Kelley Acres

Update from "Kelley Acres"

2011-07-04T15:56:00.000-04:00

I'm taking a leave of absense from Facebook and decided to update the blog. Race season finally settled in after a sporadic start with postponements and cancellations. This season I decided to measure my results based on fun (yes or no) instead of placings.
Here's the tally : Black Hills, Carl Dolan, Bunny Hop x 2, Ft. Ritchie x 2, Poolesville, Leonardtown, Ride Sally Ride, Tour of Washington County Kick Off Crit and Stage Race, Church Creek TT, Reston Grand Prix, all get a YES . Bike Jam - NO. Based on the fun factor it's a very successful season so far. Let's hope it carries over to the 2nd half.

This past week has been a nice break from the normal routine. Churtle emailed and wanted to go for a long hilly ride. This is Churtle. She's usually on a mountain bike for many hours going fast so it was a treat to take her on a "Kelley Acres" road ride.

Churtle leading us up to High Rock and every other climb in the Catoctin Mountains

In addition to taking a break from racing this holiday weekend, we got into sprucing up the backyard. Fast Freddie gave me the nod to go about a little dead tree removal burnscaping project.

We started a litte fire at the trunk

Success!!!

All for now...

Thanks Ruth...

2011-03-27T19:10:00.002-04:00

for making that tough call to postpone Jeff Cup on Friday instead of Saturday. It gave "Kelley Acres" enough time to organize and open up for a spirited little roll through the hills of northern Frederick County. And it was cold!
Lots of MABRA colors were flying this weekend. Hot off the Cupcake Wars victory Team Sticky Fingers were out in force. Goat and Chicken (who promised to update her BLOG!!! if I did) along with Dana, Jessica, and Mrs. Fader were sporting their fab new kits w/ stars and bars (rolling pins). We were missing the Cupcake Queen, Doron. Feel better soon!
Some of the other MABRA peeps were Antietam Velo Club, NCVC, Kelley Benefit, some locals, and a super strong kid that looked like he was 13yrs. old and could ride almost everyone off his wheel except Mr. Fader of course.

Some of the NCVC crew getting ready to roll

Phil Billy from Evolution Cycling takes a smoke break at the top of High Rock and received top honors for the quote of the day and a new Philysm (see previous post)..."Next time I'm bringing a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. It's like mother's milk for me".

Janet wondering how she ended up here

We can't forget Janet, Sue, and Scott of ABRT making the trek from Baltimore. Janet and Sue were fresh (or not so fresh) from a two week cycling camp in Spain. And of course Team Kenda was well represented!

A great day in the saddle was followed up with a Fast Freddies chilli feast! With Harwood Road Race cancelled we may be rollin' again real soon.We havent done the prison loop lately...so stay tuned.

Riding from KA, Mr. July, and Punkin's

2010-07-31T17:53:00.001-04:00

"Kelley Acres" was back in action today. Summer style! With a break from the oppressive heat we managed to get a nice long hilly ride up to High Rock via Harp Hill for some. Lots of team representation today from the National Capital Velo Club (NCVC);Annapolis Bicycle Racing Team (ABRT); Antietam Velo Club (AVC);; Kelley Benefit Strategies (KBS/LSV) and Team Kenda of course:)

Dennis, Matt R., Dwayne, Matt D., Rob, and Corey at the top High Rock

Steve with his ABRT posse

The lovely ladies of ABRT Christine, Amy, Janet, and Sue

Steve and Matt fueling up ... they are eating CORN DOGS and Animal Crackers-made me throw up in my mouth a little just watching them eat the corn dogs!

We had some random punkin' seeds end up next to the barn...now look. I've wanted a punkin' patch forever!

Today is officially Fast Freddies last day as Mr. July in the Washington D.C. Region SCCA Calendar. As he so carefully points out it is very easy to find as it is right in the center of the publication. Can't wait to see what August brings...although he's not short on ideas

Sad day at "Kelley Acres"

2010-04-24T18:56:00.009-04:00

Flyover 9/25/09 - 4/22/10

Died suddenly of unnatural causes in Middletown, MD on the grounds of "Kelley Acres" ...Our Beloved Flyover.

This winter we decided to retire "Kelley Acres" Cross after two fun years. It was a blast. After the first KAX we decided to add a new feature to the course . Trying to decide what to do with the course Rockstar Cyclocx'r Chicken was consulted on a Kelley Acres Ride. She comes up with "ck, you have to make a flyover, nobody has one around here". After a few very important "Kelley Acres" Cross staff meetings that involved a few barn beers and a golf cart and fire, the flyover idea came alive. We knew we were taking a chance changing the course but that's how we roll. Fast Freddie loved the challenge and had a "whatever you want honey bunny" attitude. Making this a reality. Our LBS Wheelbasebikes stepped up as the sponsor. A weeks worth of construction with Fast Freddie and some hard working friends Steve, Ray, and his son, Nathan~ the flyover became reality.

Ok, that's the best I can do for a flyover obit. It really did become an eyesore. Here's what we did last night...

Fast Freddie gave me a ride in the backhoe bucket to start the removal ceremony (we have lots of ceremonies at Kelley Acres)

My view from the bucket

Just so you know I really was in the bucket

Leaving the scene

The funeral procession

The deceased requested a creamation party in the fall.

Walkersville RR and Tyson's

2010-04-15T13:27:00.004-04:00

Last weekend was great weather for bike racing. Even better was the fact that the race on Saturday was local, the Walkersville Road Race promoted by ABRT (Annapolis Bicycle Racing Team). After being spoiled all week with summer like weather, it was pretty cold at 40deg. for an 8a.m. start. Our field consisted of category 1-4 women and master's men 55+ all mixied up in one big bunch. This means lots of big men and women with all different levels of experience and bike handling skills.
I would say the sketchiest part of this race was on the neutral roll out trying to navigate past a vehicle blocking half the right lane while the yellow line rule was being enforced on the left. Good times at the start. After that is was pretty tame.
On to the race~there was this dude in our race I could not get away from. You know when you are in a race or on a ride and you just don't want to be near someone and they inevitably are just THERE constantly. I'm sure he was a very nice man but for craps sake, he had this rubber chicken key chain (see below) swinging from the rails of his saddle.

Who is this dude? Is he your teammate? Was he really afraid he was going to lose his keys? This thing was flapping back and forth the whole race. Someone wanted to know on our local racing listserve if "Wedgie" Bags were legal in a race (I never heard them called that before but whatever)...What about a freakin' rubber chicken keychain?Does anyone know this guy? This was beyond annoying. Even more annoying than the guy with the number flapping because he was so careful he didn't want to wrinkle it and use the least amount of safety pins.

When I wasn't being distracted by the above, it was fun watching Phil Hepburn (who wasn't on the pre-reg only list) dressed incognito in his plain yellow windbreaker laying down some hurtful moves until the guys realized who he was.

At the end of the day it was alot of fun being out there racing. Having a combined field does add a different dyanmic but I would prefer to have a field to race in than not. Congrats to Laurel with a Cat. 1 move with a Cat. 4 license.

A big thank you to ABRT for keeping the quality road races alive in our area.

*************************************************************************

Sunday was Tyson's Corner Circuit Race promoted by NCVC (National Capital Velo Club): report by Jen Rasmussen

Tyson's Corner Circuit race is always a tough race. Whether its the uphill finish, or because its early season and the day after a road race, or perhaps a combination of both, its never less than a gut-checker! This year was easily one of the highest quality fields we've had since I started racing; Team Kenda's Marni Harker, Chris Kelley, Janelle Hubbard and myself lined-up against riders Sarah Caravella from BMW Bianchi, Amanda Watson and Erin Siliman from Fruit 66, the ABRT Women's Elite team and all the other high-quality women from the area.

The course is selective and tends to be a race of attrition, but that didn't stop numerous attacks lead by Team Kenda, BMW Bianchi and Fruit 66 from making the race aggressive from the gun. Team Kenda raced like a well-oiled machine and there were several attacks throughout the race that looked like they would stick as a break, each time Team Kenda being represented by either Chris Kelley, myself or both of us. About half-way through the race I was able to counter a move from CK and solo away going up the hill and quickly had about a 20 second gap! I really wanted it to stick, but knew with 25 minutes/10 laps to go it would be a long time to stay off the front with this tenacious field.

As the race counter came down to 2-3 laps to go it became clear that other than a possible flyer on the bell-lap, this race was going to come to a field sprint (meaning time to "recover"). The Bell came and we proceeded around the course for one last time. Fortunately, even with the tired legs the tempo did manage to ramp-up. Coming into the final corner we were about 400m downhill from the finish-line. I was fairly well-positioned in 3rd or 4th wheel behind Sarah C. and Amanada W., but still a little too far for me to make it to the finish line. Knowing my sprint, I need a high-speed leadout in order to maintain the speed I need to contest a field sprint and generally in local races that does not happen. Suddenly, I felt a light touch on my hip and there was teammate Marni Harker coming on my inside to give me that much needed 15m catapult launch to the finish. The sprint was on! Sarah Caravella easily took the win, but the race for last two podium spots was tough. My legs started to lock-up aout 10m from the finish, (now hating me for all the earlier breakaway attempts), but the thought of Marni sacrificing her race to push me forward gave me that last "umph" to get across the finish line and hold onto a podium at 3rd place!

All in all a good-hot day of racing! I have attached the video for those who are interested...

Thanks girls!

-Jen

First "Kelley Acres" Ride of '10

2010-03-20T16:40:00.005-04:00

The flag usually sets the tone to start the "Kelley Acres" rides. This year it is tattered and torn from the insane winter months.
Today was the break through training ride we've been waiting for. A beautiful, sunny and warm day greeted 10 riders who braved the first "Kelley Acres" 4.5hr ride of the year. With lots of endurance miles lost due to the brutal weather we finished the day with lots of hope, even though it was quite painful at the end!
We headed to out on a traditional loop to High Rock and back through Catoctin Mountain Park to Frederick and back over the ridge.
The best part of the ride was the chemistry of the group. No egos today. Everyone worked well together. There were a few spirited moments but the purpose of the ride remained priority, to gain some valuable, long, lost endurance.
A few shoutouts are in order to the girls... one to Christine F. Nate Wilson's pick to win the Women's Cat 1/2 race next week at the Jeff Cup. I shared my pb & j with her so maybe she'll have a little mercy next weekend.

The other shout goes to 2009 "Kelley Acres" Cross Podium Candy- Miss Guided

Shown here in action with GamJams Podium Candy - Lance

This is where I would put the picture of Heidi posing in the manger scene on Raven Rock Road. It was voted down.

This is a nice replacement. Heidi post ride on the Harley Police Bike
Parking on the grass is an option again! And it's green!!

Thanks to everyone that came out. It was a great day!

We're Back!

2010-03-18T19:19:00.004-04:00

Nobody was interested in taking the flyover away so Fast Freddie and I decided it would be fun to take the g-cart for a spin. We got a little hung up.

FF was using the rocking method to dislodge from the platform

This was the dismount
Tuesday Night Worlds started this week. Dennis and Jimbo of AVC showed up ready to roll-kit, helmet and shoes. Host for the evening is Lumpy-Twizzlers and all...

