We're still here!

Despite the lack of recent activity on this blog, I'm here to assure you that the Blue Ride Design Cycling team is alive and well in 2013! No great results to brag about (yet!), but the team has been in action at the Eagle Creek Grand Prix, JWD Ceraland Criterium, Mooresville Crit, Winona Lake Road Race, and the Fort4Fitness Twilight Criterium. June looks to be a pretty slow month for racing here in central Indiana, but the action picks up in July & August, with some of Indy's premier events. Expect to see the team in action at the following races:

• Indy Crit Cycling Race & Festival  - Downtown Indy - July 13
• 2013 Indiana State Road Race - Fishers - July 20 (tentative)
• Mass Ave Criterium - Downtown Indy - August 10
• Rollfast Gran Fondo - Indianapolis - August 17th

Zionsville Criterium

The Zionsville Criterium represented the end of the 2011 road season here in Indiana. Judging by the rather sparse turnouts in all the races (we only had about 20 guys in the 3's race), most guys seemed to have 'called it a season' after the Mass Ave Crit. Nevertheless, those of is in attendance had a good time racing on the bricks of downtown Zionsville.

Yancey on the front

With the exception of Sustainable Energy/Upland Brewing, no team had more then two riders in the field. About 12 laps into the 36 lap race (this crit is the only race I've done where we race for X number of laps, as opposed to the more traditional time-based approach), Kyle Perry (Sustainable Energy/Upland Brewing) and John Schmitz (Team Indiebike) established a 20 sec lead on the field.

Riding the bricks

For the next 24 laps, Upland had a total stranglehold on the field (they had at least 4 guys left in the pack). They did a nice job of setting tempo, and responding to any attempts the field made to close the ever-widening gap of the break. Kyle and John took full advantage of the short course (just over a half mile in length), and with 8 or so laps to go the duo lapped the pack. Yancey ended up somewhere around 10th place.

Mass Ave Crit (Indiana State Crit Championship)

Great downtown atmosphere, midwest summer heat & humidity, tough racing - that pretty much sums up this year's New Belgium Brewing Mass Ave Criterium.

We had somewhere between 40-50 starters in the CAT 3, with Yancey, Mygrant, and Ryan representing Blue Ridge Design (Jolivette was hard @ work as a race volunteer). 45 minutes into the 60 min race, the pack completely shattered - the constant accelerations coming out of the >90 degree turns that this triangle-shaped course is famous for was taking it's toll on the field. With about 10 minutes to go, the lead pack had been whittled down to about 17 riders.

Yancey exiting turn 2 (photo by Scott Brooks)

Jeff Ryan in turn 1

With 1.5 laps to go, Yancey lost contact with the pack, got passed by three riders right before the finish, and ended up in 20th. Mygrant was 25th, followed by Ryan in 26th.

Video of Bloomington Crash

Here is a video of the last 5 min or so of the 3/4 crit in Bloomington. Fast forward to a the 4 minute mark, and you'll get a great view of the last lap crash from a racers perspective. Looks like the two lead riders took the turn a little too hot, resulting in at least the top 5 riders going down. Bad luck for the two hometown teams (Sustainable Cycling b/p Upland Brewing & Scholars Inn Bakehouse/Team Tortuga) who both lost riders to the crash.

HMBA Century

No racing this weekend, so instead Yancey, Jolivette, Reed, Ryan, and team sponsor John Meade (Leeuw Oberlies & Campbell, P.C) supplemented with a hilly 100+ mile ride through south central Indiana, thanks to the fine folks at the Hoosier Mountain Bike Association. The HMBA have been putting on this grueling late summer century for the past couple of years, slightly tweaking the course each year to help keep things interesting. This year we hit nearly all the infamous climbs of the region, including Bear Wallow, Greasy Creek, Owl Creek, and the nastiest of them all, Boltinghouse Rd. We also rode the 'roller coaster like ride' around Lake Sweetwater, and the rollers along the southern edge of Lake Lemon. Being a road century put on by mountain bikers, the organizers couldn't resist putting in one hard packed gravel road climb, up S. Haasetown Rd. We hit a majority of the hard climbs in the first 50 miles, had a quick stop at Revolution Bike & Bean in Bloomington for some fluids and grub, and headed back north for the final 57 miles back to our starting point in Franklin. Big thanks to HMBA on a fantastic job of designing/marking the course, providing 7 SAGs - all free of charge :-).

