l'equipe Bouledogue tout noir

New website

2010-03-30T11:53:00.000-07:00

We have moved! Check out our new website for updates and to follow us this season.

Let the racing begin ...

2010-01-27T16:18:00.000-08:00

Not all of us have been riding on the same 6x3 ft plot in our homes.

Stacy headed out to the ABD Indoor Time Trials last Sunday. This was the first race of the four race series and featured a flat 10K course. Stacy clocked a fantastic time of 16:23, just 22 seconds off the winning time of 16:01 clocked by Kristen Meshberg (Flatlandia), earning her a first place for the Cat 4 women and the third best time of all women who raced.

Way to go Stacy!

January Updates

2010-01-17T12:27:00.000-08:00

It's January. There's not much to update on the racing front other than we're all plodding away at our trainers/rollers in anticipation of the 2010 season.

In other news, Josh and I were elected the 2010 Race Directors for the Ed Rudolph Velodrome, aka Northbrook. Josh also had shoulder surgery and is recovering well, he's even getting into the gym a few days a week (no free weights though).

Stay tuned, we have a new website in the works and new riders to announce. 2010 is going to be the year of the Bulldog!

Chicago Bulldogs Need Your Help!

2009-11-24T09:58:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends of the Bouledogues,

Please help one of our charities, Chicago English Bulldog Rescue, win a grant to support their mission of helping neglected and abused animals. They currently sit in fourth place among all Illinois animal rescue shelters in an online voting competition, and we would like to see all of our friends push the Bulldogs to the top step.

Please place an online vote for Chicago English Bulldog Rescue at the Animal Rescue Site (found here). You may do it once daily.

Many Thanks,

Bouledogue tout noir

Bully Bash--Contribute to One of Our Charitable Partners

2009-10-13T09:30:00.000-07:00

The Chicago English Bulldog Rescue (CEBR) is holding its annual fundraiser this Sunday in Oswego, which is only a short drive from Chicago. We would love it if members of the cycling community would attend Bully Bash or contribute to this charity.

CEBR has made multiple efforts to purchase and remove large numbers of female bulldogs from puppy mills this year. It has been an expensive campaign because almost all of the dogs needed considerable care once they were free. Some of the girls had never seen grass, stairs, or been outside.

Bully Bash is appropriate for families, first dates, or even a romantic afternoon with your long-time partner. Nothing is more endearing than two hundred English Bullies competing in tests of agility and fashion. They may not be speedy or quiet, but bulldogs are very skilled at wearing costumes and making people smile.

Click on the advertisement at the top of the page for additional information.

Ryan Impresses at National Championships

2009-10-02T05:34:00.000-07:00

Josh Ryan earned a top-ten finish at the U.S. National Track Championships in Los Angeles yesterday. Ryan rode the one kilometer time trial--arguably the most painful of all velodrome events--at a speed quick enough to gain a ninth place finish against america's track elite, including multiple world champion Taylor Phinney.

Update.
Josh continued his success at Nationals with a second top-ten finish (9th) in the men's Keirin final and finished an impressive fifth in the team sprint.

En traînant mon cul épais partout dans le Midwest

2009-09-25T14:43:00.000-07:00

Photo courtesy of Mark Keller

It is with some regret that I am posting this message on our board, since it reports no impressive cycling endeavors, unlike the preceding messages which did celebrate yet another championship win by a member of the Bouledogue team.

This story is largely one of athletic failure. For me, 2009 was the year that I showed up to race the Blue Mounds road race with a 12-23 cassette and 35 pounds overweight (try smashing that gear over...you get passed by everyone), suffered and failed in nearly every race--although there were rare instances where I outlasted my rivals--and raced the second half of July and parts of August with a broken collarbone and separated shoulder. I was the worst category three rider in the Midwest.I can handle being an awful rider because almost one year ago I was crippled. I had spent over a week in the hospital after doctors ripped the lining of my spinal cord open in an unfortunate surgical accident. It left me essentially disabled (hence the weight gain) and the resulting muscular spasms left my spine twisted and maladjusted to this day.

Regardless, 2009 was the most successful year in this team's three-year history. We became leaner and meaner. It marked the point when we took control of who we were as athletes and members of the cycling community. We chose to made a stand, and were better off for it. We promoted causes that mattered to us and helped other people rather than promoting ourselves, and the rewards were greater.

It was also the year that I got back on my bike. I made sure to finish every race even after it had become an embarrassment to continue. I had dearly missed cycle racing, and was overjoyed to have it back in my life.

As we gear up for the future there are many reasons to look ahead. Our team is growing in quality because of who we are, not because of what we give to people. We now have riders in multiple states, including Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Arizona, and Louisiana, and are riding the best bicycles (Storck**) manufactured today. Most importantly, we are friends.

**Do you think carbon fiber bikes are brittle? My Storck went 20 feet in the air when someone decided to ride no handed in front of me during a race. My shoulder did not survive, but the Storck was not even scratched. Try that with your Cannondale.

Ryan wins Illinois State Sprint Championship

2009-09-05T15:36:00.000-07:00

Josh at the Alpenrose Six Day, by Jim Long

Josh Ryan, our resident track sprinter, was crowned Illinois State Sprint Champion on Thursday night. Josh has been absent from the local track racing scene most of the summer, deciding to focus most of his energy on training for Elite Track Nationals which will take place at the end of this month at the ADT Event Center in Los Angeles.

He won't be alone in LA this year. A number of other Chicago racers will also be making the trek West, including:

Val Brostrom (Bouledogue Tout Noir)
Al Urbanski (Chicago Cuttin Crew)
Dave Moyer (XXX Racing)
Chris Mosora (Scarletfire Racing)
Franco Panveno (Alberto's)

AVC - July 2009

2009-08-15T17:40:00.000-07:00

Back in July, Josh and I ventured out to Portland for the Alpenrose Velodrome Challenge. Here is my report from my blog:

I love Portland. The scenery is so beautiful, the food is so good, the track is so ... unique and the track community is so awesome. Candi and Mike "Two Beers" Murray really know how to run a track. It's such a pleasure to race there. Too bad I can't stand rain otherwise I would make a case to move.

Josh "Mad Cow" (not to be confused with Jame "Mad Cow" Carney) and I returned to Portland for the Alpenrose Velodrome Challenge after our Six Day Coup (or something like that) and apparently brought the hot weather back with us. Sorry! Josh and I separated at the airport so he could get the car and I could get the bags. I got the bags and dragged them to the curb, got a call from Josh that he was on his way in our vehicle. Turns out they were out of whatever smallish SUV we had reserved (traveling with bikes is awful for the environment) so they upgraded him ... I see him about 20m down the road and, holy crap, I felt a wave of air as the "vehicle" was pushing the atmosphere towards me. Cars parted, pedestrians ran in fear ... Josh had arrived in our monster truck. As Josh said "it was as big as all outdoors". Indeed. Let the weekend begin!
Elena and Daryl (and Ollie and Daisy) were our awesome hosts (and dogs) for the weekend. And they were totally stoked to see our monster truck pull up. We decided to do it justice and go to a redneck bar, complete with 80's cover band, on Saturday night. We fit right in!

Anyway, I digress. I went to Portland to race my bike at the AVC which draws some of the best Men's and Women's fields outside of Nationals. Racing started on Friday but my first race wasn't until Saturday night which meant for a lot of sitting around both days. On Friday, Josh did his first Kilo in years and did pretty well, considering he hadn't practiced with his new aero bars. We cheered Elena as she Eddy Merckx'd (no aero bars) her 500m. Then we went to eat somewhere.

Saturday was my first race, the 5 mile Scratch. That's 40 laps on Alpenrose. We had 20ish racers in our field. It was a great field, many really strong racers were there. The officials informed us that they were going to give out $3, $2, and $1 to the 1st-3rd person across the line each lap. Meh. Women usually don't jump on those lap primes the way men do. So we started out and basically pacelined for 20 laps, maybe more. It was pretty funny. I did my share and never let myself drift back further than 8th or so place. At some point, maybe with 10? to go Jen Triplett jumped off the front. No one really did anything at first but then we started to chase. I can't remember when we caught her but a few more people launched when we did. My memory is kind of rusty but I think we caught one of the attacks and then Hanan Alves-Hyde attacked and that stuck. With 2 to go I was in the first 5 in the chase, primed to move up and then with one to go I found myself behind someone I couldn't get around since she was shifting up and down the track and slowing down. Oops. Well I ended up launching out of turn 4 and passed a few people to finish 5th, just nipped at the line by Kendi. (Should have thrown my bike!) I also did the Madison with Elena, who had done the Six Day with Megan Dean, and we had a blast.

Hanan winning the Scratch
all photos by Amara Boursaw, Wheels in Focus

Sunday was the busy day. I was scheduled to do the Keirin, Miss and Out, and Points Race. A lot, right? First up were the Keirin heats. I love Keirins. I love them so much that if I could do one race forever it would be the Keirin. For that reason, Josh thinks I'm truly a sprinter at heart. Hmm, I don't know about that. Anyway, I knew there were certain people I had to watch, but a lot of the others I had never raced with before so I wasn't sure what to expect. In order to keep this report relatively short, I'm going to sum the Keirin events up really fast with minimal text and photos (all by Amara Boursaw). I'm also not going to give away what I did wrong, since I learned it the hard way and that's what everyone else should do to. :)

Keirin heats. Top 2 advance, everyone else to repercharge. I finished 3rd in my heat = off to the rep.

Getting 3rd in the heat. Already gave up at this point.

Repercharge. Top 2 advance to Semis. Won my rep heat. Sat 3rd wheel behind the motor. Heather in front of me passed Camille who was on the motor when it pulled off. I came around Heather for the win.

Winning rep

Semi Finals. Top 3 advance to Finals. I managed to win this bad boy. It felt good, hence all the pictures.

Finals. Erica Allar, Jen Featheringill, Annette Williams, Shelby Reynolds, Tela Crane and me. Fun times. I really wanted to get Jen's wheel right off but apparently so did everyone else and I ended up 4th wheel. The motor pulled off and the race was fast. We were single file for like a lap which is pretty nuts and just means we were really chugging. I ended up 5th. Not great but not awful.

5th in the Keirin Final

I should say that the Miss and Out was after the Keirin heats but before the reps. Since I wanted to do well in the Keirin I scratched the Miss and Out. It was a tough decision but seems to have turned out for the best.

Up later in the day was the Points race. We started and I knew within 2 laps that my goal of a top 3 that weekend was out the window. My legs felt really heavy and I just didn't have my normal snap. Slowly a few of the other Keirin finalists, Shelby and Annette, pulled out. There were a few attacks which stuck for a few laps and would get caught and then a group of 3 or 4 got off and I tried so hard to chase them back with 2 others but I was cooked. We were so close and I felt so bad for sucking but what can you do? Eventually the rest of the field caught our chase and I was promptly in the back of the pack. Oh man, I wanted to quit so bad but I rode through the pain. At one point Jen Triplett was on my wheel and I felt so bad because at that point I was a really slow wheel to be on. She sensed it and got around me and I settled into the yo-yo that is being on the back of the field when you're cooked. Off the back, back on, back off, back on. The break was eventually caught, when I don't remember. I found energy somewhere and I tried to contest a 4th place at some point and failed. I also managed to overcome the lead brick legs and finished 5th or 6th in the field sprint at the end. I ended up 8th, a real bummer. To make myself feel better I like to say that I finished 2nd out of the Keirin finalists.

So that was the weekend. I had a blast and got to catch up with some people I haven't seen in a while. I learned that Zak likes to do a booty dance at the line in Keirins. Elena and I danced to LL Cool J in the backseat of Daryl's car, because ladies love cool J. I got to see some track records broken, congrats to Per (Kilo), Amelia and Andrea (Team Sprint) and Kelyn, Adam and Travis (Team Sprint) and Travis in my mind you're the real record holder for the flying lap. The AVC is really a well run and fun event. I encourage anyone serious about track racing to attend. And that means you Chicago! I'll be back next year for sure.

BTN Sweeps Major Taylor Velodrome Championships

2009-08-10T11:09:00.000-07:00

Just a brief result update. The Bouledogues went down to the Major Taylor Velodrome in Indianapolis the first weekend of August to compete in their Velodrome Championship/State Championship/Elite Qualifier and took 1st in every event entered!

Josh Ryan
Men's Elite Keirin - 1st

Val Brostrom
Women's Elite Keirin - 1st
Women's Elite Scratch Race - 1st
Women's Elite Points Race - 1st

Brostrom Crowned National Six-Day Champion

2009-07-05T14:29:00.000-07:00

After nearly a week of daily competition at the Alpenrose Velodrome in Oregon, Val Brostrom and her partner, Dena Eaton, claimed victory in the National Six-Day Championships.

More information to follow.

Twenty Seconds of Bouledogue tout noir in Your Face

2009-07-02T12:03:00.000-07:00

Bouledogue Team Leading at the Alpenrose Six-Day Race; Ryan Competes in Highest Tier

2009-07-02T11:28:00.000-07:00

Valerie Brostrom and Josh Ryan, with their respective team mates, are competing in the Alpenrose Six-Day track event in Oregon. Six-Day racing is one of the oldest genres of cycle racing, still popular in Europe, but a rarity in the U.S. It is a grueling series of races that tests the strength and endurance of each two-person team. Val reports in on the first two days of competition:

"My partner and I, Dena Eaton from L.A., are currently in first place, up one lap on the field and ahead by 30 some points. In Madison racing, laps count more than points so as long as we can keep our lap (hopefully gain more) we'll be fine. We would actually be up 2 laps going into tonight if we hadn't botched an exchange. Because of that, we were actually down a lap last night and had to lap the field to finish the night even.

Josh and his partner, Jack Lindquist from LA, made it into the Men's A field thanks to Josh's awesome standing start in the qualifier. They're holding strong in 6th place and looking to move up to 5th. The top 3 teams are pretty much untouchable so the best they could do would be 4th.

Each night we do 2 mass start events and a Madison. I'm not too tired, although getting there, since our field isn't that tough. Josh on the other hand is really getting drained. Tough racing for the men."

There are videos here, you can see Josh and Jack in Bouledogue regalia.

Track Omnium Win - June 4th - Northbrook

2009-06-07T15:33:00.000-07:00

Seriously, what's going on with the weather? I have this "rule" that I try to stick by and it goes something like this: When it's under 60 and/or raining I will not race. Why? Because I've had too many interesting moments in the rain and my body just doesn't respond well to chilly air. Thankfully I never have to worry about the second part with track racing and usually not the first part either. But racing on Thursday night broke the first part of my rule, it was easily in the low 50s all night. Brrr.

Here's Lara and I huddled under two blankets. By Ed White.

It's easy to not be enthusiastic to race when you're nose feels like an ice cube and that's exactly how I felt for our first race, a Danish Win and Out. Plus there were only 3 of us, which is less than inspiring. I thought I would come around Kristen Meshberg (Team BH USA) with about 200 to go to take the win but I failed and ended up leading Francine Haas (Alberto's) out and got 3rd. Blegh. An uninspiring start.

Next up were the Points Races, the various mens' fields did 50 lap, 30 lap and 25 lap races which meant A LOT of sitting around for me. I was so cozy under my blanket I didn't even warmup for our race, which was a 24 lapper with sprints every 3. Since this was the marquee event of the night we were combined with the Women's 4s for a total field size of 8 to 10, not really sure. Our race was pretty active with a few primes thrown in. Tamara Fraser (xXx) and Christina Peck took a flyer for a prime and stayed off to go 1 and 2 on a points lap. It was great to see Tamara being aggressive! I remember Kristen jumping around turn 3, a lap and a half before points, which caused me to mutter (yell) something special. I put my head down and knew I had to catch her. With about 3/4 of a lap to go I closed in on her and thought about just sitting on her wheel, but I had a lot of speed so I passed her, hoping I wasn't leading Francine out again. I put my head down and went all out and won the lap. In the end, I think I got 5 of the 8 sprints and got points in the other 3 sprints, which was enough for the win. I felt really good accelerating and jumping on the points laps, a few times I even got a sizeable gap. This is good for me since this is what I'm training for this year.

During the Points Race. Note I no longer sprint with locked elbows! By Ed White.

Our final race was an Unknown Distance, just the 3 of us again in the 1/2/3 field. It was getting late, everyone was freezing so we urged Carl to make it short. We didn't have a neutral lap, he blew the whistle from the rail and I think he would have rung the bell as well except someone decided we should have a prime. We got going, Kristen had a decent gap, I caught her wheel and didn't contest the prime. Carl rung the bell when we passed. I sat on Kristen's wheel until about 200 to go, accelerated out of the saddle and won the race. It was short and fast, a perfect ending to a cold night at the track. As always it was great to race with Francine and Kristen and I was happy to see a strong Women's 4 field. There's a lot of talent out there!

Bouledogue tout noir Rules the Spring for Third Straight Year

2009-06-01T14:22:00.000-07:00

Since 2007, Bouledogue tout noir has consistently unleashed an unknown talent on the female peleton, and this year's beast bears the name of Jannette Rho.

With five wins and an equal number of podium placings to her credit, Jannette has continued Bulldog's Spring tradition of winning, winning, and winning.
Notable Spring results from 2007-present (female riders):

2009

1st-Wonder Lake Criterium
1st-La Rue-Denzer-La Rue Road Race
1st-Leland Kermesse
1st-Kevin's Crit Series #1
1st-Kevin's Crit Series #4
3rd-Vernon Hills Grand Prix

2008

1st-NCCA National Road Race Champion
1st-NCCA National Championships Omnium
1st-Snake Alley Criterium
1st-Quad Cities Criterium
1st-Mellon City Criterium

2007

1st-UW-Madison Criterium
1st-UW-Sheboygan Road Race
1st-Mizzou Road Race

Vernon Hills - May 3rd - Women's 1/2/3

2009-05-06T08:10:00.000-07:00

I decided to break up the monotony of LFP training and headed out to Vernon Hills on Sunday to race my inaugural race of 2009 - the Vernon Hills Gran Prix. I have never done this race before but was given a primer by Mark Zionts at the track on Saturday. Basically he said the biggest factor in previous years was the wind. Big surprise, right?

Josh and I left pretty early, which was a good thing because the directions provided were wrong and we had to backtrack through suburbia to find the race. Luckily we had left early enough that I didn't get too stressed out about all of that. I usually can be quite a basket case when lost before a race.

We pulled into the Vernon Hills HS parking lot, wondering if we would see anyone we knew and just as I was parking I spotted our wonderful teammates Jon and Emily. Excellent. I went and registered. I offered Emily one of my UofC jerseys (our team kits are still MIA), she declined in favor of racing incognito in a stealthy black T-shirt. Emily is one of the strongest women I know and I figured if no one knows we're on the same team, perhaps we have a chance for some big things. I mean, who expects a woman wearing a T-shirt to win? If any one could do it, it would be Emily. She would probably lap us in the process too, she's that strong.

The next 30-45 minutes in a nutshell - Emily and I started warming up next to our cars, across from each other, not really saying much lest the other 3 women take note. Josh went off to cheer on Jon in the 3s. A few HS kids were leaving the parking lot, I got some "looks" from a car of pre-pubescent boys which I chuckled about.

(Man, I'm running out of steam with the race report and I have yet to get to the race!)

We come to the line. There are 8 or 9 of us racing, better than the 5 I had expected. Jessi Prinner was there, along with Francine Haas and a new lady from Team MS racing who I had result stalked the night before (she was the only one pre-registered), Jessica Hill. I figured the 3 of them along with Emily could make for an interesting race. The usual pre-race formalities ensued and then we were off for a windy 40 minutes around an O'hare air traffic control structure that looks like a flattened mushroom. We had about 15 minutes of extremely boring, slow and negative racing. Yawn. Jessica and Jessi both laid down some strong attacks but they didn't last. Then coming around the final straight, Emily looked back at me, smiled and just laid it down. We got a decent gap but were caught going into the first turn. Then Jessi and Jessica jumped with Francine in pursuit and I knew that was it and I needed to be on that break. I caught on and we proceeded to hammer it, each taking short pulls. We worked wonderfully well for the next 25 minutes together (after I remembered to pull through with a little goading from Jessica -- I admit I was a bit rusty from the off-season).

