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.

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

The Pickle Bar

If you haven't noticed, the downtown Isaac's is closed. This is due to remodeling for "The Pickle Bar". That's right, downtown Isaac's will now serve frothy beverages. I believe they are set to be back open by June 2nd. Go check it out. The food is delish.


Team news: It looks like we will be everywhere this weekend. Chad will be racing the Millport Road Race. Tom wanted to go to Massanutten VA, for the National race. Joel and I will be in Sewell NJ for another MASS race. Sewell and Millport are on the 31st. Massanutten is the 1st. Shawn will be in California supporting his wife Katie as she runs her first marathon.


I'm working on the Marriot Hotel that is being build. It's an 18 story building smack in the middle of the city. This will be the tallest building around. I think the tallest now is 13 stories. Right now I'm on the 6th floor and you can see pretty far. The 18th should let you see everything.


Links to the races:

Millport: http://redroseraces.com/index.php?option=com_races&task=listRace&id=63&Itemid=42

Sewell: http://www.nocentsracing.org/

Massanutten: http://www.mountainbikevirginia.com/Hooha.htm (some info on their site is from last year)

Closer

Oh Granogue. Sigh. It was a beautiful day to be on a bike. The sun was shining and it was (gasp) warm. We (Joel and I) decided to arrive early enough to support our newest rider, Brooke. She was in the Sport race which set out at 9am.

Like clockwork they were off. We waited for her to come back around to give her a few more cheers before getting ready for our race. At registration we were given these Allied Milk Cycling bracelets. Well, that is what we told ourselves. Really they were to determine who had actually paid and who was poaching the course. MASS uses the same number plates all season to reduce waste and to speed up registration. Last year some people used this to their advantage by not paying to race.

At 11am we were all ready to go. The start of Granogue is a fast and furious paved road to a hard right into the woods. The hole shot is pretty important. If you can hit the technical stuff first you can dictate the pace of the race. I hit about 8th spot which I was ok with. Joel was about 6th with Eric Marklund between us. He's been riding very good this season and Joel and I had the plan to keep in sight.

We marked him for about the first three or four miles. All of us switching positions. Back and forth we went. When we hit a false flat grass section we both attacked Eric. We could see he wasn't feeling the best and we hurt him. Joel was riding strong and I felt really good as well. When we got ready to hit another section of singletrack I noticed Joel was no longer with me. I'd later find out he had some bad luck and flatted.

I came through to finish my first lap, not too far off the pace of the leaders. I went to switch out my water bottle when I noticed both bottles were empty. Both tops were also removed. It was like someone used them to dump on themselves. I was thinking "The third lap is going to hurt, a lot." Luckily I saw an angel...his name was Jerrod. I yelled to him to get me a bottle for the next lap and sure enough he did. It was a life saver too as my calves were tightening up with every revolution.

I went into "hang on to your position" mode. Every switchback I was looking over my shoulder. Every climb felt like I was in the Alps (well, as I imagine it anyway). Finally I was in the last section on singletrack when a guy came blazing out of no where. It was Steve Schwartz (Titus factory rider). I really had nothing at that time to respond to his power. I let him go figuring I'd catch up and get him on the climb to the finish. Turns out, I misjudged how close to the finish I actually was. As soon as he got around me, we popped out of the singletrack and were climbing the gravel/paved climb to the finish. He was gone. I took one more look over my shoulder to make sure no one was coming from behind and cruised up the hill at an easy pace. I even talked to Vegan Rob on the way up. He was doing the Enduro race so we just chatted to the finish. Overall 6th. Not too bad but I was one spot away from getting the Granogue Plaque. I have one from when I raced Sport several years ago. I did want another.

After the race I was talking to one Mr. FatMarc and he said he was hoping I was top 5. Well, me too. HAHA! He gave me a special 6th place prize, two Twin 6 t-shirts. I told you this guy does it right.

Even with a flat tire Joel still managed 18th. One spot back on a rider I was trying to get on our team before the season started. Marc gave Joel a pair of socks for his bad luck.

The best part of the race though was Brooke. Her first race on the Allied Milk Cycling team and she nails a 2nd place. The first AMC rider to podium in a solo event. We'll stick that one in our memory banks in case it ever comes up on Jeopardy.

Awesome job Brooke!

It was a great event all-around. The Dupont Estate was amazing. The race promoters were smooth and efficient. The course was beautiful and the competition, on point. I am falling in love with this sport all over again.

A little from Chad on Mon-Tour

The day started at 6:00, with the temp. being in the 40's and wet roads. By start time at 8:30 the temp. rose to the high 50s. I felt good about this race considering there is 5940 of climbing in it. I was not planning on wining it because I am not in my peak yet, but merely to use it as a gaging ride for my future peak races. The race every year changes in miles slightly because of roads changing, dirt, road work ext. This year was no different with true miles being at 77. The race started slower then last year with the first hill being easy. Through the race I stayed no farther back then 4th place, knowing that I needed to stay in the front for the climbs. With the biggest climb we had that day I was 2nd over the top and down the other side, but the problem was that we were supposed to turn at the top and follow the ridge. (turns marked with arrows on road not enough man power for all turns) After me and 2 other riders descended down the other side we discovered there was no marks on the road and no riders behind us. We went 1 mile off course, so we turned around and climbed back to the top. With this being at mile 50 or so we 3 decided to do even pulls and try to catch back up to the lead group. We found out from a racers wife that we were about 10 min. back, not very promising for a 3 group chasing after a 20-25 rider group. We where pulling off 30 to 35 mph and at this phase I knew if we did catch back up that I would not be able to contend for the over all, but I had to try. With in 5-6 miles we caught up to the lead group. I was still feeling strong and as more climbs came and past the group dwindled to 12 riders. I was still feeling good, but with 3 climbs to go and about 6-8 miles left I hit the wall. My climbing speed dropped from 12 mph down to 5 mph. There was nothing for me to do but to try and find a rhythm. When I came across the finish line I got 12th place. O yes and since the course changes every year the true elevation was at 6473 feet. Out!

