Please welcome Erika Graves, formerly of the Kahala-La Grange Elite Women's
Team.
Erika is joining our elite women's team, for the 2011 season.
Erika is an experienced and very strong road and crit racer. Many of us have
raced against her so we know first hand :)
She will be sharing an apartment with Julia La Franchise, and living next
door to Lauren Liscinski and Jenna in Santa Monica. Training camp 24/7!!
Expect to see our young riders out in force on the local riders.
Welcome aboard Erika.
Louise and the entire NOW-MS Society family
__._,_
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Heeley and Karzen podium at Elite Track Nationals
Danny Heeley and Kit Karzen on the podium at Elite Track National Championships in Carson! (see attached photo) After six intensely competitive races yesterday and today, Danny placed 2nd and Kit 3rd in the Men's International Omnium. Below are the races (with results) included in the Omnium.
Olympic Track Cyclist Bobby Lea (2008 Beijing) won the Omnium.
Elite Track Nationals continue... tonight is the Team Pursuit, 5pm. Danny competes in the Scratch Race tomorrow. Tomorrow night is the Points Race. More racing this weekend including the Points races, Keirins and more Saturday beginning 3pm, and Sunday's Madison starting at noon. Click below for the schedules. These races will be very intense, with the top names in track cycling competing for titles. Come out to Carson and cheer on Kit and Danny!
Wednesday, Sept. 29:
Men 1/ 2 Flying Lap: Kit 3rd Danny 4th
Points Race: Danny 2nd Kit 3rd
Eliminations Race: Danny 2nd Kit 8th
Individual Pursuit: Danny 4th Kit 5th
Thursday, Sept. 30:
Kit won Scratch Race, Danny 9th
Time Trial: Danny 5th Kit 7th
Final: Danny 2nd Kit 3rd
Congratulations Kit and Danny! Good luck!!
For info and directions, go to:http://www.lavelodrome.org/
Schedule: https://www.usacycling.org/events/2010/elitetrack/10EliteTrackSched.pdf
And follow Kit's Twitter at http://twitter.com/kitkarz en
Olympic Track Cyclist Bobby Lea (2008 Beijing) won the Omnium.
Elite Track Nationals continue... tonight is the Team Pursuit, 5pm. Danny competes in the Scratch Race tomorrow. Tomorrow night is the Points Race. More racing this weekend including the Points races, Keirins and more Saturday beginning 3pm, and Sunday's Madison starting at noon. Click below for the schedules. These races will be very intense, with the top names in track cycling competing for titles. Come out to Carson and cheer on Kit and Danny!
Wednesday, Sept. 29:
Men 1/ 2 Flying Lap: Kit 3rd Danny 4th
Points Race: Danny 2nd Kit 3rd
Eliminations Race: Danny 2nd Kit 8th
Individual Pursuit: Danny 4th Kit 5th
Thursday, Sept. 30:
Kit won Scratch Race, Danny 9th
Time Trial: Danny 5th Kit 7th
Final: Danny 2nd Kit 3rd
Congratulations Kit and Danny! Good luck!!
For info and directions, go to:http://www.lavelodrome.org/
Schedule: https://www.usacycling.org/events/2010/elitetrack/10EliteTrackSched.pdf
And follow Kit's Twitter at http://twitter.com/kitkarz en
Monday, September 20, 2010
Stage 5 of the MS Ride
Happy Monday,
Hope everyone enjoyed the weekend. Seems like a few of you may have been out there putting some long miles in prepping for the MS ride...good work.
We have less than a month to go. We are pretty much in the last 5 laps of a crit. We have been cruising but now it's time to get serious and make your training work for you:
Send another email out to everyone on your list. You are nut bugging them. I always have people coming up to me asking me to send the link again because they forgot to make a donation. Anyhow, how can they be annoyed with you? It's not like you are getting the $. Remember it all goes to the MS Society.
Keep trying to recruit new riders to join us for the event.
