Been too long since the last update. Straight to it.

Only 83 days until the first Tuesday Night Ride of 2012!

If you are part of the Capital Fund Title Cycling Team, please join the blog! Sign up, be a part of it! Please, numbers help with sponsorship and recruitment, please become a member!

The capital Fund Title team roster blew past fifty members early in December and then past sixty. The current head count is an impressive sixty-two members.

Kits – ‘short-term pain for long-term gain’ – we are still in the creative phase of kit development but the Board is pushing hard to get this order cycle process complete so we have our kits long before it will be warm enough to wear them or we will be able to race in them. It may seem a bit painful right now, but when they are done based on all the renderings we have seen we hope you will agree we will have one of the most unique and clean looking kits in the State or anywhere.

Thank you for buying into the vision – Most of you have already ordered an ‘alternative jersey,’ If you have not please do. As we have mentioned we plan to emphasis racing tactics and having two jerseys (a light and dark) will enable us to create many race like situations on our beloved Tuesday Night Ride. One of my mentors once told me ‘anyone can train to be within 5% of the fitness of a Tour athlete’ but being able to impress someone with long pulls and high watts does not mean you know how to race your bike. At the very least, if you are racing and thus getting a kit for being on the team, please, please order that second jersey.

Spinning – don’t forget the great opportunity to spin for free with your team and anyone else who wants to join at the Foster Community Center; Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.

Until next time

Here is an update on your team.

1. At 48 members you are now part of one of the largest teams in the State.
2. Capital Fund Title is the title sponsor, no pun intended, Steve Smith (our benefactor) is with CFT.
3. Sinas Dramis Law firm is a confirmed sponsor of the team, Bryan Waldman works for them and is on the team.
4. An agreement is in place with Riverfront Cycle to provide discounts on bikes, parts and services, Dave the owner and Mark are on the team.
5. We are currently negotiating for a third sponsor, Playmakers, Mike Homan works with Playmakers and is on our team.
6. Sugoi is the kit provider for the team, the local Sugoi representative, Kevin Gamper, is on our team (By the way prelim kit pricing is $134, bib $79, jersey $55).

In the event you have not picked up on the theme, this is a Lansing team with 100% Lansing riders and 100% Lansing sponsorship.

I am going out on a limb here, Steve, please do not jump from the bushes and hit me in the head for doing this, but here are some more renderings just be advised of all the disclaimer jargon you can imagine.

Team Update: There are now Forty Six members of the Capital Fund Title Team. We have twenty six race members and twenty club members as of today.

Spinning: Only 3 souls showed up for spinning last night; Steve, Tanner and Christine. It is early, but take advantage of the room, it's free and open to everyone. Bring your cycling DVD's. There is a TV and DVD player.

The spinning started Monday at the Foster Center. As painful as it was to sit on a stationary bike in November misery loves company in the form of Mark, Tanner, Webbcorp, Banky and KG. It was Jacques Anquetil night, the first cyclist to win the Tour De France 5 times, wow. In 1965, Anquetil won the eight-day Alpine Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré stage race at 3pm, sat through two hours of interviews and receptions, took a 6:30pm chartered flight to Bordeaux and won the world's longest single-day classic, Bordeaux–Paris the following day.This guy won everything, here he writes "In June 1956, my chiefs finally gave me an order more to my liking, the strangest, the most unusual that a gunner has ever been asked to carry out; it was nothing less than to beat the world hour record. I knew what that meant: to storm a veritable fortress. For 14 years, since 7 November 1942, the date on which Fausto Coppi planted the Italian flag on it, it had discouraged all assailants. One figure sums up the difficulty of the enterprise: 45.848 km."Kevin brought by some samples of the new kit and some swag for those that showed. Until next time men...

Spinning Starts today, November 14th, at 6:00 PM at the Foster Community Center, 200 North Foster Avenue, Lansing, Room 206. Take Michigan Avenue west from 127 a few blocks and turn north.

