Joe and Erin take the show on the Road............

Joe and Erin Headed down to The Green Brier AMBC in Maryland this past weekend. Erin won her Expert class while Joe battled it out with the Semi-Pro class for a hard earned 12th. Race report and Pics below.

Great job guys and not a bad way to break in the new team kits.....

Joberon:

Greenbrier Challenge AMBC, Boonsboro, MD. Erin and I, along with the Simonsters(Trek Midwest), made the marathon journey to Maryland this past weekend for the Greenbrier Challenge. In an effort to qualify for Nationals and improve our technical ridingskills for Mt. Snow in July we decided the long drive was justified. In the end we were in the car about 15 hours and on the bike 3. Including Saturdays pre ride and Sundays race. Yeah, not a good balance I agree.We do, however, think the trip was worth it. The course was fantastic and the event was run really well. The turn out was large and the competition was stiff. Saturday night brought torrential downpours to this lush very hilly region. This was only going to make an alreadytechnical course twice the challenge for race day. With me taking my first crack at the Semi-Pro's and Erin rollin' Expert we didn't start racing until 2PM. My hope was that this would allow for the course to dry up a bit. As we were preparing for our event we could see that wasn't the case. Beginner and Sport riders were coming off the trailsoaking wet and covered from head to toe in mud. A good test for sweet new Quiring bikes and slick new team kits I suppose. I rolled up to the line after a nice warm up with Mike and Erin. In front of my Semi-Pro group were the Pro men. I was surrounded by fierce, lean and mean looking athletes. I wasn't sure what to expect besides pain. A minute after the Pro men launched our group was off and immediately up a longclimb. Long for a Michigander anyway. The start was very fast and the pressure was on the entire first lap of four. I held my own on the climb then things started to get interesting. The entire 5 mile loop is quite technical. Which is one thing going up. But when you're screaming down a hill...it's an entirely different story. Rocks, roots, logs, muck. This course has it all. I struggled a bit but kept it upright not allowing too many passes. I survived the first lap and had a couple riders in my sights going into lap two. I was hovering around the top 10. I was trying to find some sort of rhythm and not blow up. On a course like this that can be quite a task. For all of lap two I tried to stay within reach of the couple Semi-Pro's ahead. There was basically zero recovery on this course therefore I didn't feel I had the power to chase. I could only hold my pace and hope for the best. Lap three I felt a little more fluid and smooth. I was able to catch a few riders but still didn't have the legs to really dig. Rounding the start/finish for the fourth and final lap the fatigue was setting in. Every section of trail worked me over. Especially due to the rain and wet conditions. I didn't panic. Just put it in cruise control not redlining even once. I cleaned the last rocky down hill better than I had in the laps prior and rolled across the line in 12th. I wanted to crack the top ten but it wasn't meant to be. Overall I'm satisfied with my performance and ability to ride the tricky stuff. It really makes MTB racin' around here feel like a road race. Erin ended up having a fantastic race winning her class and having the 2nd fastest Expert Woman time on the day. Way to go Erin! Way to go Bell's Brewery/Quiring Cycles MTB Squad. Another successful racing weekend down the hatch. See you at the next one.

Joberon

ERIN: ERACERS NEW RIDE !

