MORE GEORGIA CROSS ACTION; FETTY BRINGS HOME MORE UCI POINTS

This past weekend, the Myogenesis.Net p/b Landmark Dodge Pro/Am guys mounted their cross bikes for a little racing. It was going to be interesting to see who ate too much Turkey. The Georgia series race was in Blue Ridge, Georgia, in the foothills of the Appalachians. The Master's 35+ started off fast with Nate Zukas attacking directly off the start and up the climb. After two laps it had shaken out to the usual suspects, and with two laps to go that group had been whittled down to Brady and Brendan Sullivan (E-Caps Solutions) Brendan proved to be just a hair too much for Brady up the final run-up. Brady held on for a solid 2nd and another podium. In the Pro 1/2, Myogenesis would field a 3 man squad, with Tim Barrett, Casey Magner and Sean Harper. The pace stayed high causing a split at the front. Tim was in the front group and was looking strong. Unfortunately for Casey, the flat monster was out in full force, nipping him not once but twice! Harper was holding his in own in the chase group. Into the final lap, the leading trio of Tim Barrett, Oscar Clark (Land Rover/Briar Rose), and Thomas Turner (Bear Naked-Cannondale) would remain together, with Clark making his move with less than a K to go. Tim responded and was able to put a small gap on Turner. Oscar Clark rode an incredibly strong race to take the win, just ahead of a hard charging Tim Barrett, followed by Turner, who held on for third. More podiums for the Myogenesis guys!!!!!

On the UCI race tip, new Myogenesis strong man, and www.thebikegame.com king himself, Jacob Fetty, took it to the playing field in Pa....Bangin' home an 8th on Saturday! Then dropping south a little to Virginia to knock home yet ANOTHER top ten....do I see a RAWK STAR in the making? Man, if we could get Timmy and Jacob on the same schedule.....hmmmmmmmmmm.

MYOGENESIS TAKES ANOTHER STATE JERSEY....AND MOR UCI POINTS!

This past weekend, the Myogenesis.Net p/b landmark Dodge cyclo-cross contingent, continued their winning ways. Tim Barrett and Casey Magner took the top two spots on the podium at the www.Georgia-Cross.com Georgia State Championships in Augusta, Georgia. Tim and Casey immediately when to the front from the gun stringing the group single file into the first barrier section. Tim, Casey, Thomas Turner (Bear-Naked Cannondale), Daryl Sawyer (Van Dessel Factory Team) and Dave Howe (Camp Highland) were the first through. From that point, Tim appeared to just ride off from the rest of the group. Casey and Thomas soon managed a small gap over the others as well. Tim managed to not only hold his lead, but slowly increase it every lap. Coming into the last lap, with it obvious Tim had the race locked up, everyone’s attention turned to the race for 2nd and 3rd between Casey and Thomas. It stayed tight, and with 300 or so meters to go, Casey made his move, and easily sprinted away from Turner, who was on the hook for the chase the entire race. Myogenesis goes 1 and 2 in the Pro class, making that yet another State Jersey for the boys. Sean Harper also came in with a top 10 in only his second A’s race.

1st Tim Barrett Myogenesis.Net p/b Landmark Dodge
2nd Casey Magner Myogenesis.Net p/b Landmark Dodge
3rd Thomas Turner Bear Naked Cannondale
4th Daryl Sawyer Van Dessel Factory Team
5th Eric Neely Camp Highland


In the Master’s 35+ category, Brady Rogers rolled home in a 3rd for the bronze. After a strong start, and soloing the first few laps, Brady was soon bridged to by former Masters National Pursuit Champ, Tony Scott (Peachtree Bikes), and then Brandon Sullivan (E-Caps Solutions). Unable to hold the pace of those two, he sprinted in for 3rd, just in front of speedy Nate Zukas (Augusta Cross Coalition). This is Brady’s 5th podium appearance in as many years, with jerseys in hand

On Saturday the boys in Blue were well represented at the UCI race in Henderson, NC. Jacob Fetty and Tim Barrett both finishing in the top 10, with a 7th and 10th respectively, against some strong heat. The makes 3 top UCI top tens so far ……….

Myo goes 1,2 in MACON. Fetty gets UCI points for 9th in CANADA

In the Georgia Cross series, Team Myogenesis p/b Landmark Dodge goes 1,2 in Macon. Tim Barrett gets 1st, making it 2 in a row. Casey Magner gets 2nd. In the Team Competition the lead increases. Drew Burke and Rod Stuckey make guest appearances for the team. Jacob Fetty heads north of the border and nails down a 9th at the UCI race in Toronto.

Story to come by the winner and maybe even the series leader.

http://www.georgia-cross.com/

Great Year for Team Myogenesis Pb\ Landmark Dodge

Team Myogenesis p/b Landmark Dodge

State Champion Cat 1 Crit - Casey Magner
State Champion Cat 2 Road Race- Jafer Beizer

1st Runner up State Championship
Cat 1 Crit - Jon Atkins
Cat 2 Crit - Cleve Blackwell
Cat 1 Road Race - Casey Magner


2nd Runner up State Championship
Cat 2 Crit - Thomas Brown

WINS for the year went to:

Cleve Blackwell Ga.Cup, Rome Road Race
Cleve Blackwell Orlando Crit
Cleve Blackwell Birmingham, Al Road Race
Cleve Blackwell Huntsville, Al Crit
Cleve Blackwell Tsali NC MTB race
Casey Magner Ga. Games
Casey Magner Mississippi Grand Prix Road Race
Casey Magner Tour De Jamaica Stage 1
Jon Atkins Dr.Pepper Crit, Birmingham, Al.
Thomas Brown Winston Salem,NC Crit
Tim Barrett Monroe Cyclecross Race
Tim Barrett MAcon Cyclocross Race

Road Mens Cat 1 Criterium Rankings in Georgia


Rank Points Name License Hometown
1 91 Casey Magner 222005 Griffin, GA
2 144 Cleve Blackwell 144020 Griffin, GA
3 146 Eric Murphy 127087 Griffin, GA
4 149 Tiago DePaula 228341 Marietta, GA
5 153 Jonathan Atkins 2039 Peachtree City, GA

Good job Casey,Cleve,and Jon.
Also Eric who does the marketing for Myogenesis Nutrition

Road Mens Cat 2 Road Race Rankings in Georgia


Rank Points Name License Hometown
1 567 Jafer Beizer 192280 Conyers, GA
2 704 Thomas Brown 191703 Decatur, GA
3 712 Justin Eppenbrock 208795 Appling, GA
4 728 Richard Fuqua 128853 Atlanta, GA

Also our Cat 2's Jafer and Thomas. Good Job

Myogenesis.net Is On Fire

On the Georgia Cross scene, Team Myogenesis last weekend in Monore not only took the win in the A's with Tim Barrett (Casey Magner in a close 3rd as well), but also took the "W" in the B's with Sean Harper on the top step. Look for Sean to grace the A's in the coming weeks. In the Masters 35+ Brady Rogers got 2nd and was on his way to a good finish in the A's, until someone's skewer found his rear wheel. Team Myogenesis is on top of the leader board for the team competition not only in the Georgia Cross series but the 'Bama Cross series as well. Get ready to see more PODIUMS from the www.myogenesis.net team next week in Macon.Oh yea, Alabama Cross we are setting in 1st also.http://www.bamacross.com/ check it out.
Check out http://www.cyclingnews.com/cross.php?id=cross/2007/nov07/georgiacross07

Myogenesis.Net rides for Cancer Research

Myogenesis.Net (formerly Myogenesis.com) team rides for a great cause.
Myogenesis.Net and over 100 or so cyclist raised over $3000 for Friends Helping Friends, an organization to help raise money for early childhood cancer research (http://www.fhfproject.com/ ). It was a 60 mile ride, that went through Henry, Butts and Newton counties. Along for the ride were our good friends from Clinica Union (http://www.clinicaunion.net/ ), and Epic Bikes. Emile Abraham (Priority Health) also joined in as we strolled through the country side, enjoying non race pace, where we all could get caught up on the past season. After the ride we enjoyed amazing burritos from Gezzos. Next the Cross Boys tear up Yargo,Cleve Blackwell

MORE PODIUMS

Let me start off by giving a BIG thanks to our shop sponsor…..The Bike Center….for being one of the big sponsors, for this past weekends opening round of the Georgia Cyclo-Cross Series (http://www.georgia-cross.com/). Record turn out, great course, great fans!

The day would start with Brady toeing the line in the 35+ Masters category, which had around 35 or so starters. The race started off fast with a group of 5 opening a gap, and Brady being one of them. Through the twisty sea of tape, around the wooded island, up the run up and so on. The group of 5 was soon dwindled to 3 and unfortunately Brady lost contact with the lead group, but managed to hang on for a hard fought 5th place finish.

About 12:45 the A’s would take the line for an all out slugfest. Lots of heat in attendance, and Myogenesis was well represented with 6 in the field. The start would be crucial, and we all had good positioning on the front row. The gun goes off, the a field was off and running..well riding, through the first turn, into the first set of barriers, where I guess someone forgot to unclip (or something asinine like that). The majority of the field was either a) caught up by the crash or b) in the grass (unfortunately, Brady was one of those, and on his 2nd race of the day). This disruption allowed a group of 8 or so to get a gap, with Myogenesis being well represented with 3. Brady was the last one out of the pile, since was at the front near the incident……the group of 8 or so continued to work to widen their gap, and in doing so, shed some of the extra weight. After an hours worth of racing, the finish came to a 3 up sprint, with Oscar Clark (once again) taking the top honors. Thomas Turner, pro mtb’er for Bear Naked/Cannondale in 2nd, and Myo’s own Tim Barrett and Casey Magner coming in 3rd and 4th respectively. So let’s see, as far as sponsors go…that would be the top 4 in UVEX helmets (http://www.uvexsports.com/). 3 or the top 5 on BLUE’s (http://www.rideblue.com/) a smattering of Garneau (http://www.louisgarneau.com/) in the top 10.