We have some initial renderings of kit designs (thank you Mustapha!) which will aid in our determining the final team kit design for 2012. Riverfront will be on the kit, but was not featured in these early renderings. Sinas Dramis is a confirmed sponsor and they will be featured on our kits but was not on these initial renderings. Playmakers is not a confirmed sponsor at this time, again these are just initial renderings. Please take a look, and PLEASE use the technology, add a comment below, if you are not comfortable with the public format, email Steve, Mike, Mark or Webbcorp. CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE
We have decided to award the kit business to Sugoi. The rationale is they have great quality (certainly like Louis Garneau), they service Riverfront already, the rep is on our team (Kevin Gamper). In the end as great a product as LG is this approach ties in better with the entire Lansing approach to this team. We hope you will all agree.

CAPITAL FUND TITLE SINAS DRAMIS LAW TEAM

Here is a quick update on the early stages of the formation of the team.

• We have Thirty Six signed and confirmed team members as of today
• There are twenty race level members and sixteen club level members
• Mike Homan has decided to race with us, this significantly bolstering our masters team
• From the roster we determined in 2011 there were 25 podium finishes, 45 top 5 five finishes, 93 top ten finishes and 4 wins. This with no team!
• Sinas Dramis Law Firm is a confirmed sponsor for the team in 2012

The momentum is strong, 2012 should be a great year!

The final TNR of 2011 is in the books along with another great season. Six hundred and thirteen times riders showed up for TNR this season compared to six hundred and six last year. Thanks to all of you for your participation and making this ride what it is! Craig Newell took the last Mason sprint of the year after a blistering speedfest north into Mason in which we averaged 27 MPH. We started under sunny skies with temperatures in the mid sixties, that is a hell of way to end the season.

Jay sent a couple of videos he took with his new toy, the Contour HD which tracks the route and speed while you ride with video! Pretty cool, check it out HERE. Or if you prefer music with your video he also sent THIS.

The development of our local team has much momentum, at the time of this post there are officially thirty one confirmed riders who will be flying the colors of the new Lansing team, your team!

2011 is outlasting 2010 with Thirty four rides dating back to March 15th compared to thirty two rides in 2010. As we set this milestone we are ready to achieve another as we approach the 110 member mark & nearly 19,000 hits to our site. Last week we got yet another gift when a warm front pushed north from the central plains raising temperatures to near seventy just in time for the start of TNR. For many, the carnival that is cycling has left town and most have gone home, but for nine of us it was yet again a sweet and poetic symphony played out on the back roads of Ingham County. We had a slight head wind heading south, but once we headed north the winds picked up and the dense air acted like a diesel pusher and we were flying in a nine man paceline. I Thought I might have taken the last Mason City limit sprint last week but because of the nice weather Doug now holds that honor, but watch out Doug, everyone wants to do another TNR on November 1st so you will have to defend that honor.
The 2012 Capital Fund Team is filling up quickly, our roster is up to twenty racers and seven club members in a little over two weeks! This is really incredible men. Welcome letter is soon to come and we hope to get designs out for the kits for all of you to see soon. So put your hands in the air, we are off and running, get used to seeing scenes like the one above as we have a winning team men!
With the forecast of sunny and 55 degrees we will be running what would have to be the last TNR of the season on November 1st at 5:30 PM. Hope to see you all then, until... sayonara...

The sun is setting on TNR. We may pull off another, or even two more, but for 19 of us it will be hard to beat the sun & 80 degrees we enjoyed last Tuesday. The trip north on Meridian was hard and fast, it seems we were running over 30 for about 2 miles and splintering the field. Steve unveiled the Capital Fund Title Riverfront Cycling Team before the ride and handed out flyers and team commitment forms. If you need one let me know, I will email it to you. In short we have funding for thirty riders. If you race for the team in USCF races you will receive a kit, no charge, yes that is correct, not just cat 2 riders. Again, if you race you will receive a kit free of charge. In addition race fees will be reimbursed for everyone in any race we podium and earnings from the race are kept and shared by the team. Our hope is that most of you will spring for a second kit at cost (we are working out a deal now, possibly with Louis Garneau) that way we can have mock races next year at TNR with perhaps the cat 4 team lining up against the Masters team, one kit might be dark and one lighter. As for the kit, this is your team, you will have a say in how the kit looks, we will roll out some samples soon and hope to have them in your hands in time for the first TNR next March, only 5 months men.We want to run the ride until we can no longer. To that end next week we start at 5:30, need to roll on time and stay on target. We might be able to get in 35 miles, that's ok, the alternative is stay at home and watch the Biggest Loser... in the mirror!