Incentives:
Once you reach the $350 minimum you will receive 1 raffle ticket
For every $1000.00 raised you will receive 1 additional raffle ticket
For every friend you bring you will receive 1 raffle ticket
Raffle Prizes:
New Bicycle from Cynergy 2010 Specialized Allez Sport Double
Mammoth Mountain Condo for a weekend
Professional Bike Fitting
Official NOW clothing and merchandise
Fine Wine
More to be announced later. If you have anything to donate please contact me.
Registration:
www.bikemssocal.org and sign up under the NOW-MS Team as you register
Discount code = ELITETEAM
Enjoy the week!
__._,_.___
Hope everyone enjoyed the weekend. Seems like a few of you may have been out there putting some long miles in prepping for the MS ride...good work.
We have less than a month to go. We are pretty much in the last 5 laps of a crit. We have been cruising but now it's time to get serious and make your training work for you:
Send another email out to everyone on your list. You are nut bugging them. I always have people coming up to me asking me to send the link again because they forgot to make a donation. Anyhow, how can they be annoyed with you? It's not like you are getting the $. Remember it all goes to the MS Society.
Keep trying to recruit new riders to join us for the event.
Incentives:
Once you reach the $350 minimum you will receive 1 raffle ticket
For every $1000.00 raised you will receive 1 additional raffle ticket
For every friend you bring you will receive 1 raffle ticket
Raffle Prizes:
New Bicycle from Cynergy 2010 Specialized Allez Sport Double
Mammoth Mountain Condo for a weekend
Professional Bike Fitting
Official NOW clothing and merchandise
Fine Wine
More to be announced later. If you have anything to donate please contact me.
Registration:
www.bikemssocal.org and sign up under the NOW-MS Team as you register
Discount code = ELITETEAM
Enjoy the week!
__._,_.___
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Julie Guthrie takes 2nd!
Nice job Julie Guthrie who raced in Palos Verdes today at the first event of the 2010 Urban Cyclocross Series. Julie placed 2nd in the 3/ 4 and 3rd in the 1/ 2/ 3 race.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Best Buddies Challenge Report #2
Seeing that Jenna so aptly described our eventful experience at the Best Buddies Challenge, I thought I'd highlight a few other various points of the trip and try not to repeat everything she said. To be brief, I'll cover three essentials common both to last weekend and to racing in general: the travel, the ride, and the party.
My travel consisted of driving up PCH to Hearst Castle where I met with Jenna and Kurt. After loading up my van, we continued North up the coast and previewed the ride that we would be completing on Saturday. I realized that riding through the Big Sur coastline would definitely be hilly and I wasn't looking forward to some of the one lane sections.
The 7:30 start on Saturday was an early (and cold) one for me, and as Jenna said, we did not get much sun throughout the ride. The huge pack of riders provided not only large draft but also plenty of people to talk to. Unfortunately, Phil was not able to get into the 100 mile ride with us so we missed out on his presence in the peleton. As the ride progressed those with less training fell off the back and the group's numbers thinned. We rolled in to the finish area with a ride time a little over 5 hours.
The events organizers spared no expense in their planning of the party on Saturday night. Multiple buffet lines filled with a variety of good food is a sight for sore eyes after a long day in the saddle. I had no difficulty living up to my reputation of eating great amounts of food and I met some more of the people that I had been riding with all day.
Sponsored by our own Sierra Nevada and Specialized, the Best Buddies Challenge was a well-organized and fun event. The ride raises funds to help people with mental disabilities, and though I'll be taking a bit of a break from the bike as I settle in at UCSB, I'm also very much looking forward to another charity ride we are all preparing for in October. The MS ride is a month away and will be another great opportunity to represent our sponsors and our cause. I will see you all there.
Thanks for reading,
Stephen Leece
My travel consisted of driving up PCH to Hearst Castle where I met with Jenna and Kurt. After loading up my van, we continued North up the coast and previewed the ride that we would be completing on Saturday. I realized that riding through the Big Sur coastline would definitely be hilly and I wasn't looking forward to some of the one lane sections.
The 7:30 start on Saturday was an early (and cold) one for me, and as Jenna said, we did not get much sun throughout the ride. The huge pack of riders provided not only large draft but also plenty of people to talk to. Unfortunately, Phil was not able to get into the 100 mile ride with us so we missed out on his presence in the peleton. As the ride progressed those with less training fell off the back and the group's numbers thinned. We rolled in to the finish area with a ride time a little over 5 hours.
