Can't Keep Up

Yup, can't seem to keep up it seems as of late.  Just too much -- both on the bike & the team blog & team facebook page, etc, etc. 

So here's a supafast recap.  The Syracuse Bicycle Point to Pint ride to Brewery Ommegang was a success.  It was 90 miles of tough love for the 20 some riders but the brews & munchies at the end helped forget about all those rolling hills. 

While some rode to Cooperstown, a few went up to Oswego for the Tour de Loop.  Some great Ommegangster results with Aaron J representing very well with a 2nd in his age group in the 50 miler (& congrats to Omme-alumnus Craig N for the win) while Sean B (1st age group) and Dave M (2nd age group) represented in the 30 miler.  Also props to friend Bryan B for his 3rd overall.
Results here:  http://www.yellowjacketracing.com/2011

And if that wasn't enough, Dan the Plan went to the Capital District race as well and represented.  Results here:  http://www.bikereg.com/Results/2011/08/20-Capital-Region-Road-Race.asp

The last bit of news is registration is open at BikeReg.com for the Critz Farms Kermis on 9/17 and CX @ Brewery Ommegang on 10/2. 

Critz:  http://www.bikereg.com/events/register.asp?eventid=14226
CX @ Brewery Ommegang:  http://www.bikereg.com/events/register.asp?eventid=13684

It's Cross Season Baby - Free Clinic

Sure there are a few road races left, but for CX racers, the real season and training that go with it have already begun. Check out our free clinic . . . there won't be methadone, but there will be Nutella.

http://syracusecycling.com/2011/08/free-cyclocross-clinic/

Point to Pint Ride Update

Must pre-register by Thursday 8/18 at noon!!

Register at:  http://www.bikereg.com/events/Register.asp?EventID=13957

Ride Details:  The route will travel from the Syracuse region (Sun Chon's Tae Kwon Do Center in Fayetteville, NY -- www.sunchongstkd.com) to Brewery Ommegang (www.ommegang.com) near Cooperstown, NY.  This non-competitive fun ride is a POINT-to-POINT event; it is NOT a race.  The start and finish are in two distinct locations approximately 90 miles apart.  There will be a “sag wagon” but all riders should be self supportive and able to deal with routine mechanical issues (i.e., flats).  Riders should also be capable of riding 90 miles at a pace of at least 15 mph.  There will be no formal rest or water stops; this is a self supportive event. 

Post Ride:  There will be post-ride complimentary beverage available at Brewery Ommegang as well as special pricing for food and merchandise.  Brewery Ommegang has tentatively planned an outdoor, family movie night (fee required) the evening of the ride.   Camping for riders is available at the brewery the evening of the ride.  A change of clothes bag will be transported for you to the brewery.   Riders can also leave a vehicle over Fri eve in the event parking area to drive themselves back post ride if desired.

Route:   The ride will start at Master Sun Chong's Tae Kwon Do Center located at 8020 East Genesee Street in Fayetteville, NY near Four Seasons Golf and Ski Center.  The route will travel east on State Route 5 and then south on State Rte 13 to connect with State Rte 80.  The majority of the ride will follow Route 80 east through scenic rolling hills onward to Brewery Ommegang which is located just south of the village of Cooperstown.  We will not enter Cooperstown by cutting through the village of Fly Creek onto the brewery.  A map, with directions, will be provided to all riders.   Brewery Ommegang is located at 656 County Highway 33, Cooperstown, NY. 

Return Transportation:   We encourage riders to car pool to the extent possible with family, friends, etc.  We will be offering post-ride transportation back to the start Sat eve.  We will provide additional details once we have an idea of numbers.  Bikes may be required to be transported back in a  separate vehicle (i.e., Syracuse Bicycle van) from the rider(s).

More Info:  Keep up to date at www.ommegang-syracusebicycle.blogspot.com or look up Team Ommegang-Syracuse Bicycle on Facebook, 

Swag:  There will be swag and other goodies.

Fine Print:  Proceeds from this event will be donated to the Two Smiles, One Hope Foundation.

3 Days on the Road & An Afternoon in the Woods

3 days on the road describes the 3 stage Tour of the Catskills.  Starting Friday eve with a TT followed by two pretty serious days of climbing (Devil's Kitchen anyone?), throw in one of the largest overall fields in New York State and you have the 2011 edition of the Tour of the Catskills. 
A couple Ommegangsters in the form of Ray W and Dan F headed down to the three day event and posted some respectable results against some not so surprisingly really strong fields.  

Catskills results here:  http://www.tourofthecatskills.com/the-race/

With some Ommegangsters down on the roadways of the northern Catskills, a few others stayed a bit closer to home to play in the woods at the Highland Forest Classic MTB race which included Jason H, Tim O (a week after the Wilderness 101), Joe M, Aaron J and Greg D.
The course was pretty typical Highland conditions (a bit damp and slick in spots) after some rains earlier in the week.  In the end, the Ommegangsters fared rather well on the results sheets with a 4th, a 2nd, and 3 winding up first in their respective categories. 

Highland Results here:  http://bikeloft.com/merchant/257/files/2011BikeLoftHighlandClassicResults.pdf

Highland pics:   Highland Pics:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/65126171@N02/6015005992/in/set-72157627369798018

While there still is plenty of road racing left (not to mention the Syracuse Bicycle Point to Pint Ride to Brewery Ommegang fun ride on Aug 20) some are already getting the cyclocross twitch.  In fact, there's even a free CX clinic being put on by Syracuse Bicycle and Team Ommegang-Syracuse Bicycle on Aug 28 at Longbranch Park in Liverpool.  Details forthcoming but get it on your calendar if interested.

Long Days

A couple Ommegangsters decided to head out for some long endurance type sufferenjoyment in the form of the Wilderness 101 MTB race (as in 101 miles) while another tackled a fairly well know triathlon called IronMan USA (as in 2.4 mi swim, 112 mi bike, 26.2 mi run).

Fred H and Tim O participated in the 101 down in State College, PA with some great results (especially considering Tim had a slew of mechanicals).  Both finished within the top 50 of a field of almost 200 finishers.

While the MTB boys were spending 7-8 hours in the saddle in the woods, Ommegangster "K" was up Lake Placid way "only" spending 5 hrs and 44 min on the bike .. after a 2.4 mile swim.  And when the bike was over, he put in a sub 4 hr marathon for a damn respectable IM result.

Wilderness 101 results:  http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/national-ultra-endurance-nue-series-wilderness-101-ne/results


IM USA Results:   http://ironmanlakeplacid.com/results/



These guys deserve a big congrats for some really hardcore racing and great results.  Nice work gents!

NYS TT Champs

Two Team Ommegang - Syracuse Bicycle members in the form of AR & Dan the Plan headed down to the southern tier for a little state TT champs action just a tick north of the PA border.  Nothing like 40k of eye-ball bleeding, tongue dragging and drooling in the pain cave to add to a summer weekend of fun.  When the eyeballs cleared up and the drooling (mostly) stopped, we had AR sporting a silver medal in his division and Dan the Plan painfully close to a bronze only to be edged out by 1.5 seconds (ending up 4th of 19 in the largest and possibly the most competitive field mind you). 

A big congrats to both gents -- way to go Ommegangsters!