We realized later he was trying to make sure everyone had enough energy to keep up with him. The man has worked hard this winter and will be testing the legs at Jeff Cup in Charlottesville next weekend.

Loving the sunset at Kelley Acres. Finally!

GamJamin'

2010-03-01T19:40:00.002-05:00

It's been a wierd winter with no real organized outdoor rides from "Kelley Acres". It's been strange but there is alot going on .

The Speed Shop was rocking all winter. This weekend we had alot of last minute riders going after the "Top Dog" Winter Time Trial Competition sponsored by Raw Revolution. This is a great tune up for a GamJams Throwdown p/b Cutaway Clothing.

We were fortunate enough to have the Don and John show stop by last week. As you saw from previous posts, nothing will stop them from getting their training in. It's nice they work together.

Sometimes you have to learn to adapt....

2010-02-21T18:34:00.004-05:00

by digging deep into the reserves while racing or riding your bicycle. Or trying to relax while in the hurt box. Other times it's reaching deep within yourself to get the motiviation to go on a training ride while it's way too cold and the roads suck. AND sometimes if you dig deep enough in your car, you can find replacement gear if you leave your tights at home. Being resourceful is a great quality for a rider.

Please note that Don is NOT modeling the

2010 Antietam Velo Club's kit

If you show up to go on a training ride an there's a guy dressed like this(above). What would you do? How adaptable are you? How bad do you want to train? Are you willing to ride with this person? He can't really ride, can he? Are you willing to risk getting your legs ripped off? You're thinking something is not right, are you willing to ADAPT to the situation and ride? Fortunately, I was not involved with this situation but it got me thinking. What would I do?

Heck, I'd probably ride. We live in an area that has stuff like this (below). No one would really know me with all the winter gear. Maybe they would think I'm doing a good deed for someone special.

Franklin showing some post holiday spirit with the blow up snow man

My bike and I made it outside for a couple hours this a.m. It was wierd but fantastic to breath some fresh air and feel the road again.
Franklin and Scott gave me a tour of the Hagerstown area.

Fast Freddie told me about this website . I thought it was pretty funny. Enjoy.

Blizzard No. 2

2010-02-12T14:53:00.002-05:00

Wish I was this guy- cruising downtown
It's cold at Kelley AcresAnd windy

Downtown Frederick trucking out snow

Belle could barely see over the snow

The laundry hamper next to the Pale Ale box was much more exciting

No bikes going down this driveway

2010-02-08T18:59:00.003-05:00

We haven't been able to get a bike out of the "Kelley Acres" driveway all winter.

Fast Freddie was showing off his driving skills taking one of his projects for a little spin post blizzard!

Silliness

2010-02-06T21:10:00.004-05:00

This post is about quantity not quality. You know, junk miles. It's all I got. Lots of pictures(bad ones) and a bad video.

Morning shot of Snowmageddon 2010

About a 4ft snow drift - first few big steps were fun then it got really annoying

Shelby was a little freaked by the snow drift near her dog house but happy to see me

A couple of crazies showed up for a Speed Shop session and decided to just run the ol' pick me up truck into the snow to park! Where you from?

Fred thought it was proper form to snow blow around Matt's truck

Matt trying to leave Kelley Acres

The flyover is STILL available- did a couple sled runs but needed some grooming

Absolutely beautiful ending to Snowmageddon 2010

What more is there to say...

2010-01-04T19:26:00.006-05:00

Our friend Bob, who we never get to see, wants a "Kelley Acres" update. This one's for you:

This is me in my convent outfit leading the annual "Kelley Acres" New Years Day ride

My long, lost friend Lorena now living in Sweden posts pictures of bath time with her perfect baby boy, Biggie Smalls. This is the best we can do from "Kelley Acres". However, I'm working on a vid of Fast Freddie and his new remote control helicopter on the yoga block landing pad.

Steve finally cracked!

2009-12-19T13:06:00.009-05:00

After a workout at the Speed Shop today. Steve W. of ABRT decided to take a cool down ride on the flyover

Oh yeah...he was on his road bike

He really misses cross!

I really don't need to elaborate on this

Kelley Acres Ride - 70miler

2009-11-29T18:43:00.004-05:00

In the spirit of the holiday weekend Fast Freddie and I logged 70miles in the Cobra today. No bike riding from Kelley Acres. We headed to Taneytown, MD to catch some of our friends racing the MABRA Cyclocross Championships. It was an exceptional feeling to cruise over Harp Hill and get to enjoy the view.

We arrived at Taneytown Park to no less than 5 cars stuck in the muddy field. I happened to catch this SUV getting a tug out of the mess.

We got to heckle our friend Steve (middle) in one of the many muddy sections.

Steve- post race. FF was impressed with the pump up sprayer - car thing.

He pulled off a strong podium performance.

This is the start of the Women's Elite Race. Super Fast JMax of ATAC p/b The Bike Rack (and Kenda teammate on the road) is going after Arley from Hub Racing right from the start.

Marni of Kenda ready for action in the Women's Elite Race

Cousin Jim showing how he can balance holding his bike. His bike is just a little dirtier than normal.

It was a great day to cruise around and hang with some friends. I'm looking forward to getting the bike back on the road next weekend.

All for now...

Back At It...

2009-11-15T16:59:00.007-05:00

We've started up the winter training rides from "Kelley Acres"

This morning we rolled out on a quest to do "the prison loop". It was calm, sunny, and beautiful for about 10 minutes. Then it became more of an effort to stay warm for 3 more hours.

We decided to seek out some entertainment.
Frank's bike can't go by this place without stopping, even on Sunday morning.

Welcome to Funkstown. We managed to keep Heidi from doing a telephone pole dance.

In case your in the area....

Everything seemed fine at this point. Until...

The guard in the tower was not amused with this. Illana displaying some impressive flexiblity. We managed to get out of here and back on the road without getting shot.

Great day of riding with friends!

Sunset over the Fly Over! (still available~btw)

Free to a Good Home!

2009-10-12T20:01:00.005-04:00

Come and get it

Lots of great pictures and vid's going around about the cross race.

A few of our favorites:

Jim Wilson

Kevin Dillard

From Jeremiah Bishop's Blog

Several posts from In the Crosshairs here

And gwadzilla never disappoints; just scroll down a bit ~ here~

Life at Kelley Acres is settling in for the winter. The "Kelley Acres" Speed Shop is starting to wake up slowly.
More updates to come.

"Kelley Acres" Cross Featuring...

2009-10-05T20:31:00.007-04:00

GamJams Podium Candy Pagaent Winner Lance Lacy and "Kelley Acres" appointed Podium Girl "Miss Guided" aka Heidi Goldberg

When asked to be a podium presenter a few months ago Miss Guided's replied "Yes! Yes! Yes! Dressing up and kissing are things I like to do". Then began the journey to find her a compatible podium companion.

GamJams wanted to some candy on the podium and we needed someone, the GamJams Podium Candy Pageant was born. Previous blogs will bring you up to speed on how Lance Lacy landed the top spot. Most people don't realize what is involved to secure a celebrity of his stature. He has needs, requirements really. Shortly after his pageant

victory I received an email of his needs (requirements). Here you go:

A bowl of 500 M&M's with all the brown ones picked out
2 gallons of ocean spray cranberry juice being served by snow white(the real snow white and not Stephen Wahl dressed up like her)
A box of HoHo's served on a silver platter and a fire works display each time I eat one
A white unicorn for me to get around on
A mermaid playing a Harp(must be attractive and not too fishy)
My own personal masseurs
Concord grapes fed to me by a half naked spanish tranny named Martha
KY jelly and fruit roll ups
A copy of wizard of oz the x rated version
Thanks

Everyone got a kiss from Lance

Hiding in Heidi's hair

The arrival outfit. Heidi had about 4 or 5 different outfits during the day.

Easy to tell who made the podium

Heidi skated the day away

Ray Train prepping the pumpkin for Dr. Neighbor Steve's pumpkin explosion
Illinois Matt got the full post race experience!

A HUGE heart felt thank you to our sponsors Wheelbase Bikes, The Bike Rack of D.C., Team Kenda, "Kelley Acres" Speed Shop, HPC, GamJams, Sticky Fingers Bakery

Skeese Greets, Justin's Nut Butter, Raw Indulgence, CB Massage, Antietam Velo Club

We got a Fly Over!

2009-09-30T19:05:00.004-04:00

"Kelley Acres" Cross is ready to go this Sunday 10/4. Pre-registation closes 10/1 at 9p.m.

The course is new and improved!

GamJams Podium Candy winner Lance Lacy

and MABRA's own Heidi Goldberg will be organizing podium presentations so wear your favorite lip gloss!

A MUST SEE EVENT!

If you liked Ms. Frederick and Ms. Washington Counties from KAX '08 you will not be disappointed

Below are some pictures of the Wheelbase Bikes Fly Over

Ready to Roll (or run up)

Course crossing

Covered with anti skid paint

GamJams Podium Candy/Fly Over Update

2009-09-26T12:58:00.013-04:00

Time is running out to cast your vote for the GamJams Podium Candy candidate. Go here to see the list of fine contestants. Vote many many times. It's been a real battle and voting closes tomorrow. Do it.
Register for "Kelley Acres" Cross promoted by Team Kenda and HPC - here

Construction began yesterday on the WheelBase Bikes Fly Over for the"Kelley Acres" Cross race next weekend

Roof trusses are for addtional support on the ramp. Ray Train testing them out!

Adding the stairs

Shelby's Cat. 4 dog decent

This is how Steve spent his birthday with a litte cheesecake celebration

GamJams Podium Candy Voting going live very soon

2009-09-22T19:33:00.004-04:00

Go to GamJams to vote.

Vote now AND vote later.

Let's see who has the strongest team NOW.

You won't believe the quality contestants that have stepped forward. Seriously!

"Kelley Acres" Cross - FlyOver Update

2009-09-21T19:35:00.005-04:00

Unfortunately we were unable to secure the Thunderbirds for an official fly over. We could not convince Dolly Parton to come sing "God Bless America". This means construction of the "Kelley Acres" Cross Fly Over sponsored by Wheelbase Bikes is getting assembled later this week for the Oct. 4th event. A fly over is a bridge that the racers will ascend up, cross over the race course and decend down the other side. (below is an example, ours is a variation)

Our goal is to make this a fun, exciting and most of all a safe obstacle riders of all abilities will enjoy. If you have never seen or ridden a fly over have no fear it will be super exciting. We will be posting pictures and possibly a few videos of assembly on the weekend.

A few other race updates. The Cat. 1,2,3 Women's field is now paying the top 3 Cat 3 ladies a separate prize list of $150/3 deep in addition to the $700/7 deep in the main field. This makes the total women's prize list more than the men. Thanks to The Bike Rack of D.C. and Team Kenda!

All the Lil' Belgians (9 & under) will get a medal and a pumpkin.

**The GamJams Podium Pageant is going live tomorrow with online voting. There could clearly be some team tactics involved here. Stay tuned!**

Race info can be found here

Gam Jams Podium Candy Pageant Heating Up!

2009-09-16T19:46:00.006-04:00

Chutch is out of the country and Leslie J. out of town on race day, the competition has become HOT for the Gam Jams "Kelley Acres" Cross Podium Candy.

