Road Race Cycling

I'm Kat and have been a Bicycle Garage Indy customer for years!! I love all the staff,they are helpful and accomodating at times when I needed them! I currently own 3 bikes,all from BGI and I LOVE every single one for what they are to me!!! My Hybrid bike is a Giant Sedona.It is my Cadillac.All comfort,upright positioning,moderate in weight and solid...great for touring,camping and the NITE RIDE!!! #2 bike is my Cannondale Six road bike-my sports car!!! Wow,light and FAST and incredible!! Never thought in a million years I would love road biking (MTB biker at heart..)..Beautiful bike!!! Gets lots of looks...#3 bike- my dream bike,Cannondale red Mountain Bike!!! Wow!! This bike eats trails like crazy!!! Did Town Run many times and Westwood...so, at 49 years old,this old lady can still run the trails..may take me alittle longer,but that doesn't matter to me!! Thanks BGI for great service and the amazing bikes in my life!!!

Name: Kat Andrzejewski
Bicycle: Giant Sedona/Cannondale Six/Cannondale MTB
City: Greenfield
State: Indiana

Thank you Kat, from everyone at Bicycle Garage Indy!  Glad that we can be part of your bicycling fun! 

My wife researched vacation spots and settled on Blowing Rock and nearby Boone North Carolina as picturesque artist communities full of galleries, good restaurants, and close to the Blueridge Parkway. We made cottage reservations and, when we arrived in the area, were energized by the narrow winding tree-covered roads up mountains with folksy names that suddenly swept down into the ‘hollers’ where homes clung on the hillsides. Many times we came up on road cyclists grinding out the long serpentine climbs and each one gave me a chance to pine for my own bike which hadn’t made the agenda for this trip. But I had wanted to try off-road biking so, on the last day, I rented a mountain bike, got directions to a set of trails near a local reservoir and took off to try it out. I wish I had the space here to express how fantastic the experience turned out. Little did I know. A week after returning home I was amazed to read a bicycling magazine article that identified the area as one of the top five mountain biking areas in the country. Dumb luck indeed.

Name: Alan Edgar
Bicycle: Cannondale Synapse 3
City: Yorktown
State: IN

Alan: Thanks from everyone at Bicycle Garage Indy for sharing your story with our Customers, Friends and Fans.

(Continued) To understand the third option, visualize a small CamelBak which is mounted on your waist, not your back, and you have the CamelBak FlashFlo.  Being an avid fan of CamelBak’s for my riding, I was instantly sold on this waist mounted option for running.  Water remains ice cold for the duration of your run.  The drinking tube is unusually long, and hooks to the waist strap.  When thirsty, you just unhook it, take your sip, then rehook it to your pack.  I do find that I need to cinch the pack up quite tightly, in order to minimize pack bounce.  

Bicycle Garage Indy is proud to be a long-time sponsor of the N.I.T.E. Ride, held on June 26^th. Not only does BGI help promote the event, we provide supplies and service before and during the event, including riding support who do small repairs on the route as well as support vehicles to bring in those who can’t finish the ride. In recognition of our efforts to provide service to the riders before and during the event, we received the following "Thanks" from NITE Ride Director Dan Shields:

"On behalf of Central Indiana Bicycling Association (CIBA), I would like to thank you and the entire BGI team for your efforts to help make 2010 N.I.T.E. Ride (Navigate Indy This Evening) such a huge success.

This year’s event, on June 26, 2010, far surpassed our registration record that was set just last year, with nearly 3,300 paid registrations. We are also clearly reaching more novice riders as evidenced by an even higher rate of growth in riders needing assistance, whether for bicycle servicing before the event or SAG support during the ride. BGI’s incredible support in this area has been crucial to achieving our mission of promoting bicycling for fun, fitness, commuting and touring while maintaining a great experience for all participants.

We are also thankful for your working with Giant Bicycles in providing the bicyclies for the BGI Great Bike Giveaway", the prizes for the "L.I.T.E. Up Your Bike" contest, BGI’s efforts to co-promote the event and all of the other valuable elements of BGI’s sponsorship.

Please accept our thanks for your fine support of N.I.T.E. Ride 2010!

Dan Shields
Chair, 2010 N.I.T.E. Ride Committee"

Bicycle Garage Indy looks forward to supporting the N.I.T.E. Ride in 2011!  (June 25th, 2011)

Connie Szabo Schmucker
Advocacy Director
Bicycle Garage Indy
Indianapolis and Greenwood, IN

One day I got lucky and bought a frame for a Guerciotti stage racing bike that was in my size. I installed all Dura Ace gruppo parts using a Shimano Triple setup no less. It has been a great bike, fast and very nimble. The tires are Vittoria Open Corsa's. The handlebar is a semi-aero design with a large flat area on top, which is handy on those long rides.

Name: Earl Bollinger
Bicycle: Guercriotti
City: Grapevine
State: Texas

Earl, thanks for you post from the staff at Bicycle Garage Indy.  Let us know the next time you are up north!

