Weekend Rides (February 2-3)

Rides this weekend will be:

After consulting with the ride committee it has been determined that
we'll meet at Einstein Bagels at Braker and 183 on Sat and roll out
at 8:15. Direction to be determined by a vote of the ride committee
the morning of the ride.

Sunday, Freewheeling 8:15 rollout. (No really)

David Henderson
WBWSWTASICSATBAHLU

Superdrome class report by Andy Wilks

I drove up to Frisco this past weekend for the Superdrome development course
which they require before you can race there. I had previously raced
only at Alkek in Houston.

It was a really cold 40F, but the weather looked like it would stay dry
and 13 people showed up. I think about 5 or 6 of us had our own bikes,
the rest grabbed some rental bikes from the bunker and then got them set
up with pedals and seat height adjustments.

Barry put on a great 4 hour class which allowed those new and with
previous experience to maintain interest. We worked our way slowly onto
the track and then higher and higher over a couple of group runs. After
that we did some free riding and then a few simulated pack races.

Only one tense moment during the start of the miss and out where one of
the newbies hit a pedal and fell down in turn 1. He took down 2 others
so there was pretty big pile starting to form. I ended up riding in the
grass after riding over somebody's back wheel! Nobody hurt though since
we were all bundled in winter clothes. I went off the front in lap 5 and
another rider got on my wheel. We traded pulls on every lap and I
survived to the end to get 2nd place! If I had thought to stand up to
sprint, I probably would have taken first...

This track is a blast compared to Alkek. It just feels faster since it's
the walls are higher and it's 83m shorter. Superdrome is 250m and 44
degrees in the turns compared to 333m and 33 degrees in Houston. I felt
the steeper bank made it easier to ride tight on the pole line through
the turns.

The facilities are really nice and well maintained and the track surface
is great. It's 1 1/2" marine plywood with a textured paint surface.
decent grip in the turns but not too slow.

I'm sure I'll never become a super track racer since I'll probably only
make it up for a few training sessions and a few races, but it's a lot
of fun!

Andy Wilkes
1/28/08

Copperas Cove Race Report by Greg LaKomski

The first race of the season is always challenging and yesterdays Copperas Cove Road Race was no exception.  With temperatures hovering around 40 degrees and a moderate north wind, every piece of riding gear you had bought with was barely adequate. Thank god for the sun. Teams from every corner of Texas and several other states were there.  I assume that for someone from Kansas it felt balmy. VC put in a strong presence with Greg Hall, Rick Hall, Seymour, Lynn Cornet, Scott Yates, Mike Haney, Doug Ballew and Donna LaKomski.  Aaron Foreman – a Cat 2 who is the owner of Orthopedic and Prosthetic Technologies and my sponsor was also in attendance.

The combined 35 plus Men's / Women’s open field was 100 strong and 100 nervous and hyped up. As we rolled out and I started to check out who was there, I began to get that bad feeling that a whole lot of Cat 1-2 s decided to sign up for the 35+ instead of going extra long. Given the wide variety of skills in the pack and the constant bumping and slashing the ride was somewhat terrifying in the early going.  It was a confusion of overlapping wheels, thrashing up hills only to slow suddenly after the crest, and snot flying everywhere due to the wind and cold temperature. It was so dicey that it was hard to even get a drink.  Given the number of 1 / 2 s in the field I had expected better but squirreldom knows no bounds.  At the same time I will freely admit that I was a squirrel just like everyone else.  Hypocrisy is a terrible thing.

At least two riders noodled off the front within he first ten miles and the pack let them go.   They would stay off for 40 miles and have as much as a kilometer lead.  Greg Hall tried the same move and was swarmed.  He waited a while and tried again, was swarmed again.  I tried to jump off with another guy thinking maybe they would let a poor one legged guy go but this also caused a violent reaction.  I guess they confused me with the other Greg  At that point I decided that  sitting in and waiting for the big guys to deal with the break was the only thing to do.  Oh well.  Greg Hall is too well known and too good to be let go.  I think that I just confused them. 

I tried to just stay in the front third of the field and remind myself that I actually enjoyed road racing. As the pack sorted itself out it I was able to relax a little bit and enjoy the racing.  It truly was just wait and be patient.  Even got to do just a bit of occasional sightseeing.

As we approached the 30 mile point I was pondering why there had not been a reaction yet to the break which we could no longer see in front of us.  I studied the old mental race map and realized that we were about to turn right on a straight rode with the potential for a serious crosswind.  I said a quick Oh Shit! and made a move through the pack for the right shoulder. Around me a lot of very hard core riders suddenly  began moving forward through very small gaps doing the same thing I was doing trying to get to the front.  It seemed that it wasn’t more thana couple of minutes later that we hit the corner.  All hell broke loose as we surged onto a narrow, sandy, potholed road.  All I could do was get on the pedals, hammer, and keep shifting.  Grab wheel, jump hole, change wheel, miss wheel, hammer, hammer, hammer was all you could do. I glanced down and saw 30 something and decided it was better not to know.  I was having a blast.

As we came screaming out of the first tree lined section of road and into the cross wind, I was finally able to see the little dot in the distance that was our target.  Everyone still with us, maybe 30 riders (I don’t know how to look back at that speed) were all players.  Suffering in front seemed preferable to suffering in the back so that’s where I stayed.  The pace backed off a bit and one team tried to put someone up the road for some unknown, obviously flawed reason but no one was going to put up with this. We just went around him and put it overdrive again.  I seem to remember one of my team mates trying to go up the road and my blocking for a bit with a San Jose rider. That didn’t work either.  Double overdrive now.  After some wild antics, three of us set up across the narrow road with the rest of the lead group stretched out behind us and pounded. I could only hope that Greg Hall was back there cause it was not clear that with this level of effort that Stumpy was going to be a strong finisher.  The wind was not as bad as it could of been and we clearly wanted the break before we turned onto the down wind stretch back to town.  I was hooked up for the duration. All I could do was keep going and pray that all the stuff I was hitting wouldn’t cause a problem. 