Capital Fund Title Cycling Team

October 11, 2011

Dear fellow TNR rider;

The what ifs, why not’s and how to’s have been pondered, prodded and finally answered. The conclusion was simple; it is time for the rebirth of a locally sponsored USCF club team in Lansing, Michigan.

2012 will represent the inaugural season for a team with primary sponsorship provided by CAPITAL FUND TITLE SERVICES, LLC and bike, accessories and service support provided by RIVERFRONT CYCLES.

This team is being formed as a club consisting mostly of riders that enjoy participating in USCF cycling events. However we realize there are riders within our TNR ranks that do not necessarily want to participate in USCF events, but enjoy riding fast and enjoy the camaraderie gained by riding with others. We want you as part of this club also. Your participation and strong riding makes the rest of us better, and our sponsors will be proud to see their names on your front and backside.

This club is being organized with several goals in mind; first and foremost have fun. Secondly, create an organized environment locally where those amongst us with years of racing knowledge and skills can mentor those with less experience on training, team tactics and individual improvement.

Organizationally, the club will initially consist of a Board of Craig Webb, Steve Smith, Mike Williams and Mark Warner.

We are very excited about the rider support package that we have been able to put together. In turn, we are equally excited about the name recognition the talented riders in this area will provide our sponsors.

The sponsor support package will be categorized at two levels and is outlined on the attached pages. RACE level sponsorship applies to those riders whose intent is to participate on this team in USCF events in 2012. CLUB level sponsorship applies to riders that have enjoyed the camaraderie of riding at TNR over the years and will be proud to wear a kit for a team born from TNR. Our initial budget for this upcoming season is set up to support 30 riders under the RACE category.

In looking at the results from the MBRA 2011 season there is reason to be very optimistic in 2012. The potential is real to field a team that can capture the 35 master and/or cat 4 team championships. The potential is real to have a local points champion on several fronts. The potential is real to have several individual state road, criterium, and points champions and team championships.

Please take some time to review the attached information. Note that there are specific deadlines for responding. Also note that this information is step one in the process. Once we have finalized the club roster then more information will be forthcoming.

This information is going to ALL riders that are registered on the TNR web site. In reality there are only about 30 local riders that were “active” with USCF racing in 2011. Our 2012 budget is set up to support 30 racers. Many riders will choose not to race, but will want to join as a club member. Some riders will choose to race with the team they race with now. In the end, we anticipate no more than 30 riders to race actively. Should our estimations prove wrong, we will not exclude, we will just re-work the budget.

The following pages to this document contain:
1. Race level rider package
2. Club level rider package
3. Rider registration form
4. Secondary sponsorship information

Should there be any questions regarding any of the attached, please direct questions to Steve Smith at ssmith@capfund.net. We look forward to hearing back from you.

Regards,

Steve Smith, Craig Webb, Mike Williams and Mark Warner


RACE LEVEL RIDER PACKAGE

The following is being provided to Race level club members.

Team garb

1. Team kit, comprised of jersey, shorts and arm warmers, NO COST TO RIDER
2. Team skin suit available, TO BE PURCHASED BY RIDER AT COST.
3. Optional hats, shoe covers and jackets to be made available to rider at cost.
4. Socks and gloves will be made available to riders at cost.


Team equipment, supplied by Riverfront Cycle

1. Road bikes available at discounted pricing.
2. Riding accessories available at discounted pricing.
3. Service available at discounted pricing.

Reimbursed fees

1. Podium finish equals reimbursed entry fees to all participating teammates in that category for that race.

Winnings

1. It will be team policy that winnings from a podium finish will be shared equally with all participating team members in that category for that race.

