Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Sunday, June 5, 2011
2011 Ride Sally Ride (Juniors Race)
We raced at the Ride Sally Ride in Sterling, VA. The 2 separate juniors categories raced together, but were graded separately. In attendance, were Jared, Michael, and Corbin. Throughout the race, Michael (15-18) hung with the “big guys” and had the ability to draft a good bit. He raced strong and looked comfortable throughout the race. He finished in 18th position, and continues to improve and learn more in each race! Jared (10-14) said he felt good throughout the race, and displayed his usual cool demeanor (never once looking like he was tired!). He stayed consistent and efficient through the race, and had a great sprint at the finish to take 7th place! Corbin found himself isolated early, and rallied to catch the competitor in front of him. He traded positions with his competition several times throughout the rest of the race, and finished strong with good form!
Congrats to all the team members who raced this weekend. It’s another “notch in the belt” so to speak, and another day’s worth of good racing. The progress that we’ve made in our 6 months of existence as a team has been astounding! A huge “Thank You” goes out to our sponsors; Eastern Panhandle Bicycle Co. and Hammer Nutrition. Without their support this year, Team Integrity would not have had the same experience thus far. Eastern Panhandle Bicycle Co. (www.epbicycles.com) has been monumental in providing us with guidance and service in regards to fit, service, and repair. Hammer Nutrition (www.hammernutrition.com) played an important role in being able to teach our athletes about proper fueling/refueling and recovery. And last, but not least, thank you to our family and friends for all your support and encouragement!
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
BikeJam 2011
On May 28, 2011, the Team Integrity juniors competed at BikeJam in Patterson Park, Baltimore. BikeJam is an event that is hosted by Kelly Benefits/Strategies and is a festival of sorts. There were trials riders putting on shows, a kid's bike-rodeo, a moon bounce, vendor tents (including free Slurpees!), and more. The course was mostly flat, featuring one long and steady hill prior to the start finish, and 2 chicanes. The road surface was a little rough in spots, with broken pavement, raised manhole covers, and gravel throughout, but the kids made the best of it. After a casual lap to "recon" the course, they were ready to race.
The juniors racing begain with the 15-18 age group, in which our own Michael Martin competed. Although Michael is only 14, his birthday is later this year, which puts him into the older category. Michael's field was large (over 40 racers), and the competition was steep. He raced well and stayed strong for an 18th place finish. Very respectable for his first race! Michael is looking forward to racing next weekend, and is glad to have gotten his first racing experience under his belt.
Next, the 10-14 age group raced with an equally large field. The competition was tough from the start, and not many groups worked together which made the wind and the hill especially challenging. Emma was bumped by a passing rider early (on the 3rd lap) and crashed (she's ok, but has a little bit of road rash on her knee), and Corbin flatted on the next lap. Adam look strong on every lap (especially coming up the hill), and raced to a 7th place finish! Jared was isolated early, but stayed strong and consistent, finishing in 28th place looking just as cool and collected as always. Christian Cugini also raced well after being isolated during the action. Christian raced to his full potential and never gave up...a quality that is shared by all of our junior racers!
Mid-afternoon, Casey Bunting participated in the just-for-fun kids race (Casey is still too young to be licensed by USAC, but does a great job practicing with us!) She joined the others with her usual enthusiasm, and was excited to receive her medal that she was presented after the finish!
Eastern Panhandle Bicycles has been an irreplacable sponsor for us this year. Thanks to them, we have a place to practice when the weather is disagreeable. All of our junior athletes have had their fit adjusted by Brian, who is a Body Geometry certified professional, and we've received advice as well as discounted equipment throughout the season.
Hammer Nutrition provided us with some of their products this year. Thanks to them, we have had many discussions during practices/events about the proper way to fuel/recover. We have used Hammer Gels and Recoverite throughout the season, helping us to train and compete thus far throughout the year. Their products have been great tasting, and easy on the stomach, which cannot be said for all nutritional supplement companies.
We would like to thank all sponsors, family and friends for supporting the team so far this year. With their help, we have had the opportunity to maintain a great team for the past 5 months. We're looking forward to continuing our training/practices and competitive events, and maintaining our already positive influence and attitude in the community.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
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| Filling water jugs to take to the Two Rivers Heritage Run |
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| Doing our part by manning an aid station at the run! |
Today, we volunteered our time at the Two Rivers Heritage Run. It featured a half-marathon, a 4 mile run, and a kids run. The event was organized by the same people that are behind Freedom's Run in the fall, the event was spectacular. The weather was cool and overcast, but the runners showed up, and so did we! We provided manpower for an aid station on Schoolhouse Ridge. It was our job to make sure that enough water was available for the runners coming through, and to hand it to them as they passed. The kids had a great time filling the cups, and even turned it into a sort of competition, seeing who's cup would be chosen by the runners! Everybody remained in good spirits throughout the morning (as our team always does!), and after all the runners were through, we walked our portion of the course to clean up and gather the supplies that were placed around the course. A few of our members even went to the "party" at the finish line and gave their best efforts at the climbing wall!
