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

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........

Paul and Yolanda Duva Welcome a New Daughter!

Violet Crown offers our heartfelt congratulations to former VC'er Paul Duva and his lovely wife Yolanda on the occasion of the birth of their new daugher Gabriella Sienna, who was born November 20th. We understand everyone is in great health (although possibly a little sleep deprived).

DECEMBER 3, CLUB MEETING.

Don't forget the regular club meeting at Mangia this Monday, 6:30 pm for pizza at the Mesa Road location.

Linda Craig will sponsor the meeting tonight and be present to talk a little about her services.

VC Club Ride - 12/1/2007

                                                              VC Club Ride

                                          (updated 11/27/2007)

In association with the Weapons Company, 1st Battalion, 23rd Marine Regiment of the 4th Marine Division, this ride is a fundraising event for the Toys-For-Tots Program.  We are asking that each rider bring a toy and/or cash donation for the Toys-For-Tots program.

Here are the details for the ride.

Date: Saturday, December 1, 2007

Time: 8:15 am

Participants: Open to VC members, families and friends

Place: Old Settlers Park in Round Rock

Ride Routes: We'll be riding the 2006 63-mile OT100 route.  Those wishing to ride a shorter distance can choose from OT100 ride routes of 10 miles, 25 miles, 40 miles and 50 miles.  The 63-milers will be making a short round trip diversion into Granger for a store stop, which will actually make the long route closer to 70 miles.

route map

Support: Store stop in Weir for 40 and 50-milers; Store stop in Granger for 63-milers

Post Ride Activity: Bring-Your-Own-Lunch (BYOL) gathering at Old Settlers Park pavilion from about 12:30 to 2:30.

Toys-For-Tots Fundraising and/or Gift Giving: We are requesting that each rider make a gift and/or cash donation the day of the ride.

For additional Information, contact David Simmons on (512) 680-6105 or Scott Whelan on (512) 828-1578.

Updates:                                             

1. The ride will be starting at the Girls Softball Field parking lot in Old Settlers Park.  This parking lot is off of Aten Loop.  If entering the park from Hwy 79, turn onto Harrell Parkway at the light just before the Dell Diamond Stadium, and Aten Loop will be on your right about 1.5 miles on Harrell Parkway.  If entering the park from eastbound on 3406/Hiphen/CR113, Aten loop will be the second park entrance off of 3406/Hiphen/CR113.

2. The ride route plan has been revised.  Ride route details in the Ride Route section above are accurate.

3. Toys-For-Tots gifts should be unwrapped. 

4. Those unable to attend the ride, but still wanting to donate a toy for Toys-For-Tots should contact David or Scott at the numbers above prior to the day of the ride. 

NOVEMBER CLUB MEETING

It's a meeting at Mangia Pizza on Mesa at Spicewood this Monday night.

6:30 pm for pizza and, later, a presentation on Nimble (carbon) wheels.

Followed by sponsor and clothing news, cyclocross and TTT race results.

Crumpton Cycles, New Violet Crown Sponsor in 2008

Nick Crumpton, Austin bike builder par excellence, announced today that his company, Crumpton Cycles, will be a general jersey sponsor for Violet Crown in 2008. Please welcome Nick and his custom carbon fiber bikes to the VC sponsorship team. For those of you who attended last month's club meeting ...you got to see one of Nick's frames up close - Jay Bond brought his Crumpton Carbon Frame Set to the meeting --- it was definitely a work of art.

Nick, we look forward to working with you.

Nick can be reached at:

If you need to contact Nick, please use the information below. Normal office hours are 9 AM to 6 PM Central, Monday thru Saturday, except holidays. Please email Nick with most questions since he is usually busy in the shop building frames.

512.459.7458

Email Nick at - nick@crumptoncycles.com

Linda Craig Massage Renews VC Sponsorship for 2008

Linda Craig of Linda Craig Massage will again be a general jersey sponsor for Violet Crown through the 2008 calendar year. Please welcome Linda again for being a Violet Crown advocate and supporter. We look forward to another year with her!
And remember to check out her services at http://www.lindacraigmassage. com/Home. html

Linda Craig Massage
5107 Martin Avenue
Austin 78751-2118
512-323-6486

linda@lindacraigmassage.com

New VC Sponsor - Gateway One Consulting

Please welcome our newest Violet Crown Sponsor - Gateway One Consulting !

MaryBeth Farrar has agreed to be a partner and sponsor with Violet Crown starting immediately and for the 2008  calendar year. GOC will be one of the select sponsors appearing on the new 2008 VC jersey. MaryBeth will also be at this coming  Monday's VC Club meeting - come on out and meet and welcome her !

For more information on Gateway One Consulting :

http://www.gatewaycon.com

Gateway One Consulting, Inc. (GOC) was founded by MaryBeth Farrar in 1994 and is headquartered in Austin, Texas.

Gateway One Consulting, Inc. is a leading management and consulting firm that delivers business driven solutions encompassing Information Technology Professionals. By utilizing our large database of outstanding candidates, we can provide short and long-term contract staffing as well as permanent employment options for your regular employment positions. Gateway One Consulting has been working with Texas State Government to provide Staff Augmentation for Information Technology services since 1996.

OCTOBER MEETING

Monday is October and time for the monthly club meeting at Mangia - Mesa and Spicewood - 6:30pm.

Cyclocross begins in October, so after regular business, an instructional video will be screened.

Following the cyclocross theme, during the next week  there will be the first Dirt Derby on Tuesday, a VC cyclocross clinic at Pfluger Park on Saturday (4:00 pm) and the Llano dirt road ride on Sunday the 7 th.

VC Membership Meeting Monday, July 2nd

Come to our next membership meeting on Monday, July 2nd. Our sponsor, Michael Bell will be there, although I understand that he won't actually being doing any dental work while at Mangia. Hear about recent VC exploits at the Downtown AT&T Crit, at the Driveway Crits, and at the National Senior Games. As usual, a pizza dinner will be available at 6:30 pm with business to follow at 7 pm. At Mangia Pizza at Mesa and Spicewood Springs Road.

MAY MEETING AT MANGIA ON MONDAY

The monthly club meeting will be held at 6:30 pm at Mangia Pizza on Mesa at Spicewood.
The usual $6.00 pizza contribution for those who want to eat. Drinks are your own.
Discussion and club business after eating...see next page for agenda.

MAY 2007 AGENDA.

Club Roster - do you want one?
Sponsorship Committee - interested in joining?
Rider Reimbursement Policy - payout increase, $10 to $15?
VC Events - TT Series, dates. Track Day.
Race Reports.....

Dangerous Doug's Italy Trip - May 2007

Getting close to the registration deadline. Doug's going to Italy again. For more information, click the "continue reading" button (duh...)

The Giro D' Italia cycling extravaganza. A 12 day trip to Avezzano Italy in the beautiful region of Abruzzo smack in the middle of the Appinnini mountains to watch the Giro D' Italia, bicycle through magnificent mountain passes, to eat the most wonderful foods on the planet

and drink the best wines ever bottled.

We'll be taking trips to Cantina's (winery) learn the trade, taste the wine and have dinner with the owners. We'll have cooking classes at our hotel/restaurant taught by the premier master chef in the region. Which by the way is widely know as one of the most beautiful in all of Europe with two magnificent national parks, mountain passes that will literally and figuratively take your breath away and the most fertile agricultural plain in Italy (read: minimal traffic and quiet lonely roads).

We'll take trips to Roman ruins and medieval castles near our hotel, guided and without tourists. We'll stay in a modern comfortable hotel where our host and owner of the Hotel / Ristorante Fillippone "Franco" (to those that know and love him - Zio Franco) will pamper and charm us with

typical Abruzzo hospitality. Each cyclist gets there own room at the 3 star Fillipone Hotel   with an extraordinary staff that will take care of your every need.

We will bicycle every day and each person, each day will get a Topographical color road map highlighting the days route. You'll have a choice of routes easy to difficult. Our sag support will be provided by none other than former Olympic Gold, Silver & Bronze medal winner, Pro, World Champion, Eddy Merkx beater and bicycle manufacturer Vittorio Marcelli. He and his Brother Fernando Marcelli also many years as a pro and chief team mechanic (Chateau D' Ax, MG Mug, Cantina Tollo, Seaco, Formmagi Triestina) for the likes of Claudio Chiapuchi, Gianni Bugno, Marco Pantani and Mario Chippolini will follow along, ride with, set up our bikes, perform "fit kits" and all the fun stuff that us riders just love to do.

This year there will be an opportunity for anyone interested, to purchase one of Vittorio Marcelli's beautiful new full Carbon or Carbon/Aluminium frame and fork built with Campy Chorus and shod with Campy's top of the line wheels, MADE TO MEASURE. That's right sports fans a full Carbon or Aluminium/Carbon mix frame w/ full carbon fork your choice MADE TO MEASURE to fit your ugly proportions. To make you faster, more comfortable and able to beat the pants off your competition. If you want beauty, functionality, fit and SPEED, now's your chance. You can get all this for $thousands less than State side and not have to pay any customs or duties. Not to mention you get a custom set-up from two of the worlds best !

We must keep the trip down to 30 riders, so contact me soon. Yes it's just fine to bring your better half (you two will have to share a room) and the little kiddies if you like. Franco and staff LOVE kids ! But please keep in mind we'll have to figure out the cost with Franco. This is by far the most fun, most inexpensive cycling vacation you'll ever have ! !

My plan so far is to get really cheap flights with American Airlines out of Austin. If we all travel together it's pretty cheap and easier to get to the hotel because everyone will land at same time. All will be organized, all you have to do is "Show Up".

Proposed dates are:

Depart: Austin ABIA Saturday May 12

Arrive: Rome Italy, Fiumicino (Leonardo Da Vinci) airport Sunday morning May 13

Depart: Rome Italy Fiumicino airport Wednesday May 23

Arrive: Austin ABIA same day Wednesday May 23

Check out the report from our last trip at the Violet Crown web site {PHOTOs link at left, scroll down to the picutre of the lovely Ms. Jill Ackerman and the 7 dwarfs pictures, FEATURES link, scroll down to the Italy in May 2005 "story"}. Call or e-mail me with any questions, but we've got to get going on this right away.

Doug Burnett

(512) 296-4057

BurnettUSMC {at} msn {dot} com

FEBRUARY MEETING

Come celebrate the best US Worlds Cyclocross result ever at Mangia on Mesa at Spicewood - Monday, February 5, 6:30 pm for food.

Three Silver Medals in Belgium!

Also on the agenda:

Officer elections.

Webberville wrap-up.

Upcomming race schedule and training rides.

Team clothing status.

Webberville Cyclocross Practice

There will be a practice ride/course demarkation this Saturday at the Webberville Travis County Park in preparation for the January 14 USCF and Collegiate races. Meet at Pavilion #2, 2 pm. Its 20 miles east of Austin, 3 miles east of Webberville off FM 969.
See the TXBRA callendar for directions (and registration for the race).

Welcome Dr. Michael Bell to Violet Crown

Violet Crown welcomes our newest sponsor for 2007: Dr. Michael Bell, Dentist!
Dr. Bell was recently named one of the Best Dentists in America in a new national poll of peer dentists in all 50 states. Dr. Bell was one of only four dentists in Austin selected for the honor, which represents the top three percent of dentists in the country.
On a personal note, he has been my family dentist for twenty years and Mike and his staff feel almost like family to me.
Mike has been known to mountain bike in his spare time, and he's always taken a personal interest my own bike racing fish stories.
We're really glad to have him on board. Get directions to Dr. Bell's office conveniently located right next to Mopac at: http://www.mbelldds.com/Contact.asp

Frank Kurzawa

More 2007 Clothing stuff

Links to Dan Connelly's designs:

http://www.djconnel.com/VC/jersey_2006/version2/VCJersey2006_assembled.jpg http://www.djconnel.com/VC/jersey_2006/version3/VCJersey2006_assembled.jpg

shorts:

http://www.djconnel.com/VC/jersey_2006/version1/VCJersey2006_shorts_assembled.jpg

2007 Clothing Designs

Recent submittals for 2007 clothing designs are shown below.  More to follow if I can figure out this web page posting stuff.

Pres Dave

Mark Your Calendar!!! VC Meeting Monday, August 7th

Our next membership meeting is coming up fast on this coming Monday, August 7th.

All the usual rules apply: Optional Pizza dinner ($7) at 6:30, bid'ness at 7. Location is Mangia Pizza at Mesa Drive and Spicewood Springs Road.

This is your big chance to provide input on our 2007 jersey design!

Next Membership Meeting - July 10th

Our next membership meeting will be on Monday, July 10th at our usual location (Mangia Pizza at Mesa & Spicewood). Pizza at 6:30, bid'ness at 7. Although we usually have our meetings on the first Monday of the month, we've moved one week later in July due to the 4th of July weekend.

Remember that we will be reviewing 2007 jersey designs at the meeting. Bring your own design as well!

Club Meeting Tonight!

There has been a lot of racing. Find out how your team has been doing. learn about upcoming rides/races, and meet the new members. Come at 6:30 for pizza and salad ($8.00 per person). The meeting starts promptly at 7:00.
                                                                            
Mangia Pizza
8012 Mesa Dr

2006 Shiner Ride

Register online at www.shinerbash.com!

WHO

Ride Tandem with the Biggest Name in Biking!  The 8^th annual Shiner B.A.S.H. – Bike-Austin-San Antonio-Houston, set for Saturday, May 6, 2006, will benefit the Lance Armstrong Foundation (LAF).  More than 3,000 cyclists will participate in this 90-mile pilgrimage to the Shiner, Texas home to the Spoetzl Brewery.  At the finish line riders will join music fans for a Texas-sized music celebration.

WHAT

Cyclists leave from Austin, San Antonio and Houston and pedal through small towns and scenic byways on the way to Shiner, Texas.  Along the route, rest stops will be stocked with refreshments and supportive crowds will cheer cyclists on to the finish line. 

Once in Shiner, the party rolls into high gear at Green Dickson Park.  An outdoor Texas music celebration, massage therapists, showers, lunch and cold beer will greet tired riders, spectators and concert-goers.  Cyclists will experience Shiner hospitality, good food, exhibits and sounds from Texas Americana artists.  Free tours of the near by historic Spoetzl Brewery will also be available.

The outdoor festival begins at 1 p.m. and ends early evening; luxury buses will be provided to shuttle cyclists back to their starting cities.  Gates open at noon.

WHEN

Saturday, May 6, 2006

7 a.m. - Departure from Austin, San Antonio and Houston

1 p.m. to 7 p.m. - Finish-line celebration and concert in Shiner, TX

WHERE

Start Lines                                                                                            Finish Line/Concert

Austin: TBD Green Dickson Park

San Antonio: TBD                                                                                  Shiner, Texas 

Houston: TBD

Club Meeting Monday, Feb 6th

Come at 6:30 for pizza and salad ($8.00 per person). The meeting starts promptly at 7:00.
                                                                            
Mangia Pizza
8012 Mesa Dr

DIRT & B-B-Q

A Club ride on the country roads south of Llano will take place Sunday, January 29; 5-6 hour ride (with 3-4 hour option) on mostly unpaved roads and bar-b-que afterwards. All are welcome. We will regroup if necessary. See details following.

The promised dirt road ride is planned for Sunday January 29; 58 miles with 34 of mostly hard-pack dirt. 28C tires or cyclocross tires are recommended. A cut-off route is also possible but you will miss some good dirt. Maps will be provided. Bring food and water. There are no stores on the route - and no traffic.

Meet to car pool at Freewheeling at 7:30 am, leaving at

7:45 am

or meet at the

Oxford

 

Cemetery

at

9:15 am

, leaving at

9:30am

.

Oxford

 

Cemetery

is 10 miles south of Llano on State Highway 16, 90 miles from

Austin

.

Post ride recovery and restoration will be at Coopers B-B-Q in Llano.

Contact John Bartle (443 1645) for details or co-ordination.

