Cycle Logic Take 1st, 3rd, 4th at Lake Louisa

Competing in the very wet B’s race at Lake Louisa on Tuesday, June 19 were Steve DeRoche, James Penrod, Josh Pittman, and Veronica Geist.

Cycle Logic made a good effort to diminish the spirits and legs of the other competitors on this hilly course, while immediately answering any accelerations and breaks. Although a few riders were dropped in the process, many stayed integrated in the pack and tried their best to do battle with the Orange and Grey at the end. In the uphill sprint, Steve DeRoche walked away with his 1st place finish, James battled for second, but ended up with 3rd, and Josh (although initiating the final jump to the line) came in with a 4th place finish. Veronica was happy to finish nipping at the heals of her teammates with the rest of the field.

Congratulations to all, you all worked well.

JP/ CL

FL. State TT Championships

The Florida State Time Trial Championships were held this past weekend just east of Lake City. The course was flat, fast, with very little wind, and almost completely traffic-free.

Cycle Logic Teammate Veronica Geist came out of the woodwork to show off her time trialing skills. With a time of 1:07:08 for the 40K course, she came in with a 4th place finish in the Women’s Category 4 field. WELCOME BACK BABY!!

James Penrod also raced, and when asked how he fared, he was quoted as saying “I didn’t get last place”. Further research through Floridacycling.com confirmed this to be a true statement.

Congratulations to Vern and James!!

FLORIDA STATE ROAD RACE CHAMPIONSHIPS

What a tough race!

This year, the Florida State Road Race Championships were held at a new venue in Ocala, Florida. Although a departure from the Tallahassee location of past, the rolling hills took it’s toll on many of the riders. Probably the most menacing challenge of the weekend was the 100 degree heat, which took it’s toll on everybody, spectators and riders alike.

I would like to thank everyone that showed for their support, as well as many of the Cycle Logic teammates that volunteered their time, cars, and significant others to the cause. I can’t say enough about volunteering for these events because if there are no volunteers, the quality, quantity, and safety of the races will diminish.

This year, the races were spread over two days. Saturday hosted the age-group riders, and Sunday’s event included the category riders. Our up and coming super star Justin Pfaff performed superbly on the hilly, overheated course on Saturday to gain a 3rd place finish in the Junior 10-12 race. If you didn’t get a chance to ride this course, trust me it was no joke. We’re all really proud of you Justin.

Sunday, Cycle Logic had riders in the Women’s 1-2-3, Men Category 4, and Men Category 5 races.

Rachel Hallum gave it all she had in the Women’s race to finish 12th in a much smaller field than us men are used to competing in. If you’re unfamiliar with racing in a pack, it is a much harder race when there are only 10-15 people racing than with a pack of 50-75 people. Drafting becomes an issue, especially when riders start dropping off. Congratulations Rachel.

The Men’s Category 4 race included Paul Messal, James Penrod, Scott Pfaff, Roger Montes, and Steve DeRoche. With the race starting at 1:00 in the afternoon, and the temperature rising near 100 degrees, we all knew hydration was going to be an issue. Thankfully, we had some great support with Joshua Pittman managing the support in the Cycle Logic feed zone. With the combination of the hills, the heat, and the squirrely riders in the pack, we lost a few riders half way through the race, but James and Steve stuck in the pack to see how they would fare at the end of the race. Unfortunate results were had by both unfortunately: James took an unsuccessful flyer off the front on the last hill before the finish, opening a gap that just couldn’t be sustained on the 40+ mph approach to the finish line. Steve, in hopes of getting to show off his sprint, got bumped off the road at about 300 yards from the finish, and although an accomplished mountain biker, and excellent bike handler, he chose not to sprint for the finish in the grass, and through the spectators tents.

The Men’s Category 5 race included Anthony Hutton, and new Cycle Logic teammate Regan Woodall. For some reason, the hills didn’t seem to affect our two mountain biking cat5-ers, probably because their used to climbing.
Local Gainesville Cycling Club member, "Naked Ed", and new addition to Team Cycle Logic, Regan Woodall, warm up prior to the start of the Cat. 5 race.
Regan looked poised to stay off the front at the beginning of the race, with a gap opening after the first lap, but the pack closed the gap, and the group finished together. Unfortunate results again cursed the Cycle Logic riders. Apparently a rider that was not competing in the race somehow got caught up in the pack, forcing riders to scramble out of the way of the slower rider, resulting in a chain reaction that sent several riders rolling along the asphalt at 35+ mph. Thankfully, Anthony and Regan were not injured, but both suffered in their placings due to the wreck. Anthony still pulled out a 5th place finish, and Regan 10th. Good job guys.