The events organizers spared no expense in their planning of the party on Saturday night. Multiple buffet lines filled with a variety of good food is a sight for sore eyes after a long day in the saddle. I had no difficulty living up to my reputation of eating great amounts of food and I met some more of the people that I had been riding with all day.
Sponsored by our own Sierra Nevada and Specialized, the Best Buddies Challenge was a well-organized and fun event. The ride raises funds to help people with mental disabilities, and though I'll be taking a bit of a break from the bike as I settle in at UCSB, I'm also very much looking forward to another charity ride we are all preparing for in October. The MS ride is a month away and will be another great opportunity to represent our sponsors and our cause. I will see you all there.
Thanks for reading,
Stephen Leece
2010 Audi Best Buddies Challenge... or Jenna's novel
*2 hours later, I ended up writing a novel instead of a 'ride report,' so for those of you that have the time to read...
The 2010 Audi Best Buddies Challenge, a 100-mile ride down the coast from Carmel to San Simeon, hosted by Anthony Shriver (and well know sister, first lady of Caleefourrnyaa, the Govenator's wife Marie Shriver) kicked off last weekend, Friday, September 10th through Saturday, September 11th. Kurt, Stephen and I met at the visitors center to Heart Castle in San Simeon, CA to begin the first leg of the trip in David and Dede Leece's trusty, but noisy minivan ;)
The drive up the coast on HWY 1 provided some spectacular views, punctuated by a bit of coastal fog, and nausea (apparently my car sick days are not over, luckily the smell of Kurt's sushi platter from Trader Joe's kept me in check). We arrived in Carmel that afternoon for the VIP ride, little did we know we were the VIP's...or maybe it was Brooke Miller and the Garmin Transitions guys, but I would like to think otherwise. After a nice hour spin, we looked forward to spending the rest of our evening in our hotel room...But that wouldn't be very much fun, so we took a tour of the Hyatt Monterey's Athletic Club Showers (if you remember my FB status...), visited downtown Monterey for the Wild Cherry Classic Car Cruise, and spent an eventful evening in announcer Richard Fries hotel room getting ready for our big day.
Chamois time began at 6:15 am Saturday morning, as we left our dark hotel room to find some breakfast and coffee (a new staple in my life thanks to a 2 month long road trip with Julia LaFranchise). After we prepared ourselves for the long ride ahead, we made our way to the start line with 600 other cyclists, to be greeted by a star studded line up including Miss California, a winning contestant from So You Think You Can Dance, Kenny G (stoked! that was my first CD), Vern Troyer (aka 'Mini Me' from Austin Powers), and the former Baywatch star and German singing sensation, David 'The Hoff' Hasselhoff. Thanks to Kurt, Stephen and I established ourselves at the front of all the riders, alongside Pro cyclists and other noteworthy riders from Jelly Belly, Garmin Transitions, Tibco, Vera Bradley, Cal Giant and Specialized's CEO Mike Senor. Announcer Richard Fries, began call-ups of the who's who, when I heard over the loud speaker "former downhiller turned podium finishing road racer, Jenna Kowalski"...with a big smile and flushed cheeks I rolled to the start.
The first leg of the ride began rather slow, comfortable but slow, and I wondered how we were ever going to finish in time...I soon found out, as the small but powerful group of Pro riders settled themselves at the front. We kept a good tempo pace throughout the undulating ride...which I could only feel and not see, because unlike the gorgeous day before, the fog was content to blanket the coast for the entire ride. About 1 hour in, riders began to drop like flies as rest stops and demanding terrain claimed the many souls who could not keep the pace set by Team Tibco's riders. I even found myself clawing my way back onto the peleton after getting dropped on two of the harder climbs (one of which I passed Brooke Miller, a first and a last for that, as she recently announced her retirement), with help from Kurt as he came bombing past me on the downhills. I likened Kurt to drafting behind an SUV, thanks Kurt :)
5 hours 10 minutes, two bottles, 1 PB&J Bonk Breaker, 1 package of GU Chomps and not one stop later we finished the 100-mile ride (or race, apparently, there were prizes for the first male and female riders to finish...I think I was the third female). We dropped off our bikes and made way to the Porto Klean shower trucks, washed up and proceeded to food line for some much need calories and recovery drinks aka chocolate chip cookies and Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. After an hours rest, the days activities continued with the Friendship Criterium, where athletes and celebrities raced around a Hearst guest house with buddies on tandem bikes. This was probably the most nerve racking entertainment I have had in a while, as cyclists, including our own Kurt Stockton and Phil Keoghan, came bombing dowhill into a u-turn to the finish line with a foot out, back tire screeching, and wide-eyed buddy hanging on with one hand...let's just say there were some close calls.
