A Rutgers Cyclocross Retrospective

Just in time for US Cyclocross Nationals...

A Rutgers Cyclocross Retrospective from Rutgers Cycling on Vimeo.

Huge thanks to Will for putting this together

Heading to CX Nationals! (and ECCC CX Win!)

This Thursday, Oregon is getting invaded by Rutgers CX!  Pat Bradley, Charles Thompson, Matt Bathe and Molly Hurford will all be representing Rutgers Cycling at CX Nationals in Bend, OR.  After a long season, including a hefty preseason, it's all come down to this one weekend, and we're all crazy excited. 

More on that later, but for now, we're celebrating our 5th year in a row winning the ECCC CX conference:



We had a ton of individual podiums too, including Pat Bradley winning the A Men field, Charles Thompson winning the B field,  and Molly Hurford winning the B Women field and placing 2nd in the A Women field.  More podiums will be announced later after some final tallying on the part of the awesome MIT crew.

This past weekend, a horde of Rutgers cyclists landed in Warwick, RI for NBX, the final race in the Verge series.  Pat Bradley started the weekend off nicely with a 13th place in the Elite Men's race, and with 9 Rutgers racers in total, the collegiate field was intense.

Sunday saw our final fight to maintain CX dominance, and I (Molly) managed to secure a third place spot in the 3/4 Women's race, making it my first (and very exciting) big series podium. 

We'll be keeping in touch as we get ready to race at Nationals, I can't wait!!

Last Chance for Alumni to Order Jerseys!

The deadline for our jersey order is October 1, so this is last call for alumni and supporters of Rutgers Cycling to order jerseys! The jerseys look fantastic, so make sure to get your order in!

Find the order form here on BikeReg.com.

Thanks for the support!

Rutgers-Raleigh p/b Kim's Bike Shop 2010 Race Schedule

Hot off the presses, the team has confirmed its 2010 cyclocross schedule! If you are in the area, come out and cheer the team on.

The team will be focusing on the Mid-Atlantic Championship Series and the Eastern Collegiate Cycling Conference's Cyclocross Series. In the past four years, Rutgers has won several individual MAC titles and many, many individual and team titles in the ECCC series. Rutgers will also compete in select North American Cyclocross Trophy races and will compete at US Cyclocross Nationals in Bend, OR.

October
10/16-17 Granogue - Newark, DE UCI C2 (MAC)
10/23 Cornell Red Cross - Richford, NY (ECCC)
10/24 Saratoga Spa - Saratoga Springs, NY (ECCC)
10/30 Beacon - Bridgeton, NJ UCI C2 (MAC/ECCC)
10/31 HPCX - Jamesburg, NJ UCI C2 (MAC/ECCC)

November
11/6-7 Cycle-Smart International - Northampton, MA UCI C2 (NECCS/ECCC)
11/13 StatenCX - Staten Island, NY (ECCC)
11/14 West Point #1 - West Point, NY (ECCC)
11/20 Whitmore SuperCross - Southampton, NY UCI C1 (MAC/NACT) and
West Point #2 - West Point, NY (ECCC)
11/21 Whitmore SuperCross - Southampton, NY UCI C2 (MAC/NACT)

December
12/4-5 NBX Gran Prix - Warwick, RI (NECCS/ECCC)
12/8-12 US Cyclocross National Championships - Bend, OR

New Kits!

Rutger Cyclocross 2010 crew sporting our seriously stylish new kits!

Rutgers Cycling Does IRONMAN!

As the Rutgers Cycling token triathlete, I feel like it's my job to do at least one post about my races this summer...

As a lot of you know, my past year has revolved around training for Ironman Louisville. I raced repping Rutgers, rocking my sleevless jersey on the bike and a running t-shirt with Rutgers Cyclocross written on the back. It' s been a good summer with a lot of good triathlon race results, including being the 28th female overall in the Nautica NYC triathlon (out of +1400 women or so), 5th overall female at the Skylands sprint triathlon, and being 2nd in my age group in the Rev3 Quassy 70.3. Ironman KY, I was 7th in my age group, which was an OK finish despite some serious medical setbacks.

