ITTs

The good thing about being away from Bloomington this year is that nothing changes except the color of the skinsuits or the design of the aero helmets!
Mens Results
Womens Results

Eric showed again that he is a class apart and why is it not a surprise to see a Cutter rookie in the top 5 of ITTs? Fiji show their quals run was just a miscalculation. All other top teams show solidly, with Beta ex-runner Tom 'pin-point' Laser throwing down a top ten time. PDT will be hoping Chris West makes a good recovery from his bust wrist as with him, PDT once again look to have the best strength in depth.
As expected CvK, Balchan and Brown are top of the tree (a comment below suggests Caroline's time was a little closer to CvKs. Any truth to that?) but with the Teter rider having much deeper support she won't have to do all the heavy lifting come race day. Theta once again have unearthed a gem in Chelminiak and DG with 3 in the top 13 show their qual run was far from a fluke.
Overall and as expected, very much a case of 'same as it ever was'.

Race Report- Wednesday Worlds #3- 446 Circuit

We anticipated a small group tonight at the Wednesday Worlds, our 3^rd event and the second at the venerable 446 circuit. The IUSF ITT was in full swing at the same time so most of the young guns were working it out at Armstrong Stadium. About fifteen riders showed up for the ride in unseasonably cold conditions. The 4 mile circuit had a couple of challenges in store for us tonight with a fresh breeze blowing out of the North and East tempering us up the 2 climbs on 446 and following us down Knightridge. The first lap was relatively uneventful with all taking strong turns at the front in order; Rose, Shanahan, Hamilton, Shei, Pilling, Preske, Saccone, Prange, Levy, Joes Bikes, Ibold, Prange, Feigenbaum, and women Caproon and Cobb. The fireworks began in earnest at the top of the first climb with a succession of serious attacks by Shanahan, Hamilton, Shei and Rose which caused a fissure to develop leaving Saccone, Levy, Feigenbaum, Ibold and Caproon and Cobb wondering what happened. The leaders were sorting out their paceline while the chase group, though underpowered against the formidable group ahead was working well and holding its own. Saccone was able to bridge to the leaders in the second lap before they got organized and the 7 ratcheted up the speed to 28+ miles an hour on the back side in anticipation of the Scholars Inn Granola prime! When the dust settled, it was Hamilton and Cobb who will be eating a nutritious breakfast tomorrow! A series of solo attempts sparked by Hamilton, Rose, Shanahan and Shei caught Pilling off guard at the top corner with 2 to go leaving five in the final selection. Additional, well timed attacks again put pressure on the small group leaving Saccone, Shanahan and Preske dangling dangerously 50 meters off the back. Shanahan’s epic time trialing ability brought the chasers within 20 meters and Saccone and Preske aided the effort with a final pull to get the trio within striking distance by the cemetery. The effort proved too much for Saccone who was dropped again but managed to bridge back on the first small climb with less than a lap to go. Shanahan rolled off the front and made the top corner alone. Saccone dragged the group to within 350 meters to the line when Hamilton, Rose, Shei and Preske took matters into their own hands and made a bid for the line, passing the time trial champion just meters from victory! Shei was able to claim the Scholars Inn prize in a hard-fought battle, with perfect timing and impeccable finesse. Caproon was able to nick Cobb at the line in the women's finale.

Wednesday Worlds #3- 446 Circuit

If you're not racing the IUSF ITT today, come on out for six laps of the 446 circuit. We'll meet at 6pm at the Sample Gates. 1/2 way prime and Scholars Inn gift certificates for top male/female riders!

Taiwan..

Loads of picks of Mike Sherer during his almost-made-it break in the Tour of Taiwan a few days ago.

Inside the numbers....

So the thread below has degenerated into a frat pissing contest so perhaps it's time to assess what has changed since saturday. Clearly I can only see the numbers so can only judge in a very basic manner with no particular context. However there were a number of surprises that it would be interesting to hear what people think about.
1. Are Sigma Nu legit? They may have a rep for being weight-lifting meatheads who may be suited for quals but they did ride a good race to finish 8th last year so may be serious contenders. On the basis of 2010 ITTs no-one would have thought them a top ten team but they rode well above that. Once thing for certain is that they have big confidence..last year they went to a third qual attempt but rode with a swagger to easily qualify! I think a top 5 would be an amazing result for them.
2. Cutters rode as well as expected and seen to have a different attitude with Eric Young at the helm. A little more outward 'confidence' and truly playing up to being the supposed villains. It's no surprise they are gonna try and smash the race to pieces so can the other teams do anything about it!
3. Taking pole by over 3 seconds is an impressive feat and DG have put themselves firmly amongst the top contenders. I look forward to seeing how the 3rd and 4th riders do in the series events as the Kelseys showed last year that they can perform on race day.
4. Where the hell did DZ come from? 31st in quals and 25th in the race in 2010, they qualed 9th on saturday! That's a remarkable turnaround!
5. Interesting that Pi Phi chose a pit on the backstretch. They know they'll be the most watched team on race day given the number of laps Caroline will be riding. It seems like a sound strategy to get out of the way and do their own thing. Will it work out? One of the intriguing subplots of the week will be to see how the other Pi Phi girl's ride at ITTs. We all know Caroline will one of the top three riders on the track but will she have better support this year?
6. What's going on with Acacia and Fiji? I'll give the latter the benefit of the doubt that they were too cautious on their second attempt (at 8.30am) but they almost make a terminal cock-up. Acacia hasn't been a power in a few years and the alum must be 'interested' to see Tom S on the home stretch with the Sigma Chi.
7. The top four rows of the Mens field are a mix of the usual contenders and then a few teams new to such rarifed air. It'll be intriguing to see if Air Force, LAMP, CRU and the Evans Scholars can do the more difficult job of being race day performers rather than just four lap wonders. I'm liking CRU and HC? (difficult to judge form on a 3rd qual run) to be battling for the top 5.
8. What's up with ZBT? After the excitement of getting in the race last year missing out again this year is criminal. It really isn't that hard to get in if you do the training!
9. ITTs on Wednesday and for what it's worth-
Mens top 5 (in no particular order): Two Cutters, a PDT, a Sigma Chi and a Beta.
Womens top 5: A Teter, a Pi Phi, two DGs and an AGD.

Have at it, just over 2 weeks until race day. The long-taper has already began!

Collegiate Update

On a non-Little 500 note, some Hoosiers traveled up to South Bend today to compete in the Notre Dame crit. Official results have not been posted yet, but from what I gather, Eric Young won the Men's A's race. His teammate Kevin Depasse was second in the Men's B's and fellow Cutters rookies Thomas Walsh and Sam Stanford were top 10 and top 20 in Men's C's and D's, respectively. Eric Anderson also finished top 15 in the Men's B's while Melinda Balchan took the win in the Women's B's. Kristen Metherd and Hannah Calvert both completed the Women's A's race, likely scoring points, but without results, I am unsure.

Next up on the Midwest Collegiate schedule: Marian (Saturday) and Purdue (Sunday)

As a biased author, I would encourage all who can make it to come to Purdue so we can show them who the better university in Indiana is.

Quals Coverage

I posted them in the comments section of another post but thought I would put it hear for those who may have missed it otherwise.
Thanks to the wonders of twitter, I am going to try my best to cover the entire event on Saturday and will be tweeting updates at @erikhamilton Follow me if you would like to stay informed. Also, feel free to reply if you have a specific team that I may miss that you want updates on. I will try my best to accomodate.

Erik

Quals...so sad

So sad to be missing Little 500 'Qualifications' tomorrow but those of you all on twitter please keep the updates coming (#little500).
I'm sure my fellow BVN writers will have something to contribute after the event but I'd like to solicit ANYONE to send me an email with a sentence that highlights your favorite part of the day. It could be involved with your team or with something that other people might not have noticed, sporting or 'human-interest'. I will then post them all on Monday. I will leave them 'Anon' if you wish. Quals has SOOO many interesting sub-stories (see 2010, 2009) that it's really nice to know about them!

Wednesday Worlds #2 Forest Down Beanblossom

About 20 riders, including 3 Women, met at the Sample Gates tonight at 6pm for the 2^nd edition of the Wednesday Worlds. Today’s course would take us through Hindustan to the MM State Forest then down Beanblossom to finish on Anderson after two 14 mile circuits. There was a steady, strong wind out of the West and South today that was picking up in intensity once the ride got underway. The ride was neutral through Hindustan and many of us knew that after that would be our Waterloo. We rode tempo to this point but once we crested onto the false flats of that hellish section the desperation of the moment washed over us like a bad dream. Rose, Shei, Hamilton, Atwell, Shanahan forced the issue and split the peleton into four groups just before the pitch into the Forest proper. Pilling, Saccone, Stuart, Palmer, Preske, Ibold, Paul Levy and Josh from Nebo formed the initial second group. Just behind was Urbanski, Arvin, Gleason, Cobb, Fredrickson and Em Palmer. From this point forward, you’ll have to rely on the posts of the leaders, as my world was getting dark, but I can tell you that a painful religion came quickly to us in the second group as we tried to keep the leaders in our sights. Once we sorted out our roles in the chase we began to chip away at the lead, but we would ultimately run out of real estate and desire as we came around the Forest climbs for the second lap. At the bottom of Beanblossom our group began to shed layers as Palmer, Stuart and Pilling kept the pressure on with Saccone, and Preske and Levy struggling to hang on. In the final kilometer Palmer took the long leadout role and launched Pilling with Stuart in tow. A quick acceleration from Pilling at the 200m mark was all he needed to win the field sprint with the young Stuart finishing with the same time. As for the leaders, well, I can only guess!

WW

WW today, meet at the Sample Gates at 6pm.
Route: Forest Loop (Down Bean Blossom) http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/in/bloomington/759623400370
Finish on Anderson, no primes/prizes besides bragging rights
1 Lap this week (sunset is around 8pm)

It rumbles on...

IDS story keeps the pot bubbling...

Hapless British Student MTBers

BUCS 2011 X.C Carnage! from Joe Bowman on Vimeo.

Taiwan pics

Mike Sherer is racing the Tour of Taiwan at the moment. Main website here. Flickr site.

Photo Credit
 
Photo credit

Quals time

The Quals schedule has been decided. Seems as though if you want to get a look at the fast guys then get in early. Fiji, Cutters, Beta, GGC, Hoosier Climber all go off before 9am. If the weather is better early then the board might be set before some people get out of bed....
79 teams in total but difficult to know exactly how many guys/gals teams because of the mysterious team names. Clearly my insight is waning given my distance so hopefully others can provide better info. However it's always fun to guess the sex of the unusually named new teams. Are these dynasties in the making?
The Alan Parsons Project- Male, the PDT wrecking crew, beware if they make the race!
Team Dark Horse- Male?
#JungleExpress- Male?
RideOn- Female?
Corean Legstrong- Female?
Phi Kappa Psi- Female?

From Tom Schwoegler
56cm 2010 Specialized Tarmac Expert SL Frameset $1,100.00

This is a unique Red/White Tarmac, never ridden. The production models were done in black/white or in Red/Carbon. This is a one-of-a-kind Tarmac perfect for an I.U. rider.
There is a small chip in the paint on the bottom bracket that has been touched up. The frameset includes a seatpost, but not the stem that is shown in the photo.
The bike is in Bloomington and I'll be in town from Wednesday through quals if you want to see the frame. You can also text me a 312-969-4042 if you wnat more information.
http://www.specialized.com/us/en/bc/SBCProduct.jsp?arc=2010&spid=45882

Description:
Advanced FACT IS 10r carbon frame is light, fast and powerful, with a 1.5" lower headset bearing
for extra stiffness and Pro Tour performance. FACT full carbon monocoque fork integrates with the
frame using an oversized race to deliver enhanced steering precision.
Geometry:
Seat-Tube Length, B-B Center to Top" 530mm
Top-Tube Length, Horizontal: 565mm
B-B Drop: 69mm
Chain-Stay Length: 405mm
Seat-Tube Angle: 73.25°
Head-Tube Angle: 73.5°
Fork Rake: 43mm
Trail: 56mm
Front-Center: 591mm
Wheelbase: 988mm
Stand-Over Height: 800mm
Head-Tube Length: 170mm
Seat-Post Length: 350mm

All aboard the Chaingang!

Every town where bikers race have their midweek training races, be it Wednesday Worlds or '46th and Central' or whatever. Often times in British cities, due to dense traffic (and traffic lights) or narrow lanes, these rides will take place in industrial parks, all but deserted after 6pm. So it is for the 'Liverpool Century' ride on a 1-mile circuit adjacent to the airport. These rides are imaginatively called 'Chaingangs' as, aside from the obvious, the riders rotate through in a tight line.
Everyone pulls through at the start and as the pace picks up people sit on or get dropped. It's highly organized and whilst sitting in is fine, not pulling through correctly ilicits a strong negative response from the group! Therefore attacks are few but the pace is always high. This course has 4 tight corners and is therefore just like racing a crit.
In my first hard effort of the year I was pleased to contribute for the first 20mins before needing to sit on, singularly focusing on the flashing lights ahead of me. Each corner was taking a toll but I was hanging on when i suddenly noticed the remaining (strong) girl was also beginning to struggle. Therefore I had a new focus and was sure to chop her in as many corners as I could before she was dropped! Joking....kinda....
After sitting on for 20mins I decided to pull through again, immediately realizing that was a poor idea and in short order I was spat out the back.

I was chatting to an Irishman on the ride home who turned into a maniac as we got into heavy traffic! Of course I followed, weaving between cars in the dark....got to follow the wheel right? I hope to survive another week!

Interestingly there are far more helmetless riders in the groups here in the UK. Maybe Americans aren't so dumb after all, keep those lids on!!

BBC rides. Tue/Thu 5.30pm

From Wes Harris (although I totally concur, these rides are fun for the new rider and a good challenge for the Cat4 level rider where you can go hard and then relax..and repeat)
- Thursday BBC ride report 75 degrees at 5:30 start with a stiff wind from the South West. 21 riders participating on the “Traditional Thursday Ride Route”. Shortened the route due to available sunlight by cutting off Popcorn and heading in Old 37. Nice group fast tempo or slower if you wanted. There were at least a few riders for every level. Regrouped three times all riders present. All riders are welcome on these rides it’s a good way to learn some new routes if your new to Bloomington.

Wednesday Worlds - Race Report

The first edition of the 2011 Wednesday Worlds went off as scheduled tonight leaving 530 from the Sample Gates. Over 30 riders stranded here in Bloomington on Spring Break participated including 5 women. Tonight the stakes were raised with a midway prime of Scholars Inn Bakehouse Granola on the 3^rd lap and a $20 gift certificate to the Scholars Inn at the finish! We hit the line with a steady breeze heading out of the south west and temperatures in the 50s. We were single file within seconds and a series of attacks set the stage for a spirited training race. Ryan Shanahan and Ren Jay Shei (Scholars Inn) tried their luck with a series of forays off the front as did strongman Tom Cox (Aldefer Bergen) and Andy Messer (DRT). With an otherwise uneventful two done and 4 to go, and average speeds in the mid 24s, we were joined by Erik Hamilton and Fred Rose (jumping in as they arrived late from a day at the office) pulling the field for over 2 laps, catching the hapless Shei and Shanahan, but not until after Ryan nipped Ren Jay at the line for the midway granola prime! With one to go and average speeds adding pressure to an already stretched elastic and average speed inching closer to 25mph, a series of windups up the 446 cols turned out to be fruitless. Graham Dewart flatted just as he was moving up fast on the inside. Erik and Fred relinquished their lead as they had no intention on determining the days sprint. We made the corner at the top of 446 and charged to the line with about 15 riders on the lead lap remaining. Saccone lead out to about 250m and then got out of the way of the bigger engines as Cox, Shei, Shanahan, Messer, etal played their desperate cards for the victory! When the dust settled, it was Shei with the W at the line, nipping a fast moving Cox in the exciting finale!

Next week: Forest Loop down Bean Blossom. Leaving the Sample gates at 6:00pm. The finish line is freshly painted on Anderson as are the 100m and 200m markers.

WW

Reminder to those interested: first official Wednesday Worlds tomorrow (March 16th). Meet at Sample Gates, we'll leave shortly after 5:30pm and roll out to 446. Course is 6 laps of the 446 Loop. Link to the map: http://www.mapmyride.com/route/us/in/bloomington/754321442832

Hope to see you all there!

funny opinion

So a couple months ago I produced a list of 'Best L5 riders from 2003' which was heavily commented upon. I just received an email from a 'CC MacElroy' over the weekend that came late to the 'comment party'. I thought I'd post it just for shits and giggles as there are some 'interesting' opinions in there (permission found to post btw).

' Madness abounds!!! GP, Seriously with this list??? Ok, if it is about Little 5 then it is about RACE DAY. On RACE DAY Issac Neff was abysmal (As is BKB most years, BIGGEST WASTE OF TALENT IN LITTLE 5 HISTORY) and needed “Pepto-Abysmal” in 2008 (REMOVE HIM!) Next, Matt Davis???? (Bad race day rider) Really? After Hans took out 2/3rds of the field, someone had to win and someone had to finish 2nd (2005 should be thrown out all together as a performance resume stuffer.) Which leads to Leukens, again the beneficiary of a series of events, but left to his own resolve, again a terrible race day rider, That's "TEHRR-BLE!" (REMOVE HIM!)
GREATNESS IS ABOUT DOING WHAT NO ONE PREVIOUSLY THOUGHT COULD BE DONE! THIS IS ABOUT THE THINGS YOUR EYES JUST SAW (RACE DAY) THAT YOUR MIND TOLD YOU WAS IMPOSSIBLE!
So here is the THE LIST:
1.Young
2.Arnessen
3. Commisiong
4.Vargo
5. Camara
6. Bishop
7. Land
8. Grant
9. Feldman
10. Parks

Young has gotten it done more than
Hans and I am sure he will this year too! Though his burnouts are still kinda weak!
Putting Hans at #2.
Add @ #3: Simeon Commisiong, Like Todd said: It’s about the race day wow factor. Been around many a race don’t ever remember a race where so many teams were worried about 1 guy being on the last lap. He was SICK fast! How fast? In 03 AND 04, He got on the bike with TMT ½ down in turn 1, and the leaders in turn 3, By the time the leaders were back at at turn 3 (40 lap!!!), .....He was with them. Do the math! You will never see that again in your lifetime. He did it twice.

Move VARGO up. The flashpoint for the current wave of Cutters success, deserves his due. Speed and endurance on race day with the sack to sprint against anyone.
Add @ #4: Ali Camara, the statement that he didn’t have a long career is erroneous he raced from 2005-2008. Again someone has to win every race but I would have never though a L5 Rider could ride 66 laps out of the gate??? Insanity! (Wanna be on my list, 66+ from the jump gets you in as an automatic!)
Land Great Leader and setup man
Grant was a Beast! If he were eligible on this list for more than 1 year, he would be top 3
Clayton Best “Wingman” over this period.
Add @ #10 Kenny Parks again you will never see someone with that combination of speed and endurance , especially at that size in your life. 3 Incredible race day performances. Riding 130 laps in 2009 and sprinting for the win in 2009 and 2007.
GREATNESS IS ABOUT DOING WHAT NO ONE PREVIOUSLY THOUGHT COULD BE DONE! THIS IS ABOUT THE THINGS YOUR EYES JUST SAW (RACE DAY) THAT YOUR MIND TOLD YOU WAS IMPOSSIBLE!
That’s the word.
Starting a petition to have Leukens, Davis, and Neff removed. “ ….Someone go wake up Kiel”

Morgan-Monroe State Forest Time Trial

The Tuesday night time trial schedule has been created for this coming summer. The course begins and ends at the entrance to Morgan-Monroe State Forest (specifically the intersection of SR Old 37 and Main Forest Road) and is 10 miles in length (out and back). The time trial will be held every other Tuesday starting Tuesday May, 3rd. The first rider will go off at 7:00pm, a group will be leaving from the Bicycle Garage at 6:15pm.

Dates are:

May 3rd
May 17th
May 31st
June 14th
June 28th
July 12th
July 26th
August 9th
August 23rd
September 6th

Current Course Record: 20:38 by Ryan Shanahan

Closing the Gap: on Kurt Gensheimer

This is the first post in a series of updates on past Little 500 riders and what they are up to now. Kurt Gensheimer, a Little 500 Hall of Fame Member, rode for Acacia (97’-99’), and went on to coach the team as well. During his time as a Little 5er, he won and set the record for ITT’s. His record held until Hans broke it in 2005. He was also the President of Indiana University Cycling Club.

Check out what Kurt is up to now:

Fellow Cycling Enthusiasts,

My friend Joe and I recently launched http://www.carbonframerepair.com/. We are a full-service carbon fiber bike frame repair business in North County San Diego, and Joe has over 20 years of experience with composites repair and fabrication, learning his craft in the US Air Force. We just became Ellsworth's official carbon frame repair facility.

Whether it's mountain, road, track, cross BMX...whatever...if it's made of carbon fiber and it's damaged, we can most likely fix it to be as good or better than new.

Check out our website for more details and examples of our repair work. Drop me a line if you have any questions and please tell your friends. You can stay updated with us too on Facebook.

Thanks so much for your support.

Happy trails and tarmac,

Kurt

Women's Practice Race

Is your team looking to kick off Spring Break with a bang? Join your fellow female Little 5ers this weekend Saturday, March 12^th, at 1 p.m. for a friendly practice race on Little 500 bikes. We will be out on Knightridge Road (map below). The loop is almost 4 miles and we will be doing 3 laps. The weather is supposed to be nice, so come celebrate spring with your friends and get a little bit of racing in, too!

http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/5695338

Options:

1. Meet at the Sample Gates at 12:30pm and we’ll all ride out together

2. Meet us out at the intersection of Knightridge and 446 at 1pm

If there is a large turnout, we’ll split into an A heat and a B heat. Please email me (lhalf@indiana.edu) if you are coming (preferably by noon on Friday), so we have an estimate of how many to expect. Hope to see you out there this Saturday!

If you can't beat 'em, pay for it...

Not to give any business to Ace Pawn shops but this is worth taking a look at!
Little5 ring for sale

In my humble opinion that's a lot of coin for a ring...already I guess if Fiji (or other teams) spend $10000/ year on the team and haven't won for while maybe it's the way to go...
Most likely it's a Cutter ring as they have Kroger bags full of them sitting around at Papa Kirkhams place. Hell, why not cash in on one of them?
I'd ask the Frats to form an orderly line at the pawn shop door...;)

Free(!) Bike.

From Marc Kase:

I have an extra bike and I am going to pay it forward--- If any cyclist in Bloomington wants a free bike, let me know. I am giving away my 63cm steel 1985 Guerciotti with year 2000 Campy Record 10 speed components. It does not include pedals but is otherwise in good working order and is suitable for a rider between 6'2" and 6'7" who weighs under 200 lbs. I will give preference to Little 500 riders who are riding for teams that have a budget of under $1,000. The requirements are that you have to agree to store the bike inside, that you will not sell it, and that you will ride the shit out of it. (Of course you can give it away to someone else when you are done with it.)
This is an awesome bike and I want to give it to someone who needs it and will use it.

Please add a comment to this post if you are interested.

Early Wednesday Worlds (last one before the real one!)

From IUCC-

We had a pretty good turnout last week at our "early" Wednesday Worlds, so let's plan on doing the same thing.

Sample Gates
4:00pm
Course TBD

Unfortunately I cannot attend, but those who show up I'd advise a neutral rollout and begin the action once you're out of town. Course to be decided by those attending. Weather looks bad, but hopefully still ride-able.

Kick back..

...relax for an hour and watch the extended finale of the Strada Bianca from last weekend. Some good racing and the final km is a little tough!

Paris-Nice!

Gregory Henderson/Team Sky wins stage 2 of Paris-Nice which began this weekend. Read more about this 8 day stage race here http://www.letour.fr/us/homepage_horscoursePNC.html

Sherer working for a livin'

http://www.podiuminsight.com/nggallery/post/photo-gallery-mens-merco-almond-blossom-road-race/image/5708/

A Glutton for Punishment

What does it take to get a 30 year-old former cyclist back in the saddle?  In my case it was punching a winning ticket into the most grueling one-day endurance mtb bike race in the world – the Leadville 100!  What was I thinking?!

This is the first of six or seven entries that will follow one man’s journey to get back on the bike and finish the “Race Across They Sky.”  I’ll provide a new post after each 4-week training block with the goal of looking back on what was accomplished and an outline of things to come.  I’ll try to keep it interesting and touch on the highs and lows of preparing for such an event.  Particularly for someone who has touched the bike MAYBE ten times in the last four years. 