We caught those poor guys just as we hit the feed zone at 40 miles. It became very clear at that moment that their luck, my luck, and my rear tire pressure had simultaneously run out.  As I came to a stop and stripped off my rear wheel I realized two things.   First, we were down to 20 guys and the next chase group was at least 30 sec back, which was a good thing.  The second thing was that the follow car was nowhere in sight, which was a very bad thing.  After several minutes of waiting and spastically trying to get my brain switched to tube changing mode,  some folks in the feedzone pulled a pump out of their car and crossing the road to help.  We had a great time chatting and changing the tube.  Heck we had all the time in the world.  It took 15 minutes before the official car pulled up.  Thankfully, I didn’t have to say anything and he was harassed by the feeders for not being there for me.  He had some lame excuse about stopping for a crash with severely bleeding riders and coordinating the ambulance.  Ok, I’ll cut him a break. :)

My day was essentially over but the truth is that I wouldn’t have been long for that Cat 1-2 world anyway. Lets say that I rode the final 13 miles at a comfortable pace with what was left of my quads. 

Donna and I drug our tired bodies to IHOP to gorge ourselves on the largest platter they had.  We had done the best we could do.

I had a great race and a great time despite the cold.  Next week is a power training week and the Tour of New Braunfels is in two weeks so it is time to stop whinin and start poundin.

Greg LaKomski

The Clothing Czar has gone crazy!

and has slashed prices dramatically on the 07 windshells and skinsuits!
Windshells are reduced from $55 to $35 and skinsuits are reduced from
$95 to $65! Get em fast because they won't last long at these prices!
I am headed to Houston for cross racing this weekend so your best bet is
to come to the meeting Monday night at Mangia to take advantage of these
deals. If you can't make the meeting you MIGHT be able to get in touch
with me on Monday afternoon (426-7670) to arrange a pick-up.

Wind Shells XS2 S5 M4 L4 $55 $35
Skinsuits XS1 S4 M3 L1 XL1 $95 $65

2008 Clothing Orders Now Being Taken!!

2008 Violet Crown Clothing Orders Now being Taken!

Great pricing on jerseys for PREPAID PREORDERS!!

All preparations have been completed and Violet Crown is now able to
take preorders for the new 2008 jerseys and shorts. The preorder period
begins today and ends January 24th, 2008.

Due the generosity of our sponsors, Violet Crown is offering PAID CLUB
MEMBERS the new 2008 jerseys in both regular and full zip at very
attractive pricing for PREPAID orders received prior to January 24th,
2008. Team shorts will also be available for preorder. Per club
policy, 2008 jerseys are required to be worn for rider reimbursement to
be claimed. It also is a great thing to do all the time to support our
sponsors.

PREPAID PREORDER JERSEY PRICING BEFORE JAN 24th

Short Sleeve, Pro Fit, Micro-airdry, 3 back pockets: Regular Zip Jersey
$38, Full Zip Jersey $45

JERSEY PRICING AFTER JANUARY 24th

Regular Zip Jersey $58, Full Zip Jersey $65

SHORTS PRICING

Louis Garneau - Tech - 9 - Ergozone chamois, 8 panel Team Shorts $62

Please be aware that although the club will order and stock a limited
number of additional FULL ZIP jerseys and shorts, availability cannot be
guaranteed. So take advantage of the pricing and get what you think you
will need for the year now!

The above pricing is available to PAID CLUB MEMBERS ONLY!!

Per club policy, Violet Crown Memberships are for the calendar year for
$20 individual/$

30 family and expire on December 31st of a given year.
Also per club policy, members paying after October 1, 2007 are
considered to be members for the 2008 calendar year. At this time the
following members have paid their dues and are eligible for the REDUCED
JERSEY PRICING:
Kenny Lloyd
Tom McMinn
Mary Beth Farrar
Robert Fiddes
Dave Barnes
Gary Castillo
David Bizzell
Tom Giesberg
Scott Yate
David Serrins
John Miller
Chuck Basset
Robert Andrews
James Karthauser

If you believe you paid your membership dues after 10/1/2007 and are not
on this list contact Greg LaKomski at stumpygreg@aol.com
<mailto:stumpygreg@aol.com> . Otherwise, pay your dues.

Membership forms will be available and preorders will be taken at the
January 7th club meeting at Mangia Pizza.

For those unable to attend, membership forms and clothing preorder forms
are available here and here.
All membership forms, preorder forms, and checks must be in the Violet
Crown post office box on January 24th to count for preorder pricing so
do not wait until the last minute. Orders received after this time will
be included if possible in the order count but additional payment will
be due prior to distribution. A new membership form is required to be
completed for all members - new or old! Please make sure it is
legible!!

Violet Crown, PO Box 10186, Austin, Texas, 78766-1186

FIRST MEETING OF THE NEW YEAR

The January meeting is the seventh at Mangia, Mesa and Spicewood Springs Road, 6:30 pm.
We will have a presentation by Nick Crumpton - new club sponsor for 2008.
Updates on the new jerseys, the new website and reimbursement policy.
PLUS + CYCLOCROSS - VC IS THE WINNINGEST CLUB IN THE STATE (so far).

AND - ELECTIONS - post YOUR campaign platform following........