Team,

Fit Kits from Hincapie are at the shop!.  There are Jerseys, bibs, LS Skin Suits and Jackets  from Small to XL to try on and get sizes.  I checked mine yesterday and fit better in mediums than large, to my surprise.  They fit a little large compared to Sugoi,  but are real nice kits!

Please get to the shop by Wednesday 5/2 to test the sizes.  Kevan and I are planning to submit the order on Friday 5/4.  We will follow up  early next week on the orders.  Give this a high priority so we can get the orders in to have a delivery by the Tour of t he Valley.

Ask Todd or Dennis for the kits.  When I was there they were in the first floor, employee bathroom .  Some of the packages are poorly labeled so allow enough time to fish through the box to find your size.

Big Race tomorrow, good luck to all, see you there.

Bill

Cleveland to Pittsburgh ride report

Since moving here, I've wanted to ride from my parents' house on the east side of Cleveland back to Pittsburgh.  I finally had a chance to do that this weekend.

My route started in Chagrin Falls, zig-zagged east and south through Ohio, crossed the PA line, continued down to Beaver, then followed the Ohio River back to the City.  Here's a map for more detail: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=5423128

Rolling out from my parents' house at 8:30 Sunday morning, the temperature was in the low 40's with a persistent wind from the north and occasional drizzle.  I headed toward the town of Mantua to pick up a rail trail, but had difficulty finding the trailhead.  Eventually I stumbled on a trail that was better suited to a cross bike.

After a mile or so on the trail, I passed through a residential neighborhood.  Riding by a fenced-in yard, I saw what appeared to be three dogs heading toward me.  Looking again, I realized that A) these were awfully big dogs, B) they were moving in complete silence, and C) their faces seemed unusually pointed. At the same time I realized they were wolves, one of them reached the end of the fence, bared his teeth, snarled, and took a big bite into the chainlink.  I didn't stick around to see if they could jump the fence.

After a few miles the trail unexpectedly petered out, forcing me to detour onto the road and adding several miles to the trip.  Continuing through Ohio, I passed through Newton Falls, picked up the Mill Creek bike path outside of Lordstown, and made my way down to Columbiana.  It was fun riding some of the same roads as the Tour of the Valley road race.

Heading east, I crossed the PA state line outside of Negley, OH.  The state line marker offered a good photo-op.  The marker might be crumbling, but at least it's landscaped!

Distracted by daydreams of the Starbucks in Beaver, I unknowingly made a wrong turn at the 100-mile mark.  It took me a good four miles to realize my mistake, adding another 8 miles roundtrip to the day.  On the bright side, my espresso and scone were even more delicious when I finally made it into Beaver.

From there, it was a "short" 30 mile trip up the Ohio River back to the city.  The temperature hadn't improved much since starting out that morning, and the drizzle was near-constant from Beaver onward.  Fortunately I layered adequately that morning, and never really felt cold during the ride.

Rolling into Station Square, the Pittsburgh skyline was a sight for sore eyes (and butt).  By the time I rolled up to my front door at 7:00, I had covered a total of 150 miles.  Mission accomplished!

 Thanks for reading!

- Kevan

Race report for ABRA Green County RR

Lovely day for a bike ride, 50degrees and rain.  Anyway at ABRA #2 RR outside of Waynesburg a little rain made the fields a little thin but many of the usual showed up.  Ian and I represented UPMC.  Ian was out first in the 3/4's  I understand he did well riding in the peleton combined with the 123's.  A couple 123's broke away at the first climb but Ian sat in the main group, climbing as well as usual.  He had a little sprint in the chase group of a dozen or so and placed 14th overall in the 3/4's.

I raced the Masters of course,together with the women, about 30 of us all together.  The rain was constant but never real hard during the race.  The first hill I started a little too hard and lost position but got back with the group with a hard effort on the downhill.  Recovered only to see Gunnar pull off the front by himself and not enough organization to pull him back in.  I didn't care since he is racing the +40's.  The next two hills I managed better and saved a couple matches for the top.  Descents were slow because of the wet roads.  By the time the third hill came about there were three women, four +40's, myself and another +50's .  Six miles to go and the group rotating well positioning for the eventual sprint.  500 meters out I go! What was I thinking?  I happened to hold off all but Ted Mac McPherson, a +40 to finish 4th  in our race and 1st in the +50's.  A quick change to get into some dry and warm clothes and wait for the podium and the wheel truck.

Next week Steel City Showdown,  Kiddie-up!

Thanks for reading

Bill  

Team,

Storm is suppose to pass by noon tomorrow.  Team ride still on?   How about meeting at 11:30 am Starbucks in Heidelberg for a noon depart. Usual of 40-50 miles.  Ian plans on joining us.

