Team Mike's Bikes 2011 NCNCA Standings

Team Mike's Bikes 2011 NCNCA Standingshttp://209.204.175.237/points/

Overall Team Points 32th out of ~75 Teams

Team Points/Category Elite 1/2 Team Points 10th out of 30 Teams

Elite 3 Team Points 2nd out of 45 Teams

Elite 4 Team Points 19th out of 46 Teams

Individual Men's Category Points Elite 1/2 Points 23rd Rainier Schaefer out of 248 Riders 53rd Stephen O'Mara 88th Tyler Dibble 216th Nole Studley

Elite 3 Points 1st Keven Bricknell out of 360 Riders 22nd Henry Scholz 64th Ryan Johnson 74 Paul Ngo

Elite 4 Points 64 Ryan Johnson out of 377 Riders 74 John Becker

Track Nationals - Stars and Stripes Baby

After a week of living it up in nyc and late nights around town, i felt like superman. Since master's track natz at TTown was only a short drive from manhattan, i decided to race guys my age.

Won the 30-39 pts race. Lapped the field and won it in style. Check out the kung fu pose.

-Steve Pelaez

Capo Cycling Apparel

Check out Tyler, Hank, and the rest of Team Mike's Bikes featured in Capo's new custom cycling apparel video:

Capo Cycling Apparel from Capo Cycling Apparel on Vimeo.

Great Weekend for TMB

Nice Racing this weekend.   Looks like the team was firing on all fronts (track, road, crit).

Talbot – wins the GRFS#4 Omnium Track (taking the scratch and points wins along the way)

Daniel – wins Mt. Hamilton.  Awesome ride.

Ranier – 2^nd at Folsom in a break in the rain.  Great ride.

And I’m sure there are a lot teammates to thank too.  Nice work boys.

I’m off this weekend and just logging in the miles on strava.  Just upload 30K feet of climbing.  So cool using Strava.  Never really cared how much I climbed in the past but with the bike store competition, I’m gonna make sure I log all my miles.

http://app.strava.com/athletes/steve-pelaez-38

Good Luck at the Memorial Crit.   Ride well as a team.  I’ll join in again the next 2 weeks.

-Steve

Col du Pantoll Ride

It's our very own Col du Pantoll, because the term 'hammerfest' is just so overused these days. Join Team Mike's Bikes for this challenging and fast-paced group ride. We leave the Sausalito shop at six, roll out to Muir Beach, head North to Stinson, climb up the ridge to Pantoll, head South on Shoreline to Mill Valley and back to Sausalito. This ride will be CHP escorted on May 26th and on the first Thursday of every month.

Last Thursday had a great turnout featuring a police escort with perfect weather.

For more Team Mike's Bikes led and other group rides, check out Mike's Bikes group ride directory: http://mikesbikes.com/articles/group-ride-directory-pg108.htm

Peaking with O'Mara

A couple days ago Steve O. sent out his thoughts on training and peaking in the sport of cycling to the team. Here is some a little insight to some of the conversation that goes out on our team list from a guy that just a few weeks ago took the crown stage at the Tour of the Gila (like a boss). - Hank

If you’re really going for a true peak, you’ll feel like you’re losing fitness in the process, particularly in parts of the taper. And to be fair, in some ways you are. The basic trade is you lose some aerobic fitness as you rest and focus on workouts with modest, but targeted efforts to sharpen the higher end stuff.

I’ve seen a lot of guys, myself included, freak out about this feeling of lethargy

and loss of fitness and then throw in some ill-conceived extra workload. You need to know these feelings are going to come and commit to the taper. Assuming you got in a decent base and the race(s) you’re targeting aren’t stupidly long for you, losing a little aerobic fitness doesn’t matter and is far outweighed by the benefits of the increases you’ll see in the higher end stuff. We all know that’s where the racing really happens, unless you’re trying to “win” double centuries or something.

