May 2006 Archive
5-1-2006 More TdG Photos I finally finished my Smugmug galleries of TdG photos. The galleries each have 60++ photos. Check em out.
DLV Racing From Ken the Bike Attorney: "There will be racing at the
Velodrome at East Point Sunday afternoon and evening, including pro class. After
the 8:30 p.m. pro race they will show the movie "Breaking Away" in the infield.
It is a fun family event. Bring the kids. They will love it. More info at
www.dicklanevelodrome.com.
Ken"
Trish's note: This is Sunday, May 7.
Roswell Photos I have about 400+ photos that I will be posting over the next few days. Even with my new higher speed DSL connection, it will take me a few days to get them all up. I did the Women's 3/4 crit, my first crit in over a year. Yes, I was last, but I only got lapped once! Thanks Stephanie, (Outspokin) for working with me! We had fun! You might even see me out at a crit later this year. I really, really need to start doing them again.
Back to Roswell Photos....I was shooting for cyclingnews.com, so check out my photos with their Roswell story.
Athens Photos Southeastern Cycling Photographer Doug Gravino (www.douggravino.com) has a lot of photos of Athens Twilight up on cyclingnews.com. I owe Doug a lot in teaching me about cycling photography the last year.
Creed Sewell (Locos) does his best "Thinking Man" before the Men's 2/3 race. Either that, or he was bored.
5-2-2006 Aaron's Team Report The Aaron's women's team checks in with their report from Twilight and Roswell.
5-3-2005 Charlotte
News From Charlotte Sports Cycling
Kick-off, take two! The Charlotte Summer Mountain Bike Series will get rolling
this Wednesday, May 3 at Col Francis Beatty Park. The weather is looking great
for the event. The event will start promptly at 6:15PM. Registration will be
located on the first road to the left in the park, the road to the tennis
courts. Parking will be a bit of problem so park on the street, just past the
first the left. Bathroom facilities are available at the park. See you on
Wednesday. www.charlottemntbike.com
BIKE! Charlotte starts this Friday with the Mayor's Ride/Bike to Breakfast. We
hope everyone plans to attend the annual Mayors Ride. The ride starts at the
Dowd YMCA on Morehead St and ends, with breakfast from Lola's, at the Bank of
America Plaza at Trade and Tryon Street. It's a
short ride but THE most important ride you could do during the year. Break out
the bike and your club or team jersey and head downtown Friday morning. A
great excuse to lay out of work for an hour or so. The ride starts at 7:30AM.
Represent your cycling club and the bicycle community by joining the Mayor for
this eventful ride.
BIKE! Charlotte is stacked full of events for cyclists of ALL abilities, spandex
or no spandex. One of the highlights of the week is Cycle Charlotte. This event
will be held on May 13th and will include a
children's bicycle safety rodeo, a police supported 2-mile family fun ride in
Uptown Charlotte and a 10 and 25-mile awareness and recreational ride in the
streets of Charlotte. After the ride enjoy the festival atmosphere with a
variety of food, live entertainment and other activities for
all to enjoy. For detailed info, check out www.cyclecharlotte.com
During BIKE! Charlotte, you can use your bike on the bus for FREE
www.charmeck.org/Departments/CATS/Home.htm or join the commuter challenge
www.bikementor.org/challenge For more information on BIKE! Charlotte, check out
www.bike-charlotte.org or pick up the Charlotte Observer on May 3 and check out
the special section dedicated to BIKE! Charlotte. Event brochures are also
available at your local bike shop.
MTB National Championships Moved From USA Cycling Contact: Andy Lee
(Tel.) 719.866.4867 (Mobile) 719.231.2041 (E-mail) alee@usacycling.org Website:
www.usacycling.org
Colorado Springs, Colo. (May 2, 2006) - Due to massive snowfall on Mammoth
Mountain this winter, USA Cycling will be relocating its 2006 Mountain Bike
National Championships scheduled for July 20-23.
After a record 664 inches of snow fell this season, Mammoth Mountain has
reported a base depth of nearly 20 feet as of May 1 - a figure that ultimately
put the resort's ability to host a national championship-caliber event in
jeopardy. "Looking at our snowpack today, I can confidently say we are
unable to host a mountain bike event to the quality we are all accustomed
to,"commented Bill
Cockroft, senior vice president of operations at Mammoth Mountain. "It was a
difficult decision, but ultimately we believe we owe it to the mountain bike
community to make sure the event continues at the level and standards expected
by USA Cycling." USA Cycling is currently negotiating with several venues to
replace Mammoth Mountain and a decision is expected to be announced shortly. We
will send out an announcement email when a venue is finalized. The dates of the
2006 USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Championships will remain unchanged.
5-4-2006 Roswell
Photos I finally have all of my
Roswell photos up.