1st Place @ Greenbrier Challenge AMBC Race April 27th,2008

We started the 8 hour drive to Frederick,MD at 8am Saturday morning. On the Ohio turnpike, we bridged up to & continued caravanning with the Simonsters the rest of the way to Maryland. The drive went well, as did the 2 lap pre ride, because the darkening sky’s held out until we were done with both. Later that evening, Mike, Mitch, Joe & I got cleaned up & went to a local steak house for dinner. In the midst of conversation, I happened to notice water streaming from the ceiling in a few spots...hmmm. I looked out the window to find it raining as hard as rain can possibly fall. Instantly my mind started flashing images of how the trail would look for the race. Like little glimpses into the future, I saw everything I’d seen earlier but it was all wet & covered in mud. Normally I would’ve started to freak out a bit, but not this time... ‘cuz I’ve got the new machine with me! My beautiful Quiring equipped w/(amongst other wonderful amenities) DISC BRAKES! Disc brakes you say? What’s all the excitement?! I’ve never had them until now & I after this weekend I will never be without them again! Sunday morning was centered around coffee, food, & killing time until our 2pm race start. Joe & I ate a leisurely “...down on the farm” breakfast & afterwards enjoyed the headache that is U-Scan at the local grosh. Then before we knew it, it was check out, load up, drive, arrive, packet pickup, chill, people watch, prepare bottles, dress, warm-up... ahhhh yes... The Race: The Fun! I’ve only done it a handful of times, but I love racing against unfamiliar faces in unfamiliar places. Outside the bubble of the Michigan scene there is much to see! The Greenbrier terrain was awesome! It was just as I’d envisioned the night before... VERY WET & VERY MUDDY. It’s about a 5.5 mile course & if I had to guess I’d say there was 65-70% climbing & 35-30% downhill. Not much of anything in between really. Thank goodness for my super light ZTR RACE wheels from Stan’s notubes.com. Those long climbs wouldn't have gone as well as they did if those wheels weren't as light air. Both ways, up & down, were quite technical. The trail absolutely littered with rocks, slick water bars & logs, a river crossing, & even some roots thrown in for good measure. Then there was the mud pits, the puddles, & the small river that had formed on the last downhill section. It kind of highlighted the best line to take so it actually helped! Being so used to the trails at home, all hard packed & highway-like, it all appeared quite treacherous... but in a fun way. I managed to only bobble a couple times & most of the time I just ate it all up. Lots of people were slowed down or sidelined with mechanical. The only issue I had was some crummy shifting on the last lap due to massive mud.... no biggy.As far as the competition within the experience, in the Women's Expert Master 30-39 class I never saw any of them after the start & finished 3+ minutes ahead of 2nd Place. Afterwards we cleaned the bikes,dunked ourselves in the lake, did the podium, grabbed a medal, & @ 6:00pm Sunday night the next race began.... the race to get home for work in the morning :oP. Good times!

:o)Erin

BLoomer XC USAC Tailwind Series #2

Jason Lummis attended the 2nd stop of the tailwind.net USAC series at Bloomer Park Rochester Mi. 16 racers lined up at the start of the Elite/Open class for a great day of racing, cool and sunny.

Jasons report:

My first race of the 2008 race season is under my belt (skin suit). I had missed the 1st race of the year at Pontiac Lk due some nagging back pain. Our new team kits arrived this past Thursday from Pearl Izumi and they are awesome.

The race: It started out fast as usual with a slight down hill to first set of single track. I missed my pedal, which is odd since using CRANK Brothers over the last few seasons I had not done that before. I made way to 5th or 6th wheel and entered the tight and twisty single track behind a new face in the Elite class. Khuncapi grabbed the whole shot and Neil S. was right behind him, Brent and Dylan where just ahead of me. After the single track opened up I was able to get around the racer in front of me, he started way to fast and was fading with in the first few miles. We made it to the big downhill switch backs and I almost lost it because of not pre riding and the trail changed directions from previous years at the bottom. It was a fun change and I started closing the gap to the racers ahead. I closed the gap on the RR bed flat along the river. I sat on for a few and tried an attack on the little hill before the sled hill (which was cut out) and tried to keep the pace high. Coming around the infield by the start/finish Christian tanguy came by and Dylan grabbed his wheel leaving myself and Brent in the dust. We caught Kuhncapi and then dropped Brent in the same spot The flying Frenchman dropped me. Kuhncapi and I slowly reeled in Neil and dropped him as well on the 4th lap of 5. I had a small scare on lap 3 with a stick jabbing my rear wheel and the hissing sound of a flat. My Stans liquid quickly sealed the hole and I lost about 10psi, the tire held for the rest of the 2.5 laps. Christian was gone and Dylan had a gap that wasn't getting smaller. On the last lap Kuhncapi was fading and I jumped about 1 mile from the finish and held him off. Greg is a good friend and I really have fun racing with him, he and I have had a few good battles for position in races over the years.

