Team Bicycle Station: It's Here! It's Here!

While we were sloshing through snow, Mother Nature decided to sneak some Spring into the mix bringing in some pretty fine weather for bicycle racing. Team Bicycle Station was well represented last weekend in Indiana & North Carolina.

Weight Weenie, Mike Blanz, sent some great pics from the DINO Spring Tune-Up in Avon. The short course has a little bit of everything--hills, technical spots, and some smooth paths to enable racers to test out their legs. The Bicycle Station team comprised new member, Kevin Burnett, Denny Barber, and Mike B.

Welcome, Kevin!

And it sure is nice to see Denny's name on the results after last year's threats of no racing; we sure would have missed Martha.

Mike took the top spot on the podium in the 1A race while Kevin & Denny proved they will be major threats this year as well. Great job, guys! Results are here.

Here are some pics...

This sled weighs in at 18.4 lbs. Is this a new record????

Mike B is determined!

Mike B rounding the corner while being cheered on by his #1 fan, Benjamin.

Meanwhile, I (Angela) was fortunate enough to have a chauffer, my husband, to drive me to North Carolina for the Knobscorcher race in the Tsali Recreation Area. Also sporting the new Bicycle Station kit (see Mike's photo above), Dave McComb joined Matt B & myself for this venue.

I should point out that Noah had the best finish for the Team in the kids race with a 4th place finish. Great job, Noah!!!! Great job, especially when he had the earliest start with temps will in the 30s.

The weather was perfect as we set out for one of the longest XC events I've ever done. At just over 30.5 miles, this course is tough. In addition to the pine branches that hit the riders' faces periodically--they weren't trimmed back--total climbing for the race was around 2500 feet according to my GPS. My legs were burning. Of course, all that climbing also provided some sweet descents with bermed corners. The course is truly remarkable and worthy of a road trip.

Course map--1 outer loop followed by 1 lap of the right.

With temptations strong and trails calling our names, our gang--including Jason & Melissa--rode many miles in the days leading up to the race. This made for some sore legs at the start, but with the weather and trails in super condition, it really couldn't be helped. Next year's plan is to race first then spend a few days riding! Any takers??

For my own race report, I'll share how ecstatic I was to catch a couple of girls in the last 2 miles. It was so painful, but knowing the last 1.5 miles was a long gravel road descent with super high speeds, I had to pass them on the hill before this. I was able to pick off one of them but lacked the gas to catch the second one. Drat! Nevertheless, it was a strong finish for me and I didn't cry this time of total relief at being finished. (True story--in the 2008 Knobscorcher race I was so happy it was over when I crossed the finish line I teared up.)

Results and some pics can be found on the Gone Riding website. Additionally, there are some links to pics and a Facebook page for the organizers.

Below are some pics from North Carolina. Great job, Team, on a fun-filled weekend!

Dave, Angela, & Matt--all smiles before the start.