The day wrapped up with the after-after-party at the Hearst Dairy Barn. Nothing short of spectacular, the party venue consisted of a stadium sized concert stage, dance floor and DJ for the evenings Natasha Bedingfield concert, the biggest, fanciest open bar I have ever seen, and 5 different buffet lines to satisfy appetites for Mexican food, country fare, BBQ, steakhouse and California cuisines. Not to mention, a Make Your Own Patron Margarita station complete with blonde barbie hosts from LA - I came prepared with my ID to prove my 24 years of age, and was surprised? flattered? that it was not checked, even though I looked about 16 with my wet hair, un-make-uped face, and cozy brown fleece. As it was my turn to concoct my margarita, I made my way behind the Patron bar, on my tip toes because at 5'1" tall, I forgot to bring my 5 in wedge high heels to see over 65in bar...and to add insult to injury (not really, but sounds like the thing to say), Jelly Belly, Bernard van Ulden calls out from the back of the line 'Hey! who let the minor behind the bar!' needless to say my cheeks flushed again.
After a round at the dessert table, the night wound down for Stephen and I, as the others got ready to party the night away with Natasha Bedingfield. I picked up my engraved juice squeezer (a complimentary engraved Patron juice squeezer came with the creation of your own Patron margarita), and we made our way back to the van, only to find it locked (was supposed to be left unlocked so we could get our stuff). We found the owner of the van, whom had given his keys to a friend of a friend of a friend or so it seemed - which was fine with me, as it gave me an opportunity to dance around the dance floor perimeter looking for the guy. Needless to say, we got the keys and made our way back to our own cars for a final drive back home, for Stephen and I, only a half hour drive to SLO, for Kurt...well, wherever he made it to!
Overall, the weekend was a great adventure! Thanks to Kurt, Phil and sponsors Specialized and Sierra Nevada for providing such an awesome experience! I hope to be able to partake in the Best Buddies Challenge again!
Thanks for reading :)
Jenna 'Jammer' Kowalski
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The 2010 Audi Best Buddies Challenge, a 100-mile ride down the coast from Carmel to San Simeon, hosted by Anthony Shriver (and well know sister, first lady of Caleefourrnyaa, the Govenator's wife Marie Shriver) kicked off last weekend, Friday, September 10th through Saturday, September 11th. Kurt, Stephen and I met at the visitors center to Heart Castle in San Simeon, CA to begin the first leg of the trip in David and Dede Leece's trusty, but noisy minivan ;)
The drive up the coast on HWY 1 provided some spectacular views, punctuated by a bit of coastal fog, and nausea (apparently my car sick days are not over, luckily the smell of Kurt's sushi platter from Trader Joe's kept me in check). We arrived in Carmel that afternoon for the VIP ride, little did we know we were the VIP's...or maybe it was Brooke Miller and the Garmin Transitions guys, but I would like to think otherwise. After a nice hour spin, we looked forward to spending the rest of our evening in our hotel room...But that wouldn't be very much fun, so we took a tour of the Hyatt Monterey's Athletic Club Showers (if you remember my FB status...), visited downtown Monterey for the Wild Cherry Classic Car Cruise, and spent an eventful evening in announcer Richard Fries hotel room getting ready for our big day.
