Rapid Wheelmen Race Team

Rapid Wheelmen Race Team Web Site


                                                                


RWRT News

Check out this page at USACycling: http://www.usacycling.org/news/user/story.php?id=4239
scroll down a bit to the Womens 60-64 Crit results and see our own Alison Gase!

Good job Alison and thanks for getting yourself and the team mentioned in the National standings!

Versus Fantasy Cycling Scoreboard



July Races...
  Not much racing around Michigan in July (at least on the Road side)
    Enjoy the Tour de France on Versus  

July 11 (sat)     BTR Crit (Kalamazoo)   WebSite  Brochure  Registration
RWteam: Dennis(35+), Katie(Jr's), TomScott(4's), Brian Cornell(4's) 
who else is planning on this race?

July 12 (Sat)    Terry Reisch Mem. Circuit Race (Hillsdale)   Web Site  Brochure  Registration
RW: anyone planning on this race?
 
July 25th (Sat)   Maillot Jaune Road Race (Fenton)   WebSite  Brochure  Registration
Very few details available on this race
 
also available out-of-state:
Illinois Races That Nate's Doing
Race Date Website
Arlington Heights Crit July 14 Arlington Heights
Ray Basso Bensenville Crit July 15 Ray Basso Crit
Chicago Crit July 26 Chicago Crit


Marquette Bike Fest
(Fri.June 27 - Sun.June 29)
Team Stats:   2 RW racers - Dennis Hamel, Nate Strong
                    4th place - State Championship Road Race (cat5)
                    Top Ten - Circuit Race (cat5)
                    Top Ten - Omnium Overall (Cat5)

report by Dennis Hamel

Friday (the twilight Crit):
Nate Strong and I drove up to Marquette for the 2009 Bike Fest. Friday night we raced the crit. I had numberous problems with my drivetrain. Dropped my chain around the first corner and went from the front to the back in about 5 seconds, spent the rest of the race bridging groups and fighting with the shifting until I thought I caught the lead group, only to discover it was the chase group. finished 22nd, Nate was right behind me at 24th. Good enough to score points for the overall omnium competition at least.
                Crit Photos
 

Saturday (The Road Race - State Championship):

Road Race Championship today. 55 miles through the hills of Marquette. Nate started out strong and was at or near the front for most of the time. I was content to hang at the back of the lead group. Somewhere around the 30 mile point he fell off and said he was cooked. I tried to get him to catch my wheel and hang on but he fell off quickly. At one point a solo breakaway got me nervious. it looked like a green and black Priority rider, and there were two Priority riders sitting on the front slowing the pack. The breakaway started gaining and I began loosing sight of the pace car, so I went around the front and started a rally to pull him back. It turned out he was not a priority rider, but it sure looked like good team tactics at work.
 
I hung onto the lead group, and about 7 miles out the pace picked up significantly. Rain had started about half-way through the course and the wheel spray caused a nasty taste in the mouth. It also made the few turns near the end tricky, but no one crashed that I know of. I hadn't scoutted the end of the route, and that came back to haunt me now. I was unsure how far the finish was or where the turns were. I just tried to keep close to the front, after the final (unexpected) turn I saw the finish line and dropped the hammer, but two guys were just far enough ahead that catching them was unlikely. I was digging hard for third place, when another guy pipped me at the line. It was so close, I wasn't sure if I got or not, but I felt like he got it. The results placed me forth, but with the same finish time. he got me by a hair! They only awarded medals out to the top three, so Mike and I left early to get some food as hunger hit me hard about now.
 
Nate had recovered and hooked up with some masters that finished not to far behind the other cat 5 racers.
 
I was quite disappointed at missing third place by so little, but it was a good race and I finished well. Nate and I both finished and learned a few things.
                Road Race Photos

Sunday (The Circuit Race through Presque Isle Park):
I first discovered this wonderful little park by accident many years ago when I made a wrong turn in Marquette, and it has since been a favorite spot that we usually visit when going through the UP. It is a small bulbous peninsula about a mile long and half mile wide that sticks out into Lake Superior. The rocky outcroppings and dive-able cliffs on the north end are great fun to explore. It is also a deer sanctuary where people can usually see deer feeding and wandering about, a fact we noticed as Nate and I were riding the course before the race and saw a deer standing right on the shoulder of the road watching us go by without much concern at all. (Fortunately there were no bike-deer accidents during the race, but they warned us about the possibility). What I didn't remember was the STEEP hill on the north end, my Garmin consistently reported the steepest part at 15%. It was not real long but certainly long enough to really make it challenging after the previous two days efforts! The decent following the climb had a sharp turn at the bottom just where the pavement narrowed a bit and the new tarmac ended and the uneven old pavement started. With the 2 foot high stumps marking the edge of the drive, it made for a very precarious situation. I was quite nervous about it before the race, but it proved to not cause any problems during the race.

