Next year's kit design!

Looking Forward!

Eastern Panhandle Bikeracers: Team Integrity is working on placing an order for next year's clothing. If you (or somebody you know) is interested in racing with us next year (juniors, adult, road, mtn, cross, tri, du, etc), get in touch. The kit is being fully redesigned, and looks great! Let's do some racing!

Also, check out our new website...it's almost complete!
http://www.teamintegritycycling.com/

2011 Ride Sally Ride (Juniors Race)

Saturday, June 4^th, 2011:

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 18^th 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 7^th 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!

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.

  

Filling water jugs to take to the Two Rivers Heritage Run 

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!

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!

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 4^th 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: 4^th place (age10-12)

Corbin Stottlemyer: 8^th place (age10-12)

Adam Hull: 10^th place (age13-14)

Emma Hull: 16^th 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.

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.

Practice 4/1/11

All,

Brian at EP/BC has offered to check the basic fit of our athletes on their bikes (saddle, bars, cleats, etc). In order to do this, if possible, we need to arrive earlier. Please reply and let me know if you can arrive at the shop between 6p and 7p. I'd still like to start practice at 7p, as normal, so the earlier we can start the kids rotating through working with Brian, the better (just remember that the shop doesn't close until 6p). If we still need to rotate kids through during practice, that's ok. 

Thanks, and make sure you thank Brian when you get a chance. As some of you know, he is professionally certified through Specialized's Body Geometry fitting school. Fit is super important to minimize the risk of repetitive injury and imbalances, and also to maximize PERFORMANCE (insert YouTube video here)!! This is a great service for our athletes to take advantage of.

 

Also, the team kits came in, but I'm working on ironing out an issue with the manufacturing. I'll give you more info tomorrow.

 

Hope to see you all tomorrow.

 

Bryan

First race of the season: RIR Crit

Congrats to Jared and Corbin for their first race of the year, at the Richmond International Raceway Crit. They finished in 12th and 13th, respectively. It was a cold, windy morning for the boys, but there were no mishaps, and they finished well. It was also a fun day of watching the races, as we all stuck around until the end of the day. Below, are the race reports from each of the athletes.
Jared:
"I rode my first race on Sunday March 20 at Richmond  International raceway. It was windy and cold when the race started at 9:00AM. There were about 25 kids 10-18 yrs. old in the race. I started at an easy pace to get a feel for it. Then after 1 lap I started to go a little bit harder and began to pass other riders. The older age group was going too fast to keep up with. After about twenty minutes, I started to get a little, but no one passed me. On the last 2 laps the other riders started to catch up. On the last lap they caught up to me and a few riders past me at the finish. I learned a lot and I had fun racing. I’m looking forward to my next race in April."

Corbin:  

"The RIR crit race was a very fun and good experience. Right when they said "Go", I took off and used a lot of energy not knowing how hard the rest of the race would be. Around 8 laps to go, I was really hurting and nobody in the back would let you draft them. At one lap to go, I put out all the energy I had left and sprinted almost the whole track. After the race was over, I placed 13th out of 18. The RIR crit was very fun."

Our next race will be the Chantilly Crit on 4/16.

Junior Gear Restrictions

The information below is directly from USAC. Please take the time to read over it. We need to start making sure that our athlete's bikes are legal, and will pass the 26 foot roll-out test. We'll get this done over the next couple practices. If a bike has a 53 tooth front ring, it won't be possible to block enough gears in the back, and may require switching to a compact crank with a smaller chain ring.

Junior Gear Restrictions: Is your race bike legal?