Chad finished in 4 hours and 6 minutes. Not too bad for going off course for a few miles.

Granogue is this weekend. They have a cool setup with food, music, and a raffle to benefit HERA Women's Cancer Foundation. Be sure to buy some tickets if you stop by. Our team will be competing in the Sport (9am) and Expert (11am) races. Here's the address:

2900 Montchanin Road, Wilmington, DE 19807

Also today I went to a pre-school class to teach the little rug rats about bikes. It was a blast. Turns out they knew just about everything already. Pics will be posted soon (I think).

White Clay Creek is looking for another MTB camp instructor for one week. It is the 4th week in June (23rd-27th). If you are interested call the Nature Center at (302) 368-6560 and ask for Angel. You can also email her at: Angel.Burns@state.de.us. It's an awesome time.

***Photo by: Josh Everitt*** http://www.printroom.com/studio_homepage.asp?domain_name=joshephoto

Three do 75 miles...

I knew Chad was doing 75 miles of Mon-Tour but I didn't know that Shawn and Tom were doing the Rocktober Marathon MTB race which was also about 75 miles. Now I haven't gotten all the details from the riders yet but I'm sure Chad's day in the saddle was a lot shorter than Tom and Shawn's.

From what Chad told me (he is giving a report in the next few days) there was a wrong turn involved and his ride was closer to 80 miles. He still managed 12th.

Shawn and Tom on the other hand, made no wrong turns but were in the saddle for 8 and 8 1/2 hours respectively. Ouch! This is why Joel and I decided not to do that ride. Hopefully these two idiots give me an update as well.

For me, it was a weekend off (from racing). My brother from NY was in town and I spent some time with him. Shucks.

Another Muddy Race

French Creek was another sloppy race. Personally, I don't agree with having muddy races due to trail damage. The whole car ride there Shawn and I were debating on whether or not to race. Is it worth the parts we will have to replace (i.e. brake pads, tires and so on)? When we got there it actually looked to be in good condition considering they had about 1.5 inches of rain the night before. We registered.

At the start line all four of us (Shawn, Joel, Tom and I) had good starting positions. We were either in the first or second row. The start was designed to thin us out quick. Uphill for a long time. The blurby noise sounded and we were off. I felt like the pace was a bit slow so I jumped to the front, leading...but not for long. Kerry Werner of Shirk's was right on my wheel. He too was feeling good and the race was on. I made a tactical decision to let him lead. French Creek is his backyard and he knows the trails. For me it is easier to follow someone who is cruising than to be followed by someone who is on my wheel (if you follow me).

While on Kerry's wheel I spun my back wheel going over a waterbar. That would be the last I'd see of him. I was still having a great lap and feeling good over all the rocks and up the climbs. Right after going through the start/finish line Joel caught me. He was riding strong. I stopped for about 3-4 seconds to change out my water bottle (aka I dropped my new one) and caught back up to Joel. We were riding together up the first climb when we came upon a fresh group of beginners starting their race. We were weaving in and out of them like they were standing still (and some were). ***Sidebar*** Now I remember being a beginner and I teach mountain biking to kids (9-14) at a summer camp at White Clay Creek so I know their struggles. I ask the promoters...Why would you start them while the Expert/Elite riders are coming through on the final lap? ***End Side bar*** Most of them were pretty good about getting out of the way but there were a few that thought they were Geoff Kabush or something. These were the ones that were walking in the good line. Forcing us to pick bad lines through a rock garden or up a technical climb. It was bad. Nothing against beginners because we were all there at one point and it wasn't their fault they were starting at that time. After all, they paid to race too. It's just a shame when races are decided by who puts the most beginners at risk by passing in a bad spot.

Long story short, the team did pretty well. Tom took 12th, Shawn 9th, I was 8th, and the crazy man Joel was 4th. Here is a link to the results: http://prologsoftware.com/proracingtiming/results/r05_10_08Final.htm.

Next week (5-17) Chad is at the 75 miles of Mon-Tour. Shawn will be competing in the Union Grove road race (so he says). On the 24th the mountain team will be in full swing again. This time at the Dupont Estate in Delaware. The course isn't overy hard but just unrelenting. FatMarc is in charge and he always puts on a good race. A new secret racer will be revealed at Granogue as well!!!

Mon-Tour is: http://www.active.com/page/Event_Details.htm?event_id=1459310

Union Grove is: http://www.bikereg.com/events/register.asp?eventid=5050

Granogue is: http://www.bikereg.com/events/register.asp?eventid=6087

Later Suckers.