Pedal Thru The Pines

March 4th, 2006. Join us for a lovely ride through Bastrop State Park and the beautiful Loblolly Pines. The routes will take cyclists through the scenic Bastrop countryside! Ride distances of 16, 27, 50 and 65 miles planned. Ride start will be at Bastrop High School at 9:00 a.m.. The fourth annual ride benefits Family Crisis Center. For information call Charlotte Peitsch - 512-321-7760, charlottep@familycrisiscenter.us. Sign up online at www.pedalthrupines.org.

Call for Race Official Wannabes

I'm gathering names of folks interested in becoming race officials, and forwarding those names to Bonnie Walker. As she is an "A" level official, she can give a class to people and certify them as "C" level officials. The class is a day and a half, and it looks like it will be Feb 4 & 5, at the central Bicycle Sports Shop, in the spinning room. There is a test at the end, and a $30 licensing fee. The fee will be reimbursed by the club as an incentive to get more officials from the club. I need to get the list to Bonnie soon so she'll know how many folks to plan for in the class.

Thanks!

Rob Andrews

Jack Pritchard, You're our Hero!

After over 25 years, Violet Crown founder Jack Pritchard is retiring from his position at Freewheeling Bicycles to go to Acupuncture School.
Go by Freewheeling (24th and San Gabriel) on Friday or Saturday, January 6th and 7th to wish him luck and buy one last gotta-have bicycle item from him.

Those of us who have been in Violet Crown for awhile, know how important Jack was to making VC a great club. For years and years and years Jack single-handedly produced the club newsletter. It grew from a 2 page mimeographed sheet with a staple in the corner to a 40 page glossy magazine with great photos and great articles. People joined the club just for the newsletter subscription - you never actually saw them at meetings or rides, but you knew they were at home reading their newsletter as soon as it arrived the mail.
Back in the days when digital cameras didn't exist, Jack took most of the newsletter photos himself with camera equipment and film that he paid for. Then he had the processing and half-tones done with money out of his own pocket as well. Sometimes he would try to recoup some of the ever increasing costs by selling the half-tones and prints to the people (e.g. me) who were in the photo's. But that only paid a fraction of the costs.
Every month he painstakingly laid out the newsletter in his house using his own PC and HP LaserPrinter (you guessed it) paid for out of his own pocket. His house looked like a bomb hit it: there were piles of old newsletters, lithography screens, article drafts, slides, negatives, and everything else you can think of. Jack would camp out in the living room with his keyboard and monitor set up on the coffee table and auto racing playing on the telee while he sat on the floor working the equivalent of a full time job just getting the newsletter together every month.
Then Jack upped the ante: he started publishing photos from euro pro races that he got through his special relationship with European photographer John Pierce (of PhotoSport International).
And to top it all off Jack wrote his own column for the newsletter every month (under the nom de plume, Mystery Writer).
At the same time that Jack was doing all this, he was also promoting bike races for the club. He was a regular fixture at the Decker Lake Thursday Nighters and could often be seen there early, sweeping gravel out of the corners. One weekend before one of the series, he even went out there with some cement and filled a few bad potholes in the course. When he wasn't taking registration money or racing, he would be crouched in a corner, with his camera, taking photos for the newsletter of club racers as they whizzed by.
When I talked with Jack at Freewheeling last night (picking up my brand-spanking new bike, thank you), he couldn't quite remember what year he actually started working as an employee at Freewheeling. You see, there was not an obvious beginning date: Initially Jack was a carpenter and had contracted do do some construction work at Freewheeling's first location next to Nau's Drug. After he did that for awhile, he spoke with Jay Aust (still Freewheeling's manager), told him he really didn't want to be a carpenter the rest of his life, and would he hire him to work in the shop. Jay agreed and he's been there ever since.
Good luck in your new (third) career, Jack! I can't wait to have you stick needles in me!

Frank Kurzawa
Jack's biggest fan

Time to Enlist

It's that time of year. Time to rejoin VC. Or if you're not a member yet, there's no better time to join than now. Just download the attached combination membership/clothing order form, fill it out, and send it in. Download 2006 Membership Form

'tis the Season For Giving

An Open Letter to all Club Members:
We all look for worthy charities and ways to give back to the community throughout the year. But that search achieves special importance as the end of December approaches and we want to lock in that all-important charitable tax deduction on our federal income taxes.

Violet Crown achieved an important milestone this year when the club completed arrangements for the creation of a Tax Deductible charitable and education fund. Yes, that's right: this fund is fully qualified under 501(c)(3) of the federal tax code and donations to this fund are deductible on your federal tax return.

This year, donations to this fund helped to send several deserving junior riders to compete in the Tour de l'Abitibi in Quebec. All donations are kept separate from other Violet Crown money and are used exclusively to further the cause of training young and disadvantaged riders.

If you wish to donate to the cause, make your tax deductible check paybable to "Austin Community Foundation" and send it to P.O. Box 10186, Austin, TX 78766. No amount is too small.

Thanks to everyone for their selfless generosity,

Frank Kurzawa

Violet Crown Prez (outgoing)

Duva Is A Dad

Violet Crown congratulates former VC'er Paul Duva and his lovely wife Yolanda on the birth of their new son, Michelangelo Tasman Duva. With a kick ass name like that, look out when this kid gets on a bike. Don't expect him to take any prisoners!
Says Paul:
Our new son Michelangelo Tasman Duva is welcomed with great joy into our home and into our hearts!
Born: December 2, 2005 at 8:19 PM
Weight: 7 lb. 14 oz.
Length: 21 inches
He is filling our arms with love and our hearts with happiness!
Paul and Yolanda

VC Christmas Party - SATURDAY DECEMBER 3RD!

