Another day on the bike

It has been six years since I last pinned a number on a jersey.  This year will see a return to the racing scene although not like it used to be. I remember the days when we would be on the road going somewhere every weekend March thru early September. Wilkes-Barre, Somerset,Pa to Freehold NJ we were there.  A lot of good memories from those days but also looking forward to making new ones in the months to come. With the formation of the NAG/KVC team there is a renewed passion for getting back on the bike and turning a pedal in anger.  Trying to get myself back in shape has been fun also. Watching the weight on the scale drop everytime you step on it to having clothes that fit a little looser is always a good thing and keeps ones motivation going. I have never ridden the trainer as much as this winter and it still isn't enjoyable as outside but it gets the job done. Once the time changes and we can get out on the road Tuesday and Thursday nite rides on a  regular basis all that indoor pedaling will be a benefit I hope. The cycling season starts the first weekend of March with several training races throughout the region to get everyone tuned up and ready to go. Not having raced in so long I am not sure what to expect from the body and hopefully all the training time and miles will lead me in the right direction.

Why do you do that to yourself?

A question I have been asked by my parents, girlfrineds/wives, friends, co-workers and even total strangers when they hear of hours spent in the saddle or in the worst cases, see the injury du jour. In my younger days my enthusiasm would get the best of me and I would start rambling about the race and how crazy it was losing the casual bystander in the jargon of singletrack, doubletrack, kickers, bunny hops, endos and the inevitable faceplant. My mom and dad saw this bike as a passing phase as much evrything else had ever been in my life. Buying my first mt bike for $450 in 1987 months before my sixteenth birthday was probably one of those hair-pulling moments that parents experience and I am now lucky enough to have being blessed with two great girls myself. Two years later I was racing and loving every minute. I rode six days a week, forcing myself to stay off the bike for just one day. And so it went for four years of entering as many races I could manage to pay for up until I joined the Army and sold all of my bikes and gear. Upon my discharge I promptly dropped a huge wad of cash getting it all back, but I was more of a casual rider for the years to come. Family, kids, school and jobs took priority while the bike got moved from place to place and even ridden on occassion. Alot of other stuff happened in there and I won't bore you with all of that, but I came to the point where I found myself working in a shop fulltime and my passion was fully reignited! My time came to an end there and I now find myself involved in a truly unique situation of being part of Simplicity and for that I am very thankful.

The point being that this April I will turn a pedal in the name of organized competition for the first time in 17 years. In an effort to not die I have begun training, dieting and riding as much as I can. Prompting those around me to ask the age old question yet again, followed by an ever more daunting one. "You are a 38 y/o who could be in way better shape, why not find something "safer" to do with yourself?" has become the NEW question. The answer is I love this sport! When I am freezing my a$$ off in the snow or breathing through my ears from o2 debt I can still look back and smile. This to me is happiness:

 a snowy Sunday in February that a bunch of the team guys got together and did a ride. This camraderie is why I love this sport. These guys kick my butt all over the trails, but I am always up for trying to keep up. One day I hope to hang off the very back rather than the dust cloud, but until then I'll still be spinning to try and catch up.

The final and maybe the most energizing factor that has fueled this vigor is that my oldest daughter had decided to give this whole mt biking thing a try. She will be on the Nuts About Granola/Simplicity Cycles Jr team along with two other young men. Seeing these 9-11 y/o kids getting out and mixing it up has brought me great joy and I look forward to seeing them grow! My new mission isn't "winning the race" it's passing the torch to these guys. My races will be strictly for fun and t-shirts, but my main purpose will be helping to chaperone these Jrs thought their mt bike journey. And I think that Sean, Mike and I can ease their passage somewhat thorough experience and technical assistance. The very fact that my daughter is picking her bike over her DS, laptop or the TV makes me a SUPER proud parent!

I'll have some new gear reviews coming up here shortly. If there is anything that you would like to see tested or hear about, let me know!
GET OUT THERE and RIDE! There's still a beautiful world out there and it's worth the journey to find it!!!

The look of new.

Look for the new Nuts About Granola/Keystone Velo Racing coming to a Venue near you. I have "QR code" fever and we are trying it out on the new kit. Highly likely that it will not work but willing to be one of the first to try it.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Single speed fever has hit the team

What started as one guy building up a SS CX bike for training has resulted in the majority of the team building up their own. Looks like alot of the guys are planning to race SS and geared bikes next year. I'm hoping to get some $$$ together and build a SS of my own to get out and play around.

Kirk had been keeping it real w/ trainer workouts and weekend road rides in the cold. I just bought a Garmin Edge 200 to use as a training tool and am mapping out commuter routes to try @ least two days a week to start.

Race schedules are being looked over and plans made on which venues the Nuts About Granola/Simplicity Cycles team will be hitting up. There will be groups of guys headed to mt bike and road races in the area. Look for the new kits that are in the design phase currently and look to be dope as ever!

When it gets cold out there I know it can be hard to find motivation to bundle up and hit it. But, I can honestly say that of all the rides that I have done in the cold, there is only one that I regret. When I finish up a "cold" ride I have an amazing sense of accomplishment and feeling of well being. I could have easily stayed @ home and read a book or watched a movie, but instead I chose to go out and make a memory. I remember one such ride w/ a bunch of guys(most of which became the team) last winter @ Codorus in the snow. They wanted to check out the trails @ Bankert Rd and Kirk and I were going to show them around. Kirk didn't make it and I had grabbed the SS thinking that I would just ride sweep since everyone else was geared. I did the best that i could on my SS and my butt was kicked til it was over! The thing is that nothing will ever replace the feeling of camaraderie and the shared enthusiasm of just being on a bike. Followed up by a run to Starbucks and it was a good day!

