The roster for the weekend was Josh Whitmore, Simon Bennett, Jimmy Schurman, Coulton Hartrich, Shane Braley and myself (Christian Parrett).  After meeting up in Greenville, Simon, Jimmy, Josh and I caravanned up the country towards NY.  We were joined by our awesome support staff of Sara Jarrell, mechanic extraordinaire, and Sandy Krief, soigneur/feed zone support/dishwasher for messy hooligan bike riders.

After one night in Virginia we made it to NY Friday night and were joined by Coulton and Shane, who flew up from Florida.  We were all able to relax, see parts of the course, and plan for Sunday.  This was our teams first UCI race.  However, Coulton and I were confident of a result as we’ve both accrued 17 days of UCI racing already this year, in even tougher fields than Battenkill would see, with generally good results.  Shane was coming back from injury but has more experience than any of us.  Simon, Jimmy and Josh weren’t as sure what to expect but are all very strong and experienced bike riders.

Unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned.  Sunday I managed to slot myself towards the front fairly early.  After the first dirt section I barged my way into the first 20 or 30 riders and had no problem making the early splits.  No teammates were to be seen, unfortunately.  I’d later learn this was due to flats (Jimmy, Shane, Coulton), sickness (Josh), and a crash (Simon).  Eventually I saw Coulton, who worked his way into a small move.  After it came back he suffered more flat troubles.

View of the exploding race, Simon Bennett fights his way through the gravel

On the longest dirt road section the race exploded under pressure from Kelly Benefits and the numerous flats.  I managed to make the front split of fewer than 20 riders.  Several riders came back on but the lead group stayed small.  Unfortunately, I suffered a slow leak in the front tire at this point.  There had been so many flats that neutral service ran out of wheels, and the race caravan was minutes behind with the chaos in the peleton on the small roads.  By the time I managed to get a wheel from our team car, I was well behind the group.  Our team car tried to motorpace me back to the group, but the commisaire didn’t allow it, and that was my day over.

That's a pinch flat through the sidewall of a tire designed for gravel

Overall, the race redefined the word “epic”. Out of the 170 starters, only 40 or so finished. The majority of teams including several of the large well funded professional team in the race did not finish any riders. Just getting to the finish line was proved to be a combination of luck, fitness, smarts, and just plain hard man racing.

With all of our days ended by some form of bad luck, we packed up and headed back to the Southeast.  Sometimes bad days can be learning experiences.  Sunday, we learned very little other than what to expect for the same event next year.  It was just a simple case of bike racing being an unforgiving sport.  However, if you can’t suffer through the bad days, you don’t deserve the good.  We will be back starting in just over a week at the Joe Martin Stage Race.

Christian Parrett

Click HERE to download a .pdf of the coupon so you can print it.

This is from the RJ Rockers newsletter below, click on it to read the rest. Subscribe to the newsletter to get special coupons.

Contec, Inc. is proud to announce its affiliation with globalbike™, a nonprofit organization that uses the transformative power of bikes to create positive social change in the developing world.  Founded in 2006, globalbike began as a volunteer organization with a mission to provide bikes to HIV/AIDS care workers in Zambia.  The organization has steadily grown and is now active in Bolivia, Ethiopia, Rwanda, and Tanzania.
CEO Jack McBride states, “As Contec has become a global company, we have been looking to sponsor an organization whose mission reflects the values and concerns of our global customer base.  globalbike fits this description to a “T”.  The organization’s founders are passionate about both cycling and helping those who are most in need.  At Contec, we are working to promote healthier living among our employees and also looking for creative ways to have a positive impact in areas that don’t have the benefit of recent breakthroughs in healthcare technology.  The globalbike mission reflects both these goals.”
With a goal of expanding to 5 continents by 2014, globalbike,  continues to seek creative partnerships that will allow it to provide those in need with access to healthcare and vital services. To learn more about globalbike,  and to find out how your organization can help, visit www.globalbike.org or send an email to info@globalbike.org.

