NEWS
Team Defiance Update
Spring 2010 Newsletter
It’s no April fools!!!
We did a few “Preseason” rides the past 2 weeks, but the Tues. / Thr. ride officially begin on April 1st. It’s time to gather at the South end of downtown DEFIANCE and head out for the open road. 6:00 pm is when we leave.
GROUP RIDE
As you may have read in an earlier email, this year we are going to emphasize the “GROUP”. The last couple years turned into a hammer fest and we chased people away. It’s time to return to what we did best in the past years, and that is having a fun GROUP ride. That would be defined as a moderate pace (not slow) and being able to have a conversation with others as we ride. It’s OK to have a town line sprint as long as you STOP after the sprint zone and regroup. I’m pretty sure we will end up with 2 groups, 1 that rides a little faster than the other.
VERSUS
The “Versus” network is showing a LOT of racing on TV this year. I started with the “Tour Down Under” in JAN and has been going strong as the Spring Classics approach. The “Tour of Flanders” is on the schedule for this SUN (April 4th), then Paris – Roubaix the next weekend. It goes on like that thru the Tour of California in MAY and the “Tour” in July.
Watch it as you are able!
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Car safety is the subject.
While we are leaving town seems to be our most difficult time on the road. We are in a tight group and there is plenty of traffic that wants to get around us. Let’s work to keep it single file as we leave town to allow auto traffic the best / safest way to get by. We do not want to yield our “rights” to be on the road, but we also do NOT want to be an impediment to traffic. I believe something referred to as “commonsense” would be the operative word here. Bikes will lose the car/bike argument every time when it comes to 2 vehicles sharing the exact same space in the exact same moment.
The Blues….
Stella Blues that is…
Paul Sulpezio will be playing at Sella’s on April 16th. Let’s get a group together and eat dinner there on that Friday evening!!! He did a super job of entertaining us at the picnic last summer, and I would like to hear him again. See you in Archbold that evening. Let Jane know if you are planning or hoping to attend. She is making a reservation for the group. 419-672-8986.
Team DEFIANCE / Switzer Realty
The race team is getting ready for another season of bike racing. Our “Club Race Series” events will be out shortly. They will be a little heavy on Time Trials this year. We would like to invite the Triathlon racers to attend. It seems like a good practice race for them.
The series will start in late April and continue thru late summer with races on Tuesday evenings. Watch the Defiancecycling.org web site for more info soon.
Aug 8th Race Report- Buffalo Downtown Criterium
While on vacation and visiting Katie this week, I took advantage of a crit race around the main circle in downtown Buffalo. About 35 of us started the cat 4/5 race, and I was holding my own around 20th position, and occasionally moving up to the top 15. It was with 6 laps to go, while I was moving up the pack again, that the 2 riders in front of me touched and when down in a corner RIGHT IN FRONT of me. Clatter, crash, all the noises of bikes and bodies hitting the road, I jammed on the brakes but was not going to stop in time, quick find the path of least resistance!! OK right over the down bikes… stopping on top of the bike, endo, one foot down! OK how do I get out of this mess? Dismount, move to the side, and take off again, FREE LAP! Back in the back with 4 laps to go, passing just a couple riders, pace picks up, final lap, around the final corner, sprint! Passed 1 for 20th place. SAFE!
The show stopper was the kids races. First the 7,8 &9 year olds did a crit lap. They did a nice job with the 2nd and 3rd placers sprinting for the line! Then the little kids, and of course I had Connor in that one. He is at the start line with Jane’s jersey on, all crouched over the handlebars ready to fly! 50 yards down the street, around the cone, and back to the finish line. His feet we dancing on those pedals! 2nd place, to a 7 year old. He and the other kids were a great show.
Pancake Flat Stage Race – Woodburn IN……report
The race was run as an Omnium. ITT, Road Race, and a Crit.
The TT was run on Sat. and was in very windy conditions. The downwind leg was 28-30 mph, then across a mile, and then the upwind leg. After flying at 30 it was painful do be doing 15, 16 maybe 17 while fighting the wind. 37:24 put me in 19th (out of 21).
That afternoon the 44 mile road race went of on virtually the same course. 30 + of us contested the race. Again downwind at 30-32, then the group sat tight for the upwind leg. Some individuals tried to go off the front without success. Lap 2 spit a few riders out the back and we were down to 25 in the lead peloton. Lap 3saw us at about 20 riders left. I was off the back and suffering 3 times in the upwind leg. Only by 20-60 feet, each time I caught back up but knew my time was near. Just then the chase group caught the 3 leaders and everyone sat up. They were Sooo close to blowing me out the back. I recovered at the back for 2 miles, then the 1.3 mile crosswind leg and finish was there. I ran up the right side passing several riders, in the final burst to the line I blew by a bunch more and held on to finish 7th.