Map of first half of the ride http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/42770636 & second half of the ride http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/42768018

Indy Crit

The 2nd annual Indy Crit has quickly become one of the 'must do' races in Indiana. I mean, how many other times to you get to race on wide, closed off streets in downtown Indy? This year featured a sweet new figure-8 course (which still retained the bricked section of Market Street & the NW quadrant of the circle from last year's course), and a great festival-like atmosphere with vendor booths, Flat 12 beer garden, misting tents for the racers, a decked out Mini Countryman pace car courtesy of Dryer Reinbold, and a pro-like start/finish line sandwiched between University Park and the Federal US Court House.

The pack hitting turn 1 early in the race.

There were 90 racers that lined up for the 3/4 race, including Yancey, Reed, Ryan, Mygrant and Romain. The fast pace, crashes, and 90+ degree temps resulting in just under 50 racers finishing the race, with Mygrant being our top finisher in 17th place. Yancey slid into the top 5 with 3 laps to go, but feel victim to cramps that had him barely hanging on, to finish at the back of the main field. Romain also finished safely with the pack. Ryan and Reed both had their day cut short as a result of being caught behind multiple crashes. A big thanks to Team Nebo Ridge for all their hard work in making this race such a great event - can't wait to come back next year!

Yancey

Reed

Romain & Mygrant

Mygrant working with a Team IndieBike rider to chase down a mid-race break.

The Scholars Inn Bakehouse Cycling Festival

The Scholars Inn Bakehouse Cycling Festival (formerly know as the 'Bloomington Grand Prix'), a criterium held in the shadows of Indiana University, has traditionally not been a kind race to our team. It seems that we've always had nothing but bad luck, mostly in the form of crashes. Last year alone, we had three of our four riders hit pavement. The combination of large fields and a rather tight, technical course has a tendency to lead to much skin being donated to the asphalt.

The pack entering turn 1 on the first lap.

This year, Jason Mygrant finally broke our jinx, by missing massive carnage in turn two of the final lap and squeezing into the top 10 with a solid 8th place finish!

Mygrant giving us a nice demonstration on cornering. Yes, his inside pedal is down (technically incorrect), but let's assume he's laying down the hammer and pedaling through the turns!

Ride Across Indiana (RAIN)

Every July for the past 25 years, cyclist have been lining up on the Indiana/Illinois state line in the wee hours of the morning, braving the sweltering midwest heat and humidity, and heading east for 160 miles to the Indiana/Ohio state line. This year, 1800 cyclist were up to the one day challenge, including team riders Jeff Ryan & Jason Romain. Both did a fantastic job of representing Blue Ridge Design - Jeff Ryan (a veteran of multiple RAIN's) nailed a personal best, finishing within the lead group of 23 riders in a time of 7hrs and 6 minutes. Jason, doing RAIN for just the second time, also put in a great result with a 74th place finish.

Parkview Cycling Festival

The fine folks up in Ft. Wayne have done a great job of building up the Parkview Cycling Festival into one of the premier cycling events in northern Indiana. The Saturday evening criterium course snakes around the gorgeous TinHats minor league professional baseball stadium in the heart of downtown Ft. Wayne. Jason Mygrant was the our only rider to make the trip up north, and put forth an excellent 8th place finish, out of 50+ racers. Jason has been our most consistent racer this year, almost always finding his way into the top 10. Nice work Jason!

Tri West Ominum Wrap-Up

Chris Jolivette got the team off to a solid start with a 5th place finish at Friday night's Hummel Park Criterium in Plainfield. Jason Romain, Jeff Ryan, and Jason Mygrant all finished with the pack.

Jeff is all smiles before the race


The peloton looks so small up against the tall trees of Hummel Park

Saturday's race took us to the 'traditional' course at Eagle Creek Park - a flat, wide 'D' shaped course, with a nice little rise up to the finish. Mygrant was our top finisher at 10th place, with Romain not far behind in 14th. Jeff Ryan & Chris Jolivette finished in the pack. The big news of the day was the amount of skin Slattery donated to the pavement - both him and Jolivette got caught in a nasty wreck. Both got pretty banged up, but does not appear to be anything to serious.

