#stroopies. The sponsor that's good enough to eat!

Stopped by SKH Market in Litiz for some gnom, gnom. I'm not sure which is deadlier, being hopped up on these and a doppio through the run-ups or chasing Mealey on one of his York Roubaix rides?!

^admin Will

Family Reunion

2012 Marysville Relay Race from stickboybike on Vimeo.


Marysville is always a great way to kick of the Dirt season and reunite with the mountain bike/cross family in the Mid-Atlantic community. The format for this particular 4 hour event was a Lemans start (run to your bike and go super anaerobic from the gun) do a lap, tag your next rider and repeat .The goal is to complete as many laps as you can before the the 4 hours is up and you can send a rider out for a lap before as long as you get them out by 3:59:59 on the timer.

 Photo courtesy of Sandie Reynolds

 We sent a total of 4 teams(2-two man teams and 2- four man teams representing a broad range of talent and age groups) Here is what the teams looked like:

Duo 1: Clark E, Mark K

Duo 2: Will M, Chris S

Qaud 1: Jared T, Justin, Shane, Mike A

Qaud 2: Sean M, MikeB, Ean M, Owen B

After we set up shop it was down to business. It was good to stand next to local strong man Blake Bricker and stir up some laughs..3,2,1 GO!! .... I tried to get a good start position for the run; took the sideline near all the various metals and fibered bikes laying in my path and finally was able to get an average run stride going without blowing completely, grabbed the bike and put in a descent 1st lap with Clark passing me right near the finish. Tagged Mike and off he went as Ean prepared for his first lap. Mike put in a solid lap and turned it over to Ean as I accompanied him to buffer some of the passing traffic( I forgot to mention that he is only 8 yrs old and not exactly setting records yet). We came in and handed over to Owen(age 10) as he set off solo ,Mike nervously waited for his return.

 Photo courtesy of Sandie Reynolds

 When Owen was out I actually didn't expect for Ean to go back out , he looked mentally and physically beaten. I did everything I could to rehydrate and refuel him, this is where I drop my own expectations and as a father and think of the experience through his eyes, play it cool and let him call the shots without talking him down from the ledge. I gave him the option to end it but didn't over do it the selling of the idea, mainly just made sure he was eating, drinking and staying cool. I lost track of where Owen was and before I knew it he was looking to tag me. I went back out for lap 2 and tried to keep a good pace, I thought we were going to have to call it a day and I was good with that but not sure how it would go over. Luckily I ended up in good company with Wes the Conqueror for half a lap and had a chance to chat with him. He wasn't  going full gas for some reason (he ended up telling me he was soloing the whole race,and ended up with 13 solid laps.) When I ended up coming in from my lap, Ean had completely bounced back and was his normal self. Awesome! Back to focusing on finishing what we came for. Mike ripped another lap and sent Ean out for lap 2, with a much better time of it.

                                                 

 Photo courtesy of Sandie Reynolds

Owen  was next and off he went to master the logs of the Osterling farm.(?) I was up again before I could stuff some Nuttela dipped coconut cookies in my face, I made the last lap count and stood out of the corners knowing the clock was ticking. I tagged Mike and he set off, not knowing Ean planned on doing another lap. Mike came near the finishing stretch and made it with a minute to spare, so Ean went off on his 3rd and final lap and when the last bit of traffic went by we had the course to ourselves(yeah we high five'd a little bit) 11 laps total  we ended up 21st out of 65- 4 person teams.

I didn't completely forget the rest of the team but have to admit it was a struggle to keep myself and Ean straight for the whole day. I checked in with everyone as much as I could and was glad to hear good reports of fun times and hard efforts. Clark and Mark made a valiant effort and there results were skewed but as I type this I am having it rectified. Total laps for them were 14 completed. Will and Chris were throwing down hot laps also both with a few slight mechanical issues and "run ins" with the local forestry, but in the end had a impressive result. Total laps 13.

 Photo courtesy of Sandie Reynolds

  Photo courtesy of M. Allison

As for our other 4 person team they put in great laps as well with Jared overcoming a mid-week upper respiratory infection and showed up in great spirits. Justin broke in his new bike proper and now seems to have an addiction to the dirt and rocks. Shane and Mike A came out of mountainbike racing retirement to show that they still have the skills. Mike wasn't sure if he would have to go out for a third lap but Shane made sure he had another chance to do the figure eight course.(Ean and I saw him out there and I heckled him a little bit, good times) They ended their day with a total of 12 laps.

                                                                     Photo courtesy of Sandie Reynolds

Looking forward to putting in some more saddle time with this bunch and spending time with the rest of the Mid-Atlantic racing community. Huge thanks to Sandie Reynolds and Mike A's wife for the stellar shots.

     Photo courtesy of M. Allison

Thanks for reading! ~SM

Get lost on all your rides.

Yes this is a metaphor and no I do not wish for all of you to get lost and not find your way back home. Rather on the days of training or heck, even social pace rides, step outside of your box, your comfort zone, your mental Snuggie and take that road you constantly pass and dismiss because you feel it's 'not part of THIS ride' today.

A few months ago I moved to the eastern side of central Lancaster County, further away from my bike training 'hamster wheel' called Turkey Hill. I spent the good part of last spring and summer drilling intervals on Turkey Hill hoping to get my butt in shape for 2011 race season.