Team Globalbike is pleased to announce a new partnership with Lazer Sport to supply the team with helmets and eyewear for 2012. Lazer is a Belgian company started in 1919. They offer a full line of helmets, from high performance racing to stylish urban commuter versions. Lazer helmets have been worn by some the greats in the sport. Paolo Bettini won the Olympic games in Athens and two world championships wearing a Lazer helmet. Tom Boonen has been a lifelong Lazer wearer and has won numerous titles under the Lazer lid.

Check out the entire line at www.lazersport.com

Lazer Genesis

The team will be rocking the Lazer Genesis on the road. The retention system of these helmets is one of the most comfortable we have ever tested. The helmet is very versatile with 3 different padding options including the normal summer pads for maximum air flow, a bug net pad system, and a more enclosed winter pad set  to hold in heat. We will also get the optional aero-shell cover which is a thin plastic cover that can be used in winter or rain rides when you want to close off the vents.

Lazer Tardiz

In Time Trial events, the team will don the Lazer Tardiz. We wonder if the  origin of the name Tardiz came from the British hit science fiction show – Dr Who. The doctor traveled through time in a space ship / time machine called the Tardis that looked like a small police box on the outside, but was much bigger inside. Can we alter time with these helmets? I think we can.

Lazer Electron

New to the Lazer line up for 2012 are a complete line of optics. Globalbike will be sporting 5 different models on the road and around town. We’ll have photos and reviews when they come in.

CrossVegas 2011 Pro Men First lap from Josh Whitmore on Vimeo.

Tanzanian Rider Richard Lazier - Arusha Cycling Club

During our trip to Africa last spring, we had the chance to meet up with the Arusha Cycling Club in Arusha Tanzania. Immediately we were impressed by the talent of these riders. As they joined us for 3 days of our trek to Kilimanjaro, they hammered along at the front, forming perfect echelon pace lines in the cross winds. On the 7mile climb up to the Marangu gate on the edge of Kilimanjaro, they quickly dropped us as the road pitched up.

One rider there in particular has shown remarkable talent. Richard Laizer is the strongest rider in Tanzania and one of the strongest in Africa. The Arusha Cycling Club is aiming to secure him a spot in the U23 world championships.

Laizer recently returned from a prominent African race in Rwanda, the UCI ranked Kwita Izina Cycling Tour. At the event, the Arusha Cycling Club raced well, placing Laizer in 18th overall and 3rd in U23.

From our visit with the Arusha Cycling Club and their riders back in March, it was evident that these talented riders lacked much of the basic equipment that we take for granted here in the USA. We were able to supply the club with 2 proper race quality bikes and some cycling kit from Team Globalbike to help out. In this photo, Laizer is proudly holding one of the nicest bikes in all of Tanzania, donated by a member of the Globalbike team.

Here are the steps to this leadout:
1. Josh Whitmore (with the camera) collects Kyle from the middle of the group
2. Josh leads Kyle towards the front to get in position. Big effort by Josh, Kyle gets free ride.
3. Boyd Johnson and Noah Metzler are already near the front
4. When Josh gets up to Boyd, he and Kyle slot in behind Boyd. Josh gets to rest a bit now, Kyle still getting free ride.
5. Boyd moves the 3 of us farther forward in the group
6. When the 3 of reach Noah, we all slot in behind Noah
7. Noah goes to the front and ramps up the pace as much as he can
8. Globalbike is in control now, 4 people on the front and increasing the pace
9. Other riders behind now need to make big efforts to move up in the group or come around our leadout train
10. Noah goes as hard as he can for a lap then pulls off, Boyd goes as hard as he can for a lap then pulls off, Josh goes as hard as he can for 3/4 lap. The pace is steadily increasing this whole time.
11. With 200m to go, the speed is 36mph
12. Kyle comes around with fresh legs, the starting speed is so high, it is nearly impossible for anyone to come around him at the line.