Group Rides

It's that time of year again! The weather is warming up and the daylight hours are about to get a little longer. Of course, that all means that group rides are soon to follow. Here is the tentative schedule:

Monday: Easy Ride (10-14 mph), 10-15 miles around the time trial course
Start at the zoo parking lot @ 5:30

Tuesday: Moderate Ride (15-17 mph), 17-20 miles, route dependent on road construction
Start at the zoo parking lot @ 5:30

Wednesday: Off-road Ride
Meet at Buck Creek Trails @ 6:30

1st Thursday of the month - ABC time trial - meet at Tige Boat parking lot @ 6:30
2nd & 4th Thursdays of the month -
Fast Ride (18+mph), 25-27 miles on Old Coleman Hwy.
Meet at Lake Kirby ball fields @ 5:30
3rd Thursday of the month - criterium @ Shotwell Stadium parking lot @ 6:00

Like I said earlier, this is a tentative schedule. Let us know what you think. Send us your comments or questions. We especially want to hear about how everyone feels about the 3rd Thursday criterium. Like it/hate it/keep it/get rid of it? You get the idea.

Also, we would love to have some volunteers to help lead the rides. It wouldn't have to be an every week thing, but some help would be great! We'll make it worth your while.

Can't wait to hear from everyone!

Striders Duathlon

For anyone interested in duathlons, there is one being held April 20th just down the road in San Angelo. It's the Striders Duathlon put on by Ironhead Race Productions. There are two distances - the long course: 8km run-74km bike-8km run and the sprint course: 5km run- 18.6 mile bike-5 km run. There are several folks from around here heading down to it. If you're interested, check out the website: http://www.ironheadrp.com/striders/index.html .

Mas O Menos 2008

What a beautiful morning! We were a little worried about what the weather would do today, but other than some cloud cover, race time was nice. The temperature was a little cool at the start, but really pleasant as the morning went on. There were a lot of riders lining up for the start of Mas O Menos - about 450 in all. There were 30k, 50k, and 100k routes. The 50k and 100k routes were the same, just done twice for the marathoners. The 30k was a shorter route. All of the routes had the same nasty climb. Jim describes the hill as brutal - steeper than Steamboat, lots of loose rock, and about 30 minutes to get to the top. The hill was about 10 miles into the race, but once you made it to the top, the rest of the race was basically downhill.

The TMBRA racers did the 30k route which meant that they did the shorter loop and climbed the beast once. Jim was in this race. He did well - finished 6th in his age group and 9th overall. He had just caught the two leaders on his way up the hill when his chain broke. That took a little time to fix. Oh well - there's always next time!

The marathon winners (100k) were flying! If we figured it right, the top guy averaged about 16 mph. And that was with the nasty climb that he had to do twice. The marathoners started out on the 20k portion that the TMBRA riders did not do and then joined the TMBRA route. They did start first, about 30 minutes before Jim's group. Even with that extra 20k, the 4 marathon leaders passed Jim on the downhill and he said they made him feel like he was standing still. They were fun to watch! Well, they were fun for me to watch, maybe not so much for Jim.

Of course, what TMBRA event would be complete without a Kids' Kup? It was held after lunch and had quite a few of the little ones out racing. It's always fun to watch them go ride and get so excited about the medal at the finish. Right at the end of the Kids' Kup the wind picked up which made us very glad that it was time to go back to our campsite. It is howling out there right now with dust blowing everywhere. We sure are glad it waited until after the race!

So, TMBRA has started back up. Even if you couldn't make it to Mas O Menos, there are still plenty of other races to catch. The next one is in St. Jo's (northwest of Dallas) in two weeks. Hope to see lots of y'all there!

Almost Time...

All right - it is almost time for the start of the TMBRA spring series 2008. This mountain bike race series has its spring start at Mas O Menos in Terlingua, TX. Terlingua is about 30 miles northwest of Big Bend National Park in far southwest Texas. TMBRA is racing at Mas O Menos as well as a state marathon series and a national ultra endurance event - 50k and 100k.

We arrived around dinner time last night and have been enjoying the beautiful weather. We hear the weather is not quite so nice back at the store in Abilene. Enjoy the cold and sleet, guys! Actually, there is a chance that we'll wake up to rain and much colder temps here in the morning.

This afternoon was spent pre-riding the course. Wooh - it is going to be fast. The TMBRA race is 30k and takes you on some single-track, jeep roads, and dry creekbeds. There is lots of sand and loose rock. There is one major climb - haven't seen it yet, but everyone talks like it is a killer. Sounds like most people walk it. If you survive to the top, it sounds like it's all downhill from there.

We'll let you know how things go tomorrow. Have a great weekend and happy riding!

BikeTown Jerseys

All right! BikeTown jerseys have arrived! Come on in and check them out. They are available in short-sleeve and long-sleeve in men's and women's sizes. There is also a men's downhill version. Kid sizes are available in the short-sleeve variety.

Coming soon...BikeTown socks

Riding in Comfort...Texas

by Andrew

As many people may know by now Lance Armstrong has recently been trying his skills on the mountain bike, and last weekend I challenged him to a race and he obliged. A few guys from Abilene including Chris Rumpf, Jason Frazee, Greg Allen, Luke Allen, and myself went down to Flat Rock Ranch in Comfort, Texas to line up against Lance for the 54 mile mountain bike race.
All in all it was a great race for everyone, I think everyone was pretty satisfied with their times and all finished (which is more than ole Lance can say - he DNFed). So technically we have all beaten the 7 time Tour de France champion. It really was a unique experience that was fun for everyone.

Chris (Rumpf) and I actually happened to be at the right place at the right time the night before the race and ended up hanging around the campfire with Lance and about ten other people. I was able to talk to him one on one for about 10 minutes, and I was very impressed with the fact that he was just another one of the guys who loved to ride bikes and hang out and tell stories late into the night while we really should have been resting for the big race the next day. I have included some photos from the race and the pre party. I will be writing a book soon about how I managed to beat Lance Armstrong and malaria all within a span of 2 years.