Seasons over, projects for next year!

Ive wanted a disc wheel for the track for a while, but either not been able to afford one or got outbid at the last minute on ebay. It got to a point this summer where i just gave up and decided id make my own. Ive been working with composites for 5 years and built boats, sail spars and bike frames from carbon fiber, so i feel pretty comfortable with the material, this is just a new project for me. The first part of the project, and the one I'm least comfortable with, is machining a hub body.

Even a composite disc wheel needs an aluminum hub to seat the bearings, axle and hold the cogs/lock ring. Its pretty crucial that the threads be the right pitch and depth for the cogs to mate, that the bearings press in tightly and that the parts i make interact with parts made by any bike company. Ive got some basic machining experience, and luckily MIT has a "hobby shop" where students and staff can learn to use very nice equipment like milling machines and CNC lathes. I pretty much learned how to drive a lathe while making the first hub body, and I've posted some pics below of the result. Its a prototype, so hubs #2 and #3, which are already started, will be a little different.

What I've made is a pretty basic hub that is designed to bond to the composite disc on the large central flange. It will accept "Phil" axles and bearings and is a standard 120mm. It will also take a standard cog and lock-ring. This prototype is single sided, but the next ones will be flip-flop (fixed/fixed), the other main difference is that this one takes older phil bearings and the next ones will take their newer track specific bearings.

Next steps;
I'm moving into a work space October 1, so things should move along this fall and winter. Next on the list..
-find a steel tooling plate, basically a very flat surface, to mold the disc on.
-mold the disc and bond in the hub body
-think of a great name for my wheels!

I should be able to build each wheel to the riders needs. Heavier, more powerful riders get stiffer stronger wheels, lighter rides can ride lighter wheels, and if I ever made a road version, it could be more compliant to handle rougher pavement.

I'm hoping that Ill be selling custom wheels once i figure out the process, my goal is to be taking orders by mid spring. So keep pushing me on this project and maybe next summer the track team will have a wheel sponsor!

Morning Road Rides?

With my fall schedule in motion, I'm not going into work till 2pm on most weekdays and wanted to see if anyone was down for maybe getting in some road time during the morning hours with me? I wake around 8am so anytime from there outwards is cool with me for a start time.

Bike Envy Alert

Adam from Brooklyn showed up on this sweet Yamaguchi road bike last weekend. SRAM Rival with Neuvation wheels. Tight and Light. Mmmmmmmmmmmm....

this Saturday

As some of you may or may not know, Nick will be getting 'married' in Gainesville at the end of October (I'll be there, perhaps I should wear the team kit to the ceremony?) and in celebration we're having a get together on Saturday that the whole team is invited to. Starting around 11am and going all day into the night we'll have a keg going and a grill in constant use. So show up to wish Nick some good luck and meet his friends that are coming up from Florida, a good time shall be had by all!

Oh yeah, 12 Fisk Place in Cambridge. Google it and goloco a ride if you have to. Just be there!

parting in such sweet sorrow...

I'm sorry to say that it looks like yesterday was the last day I'll be able to make it to the track this season; the students at work start classes on Tuesday, which means I'm back to my 2pm-10pm schedule in the shop. Depending on how much vacation time I have I'll look into taking the day for the end of season BBQ off as a way to wrap things up.

I also wanted to take this opportunity to thank Thayne and Kip (and anyone else that helped) for getting the team up and going. It was a great experience and really helped make my summer. I'm sure I'll see everyone around and I'll definitely see everyone out on the track next year.

Cross Schedule Posted

check here for the Cross Schedule

the first Sad movie you ever Watched.