results:

Christian T. 1st

Dylan 2nd

Lummis 3rd

Kuhncapi 4th

Neil 5th

Yankee Springs TT Top 10 for John Meyers

Great TT result for the team 7th. place elite. The warm-up started off with an easy spin from Richland Michigan with a couple jumps to try and get my motor started. I rushed around the start an offed my top and ipod to Ken my buddy at the Trek trailer...always great to check in. So I started in 2nd. position. As I approached the start line just before 10:00 I noticed that things had changed??? I shot up the hill were everyone was and found that the start had been moved and we were going to race in reverse....wow! Great! Level the playing field. I had a great time but just could not get comfortable on the bike??? A recent bike fit again revealed a few changes to the stem and seat height which I made on Friday. The changes did not work and made me feel cramped and restricted on the bike? So this was my second off-road ride of the year and feel very good about it! No complaints! Looking at adjusting the schedule slightly so that I can go out to Nationals (Masters Expert) in July with Joe and Erin. The season is very L O N G and the slow roll up is the best way to stay motivated in December for the Cyclocross State Championships and Nationals. Last year was a great year for me with a total of 27 races completed and 20+ top five finishes so this year will be very similar and the slow roll-up and lot's of motivation in December is most important!!!! Good Luck Jason, Erin and Joe this weekend!!! Take care and have fun!!!!
J.Meyers

JOBERON TAKES 1st WIN of 2008

JOBERON on the TOP step






Graduation Day My very first MTB ride was with my good buddy Larry at Pontiac Lake. I believe it was early spring as well as it was quite muddy that day. I recall spraying our bikes off at my parents afterwards and grinning ear to ear the rest of the afternoon. From that day on I never looked back. I immediately entered the Cameron-Clark-Farnsworth-Collins-Luczynski-Dunn-Bowes PLRA School of Big Ring Jammin'. Well, 10 years later I'm happy to say I finally graduated. The Tailwind/USAC MTB Michigan State Championship Series kicked off this past Sunday with a 2 lap Time Trial at Pontiac Lake. I awoke to cold, snowy and wet conditions. I must admit my motivation wasn't the greatest. I pressed on and kept thinking of what my brother said to me the night before, "It's going to be cold and snowy tomorrow. You will do great. You've been riding in the crap all winter." I rode out from the apartment with full winter layering. It was quiet as the snow covered my glasses and helmet. It seemed as if I was just out on another winter base training ride. As I closed in on the park I started to hear the familiar sounds of a race. The music and announcements over the PA and the chatter of fellow racers preparing for battle caused reality to set in. I quickly registered and continued with a light warm up. The next thing I knew I was lined up for the first race of the season. With the crazy conditions and over a dozen Elite riders showing up I really wasn't expecting much of a result. I rolled out from the line pretty conservatively trying to stay relaxed and upright. There would be no Big Ring Jammin' on this day as it was slick and quite muddy is spots. This was also my 2nd trail ride since Iceman and only my 2nd ride on the Quiring steel 29er race rig since the 2007 season finale. To my surprise I was picking off riders within a few minutes. I caught Dylan Lanspeary(A-Bikes) who is riding really well and knew if I could stay near him I'd be doing pretty well. That was the case going into lap two. We'd also caught Bill Clikeman(AC&F/WSC) who eventually found his wings on the 2nd lap and rode away from me. Dylan had some unfortunate chain trouble and disappeared behind me. I picked up the pace as I closed in on the finish and spotted Bill again. I just tried to ride smart, avoiding crashes and keeping Bill in my sights knowing he started a minute or so in front of me. A few minutes after I had finished I heard I'd posted the fastest lap time. Then, after a short cool down with Bill, I'd heard I won. I won! Finally. A much better result than last years season opener at PLRA. Funny thing is my lap times were nearly the same. In the mud! Another good day on my Quiring 29er. The Stans wheels worked flawlessly with a big o'l Geax up front and a Karma on the rear. It's so nice to be riding the Quiring and racing again. Spring is here everyone! Good luck and have a super fun and safe season. I'm looking forward to hanging out and sharing some Oberon's with you in the coming months. I got things started off with a 6 pack of the beauties following Sunday's race. See you at the races!Joberon

Joe Brzuchanski aka JOBERON BEERCHAMPSKI takes the 1st win of the 2008 MTB seasion here in Michigan. report coming soon !