View Larger Map

Still suffering from separation anxiety from the old pain cave, I decided last Sunday to HTFU and pay a visit to that riding area. The conditions for yesterday's ride proved favorable. To do so, I needed to leave my new residence and start playing left turn, right turn, once I got through Lancaster Central Park. And with the iPhone in the jersey pocket, just.in.case...I needed a map. Route map? meh.

The break-in ride for the new kit; jersey, bib shorts and vest.



For local cyclists who have ridden the 'Round the River Ride, know that River Road is a main route along the Susquehanna River, if you make a wrong turn while heading southwest and make more right turns than left, below the city, you'll hit River Road. Head north on it, and you're back up towards SR462; you'll have your bearings then. 

I made my way under the bottom of the park and kept my nose heading SW as good as I could. This was like a whole new state I was riding in, roads just meandering like cattle in the field. Farms littered across acres of land only to have one car every 20 minutes pass me. 

Punchy climbs which were accented with loads of high speed carving descents above wandering creeks; breathing in the cold air that rushes up to my face when rounding the waterways only to be met with the break of sun out of the trees. Followd by the spiking of temperatures for an out of saddle effort to the next stop sign. I was in heaven and apparently maturing for my age to forgo the same old structured riding route.

Half way through the ride, I did come across an old steel bridge that I remembered from a ride I did back in 1998. It's pretty hard to forget this bridge crossing because it has a steep lead up to the entrance of it. 14 years later, the route comes back to me and I decide to make my way back home, heading first towards Millersville for a refill of the bottles.

Call it ADD or lack of focus, I have this warped ability to enjoy the scenery around me during the hardest of rides. Mind you this is only when riding by myself, in paceline, I'm looking at the middle of your back but none the less, I mentally get 'lost' in the spiderweb construction of Lancaster rural roads. So much that I saw many an inviting lane and made an unintended turn down it, wondering where it would take me.

When this happens, there is no regard for how many energy bars are remaining in the jersey pocket, nor the amount of mojo juice in the water bottles; just go, take that road and see where it leads you. Because of this, I'm reminded of a conversation I sat in on during my time as a mechanic at Gung Ho Bikes. Hearing Jay and Jonathan Gantz talk about a solo training ride John was on. He made a wrong turn, ended up adding another hour onto his ride and running out of fluids and food. To paraphrase Jay's acknowledgment of John's bad navigational skills, 'It's rides like that which harden the soul and body, survival, not for your life but to make it to the end." 

Stepping out of my box felt good on Sunday, maybe because John would have done the same too... 

>>admin Will. 

Bicycle Safety Clinic For The Local Scouts Troop.

Over the weekend, the team had the honor of performing a Bicycle Rodeo (as we call it here in the north) for the local Cub Scouts in Lancaster, PA. This was to instruct the youth of today on proper helmet wearing, bicycle maintenance and repairs; along with a skills course for everyone to navigate. A big thanks goes out to Sean Mealey, Chris Sherdel (photography and team guy), Mike Allison and Will Mahler for making sure everyone was riding safe and a bit wiser after the event.

Here are some photos capturing the activities that went down. 

....[more!]

Enjoy!

Having our sights on the first race of 2012.

This has been a mild winter in terms of snow fall. The rain hasn't been too bad either but the days with 30-45mph wind gusts have limited some of our outings on the skinny tires, depending on our geographic locations. I know Lancaster has been Chicago windy and Iowa flat for me this winter. The latter part of this is due to relocating the family to eastern Lancaster County and now residing further away from my usual training grounds along the Susquehanna River. 

I figured the December-February months would have been used for scouting out new roads to train upon but as I mentioned above, massive gusts have made days on the road bike more than sketchy for my 6'5"-self. Fingers crossed March is milder.

The team kits should be arriving in a week or two so to say that they will be icing on the cake would be an understatement. In the meantime, the guys have been working on the base miles, either indoor or on the mountain bike, shielded in the woods from the winter winds. Some are scrambling to put together the new steed for the season in hopes of using our first race in the dirt, The Marysville Relay, as the ultimate primer for fitness and riding gear.

Enter the Marysville Relay, I'm excited to have a go at it. I've only done mountain bike races as a solo, one event, non-relay type. This event utilizes either a 4 man team or a 2 man team/duo. I figure this is a good time to try my hand at Duo for this season opener. Chris Sherdel, fellow 'cross team racer, will be joining me to form one of the two Duo teams for the relay. We have four hours to crank out as many laps in that four hour period. I feel this will call for some constant shoveling of coals into the fire as my old friend Cinco would say.

Here's Sherdel and his recap of the 2011 cyclo-cross season.

2011 Keystone Velo Racing CX Season Recap- Owen Brenneman

Mike B's son Owen had a tremendous 'cross season, racing against guys mostly 4-5 years older than him. With a, 'never say die' riding style and an overall body weight of a fifth of Jack, Owen was an inspiration to us older cats racing every Sunday.

Owen offers up simple his simple yet concise goals for next year during his 2011 recap of the MABRA Super8 cx season.

2011 Keystone Velo Racing CX Season Recap- Mike Brenneman

I met Mike for the first time a couple of years ago, through mutual friends at a Social Distortion show. It seems we have traveled similar paths and circles yet never crossed paths at a younger age. Now we're crossing bikes on the same team. (Yeah, that was corny.) 

Mike's son Owen races with us too, in the Junior field. It's been a good family affair I've enjoyed watching between the two of them.