With only 3 laps of about 2 miles each, we shot off the line as expected. The group stayed together through the first lap, but as we started the second lap, a group off the front accelerated and I was caught too far back as the group split. AURRGGGH!  I fought hard to bridge, and eventually found a strong 16y/o junior to work with, but after the second lap, with the lead group about 15 seconds ahead, I had burned all my matches and started to fall back. I still finished 9th, so I was content with a top ten finish, and that was enough to land me the 10th spot in the overall omnium classifacation.
                Circuit Race Photos

  Race Web Site         Official Results         Newspaper Article        2nd News Article + Video 

Results...
National 24hr Challenge

(June 20-21, 2009)
RW Racers and RW club riders (wearing RW Kit):
  • Joel Bierling
  • Dave Durkee
  • Jerry Behl
  • Gary Trapp
  • Mike Burden
  • John Crankshaw
  • Scott & Carolyn Chapman


Lumberjack
(June 20, 2009)
Mens Open Division  - 175 racers, winning time was 6:48.06
Mens Single Speed - 27 Racers, winning time was 8:28.01
  • John Kowalczyk - 14th at 10:54.20

Race Report:  Jeff Festian


State Time Trial Championship (Wolverine TT at Hines Park)
(June 21, 2009)
RW Racers: Christopher Conen, Alison Gase, Dennis Hamel, Katie Hamel, Amy Haney, Michael Walenta, (maybe Dave Durkee)

CANCELLED due to flooding. Re-scheduling news expected soon.

Hello, we have finalized the date and time for the reschedule of the
MI State TT. It will be held Sunday July 26, 2009 at Hines Park. Thank
you for your patience while we went through the effort required to
reschedule a venue.

Several items:
- All registrations from June 21 have been carried over to July 26.
- As an option, we offer to transfer your registration to Willow TT
2010 anticipated on April 24, 2010. We need to know that by Wednesday
July 22.
- Start line, check in, and parking will be at a different location.
Details to follow.
- Start times and numbers will be redone.
- Online registration at active.com will reopen by this weekend, and
will close on Wednesday July 22. Category changes can be made until
registration closes July 22. No registration or  changes after July
22.

The website www.fredericjames.com/events will be updated shortly with
the latest info. Refer to that or email events@fredericjames.com.

Thanks






KissCROSS - Tentative 2009 Schedule
HUGE NEWS IS THE DOUBLE HEADER OPENER! 
Fridays event will be under the lights of the Ski Area with music, food and beer but no creek crossing. Bike lights not required!
Saturdays event will be daylight and include the creek crossing as a option like years past.

9-11-09 Double Header Night Race! Cannonsburg Ski Area 7-10PM
9-12-09 Double Header Day Race Cannonsburg Ski Area 11-2pm
10-3-09 Highland Park 11-2pm
10-18-09 Lakeside Park, Caledonia 11-2pm
11-1-09 Richmond Park 11-2pm
11-15-09 Manhattan Park 11-2pm
11-29-09 Holland 11-2pm



Upcoming Events:

 












Recent Race Results

  • Marquette Bike Fest (6/27-29) (Fri.June 27 - Sun.June 29, 2009)Team Stats:   2 RW racers (Dennis Hamel, Nate Strong)                    4th place State Championship Road Race (cat5)                    Top Ten Circuit Race (cat5)                    Top Ten ...
    Posted Jun 30, 2009 8:29 AM by Dennis Hamel
  • Tour de Mont Pleasant (June 13-14, 2009)Recap of Day 1 (Criterium) at Mont Pleasant:Woke up to rain, and drove throgh some heavy rain on the way up, but by the time ...
    Posted Jun 24, 2009 10:41 AM by Dennis Hamel
Showing posts 1 - 2 of 12. View more »

Upcoming Race Info....

Race DateRaceWeb siteRegistrationType
May 4, 2009 RW Time Trail Info On SIte, RW member + $5 annual Time Trial 
May 6, 2009 Grattan Race Series MWSport Annual Reg. Form Road Race 
June 21, 2009 Wolverine State TT Championship Frederic James Events active.com Time Trial 
Showing 3 items from page Race Planning Info sorted by Race Date, Type. View more »


2009 RW Team Points Challenge 

Jan-Feb-Mar Challenge

                 


The first set of prizes for the winter segment of the contest are now posted. More prize choices can be expected in the next few weeks! 


See the Prize Pool web page for more information on the prizes and the business' supporting this contest.    


           


Attachments (5)

1day until
BTR Crit (kzoo)

External Links


Rapid Wheelmen Club Web Site

Recent site activity