Go HERE to fill out an application if you think you have what it takes.

Bride Ride

2009-09-15T19:37:00.004-04:00

We rolled out of Kelley Acres on Saturday to escort Jen Raz on one of her last unattached rides.

Bride to Be
The local "escorts"

Almost killed the cake

Cdub stepped in dog poop in her fancy white cycling shoes

She did it again in her regular shoes. Damn. This happens to her alot!

**************************************************

**Don't forget to fill out your GamJams Podium Candy Application for "Kelley Acres" Cross! It's getting ugly now is your chance!**

GamJams Podium Candy Opportunity going live...

2009-09-08T09:45:00.003-04:00

This is for real people!

GamJams and "Kelley Acres" Cross want quality on the podium this year!

GAMJAMS will be posting all the details on this prestigious event.

Heads Up~ GamJams Podium Opportunity!!!

2009-09-03T19:41:00.010-04:00

How many times did Chuck Hutch take your spot on the podium this season? Or Leslie J. or Erin or Fuentes?

Now is your chance to have full podium access for a whole day!!! GamJams and "Kelley Acres" Cross are having a contest. An on-line pageant of sorts, in search of GamJams Podium Candy. This is your chance to be a star. We need one individual to compliment our very own Heidi G. as podium candy. There are a few lite duties along the way but it will be worth it.

Details to be posted early next week but we wanted to give you the holiday weekend to get the creative juices going. What will your platform be? Pictures can be submitted and encouraged.

Remember this GamJams photo of the week from last fall.

2008 Podium girls Ms. Frederick County, Lorena and Ms. Washington County, Anna were one of the highlights of race day! Lorena has moved to Sweden and awaiting the birth of her first child named biggie smalls and Anna is about to enter wedded bliss on the eve of "Kelley Acres" Cross.
The ladies may not be presenting you on the podium THIS year but they are in an executive role on the 2009 GamJams Podium selection committee. The pressure is totally ON to deliver top notch podiumness.
Come on boys and girls...show us what you got!
Do you really think Chutch, Fuentes, Silliman or Jennings would try to win this competition?

Bikereg.com MABRAcross Series

2009-08-31T16:05:00.007-04:00

We are very excited that "Kelley Acres" Cross is included in the 2009 Bikereg.com MABRAcross Series this year. In an effort to not disappoint we have made a few course changes one of which is a "fly over". Wheel Base Bikes of Frederick is making this possible! Below are a couple pictures to give you the idea of what happens with a flyover. Basically it flys over"something. At "Kelley Acres", the fly over will be going over the course. We'll give you some more details on this in a few weeks. Just wanted to give you something to think about with all the clinics coming up.

Registration will be live at 9p.m. tonight for "Kelley Acres" Cross. Go here for the rest of the details.

Keep in mind we are Race #3 of the Bikereg.com MABRAcross Series. This means there are two other great races to get ready for "Kelley Acres" Cross!

The long standing Ed Sander Memorial Cyclocross promoted by NCVC on Septemeber 27, 2009 is Race #1. This event is near and dear as Ed was a training partner and great friend. Go here for the details.

Race #2 must be attended! Not just as a "Kelley Acres" tune up but also because it is for a great cause. The Breast Cancer Awareness Cyclocross Challenge on Oct. 3rd is being promoted by Antietam Velo Club/Team Hagerston - Washington County. Do this race! Go here.

There you have have it.

Three great races to kick off the local cross series.

Now get back on your bike!

Sha Zamm

2009-08-21T16:22:00.004-04:00

Look who's riding a bike again

Jen Ras joined us for a Kelley Acres ride
It wouldn't be a KA ride if Jen didn't flat:) She got a little sympathy help with the change.

The usual off road experience~Frank, Bill and Pete getting ready for cross

*Our new additions*
Tinker

Belle

The sign at the entrance to the pet adoption center. Nice.

Takin' a break

2009-08-01T16:13:00.004-04:00

Enjoying some nice sunsets from the deck lately.
This is Shelby chillaxin on the way to Dog Daze bike race several weeks ago.

We're starting to prepare for "Kelley Acres" Cross presented by Team Kenda and HPC on Oct. 4th. So I joined Twitter...follow @kelleyacres if you'd like. Also updated the Speed Shop Blog

That's all for now.

Catchin' up at Reston

2009-07-01T18:44:00.004-04:00

This is Jen Ras and she's doing fine. In between PT appointments during her recovery from her crash at Bike Jam, she's been working on her sense of humor. We ran into each other at the Reston Town Center Grand Prix last weekend. She brought her dog Rena to the race. Rena is really cute, however she does not get along with men and children. Jen thought it would be a good idea to "help" Rena get over this anxiety by bringing her out in the crowd.

Rena

We're walking all over Reston Town Center watching the races when Jen needs to find the porta john and asks me to hang onto Rena. Jen disappears (for what seemed like forever) and Rena and I start walking around. A nice young family with 2 very small toddlers spot Rena and I. The dad asks "Oh can we pet your dog" I said "Well, I'm really sorry she's not so friendly with little ones" he was o.k. with that except his kid was really too young to understand and was getting upset. I continue walking around trying to avoid families and kids not knowing what might go down. Rena then finds the only green patch at the shopping area to poop. It also happens to be not too far from the family with the kids that couldn't pet the doggie. Great! I'm standing there looking at Rena and looking at the parents glaring at me when it occured to me they thought I should be picking up the poop! Whoa!!! Where the heck is Jen? So I couldn't help but tell them "this really isn't my dog". I don't think they believed me. At this point, I'm thinking Jen is hiding behind the porta johns watching this go down. FINALLY she comes strollin' up when I pointed to the nice pile of poop and thanked her for such a wonderful experience. Of course she is a responsible pet owner and as evidenced by the photo took care of Rena's business. GROSS! Guess where she put it?

Next time you see Jen ask her how her shoulder is doing:)

Fast Freddie's Fabrications and stuff

2009-06-17T19:16:00.006-04:00

Lots to catch up on at Kelley Acres...

Fast Freddie's Fabrications is live. Click on it. FF has been fabricating parts for the mid 60's Ford Super Cars, Cobras and Daytona Coupes. He's starting to get them up on his new website. If you really want to make his buddy that helped him get the site going crazy, fill up the cart and don't buy anything.
Last fall I posted about Ben's Baby....FF has been building this Daytona Coupe

This was the delivery

Early assembly

Almost complete

Another week or so and we get to send her home to Ben

Back to the bike races...
I got to experience the mental and physical pain of doing my worst TT in 6 years last weekend. I was also challenged to brush up on my short term memory loss. FF is really good at forgetting things so he's helping me with this. We always joke that if I keel before him he'll hook up at the funeral because he'll have forgotten me already!

Stick a fork in my eye, it'll feel better

I really hope this was the start because it could explain ALOT!

photo courtesy of Amy Jones

It Was a Split Not a Drop

2009-05-21T19:59:00.003-04:00

I went to the Bike Slam last weekend in Patterson Park. There is a love/hate relationship here. I hate that many people I know have had bad crashes at the Slam but I love the fact I have never had any problems. A bit twisted but somehow surviving this race unscathed is the victory for me. Ok, so I stopped after the carnage this time. Whatever.

I grabbed my stupid little camera that takes videos. I had it secretly tucked in my pocket so those really good photographers couldn't see it because it is kind of silly.

I thought I might get a dropped rider or something and be "the mole" again.

Then I ran into So Pro Birner. Love this guy. He always has a smile on his face and something nice to say. He likes making people go fast on bikes too.

He was telling me that he didnt' get dropped in his race. There was a split.

Here he is trying to explain it.

Here are our local Three Muskateers getting ready to race. King Crockett, Lumpy and Ti Don

And last but not least my favorite website of the week is

www.awkwardfamilyphotos.com

Shat Happens!

2009-05-10T17:47:00.005-04:00

Chicken, Plain Jane and Cdub sitting under a tree relaxing after the Ft. Ritchie Criterim

Then it happened.... a bird "shat" on Chicken...right there

Ti Don and Blanca sobering up after road guard duties- liquor the boy up and you hear no complaining

Post race Steve getting heckled by teammates

Flash! Not quite

Shiny New Shoes Contest

2009-04-29T20:36:00.005-04:00

There are some shiny new shoes floating around the peloton this weekend. If you can name the owner there's a prime coming your way. And somebody please step on these dogs because they are waaaaay to shiny!

Hint: They will probably be in front of you!

Hard Core

2009-04-13T17:41:00.007-04:00

Have a peek at Chicken's blog for a nice recap of the Kelley Acres weekend ride. All I can add is the CycleLife ladies are truly hard core. Not only have the come out of the gate fast this year, they are using off the bike tactics to slow down the competition. As each one of the ladies rolled in they handed me a little gift bag.

Traditional yellow Peeps flanked by chocolate bunnies and eggs- the pink peeps were devoured in the parking lot
These little guys were unreal - so cute!

This one jumped in the pan

And my favorite..."Hubba Bubba" Clucker

Duck on Bike was back in action after Hubba Bubba laid a few eggs

Race Randomness

2009-04-07T15:13:00.003-04:00

Here we go again...Saturday was the local race in Walkersville. We have our Tuesday Night Worlds on this course. I have my legs ripped off every week by the local guys. The prep for the race has been great. All the locals have been training hard over the winter and could not be more prepared. Then came the forecast 25-35mph winds with gusts 40+. Oh yeah...Big girl racing!

Instead of a play by play I am going to share some random observations. But before I get started I feel I must disclose that did not win this race because on the first lap I attacked(I really thought I did) going up to the blinky. The field was on my wheel behind me exchanging recipes and yawning. After that I was fighting to prolong my debut on You Got Dropped . Worked out this time. Then I was scared. Oh yeah and there are alot of other girls going fast. The end.

Now back to race randomness.

Lots of CycleLife ladies this year, lots and lots of them. Some have "Teaism" on their shorts, some have "Specialized". This tells you my positioning most of the race. CycleLife LJ had some interesting head garb under her helmet. A white thing. LJ can wear whatever she wants.

One girl blew over twice before we left the parking lot for the neutral roll out. Pretty funny.

Marni has superhero shoe covers.

Teammate Tracy is fantastic at positioning.

Janet is pretty crafty on and off the bike.

The ladies did a fantastic job of riding safe in crazy conditions.

Sarah Caravella was allowed to register on the day of the "pre reg only" race. Probably the same reason she rolled to the front of the start line very late at Tysons and backed her bum into everyone on the first row. Classic PlainJane said to her"You have got to be kidding me!"

Cockroach Kyle was a great feed zone host after a great finish in his race.

Lumpy had some bad luck again.

Coast Guard Jim was rider of the day - 2 races - won one, top finish in the second

Lucas was triathlete of the day - 1st in Cat. 5

The end. Again.

Jeff Cup-Kenda Race Report

2009-04-01T09:23:00.002-04:00

by Tracy Rankin

"Jeff Cup 2009
Bad Day for Earthworms
Good Day for Kendas

It will take way too much brain-power at this point to write in verse, so we’ll have to settle for good ole prose.

First bike race of the season and, as usual, we are all watching the weather hourly. The conditions at Jeff Cup have ranged from 75 and gorgeous to 30 and snowing over the years. And, this year was no different. Oh, for a pocket Jim Cantore!

I took the chance and made reservations at the Doubletree in C’ville. Government rate—sweet! Hooked up with Liz at Chez Epting and headed down 29 past a long stream of strip malls full of Appleby’s and Sheetz gas stations while eeking out a life history from Liz. She cheerfully answered all my queries whilst seriously knitting gloves. She managed two fingers by the time we arrived and I suspect the gloves will be a complete pair just in time for the Fourth of July.

Met up with Chris at the hotel (they had a hot tub—who knew!) and headed out for dinner. Eyetalian is always a good choice and we ended up at Anna’s on Maury Ave. With the NCVC Junior Team and lots of locals exiting with pink and white balloons (clearly—we had missed the real party). And I still have absolutely no idea what Chris ended up with for dinner. There were many negotiations with the waitress and it became too difficult to follow after a bit. While deftly avoiding full-on JW, we learned of the aforementioned association of erstwhile teammate Sue H. and Dave Matthews. Hmmm. My college housemates had absolutely no musical talent, but we did live next door to a colorful local family with live roosters and interesting lawn ornaments.

The morning dawned foggy and gray, the operative words being foggy and gray. Warmish, though, for Jeff Cup—a big 51 degrees! We soon learned from DC Veloer Randy Thrasher that the road just before the finish was strewn the night before with fine broken glass. With very wet roads from the rain the day before, this resulted in several flats in all the fields even before the start! Joyous. The road was also strewn with poor, lumbering earthworms—stranded by the storms. They didn’t stand a chance.

Once off, everybody was a bit anxious, as usual. The first time up the winery hill proved to be the split—again, as usual. Not sure who was pushing the pace, but I’m sure it involved a microscopic little person with 5% body fat. At the bottom of the follow hill, the grouplet hit the tempo gas and ended up with a gap quickly that just widened over the course of the race. I didn’t even look back to see who was with until Lap 3, although I soon realized that Liz didn’t make the break and I was alone with 2 Juice Pluses, 3 CycleLifes and some others. Deidre W. (her thighs are indeed bigger than my waist) and Sondra E. tried a couple of breaks, as did the Microscopic Little Person (not sure of her name—she was in red and black, appropriately) every time we hit the winery hill. I swear once up the hill, the jersey in front of me was sponsored by “Come to Jesus!” (Upon more careful inspection, it was actually Channel 13 News). Not being quite race fit at this point in the season, I got gapped on the last time up the hill, but was determined not to let Stefan in front of me! I crested about 10 meters off and went screaming down the other side to catch the group. Unfortunately, I really had nothing left at that point and simply could only hang on for the final sprint, finishing 8th.

Troll survived unscathed. Smiling to the end.

Post-mortem revealed a 2nd place finish for JH in the 35+. Yay! Chris suffered a flat and Liz sprinted in with the second group."

Jeff Cup = Flat

2009-03-30T11:23:00.011-04:00

The first race of the season for me is The Jefferson Cup. For my non bicycle racing blog friends and family this is a long standing race on our regional calendar. The only consistent feature of this race each year is the course and the coveted "Chocolate Bunny" to the winner. Everything else from start times, categories, and the weather of course, remain unpredictable.

Back racing for Team Kenda this year, I left Saturday afternoon for Charlottesville to meet up with some new teammates Tracy and Liz. Tracy had a hook up at the posh Doubletree Hotel. Thanks for that! You know when your pillow has "Sweet Dreams" embroidered on it, there could be less of a chance of those little bugs crawling around the sheets. AND when we checked in the clerk handed us each a freshly baked chocolate chip cookie. Which turned out to be the second best part of my trip.

After settling in, we ventured out for a pre race dinner at Anna's Pizza near UVA campus, Tracy's old stomping grounds. We ended up running into the NCVC Junior contingent including the infamous Wilson clan. Jim informed us that Hefler used to work at the restaurant back in the day and was roommates with Dave Matthews at the time. Interesting.

We tried to convince Tracy to go to a frat party since she had never been to one but all she would do is show us all the biology buildings where she spent endless hours studying. So back to the hotel and bed because our race was in the first wave at 9a.m. Not before obsessing about the weather. Tracy and I ended up schooling Liz on Jim Cantore and Mike Seidel from The Weather Channel.

Not long after hitting the sack we were awakened to the sound of a girl on speakerphone dumping her guy who was standing right outside our door yelling expletives at her. Sweet Dreams.

The night settled down and we were off to dream land. Rise and shine was at 6a.m. I hit the road early to grab breakfast at the Cavalier Diner. A favorite of Fast Freddie and I when we are in the area.

The roads were wet with a nice rainy midst falling on the way to the Walton Middle School for registration. The temps weren't too bad by Jeff Cup standards. It was great to see everyone amongst the pre race buzz after being holed up for 5 months.

This year I decided to race in the newly added Women's 35+ category. And it is the VA State Masters Championship Road Race. One of the reasons I chose this category was my uncertainty about my fitness and the shock a race would have on my body. I thought this would be a more pleasant experience to start the season. The other reason for this field choice is that I was going to be able to race with one of my good friends and teammate Janelle. The best part of my trip to Charlottesville. Janelle and I go way back and have a ton of fun on and off the bike.

Our race was a modest 30mi. or 3 laps. Our small field would be the 3rd group to start the course. On the neutral roll out to the start we were following the Men's 50/60+ & Jr. field followed by the W1,2,3. Once we turned onto the road to the start, tires started popping like balloons. Master's guys and women everywhere with a wheel in the air looking for the wheel truck. Unfortunately one of our locals, Lumpy was a casualty and never even got to race because they started his field before he could get a wheel. Evidently some unhappy locals smashed glass all over the road the night before. This combined with wet roads just chewed up tires all day long.

Finally our race was underway. I was feeling good (for me) this time of year. A few of us took turns pushing the pace but the field was so silly small it was obvious not much was going to happen until the end. I was hoping to help Janelle secure the VA win with a leadout of some sort. However, the tire gods frowned upon me on the last lap and blew my rear tire. I managed to get a wheel but...whatever. I chased but couldn't catch back on. All I could do was think happy sprint thoughts for Janelle. The girl can sprint. Turns out she was nipped at the line but ended up with a strong second place showing. This only means she'll be faster next week so watch out.

Tracy and Liz raced the W,1,2,3. Tracy finished a very impressive 8th place. Liz managed to finish her first Jeff Cup which was her main goal after some spotty training over the last few weeks. Way to go Ladies!

Next stop on the race scene~our local race~Walkersville.

all for now...

Where's Waldo?

2009-03-22T20:09:00.003-04:00

A nice group rolled from Kelley Acres today for a fun yet wacky 4.5hr ride in the hills of Frederick County.

At Kelley Acres

Cousin Jim in his "Where's Waldo?", Dr. Suess vintage jersey

Cdub had some tree bark issues on the pee stop-ask her!

The Grinder showing off his post ride wear...hmmm

We stopped at Sheetz where Cdub started singing the background music and the lady in front of us in line joined right in.

A few other tidbits-

*Super Fly shaved his head and missed a big spot in the back- would not allow a photo

*An Elvis sighting

*We learned Luecke has the same bad habits he had in kindergarten

Happy Day!

New Ride for the Zipp Disc

2009-03-12T19:11:00.002-04:00

Fast Freddie's Fabrications latest project

Tour de Prison

2009-03-10T13:17:00.006-04:00

The Kelley Acres Ride headed west this week on new loop called Tour de Prison. A great ride through beautiful Washington County, MD. The mid ride highlight being a pass by the Maryland Correctional Institution. It's huge!

We made it through without incident

Marni was having fun - showing off the new Team Kenda "poison ivy" knee warmers

Quietly rolling through

Cdub and Heidi

Anna, mt. bike Jeff, triathletes Kevin and Lucas

George sporting a new "Fabio" look came out out of the woodwork to join us

Heidi chased Lucas on his post ride run-Crocs slowed her down a bit

Blog Block

2009-02-28T17:42:00.005-05:00

It's been awhile. I've had Blog Block, bascially the whole month. In an effort to catch back up here's some stuff.Steve Wahl sporting his ABRT/Latitude kit on a Kelley Acres Ride a couple weeks before the Trade Zone #2 Show

Another "Gun Show" started in the middle of the ride.

Then there was blood. Cdub gets a bloddy nose and uses Chicken's white arm warmers for damage control until we get some paper towels. I asked if she wanted the sag wagon. She looked at me like I was nuts and said "it wasn't an artery, lets go". And we were off again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Back at Kelley Acres ~it's been a really long winter for us.

Fast Freddie with his new helmet
There something about the rice cooker and the car....you figure it out.

There's more if you want it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hunderd Push Update:

I am still working it. I had to repeat week 5 twice. Once due to illness and the other time was my exhaustion test was horrible. I just completed week 6 and about to go for the Hundred. I decided to throw in the Two Hundred Sit Ups program in the middle of all this. It can't hurt. I just finished week three and seems a heck of lot easier than the push ups....Read more about these at www.hundredpushups.com.

Team Hincapie Tights at Kelley Acres

2009-02-02T19:37:00.004-05:00

This is C dub. She started this crazy tights frenzie amongst the ladies. She showed up a few weeks ago for a Kelley Acres Ride wearing a pair of super sweet tights by Hincapie Sportswear .

A couple of weeks later three of us are sporting the "must have" winter tights

Seriously, these tights are fantastic. For more info catch up with Cdub, Chicken, Goat, JenRas or send me a note.

On to the ride... mother nature gave us a nice break and sent us a beautiful day to ride. We headed for the hills and rolled around for about 4.5hrs. Great day!

Cousin Jim, Scott and Bill humoring the ladies during our picture taking

Neal next to his favorite sign at High Rock

Lynda and I

The crew at the top of High Rock!

White Trash

2009-01-29T11:08:00.006-05:00

Fast Freddie thinks the blogging thing is silly. Of course this was his idea.

It's always just a little bit colder at Kelley Arces. And we do live in the boonies. In the spirit of keeping up with the neighbors...

Here I am in a Hefty Drum Liner attempting to slide down the hill near our garden shed

Feet first on this attempt

This was actually a pretty lame attempt.

We changed locations. It just wasn't frozen enough.

**You have to pay an extra 20bucks to rotate the video so rotate your head!

Day Two...early morning... Cardboard Box Sled...Rotate your head again.

(remember it's white trash blog so just do it)

My ol' so graceful attempt to return home w/ broken finger!

Gun Show at the "Speed Shop"

2009-01-18T18:46:00.005-05:00

The "Kelley Acres" Speed Shop was open for a special session this afternoon. The forecast was for snow showers so we fired up the Jefferson Cup Road Race Course for some motivation.

Not without the pre ride "Gun Show" featuring Christine and Anna...if blogger would upload my video you would get the show in action! ugh

Anna was taking this very seriously...wanting to sell tickets

Dave and Ray being entertained

Steve was penalized 5lbs for being late and Patty was all smiles

It was great to have K-Lo make the trip from D.C. for a little Speed Shop fun.