Sunday's race was also at Eagle Creek Park, on the 'contemporary' course. This was the second year on this new course, which was designed by Planet Adventure Race, with some assistance from park management. With Slattery and Jolivette out of commission due to the prior days wreck, Yancey missing the weekends festivities due to the birth of his new baby girl, and Pillar also out all weekend due to work obligations, only Mygrant, Ryan, and Romain were left to duke it out on day 3. All three riders finished in the pack.

Slattery proudly showing of his brand new road rash.

June 3-5: Tri West Omnium

This weekend, the fine folks at Planet Adventure Race bring us a second installment of a 3-day criterium omnium weekend. Racing kicks off Friday evening at Hummel Park in Plainfield. Saturday and Sunday action takes place at Eagle Creek Park, one of largest municipal parks in the United States. Saturday's course utilizes the 'traditional' course (utilized by Dan Daly's Indiana Race Series for many years) - a gently rolling loop through dense woods, with just two real turns. Last year PA introduced us to the Eagle Creek 'contemporary' course, which incorporates a number of tight technical turns. The two courses offer a nice variety - Saturday is more 'wide open, full throttle', while Sunday's course will more tight and technical. Should be a fabulous weekend of racing!

In other race related news, for the past 14+ years, Dan's Indiana Race Series has been affiliated with ABR. Dan recently announced on his website that his crits will now be run under USA Cycling, due to "established infrastructure in place, local and statewide support, and accomplished officials." IMHO, this should be good news for everyone - there will not be races held on conflicting dates, Dan should see bigger turnouts, and racers only have to take out one license. For new racers especially, I think this should also help eliminate confusion regarding upgrade points and race categories. Other promoters should also benefit, as more quality racing in Indiana will hopefully help grow the sport, both by attracting more out-of-town racers, as well as developing more local interest.

Calvin's Challenge 12-hr Bike Race

While most of the team was hitting the TKO 3 day crit series, Jeff Ryan (ultra-endurance racer extraordinaire) and team benefactor John Mead (who is a lawyer with Leeuw Oberlies & Campbell, P.C, one of our sponsors for the past two years) headed east to Ohio to compete in Calvin's Challenge, a 12-hr bike race. The rules are simple: ride as many hours as you can in 12 hrs. Most miles wins.

Jeff pulled through with a solid top 10 age group finish, despite the fact that he had to thrown in the towel hours early due to stomach issues. John took home the big 'W' with a first place finish in his age category! Way to go John!!

Tri Klassic Omnium

The Indy 2011 race season got underway with a bang at the Tri Klassic Omnium, presented by Planet Adventure Race. Nothing like 'knocking the dust off' with a 3-day criterium omnium.Friday night's action took place in Lawrence under the shadows of the former Ft. Benjamin Harrison. A brand new, .6 mile 'L' shaped course on silky smooth pavement. The star of the show for BRD was Jason Mygrant, who spent a good portion of the race off the front in a two man breakway. The dynamic duo got reeled back in by the pack with about 15 min or so left in the race. Mygrant ended up with an 8th place finish, Jolivette and Yancey both finished safely in the pack. Pillar hit pavement early in the race, and Slattery suffered some nasty cramps towards the end of the race.

Mygrant in the two-man break in Lawrence.

Less than 24 hrs later, we heading north to the Village of West Clay (Carmel), which over the past few (4?) years have allowed us to turn their picturesque neighborhood into a great little crit course. As a team, we have traditionally had pretty good results at this race, but not so much this year. Slattery nailed a prime towards the end of the race, and was also our sole top 10 finisher. Jolivette finished with the pack. Yancey (who has 'one-day' race fitness :-), Pillar (still pretty banged up from the previous nights crash), and Romain (who was stuck in traffic and barely made it to the race) will be back to fight another day.

