Workin' It.

Newbie, Ryan Mele is out training in Colorado. Above is a photo of Ryan riding up Lookout Mountain in Golden, Colorado. He will be a force this year with this kind of dedication.

This is...

already getting old. I've been on the trainer all week due to pouring rain in the 40 degree temps. That kind of weather is where I draw the line. Back in my youth that wouldn't have stopped be, but I now paid for that philosophy as I now can't feel my fingers if the temps are below 65 degrees. This will do, but The Tour of Bahamas can't come soon enough.

J. Whit

THIS JUST IN FROM THE TOUR OF THE BAHAMAS

Men's P12 Cash Prize increased to $10,000 and premes for each stage - $3,500 to the overall winner alone!

Women's Cash Prize increased to $6,000 and premes for each stage - $1,000 to the overall winner alone!

Please train hard and get the word out – International Caliber indeed, and we are brining home all their umbrellas and more :-)

Teams and Individuals Confirmed:

Garmin-Cervelo U23

Ivan Dominguez New Pro Team

Hincapie Development

Stan's NoTubes/AXA Equitable

Jamis Sutter Home

Florida Velo

EliteFlorida Velo Masters

Texas Road House Masters

World Class Triathletes Participating:

Jarrod Shoemaker

Jenna Parker

Alicia Kaye

Race Website

Tour of Bahamas

As the 2012 racing season nears, the winter months ahead present a mental and physical hurdle for every cyclist that lives in a colder climate. Based out of New York City and the surrounding region, the Stan’s NoTubes/AXA Equitable Elite Cycling Team understands these challenges first hand. The majority of our competitors are afforded the professional luxury to venture to Tucson, Arizona or Southern California for the next few months to log miles in the warm sunshine. Our difficulties are compounded by the fact that nearly everyone on the Stan’s NoTubes/AXA team owes “The Man” at least 40 hours each week. The extended hours on the trainer and the seemingly relentless weather and darkness can make even the most dedicated rider lose focus.

Last January, we found the perfect remedy to the winter training blues. One Friday afternoon six of us took the afternoon away from our jobs and boarded a Jet Blue flight from Laguardia airport. Three hours later, we were living the island life at The Tour of the Bahamas welcome party. The weekend that followed was a wonderful whirlwind of racing, riding and relaxing on the beach.

The Tour of The Bahamas provides the perfect excuse to get out of the weather and head south for a short time trial and two moderate road races. There are races available for all categories, including Juniors and Women. The largest hill on the island is about as daunting as Harlem Hill in Central Park, and let’s face it, it’s January… so there’s no need to be in peak form. All three races start at the same location, a gentle 15 mile spin from the race hotel. While rental vehicles are available, we opted to ride to the start of each race to maximize our warm weather riding. We capped off our results (2nd prologue, 1st road race and 2nd GC) with an evening of local entertainment and fresh fish at the fish fry (just tell the taxi driver on Sunday evening – “take me to the fish fry”). With the addition of a short spin before boarding the flight back to the frigid north on Monday morning, we netted just shy of 300 miles of “winter” training… and we were back to work by noon.

If the boost in motivation and the added fitness are not reason enough to make the Tour of The Bahamas your first 2012 race, the sun, fun, beach and food should get you there. The flight is reasonably cheap, the logistics are easy and the weather is warm. The promoter has even negotiated a discounted rate at the beachside Wyndham Nassau Resort & Crystal Palace Casino for $109 a room. Hope we will see you there January 27-29, 2012.

Our team had a great time at this race and we wanted to share the experience with everyone freezing their butts off in the North East.

For more info please visit:
www.tourofthebahamas.com

New Stan's Wheelset.

Sorry, the photo is upside down, but you get the idea. The new Stan's wheels have carbon/stainless skewers. This should make my teammates in NYC very happy...the teammates who use a lot of product in their hair that is. I've spent a week on this wheelset that includes a redesigned hub-set and they are working very nice. New graphics on the rim are looking good as well. Hopefully these give us a podium spot in a month and a half at the Tour of Bahamas!

J. Whit

Staying in Shape & Riding in DC

Growing up in State College, PA I was blessed with some of the best riding that Pennsylvania has to offer (if you haven't ever been to Central PA... Go). I did not actually know how great the riding was because I didn't start competitively racing until this prior year after I exhausted my Collegiate eligibility (I swam competitively all my life and for the Penn State swim team). Since moving down to DC, the demands of public accounting and learning how to balance the work, riding, and social life has certainly proved to be a creative task. Can all three be done? Can you actually put in your 10 - 12 hour work days, stay in shape for race season (or just for staying in shape's sake), and have a social life? I say yes.

So what is the best method to doing so for the long winter months when the sun goes down at 5:30pm? Grab some winter riding gear, a good pair of tires, a nice bike light, and hop on that bike trail to work. I happen to live around 15 miles away form my work. After some experimenting and exploring different ways to get to work I discovered that it takes me approximately 50 minutes to get to work by riding the metro (door to door), or, if I take my bike, 50 minutes on my bike. Therefore, I can either choose to sit for 50 minutes, or exercise for 50 minutes, either way I get to work in the same amount of time. So the next time you tell yourself you don't have any time to work out due to your busy work/life schedule... think again.

DC has some of the best trails to navigate in and around the capitol area. Not to mention, riding your bike in the city can be much quicker than trying to drive in the rush hour nightmare capital of the USA. So needless to say riding your bike in DC can be one of the safest and most efficient ways to navigate to and from work.

For those of you in the DC area trying to get some miles in this winter during the work week and trying to balance your work schedule... Grab your bike, a pair of Stan's NoTubes wheels & tires (no flats), and i'll see you on the trail at 7:15am & pm.