Thursday Ride

Great ride today, everybody! From new riders Logan, Daniel, and Sam I noticed improvement in bike handling just during the course of the ride. Keep it up! I also want to thank the older riders for being good mentors to the new riders, and incredibly patient besides. These slower rides aren't the most exciting, but they'll pay off in the end.

Thursday ride/race tomorrow at 6:30... be sure show up well rested, fueled, and hydrated. Rob will be riding with the A group defending the lilac jersey, and Logan's gonna make someone work the get the white jersey off his back. I'd like to see some strong efforts tomorrow - don't be afraid to make tactical mistakes (that's how you learn). For the new riders, this is a chance to push yourself and get stronger. But don't neglect your bike handling skills. Everyone keep your heads up and ride safe tomorrow.

~Richard

Arizona - Washington: Day 1 - 5

So we made it! We are in Seattle baby! Well... to be exact we're in Bainbridge Island just off the cost of Seattle staying at Heidi and her husband Josh's house.

We started out Thursday morning... well more like Thursday evening. Deidra didn't get her car checked until that day, and apparently the engine was about to fall out! So in the middle of the night, I get a text saying we would have to postpone our departure. Casey, Julia, and I still met at my house waiting several hours to hear from Deidra afraid that we would have to throw in the towel with our tails between our legs accepting defeat, but at 2 o clock she called to let us know our ride was still on! Sweet.

So we leave and get to Flagstaff later that day, and its super awesome. Like really we couldn't have ended that day any better, but we also decided wouldn't it be a great idea to wake up at 3 in the morning to go try to watch the sunrise over the Grand Canyon? Yeah I know, and guess what? We missed the Grand Canyon. Yes, I know somehow we missed 1,904 square miles worth of hole in the earth. Yeah, we're pretty freaking dumb, we missed two, that's right TWO turn offs. But in all fairness, I was driving so it was to be expected.

So then we finally get into Utah, well better known as Shit-tah. Let me explain why: So we're driving around looking at Utah and from inside the car it looks nice, and we think, man its going to be cooler and there's going to be water, oh man its gonna be so sweet. Yeah right. First off, the campground we decided to stay at was like a park. It was literally just a park. We paid 20 dollars to pitch a tent.... in a park. Not only that, but a park full of RV's and we didn't even sleep there. We put up our tents, but it was still like a hundred degrees inside the tents, so we took them down. So we decided to just sleep on our sleeping bags, but seriously there were so many bugs there was absolutely no way. And by 9 o clock, the sun still hadn't gone away, so what did we do? We just said, screw it, packed up our things, and headed for Montana. But oh, it gets better. As we're maybe... 50 miles before the border between Shit-tah and Idaho, there is a freaking road block. A THREE HOUR ROAD BLOCK. A three hour road block that I was the only one conscious for. Casey at one point, woke up, looked at me and said "Did you crash and are we now in road trip hell?" and went back to sleep.

Skip Idaho.

So okay Montana. Montana, Montana, Montana. Can I just say that that is the most beautiful place in the planet? We had initially planned on staying at Logan State park, but Deidra and I were exhausted so we really didn't have the initiative to keep driving, so we found this camp ground in the middle of nowhere... and I am so happy we did. It was the most beautiful campsite. We were immersed in the trees and we had a running creek within walking distance, and although we didn't have facilities it was the coolest campground ever. Deidra and I even decided to get cleaned in the creek, but it was so cold we just ended up brushing our teeth and calling it quits. When we decided to take a walk among the mountains we realized... wow this place is covered in cow patties. Like literally... there are cow patties everywhere. And where there weren't cow patties, there definitely were gopher holes. It was pretty awesome. Anyway, we woke up to frozen tents and decided... as pretty as Montana was... this also was not the place for us.