Included are photos from the Men's 2/3, Women's 1/2/3, Masters, Men's 4/5,
Junior 9-15, and Pro Men's races.
5-5-2006 Sunny King Crit Info!! From the race director: "We have been having problems with our online registration for our race. The web site we are using is mistakenly showing all our races as full. This is not true. The only race that is full is the Pro men's race, all other races are still open."
5-8-2006 Brasstown
Baldbuster Congratulations to OTR Cycling racer Michael Steimle for
finishing the Brasstown Baldbuster Century first with a time of 6 hours and 10
minutes. Great job, Michael!
Mellowdrome News From the Asheville Mellowdrome staff: Remember this
Wednesday (May 10) kicks off the first ever fixed gear only series at the
Mellowdrome and on the following Wednesday (May 17) the "Rumble on the River"
points racing series for road bikes begins. Races will be run on a weekly basis
alternating between fixed gear events one week and road bike events the next.
This is a step forward for racing at the Mellowdrome as now you can find racing
of some variety on a weekly basis.
The flier for the fixed gear "Mellowdrome Cup Series" can be found at
www.ashevillevelosports.com/files/1track_poster.pdf
For information concerning the road bike "Rumble on the River" series contact
www.hearns-cycling.com
On the track side of things, Kurt Begemann is the defending series champion, but
it is already clear that competition will be stiff--can he defend the title?
Even though several of the B field will be moving up from last year, the field
will be full and competitively stiff divided among riders who are on their way
up and others who are simply trying to age gracefully.
The C field will be competitive and heavy on the instruction. If you have been
hesitant to take the fixed gear challenge, this is your place. There are a few
loaner bikes available upon request, so lack of a bicycle is not a valid excuse!
Just send an e-mail if you are in need.
All riders remember the format change. Registration will be open from 5-6. A
mandatory rider's meeting will be held, and the first race will roll off at
6:10. There are 12 races throughout the evening which is a lot and we wish to
run as efficiently as possible. Schedules will be clearly posted at registration
and on the infield and there will be a whip to keep things moving, but riders
are expected keep up with the evening's races and clear the track as soon as
their race finishes so that the next group can take the start. So, here's to a
new season of racing; that it be competitive, fun, and safe. Let's keep fixed
gear racing a growth segment of the sport here in Asheville. See you, George
Riedesel."
USA Crits The results for this week's USA Crits series are up. The winner was JJ Haedo of Toyota-United. (Ladies, this is one FINE man! :) and so nice, too!)
5-9-2006 Sunny King Report The Aaron's Women's Cycling Team checks in with their race report from Sunny King crit in Anniston, AL.
5-10-2006 Big Creek
Work Party From RAMBO: RAMBO Work Party, 08:00 AM, Location: Big Creek
Park Roswell
Other Information: We're working on Phase II (Intermediate Trail). Lunch will be
provided by Smoke Jack’s restaurant. We'll be having barbeque pork sandwiches,
baked beans and coleslaw!!! Bring gloves, sturdy shoes, water. Directions:
GA-400, exit Holcomb Bridge Rd., go East, Turn left onto Old Alabama Rd., 1/4
mile on left. Check out www.RAMBO-mtb.org for more info.
Myogenesis Report Myogenesis checks in with their latest race report from the USA Crit series.
5-12-2006 Women's Track Clinic Velo Bella will be hosting the third annual Women's Track Clinic on June 18 at the Dick Lane Velodrome. Trish's note: Cathy Boland is a fantastic instructor! She's gotten some of the area's best racers started!
Pizza and Cycling It's time for a fun poll! Pizza and Beer go along with cycling just like Shifters and Clipless Pedals.
What is your favorite pizza place?
Saul Update Saul Raisin is in Atlanta at a rehab facility. See his website for all the latest updates. He misses his Polli!
5-15-2006 Chicopee Work Party From Gainesville SORBA: May 20th 2006 Chicopee Work Party, 9:30 AM, Chicopee MTB Park Trailhead. We have decided to move the workparty to Saturday 5/20/2006. We will meet that morning at Chicopee at 9:30am. Bring something to drink throughout the workday and wear good work shoes. We should start work on the new loop. Thank you for your continued support.