Sunday was the criterium, 40 minutes on a nice 1K course. I held the lead group for 25 minutes before blowing out the back on a bad tactical move involving a lap down rider. (my fault completely) I suffered through the last 5-8 laps and finished12th / 19. BUT, that let me hold on to 7th place in the onmium.
Larry Wagner road in the road race and finished 21st on his 59th birthday, how cool is that??? And Austin Wieland, from Bryan who did the Bryan crit with us, took 4th in the TT, 17th in the road race, and 4th in the Crit to take 6th in the omnium.
The big surprise was the “Men of Steel” exhibition crit. 30 minutes on a, preferably, old steel steed. There were 5 of us contesting the race. Most of it was moderately paced. The exception was the Primes. I took the field prime, for a great Park Tool grill set.
The finish was a 150 yards down the park straight. I passed 2 or 3 and took the VICTORY. The “merchandise” prizes were, a hand saw? a yellow, “Men of Steel” retro jersey, Subway coupons, socks, and a Cap. Defiantly the best prize of the weekend!
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POSTED 07/08/2009
WOW last Tues. evening Club Road Race was Great!!!
Quick wrap up.
1st lap preem won by Jeff Nixon
3rd lap preem won by Jamie Mason
finish 1st went to Jeff Nixon
Jeff took the fist preem by bolting inot the wind, nice job Jeff
Mason gapped us all on teh downwind leg, and held of the chase untill the finish line for the 2nd preem.
Jeff bolted again for the final attack into the wind, (at least a Kilo) along with DanV’s assistance to finish us all off for the victory.
Nice work everyone.
Thanks to Macy, Bruce, and Linda for being corner marshalls for us.
AND to all the crew who showed up to sweep, shovel, and mark the course and corners.
All seemed to like the course, turned out is was 4.75 miles around.
We all learned something about each others racing styles, did it safely, and had a great time.
reminder of the Race in Fort Wayne this weekend (Sat) and July 25-26th for the Pancake Stage Race.
Check em both out online at Bikereg.com OR truesports.com
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GOBA Criterium 2009 POSTED 6-21-09
The Great Ohio Bike Adventure criterium was held on Sunday June 21st in Elmore Ohio.
Following the GOBA crit was a Cat Pro 1/2 Tour of Ohio final stage also. They did 60 laps of a .6 mile course, while we Cat 4/5’s did 30 laps.
My goal for entire season was to podium (1st 2 or 3rd place) I did it this afternoon at the GOBA crit with a 3rd place finish!!
About 12 of us started the race on a three corner paperclip shaped course with 2, 90 degree turns and a 150 degree corner to return to the start / finish. The first lap was a decent pace, and then lap 2 was a quick one. I was staying near the front, mostly 3-5th wheel. All the normal accelerations from the corners, but then one guy went off on a flyer about lap 12. He stuck his lead and the group sat up.
About lap 14 another went off to catch the leader. That left 6-8 of us doing the chasing, but mostly deciding who was going to be in position for 3rd place. I was up front for a couple laps, then 2nd for about 3 more, as no one seemed to want to jump out in front for a break away. 20 laps complete and I am still holding on with the chase group, fatigue starting to get some attention, but I’m not giving in easily. I am too close to the front, and pull out for others to pass. Back in 7th wheel, got to save something for the finish. Jane and my friend Colleen both have Team DEFIANCE jerseys on and are cheering for me.
4 laps to go, a brief acceleration out of turn 2 down the back straight, but everyone holds on. Then with 3 and 2 to go, we sat up and took it a little easy. Final lap, I accelerate, down the back straight in 5th wheel, hit the turn around, and realize this is it, the final leg, the race is on for 3rd place. No need to hold anything back. The group acceleration seems a little weak and I pull to the right and pass one. It’s about 4 blocks to the finish, but it’s time to go. I stay right and go for broke, pass 1 then 2, only one to go. I blow by him about 50 yards from the finish and no one is hanging on my wheel. BIG smile and hand in the air for celebration. 3rd place in mine, I took the field sprint, I podiumed.
It was the greatest feeling to pass all those riders in the field sprint. The guys who took 1st and 2nd did a great job in the lead. I’m wondering now, if I should have tried to bridge up to them when they gapped us, but that will be something to decide for the next race. I got my podium finish!!