Chamois time began at 6:15 am Saturday morning, as we left our dark hotel room to find some breakfast and coffee (a new staple in my life thanks to a 2 month long road trip with Julia LaFranchise). After we prepared ourselves for the long ride ahead, we made our way to the start line with 600 other cyclists, to be greeted by a star studded line up including Miss California, a winning contestant from So You Think You Can Dance, Kenny G (stoked! that was my first CD), Vern Troyer (aka 'Mini Me' from Austin Powers), and the former Baywatch star and German singing sensation, David 'The Hoff' Hasselhoff. Thanks to Kurt, Stephen and I established ourselves at the front of all the riders, alongside Pro cyclists and other noteworthy riders from Jelly Belly, Garmin Transitions, Tibco, Vera Bradley, Cal Giant and Specialized's CEO Mike Senor. Announcer Richard Fries, began call-ups of the who's who, when I heard over the loud speaker "former downhiller turned podium finishing road racer, Jenna Kowalski"...with a big smile and flushed cheeks I rolled to the start.
The first leg of the ride began rather slow, comfortable but slow, and I wondered how we were ever going to finish in time...I soon found out, as the small but powerful group of Pro riders settled themselves at the front. We kept a good tempo pace throughout the undulating ride...which I could only feel and not see, because unlike the gorgeous day before, the fog was content to blanket the coast for the entire ride. About 1 hour in, riders began to drop like flies as rest stops and demanding terrain claimed the many souls who could not keep the pace set by Team Tibco's riders. I even found myself clawing my way back onto the peleton after getting dropped on two of the harder climbs (one of which I passed Brooke Miller, a first and a last for that, as she recently announced her retirement), with help from Kurt as he came bombing past me on the downhills. I likened Kurt to drafting behind an SUV, thanks Kurt :)
5 hours 10 minutes, two bottles, 1 PB&J Bonk Breaker, 1 package of GU Chomps and not one stop later we finished the 100-mile ride (or race, apparently, there were prizes for the first male and female riders to finish...I think I was the third female). We dropped off our bikes and made way to the Porto Klean shower trucks, washed up and proceeded to food line for some much need calories and recovery drinks aka chocolate chip cookies and Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. After an hours rest, the days activities continued with the Friendship Criterium, where athletes and celebrities raced around a Hearst guest house with buddies on tandem bikes. This was probably the most nerve racking entertainment I have had in a while, as cyclists, including our own Kurt Stockton and Phil Keoghan, came bombing dowhill into a u-turn to the finish line with a foot out, back tire screeching, and wide-eyed buddy hanging on with one hand...let's just say there were some close calls.
The day wrapped up with the after-after-party at the Hearst Dairy Barn. Nothing short of spectacular, the party venue consisted of a stadium sized concert stage, dance floor and DJ for the evenings Natasha Bedingfield concert, the biggest, fanciest open bar I have ever seen, and 5 different buffet lines to satisfy appetites for Mexican food, country fare, BBQ, steakhouse and California cuisines. Not to mention, a Make Your Own Patron Margarita station complete with blonde barbie hosts from LA - I came prepared with my ID to prove my 24 years of age, and was surprised? flattered? that it was not checked, even though I looked about 16 with my wet hair, un-make-uped face, and cozy brown fleece. As it was my turn to concoct my margarita, I made my way behind the Patron bar, on my tip toes because at 5'1" tall, I forgot to bring my 5 in wedge high heels to see over 65in bar...and to add insult to injury (not really, but sounds like the thing to say), Jelly Belly, Bernard van Ulden calls out from the back of the line 'Hey! who let the minor behind the bar!' needless to say my cheeks flushed again.
After a round at the dessert table, the night wound down for Stephen and I, as the others got ready to party the night away with Natasha Bedingfield. I picked up my engraved juice squeezer (a complimentary engraved Patron juice squeezer came with the creation of your own Patron margarita), and we made our way back to the van, only to find it locked (was supposed to be left unlocked so we could get our stuff). We found the owner of the van, whom had given his keys to a friend of a friend of a friend or so it seemed - which was fine with me, as it gave me an opportunity to dance around the dance floor perimeter looking for the guy. Needless to say, we got the keys and made our way back to our own cars for a final drive back home, for Stephen and I, only a half hour drive to SLO, for Kurt...well, wherever he made it to!