Now Washington, I do not have enough good things to say about Washington. The first place we stayed was at a woman named Suzie's house. Before we got there we were all under the impression that we were pitching tents on her farm. Which was totally alright with all of us, but then once we arrived she was like, "we have an entire guest house for you guys". And I thought, okay maybe like a little house with like a room and a bathroom, no it was like.. a legitimate house. There was a bedroom and a bathroom and a freaking kitchen and a living room. Really it was super sweet. But not only that, in her backyard there were just trees, like everywhere. It was so beautiful, I mean aside from the occasional donkey squeel it was perfect.
The Next day we got up, and decided not to leave until like 12. Then when we got into Seattle we were all in shock. Not only is it beautiful, but as soon as we arrived in Seattle there was this wonderful smell floating through the car. I almost wanted to just take a bite out of Seattle it smelt so good. On top of that, there were ALL KINDS of cute boys. And you all know how much Julia and I love cute boys. It was pretty sweet. We visited the Pike market with Heidi and saw the gum wall, which I found totally revolting, AND we got to take the ferry. Which was pretty awesome. But upon reaching Bainbridge Island, keep in mind both the front of the boat and the car are pointing toward the Island, Deidra asks, "Am I going to have to go out in reverse?". I think it was the highlight of my day.









All and all I think the trip is going well, all the bad things that have happened we've handled like champs. And the bike rack and the car!? Ah! Can I just say that they are probabily the best bike rack and car on the planet considering all the crap they've been through. Also, we probabily would have gotten lost so many times without Tom Tom, this GPS system. Really its the most amazing thing on the planet.

We also found a gnome... we named him Kevin.



Alright, well we've got to go to bed because we're actually gonna start biking tomorrow, I know its crazy. I feel like the journey kind of ends in Seattle, but then I'm kinda shocked when I realized we really haven't even started our adventure. I'm a little bit freaked out, it's gonna be awesome.

Well night guys! Talk to you in a couple days.

Monday Activities

I will be doing some hill repeats up A Mountain on Monday morning starting at 7am from Ignacio's house. Anyone is welcome to join me. It should be about a 1.5 hour ride at most.

Later on Monday, I'll be tuning El Grupo bikes at Fair Wheel. Again, anyone is welcome to join (Donovan!). Meet me there at 6:30pm if you're interested.

~Richard

Better Late Than NeverThursday Ride Recap

Rob took the lilac jersey from Alex Strickland in last week's points race/ride in an impressive show of force from the B Group. The ride had good attendance, with new riders, friends, and coaches all putting in good efforts. I think we all had fun and nobody got hurt.

A miscalculation by the A group allowed both Rob and Nick to stay up the road to gobble up points on the Greasewood and A Mountain sprints, with Rob taking first at each. This Thursday showed that it is indeed possible for someone in the B group to win the overall, which is exciting. Also exciting is the fact that Rob will have to suffer with the A group next week!

Logan was awarded the most aggressive jersey for his performance in the A group, a third place sprint at Ironwood Hills, and a strong attempt at the Greasewood sprint, where no points were actually on the line. Oops.

Here's the sprint points breakdown:
Ironwood Hills
1st(3) Richard
2nd(2) Alex
3rd(1) Logan

Starr Pass
1st(2) Richard
2nd(1) Alex

Greasewood
1st(3) Rob
2nd(2) Nick
3rd(1) Matthew

A Mountain
1st(4) Rob
2nd(3) Alex
3rd(2) Mike
4th(1) Richard

Totals
(7) Rob
(6) Alex
(6) Richard
(2) Nick
(2) Logan
(2) Mike
(1) Matthew

~Richard

Max is at is again

Hey everybody Max is back at Nationals and riding well. He is posting with Mike at tucsonvelo.com so check out his posts and respond if you like. Have a great summer.

Adios!

Well, we’re finally leaving! I know, you are all super excited to have us out of your hair, and to quit hearing about this stupid bike trip we plan on going on. Well, bad news guys, Ignacio and Daniela have given us our own logins for the blog. So I’m afraid you’re going to have to hear from us for our entire trip. Yup, that’s right, every grimy, gross, hilarious, sad detail we will be posting right here on this blog. And I know, it’s not as good as seeing our pretty faces in person, but it’ll have to suffice for the time being.

For those of you who are reading this and have no idea what I’m talking about, Thursday morning at 7 am Julia, myself, and our friends Deidra and Casey plan on taking a 5 day drive up to Seattle, Washington. Then Julia and I plan on biking from Bainbridge Island (just out side of Seattle) to San Francisco . That is a total of about 1,000 miles, or one month’s worth of biking. I know, just take a second to bask in the awesomeness of that idea.