With 2 to go I knew the cat and mouse games would start soon and I knew I didn't want to be the one dangling out in front. When we came out of the final turn with one to go, I let Francine take her pull and then I settled in behind Jessica. Francine was sensing the game had started and managed to get off the front leaving Jessica there to pull us all through the final lap. She tried her hardest to give up that front spot, but none of us budged -- not wanting to needlessly tire ourselves out in the headwind. With 2 turns to go, I looked back and saw a rider approaching, knowing that someone had been gaining ground on us for the past 10 minutes -- turns out that was Emily time-trialling up to us, told you she was strong! It turns out the person I saw was a lapped rider catching up to us. I admit it was kind of nuts how slow we were going ... 8-10 mph. Haha, it would have been funny had Emily caught us and then won while we dicked around.

We came out of the final turn, all itchy to get the sprint started. I looked up and thought we were approximately 150-200m out, so threw down a hard acceleration. It felt really good and I think I had a decent gap ... BUT ... I had jumped way too soon and got passed by Jessi and Francine. It's so much easier to tell distances on a track! Jessica was coming up as well but I was able to throw the bike and finished in 3rd. Emily finished amazingly close to us, given her time trial effort, in 5th place. Go Bouledogues!

Overall it was a great early season race. I had a lot of fun, I love racing with Francine and Jessi (my break partner from the Nekritz race last season at the track). Jessi is going to bring on the hurt for us this year, she is developing into a strong rider who I'm sure we'll see in the Pro ranks in a few years. And Jessica, newly transplanted from out East, will definitely spice it up this year as well.

My coach (Colby Pearce) wants me doing more road races and crits, so I'll be trading in my track bike for my road bike in the months to come. Exciting!

But next up: Dick Lane Velodrome for some weekend racing. Josh "Mad Cow" Ryan will be racing The Keirin and is officially slated as the "dark horse". He's #10 and will be wearing brown. Go Mad Cow! We'd also like to thank Team Pegasus for lending us both a skinsuit for the weekend. While racing in The Keirin, Josh will be wearing pink, like a real man. :)

Waite Moves into Fifth Place in Wisconsin Cycling Association Series

2009-04-29T10:01:00.000-07:00

After competing in three out of four races of the season-long Wisconsin Cycling Series, first-year All-Black Matt Waite is now ranked in fifth place in the standings.

Waite opened the season with 10th and 7th place finishes at the Great Dane Velo Club racing weekend in Madison, Wisconsin. He was one of the few riders to remain in contention during the first day of racing, and a major animator in an aggressive contest dominated by large squads from the host and Gear Grinder teams. On Sunday, Waite survived rain and extreme wind and finished the race solo in 7th place.

In the Fond du Lac Cyclery Criterium in Sheboygan Wisconsin, Waite again faced a stiff wind, rain, Wisconsin cold, and some elevation change that "was just steep enough to hurt." The conditions and competition diminished the starting field considerably and Matt was able to secure a good 6th place finish against top competition.

Additional congratulations is extended to Dallas Fowler, another recent category 2 addition to Bouledogue tout noir. This past weekend Dallas put regional and national fields on notice when he led the Midwest Collegiate Cycling Conference Regional Road Race for 72 miles with one other rider. He still managed a top-ten finish after being caught by the field very late in the race.

L'Equipe Bouledogue Tout Noir Rider Janette Rho Wins First Contest of 2009

2009-03-24T07:46:00.000-07:00

How long into the Bouledogue tout noir's 2009 racing season would it take before we marked up our first win? Thirty minutes or the duration of the first women's race of Kevin's Crit Series, a week-long escapade into south side bike racing.

It was only appropriate that the women's race came down to a duel between riders on sister teams: Janette of the All Blacks and Sophia of team Tati (supported by the tactical genius of Tati's J ). Although Janette did the early work, it was Sophia who ultimately split the field with a well-timed attack. As Janette dragged the lead group of three around the course, concern grew that she might be burning the candle wax at every end. But those thoughts were incorrect. During the last lap Rho managed to attack, get caught, and (with perfect advice from team mates Val and Josh) won the sprint by several bike lengths.

Rho recapped the final lap: "The bell rang. I kept pushing through the wind, rounded the corner...and powered. I knew it'd be me or Sophia at that point... saw Val screaming by the final turn. I took it sharp, put my head down into the wind, and hammered. Looked like I won."

Half Acre Cycling deserves much credit for putting the Kevin's Crit Series together. It was a smart, fun, and well-timed idea; and we can't thank you enough for taking the time to put it all together.

Storck Vision Light at First Blush

2009-03-08T14:44:00.000-07:00

While inspecting the latest shipment of team bikes for team all black, my attention was immediately drawn to what is probably the best aluminum bike on the market and the best-kept secret in bicycle manufacturing today. I love carbon-fiber bikes, but the Storck Vision Light is the most drool-worthy frame drawn from the element with a standard atomic weight of 26.9815386(8).

The tubes are brawny and do not feel as if they are made out of soda-cans like many other aluminum bikes. It has an anodized black finish that is very durable and white graphics that make for a stunning and timeless look. Storck also uses a type of double-pass welds that no other bike company can do. As a result, the welds do not need filing, which results in a much stronger joint.

With all these points aside, I believe that quality of manufacturing can often be measured in the care put into small features, and I usually look at the construction of a bike's dropouts for some sense of the engineering invested. Most bike manufacturers will use dropouts made by stamping out a flat piece of metal. They take a thick bit of aluminum and then cut some holes out of it: easy and cheap. However, take a look at the dropouts of the Storck Vision Light:They definitely do not look cheap, nor will those internal ribs allow your rear wheel to twist the rest of the bike like a flat dropout might.

The Vision Light also has the cleanest and most appealing cable-stops that I have ever seen, and they use the same stops on their more expensive carbon frames.Photographs do not do this bike any justice, and you will just have to see it for yourself. With a pair of deep-dish carbon wheels, the Vision Light would probably be the best criterium bike on the market (and relatively cheap). It is built to race, and you can only find it at Tati.

l'equipe Bouledogue tout noir to ride the Lightest, Stiffest, Most Durable Frames on the Planet

2009-02-20T15:31:00.000-08:00

Bouledogue tout noir doesn't compromise. We ride bikes that are precise, beyond stiff, and always with molosser-like tubing. For the past two year's we rode a bike that met those requirements very well, but with recent changes the team was hunting for new ride and found one that literally pushes the previous rig off the page (of bike rankings).

In 2009, Bouledogue tout noir riders will be stretching their legs aboard bikes built by Storck of Germany. Independent testing on stiff ness, weight, and rid e quality by a major European magazine elevated Storck bikes into four of the top five places--including the top step as "World Champion"--proving that these sleds just crush the competition. After looking at the quantitative data and this video, people will be rethinking about that Scott or Cervelo as the best carbon ride around. To put things in perspective, Storck's entry level carbon fiber frame (the CD 1.2) is known as the "Madone Killer" by industry experts.

Our partner Tati is the only platinum Storck dealer in the Midwest and the only place to find these rigs. What is even wilder is that most of the Storck bikes slated for US distribution are going to sell out before they even arrive on our continent. For more on Tati and to investigate landing your own Storck, go to the Tati website or just peruse Tati's own take (shamelessly lifted by me) on Storck :

"Storck is a German brand led by an engineer's engineer with an obsession with simultaneously building the stiffest and lightest road frames in the world. And for the most part, Markus Storck has achieved this for the past decade. German Tour Magazin's annual wrapup of strength-to-weight ratio, head tube deflection, and bottom bracket stiffness has had three or four Storck models in the top five in every category in recent years. Storck doesn't just purchase modified molds. The firm models dozens of patents, ranging from the very first carbon fiber crankarm design to the latest vacuum void control process for carbon tube fabrication. Storck is the only company for which Zipp produces private labeled wheels (the Storck/Zipp 69mm rim is faster than a 404 and much lighter than an 808).

But then worry set in. Sure, Storck can produce a durable 740g frame -- but does it make sense to market such a thing in this economy?

Pro shops around Chicago are scaling back, hedging bets, and even folding. 2009 prices for components, frames, and bikes are set over the summer -- before the dollar began to really fall, so we will see another year of 10-20% increases, which could really hurt the high end. But Storck is odd that way. Storck neither has model years nor did they raise prices for 2009; in fact, several models fell in price.

And so while a Fascenario 0.7IS frameset is still listed at $9,500, the not-so-humble CD 1.2 has been lowered to only $1,700. And those in the know understand that even Storck's entry level frames are stiffer and faster than most companies' top of the line, gimmicky offerings...having closely examined all of the boutique road brands -- I feel confident that Storck is heads and shoulders above all of them in terms of construction quality, engineering, and surprisingly, value."

Bouledogue Tout Noir Appears in Chicago Sports Magazine Ad

2009-02-19T12:30:00.000-08:00

For the third time, a rider from l'equipe Bouledogue tour noir has appeared in the leading Chicago endurance sports magazine, Windy City Sports. In the February 2009 issue, Steven Vandeven is pictured in a full-page ad for the 2009 Chicago Criterium held in Grant Park.

The photo was taken in the heat of the action in the previous year's race, and Vandeven is shown racing in last year's team uniform (when the stripes were green) alongside some of the nation's top-level professional athletes like Fred Rodriguez (Tour of Italy stage winner), Jonathan Page (thrice a US national champion), and Ivan Dominguez (Tour of California stage winner).

Just a few months after this photo was taken, Vandeven suffered severe head trauma when a Chicago cab collided with him and his bicycle. Although Vandeven will most likely be unable to race his bike in 2009, everyone in Chicago expects to see him racing alongside the nation's elite in 2010.

Bouledogue tout noir wishes Steve a quick recovery and a safe reunion with the peloton.

Review: On Your Mark Training + Coaching and BSC Coaching

2009-01-21T14:20:00.000-08:00

As Midwestern bike racers in the depths of winter, each one of us is considering how to have a successful cycling season in 2009. We are all aware that winter training includes a combination of motivation, chamois-time (riding your bike), and some sort of strength training. There are myriad ways to blend each of these three components, and anyone looking for the type of focused work that leads to the ability to enforce your will on the peleton might consider the following resources.

On Your Mark Training

I reviewed one-half of the duo behind OYM, Annette Fiscelli, over a year ago when she tested the lactate threshold of the entire team. However, most of my experience has been with Emily Hutchins, a rider who also is a member of l'equipe Bouledogue (You can find many pages on our site extolling Emily's racing prowess).

Almost a year ago, I found out that I had been training and racing for perhaps as many as three years with hemorrhaged disks in my back. Over the course of those three years, my body had adjusted and compensated for all of the muscular and nervous crosstalk in such a way that I actually sat crooked on my bike. After much rehab, I started to work with Em to find ways to increase my core strength to make me a stronger bike racer, to straighten out my hips, and to prevent further harm to my spine. The solution was functional strength training, and you can find a long description of it on the OYM website. Although my problem ended up being much bigger than any sort of therapy could solve on its own, I can say that Emily fixed my crooked hips; and, during the small racing window that I did have last year, I sprinted very, very well. I would have to say that as far as cycling goes, the kind of functional strength training that I did at OYM is head and shoulders above any weightlifting workout. It will give you the strength and resiliency for those really difficult races.

Although both Emily and Annette like to work one-on-one, they also offer functional strength training courses at a group rate, so even the most cash-strapped of us can join in. Moreover, they are both licensed coaches for USA Cycling and USA triathlon, and have four computrainers that can be rented at a very affordable price. Are you a budding Ironmanwho wants to know what it is like to race Ironman Florida? Go to OYM, pay a small fee, and ride the course indoors.

BSC Coaching
Brian Conant, the one-man show behind BSC Coaching, is the person that every successful cycle racer needs in his/her corner. Brian's enthusiasm for racing and training comes through from the first e-mail through the last. I quickly found out that Brian has a knack for motivating clients through the most difficult portions of a training plan; something that has great value in the depths of winter training.

But Conant's training plans are not easy; especially if you like to laze around with a bunch of base miles in the winter time. He will make you work like no other coach and, at least once a week, have you wishing you were riding something other than your bike. The benefit is that Brian will make you fast. Moreover, he will get you up to speed quicker than you ever expected and with less time commitment than you though necessary. He once told me that with proper training, almost anyone can be a category 2 racer. If you don't believe me when I say Brian gets results, just ask Devon Haskell and Mike Scherer. Both of these locals have seen significant results as clients of BSC. If you want to be a rider possessing the "Annhilation Now" button, then drop Brian a note (bconant@msn.com) and get ready to kill the opposition.

Perspective

2008-12-23T13:40:00.000-08:00

As part of its continued development, Bouledogue tout noir cycling will be dedicating the majority of its 2009 advertising strip to a number of local and global charities. The team feels that it is of greater benefit to use what small influence we have to benefit programs meeting a sincere need rather than to enrich ourselves through product endorsements. Riders feel that they are blessed just by having the priveledge to be members of the robust and lively Chicago cycle racing scene.

Please consider visiting the following sites.

Team Heads in a New Direction

2008-12-10T13:56:00.000-08:00

After ending a profitable and rewarding two-year partnership with a prominent Chicago bike shop, this cycling team will forge a new path in 2009 under the auspices of the soon to be approved non-profit organization Bouledogue tout noir. The official team name will be announced in 2009.

Although some of the team's current riders will be creating a new team with the previous sponsor, Bouledogue tout noir will be forging ahead with the same principles and philosophy on which it was founded.

Bouledogue tout noir had an instant impact on a burgeoning Midwestern category 3 and women's cycling scene when it debuted in 2007. "Burnham Racing (then known as Team Clif Bar Midwest) demonstrated the value of category 3 racing in 2006," said team director Jonathan Tenney. "They were real trailblazers and certainly inspired a lot of racers to reconsider their strategy. They taught me a lot about how to put a team together." Although 2007 was a good year for us, 2008 was even better. "It is pretty cool to note than the entire team (all categories) won more races in 2008 than 2007, that we did it with fewer riders, we did it with a smaller budget, and we raced in double the number of racing categories. We earned many national and state championship medals. While other teams were padding their accomplishments by recording top-10s, we had to restrict the listing of placings on our site to top-3s because we could not have fit all of our top-10s on the same page. All of these are a testament to all of the hard work done in the shop, on the web, and in the saddle by everyone who was a member and shop employee from 2007-08," wrote Tenney in an e-mail to all of the past and future members of his team.

When asked about the look of the team for the upcoming year, Tenney said: "Our jersey design will essentially stay the same, so look for a new name along with the same old stripes in 2009. Our kit was inspired by the paint jobs seen on the monster 4-cylinder engine motorcycles manufactured by the japanese in the 1970s. When I was in college I had a Kawasaki KZ1000, and it was a monster. Just huge, impressive, and very fast."

Brostrom Earns Eighth Place at the U.S.A. Track National Championships

2008-10-05T09:39:00.000-07:00

Valerie Brostrom finished in eighth place in the finals of the Keirin at the U.S.A. Elite Track National Championships held in the ADT Velodrome in Los Angeles, California. She earned her place in the final by coming in second place in the first heat of the day. Brostrom's top ten placing, along with the solid performances of Joshua Ryan against some of the best sprinters in the country, mark the first appearances of Team GAG at the U.S.A. Elite Championships.

News from the Track

2008-09-16T17:12:00.000-07:00

Josh and I have actually been racing all summer despite the lack of anything in written form. I graduated from medical school in the middle of June, moved across town and started my Pathology residency. And we went to Italy (that's us in Venice, nice and happy before we got lost). We have been racing Thursday nights at Northbrook, along with the occasional Saturday jaunt down to Indianapolis (Major Taylor Velodrome) and once we went up to Blaine in Minneapolis. Josh did quite well this season, especially in races he doesn't particularly like, taking 4th in the Indiana State Points Race, and in races he really likes, 2nd in the Sprints at the same event. Also lest we not forget he finished 3rd at Masters Nationals (Hellyer, San Jose) in the Team Sprint with local Kevin Perez (Turin) and someone else from another velodrome (sorry, I can't remember his name). Right now we're both getting geared up for Elite Nationals, October 1st-5th at ADT in LA.

First off, I have to throw a huge amount of thanks to the guys, especially Eric, at the Get a Grip Irving shop for helping make my bike the most amazing piece of two wheeled machinery that has ever graced the planet. (picture above by Gavin, http://www.flickr.com/photos/neverdrownout)

Northbrook 8/21/08, Elaine Nekritz 35 Lap Scratch Race
(Women's State Scratch Race)
The Elaine Nekritz race is arguably one of the best women's track races in the Midwest, with a purse of $1000. It tends to draw a lot of regional names, this year we were joined by Kendi Thomas from Major Taylor, Monique Hanley from Australia, and Elena Dorr who recently moved here from Blaine, oops I mean Minneapolis (I tend to refer to the name of the track in a city rather than the city itself). Not to mention the strong locals who were there, Kristen Meshburg, Jessi Prinner (who just returned from Junior Track and Road Nats), Francine Haas, Julie DeWerd, Michelle Dykstra, Imelda March, Wendy Gaddey, Sarah Huang and Marcie Weiss, who've been hiding out all summer in Wisconsin. I knew Kendi was coming and I figured Monique would be there since she was in town for a few road races. These two alone would make it a hard night, spice it up with some Meshburg-Prinner-Haas and the night went from hard to potentially agonizing.

We started the night off with a 15 lap Point-a-Lap race, which is everyone's favorite race. Yeah right. I think most of us viewed it a warm-up, which certainly does not equate to it being slow, rather it means no one really killed themselves for points. I sat in, tried to contest a few points, didn't win any and went into the final lap with 0 points, meaning I was tied with 5 or 6 other people for 5th-whatever place. I ended up winning the last lap, in a very gratifying way. I was sitting 2nd to last with about 150m to go and thought that I better finish with at least 1 point. I blazed around half the field in turn 3 and passed Monique in turn 4. It felt really good to lay down the speed and made me a little more confident going into the Scratch Race that I had something in the engine that night.

(photo by Gavin)

Onto the marquee event of the night. The Elaine Nekritz 35 Lap Championship Scratch Race. I've learned in my ever so short time as a track racer that I would rather do a 100 lap Scratch Race than a 30 lap Points Race. I guess some people find this strange and really enjoy the excitement of points races, and to them I say, have you ever done a Women's points race at Northbrook? I didn't think so. We can, I hate to say it, have very tedious points races that are painful in all the wrong ways. Well, I'm digressing. My point was that I actually enjoy scratch races, so I was excited for this race. And extremely nervous. We all lined up at the rail, the weather looked ominous, it had rained on and off all day and it appeared that the clouds were rolling back in. Carl and Dave came around telling us what would happen in case of rain. Ugh. Rain.

The race started, nothing too exciting for the first half. A few break attempts but nothing stuck. Then with about 12 laps to go, Jessi Prinner jumped off the front. Jessi is a really strong rider (and a junior!), I did a quick calculation in my head and figured we could work together and potentially stay off. So I bridged up to her and was surprised to see that no one bridged up with me. That was actually a good thing, as I sometimes have the bad habit of dragging the field with me. Jessi slowed down when she saw me coming and when I joined her, we kicked it into high gear. We alternated half lap pulls and consistently had a 1/3 lap lead on the pack.

Jessi and I in our break (photo by Gavin)

I kept looking back when we were coming out of the turn 2 and 4 each lap, fearing I would see the pack gaining on us. But amazingly they never did, probably due to some disorganization on their part (hey, that's fine with me). All this time my insides were hurting, my legs were burning but I was determined to keep us off the front. I tried to not look at the lap counter but ended up doing it every lap, telling myself "you can do this for 8 more laps, 7, 6, etc.". With 2 to go I was pretty sure we had it in the bag, and with one to go I knew it but we were still only 1/3 of a lap ahead of the pack so that meant no cat and mouse games with Jessi on the final lap. It just so happened that Jessi's pulls were from turn 3-turn 1, so she pulled off with one to go, which put me in a less then ideal spot pulling through turn 2 but I figured maybe I could outsprint her in the end. Coming into turn 3/4 Jessi came around me and I tried to sprint but I had nothing left. In the end I finished 2nd at arguably the biggest Women's race at Northbrook. Not too bad. I raced aggressively and actually made people react to what I did, instead of reacting to what others did. All in all it was a great night and those last 12 laps were probably the hardest I've worked all season. (And it never rained!)