Overall, the weekend was a great adventure! Thanks to Kurt, Phil and sponsors Specialized and Sierra Nevada for providing such an awesome experience! I hope to be able to partake in the Best Buddies Challenge again!
Thanks for reading :)
Jenna 'Jammer' Kowalski
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NOW MS alumni at Pro Road Nationals
Club and Team
We have 2 NOW MS Team alumni racing the US PRO Road Nationals
this weekend in South Carolina - - - 2010 team rider Sergio Hernandez now with Jelly Belly Pro Cycling
and Adageo's Eric Bennett (2009 NOW MS team). Also, many friends of our program too.
TT Saturday, RR Sunday... Stay tuned.
Start List:
http://www.usacyclingchampionships.com/forms/USPRORiderUpdate9-17-2010.pdf
Cycling News:
http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/usa-cycling-professional-championships-cn
Event Site:
http://www.usacyclingchampionships.com/
We have 2 NOW MS Team alumni racing the US PRO Road Nationals
this weekend in South Carolina - - - 2010 team rider Sergio Hernandez now with Jelly Belly Pro Cycling
and Adageo's Eric Bennett (2009 NOW MS team). Also, many friends of our program too.
TT Saturday, RR Sunday... Stay tuned.
Start List:
http://www.usacyclingchampionships.com/forms/USPRORiderUpdate9-17-2010.pdf
Cycling News:
http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/usa-cycling-professional-championships-cn
Event Site:
http://www.usacyclingchampionships.com/
Thursday, September 16, 2010
ADT Track Championships Race Report
This past weekend trackies from all over California descended up on the ADT velodrome for the LAVRA Velodrome championships. The fields were as strong as they would ever be with everyone gearing up for nationals, and it was nice to see all the track faces again after racing so much road this season. On the Saturday I had the points race on my schedule which went very well and I ended up winning by one point after lapping the field solo. In a points race you get 20 points for lapping the field and I needed all those points! After the race it was time to hop on the rollers on my pursuit bike and watch fellow NOW rider Kit Karzen tearing up the men’s sprints. My individual pursuit didn’t go quite as well as the points race but I stayed on my lap schedule I just couldn’t up the tempo at the end but after a hard points race I wasn’t unhappy!
On Sunday I had a packed schedule with a Team Pursuit, Scratch Race, Kilometer TT, and Madison. The team pursuit was more for fun with just four of the group that I train with racing together and our time was good enough for second place. Next came a much more exciting race the Scratch which is the tracks equivalent of a crit. The pace was fast from the get go and it seemed like we were at the bell in no time. After a hectic sprint NOW MS rider Kit Karzen took the win and I was third. Considering the strength of the field this was a fantastic result. For those of you that have never done a Kilo TT I would say stay away from it. There is nothing more painful and slow feeling than the last lap of a kilo. It feels like your wheels are made of cement and your attached to a giant bungie cord which is pulling you back. They are fun to watch though as others go through an intense one minute and ten seconds of pain! The final race was the Madison which unfortunately ended early for a few teams including mine due to a crash. Overall it’s nice to finally to really be back on the track and gearing up for Elite Track Nationals!
Danny Heeley
On Sunday I had a packed schedule with a Team Pursuit, Scratch Race, Kilometer TT, and Madison. The team pursuit was more for fun with just four of the group that I train with racing together and our time was good enough for second place. Next came a much more exciting race the Scratch which is the tracks equivalent of a crit. The pace was fast from the get go and it seemed like we were at the bell in no time. After a hectic sprint NOW MS rider Kit Karzen took the win and I was third. Considering the strength of the field this was a fantastic result. For those of you that have never done a Kilo TT I would say stay away from it. There is nothing more painful and slow feeling than the last lap of a kilo. It feels like your wheels are made of cement and your attached to a giant bungie cord which is pulling you back. They are fun to watch though as others go through an intense one minute and ten seconds of pain! The final race was the Madison which unfortunately ended early for a few teams including mine due to a crash. Overall it’s nice to finally to really be back on the track and gearing up for Elite Track Nationals!
Danny Heeley
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