We look forward to seeing everybody at the next race.

Keep the rubber side down.

JP/ CL

Magnets & Banners & Magnets Oh my!

Team Cycle Logic is going to be well-represented at this weekends State Championship Road Race in Ocala. Not only will we have a full Catagory 4 team, but Team Cycle Logic members are pitching in to make sure that the race production goes off without a hitch.

There will be Cycle Logic team members marshalling corners of the course, driving wheel trucks and driving USCF officials around throughout the weekend. Due to our volunteering with the races, we will be able to display our team banner at the start/finish line. What team banner you ask? The team banner that our sponsor, Quality Banner, is printing for us. see above image

In addition to the beautiful banner flying the Orange and Gray at the S/F line...you'll also see the official cars and wheel trucks that are driven by us bearing our logo as well. James and Paul put together some Cycle Logic car magnets for use this weekend and should be a nice compliment to all the Cycle Logic marketing that will be going on.

If you are racing, watching or especially volunteering this weekend; be sure to wear your Cycle Logic team T-shirt or team jersey or your vest/jacket. The more exposure the better...this is, after all, a hometown race.

Out For A Ride

Over a year in the making, and three code frameworks later, Out For A Ride is finally ready for public consumption. Tell all your friends!

***Keep in mind that this is ALPHA, the designers/programmers haven't even made it to BETA yet, so there will be tons more features coming in the future.

This is a site that I've been helping to test over the past few months. Created by Stephen Hallgren aka "Teevio", a designer/cyclist from the Boston area. Out For A Ride is a great place to log your rides, your routes, what gear you ride with, what bikes you ride on as well as plenty of ability to chat, leave comments and basically socialize online with like-minded cyclists.

Still in it's infancy, Out For A Ride will only continue to grow. This is our opportunity to get in on the ground floor and be some of its early members. Out For A Ride was only made public today and already is attracting cyclists from all over the country.

Out For A Ride would be the perfect place for all of us to see what, where and how much we all are riding. For those of you who decide to check it out and see what Out For A Ride is, leave a comment here and let the rest of us know what your "Out For A Ride screen name" is. If you're curious, you can check out what I've ridden the past couple of weeks by looking up "PMESS". I've also uploaded our team kit image in my "Gear" section...check it out.

Hope to see you guys there!

How about that Helmet?

I recently came across this image of Floyd racing at the 2007 Teva Mountain Games and couldn't help but notice how nicely his Giro Atmos would compliment our own Cycle Logic kits.

I searched around and found that the kit Floyd is wearing in this picture belongs to Memphis Velo. I have made a couple of inquiries as to the origination of the above mentioned Atmos with the beautiful orange and gray color scheme and will fill ya'll in if anything comes from it.

In the meantime, if anybody knows how we can get our hands on those...let me know.

Team Potluck Banquet - Who's In?

The idea has been tossed around regarding a Team Potluck Dinner/ Banquet.

Josh Pittman has been so kind as to allow us to use his house, located centrally in Ocala, just off of the interstate which makes for easy access for all.

Activities at Hacienda de Pittman include foose-ball, pool, and ping-pong inside, and horseshoes outside. I hear Josh was blessed with a rather large deck as well, if anyone just wants to sit and chill with their favorite beverage.

Families and kids are welcome.

Anyway, I was thinking of getting everyone together one weekend in July, but I need dates when everyone is available or not available so we can have as many teammates and their families attending as possible.

Once we figure out the date, we’ll organize who is bringing what.

Please either respond in the comments section of the blog, or e-mail me at jamesnvern@embarqmail.com.

JP/ CL

Ed Sabol Does The Disney Half Ironman!!

Cycle Logic's Ed Sabol competed in the Disney Half Ironman on May 20, 2007.
The competition consisted of a 1.2 mile swim, followed by a 56 mile bike, and
finished with a half marathon run of 13.1 miles.

Ed's times were:
swim38:37
Bike2:27:51 (22.7mph avg)
Run1:55:57 (8:51 minute average pace)
Total time 5:07:27 (Okay, the total of the three don't add up, but they didn't have the results down to the thousandths of a second)

Ed placed 313 out 2048 that finished
67 out of 387 in his age group.