There was a Points Race after the Scratch and honestly I don't remember much of it since I was still pretty gassed. I can't even remember what place I finished. Ha!

More reports to come.

Josh from that night, not sure what race(s), just some awesome shots by Tim Strege (Half Acre):

Major Taylor Velodrome's Hot Summer Nights

2008-09-05T22:34:00.000-07:00

*Special thanks to Ed White for this fantastic photo-Val

The Major Taylor Velodrome in Indianapolis, IN held weekly racing for both cat 1-2-3 and women racers this summer in an alternating schedule between Friday nights and Saturday afternoons. Val and I made the surprisingly easy drive down for several of the Saturdays this summer. For any one who has never been there, despite not being one of the faster tracks in the country, Major Taylor Velodrome has one of the nicest facilities and some of the friendliest people, we highly recommend visiting it if you’re ever in the area. For experienced track racers they have some great racing and the banking is a comfortable medium with very smooth transitions making it a great track for beginners as well.

On the first outing (6/28/2008), their rather huge parking lot was nearly full of people getting ready for the NITE ride. By the time racing started, the stands were packed and people lined the rail of nearly half of the track. Val took full advantage of being the unknown out of town racer and cleaned house winning two of the three races and placing second in the other, which gave her a clear win for the omnium. I had a bad day on the bike but made some new friends and enjoyed the great crowd and atmosphere that usually only accompanies larger events.

For the second visit (7/26/2008) Val found herself up against a field that contained three women from the same team including Brooke Crum, who is good competition on her own with out teammates blocking and boxing for her. The rest of the field were very content to just watch and draft which forced Val to chase down countless attacks from Brooke and her teammates. Despite being up against some very well executed team tactics, Val ended up with second place for all three events. I didn’t fare quite as well, placing a depressing fifth place in the Keirin (my all time favorite race) but later turned the night around getting third in both the Miss-N-Out and Points Race. Keeping with the often fun Major Taylor atmosphere, after the races they inflated a huge screen in the infield and people from the crowd and a number of racers and officials hung out in the stands and some even laid on the track to watch the classic local favorite Breaking Away. Val and I opted to venture out with our prize money in hand to gorge ourselves on burritos from not one, but two burrito joints that the locals suggested (thank you Tom). They were decent, but thus far nowhere compares to what we have accustomed ourselves to in Southern California and Arizona (can you say Filibertos).

The final visit for the season was for the Major Taylor Velodrome Championship on August first and second, which was also the Indiana state track championship and an elite Nationals qualifier race. First up was the Keirin, in the final half lap of the women’s final Val launched off the front with perfect timing to win by a nice margin against the likes of Kendi Thomas and Brooke Crum. This marked a very significant turning point for Val, as previously she had significant reservations about racing Keirins and sprint events in general, but now she is starting to like them. Next up was the men’s Keirin where I once again choked in the final, finishing a frustrating fifth place, again. Val got second in the women’s Scratch Race and then third in the Points Race where Kendi Thomas rode off the front early in the race and eventually lapped the field. The men’s Points Race was action packed from start to finish. During the neutral lap one of the local fast guys, who will remain anonymous for this comment, said “I’m going to punch anyone who jumps on the whistle”. Sure enough, less then one second after the whistle a very strong attack was launched, which resulted in momentary laughs that quickly changed to gasps as the pace ramped up. The race continued with a steady stream of strong attacks and counters, non of which got more then half a lap ahead before eventually being reeled in usually only lasting just long enough for the attackers to pick up points from one sprint. It was a hard fought race, but I ended up falling short of third place by only the difference that two inches in the third points sprint made.

Day two held the Match Sprint which, despite being significantly rusty at, are my second favorite event. I qualified second fastest in the flying 200, and advanced through the rounds to the final but then got absolutely slaughtered by Tom Hanley. Tom finished nearly four tenths of a second faster in the flying 200, which is huge, and he won several of the other events so it wasn’t much of a surprise. This was Val’s second time doing Match Sprint. She qualified well, but unfortunately was matched up in the semifinal round against a local collegiate rider who goes to school literally across the street from the track and has loads of match sprint experience and a great jump.

Another fun weekend in Indianapolis came to a close with both of us qualified for Nationals in both sprint and endurance events. Thank you to everyone at Major Taylor for putting on fun races and being so friendly and inviting to out of town visitors.

Team Get A Grip Cycles Wins National Championship

2008-08-19T09:05:00.000-07:00

Team Get A Grip continued it's summer success when Jonathan Gray won the United States National Criterium Championship held this past Sunday in the Chicago suburb of Downer's Grove, Illinois. In the final lap of the race, Charles Biro carried Gray along the outside of the field and dropped him off in second wheel at the top of the hill, halfway through the last lap. From that point on, it was up to the sprinter to finish the job.
"I think that XXX-Athletico tried to set up something at the end," said the new national champion, "but they were too slow and dumped their leadout in less than a block. I recognized my opportunity and jumped them with everything I had."

"When I came out of the final turn, I knew that I had won and was so excited that I started bouncing my front wheel and high-fiving my team mates on the sidelines." "Chip seems to win the really big races. At the beginning of the summer, he won the biggest criterium in Wisconsin and now he goes out and wins the biggest criterium in the nation," said Jon Tenney, the team director. "Charles was fantastic in the final lap, and the rest of the guys did a good job monitoring the front of the field during the prime sprints. Last year, we dictated the course of every category three race we entered; but because of injuries and upgrades, we were no longer able to operate with such strength. As a result, the team had to be a lot more intelligent and use the efforts of other teams to our advantage. We did it at the Hillsboro Roubaix at the beginning of the year and again here at the National Championships."

The riders on Team Get a Grip have had considerable success at Downers Grove. "At this race, the only thing that matters is good position over the top of the hill on the last lap. Once there, you give it all you have got to the end. It is a simple formula for victory, but it requires flawless execution. I think that members of Team Get A Grip have won this race at least three times in the past."

Although she was aware of this strategy, Lindsay Koren was unable to capitalize on the knowledge in the womens 3/4 event. "I had second wheel going into the last few turns, but I thought that it was too far to start my sprint so I drifted back to fifth wheel. Too bad I did not trust the advice of others, because that is exactly the place I finished."

It was a welcome result on a weekend that otherwise would have been disastrous. Eric Wiecek smashed his head in Saturday's premier event, Devon Haskell was caught up in at least one wipe out, and Cesar Correa and James Holten went down in Sunday's finale when another rider stuck his pedal in Correa's front wheel breaking the spokes. "The announcers saw Cesar in the medical tent bloody and with a ripped skinsuit. For some reason they thought it was funny and started ridiculing our team and calling us 'Get A Rip.' I am not sure why they did that, because crashes are never funny. Still, I was glad that Chip won. It made up for what was being said and showed the announcers that we are not a bunch of jokers."

The whole team would like to thank significant others, Get A Grip Cycles, Subaru, Cannondale, Sidi, and the spectators, young and old, for a fantastic end of the racing season.

Thanks is also extended to Peloton-pix.com for making available all of its 2008 Downers Grove Photos free of charge. Congratulations on 10,000 hits!

Vandeven Wins Missouri Bicycle Racing Series

2008-08-11T08:37:00.000-07:00

Jim Vandeven, Team Get A Grip's sole Missouri resident and father of two, sewed up the Missouri Bicycle Racing Association's series (MOBAR) title this past weekend after finishing the season with two top-six finishes at a pair of St. Louis area criteriums.

Vandeven's quest to take the series began when he dominated the spring road races by winning the Dogwood Road Race and O'Fallon Grand Prix and coming in second at the Hillsboro Roubaix. "My principal goal for the year was to win this series, and I knew that I had to perform well in the early season road races. I have a wife and children to support, and I am not willing to risk a major injury by bombing corners in the finale of a criterium just to get a few extra places" said Jim. "I started all of the criteriums, but I played it safe and never really gave it everything." His secret to success was simple: "I trained harder than I ever had this winter by riding every day and doing 100 miles twice a week on a very hilly route. I became really strong, but my sprint suffered a little."

Still, the overall victory was not really assured until Jim won the Missouri time trial championship. :"I never do these time trials, but this year I went out and gave it everything for the points."

As the series went on, Jim's regular competition started to complain to the local officials in an attempt to force Jim into the elite ranks. " I wanted to win the series and was not going to upgrade until it was in the bag. People started to take it out on my wife at races. It is a shame that they tried to upset her that way. I had planned on winning it earlier, but there was some tough competition from one local rider. "

Now that Jim has the series, he will be moving into the category two ranks. He said, "I am really looking forward to racing the Gateway Cup with the other elite riders on Team Get A Grip. " We should have five or six good riders, including my brother Steve, and I expect us to flex some muscle."

Photo courtesy of John Musselman and stlbiking.com

Chicago's Two Top Teams Control Elgin Cycling Classic

2008-08-06T09:14:00.000-07:00

After a sub-par result at Saturday's Tour of Elk Grove, only three of us lined up for the category three race at the Elgin Cycling Classic. Chad, Uwe, and I didn't really get a chance to discuss the tactics for the day but were still able to work as a single unit.

After a few warm-up laps, the attacks started with me going off the front first. I was just trying to keep the early breaks from getting away and to keep my position close to the front for any primes. As soon as I was caught, Chad countered. He went with a few others, but they were reeled in fairly quickly. It seemed it would go this way until the right combination of riders was reached. Shortly after, and about the 20 minute mark, Julian from VitaminWater-Trek snuck off the front solo on the backside. Seeing as there was a strong representation of VitaminWater-Trek guys, I jumped and easily bridged up to Julian. When Julian saw my friendly face, he knew that this break was for real.

We quickly stretched the time gap to thirty seconds. After a few more laps of continuous and smooth pulls, I believe the time gap increased even more. The announcer then called out a 100 dollar prime for the two of us. We agreed to split any and all primes evenly, to make sure that we worked together smoothly and to ensure that the break would stick. Julian did most of the work on the backside as I monitored the pack's distance, and I would take over on the home stretch and carry it through the high speed chicane. Our team mates in the pack did a tremendous job of foiling any and all attempts to bring us back.

On one of our trips through the chicane, my front end started washing out at close to 35 mph. Miraculously, I kept my bike upright and did not crash into the hay bales much to Julian's relief since he was glued to my wheel.

When the pack started to close in, the adrenaline rose. They came dangerously close at least twice before the wheel pit closed. At that point another prime was called to the leader of the next lap--100 dollars to the first rider across the line--and the pack as barreling down on us. With only two laps to go, we were about to get caught, but then a lone unattached rider bridged to us in an attempt to steal the prime. At that point, it was two against one.

Coming out of the final corner the unattached rider jumped around Julian and got a pretty good lead. Unfortunately for him, Julian and I had made an alliance and I was a better sprinter. I clicked down a gear, jumped, and gapped both by at least four bike lengths as we crossed the finish with one lap left. I eased up some to safely navigate the chicane for the final time and they came around me with the pack hot on their heels. We took very short, hard, and fast pulls to keep from being gobbled up by the rest of the race. Between turns three and four Julian started his sprint and pulled away with the other rider. Exiting the fourth and final turn I had to wind up and close a sizable gap to them as the unattached rider started to gap Julian. I gave it all I had and the three of us crossed the line together for a photo finish. We were millimeters apart and nearly rubbing shoulders at the end. Julian was third, I was second, and unattached won. Julian and I split the lion's share of the primes and took home good money. I would even venture to say that we each made more than the lone rider even though he finished ahead of us.

None of this would have been possible without the combined and dominant efforts of Team Get A Grip and VitaminWater- Trek. The break lasted the entire second half of the race.

-Chip

Talent Identification Camp at the Olympic Training Center

2008-08-01T10:07:00.000-07:00

Last week I headed out to the Olympic Training Center in Colorado springs for a talent identification camp. I was a bit bummed to miss out on Superweek races, but I was also very excited to relive the glory days of camp. What can be better than spending a week eating and sleeping and doing the sport you love to do most? I'm also a pretty good camper. Back in my soccer camp days I won the "well-behaved" camper award (that's what you get when you are a good camper, but not necessarily the most talented).

Anyway, camp was a ton of fun. The first day we had a lab test. Most of us thought it was going to be a grueling workout and we were all surprised to find that they just wanted us to pedal for 10 minutes at an easy pace with our noses plugged and a big funny-looking mask on our face. This was an economy test - it measures how efficient your body is at utilizing oxygen for functional movement... pretty cool. Later that day we went on an easy ride around town. I was a little bummed that we didn't get to ride any hilly terrain because being from Chicago, I don't get many chances to see hills.

However the next day I was appeased! We went out for our first field test which was a timed climb up a short and steep hill. I was pretty excited to finally get to ride in the mountains. The test was short, but long enough to learn the pain of riding hard at elevation. About a minute in to the climb, my lungs started screaming for air! It burned! Afterwards, we continued our ride along a dirt road with beautiful views of the surrounding mountains.

The next day I encountered more hilly fun with a timed climb up a long long road... nothing like the 47th street overpass on Chicago's lake front path. The climb started off pretty good and mellow, but the lack of oxygen soon kicked in making for a tortuous end of the climb. Can't they make mountains at sea level? Coming back down was fun - i even saw a fox! Then we ended the ride with another scenic route - this time cycling through the "garden of the gods". The red rock formations here were awesome!

The rest of camp was spent learning lots about performance testing, nutrition, sports psych, etc. We also spent a lot of time eating (the Olympic Training Center doesn't have your typical camp food - it was delicious) and watching the tour together. It was fun hanging out with and getting to know other racers from all over the country. Overall, a fun time.

--Devon

Cesar Mixes it Up with Team Toyota United in Chicago's Grant Park

2008-07-29T10:27:00.000-07:00

Evanston Grand Prix in Pictures

2008-07-29T10:02:00.000-07:00

Team Get A Grip thanks the city of Evanston and the organizers of the Evanston Grand Prix for a fantastic day of challenging, high-speed racing.

Families mobbed team central while the racers laid wood on the race course. Parents drooled over the team's Subaru Tribeca, and the kids loved the cycling caps courtesy of Get A Grip.

Charles thread himself through the much-publicized finish line crash, captured on video that can be found here.

Two Endeavor riders crashed into the same person a few seconds apart.

Jim Vandeven Gets New Sidi Genius 6.6 Shoes, Wins Missouri State Title

2008-07-23T11:51:00.000-07:00

For 2008, Team Get A Grip brought Sidi on board as official footwear supplier. Our title sponsor, Get A Grip Cycles bicycle stores, believes so strongly in Sidi footwear, that it is the only shoe they carry. So, going into the racing season, we knew that we could count on the people at Sidi and their local representative David Cabanban to deliver the very best in performance cycling shoes.

Cabanban selected the Genius 6.6 carbon for us to wear because of its stiff sole, adjustable heel cup (to prevent slippage in climbs and sprints), versatility in its closure system, and the fact that it offered them in berserker green. These shoes retail for over four hundred dollars a pair and the team can't thank Sidi and Dave enough for letting us try them out. After nearly six months of racing and training, none of us could come up with a truly negative thing to say about the Genius 6.6, except that one does have to make sure that the cleat bolts are well-tightened (something that the shop fitters say can be alleviated with a little lock-tite on the bolt threads).

Aspen Gorry, one of the teams most active and successful new members said "The shoes are great! They look awesome, and the best thing about them is the adjustable heel. It eliminates any foot slipping inside the shoe giving a great feel on the bike. First rate!" The same sentiment was echoed by Lindsay Koren ,who said that she immediately added 100 watts to her sprint because the shoes were a perfect fit and kept her heel in place. "I feel like a lot more power is going into my pedal stroke on the upswing." It is probably no surprise that Lindsay swept all four of Iowa's Memorial Day Weekend races just a few weeks after getting her shoes.

The shop shoe gurus were careful to select the shoe size and cleat position for each racer. One person in particular, Jim Vandeven, was tough to accommodate because his feet are completely different sizes and have some other bizarre issues. After extensive consultation and modification, Jim received his shoes a few days ago and promptly won the Missouri State Time Trial Championship.

Jim called us and gave a report:" Today was the Missouri State Time Trial Championship in Jefferson City. The time trial was 25 miles. On the way out I averaged about 32 miles per hour, but on the way back I was lucky to go 22 because of the wind. I finished the race in 57 minutes and seven seconds, for an average speed of 26.1 miles per hour beating Shawn O'Neal for the state title."

Twenty-six miles per hour for almost an hour: it doesn't count as Subaru STI fast, but for a guy on a bike that is just blazing.

Surviving the Carnage in Evanston

2008-07-21T07:20:00.001-07:00

Fifth at Evanston -- my best placing of the year. By concentrating on pack placement and when to open up my sprint, I'd seen my results improve steadily over the year. The tight course with the infamous "BK stacker" in the penultimate corner put a premium on pack placement; on a number of occasions I heard riders coming to grief behind me.

But staying at the front isn't any help when, in the final sprint, the people about to take first and second collide and then start taking other people out in dramatic, flipping crashes with bikes sailing six feet into the air. I narrowly squeaked by the carnage, improving three places from people crashing out in front of me.

I felt lucky to finish both this race and the Olympia Fields race -- where at least four separate crashes occurred within feet of me -- without going down. I wondered if my fortune was due to the latest addition to my gear. I recently bought a dogtag with my emergency contact information to wear when I ride. Since I was going to be wearing a necklace, I thought I might as well add to it the Ganesha pendant my mother-in-law gave me. And if I was adding Ganesha, I might as well make my own mom happy, so I also added a pendant of Madonna del Ghisallo, the patron saint of cyclists.

In honesty, I don't believe my pendants helped me stay upright, but that doesn't mean I'm going to stop wearing them -- particularly for Superweek races.

Team Get A Grip Cycles Forms Partnership with Subaru of America.

2008-07-19T13:22:00.000-07:00

PRESS RELEASE

July 17, 2008

Chicago, IL.

Team Get A Grip Cycles has agreed to a partnership with Subaru
of America for the remainder of the 2008 racing season.  As
part of this agreement, Subaru will supply the team with
vehicles and logistical support. 

“We are particularly excited about testing out the newly
redesigned Subaru Tribeca,” said team director and founder
Jonathan Tenney. “Our team is based in the heart of urban
Chicago where automobiles are not always necessary.  Since
most races are held in other parts of the country, the team
still needs an efficient, safe, and spacious means of travel.
The Tribeca is a perfect match for our team, and all of us
are beyond grateful to the people at Subaru for creating such
a useful and stylish vehicle.”

Team Get A Grip Cycles was founded on the premise that it was
possible to build a competitive cycling team with a set of
determined amateurs who focus most of their energies on their
professional life.  Since its founding in 2007, the team,
which includes leaders in economics, medicine, pathology,
archaeology, and sound design, among other fields, has
collected multiple national and state championships, over
forty victories, and one hundred podium placings by focusing
on achieving goals collectively with focused team work. 

The team’s title sponsor, Get A Grip Cycles, is the Midwestern
leader in bicycle fitting and customization and has locations
in Chicago’s north side and downtown loop.  Other team
sponsors include Cannondale, Sidi, SRAM, and On Your Mark
Training.

It isn't SuperWeek...

2008-07-16T05:50:00.000-07:00

...but since I was in Boston for the week, I was able to find a race to keep the legs open over the weekend. The Wells Ave. training crit is a Boston institution, running every Sunday morning during the Summer for over 25 years. I rode the 10 miles out to the course and joined the A race (cat. 1-3). With over 50 riders, this turned out to be a fast, aggressive 32 miles of racing. Promising breaks slipped off of the front 4-5 times through the race, each lasting at least 5 laps. While racing on the front for most of the race, I was never in any of the moves that stuck. Just missing a bridge to the threatening 8 person break with about 10 laps to go in the race, I was forced to drift back to the pack and wait for the finish. Fortunately, the break quit working well together with about 4 to go and were caught on the last lap. In the chaos that followed on the last lap I was behind a gap that opened on the back stretch but was able to bridge across and pass a number of riders before the line to finish in the top 10. It was great to show of the Black and Green in another part of the country!

Team Get A Grip Makes Cover of Chicago's Largest Sports Magazine

2008-07-10T18:09:00.000-07:00

This photo of Jonathan Gray, the standout category rider of the summer, was taken during the Sherman Park Criterium in June.

Last Year's Worker Become This Year's Winner

2008-06-23T15:29:00.000-07:00

Chip Gray dominated the 2008 Grafton Twilight Criterium, one of the Midwest's largest and most lucrative races, by winning all primes* and first place late in the afternoon of Saturday, June 21st. This performance was all the more sweet for Gray who had spent all of 2007 sacrificing his own interests to help his team mates gobble up podium placings.

Devon Haskell placed second in a hard-fought women's race, while three of the four category two riders survived multiple crashes, barking dogs, beer bottles, and herculean 37 mile per hour re-entries into the peloton in order to finish the professional race.

When asked to sum up the race, the Hitman's response was "INSANE FAST!!!" With a bit more prodding he laid out the play-by-play: "Cesar, Eric, and I had bad starting positions and fought from the gun to move up. After about 5 laps, 2 or 3 guys went down right in front of me in the last turn. I thought for sure I was going over the bars, but managed to avoid towards the curb and came to a complete stop. I should have taken a free lap but instead chased from behind and luckily made my way back into the field after about 2-3 laps of chasing. Needless to say this entirely cooked me to the point of my lungs nearly bursting, which then took about twenty-five minutes to recover. We averaged about thirty-seven mph down the home stretch every single lap. If you were towards the back where gaps opened it was brutal.

The second half was better, was fairly comfortable, and we moved Cesar up to the top seven or eight in the closing laps. This hurt, and I was then slowly pushed back until I popped off the back during the final lap.

Eric was stuck behind a crash in the last few laps and had a hard time catching back on after taking a free lap. They started you back onto the course while riders went by at thirty-seven mph, OUCH!! KAPOW! better luck next time."

The first three photos of this post courtesy of Matt Smith (Vitaminwater-Trek). Thanks, Matt!

*All you Midwestern cycling bloggers note that the correct spelling for an intermediate prize in a cycling race is "prime;" not "preem," "pream," "preme," etc. We will cover "kermesse" next time.

Devon Haskell and the Nature Valley Grand Prix-Epilogue

2008-06-18T12:19:00.000-07:00

After the St. Paul criterium, the next race up was Canon Falls: a 70 mile road race that ends on a finishing circuit with a little climb on each lap to the finish line.

The first sixty miles went well for me. I did a good job at staying up front in the pack, got in a break attempt (it didn't get very far), and was right up front as we were about to hit the dirt road to the finishing circuit. The rest of the race went a bit downhill... as I turned on to the dirt road, somebody turned wide right into me. I managed to stay upright, but ended up off the road and out of my good position. I still hit the circuit with the main field and not in a terrible position. However, when the pace picked up, I started to struggle... I slowly faded to the back of the pack... and then I learned what BONKing is. All of a sudden my legs were gone and I just couldn't go. I finished the last two laps solo and almost thought I wasn't going to make it up the little finishing hill the last time around. Despite feeling pretty miserable, it was fun to have all the fans to myself. They must have felt pity for the lonely rider out on the course because the cheering was great - and helped me make it to the finish line.

The next day was a double race, and I was not feeling so good. The time trial was in the morning and it was held on a mostly flat course, but then they added a hill at the end (fun!). I didn't have a great ride and Kristin Armstrong rode so fast that I would have been time cut had they not extended the cut off (phew!). Spent the afternoon trying to get some rest and hoping I would feel better by the Minneapolis criterium in the evening.

That evening we arrived to a course surrounded by the bustling crowds of downtown Minneapolis - it was a fun atmosphere. As for the race, it was a tough one, but not as crazy as that in St. Paul. The first laps felt super hard. Coming around the second lap, I didn't think I was going to survive the night, but then I got into a groove and the pace seemed to settle a bit and I managed to survive another day and finish in the main pack.

The next morning we headed out to Mankato for our 90 mile road race ending in a finishing circuit with a killer hill up Main Street. Last year I crashed on the downhill of the finishing circuit and ended up in the hospital so I was hoping for a better result this time - my main goal was to stay rubber side down! (This year, the race issued a warning about the downhill... I could have used that warning last year!) The eighty miles before the circuit were mellow for a good amount of time, but through some of the cross winds, teams sent some attacks that strung out the field into a long line and made for some intense riding into the wind. For the most part things stayed together up to the finishing circuit - then we hit main street hill and the field broke apart. First lap around I stayed in the front group, but was in the rear. Second time up the hill, the pack split and I hung on to the second group and ended up finishing with that pack not too far behind the front field. Our Ryan team all had great performances and we ended up finishing 3rd as a team for the stage! It was an exciting day for us.

Lastly was the Stillwater Crit with the killer Chilkoot hill. I was thankful to have a 27 cog today! The race starts out at the bottom of the hill and is hard from the get go. I avoided getting dropped the first time up, but ended up in the back of the group. Second time up the hill, I was moving up a bit and then there was a crash right in the middle of the hill. I almost avoided it but then got cutoff by someone else trying to avoid the crash. I came to a practical standstill and struggled to get the pedals turning again. Once I did, I found myself off the back. Each time up the hill, I'd work my way up to another group off the back, but I was far from the front. I made it around the 3 laps I needed not to get time cut and then managed to ride for a few more laps before I got pulled. Even though I sort of liked the hill, my tired legs were not too sad to miss out on the last few times up. Overall, a much better experience than last year! I was happy to finish and avoid crashing this time around

:) Devon

The Bikes of Team Get A Grip Cycles

2008-06-17T13:22:00.001-07:00

Since its inception, Team Get A Grip Cycles has ridden Cannondale bikes. The Pennsylvania bike builder has made several of its models available to the team. The following is a brief expose on what some team members are riding.

Team director Jon Tenney rides a 60 cm System Six and uses Reynolds Stratus carbon wheels for road races and Ksyrium ES for criteriums.

Eric Wiecek rolls a 56 cm System Six with ZIPP 404 wheels. Note Cannondales new super stiff and ultra light crankset.

Both Chip Gray and Steven Vandeven prefer strength and style over weight. They roll on DT Swiss's new white wheelset.

Chip's bike with silver bar tape.

Vandeven prefers white.

Cesar Correa opts for the CAAD 9 with SRM and stealth wheels.
Years ago, Uwe won an online raffle for a pair of Spinergys and is still racing them today.

Devon Haskell and Nature Valley Grand Prix Stage 1

2008-06-12T07:59:00.000-07:00

Devon Haskell is competing in the Nature Valley Grand Prix, North America's premiere womens cycling race, as a member of the Ryan Collegiate All-Stars. She earned her spot by winning the omnium at the NCCA National Championships in Fort Collins, Colorado. Haskell has agreed to give us updates when time allows. Here is the first tale:

"The first race was crazy - It was pouring pre-race with more thunderstorms reported to be on the way. The management switched the direction of the course to make for fewer downhill turns in the rain and shortened the race (from 40 to 30 laps).

The race started out fast and strung out right away. I didn't have a great spot, but wasn't stuck in the back like last year so it was an improvement and I was ready for it to be fast. I tried to move up as much as I could and ended up dangling on the back of the large lead group. A break went off, and I was with the main pack for most of the race. Unfortunately, being in the back meant that I was constantly getting shed off the back as gaps opened and as we slowed for crashes. I think I saw a crash basically every other lap!

Finally with three or four laps to go, I got gapped after a crash and couldn't catch the main group. So I finished a bit behind. Unfortunately, the race didn't count because they decided to cancel it according to USCF racing rule 4E4... which is a rule that says you can cancel the results of a race for basically any reason (its a very vague rule). I'm not sure exactly why they nullified the results.

Now I sort of wish I got pulled because the last half of the race was really hard. But, I do agree that the course doesn't give people a fair chance to finish well if they have a bad starting spot - especially with the wet conditions. Next race is tonight - I'll try to give updates, but it might be a while for the next one because we have a race tonight and then get back late and have to get up bright and early for a time trial tomorrow morning. Then the Minneapolis crit tomorrow night - lots of racing! Fun!!!"

Charles Biro Wins One for the Good Guys

2008-06-10T09:23:00.000-07:00

Team Get A Grip was founded on the premise that it was possible to build a competitive amateur cycling team with individuals who focus most of their energies on their professional life. Our collection of academics, attorneys, doctors, carpenters, and salesmen have found that the difficult, urban environment is a place where they can develop as riders and as individuals who make a big mark in the larger world.

Charles Biro, working for the firm Sidley Austin LLP, perhaps earned the biggest victory for the team this year when he helped settle a major antitrust case that will help ensure that the real estate market remains competitive. The New York Times recently ran an article on this landmark case. According to Biro, the author botched some facts, but correctly conveyed the spirit of the settlement.

Winfield Criterium Weekend in Words

2008-06-04T13:28:00.001-07:00

Team Get A Grip Girls: Seven starts equals seven top tens!

Emily "State Champ" Hutchins reports as the women's team uses tactics to humble the opposition (except one):

"Saturday's twilight criterium began on a lead-out from Devon and Lindsay, setting up Emily and Val for the first attack two hundred meters into the race. Emily and Val went off on their attack, which was strong but the rest of the pack ended up reeling them back in. Second in line for an attack was Lindsay and Devon, who did just that. After twenty minutes of attacking and doing their thing, the girls of TGAGC came down to the final two laps of the crit. Val stepped up to the front to lead the pack, while cresting over the hill Devon slipped out of the pack to jump onto the wheel of another rider. The final sprint came down to Devon and Kristen Meshburg of Team Flatlandia. Devon brought home second place with Emily in 6th, Lindsay in 7th and Val in 9th--Excellent team tactics paid off!

Sunday's National Criterium Championship would be much of the same. The girls once again showed how teamwork and having a plan can pay off, taking two podium spots with Devon taking the silver medal with Emily in 4th and Lindsay 7th. The women's team showed amazing strength in their first full squad race. TGAGC will be a threat for the remainder of the season with the amount of talent they showed at this weekend's races! Nice job ladies!

Best of luck to Val in the upcoming track races this weekend!!"

Male Riders Medal in National Championship with Skeleton Crew

Aspen Gorry tells the story of the category 3 team:

"The cat 3 portion of the team really started to gel over the weekend. Despite still being undermanned with four riders on Saturday and three on Sunday, we displayed good team tactics and finished with some good results.

On Saturday, Chip, Josh, Uwe, and I lined up for the twilight crit. Chip stole the show making every break, Josh and I were active blocking for most of the race, and Uwe made his season debut after being off the bike for a month after getting clobbered by some cars and finished strongly in the field in a difficult race. When the winning break went, it was my turn to go as Chip had just been brought back from his last attempt off of the front, but I found myself pinned in the pack and unable to make the move. I alerted Chip and he made the heroic bridge up to the break but was unable to hold on. (Sorry to put you in that situation, I will be in the right spot to make the move next time). With two laps to go, frustrated that I wasn’t in the main break I decided to try a solo effort for the line. I made it ¾ of the way up the hill on the last lap, but was then swarmed by a surging field. Josh was second wheel over the top and was able to hold on for 7th! Despite not having anyone end up in the top 5 we showed strength as a team that should pay off for some results soon!

On Sunday we only started three riders with Josh resting up for the big track events next weekend. With breaks not quite as likely on this course, we were more reserved for the first third of the race with the exception of Chip slipping off the front to steal the first prime. With Chip and I actively keeping an eye on the break attempts, Uwe made his presence felt in the middle of the race by flying up to the front of the race twice, once to bring back a threatening attack and a second time to launch one of his own. It is good to see the legs respond well to the first days of racing. No breaks were able to stay away, so the last time up the hill I drilled it to stay in the top 10 with Chip right on my wheel. Going over the top he slipped by me up to the front of the group and I stayed in the group of 8 of us that got a bit of a gap on the rest of the field. Down the final straight I held off my sprint for a moment too long and ended up 5th with Chip finishing inches from the win! Two riders in the top 5 is great, the elusive victory should come soon!"

Jim Vandeven Wins O'Fallon Grand Prix by "Something Like Fifteen Minutes."

2008-06-03T08:56:00.000-07:00

Jim Vandeven continued to dominate the St. Louis biking scene by winning the O'Fallon Grand Prix in Southern Illinois. Jim was the sole category 3 rider to make the lead pack in the combined Pro/1/2/3 race. He worked with his break mates to establish a huge lead over the chasing pack and did not even need to contest the sprint for the win. With this victory, Vandeven increased his lead in the Missouri Bicycle Racing Association Standings.

Winfield Criterium Weekend in Pictures

2008-06-02T12:18:00.001-07:00

Stacking the field.

Chasing a solo attack.
The hitman attacks once
twice,
thrice,
four times,
and flats.

Aspen, Josh, control the field over the hill crest,while Chip executes the bridge.

Emily tries to remember how to turn at speed.
Lilacs for a back drop.
The team holds the left side going up the hill.
Cesar was relentless all weekend.

Aspen makes the podium after leading Chip out for second place.

Koren Does the Impossible

2008-05-31T08:22:00.000-07:00

Held in various locations around the Illinois-Iowa border, the Memorial Day Weekend Bike Races are three of the most prestigious events in the Midwestern race calendar. A top finish in one of these events can make a season, but a clean sweep of all three signals the arrival of someone special. Lindsay graces us with a clever account of her domination at Snake Alley, Mellon City, and the Quad Cities:

"One of my goals for this season was to win Snake Alley and get some other good results at the Memorial Day weekend races before making the jump to Cat 3. It was my second stab at all of the races after some disappointing results last year because I wasn’t logging the training time. I came back stronger to start the year off (probably as a result of all the training volume of last year in preparation for the ironman…..just proof triathlons are awesome). A few months of training with the powertap, a pretty decent coach ;) and some great prerace advice/strategy really paid off this year and I nabbed the first goal of the year. Here’s a little break down of the races….

Snake Alley
I think about 20 women lined up for the race. Since I hadn’t preregistered I started near the back and when the lead women took off like bats out of hell from the gun I found myself in pretty poor position approaching “The Snake” for the first lap. A few girls went down right next to me in the first switchback, probably as a result of misjudging what gearing they’d need. I can’t blame them as I almost found myself in the same position last year, but just managed to keep it upright. After some serious wheel rubbing with one other woman throughout the first time up the shoot, I managed to get clear of the biggest groups. There were still a handful of women quite a bit up the road but my legs felt surprisingly good. Rumor has it brakes aren’t needed on the descent. I did my best but still needed to use them a little as I was still sharing the road with a few other women. At the bottom I could see the leaders still up the road and I grabbed the wheel of another woman still in front of me. We gained some ground on Kelli Mente (Punk Rock Cycling) and Sarah Huang, who were leading at that point. I don’t remember exactly, but I think going into the shoot for the 3rd lap I was able to barely pass the two leaders up and put in a bit of a gap by the top. The rest of the race was basically a time trial to the line of my second victory ever! I apologize to those who have expressed concern with my finish style but a victory is better celebrated upright and not on the ground.

Melon City
This race was more representative of what real racing should be like. I have to give mad props to the women from Punk Rock Cycling. They’re strong and they were throwing attacks like mad…great strategy since they had several women hanging in the top 10. Without any teammates in the field I really had to gamble and cover everything with hopes I could still pull off a sprint if that’s what it came to. I think the repeated attacks and subsequent efforts required in the field started to slowly shed people and string the field out. I was certainly starting to question whether I’d have it in me either for the end or to finally get an attack to stick. Finally, one of the Punk Rock girls threw a really hard attack from a ways back in the field and it was Kelli Mente, Sarah Huang and, her and myself up the road a bit. The attack must have cooked her but she got her teammate up the road and Kelli and I worked together to keep the pace up and the gap stable. Coming up the hill on the final lap I found myself in front and knew I needed to be the first wheel into the hairpin corner so I gave it one more effort. Surprisingly my legs hadn’t quit on me and I put a big enough gap between myself and the girls and took it to the line. Again, a two-hands-on-the-bars finish, but nonetheless a victory.

Quad Cities
This was another fun race and I really like this course. This time I started in the third row and spent the first lap pretty boxed in near the back. Luckily the girls at the front were pushing the pace enough that little gaps would open up near each corner and I quickly moved up to about 5th wheel by the second lap. My plan for the race was to ride in the top 6 or so, try and get on board if any breaks went otherwise throw an attack on or during the last lap and try and take it home. There were a few small attack efforts but the field quickly pulled things back and the extra effort ended up being a waste. Kelli Mente road really strong again pushing the pace and pulling the field for most of the race. At one point I was off the front with her and Sarah again. Sarah must have been feeling good because she took some great pulls (unfortunately when you’re twice her size the draft isn’t that great). It came down to the last lap with Kelli, Sarah and myself near the front again and since I didn’t know what caliber sprinters either of them were I decided to gamble and go since my legs were feeling strong. I told myself to just kill it and it’d be less than two minutes to the line. Initially I don’t think there was much of a gap but I kept hammering and checking behind me. Going into the last corner I had enough of a gap to breathe and take in what will probably be the last victory I’m going to get for a while. My 3 upgrade came in last night so now I’m ready to rock and roll with the big girls. The only major goal I’ve got is to not get dropped. Now I have teammates and next up are the Winfield races this weekend. Gotta bring my “A” game.

All in all it was a great race weekend. The races were hard, but I still got some good results. All I have to say is the women’s bike racing scene better watch out….little Sarah Huang is going to be kicking ass and taking names before she even has a drivers license."

Haskell, Gorry (The Gaskell) Take on All Comers in Biggest Weekend of the Year

2008-05-31T08:14:00.000-07:00

Devon recaps the experiences of Memorial Day Weekend Racing:

"Finally getting to writing a race recap (sorry its long)... let's see... Saturday started off with the Snake. Aspen and I arrived just a little late to see Lindsay's finish, but as we walked to registration, we saw her being hounded by the local reporter - a good sign (ed. there is a link to this interview below)! I was up next on the Snake... the women's open field had over 40 which is great for a women's race! I was second row which isn't too bad of a position, but I missed my clip in and was soon near the back of the pack. I made up a few spots before hitting the snake, but two riders were already off the front. I got up to the first chase pack on the downhill... and we eventually gained on the leaders and caught them after a few laps (the leader dropped her chain twice which helped our chase effort). Soon there were only 5 up front with a few laps to go... the snake was getting harder and harder, but there were a lot of great fans which helped motivate me up the hill each time. With two to go, two girls got a gap on the way up, and we took a little too long before deciding to chase and couldn't bring them back in. The finish came down to a sprint... I led the way into the homestretch and got passed right before the line for 4th - a big improvement on last year's 11th. Aspen was the last of the green goblins to race the snake. He started out in a field of over 60 riders and did a good job at holding his position into the first climb. For a while he was in a pack representing spots 10-20 or so and looking strong. After a while, I think the windy backstretch and the snake repeats started getting to him and he moved a bit back in the pack, but ended up with a solid finish at 33rd in a big and strong field!

Next day was the Melon City Criterium. We arrived early in time to see Lindsay dominate once again. She seemed to have no trouble sitting in with the leaders of her field. Then with a couple laps to go she got in a break with two others and finally crushed them on the finish! I raced a bit later and the field was almost 50 which made for a fun race! A few teams had good representation - they were able to keep the pace high and the race exciting by sending people off the front. I got in a few attacks, but nothing stuck for long. Midway through, i struggled with the heat and humiditiy, but eventually got a second wind and went for a prime (and won!). The finish was fast and I didn't get great position into the last hairpin turn, but passed a few on the home stretch for a close 5th. Next Aspen raced in a field of 80! I watched on the uphill section and he seemed to look comfortable and in great position for most of the race. At one point he dropped back, but that was apparently due to his break away attempt on the backside of the course. Unfortunately, there was no getting away from a pack of 80. Into the final climb, Aspen passed a bunch of guys going into the last turn and continued blowing by people on the last straight away for a clear top 10 finish (ended up coming in 8th!!!). So another good day for team GAG.