Anyway, we’ve been preparing for this for almost a year, and we would have not been able to accomplish this without the help of certain people. For those of us who helped train us, and fund us, and just plain allowed us to do such a thing, (Our Parents, El Grupo, The El Grupo Board, and Perimeter Bicycling for giving Julia and I jobs for the summer, and hey why not throw in GABA for allowing us to do free practice bike tours) we owe you guys a humungous thank you! This really is the opportunity of a lifetime, and without you guys we probably wouldn’t even make it to Astoria before turning around. Well we’ve got to be heading out, but Julia’s got something sweet and mushy to say before we go:

Of course I would be the one to write something sweet because everyone knows I’m an incredibly sweet person, but truthfully Ashley is right because I’m really bad at writing goodbyes that aren’t mushy. I mean, it’s not as if we’ll never see any of you guys again (you can’t get rid of us!), we totally wanna come back and tell you all about our [mis]adventures, but it seems to be finally sinking in for me that we are going to self-sufficiently ride our bikes down the west coast when I never would have dreamed we could do it a year ago. Or six months ago, really. It just kind of blows my mind to think of how much more we can do now and it was because of the help of El Grupo and all of our friends. So yeah, thanks guys. I guess I should go brush my teeth now because the sweetness might give me cavities. - Julia

Thanks Again Everybody, especially Julia for that lame joke. See you guys in August!

Happy Father's Day Coach and all El Grupo Dads and Mentors!

Today, Ignacio and Daniela had a different type of practice which included swimming at Stone Curves and different games in the water. It was a lot of fun and of course, food was involved. Let's do it again!

As an El Grupo parent, I am very grateful to each coach for providing all of our riders such wonderful guidance and mentoring. Happy Father's Day!

Lance takes 2nd in the Tour of Switzerland!

Not bad for a 38-year-old (he's even older than Christian!). July is looking good!

Kramer's Birthday Today

Yup that's right, our man Kramer is now a bonafide adult. Old enough to vote, get a gun, and join the Peace Corps. I have known this young man for a while now and I pretty excited to see who he has become. So give him a call or find him and tell him HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! He has been working at RAAM for the last two weeks but should be back around pretty soon.

Sunday June 19th Practice

Meet at the clubhouse at 9am.

We are going to go swimming at Logan's house, so bring something to swim in. I hope to see you all there.

I am going to ride in plain clothes and have a bag with me with my swim stuff and towel. It is a short ride to his house, no more than 20 minutes.

I will probably leave his house around 11am with Daniela and Damiano. If you want to ride back with us great. If not you will know the way.

Ignacio

This is why we practice bumping drills...

Stage 4 of the Tour de Suisse.

Trials Riding on a Race Bike!

Holy cow! This is pretty amazing if you don't pay attention to the music! Make sure to watch all the way to the end!

Points Race Thursday Mornings

Just like last week and every week here after. The Points Race shall become a Tucson tradition like snow on cactus.

The route: The same as it has been for centuries now. It has been called the fixed loop, the thursday morning ride, but now it shall be the Points race.

Start time: 6:30am sharp leaving time.

Objective: Score more points than anyone else or show more guts than anyone else.

Why: Because there are two jerseys that can be won, and these will be coveted pieces of material by the time we are done. To wear this will give you cred like Snoop Dog, and it will be know across the desert.

The Jerseys:
Points winner-- Flat out whoever wins the most points gets it.
Current holder- Alex Strickland

Most Aggressive-- Who ever goes above and beyond expectations and full on rides with guts to be seen. The winner of this jersey is determined by the riders and coaches at the top of A Mountain at the end of the ride.
Current holder- Marcos Esparza

How are points scored:

Iron Wood Hills - 3, 2, 1
Star Pass Hotel Cactus- 2, 1
Greesewood Hill Sprint- 3, 2, 1
A Mountain- 4, 3, 2, 1

Tie breakers shall be settled on the Mountain. Just like the first time the two will go down to the fork in the A and will climb for the prize.

This ride is for the experienced riders and should be a huge goal for incoming riders to be able to contest for these jerseys.

