BTS #5

Ride #5 is in the books.  Tom H. put his stamp of authority on the ride today.  I would say he pulled 42 of the 50 miles we rode today... and it was a steady 21-22mph the entire way.  It was a good solid ride with Tom H., Tom R., Jeff & myeself.  No one was up for joining me on lap two with Mason - rocking the steady 14.6 mph average.  Good thing because I am not sure if I could have taken another 50 miles at Tom's pace.  Tomorrow's ride is going to sting, for sure.

BTS #4

As expected, BTS #4 was a rather poorly attended event. Just Jeff and I showed up for the fire road burn. With all the rain recently, even the fire roads were sloppy in parts and felt much like riding through mashed potatoes. The resistance level was crazy!

Jeff and I muddled our way around the park for around 3 hours. I had to bow out early as I felt really tired and just didn't have it today. I think Jeff got in some extra credit on this ride with a few more hours or so.

All in all a good ride for sure. Unfortunately we didn't see the 52* promised by the local weatherman, but a significant improvement in temps compared to Thursdays ride. Glad we stayed off the singletrack. Couldn't help but notice a group of 4 other riders that didn't head proper trail etiquette and had bikes covered in mud. Guess the Friends group will be cleaning this up in the spring.

You guys have fun tomorrow and I will see you Monday night.

BTS #3...In the Books!

Great ride out at West Creek again tonight. Four of us made it out, the Usual Suspects as we have become on these West Creek rides. Joe, Jeff, Todd and myself. Cold, but we kicked ass with Joe really pushing the pace up on lap 3 or 4.

Take a look here...how many points do we get (temperature is in the bottom right of Joe's Garmin)?

First frame under the knife

Each frames worth of tubes has been separated into it's box.

Each box includes the specified tubes, construction documents, and miter templates.

The first front triangle complete! Mitered by Ed, tacked and brazed by me.

BTS #2

Duo ride last night out at Powhite.  Todd & I joined up at Forest Hill and rode over to Powhite for some trail blazing.  Todd was doing all of the trail blazing and I was content to sit on his wheel all night long.  I was definitely feeling Sunday's ride in my legs.  Todd did not let me forget - every time we started back uphill he stood up and nailed it.  The leaves were slick which made for some interesting descents.  Another great ride, though.  I am out for Thursday's ride, hopefully we have a solid crew out at West Creek.  Look for next weeks ride schedule posted soon.  

Stijl Team Bikes

The bikes are underway!
We have most of the design files completed; a few people need to schedule times to come in and finalize the fitment process. All the tubes are ordered and most have arrived, we are just waiting on a few tubes to arrive from Italy.
I will be updating the blog as the bikes take shape.

So, on with the BIG NEWS:

Ed Jones is stepping in to help with the team bikes!

That's all I have for now,

Hinmaton

BTS #1

Ride #1 is in the books.  We had Jason, Todd, Paul & Damon hit up a 52 mile loop in sub freezing temperatures........

It was a good ride with a solid winter pace.  It was quite amusing when Paulito almost went Nacho Libre on his bike.  I think his bike might have won at that point in time.  We got passed on the way back through the battlefield, so Todd & I made the decision to bridge on, it turned out to be a pretty sweet interval since we were already over two hours into our ride.  I jumped back on the front to lead the way home.  Once we climbed out of Hadad's and hit Osborne again it was on.  Straight into the headwind the rest of the way back to Rocketts.  Todd gave me a one minute breather which is all I needed to bring it home.  Nice ride, great day and 45 points. 

See everyone tomorrow night.

...Jason

Bag the SCHWAG #1

Yeah baby, it is time for a little pre-season throw down!  Winter training with rewards. 

A little DPR in house competition. 

It is simple - we will be organizing 2-3 team rides a week for the next 5 weeks.  One will be at West Creek, one will be downtown (road or MTB) and one will be a surprise.  Points will be awarded to attending riders and there will be a staggered point system depending on the weather.  The tougher the conditions (rain, snow, below freezing temperatures) the higher the point value.  The member with the most points to start the season will win the following:

Dinner for 2 at COMFORT
Free Team Jacket

Point system will be emailed this weekend and weekly updates will also be given.  Any ties will be settled at Hilbert #1.  Whoever scores the most points for the team wins! 

Good luck and have fun!

2011 Kit Design

2011 Leesburg Bakers Dozen

Jason Hopkins, Steve Tolley & Tom Haines representing GEEZER style!

The race sold out in like 5 minutes... 450 slots!  I was logged into Bikereg right at 8pm and was registered by 8:01pm.  I could not believe it when Kylan emailed me to say he logged in at 8:05 and the registration was already closed...

Joe is on the wait list, so hopefully he gets the call.  I truly believe he could contend for the overall. 

50.50 Scab Report

Five of us started the Scab ride with little idea of where were headed, just with the knowledge that it would be a long day. We were not disappointed. Joe, Tom and myself were among the team members who showed with Casey and Brad completing the group.

Unfortunately the day started with a flat for Joe.

The morning was very overcast which made for moderate temperatures. The views over the river as we cruised down Riverside were amazing!! Nice fog over the river. I don't think my poor camera from my phone would have done these views much justice, but I did grab one quickly while Joe was fixing his flat. You can see the river in the back ground. I must say, the forecast was way off and this was a very nice time to be out on a bike.

Fortunately the snow and ice was gone from the road, but the sand and dirt left behind made us all look like we had just ridden a muddy CX race at the end of the first 50.

We met Jason back at Tom's place to change, add layers, and get some food for the second half. We lost one rider before leaving Tom's place, and another dropped 15 miles or so into the second 50. So Tom, Joe, Jason and myself finished this ride alone.

Sorry, no pics of the second half. The temps dropped dramatically and the rain moved in. Honestly, I felt like turning back and calling it a day after 20 miles or so into the second 50. I think we all shared this temptation at one point or another by the time we were done.

All in all, an awesome ride. Can't wait to do it again.