CLUB LEVEL RIDER PACKAGE

Team garb

1. All club attire will be made available to CLUB level riders at cost, plus shipping.


Equipment, provided by Riverfront Cycles

1. Riding accessories available at discounted pricing
2. Service provided at discounted pricing.

RIDER REGISTRATION


If you would like to be a team member on the Capital Fund Title/Riverfront Cycles (CFT) cycling team for the 2012 season please complete the following. ONCE COMPLETED PLEASE SCAN AND SEND TO: ssmith@capfund.net.

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATION SUBMISSION IS OCTOBER 23TH.


I_______________________________________________________, would like to be considered as a team member for the CFT cycling team for the 2012 season. I would like to participate at the

RACE CLUB (circle one) level.

Contact Information: 2012 racing season age____________

Telephone number______________________________________

Address_________________________________________________________________

Email Address_________________________________________________________________.

If participating at the race level, please check the appropriate category:

Anticipated race category preference for 2012 season (and current if different); USCF License number_______________

________ Cat 4
________ Cat 3
________ Cat 2
________ masters 35
________ masters 45
________ masters 55



COMPLETE AND RETURN BY OCTOBER 23TH.

SECONDARY SPONSORSHIP

Currently our kit will consist of just two names on it. Capital Fund Title and Riverfront Cycles.

There are 2-3 secondary sponsorship opportunities available. Secondary sponsors would be given a nice advertising location on all aspects of the team kits, water bottles and team awning to be set up at every race.

If you know of a business that you think may be interested in providing sponsorship funds, please have them contact Steve Smith at 517 927 7955.

It's possible Wade, Doug, Brian, Zac, Cary, Mike, Steve, Jeff, Eric Snider and Ralph's bikes were all sold into slavery because they were MIA last night. Sorry boys, you missed a great ride. It was 72 and sunny with no wind at ride time and we had eighteen, 19 if you count Fast Freddie on the R1. Jose had a rough night with a broken spoke and flat tire but Craig made up his bad karma with wins in the first two sprints. We kept the pace high all night, no chit chat.

The 23.5 degree tilt of the Earth in relation to the sun and the orbit of the Earth around the sun is our enemy for the next six months.Short of taking TNR south of the equator, we are running out of time (probably only 2 or 3 more), but we do have some workarounds.

First, cyclocross, what once was the Red Cedar Golf Course East of Clippert, South of Michigan and North of Kalamazoo, is now a great cyclocross course has been cut in. No set times yet but the start is at the old caddyshack off Clippert (right under the cell tower across from Oade's Big Ten). Click image to enlarge.Secondly, the biggest news of the week is that Steve (The Bike Philanthropist) has secured funding for a Lansing based team & we also heard first hand from Mark last night that we have the support of Riverfront Cycle for the team. Many of you might not remember this but Dave, the owner of Riverfront, was in this game before, sporting what could arguably be described as one of the most powerful teams ever amassed in Michigan. Steve is working on a press release now, more to follow. What's this mean for off season training? The thought is spinning sessions, racing tactics training and planning for next season.

Enjoy the weather!

Most things we do in life we do because we have to, they are a means to an end; go to school so I can get a job, get a job so I can get a house. But what compels us to do something which is physically very hard and requires many hours of commitment to do well and for which there is no real purpose? Last night we faced this question head on.

It may have been the worst ride of the year and it may have been the best.

If you stayed away with the distinct purpose of not getting rained on, you made a great decision. But for those of us who came (and I believe we had 14) it was universally agreed ‘we would not have wanted to miss it for anything!’ True, there was no ‘end in itself,’ no real purpose. It was dark, wet, uncomfortable, slippery, hard and fast but somehow as we looked forward to see water spitting up from the tires in front of us ten feet in the air, sunk down on the drops, struggling to see, physically at our limit, drooling, sweating and soaking wet a rush of adrenaline that you cannot get while studying the great thinkers of antiquity or resolving an issue at work engulfed us and we realized we don’t do this because there is a diploma or paycheck waiting for us at the end we would do this shit even if it was bad for us.

A special callout to Joe Kennedy, he heard about TNR a long time ago, but was just compelled two weeks ago to actually show for the first time. Joe has power and speed and is not afraid to but his face in the wind and suffer. So I asked him, are you sorry you waited until now? You know the answer. Welcome to TNR Joe Kennedy. You are one of the brotherhood now, no turning back.

Anthony from Tennessee joined us again last night, wish we saw more of you Anthony! Brad, Cary, Alan were all very animated last night and I kind of lost track but it seems they took most of the prizes.

It was probably the last run at the full course of the year. Sun sets 7:15 next Tuesday. We will still start at 5:45 but will abbreviate the ride somewhat to get back by about 7:30.

TNR Summary 9/20/11

It’s hard to imagine how in late September we could have had a better night for riding, the skies were brilliant blue and the temps were in the mid 70’s with no wind to speak of.

Many of the TNR regulars were again MIA, some maybe turning the page on cycling for the year, but that didn’t slow down the momentum of TNR, we had twenty riders. Alex had some mystery object in his tire which created at least 3 flats but we endured despite being on a tight schedule due to lack of daylight. Joe Kennedy joined us for the first time, welcome to TNR.
Alan Finder was back after focusing on a full Ironman in Wisconsin in which he placed 12^th in his age group, it could have been better but his leg starting barking at him in the run. Greg was back after focusing on mountain biking this summer.

And Kevin Gamper joined us, Kevin has a rep agency and calls on tall the bike shops in Michigan, Indiana and Ohio. For next week we plan to again start at 5:45 PM, with no flats we will be fine. Until then…

Iceman Commeth Challenge Out & Back September 24, 2011 9:00 AM Timber Ridge, Traverse City, Mi

Time to turn our attention from the road to the dirt.

Every time I get on my bike I rediscover my childlike passion for cycling and remember the days as a young boy when ten buddies would somehow know where and when to show up with no form of communication like cell phones or text messaging to meet, explore, race and discover on our bikes.

In many ways the out & back is every bit as important as the race itself, but having done them means we will be ready.

And as a champion once said:

“If you want to win races sometimes you have to ride in bad weather”

Well, we can’t promise good weather, but we can promise a great time, see you all at Timber Ridge on Saturday.

Link to Timber Ridge HERE

Webbcorp

Thursday Time Trial Series - Today 9/22/11

The Time Trial starts at the corner of Barry & Loudsbury Roads at 6:00 PM.

Ride to the TT Options:
A. 5:15 - Hannah Community Center, East Lansing
B. 5:30 - Meridian Road Park, Meridian Road between Grand River and Haslett Roads

HERE is a link to the course from Garmin

HERE is a link to the Time Trial Blog

Sunday September 25th, 2011 marks the date for the fifth annual WOCHINCO

From Cody Brown:

Every fall the greatest cyclists Ingham County has ever known gather to battle not only the elements, the roads, and other riders, but their own massive hangovers incurred the night before. On the hallowed roads of Mid-Michigan, where it all goes down, it will be determined who will wear the crown of 2011 World Champion of Ingham County. This year, with the 2010 winner Calves Johansen out of attendance, the door will be open for anyone to take the glory.

We will roll out from the Pavilion at 10am and ride an unpredetermined route for an undetermined distance (~four hours?) at very slow speeds (a.k.a. let's-all-be-friends pace). By the way, this is neither a real race nor a training ride--all are invited and encouraged to join us.

From Greg Christian:

Although geographical separation* prevents my participation in the fifth annual WOrld CHampionships of INgham COunty (WOCHINCO VI), I should like to take a bit of time to highlight the characteristics of this ride, its history, and its importance to the cycling club at Michigan State University. Most historians believe the first edition of WOCHINCO was held in the fall of 2007, though there is some evidence it may have actually begun in 2006. The ride was the brainchild of Mrs. Joseph Hartley and Bartholomew Carlson. Inspired by photographs of their favorite professional cyclists goofing off during off-season rides, the creators envisioned a local ride that shared many of the same characteristics. Surely, they thought, these pro cycling rides must involve sprinting for various landmarks along the route in addition to the antics caught on film, such as riders squirting each other with water bottles or making erotic poses with vegetables. Thus WOCHINCO was born, with the sprints forming an integral part of its character. Nearly everything about WOCHINCO---the distance, starting time, date, route, participants, scoring system, and so on---is in constant flux, always changing from year to year and, within a given year, subject to change at any moment, even during the ride. However, one thing is always constant - the sprints. WOCHINCO simply would not be WOCHINCO without a multitude of sprints for various objects - cracks in the road, stop ahead signs, mailboxes, imaginary points visible only to one rider, and much more.

In many ways, WOCHINCO is a ride of paradoxes. The sprints are fiercely contested, except perhaps for the secret sprints whose location is known only to a single rider, yet no one seems to care about their outcome (or at the very least, no one will admit to caring about the outcome). Despite this, excessive celebration, often involving the taunting of others, is common after a sprint win, and likewise, defeated riders often show great signs of outward frustration, for example shouting expletives and banging their handlebars with great force. The winner of WOCHINCO is determined in a way that no earthly being fully understands. Generally, it involves some combination of points accumulated in sprints during the ride and victory in the all-important Farm Lane stop ahead sign sprint on College Road that signals the end of competition. However, the scoring system changes from year to year, may change during a single year's event, and may even be different for different competitors.

This can lead to a variety of outcomes, such as a single uncontested winner, multiple winners, no winner at all, any combination of the aforementioned, and perhaps others.

Given the abstract and ever-changing nature of WOCHINCO, I am hesitant to continue further with my description. Instead, I shall call upon the annals of history and share with you some passages from the only two surviving WOCHINCO ride decriptions (WOCHINCO III, 2008 and WOCHINCO V, 2010):

"Unlike, most other races, there are no set fields, set distances, set course, prizes (other than pride, fame, and honor, of which there is more than any other known race), official start time, official end time, or official scoring. In addition, riders are allowed, and indeed encouraged, to compete in only parts of WOCHINCO if their schedule or fitness require it."

"Like the British legal system it [WOCHINCO] lacks a formal written set of rules and instead relies on common law to determine acceptable practices."

"Prior planning of the route is strictly forbidden."

"Alternative formats for the sprints are often used, such as stealth sprints where a rider tries not to alert anyone else of the impending competition until the last possible moment, fully secret sprints where only the winner even knows the sprint happened, or sprints between only a small subsection of the ride."

"Despite the long length, there are generally numerous intermediate sprints, the location of which are determined anywhere from 1 to 500 feet before it is reached by the first rider."

"There will be many, many intermediate sprints which may be announced anywhere from 0 to 100+ miles before the finishing point of the sprint."

"Sprinting for township signs is for Cat 5s, so don't do it (no offense intended to those who are actually Cat 5s)."

I hope that this electronic mail has given you all some insight into the nature of WOCHINCO and has encouraged everyone to participate.

Furthermore, please keep in mind that WOCHINCO is a living, organic, changing event, and that you, dear reader, have the ability to shape the event simply by attending and contributing to its history and its customs. As a final note, I would like to confirm a rumor which has been circulating about this year's edition of WOCHINCO, namely that one of the WOCHINCO creators, Mr. Bart Carlson, will be attending. To my knowledge, this rumor is absolutely true, and you all must take me at my word when I say that this makes it an edition you surely do not want to miss.

Sunday September 25th, 2011 marks the date for the fifth annual WOCHINCO.

Every fall the greatest cyclists Ingham County has ever known gather to battle not only the elements, the roads, and other riders, but their own massive hangovers incurred the night before. On the hallowed roads of Mid-Michigan, where it all goes down, it will be determined who will wear the crown of 2011 World Champion of Ingham County. This year, with the 2010 winner Calves Johansen out of attendance, the door will be open for anyone to take the glory.

We will roll out from the Pavilion at 10am and ride an un-predetermined route for an undetermined distance (~four hours?) at very slow speeds (a.k.a. let's-all-be-friends pace). By the way, this is neither a real race nor a training ride--all are invited and encouraged to join us.