Just one more press opportunity for the lovely Anna posing with her cover girl mug shot from Spokes

Hundred Push Ups!

2009-01-18T09:16:00.006-05:00

About a month ago Ms. Black Cat (below) emailed after I completed the Concept 2 Holiday Rowing Challenge to let me know there's a new challenge awaiting...ONEHUNDREDPUSHUPS and was I up for it. What the heck...it's too cold to be outside and it's good core work.

There is an initial test to determine which training program you will follow for 6 weeks. The program gives you push up intervals and at the end of 6 weeks you should be able to do 100 consecutive push ups.

This would be "Big Boy" push ups.

Technically, your elbow joints should be in line with your shoulders to be a real push up. I do have a bit of advantage. If you have ever seen my surgically repaired elbows you will understand.

My inital test 3 weeks ago I did 10 push ups. I have completed week 3 doing a total of 89 push ups in about 15' on week 3 day 3 . I am a little concerned heading into week 4. It's starting to get real ugly. Maybe 2 days off will get me through.

Mimi was giving this a go as well. Anyone else?

Another One in the Books!

2009-01-01T19:51:00.004-05:00

Another great ride launched from Kelley Acres this crisp New Year's Day. We had a nice group of 15 (+/-) show up on another exciting adventure through the countryside.

This temperature reading does not reflect the wind chill

There was definitely some left over winds from New Year's Eve

Not to be out done by Ray Train's "Season's Greetings" kit. T-man shows up with his "Happy New Year 2009" tiara. He managed to keep it secure the whole ride. It seemed the drag factor was taking it's toll the last few miles. I nix'd the Gortex vest before roll out.

Just a little detour after riding on the highway

Lesley may be small in stature but she is mighty in strength. Not only on the bike but also yanking on the porta john door at the Canal Road pee stop. I swear I thought the door handle was stuck at the halfway point. No one could possibly be in the thing it's 20deg. and there was one car in the parking lot. Oops, sorry Lesley, my bad for the encouragement. I had no idea that lady was in there. I thought she should have spoke up sooner. She was pretty surprised at the crowd when she came out.

Lumpy turned on his local charm and showed Jen C. a short cut back to Kelley Acres via Reno Monument Road. All I can say is it made an impression. He must not have been at his best because didn't get to experience Lambs Knoll.

Fast Freddie cooked up some yummy chili and warm bread for post ride. It was gone before I could take a picture.

Wishing everyone a Happy New Year from Kelley Acres!

Eat at Black Cat!

2008-12-31T19:30:00.005-05:00

If you're ever in Boone, NC you HAVE to eat at

Black Cat Burrito

It's where my new favorite socks came from

This is Megan, owner of Black Cat who hooked me up with the socks. She's pretty much famous and may end up as Mayor of Boone!

Eric and Megan visting from Boone at Kelley Acres Cross~the woman can drive a Mule
Beth (also from Boone) and Megan on a stop over headed to NJ for a cross race

Next update...the latest challenge....thanks to Ms. Black Cat!

Kelley Acres Ride Gone Wild!

2008-12-28T17:40:00.005-05:00

A nice stiff wind, cloudy skies, and wet roads greeted the riders for the last Kelley Acres Ride of 2008!

This was the start of an interesting finish. Lumpy got the first flat of the day. Not sure how his hands and knees ended up like this.

Christine decided to take advantage of the pause in action for a nature break and a HOT pose on the eve of her category changing birthday! This is right before she stepped in poop and had to clean her cleats with Steve's water. Not so hot but funny.

While the guys operated on Lumpy's flat tire the three 40+ ladies decided to roll back the last 10 miles slowly and let the boyz try to catch up. It was so so sad for Lumpy, Jimbo, Franklin, Scotty and Steve to see the ladies rolling in ahead of them on the home stretch to KA. They muttered something about 3 more flats, etc. Hmmm~5 of them boyz, 3 of us 40+ ladies...yeah I know, very sad to be blogging about this....whatever, it was good fun.

AND the chase kept Lumpy from posing for a picture inside the manger scene at the church in Wolfsville. We spent the rest of the ride thinking of how to explain why we would have been taking pictures of a grown man in lyca inside a manger.

Next up...Kelley Acres New Year's Day Ride...

I Rode It...

2008-12-24T16:52:00.003-05:00

Well actually I "Rowed" it....200,420m in 16hrs. and 8min. to complete the Concept2 Holiday Rowing Challenge... These are the weekly stats

Concept 2 donated $.02 to a selection of charities. I contributed $6.02 to The Nature Conservancy.

Off to enjoy a Fast Freddie's Fab Christmas Eve dinner with good friends.

Happy Holidays!

Season's Greetings

2008-12-19T18:01:00.006-05:00

With the challenging weather lately is seems like weeks ago that we were able to sneak in another Kelley Acres ride. Check out the blue skies and no wind. That didn't last long.

Not to be outdone by Judy, Ray Train broke out the elf gear to get everyone in the holiday spirit.

This is what most of us saw the whole day

A special appearance by Janet ~Happy 40th Birthday!

Check back for a Concept 2 Holiday Challenge Rowing update......

Judy, Judy,Judy

2008-12-09T20:13:00.005-05:00

Local Frederick strongman Ray Train loves to ride his bike. A few of us wondered what his better half, Judy has been up to while he has been hanging out at the "Kelley Acres" Speed Shop

Judy is holding up the family toughness being the "Caboose Elf"

Judy and her buddies recently took on the local Jingle Bell 5k.
Looks like Santa is getting the full program.

Only rowing no riding...

2008-12-07T18:27:00.004-05:00

It's always hard not send out the "Kelley Acres" Ride email. Once this (above) happened it was a no brainer. The roads were a mess with tons of accidents and our driveway was a sheet of crunchy frozen snow.

With the unfortunate weather cancelling the KA ride the last two weeks, I was able to log in meters towards the Concept2 Holiday Rowing Challenge. The goal was to average 10k a day for the first 10 days. I am happy to report I have rowed 116,298meters in 9:22:52 in 11 days. The hardest part of this challenge (not counting the external factors like having a life) is getting through the 80-120k. Fortunately the C2 webside offers up a nice selection of intervals for cyclists that are using the rower for cross training. It certainly has helped with this unseasonably early winter!

Let's hope the holiday schedule let's me finish this off. I want that "C2 Holiday Challenge" pin damn it! Wish me luck....

Anna gets Press!

2008-12-06T17:46:00.006-05:00

Neil Sandler of Spokes Magazine dropped by Kelley Acres today to drop off a few copies of the magazine. He did a nice story on "Kelley Acres" Speed Shop.

On the front cover is our very own Anna with her big ol' smile doing what she loves to do! This girl knows how to get some press...click here and here and here

Anna~ it's always nice to see your smiling face...when's your next gig?

Kelley Acres Row

2008-11-30T19:37:00.019-05:00

No riding at Kelley Acres this weekend

The weather wasn't very cooperative. A steady cold rain all day.

Alot of my friends are racing cross for fun and fitness. I've been doing some of my own cross training. For the past eight years I have participated in the Concept 2 Holiday Rowing Challenge. The objective is to row 200k between Thanksgiving Day until Christmas Eve. The big challenge isn't the rowing it's trying to fit in the seat time with family, work, holiday shopping, and party schedules. Oh yeah, and riding my bike. My goal each year is to try to knock out 100k the first 10days and then I can relax and take a day off as the holidays approach.

The above pictures show all the muscles in my body that have been either twitching or sore for the first two days. Amazingly, the body has settled in to the routine and is much better now.
Concept 2 has a great website that offers helpful training information on technique as well as intervals specific for cross training for different sports.

After four days, I've complete 51,027m of rowing. Hopefully this time next week I will have surpassed my goal of 100k in the 1st ten days and can settle in for the holidays.
The best part of the challenge is Concept 2 sends everyone that completes 200K receives a lovely "Holiday Challenge" pin! Totally worth it!

Anyone else doing this?

Random Stuff...

2008-11-28T18:33:00.006-05:00

Fast Freddie making a repair on the A4 after the ball joint came apart. This is why the wheel fell off the car. After a long day on the road I was counting my blessings this Thanksgiving week that it happened in the driveway.

Great Thanksgiving Day with the family

Alex and Alison Yum!

Shelby

Ready for the Holidays...

2008-11-25T14:31:00.001-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving

Rolling from Kelley Acres....

2008-11-23T17:31:00.004-05:00

The Kelley Acres Ride is rollin' on Sundays this winter and this one was a bit chilly

Bright sunshine and no wind made everyone a little more comfortable

New guy in town -Skinny T-man!

Anna in front of the War Coorespondence Memorial

Anna like the way my hair was going. David and Jen in the background

Uncle Lumpy gave Shelby the best belly rub.

Things we learned:

Anna is a Cat. 1 person

I'm a Cat. 1 ride leader only when it includes a bakery

T-man has no idea what to do on his pending island cruise

Jen scored some sweet new components

There are full length mirrors in the porta johns on Canal Road!

Know Your Competition

2008-11-12T10:54:00.004-05:00

The local racer guys have brought Tuesday Night Worlds inside at Kelley Acres Speed Shop

Winter Training begins at Kelley Acres

2008-11-01T19:01:00.008-04:00

Calm winds and lots of sunshine for the start of winter training from Kelley Acres

Bill with donut

We stopped at an amazing Mennonite bakery in Sharpsburg

You must double click on this photo and know Anna restrained herself!

"Somebody's Honey" looked like a kid in a candy store when he found these gingerbread men

It should be noted the ride was done on his full suspention TREK mt. bike!

Ms. Washington Co. and Ms. Frederick Co. in a fist fight

And last but not least....
This is Randy on the left. And that is John on the right...They are not "together"

Arrival of Ben's Baby...

2008-10-24T15:28:00.007-04:00

Fast Freddy wondering "Where could it be?"

Here she comes...

Ready for delivery.....

Head first....

Now sideways...

Onto the dolly

Into the barn...

And to her temporary quarters...a Daytona Coupe..ready to be built

Post Kelley Acres Cross Race..Redecorating

2008-10-16T23:02:00.003-04:00

Moving on after Kelley Acres Cross....

We decided to redecorate our place. Isn't this "HOT"?

Kelley Acres Cross

2008-10-06T15:41:00.009-04:00

Thanks to everyone that came out to the 1st Annual Kelley Acres Cross.

The podium girls Lorena and Anna added the local flavor we were looking for! One of my favorite quotes by Joe Jefferson came when Lorena was walking around barefoot...."Lorena's one 'hip swivel' away from the Maury Povich Show"

This is a must read blog .

We can't wait to see what Kevin has here .

And check this out...Mt. Bike Pro Jeremiah Bishop blogged about Kelley Acres here !

Hope to see you all again next year!

photo #! courtesy of Marni Harker

photo #2 courtesy of Eric Greene

"Kelley Acres" Cross Preview

2008-09-24T21:49:00.010-04:00

Check out some poor video of the cross course for next Sunday, Oct. 5.

Jinx and Shelby are the guides....with a little commentary by Fast Freddy.

My favorite part

The bee hives

The bon fire and pet cemetary~ and the finishing stretch!!