From there, you can hit your target race and still not have a great day. There’s lots of chance in our sport. If you want to continue the peak through subsequent weekends, you need to stay on the peak program. Another common problem I see with people is after trying a peak for a week or two, they basically get back into fairly regular training and then are disappointed they’re not peaked the following weeks.

Again, you need to commit. If you have goals later in the season that you feel you need to start training for again, then you need to do that. For instance, if you’re peaking too long in May, you are missing valuable training time for races you may care about in July or even August. It’s a trade off. But if you’re at a point where your season is basically done, or you have a high priority race the next week of two, there is no reason to add back volume aside from maintaining that sculpted beach body. You need to stick with the low-volume peak program.

Different people will have different ideal lengths of taper/peak periods. I discovered through some unintended post-season fitness in college that my ideal taper/peak period is fairly long. This led to some solid performances in the team beer mile and indoor roller challenge, but not in the n/a, target races in the weeks prior. But I now know I like a long taper followed by several weeks of peak/racing at the end of the season.

-Steve

Perspective on Training and Team Racing w/ Ted King

I got a chance to talk to Ted King a lot during the ride on Tuesday. When I asked him about what races he fancies where he’ll get his own chances for glory. His answer gives good insight to a true domestique/team player.

“I’m not a great climber, or a great sprinter. Most of my chances at actually winning are pretty slim. But what I’m good at is riding at 350 watts for hours on end and when I train, I train so that I can do that really really well.”

So do you motor pace a lot?

“Sometimes, but not really since my job role doesn’t really require the need for top end speed. The racing itself usually helps enough to get my speed.”

Here’s what I’ve intuited from this conversation:

1. Identify your strengths and do it to the best of your ability

2. Train those strengths so that it can help the team. For instance, if you plan on giving a good leadout, make sure you train your anaerobic system and muscular endurance a lot. You need to be able to hold a good speed for a long time in the wind. But you don’t need to have a high top end so there’s minimal need to hit the neuromuscular system.

3. Again as a leadout rider it makes more sense that you hold back on climbing a lot or even working on top end speed. Train specifically to the efforts that are required of you to be successful. Likewise, if you’re a climber riding a bunch of crits with crit specific teammates, then focus on speed and technique drills rather than hills all the time. Same goes for the sprinter who loves to train the speed drills, work on your climbing if you want to help a climber.

4. We can’t train every energy system maximally each week, so it’s important to identify what systems to train prior to the identified races and what energy systems to train to support the success of the team.

5. I’d rather be great at 1 thing rather than just be packfill at many things.

-Steve

Party with us at the Marin Bike to Work Day After-Party & Expo

5:30-8pm, join Mike's at the Marin County Bike Coalition Bike to Work Day After-Party at the Marin   Brewing Company in Larkspur (right across from the Ferry Terminal). Anyone who rides with us from either our San Rafael or Sausalito stores at 5:30pm will receive a free beer/beverage token! Hank will be leading the ride from the Mike's Bikes in Sausalito.

At the Marin Brew Co the MCBC, Mike's Bikes, WTB, and Marin Country Market will play hosts to a commute bike bash with an expo demonstrating products and services to make bike-to-work life easier. MCBC will also announce the Commuter of the Year and will have a meet-and-greet with the Bike Locally Challenge participants.

Come on out for fun, friends, beverages, and a celebration of cycle commuting!

Energizer Stations Throughout Northern California:

Click Here!

Team Mike’s Bikes Welcomes Steve Pelaez!

If you have been riding or racing on the Road or at the Track in Northern California, you probably know Steve Pelaez. He is an extremely accomplished rider with over 15 years of racing experience as a multiple elite national medalist, national champ in the madison, and multiple time district champ. Steve used to manage the Lombardi team and has mentored the likes of Daniel Holloway, Eric Riggs, Adam Switters, and Evan Huffman. Now Steve will join the ranks of Team Mike's Bikes as a guest rider to help develop our current riders and roster for the 2012 season.