Roswell Ride From Roswell Bikes: Our Thursday Night Ride begins at
Roswell City Hall. The ride consists of some rolling hills, three definite
climbs and flats along the Chattahoochee River. In April and September we leave
City Hall at 6PM. From May to August we leave at 6:30. The ride is leaderless
and can break-up into smaller groups along the ride depending on your skill
level. We regroup at the bottom of Martin's Landing neighborhood.
We now have a “B” group and ride coordinator. Barry Berland has accepted the job
of coordinating the "B" group of riders that are at a skill level below the A
group. You can contact Barry Berland at 404-210-8727 or barryberland@bellsouth.net.
There are several hammerheads in the fast group and can offer even the best Cat
2 rider a challenge.
B Group Departure 6:15 speeds from 17 to 19
A Group Departure 6:30 speeds from 20 to 27
There are 630 meters or 2,048 feet of climbing in the ride.
For a map of the ride www.bikeroswell/Maps/Roswell_Thurs_Night_map.pdf
The over 40 ride now has started on Saturdays from Roswell area park at 7:30 AM.
Same 25 mile route and great bunch of guys. To keep in touch with what is going
on join the http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bike_roswell Bike Roswell yahoo group.
Next week May 25 is bring a friend night. Roswell being nominated the 3rd best
place to raise a family in the USA makes us proud, and we are inviting everyone
to bring a friend to the Thursday night ride.
Bike to Work Month May is Bike to Work Month. From Roswell Bikes: Bike to
Work Clinic ~ Friday, May 19 at 5:00pm Join us at Roswell Bicycles, 670 Houze
Way, Roswell, GA 30076 for a Bike to Work Commuting Clinic on Friday, May 19.
John Knop with Bike Roswell!, along with other commuters, will provide insight
and tips on how you can actually enjoy going to work without the frustration of
enduring the stressful commute by automobile. The Atlanta Bicycle Campaign will
also provide information on commuting by bike. Topics will include: Why commute
by bicycle; Ways to earn money commuting by bicycle as well as saving money on
gasoline; Safe Routes to work; Type of equipment bike commuters need; What to
expect on the daily commute; How to put your own commuting program together; Get
other cyclists to ride with you on your commute; and more.
For more information and to reserve your slot for the Bike Commuting Clinic,
email bikes@roswellbicycles.com or call 770-642-4057 ext 212
Shonny in Atlanta? I heard a rumor that Shonny Vanlandingham of the Luna Chix mountain bike team was in Atlanta a few weeks ago. The rumor said that she was at the Tuesday Weekday World Championship ride. Can anyone confirm this? Email me.
5-16-2006 For the Racers Trish's note: I pulled this off of another
mailing list I'm on. I think it is VERY relevant for Georgia! http://www.truesport.com/Bike/2006/news/merwin051106.html
A Letter from Paul Merwin Minnesota
May 11, 2006
_____
Most of you may not know my name, which is probably not surprising. Other than
my glorious but brief Cat 4 heydey in '98-99, I've never distinguished myself
much on the road. I have, however, done a few other things. I have been director
of the Minneapolis stage of the GREBF/ NVGP
for the past 3 years and the St. Paul stage before that, directed the
Campus Criterium, volunteered, officiated or consulted at numerous local
events, served as paid staff at the Tour of California, and was invited
to work at the Tour of Georgia.
I don't bring any of this up for credit. If I really cared about it
you'd probably know my name by now. I'm just hoping it will buy me one
long rambling email worth of credibility.
A few weeks ago I would have said that racing in Minnesota was in
danger of being relegated to industrial-park criteriums. Now after the
problems at Opus, it seems I might have been a bit too optimistic.
Don't get me wrong- there has been some great racing the last couple of
weeks. Ken Woods and Avon were great races. However, even at these
great events, I saw a lot of questionable moments, including:
1. A rider cross the finish line, run into the church park, and urinate
on a tree. He was about 50 yards from both the porta-potties and the
church ladies selling brownies.
2. Recently finished riders standing on an open highway in front of an
oncoming dump truck.
3. Three riders, off the back and well out of contention, riding three
abreast over a blind hill as traffic approached from behind.
4. Riders who missed a turn (on their second lap) berate a volunteer
course marshal.
5. A vehicle feeding a rider out the window while straddling the yellow
line with, you know it, oncoming traffic.