Erin Vicary continues here top podium ways with a hard fought 2nd place........................

Winter is over the racing Begins !!!!!!!!

Here is two of the first 2008 team interviews: Erin Vicary & Jason Jones




ERIN:

How was your winter ?
Great, though I'm not convinced it's over yet.
Living in a state shaped like a mitten, I guess I should expect to be pummeled by snow for at least half the year.

Thanks to a 4 week cycling hiatus right after Iceman (a 2 week adventure in Brazil, sandwiched between two weeks of doing whatever at home) I came into training raring to go. And then it snowed. And snowed. And snowed. It snowed so much that I found it difficult to make riding outside effective training this winter.
In years past I did most of my winter riding outdoors. This year I was on the trainer for what seemed like most of it...yuck! The height of my skills work was a four hour stint at Rays Mtn Bike park in Cleveland. Fun, but yikes... that's all?! Despite what might sound like a bunch of setbacks, I feel strong & quite confident that I'm prepared as best as can be for the upcoming season.
Hopefully my form & handling will continue to improve steadily this spring as I finally get out on the trails. I just can't wait to shed the layered-load-of-laundry look I've been sporting all winter, slip into something more comfortable like the new Bell's/Quiring Kit, & RIDE!




What are your goals for 2008 ?

Two top three's at national races: 1 NMBS + National Championships
Win 1 AMBC race
Repeat as MI USAC Expert/Elite Women XC Series Champion
Improve results for Triple Crown races

Favorite race event and why ?
My favorite race event isn't a particular race course, it's a format I guess.
I like the stage races.
I love XC, but I also really enjoy the bonus of it's flat out fast cousins: time trial & short track.

Favorite Bells Flavor?
Oberon

Best thing about your Quiring bike ?
Can't wait to find out... the frame's being built up as I type!

Pizza or Burritto ?
Buritto

Coffee or tea ?
COFFEE! Freshly ground & French pressed.


JASON:

How was your winter ?
Interesting. I was doing winter biking and xc skiing up until the end of February. Then, in March, I had a 7 hour open-heart surgery to repair a birth defect in my heart. They stopped my heart for 19 minutes, but thanks to all that mountain biking, it started up again.

What are your goals for 2008 ? Racing or life !

My riding was taking a slow spiral down the past few years because of my heart. Due to my recovery from surgery, I can't ride again until the first week in June. While that sucks, I am psyched to see what I can do on the bike with a healthy, fully-functional heart.

Favorite race event and why ?

Probably Iceman in Traverse City. I like the terrain and the team Sunset on the Season Party the night of the race always rocks.

Favorite Bells Flavor ?

It depends on the season, but I am a big wheat beer guy and like Belgian Wits and German Hefes, so Winter White does it for me.

Best thing about your Quiring bike ?

Q knows 29ers. Before Q sponsored the Team, I had Seven Cycles build me a 29er. When I got it, I was disappointed. It climbed like a pig. It turns out that, despite their reputation, Seven didn't know how to handle the tight 29er trade-offs in geometry between ring clearance and tire clearance. Instead of bending the chainstays right, they just lenghtened them to accomodate clearance. When Q looked at what I'd been riding, he commented that the 'stays were way longer than they need to be. He tweaked the geometry on the new Ti 29er he built me. What a difference! It felt like I was on a jet compared to the Seven. Knowledge and skill trump marketing every time.

Pizza or Burritto ?

Tofu.

Coffee or tea ?

Peet's Major Dickason's Blend in the morning, Green Chai tea at 3pm.