Finally, we ended with the quad cities crit on Monday. Again, Aspen and I watched Lindsay dominate in the women's race. Everybody else seemed to be working hard and people were constantly being dropped from the pack, but Lindsay looked quite comfortable and stayed in great position right up in the front. I was watching on the back stretch and pondering whether I should go to the finish line to watch the finish, but as I was thinking about moving, Lindsay comes around the back turn solo with a huge gap on her two chasers and the rest of the field. The outcome was clear - yay for a hat-trick! Glad you'll be moving up the categories now - watch out for the GAG women!! Aspen raced next and I watched while warming up on the trainer. The race was huge once again and it looked like a battle for position. Aspen looked comfortable the whole race and maintained his position up front for the most part. Unfortunately, he hung a little too far back on the last lap and wasn't able to ever bring out his full on sprint. Despite bad position, he still ended up #22 in a stacked 3s field - not bad for his 5th (maybe 6th?) 3's race! I raced next - the field wasn't quite as big due to an earlier 2-3 race, but still a large field with a number of stacked teams. Attacks went off from the get-go... I tried not to do too much chasing, but when the top teams had two of their strongest riders out front, I knew I had to try and catch them. Eventually I caught up and 4 others caught on - forming a group of 7... everyone had a teammate in the pack but me :( It seemed like we had a good gap, but it took a while for people to organize and keep our pace going. I kept hearing people yell out time gaps, but some were yelling 8 and 10secs while others were yelling 20-30. Eventually the announcer started chiming in and it appeared our gap was huge. Then, he went from announcing the time gap to announcing how far the pack was in front of us! I really didn't want to catch the pack because everybody else had more teammates up there, but the announcer started a prime for the first rider to catch the pack and it was clear that our group was going for it. With about 6 laps to go, we lapped the field. I ended up getting back towards the front (along with the rest of the breakaway group) and sprinted for another 4th. Overall, it was a really fun and fast race. The whole weekend was great competition and fun racing - I had a great time!

Looking forward to racing next weekend out in Winfield and having our full women's squad out in force!!"

Lindsay Koren Featured in Iowa's Oldest Newspaper

2008-05-30T13:42:00.001-07:00

Lindsay Koren's big win at the Snake Alley Criterium was memorable enough to be the feature of an article in The Hawk Eye newspaper. The article can be read here.

Monsters of the Midway: Women Dominate, Men Make Big Moves Against Big Teams

2008-05-21T07:43:00.000-07:00

With just a skeleton crew, the riders of Team Get A Grip Cycles managed to nearly sweep the womens categorized races and played a strong role in the men's elite category during this weekend's Monsters of the Midway Criterium in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood.

Lindsay Koren netted her first win of the season in the category four bunch sprint to the line and nearly won the inaugural category three event later in the day (video posted yesterday). Newly crowned national champion Devon Haskell continued the team's domination by dragging around the elite field until only three remained, then outsprinting her break mates for the win. Haskell would later launch another bold move in the mens category three race.

For the men, the team's chief animator was clearly Cesar Correa who made an early bridge to the lone breakaway rider John Meyers, only to see Meyers escape solo again. Alas, both Correa's early move and a late race surge by Eric Wiecek failed to bring back the winning move and the team had to be satisfied with 3 in the top 15.

The team would like to thank the University of Chicago Velo Club and the Chicago Park Service for another wonderful day in the South Side; home of Barack Obama, Indiana Jones, Louis Farrakhan, Robert Fogel, the first man-made element, and Enrico Fermi, and more Nobel Prize winners than all of the Ivy League schools combined.

Last two photos courtesy of Jason Knauff of Burnham Racing/Vitaminwater-Trek.

Koren Nearly Nets A Second Win at the University of Chicago Monsters of the Midway Criterium

2008-05-20T08:37:00.000-07:00

Keep Turning Left

2008-05-09T23:25:00.000-07:00

(Beware this is long. We raced a lot and I'm about to graduate so I have nothing better to do than to write race reports. Long race reports.)

Team Get A Grip Cycles made its track debut last weekend in Southern California at the San Diego and Encino velodromes. Josh and I raced in San Diego on Friday night, followed by Encino on Saturday evening, got some track time at ADT on Sunday afternoon and finished off the weekend with Josh racing in San Diego on Tuesday night.

SAN DIEGO - Friday, May 2nd
Leaving Arizona on Friday morning with carne asada burritos (yum!) in tow, we arrived in San Diego just in time for Friday night racing. Luckily people in San Diego operate on 'San Diego Time' which means a race scheduled for 6:30 will start around 7. Maybe. This was the first night of their Friday night series and the field sizes reflected this. I was the only woman there and raced with the B's and Josh raced with the A's, total field sizes of about 7-10 for both of us. I was a little more nervous than my usual pre-race nervous -- it was my first day of track racing since last October, only my 2nd time on a track in 2008 and I had never ridden on that track before. The night ended up being a blast and an awesome way to ring in the 2008 track season. The vibe in San Diego is really laid back and reminds me a lot of Kenosha (Washington Park Velodrome) except it has awesome views and ocean breezes. A little about the San Diego Velodrome, it is 333.3m with 27 degree banking in the turns. For reference our local parking lot, I mean velodrome, Northbrook is 382m with 17 degree banks and is so memorable the announcers had a hard time figuring out the nearest track to Chicago. To Northbrook's credit, the surface is great, it's open all the time for training, the turnout for Thursday night racing is usually great and the racers are awesome. Also where else in the country will you have 17 year cicadas land on your chain when you line up for a race? Perhaps if Chicago gets the Olympics we will have a world class, INDOOR velodrome ... sigh ... one can dream.

We started the night off with a motor paced warm-up and then moved on to a Miss-n-Out. I did pretty well in this race and made it to the final 3 and got 2nd in the final sprint. I quickly learned which two guys I needed to watch that night. The next race was a Win-n-Out, my least favorite of the mass start events. Places are determined by winning laps, so the first contested lap the winner wins the race, the 2nd is for 2nd place, etc. I thought I could go for 2nd but found myself sitting fourth wheel when the pace picked up on the 1st place lap and then stupidly led out a guy for 3rd place so I had to settle for 4th. Blah finish for a blah race. The final race of the night was a 24 lap Prime Race, which is not an 'official' race. The organizers in San Diego are trying to entice people to race on Fridays by offering a lot of primes. So basically this race was a mix of a Scratch Race and a Tempo (where each lap is contested, 1st person gets 2 points, 2nd gets 1 point) but instead of points, the lap winners got $2 and $1 respectively. I usually see primes as a great way to tire out people and so will sit in and save myself for the finish. Pretty early on in our race 2 guys got off the front and won probably 17 of the 24 laps. Those of us in the pack slowly reeled them in, I never felt nervous about catching them and just wanted to position myself well for the final sprint. Well we caught them with 3 or 4 laps to go and then everyone just sat up! Ack! One of the guys in the break was on my 'guys to watch' list and he got 2 laps of rest well the rest of us just pulled him around. What a mistake! In retrospect I should have just killed it after we caught them, but instead we pulled around the eventual winner. Live and learn. I think I ended up getting 2nd in the B's Omnium. Josh did pretty well in the A's. His competition included former multi-time World Champion and British National Champion Shaun Wallace.

ENCINO - Saturday, May 3rd
Next up was Encino (LA) and the So Cal Cup #2 - Long Rider Endurance Omnium on May 3rd. Oh yeah endurance events, my kind of racing. The schedule called for 3 races but unfortunately all fields only did 2 races due to time constraints. I guess getting a 3 race endurance omnium done in 4 hours with nine separate fields was a little ambitious, but the attempt was much appreciated! I was pleasantly surprised to find out my field would have 13 women, which is, as crazy as it sounds, a great field size for women's track racing. I scoped out my competition and asked my LA friends, Jack and Megan (Swarm!) who to keep an eye on. The obvious answer was Becky Lang, who is racing for the Home Depot Center (ADT), was and still is the series leader and who's teammates include Catherine Fiedler and Cassandra Holman. Yes, watch her, most definitely. Megan also told me to watch "the girl on the Teschner". And of course, Cathy Keeley, California State Master's Champion in a number of events.

The night started out with a 10km Points Race. Encino is a 250m track so our race was 40 laps with points every 10 laps (awarded 5, 3, 2, 1). The race was pretty typical in that the pace the first few laps was pretty moderate until someone attacked a few laps in. Here's where my memory gets a little fuzzy. I think a few people were off the front and I was part of the group chasing them down. And then at some point with about 4 laps to go before the points I looked back and saw I had created a gap of about 20m. This is when it becomes awesome to be the racer that no one knows, they had no idea what I was capable of and no one seemed too into chasing me down. And Megan also blocked for me! What an awesome friend! So I just hammered it for the remaining laps and got 5 points. Awesome! I thought to myself, "there is no way they're going to let that happen again". Well, low and behold I found myself off the front again with 4-5 laps to go for the 2nd round of points. This is not exactly where I wanted to be with that many laps to go. There was a pretty steady headwind coming out of turn 4 all the way into turn 1 and I started really feeling it with about 1 lap to go, but I tried my best to ignore my legs and just pedaled. Back in the pack, Becky Lang was having absolutely nothing to do with the pack's lolly-gagging and caught me with less than a lap to go. So I got 3 points there. One of my problems with Point's Races is keeping track of other people's points. I knew I would place as long as I got points but I had no idea who was getting 2nd-4th behind me. I ended up taking 4th in the final two sprints and ended up getting 3rd in the race. After the Point's Race everyone seemed a little more loose and I met "the girl on the Teschner". Her name is Shane and that was her 3rd track night ever. Wow, is she strong.

Susie Avchen, me, Becky Lang eyeing me from below, Cathy Keeley.

Our next race was a 5km Scratch Race. I put myself in the back, right on Becky's wheel. After a few laps, I started thinking that she most certainly had a better jump than I (she's a sprinter after all) so perhaps being at the back of the pack was not the best place for me. I caught her talking to Shane and figured they were going to try something. Sure enough a lap later coming out of turn 2, Becky, Shane and another woman surprised the field and got a bit of a gap. Luckily it only lasted for a lap or so. The rest of the race was not very memorable, at least to me a week later writing this. Megan ended up picking up the pace in the front for the remaining 5ish laps. I was second wheel and while I was really happy she blocked for me in an earlier race, there was absolutely no way I was going to let myself take over her spot in the front. With about 2 laps to go I pulled up a little, not wanting to get boxed in. Soon after that Becky, Cathy and Susie came around and I knew that was it. I caught on their wheels and tried to get around Susie for 3rd place, but ended up 4th in a pretty tight 1st-4th finish. I'm pretty happy with my finish in the omnium but kind of kicking myself because had I earned one more point in one of the races I would have been in a 3-way tie for 2nd and two more points would have put me in solo 2nd place. But that's all moot really, I had such an awesome time racing at Encino with a really great field. I'll be heading back there for sure.

A Very Brief Wrap-Up For Josh
Since Josh is currently out of the country drinking wine and watching the Giro live, I can't transcribe for him. Needless to say he did really well at Encino racing in the 1/2 field with 11 other guys. Being a sprinter he obviously doesn't get as giddy as I do for the endurance events but he still does them, and races really well. He finished the night in a tie for 4th in the Omnium. His field had some strong racers, Kit Karzen, Danny Heeley and Travis Smith, to name a few. Kit Karzen (overall series leader), Josh, Danny Heeley (series sprint leader)

I think, rather I know, his proudest moment of our trip was in San Diego on Tuesday night. The night was pure sprinting events: 200m TTs, Match Sprints, a Keirin, and a Chariot Race. Josh ended up placing 1st in the A's Omnium for the night! By far the best of our results for the weekend.

Once Again Barnacles Ruin A Break: The Vernon Hills Grand Prix

2008-05-08T11:53:00.000-07:00

The team would like to thank the town of Vernon Hills and the RDS Cycling Team for once again hosting an excellent event just outside of Chicago. Only two of our riders, Chip Gray and Chad Chenoweth, made the event, but both of them raced with the aggression and strong tactics that are the hallmarks of Team Get A Grip Cycles. According to Chad, the move of the day was foiled from within:

"The Vernon Hills course is pretty flat, but there was enough of a wind to make things interesting. The plan was for me to be as aggressive as possible and for Chip to hang back and wait for a sprint. If either of us got into a good position, then the other would work for him by blocking, leading out, etc. Things were pretty much on from the start with a pretty high pace and lots of attacks. I attacked early in the race and drew out a rider from Trek-Vitawater and one from ABD. We worked well together, but it was just too early and we only lasted about one lap. After that it took me a little while to recover, but Chip was there to patrol the front in the meantime. With about ten or fifteen minutes to go the front of the field really started to get ragged and was splitting apart. Chip and I both found ourselves caught in the middle. We each did a big turn for the other and ended up making the split of about ten riders. I went straight to the front and did as much work as I could hoping to keep Chip as fresh as possible, and I believe he took a few turns also. In the end however, the split was just a little too big and there were too many guys trying to sit on. We got caught with about 2.5 or 3 to go. After that I was totally smoked and finished off the back. I think Chip ended up with a pack finish.

If anyone read the XXX race report, the writer had a good point that if XXX had not been attacking the break constantly we might have stayed away. I don't think anyone was strong enough at that point to stay away in a small group of 2 or 3. On the other hand, there WERE passengers so the best scenario would have been for one of us to go with one of those attacks. I just didn't have the legs, maybe next time."

Photo of the break courtesy of JK and Burnham Racing's Trek/Vitaminwater cycling team.

Winona Lake Recap

2008-05-05T07:43:00.000-07:00

More results for Get A Grip!

Saturday Road Race

Men’s ¾ - 4^th
A break of two got away and Aspen continued to work hard through the gusty winds and dropping temperatures while the field slowly dwindled to about 7 people. Some quick legs got him second in the "field sprint" for a 4^th place finish overall. Well done!

Women’s Open - 1^st and 3^rd
The first half of the first lap crawled along behind the juniors’ race. Some strict yellow line rules and gusty winds made it tough to break up the group. After a quick team chat we (Devon and Lindsay) decided it was time to split. We jumped and started to put a gap on the field. Tracy from Texas Roadhouse came with us and the field strung out as some others tried to catch up. Devon gave me a little extra help but eventually we got the break to stick solid and start putting time on the field. Just before the start/finish line going into the last lap Devon flatted but the race had to go on. Tracy and I continued to work together…meanwhile, Devon managed to not only find a random spare wheel, and have it pumped up, but also rework her way back through the patchy field and rejoin us just before the finish. I attacked. Texas Roadhouse pulled it back and kept firing to drop me. Devon executed the finish perfectly and came around her for the win at the line! Awesome and fun race (it’s great to have such strong teammates ;)

Sunday Crit
Women’s Open - 2^nd
A few things went off the front early on but nothing was really sticking until Texas Roadhouse went. Since I was poorly positioned when she went and didn't grab a wheel I decided to wait since it was still early in the race. Then, the bell rang for a prime and I found myself in good position to take it, so I decided to make use of the sprint for the prize. The effort put a sizable gap between myself and the field so I kept going on up to the leader. After a lap or two we were joined by another strong rider (a fellow triathlete!) and the three of us got a great rotation going and managed to lap the field in the last lap. I positioned myself well for the sprint but then misshifted, so just barely missed the wheel of the TR woman, and fell a little short at the line giving me 2^nd, and a prime for the day. Great weekend!

Great results because Jon was with us in spirit.

PostRace Fuel - MMmmm

2008-04-27T12:52:00.001-07:00

A key to a strong season is proper post race recovery. We all know to get a good cool down and to let our bodies have adequate rest after a hard weekend of racing, but what is the perfect post race recovery food you may wonder? What has the ideal blend of carbs, protein, fat, and deliciousness? No - its not the latest supplement rich, protein filled, fruity flavored powder.

The answer is Frozen Custard. Any flavor will do... although I would suggest getting multiple flavors as one scoop usually doesn't suffice after a really hard race. If you venture up to Wisconsin, there is no dearth of race refueling stations. However, sometimes it's hard to find a a place to refuel in Chicagoland. In these cases, ice cream is a suitable alternative. Local homemade ice cream is usually the best, but Ben and Jerry will always come through if you can't find a local creamery.

A few Get A Grip riders had a successful venture up to Wisconsin this weekend. Two podium finishes by Devon and Aspen (Aspen in his first 3's race after upgrading from 4), a 6th place by Val, and a strong performance by Chad in the 1,2,3's after narrowly missing the early start of his 3's race. The picture above shows that this should be no surprise given that they follow a good post race recovery routine.

Female Riders Come to the Fore

2008-04-22T08:15:00.000-07:00

A founding principle of Team Get A Grip Cycles is the idea that all members are treated the same, regardless of racing category or sex. After this past weekend, however, it has become abundantly clear that the team's female riders may once again win more races than the men.

Koren uses tactics and old men to podium at the Ceraland Road Race.
It was predicted on this website that Lindsay Koren would would be a cycling powerhouse in the early part of 2008. This past weekend she demonstrated the truth of that statement when she finished second in the Women's open race at the Ceraland Road Race. Koren used tactics ,strength, and some old guys to eliminate the advantage held by teams with a large number of riders. "There were a few teams there with at least 5 girls a piece but it didn't seem to hurt me." When the mens field that started one minute behind her own race passed her peloton, Lindsay remembered that the promoter said that the womens open field could mix with the men. "The men's field lapped us quickly because we crawled through the first two laps. When they went by no girls made a jump into their field. I let a sizeable gap open up ...and then attacked up to the men's field." Although a few women followed Koren across the gap, the move effectively eliminated the advantage in numbers held by other teams. Koren was able to mix it up with the men, but was unable to take the victory in a messy sprint.
"I felt strong (in the mens field) and had no problems riding right at the front of their group. I worked to close a few gaps and felt strong going into the final sprint. I didn't position myself all that great but was sitting second with respect to the women going into that last little pitch before the line. I ended up behind two guys from the same team who must have given a lead out or something because they sat up like a brick wall leaving me boxed in against the grass! Two girls passed me, but I was able to get enough speed to repass one of them after I got out of the clusterX&#4 (of the men's field). The same girl that beat me yesterday won and I think I had the juice in my legs to beat her today if I had been paying better attention. Lesson noted."

Brostrom closes a monster gap solo.

During the same weekend, Valerie Brostrom took an unintended break from medical school and found herself in Madison racing the Great Dane Velo Club criterium. At a certain point in the race, Val realized that the break up the road might actually stay away so she made the brave decision to cross the gap solo. I "killed myself to get on it, but after a few laps didn't have the juice to stay with the lead 5." She ended up taking 6th (the field sprint perhaps?) against stiff Wisconsin competition.

Haskell takes Midwest Collegiate Regional Road Race.

Although officially racing for the University of Chicago cycling team, it is worth noting that Devon Haskell won the Midwest regional championship road race in a two up sprint this past Sunday. Haskell broke away in the early miles of the race with two riders. As the race progressed one rider from Indiana University fell out of the break leaving Haskell and a rider from the University of Michigan to fight over the victory. In the final miles of the race, the Michigan rider conceded defeat and told Haskell that she was going to win the sprint. That sort of reassurance did not prevent Haskell from turning out a full-on sprint to win the race.

Jim Vandeven Crushes the Ozark Mountains and All Competition at the Dogwood Classic

2008-04-09T13:48:00.001-07:00

Jim Vandeven established his winning move in the opening miles of the hilly, challenging roads of the Dogwood Classic Road Race. He bridged to the from-the-gun attack of Shawn O'Neal, traded pulls with O'Neal for fifty miles, then attacked his break-mate to take the win by himself ten miles later.

Jim's recollection was succinct: "After placing second in Hillsboro I was hungry for a win. Sean O'neal and I attacked from the start and stayed away for the entire race. Twelve miles from the finish I realized he was getting weak, and I road away and won the race. I put 1 1/2 mins on him and about 3 mins on the chase group."

Team Get A Grip Cycles Plays the Hillsboro Roubaix Cross Wind Lottery and Brings Home Three Podium Placings on Three Different Cannondale Bikes.

2008-03-31T09:45:00.000-07:00

After revamping its core squad of category 3 riders, expanding its women’s line-up, and establishing its first presence in the category 2 ranks, Team Get A Grip Cycles entered the 2008 season with a new look and a wider presence. The Hillsboro-Roubaix Road Race on March 29th would determine if we could keep it together or would just devolve into a tribe of wild chimps. With three podium placings and an 82% finish rate, our fears of being shipped off to live with Cozi at Chimp Eden disappeared like most of the day's competition.