"I’m really excited to be part of TMB. Having spoken to Hank and Ben, I know that the team has a great core of quality riders and a fantastic sponsor in MB. I’m really looking forward to working with the team and to learn how I can contribute to its success.

I have 2 great kids (7 and 5 yrs. old) who think I’m the fastest rider in the universe but Lance is a close second though. One day, the truth will come out that I’m a lot slower, and it’ll hurt, a lot. I have my own business(web service for business travelers) – This has afforded me the luxury to train and still balance a busy personal life.

As for my strengths on the bike – it’s speed and experience. I really enjoy helping out and would gladly lay it on the line for anyone on the team. As part of being a great team, it’s really important to feel purposeful during a race whether it’s covering breaks, bringing a rider up, leading out, or sprinting for the win. Personally, I find it meaningful when I feel that I contributed in some form to the team’s success. It’s a great feeling."

Steve will be racing at the Mike's Bikes Cat's Hill Classic this weekend with our Cat 1/2 squad.

Welcome to TMB Steve!

Mike's Bikes presents the 6th Annual Menlo Park Grand Prix

 

Tomorrow Team Mike's Bikes will be racing at 6th Annual Menlo Park Grand Prix presented by Mike's Bikes. The team will be there in full with a Mike's Element, Tent, and neutral mechanic. Stop by to say hi, cheer us on in the races, and watch us present awards for the women's races. Look for our riders in the early morning Cat 3 and afternoon P/1/2 fields:

P/1/2 Rainier Schaefer

P/1/2 Benjamin Stern

P/1/2 Shawn Rosenthal

P/1/2 Stephen O'Mara

P/1/2 Tyler Dibble

Cat 3 Ryan Johnson

Cat 3 Paul Ngo

Cat 3 Henry Scholz

Cat 3 Keven Bricknell

See you there!

The Tour of Gila Live!

It looks like VeloNews has decided to show the fifth best stage (of five) of The Tour of Gila live online. All hating on crits aside, this is very cool as it looks like the site is going to show most, if not all, of the amateur races.

As for my plan, I get excited about crits after I win one and that hasn’t happened in a few years now. It will be interesting to see how it plays out given the crit comes on Saturday April 30, three very hilly days into the race, and the day prior to the queen stage featuring the infamous Gila Monster. You can watch the crits here.

-Steve

Team Mike's Bikes Welcomes Daniel Velasco!

After loosing Nole Studley and Maurice Monge to injury for what is looking like the end of the 2011 season, Team Mike's Bikes welcomes Cat 4 phenom Daniel Velasco to its squad.

"This is my first year racing officially. I started racing cyclocross this past season. I raced two B's races and decided after those to make the move to the A's. It was a lot of fun and racing with the fast guys really helped me improve more quickly. My first road race was San Bruno and after that I took advantage of the Early Bird Crits/Clinics to get the points I needed for my upgrade. I raced my first 4's race last Saturday in Monterey (Central Coast Circuit)."

Daniel placed 1st in his category at the 2011 San Bruno Hill Climb with the third fastest time of day 15:50.3 only being beat by Nate Enlgish of yahoo! and Chris Phipps of Iron Data/Thirsty Bear. He then went on to complete the early birds and place 2nd at the Early Bird Criterium getting his upgrade to Cat 4. At his first Cat 4 race, a Central Coast Circuit Race, Daniel placed 1st and got 2nd this past weekend at the Santa Cruz Classic Criterium.

"My main goal is to continue developing my fitness as best I can. I am looking into learning more about how best to train and get the most out of cycling. I want to be riding hard and racing well but I want to be smart and take my time as needed. My goal has been to upgrade to category 2 this season but gaining experience and racing/riding smart are my first priorities."

Daniel will be racing at Copperopolis this weekend in the Category 4 with John Becker. Watch out for those giants!

