Now hold on a second, I thought that Paris-Roubaix was held in France. Oh yeah, that’s right, it is… I am thinking of the Barry-Roubaix Killer Gravel Road Race being held in Middleville, Michigan on March 27th. The Barry-Roubaix Killer Gravel Road Race may not have all the Elite Pro-Tour Racers like Paris-Roubaix, but I am sure it will have the same amount of intensity and luv of a challenging road surface. This 35 mile race loop will have a combination of gravel roads (80% of the time), pavement, a challenging 1-mile section with two-tracks of mud, sand, rocks, snow, ice and over 2200 feet of climbing. Wow, what a challenging combination! This race is open to a number of rider racing levels and a variety of bikes (road, mountain, cyclocross, single-speed, fixed-gear, and tandem). Just grab whatever bike you think will be the fastest on this ever-changing course. Good luck riders and don’t forget to bring extra clothes and water to wash-off all dirt and grim from the ride!
Archive for the ‘Cycling Events’ Category
Mining Country Challenge
Monday, March 8th, 2010
Ok, so if you are from Arizona (or at least driven through Arizona), you have probably seen the hills of the Mining Country. These areas are normally a little rugged and contain a number of nasty little hills. I know this because, being from Arizona, I have ridden and raced in many of these locations. The Mining Country Challenge on March 20th in Superior, Arizona definitely fits the description (hilly and a little nasty). The members of the Phoenix Metro Bicycle Club are putting on both a 62 and 96 mile ride (Please note that there is over 7000 feet of climbing for the 96 mile course). The ride will start in the attractive town of Superior, Arizona and go through the historic towns of Miami, Globe, Winkleman, and Kearny. Along the ride, you will see a number of breathtaking views and oh yeah, hills. Come give it a try, you’ll be glad you did!
Miracle Limbs
Thursday, February 18th, 2010
Now this is something that I just cannot imagine… Loosing an arm and/or legs because a congenital birth defect, accident, diabetes, or casualty of war. Wow, talk about a life changing event! I’m not sure how I would react to a situation like this, so that is why I have so much respect and admiration for everyone who does not let losing a limb slow them down in life! That takes a lot of will and determination!
The Miracle Limbs-Courage in Motion Benefit Bike Ride in Naples, Florida on March 6th is the vision of Bob Ayres and plans to raise at least $75,000 to help amputees overcome the physical, financial, and psychological hurdles of loosing a limb. What a really great cause and great reason to ride your bike!!! Did you know that in the US, there are 253 new amputees for diabetes every day and over 3000 people every week that loose a limb? I never realized that the numbers were so large!
So, if you are anywhere Naples, Florida on March 6th, please consider signing-up to do this great event! You’ll get some great ride miles and be contributing to a fantastic cause. Oh, I almost forgot! TREK Bicycles and Gary Fisher Bikes will be there to demo some of their awesome bikes. Have fun!!
Tour de Palm Springs - Warm Weather, Great Cause
Thursday, January 28th, 2010
So have you kept the dust and snow off of your bike during this cold Winter Season? If you have, or even if you have not, here’s a good reason to break that bike out of Winter Retirement. You can go down to Palm Springs, California on February 13th participate in the Tour de Palm Springs with nearly 9,000 fellow riders. The Tour de Palm Springs is the largest Charity Bike Event on the West Coat. The ride earns over $200,000 and supports over 80 local charity and special interest groups which range from School Events to Boy/Girl Scouts, to Local Charities. The ride entertains the cyclists with about 65 bands and also has about 60 vendors and activities for the families and supporters. So, come on down to Southern California to enjoy a little sunshine, support a lot of great local causes, and log some beautiful miles on your bike.
24 Hours in the Old Pueblo
Monday, January 25th, 2010
Well, it’s just about that time again… The time when some buddies and I make the annual trek to the Sonoran Desert north of Tucson, Arizona to participate in the 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo MTN Bike race. This race always takes place on the Valentines Day weekend, so needless to say my wife is very understanding! If you plan on doing the race this year, my suggestion to you is: “bring every piece of clothing you own”… The reason I say that is because you never know what the weather will be during this time of the year. I have done the race many times have seen everything from 6 inches of snow, to driving rain, to freezing temps, to absolutely gorgeous days/nights… The beauty is that you never know what you will have until you arrive!
The course is a beautiful 17 mile loop which is absolutely perfect for a 24-hour race! It has everything from jeep trails to 8 miles of singletrack, to cactus (lots and lots of cactus, so bring your comb or tweezers!). There is nothing on the course that is too gnarly, this makes is fun and fast (even when you are doing your night laps)! The race begins with a Lemans type start, so this means you are running for about ¼ mile in your carbon-soled bike shoes. After the 1st lap, you start up the “7-Bitches” (7 short climbs/decents just to get your attention), and then proceed to cover many miles of jeep road and single track through the cactus. Next you travel down the “His/Her Trail” which is a cool single track with a few surprise corners and then a long grind up the “High Point Singletrack”. At this point you see one of the coolest sites you will ever see (during the day or night)… You descend back to the start/finish and observe a sea of tents and RV’s in the Old Pueblo “city”. Once you reach the start/finish, you pass-off your baton to your teammate, head back to camp for some food, maybe a little sleep, and then get ready to do it all over again…
It’s gonna be a blast! Hope to see you there. I’ll be the slow guy on the MTN Bike…
You Hungry?