YARD SALE PREPARATIONS

You all should be looking around the house, asking parents for permission, gathering stuff that will sell for our fundraiser yard sale this Saturday. Please start bringing that to the clubhouse, if possible, this Thursday and Friday.

We need your help to organize stuff then on Thursday and Friday. We will need to price stuff and figure out how we want to arrange everything.

We really need your help on this from everyone. We want to get you to Durango and this is a big part of it.

Thursday let just hang after practice and do some stuff.

Friday lets meet at 10am and put the finishing touches on stuff.

Also thanks to all for helping the other night putting the bikes together. we have 7 bikes now ready for sale.

Tell everyone you know to come buy something from us on Saturday.

We will have bikes, computers, some bike clothes and parts, microwaves, all sorts of stuff so come find something you did not know you needed.

Ignacio

Max at Camp

I want to let you all know that Max is keeping a diary of his experience at camp with Mike Mckisson and the tucsonvelo web site. I would really like for all of you to follow it and comment, so that Max knows we are thinking of him and supporting him.

check it out here

ignacio

Quest for Camp

Check out the video made by students from "The Chronicle", a magazine put out by the U of A's Journalism Diversity Workshop. Thanks and props to you for putting the video together so very quickly.

Also check out the itinerary:
FLC MTB Development Camp

Mon. 7/26 3-5:00pm Arrivals and Registration - Dinner
7:00-10:00 Orientation and Introductions

Tues. 7/27 7:00-9:00 Wake up, breakfast, prep.
9:00- 12:00 Pre ride XC and HCTT Race courses
12:00 Lunch at Camp
1:00 Presentation – Training Plans – Matt Shriver
6:00 Dinner
7:00 Presentation – Bike Fit – Dr. Ryan Siggins

Wed. 7/28 7:00-9:00 Wake up, breakfast, prep.
9:00 Ride – Durango Mtn. Park
12:00 Lunch at Camp
1:00 Presentation – Core Conditioning – Elke Brutsaert
4:00 Leave for DMR Short Track race
5:30 & 6:30 DMR Short Track Races
8:00 Dinner at Zia Taqueria

Thurs. 7/29 7:00-8:30 Wake up, breakfast, prep.
9:00 Hill Climb TT – Telegraph Trail – Ride other Trails
12:00 Lunch at Camp
1:00 Presentation – Sponsorship/Professionalism – Travis Brown
4:00 Presentation – Nutrition – Shonny Vanlandingham
6:00 Dinner
7:00 Skills Sessions – Chad Cheeney

Fri. 7/30 7:00-9:00 Wake up, breakfast, prep, pack.
9:00 Ride Dry Fork/Colorado Trail
12:00 Lunch at Trailhead
1:00 Presentation – Road Racing – Chris Wherry At The Hub
3:00 Depart to Camp for Hermosa Off-Road Classic

Sat. 7/31 6:00 Wake up, breakfast, prep.
7:00 Depart for Hermosa Off-Road Classic Start
9:00-12:00 Race Hermosa Off-Road
2:00 Depart back to AZ

This is an INCREDIBLY SPECIAL OPPORTUNITY for El Grupo youth participants. More than just mountain biking, they will get a taste of what it is like to be a collegiate cyclist.

More info on our "yard sale" next weekend will be posted this week.

Please help El Grupo get to Durango!

El Grupo is holding a bake sale every Saturday morning starting around 8am to raise funds to send 8 riders to a mountain bike training camp in Durango, CO at the end of July. The bake sale is in the Geronimo Plaza next to Starbucks east of Euclid on University...after the Shootout. We are half-way there....can you help? All donations are tax-deductible.

sunday Practice June 13th

Bike ride

What-- Something fun. About 2 hours.

When-- 6:30am start

Why-- Because Italy plays New Zealand on the 20th next sunday, and I will not miss it. So we swim next week.

Ignacio

Happy 14th Birthday, Logan!

I hope you have a fantastic day. Your friends and bike(s) are waiting for you!

Was that a vintage Gilmour?

More Birthdays YEAH!!!!

Ashley is now a bonafide old lADDY,

and Richard is yes just another old dude.

Happy birthday to the two of you!!!!

Yes the first pictures is of Richard he is just to fast to capture on film.