How did Clarksburg go?  I hope the weather held okay

Bill

Yes, I am over due for a race report but with the holidays this weekend, now is time to catch up.

Morgantown RR the first of JR's ABRA Road Race Series and what a beautiful day.  65 degrees and a light breeze to welcome +300 racers.  Ian raced 3/4's, Johnny +40's and  me in the +50's. Lot's of folks excited to race.

I believe Ian's field was full at 75 rider's.  He finished well in the pack at  2:12:43 for 20th place.  Dynamite finish for a guy half the size of many of the racers and stuck with junior gears on those fast descents. Great job!

Johnny and I raced together in a field of 37 for the +40's and 28 in the +50's.  Some power houses from DC and Annapolis including Bax and Thasher in the +50's.  I felt good at the start and even chased Ray Russel on a little break.  Then came the first hill.  A typical JR race with a 1.5 mile climb that included some 15% grades.  I was in the lead group with Gunnar, Thasher and Russel at the start of the hill but about half way through I blew, couldn't dig deeper and lost about 10-15 places. I started working in a little group but decided to break away on the next hill outside a coal mine and a young +40 joined me.  We could see the next chase group in sight but could never catch them.  Finally the Calvary came that included Johnny with about 15 miles to go and the last of the four hills.  Johnny and I, Jeff Guy and Ted McPhearson his teammate were pitted against two guys from Annapolis (one of which was a +50). I lead the group over the last hill and then a fast descent and 5 miles to roll into the finish.  The six of us really went out fast dropping any other player's. Each taking a pull but carefully jockeying for position for the sprint.  With about 200 Meters to go Johnny jumped. I carefully watched my competition and followed a bit behind.  Johnny won our little field sprint, I came in forth with my competition a little back.  A fun finish despite being back in the race a little.

So how did we do?  Johnny rode 2:19:15 for 16th in the +40's  and I was at 2:19:18 for 9th place in the +50's.  There were a few protests in the results but I am happy with my results and had a great bike race on a beautiful day.

Thanks for reading
Bill .

Second Post,  Who is thinking about Racing JR's training race this Sunday?

www.bikereg.com/Net/15133

Wow what great weather.  So training outdoors tomorrow at the oval.  Skip was talking about bring the TT bike down for some efforts.  If there is a quorum I'll bring mine too. Who is in?

Team calendar

Thanks to Jeff for putting together the racing calendar!  It's an excellent resource to have.

I have created a link to the calendar on the blog, right above the jersey image.  Please use this link to view and update the calendar throughout the season.

Racing is coming soon!

Workout tonight - Wednesday 02/08/12

Guys -

Tough to say what the road conditions will be like this evening.  So with that in mind, let's say tonight is optional.  If you can make it to the shop, you're welcome to train upstairs until 7:45.  Otherwise, please train on your own.

Unfortunately I don't have a workout to post for tonight, but it sounds like several of you have your own workout schedule anyway.  Hodos: when you get a chance, could you email me some February workouts?

Thanks!

Sunday outdoor ride CANCELLED

Per Bill's email, the outdoor ride scheduled for tomorrow morning is cancelled due to the potential for bad roads.

So we'll workout at the shop, normal time.  Meet at 9:00, begin workout at 9:30 at Pro Bikes.  Remember - $5 to use the training equipment.

I'm still planning to ride outside regardless.  I'll be at the shop at 9:00 to unlock, then head out for a few hours in the North Hills on my fixed gear.  Anyone who wishes to join me is welcome to tag along.

Cheers,
Kevan

Team,

Depending which weather forecast I looked at the snow and rain may be over.  However, the forecast indicates it will not be much above freezing tomorrow and appears to be cloudy too. This will provide little chance to dry the roads and I have about 1/2-inch of snow in the shadows of the lawn.  Unless there is overwhelming urge to ride outside I propose to postpone my Beagle Club ride until better weather, that dam groundhog.

Let's plan to train indoors, usual time, usual place.  Post to the web so we don't leave anyone outdoors.

Bill

Sunday ride 02/05/12: outdoors

Hey gang -

It looks nice enough to ride outside this Sunday morning: about 30 degrees at the start, warming up to 40 by mid-day, dry as a bone.  Not bad for early February!

The ride will officially be starting from the Collier Town Square Starbucks (1597 Washington Pike).  Meet at 9:00, wheels down at 9:30.  Plan on 35-40 miles of solid Zone 2, returning to Starbucks by noon-ish.  Bill is responsible for the route.

I'll be riding out there from the city.  Send me an email if you'd like to join me: keevohn@gmail.com

Here's hoping for a big turnout!

Sunday workout 01-29-12

Working out indoors tomorrow morning.  9:00 AM meet, on bikes at 9:30 to begin workout.