In all, I'm glad to be done with IM and starting CX season!

Anyway, here's a race report from Ironman:

Pre Race
Transition opened at 5:30, so at 4:30 I was awake, trying to eat a bagel and drink a ton of fluids, and out the door. Because we had stashed everything in transition the night before, it was a pretty simple morning. Got to transition, got everything set up, and was generally feeling pretty calm. Then, a .75 mile walk down to the start of the swim. We got there and were wondering why everyone was sitting in front of the portapotties.

I got bodymarked, and dad realized that they were all people in line. Honestly, people must have been there since the night before- I kid you not, I saw an air mattress. We walked and walked and walked and about a mile later got to the end of the line. I looked at the guys in front of me and asked if this was the line for Springsteen tickets. They laughed, but I guess that joke makes the most sense if you’re from NJ. Anyway, I chatted and ate, and was still feeling good. The guy behind me kept asking if I was nervous though, which did little to relax me.

The Swim
Once the line started moving, it moved quick. Before I really knew what was happening, I had a surge of volunteers pushing me into the swim chute yelling “keep running!” We went off the 2 docks 2 at a time 2 seconds apart, so before I really realized just what was happening, I was in the water and swimming. It was crazy. Because I started far back, it was pretty rough going. Got elbowed, kicked, and generally manhandled as I crawled my way up. The problem was that I kept getting slowed down because of all of the random people in front of me breast-stroking and popping out to sight. Seriously, there was a traffic jam at the turn buoy! I just kept telling myself to stay calm and just keep going. No crazy antics, just stay calm and KEEP SWIMMING! We swam under a couple of bridges, which was pretty neat, and then before I really realized it, the end was in sight! I got out of the water in about 1:18, which was kind of slow for me, but with the washing machine effect of having to get around so many people, I was ok with it. My only issue with the race setup was that they had so few buoys, it was almost impossible to sight sometimes. You had to assume that everyone knew where they were going and follow blindly until a buoy finally came into sight.

But… out of the swim and into bike transition! I ran into the changing tent and was shocked at how many people were totally changing! I was wearing my bike stuff so I crammed my shoes and helmet on, pulled my Rutgers jersey on over my head and booked it out of the tent, pausing to get copious amounts of lotion everywhere. Ran out, mounted, and took a deep breath… 112 miles to go.

The Bike
The bike started FAST. I was passing people, and feeling really good. (My results are a tribute to this, my average for the first part was 19.5). I was expecting a flat course, but it was more accurately described as rolling. A lot of the time, it was kind of tough avoiding drafting, and I felt like I got slowed down a lot because of it in some segments. I had a nutrition plan in place and I was sticking to it, feeling good, despite the fact that it was getting HOT out. I was refilling my bottles at every station, drinking as much as possible between them, and generally trying to stay calm, but stay going at a steady clip. I didn’t want to be beat for the marathon (though in retrospect I might as well have been) and I was trying to conserve energy. It’s amazing how fast 112 miles goes by, and how exciting it was when we passed through LaGrange and just could hear the crowd going crazy for us. I made a few “friends” on the bike, men and women, because we had a group of about 25 of us that kept constantly passing and re-passing each other. It made it fun, knowing who had just passed you so you could head for them on the next hill. I'm glad I have this picture of me smiling, because honestly, this part was fun:

By the last 20 miles or so, I started having some “respiratory issues,” which made me aware that I was probably getting dehydrated. As I said, I had been drinking as much as I could without making myself sick or cramping. As the miles ticked off, I knew the marathon was going to be tough, but I tried to stay focused. I definitely slowed down a bit towards the end, but still ended the bike with an average of 18.5 mph. Not too shabby, though I wish I hadn’t started losing it at the end.

I'll never be nervous about making it through a full century ride with the team again...

The Run
… to call it the run is kind of an insult to running. I got into transition, actually changed shorts and threw on a running top with Rutgers Cyclocross written in marker on the back. I charged out of transition, planning to eek as much actual running as I could. I made it to the first aid station, got through that walking, and started running again. For the first couple stations, I wasn’t feeling great but I was surviving. But then… my lungs started really hurting.

And this was around mile 5 or so. I kept going, running when I could, walking the aid stations, drinking as much as possible. The ice cold sponges definitely helped, and made me feel a lot less gross. The problem was, I couldn’t eat.

Around mile 10, I started dry heaving. Which is the worst. All I wanted was to actually throw up, but it just wasn’t in the cards. Still, I kept run-walking.

When we hit loop 2, I felt a little better. It is amazing how short 13 miles seems when you have 127 finished! I just kept thinking about how much I wanted to finish, and that kept me going. People were great- I talked to a lot of other racers about IM and about cyclocross, but by mile 15, my lungs were not thrilled with me and talking hurt. By mile 20, I couldn’t really drink, and I was walking way more than I was running. The problem with dehydration, I learned, is that once it starts, no amount of drinking is really going to help when you’re still racing. It was depressing, my legs felt fine but I couldn’t breathe or drink. I wanted to run but every time I did, I thought I was going to fall over. Everything hurt except my legs and I just wanted to keep running. I was watching the clock tick away past my goal times that I could have made, had I been able to take in more fluids. And that hurt. Still, kept going.

Anyway, finally hit those last couple miles and started trying to run from cone to cone- run one cone, walk the next, run one, walk one… And after what seemed like forever, the finish line started to come into sight. Rather, you could hear it before you saw it. A dull roar that you could hear 4 blocks away. And knowing that I wanted to run across the line, and knowing that medical help was just blocks away, I gave it everything I had, ran through the cheering crowd, and finally got to hear that I was an Ironman. Final time: 13:37. Way more than I had planned, but faster than I thought I would do once I started hurting.

It was incredible. There's just something amazing about hearing "Molly Hurford, you are an Ironman."

Right after this picture was taken I went to the medical building and got pumped full of IV fluids thanks to a whole lot of amazing volunteers.

And that is Ironman in a nutshell. It was an experience. I’m glad I did it, and I’m glad I pushed through to finish. Thank you to all my lovely teammates who helped me on crazy long rides all last year, and thanks to all of you for messaging me to say good luck the day before- I was thinking of you all the whole bike leg!

“Swim 2.4 miles. Ride 112 miles. Run 26.2 miles. Then brag for the rest of your life.” -Commander John Collins, Ironman Triathlon creator

Rutgers University-Raleigh Cycling Team presented by Kim’s Bike Shop Announces its 2010 Cyclocross Season Sponsors

For the 2010 cyclocross season, Rutgers-Raleigh p/b Kim’s Bike Shop has lined up an exciting cast of new and returning sponsors to support its run at a fifth consecutive Eastern Collegiate Cycling Conference Championship.

New Sponsors:

Raleigh USA has stepped up as co-sponsor of the team. Raleigh lends both their name and 2011 Rx 1.0 cyclocross bikes to the team. The team will be riding a mix of custom painted and stock Rx 1.0s. All the bikes feature revamped tube shapes to maximize both stiffness for out-of-the-saddle efforts and comfort over the challenging terrain of the cyclocross course.

Kim’s Bike Shop is the Rutgers-Raleigh presenting sponsor for 2010. Located in New Brunswick, NJ, Kim’s is a full-service bike shop offering Raleigh, Specialized, Litespeed and more. The shop is managed by Rutgers Cycling alumnus and fitting expert David Kim who is also the genius behind many of the team’s perfectly-fit bicycles.

Revolution Wheelworks is a new sponsor for the 2010 season. Revolution makes available high-end racing tubulars for the cyclocross team in both carbon and alloy.

Gaerne USA will be providing extra-special G. Ara carbon mountain bike shoes in Team Red for members of Rutgers-Raleigh p/b Kim’s. The shoes feature a stiff carbon sole for pedaling efficiency and grippy tread for times when you have to get off the bike and run.

Challenge USA is the new tire sponsor for 2010. The team will be using the Challenge Grifo tubular, open tubular, and clincher for training and racing.

Princeton Psychological Consultants comes onboard for 2010 to offer sports psychology seminars for the team to ensure a positive and competitive mental attitude.

Returning Sponsors:

Verge Sport, a long-time sponsor of Rutgers Cycling, returns again to provide team kit for the 2010 season. The Team will be using Skinsuits, jerseys, and jackets from the Verge Elite Collection.

Cycle-Smart, another long-time sponsor, Adam Myerson and his coaches at Cycle-Smart continue to offer coaching, clinics, and wisdom (along with a bit of wit) to the members of Rutgers Cycling.

Gu Energy Products will be handling nutritional duties for the team before, during, and after training and racing. The team will be using Gu gels, Gu Brew, and Gu Chomps.

SRAM drivetrain components will grace many of the team bikes this fall. The innovative DoubleTap shifting has won over the cyclocross team for its consistency and durability in all conditions.

Ritchey Components will again handle cockpit controls for Rutgers. Tested season in and season out, Ritchey has proven to be some of the strongest, yet lightest handlebars, stems, and seatposts for the discipline of cyclocross.

Rudy Project will be keeping the mud and sun from our eyes with their line of stylish and innovative technical eyewear.

Maul Electric, Inc. Maul Electric specializes in commercial electrical work and has been a long-time supporter of Rutgers Cycling.

Berkeley Heights and Beyond returns for the 2010 season and is your source for real estate in the Berkeley Heights area (and beyond!).

Assured Networks LLC is a technology and research consultancy for telecommunications network design to support reliable services. They have a strong focus on customer priority and use of the latest research in networking to promote service quality, reliability, and profitability.

53x11 Coffee will be ensuring everyone on the team is bright eyed and bushy tailed with their line of delicious fair-trade organic coffee.

RockTape has been holding together members of Rutgers Cycling since 2009. RockTape returns again for the 2010 season. Ask AngryMark about the tape on his leg; he’ll tell you why it’s awesome! Use the code rutgers for 20% off your order.

Rutgers-Raleigh Cyclocross Clinic - DATE CHANGE!

Cyclocross Clinic

Presented by

Rutgers University-Raleigh Cycling Team

Interested in learning more about cyclocross? Want to brush-up on some skills before the season starts? Need to learn some race strategy, training tips, or find out more about cyclocross equipment choices?

Come join us to learn from some of NJ’s best cyclocross racers.

Skills will be appropriate for all levels.

When: Friday, August 6^th 2010 from 4 p.m. till 7:30 PM. Check in opens at 3 pm.

Where: Livingston Campus of Rutgers University in Piscataway, NJ (directions available on Bikereg page)

$40 for all USAC/non-collegiate riders

$20 for Collegiate Riders on NCCA-recognized collegiate teams and Juniors

USAC or NCCA license required. One-day licenses will be available for $5

USAC Permit #2010-2401

For more information feel free to contact cyclocross@rutgerscycling.com

Register Now!

Rutgers Cycling and Raleigh Team Up for 2010 Cyclocross Season

(photo: David Wilson)

Rutgers Cycling is excited to announce Raleigh Bicycles as its co-sponsor for the 2010 cyclocross season. Rutgers University-Raleigh Cycling Team will be riding the all-new 2011 Raleigh Rx 1.0 cyclocross bikes and framesets in their campaign to win a fifth-straight Eastern Collegiate Cycling Conference cyclocross championship and a National Championship at US Cyclocross Nationals in Bend, OR.

The team will be led by junior Patrick Bradley, whose palmares include 6th place at Collegiate Cyclocross Nationals at the 2009 US Cyclocross National Championships and the 2008 Mid-Atlantic Cyclocross Series U23 series title.

Returning to the team will be junior Marcos Picchio, seniors Matt Bathe and Charles Thompson, and graduate students Molly Hurford, Will Cukierski, and racer and team director, Mark Vareschi.

“We’re very happy that we haven’t lost too many racers this year,” Vareschi said, “and as the season starts, we always bring in new riders who realize just how cool ‘cross is. We plan on racing at least fifteen riders over the course of the season.”

“Raleigh Bicycles is excited to be partnering this cross season with Rutgers Cycling,” said enthusiastic Raleigh Marketing Director Brian Fornes.

“We look forward to growing this relationship and utilizing their valuable racer feedback on current and future cross bikes we will be producing. We’re even more excited about the level of commitment, and friendly, fun attitude that the Rutgers Cycling program brings to the sport. They are great ambassadors, and we feel that they will continue to help grow the sport on a local basis and be very competitive on a National level.”

The team will be riding the newly-revamped 2011 Raleigh Rx 1.0 cyclocross bikes. “We are psyched for the Rx 1.0. Last year, it was a killer bike and this year, Raleigh has made it even better” said Vareschi.

The 2011 Raleigh Rx 1.0 (photo: Raleigh Bicycles)

The 2011 bikes feature revised tubing shapes and a BB30 bottom bracket. “For ‘cross, the BB30 is perfect; it allows you to reduce your Q-factor, which is important when you are using road cranksets with mountain bike pedals that typically increase your Q-factor. Our riders will be able to easily transition from the set-ups that they have been riding and racing on the road to their cyclocross bikes. Plus, it’s a lighter system. Light bikes in ‘cross make a difference,” Vareschi said.

Raleigh joins a family of sponsors that will be supporting Rutgers for the 2010 cyclocross season including:

Kim’s Bike Shop – presenting and shop sponsor
Challenge USA – cyclocross tires
Verge Sport – cycling clothing
Ritchey – cockpit components
SRAM – drivetrain components
Cycle-Smart - coaching
Gaerne - cycling shoes
Rudy Project - eyewear
Gu - nutritional products
Rocktape – kinesiology tape
53x11 Coffee – caffeine
Maul Electric, Inc. – financial sponsor
Berkeley Heights and Beyond – financial sponsor

Rutgers-Raleigh Cycling Team Tentative Schedule

September:
11th Nittany Lion Cross UCI C2 – Trexlertown, PA
18th Charm City Cyclocross UCI C2 – Baltimore, MD
19th Charm City Cyclocross UCI C2 – Baltimore, MD
26th Ellison Park Cyclocross UCI C2 – Rochester, NY

October:
2nd Grand Prix of Gloucester UCI C2 – Gloucester, MA
3rd Grand Prix of Gloucester UCI C2 – Gloucester, MA
16th Granogue Cyclocross UCI C2 – Newark, DE
17th Granogue Cyclocross UCI C2 – Newark, DE
23rd Downeast Cyclocross UCI C2 – New Gloucester, ME
24th Downeast Cyclocross UCI C2 – New Gloucester, ME
30th Beacon Cross UCI C2 – Bridgeton, NJ
31st HPCX UCI C2 – Jamesburg, NJ

November:
6th Cycle-Smart International UCI C2 – Northampton, MA
7th Cycle-Smart International UCI C2 – Northampton, MA
20th Super Cross Cup UCI C2 – Southampton, NJ
21st Super Cross Cup UCI C2 – Southampton, NJ
27th Baystate Cyclocross UCI C2 – Sterling, MA
28th Baystate Cyclocross UCI C2 – Sterling, MA

December:
4th NBX Grand Prix UCI C2 – Warwick, RI
5th NBX Grand Prix UCI C2 – Warwick, RI
8-12th USA Cyclocross National Championships, U23 and Collegiate – Bend, OR

Cycling Team in Rutgers Focus!

Scarlet Cyclists Brave the Jersey Roads and Show their Competitive Edge
A venerable sports club has grown steadily and is attracting more women

By Jeff May

"Spinning your wheels is no way to get through college – unless you’re a member of the Rutgers University Cycling Team.

The team, a club sport established more than 30 years ago, has grown steadily in prominence over the past decade. Rutgers riders are now a force in cyclocross, a deviant strain of steeplechase that requires cyclists to slog through mud and rough terrain with frequent dismounts to scale stairs or leap over barriers.

