After a year's hard work, all of our training hinged on one thing: The Race. We came out ready to go, excited to see what we could do.
Suddenly, after moving up through the pack, Torrance was headbutted off the bike at the front of a crash in turn 1.
We couldn't seem to catch any breaks, working with Cutters to catch back on, dropping all the other crashed teams only to lose the Cutters' wheel on a mistimed exchange just before they finished making up the half lap back without us around lap 25. At this point we had burnt a few too many matches to make a move by ourselves to catch up. We sat up and after a few sets were back in the pack, one lap down.
It is hard to judge how we fit into the race after this point, since we all got perfect burns for exchanges since the lead riders were no longer marking our moves. However, all of the racing was strong and safe, staying near the front of the pack at all but the most unlucky of times. Wimmer was taken down by a crash to put us another lap down around the half way point, then Torrance was put down again, this time by the yellow jersey-ed perennial self-crashing favorite, and was stretchered off.
We finished the race in a frankly miraculous 12th place considering the three out of four big pileups we were in. Next year, we hope to not be so unlucky; but more importantly, next year we will look to control the race more and not take any chances behind the wheel-rubbing masses.
With the 2012 race behind us, our schedules now transition to summer road racing and lots more miles. Many of our competitors are now our teammates, a reminder of the great camaraderie there is within the race and the cycling community. In the mean time, enjoy some pictures from the race!
We'll see you out there!
Sunday, April 29
Wednesday, April 4
Race Day Shirts 2012
Race day is less than 3 weeks away... This means its getting time to buy your race day shirt to rep the EP!
Check out the design for this year and email us at sigepcycling@gmail.com with your order by this Sunday at midnight. Each shirt is available in American Apparel sizes S-XL and costs $15.
You can send in a check or alternatively send your order in with the appropriate donation on our PayPal link. If you can't make it for the race to pick your shirt up but would still like to show your support, email us and we can get it shipped to you.
Check out the design for this year and email us at sigepcycling@gmail.com with your order by this Sunday at midnight. Each shirt is available in American Apparel sizes S-XL and costs $15.
You can send in a check or alternatively send your order in with the appropriate donation on our PayPal link. If you can't make it for the race to pick your shirt up but would still like to show your support, email us and we can get it shipped to you.
Thursday, March 1
Rookies
While so many other teams are returning full rosters of four or more riders (with 5th year seniors a bit of a theme this year), we have two riders returning from last year's team and a total of one year of race experience between them.
In no way is this a pessimistic post though; we are expecting this to be our strongest season since our return to the race in 2007. Having one freshman, two sophomores, and a junior only gives us more hope of great things to come. For now, though, we are focused on the 2012 race.
Our summers consisted of countless miles, enjoying the weather on 50+ mile training rides with hometown clubs and teams. Fall semester let us get lots of great team work in together before we thought the weather would force us inside; but the unusually mild winter gave the team an opportunity to endure the snowy, icy roads and perma-frozen toes regularly with only an occasional roller workout taking the place of one of these Five and Dime rides. Now spring is here, and long rides are transitioning to brutal intervals, pack riding, and exchange work.
Our pokey little four man team has stuck it out through all of this, always striving to be better and having a great time along the way. From laying it all out on a sprint to a Wednesday Worlds finish line to belting out "Wagon Wheel" or Disney tunes with some questionable lyrics, I can safely say that I am immensely proud of what our team has become and where we are going. Keep an eye out for us this year.
Drew
In no way is this a pessimistic post though; we are expecting this to be our strongest season since our return to the race in 2007. Having one freshman, two sophomores, and a junior only gives us more hope of great things to come. For now, though, we are focused on the 2012 race.
Our summers consisted of countless miles, enjoying the weather on 50+ mile training rides with hometown clubs and teams. Fall semester let us get lots of great team work in together before we thought the weather would force us inside; but the unusually mild winter gave the team an opportunity to endure the snowy, icy roads and perma-frozen toes regularly with only an occasional roller workout taking the place of one of these Five and Dime rides. Now spring is here, and long rides are transitioning to brutal intervals, pack riding, and exchange work.
Our pokey little four man team has stuck it out through all of this, always striving to be better and having a great time along the way. From laying it all out on a sprint to a Wednesday Worlds finish line to belting out "Wagon Wheel" or Disney tunes with some questionable lyrics, I can safely say that I am immensely proud of what our team has become and where we are going. Keep an eye out for us this year.
Drew
Friday, February 3
Tuesday, December 6
"Not Minding That It Hurts"
Just saw this piece on probably the best cycling website out there, Velominati.
"Many of the obstacles along that path require us to eschew the wisdom taught to us by our elders and society. Listen to your body, they tell us, when in fact our bodies are chatty things that have only a few sensible contributions to make. Stay inside when it’s wet, or you’ll catch cold, the folk knowledge claims, while in reality those who stay indoors are more likely to catch cold and if we were to heed that advice, we would rarely throw a leg over a top tube during non-summer months. What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger…well, I suppose they had to get one right."
"Many of the obstacles along that path require us to eschew the wisdom taught to us by our elders and society. Listen to your body, they tell us, when in fact our bodies are chatty things that have only a few sensible contributions to make. Stay inside when it’s wet, or you’ll catch cold, the folk knowledge claims, while in reality those who stay indoors are more likely to catch cold and if we were to heed that advice, we would rarely throw a leg over a top tube during non-summer months. What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger…well, I suppose they had to get one right."
That pretty well sums up the ideal winter training mindset. Read the full article here.
Sunday, December 4
New Feature: Training Schedule
A calendar outlining the training schedule can now be found under the "Resources" page. Click on events for more info. If you have questions on specifics for individual workouts, talk to Drew.
Saturday, November 12
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