Simpson

2008-09-22T13:28:00.004-04:00

Today we said goodbye to one of "Kelley Acres" most loyal companions, Simpson.

He had an awesome life and is going to be missed!

Sad day at "Kelley Acres"

Kelley Acres Cross - Oct. 5th

2008-09-22T12:26:00.005-04:00

Check it out.... Here.

And don't forget about BCA Cyclocross Challenge - Oct. 4th

http://www.bikereg.com/events/register.asp?eventid=7067

ING Direct Capital Criterium powered by CycleLife

2008-08-27T10:26:00.003-04:00

The cyclingnews.com announcement is here.... (scroll down 2nd from last)

And the picture they use is THIS ...

Isn't this the Colavita women's team leading out Tina?

No women's race is how it goes. I'm sure you could have used a more appropriate picture.

Come on guys!!

Meg's Visit

2008-08-13T15:06:00.009-04:00

My niece Meg is visiting from Colorado

We started off taking the dogs for a hike!

Stopped for a drink at the spring
Annapolis Rocks
Cruising with Shelby
Visting the National Aquarium

Meg and Gram
Finishing up at Ben and Jerry's

NOW....THE FUN BEGINS with Crazy Uncle Fred

Oh My!

Fred always likes to keep the visits memorable. Meg heard Fred was a race car driver so he decided to give her the full treatment. Enjoy....

Tuesday Night Worlds gone MAD!

2008-08-02T09:58:00.008-04:00

The Tuesday Night Worlds is becoming well attended and competitive. The ride is comprised mostly of racers is organized to provide some great interval work (sprint and hump points awarded) with regrouping for recovery.

The madness all started about a month ago when Lumpy took a corner on a "warm up" laps at what seemed a reasonable pace.... KABOOM....down and out in the corner. It seemed like there was some straw in the corner from one of the farm trucks. OUCH!

I took a hiatus from the Tuesday crew for a couple weeks. I kept checking our local list for updates on the ride. One of the first posts after the first ride I missed was this:

"From what I can piece together. A skewer got caught in a wheel. Andthe yard sale ensued"

The next post was "fred is ok just some road rash..I am real sore but no broken bones just concussion atleast i get towatch tdf live.thanks for all the help last nite... George" *turns out poor George broke his scapula too:( Heal fast George. I was glad to miss this ride. Big mess.

On to the next week that I skipped....

The first post on the list starts out like this "YELLOW LINE! Its the rule. Its our rule. It will be enforced.Don't do it. Period! Scenerio: Jimbo swings out to win the sprint cause he can't see around my fat a$$. He gets thumped by a car and we are standing around him as he takes his last breath. Dead on the road." (not really dead but the intent is noted)

Evidently there was quite a scurry on a sweeping turn over the yellow line for one of the sprints that became quite scary...the self policing has now begun in the Tuesday night peloton.

Not knowing how I would go after a big pause in my riding, I decided two weeks away from the fun was enough. I MUST go back to TnW. Even if it's only for the warm up laps.

I roll out with everyone and riding towards us in the opposite direction is this gentle giant...

This would be Yamil of Battley-Harley Davidson Elite Cycling Team

I thought how nice that he is out training on our roads in beautiful Frederick County. Ah hum...then I watch him turn around and hop on the back of our group. This is madness. Who knew our little ride would start collecting riders of this caliber. I guess the word was out that the TnW crew needed to be strung out a little more to stay safe. I rolled around for the warm up and bailed knowing no good could come of this night for me. No craziness to report from this night.

On to the next week. Feeling a bit better I head out for some more Tuesday night torture. Hoping to last a little longer in the group. I arrive in the parking lot to this....

Coast Guard Jim taking a tumble in the parking lot.

I'm thinking..."here we go". I must ride more "head's up" than normal if this is the start. If Yamil's recent attendance wasn't enough now we are lucky enough to have these guys adding to our little festivities...

Nate and Ramon

Who told THEM about this ride? Turned out to be a super fast, fun night with a modest crowd.

Adding to the madness ...There was talk of a post ride "Mojito" dance off in the parking lot.

I got scared and bolted home to Fast Freddy. No word on results yet....MT Chuck, Ti Don???

Happy Flowers

2008-07-29T21:42:00.003-04:00

The tiger lily's went crazy this year

Pig Latin

2008-07-19T13:47:00.001-04:00

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Racing Stuff

2008-07-06T18:30:00.005-04:00

Last weekend, half of the HPC powered by Altarum crew was at the Reston Grand Prix. A fun crit going right through the heart of Reston Town Center. One of the best crit courses we get to race on.
We had tons of fun and a great team race with the Stormin' Mormon pulling off the big "W". Lesley followed with winning the field sprint after a text book delivery the line. We have a new Kiwi rider Gen. She is super nice and quite strong.

Anna and Lorena asked to borrow a Yakima tray to use for the 2008 Voyage to Fitchburg the following week. I had offered up one with the promise to have a picture of our "oh so cool" guest rider Sue Haywood's bike on my Yakima tray. They did not disappoint.

Haywood's Trek on MY tray. Jdub eating AGAIN!!- looks like a mouthful of Peeps

I do think it is worth mentioning that Lorena not only can race her bike but she is quite the multi tasker. After the race at Reston, Lorena took the tray from my car and proceeded to ride around the parking lot to get to her car pointing the tray like the "Terminator" at oncoming traffic. And she didn't crash! Watching the driver's faces coming in and out of the lot was hysterical.

The Fitchburgers for this holiday weekend were Anna, Gen, Jdub, Lesley, Lorena, and Sue Haywood as guest rider. What a great guest to have race with your team in such a high caliber field. Anna, Lorena and Sue have done a great job with race reports so click here, here and here. Final results for Fitchburg are here.

A special "speedy recovery" to Fast Kate. She went down hard racing in Ohio last weekend and messed up her knee. We're going to miss her legs for a little while! Heal Fast!

July 4th at Kelley Acres

2008-07-06T11:24:00.004-04:00

Chef Kelley prepping

Yummy salad to go with the assortment of grilled specialties
Kelley kids and my Mom
Here we go.... My dad getting the pyrotechnics started

Pretty tame by Kelley Acres standards

Our friends T and T joined in on the fun

Tour of WashCo - RR

2008-06-25T09:02:00.005-04:00

I was greeted at Smithsburg High School for the road race this weekend with a big smile and a little gift by my teammate Anna

Circus Peanuts!!!

These mid season morsals were very special because they had sufficient car time so they stick together like one big peanut and the aroma takes on a whole new concentration. I knew Jdub would be jealous. Thanks for thinking of me Anna!

Also racing were Fast Kate and Lesley fresh off some very impressive performances at Nature Valley with the Super Pros. Mimi was back trying her legs at the races this year as opposed to officiating. And then a huge surprise attendee was our PA teammate, Bellie. I just renamed her Miracle Mama . She's always been Mama but I added Miracle because good things always happen when she is around.

My race went like this...Lap 2 of 6, Lesely attacked had a little gap. I rolled to the front next to Fast Kate. A few riders began to roll up after Lesley. My attempt to tag on to the back was the first indicator that I had crap legs. I immediately drifted to the back of the field with what sounded like an asthma attack, ok maybe it wasn't my legs after all.

We turned the corner to hit the most difficult rollers on the course. I was still at the back looking for the "skinny side" of the peloton. This would be the side that looks the lightest (lbs.) so I could roll up and over. The strategy didn't work because in the middle of the hill some unnamed rider* (*stolen this from Plain Jane she always refers to the unnamed rider and I KNOW she's talking about me) crashed, jamming up about 10 of us. I had to unclip on the hill to get the bike around the silly mess. Another unnamed rider, big girl, riding for an out of area team, decided she would pick up her bike cross-style and run up the hill. I started laughing and suggested she go across the hill to clip in, it might be a little faster. Sure enough she caught me on the down hill side and began working together to catch the peloton. We chased for 1.5 laps and stayed about the same distance from the group. I give Miracle Mama credit for this next part. They neutralized the field to let the 50+ race go by. This would not have happened if she decided not to race! They restart the field, my legs feel funny from chasing. A few girls decide to ramp it up and a break was formed. I was able to hang in the field the rest of the race but it wasn't pretty. Our very own Lumpy rolled up on the back of our field from the 50+ race. I tried desperately to get him to bust a hole thru the field for the finish but it was a no go.

I offered up some advice to the other girls from last year's race when Goat had the move of the day, taking off on the last rollers and sticking it for the win. I believe she did the same in the field sprint this year! Congrats to Goat on a great well deserved GC win!

After my TT experience I decided nothing good could come of racing the crit. I heard it was brutal. Lesley made the final break and finished up strong in the GC. Fantastic job after 2 weeks of NRC/UCI racing. Big shout out to my buddy Janelle for a monster bridge to the break and a strong finish!

Thanks to Antietam Velo Club for bringing stage racing to the Mid Atlantic.

Free Joe Jefferson

Tour of Washington Co - I won the TT!!

2008-06-22T21:12:00.007-04:00

NOT!!!...
This was the most fun I've had in a while. I haven't done many race reports lately. I think they are covered pretty well. I haven't been inspired. Today was fun.
Here's what happened:
Fast Freddie wakes up at some crazy hour to make sure I'm ready to go for one of my favorite TT courses only 1/2 time (20k). Tires pumped, gears lubed and shifting like butta (PhilBillysm)...I'm off....
I drive 7miles to Boonsboro for a great parking spot near the start. Suffuciently caffienated I start unloading wheels, bike, etc. I notice my front tire is flat. Uh Oh....pump it up again and hear air shooting out of the valve....ok...brought the training wheels...no problem.
Warm up, feeling tired yet hopeful legs will go into auto-pilot after the start. Wondering how many seconds my clincher training wheel is going to cost me but happy to be on one of my favorite bikes.
I hit the start line, idle chit chat and I'm off. I love this course...UP and over the little rise and killin' the down hill...chasing one of the areas fastest ladies. I hit 2.5 mi. and I had that uh oh...not good...glance back and sure enough I have a rear flat...UGH.....
Bang a U turn and head back hoping to find a ride as to not ruin my wheel. No luck....

Here's the fun part. I limped back and rolled through the finishing cones and respectfully told the officials I was a DNF, rear flat. Evidently they didn't believe or hear me and I had finished in just enough time to send lots of GC'ers into a frenzie at the results table.

They scored my time as official. The fun part here were the calls I received congratulating me on my TT win from some of my good friends that didn't know I flatted and the laugh we got we I told them it was a mistake. THEN I got the calls about how extremely funny it was watching how other racers were acting...looking at an almost believable time... and they knew that I had flatted and not won and how wrong the results were.
The bike racing journey is always exciting. Most people that know me well know how amusing this day was given how I really felt about not being able to compete.

It's just a bike race....

Helmet mania...

2008-06-22T20:44:00.005-04:00

I was looking for my TT helmet recently and this is what happened....How many different companies are here?

My all time favorite helmet EVER....is here . A proud sponsor of HPC powered by Altarum

When I received this lid the only adjustment necessary was removing the tags. This is a must have. As you can tell I have had some experience with helmets!