It goes without saying that training in New Jersey takes a tough mindset. The state has a well-earned reputation as a snakepit for drivers, so it’s not exactly a hospitable place for pedal-pushers who share the road."


Check the full article out here.

Off Road Adventures!

The Dream Team

Even with a couple weekends away from road racing, I've managed to stay pretty busy. Months ago, Mark and I made plans to do the Hibernia Off Road Duathlon as a co-ed relay team- the Rutgers Cycling Team, to be precise, and since I do love my position on the team as "that triathlete," I very quickly agreed to do the run. Mark was in charge of destroying the competition on the mountain bike section, and my job was to kill it during the run. Can I just say, Mission Accomplished?

From Mark's brief race report:
"Molly and I crushed the team event. Rutgers won this last year, but had a fairly lackluster finish in the overall standings. This year with a much stronger team, we destroyed it. Molly had an amazing run and got me on the bike in third place. I passed the guy and second and got within 45 seconds of the race leader. He was, however, ridiculously fast, and I never made the catch. I did, however, put some serious time into everyone else. Molly and I did a flawless transition, and Molly KILLED the second run to come in 2nd overall.

Yeah, we beat all the other teams, male-male, coed, female-female, AND all the individual athletes (except for the overall winner who was sick,) some of whom were pretty elite."

Mark and I right after the race. Don't I look tired? In my defense, I just finished the second 5k, while Mark had 20 minutes to recover before this was taken!

So, my "race report":

The race was in Hibernia, which is about 2 hours from my parents house. Up at 5, on the road by 5:30- bleck. Dad (our unofficial team Dad, as many of you know) couldn't make it to the race but woke up at 5 am to make sure that I was ready to go and out the door on time with all my gear. Gotta love him!

Anyway, the directions from the website sent me to the right area but wrong Park Avenue- I was about ten miles from the race site, along with a few other SUVs toting mountain bikes, so we formed a small caravan and I somehow ended up finding our way to the park through guesswork and frantic calls to Mark. Luckily, we made it there on time.

It was nice doing a race where the only stuff I needed was shorts, a shirt, and my sneakers- normally pre-race is hectic because of all the equipment, from bike to wetsuit that needs checking, but this race was awesome in that regard. It was less awesome because it was the coldest day of April- hovering in the 40s with some wind. I was not psyched about the middle segment when I'd be waiting for Mark to finish the ride, waiting around sweaty and chilly.

The race was awesomely chill- no racks for bikes in transition, super nice race director that knew Mark (which led to some hilarious antics at the award ceremony), and generally a more relaxed crowd than any triathlon I've done.

The starting line was at the base of a grassy hill, and the course was 2.8 miles of off road, then an 11 mile (2 loop) mountain bike, then another 2.8 mile run. The director yelled Go and we charged up the hill. I knew that the trails would narrow fast, making passing tough, so I gunned it up the hill as fast as I could and hit the trail segment in the top 10, the first female. It took a good mile before people got strung out, and in that time, I worked my way up to 6th or so, still the first female. The trail was awesome- lots of rocks, streams, mud, logs, and general crap to hurtle, jump or run around. Plus, a lot of short but intense up and down hills. This is what I'm good at, so I was happy.

By the time the trail was easy enough that I could look back, there were only two guys in my line of sight, a decent way behind me. The course went way faster than I expected, and when I realized we were almost to transition, I stepped on the gas and sprinted it out. Apparently, I surprised Mark (shocked the hell out of myself too), since I was the 6th or 7th person overall (including some runners just there to do the 5k trail run), and the first woman (I would have won the 5k!).

Mark took off up the same hill I had started on, chasing down two men in front of him. When he came around to start the second loop, he had passed one of the men and was in second. The guy in front of him, as he said, was clearly elite, and he put more time on Mark in the second loop. Mark put a huge gap between himself and the people behind him though, so when he came into transition and I started, I knew I didn't have to worry too much about anyone coming up behind me. Even with the first man 2 minutes or so ahead of me, I still was entertaining thoughts of closing the gap, unrealistic as that may have been, so I went hard.

Mark coming into transition.

The second loop was easier in some ways but mentally harder- with no one behind me and one person way ahead, it was hard to keep my head in the game, but I think I managed fairly well. I have no idea how close we were to that guy's time, but I was really pleased with how we did finish.

Me looking amazingly silly after hitting the finishing chute.

This race was awesome- I realized that I'm better at trail running than I thought, and that Mark and I make one awesome team. Ahem- Duathlon Off Road Nationals next year, perhaps?

When they did the awards and they got to the co-ed relay category, the director pointed out that not only were we the first co-ed team, but we were the first relay team overall, and the second ones to finish the race in general. I was stoked that the director came up to me and said, "you must be a runner, right?" (to which I replied, "heck no, I'm a triathlete!") and Mark got about a million compliments on his mad skillz on the mountain bike. In all, it was an excellent use of a Sunday!

Getting Race Ready

While all the A racing men on the team have been spending hours gluing tubulars and spending even more time talking about various bike components and how much they have to do before races (you know who you are, and I love you all anyway), I keep things a bit simpler. Admittedly, it was out of necessity, on the grounds that I don't have any tubulars, but nonetheless...

I was thinking about being a new racer last year, trying to get ready to head off to the first race, and realizing that I had know idea what I needed to bring. So, for those of you who are mildly confused about what to pack, I made a list of the important things that everyone should bring to the races. So, enjoy, and of course, feel free to add anything I've forgotten in the comments!

For The Races:
1. license!!
2. race receipt from when you registered
3. photo ID- school or driver's license, whatever
4. cash monies!
5. bike (with tires pumped and chain lubed)
6. bike shoes
7. spare tubes, whatever bike repair stuff you may want to bring
8. race clothes- skinsuit, bib and jersey, whatever
9. socks for racing
10. food! this includes Gu's and everything for racing, as well as food for breakfast/lunch in case there's nothing around
11. water bottles (for regular drinking, for racing, and premixed with Gu2o or Heed or whatever you use)
12. ipod, cell phone, camera, etc.
13. sunglasses for racing
14. helmet
15. "street clothes" including (don't forget!) underwear, extra socks, and extra shoes
16. warm jacket (even if it's supposed to be warm out, it's often useful)
17. towel (can be used as a changing skirt!)
18. homework! we are students and there is a lot of down time between races...
19. gloves for racing
20. gloves and hat for after races
21. toilet paper or tissues (they run out in the portapotties a lot, so it's best to BYOTP)
22. WEATHER: is it going to rain or snow? bring galoshes, raincoat, umbrella, anything to keep dry!


Multiple Day Races (with overnight)
1. sleeping bag
2. toiletries
3. towel (hotels and host houses rarely have enough)
4. pjs
5. any extra clothing you might need
6. cell phone charger (seriously, it's super helpful, I've had to buy them at 2 different races because my phone died)
7. extra race kit for day #2

Road Season is (Almost) Upon Us!

Road season is less than two weeks away, which means weekend centuries when the weather is good, and epic (and sweaty) basement trainer rides when the snow is piled too high.

However, it takes more than snow to keep RU Cycling inside! When we got hit with "snowmeggedon" a couple weeks ago, rather than staying inside with hot cocoa and enjoying the day off, we did this:
OK, so we didn't stay up a whole lot during the ride. But who could in a foot of super hard to get through snow? At least we tried...

Speaking of photographic evidence, check out our ECCC Cyclocross podium back in December in Rhode Island, courtesy of Paul Weiss:

Marcos Picchio, Matt Bathe, Mark Vareschi, Charlie Thompson, Pat Bradley, Molly Hurford
(We're missing a couple of teammates that couldn't make it to NBX, but a lot of us are here!)

This season should be an exciting one. With new officers for the team and a lot of new racers, it's going to be an eventful season. Bring on the training rides, the weight sets (my legs may fall off if I do any more leg presses or calf extensions), and the interval work. Bring on the aching muscles, the recovery rides, the race recaps that inevitably point out how I could have done better, the road rash, and the bruises.

Bring on the fun!