Remember: if you want to use the equipment, it's a $5 rental charge.  Payment can be made after practice.

Hodos's scheduled workout calls for 2x20 minute intervals at 95%, with a 10 minute interval at 100% at the end.  If you wish to push that hard, here's the link: Sunday 01-29-12

Personally, I think that's a little aggressive for the end of January.  So there will be an alternate workout available tomorrow for those interested: essentially 2 hours of Zone 2 (65-75%) with random 1 minute intervals at high cadence and intensity thrown in for good measure.  Your call.

See you there!

Wednesday workout 01-25-12

Tonight's workout will be earlier than previous weeks.  Plan for this week is 6:00 setup, on bikes to begin workout at 6:15.  Link to the workout is here: Wednesday 01-25-12

The earlier start time is to ensure that we're done by 7:45 and out of the shop at 8:00 when they close.  You must be out of the shop by 8:00.  No exceptions.

Also note that - beginning tonight - the Young Medalists Juniors team (organized by Ron Mower) will be sharing the space with us on Wednesdays.  They will be meeting at 5:30 and beginning their workout at 6:00.  I expect that they will be conducting their own workouts independently of ours.

Sunday 01-22-12 workout

We'll be working out at the shop tomorrow morning.  Too much chance of black ice with all the snow we received.

Meet at 9:00, begin workout at 9:30.  Workout is here: Sunday 01-22-12 workout

For entertainment, we'll be (hopefully) watching "Hell on Wheels."

Team workout Wednesday 01/18/12

First off, I will not be at Wednesday practices for the rest of the winter.  Jeff has agreed to lead practice in my absence.  Thanks Jeff!

Beginning next week, Wednesday night practices will be moved earlier so that we're out of the shop at 8:00 when they close.  This is the only way to ensure that the door is locked and the alarm is set when we leave.

This week will be at the normal time: 6:30 set up, 7:00 begin workout.  Pro Bikes is hosting Colin Sandberg and a number of Juniors this evening, so we'll be riding with them.

Here's the link for the workout tonight: Wednesday 01-18-12

Thanks!
Kevan

Sunday workout 01-15-12

Workout indoors at the shop this weekend.  Meet at 9:00, on bikes at 9:30 to begin workout.

Link is here: Sunday 01-15-12

Thanks!

Wednesday 01/11/12 workout (with optional LT testing)

Two workout options this week.  Select the one appropriate for you:

Normal workout:  For those not testing, we are continuing with 20-minute Zone 2 blocks and 5-minute intervals, this time at 90%.  Spreadsheet is located here: Wednesday 01-11-12

LT testing:  A few of the team riders will be conducting lactate threshold tests.  This will consist of a thorough warmup (roughly 30 minutes at gradually increasing intensity) followed by 20 minutes at maximum effort.  Each rider choosing to test will need a helper to record wattage and heart rate at one-minute intervals.  A 20 minute cool down at low intensity will wrap up the workout.

Again, please note that LT testing is optional.  Do not feel pressured to test: you need to be fully rested for the test to be effective, and it needs to fit into your personal training schedule. 

However, I would strongly recommend that everyone test within the next couple of weeks, since we should be wrapping up Base phase and moving into Build come February.  Knowing your threshold wattage is critical to maximizing the Build workouts, without over training.

Please let me know if you want to test.  So far, only Bill and I are signed up.

Thanks!

It was a great day to be outside and ride the North Hills yesterday.  Always nice to see new roads.  I'm glad we had the Junior's Ian and Tyler on board to share a good long endurance ride.

Let's consider doing Threshold tests this Wednesday night.  Consider a shorter session with a warm up and then the power tests, perhaps splitting in two groups, or perhaps Skip can come down and help us out.

Sunday 01/08/11 ride: OUTSIDE!

Sunday's weather looks good: sunny, dry, high of 40.  It would be criminal not to ride outdoors this weekend!

So here's the plan.  To avoid overlapping with the PMVC ride, let's meet at 9:15 at the shop and roll out at 9:30.  We'll do 2.5 to 3 hours of controlled group riding: no attacks, no breakaways, no hammering.  Route will be moderately hilly, heading north into the Fox Chapel area and beyond.

If you're running late, call me: 412-641-0940.  Otherwise you'll be left behind.

Also, there will be no access to the shop until it opens at 12:00.  Leave your trainers at home.

ROLL CALL!  Who's in?

Wednesday workout 01/04/12

Happy New Year everyone!  Hope the holidays were full of family and food.

Workout tonight will be at the normal time: 6:30 arrival, 7:00 on bikes to begin warmup.

We're upping the effort to 85% on the five minute blocks this week, with a 10 minute block also at 85% near the end.  Should be a thigh-burner! Link is here:  Wednesday workout

Looking forward to seeing everyone there.