Slattery & Jolivette on the front @ West Clay

Day 3 took us to the heart of Broad Ripple - Indy's funkiest little 'hood with streets lined with bars, restaurants, and boutique shops. For years it's been said that there was no way the Broad Ripple Village Association would ever allow the streets to be closed down for a bike race, but Matt Jourdan and the rest of the PA staff put in a town of work to make this a reality. If only Mother Nature decided to play nice. As if we have not had enough rain already (I believe this past April has been the fourth wettest April ever in central IN) , Sunday saw even more rain. Mygrant and Pillar were our two finishers (17th, 18th)

Jolivette & Slattery decided stay dry and take over pace car duties for the 3's race in Broad Ripple.

Gateway Cup - Giro Della Montagna

Day 3 of the Gateway Cup took us to 'The Hill', St. Louis' Italian District. This was the 25th Anniversary of the Giro Della Montagna, a 4 corner rectangle shaped crit with one long gradual uphill and one long gradual downhill along the main straightaway. The beer was flowing, and the Italian salisiccia sausages were flying off the grill in the parking lot of St. Ambrose Catholic Church, which sat directly next to the Start/Finish Line. Nothing quite like racing full gas while inhaling pork flavored smoke. Mygrant and Romain had to pack up and head back to Indy after Saturday's race, leaving Yancey alone to duke it out. Unfortunately, no spectacular tales of glory, just another day of hard, fast racing. Yancey took home 66th out of 108.

Gateway Cup - Tour De Hills

'Tour de Hills' might conjure up images of hard steep hills, but round two of the Gateway Cup, held in the St. Louis Hills neighborhood, was a relatively flat, wide four corner course that wrapped around scenic Francis Park. The course itself was lined with red-brick bungalows, and I think there was a large church on nearly every corner.

Mygrant, Yancey, and Romain were once again out representing the black, red, and white of STV.

110+ CAT 3's lining up to race

Racing was aggressive as usual. With about 30 minutes left in the race, I managed to get a ball of saran wrap wrapped around one of my front spokes coming through the second turn (had to have come from the large backyard BBQ that was taking place just past the turn). Luckily, all it ended up doing was cause a loud irritating noise every time the wheel spun (which was happening a couple times a second). I'm sure it killed any aero advantage I might have previously enjoyed :-)

Romain fell victim to a last lap crash in turn three (see pic's below). According to his computer, he smashed into the curb doing 39 mph. Jason manged to escape with hardly a scrape, but his frame was cracked, and the beloved carbon Cormia wheels took a beating.
Myself and Jason practically duplicated our results form the previous night. Mygrant ended up 20th, an I was 67th.

Romain on the front

Jason Mygrant

Yancey

Romain smashing into the curb...

...Romain down! At least he is not the guy doing an upside down face plant.

Photos courtesy of http://www.timbrumitt.com/ & http://www.ficksphoto.com

Gateway Cup - Lafayette Square

St. Louis, MO is THE place to be for Labor Day Weekend bike racing here in the Midwest. This year, over 700 racers took to the starting line at the Gateway Cup, and four day criterium race series that highlights four of St. Louis' most historic neighborhoods. Friday night's action kicked under the light at Lafayette Square. Yancey, Romain, and Mygrant joined 110+ other CAT 3's to duke it out for some twilight glory.

Not to be confused with Indianapolis west side shopping mall, St. Louis Lafayette Square consists of historic Victorian homes, restaurants, and bars that surround Lafayette Park, located in the shadows of downtown St. Louis. Our race started at 7:3opm (CST), and 20 min in the course was completely dark, except for the huge spotlights erected in the four corners, soft-light street lamps on the straightaways, and the glow emitting from house parties all along the course. Despite huge fields, fast, aggressive racing (this race always seems to be the fastest race I do each year) and darkness, I only saw one wreck, which happened on turn three of the last lap. Luckily, the STV crew avoided all carnage. After an hour if intense racing, Jason Mygrant was our top finisher with a strong 18th place finish (just three spots out of the money). Romain and Yancey both finished mid-pack, in 45th and 65th ,respectively. It's not often you can finish 65th, and be considered mid-pack!

Below is a 11 min video from our race, recorded via a helmet cam worn by another racer. Romain makes appearances at the 3:40 and 9:38 mark. Video gives you a decent feel for what is what like racing in the dark.