Storm Damage

2008-06-09T19:51:00.005-04:00

After last weeks storm we were pretty lucky considering the craziness that went on just west of us in Washington County. There was not much media coverage on the damage but while pedaling around the area we passed about 4 insurance agents driving around with in a 10mi. area that looked like a tornado touched down. I heard that some houses were considered a total loss.

Fast Freddie with power tools

We lost a huge black walnut over our creek
He LOVES that chain saw

Family Stuff

2008-06-09T19:25:00.007-04:00

Number one son, Alex and number two daughter, Alison were over to celebrate her birthday Fri. night. Chef Kelley served up a beautiful salad. Then came the skewers of veggies, shrimp, and scallops off the grill along with wild rice. We finished up with cheese cake and ice cream. Very tasty. Alison is off to St. Mary's College as a junior this fall. We did miss having daughter number one, Katie.

Twin cousins Emma and Alyson are all ready for their dance recital

If there were any doubt where my athletic ability came from, here you have it. My mom with the blue visor doing a duck impression and my dear Aunt Celeste with the towel over her favorite hat the reads "Redneck Woman". The ladies were rockin' it at Celeste and Roy's place on the Paxtutent River this weekend. Fun stuff.

Catching up ...

2008-06-09T17:39:00.007-04:00

It's June and I have some catching up to do. Let's just jump right into last week's Tuesday Night Worlds....

Remember Ti Don from back in Feb.? Well, he's back training and riding like a crazy man.

So here he is as ...

The featured rider

Antietam Velo Club's own Ti Don was concerned about the rain last week. Not much else I can say except "you are who you associate with" does not apply in this case.

Yikes!

2008-05-29T13:07:00.003-04:00

Found this little guy lurking around the back patio. He's headed for the bird's nest in the garden shed.

Fast Freddy's Famous

2008-05-28T12:09:00.000-04:00

Check him out here

Bike Jam

2008-05-27T20:22:00.007-04:00

Bike Jam at Patterson Park in Baltimore is always exciting. I jumped in the Master's 50+ race to get a good warm up for the women's race. It's really fun racing with these mature fellows. They are very supportive and respectful of the women in the field. I found out after according to Rule 1H2 of USA Cycling Rules and Regulatoins that I should not have been racing in this field because the field is limited to Cat 3/4 -35+ Women. Sorry. It was still really fun.

The women's race was pretty stressful. Riding heads up was key. There were a few casualites with Jdub getting bumped into the dirt on the last turn by flying bodies and bikes and http://www.annamilkowski.blogspot.com/ being the worst of the day.

Sometimes when a race doesn't go your way you get a little kooky~anyone know this guy?

Bellie buys the pit guy an ice cream for working on Jdubs bike ! So pro

Survival was the key for me at Bike Jam
Check out Anna's Blog for some great race reports.

My Town

2008-05-23T12:23:00.003-04:00

You know you live in the country when the front page article of the Lifestyle Section of the Local Paper is THIS

The print edition actually has "Top Tips For Safety"

A few of my favorites....

"It's better to sit in the front of the vehicle"

"Keep your backpack close to you (i.e. on your lap), so you can grab it if you need to get out quickly"

"Wear your most valuable stuff on your body: passport, wallet, money, mobile phone. This way you will keep these items in case you should abandon"

"It is preferable to choose your drivers. You can ask for rides at gas staions, truckstops..."

And get this...a special section for "Women hitchhiking"

"It is good to get yourself some pepper spray"

"It might be useful to text message the license plate of your driver to a friend"

"If there are other houses or people in sight, you can wave to them or pretend to say goodbye to a friend...."

Have a nice weekend!

SoMD Crit - maybe next year

2008-05-21T19:27:00.007-04:00

Many racers took the trip south to La Plata, MD on Sunday to race an exciting new venue on the College of Southern Maryland. It is fantastic Pax Velo could put on an event to fill the void of the beloved Leonardtown Crit!

As much as we like to race HPC powered by Altarum spent the day meeting and riding with the employees of our title sponsor Altarum. It was great to get to know the employees and see their enthusiasm about cycling and the healthy benefits. I didn't think it would be appropriate to show them my knees, elbows or shoulder scars:) We met in Georgetown early for a team group ride then headed over to Hains Point for the sponsor ride.

Pre ride at Dean and Deluca

Hains Point gathering with part of the Altarum crew

This is Alex. Look for him in the kids race at CSC. He's super fast!

Earlier in the week Bellie took time to represent the team at a press conference held in Reading, PA by the Organizers of the Commerce Bank Triple Crown of Cycling. Check out the article here

Another very important sponsor event took place on Capitol Hill last week. In support of National Women's Health Week and National Bike-to-Work Week part of the team got a tour of Congressional offices and adopted several members of Congress as co captains. Read all about it here.

~The Cycle~

2008-05-19T21:08:00.010-04:00

WARNING: THIS IS A GIRLY POST

BOYS READ AT YOUR OWN RISK
I like to race my bike but there is another type of cycling that needs attention. The monthly cycle and the effects on female athletes. There is a wide range of experiences. My hope is that you will gain awareness of the craziness and if you experience any of this or more, you will be awarded a free pass like my wonderful husband gives me every month. By the way, he is horrified by this post.
Becoming scatterbrained is just one of the many unpredictable things that can be experienced on a monthly basis. There have been many rides from Kelley Acres that we were lucky to return. Combine scatterbrained with the other frequent visitor of indecsion and this is a true recipe for disaster. Luckily, I have a wonderful support group of riding buddies that always seem to go along with me like I know where I'm going. Little do they know... I need them!
Weight gain leading up to the monthly cycle can cause this...

Two yoga blocks stuffed in the legs of my cycling shorts to try
to prevent sausage legs.
Bloating is another evil visitor and combined with what I refer to as "junk legs" can cause a racing result like I experienced at Jeff Cup~DNF!
Emotional instability can rear it's ugly head. A good example of this would be grabbing for the box of Kleenex when Brooke was voted off Idol~even though it was expected and necessary! Totally irrational behavior, big red flag goes up and a pass is handed out.
My least favorite experience that effects me the most physically and mentally is nausea. I get the most sympathy when this happens but would trade it for sausage legs any day.
I try not to complain, embrace the craziness and know that it does not define me as a person the rest of the month. I'm so lucky to have my loving husband there handing out free passes and hugs at the right time.
An interesting article here.

Gut Check

2008-05-19T14:26:00.008-04:00

This Saturday Fred and I ventured up to Wilmington to take on the first NRC crit I've raced in a long time. The full HPC powered by Altarum squad was in attendance along with several other local squads and of course the women that get paid to race their bikes. The promoters put on quite an event, closing down a huge section of downtown and offering up a festival atmosphere around the race course with several bands and lots of food and drinks.

Here's what I took away from this particular racing experience.

1. Get you head out of your arse and do not end up in the back at the start line~rookie move

2. If you line up in the back be prepared to completely kill yourself to move up. duh!

3. No one is going to let you move up.

4. The chances are extremely high of some type of incident occuring when you are riding at the back. duh again!

5. If an incident occurs that results in chasing back to the field, never give up. ugh!

6. Gut check for next race.

Almost reconnecting after "the incident"

The bottom line is I raced about 20 min. I did not realize how many riders were behind me until I was changed and on the sideline cheering on the rest of the team. Looking back I'm not so happy I pulled out of this race. I'm not much for parade laps but this race was shredded into so many pieces I could have at least had a good workout without looking too pathetic. The good news is HPC powered by Altarum ended up with 5 riders in the money! The results are here.

Warm up laps~look we even had frame numbers~Wow!

It was so nice to have my hubby there to give me a hug and make me go people watching with him.

Check out the lease going into the Porta John

Next up~Bike Jam and RFK Crit

Great Riding Weather!

2008-05-14T20:03:00.011-04:00

Another fantastic turn out for the Tuesday Night Worlds. Riding fast is really getting popular in the boonies.

It seemed like the entire Antietam Velo Club was in attendance and it's a good thing...

How many AVC'ers does it take to......(do whatever TTT is doing)

The featured rider this week

Ray Train

Ray Train making fun of the rest of us after hammering up this hill

It's very exciting to blog about Ray Train this week as I had a little help from his better half Judy on some of the more important details. Judy is an awesome wife, the mother of their two boys and quite blogworthy herself.

Here we go with the basics...Ray Train hails from Niagara County, NY. He races for NCVC. His favorite color is grey. He got his nickname for the enormous strength he brings to our group rides. When you are riding behind RT it is truly like a freight train moving. RT prefers Levi's to Wranglers, enjoys making waffles and used to be quite the trumpet player.

Here's where it gets a little more complicated...There have been sightings of RT playing and hanging out with a clown band and a German Umpah band. Oh my! AND evidently he can dance a mean Polka! There was a little in house controversy as to being voted most likely to succeed vs. most talented in his high school class.

Regardless, RT is a truly gifted athlete and great person.

Special thanks to Judy for all her input

Tuesday Night Worlds with PhilBilly

2008-05-06T21:28:00.011-04:00

I'm a little slow in getting this out but a great time was had by all this week at the Worlds!

A new structure was added to the ride. It's a little hard to explain and even harder to execute. Check it out at Frederick Velo it involves riding in waves. Bascially we ended up doing our normal ride with organized sprint and hump points. Lots of leg crushing fun.

Our featured rider this week is none other than PhilBilly!

Phil Billy ready to roll at the Worlds

Phil Billy (PB) made the trek east to join our ride this week. He races bikes for Evolution Cycling Club , drives a Prius like Lumpy, has an awesome girlfriend and is a Cat. 3. His favorite race is Tour de' Toona. We graduated high school together~TJ class of '83! PB is famous for what I call Philysms. These are sayings that I have either never heard or heard them for the first time from Phil.

Some of my favorite Philyms:

The sound of angry shopping carts - referring to the sound heard when a group of cyclist crash.

Taco'd my Zipp's - crashing and ruining very expensive cool wheels - I believe this happened twice to Phil Billy:(

Getting the Ya Ya's out - randomly attacking your group ride to test your legs.

Spinning the dinner plate - trying to climb a mountain in your easiest gear.

I'm Batch'in it - when Phil isn't spending the weekend with his girlfriend.

You better hurry up before RIGAMORTIS sets in - one of my favorites, click on rigamortis. (ok, my granddad used to say this one)

And hot off the press the newest Philysm is......A sock in the frappenheimer-showing up in the results for a race without even going

Along with a few local riders, The Grinder & PhilBilly joined Fred and I on a cycling vacation a few years ago to the beautiful of Majorca off the coast of Spain. This is where the nickname Big Ring Phil came about. He conquered all the brutal climbs in the big ring! Ok, so he got a little sick by the end of the trip but he really did do this.

PB enjoying a plate of paella at a mountain top restaurant in Valldemosa

Phil Billy adds alot of character to our local peloton and is an all around strong rider and nice guy!

Helmet tip to you buddy.

Racing in the rain....

2008-05-05T21:04:00.005-04:00

Fred had a chance to take our tricked out little Miata to Summit Point Motorsports Park for a track day on the Shenandoah Circuit. The weather wasn't so cooperative but the show must go on.

Fred and his buddy Wade looking optimistic-that's our little white Miata and the party umbrella

Not so much now

Oops ! Wade went off track trying to keep up with Fred- it's a little slippery

A couple times actually

Ed had a really bad day - he was the organizer of the event

Fun times...