I wish I could say it was all new riders, but no such luck.
Besides the obviously safety issues (A DUMP TRUCK, PEOPLE!), it is
getting harder and harder to keep race courses. Promoters work their asses
off to make events happen, which usually involves a lot of negotiation
with local police and officials and promises about how we'll be safe
and won't block traffic and won't inconvenience residents and won't and
won't.
Here's what it comes down to: We don't race in stadiums, where everyone
is there to watch us and everything revolves around the event. We race
in the real world and we share it with everyday people going about
their lives. We are not invited to race in most venues. We are permitted to
be there.
When I was younger, I didn't appreciate the difference. My attitude was
that "I was there to race," so obviously I had special needs and
privileges. I was wrong.
There are some basic hard truths we need to come to grips with:
1. Being in a race doesn't make you special. It doesn't give you
special parking privileges, or the right to urinate in someone's driveway, or
change clothes in a grocery store parking lot. We race in the real
world, where most people we encounter don't give a damn that there's a race
going on. We don't have extra privileges. We have extra
responsibilities to convince people that having races is a good thing.
2. We race on open roads. If you aren't in the pack with a follow car
behind you, you need to ride to the right. It's a matter of safety and
of public relations. Worst case, you are asking to get leveled by a
pickup truck on a blind curve. Less drastic but more likely, the local
sheriff
will be flooded with complaints from residents who got stuck behind
multiple off-the-back riders. Is it trivial and petty? Yes. Is it
devastating to keeping race courses? Yes. Is it a necessary fight for us to be
having? No. Move over a couple of feet.
3. Thank volunteers. If a course marshal sends you the wrong way, say
thank you. By the way, course marshals are not there to help you find
the course. They are there to stop you from being hit by a car.
4. Volunteer yourself. Help put on a race. Putting on races is like
riding in a pack. If everyone takes a pull, it's not so hard. If one guy
gets stuck on the front for too long, he'll burn out. The same dozen
people can't work every race. Cycling alone does not support itself. We
are not hiring race staffs with our sponsorship endorsements and ticket
sales. Forgive me for being blunt and overstretching the metaphor, but
if you are a racer who does not volunteer, you are a wheel sucker riding
off the efforts of others.
I could go on but I hope I've made my point. Besides, I'm not this guy
and I don't really want to be. I don't want to be the guy yelling for
you to get out of the highway because a dump truck is coming. If that's
what it takes to put on races, I get a lot less interested.
I know that if you've read this far, you probably didn't need to. But
spread the word. Tell your teammates and pack mates. We can do better.
Thanks, and good riding.
Paul Merwin
A CONSTRUCTIVE FOLLOW-UP
Thanks for the overwhelming positive response to my earlier rant. Thus
encouraged, I thought it might be appropriate if I followed up with something a
bit more constructive. I spent my last email listing a number of complaints. So
here are few suggestions to make things better.
1. Most obviously, don't do the stuff I listed in my first email and don't let
your friends and teammates do it either. There is really no excuse you could
give someone outside of the racing world that won't sound ridiculous. "Well, you
see, I had to cross the yellow line in front of a dump truck because I had
to stay on the wheel of Racer X." "Of course I
had to stand in the middle of a busy county highway after my race. I
was . . ." Look, I can't even come up with a fake good reason for that
one.
I know it is hard to nag someone. But hey, too bad. We all have to bear
a bit of the burden. Officials and promoters can't spend all day
nagging riders to act like sane adults, and they don't want to. You can help
by doing it once in a while. Be diplomatic.
2. Do some volunteering. Almost every race seems to be one volunteer
away from collapse, so you can have a big impact It doesn't have to be
hard and it doesn't have to be standing on a corner for three hours.
Here's a few suggestions:
- Tired of never having a wheel vehicle or a sag wagon? Offer to drive
one or bring a friend to do it.
- Got any construction skills? Build some "bike race ahead" signs
and/or offer to haul one to a race.
- Any other professional skills? Printer? Flyers and community notice.
Medical? Event first aid. Food service? Food for volunteers. Lawn
service? Mow my lawn.
- Live where a race will be? Offer to do community notice. For example,
I notify people that park within the street closures of the Minneapolis
race course by putting flyers on their cars during the day. If you work
in downtown, 15 minutes of your lunch break could save me an hour or
more.
For countryside road races, they always need help notifying residents.