USACycling, Ohio State Road Race Champs in Waynesville OH
POSTED 6-14-09
Pass the Ibuprofen, PLEASE.
Today’s Cat 5 race was 4 X 10.5 mile loops, with the obligatory hill thrown in, just for fun. Actually it is a very good course, near Caesar’s Creek State Park, it’s just that darn hill every lap.
The entire race was very well attended. There must have been a total of 250 races in all categories, from all parts of the Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky tri state area.
The Cat 5 race took off at 11:20, and there was a crash within .5 miles of the start. The field slowed, someone missed it, and Crash! After that the race settled down for the first lap at about 25 MPH in a mostly double pace line. It is going well; I am holding 12-15 position, staying in my comfort zone and not burning any unnecessary matches. The book only comes with so many matches, burn em all and you are DONE. I held on to the field for nearly that entire first climb up the hill, but fell off just at the top, and the lead group was gone….
5 of us regrouped and did a rotating pace line until the next time up the hill. I am thinking, OK we got a good thing going here let’s NOT blow each other off and let’s stay together. NOT!
I was about a 100 yards behind the two I was chasing, but was not gaining either. Lap three and up the hill, this time a little slower. Stand on the steep bottom, shift up, spin the false flat, hold 2nd gear on the final drift upward. OK only 1 more climb.
I time trial the final lap, the Cat 1’s blow by me in the feed zone. Holding on to any speed I have left, the hill, Cat 3’s go by on the ascent, final 2 miles and FINISH!! I did pass a Cat 3 on the finish straight.
Haven’t got the results as of this writing, but I am estimating 18-22nd place out of 40+ Cat 5’s. I’ll check tomorrow on the race site. Jane was the water bottle handler, and she said lots of racers pulled out on every lap, so I have hopes of a decent finish.
Where is that Ibuprofen now.
July Tues / Thr newsletter
WOW !!! It seems like we just got started this year, and July signifies the half way point in our cycling season. Well, maybe it’s the cool and windy part that we have behind us now, and the next several months upcoming are the best ones of the year!
GOBA
GOBA comes to town on Wed, June 24th, and will be here until Friday morning when they head off to Fostoria. If and when you see these folks around town, lets stop and say “welcome” and help them where we can. Many of us will be in the information tent helping out there.
GOBA criterium
The final stage of this years Cat 1,2, Pro, race “Tour of OHIO” is going to be in Elmore. On Sunday afternoon the “Tour of OHIO” will conclude, AND there will be a chance for mere mortals to compete in the traditional GOBA criterium. At 4:00 pm in downtown Elmore (east of Toledo). Check out the race info on Truesports.com.
PS. The Tour of OHIO will run all week from June 16th – 21st. If you are going to be traveling around Ohio that week, you might get to see a stage in a town you visit. Again, check out Truesports.com for the locations and type of racing involved.
Now we all know what July brings….heat, humidity, bugs, and the “Tour”.
July 4th is the start of the Tour de France. Stage one is in the Principality of Monaco, followed by several stages along the Mediterranean coast on the way to the Pyrenees and some major climbing. The penultimate stage will be Mt Ventoux the day before Paris and the finish. Watch it all on VERSUS, on Digital cable. OR follow it on the web at Dailypeloton.com or your favorite cycling web site.
- Marked routes
- Picnic
- 4th of July ride
- “B” group
- “C” group
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Team DEFIANCE
POSTED 6-10-09
We had 6 turn out for tonights ITT.
Jeff Nixon made it from Bryan.
We did a 10 mile Individual Time Trial (ITT), with the results below.
Do note: The course turn around was missed by a couple riders who did significantly more than 10 Miles.
John………..Jeff also had difficulty in finding it, but realized it quickly.
I will work on a much more obvious turn around indication for the next ITT.
Team DEFIANCE June ITT 2009
Time Ave. Speed
Dave D 26:50 22.4
Larry W 30:12 19.9
Mike N 28:16 21.2
Jeff N 26:50 22.4
Norm 30:59 19.4
John H 30:15 19.8
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The season starts……
………………Thursday April 2nd. 6:00 pm at Triangle Park (aka Junior High School)
We have snuck in a few preseason rides during March. Now it’s time for the cycling season to begin. We usually start with a few 20-25 milers, than as the weather warms up and the days become longer we ramp it up to 25-35 miles. The weather during March was much dryer than normal; let’s hope April is not a make up month for precipitation.