Rides this week:
1. TNR 9/20/11 5:45 PM, forecast sunny and 73! Note new time 15 minutes earlier due to sunset at 7:41 PM.
2. Thursday Time Trial 6:00 PM, or ride from Hannah at 5:15 PM to the TT.
3. Iceman Out & Back Saturday Timber Ridge 9:00 AM, click here for Garmin file This ride is an annual rite of passage that leads up to the Iceman Commeth Challenge. We ride from Timber Ridge where the race ends to Kalkaska, where the race starts, then run the course back to Timber Ridge. Any questions, contact me.

Despite 67% of the members of "Crash Pad" MIA as well as Ralph, Mike, Cary and some others missing we still rolled with twenty last night under an interesting sky and among some interesting people. Jay, who works for the Department of Homeland Security joined us again, good to have you back Jay as well as Anthony Williams all the way from Tennessee. Anthony has ridden with us before, he is an engineering consultant here on BIZNES who heard about us from our friends at Velocipede. But Anthony travelled far less than last night's long distance traveler Jose all the way from Honduras. Jose is studying at MSU and has an interesting family, in fact his uncle was the Minister of Finance for the Country. Zak-Man-Doo decided since there's no more racing he would turn TNR into a knock down, drag out, slug fest by taking three sprints including the Mason Line!

Contemplating moving the ride up to 5:45 starting next week, get with me if that is an issue. We need to start on time and hope for no flats this time of year. Final decision coming soon.

Well, that's all for me boys, but here's a night in pictures to leave you with (Click to enlarge any photo).

For those of you looking to do something with all that fitness, Cyclo Cross Races In Lansing, September 25th and November 19th. Click HERE for link to flyer.

A Federal Agent with the US Department of Homeland Security imbedded himself on TNR last night. According to unnamed high level State Department sources the agent was investigating multiple alleged incidences where members from the TNR Tribe were ‘inflicting undue pain and suffering’ and performing attack ‘which could indicate a pattern of terrorism’ on others of the TNR Tribe. So if you are planning any insurgent attacks on TNR look out for Jay who rode a LiteSpeed with carbon Zipp’s before you unleash your fury.

In a lighter incident, Kate, who is from the area but now lives in sunny San Diego, California, joined our ride and despite our inability to show kindness and compassion for others regardless of gender was not only able to make the ride but wash dishing out some pain herself. They say San Diego has the smallest fluctuation in air temperature of anywhere in the US other than Hawaii, this has allowed Kate to ‘ride lot’s’ as Merckx put it and therefore ride with us, nice work Kate, thanks for coming to visit.

Craig Newell was on a tear last night winning at least 3 of six sprints. He hunted down none other than Brian Crosby on the Annis sprint who attacked off the front only to see Craig bridge and counter for the win. Craig, find a race will ya!

As many of you know we have been discussing the creation of a team in Lansing. Mike Williams has provided us with some quantitative data showing what the TNR riders did, and from this we can see what is possible if instead of just riding together we created a team with a goal and purpose. Here it is. The riders that come to TNR have 20 wins in 2011 so far! 61 top 5’s! 103 top 10’s! Out of 156 race starts 13% of the time one of our riders won the race, 40% of the time we were in the top 5 and a whopping 66% we were in the top 10! Wow, this is truly incredible, more to follow.

Remember the Time Trial Hill Climb Series starts tonight! See below post.

Not even Spartification, nor the pending doom of a storm could dampen the spirits or the numbers on TNR. It was flesh and bone, eyes of glass, heart of stone hard core from the gun to the end.Once again Eric Snider earned his man card on TNR. Don’t let the mild mannered look fool you, he is a bike assassin. Not only did he log Ninety-Two F#%King miles on Tuesday but he took 2nd on the Annis sprint and won the Kinneville sprint… get out of town! My power meter started to smoke about 400 yards from the Mason finish but I got word that the Professor, Cary “Grant” Roseth took it. Banky tried to roll away and after keeping it all together for the first 30 miles it got spread out like dropping a bag of marbles on a street in San Francisco, sorry, bygones. Leslie came out and brought some friends, I hope you guys still like us, it was not personal, it’s our business to make people suffer.Thursday Time Trial is starting back up, meet at the corner of Barry & Lounsbury Roads at 6:30, or meet at Hannah at 6:00 PM to ride out to the TT. Here is a file of the location. Click here for map of TT.