Emma and Alyson

2008-05-05T16:55:00.002-04:00

My cousin's 4 yr. old twin's, Emma and Alyson were up for a visit.
I brought them the first Poppy that opened from our garden.
We got in a little Mr. Potato Head
And it wouldn't be a visit in the country if you didn't dig for worms.

New Eye Liner....

2008-04-30T22:24:00.005-04:00

Courtesy of a Chalazion Incision. Nothing like having three needles in the eye lid before they make the incision on the inside of the eye lid. The doc flips the eye lid inside out and tells you to look down. I would prefer to close my eye but that's not an option.

Of course I recieved no sympathy from my long lost friend Diana. Evidently Botox injections are a little freaky too but you get used to them.

Hopefully this picture is blurry enough so I won't get any Botox comments!
This post is for my Aunt Celeste, our family medical consultant! Love you!

Tuesday Night Worlds

2008-04-23T20:13:00.009-04:00

Pretty much a no frills ride this week. It's hard to top last weeks antics. We rolled out with a nice crowd and great weather. A guest appearance by local strong man Fred R. and son Michael. Fred stayed just long enough for me to be thankful he only did the warm up laps. Ouch! That guy is fast and watch out for 15yr. old Michael on the racing scene.

The guy in the photo below greeted us at the top of the first KOM. He was very excited to see everyone on bikes. He was yelling something but I couldn't quite catch what he was saying.

Check out the basket

Our featured rider this week is.....

The Grinder

The Grinder earned his nickname by never shifting to the little ring and keeping the same cadence the entire ride. Pretty impressive. Strong as an ox, The Grinder races for NCVC, his chinese zodiac sign is The Rabbit, and he is married to The Mare.

As a former jockey and horse lover, The Grinder thought nothing of jumping off the bike to rescue this poor horse that had its legs tangled up in the rails of the fence.

Success!

Tuesday Night Worlds...Elvis is ALIVE!

2008-04-17T13:38:00.013-04:00

Crazy stuff this week at the Tuesday Night Worlds. First things first...when Elvis showed up for the ride everyone knew who the featured rider would be.

Look people he shaved his chops

Elvis showing off his new jersey

Born in southwest Virginia, Elvis adds alot of flare to the Worlds. From the cammo jersey to the handlebar bell, we just never know what's next. These are his low key glasses. Elvis is an Aries, his favorite song is "That's All Right Mama" from '54, and he thinks Priscilla went a little too far with the nip/tuck. He was riding like a rock star Tuesday despite his absence from the local peloton. Welcome back, King.

This is going to be hard to believe...Lumpy is at it again!

Cheesecake, Tiramisu, and Pork BBQ primes this week -tablecloth and utensils!

Looks like this unidentified "recreational rider" hit the motherload

The ride got pretty intense-there was blood

The after-party

Body Double?

2008-04-14T12:43:00.002-04:00

Mt. Pain Road Race

2008-04-13T18:55:00.008-04:00

With not much going on in our area for bike races this weekend, the traveling circus made a trip to Mt. Joy, PA for a short, painful road race. The generous promoters at Red Rose Races changed the women's race to an open field which attracted a nice crowd of 41 ladies at the start. The open windy course was a 5.7 mi. loop with one very painful short hilly section. Our race was 4 laps. Not being one for the traditional race report, I'll try to hit the impressionable moments as I remember them.
*HPC powered by Altarum lined up 5 ladies, Anna, Bellie, Kate (start a blog!:), Lorena and me
*Also on the line was a pro from Aaron's Pro Cycling Team, super fast junior and eventual race winner Sinead Miller, former teammates Marjan and Heidi and lots of other familiar faces
*Marjan and Lorena stuck a nice two women break for two whole laps.
*Lots of attacks began after they were caught which made the hill even more painful~at one point Heidi was looking for confirmation that she had a rear flat tire, nope. (everyone has experienced this at some point)
*The last time up the hill, Lorena had a unfortunate mechanical, Anna gave me the inspiration I needed with her steady wheel to suffer over the hill for the final time, the field was shattered.
*Just over the top of the hill Heidi made a funny turn off course (oxygen deprivation is powerful) and had to scurry back to the pack.
*In the last 3k a crash behind me took out Bellie, Heidi and a few others. Everyone is o.k. I think.
*In the end Kate took a hard fought 6th place, Anna came in an impressive 9th and I rolled in for 11th
*Red Rose Races posts results online super fast!!
*Corey "The Kid" raced early and Steve, Shawn, and PhilBilly from the Tuesday Night Worlds were lined up as I was leaving.
*Check out the links for more info and results.
All for now...

Tuesday Night Worlds...Jimbo's 50!!

2008-04-09T16:30:00.008-04:00

Great turnout this week for the Tuesday Night Worlds. We started to use an abbreviated version of our tradtional long route. Which meant no more loops on the Walkersville Road Race course. Training on the road race course proved to be quite effective as many of our TnW regulars had some great results. The majority of our warm up loop was a recap of race day. Check out Country Cycling for some of the local banter and race reports.
A few new faces joined in this week. Scotty and Beth from Antietam Velo Club . Strong man Erik Engle was hiding out in the group stretching his legs.
Now what you are really waiting for....our featured rider this week....

Jimbo~aka. Racing Chef, BamBam, BB, The Czar

Jimbo had a big day today. He turned the big five-O. The Racing Chef, brings alot to the table organizing our Tuesday Night Worlds. Not only does Bam Bam keep the ride consistent, we have 200m markings on the road for all our sprint and hump points that have been carefully scouted. BB rides for Antietam Velo Club . A native of Philly, the Tuesday night Czar, also organizes the complimentry ride to Kelley Acres...The Garage of Pain (GOP). This is the winter indoor trainer jam session in Jimbo's garage. Although I haven't actually experienced GOP (I'm scared), I can honestly say it has been very effective for the ones that go.

Jimbo is a Gemini, drives a Toyota Camry with a little fish on the back, likes the color green and is married with 3 kids.

Happy Birthday Ol' Guy (I'll pay for that next week)

Peep Madness

2008-04-07T17:12:00.004-04:00

This is a cocoa peep with a missing ear left on my counter by Jdub and Bellie. I had no idea there was such a thing as a cocoa peep. We had a bet and if Jdub won the bet I would have to eat a peep, which I have never done. Evidently the cocoa peep is somewhat of a delicasie in Appalachia. To lessen the shock of eating a peep, Jdub got it started with an ear.

Proof! Not too bad really.

Jdub is hard core! She was so excited to see the bag of Circus Peanuts that Goat and Chicken had given us, she couldn't resist. Actually this is after she calmed down. I have a video of her tossing them in the air and catching them in her mouth. We'll leave that alone.

Fast Freddy's Shoes

2008-04-07T13:21:00.005-04:00

Who knew going into the weekend how fast Freddy's shoes were going to be. It all started Friday night when cycling teammates Jdub and Bellie headed to Kelley Acres for a sleepover. We had to be ready for an 8 a.m. start time on Saturday for the Walkersville Road Race. Jdub calls me about an hour from arriving to tell me she forgot her cycling shoes. She sounded a bit relieved after a rough week at work. Thinking maybe it would be a good weekend to get some R & R, until I asked what size shoe she needed ~46 and she can only ride comfortably in Sidi shoes. No worries, Fast Freddy has 46 Sidi's and we can just switch pedals....anything else?

These are Fast Freddy's Sidi's and the infamous royal blue Simpson driving shoes used to bury his competition on Sunday in the test and tune at FedEx field. I must give a shout out to his buddy Ben who is turning some heads in this early season.

These are Fred's Sidi's modeled by Jdub just after winning the Tyson's Corner Circuit Race on Sunday. This dude I'll call him "Pelvis" was wearing these platform boots and an outfit you had to see to believe.

Check out the dice in the heal. Crazy stuff. The boots were very white.

And here he is posing with Bellie post race.

Check out the dollar sign glasses, the hat was pretty sporty too.

Anybody know Pelvis?

Ants In My Pants

2008-04-06T19:34:00.009-04:00

After this weekend I no longer have ants in my pants. It started the middle of last week when I became obsessed with weather.com (more than usual). Fred and I both had weekend plans that were dependent on reasonable weather conditions. Fred had an early season SCCA Test and Tune autocross event at FedEx field on Sunday. It is like a training race in bicycle racing that gives you a guage on performance. I had two bike races lined up with my new team, HPC powered by Altarum, one local on Saturday in Walkersville and the other in Tyson's Corner on Sunday.
The more the weekend approached I noticed I was becoming more agitated and anxious. This seemed to be directly related to weather.com and my desire to race my bike. I really wanted to race. As Friday approached I had resigned myself to a rainy Saturday morning with no racing and happy that Sunday was forecasted to be great weather. Not wanting to miss an opportunity, I was up at 5a.m. Saturday to check the weather AGAIN. NO RAIN in the forecast the opposite of what was predicted 7hrs prior. Freaks. The race was on and I was ready to roll. The team had a great races on Saturday and Sunday (despite the rain that was not in the forecast). The ants in my pants are gone. In fact, they were gone after Saturday's race and I was a little concerned they would never come back. I know now when I have ants in my pants it can be a good thing. Check out Anna or Chicken's blog for race reports.

I'll be posting later about Fast Freddy.

Update...Dinner, Autocross, Jeff Cup, Stolen Peeps

2008-04-02T18:22:00.010-04:00

We headed out Friday night to capture some local flavor.

The Red Horse Restaurant

Crock Cheese and bread sticks!...I bet in Appalachia they leave it in the crock

Check out my cowboy in front of the real Red Horse

Next up Autocross...

This is what Fast Freddy does before he kicks everyone's butt

The Capital Driving Club had their first Autocross of 2008 at Baysox Stadium in Bowie. Fast Freddy came away as FTD (fastest time of the day) out of 135 competitors. Notable improvements by Ben of blog post "Project Du Jour" shows he is going to be a force this season.

And on to the Jeff Cup...

We have a little saying around our place. "No pictures, didn't happen". The only validity to a story is picture confirmation. This house rule played perfectly into my world on Sunday after allegedly traveling 3hrs to Charlottesville, VA for the first big race of the season.

In fact, as I scroll through results and all the wonderful images being posted, I am no where to be found. There is a very good possibilty I didn't even race. I am embracing this house rule more than ever. No need to go to Anna's blog .

I must give a HUGE shout out to Lorena for winning the Women's race AND to Fast Kate (start a blog!) for charging hard to 5th place. HPC powered by Altarum had a great day.

Goat and Chicken both regulars on the Kelley Acres rides had fantastic rides at the Jeff Cup. Check out Chickens blog.

Stolen Peeps...

Jdub and I received the nicest gift from Goat and Chicken. A bag of JenUwine Circus Peanuts and a 10 pack of JenUwine Peeps!! You have to read Jdub's blog to understand the love and appreciation of trailer park candy. Did you know that the serving size for Circus Peanuts is 6 and it totals 163 calories? Not bad! After I captured the heist below, I hid the Circus Peanuts.

The Duck stole the peeps!! Check it out....

Ciao for now...