So if you have never experienced cyclo-cross before, I suggest you do!.............

IT'S CROSS SEASON BABY!

Several of the guys on the squad like to participate in a torture fest know as cyclo-cross. Part steeplechase, part crit and all pain.

The first outing of the season would see the boys taking a strong 6 person contingent to 'Bamacross, in Birmingham, Al. (http://www.bamacross.com/), where they would commence to stretch their legs in anticipation of the upcoming UCI races and the http://www.georgia-cross.com/ series.

They rolled up in the van, threw open the tent, and laid some product out, and we we're in business. Racing was to commence a few hours after arrival. Race time came upon us, and we toed the line for the hour+ event. From the word "GO" the Myogenesis guys controlled the race, with Tim Barrett, Casey Magner, Brady Rogers, Cleve Blackwell, Travis Sherman and new secret weapon, Jacob Fetty, taking turns at the front, keeping the pace high. After an hour of crossing creeks, and trudging through the mud, the Myogenesis guys put 4 in the top ten! Timmy banging home a second, just behind future cross star, Oscar Clark. Fetty came in with a fourth and Shady with a sixth and the Beaver, Clever Blackwell, gnawing his way into ninth. Not bad for the first go round of '08.

The next weekend would carry Timmy to Cincy for a UCI race, with some hitters in attendance. Tim pulled a respectable 21st (with a badly sprained wrist, from Al.), just one out of UCI points..ROCK ON TIMMY

http://sadlebred.smugmug.com/gallery/3656419#208902347-A-LB

ADD ANOTHER "W" TO OUR COLECTION

This week’s write up is brought to you by the letter W. Why W? It just happens to be one of our favorite letters here in the Myogenesis camp.

This past weekend would see the Myogenesis guys going split squad, yet again, to cover all bases in the immediate vicinity. Representing the boys in blue at the Grant Park, Atlanta criterium on Saturday were Brady, Casey and the Blue Ryno himself. Heading over to Birmingham, Alabama were The Beaver, Big Jon, Travis Sherman (www.alabamacyclingnews.com), and our very own http://www.ronswilliams.com/, fresh off his 4th at WORLDS.

I’ll first cover Grant Park briefly for you.

Coming into this race we knew it would be very active from the gun. Thad Dulin (Jittery Joes) and Oscar Heneo (Union Ciclista Latino) were locked in a dead heat battle for the overall win in the Georgia Cup. Our very own Clever Beaver was sitting comfortably in 3rd. Just as we expected, from the gun, the attacks started. We just pretty much sat in and let the race take its course, trying on several occasions to go with moves, but nothing succeeded. That changed when a move I was in came back, and was countered by Tony Scott (Memorial One), fresh off his new stars and stripes jersey. Tony and another guy whose name escapes me, managed to put in a brilliant ride, and stayed away for the remainder. We got Casey into position in the final laps, and managed a 7th. Not bad I suppose, since 6 were off the front. Another top 10 for Myogenesis, and more to look forward to on Sunday in Buckhead for the Georgia Cup Finale. Before I get started on that, let me slide 2 hours west of the “A”, and give you a recap of B’ham as well.

The first year Pepper Place Criterium was being held in downtown Birmingham, Alabama, around the old Dr. Pepper building. So up for this Saturday night fight were a list of who’s who in the Southeast…..With The Trinidad Torpedo, Emile Abraham (with the US100K check in his back pocket, ink still wet). Also in attendance was The Cuban Missile Crisis, Frank Travieso and his complement of Aerospace Engineers, including Eric Murphy. Since I wasn’t in attendance, I will give you the report short and sweet as it was told to me. Fast from the start, a strong break went, with all the players represented. Big Jon was carrying the flag for Myogenesis.com. Fast forward to the final laps. Jon decided instead of taking this thing to sprint (since his company included the aforementioned) he would try a move on the last lap. Jon attacked on the backside straight of the last lap, got a gap and…………….held it for the W. That is why this report is brought to you by the letter W. Yep, Myogenesis.com logs another success. With Jon’s win, that brings us to 5 different team members bringin’ it home this year.

On to Buckhead. For those of you who are not familiar with Buckhead, it is the area in Atlanta where all the bars USED to be concentrated. I say USED to because a developer has bought just about every parcel in the bar district now, and is apparently going to turn it into the A’s version of Rodeo Dr.. Anyway, back to why you are here…..

Coming into Sunday, the Myogenesis team would be skating at full strength, with Daryl, Big Jon, Casey, Cleve, Brady and Ryan. We decided we would let the race for the overall (with Oscar and Thad now separated by single digit points) play out with much interference from us. We just needed to make sure we were vigilant of anything dangerous going up the road. On hand for this hour long painfest would, once again, be a who’s who of hitters from the southeast, and even a guest appearance from a former Atlantan, Curtis Gunn, who races for SuccessfulLiving.com. Also on hand were once again, Trinidad National Champion and Pan-Am gold medalist, Emile Abraham (Priority Health), Frank Travieso (AEG-Toshiba-Jetnetwork), Jeff Mullet Hopkins (Jittery Joes) and his fellow Bean, Thad Dulin. Jason Snow (stars and stripes jersey wearer) was also present. The race was from the gun, as expected, with a MAR prime worth points, on the first lap. That pretty much set the tempo. Attack after attack, prime after prime, and a group finally got up the road. The group contained several of the aforementioned, Curtis, Frank and Jason. Very dangerous indeed. We tried in earnest to get across, but no one was willing to help. With two laps to go, a small group made an escape attempt. The Myo guys wouldn’t have any of that, and quickly went to the front, and with a half lap to go, made the catch on the backside coming into the sprint. Myogenesis was able to put Casey in at 7th and Big Jon in at 8th. A very solid race that was just about close to NRC level, with $10,000 on the line.

After this weekend, there isn’t much racing left on the road, but stay tuned as several of the guys take to the cross course, in pursuit of more PODIUMs (http://www.myogenesis.com/), and more of our favorite letter….W!

Thanks for all the continued support, and continue to check back often, as I will be starting a new feature on here….a little video interview with a different racer from the Myogenesis squad each week. If any of you have any questions you would like to have asked to your favorite, or least favorite at that, team member, shoot them my way by comment here, and we will get your answer for you.!!

Until then…………..

US 100K NRC-Atlanta, Georgia

US 100K NRC RACE

This race would be like any other race for us, except for the small fact it was an NRC race. Not only an NRC race, but Health-Net needed a good finish to win there 4th NRC title. Some of the talent that was present for the days festivities would be eventual winner, Emile Abraham (Priority Health), Karl Menzies and newly crowned US PRO Crit champ, Kirk O’bee of Health-Net fame, B World Road Race Champ, Ivan Stevic and his band of Toyota brothers, as well as the Jittery boys with Neil Shirley, fresh off his podium appearance at US PRO RR the day before. The list goes on, with too numerous to name, but you get the gist.
The call to the line was at 7:15 AM for the 100K affair. Myogenesis showed up with the full squad since this was a “home race” for us. The race started fairly serene with folks taking flyers from the start, but nothing threatening. It was just folks stretching their early morning legs. It didn’t take too long before the guns started firing though. Several attempted breaks went with in the first few laps, but nothing of significance stuck, until the 4th lap. A move would scamper off the front containing a couple of the Jittery Joes guys (Jeff Hopkins, Trent Wilson), 2 Health-Net guys (Doug Ollerenshaw and Karl Menzies) Bobby Lea and Ivan Stevic were there as well. Kelly Benefits had representation as well. When I bridged to the guys, I must admit, looking up and seeing the company I was in, it was a little intimidating…..but hey, I was there. The break worked well together, and I surely thought we were away and clear for the remainder, with 2 minutes plus to the field, but it wasn’t to be. We we’re pulled back into the fold, just in time for Big Jon to take second in the mid-race prime, to Keith Norris (AEG) who incidentally is the former U-23 National Criterium Champ. It was apparent that the race was coming to a field sprint, so we sat in and rested until the end. We successfully moved our way to the front on the final lap and ended up with 4 in the top 35. Not bad for biting one off with the big hitters on the domestic scene…Looks like next on the schedule is the Grant Park/Buckhead Georgia Cup. Look for the boys in blue at those locales for some big new NEWS……until then……
check this link out...you wanna see if Blue's carbon can handle torque?
http://www.cyclingnews.com/photos.php?id=/photos/2007/sep07/atlanta07/CYC-USK008

That's Myogenesis powerman Jon Atkins taking care of business at the mid-race prime sprint

The Beaver strikes again!

The Myogenesis boys roll into Augusta, and as promised in the last post.....Trashed their competition..well all but a strong Jared Gruber (Time factory team). Myogenesis stud, Cleve Blackwell rolls in with a 4th in the prologue, giving up 14 seconds to Jittery Joes strong man Thad Dulin. The crew clipped in for the crit, looking to pull some time back, but one up themselves, and pull a SECOND in the criterium, and not only pulled back the 14 seconds, but add another 45 seconds and put The Beaver in the yellow jersey for Sundays road race....stay tuned for those details!

LOCAL FORECAST....RED FLAG WARNING FOR MERIDIAN, MISSISSIPPI.......