I, myself, have been finalizing my rides for this mt bike season and think that I have it all ironed out for the most part. What is everyone else planning for 2012?

Well, I have some SS parts to order.
GET OUT THERE and RIDE!!!
You won't regret it!

Back in the saddle again

Today I ventured out on the Bianchi Infinito demo for my first road ride in six months. It was a pretty decent turnout w/ seven riders in all. Kirk mapped out a nice course that kept us spinning, but not straining in the "brisk" air. The first lap was just under 22 miles and I must admit I felt good coming off being sick and no riding for a month or so. It is so different going from the mt bike to the road bike for me. I was never much of a "roadie" and only used the road bike as a training tool when I raced back in the day. Now, I have to admit that I like getting out and putting in 20-30miles on the road bike. I am hoping that this will build some base miles for what I suppose will be my re-entry into mt bike racing this spring. Really hoping to do a few local races along with the 24hrs of Seven Springs. While Tom, Sue and I turned left Kirk, Jim, Chris and Cramer went right for what can only be described as a somewhat more spirited run of the first lap. It was nice of them to take it easy on me. It was even better to get back to Kirk's casa and have some fresh out of the oven pumpkin spice chocolate chip cookies & hot coffee that Shannon and Kalina were nice enough to make.
The most important thing today was the camaraderie shared by the group. The pace wasn't slow, but not fast enough that I couldn't chat with people on the ride that I hadn't seen in a while. Looking forward to doing it again real soon. In addition to the Infinito(which was smooth as ever) I also tried out some Neo Protect booties and an ExoNerve helmet from Garneau. The booties did a great job of cutting the cold/wind and the dial on the helmet made the addition of  a beanie super easy. 

New 2012 bikes are coming in everyday along with winter clothing from Garneau. Also, this is the time of the season to get your bikes in for a tune w/ a quick turn around. Trainers are coming for those of you who don't like the cold or those really crappy days when we get hit w/ a blanket of the white stuff. Kirk and the crew are heading to Raystown to ride next Sunday the 18th. Leaving from the shop around 8am and planning on riding for 4-5hrs. Anyone interested call the shop.

Sorry for the lapse, between my other job and sickness I have totally slacked on my blogging duties. Going to try to keep up on this stuff!

GET OUT THERE and RIDE! Cold is only temporary, memories are forever!
Mike

Intro to KVC and cyclocross

Cyclocross is a sport of give and take. You give it your all and it tit can take it right back. It is forgiving at times but humbling and down right brutal on other accounts. The cross hook line sinker for me was the 2001 season when I went to watch cyclocross nationals in Baltimore. I watched local legend Skip Menard take on the national field of heavy hitters like Todd Wells,Mark Gullickson ,Jon Page, T Johnson.. the list goes on.






Up to that point I had raced a few local cross races using my mountain bike, but I wasn't quite hooked yet. I will never forget the crowds with all their energy and how hard the racing looked. Another memory that sticks with me is a popular section of the course that fans placed a couch beside a off camber barrier section for cheering. Everyone was going ballistic encouraging riders as they suffered. Jeremiah Bishop was bunny hoping the barrier and the decibel level increased and so did the consumption of adult beverages. It was the crass culture of cycling that drew me so close.
I dabbled for a few seasons mixing the cross with mountain biking and some very unsuccessful road racing attempts all under Kirk and the First Capital Velo name. In 2005 Dan Warnick invited me to the Hunt Valley Bicycle team to focus primarily on cyclocross. It was a solid run program and I had some of my most successful years under the program. Eventually the team fizzled away and I tried to form a small team of local guys but realized that it just wasn't working out for various reasons.
Fast forward to 2011 and the combined efforts of many to revive the KVC(keystone Velo club) the team includes mostly all familiar faces that i have know for at least a decade and some are new, but I feel like this is a pretty solid team and hope to make our mark on the Cyclocross scene. If you're ever interested in checking out one of our races let us know and we can give you the details. Who knows maybe you'll find yourself getting hooked as well.









Post added by guest blogger Sean Mealey

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Preparation....and I don't mean H!

By this time next week, we will be on the trails of Raystown doing what we love to do. There is a great crew of guys going and it looks to be an even greater time than last year! My rear hub has been repacked, chain replaced and a final tune on the Spearfish. As fpr the Misfit, not a whole lot to do to a single speed except lube the chain and check the tire pressure. That is why I LOVE my single speed. On the down side, I can't find my damn headlight, which is totally pissing me off since a night ride is in the plans.

A good part of the Raystown mob hit up Codorus for some trail time, fine tuning and for Keegan, a rip on his new 29er. I would have loved to join them but I bailed until these stitches in my elbow come out. I do not want to have any issues going to Raystown like I did last year. Going into a trip already injured is no fun!

Come see us this weekend @ Wellspan's bike hike for cancer! We will be turning wrenches @ Indian Rock Elementary and I plan of riding the trail to lend mobile assistance. The girls will all be there in their new Simplicity shirts, thanks to Shannon, riding the trail.

Get out there and RIDE!
Cheers
Mike