Andy Dahl is organizing races in Stillwater, Northfield, and Mankato.
He lives in Minneapolis. Somebody please help the man out.
- Got any business connections? Get them to sponsor something.
- In general, just ask a promoter what they need. You never know when a
few minutes of your day will save hours of a promoter's workload. The
saved opportunity cost might give them a chance to make your race that
much better-- score a sponsor for a better prize list, or find a wheel
truck
To slip back on the negative side for a second: don't tell me you don't
have time. If you have time to race and train, you have time to squeeze
in one volunteer shift. It's part of the price of admission.
Recognize that if you do volunteer at an event, you aren't doing the
organizer a favor. You're working together for the same goal. Organizers
may be putting in 20, 50, 100, or more hours to make an event happen
and they are asking you to work a 3 hour volunteer shift. Who's doing
whom a favor?
3. Cut race organizers some slack. It's enough work without doing
unnecessary stuff, like answering a hundred emails asking for directions.
Use mapquest yourself. Results will be posted when they're posted. Asking
about it won't make it faster. Learn the difference between the things
that race organizers can control and what the officials are in charge
of.
4. Race Directors and Promoters : Up your game. We can't just set up a
folding table in a parking lot anymore. We have to do things by the
book. At road races we take non-uniformed civilians, give them (maybe) 10
minutes of training, and send them out on highways to stop traffic
going 65 mph. We should at least give them real training.
At Ken Woods and Avon, we trained them according to the Uniform Manual
on Traffic Safety. Sure, we did it at first because the sheriff made
us, but it was a good idea. We had signs warning motorists there was an
event, and marshals were wearing full regulation reflective vests and
had stop signs mounted on poles. (Stop signs: Victory Safety Supply on
Raymond Ave. in St. Paul, $14; pole=PVC pipe: local hardware store, super
cheap). Or find another promoter. Borrow or pool resources. NVGP uses
about 100 work vests - we own about half and the City of Lakes Loppet
owns the other half, and we swap. Spring for some real road signs and
barricades. Call Jamie at United Rentals Highway Tech. Tell him I sent
you.
If we don't start doing taking this more seriously, local officials
will either force us to pay for police to do it (not a horrible idea), or
just shut us down all together.
By the way, everything I just went through is still less than USA
Cycling regards as a bare minimum for a safe event.
5. Fly the flag. If you are racing in a town, fill up in their gas
station and eat at the diner. Tell them you're with the race. Spend some
money locally. Tell them you enjoyed their town. Thank them. Write a nice
letter to the local paper.
Let's make races easier to put on and more fun. Let's get along better
with our host communities. Let's make it possible for organizers to put
on races and still have time to ride their own bikes (please).
OK, I think I've gotten this out of my system. No more emails from me
until I start begging for NVGP volunteers. C'mon, do me a favor.
Paul Merwin
5-17-2006 Cohutta 100 Shey Linder (Cannondale-Bear Naked Granola) was 2nd in the Cohutta 100 held in April. Check out a report here. Shey is the awesome promoter (along with the Joneses) of the GA Cyclocross Series.
GA Cup News From the Promoters: The racing season in the southeast
mimics that of a race. It starts in a blaze of fury with everyone going all out
gangbusters. One could easily think that they had raced an entire season by the
middle of May. Already, just like the first fifteen minutes of a Criterium,
there are those who have over-cooked their goose and have begun planning their
off-season training and resetting their goals for next year.
But for everyone else, the end of May marks the beginning of a long summer
campaign to make vital strides towards the finish-line. The middle of the race,
with the pretenders now shed, it is time to settle in to the saddle, when
leaders emerge, and teams begin to take charge of the races. Sure, there are
those that have quickly leaped up the Leaderboard, but just like the early
break, a long, steady, and consistent pursuit will find them weaning in the
latter races of the season. From Memorial Day in Savannah to the savage climbs
of Dahlonega it will only be two weeks, then a little over a month and we will
be in Rome, and but four weeks later to Augusta to contest the State
Championships.
Then, once the competition has been whittled down to the final few, its time to
go all out, taking calculated risks to get the jump on everyone else!
Just like in any race, pick your points to make your dig, and when the time
comes, dig as deep as you possibly can to open up the biggest gap possible. But
otherwise, smartly gauge your efforts to ensure that you will be there at the
end, in Buckhead.
Women's Racing
First, I am happy to report to those of you who do not know the riders
personally, that all of the ladies involved in the crash in Gainesville on
Sunday are doing well. There were a couple of broken bones, a number of
stitches, but most were released from the hospital on the same day and only one
had to stay overnight with a concussion.
Second, it was GREAT to have so many ladies racing in Gainesville; the Women’s
ProAm field eeked into the thirties, making the races tactical and exciting, as
well as the payout for the events substantial. I hope that this is not a blip on
the radar, but an indication of a growing trend of women getting into
competitive racing.
Results?! Leaderboard?!!
Many have noted that I am able to race some and train some, as well as promote
the Maxxis Georgia Cup. This of course, does not come without some cost in the
attention to detail. The most notable is the long overdue leaderboard.
Unfortunately, all of the data is contained at GoBike1 and I do not have access
to it, otherwise I would be doing it with an abacus just to get it out there.
If you have questions or comments about the submitting of results, missing team
names, incorrect leaderboard, etc, please email georgiacup@gobike1.com.
Georgia State Championship Weekend!
In the style of the World Championships, the Georgia State Championship Time
Trial, Criterium, and Road Race will be held on the same weekend. Augusta will
play host to this great event, utilizing the same courses that have been used
for National Championships. This will give everyone the opportunity to find out
who is the best of the best in the state. And when the winner pulls on the
Georgia State Championship Jersey, they will know that it was not a fluke or an
off weekend, but that all were present and prepared and they still rose above
the fray to find victory.
Augusta will be rolling out the red carpet for the Championships, so plan to
attend and bring the whole family!
InterContinental Hotels
The MAXXIS Georgia Cup has partnered with InterContinental Hotels to designate
the Holiday Inn as the Official Race Hotel for all events. No more roach-motels
or room keys attached to rat-traps, but guaranteed Holiday Inn quality at
discounted rates for all racers. You can find information, rates, maps,
amenities, and each locations website on the event page, click on the “hotel”
link for more information. You can also use the booking engine on our site to
make reservations in other cities for race weekends throughout the season.Be
sure to sign-up for the Priority Club to receive benefits and rewards on every
stay at any InterContinental Hotel. Please make sure you book all hotels through
the MAXXIS Georgia Cup website OR clearly indicate to the hotel that you are
booking a room for the MAXXIS Georgia Cup so that it will be documented for
validating our partnership.
Savannah Registration
We have a FULL docket of races for every category available in Savannah, so
please register online as early as possible so that we can ensure competitive
fields for everyone.
Team Time Trial
The Maxxis Georgia Cup is super excited to be able to offer a Team Time Trial in
TWO competitions this year. There are not many states that even have a TTT in
their schedule, much less two in the same series. The TTT is a great event as it
allows teams to fully operate together, as a team, to drag each other to the
finish line.
THE RULES FOR THE TTT: team.time.trial A race in which competitors compete as a
team to complete the course in the shortest time. Timing is based on a certain
rider from the team crossing the line, defined as follows: category.rider timed.
ProAm.4th, Elite.3rd, Competitive.2nd, Masters.2nd,
WProAm.2nd, Beginner, Masters Open, and Junior will race an individual TT.
Maximum riders per team is ten for all categories. Riders without enough team
members to meet the minimum required riders may join together to form a
composite team (ie. a Competitive team with two riders will not be allowed to
join with another team), as is fair and with greatest regard given to the spirit
of competition, to be determined by promoter and officials. Riders with
composite teams need to email their team members names to info@georgiacup.com.
The promoters of the MAXXIS Georgia Cup will not be responsible for constructing
composite teams.
Liberty Classic Teams Trish's note: Good luck to Travelgirl/Bianchi-BMW,
Aarons, Cheerwine, Victory Brewing, and Fuji! Show em how it's done in the
South, Ladies!
From cyclingnews.com:
23 women's teams for Commerce Bank Triple Crown of Cycling
The USA's Pro Cycling Tour has announced the final selection of elite women's
teams scheduled to compete in the three race Commerce Bank Triple Crown of
Cycling. 23 teams from around the world will take part in the first ever
all-Pennsylvania series, scheduled June 4-11.
This field includes teams from New Zealand, Canada, Germany and the U.S.
European strength will be on display once again with German Ina Yoko Teutenberg
(T-Mobile) returning to defend her title in the Liberty Classic as well as World
Champion Regina Schleicher (Equipe N?ger), who placed a close second to
Teutenberg last year. Looking to end a long drought by North American riders
will be local favourite Laura Van Gilder (Team Lipton) who hails from nearby
Cresco, PA. Also look for Van Gilder's teammate Kristin Armstrong, who is coming
off an impressive victory at the Tour of the Gila in New Mexico.