August 10-11
Meridian-Cuba Omnium
Cleve and Travis ventured west to race in Meridian, MS and Cuba, AL in the Meridian-Cuba Omnium. The race was an unusually large field for this area. The criterium course was good. It was in downtown Meridian (as opposed to an office park), so that in itself, makes the criterium course a winner.
The race started off rather lethargically. This was probably due to the near 100 degree heat. After a few minutes of shadow boxing, the attacks started going. The trio from Aerospace took turns launching attacks until the lead pack was reduced to about 10 or 12 people. The “break” kept attacking each other, but each attack was brought back. Eric Murphy (AEG) and his teammate finally broke the legs of the group and Murphy rode off the front for the remainder of the race.
For some reason, after Murphy rolled away, the lead group started slowing up. Travis kept attacking the group to make the group chase and, as a result, keep the pace high enough to keep the main pack at bay.
Coming into the last lap, the pack was fast approaching. Not wanting the past 65 minutes worth of effort to be reduced to getting swarmed by the pack, Travis began the sprint about 350 meters from the finish. Unfortunately, the line was about 5 meters too far and Travis got passed by 2 people and had to settle for 5th. Cleve was able to bridge from the main pack and he finished 9th.
The next day featured a road race in Cuba, AL. The road race, on paper, sounds easy. However, the course was deceptively hard. No part of the road was shaded, thanks to the loggers. The road surface was of the “chip and seal” variety (but on the full carbon Blue RC-7, it felt like glass). The terrain was hilly. Add in nearly 70 miles in near 100 degree heat and you had the recipe for a hard day.
The break left the station early, as in, within the first 5 miles. The break had two Aerospace, two Herring Gas, two Memphis Motorwerks (yes spelling is correct) and no Myogenesis. Cleve and Travis bridged the gap and the break was established. No one left to chase.
Either not satisfied with the current circumstances or just wanting to make things difficult, Eric Murphy and his teammate attacked the break with about 60 miles remaining in the race. The remaining break-a-way members managed to keep the two at about a minute for the majority of the race.
The heat and terrain wore down the break. One by one, the break was reduced to just 6 (2 off the front and 4 in the chase). Myogenesis was in a perfect situation. Cleve and Travis represented the blue and white, with one Herring and one Motorwerks rider. Unfortunately, things didn’t play out as one would hope.
Travis, getting dehydrated and overheated, but hanging in thanks to a steady diet of Myogenesis Podium (www.myogenesis.com), accelerated on a steep pitch in an attempt to (hopefully) make the others cramp and force a chase with Cleve sitting on. Once Travis was caught an immediate counter attack came and the break was reduced to five (2 off the front and 3 chasers). Cleve was left to fend for himself.
The Herring/Motorwerks duo tag teamed Cleve by alternating attacks and Cleve did his best to respond. But, eventually, the elastic snapped and the Herring rider (Bain Foote) rode away and managed to catch the two Aerospace guys just before the final sprint.
Cleve managed to finish fourth. Travis finished 6th on the day.
Overall not a bad weekend for the fellas.
Look for the Myogenesis crew to make an appearance at the next Georgia Cup in Augusta, Georgia. They will be in full stride, and looking to “trash their competition”, as the product label says…..
Until next time.
Travis

CrossRoads Classic....more specifically Hanes Park Criterium

Thomas Brown gets his PODIUM (http://www.myogenesis.com/) on. Read below at his account of how the latest podium went down;

Hanes Park Criterium- August 5, 2007

With the season in full swing Team Myogenesis once again proved that teamwork and proper nutrition makes anything possible. With stifling heat and humidity, Cleve Blackwell and Thomas Brown were not keen on racing. Despite the prevailing attitude to just go home, the duo started and won the 2-3 race. The game plan was simple—be as lazy as possible for as long as possible. This was especially important as the course did not favor breakaways, though a small group seemed to always be dangling off the front.

The duo found each other with 3 laps to go. Then with one lap to go, Cleve jumped hard with Thomas on his wheel. They crossed the 10 second gap to a small breakaway. Without hesitation, they rolled straight through the break. Cleve took it to the last corner, while Thomas screamed motivational words at him to go. Then Thomas took off to take the win.

(can you just feel the spark?) -ed.

Siege of Rome GEORGIA CUP

Myogenesis’ next foray into racing the Georgia Cup would be the Siege of Rome. Rome is a quaint little town in northwest Georgia, which just happens to be quickly becoming a “cycling city”. It is the only town in the state that has seen EVERY Tour De Georgia. Lance has won there; Ivan Stevic (who just won the world’s road race) won there this year. The boys in Blue would roll into town and see if they could add their names to that list.
Saturday morning would start the stage race with a team time trial. For this type of affair, we are usually well manned, but this time around, we would show up to a gunfight with our knives fully drawn. We had to finish with four, which is what we had. From the start, we decided, since we didn’t have the best time trial crew with us, which we would just roll and try to minimize damage. This would be a tough task, with the Aerospace boys showing up with Cuban rocket, Frank Travieso, Todd Henrikson, Eric Murphy and Tour De Georgia veteran, Eric Keim. On hand also would be the other pro team registered in Georgia, Jittery Joes. In their arsenal they would have another TdG veteran, and stage winner, Cesar Grajales, Tim Henry, Cody Stevenson and current Ga Cup leader, Thad Dulin.

Saturday night would be the Twilight Criterium around downtown Rome. This would prove to be a pivotal race in the overall, since were “minimizing damage” remember. The race started fast and we just waited for our opportunity. We knew we needed to be in anything that got up the road containing JJ and AEG. A break went after several attacks. Michael Lanham would be present to represent. Riding his Blue RC7, and working with his break mates diligently, Michael was able to lap the field. Within a matter of minutes of the break coming back into the fold, another would go. This time, Cleve covered, and once again, the break managed to make it back to the group. Coming into the final sprint, we made sure that Cleve and Michael were well positioned for the sprint………Cleve comes in with a 4th and Michael 7th. Race over, now a little Mexican grub (thanks to the promoters for dinner!)

Sunday…arriving at the race, looking at the standings, we were in 9th and 10th with JJ and AEG having 7 of the spots in front of us. Just fine, that means they’ll be attacking each other all day. All we had to do was go along for the ride. The 3 lap affair would start with a neutral roll out, and then a cruise around for the majority. Approaching the big climb for the first time, Aerospace went to the front, and drove the pace to put some pressure on the Bean Team. First time over the climb, the peloton stayed fairly intact, with all 4 Myo guys making in the main group. Down the decent, over the river and through the woods to the feed zone. About 5K after the feed zone, a set of 2 little, short climbs would be the next dance floor. Taking center stage was Eric Murphy (AEG). Eric, sitting 3rd on GC popped off the front with Tim Henry (JJ, sitting 2nd on GC) in tow. Cresting the top, the wiley pair had a small gap, and Cleve being ever vigilant, saw this as dangerous, so immediately jumped. The rest of us were sitting at the front already, so we were able to “deter” any reaction, and Cleve was able to get across. The break grew to 1:45 by the time they hit the climb. The climb this time would take its toll on the remaining field, with the only break and a chase group of 12 or so remaining afterwards. Michael Lanham was able to make that group, so now we had representation in each group. Shortly after the feed zone, the chase group was able to make contact with the 3 again. After a moment of relaxing, swigging some MYOGENESIS PODIUM and surveying who was still left, Cleve launched an attack, solo style, and caught everyone off guard. He would extend his lead to 4 minutes by the time the climb came back around. Cleve rolled it up the climb, riding tempo….because at the top, the finish line awaited. He was able to hold on and SOLO (is there any other way to win) in for the W………..Myogenesis takes down the pro’s at ROME.

We ended up 4th and 8th on GC…man, too bad since we just cruised the TTT.

THE BEAVER STRIKES AGAIN

That toothy character we all know and love as Cleve R Beaver has once again gnawed his way through a forest of competitors in Huntsville, Al. . Cleve buried all his competition taking the win in the road race and the crit, leaving all others saying "DAM!" . Full story to follow as soon as he finds his dictionary.

AND AS I PROMISED.......THE FULL STORY;

Team Myogenesis holds strong through the midpoint of the season with Cleve Blackwell securing a "W" last weekend in Rome. He tested his strength and perseverance last weekend as he tried again to bring home a win at the Spring City Cycling Classic in Huntsville, Alabama. Blackwell decided to save his cards and go for the Master's 35+ victories as the team needs to be as fresh as possible for the upcoming Charlotte, NC Presbyterian Criterium. Myogenesis rising star Michael Lanham, Alabama's finest Travis Sherman and Ron Williams, as well as Griffin's love child Casey Magner would round out the boys' roster for the 2-day event.
Saturday, July 22nd had the field doing a 16 mile loop around the base of Keel Mountain with a scorcher of a hill climb Time Trial following the road race. Landrum, Sherman, and Williams would test their legs and lungs in the Pro 1/2 race with 5 laps around the mountain. Williams got into an aggressive break from the gun; however, the field proved to be too strong and it was reeled in with less than a lap to go. Michael helped counter the break and it came down to the sprint. He won the bronze medal in the Alabama State Championship Road Race. Williams and Sherman finished nicely in the pack, deciding their work was complete for the day.
Cleve went after it from the gun in the Master's35+ Road Race, a circuit of 4 16 mile laps. Throwing in attack after attack was the ever-strong and witty Doug Pomeranz, along with Alabama's Andy Maddox, making the break a tough ride. After smoothing out the pace, the three would eventually gain enough time on the field for a sprint for the Gold. Andy led the two men out with 1k to go, and Cleve threw the hammer down, out sprinting Doug at the line. Cleve would only hope that he had saved enough for the Time Trial.
After pre-driving the course with a slew of curse words climbing the 19% grade in the car, Blackwell had his work cut out for him. No time trial bike would suffice, so he opted to do the race on his Blue Rc7. It was an excellent decision, and Blackwell would torture himself for a 2nd place finish, behind by only 16 seconds on the 10 mile course after all was said and done. A good night's dinner with Michael and Miss Holiday would cap off the night and prepare them all for the next day.
Sunday, July 23 started off surprisingly cool. Cyclists were complaining that they should have brought arm warmers but alas, who would have thought this in July in Alabama? The competition proved to be hot though as the Master's men came to the line for the Crit. A few attacks would prove no match for Blackwell, Jim Brock and Mike Hurley, both from Bob's Bikes in Birmingham, who now proudly carry the Myogenesis Nutrition line. The three would race hard, eventually lapping the field. Again down to the sprint, Cleve attacked on the final hill, securing another victory for Myogenesis. Deciding he felt strong enough, Blackwell would wait for his other team mates to race for Casey in the Pro 1/2 later on that afternoon.
The Pro 1/2 was too hot, making it a difficult race for the Myogenesis boys. Blackwell and Magner got into a successful break but after Blackwell went for a prime, another attack went and left a chase group of 6 to follow, Eric Murphy, Matt Winstead, and Michael Olheiser. Struggling to regain their composure, the chase group would sprint for 4th place, with Cleve getting 6th. All in a day's work.
See the boys in action for FOUR days at the Gwinnett Bike Fest as they make final preparations for the Presbyterian Criterium in Charlotte, NC.

-Jackie Soladay (Pen name of Cleve Blackwell)

NEWS FLASH

Rode Trip to Steven Springs, PA. for Nationals. Making the trip to Pa. for the USA Cycling National Championships would be Jafer Bezier (contesting the U-23 category) and Cleve Blackwell (masters 35-39) for www.myogenesis.com.
Day 1, drive to Charlotte NC. to stay with the Soladay family, to have a amazing meal sponsored by Health Claim Solutions.
While in Charlotte, we where able to do the famous Booty Loop, known for the 24 hrs of Booty.

Day 2, 7 hrs drive to Seven Springs, Pa. Drove straight to the Crit course. Did a little ride around the 3 turn flat office park crit course. After several laps of recon I decide to go explore a little around Summerset, Pa. What a cool town with amazing scenery.

Day 3, Exploring starting with off-road snowmobile trails right out the back door of the cabin we stayed at. Thanks to our great friends with the Locos race team for the digs.. With our Maxxis Courcheval tires and incredible RC7 Blue Competition Cycles bikes smoothing out the bumps, you would of thought we where on our MTB’s. We bombed some trails with incredible panoramic views .I would not recommend trying this ride at home. After hitting the snowmobile trails and a couple of dirt roads, we somehow managed to get back alive.

Day 4, THE CRIT, not the best of courses for Cleve. Flat, Flat, and more Flat. The field numbered 100+ of the best Master’s racers in the US. After couple of breaks getting away and then being dragged back, it would come down to a field sprint. What was left of the 100 + fighting for the Stars and Stripes jersey. This would have been a prefect course for Big Jon, who was not able to make the trip due to freak accident, on a training ride the Thursday before. Jason Snow, a strong racer out of Florida, racing for the Cycle Science team, ended up with the coveted jersey. Cleve rolled in with a very respectable top 30 placing. Cleve is not a crit racer, his day would be coming in a couple in the form of the road race.

Day 5, Pre ride for the Road Race. Damn they don’t make hills like this in Ga. As a side note: Why are Big Farm Barns always RED?

Day 6, The road race is upon us. 150+ toed the line for this dance. The race started fairly briskly with only a group of 50 making it over the 1st climb, and we still had to go over it 3 more times. To add insult to injury, the race would end on a climb to the top of the ski resort at Seven Springs. The Last climb into Seven Springs would be the deciding factor of the race, as 10 guys scampered away up the hill. Cleve along with Chris Harkey, of the Hincapie/Dasani/Bianchi team, would give it one last ditch effort to make it across. Just a little late, as the boys got the break in sight, they also saw the finish line. Cleve would roll in with Chris, at just over a minute off the winner, in a very respectable 12th place.

Day 7, Jafer would be doing the U23 race, with some top teams in the country like AEG\Aerospace, SlipStream, the US National Team, VMG and many others. You can click this link to see the results. https://www.usacycling.org/news/user/story.php?id=3046

Day 8, head to Rome, to re-join the team and get ready to tear up the Georgia Cup.It’s good to get back to GA.

Latro,
Cleve Blackwell
7\14\07

Tour of Jamaica

The Myogenesis boys packed up their bags, and headed out of town….er..out of the country for our first foray into racing overseas. June 13-17, we did a 4 day, 5 stage, stage race, called the B.R.A.D.A. Tour of Jamaica.

Going along for the trip would be Brady Rogers, Cleve Blackwell, Casey Magner, Thomas Brown, Eric Murphy, and guest Clay Parks. Also making the trip was Mike Colwell, friend of the team, who be in the management role for the week. The race would start and finish in Kingston, and traverse the entire island (just about).

On June 11, all the guys would meet up at the airport for the flight to Kingston. Upon arrival, we were met by Ken Ennis, with the Jamaica Cycling Federation, who would be our driver for the week. BIG THANKS TO KEN for a great job! From there would go to the Pegasus Hotel in downtown New Kingston for the first night. Once settled in, we ventured out into the wild blue yonder for some food. JUCCI PATTIS is were we stopped for some great local fare…Jamaican Beef Patties…mmmmmm. After a little grub, the guys chilled and got some shut eye, anticipating the race that loomed ahead.

Tuesday, June 12, Ken would pick us up, along with our gear, and take us to Iona Wynter (-Parks) “Mums” house. Let me insert a HHHUUUGGGEEEEE thanks to Iona’s mom for putting up with us….she was BEYOND hospitable! This would be our home base for the week, if you will. Once we arrived, we all unpacked our bikes, and put them together, ate a little lunch, and went for a ride in the Blue Mountains (think Blue Mountain Coffee). This was a great ride to stretch our legs on, it was basically a 15 or so mile long climb…maybe further, with absolutely stunning sites. (picture) When we returned from our ride, we decided to walk about two miles down the hill to one Bob Marley’s house. Unfortunately, when we got there, the power was out, so all we got to do was have a Red Stripe, and take a photo in front of the bronze statue of Bob. (see picture) When we returned to the Wynter house, we were greeted with a dinner of local fare. Rice and peas (red beans and rice) and chicken. After eating, we sat out by the pool, eating fresh mangos, straight off the tree in the backyard.

Wednesday, June 13, IT’S GO TIME. After a nice breakfast, we all kitted up, mounted our steeds, and set out for a 15 mile ride to the start of the Prologue in Port Royal. The TT was a 5K blazin’ fast, flat, but windy stretch along the water. We would finally get to see our competition for the week. On the start list would be some hitters from the Caribbean. Names like Guy Costa, Oneil Samuels, Marlon Williams, Peter Aldridge, Phillip Clarke was also there. He is the current Caribbean Champion, along with several others that we we’re not familiar with, but definitely had the ability to impact the race. Teams included a strong contingent from Trinidad and Tobago, The Cayman Islands, Herba-life, out Miami, as well as the Jamaican National Team, and strong team from Jamaica, Monte Carlo Gaming. Everything went very well in the prologue with Myogenesis taking 3 of the top 5 spots, setting the tone for the first stage on Thursday. The results looked like this:

1st Marlon Williams, Heatwave (Trinidad & Tobago) 6:05.35
2nd Guy Costa, Heatwave 6:09.37
3rd Casey Magner, MYOGENESIS 6:12.00
4th Eric Murphy, MYOGENESIS 6:13.64
5th Cleve Blackwell, MYOGENESIS 6:23.38

SO the tone was set…….

Thursday, June 14. Ocho Rios to Montego Bay
Wednesday night we packed all of our worldly possessions (well the stuff we had with us) into two separate vehicles. Cleve, Thomas and Clay would take one vehicle, so I really can’t speak for their experience, but do let me share the transfer experience that Casey, Mike, Eric and I had. The vehicle was to be at the house around 6ish to take us on the 2+ hour drive to Ocho Rios…two words..ISLAND TIME. The ride showed up at 9!, and to boot, was a kingcab Nissan pick up. So into this pick up, we put 4 bikes, 4 bike bags, extra wheels, and all of our luggage. In the cab, up front, was Eric, the driver and his guest. In the back, Casey, Mike and I…did you count? 6 people crammed in for the ride…ok, we’ll just write this one up as an “experience”. As we we’re pulling out, Iona’s brother, Nigil, quipped “ let the sabotage begin”. So the trip was interesting to say the least. Out of Kingston, into the country side, then over VERY NARROW, winding mountain roads. I thought Eric was dead at one point, when an 18 wheeler came around a switchback, in our lane, his lane, and anywhere else he wanted to go. For those of you who have never experienced 3rd world driving….you should. We finally made it to Ocho Rios around midnightish, with a 9 A.M. start in the morning. We got checked in, and hit the sack.
The next morning, we woke up, packed up and went to the town square, where the start was…..delayed by an 1.5 hours or so….remember ISLAND TIME? During our pre-race meeting, we decided we would be aggressive from the gun, just to see who was interested. Not even 1K into the race, I jumped out to the left, and laid down the first attack of the race. It was covered, and as soon as it came back, Thomas went. We continued this until we reached the first “bump” of the day. On that bump, Eric went to the front and kept the pace high enough to keep it strung out, and shake some folks out. Coming into the “invisible” finish line, Casey smelled victory, and came away with just that. Needless to say, we we’re quite happy. The win put Casey in the jersey. Not bad for our first international race. First stage, first stage win….we we’re starting to feel a bit more confident and in control. Results looked like this:

1st Casey Magner, MYOGENESIS
2nd Marlon Williams, Heatwave
3rd Richard Smith, Monte Carlo
4th Oneil Sinclair, Herba-Life
5th Anthony Taylor, High Cadence


That evening, we we’re at a nice hotel, with the only beach we would experience for the week. (picture). The next day, the stage would be from Montego Bay to Negril

Friday, June 15th. Montego Bay to Negril
The start would be in “downtown” Montego Bay, but what would be a day without adversity, right? Everything seemed to going as scheduled, until we were about 5 miles out from the start. TRAFFIC JAM. We got word the cause was a water main break, and washed out road on the only road into to town…….we finally made it thanks to some skillful off-road driving by Ken. The start today was only delayed by TWO HOURS….ISLAND TIME, MON!
So I guess the teams are starting to figure out who we are, so we decided to change our plan a bit, since we were in the jersey. Heatwave came out swinging, sending attack after attack up the road, until they had a solo stick for a while. Eric eventually ordered Thomas, Clay, Cleve and I to the front to pull it back, in a stiff head wind. After chasing for 20 some odd miles, we finally pulled the Heatwave rider back into the fold, and things looked good for our sprinter, Casey. At the 10K banner….er posterboard, the wheels started to come off of the peloton. Casey, and Eric made the front group, Cleve flatted, took a wheel change, chased, made a wrong turn, had a Red Stripe, then found his way to finish line. Casey and Eric would wind it up for the sprint, but unfortunately, it’s hard to see tape on the road as the ONLY indicator of the finish line. Casey had the win wrapped up, but sat up looking for the line, and was nipped by local hero Oneal Samuels. Guess being a local helped this time.
The results looked like this for the stage:

1st Oneal Samuels, Monte Carlo
2nd Casey Magner, MYOGENESIS
3rd Eric Murphy, MYOGENESIS
4th Marlon Williams, Heatwave
5th Marloe Rodman, Jamaican National Team

After the stage, we collected our thoughts and headed off the hotel in downtown Negril. After everyone cleaned up, we went to Rick’s Café for a little grub, and to watch the cliff divers. (pictures). After dinner we headed back, had the cab drop us off early, so we could walk and take in some of the local flavor. (another picture).
We would retire to our rooms fairly early, as the next day held for us the “mountain” stage. From all accounts, we had a nasty category 1 climb at the end of 100K. Our cab driver told us it was a “truck killer”. Such good news for those of us that are flatlanders…..
Somewhere around 2 or so in the morning, the power went out. That meant no AC! We went to the front desk, and after a bit of bickering with the new front desk guy, finally got more rooms to sleep in. The rooms were being renovated at the time, so there was sawdust, board cuttings and nails all over..but hey, it had AC and a bed.

Saturday, June 16th , Negril to Mandeville
Orders for the day; Keep the race together until the climb, then the climbers, Eric and Cleve would take over. Everything went as planned for the start of the race today. Well starting close to on time. Shortly after the start, the attacks began, just as we had figured. We thought the teams that were down in GC would try and get folks up the road, for a “headstart” on the climb. A couple of non threatening riders got up the road, but we made sure to keep the leash fairly short. About 30k in Cleve had a flat (man if you saw the roads……….), Clay dropped back and swapped wheels, and got Cleve back into the fold, only to have him flat about 30K later again. This would effectively take one of our climbers out of the fold, as we were approaching the run in to the climb. Casey stepped on the climb as was able to carry Eric a good ways before launching him. Eric was able to go clear with several others in tow. This would be the race to the top. It would eventually shake down to Eric and Marloe Rodman, Jamaica National Team, breaking free from Guy Costa, Oneil Samuels, and Jassette Broomfield. Now I don’t understand this tactic, but Jassette, Marloe’s teammate, made a final surge after cresting the top, and brought the other guys back up to Eric and Marloe. Those guys were GC threats to his guy, and because of this Oneil took the stage win, put us out of the jersey by a mere 1 second and caused his guy Marloe to get 4th on the stage!? Not quite what we expected, but oh well….
So the results for the mountain stage look like this;

1st Oneil Samuels, Monte Carlo
2nd Eric Murphy, MYOGENESIS
3rd Marlon Williams, Heatwave
4th Marloe Rodman, Jamaica National Team
5th Jassette Bromfield, Jamaica National Team

With the mountain stage over with, and looking forward to a restful night in Mandeville, the guys got checked into the hotel, showered up, and decided to venture out by foot to find some food. Just our luck, it was market day in Mandeville. Throngs of people everywhere selling their wares, buying others. Everything under the sun could be purchased. I think the favorite of Casey’s were the eggs. I don’t think it was so much the eggs, but the guy selling them…out of the back of his truck. He had this little call, something like “eggie, eggie, eggie”, like he was a vendor at the ballpark. Those of you that know Casey, will have to get him to do his rendition. After cruising around a while, we settled in to a little out of the way restaurant, that had a wonderful outdoor seating area, under a forest of the biggest bamboo I’ve ever seen. Not only was the bamboo big, but so were the local native snails. (picture) After a fine meal, we cruised back to the hotel for a goods nights rest, because, although the next stage was primarily downhill, we had tall orders, since we we’re now just a mere 1 second out of the jersey. We had to keep our eye on ALL the GC contenders, and not let anyone get away.

Sunday, June 17th, Mandeville to New Kingston
The morning greeted us with the usual schorching by 9 o’clock temps, but we we’re ready and well hydrated. After a night of sucking down MYOGENESIS TRIPLE THREAT, we felt confident in our legs abilities to carry us home. The race started with a downhill out of town, a really long, steep, straight downhill. Heatwave came out swinging again, which had figured they would do. Thomas and Brady patrolled the front, covering anything that tried to go that was threatening. By the time the attacks had shaken out, Brady was several minutes up the road with Guy Costa. The break was 5 strong, but it was up to Guy to drive it. He tried, but with me glued to his wheel, and no one else working with him, the break slowed. Cleve bridged up, so now we had two up to cover anything. Back in the peloton, the chase was on. We we’re caught with about 20K to go..grouppo compacto. That’s good, that’s what we wanted, since we had our ace sprinter sitting in. Coming into New Kingston, the boys in blue rolled the train to the front. Thomas sat up there on the nose for at least 5K, riding such a hard tempo, that the field stayed strung out single file. Perfect! That ensured no last minute attacks. After taking his man sized effort into town Brady rolled through, taking it to about 2K, were Cleve took over. Cleve rolled into to town, through a series of corners, and to the 250M mark, and sent Casey and Eric on their way. Oneil Samuels dove on the inside, and then within 200M dove across the road, chopping Eric and Casey both (which last time I checked was an illegal move), but evidently they left that page out in the Jamaica rules. Not taking anything from Oneil, because he is definitely a strong and worthy rider, but that move caused a simple tap of the brakes from our front guys, and essentially cost us the race. Oh well, lesson in international racing learned.
Results for the final stage looked like this;
1st Oneil Samuels, Monte Carlo
2nd Eric Murphy, MYOGENESIS
3rd Casey Magner, MYOGENESIS
4th Marlon Williams, Heatwave
5th Anthony Taylor, High Cadence

FINAL OVERALL GC

1st Oneil Samuels, Monte Carlo
2nd Eric Murphy, MYOGENESIS
3rd Marlon Williams, Heatwave
4th Marloe Rodman, Jamaica National Team
5th Jassette Bromfield, Jamaica National Team

There you have it. Overall, it was quite an experience, and one heck of a road trip. We can now say that the MYOGENESIS NUTRITION PODIUM is tried and true. Without this stuff, we would have not been able to perform at this level, in the extreme heat, with this much success. I also want to give a big thanks to IONA WYNTER-PARKS ( http://www.wynterparks.blogspot.com ) AND HER FAMILY. What an incredible experience they allowed us to have. Mike Colwell also, for being there for us all week, making bottles, stuffing mussette bags, changing wheels, doing all the stuff at a race that is not any fun! Clay Parks, Iona’s hubby for being there as our extra team member, and the selfless work he put in, in the peloton. Along this trip, I learned how very lucky we definitely are here in the good ole USA. The Jamaican guys showed up day after day, on old equipment, some with anequated 9speed, some with downtube shifters even. SOOO….anyone who has old equipment, clothing, shoes, helmets…anything cycling related, and want to donate to the National Team there, let me know (you can leave it in a comment on the blog or get in touch with any Myogenesis team member), let Clay know, let Iona know, and we will get it to them. I will end this report with one word, that took on a whole new meaning to me there……….
RESPECT, mon!

UNION CITY MAYOR"S RACE, UNION CITY, GEORGIA

UNION CITY

The annual scorch fest, known as the Union City Mayors Race, would also double as the Georgia State Championships for both the Road Race and Criterium. The Myogenesis guys showed up full a full arsenal in their quiver….a full complement of sprinters, Casey, Jon and Thomas. GC guys, Cleve, Jafer and Tim. Brady and Daryl also present to keep things in check on the front.

Saturday morning brought the start of the Time Trial, which would be held on the Road Race course, a four lane divided highway, that is either up or down, but never ever flat. Jon and Cleve put down their typical fast TT times, pulling in a 4th and 5th respectively. Jafer also stuck one in for another in the top 10. Tim came in at 12th.
Going into the crit Saturday night, or job would be two pronged. Not only to capture the State Championship title and jersey, but now with 4 in the top 15, to try and make or claim on the GC as well.
Saturday evening’s crit turned out to be just as advertised….Starting from the gun it was a barn burner..don’t believe me? Check this site out... (http://www.mylaps.com/results/newResults.jsp?id=552481) you can see each individual lap time as well as fastest speed….I think someone said we averaged right around 29MPH! After several attacks, a break finally got up the road, and we had Cleve in it. Content on the make up of the break, we were intent on controlling it. Coming into 4 laps to go, I looked over at the pits, and there was Cleve, with a flat, but thanks to the speedy pit wrenches, Beaver made it back into the front group, but this time with 3 to go. A little taken out of his game from the incident, Cleve was able to hang on to 5th, which moved him into 2nd in GC. Casey and Jon in, in 6th and 9th and Thomas just missing the top 10, in 11th. The big news here though is the jersey! MYOGENESIS’ CASEY MAGNER BRINGS HOME THE PRO/1 STATE TITLE, WITH BIG JON IN SILVER! The CAT 2 State title went to Ty Magner (Casey’s 16 year old brother, who incidentally is flat tearing it up) MYOGENESIS BRINGS HOME SILVER AND BRONZE IN THE 2’S.
Sunday, the road race. Six laps of a four lane highway, no shade and typically hot. With Myogenesis sitting 2nd and 4th and two others in the top 15, we knew we had a long day ahead of us. The race was fast from the start, with several attacks, but nothing really going anywhere. The field stayed on the gas and then finally on the 3rd lap of the 6 lap affair, a break got away, and we had no one in it. We pulled 5 guys to the front, and managed to get the break back. As soon as it came back, the counters started. Another group got away, and this time Jafer was able to bridge up to it. The break was a who’s who list of racing in the southeast, with guys from Hincapie, Juris, Krystals, Land Rover, Union Ciclista Latino, as well as Myogenesis represented. Jafer was able to hang in for a well deserved 6th, and Casey rounded out the top 10. Our results didn’t do much for us in the GC, but once again …..MYOGENESIS TAKES THE GOLD AND THE JERSEY. THIS TIME IT’S JAFER WITH THE CAT2 ROAD RACE CHAMPIONSHIP. In the PRO/1, it was Eric Murphy, AEG-Toshiba-JetNetwork (who just happens to be the marketing director for Myogenesis) with the gold, and CASEY MAGNER BRINGING HOME THE SILVER!

Overall it was a good weekend, 2 jerseys and a handful of podiums, 3 in the top 10 in final GC, great teamwork prep getting ready for our trip to Jamaica next week………so until then (I will try and update whilst over there..but no guarantees)

SANDY SPRINGS OMNIUM, THE ATL.

Memorial Day weekend, the Myogenesis boys would double dip, splitting into two squads. Sending the guys that are more suited to the hills to Nashville for Edgar Soto, and Jon, Casey, Brady, Travis, Thomas and Daryl to Sandy Springs. This is the second year for this race. Last year it was just a crit. This year, they made it into an omnium.
Saturday morning, the weekend would start with a rolling, power course of a time trial. Myogenesis faired well, with Jon in 3rd, Brady in 11th and Casey in 16th. Travis was just in for the road race. After the time trial, we hit the Waffle House, to get fueled up for our 130someodd K road race through the hilly SE Cherokee farm country. The road race started out fairly slow, with a break of 6 rolling off within the first few k of the race. Brady was representing Myo. The group would stay out for a half lap or so. When it came back, the counters began. The first one was unsuccessful, but the second went. Eric Murphy (AEG), Marc Anderson (Loco’s) and Casey Magner. We liked this one, and so did AEG, so we slowed it down to allow the time to grow. This move would stay away and prove to be the core of what would become a group of 5 by the end. Big Jon was able to bridge up with Alex Hagman (AEG), but just as he did, Casey felt the effects of a long day off the front, especially since he missed a feed on the previous lap. He came out of the break. So now we were back to one. Jon ended up coming home in 5th, after to having to make a deal with the devil. The AEG boys wouldn’t attack, and Jon wouldn’t take the sprint…..
Sunday we would venture back down to Sandy Springs for the criterium. Coming into the race Jon was in 4th in the GC, just behind the stranglehold of AEG. By the way….AEG is also using www.myogenesis.com product….The Myogenesis boys had a TALL order to fill, to get Jon into 3rd. The race started out fast, and pretty much stayed that way, until Eric Murphy (AEG) and Myogenesis’ Casey Magner managed to put a sizable gap between themselves and the field. Several teams sent folks to the front to pull it back with no success. Eric and Casey lapped the field, and with them back in the group, the attacks started again. Big Jon was attacking AEG’s Alex Hagman. All Jon had to do was finish in the points and in front of Alex to take 3rd overall. Nothing else got away, and it was coming to field sprint. Casey moved to the front for the leadout, pulling off out of turn 4 and launching Jon. http://sadlebred.smugmug.com/gallery/2912154#156893491-M-LB .. Big Jon held on for 4th, just in front of Alex in 5th. Job accomplished..Jon into 3rd, Casey into 7th in the GC. Not a bad weekend for the split squad.

-Brady Rogers

TT Results
Eric Murphy AEG
Predrag Prokic AEG
Jon Atkins MYO
Alex Hagman AEG
Daniel Karnis LOCOS

RR Results
Eric Murphy AEG
Predrag Prokic AEG
Alex Hagman AEG
Marc Anderson LOCOS
Jon Atkins MYO

CRIT Results
Eric Murphy AEG
Casey Magner MYO
Ty Magner Land Rover/Briar Rose
Jon Atkins MYO
Alex Hagman AEG

FINAL GC
1st Eric Murphy AEG
2nd Predrag Prokic AEG
3rd Jon Atkins MYO
4th Alex Hagman AEG
5th Ty Magner Land Rover/Briar Rose

EDGAR SOTO STAGE RACE, NASHVEGAS, TN.

Memorial Day Weekend in the Music City,
Nashville TN.

HOT, HOT, HOT, AND HILLY. Cleve, Ron, Jafer, Michael, and Tim took the country music capital and where coming up with our own song. Boy was it a tough Memorial Day Weekend. Friday was the time trial in Franklin TN. hilly and fast 7 mile out and back. All I can say it was a start of the Health Net and Jittery Joes show. Saturday 10,000 ft. of climbing. Cleve and Tim, went with the move that ended up being the right move. The move came on lap 2 of 6 which meant A LOT of miles to go. It became a long day of climbing with Carl Menzies (Health Net) and Todd Henriksen (AEG) present. Also making the move would be representatives from VMG and Priority Health. With 2 laps to go, Tim was out of the group and with 1 lap to go Cleve, punched out as well. Michael, present in the front chase group, had a great day in the saddle with a solid top 25 finish.
Sunday, Downtown Nashville. What a cool town! The CRIT was right downtown, in front of the Wildhorse Salon, (which I figured would NOT be advantageous for Cleve, (with the whiskey, women and horses?) It was a FAST affair… up the hill… down the hill. Nashville brought out the fans, which helped push the tempo. People lined the streets to watch the race that averaged over 27 mph. Tim was the highest placed at 15th, which is very hard fought considering the start list.
The next event of the weekend, was quite possibly the best event of all. The downtown bar-b-q classic. The start list for this one would be a very select crew… See the pic. Present were Cleve R Beaver, www.Ronswilliams.com , TIMMMie!, Jackie “H”Soliday with Land Rover / Brair Rose, Nick Reistad (on loan from Jelly Belly for this event only) and his girlfriend Kim Dunker.
Sunday, was a long 107 mile jaunt around Fall Creek Falls State Park. This has to be one of the most scenic roads we had ever raced on. It was amazing and tough. Even some of the hitters that were present were having a tough time climbing. Jafer stayed up front all day and showed he might be the one to watch in Dahlonega. Thank god we had our Myogenesis Nutrition PODIUM, with all its electrolytes and carbs that gave me the energy to have a great weekend.

Race Report by,
Cleve Blackwell
5-29-07

Myogenesis PODIUM puts Jon Atkins on the Podium again!!!

Jon Atkins knocks down another podium for the boys in blue at the Frazier Cycling race for Parkinsons. Details shortly!

Collegiate Nationals

SEE WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THOMAS BROWN CLICKS HIS HEELS TWICE...AND ENDS UP IN KANSAS
Despite what you might think, Kansas is not flat. I hoped that the 2007 collegiate national championships held in Lawrence Kansas would be good to me this year, improving on my 11th place last year.

The Road Race is held around Lake Perry, which with the recent rains that Kansas had, flooded one of the roads. This road happened to be part of the race course, thus the organizers had to change the course and the only way to complete the loop was to add an almost two mile section of loose gravel road. This road came after a 1.5 mile long dam, which was extremely exposed to the wind then a short steep little climb followed by a steep decent to the gravel road. We were neutralized the first time through the gravel so that the people who flatted could get back on…the next lap was a little different. On the second lap it was full gas over the dam and the climb. At the start of the gravel road I was in a group of 15 riders with a gap over the main group, which was blown apart already. The group got smaller and smaller with people dropping off because of flat tires, eventually there were only 7 riders left and I was hoping to make it through the road in this group, but this didn’t happen. My rear wheel went flat with 100 meters left gravel; I looked back and saw nothing. Neutral support was no where to found…my race was over along with over 70 other riders that day.

The Criterium the next day had to be better…at least I hoped I would have better luck. With over 130 riders and 8 corners per lap, I knew I had to stay near the front. The race was very aggressive with multiple breakaways getting away, and then coming back. I did my best job hiding in the pack, but staying up front at the same time. With 6 laps to go I started moving up, but there was still a break 10 seconds up the road with 3 guys in it. With 2 laps to go, a counter attack went on the backside of the course. Three guys went and I decided to follow it…this turned out to be the right move. We bridged up to the break, and then went straight through them. Coming around with 1 lap to go, there were about ten of us with a small gap to the main field. We rotated through once and then another attack went…everyone hesitated a bit and he was gone. I ended up on the podium with a fifth place.

Thomas Brown

USA Crits SouthEast

The Myo boys have been on the road all weeklong with Jon, Cleve and Casey (check out our ride this week). Others have rotated in and out during the trip. A quick recap so far...Saturday night, Athens Twilight, Jon Atkins ends up in the ER, Casey bangs home 30th. Roswell, a beatup crew from the night before. Ryan Barnett, Eric Murphy, and Casey all finish in top 35. On to SC where the news was not as good at Beaufort. Walterboro, next stop, more decent results considering the level of racing. Greenwood, SC on Thursday, Casey rolls in in 23rd and Big Jon captures 35th.....Spartanburg is next. More details on all the races to follow.......Spartanburg done...CASEY does it again...calls his shot on a top twenty, and does just that with a 15TH!! now on to Anniston, flat,fast 4 corners, wide open sprint (new extended course) Casey calss his shot once more...this time one ups it, and calls a top 10....HMMUHHMM....ladies and gentlemen....CASEY DELIVERS AGAIN!!!!!! brings home 8TH!!!!! taking down some of the top domestic sprinters!! on to DECATUR...I told Casey, "guess you need to one up it again, and getcha a top 5"...know what he said?...."I want the podium"......stay tuned. Ok, back with a report from Decatur. The crew ended up a long, tiring week of racing with the culmination of the USA Crits SE in Decatur, Al.. Casey pulls another top 20 coming in with a 15th and big Jon rolls in in 20th. The finishes by Casey and Jon pushed the team into 10th!! in the overall. Not only damn! but dizzy DAMN! So we're excited a little about the team finish....even bigger news is that Casey ended up 12th! in the GC and knocking on the top ten. Look for big things to come from this young speedster.....

M I crooked letter, crooked letter......

Mississippi Grand Prix, Brookhaven, Ms.
April 20-22, 2007
Cleve Blackwell

Team Myogenesis Nutrition PB Landmark Dodge headed off to Mississippi with Cleve Blackwell, Travis Sherman, Casey Magner, and Ron Williams. Accompanying the Myo boys would be Eric Murphy, from the AEG-Toshiba-Jetnetwork crew (also the marketing director for Myogenesis Nutrition). The Stage Race would be made up of some large teams, such as Herring Gas (Louisiana), Memphis Motorworks (Tennessee), and Compliance Depot (Texas), just to name a few. Friday night would be the first stage of the weekend, a criterium around downtown Brookhaven. The race was fast, and we we’re attentive. Cleve ended up working himself into a late break. Casey was able to bridge up on the shirt tails of Jason Snow (Cycle Science). Casey 4th , Cleve 5th

Saturday would be an 80 mile Road Race. Casey and Eric Murphy would work themselves into a 6 man break on the last lap. Cleve, Ron, and Travis would stay behind to keep the group in check. Coming into the finish, Casey pulled out of his pedal, not once, but twice and still managed to bring home the bacon with his first WIN as a pro 1,2 and would be in the yellow Leaders Jersey.

After the TT, there was a new person in yellow, Eric Murphy.

With Eric in yellow and Team Myogenesis helping protect his lead, the last day of racing was tough. All we had to do was keep the group together and little E would win the overall. We performed our task with laser guided precision, and Eric took the overall. Casey came in with a 4th in the race and with that, secured 4th overall. LOOKS LIKE THE NEW MYOGENESIS “PODIUM” MIX IS DELIVERING AS ADVERTISED…PICK SOME UP FOR YOURSELF…… www.myogenesis.com

Things are looking good for the crew, as they rest up and get geared up for the USA Crit Series (www.USACRITS.com). This is going to be a tall order, since we will be locking horns with some of the best and fastest racers that North America, and the World for that matter, has to offer.

Check back periodically throughout the week of the races for little blurbs from the team.

Until then …………….

Blistery B'ham

This Easter Weekend would be a family affair for Cleve Blackwell, Jackie Soladay, and Little E Eric Murphy (known collectivly as TEAM FAT KID). The crew packed it up and headed out to Birmingham, AL, to race an exciting circuit around Barber Motor Speedway (AMS track) . Team Myogenesis Pb Landmark Dodge would only have Cleve,Travis and Michael racing this weekend while the rest of team would be circling the ATL, preparing for the weekends ahead. Their new motor scooter has also been getting amp'd for the USA CRIT SERIES, April 28- May 6. Also, Ron Williams has been spotted in California at his training camp for US Para National Team. (www.ronswilliams.com)
Saturday morning "The Family" awoke at Travis's house, ready to start the day as soon-to-be infamous Team Fat Kids (founding members Eric- vice pres, Jackie-Public Relations, Cleve-el presidente). Since it would be several hours before the first race of the day, the decision to get good fuel was at the top of the agenda. 1st stop: the brand new Whole Foods in Homewood, Al. Team Fat Kids was in there for over an hour. Not only was everything shiny, new, and organic, there were samples in EVERY ISLE! Highlights included the ever popular red and green grape section and the newly discovered Olive Oil counter...over 50 different olive oils to sample with delicious Whole Foods baugettes. The team decided to make a meal of it and headed over to the Hot Plate section for breakfast. It was incredible to say the least. Eric and Jackie had such a hard time deciding what kind of muffin to get that just shrugged their shoulders and got one of each. It's always better to be safe than sorry! After loading up on a few essentials from the grocery part of Whole Foods, the team departed, in search of bigger and better (and more delicious) sights.
Next stop: Big Sky Bakery in the epicenter of Homewood. Again, tummys grumbled at the sights and smells. The aroma led the group right to the door. Fresh bread has a way about itself; no matter how full one is, one can always make room for a piping hot, fresh-out-of-the-oven loaf. The clan left with a batch, intending to consume all in their way.
TFK decided to take a break from all the calories and got to get motivated by making a store stop where all those calories can be burned. With 4 hours til go time, the boys decided to see a good friend Mike Hurly at Bob's Bikes (Homewood). After a long overdue ragging, they secured a Myogenesis Nutriention order from him and headed off to the race.

The group got to the race about 3 1/2 hours early, and boy was it cold and windy. The race had a metric century ride prior to the race, so a little marketing time for Myogenesis was in order. The press box up over the race track was a great place to meet and catch up with old friends and potential new customers. Barber Moter Speedway is a beautiful track: a challenging course with a lot of twists, turns, and dips, proving difficult for any level of racer. Jackie (Land Rover/ The Briar Rose) would have the 1st race of the afternoon. With a harsh wind in her face, she got her 1st "W" of the year. Good job girl.
Now Cleve and Eric have to get ready and race , and slowly the guys got out of the car to brave the cold weather and wind to try to warm up. Team Myogenesis (Micheal,Travis,Cleve) and Eric (AEG- Toshiba Jet Network) would cruise around, trying to keep circulation and spirits high. The game plan was for Team Myogenesis to get in a break and have Eric bridge to it. From the gun, all teams were shooting bullets out with attacks (Team Hincapie, Memphis Motorworks, Team Type One, Team Bookoo/BBC, RPM) When all said and done, Cleve was in a break with Terry Duran (Team Bookoo/BBC), and Eric Murphy and G.W. Winsel? (RPM) would come join the break. In the break, the tempo ramped up yet again by Terry and Cleve and Eric would be the only survivors going with him. With one lap to go, Eric attacked and held it. Eric (AEG) won, Cleve (Team Myogenesis) 2nd, and Terry (Team Bookoo/BBC) 3rd.

With money in their pockets, wind burn on their noses, and empty stomachs growling, Team Fat Kids would stop off in Decatur to celebrate their victories with some fine Belgium beers, cheeseburgers, and good conversations at Twain's. All was right again in the universe.

This coming weekend, the Myogenesis crew will again be spread amongst 3 races. The first being Raccoon Mountain, in Tenneesee, the second being the Rock Hill Omnium, South Carolina (what a classic!, and it's now a Gerogia Cup) and the NRC race in Jacksonville, Florida
Stay tuned for more reports.

By: Cleve Blackwell (severe editing by: Jackie Soladay, even further editing by Brady)
4-08-2007

Tsali Knobscorcher MTB Race

Mud In My Eyes!

Here it is several days after the Knob Scorcher Mountain Bike Race at Tsali, NC and I am still finding mud and feeling the effects of the mud that littered Sundays race course. A constant barrage of rain Saturday night and all day Sunday morning made an extremely fast trail an extremely treacherous one.

Saturday was the first time I have ever ridden Tsali and I was stoked.. lots of climbing, only a few fast technical downhills (I don’t like those), and lots of fast single track. I felt confident in maybe taking home a win, especially coming off of a win at a few weeks ago in Macon, GA.

After pre-riding we found out our host for the weekend had bailed on us so we had to find a hotel, which fortunately was pretty easy and only 50.00 bucks a night. We met some friends for dinner at an Italian restaurant in Bryson City. The owner/chef was a large Italian guy so I expected the food to be really good…. It wasn’t. My grilled trout was okay but my pasta was overcooked and the sauce just OK. How does an Italian overcook pasta?

Back to the hotel I sacked out pretty quick as I had spent the previous two days and nights in Athens, GA, which many of you know translates to out late having drinks two nights in a row. Throughout the night I heard the sound of thunder rolling through sky, the crackle of lightening, and the pitter patter of rain. These sounds are nice for sleeping but are a recipe for nastiness when it comes to mountain bike racing.

We had learned of a local coffee shop, so when we awoke we made our way to downtown Bryson City to have coffee and pastries, only to find that the coffee shop was closed on Sundays. Isn’t Sunday one of the best days to sit around drinking coffee? Fortunately I had scoped out the cities eateries on the way to the coffee shop and had noticed a bustling little diner called the Everett St. Diner, which we decided to patronize. It was amazing… some of the best grits I’ve ever had , awesome pancakes, and homemade muffins that would make you slap your momma! Stuffed and bloated we headed to the race.

We had a good 3 hours before we raced and I spent most of that time sitting in the car listening to music as the rain came in 10 minute increments. As the race start approached, I slowly got ready and got what would be a very inadequate warm up. It’s just plain hard to get motivated with such nasty conditions and before you know it you go from “I’ll get a good 45 minute warm up” to “ahhh I’ll just use the first 10 miles of the race as a warm up”… the later never being a good decision.

Our start was delayed due to a rider that was injured and having to be taken out of the woods via a four-wheeler. This allowed for more, much needed, warm up time. About 45 minutes later we were still delayed and the officials decided to change the course, which ended up being good news for me. Now instead of a short dirt road climb that dropped into a downhill single-track section we would climb for over a mile before hitting the single-track. This was good because it would allow me to try and get somewhat of a gap before descending on slippery muddy trails (if you can’t tell by now I’m not very fast on downhills, too many years away from the mountain bike).

We finally got started and as we ascended the fire road climb I sat in and waited to see what kind of pace the others would set. I found myself riding very comfortably when the climb really started to go uphill I decided to hit the front and lift the pace. Within a few hundred meters I was alone with my teammate Cleve Blackwell in 2nd. I kept the pace high all the way up wanting to build as big a gap as possible.

By the start of the 2nd lap I was still alone with at least a 5 minute gap. I felt awesome buy my bike was starting to feel the effects of the nasty conditions. My tires were some of the worst you could use in muddy conditions (this is being fixed with my new Maxxis Tire sponsorship that I acquired just after the race), my rear brake no longer worked, and my eyes were absolutely trashed from a constant spray of muddy water and chunks of mud. The worse my brakes and eyes got the slower I went. I put in another hard effort on the start/finish climb and any other climbs I hit, but the downhill sections I had to take pretty easy. Only having front brakes and a dry weather tire I started to crash anytime I hit my brake and wasn’t going in a straight line.

After several crashes, I was ready to throw my bike into the woods and I began to get very frustrated.. I wasn’t even going hard or fast and I was crashing. My vision was pretty blurry by now and I figured the guys behind me would probably start to catch me, but at this point I just wanted to finish the race without any broken bones.

As I neared the last couple of miles of the course a guy informed me that the race had been cut short and we would finish on this lap. Better news couldn’t have been heard!
I could put it in cruise control and win no problem, another lap may have been a different story. I crossed the finish line and immediately ditched my bike. Several people were there to help me out as I couldn’t keep my eyes open anymore. My sinuses were also flowing like crazy trying to flush the barrage of mud that invaded my whole head.

A huge thanks to Jackie Soladay and the others for helping me after the race…. I was a mess!

We hit a killer little restaurant after the race and I pounded 2 beers to help me sleep as my eyes were still very irritated and sleeping was the only cure.

My eyes are better and thanks to my neighbor Drew, that works for The Bike Center (another team sponsor), in Peachtree City my bike is better too!

-Eric Murphy

Georgia Cup (www.georgiacup.com)
Gainesville, Georgia
Thomas Brown

Just like the weather, the racing scene in the southeast is really starting to heat up. The weekend of March 24-25 featured the next round of the Georgia Cup in Gainesville Georgia. Three races were on tap for the weekend, an 11k time trial, a 60 kilometer Criterium, and a 100 kilometer road race. The Team Myogenesis Nutrition presented by Landmark Dodge boys came into the weekend with high hopes and high fitness.

The Thurmond Tanner parkway time trial started off the weekend. The course was a straight forward 11 kilometer test in which the big powerful time trialists would come out to play. Team Myogenesis held their own with Cleve Blackwell powering to 11th while the wise saved energy for the Criterium that night.

The nighttime downtown Criterium course is one of the fastest courses in the southeast. This, along with the lack of lighting produced a night of fast aggressive and exciting racing. With average speeds close to 30 miles per hour the majority of the pack was content to simply survive the onslaught of attacks. Most of the breakaway attempts proved futile as Jittery Joes was intent on keeping the pack under its control. Despite this, with 20 laps to go a group of 8 riders were twenty seconds up the road. In that group was the hyper aggressive Cleve Blackwell, who was intent on getting away from the raging peloton. With cooperation waning in the breakaway, Cleve along with Seth Hansley????(LAST NAME) from Loco’s hit it hard and dropped their breakaway companions. The remnants of the breakaway were then picked up by the raging peloton with close to five laps to go. The rest of the Myogenesis boys swarmed the front trying to keep Cleve away while setting up Thomas Brown for the sprint. Coming into the last lap, the break was still away, but a hard attack by Bruno Langlois proved to be the winning move. Bruno blew by the breakaway duo, Cleve held on for 3rd and Thomas came in for 6th after a last lap incident.

The 100k road race would determine the GC for the entire weekend. After pumping Myogenesis’ Blood Booster along with Triple Threat recovery drink over night, the Myogenesis boys were feeling fast and looking good. Aggression and attrition was the name of the game for the day. With two KOM’s per lap with time bonuses, the impetus was high to make the race hard. Two flat tires took out Jafer Beizer along with Tim Barrett early in the race. With this development, survival over the vicious climb became paramount. With over 6000 vertical feet of climbing in the race, the peloton became smaller and smaller each lap. With two ten kilometer laps remaining, 5 riders were off the front and the remaining peloton was dying a slow death. With 2 k to go, Cleve Blackwell attacked hard and soloed in to the finish for 6th, while Thomas Brown came around Jittery Joes’ Aussie sprinter Jeff Hopkins for 7th. Overall the weekend was very successful for Team Myogenesis Nutrition p/b Landmark Dodge and the results bode well for upcoming races.

March 24, 25

SPIN CITY CYCLING CLASSIC
ORLANDO, FLORIDA


This weekend, the Myogenesis Nutrition pb Landmark Dodge would run split squads. There were three races in the Southeast this weekend, the aforementioned in the title, Spring City Cycling Classic, formally known as The Festival of Speed. The Georgia Cup, in Gainesville, Georgia, and the inaugural Tour De Tuscaloosa, in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. I’m here to report on the goings in the land of GIANT mice.

Let me first start my report by telling a little story…..Friday night, I was out with a couple of buddies, doing an easy spin around, to loosen the legs up. We rolled up to a traffic light, came to a stop, sat and waited. The light turned green, we went to pull off, and I looked back to make sure my buds were there, only to see one of them laying on the ground!??? Of course, I started rolling, because I was starting to realize what had happened, couldn’t get out of the pedal-fall on the ground in slow motion-still not able to get out the pedal because of his own weight, other buddy trying to pick him up, while he is still clipped in. Ok, funny enough? It get’s better. Once my buddy got up and got going, he started begging me, don’t tell anyone, don’t tell anyone, don’t tell anyone……SO I PROMISED I WOULDN’T, that’s why his name isn’t in here. So here’s the punch line…after saying don’t tell anyone, there was an Atlanta Police Officer at the intersection, and being the ever vigilant officer that he should be, got on his P.A. and proceeded to announce over it, “I saw everything, and I’m going to tell”. I about fell off of my bike!!

The above story should have been a clue to what was about to go down. Early Saturday morning, the Orlando crew (Brady, Jon, Casey and Ryan) along with the dude that fe…..I said I wouldn’t call him out, so I’ll stop right there, Curt. We arrived in Orlando around 2 in the afternoon for an 8 o’clock twilight crit around the bar district. The course was a FLAT, four corner, rectangle, with a long drag race down the start/finish.

Our buddy Curt was racing in a race several before ours, so we were in turn two, watching Curt get it on. About five laps into his race, I looked over to our team van, where all our bikes were displayed nicely, leaned up against the van, to check on them visually. Good thing I did, because just as I did, I noticed a maroon car turning around at the blocked intersection….with two bikes hanging out of the trunk. In a matter of .000034863 seconds, my mind took in that information, I think the fact that it was two American Classic 420’s, (which happen to be the choice wheel of the Myogenesis guys) mounted on forks, that from my vantage point were mostly black (kinda what the forks look like on our Blue Competition Cycles RC-7’s), hanging out of the trunk, tripped a flag. My eyes went from the trunk, immediately to the van, took a quick count, and came up two short! I immediately took off running. Now remember, I was sitting on the inside of the course, and by all accounts, when I took off running, I ran out of my flip-flops I was wearing, leaving them in the middle of the course, and ran right in between a split in the race that was going on. I never saw them. So here I am running barefooted down a road in Orlando, chasing a car, that has two of our bikes in it. A friend of ours, Gina Voci (Kenda Tire) who had just finished racing, saw what was going on, and took off in a full out sprint on her bike, and likewise, as I did, took off straight through the middle of the race that was going on, after the car. SHE CAUGHT THEM three blocks later at the intersection!! She not only caught them, but I guess in order to stop them, she rode in front of them. It stopped them alright, but not until after they tried to run her over. This whole scene was taking place right in front of two patio dining areas. Several of the patrons, along with one of the local business owners, came out to the intersection to help out. Cops called out. Three dillholes are now being charged with 2 counts each of Felony Grand Theft, because of the value of the bikes, and the driver is being charged with Felony Aggravated Assault as well for trying to run Gina over. Ok, we got the bikes back, an hour before the start of our race. We took off as fast as we could for the hotel, so we could put on our Garneau kits, and get ready for the ensuing battle. Alright, trying to get focused, mind back in the game, warming up, Jon breaks a cleat 20 minutes before the start…5 miles on the other side of the course from the hotel. With 20 minutes until race time, he had no time to change the cleat, so he grabs one of Curt’s shoes, a size 42 and Jon wears a 46, and one of Curt’s pedals, a Shimano pedal, and Jon runs Speedplays.
SO now Jon has a shoe on that is 4 euro sizes to small, and two different pedals. I’ve got blisters on my feet from running barefooted down the road..things are looking REAL good for us. So on to the race. There was some heat present. Aerospace had a full complement in its quiver. Herbalife, out of Miami, had like 48 guys in there, Preferred Alliance, another strong Florida team, had a full squad. The race started fast, as expected, with several attacks taking place. A break finally got established. The break of 7 managed to stay away for well over half of the race. Preferred Alliance brought their guys to the front, and the chase was on. All of us stayed up front, lending assistance to the chase. The break gets caught with 4 to go. Good for us, with primarily a sprint type squad present. We managed to come in with 5th (Casey), 14th (Jon) and 21st (Ryno).
Alrighty, Crit in the bag, so we take off to get something to eat. After driving around Orlando for an hour looking for anything open, other than a bar, we find an IHOP. We pulled in, happy, because it’s just what we were looking for. Head to the front door. Closed. 5 minutes before we got there. Ok, now what? Steak N Shake, across the road, open 24. It’ll have to do. SO we get our table, it then takes 30 minutes to get our waters we ordered. The Steak N Shake experience is a whole story in itself, but it ends with us leaving 1:10 minutes after arriving. We finally get back to the hotel at 1 something.
Circuit race Sunday. WINDY, wide open and flat. Basically the race boiled down to this. Strung out, headwind from 8 directions, some dude taking out 2 of my rear spokes, Casey making the front group and one ferocious bridge and holding in there for 11th.
So hopefully all the “full moon” type of stuff is out our systems, and we can get back to it. Overall, the weekend was fairly successful considering………..