Monday, December 21st, 2009
Mmmmmm, cookies! Now if only I had a dollar for every time I heard that! I know most of us love these sugary sweets, and now we can turn our luv of the cookie into a good thing. All you need to do is break-out your bike, go to Tucson, Arizona, and sign-up for the Tour de Cookie which will be held on January 10th. This bike ride will benefit the City of Tucson’s Adaptive Recreation Center and hundreds of young athletes with disabilities and/or special needs. What happens is that you will ride/race between 10 stands to buy/eat as many of the sugary sweets as possible. Your final race score will be based on your ride time, the number of stands visited, and the amount of $$$ spent/cookies eaten. I know, you are asking: “how can I ride my bike with a stomach full of cookies”. Well just keep thinking of all the good you are doing by participating in this race and your stomach will do just fine.
One final thing, if you are not able to make it to Tucson, Arizona for this
Tour de Cookie, don’t worry. There are plans to have a similar ride in San Diego, Phoenix, Albuquerque, Durango, San Antonio, Minneapolis, Washington, Indianapolis, and Louisville. So come eat some cookies for a good cause and burn-off those cookie-calories on a great bike ride.
Can you Endure It?
Saturday, December 19th, 2009
Ok, so it’s winter, it’s cold, and there is probably snow on the ground… Your race season is on hold until you can actually see the black of the asphalt, right? Not necessarily… Endure It! in Naperville, IL will be holding the Endure It! Indoor 2-Person Team Time Trial on January 3rd. This race will not take place on the icy roads of Illinois, but instead on the Computrainers located inside Endure It!. The Computrainers will take your team through a simulated 12.5 mile course with rolling hills as you compete against the other teams on the trainer. So come on out, warm-up on your trainers, and then tear-it-up as you try to beat the opposing teams and previous years record times!
You Ready To Get Dirty?
Monday, December 7th, 2009
Now this is a race that NFL Football’s John Madden would love; dirt, water, the outside elements, and MUD! Heck, I think all of us love mud! It gives you a chance to feel like a kid again and get a little wild and crazy! The 2009 Muddy Buddy Ride and Run events have been going-on all year long and are about to finish-up in Temecula, California on December 6th and Phoenix, Arizona on December 13th. These races are done as a team where one person starts the race course on a bike and the other starts running. The course is approximately 6 miles long and is separated into 5 legs by obstacles along the way. At the end of the 1st leg of the course, the participants must conquer a mystery obstacle before transitioning to the 2nd leg of the course (bike starts running, and runner starts biking). The participants continue to leap-frog between biking and running until all 5 legs / transition areas are complete. Now for the awesome part, the team members must finish the race together by crawling through the notorious mud pit before they cross the finish line. What a way to end! So bring your “buddy” and a clean change of clothes, you’ll need it…
Dawn to Dusk
Monday, November 23rd, 2009
Are you more of an endurance MTN Bike rider? Do you like desert rides and lots of sunshine? If you said yes to these questions, then the December 5th Dawn to Dusk endurance race at the Fountain Hills, Arizona McDowell Mountain Regional Park is your answer. Like the name says, this is a MTN Bike ride which goes from sunrise to sunset on the Pemberton Trail. This trail is perfect for an endurance race! It is very fast with a hard packed surface, lots of rolling hills, and a few low/mid level technical areas (just to make it interesting). I’ve ridden and raced on this trail a number of times and believe me, it is a lot of fun for both the beginner and seasoned MTN rider.
The race has all of the normal endurance categories, corporate, quad, duo, and the die-hard solo group… The corporate teams also get great incentives including reserved tent placement and parking along with the sponsor’s name on the event t-shirt. Sign-up soon to be part of the excitement, or come on out to the event and cheer-on your favorite riders and teams.
I’ll see you there!
Ride Without Limits
Monday, November 2nd, 2009
Need another reason to keep riding your bike during the cold Fall Season? How about warm Florida sunshine and helping people with Cerebral Palsy? OK, I know that is two reasons, but I never said I was good at math…
The 2009 Ride Without Limits in Tampa Bay, Florida will be supporting United Cerebral Palsy and the people they serve. All you need to do is raise a minimum of $150 in donations and you are eligible to ride in either the 35 / 65 / 112 mile route as an individual, or as part of a team. The various rides will take you through the beautiful hills and countryside of Central Florida.
Give it a try; you’ll be glad you did!
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- Was that Paris-Roubaix or Barry-Roubaix?
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- Are you a Marine or Triathlete?
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