So, here's what it looked like at oh-dark-thirty on Saturday morning…

On July 1, we had one of the few evenings that was sunny but actually cool. Eight of us rode from Bicycle Garage Indy southeast to Fall Creek Trail and back, about 20 miles. No flats this time (unlike in June) and great conversations.
Thanks to Johnine Adomitis for taking our picture (she's the 8th person, not in the picture).

August 5

No photo, but we had 10 women for the ride - several regulars and some new people. We rode out to Fort Harrison State Park, did a loop in the park and headed back.  Everyone stayed dry except me - I started riding home just as a big, dark rain cloud came overhead. About a mile down the road, I had ridden out of the range of the cloud, it stopped raining and I was dry by the time I reached home.

Email message from one of the new riders:
Hi Connie,
Thanks again for hosting the ride.  I really enjoyed it.  The weather, the light traffic, the scenic route, and the conversation were all good.  I hope your ride back home in the rain was not too bad.  I love my new helmet and look forward your Sept. 2 ride.
Kathy

Hope to see even more women bicycling on our last Nothing But Us Chicks Ride, September 2nd. NOTE: On  September 2nd, we'll be starting at 6 pm so we can return before dark.
Check out BGI's calendar of events for this and other happenings.
 
Connie Szabo Schmucker
Advocacy Director
Bicycle Garage Indy
Indianapolis, IN and Greenwood, IN

I am for bikes. I'm for long rides and short rides. I'm for commuting to work, weekend rides, racing, riding to school, or just a quick spin around the block. I believe that no matter how I ride, biking makes me happy and is great for my health, my community and the environment we all share. That is why I am pledging my name in support of a better future for bicycling—one that is safe and fun for everyone and i also think ppl should wear helmets cuz one slip of ur pedals no helmet who knows what will happen

Name: rj zeph
Bicycle: cannondale f9
City: Carmel
State: IN

Thanks RJ, from the entire staff at Bicycle Garage Indy.  We will be contacting you about picking up your Keen Deluxe OTL bag, and you are entered in Bicycle Garage Indy's next Your Bicycle Gift Card drawing in September.

Bicycle Garage Indy is proud to be the Official Bike Store Sponsor of the Go Girl Triathlon, Indianapolis's first women only triathlon. The triathlon will take place on Saturday, August 28, 2010, with the venue opening at 7:00 AM.  Held at Eagle Creek Park on the northwest side of Indianapolis, the Go Girl Triathlon is is a Sprint Distance event, with a 500 Meter Swim in the Eagle Creek Reservoir, a 10 mile bike in and around the Eagle Creek Park, and a 3 mile run.

More details can be found at the The Tuxedo Brothers Go Girl Triathlon web site.   The Go Girl Triathlon is sanctioned by USA Triathlon. 

Tri’s are different than other competitions, in that you have a lot of different pieces of gear that are essential to your competition day.  Should you forget anything on race day (e.g. helmet, running shoes), then you literally cannot race.  All that time, preparation, money and emotional energy is wasted.

The New Belgium Brewing Mass Avenue Criterium will be held on Saturday, August 14th, from 11:30am-9:30pm. As a volunteer, you can see European-style racing up close and personal as cyclists race by at 25-30 mph competing for $10,000 in cash and prizes!

My longtime readers will no doubt recall that my favorite race of the year is the Bloomington Grand Prix.  It's a challenging, technical course with lots of spectators and emotional resonance.  This year it drew huge fields--65 guys in my race!  A lot of things make it special, but the biggest thing is that every bike racer in Indiana wants to win it.

I've been thinking about this race ever since a mechanical last year kept me from being in contention.  It's the one I dwell on when trying to finish the last interval in the garage in January.  However, I knew my fitness would be somewhat compromised by the Holsmans' week-long trip to Tennessee just before the race.  I really shouldn't be doing long, steady hill rides the week before a goal crit, but on the other hand, how often do I get to ride in Tennessee?  So I did the vacation-type epic rides, had a great time, went kayaking, had a Cuban cigar with my dad, played in the river with Kaia, etc, etc, great vacation but not necessarily the greatest race prep.

So I woke up on Saturday morning feeling not very ready.  But nil desperandum.  Headed down to Bloomington, picked up an espresso at Soma, met up with the whole family (who stopped to see me race on the way back from TN, which was AWESOME), went for the warmup ride, ran into Neibler, RJ, and Schroeder. . . all of a sudden I was feeling a lot more positive.

Off to the start line.  It was a fast start with a first-lap prime for the coveted Kilroy's gift card.  Naveen John from Sustainable Cycling went out hard and would continue to do so for the entire race.  65 riders + short course + nine primes = hard, fast racing.  I don't think anyone ever got more than 50 yards off the front.  I saw Neibler go down by the Sample Gates pretty early on.  He had also just had a bout of intestinal flu, so that was the end of the day for him.

My lethargy from the morning caught up with me about halfway in and I started to lose position, sliding from the front all the way to the back third of the field.  I finally remembered to take a gel, got my legs working again, and started working my way back up through the field.  The behavior and smoothness of the race was a pleasant surprise.   Usually this race has quite a few agressive/scary moments, but instead we just rode hard and fought for position without making each other unsafe.  Nice work, everyone.