Podium #1: “I really, really wanted to win that one”

(Lindsay Koren Places Second on her 2008 Cannondale 6-13)

The fellas in Vegas are taking bets on the following: Lindsay Koren will podium in 66% of each race until she upgrades to the big leagues before the June transition. Koren made all of Saturday’s early splits, established the late-race break, and then dropped the remaining riders on the final climb. “I really didn't want to go through that patchy crap at the bottom of the hill in a bunch. I looked back a few times and just saw one girl in sight coming up. She caught me when I slowed too much going into the last turn and then I almost re caught her near the line.”

Podium #2: “Eh, I got Third:”

(Devon Haskell Places Third on her 2007 Cannondale System Six)

With four wins already this year for the University of Chicago collegiate team, it was time for Devon Haskell to display her club colors against tougher competition. As usual, the team’s #1 rider performed like the all-star she is and brought home a third-place finish, bested by just two of the Midwest’s toughest female racers.

Podium #3: “I Keep Getting Gapped By Slow Guys”

(Jim Vandeven Places Second on his Cannondale CAAD 9)

The final podium placing was built on the race strategy that “It is going to be a weeny ride until the third lap.” Unfortunately for most of the field that proclamation differed significantly from their own race experience as they were crushed by two sections of fierce cross winds and their own weakness. The crucial first two laps featured several long breaks and organized chases by Mesa Cycles, Barbasol, Get A Grip’s Charles Biro, and some fella on a Giant. Biro and Gorry maintained perfect position from the start of the race and their smart play guaranteed a place in the crucial final selection at the end of lap two, while Vandeven and Tenney ensured that they too would have a role to play in the final lap by repeatedly leaping across the gaps created by the weak and the dying. For Tenney (“I Keep Getting Gapped By Slow Guys”), the race ended when all the cross wind leap frogging blew out his L5-S1 disc and relegated him to pedaling with just one leg to the finish in 30^th place. From that point on, the team’s hopes rested on newly upgraded category 3 rider Aspen Gorry, hard man Charles Biro, and the deadly Vandeven. During the final miles Vandeven took the race in his own hands and attacked a late-race break in pursuit of a Mesa rider who was 4 minutes ahead of him. He towed a second Mesa rider to the final hill, rode him off his wheel, and finished in second place, having closed the gap to a single minute by the time he crossed the line. Gorry and Biro dug in and finished with the shattered front group in the 12^th and 23^rd places.

Jimmy says: "Better luck next time boys! Try drinking a Coke."

Jim Vandeven Tests Early Season Form At Froze Toes

2008-02-26T09:46:00.000-08:00

Jim Vandeven narrowly missed out on a top-10 finish in the final sprint of the Elite Froze Toes Road Race, hosted by the Columbia Bicycle Club and Racing Team. Vandeven was forced to unleash his dirty alter ego not once, but twice, in order to pull himself back into contention after multiple flat tires threatened to ruin his chances on the harsh and salty roads of Missouri. Both solo efforts meant that there was not much strength left for the final field sprint and Jim narrowly missed the top-10 when he was passed a few meters from the line.

When not racing his bike, Vandeven spends his time pounding nails as a union carpenter in St. Louis and trying to keep his daughter Kirsten from flushing all of her toys down the comode.

Many thanks to The Columbia Bicycle Club for hosting an event on a blustery and miserable Sunday in February.

"Just raced the cherry pie crit...fast freddie was in it as well as other pros. Did not get dropped!"

2008-02-12T11:34:00.000-08:00

This past Sunday, Eric Wiecek popped the top on the 2008 Team Get A Grip Cycles road racing season at the 2008 Cherry Pie Criterium, hosted by the Eagle Racing Team in California's Napa Valley. Wiecek held his own against some of the nation's top professional teams (BMC, Colavita-Sutter Home, California Giant Strawberries), and even granted Rock Racing's Fred Rodriguez his wheel at a critical point in the race.

Afterwards, Eric was succinct in his comments: "Just raced the cherry pie crit...fast freddie was in it as well as other pros. Did not get dropped!"

And, you saw it here first (almost*). Fred Rodriguez in Rock Racing colors. Seems like one of the nations leading fashion moguls feels that green, white, and black make for a fashionable ensemble.

*Actually, the team's west coast transplant, Angelo Digiovine (the source of these photos), beat us to the punch by just a few, scant hours.

Cyclocross Nationals

2007-12-19T18:03:00.000-08:00

I had a good ending to the 'cross season this past weekend at the Cyclocross National Championships in Kansas City. I headed down to Kansas last Wednesday through the aftermath of the midwest ice storms. The first day of racing took place on an ice-cube covered course. The sun then came out on Friday, melting the ice and turning the course into a massive mud pit (i really wanted to race that day!). Friday night saw cold temperatures and snow which turned the course into a path of frozen ruts on Saturday. The course remained frozen and grooved for my races on sunday. I've raced on lots of surfaces this cross season: mud, snow, dirt, sand, but frozen grooves was a new one for me.

Collegiate Nationals were up first at 9 am on Sunday morning. I had a good spot on the starting line and when the gun went off I was up the paved climb in the front group. Then we hit the ice grooves... its tough riding your bike when the course grabs your wheels and throws you every which way. People went down all over the place. I'm sure it was quite a sight to watch. I held strong during the brief straightaways where short paths of smoothness had formed, but had some troubles around the tight rutted turns and sections of ice fields. Maneuvering became even more difficult as I began to lose feeling in my hands (it was 9 degrees out!), but I remained focused and stayed mostly upright. I was getting much better at riding in the ruts by the end and finished for a fourth place podium finish.

After the race, I had two hours to thaw out and get ready for race number two of the day in the elite women's field. By the time the race started, the sun had come out and melted just enough of the ice to create a slick muddy covering on the ice rutted course. I was ready for another round of fun! Unfortunately my start wasn't nearly as successful in this race. I found myself boxed in and being passed on all sides up the initial climb (oh no!). I hit the ice quite a ways back and had my work cut out for me. It wasn't easy to pass people given the course, but it was a good challenge and I was able to make up ground for most of the race. I took a few wipeouts in the process, lost my chain a couple times, and fell right on top of my bike once (ouch!), but I still had a blast and avoided getting lapped by the leaders. Thanks to all the IL/Wisc crew for cheering me on out on the course and to Aspen for running half the course with me in the process of cheering. 'Cross has super fans who create a great racing atmosphere.

Overall, I had a fun cross season and am sad that it is over. I know that it wouldn't have been nearly as fun or successful without all the support I have received over the season. Thanks to Get A Grip for the team support and for keeping my bike in one piece. A whole cross season with no mechanicals! No wonder the shop is known as Chicago's best. Thanks to my teammates for cheering me on at the races and being supportive all season. And another big thanks to my coach, Brian Conant, for making my first year of racing so successful. I've come a long way over the year with my super training program.

I can't wait until the racing starts again next year!!

Haskell Earns A Midwestern Hat Trick

2007-12-11T12:44:00.000-08:00

Devon Haskell, the team's Fall and Winter news maker, led wire-to-wire at this past weekends Illinois State Championship to take a gold medal and another champions jersey. This win, combined with victories in the Indiana and Wisconsin State Championships, gives Haskell a Midwestern hat trick of State Championship Cyclocross wins.

Haskell now heads to Kansas City to compete in the Collegiate and Elite Women's National Championships of Cyclocross. She will be accompanied by rising cyclocross power house Aspen Gorry, also a gold medalist at the Illinois Championships and a future member of Team Get A Grip Cycles. Expect Gorry to leap-frog categories and race in the Pro/1/2 division next year.

We would like to extend a special thanks to all the sponsors and organizers of this year's Chicago Cross Cup. Since its inception in 2004, the series has grown in size and quality with each edition. We wish it even more success in the future.

"My first UCI Points and Another State Championship Victory": Devon Reports on Iowa's Jingle Cross and the WI State Cyclocross Championship Race

2007-12-04T08:48:00.000-08:00

Jingle Cross (Thanksgiving Weekend, 2007)

I had my most exciting Cross race of the season yet. I have been doing a lot of local races this season, and usually the race ends up being a battle with one or two others. This weekend, there was a huge field of strong riders to race against. It was a two-day UCI event. The first day had a long muddy run-up, followed by an off-camber downhill... a weave through the fairground barns (one with sand), some long flat sections and then a long climb followed by a scarily steep downhill. Day two had a similar course, but backwards. This time we went up the off-camber hill followed closely by a run-up on the super steep hill... then some flats, and twisty sections through the barns. It was a fun course overall, but I do need to work on my downhills and tight turns.

I got off to a terrible start on Day 1... I think I was last shortly after the gun went off. I then got caught behind two wipe outs within the first minute. The leaders were gone by then and I had quite a few gaps to work on. I moved my way up slowly throughout the first lap and ended up in the middle of the pack. I slowly closed in on the 4th and 5th place riders throughout the race and got pretty close to catching up when my chain fell off going over a barrier (doh!). I lost a bit of ground and was then hanging on for 7th with two chasers close behind. I got caught by one on the crazy-steep downhill (we don't have these in Chicago). But I managed to finish 8th for the day.

Day 2 did not start much better than Day 1, but I moved up more quickly this time. While the top three riders had quite a lead, I was in the next pack of 3 working with them for most of the race. It was hard climbing the hills for a second day in a row, but there were a ton of great fans who cheered us on up the difficult run-up and the riders I was with made me keep going strong. I struggled to hang on on the last lap, but came in just behind 4&5 for a 6th place finish, an improvement on Day 1! Overall, it was a fun experience to ride with such a strong field of riders.

Wisconsin State Championships (Sunday, December 2, 2007)

Despite the rain, sleet, and snow conditions this weekend, I couldn't pass up a cross race (there are only two more weeks of cross left :( ). Aspen and I headed up to Milwaukee yesterday and arrived to a snow-covered park for the race. By the time I raced, it had rained a bit and lots of other races had gone so there was a muddy/slushy rut the whole way around the course. There were two run ups, a hill climb, a frozen sandpit (which is a lot easier to ride through than a non-frozen one), a huge puddle (brrr), two bridges, and lots of slick muddy turns around trees.

I was lucky to get a starting spot right along the muddy groove and for once I had a good start and was in front from the whistle. The course was tough... you had to keep peddling to get through the slush and no matter how hard you pedaled, you weren't going anywhere very fast. I had one girl on my tail for the first lap... I just kept focussed on staying upright and moving... and tried to chase down the 35+ guys ahead of me. Soon I had opened a pretty good sized gap but I kept going hard because I knew I had a lot of strong riders behind me. I also had to hope my bike wasn't going to break down on me from being completely covered in snow and mud. My bike proved to be sturdy (thanks to all the Get a Grip Cycles crew and to Saj for fixing it up last week) and I was able to get the win. The atmosphere was great - lots of people embracing the messy conditions, cheering loudly, and having a good time. Makes me love cross even more. Two more weeks left... .and then a long long wait until next season.

The last race of the Chicago series is next weekend so one more chance for you all to get out on the bike and race before spring!

Muddy Cyclocross

2007-11-13T17:06:00.001-08:00

You never know what the weather will be for a cyclocross race. Temperatures range from tropical to frigid, and the weather gods bring wind, rain, and sometimes even snow. No matter what comes, the cyclocross race will go on!

This past weekend was a muddy one. Rain poured down as I pulled into the parking lot and the first races were just beginning. By the time my race rolled around at the end of the day, the course was a mixture of various muddy terrain: slick mud, sticky mud, soupy mud, chunky mud... lots of mud.

My race got off to a good start... for about the first 45 seconds... then we hit the mud. The course is clearly outlined in yellow tape to show you the way to go through the muddy mess. I was following nicely along between the yellow tape until the path went sideways along a hill and took a sudden turn up the hill around a tree. As I came along the hill, my bike began S-L-O-W-L-Y sliding down the hill (did i mention there was slick mud??). Now, I knew this was not a good thing and the turn was coming soon... so I hit the brakes. The brakes were a bit muddy at this point and did not give me quite the response that I was hoping for. So... the turn arrived and I was still going straight ahead and into the yellow tape (that nicely outlines the course). This is when the nice yellow tape ATTACKS me!! I had put my foot down over this yellow tape barrier and when I tried to step back over, I got all wrapped in yellow tape somehow (oh dear!). I remained calm and am able to get my foot untangled from the course, but when I grabbed my bike, I saw that the handle bars were also tangled in yellow tape (oh dear!). Again, I remained calm and carefully untangled the handlebars. Then I was free and I needed to gun it because the leader was getting away (oh dear!). So I started running up the hill with my bike through the sloppy mud and then I hit resistance (hmm?) I looked back and saw that the yellow course tape was attached to my seat post (ahhhh!!!). I kept running in hopes that the yellow tape would break, but the resistance grew stronger and finally I had to stop and unwrap the seat post. At last - I was free!!

The rest of the course proved to be equally muddy and slick, but I managed not to get attacked by any more yellow tape and got a W in the end. Even with Tape Attacks, Muddy 'Cross is a ton of fun!

Get A Grip Cycles Employee and Helicopter EMT Wins First Bike Race

2007-11-02T06:56:00.000-07:00

The members of the team would like to congratulate Geoff Scott for winning the category 4 B race of the third round of the Chicago Cross Cup.

Geoff gave us the lowdown on his first cycle race:

The race started out really fast and there were at least five lead changes in the first few laps. I hung in there until there were only two of us left. I realized that I was coming out of the corners much faster than my break-mate, so when we got into the woods on the last lap, I just gunned it out of one corner and established a small gap. From then on I was riding scared. I put my head down and buried it to the line for the win.

When he is not riding his bike or helping out at the bike shop, Geoff works as an EMT on one of the University of Chicago hospital's emergency helicopters.

Team Get A Grip Cycles Closes Out Inaugural Year as the Winningest Ten-Speed Team in Chicago, Perhaps Illinois.

2007-10-30T08:13:00.000-07:00

In only its first year of existence, the riders of Team Get A Grip Cycles recorded thirty wins, over fifty podium placings, six state championship medals, and two USCF national championship medal. These results are even more remarkable considering that the team has only twelve riders racing on the road and cyclocross circuits and do not race mountain bikes or on the velodrome.* Moreover, eight riders upgraded categories at least once during the season.

The team would like to thank its sponsors, Get A Grip Cycles, Cannondale, Adidas, and Accelerade, for supporting them during their break-out season.

The 2008 roster includes fifteen riders, most over the age of thirty, who will continue to prove that one can build a competitive amateur cycling team with career-minded professionals who train in an urban environment.

Expect more aggressive racing and sophisticated team tactics from this team in 2008.

*the next best Chicago team records fifteen wins on the road and cyclocross, but boasts a roster of probably three times as many members

Haskell Does the Madison Cyclocross Weekend, Nets Three Wins and a Giant Pumpkin.

2007-10-15T13:40:00.000-07:00

In case you haven’t heard, Madison, the capitol of Wisconsin, is a hot bed of Midwestern cycling. This medium-sized city hosts numerous road racing events as well as the most difficult Ironman in the country. Having tasted its road race offerings, Team Get A Grip Cycles cyclocross sensation, Devon Haskell, made the trip from Chicago to see if their cyclocross scene was just as sweet. Here is her take on how the races unfolded:

Day 1 (Hosted by the Brazen Dropouts Cycling Club)

“I got a good lead in the 3s and tried to conserve a bit of energy… for the 1-2-3s which was right after(wards). In the (second race), I got another good start and was up front from the get-go. Kristin (from Kenda tire, who won the last Wisconsin race) came around me on lap two and I tried to just stick with her…At the end of lap two, it was just the two of us. As we came around a tight turn with lots of mulch, Kristin's wheel slipped out and I came to a halt trying not to wipe out myself. I started up again and had a little gap. I went hard to see if I could keep the lead and held on for a W”

Day 2 (Hosted by the Capitol Velo Club and Homegrown Racing)

“I decided to just do the 1-2-3s today. It was a rainy day and our race was near the end of the day, so the course was one big mud pit! Yay for getting muddy! I got off to another good start and by the end of lap one it was me and Kristin again. An unfortunate turn in the mud let me get a bit of a lead and I open it up on the next lap. Then I slid out on the third lap and the gap slimmed down quite a bit (i was also beginning to feel quite tired). But, I managed to hang on for the next couple laps for win number three of the weekend! I won a giant pumpkin!”

Editors note: Devon is over the age of twenty-one, so race organizers should feel free to give her beer as a prize. Her team mates will have no trouble drinking it, especially those who live in the building next to hers.

Photo courtesy of Renee Calloway at madcross.org.

Velonews report on Badger Cross.

The Fall Fling and The Last Hurrah

2007-10-09T00:46:00.000-07:00

Former WBC Heavyweight Champion Trevor Berbick's biggest historical claim to fame is that he ushered in the end of an era of one great heavyweight champion by defeating Muhammad Ali on December 11th 1981 in Ali's last fight and later ushering in the beginning of the era of the next great

heavyweight champion, Mike Tyson. On November 22nd 1986 Trevor Berbick defending his title for the first time entered the ring full of confidence. In the 2nd round, after a stunning barrage of punches to the body and then temple, Berbick crashed down as if his legs had been cut from beneath him. He tried vainly to get up but collapsed again near the ropes. But Berbick was proud, if nothing else. Once again, he bravely attempted to regain his footing but his legs wouldn't carry him and he fell for the third time, on to his back. For Trevor, he simply never had a chance; it was simply not meant to be.

Now on to cycling and my just recently finished 4 round fight with the ABD sponsored Fall Fling. The Fall Fling is a 4 race ABR sanctioned stage race that includes one time-trial, one road race and two criteriums. In the 2004 and 2005 editions of the Fall Fling, racing as a cat 3, I finished 3rd overall both times winning the road race in 2004 and both criteriums in 2005. Last year I was the overall highest placed cat 3, winning one crit and the road race with successful breakaways. Did that make me the champion? Well if so then in my title defense this year it all was as it was with Trevor Berbick in 1986. It was simply not meant to be.

From the opening moment of the series it now seems that I also never had a chance. In the stage 1 Maple Park Prologue TT I placed an ominous 11th place. It was an event plagued by errors. Stunned when I was for the first time ever given a holder at the start I clipped in but then forgot to gear down to a good launch gear. I chugged off the starting line. A pre-race inspection had revealed much gravel near the apex of the first and only turn. But now in the race I was suddenly surprised by four cones dividing the road lanes near the turn but no gravel, to late, I had taken the turn very slow and cautious. At the turn-around I raced to get in front of a slower rider only to then have to slam on the brakes and be forced to gear down during the turn-around while standing, I dropped my chain. Several times on the way out and back I kept feeling strong tugs on my back wheel. Was it the cross wind or was the rear brake suddenly grabbing? Now paranoid, I sat-up to open the rear brake all the way. Later, in an attempt to leave nothing left in me, I stood straight from the aero-bar position to sprint to the finish. I ended up hitting the top tube with my knee and almost wiping out 200 meters from the finish. It was not a good TT. Worse, when I returned to the car I closed the rear brake again to its normal position only find that indeed it had been rubbing. How can this be, I checked it and all the mechanics to an almost anal level pre-race. Perhaps the holder at the start accidentally nudged it to one side, I just don't know.

Stage 2 and the following day's crit in Lombard had me still believing. I knew I wanted to avoid the field sprint so I tried to bridge to any break that looked like it had a chance. Unfortunately, all the breaks I did bridge to would fail. And so when on the final lap I was bumped 3 times, once into the curb I was forced to sprint from the very back of 60 riders alone up the outside to as close to the front as possible before the sprint started only to die as soon as the field rounded the final corner to actually start the sprint, I finished 9th. Yet, after the first 2 stages I was 7th overall and I still believed. But that was before stage 3, the double points road race.

In the weekdays following stage 2 but before stage 3 I worked a demolition job requiring me to carry 40-50lbs of plaster down 3 flights of stairs for 7 hours. The following days had me so sore and tired that I could barely move my legs. Worse, the dreaded knee pain that had more or less sabotaged my whole season was now back.