This year's annual VC Christmas party is scheduled for Saturday, December 3rd at John and Norma Bandy's house. As always, it will be a potluck. John and Norma have been gracious enough to make their house available for the event. (I think Frank was tired of us trashing his place). Party time will be at 6:30. Spouses, significant others, and friends of the club welcomed. Spread the word. This is our one time in the year we have to get together wearing something other than bike shorts and socialize, share stories, and talk about all things biking coming in the next year. We look forward to seeing you.

To get to the Bandy house: head west on Bee Cave Rd to Cuernovaca. Turn Right and go to Lake Ridge and turn left ( there is a Montesori school on the corner) the next left is Lake Hills. The house is at the top of the rises on the left.  203 N. Lake Hills Dr. 78733.

Kart on Stage!

I'd like to take this opportunity to invite you all to the Hill Country fer a bit of culture. I'm performing in a community theatre production of M*A*S*H, based on the book & movie of the same name. No Frank, Im not starring as Klinger, as our show has little in common with the TV show. I play Duke Forrest, the Tom Skerritt character from the movie.

The play shows on Thurs, Fri, & Sat nights starting tonight & running thru the 19th. at 7:30 At the Callioux theatre . There's also a Sunday Matinee at 2 pm on Nov 13th. Tickets are $15 for adults, $5 under 14.box office 830-896-9393

C'mon down, we'll do a beautiful ride in the morning & see some culture that evening.

Kart

September Meeting and Team Photo

The Violet Crown monthly meeting is usually held on the first Monday of each month. BUT, the first Monday in September is Labor Day, so we are pushing our September meeting back to Monday, September 12th.

But Wait! There's More!
We're moving our September meeting (for one month only) to Mangia Pizza's North location:
    North Location
    Directions
"Why?", you may ask...
Well, because it's an absolutely beautiful location from which to take our team photo. That's right, we're reviving the old tradition of doing a photograph of the whole team. Former Violet Crown President and outstanding photographer Richard Whittington will be taking our photograph.

So be sure and come to the September meeting and wear your current team kit for the picture. What? You don't have the current team clothing? We will still have plenty of inventory available, and you don't have to worry about being stuck with out-of-date clothing at the end of the year because the members have already voted to use this year's clothing design for 2006 as well.

The photo will be taken promptly at 7 PM so don't be late or you won't be in the photo.

Later,

Prez Zaz

WEEK 3 of Creedmore TT TODAY!

First rider off at 6:30. Here are the details.

Calling all Cyclist

Texas Department of Transportation formally invites the members of the Violet Crown Sports Association to attend a meeting for supporting roadway improvement projects for bicycle friendly roadways. The attached flier explains in detail about the meeting logistics. Please circulate and broadcast the flier to as many cyclists as possible. We look forward to your attendance and comments at the meeting.

Lorri Pavliska
Texas Department of Transportation
2940 IH 35 South
New Braunfels, TX 78130
830-609-0707

Creedmore TT Results - week 2

The results from the second week of the Creedmore TT are posted below. You will also find them posted on www.txbra.org in the forum posted by Beth A and on the Austin Flyers site austinflyers.com. Here is the combined list showing the results for both weeks and pictures.

                                                                                                                               

Place   Open Men Time
1 David Wenger	21:35:00
2 Andrew Willis	21:40:00
3 Adam Gauber	22:36:00
4 Karl Kupecz	23:10:00
5 Eric Benz	23:44:00
6 Mark Pride	23:58:00
7 David Sing	24:24:00
8 Shaun Carpenter	24:35:00
9 Jimmu Greenaint	24:53:00
10 Rick Hall	24:57:00
11 Brandon Neal	25:07:00
12 Robert Andrews	25:15:00
13 Jorge Alvarado	25:50:00
14 John Bandy	26:00:00
15 Oliver Bond	26:08:00
16 Paul Tovey	26:13:00
17 Roman Lobkorsky	27:04:00
18 Clarence Lucas	27:32:00
19 Bill Blagdan	27:35:00
20 Daniel Norton	29:29:00
21 Alex Adams	29:43:00
Place Open Women TTT Time
1 360Cycleworks	31:34:00
2 Austin Flyers	33:05:00
Place Open Men TTT Time
1 Texas Cyclones	23:51:00
Place Tandems Time
1 Frank Kurzawa/Jane Kurzawa   Cravey	25:32:00

Karen Hall's Book Signing Party

Many of you have already met Greg Hall's fetching wife, Karen.
Well, come join in the fun and help us celebrate the release of Karen’s first book!  Karen will be autographing books, so bring your copy if you want a signature (copies of the book will also be available at the party).
Light refreshments will be served.

To learn more about Illumination, please see Karen's personal web site.

Directions:  Take the Braker exit off Mopac or IH-35.  From Mopac go east on Braker, turn left at Metric traffic light, right at Gracy Farms traffic light, continue straight at Bittern Hollow stop sign, Sky West is on the left.  From IH-35 go west on Braker, turn right at Parkfield (one traffic light past Lamar), right at Swearingen stop sign, turn left when Swearingen dead-ends, street curves to the left and becomes Sky West.  Note: Street parking is discouraged due to the neighborhood’s narrow streets, so please try to park in the visitor parking cut-outs scattered along Sky West and Swearingen.

rwon

June Meeting Monday, June 6th

Don't forget this month's VC meeting is Monday, June 6th. Food at 6:30. Meeting at 7:00. Rumor has it we'll be seeing photos from the recent Italy trip. Mangias on Far West. See you there.

MAY CLUB MEETING

Next Monday is the May Meeting at Mangia

It's the monthly meeting at Mangia Pizza on Mesa Drive at Spicewood Springs Road, May 2nd. The usual; food at 6:30 pm, "business" at 7:00pm.

Still Without the New VC Duds?

The 2005 clothing has arrived and we have been through our initial wave of handing out pre-orders and selling from general inventory.  We now have an open (but brief) window to do a re-order to get clothing for those who missed the first go-round, or for those who just need to add a few more items to their cycling wardrobe.

Here are the requests I have received so far:

Rich Hall               vest small
Norma Bandy             short sleeve full zip small
Norman Matson           vest small
Robert Galindo          bibs XL, vest XL
John Doe No.1           bibs small, SS jersey small, vest small
Mark Dreyfus            vest med

Here is approximately what we have in inventory:

SS Regular Jerseys      1XS, 6M, 2L, 2XL, 1XXL
LS Jerseys              2M, 2L
SS Full Zip Jerseys     1XS, 3M, 2L,  3XL, 1XL
Shorts                  1S, 2M, 6L, 1XL
Bibs                    7M
Arm Warmers             1XS, 1S, 6L, 1XL
Skinsuits               1S, 2M, 4L, 1XL
Vests                   3M, 1L

If you want a clothing item, and it's not in inventory, then contact me with your request by noon on Tuesday, March 15th as we plan to send out the reorder that afternoon.  Of course, if you want something from existing inventory, then contact me to arrange pickup.

David Wolfe
dwolfe@environmentaldefense.org
426-7670

Italy in May

Giro D'Italia Excursion (posted for Doug Burnett with a couple of comments of my own added in...

UPDATE:  DEPOSIT NEEDED ASAP TO RESERVE AIRLINE SEATS. CONTACT DOUG OR NELO IMMEDIATELY IF YOU"RE INTERESTED IN GOING ALONG.

On May 7, 2005 a select group of lucky cyclists will embark on an extraordinary journey that will take them through the Appennine Mountains of central Italy to the mountain valley of Fuchino in the Montepuciano wine region of Abbruzzo. All that we may witness and be part of the spectacle that is "The Giro D'Italia"

Destination:  We are heading to the small village of Gioa Di Marsi and the "Hotel/Ristorante Fillippone" near the city of Avezzano in the Fuchino valley. The valley is smack dab in the middle of the Appennine mountains 200 km (120 miles) east of Rome, Italy.

Reason:  Oh for heaven's sake?!?!!? To ride road bikes and have fun of course! The Giro D'Italia will finish and start near out hotel, two of the pro teams will be staying there. For two days and two nights only the pros and our group will be at the hotel (although Bill hopes that there will also be some hotel staff...)

Flight Arrangements: This round trip flight will leave from Austin Bergstrom Airport at 11:00 a.m. May 7, 2005 and return Tuesday May 17, 2005. We will fly American Airlines coach class to Fuming (nee Leonardo DA Vinci) Airport in Rome. Arriving the morning of the 8th, where we will be met by our hotel host Franco Fillippone.

Hotel Arrangements:  The Hotel-Ristorante Fillippone, a 3 star Hotel/Resort built in the late 70's with fantastic 5+ start foods (and looking at Doug, you can tell he should know something about food) and service. The hotel is frequented by some of the world's foremost engineers (pocket protectors optional). Within the Fuchino valley is the town of Avezzano with the semiconductor manufacturer Micron Technology. On the opposite end of the valley near Leche di Marsi is Europe's primary collection of communication down link sub-deflector antennae, 124 to be exact The food and service is by far the best in the region! Services included in the trip:

• Horse back riding
• Hang Gliding
• Guided trips to Roman ruins of Alba Fuchens (79AD)
• Fantastic Museums at Castle Celano and Avezzano

Rides: There will be well organized, sag supported rides each day throughout the Fuchino valley and up some of the best climbs in Italy. More switchbacks and hair pin turns than you'll ever need. We will ride through areas with modern state-of-the-art manufacturing plants 100 meters from functioning aqua ducts built by the Romans 1938 years ago. We'll travel down miles of flat straight roads with no traffic through the most fertile agricultural plain in Europe.

However, in case you feel the need, hyper accurate topographical road maps with complete directions to hotels, itinerary and phone numbers will be provided the day we arrive in country. So you may ride your pace, stop where ever you want and return to the hotel when ever you please.

Our sag support will be provided by Vittorio and Fernando Marchelli.

Vittorio Marchelli

• 1968 World Road Race Champion
• One Gold and two Bronze medals in the 1968 Mexico City Olympics
• Palmares that range over 10 years of pro racing

Fernando Marchelli

• More than 10 years as Chief Team Mechanic for several pro teams including Mug/Bianchi, Triestina, Aqua e Sapone and others.

Giro D'Italia:  On May 10th, Stage 11 of the Giro D'Italia will finish in the town of Celano a mere 18 km away from the hotel and the following day's stage 12 will start there next to the Castle and traverse the valley leaving through the beautiful and treacherous Paso Del Diavalo.

On these days, two pro teams will be staying at our hotel, eating dinner with us, eating breakfast with us, hanging out with us and if you can speak Italian, talking to us. Guys like Mario Cippolini and his team Aqua e Sapone/Mokambo. Liberty Seguros (formerly known as Kelme) with Lance's former teammate Roberto Heras.

Cost for this entire trip:

• Round trip airfare
• Hotel accommodations
• Three meals a day (Doug says very good meals and Doug knows meals)
• All the adult beverages you can drink
• Transportation from and back to Rome's airport.

All this even with the terrible exchange rate Between $1600 and $1800 (based on final exchange rate and hotel/fuel costs).

If you would like to go on this trip or you have more questions, please e-mail Doug Burnett BurnettUSMC{at}msn{dot}com or phone 296-4057

You may also contact Nelo Breda at "Nelo's Pro Cycles" phone 338-0505.

An information/planning meeting is scheduled for Saturday, March 5, 2005 at 6:00 p.m. at Nelo's Pro Cycles.

MEETING TONIGHT!

March meeting tonight at Mangias. Dinner at 6:30, meeting at 7:00.

Pace Bend 2005

Today was a perfect race day and the turnout at Pace Bend was big, very big. Three cat 5 races and over 70 riders  in the Pro 12 race (see phto to the right). Our own John Bandy did it again. He won the 55+ category and came in 11th on the overall just behind VC's Mike Haney, the highest placed VC rider in the 45/55+ race. The picture to the left shows John talking with Adam Gaubert, who won one of the cat 5 races. The weather was perfect for racing. The 45+ race with a huge pack of 60 riders was a blast. No one succeeded in getting away for very long, except on the last lap when Frank bolted after a NW rider. They stayed off for the better part of the lap but were eaten up by the pack on the last hill like a whale descending on a school of fish. A most impressive effort. Another notable result is former VCer Scott Veggeberg placing 12th in the Pro 12 race.

King of Jester this Sunday!

Not doing Pace Bend this Sunday, or perhaps looking for something that's a shorter distance?

What: King of Jester
Where: Jester Village, North West Austin
 When: Sunday 2/27
Schedule: 7:30 am Bike TT1, 8am 5K, 9am Running TT and Alt Human Power TT, 10am Bike TT2.
Registration: $25 before 2/26 at www.kingofjester.com and $30 on 2/26 and 2/27
Packet Pick up: 360 Cycleworks Saturday 2/26 12-5 (Bring your bike for FREE bike checks, $7.50 drive train cleans, and $25 Tune-Ups for all registrants.)

Brain Buckets have arrived

The helmets are here!If you signed up to get one of the new team helmets,contact John Schreffler and you can come pick it up. Cost is $62 and make the check out to Violet Crown. John will be at 360 Cycleworks from 4:00-6:00 P.M. on Saturday the 19th and will bring them to Freewheeling on Sun. morning to pick up before the 8 am ride. John will have some at his house (South) if you want to come by. Call at 577-0565. Schreff.

Violet Crown Track Day at Alkek

Have you ever thought about racing on the track? Alkek Velodrome is just 2 hours away in northwest Houston. The problem is, you need to take a class to be certified on the track before you can race.
So Violet Crown has made arrangements with the nice folks at Alkek to have a group class on this coming Saturday the 12th. If you take this class you will become a Cat 4 on the track and will be able to race at Alkek and most other velodromes.
The class will start at Noon, but you should arrive by 11 or so in order to get set up. You need not have a track bike: you can rent one for about $5. The cost of the class is $25. If you would like to carpool, there is a large group leaving from the Walmart in Bastrop on Saturday morning. Meet at 8:45 for rollout at 9 am.
If interested, email Jay Bond at jbond@tda.org.
You need not be a member of Violet Crown to attend. Anyone is welcome!

We apologize for the late notice, but it took us awhile to get a firm date and commitment.

New Discount Bell Helmets for Members!

Violet Crown has negotiated a helmet discount arrangement with one of our sponsors - Cycleworks 360.
We will be placing an order for Bell Ghisallo helmets at the end of this week. The style and colors are shown in this photograph. The deadline for ordering is this coming Sunday so if you want to get in on the action, call our helpful club member, John Schreffler, at 577-0565 to let him know. Helmets are available in small, medium and large.

Members tried them on at last night's club meeting and they met with universal approval. This is a great deal!

Kristian KOM after Stage 8

From cyclingnews.com report on Stage 8: "Someone more than happy to hold on to his lead was Kristian House,..." read on .

King of Mountain - Kristian House

After 7 stages of the 10-stage Tour de Langkawi, Kristian House stays in the King of the Mountain jersey, a position he's held since earning the spot in stage one . But tomorrow's stage will likely be the hardest, described by cyclingnews.com as "a short (97.9 km) but sadistic stage." The toughest part is the final 36 km climb to the finish..."a back-breaking climb where only the   best will prevail."  House leads the competition by 3 points.  But Kristian is showing no fear. He's quoted in today's cycling news.com tour coverage as saying "Tomorrow's going to be a hard day,  and also the next day - I think it's going to be decisive - I'm going to give  it everything." Check tomorrow's cyclingnews.com for the results. 