Congratulations Ed!!

You can see pictures of Ed here:

Scott's Tallahassee recap

I had a good weekend Justin had a great weekend.

We both did all three events Crit., TT and Road Race.

I was able to finish in the pack sprint in both the Criterium and the Road Race and hold my own in the Time Trial. There were a few guys in the Time Trial that I wasn’t even close to but I was within 15-20 seconds of most guys. The Road Race was pretty darn hard there were very few flat spots on the course and it seemed like there were attacks on all of the climbs. There were some sections that were slower so you at least had a chance to recover some before the next attack came. We only shelled a couple of guys out the back on the last lap so it stayed together most of the way. There were two guys who got away on the last lap, we held them for a little while but they had team mates with radios and as soon as you would try to bridge up they knew it and they put the hammer down to keep it away. It was a good race to see how much pain you could put up with, it’s the first time my quads started to cramp in the sprint, but then again I sprint like maple syrup coming out of a maple tree J The Criterium course was great it only had one turn and it was just before a little rise which was about 200 yards before the finish line. Four guys got away about midway through the race and they ended up staying away and taking the podium spots. We worked hard to bring them back but we just didn’t have the firepower to do it. With about 3 laps to go it became clear we weren’t getting any closer so everyone started jockeying for position to be ready for the sprint.

Scott's Results:

12th in the Crit.
10th in the TT
14th in the Road Race

Justin’s Results

1st in the Criterium
1st or 2nd Time Trial The times for this were all messed up and they didn’t have it fixed by the time we left.
1st Road Race
1st Omnium

Justin rode very strong in all of his events; he stayed with the 13/14 year old juniors in both the Criterium and the Road Race. He worked very hard in the Road Race to stay with them through all the hills he said that the attacks were very hard and he was just barely able to hang on with them. If you look at the picture of the Road Race finish check out how BIG some of these kids are. I was VERY proud of his racing this weekend. As a result of him winning a race I was forced to let him shave his legs. I thought for sure he would not be shaving his legs until next year. This was the very first thing he said after the Criterium, “Can I shave my legs tonight?”. I would suggest that anybody wanting to participate in a great event put this one on your calendar for next year.

Scott

Cycle Logic Takes 2nd at Lake Louisa

Cycle Logic’s James Penrod took 2nd place in the B’s race at the Lake Louisa Circuit Series opener Tuesday evening.

The course was a rolling series of hills, with an uphill climb to the finish, and head winds up the hill at what must have been 20+ mph. James battled it out in the three man break to nip Team 19 at the line in the final moments.

I’m hoping to see more Cycle Logic Riders at the next race to be held June 19. Races go off at 7:00, so be there early to register and warm up. Race flyer can be found here.

JP/ CL

Cycle Logic Goes to The State Crit Championships

I have to first say thank you to Paul for informing us of the course layout. The hill was a wicked killa, just as he said.

The course was short, and smooth, with a nice incline to the finish line. That ‘nice’ incline, however turned ugly after a few bouts at over 20mph on the back of the pack. Josh and myself couldn’t take too much of that, but a few of our riders faired very well.

In the AM, Justin Pfaff took the bronze medal in the junior’s 10-12 race. His stellar performance may have been aided by his brand new Scott CR1 bike. *see more of Justin here, here and here.

In the early afternoon, Anthony Hutton positioned himself in the Category 5 race to battle against the hill and the other front runners in a dead sprint starting from the bottom, and extending all the way to the finish line to gain 5th place.

Our newest Category 4 rider, Mr. Steve DeRoche (NOT Deleroche), stayed in the pack to the end against the urging of his ailing body, and somehow pulled out a 5th place finish. With a single rider off the front of the main pack, and another single rider off the front chasing the leader, Steve battled it out to cross the line 3rd in the main pack.

Congratulations to all of our racers. You all deserve it.

Remember the State Road Race is coming up June 9 & 10, and Cycle Logic is paying the entries. Check Floridacycling.com for details.

JP/ CL

Cycle Logic Gets 5th at Muddy Buddy Orlando!!

I just had to share this one.

Muddy Buddy is a 6 mile course completed by two person teams.  The teams begin the race together, one on a bike (Mt. Bike) and one running.  After each mile, the teammates switch off after completing the obstacle at that point.

The race is done just for fun, and it shows in the costumes worn by the contestants.

 

Representing Cycle Logic was our very own Veronica Geist and James Penrod who got 5th in their class of 74 teams.