Stage 3, the road race in West Lake Village. This was a 48.6-mile rolling hill road race where the biggest obstacles were the strong cross winds and for me, my still very unhappy legs. 6 miles into the race my front tire makes the sudden sound of air rapidly escaping. I had a puncture but just enough air remained in the tire to allow me to keep riding. And so to avoid stopping, waiting for the wheel truck and surely getting dropped, I sat all the way at the very back end of the saddle and just believed I could make it. Unfortunately riding a tire for 33 miles with maybe 15 psi in it was slowly wearing me down, the corners were also very tense. Turning myself inside out to stay with the group I made the final cut of riders. Maybe 25 left in a lead group of what had been 60+ starters. Then with 10 miles to go the front tire went completely flat and I was riding the rim. Devastated, I stopped and after a very slow wheel change from the support truck, I tried to TT back but only wound-up riding myself into complete exhaustion. Then to add more pain, I was caught by a group of 10 riders, 9 were cat 3's. Nearly all of these riders who would have finished behind me would now finish ahead of me courtesy of a large combine with 3 trailers that they all decided to go around by crossing the double yellow line and against on coming traffic up a hill. I finished 17th and was now 10th overall. I now knew that I lost not only the series but also a top 5 podium spot. However, I still hoped for at least a top 8 money position.

Stage 4 the final event and another crit in Lombard. To be honest, I was to physically and mentally tired to race and so all I could do or hope for was wait for the one big break attempt that just might save the day for me. When I saw it, I went, I made it, but it died. When the field caught the break I was dead. On the final lap though I tried to move to a better position with my teammate Seth Meyer we were to far back or blocked in by the field and curbside to really get back into it. The fitting end came when another rider from a previous race decided to hop onto the street and ride the course in reverse right at me while in the final sprint 100 meters from the line. I sat down swerved to avoid collision then sprinted in for a 24th place and zero points on the day. I wound up 11th overall for the series.

The 2007 road-racing season is now over. For me, the 2007 edition of the Fall Fling is unfortunately a synopsis of my whole season. One that was plagued by continual knee pain, illness and crashes. It’s been easily the most personally disappointing racing season since I started racing in 2001. Yet reality is what it is and I have no choice but to accept it. But what now? Do I simply recover and begin preparation for the 2008-racing season or am I a spent rider? In boxing the term is a broken fighter. A fighter no longer willing to deal with all the suffering required to excel at his sport. Am I like Jose Luis Castillo after being floored by Ricky Hatton? Is it all over? The answer lies somewhere within me and I have the whole cold and dark winter to find it.

You'll just have to return here to find out and see what happens.

Review: Annette Fiscelli Tests My Lactate Threshold

2007-10-05T14:45:00.001-07:00

So how many cyclists out there know the exact measurement of their lactate threshold? Can they tell you what it is in watts, or are they limited to a heart rate measurement?

I am sure that the answer is relative few; and, if they do have some idea of their threshold, they probably determined it by an imprecise method, e.g., Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE), or something simple like: “my coach told me to go out and ride as hard as I could for 30 minutes and look at my average heart rate when I was done.”

But if you train by yourself a lot and want to be precise, you need to have a proper test.

One of the perks of being a rider on Team Get A Grip Cycles is the access that we have to Emily and Annette, the two personal trainers who work out of the Fulton Fit and Strengthening Studio. They love to train and know more about physiology than any other coach or trainer that I have met (Let’s face it. Most of the coaches who advertise their services are just racers who took a weekend seminar with USCF or USAT).

Emily and Annette stand out because of their education. They can do things that your average trainer can’t do. For instance, I just started working with Emily to alleviate some serious lower body imbalances that have affected my cycling performance for the last two years.

Until 6 months ago, I had been limping through my training using a threshold measurement not much more precise than those mentioned above. It was adequate, but I always had this lingering doubt that I was doing my LT threshold intervals a little below where I wanted to be. So, when Annette offered to give me the real test, I jumped at the opportunity.

The test was performed on a Cyclops stationary bike, with a watt meter, a heart rate monitor, and a cool machine that analyzed my blood. It is not overly strenuous (don’t confuse it with a VO2 max test), but it does require some planning ahead. It is not a good idea to train hard the day beforehand.

During the test I had to pedal at a certain wattage while Annette pricked my finger and took careful measurements of my blood lactate and heart rate. Every 2 minutes, I was told to raise the wattage slightly, and Annette re-pricked my finger and took the same measurements again.

She entered the data into a computer and then produced a graph with a gradual curve. Towards the end, the curve took a radical upturn, and the heart rate and wattage associated with that upturn gave me my lactate threshold measurements.

I do most of my training solo and knowing my threshold will give me the peace of mind that I am hitting all of my workout markers. I am also excited to start using it as I try training with a power meter.

This test is available to anyone out there for a reasonable fee.

Cyclocross Is Here!

2007-09-28T05:51:00.000-07:00

After a long wait, cyclocross season has finally arrived! For some, this marks the time to lay aside the bike and start having a few more beers. For others, it is the best part of the racing calendar. No more riding around endless circles of pavement... cyclocross offers varied terrain, technical turns, and most importantly barriers. It is the steeplechase of cycling.

I first discovered cyclocross about a year ago and since the end of the Chicago series last December, I have been impatiently waiting for this year's season to begin. The Chicago 'Cross Cup (www.chicrosscup.com) kicked off on Saturday with a race in Jackson Park. Get-A-Grip had a number of riders come out and a good start to the season with a (narrow) win in the women's division. Thanks to the XXX folks for creating a fun course and putting on a good race.

Team Get A Grip Cycles thanks Cannondale For Great Bikes, Support

2007-09-06T14:18:00.001-07:00

Dear Cannondale,

I am the director/captain of Team Get A Grip Cycles, a small, amateur, cycling team based in Chicago, Illinois. Earlier this year, we joined your grass roots sponsorship program through our sponsoring shop, Get A Grip Cycles, and Josh Ruddy, the local Cannondale representative.

Let me say that we have had a wonderful experience racing on your bikes. They performed beyond expectations and never failed to impress our rivals. We won multiple state championships, sent riders to collegiate nationals, and generally struck fear in our competition.

But this e-mail is not about the team or your bikes. It is about the help we received from Eric Saletel and Troy (sorry, but we did not get Troy's last name) at last weekend's Gateway Cup. Several of us were experiencing problems with our bikes once we got to the race. We did not really have the tools or expertise to remedy things ourselves, so we elicited the help of Eric and Troy, who were both there as part of your test ride/technical support program. The two of them took time from their busy schedules to fix our creaky bottom brackets and dirty hubs. With their help we were able to race to the best of our abilities. We won, and nearly swept the podium, of the third stage.

I extend to Cannondale, Eric, and Troy, our sincerest thanks. I am not sure what we would have done without them.

This is a spectacular program. We hope that you continue to support it.

Jonathan Tenney
Team Get A Grip Cycles

Team Get A Grip Cycles Stomps Into St. Louis and Brings Out the Tools At The Gateway Cup

2007-09-03T05:47:00.000-07:00

click to enlarge
With the end of the road racing season in sight, some members of Team Get A Grip Cycles are bookending their season by racing in lovely St. Louis, Missouri. The Gateway Cup features four days of lung-busting criterium racing in some of the most attractive neighborhoods of the Gateway to the West.

After two days of near-misses, the team finally earned the victory they had come to claim when Steven Vandeven sprinted to victory in the Giro della Montagna. "Those other dudes just delivered me to the finish. I did not have to put my nose out into the wind until there were 150 meters left. It was the easiest sprint I have ever done," he said. James Holton, last year's winner, nearly placed second after another team member, Jonathan Gray, put Holton in an ideal position to also go for the win. The space between second and third was close enough that the line judge resorted to the film, and awarded Holton with third. "I would have liked to win this race again, since I have won it the last two years. I was in a good position to finish first, but Steve was in a better one."

Special thanks to Chicago's 16th Ward, Ald. Thompson, and XXX-Athletico

2007-08-26T06:46:00.000-07:00

Team Get A Grip Cycles would like to thank Ald. Joann Thompson, the residents of the 16th Ward, and the XXX-Athletico racing team for putting on an excellent event in Chicago's Sherman Park. Despite the extreme weather in the days and hours preceding the event, XXX Racing put on a thrilling and competitive set of races.

Some members of our team live just minutes away from Sherman Park in the Hyde Park neighborhood. We are truly grateful to have this event in our neighborhood. Thanks for bringing people to the South Side and showing them how dynamic and exciting this part of Chicago can be.

The category 3 squad would like to extend our personal thanks to the announcer of the Category 3/4 race. You were a fresh alternative to the usual. Thanks Brandon!

Thanks

2007-08-09T23:42:00.000-07:00

Angelo here, typing in from foggy San Francisco. --I was cold on tonight's ride while wearing long-sleeves, vest, knickers and wool gloves!

I just wanted to say thanks to my teammates and the awesome staff at the shop. I've had countless great times hanging at the shop and racing with you all. I'm sad to say that I'm retiring my green TGAGC kit. Being the solo representation out west has been fun..."cool kit and bike, where is Get A Grip out of?", "Get A Grip, that's in Chicago isn't it?" and I've recently had other riders comment on the team's Superweek results!, but it's time for me to join up with a local team. I've made the jump to Kovarus/Squadra Ovest, based out of San Francisco.

Good luck to you all. As you know, the door is always open at your SF training camp.

Podiums in Lombard Cont...

2007-08-01T17:49:00.000-07:00

The women's field at the Lombard crit was also small at the starting line. Most of them were wearing the orange of ABD. I (Devon) felt a bit lonely without my teammates with me. Sadly the mountains of Colorado and other engagements kept them from racing in Lombard this weekend.

ABD attacked from the starting line, but I stayed in the pack patiently waiting for their two strongest riders to initiate an attack. It wasn't long before the initial attack was brought back and the two powerhouse riders of ABD came zooming by. I went with them and we opened up a large gap from the small field behind.

For a while, the three of us took turns pulling, but I knew our cooperative riding wouldn't last long. About half-way into the race, the tag-team attacks began. Knowing that I wouldn't be able to survive their attacks for long, I decided to try attacking myself and managed to split up the two teammates.

I had one rider still on my wheel and soon she eventually flew past me, opening up a 5 second gap. For the last 20 minutes I rode with her in sight. She had me working pretty hard, but with half a lap to go, I was able to close the gap.

The race came down to the final sprint and I'm happy to say that my Speedy System Six didn't let me down!

P/1/2 Podium in Lombard

2007-07-31T15:13:00.000-07:00

Hi readers. Seth here, writing a short recap of Sunday's ABR Illinois State Championship Criterium in Lombard.

After a long Superweek in Wisconsin, with the large, national-level P/1/2 fields really whipping me into shape in a bunch of 100-kilometer criteriums, it was time to come back to Chicagoland and test out some new form. Although the course in Lombard, essentially a 1-mile, windy oval with no more than 20 feet of elevation is not exactly suited to my twiggy climber's frame, this is exactly where I was hoping to see some improvement after Superweek.

Meeting a small field at the start line, presumably because many were exhausted from the long haul of July races or maybe because there were still some also in Whitefish Bay, just north of Milwaukee, whatever the reason, I wanted to make sure this race wouldn't be too lazy or too easy before a finishing sprint. So I clipped in first and fastest from the gun and went to the front to whip up a fast pace to start the race.

Lo and behold, I look behind and see that only two other guys were really ready to ride. The others in the Pro/1/2 field were content to let us go, even though the event was an uncharacteristically short 45 minutes (which I would argue should encourage only very short leashes on breakaways). In any case, these two and I decided to keep rolling and see what would happen. After a few minutes, two bridged up to us, and, with a nice gap, we decided to give this sucker our all.

Halfway through the race, we all had the thought, I'm sure, that this was bound to be much harder than we had calculated. I was already counting down the minutes at 20 in, but, after some mistakes riding in the breakaway earlier this year, I knew that the first and most important rule was to ride it to the bitter end. So I kept on, along with the other two original members. One of the bridgers eventually couldn't handle the pace, however, and another could no longer pull. He sat on the rest of the race and was not a factor.

With pleasure and a bit of disbelief (too good to be true?), our gap hit the one-minute mark close to the end of the race, meaning we would soon lap the field. Nice! To make it fairer in the last few laps, we took shorter pulls, but, of course, the attacks had to come sometime. With two to go, one of my companions attacked incredibly hard. Neither my mate nor I could match his acceleration. So we decided to try to bring him back together by equally pulling as fast as possible these last two laps. It just didn't happen, though. The attacker was the strongest man. My companion won the sprint at the line, with the sitter-on not being a factor, meaning I took the final rung of the podium.

At first, I was a bit disappointed ending up 3rd out of what was a 5-man main move of the day. On the other hand, I had never gone from the gun to the finish in a successful breakaway, and of course I hadn't in a Pro/1/2 race either. So it was definitely progress! I have to admit that Superweek has brought me on some great form. Let's hope I can keep it up and get some more results in the P/1/2 field with it, including by continuing to develop that strength capacity for going with a winning last-lap attack after a long breakaway!

SUPERWEEK - BREWER'S HILL CRITERIUM - CAT 3

2007-07-30T16:45:00.000-07:00

Today's players consist of Eric, Chip, Jon, and myself(Steve). It's a beautiful Saturday afternoon in Milwaukee, and we know today's course is well suited for our racing style. Aggression, Aggression, Aggression!!! With a nice little hill just before the finish, going up 60 times, we figure to make a break stick or simply shred the field. As it turned out, it was a nice day for a break.

Roughly half way through the race Chip and I slowly roll off the front, the field seemed to be giving us a rather long leash, so we decided to take advantage. After a sharp effort, we had a nice gap super fast. A couple others bridged up and then the field really started chasing. After a few laps, things started to come back together, but I wasn't ready to give up. I held a decent tempo just off the front, and pretty much like I expected, the counters began. After a few other attempts, eventually a group of 9 formed with most of the teams being represented. This was the group that would stick and actually wound up lapping the field.

Lapping the field is an interesting thing. The simplicity of a break becomes rather complex or confusing the instant you reintegrate. The first thing you think is get to the front as fast as possible. Next you're trying to get on the same page w/ your teammates and make sure everyone knows what to do. It's funny how you're not exactly sure who all was in the break with you, when you were working together just minutes earlier. I'm sure this is more the case w/ a large break, such as a group of 9 like ours.

My team was awesome today!!! Chip and I started things off while Eric and Jon controlled the pace behind. Chip later joined in controlling the chase. As soon as we lapped the field, Eric brought me straight to the front and kept me safe. Then the guys sat back a bit and let me take advantage of the Beans and Barley train who was taking care of Loberg, their guy in the break.. With about 3 to go my team came forward again, Chip upped the pace for about 2 laps and then Jon took the reins for the last one. The only unfortunate happening was Jon going up one side while I was on the other. The rider who got his wheel, who I didn't even remember being in the break, wound up 1st and I was 2nd. So close! But I'm happy with a 2nd place Superweek finish, especially considering who won was also the guy who ran away with the overall.

Big thanks to my team!!!
Steven Vandeven

Team Get A Grip Cycles Prepares for an All-Out Assault on the International Cycling Classic

2007-07-11T18:37:00.000-07:00

Starting on July 13th, Team Get A Grip Cycles will be bringing its full weight to bear on the International Cycling Classic, the longest running cycling stage race in North America.

Riders will be facing seventeen straight days of racing held on various courses in the Milwaukee and Chicago areas. For a complete schedule, go to internationalcycling.com.

Condolences

2007-07-02T06:07:00.001-07:00

Staff and team members of Get A Grip Cycles offer their condolences to all affected by the death of Beth Kobeszka at this weekend's Proctor Cycling Classic.

T-E-A-M Victory at Fox River Grove Criterium

2007-06-24T19:03:00.000-07:00

Team Get A Grip Cycles had a fantastic day at the Fox River Grove criterium in Illinois, organized by a very professional, top-notch organization in RDS Cycling.

Steven Vandeven, Eric Wiecek, Chip Gray, Lee Heaton, and Seth Meyer, fresh off the Tour of Ohio, lined up to take on the field on the 1.2-mile circuit that included one very steep and difficult climb. From the gun, TGAGC made the pace high, making sure that the hill would take its toll on the pack in the short, intense event. On the third lap, attacks really began, with Vandeven being the one eventually breaking the elastic going off solo.

With four dedicated teammates in the pack disrupting all forms of a chase, Vandeven's gap grew larger and larger, to a maximum of one minute—solo, no less! About halfway through the race, the field's anxiousness grew unbearable and multiple bridge attempts flew off the front. After some attack-counter-attack games, it was Jason Knauff of Team ClifBar Midwest making the move that stuck, and Meyer latched onto his wheel to do his duty for the team.

At this point, Vandeven was off the front, with a motoring Knauff in between with a resting Meyer in a great strategic position just sitting on the wheel, and Wiecek, Heaton, and Gray still keeping a grip on the field. With two to go, it was time to utilize these numbers and circumstances, as Meyer attacked Knauff in efforts to create a TGAGC duo up front.

Meyer bridged up to Vandeven and paced him up the climb the last lap, followed by the two exchanging pulls until the finishing straight, where they crossed hand-in-hand as 1st and 2nd place! Knauff did a fantastic ride to stay off for third, but, just behind, it was Wiecek fighting it out on the line in the field, ultimately taking second in that finishing group and 5th overall, with Heaton just behind in 7th and Gray in 9th.

Photos of the race and this domination are coming soon. Team Get A Grip Cycles used all of its strong members to perfection today, racing with precision and guts for a breath-taking 1-2.

Check back for next weekend's racing in Proctor. An even larger, even stronger TGAGC contingent will be out for these IL state championship races (sans Meyer, who is off for a rest after the first half of his season and shall return as a full-time elite Pro/1/2 competitior). TGAGC will be looking to keep up its dominance in the elite fields of the region. Stay tuned!

Tour of Ohio Stage 6: A First Last Day

2007-06-23T23:49:00.000-07:00

Well, Seth's first stage race is all over. And, for the third day in a row, the peloton stayed together for a bunch sprint. I'm a little discontent with that fact, that the race was decided in the early stages. The way it went was that the second day was the day to lose it if you had mishaps or nerves or crashes or flats in the rain, and the third day was the day to win it (the queen stage). Everything else was just very minor sorting out. I wish there would have been one more difficult stage like the third one on the fifth or sixth day, but, alas, that's how it went.

The positive side of losing time on the second day is that it gave me more courage and reason to attack on the third day, and the time, attention, credit, and experience that that gave me was all more than I could have asked for in my first stage race experience. The even greater positive is that, being in that break with Swain, especially when Hekman bridged, I got to really learn a new level of suffering that I probably could not have otherwise found (certainly not on my own), and that alone makes me feel like a stronger rider, not to mention the fitness six days of racing will give you.

So results ended up like this: I was 62nd overall out of 129 riders (so top half, which is all right for my first Pro/1/2/3 stage race, I think), 18th in the collegiate rider classification, and then, most importantly, 6th for the King of the Mountains Jersey and 5th for the White Jersey. I guess that basically means I'm young, I'm gutsy, and I go uphill fast. So let's hope I stay on the upswing there.

Thanks so much for reading about the experience this week. I'm looking forward to the second half of the season with Team Get A Grip Cycles!

Tour of Ohio Stage 5: Another Day

2007-06-22T23:27:00.000-07:00

Seth here, from the Tour of Ohio's final [what was supposed to be] selective day.

Well, I tried my little heart out, but, quite honestly, today's profile just wasn't difficult enough. There was only one hill on the 11-mile loop, and it was a short big-ringer that wasn't difficult enough to cause a split in the field.

Early on, I was active trying to get in a small group if one would be let off. Scholzen and I were actually in three separate little moves together in the first two circuits, but it soon became obvious this was to be a bunch sprint. Since the hill was a smallish power climb (1/3 of a mile, not crazy steep, as advertised), it wasn't my terrain for a sprint for climber's points either, and I was stagnant in that competition.

We'll see official results later, but, due to this, I may have dropped in the KOM competition. That's too bad, since the KOMs were like just slightly uphill sprints today. Things are pretty much set too, as tomorrow is just a short, little twilight criterium to close things out. So long as I don't crash, I think I'll be 67th in GC, 6th in KOM, 5th in White Jersey, and gutsiest friggin' 21-year-old out there (who else went on a 55-mile break with Hekman and Swain on the queen stage)?

Thanks for support, reading. Final report and results tomorrow from my first pro-am stage race!