The women will face challenging 25 mile short circuit races in the Commerce Bank
Tom Bamford Lancaster Classic, Lancaster, PA on June 4 and the Commerce Bank
Reading Classic, June 8 then back to the 57.6 mile Commerce Bank International
Liberty Classic in Philadelphia on Sunday, June 11.
For the first time ever there will be overall prize money awarded to the top
point scorers in the combined three event series for both men and women. A total
of $29,000 will be up for grabs for the women during the week.
The first two races in the Commerce Bank Triple Crown will be contested on
downtown criterium courses using the same start/finish line as the pro men's
circuit races to be held later in the day. The cities of Lancaster and Reading
will host these races, with large crowds expected.
The final race of the Commerce Bank Triple Crown of Cycling will be held in
downtown Philadelphia on the 14.4 mile Liberty Classic loop, including the
Manayunk Wall climb on each lap. The women will be completing four laps of this
challenging course for a total of 57.6 miles (93 km). It will determine the
final outcome of the Commerce Bank Triple Crown, and the winner will take home
the lion's share of the $29,000 in prize money.
Teams
Aaron's Cycling Team
ADG / Joe's Bike Shop
Amoroso's Racing Team
Argon / Champion Cycling Team
Bike NZ (New Zealand)
Biovail (Canada)
Cheerwine
Colavita Cooking Light
CRCA/Comedy Central-New Canaan Cyclery
East Coast Velo
Equipe N?ger Versicherung (German)
HPC / List
Hub Racing
Independent Fabrication
Team Advil - Chapsitck
Team Fuji / Bolt Brothers
Team Lipton
T-Mobile (USA)
TravelGirl Magazine / BMW-Bianchi
TRIA
Verducci /Breakaway Racing
Victory Brewing Cycling Team
5-18-2006 Moms in the
News N. Georgia Fitness has an article about
Moms Who Kick Butt
about several women in the Atlanta area.
License Plate Update From a few mailing lists: The number of Georgia SHARE THE ROAD specialty license plate applications received by the state is 936 as of today at noon. Lets go ahead and blast through the state's 1,000 minimum applications limit this month. If you’ve been waiting for your birthday/tag renewal date or simply procrastinating, please don’t. Go ahead and apply at your local county tag office or mail them your completed application form today. For more information see: http://www.georgiabikes.org/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=80.
Friday is Bike to Work Day From the
Atlanta Bicycle Campaign: Here's hoping you'll be bicycling to work on
Friday. It's National Bike to Work Day! For some of you, this is a more daunting
proposition than for others, whether in distance, available bicycle-friendly
roads or trails, or
other reasons. HOWEVER, please consider some of the options for overcoming
these obstacles .
If you live too far from work, try the combo commute - combine taking your bike
on the bus or train for part of the trip, or drive part way carrying your bike,
and then have a nice comfortable ride the rest of the way. If your route
involves large intimidating roads, the combo commute can
also help you bypass these roads. For detailed tips on commuting by bike , click
here!
Whether you bike on your own, or join one of 4 Bike Trains , it will add
to your chances of winning neat prizes in our Bike Month S_T_R_E_T_C_H
YOURSELF CHALLENGE! Have a good ride.
Trish's Note: I REALLY wish my company was ANY kind of alternative commuting friendly. For as large of a company as it is, they don't encourage any kind of alternative transportation (having said that, I do enjoy working there and have awesome coworkers!). Our building has unsecured bike parking, but we don't have a shower. If we had a shower, I would not hesitate to ride in once a week. If you can, commute in to work tomorrow on your bike!
5-19-2006 Mt. Mitchell The Spartanburg Herald has an interesting article on the history of the Assault on Mt. Mitchell.
5-22-2006 New 24 Hour
Women's Team (GO KAREN!) Litespeed Bicycles 24 hour womens solo MTB team
Litespeed Bicycles and Open Road Bicycles is pleased to announce the formation
of a new women's 24 hour solo mountain bike team for 2006. Riders Sandra
Tomlinson (current World Champion 35-39 and a mother of three children) and
Karen Masson (winner of the Trans-Rockies). Handling the team for 2006 is the
"panic mechanic" Phil Marino.
