose Races.com, Inc.
How's that for crappy?
On the mountain side of things, the team is currently in 9th place. 7 points away from 8th. Not bad considering we are racing in a 10 rider and under category with only 6 registered racers. Four of us have raced all season, one is just starting her season, and one is really on the downhill team. Many of the teams ahead of us have 8-10 riders so we are holding our own.
In the individual standings, Brooke is currently in a three way tie for third. Not bad seeing as she only has two races under her belt so far. Shawn slipped in the standings due to missing Granogue for a wedding and then Sewell to support his wife in her marathon. He currently stands in 14th with 492pts. Thomas the Tank also missed Granogue so he too slipped in the overall. He is a solid 9th with 675pts. Next is me. I'm sitting in 6th with 954pts. Wildman Joel is in 5th with 966pts. Joel is only 81pts out of 4th and 138 behind 3rd. Second place is held by one speedy high school who also happens to be a National Champ in cyclocross. That would be Jeb with 1197pts. First is Kerry. He will be racing in Europe later this summer. We can then breath a sigh of relief when that happens. He has 1380 runaway points.
Next race is Tour de Tykes in Danville. It's a benefit for the Children's Miracle Network. Check it out at www.MASuperSeries.com.
Effective June 1, 2008 the business of Red Rose Races.com, Inc. has been suspended indefinitely and Rich has resigned. As a behind-the-scenes investor in this enterprise I will attempt to liquidate whatever assets Rich turns over (trailer, equipment, etc.) and make restitution to everyone owed money in some proportionate and fair way, but this will take time and Rich’s cooperation. Rich has been a friend and great cycling enthusiast and it’s terribly unfortunate that things snowballed out of control to the point that past debts and current spending overwhelmed the business operations and things simply could not continue. Beginning with the Rapho Road Race™ on Saturday, June 7 all of the 2008 events have been canceled. I am in discussion with Pennsylvania Cycling Association and USA Cycling representatives to find potential answers to the crisis this situation represents for bicycle racing in the Mid-Atlantic region.
Sincerely,
David S. Butterworth
CEO
Red Rose Races.com, Inc.
How's that for crappy?
On the mountain side of things, the team is currently in 9th place. 7 points away from 8th. Not bad considering we are racing in a 10 rider and under category with only 6 registered racers. Four of us have raced all season, one is just starting her season, and one is really on the downhill team. Many of the teams ahead of us have 8-10 riders so we are holding our own.
In the individual standings, Brooke is currently in a three way tie for third. Not bad seeing as she only has two races under her belt so far. Shawn slipped in the standings due to missing Granogue for a wedding and then Sewell to support his wife in her marathon. He currently stands in 14th with 492pts. Thomas the Tank also missed Granogue so he too slipped in the overall. He is a solid 9th with 675pts. Next is me. I'm sitting in 6th with 954pts. Wildman Joel is in 5th with 966pts. Joel is only 81pts out of 4th and 138 behind 3rd. Second place is held by one speedy high school who also happens to be a National Champ in cyclocross. That would be Jeb with 1197pts. First is Kerry. He will be racing in Europe later this summer. We can then breath a sigh of relief when that happens. He has 1380 runaway points.
Next race is Tour de Tykes in Danville. It's a benefit for the Children's Miracle Network. Check it out at www.MASuperSeries.com.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
It's official...
I am an idiot. All those pictures of Lancaster that I was talking about in the last post, gone. Turns out, I didn't leave my camera at work but in the pocket of my coveralls. They were washed Saturday. Oh, and dried too. Washer and dryer 1. Camera, 0. I tried to let it "dry out" but it looks like I'm in the market for new one. I'm sure the memory card is destroyed as well.
Oh yeah, the races...
Chad was all alone at Millport yesterday. Even without support he managed his best result of the season, 11th. Our peak races start in late June and run until early August. It looks like he is on track.
The mountain team had a good turn out at Sewell NJ. The expert race finished up just as the thunder clouds rolled in. Perfect timing for Brooke's race. It poured on her and she was forced to DNF due to a mechanical.
Terrible Thomas finished in 14th which was pretty good considering he had two flats. Jolly Joel took 9th while puking his guts out. You could say he left it all on the course. Me well, 6th again. I think I was as high as 4th on the second lap but then I took myself out trying to rail a corner that was just too soft. I then had problems getting unclipped from my pedal when I was trying to get back up. When I finally got that taken care of, my chain was stuck on the outside of my derailleur. I forced it back where it needed to be and was off. It took about 30 seconds for all that to happen. I lost three places and only recovered two.
Here's a link to the results: http://www.prologsoftware.com/proracingtiming/results/r05_31_08Final.htm
Oh yeah, the races...
Chad was all alone at Millport yesterday. Even without support he managed his best result of the season, 11th. Our peak races start in late June and run until early August. It looks like he is on track.
The mountain team had a good turn out at Sewell NJ. The expert race finished up just as the thunder clouds rolled in. Perfect timing for Brooke's race. It poured on her and she was forced to DNF due to a mechanical.
Terrible Thomas finished in 14th which was pretty good considering he had two flats. Jolly Joel took 9th while puking his guts out. You could say he left it all on the course. Me well, 6th again. I think I was as high as 4th on the second lap but then I took myself out trying to rail a corner that was just too soft. I then had problems getting unclipped from my pedal when I was trying to get back up. When I finally got that taken care of, my chain was stuck on the outside of my derailleur. I forced it back where it needed to be and was off. It took about 30 seconds for all that to happen. I lost three places and only recovered two.
Here's a link to the results: http://www.prologsoftware.com/proracingtiming/results/r05_31_08Final.htm
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