(and all of those race numbers came in quite handy, as you can see)

NEWS FLASH: Win #2 for Cycle Logic!!!

One of our Category 5 riders, Steve DeRoche won the Ferndale Criterium this past weekend!!

With a couple breaks and bridges off the front of the pack, it was amazing that he had the energy to sprint it out in the end, but he broke away through the last corner, and won by several seconds.

Congratulations to Steve, and all of our riders that participated in this past weekend’s races.

Our two ‘Ants’ (Mussalo and Hutton) both braved the grueling Sugarloaf Road Race on Saturday.
Anthony Hutton finished in 14th, on the heals of the lead pack of Cat 5 under 35 riders..

Participants Sunday included Cat 5 racers Steve DeRoche, Anthony Hutton, and Michael ‘B-Mac’ Brown, as well as Cat 4 racers James Penrod and Josh Pittman.

On a side note, as many of you may or may not know, Ron ‘Baldy-Locks’ Palsgrove has been out of racing commission due to a strained back that has taken him off of his bike for the past 4 weeks. He has been mobile, but concentrating on recovery before getting back on his bike. He completed a 25 mile ride this weekend, and has vowed to try a 3 day per week regimen to gain his strength back.

I’m sure we are all anticipating a speedy return to racing for Ron.

JP-CL

LET'S GET RACING!!

OK,

First, just a little bit of an update on the happenings with Team Cycle Logic:

 

Cycle Logic’s Newest Fan

One and a half weeks ago, Team Cycle Logic and the Gator Nation welcomed the birth of it’s newest member and fan; Reese Addison Messal born in the early hours of April 13, 2007.  Congratulations to Paul and Jennifer.  The last I heard Mom, Dad, and Baby Messal were doing quite well, and Paul was pricing race wheels for the stroller.  I’m sure ‘someone’ will post pictures of the beautiful baby with her Cycle Logic onesey on very soon.

 

Jacksonville Race Weekend

We had a couple racers brave the wind and rainy conditions at the Jacksonville Race Weekend.

Justin Pfaff got 3rd in Saturday’s Crit, he is listed as 4th in Sunday’s Road Race (although I’ve heard he actually got 3^rd) in the Junior 10-12 division.

Scott Pfaff competed both days as well, getting into the results with a 23^rd in Sunday’s Road Race (right on the tails of some VERY strong riders, I might add).

Congratulations to both.  That wind was no joke!!

 

Alright, Who’s Ready To Race?

The next race on the schedule is the Sugarloaf Road Race which races up the front side of the infamous Sugarloaf Mountain Road.  With 900 feet of climbing per lap, and multiple climbs up the front side of Sugarloaf (the tough side), this is one buggar of a race.  If you think you’re a climber, THIS ONE IS FOR YOU!!

Sunday’s circuit race is right down the street, but is very flat (seriously), through winding tree lined roads in the lovely town of Ferndale.

This should be a great race weekend, and with the close proximity to Ocala and Leesburg, we should have a good showing for fans and racers alike.

 

Six Gap Century – September 30, 2007

Rodrigo, if you’re still reading the blog, we miss you.  I’ve heard rumor that Rodrigo is hoping to attend the Six Gap Century in September, located in the North Ga. mountains.  For everyone that missed the Tour de Georgia trip, this is in the same area, and the 100 mile ride incorporates 6 mountain climbs with a total altitude gain of approximately 10,000 feet!!  I know others are interested, and if we can get enough people, we should be able to get a great rate on a cabin or house.

 

Cycling Caps/ Re-sized Jerseys

Paul will have to update us on the caps, but I believe we still have a couple more weeks before those arrive.

I am expecting the re-sized jerseys to be on my doorstep this afternoon (April 24, 2007).  I will contact those that requested re-sizing when they arrive.

 

That’s all I got for now.

Keep the black side down.

GO CL!!

 

JP/CL

 

Team Kit Re-sizing Update

Many of you have asked “where in the world are our team kits that were sent out to be re-sized?”

Well, I have an answer for all of your inquiring minds…kind of.

I spoke to Cesar at Z Bikewear last night, and he informed me that a shipment is sitting in customs right now, but he has not received the documentation describing it’s contents. He feels confident that our gear is included, in which case we should have the re-sized kits by April 13.

I should be able to provide further information by Tuesday, April 10.

I appreciate everyone’s patience.

Go Orange and Gray!!

JP-CL