Screening of 'PRO' by Jamie Paolinetti

Benefiting the Lance Armstrong Foundation
Saturday, February 12th, 2005, 3 pm 
Alamo Drafthouse Downtown, Austin, Texas

Tickets are only $10 in advance ($12 at the door), which includes an 
after-screening party at PURE Austin Fitness (Town Lake), featuring a 

silent auction and question and answer session with Chann McRae, winner of 
the 2002 US PRO Cycling Championship. Tickets will be available soon at 
www.originalalamo.com.  For more information, see www.austinpeloton.org 
...
“ PRO” takes viewers on an unforgettable ride into the ultra-elite 
world of the superstars of professional bike racing: Bobby Julich, Chris 
Horner, Freddie Rodriguez, Mike Sayers, Gord Fraser, Henk Vogels, Mark 
McCormack, Jonas Carney, Trent Klasna, Michael Creed, Erik Saunders, Tim 
Johnson and more. These superstars and their teams star in “PRO”, 
director Jamie Paolinetti’s follow up film to the cult phenomenon, The Hard 
Road.

Kristian to ride Tour of Langkawi

Former VCer Kristian House will be a member of the Great Britain team during the upcoming Tour of Langkawi. Story link: Great Britain Endurance Team heads for Langkawi.
.
.

From our retro files:
Kristian Talks About Drugs and the Great Britain Under 23 Championships

2005 Officers

Officer elections were held at Monday night's meeting with the following results: David Wolfe - President-Elect,  John Bartle - Secretary, Donna Lakomski - Treasurer. Frank Kurzawa is this year's president.

Volunteers Needed - Saturday, December 18

The upcoming VC cyclocross race at Richard Moya Park needs your help. Contact race organizer David Wolfe for available volunteer time slots and positions.

Event info can be found on the TXBRA.org event site.

Time to order your 2005 Clothing!

We've finally got the details worked out for our 2005 clothing. Now it's your turn. Just download the handy PDF file below, print it out, and send it in with your hard-earned scratch.
We've got a pretty wide selection this year: 2 short sleeve jersey styles, long sleeve jerseys, jackets, vests, regular shorts, big shorts, skinsuits, armwarmers, and socks.
If you're not sure about sizing, just try on your 2004 VC clothing. Sizing is the same this year. If you can't do that, then come to the December meeting. We'll have a full sizing kit there.
Be sure and return the form by the time of the meeting (Monday, December 6th). That's the deadline for ordering. We'll probably have a few extras of the most popular items, but they will go fast so if you want clothing you need to pre-order it.

Violet Crown 2005 Clothing Order Form

Later,
zaza

TTTTR - 11/6 & 11/7

This week's TTTTR aka B&TETA:

Saturday - pick one:
9:00, ACA ride in Lockhart
8:00, Einstein's Bagels, Braker & 183

Sunday, Einstein's Bagels, Braker & 183. Fixed gear extravaganzafication if the predicted winds stay sub-10mph (right now they're predicted to be extremely light).
_________________________
Bill Reams

And the Winner is...

An election will bring em out. Last night's VC club meeting was well attended. The usual one pizza just wasn't enough. The focus on the meeting was the selection of the 2005 jersey design. The entries were lined up and a vote taken. Entries were submitted by Julian, Dan Connelly, and Steve James. This year's jersey was also included making a total of 4 designs. And the winner is Julian's design, shown at the left.

Design No. 3

This just in, Julian comes through with his entry in this year's jersey design contest. Including the current jersey design, this makes 4 entries.

Let the Jersey Contest Begin!

Brought this design up to the top so you can view all of the designs at once.

We'll be selecting our next jersey design at the November membership meeting. In the meantime, any early submissions should be brought to our meeting on Monday, October 4th (Mangia Pizza at Mesa and Spicewood Springs, pizza at 6:30, meeting at 7).
If you want to post a version on line. Just send it to The Weberator.

The Tour Baby!

A fundraiser on October 16th for the LAF in Austin at the Alamo Draft House at 3pm. The Tour Baby! is a documentary about the Tour de France and the "reality" of what really happens. There are interviews with tour organizers, the podium girls, Lance and more. It's for a great cause as well. All proceeds will go to the Lance Armstrong Foundation, which helps those living with c ancer. Almost everyone has been affected in some way by cancer and I hope that by raising some money for the LAF that we can make life easier for those living with cancer.

SILENT AUCTION:
- Clif Bars
- Jamba Juice
- Nike Watch
- Pure Austin Health Club Memberships
- Castle Hill Fitness Club Memberships
- X terra wetsuit

and more....

This will be a great social event for athletes (and non-athletes) all over Austin . so come on out and support a great cause.

You can get more information at www.thetourbaby.com and register at www.active.com. We expect the event to sell out so buy your tickets at active.com soon. You can purchase tickets on active.com until Saturday at 9 am. You can purchase tickets at the Alamo Draft House starting at 2:00pm.

http://www.active.com/explorer/index.cfm?eventId=1170203

VC's Newest Young Star

Tina and Rob Heatley are extremely proud to announce the arrival of Adam Jeffrey.  Our son was born to us on Friday September 24, 2004 at 5:51pm at Seton Medical Center in Austin, Texas.  Adam Jeffrey weighed 8 lbs. 2.41 oz. And is 20.5 inches long.  We all feel blessed beyond belief and both Tina and Adam are recovering comfortably at home. 

Thank you for all of your encouragement and support!

Robert Heatley

Kart Elected!

James Karthauser was elected to the USA Cycling Board of Trustees to represent the Central region. You can read the announcement and get the full results here. Congratulations Kart!

TTTTR aka B&TETA - Sept 11 & 12

This week's TTTTR aka B&TETA:

Saturday, 11 Sept, 8:00, Einstein's Bagels, Braker & 183.

Sunday, 12 Sept, 8:00, Einstein's Bagels, Braker & 183.

Vote for Kart