Tour of Ohio Stage 4: An Easier Day

2007-06-21T23:52:00.000-07:00

Easier is a relative term. This stage was by no means easy, but thank goodness it was not want-to-get-off-and-walk difficult. It was a circuit race in a residential area, 33 laps and 33 times up a big-ring climb. Luckily, the field was obviously staying together for a bunch sprint so I could rest assured in the middle of the pack that all would be okay if I just stayed upright and conserved.

Tha's exactly what I did, finishing smack dab in the middle in 58th today, hopefully doing the legs some good by avoiding hard efforts. I'll have to be ready to go on the attack again in Stage 5 if I want more KOM points (the last day they're offered)!

Team Get A Grip Cycles all over cyclingnews.com

2007-06-20T23:31:00.000-07:00

Just below Tour de Suisse and Nature Valley is the Tour of Ohio on cyclingnews.com, where Tim Swain (A&F) and Seth Meyer (TGAGC) were given massive props on their antics in the breakaway all day long in the queen stage, Stage 3. Read on! http://www.cyclingnews.com/road.php?id=road/2007/jun07/tourofohio07/tourofohio073

In other news, after official results, Meyer is sitting 5th in the KOM classification, 5th in the white jersey, and 67th overall. And it turns out Dickey (Mercy) did inch past Hekman (A&F) on the line yesterday. So Abercrombie will be out to get that jersey back this week. In the meantime, Meyer will keep shooting for his!

Tour of Ohio Stage 3: A Big, Big Day

2007-06-20T18:55:00.000-07:00

Seth reporting from Ohio again, the Team Get A Grip Cycles member on a composite squad for the elite Pro/1/2/3 stage race: I wasn't necessarily looking for redemption today, nor the breakaway, but you don't say no when opportunity jumps up right in front of your face!

After some really tough attacks in the first few miles, I rode a good wheel (Brian Sheedy, Priority Health pro team) up to the first few positions of the main field, wanting to stay attentive in the case of a split in the group due to all of these accelerations. I then moved over to a Mercy rider's wheel who starts rolling. A minute later, he turns around and says, "You know we have a gap right?" What? I look back, sure enough, we're all of the sudden in the breakaway.

I can't see how or why, I guess I was just in the right combination at the right time, but, after three more guys bridging up, we were given a bit of a leash, and we rode away from the main field. Great. All we had to do was 60 more miles of very hilly terrain, 5 KOM (King of the Mountains) classifications, all under the very hot, midday sun. Yes...yikes! That was bound to be tough.

I have never had my legs burn so much before. I have never had four gels and so many bottles and all the energy-saving and economical breakaway riding in the world still leave me dying out there, but I was honestly on the verge of tears nearing the end of the stage. The breakaway actually reformed, as A&F sent another guy, Mark Hekman (current leader of the nation's professional criteriums series and now GC leader of Tour of Ohio), Dewey Dickey (Mercy) came up, and the Time Pro Development Team and Colavita had solid riders help out too. In the end, we were twelve in front of the field of 129. Holy cramp!

Hekman, Dickey, and two others had the strength to attack in the end. I, just buried in this move, was passed by one elite group and ended up somewhere around 40th and 4 minutes down on the day, but it was ahead of a ton of people and a ton of people who lost a ton of time. What's more is that I gained a number of KOM points and am now Top 10 on that classification, am on the podium for Best Cat 3 (my teammate on the combination team here, Matt Waite, currently has the white jersey), and I'm making my way toward the top half of the GC after yesterday's fluke disappointment.

What's even more is that, today, skinny little Seth Meyer mixed it up in a P-R-O breakaway for 55 miles. It's a shame I couldn't stick out the last few, but the advantage and recognition it gave me already was much more than I could have expected. This is a big comeback for me during the tour. Let's hope I can recover well and stay on the upward pattern for the last three stages.

'til next time!

P.S. We're keeping a video diary for the Tour of Ohio at http://www.seth-meyer.com/page4.html

Team Get A Grip Cycles' Rider To Race With The Elite

2007-06-20T08:13:00.000-07:00

From June 20th to the 24th, Devon Haskell will be racing the Nature Valley Grand Prix as part of the Ryan Collegiate All Stars composite team. Team members will be posting daily updates on the team website.

The management of the Nature Valley Grand Prix has put together a video preview of what Haskell will have to face over the course of five days. Video Preview

Tour of Ohio Stage 2: A Bad Day

2007-06-19T19:23:00.001-07:00

Hi everyone, Seth reporting again from the Tour of Ohio: Not going to lie now, I was a scaredy-cat today. It was raining during the second stage, and, despite a great starting position, the opening descent and first few miles took my nerve from the get-go. Where I started, in between 20th and 30th place, must have been the place to be because multiple crashes, flats, people bumping and flying off the road were all on either side of me.

As opposed to staying tough and letting courage keep me up front, I braked my way behind the chaos and, before I knew it, I was on the back. Gaps kept opening up there, for whatever reasons, and, all of the sudden, I was dropped. To add insult to injury, the chase group I joined got very frustrated with me, keeping the pace a bit unsteady. I guess I was just so desperate to get back to the lead (and I had a lot of strength to use to do so!), but it was ultimately the unwise move, and I settled into the line after my second big mistake of the day, accepting that my mental second-guessing around a few rain-slicked corners had kept me away from the front pack.

We rode all right together, ultimately finishing somewhere between 6 and 8 minutes down. Still, this is very disappointing, and I'll have to A) hope for good weather tomorrow, and B) regardless, get some nerve to stick in the front pack. The speed is there to stay in it, and, with tomorrow's summit finish, it would be a good day to try to crack the top twenty places. Here's hoping for better...thanks for reading.

Tour of Ohio Stage 1: A Flawless Beginning

2007-06-18T23:11:00.000-07:00

Hi, everyone. Seth Meyer here, reporting daily from the Pro/1/2/3 Bikesource Tour of Ohio this entire week (June 18th-23rd).

Today's first stage was an hourglass-shaped criterium course, offering time bonuses to the first three across the line in the finale, establishing a podium for the jersey wearers for the week. Seeing as the stages I am eyeing are the hillier, later ones, where I'll need all my strength and where the time gaps will really appear, today's goal was simple: Stay safe and stay in the main group.

A lot of factors could have hindered that--it was in the 90s all day, the wind was blowing hard, and the road surface was not fantastic. However, I found, in the end, that there was no need to be nervous, as there were a lot of places to hide from the conditions in a 120-some-person field, and the ones that couldn't be hidden from...well...everyone needed to deal with them anyway.

In any case, during this 68-lap, constantly turning hourglass-race (68x8 means we turned 544 times within an hour and change), I managed to stay tucked in the middle of the field, also staying in the saddle nearly the entire time, conserving as much as possible for the later days. Mission accomplished: I finished just in the top half, around 50th position (results are not online yet; I'll post them with tomorrow's recap).

As the field finished in a bunch sprint, there are no time gaps except for the bonuses for the sprinters, which one would hope will be erased once we head into the mountains. So it was a great first day. Tomorrow is a 10-mile circuit with two 7% climbs that we will do a number of times, perhaps a day for small classification changes, but I will stay try to stay conservative and just in the lead pack without doing any unnecessary work, waiting for Wednesday's summit finish.

Until tomorrow!

Great Results in Grafton

2007-06-17T18:01:00.000-07:00

Team Get A Grip Cycles brought a 6-man entourage for the Cat 3 Men's Twilight Criterium in Grafton, WI this past Saturday. A first-year event, its interesting, 6-corner downtown course lined with many supportive, local spectators, it meet all expectations and then some, offering a great venue for crit racing.

Active in the major moves of the day, Eric Wiecek, Chip Gray, Steve Vandeven, Seth Meyer, James Holton, and Jon Tenney tried to make the breakaway happen. With three laps to go, it was looking good as Meyer bridged to Brazen Dropouts riders Matt Waite and Dallas Fowler, and the three held a respectable gap.

Alas, the field came back to the threesome, but it wasn't time for TGAGC to go down yet, as Wiecek took advantage of the moment of confusion in the last lap and jumped up to second position, with a bit of a gap on the field, coming into the final corner. From that spot, he sprinted nicely into third place, and, charging out of the field, Vandeven and Holton nabbed 8th and 11th, respectively.

Meyer, after his efforts rolled through for 22nd, with Tenney and Gray, also active during the day, coming in with the main bunch as well. All these efforts for three, top-15 money spots was definitely worth it for the entire squad!

Later on, Devon Haskell, preparing for Nature Valley this coming week (six stages from June 20-24) entered the Women's Pro/1/2/3 race. Conserving energy very well the entire day, she sprinted out of the field behind a solo breakaway for 5th place overall, another great result for Team Get A Grip Cycles.

Even more success: While most of the men's squad was at Grafton, Lee Heaton made his way to Carroll County for an ABR road race Saturday, taking a convincing win and giving TGAGC yet another W. Congratulations to Heaton, stepping onto the top spot of the podium for the first time this season!

A Good Day in Spring Prairie

2007-06-11T12:00:00.001-07:00

Team Get A Grip Cycles riders made it up to Spring Prairie for Wisconsin's challenging state road race, a 6.5-mile loop with rolling hills and one very steep hill to about 100m to go to the finish.

Early in the day, Emily Hutchins picked up right where she left off in the Women Cat 4 field and took her second win in as many races. One more fantastic finish from her and she may be moving up to race with the elite women already!

Apropos, elite women, Devon Haskell was out looking for good training and results again ahead of her debut at the Nature Valley Grand Prix with the collegiate all-stars (June 20-24). She was 4th in the Women's Pro/1/2/3 race.

As for the Cat 3 men, Seth Meyer, Eric Wiecek, and Steve Vandeven finished with the field behind the one remnant of a late-race breakaway who took the race solo (all his companions, however, were caught thanks to a fast final lap—Steve and Eric's pacemaking along with some cooperation in the bunch). Although a bit out of position for the sprint, the three still came in 4th, 13th, and 14th, respectively. Not too shabby!

Like Haskell, Meyer will also be moving up in the ranks for a pro stage race just around the corner. He'll be updating daily from the Pro/1/2/3 Tour of Ohio (June 18-23) next week, his last race as a Category 3 targeting that white jersey classification, and coming back as an Elite 2.

Team Get A Grip Cycles Descends on Winfield, Podiums, Podiums, and Podiums (and Wins a National Championship).

2007-06-04T08:58:00.000-07:00

Those of us who race in Illinois are blessed with American Bicycle Racing, a rapidly expanding cycle-racing organization with roots in Illinois and Wisconsin. Their races are fun and affordable, and their administrative staff and officials seem free of politics and posturing. Their races are also safer than most with proof coming in the form of decreasing insurance rates over the years (that means less cost to you, the riders).

Among all of the great ABR venues, the Winfield Criterium Weekend, hosted by Athletes by Design, is certainly the best. With one national championship jersey up for grabs, and knowing that Winfield is the home town of someone dear to our sponsor; the entirety of Team Get A Grip Cycles descended on the town like a green and black wave.

Winfield Twilight Criterium: Too many passengers can't stop the little engine that could.

We did not plan it, but the team's performance at this race served as an early summer warning shot across the bow of the local scene. The one mile loop was simple and entertaining: you go up a hill, wind down the hill through the lovely local neighborhood, and cross the finish line, and repeat for just under an hour.

We do not mind going around and around on the flat crits; but when the road tilts up even a little, and the strong men must come to the fore, all of Team Get A Grip Cycles plan on being there to turn the screws. Somewhere during the race, our attacks led to the formation of a small group which grew to a break of twelve with four of our riders making the cut. It was a sloppy and generally unmotivated group, and it never would have stayed away had Seth Meyer not pulled all of its passengers up the hill every time and sometimes doing lap after lap on the front (with assistance by a very strong Mike Jones of Met Cycling). In the final run-in to the finish, the team netted 3rd (Vandeven), 5th (Wiecek), and 11th (Meyer) in the break, and went 1-2 (and nearly 3) in the field sprint.

The women all placed in the top-10 in a somewhat confusing race that saw them catching and mixing with the master's men. Wong and Myrick did excellent work controlling the field when Haskell made a move with Susan Peithman (ABD Cycling). Alas, Haskell did not have the oomph to follow Peithman near the end of the race and was left pulling a master's rider around on her wheel like a lamprey.

Men's Cat 2/3 - TGAGC Photos - link courtesy of Luke Seemann

ABR National Criterium Championships: A national championship followed by the laziest race known to mankind.

Sunday's race was the premier event of the weekend, with a national championship up for grabs for the female squad, and pride and prestige for the cat 3 males. Held next to a lovely park in the center of Winfield, the square course featured one unselective hill and a long, bumpy, decline to the finish.

Partway through the women's open, Myrick called it a day and decided that it would be more fun to spends hours cooling down in the rain. Haskell stayed in the race and snagged the championship and an enormous stars and striped jersey (size men's large).

The men did their best to establish a race-winning break, but the long downhill and the seeming lack of interest in teams other than TGAGC and TCBM in establishing a breakaway, doomed the field to the usual long and crowded sprint finish. Confusion and poor choices disrupted most of the team during the last lap, but it was the big-ring speed of Angelo DiGiovine, flown-in special for this event, that salvaged the team's efforts with a second place.

Special Note: Team Personal Trainer Emily Hutchins, in her first bicycle race, won the category 4 women's race. Congratulations Emily!

Two Get A Grip riders rode the Pro/1/2 race right after finishing the 3s. Jon Tenney, the old-man that he is, lasted only a few laps before feeling dizzy; but Seth Meyer hung tough for a solid placing in the final sprint.

Photos courtesy of Lisa Heaton, Angelo DiGiovine, and the always lovely Lola Chavez.

Firing bullets in Madison

2007-05-22T15:20:00.001-07:00

One day after a win by resident billy goat Seth Meyer,* five members of Team Get A Grip Cycles lined up for the always fast, always fun, Wheels on Willy Criterium in Madison, Wisconsin. The course is a nice, 4 corner affair; and, despite the fact that one side is completely uphill, the race traditionally comes down to a group sprint.

Lacking a pure sprinter and determined to buck history, four members (Meyer, Vandeven, Tenney, Wiecek) repeatedly shot their bullets in an attempt to break away from the field. Despite multiple, hard, attacks by each rider, no one could escape the peloton; and the race came down to a field sprint. Meyer attacked with two laps to go to set up the sprint for Gray, who had been sitting in the whole race, but was brought back. Vandeven (7th) and Gray (9th) managed to squeeze into the top-10 in the somewhat confusing final lap.

The racing in the WCA series is always competitive and anyone who is anyone is going to show up and race hard. Combine that with the fact that us Cat 3s would be allowed to race against some of the of the best regional professional teams (Bianchi GP, Grandstay, etc.) in the last race of the day makes these trips to the North worthwhile.

*See "Victory in Wisconsin," below.

GALLERY (Photos courtesy of Craig Gartland)

Strong-man Steven Vandeven checks the gap during one of his breakaway attempts.

Wiecek goes for it with the Wisconsin State Champion and an ISCorp rider.

There was at least one attack each time up the hill. This time, Tenney gives it some grit.

With just 2 laps remaining in the race, Meyer goes off the front to set it up for the sprinters.

But, he gets caught and admits at the finish: "That had no chance."

Team Get A Grip Cycles Thanks Baraboo Sharks and Chronometro for two excellent events

2007-05-22T08:30:00.000-07:00

Dear Baraboo Sharks and Chronometro,

We would like to congratulate both of your teams for putting on two safe and exciting events this weekend. All of us at Team Get A Grip enjoyed the weekend immensely and would happily make the drive from Chicago again next year.

Sincerely,

Jonathan Tenney
Director, Team Get A Grip Cycles

Victory in Wisconsin!

2007-05-21T10:03:00.001-07:00

Hi, everyone. Seth here with a quick report from the Baraboo Sharks Road Race in Denzer, WI.

The course included a steady-grade climb early in the lap that took about five minutes to do, followed by flats, a bit of descending, and downhills to the straight run-in to the finish.

I felt really great on the climb. On the last of four laps, I attacked and went over the top with six other guys. On the one other obstacle on the course, a very short power climb (but still long enough to do the trick), I accelerated again to slim the front group down to three riders. For the next miles to the finish, it was a tough, tentative move, as the three of us were trying to outpower the four behind us. The gap never rose above 20 seconds or so until the final mile when the guys behind must have given up or started jockeying for position because our advantage finally rose then.

In the sprint finish, I jumped out of third position to win by a few bike lengths. It was a good day and the climb was definitely to our advantage. It was nice to get Team Get A Grip Cycles another victory this season and further our podium total, which has also, by the way, been made up by seven different riders!

Finally, another picture thanks to Newt Cole from the climb (3rd time up):

Get A Grip Cycles' Reputation Spreads to West Coast

2007-05-16T05:04:00.000-07:00

Team Get A Grip Cycles' West Coast representative Angelo Digiovine reports on his first attempt at racing in San Francisco:

"There's a Tuesday Night Training Crit out in Golden Gate Park. Pretty cool ride....about a 3-mile circuit with 2 sprints per lap....tonight was about 30 guys.

I heard 'Get A Grip, that's in Chicago, right?'

I felt great. mixed it up in an early break and nearly died...recovered and then ended up rocking out 3rd in a sprint, 1st was up the road pretty far. I kept it going and caught the solo guy. He and I nearly held it off for sprint #2 and then the guy that caught us blew up and we kept it going for another loop and I snatched 2nd."

Team Get A Grip Rider Devon Haskell Named Collegiate All-Star

2007-05-15T05:29:00.000-07:00

Devon Haskell, a category 2 racer for Team Get A Grip Cycles, received an invitation to the Collegiate All-Stars after her performance this weekend at the NCCA National Road Championships hosted by the University of Kansas.

Haskell, riding for the University of Chicago, finished third in Saturday's hot and hilly Perry Lake Road Race and sixth in Sunday's Lawrence Criterium, garnering a fourth place in the omnium competition.

The eight members selected for the Collegiate All-Star Team will be racing together in the Nature Valley Grand Prix, the nation's premiere women's stage race. Team riders will be provided with travel, lodging, uniforms, and mechanical services for the six-day event. Funding for the team has been generously provided by Ryan Construction.

Other notable performances by Team Get A Grip riders at collegiate nationals include a 20th place by Seth Meyer in the Road Race and 22nd place by Melanie Wong in the criterium. The efforts of both Meyer and Wong contributed to Northwestern University's best ever team result at the National Championships.

Vandeven + Get A Grip = FAST

2007-05-09T09:05:00.000-07:00

In last night's Big Shark Training Crit, Jim out sprinted the CAT 1,2,3 field with enough gusto to sit the last 10-20 meters and WIN! Way to represent the team in St. Louis! This weekend Jim will participate in The Joe Martin Stage Race. Go Jim!!!

Eric Wiecek makes the papers

2007-05-08T07:25:00.000-07:00

Here is a local news story on the first annual Vernon Hills Grand Prix. Team Get A Grip Cycles' rider Eric Wiecek (2nd on the day) states his philosophy on riding in the breakaway.

Story in the Daily Herald

A Thank-you to Vernon Hills

2007-05-08T07:21:00.000-07:00

Dear Robert DiSilvestro,

I just wanted to quickly send you a message thanking you and all those who helped promoting and putting on the Vernon Hills Grand Prix. It was a great, safe, well-run race, and it was nice to have a criterium that was very accessible to Chicago riders. I hope, building off of its first-year momentum, we can get even more riders out next time. We'll certainly spread the word. Thank you again! You did a fantastic job!

Best regards,
Seth Meyer, on behalf of Team Get A Grip Cycles

My Get A Grip System Six is like the Green Goblin without the purple hat and a bazooka instead of pumpkin hand grenades.

2007-05-07T10:39:00.000-07:00

This is a post I wrote for my personal blog, but I thought that I would share it with the rest of you.

Here is my Team Get A Grip bicycle for 2007. Frame is 60 cm with no headset spacers, SRAM Force group, Reynolds wheels, and Cannondale's carbon cranks and SI bottom bracket.

I have ridden it twice and can't praise the frame enough. I've been on a very comfortable Orbea Orca for a couple of years, and I was a little worried that the Six's aluminum hind end might beat me up. I was wrong. The two bikes are nearly identical in that department.

The Six is vicious. The front end makes you want to dive-bomb the local crits.

Cannondale carbon cranks and SI bottom bracket transfer the watts.

Custom graphics on the top tube and caps support the sponsor.