Junior gearing can be a surprise to young athletes trying the sport of cycling for the first time. The young athlete attending his first USA Cycling-sanctioned event may be shocked to find his bicycle considered illegal. Parents may also wonder why this is so, especially when they have paid a lot of money for a bicycle they were told was race-ready. The main purpose of junior gear restrictions is to help the young rider develop a good pedal cadence and to avoid injury. Junior gear restrictions also level the playing field for developing juniors who may be at a disadvantage against rivals who possess physical advantages such as height and power. The test to see if a race bike is legal or not is called the "rollout method" or simply "junior rollout," which is the distance a bike travels backward in a straight line through one full pedal revolution when the bicycle is in its largest gear. The junior gear restriction for road events is 26 feet (7.93 meters).
To calculate how far a bike will travel relative to its gears, USAC suggests gear ratios with respect to race age and discipline. The gear limit for a rider is determined by the age of the rider and the discipline, and applies in all events in that discipline.
There is no restriction for cyclo-cross. For road and track the limits are:
Road
17-18: 7.93 meters (26’)(52x14)
15-16: “
13-14: “
10-12: “
Track
17-18: Unrestricted
15-16: 6.78 meters (22'3")(48x15)
13-14: 6.36 meters (20'10.5")(48x16)
10-12: 6.00 meters (19’8”)(48x17)
Note that the gear ratios listed are merely suggestions – the distance rolled out is the governing standard.
Race officials will usually provide a courtesy gear check prior to the start of a junior race but ultimately it is the gear check immediately after the junior race that determines whether a junior's bicycle is legal or not.
The official checks a junior's bicycle's gears not by counting the number of teeth on the largest chain ring and smallest cassette cog, but by rolling the bicycle backward in a straight line for 26 feet. If the bicycle travels 26 feet or less when rolled backward one full pedal revolution, the bicycle is legal. If the bicycle rolls past 26 feet, the rider is disqualified for not complying with the junior gear restriction.
Ultimately it is the athlete's responsibility to make sure his bicycle is compliant with junior gear restrictions. The purpose of the courtesy check is to offer the junior the opportunity to block their gears prior to competing in his event. Note that blocked gearing is not permitted at USAC National Championship and UCI events. Depending upon the rear derailleur's stop limits and rear cassette cog combination, there is no guarantee that a bicycle with blocked gearing can be made legal, since it all comes down to the distance traveled in the largest accessible gear. Blocking means adjusting the rear derailleur's high stop limit screw to prevent the chain from going to a small rear cassette cog.
It is also important to note that not all cycling tires have the same diameter, which can give a bicycle a rollout distance different than the distance provided by the gear recommendation.
Junior riders need to roll out their bicycles on their own prior to attending a USAC-sanctioned event to determine whether they will be compliant with the rules.

Weekend of 3/12

Yesterday's outdoor ride went well. We had a few tipovers (which is normal), and a puncture, but all was well! We worked on some drafting type stuff, and the weather was great.

 

I'm not sure that we'll use the Rt.9 bikepath for future outdoor training rides. There's just too many intersections, it's hard to maintain any kind of pace. Not only that, but the path is FAR from being flat!! The hills also made it hard to get into a routine. Last time we practiced outdoors, we used War Admiral Blvd. in Bardane, and it worked really well, so maybe we'll target that area again next time.

 

Thanks to all the adults that came to ride also: Mindy, Paul, Matt and Sarah. With the warmer weather coming, hopefully we'll be able to get outdoors more and more.

 

Our first race is this Sunday, 3/20. It looks like Corbin and Jared are the only two going, so we'll provide a report of the race once we get back. This should be our furthest race, and I'm working on the registration for the Chantilly Crit. As soon as I hear back with some more information, I'll pass it along.

 

Today, I received more requests for t-shirts from some of the Panhandle Pedalers. If anybody would like to order more, let me know, and I'll consider placing another order if we get enough. Same price, $18.

March Racing on TV

Here's a lineup for March racing on TV.

March 6-13: Paris-Nice (Versus)
March 9-15: Tirreno-Adriatico (Universal Sports)
March 19: Milan-San Remo (Universal Sports)
March 23-27: UCI Track World Championships (Universal Sports)
March 26-27: Criterium International (Versus)

Enjoy!

Stuff for this week

Congrats to Casey for her 3rd place finish at the kid's race at the Snow Cone Criterium in Richmond, VA! Great work. If you get the chance, check out Matt's Facebook page for pics of Casey during the event. Check out the smile on her face afterwards!