But first….I suppose I should introduce myself.  My name is Matthew Ewing.  I’m a former Cat. 1 cyclist, who picked up cycling in 1999 during my freshman year of college at Indiana University.  I was looking for something to help shed the 20lbs I packed on thanks to a diet of pledgeship, Pizza Express and Natty Light.  I had the honor of racing in the Little 500 and kept turning the pedals until 2006 when I decided hang it up.

So what will it take for a washed up cyclist to complete a 100 mile race that has been described as - - “Stupid hard.”  “Brutal…Ridiculous!” and “Pure Sweet Hell!”  ????

I’m not sure, but it will be an exciting adventure…and I suppose such adventures are what life is all about.

The first block of training will run from March 4^th to April 3^rd and focus on building my base again.  Lot’s of 3-4 hour weekends rides with two/three 2 hour rides during the week.  Rest days will include active recovery and focusing a great deal on my core strength.

Below are a few key rides/events I’ll be targeting.  Misery loves company so don’t hesitate to contact me if you feel like joining in on the fun as some of these are in the Bloomington area.

Sunday, March 26^th:        100k Route (road bike)

Sunday, April 24^th:          Nashville 90 (road bike)

Saturday, May 15^th:         Dirt, Sweat and Gears 6hr Endurance MTB Race (mountain bike)

Sunday, June 12^th:           Nashville 90 + throw in Boultinghouse (mountain bike)

Friday, July 8^th – 10^th:     Training trip to Leadville, CO (mountain bike)

Saturday, August 13^th:     RACE DAY!

Cheers,

Ewing

Wednesday Worlds Schedule Announced!

Well, It's that time again. Time to set your sights and mark your calendars for another season of Wednesday night races at the Wednesday Worlds! As a going away gift that will last all season, we have conspired with the man from Liverpool to set a calendar that will keep you challenged all season. We are also planning on adding a little spice to these training races this year as well, in the form of primes and prizes! Look to future posts for details! March 16th is less than a fortnight away mates.

Wednesday Worlds 2011

March 16^th 446 circuit http://www.mapmyride.com/route/us/in/bloomington/754321442832

March 23^rd Forest Loop (down BB)

http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/in/bloomington/759623400370

March 30^th 446 Circuit

April 6^th Paragon Loop (out Bottom Road)

April 13^th 446 circuit

April 20^th Forest-North Shore- South Shore

http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/in/bloomington/671677475395

April 27^th Forest Loop (down BB)

May 4^th 446 circuit

May 11^th Paragon-Buskirk Loop (out old 37) http://www.mapmyride.com/route/us/in/bloomington/506125242119714483

May 18^th Low Gap- Mahalasville loop http://www.mapmyride.com/route/us/in/bloomington/356259478426

May 25^th 446 circuit

June 1^st Take the Lake (out Harrell to Fairfax)

June 8^th Forest Loop (up BB)

June 15^th 446 circuit

June 22^nd Paragon Loop (out Bottom Road)

June 29^th Forest-North Shore- South Shore

July 6^th Low Gap- Mahalasville loop

July 13^th 446 circuit

July 20^th Paragon-Buskirk Loop (out old 37)

July 27^th Take the Lake (out Harrell to Fairfax)

August 3^rd 446 circuit

August 10^th Forest Loop (down BB)

August 17^th Forest-North Shore- South Shore

August 24^th 446 circuit

August 31^st Take the Lake (out Harrell to Fairfax)

Sept 7^th Paragon-Buskirk Loop (out old 37)

Sept 14^th 446 circuit

Sept 21^st Forest Loop (up BB)

Sept 28^th 446 circuit

Petition for 2012

Below is a petition produced by Ryan Kiel ( rpkiel@umail.iu.edu ) that he is asking IU students to sign regarding the eligibility requirements for Little 500 in 2012. Clearly Ryan feels as though this year the spirit of the law is being tested if not the absolute letter and I believe him when he says he has no issue regarding specific riders. Little 500 rules evolve all the time and IUSF have changed rules with much less notice than this but this is aimed at the future not the present. BTW this is not an opinion piece, just the facts.

PRO CAMP!

Good to see that Bloomington and Little 500 continues to be a breeding ground for professional cyclists. Picture from Bissell training camp taken from Podium Insight