(Aside:  check out Naveen in the white/green, bridging up to the small group going for the prime.  He really dominated the race and set his guys up to take the win.  Great riding.)

That is, until the last lap.  I had gotten up to about 15th with two laps to go, and then got caught behind a pulling-off leadout man.  That cost me a quick ten places, and 25th when they ring the bell is just about impossible to deal with.  I was still hoping to squeeze into the top 10 (along with everyone else from 11 to 25), and sure enough, the guy in front of me caught a pedal on the outside of the dreaded corner at 6th and Dunn.  No time to react, nowhere to go, I went straight into him, three other guys went into me, and thus we'll spend another year wondering what might have been. 

So what did we learn?  A crash at that spot at that point in the race is a near-certainty.  You just have to be at the front to have any shot at this thing.  Period.  So this winter's training will be all about being able to maintain that high effort to be in the prime position at the end.

Teammates:  I hear that RJ got taken out in the last turn.  Schroeder rode very well in the top 10 the entire race and wound up at about 7th.  I saw Ian in the last 5 laps and then we got separated; not sure where he wound up, but I think he managed to keep off the pavement.

I'll spare you the photos of my scabby knee, but here's one of the other victim:


That's right--the Cannondale CAAD9 is toast after a too-brief tour of duty.  Luckily I have another on the way, and so it shall rise, like Phoenix from the ashes.

Next up:  probably the Lawton Loop crit on August 1. 

Thanks for reading!

(Toby Holsman is the Operations Manager for Bicycle Garage Indy)

Bicycle Garage Indy wants you to know about Trek's Dream Bigger contest, starting July 16 and running through the end of the Tour De France on July 25th.  Just visit Trek's Web site (www.trekbikes.com) and follow the Dream Bigger links.  One bike winner will be picked every day by Trek, and hundreds other prizes will be awarded.

You will also find all Trek Bikes on sale during the BGi Big Summer Bicycle Sale going on now though July 25th.  We also have hundreds of essentials on sale, our new bike buyer discounts on helmets, and our $75 Value Intro fit included with every bicycle, or credit toward any of our selection of bicycle fitting services.  

Visit Bicycle Garage Indy’s two locations, North (in the Clearwater area in Indianapolis) and South (just west of I-65 on County Line Rd, Greenwood).

I spent the day touring Parke County, Indiana. Our Ride started in Rosedale, IN, and snaked around North of Rosedale to Mecca, IN. After a short SAG stop, we headed back to Rosedale for Stage 2. We then headed from Rosedale out to a small town named Bridgeton. Bridgeton is home to a working mill, covered bridge, and other small town fair, sans a gas station... Stop in at the mill and have some Ice Cream, it is perfect on a hot day. All said and done, 50 mi touring Parke County, Indiana

Name: Jeremey Jukes
Bicycle: Specialized ALLEZ
City: Greenwood
State: IN

Jeremy:  Thanks from everyone at Bicycle Garage Indy for sharing Your Bicycle story.

What to do when you are a couple who wants to bike together, but one of you is so much stronger than the other?  We have seen this scenario play out so many times.  The stronger spouse is holding back, putting the brakes on their speed and fun.  And the slower spouse is busting a gut – struggling to hold a pace that is much too fast.  The ride is frustrating and not much fun for either person.  After a few more attempts, the slower spouse usually gives up, leaving only the faster one to continue with the sport of bicycling.  This is where a tandem bicycle comes in handy.  A tandem is the great equalizer – allowing couples with greatly varying abilities to ride together seamlessly. 

My husband Jay and I are the perfect example.  Being a triathlete, my training miles are spread between three different sports.  As a die-hard cyclist, Jay’s miles are focused entirely on the bike, and therefore he is a much stronger cyclist.  Yet we can come together on the tandem and BOTH have a fantastic ride.

The other benefit of tandeming is the ease of talking which it provides. A couple on two single bikes can have quite the disjointed conversation what with moving back and forth to accommodate passing cars and road hazards.  With a tandem you are always together and the talking flows so much easier. From the female perspective, definitely a big plus.  But from the male perspective, I wonder, ……do you consider this a positive or a negative?????? 

Tandems have come a long way from the single speed resort bikes you rode as a kid.  The Cannondale Road 3 feature a light weight aluminum frame, has a 30-speed Shimano drive train, front and rear disc brakes, and is ready for fun for couples and families of all abilities.  It  is just one of the performance Cannondale Bikes Indianapolis, available at both Bicycle Garage Indy North and Bicycle Garage Indy South in Greenwood.

It is time to get ready for 2011 bikes - yes, 2011, and Bicycle Garage Indy has to start marking down our remaining stock of 2010 bikes.  Here are pictures and links to two of the Giant bikes we have already marked down.  Supplies are limited; some of these are the last of a size and model for 2010.   More are are listed on the Bicycle Garage Indy web site here.