Some good news this week: Beginning this Friday (2/4/11) we will begin practicing at Eastern Panhandle Bicycle Co. in Martinsburg. Practice will be held at the same time on Friday nights (7:00p). This gives us much more space than we've had for the past 6 weeks. If you get a chance, make sure you thank Brian for letting us use the space.

The weather is looking a little better each week (barring all the recent WINDS!), so we should start being able to get back outside for some more "extra" practices. I'll keep you posted.

T-shirts: let me know if anybody else needs to order. I'll be putting the order in on Tuesday.

It's official: I am now a certified USAC coach! As the team grows, I'll probably look for other people to help out with the coaching. Especially while were riding outdoors. Let me know anybody is interested in also becoming a USAC coach. I can point you in the right direction on the USAC website for the info.

We've had a great first 6 weeks! The work ethic of the kids has been amazing, and I've had a great time working with them. Let's keep the positive momentum going!

Bryan

Updates

Practices continue to go well. Last night's practice was an easy one, since we've been going strong for about 4 weeks. To keep the mood light, we played Mad Libs while on the trainers. Some of the stories got pretty interesting!

Since the Vint Hill Criterium was cancelled on 3/20, let's plan to go to Richmond for the RIR crit. I know it's going to make for an early morning (Junior's racing starts at 9a), but it's a unique experience, and a good race. Let me know if you plan to attend, and I will try to get the team registered by tomorrow (2/20). I want to be sure we get in before the event fills up (it was completely full last year). I will pay the registration fees, and you can repay me at practice (junior fees are $10).  Here's a link for the event: Click Here

Next week, we will be welcoming a new member to the team! Christian Cugini (12 years old) will join us for his first practice on Friday at my house.

Clothing: I spoke with my contact at Canari, who stated that we can place an order for more clothing twice within 8 months, without having to meet another minimum requirement. I will set these dates as April 1, and July 1. If you would like to purchase additional clothing items, those would be the times. July would be a good time to start thinking about winter clothing for the athletes that are able to wear adult sized items.

Thanks,
Bryan

 

Today, we had our first ride outdoors. Only part of the group was able to attend, but we had a very productive day! We worked on the skills required for drafting and riding in a paceline. Everybody learned quickly, and had a great time riding. It was pretty windy, but we ended up riding about 15 miles. The picture above, is our "bonus" lap on the Rt. 9 bike path. You can see Jared pulling strong at the front, and Michael just behind him waiting for his turn at the front. This was late in the day, as you can see Corbin in the background, wishing the wind hadn't been so tough today! Thanks to those who could make it, and especially to Dave and Laura for lending a helping hand.

New Logo In The Works?

CLICK HERE TO TAKE THE SURVEY!!

I've been working on a few ideas for a new team logo. I created a survey to see what everyone thinks. Click on the link above to see the images and then take the survey to let me know which one you like (there's even a button to click if you don't like any of them!)

Thanks!

-Bryan

New Logo In The Works?

 

I've been playing around with some logo ideas recently. Here's one I came up with. What do you think?

Yet another great practice!

Tonight, we put another great practice in the books. I couldn't have asked for a better group of kids to coach. The work ethic is amazing, and I love how well everybody gets along. The kids have been laughing, joking, telling stories, and poking fun at one another ever since we got going 3 weeks ago. It really is fantastic to watch.

Thanks again, to the Yates' for letting us use their home. It looks like we'll try to alternate weeks between locations, so that it's less of a drive for some. Next week, we'll be back at my house.

See you all next Friday!

Bryan

Type 1 Diabetes Article

Here's a cool (short) interview that talks about cycling with Type 1 diabetes. With the Tour du Cure being in the media recently, it's neat to understand some of what these athletes must deal with. It also goes to show that when you have goals and dreams, NOTHING can stop you!

http://www.diabetesmine.com/2009/04/five-minutes-with-phil-southerland-type-1-diabetes-competitive-cycling-hero.html

Great exercises for hip flexibility

Anybody who rides a bike should check this out. As someone who's had A LOT of hip pain, I can tell you that these exercises (dynamic stretches, really) provide some good relief. We'll start incorporating some of these into our practices!