Last season we had several outings where we blew people out the back of the pack and abandoned them out in the country somewhere!! That is not the way to treat riders IF we ever want them to ride with us again.
This season we are going to have 3 levels of riders, The “A” group is a bunch of cycling speed demons, hang with them if you dare!!!
Next is the “B” group who average around 17 MPH for the evening ride. We will still have ‘town line’ sprints, but regroup afterward for a good paced ride together.
The “C” group is for those who don’t want to be ‘ruled’ by testosterone. They will complete shorter distances at a more leisurely speed. 13-15 MPH would be the norm for “C” group. We hope to have a few people in each group every ride.
Most rides should have a halve way point, where we ALL stop for a couple minutes to catch our breath, and down a slurp of fluid. This can also be the point you might switch from the “A” group to “B” or visa versa. Sprint out with the “A”s and drop to “B” for the return trip. I envision the “A” group taking an extra loop from the half way point so they can get that extra – sprint / mile / or hill, while the rest of us head back toward town.
Speaking of Town…. Another good idea …as we are starting out, leaving Defiance, let’s regroup at the edge of town. Stop lights and traffic can cause the group to get torn apart before we hit the country roads, and it can be difficult to catch the group you want to ride with. Whether it’s Pontiac Park, Canal Rd, or Cleveland Ave (Speeds Repair), back off and regroup. Then, each A-B-C group can pick their pace.
The Great Ohio Bike Adventure is coming to Defiance for a 2 day stay. June 24 – 26. The riders will arrive in town on Wed the 24th of June, spend 2 nights with us, and then depart the morning of FRI. June 26th. They will be staying at the Defiance College, camping near the 2 main dorms, with shower trucks, and all the stuff they need. Cindy Mack at the Defiance Downtown & Visitors Bureau (DDVB) is the main local contact. It is quite an undertaking. She has area leaders for Transportation, Food, Entertainment, Logistics, Information (US) & Safety. We are planning on 2500 – 3000 people here.
Versus Schedule for April
Apr 5 @ 5PM ET
The Tour of Flanders (Ronde van Vlaanderen) is the biggest race in Belgium and a true cycling classic that highlights the spectacular and often dramatic nature of professional cycling. The twisting route through the lanes of the Flemish countryside, the steep cobbled climbs that often decide the winner, and the millions of spectators along the route, makes every edition of the Tour of Flanders a race to remember.
Apr 12 @ 4PM ET
Created in 1896, Paris-Roubaix is a reference event, marked by its rigorous criteria and its personality. It tests both man and machine to the bounds of resistance, over a course which is tailored to legendary exploits. Known as the “Hell of The North” this is the most rugged of the spring classics as the race makes its way over the muddy cobbled roads in France.
Apr 26 @ 3PM ET
Created in 1892, Liege-Bastogne-Liege is the oldest of cycling races. It is one of the most prestigious and exacting events of the season. It not only covers the hilliest part of Belgium, but the end of this race includes a succession of high-gradient climbs.
Looking for another opportunity to ride?
The Northwest Ohio Pedlers is group that has Saturday morning breakfast rides. There is a different start location and a different restaurant each week The Saturday Breakfast Pedalers meet all over NW Ohio. They ride at a moderate pace. There might be a ride Schedule in the bike shop.
OR contact Larry Wagner – 419-438-0076
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Here is the schedule for May
May 9 8:00am Independence State Park, Defiance Napoleon, Hill’s Rest. 31 miles
May 16 8:00am St. Michael’s Ridge Archbold 28 miles
May 23 8:00am K of C Hall, Archbold Fayette 38 miles
May 30 8:00am SR109 & Road EF Oak Opennings 40 miles
Doug and Shelia are working on a web site for us. It will be more of a blog style site where you can go and see if anyone is riding on a particular day. It would go something like this:
Bob: Hey everyone, I’m riding from Triangle at 11:00 on Sat. 25 miles, meet there.
Sally: Sounds good BOB
Pete: How about 11:30, I got a Docs appt early, would that work?
Bob: OK lets do 11:30
It’s nice to have people with different skills!!! Thanks Doug, and mostly Shelia, we have been discussing this option for a while, but no one knew how to do it.
I’ll get the site address out ASAP.
Quick reminder, as I have stated in the past, the new Team Defiance racing group is a separate group from us. We are still NOT a club. We will remain a group of cycling enthusiast who meet for ride together.
This is going out on email first. It might be a few days until I get the print version out to those NOT on my email list. If you see others, let them know we start April 2nd.