The pair will be riding Litespeed Sewanee bicycles equiped with Shimano XTR
components and Kenda tires, WTB saddles and grips, Xpedo pedals, Koolstop brakes
pads, Thomson seatposts and stems, Light and Motion lights and Pedros
lubricants.
The women will compete in key races across the U.S. to prepare for the U.S.
National ( (to be held at the 24 Hours of 9-Mile in Wassau, Wisconsin July
29-30) and World championships (October 7-8 in Conyers, Georgia).
New Travelgirl Website Check out the new Travelgirl website. Thanks for letting me do the photos, ladies! Good luck at the Liberty Classic!
Yes, I'm Slow But today I realized I'm not that slow. I rode the Tour De Cure in Tyrone with the Cox Enterprises team. I was prepared to hang with the A group as long as I could. It looked like me, a Camp Highlands rider, a few RBM's, a GTC riders, and a few fast rec. riders that I know. Well, I flatted at mile 1. The tire rolled off the rim; I have no idea how. Even though I did a 2 minute tube change (gotta love mtb skills) everyone had passed me--even the guy in knee socks on a Huffy. :( (I'm glad he was out there! Props to anyone riding, but you get my point.) I decided to time trial and try to catch a few friends that were probably several miles up the road. I started picking people off! This isn't normal for me; I'm usually the one being split out the back. Finally, I started catching some of the people I knew, and I continued past them. I felt really good! I stayed by myself for most of the ride as there were no real packs. Most riders were only with 1-2 others. It was a much harder effort by myself, but I was happy with my ride. Sometimes you need to be reminded that you aren't the slowest out there. Of course, this doesn't mean that I'm giving up my position as the slowest Cat. 3 woman in the Southeast!
5-23-2006 Race
Schedule Changes From George Heagerty/USA Cycling: Greetings, There have
been a few changes and updates to the SE Regional Race Calendar. Dog Days has
moved from 27 Aug to 12 Aug and the GA Championships will be held in Augusta.
Please check the calendar for any other changes since the last edition. Aug 12
Dog Days of Summer Criterium Bruce Wadiak
bruce@L5Flyers.com Grant Park Atlanta, GA
Aug 13 John’s Creek . Atl, GA Shawn Geagan Cycleworks Shawn.Geagan@bellsouth.com
Aug 19-20 GA Cup #6 Augusta (State Crit, RR & TT ) Gentry Arnette
www.georgiacup.com
If you forget your racing license or printout you maybe asked to fill out a
duplicate license application at registration. Make a photocopy of your license,
roll it up and slid it in your handle bar in case you forget your card. Racing
out of category is not allowed. For example the only time a cat 5 rider
would be allowed to race with the cat 4's is in a combined cat 4/5 race.
Please send me an email if youve recently joined or changed clubs or the club
listed on your license is incorrect. It's getting more and more common for
riders to yell "inside" as they dive in on a tight corner sometimes causing a
crash. This is potentially very dangerous, remember it's bike position that
determines who has the right to that spot. Be safe! Putting on a bike race is a
tough job, if you have a good experience please
thank the promoters and organizers.
George Heagerty
USAC Regional Coordinator
gheagerty@usacycling.org
Trish's Note: I've made the corrections to the calendar at the top of the page.
5-24-2006 East Atlanta Fat Tire Crit Join the East Atlanta Kids Club for the Brownwood Bicycle Rally in East Atlanta on June 3! There will be a Fat Tire Crit with Men's and Women's divisions. It's a great tune up for Bump N Grind!
Hide Stuff in Your Car! I heard some cars got broken into at a ride last week. Be sure to hide your valuables while you ride!
TNT Time Trial Series From Gainesville SORBA: "TNT Time Trial Series is
right around the corner. We will be teaming up with RAMBO Chapter again to host
this event. I would love to see everyone come out and participate, whether you
decide to help, spin a lap or two to test your skills against the clock or
cheer on your fellow mountain bikers. At each of the 4 events we will need
someone to help with timing, registration, course marshal and course layout. If
you are
interested in helping please let me know via email at gainesville@sorba.org."
The details for the series will be posted soon at www.sorba.org.
Event dates and locations:
June 1st – Chicopee Woods MTB Park, Coyote Loop
June 8th – RAMBO's, Central Park
June 22nd – Chicopee Woods MTB Park, Coyote Loop
July 13th – RAMBO's Central Park – Series Awards
Registration each night starts at 5:30pm, first laps off at 6:00pm