Thanks to all that participated. This was a great opportunity to be active in our community, and we actually had a quite important job. By offering our services, we actually fit together with the other volunteers to make sure the event went as smoothly as possible. The event organizers were counting on us, and we delivered! Great job, guys!! I couldn't be prouder!
Friday, April 29, 2011
Team Practice 4/29
GREAT team practice tonight!! 16.5 mile ride through the Summit Point area. We worked on some drafting and pacelines, riding in a group, and we even had an open "hammer" section! Great job by all!
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Weekend of 4/16 and 4/17 race report!
The weekend of April 16-17 was a busy weekend of racing for Eastern Panhandle Junior Bikeracers: Team Integrity. The weekend began with the RGS Chantilly Crit in Chantilly, VA. The weather was cold and very rainy! The forecast was for severe amounts of rain with 30mph winds, and Mother Nature delivered! Most of the athletes opted to sit this one out, but Corbin Stottlemyer (racing age 11) decided to give it a go. His race started out with dark clouds and gusting winds, which quickly separated the field. The entire back side of the course had a killer headwind, and once the rain began, it was difficult to see! Of the race, Corbin said,” When somebody passed a lot of water got kicked up in my face and some of it stung. At the end I was very tired and soaked”, but then later said, “Overall, it was very fun and a good experience”. It is great to see that even some of the youngest athletes can find the humor and beneficial experience that can be gained from less-than-optimal conditions! The race was 10 laps on a 1.2 mile course. Unfortunately, there was an error in the grading/results of this race, and because of that, Corbin doesn’t have official results. But we’re super proud of him for hanging in there and finishing in good form!
Our second race of the weekend was the Carl Dolan Memorial Road Race in Columbia, MD. Although rain was not in the forecast, the wind was prominent once again. The wind was forecast to gust up to 40mph during the day, and was probably close to 25 or 30mph for the start of the junior’s race. Adam Hull states, “When I got to the location of the race, it was very cold, but it was morning so it woke you up. I checked in, and rode around the parking lot, anxious to start the race and to get my blood flowing”. We had 4 athletes in the junior’s category. Adam Hull (age 13), Emma Hull (age 12), Jared Yates (age 12), and Corbin Stottlemyer (age 11). It was a 10 mile race on a 2.1 mile circuit, with a long and gradual hill ending about 200 meters from the finish. This time, the wind was on the front side of the course, blowing right across the start/finish line and down the hill! The race immediately split into smaller groups of riders. Some worked together well, and others battled the wind on their own. Emma says, “The one thing that really kept me going was that I stayed really close to a girl from a different team. We would each have our moments where we would be ahead, but she mainly stayed ahead because she was amazing at hills!” (Isn’t it great to hear the young athletes enjoying friendly competition?!) As the race neared the end, Jared Yates could be seen coming over the hill with his usual casual demeanor, making his way towards the line. Here is his recount of his final moments in the race: “After about twenty minutes I left my group and caught on to some other people. On the last lap I went around the turn and gained some room. On the final hill I tried to power up it and passed a couple people, and I ended up in fourth place.” We’re super happy with Jared’s performance, and earning Team Integrity’s first podium medal with his 4th place finish! He went on to say, “I learned a lot and I had fun racing.”
Our results from the Carl Dolan Memorial Race are as follows:
Jared Yates: 4th place (age10-12)
Corbin Stottlemyer: 8th place (age10-12)
Adam Hull: 10th place (age13-14)
Emma Hull: 16th place (age10-12 Girls)
We’re doing great in our first year of racing, and our athletes are having a blast. Our sponsors have been amazing! Eastern Panhandle Bicycle Co. has performed bike tune-ups and fittings (not to mention giving us a place to practice), and Hammer Nutrition has given us products that have helped in our training and racing nutrition and recovery. We’re proud to wear their logos on our kits, and look forward to enjoying much more racing as the season continues.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Bike Fittings
Last night, while at our team practice, Brian from Eastern Panhandle Bicycle Co. did a basic fitting on each of our athletes. Some of the changes that he ended up making were amazing. I saw seat posts come up INCHES, bars go down and get rotated, cleats got moved, stems shortened, etc. The basic fitting that he provided us would usually cost around $100/ea., and we had 7 athletes get done. THANK YOU so much to EP/BC for doing this for us. Brian stayed until around 10:30pm until every athlete was finished.
If you get a chance to see Brian, make sure you thank him. It was a great and valuable service provided to us, and his attention to the kids was awesome. It's great to have EP/BC as a sponsor.
If you get a chance to see Brian, make sure you thank him. It was a great and valuable service provided to us, and his attention to the kids was awesome. It's great to have EP/BC as a sponsor.
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