7 AWESOME dynamic stretches for hips

Weekly Update

The Hammer Nutrition order has arrived! Since the products are in limited supply to us this year, I am going to keep hold of the gels, and we'll use them once we start riding outdoors. The Recoverite can go home with the athletes. It's a recovery drink, so they're welcome to use it after any workout. Just keep in mind that once it's gone, it's gone. The flavors are probably a little bland compared to what they're used to, but I've found that mixing it with vanilla ice cream is pretty good.

I've reached another *small* snafu with the clothing company, but hopefully I'll have it ironed out within a day. The ship date they have given us is 3/22, which means that we will have to wear what we have for our first race.

The MABRA junior's race calendar is still evolving, but I've received a good portion of it. It looks like there will be PLENTY of opportunities for racing this year! Within the next couple weeks, I'll try to further solidify our race schedule for the year, and will immediately make it available to everybody.

This week's practice is going to be at the Yates' home in Falling Waters. If you need the address again, send me an email. Weather-depending, I'll see everybody there at 7p!


Bryan

Another eventful few days on the admin side of things!

At this point, I've worked extensively with the folks at Canari for the clothing order. There's been some ups and downs with things. There was a miscommunication throughout everything, and the only youth size clothing they offer is a short sleeve jersey. Lesson learned, and I have another company that we can use for next year that offers a FULL LINE of youth clothing that we can choose from. I will have all of the sizing information, pictures, and order form for the clothing at Friday's practice. Also, if any of the kids need new bike shorts (I know Corbin does), we can get them through Garneau for about $30 each.

I have placed the order with Hammer Nutrition, and it's on the way. Getting it this early assures that we will have everything ready to go by the time we start riding outdoors. They're also sending a free banner with their logo!

We've started the communication process for volunteering at 2 local events this year, the Harpers Ferry Half Marathon and Freedom's Run.  We've talked with Matt Knott (from River Riders), now I'm just waiting on a return email from Dr. C.

Now, for some interesting news regarding the use of prescribed medications during USAC permitted events. As of January 1, 2011, the US Anti-Doping Agency (click here) has deemed that athletes no longer need a "therapeutic use exemption" (or TUE) for the use of albuterol, salmeterol, and glucocorticosteroids (with the exemption of systemic), which are asthma meds. Anything else that an athlete takes on a regular basis should be run through the search engine on the USADA website to see if they are prohibited or regulated.

Can't wait to see everybody on Friday for practice!

Bryan

First Practice!

Well, I would say that our first team practice was a success! We had 6 members in attendance. We did a quick warm up, then worked on some strength training, and ended with some aerobic work on the trainers. I can't wait to practice with everybody again next week.

In the mean time, for the team: Remember to do 2 additional trainer workouts each week, spinning for a minimum of 30 minutes at an easy resistance. Big guys, try to do 45 mins. Remember to make complete circles with your pedal strokes, and keep a nice rhythm with your legs. Try to remember how 90 rpm felt, and continue that.

I'll share some pictures when I get them.

Bryan

Tonight is our first practice!

Practice is on for tonight at 7p. We'll have a brief stretching/warm up period, then go in to some strengthening exercises, and then on to some aerobic time on the trainers. We're going to have a good time! I'll have the camera ready to get some pictures of our first team.

Just a reminder: We're meeting at my house, if you need directions, let me know.

Don't forget: Water bottle, towel, snack for afterwards Also, if you're bringing a trainer, don't forget your trainer skewer for the rear wheel. Not all skewers are compatible with trainers. If members haven't had a chance yet, review the flavor options for Hammer Nutrition's Hammer Gels and Recoverite. I'll be placing the order tomorrow. If you can, please bring completed paperwork (membership application and release form) along with the team dues.

The jersey design is still in the final stages. We've had some hang-ups on the artwork, but we should be good to go by early next week. *Maybe* we'll get to order by next week's practice.

Bryan

Information For This Week

Just letting everybody know what's going on with practice this week:
Practice will be at my house, at 7p. (contact me for directions) Try to arrive as early as possible, so we can get the trainers set up and start working out (if you want to get here a little bit prior to 7, I'm ok with that). We'll probably go for about 1-1.5 hrs, by the time we're finished. Most of our workouts will stay aerobic, concentrating on correct form and dynamics. We will be on our bikes for the majority of our time, and we will incorporate some leg strengthening and core exercises as well. Please email me back to let me know if you're coming, so I can plan accordingly. Address and directions are below.
Bring: Bike, trainer (if you don't have one, let me know and we'll try to get an extra one here), water bottle, towel, snack for afterward.

Canari says that our graphic files are good, and they're working on finalizing the design. There's a chance that they'll be ready for order this week, I'll keep you informed.

Go to Hammer Nutrition's website (or click here) and look at the flavors for their Hammer Gels and Recoverite drinks. I'll get everyone's preferences on Friday, and place the order with them immediately after.

Also, this week is the start of the Tour Down Under. It's Lance Armstrong's last international race, and is going to be awesome for the team sprinters. Mark Cavendish, Andre Greipel, Robbie McEwan, Robbie Hunter, Thor Hushovd are just a few of the big name sprinters that are there...the sprint for the line is going to be nuts!!! Coverage is on the Versus channel at 6p most evenings this week.

Bryan

Good Article

The link below is to an article that I came across today. Dr. Aldo Sassi (famous Italian cycling coach and physiologist) talks about not only how he works with juniors, but also the role of the junior athletes themselves. He reinforces some basic points that are already widely known, but it's a good little read.

http://www.athleticamps.com/cycling/coaching/id0052/

We've Had Our First Meeting!!!

Welcome to the official blog of the newly formed Eastern Panhandle Junior Bikeracers: Team Integrity!! We are a youth/junior competitive cycling team/club in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. Thanks to those that attended our first meeting last night. Below is a copy of the email that I sent afterwards. Please notice the calendar at the bottom of the page. I'll be working on that over the next few days, and it should serve as a good resource to keep an eye on our schedule of practices, races, and community events. Thanks again, for taking the time to check us out. Feel free to subscribe to our blog, the more, the merrier!

-Bryan

We had a GREAT first meeting! It was great to see that you all are just as enthusiastic as I am about the junior's program. Thanks to those who could make it. If you didn't make it out, just let me know if you're still interested and would like to keep receiving emails. To bring everyone up to speed:
- Team dues for the first year will be $50/athlete. Our season will go from now until around the end of August.
- Our first practice will be Friday, January 21 at 7:00p. I will let you know where we'll meet, no later than Tuesday. We will be training indoors for a few weeks until it starts to warm up enough outside. It looks like we've got enough trainers for everybody. If you don't have them already, start thinking about shoes and pedals. Shoes can be found at J&R Superstore online. **Since our practice area is not set in stone yet, I'm open to ideas. If anybody has any suggestions, let me know, otherwise, we'll meet at my house**
- I'll keep you informed with the status of the jerseys/kits. Hopefully they'll be ready to print within the next week.
- Although I'm waiting for the official word, it looks like our first event will be on March 20, in Richmond.
- The "field trips" we talked about were Philadelphia (for the pro road race) and DC (museums, monuments, and Hains Point). The third one (that I couldn't think of at the moment), is to Trexlertown, PA to ride on the velodrome. Also, I will get in touch with Panhandle Pedalers to talk to them about Summit Point.
- We talked about some community projects. We can talk about them more at practices, as those dates get closer.
-You can purchase your USAC license at any time (age 10 and up), it's good for the entire year. Just go to USACycling.org, then go to "Why Join?" on the left menu, and follow the rest of the icons.
-If you get a chance, stop in and thank one of our sponsors, Eastern Panhandle Bicycle Co. in Martinsburg. We're happy to have them as a sponsor. Also, I know there were some questions about obtaining or upgrading a bike or two...it would be worth the time to ask Brian what current pricing is on whichever bike you have in mind. His prices are always below MSRP.