Support our Africa Riders! - BBC Team Time Trial

If you haven't navigated over to our Meet the Team section of the site (still under construction) or been to Mike's Africa Project Blog or even know what Mike's Africa Project is, you probably don't know that back in October when the team was being put together, we made the decision to sponsor two of the riders from Mike's sister shop MK Cycles, PK and Nkulumo, and help them participate in racing in Zimbabwe. To read more about this, head over the Africa Blog and check out the following post.

Mike's Bikes Africa Sister Shops from Mike's Bikes on Vimeo.

Well the beginning of the month marked the start of the race season for PK and Nkulumo: "The Bulawayo cycling season kicked off on February 6th, with a 60 km (37 mile) road race, involving over 30 cyclists. Not surprisingly, our guy Nkulumo came in first; sports pages across Zimbabwe were gushing about his “raw talent” for the following week. The rest of the team didn’t do so bad either. PK came in 6th, Q came in 10th and it is rumored that Godfrey came in 17th. The second race of the Bulawayo racing season was an 50 km (30 mile) off-road race held on February 13th. Not surprisingly, the guys from MK Cycles once again rocked it. First place went to PK, Q came in third. Nkulumo was looking really good, until he snapped his rear derailleur, resulting in him placing seventh." For a full race report with photos, check out this post on the Mike's Africa Blog.

Back in January I received an e-mail from Greg Tsutaoka from Berkley Bicycle Club asking if Team Mike's Bikes would be interested in co-sponsoring their BBC Team Time Trial. I informed Greg that we were already planning to support the Mike's Bikes Cat's Hill Classic along with a few other track events this year but were looking for some additional support for our Africa riders. Greg spoke to the BBC Board and quickly got back to me that they would love support our Africa project with part of the races proceeds.

These proceeds along with a portion of the teams budget and other fundraisers will be used to purchase race clothing, bikes, and equipment for PK and Nkulumo. Below you will find some info on the BBC TTT and bios for PK and Nkulumo. See you guys at the TTT!

-Hank

Berkeley Bicycle Club Team Time Trial The BBC TTT is a unique race and always a favorite for spectators. Team Time Trials involve a small group of riders all on the same team working together to race against the clock. They must each work flawlessly in coordination with their efforts, taking turns at the front pulling the group along, and rotating to the back resting in the draft. As riders cross the finish line, the team is awarded the time of a specific rider who crosses the finish last. For example, in a five person team, typically the time is awarded to the third rider to finish. This ensures that a certain number of riders must finish with the group and that the team is only as strong as its weakest link, or third weakest link in this case.

Few time trials ever feature two person teams. This is a unique opportunity to grab a teammate, friend, or even girlfriend and come out for the race!

Race History The race began in the 1980s as the Pinole Two Man Team Time Trial. This was an out-and-back race from Pinole Valley High School to Bear Creek Road and back. It was a grueling, slow up and out, with a fast return back. The road rules got more and more restrictive and the race was moved to the famed "Bears Loop", featured in the Berkeley Hills Road Race. In fact, the time trial course today is about 3/4 of a single loop of the Berkeley Hills Course.

The Course Teams start at the corner of Camino Pablo and Bear Creak Road. The start is a fast ride, mostly downhill along the San Pablo Reservoir. Teams turn right and begin several miles of rolling hills until ending up at the base of Papa Bear. This challenging hill tests a team's fitness and ability to stay together. Next it's just a couple of miles more, but with the finish at the top of Momma Bear, there's still a lot of climbing to go.

Categories Along with the standard racing categories including Elite, Masters, Womens, and Juniors, this race has several unique additions. There is a co-ed category, a category for tandem bikes, and the extremely popular men's and women's "Merckx" categories, where riders are restricted to standard road bikes, no aero dynamic gear allowed. You don't have to spend a lot of money on a new bike to compete in this race!

Who Can Race? Anyone can race. The race is sanctioned by USA Cyling, the governing body of bicycle racing. Every racer must hold a USA Cycling license. Don't have one? You can buy a 1-day license at the event. Because this is a unique event that draws cyclists of all stripes, we believe that this race sells more 1-day licenses that any other race in Northern California! So bring a friend and come out for a fun day on the bike!