In the 26th edition of of 2011 TNR we were blessed with great weather and even better riding/racing than last week, and last week was not bad. We had 17 riders, some familiar faces were missing (Banky, Brian Crosby, Jeff Chapin, etc.) at the same time some not very familiar faces emerged. For example Zach came back out after a long absence and Roddy all the way from San Francisco, California joined us. Roddy is a jet pilot for a private airline that services corporations with fractional ownership jets, cool. He was a pilot in the Navy before that. Sayonara Lansing, hello California. The attacking and counter-attacking last night was the best of the season. Rinsing and repeating gets stale (i.e. ramp up and sprint) so seeing people attack from three miles out, get caught, then counter-attack, then catch and so on is way more interesting and certainly emulates race conditions better than rinse and repeat. In case you are wondering, last year we ran 32 weeks so that means we likely only have 6 weeks remaining, i don't know about you but that is depressing, so don't miss out on the great riding and weather, get outside! No pictures from last night but thanks to the Barronator in Traverse City we have a great parting shot from the Cherry Roubaix Sprints of Brian. Until next week men, Sayonara!

Flanked by former Tour rider Frankie Andreau, TNR's own Brian Crosby accepts a 40" television for winning the Cherry Roubaix Friday Night Sprints. At his side is TNR alumnus and second place Blaine Benson who won the cat 3 criterium the next day.

Fast Freddie accepting State Champion JerseyAs mentioned Blaine Benson won the cat 3 Crit, but missed was the photo finish with Ben Cox, a TNR alumnus. Cary was 10th in the Road Race after being in the winning break with Derek Witte (winner of the ½ crit the day before) but they got consumed when two fields came together (35+ and 3’s) in Cedar. Cary is leading the points series for masters, but only by a hair. If you are able, help the man out at the upcoming races, this would be a great achievement and he is close. Sam Nichol, TNR alumnus, was 3rd in the masters 45+, very nice. In the cat 4 road race, Jeff Chapin was 4th, , Derrick O’Brien was 6th, Zac Konett was 10th and Craig Newell was 16th. In the cat 5 road race Nikita was 8th. Are you thinking what I am? TNR has the making of a great cat 4 team. TNR stamped their branding iron on Cherry Roubaix.
Last night was a fine a night as we have seen all year, sunny, 80, no wind, no humidity. We had nineteen and by my count half of those rode to the ride, Eric winning the distance competition. How about an 88 miler on Tuesday? That’s exactly what Eric Snider does. Starting in DeWitt Eric rides to work in downtown Lansing, after work to TNR, then TNR, then back to downtown Lansing and finally back up to DeWitt. This is about the distance between Lansing and Ann Arbor. Eric, what are your long rides?
The start was reminiscent of the intro to Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood but like the falsehood that he was once a Marine Corp sniper the subtle start was a lie and soon no one was talking and we were all in the drops and droolin for the first sprint. Another new face last night, welcome Roddy. And a special call out to Robin Allen, men I met Robin a few years back at an Every & Stillman ride looking like your standard recreational set, but he is transformed to the point where the people at Every & Stillman would not recognize him. You are one of us now Robin, no looking back.News flash. Men, a small but dedicated group of us have been discussing a Lansing based bike racing team for 2012 and beyond. Soon we will lay out our plan. Suffice to say keep this in mind as you think forward to 2012. Look above for examples of what is possible. We ride, train, race, eat, drink and suffer together already, let’s accomplish something!

"We felt like bike racers"

No! This is not a picture from last night!
No this is not a picture of last night, but it felt like I assume Ludo Dierckxsens felt in the 2001 Paris Roubiax; wet, muddy, miserable, but instead of cold... Hot! No one was crazy enough to bring any electronic devices with them so no photographic evidence but fifteen were crazy enough to show up and feel like bike racers, and it felt like a race.By the time entered Mason most of us had a cup of dirt in our mouths but we were smiling form ear to ear. Getting rained on and having mud in your eye might slow some people down, but not the hard men of TNR, we just went harder and faster. Mike pulled another video of a our ride from a previous time, click here to see it.