Indy Crit

Last Saturday (8/21) was the first very Indy Crit held in downtown Indy. Hopefully this race will become a permanent fixture on the Indy racing season - highly organized, good payouts, and a great course. With a start finish on Meridian St at University park, the four four corner course took us up Meridian, left on Vermont St., left on Illinois St., left onto Market, and back onto Meridian St. via the northwest corner of Monument Circle. Nothing like racing on bricks in Indy! Jolivette was our top finisher in 7th - Yancey, Ryan, and Romain all finished in the top half of the 60 rider field. Reed also put in a strong effort, having already earned a 5th place finish in the Masters 35+ race earlier in the day.

Yancey chasing down a break early in the race

Romain approaching the first turn

Jeff Ryan leading the pack down Illinois St.

Mass Ave Crit Video

Here is a great video from Nuvo showing highlights from this year's Mass Ave Crit

New Belgium Brewing Mass Ave Criterium & Zipp Village of West Clay Criterium

Just wrapped up a great weekend of racing here in Indianapolis, with Saturday evening's New Belgium Brewing Mass Ave Criterium, followed by Sunday afternoon's Zipp Village of West Clay Crit.

The Mass Ave Crit has quickly become the premier event here in Indy, due in large part to it's location in the trendy downtown Mass Ave Arts District, and the strong support from both local companies (Nuvo, Chatterbox Tavern, Chatam Tap, Bicycle Garage Indy, Luna Records, Rathskeller, Marian University etc..) and the city of Indianapolis. Mayor Ballard was even attending, participating in numerous awards ceremonies. We have been very fortunate to have Mayor Ballard be such a big supporter of cycling initiates here in Indianapolis (addition of nearly 200 miles of bike lanes throughout the city, The Mayor's Bike Ride, and the Mayor's Bike Ride for Kids, part of the Get Fit Indy! initiative, to name a few). Mayor Ballard even hopped on a bike and did a lap of the course...very cool! Not only does the Mass Ave Crit contain all of the 'standard' USA Cycling Masters and category racing , but it also had single speed , fat tire, kids, and hand cycle racing. Plus, The New Belgium Brewing Company Beer Garden in the first turn kept the crowds amply refreshed!!

Our 3's race (which was the Indiana CAT 3 State Criterium) has 50 starters. There were a few attacks, but no one was able to really bet more than a few seconds gap on the pack - I think everyone was super motivated for a strong result, and were determined to not let anything get away. After nearly an hr of racing, the field had been cut down to 38 riders, with everyone looking for a shot of glory in the last few laps. Jason Mygrant was our top finisher in 13th place. Slattery, Jolivette (who crashed earlier in the race), and Yancey all finished within the main pack.

Sunday took us north to Carmel to the Village of West Clay. It's really a privilege for us to be able to race in this beautiful neighborhood...the residents seem to be big supporters of the race, and the venue could not be better for bike racing. Once again this race drew a large field (60+ riders), and as a team we have had previous good success in this race. Things were setting up nicely on the last lap, with Slattery sitting in the top ten and ready to pounce. Unfortunately, just as he started to make his move on the outside, he nearly ran in to a lapped rider, and was forced to settle for 15th. Yancey, Ryan, and Romain all finished in the top 30.

Next weekend takes us back downtown for the first ever Indy Crit. Looks to be a great event, so come on down, grab a bite to eat, and keep up close and personal with a little bike racing!

Bloomington Grand Prix = OUCH!

The Bloomington Grand Prix has earned quite the reputation over the years - large fields, large crowds (some there to watch cycling, others just happen to be in the area due to the course being surrounded by IU's favorite drinking establishments), and last but not least, crashes.

Nearly 70 3/4 racers took to the line Saturday evening, with a vocal, eclectic mix of spectators lining Kirkwood Ave. Racing was fast & furious, but the STV contingent fell victim to both first and last lap crashes. Aaron Yancey was taken down in the first lap of the race (was able to rejoin the race, but lost contact with the pack with 5 laps to go). Russell Reed and Jason Mygrant were both sitting pretty in the top 10, entering the last turn of the last lap. Unfortunately, both were caught in a wreck exiting the last turn - Jason manged to stay upright but lost a ton of places doing so (finished 19th), while Russ took a hard fall, hitting the pavement/curb/sidewalk bench. Jason Romain was the only STV rider to escape incident. In the end, only 29 racers finished the race. Great race with a great atmosphere...you just gotta avoid the inevitable carnage!

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