3rd New post of the night

This is a huge THANK YOU to GABA, and to the whole team.

Why? Well on every GABA over night bike trip the volunteers that work so hard during the event to make it super easy and fun for us get paid in GABA bucks. The Luna Lake bike ride of this past week was no exception.

However last night at the GABA meeting that Daniela, myself, Damiano, and Kramer attended we were presented with $250 worth of GABA bucks. Every volunteer on the trip donated their whole pay of GABA bucks to our team.

This is a direct result of the awesome team that all you kids are. This makes me as proud or prouder of any race result or cycling goal you have put to yourself. You are a part of something great and as great as you want it to be, well it is for you to decide.

I am very proud of the kids on this team, and I will never expect any different than what I saw, heard about, and experienced on this last trip.

Ignacio

Thanks again to GABA, the Cullops, the board at GABA, and everyone else that makes that organization tick and run. We love it!!!

Happy B'Day Hunter

Yes that's right our new and much esteemed coach Hunter King is one year wiser, smarter and cuter today. If you know his mom and dad tell them well done. Because I have come to learn this year that Birthdays are not solitary events about one person.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!
Nacho, Daniela, and Damiano

Bake Sale!!!

This Saturday the 12th of June we will be having our second bake sale to help everyone attain their summers trip.

Max is going to Nationals again and will need some help.

Julia and Ashley are going on their bike tour Seattle to San Fransisco.

The rest of the team has been invited to attend a MTB development camp in Durango, Colorado at Ft. Lewis College.

So to raise the funds last week we tried and succeeded in having a bake sale after the shoot out in the Geronimo Plaza. We raised $144. Not bad for a first time shot in the dark. Since it went so well and people were so nice we have decided to try and do it every weekend after the shoot out from here until the last trip of the team which is the Durango trip that leaves the 25th of July.

BAKE SALE!!

When- this saturday 12th of June

Why- because we want to go fun places and ride our bikes

What time- Set up between 7:30-8am. Riders start to trickle in at 8:15ish.

Hope to see you all there. Also if you are not a shoot outer but want to support us GREAT!! Just come by and buy a cheap, home made treat, or bring us a treat that we can sell.

thanks
ignacio

Week of June 7th 2010

Monday- GABA meeting 7pm start arrive around 6:30 pm if you want to put in work trade hours.

Tuesday- 6am morning ride. Meets super sharp at the of Euclid and University. Same place as the shoot out so if you want to leave stuff on my porch and shower here after wards than, I think that is great. This is a super fast ride for the big guns, but that said I think everyone who wants to go should, its a great test of self for sure. Even you Lizzy I would recommend to go, seeing speed will help you know how fast you too can go. Everyone can give this a shot, however it is unsupported. You will know the route and I will wait for you at the top of Gates, and I will help on the ride but once your off your off.

Wednesday- Group long tempo ride. Starts at 6:30am. Be on time, sharp please, I want to leave at 6:30am.

Thursday- 6:30am start. Fixed loop. Points race. Winner gets the prize.

Friday- OFF----OFF-------OFF

Saturday- Shoot Out Old Man Style. Start at my house super sharp 5:45 am. Show up at 5:50 and you are with the big boys that start at 6am. SHARP. Again this ride can be done by everyone and is unsupported.

BAKE SALE Same as last week, after the ride we will be having a bake sale.

Sunday- Unknown, maybe MTB. I will listen to riders as to what you want to do. Or maybe we find a pool to SWIM!!

Here's proof that Logan is keeping up his cycling chops while he is in Denver......


Logan showing aero skill.




Honestly, he is missing cycling and his bike BAD!

Thanks U of A Cycling Team

Judy Jenkins of the team and a very fast rider in her own right just stopped my house to drop off a box of unclaimed prizes from the Campus Crit race.

We got over 25 water bottles, and a huge box of gels and xood drink.

A pretty nice surprise for sure, seeing as how we none left at all around the club house and I had just asked a friend if there was anything like that lying around the Carmicheal office. Funny how things just work sometimes.

THANKS U OF A CYCLING TEAM!!!!!

Luna Lake Old School

I just posted about this years, but then I remembered I had pictures from years ago. Hope you recognize some of the folks: