All posts by randy

Syracuse Bike Polo

Photos & summary by Marcus Lewis.

After the Tour de Syracuse, we invited people over and were introduced to Bike Polo. They meet at Berry Park (corner of Westcott and Broad Street) Syracuse, New York on the tennis courts every Sunday and Monday, 4:30, 5:30 respectively. There’s a great turn out of riders each week and they are always looking for new people to join in on the fun. Bring a beater bike and good attitude and great balance!

Each game is pretty intense when you first start, but after you get used to it, it’s incredible fun, so if you’re ever in the area stop by Sunday or Monday and have a good time. You can meet the Syracuse Bike Polo group on Facebook and don’t be shy to leave a little something if you’re interested.

Take a look at some photos of what you missed this past Monday.

wet suit anyone?

Incase anyone’s in the market for a wetsuit I get these emails from time to time.

50% off on a couple kinds of suits:

here are the “special offer details”…

Get 50% off any Vortex3 or Volt wetsuit for 5 days only. Pick up the Vortex3 Fullsuit for $199 (Reg. $400), the Vortex3 Sleeveless for only $149 (Reg. $300) and the Volt Sleeveless for only $99 (Reg. $200) when you use coupon code “MIDSUMMER50”. Plus get free shipping on all orders over $200. Offer ends July 18. 2010, good while supplies last. Available exclusively online at XterraWetsuits.com.

2010 Black Fly Challenge Bicycle Race

2010 Results Black Fly Challenge .

randy’s quick unedited race recap:

black fly was fun. went out and quickly moved to the front so i could see what rocks and roots i should avoid rather than being in the pack.. then a front pack broke off which i was infront  right from the start a dude from ‘handlebars’ a team outta buffalo area i think took off and never came back

we pack rode for the first 13-15 miles or so then a dude took off and like 2  of us went after him rode with that guy for like 5 miles and ditched the pack and then he got out ahead of me and disappeared around some corners with 15 to go , i was in fourth at this point before this we had passed a dude that flatted … 10 to go it turned all to road so i dropped into a semi aero position and pedaled hard.. i knew phil mccarth was back with his ommegangsters in a pack (phil got 2nd last year).. and around 2 or 3 to go the pack came up apparently flat tire man caught them and pulled the crap outta the second half of the race… i was pretty tired so i settled into the pack and saw mile to go sign thought about trying to break out again but guys were just sitting and waiting for action it seemed and i didnt think i would be able to hold up for a whole mile… i shoulda gone though cuz there was a really long chute that was super narrow which was hard to move up so i finished in the middle of the pack .. front guy in our pack got fourth i got eighth over all and 1st in agegroup winning 90 bucks which was cool

no flies either it rained a ton before so they were off doing other things… wet sand though makes for hard ridin… definitely a good workout.. then after sarah made me go for a little run with her .. i was very tired and exceptionally hungry .. it wasnt a very fun run haha

a more well done race recap from the p.o.v. of an ommegangster named skinny phil:

http://mudbloodandbelgianbeer.blogspot.com/2010/06/black-fly-race-recap.html

Keuka Lake Tri Results & Fun Stuff

Fun Stuff:

  • the 54 cervelo p2k:

ebay is a dangerous thing… arriving yesterday from texas with this wiry tangle and a bunch of plastic baggies… unfortunately I have to exercise as much patience as possible to wait and bring it over to Mello Velo where Steve can ensure a successful assemblage. Whereas who knows what would happen if I dug my teeth into it… I mean you can see my vision of an awesome bicycle with the frankenbike, whose evolution below was made possible by the cervelo, ups man, deranged aesthetic interests, and ebay!

  • the latest of frankenbike:

Keuka Lake Tri:

Keuka Results; all.pdf & age-group.pdf

This past weekend wasn’t the best showing for BTB, I was a bit fatigued going into the tri, been doing some solid workouts and didn’t really slow down coming into the weekend.. I managed my first swim attempt, my goal was to stay relaxed and do the best I could, then pick up and catch as many people as possible on the bike and run… Which went about 60% according to plan. I came out of the water according to the results as the 110th fastest swimmer and ten minutes slower than the winners swim time.. so it took a decent amount of work to get back up to my 18th place overall.. Legs were feeling the fatigue on the bike and run but all in all I’m fine with the outcome, you may see me in many more lakes and pools these next few months than ever before. Bob also had a rough swim, as his first complete triathlon, he tackled the olympic distance, and also first competitive open water swim, which are all difficult obstacles between an individual and a good race, not to mention still getting used to the new notion of the wetsuit. So you may see more than just me thrashing and battling the cny waters. Sarah on the flip side had a great race, gliding right through the water, having her most comfortable bicycle experience to date after getting a new seat, and coming in with a very strong finish in the run looking very strong!

Good job to all! Keep trainin’ hard. Our friend John and Sara Evans both secured places on the podium winning their age group, representing the CNY triathlon community very well. Ken Hammond also had a good race, looking very smooth on the bike portion and giving encouragement when I saw him, even after wrestling a wet tent that morning that he endured the storm the evening before!

Race 4 Hope – 2010

A warm Sunday morning, May 30th, racers rolled to an easy eight-thirty start. Geared up to race through the rolling hills of the Borodino countryside for the 4th annual Race for Hope.

The Race for Hope is in honor of local cyclist and triathlete Dick Shaffer, a Borodino resident and triathlete, who died of cancer in 2006. Race for Hope seeks to find a cure for cancer, all race proceeds go to support research at the Center for Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders at Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital.

The race was a ~25 mile citizens race, so all categories of cyclists were welcome to ride and compete in one combined field. More information about the race can be found at the Skan Races website.

BTB Athletics would like to congratulate all the competitors for putting out an excellent effort on Sunday. Big thanks to all the volunteers involved.

I decided to get another good effort in this past weekend, telling myself that depending on how my legs feel after the Fly by Night duathlon on Sat. evening I may go down and check out the race in Borodino on Sunday. It’s just around the corner and Mello Velo / Middle Ages teammate Brian Nilsson was racin’. I felt good so I signed in and raced it, ended up finishing first, after working with a little break away pack that went off after some of the more decent of the hills catching up to one dude with sweet glasses who made a very solid break with about 8 miles to go. A good time was had by all, I continue to learn bits and pieces of cycling tid bits, this time around was sprint etiquette.

To check out the photos of Race 4 Hope Click Here!

Good job all!

Have a great Memorial Day!