2011 BBC TTT Race Flyer

2011 BBC TTT Course Map

2011 BBC TTT Course Profile

Phathisani PK

I was born and raised in Bulawayo and part of the Ndebele tribe, the 2nd largest tribe in Zim but the main tribe in Bulawayo. I have ridden bicycles my whole life and when I was 12, I started riding at a local BMX track. I have a background in auto mechanics and that has helped me as a self taught bicycle mechanic. In addition to cycling, I also have a passion for running and swimming although I only race bicycles. I am a big fan of Hip Hop and Jay Z is my favorite artist.

I started entering races in high school and have been successful on the local level. My long term goals are to race in the Tour de France and to train younger cyclists like Nkulumo. I spend a lot of my time now training on my bike, working out, and training Nkulumo. Next season, I hope to win at least 5 races at the elite level and possibly quality for the Zim National Team. I‟d like to travel to Harare for the bigger races in Zim and maybe even to South Africa.

I raced in six races last year with a 2nd place in the Tour de Falcon (70 K) and a 1st in the Matobo Game Park Fun Ride (70 K).

Nkulumo

I was born in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe and have lived here my whole life. I am part of the Ndebele tribe, the 2nd largest tribe in Zim but the main tribe in Bulawayo. I grew up riding my bike and using it to get to school, that‟s where my passion began for cycling. While growing up riding my bike, I was also an active swimmer and soccer player. I‟m a big supporter of the local Bulawayo club, The Highlanders. Everyone here in Zim also supports an English Premier League team and Chelsea is my club. In addition to cycling, I am also an artist. I enjoy painting landscapes the most.

I started racing last year when I entered a three day race from Bulawayo to Beitbridge, about 350K. I won my category and have been hooked on racing since. My long term goal is to be a professional cyclist and my goal this next season is to upgrade from intermediate to elite and be successful.

Team Camp Photography

For those of your that don't frequent our Flickr page or are friends with some of our riders on Facebook, we had some beautiful shots taken from Studio Six this past weekend at our team camp. Here is a sneak peak at some of the excellent photos to come and visit our our Flickr page for some more photos taken by us at camp including a video of our own Maurice displaying one of his other talents. Enjoy!

-Hank

Day Two - Team Mike's Bikes Training Camp

Today was the second day of team camp. The morning started a little later than Saturday and a whole lot slower. The one-two punch of Morgan Territory-Mt. Diablo had us all clambering for coffee and breakfast. Much to our delight, the was plenty of both to go around as Ryan "Master Cook" Johnson was preparing a spread fit for a king. There was everything from bacon and eggs to a delicious oatmeal concoction, and, of course, lots and lots of coffee. After stuffing ourselves with delicious food, it was time to think about riding. Unfortunately, the July-like weather that had recently descended on NorCal had left, leaving in its wake an onslaught of wind and rain. Naturally, some moaning and groaning ensued, but eventually we donned our Capo kits and prepared to ride.

With much grumbling, we eventually set out on our ride. After just a few minutes, the sky opened up, dishing out what was to be the worst weather of the ride in the first 30 minutes. After a few flats in the opening miles, we settled in for a beautiful ride through green rolling hills and mostly fair weather.

The second day of training camp is always interesting. The riders who pushed themselves hard the day before are showing it, their stiff pedaling and slow accelerations giving them away. It is also a day when those who have arrived with god fitness come to the fore. There were several riders who rode impressively, despite the previous day in their legs. Paul Ngo put in an impressive ride, finishing the climb up Patterson Pass first after a hard fought contest. He also managed to contest the sprint at the end of the day!

Ride data from Ryan's Garmin:

Team Mike's Bikes had a great start to the season with its inaugural training camp. With the start of the NCNCA Road calendar right around the corner, we can't wait to get out and show you, in person, the new team. Come on out to Cherry Pit in Napa next Sunday, February 6th (Super Bowl Sunday!) to see us start the season right.

Until next time.

-Tyler

<iframe width='465' height='548' frameborder='0' src='http://connect.garmin.com:80/activity/embed/65988574'></iframe>

Team Camp - Day 1

Greetings from the close of day 1 of team camp!

Today's ride can be described as nothing short of epic. Team member Ben Stern's knowledge of East Bay rides led to a trek from Discovery Bay, where we are making our home for the weekend, through Morgan Territory, over the Diablo saddle and back again. All 13 of us made it out for camp and we were joined by Mike’s Bikes co-wner Matt Adams for 90+ miles of climbs, descents, and attacks through sun, fog, and, towards the end, rain. Below is Hank's ride data: While my extreme exhaustion prevents a detailed account of all the impressive, strong riding I witnessed today, I can tell you succinctly that this team is coming to race this year. The attitude around the house this evening is unbelievably positive. Somewhere, between the smell of Matt Talbott’s coffee and Maurice Monge’s piano overtures, we are definitely coming together as a team and are ready to wreck house!

A bit of a plug here....one of the most impressive points of today happened before we even had turned a pedal on the street. Matt Adams gave a short overview of the Mike’s organization and he went over in particular detail the Mike’s Bikes Africa Project which is focused on setting up self sustaining bike shops in African countries (so far Botswana, Namibia, and Zimbabwe), largely through donations from folks here in the States. If you haven’t perused the Mike’s Bikes website, jump over there and take a look at the link for this project. I, for one, was really impressed by what I found out and am very proud to be involved with an group that puts such value on reaching out in this way.

Ok, I have to put my legs up if I’m supposed to follow anybody tomorrow. Enjoy the pictures and I hope you’re having as much fun riding this weekend as I am!

-John

Introducing Team Mike's Bikes

I sit here in utter amazement as I type the first blog entry into the Team Mike’s Bikes site. Only two months ago, I sat down with Matt Adams and Ken Martin, the owners of Mike’s, to discuss putting a team together. In this time, we got 13 riders fully kitted in custom Capo apparel and on bikes from Cannondale ready to race by the first of January.

Mike’s Bikes has been an excellent company to work for and fantastic to have as a title sponsor for a team. The company has eight stores in the Bay Area with a ninth opening in Walnut Creek, as well as online distribution. In a time when bike shops are closing their doors, Mike’s has only continued to grow. While some of this success might be due to the growing popularity of cycling, I can tell you firsthand that their success is directly attributable to the owners’ management of the company. Mike’s has an extremely high standard of customer service which creates an excellent retail experience.  The mission statement is to simply “Get more people on bikes!”  This requires not only knowledgeable and friendly employees, but enthusiasm and the same passion for cycling.

I will admit, prior to working for Mike’s, I viewed them as a soft bike shop on the edge of the Mill Valley Bike Path where weekend warriors went to pickup a gel and refill their water bottles. Little did I know that through their doors sat the glorious Cannondale SuperSixes and Specialized S-Works’. Mike’s is even now carrying Wilier and Focus, two foreign-born, high-end bicycle manufacturers, and wheels from Zipp, Reynolds, Mavic, and Shimano to round out the stable. With a full range of men’s and women’s clothing and shoes, professional bike fittings, wheels, parts, accessories, Mike’s pretty much has just about everything cycling related you could need and want. As a team, we hope to unveil this reputation and help Mike’s Bikes push further into the high-end road bike and bike fit market.

Our racers share the same enthusiasm for cycling as Mike's through our own means. Whether they’re bringing fresh faces into the sport, providing coaching resources to those who cannot afford it, mentoring new racers, or leading local group rides, this team is an extension of the Mike’s Bikes family.  We plan to bring this passion to the race circuit throughout the whole season; look for us in the peloton, at the reg tent, compliment us on our sweet kits, yell “attack!”, or maybe just stop in to your local Mike’s Bikes and say hi.

See you out on the road.

Hank