“The Red Balloon” is a film of forlorn hope and past occurrences gone wrong.
Remember taking trips with friends or family? The ideal time, the perfect situation; they have an amazing ability to overshadow trials and efforts of the past where we wished to be somewhere else.
Taking an airlift to the east-indies where venture capitalists have established a full blown water park with ivy league school issue track surface grounds and walkways: paradise and disaster.
A cross race in august, paradise and disaster.
A sexy calendar of exotic visions in the booth of the air traffic controllers on a nuclear powered aircraft carrier.
Up for debate.
The point is, its happening. Ciclocross.
The reincarnation, the renaissance, the revival.
State militia in the form of a reemergence of motivated racers, enthusiasts, comrades in zeal.
What kicked off this years Cross campaign? Yesterday, around 1230pm, a B–2 Stealth bomber flew over boston. Those Assemblies cost this nation Billions, each. Why the spectacle? If it were passing through, it would be well above commercial flight altitude: out of view.
But what a site…Strange militaria alien borne.
If you didn’t see it, you heard the disturbance.

http://www.airforce-technology.com/projects/b2/

Cyclocross Is raging onward. Now. Already. Tell your lover that they will be sitting on the aft burners next to the Swedish meatball sausepac brewing in 2 fingers of rolling boil.

World Champ represents at SinkorSwim Race

The 2007 Messenger World Champion Peter Bradshaw came out for Shep's Sink or Swim Messenger Triathalon, placing top whatever depending on how many beers you had.

JDunn sets NEV Mile Record: 2:06:10

Jeremy Dunn prepares for the Mile Record Attempt with the help of Cambridge Bicycle teammates Roger Abrams and Erik Peterson.

(Londonderry, NH) Anticipation was high as Cambridge Bicycle rider Jeremy Dunn was the last competitor to make the attempt on the Mile Record at the New England Velodrome on Wednesday night. The previous night's record of 2:09:20 had already been shattered by several riders. The conditions were favorable as the heat was down and there was only a mild wind on the back straightaway. An opening lap of 28 seconds bode well for Dunn, but when lap two came in at 23.55 seconds we knew he had a chance. With teammates and crowd cheering him on, he finished the 5 lap effort of the 318m track in 2:06:10: The Mile Record was his!

BRC's Dan Butler (sporting his new Graeme Obree rear wheel) and Quad Cycles Christian Eager were both within a second of Dunn's time, with NorEast Cycling strongman Steven Gauthier just outside the top 3. Gauthier made up for it by winning both the 12 Lap Scratch Race and the Miss and Out later in the program.

Incidentally, Jeremy Dunn also held the mile record on a different kind of track: Collegiate Track and Field. Cambridge riders also did well in the B and C categories. Check back as we are waiting for all the times from both nights to be posted. (CROTH REPORT OUT)

who's gonna mess with this guy?

NNNNNNNNNNNIXIE

IMG_1367.JPG, originally uploaded by cbtrackteam.

I have to say, if one person has made some leaps and bounds in the last couple of weeks it has to be this man. Maybe it was the new position on the bike? Maybe it was the rigorus training? Maybe it was even the new bearings in the rear hub? Maybe it's just a hunger deep down inside.

No one can say for sure.

What I am also curious about is why this guy is telling him to turn right, when the track so obviously goes left?

In any case, keep an eye on this man Mr. Nix, he's one to watch.

Team CB needs your help...

Keeping a team like CB together and well-organized means we all need to pitch in a little in some regards. Kip and Thane have really gotten the ball rolling with our beautiful-yet-hard-to-keep-clean-kits. It's up to us to keep up the momentum by developing sponsorship opportunities, organizing practices, and the like.

I'm really proud to say I'm on the cambridge bicycle track team (which incidentally now gets you a discount at the other side) and I want to see you guys doing what you can for the team. Does anyone want to get together later this week to talk about ideas while enjoying a brew?

One resource we have is that USAC puts on some free classes each year to teach riders like us how to officiate all types of cycling races (track, road, mtb, and cross). This fall I'd like to get an officials license, so that whenever the team is ready to host a large-scale race (hopefully next season) we are prepared. USAC also hosts some classes for coaching certification, and mechanics. Let me know if you're interested, and I'll make sure you are involved.

cleaning tips?

anyone have much luck cleaning the new bibs?

Wells Ave Recap

Like Nick mentioned I finally got around to purchasing a road bike, and with less than 24 hours on a geared machine I decided to race it out at Wells Ave. Nick originally pitched the D group to me as a good way to ease into things, but I ended up racing the C's with the logic of 'since I'm a C on the the track I should try the C's at Wells' all of which Nick fully encouraged.

Despite all my smack talking with Nick about winning it all, I knew from watching the races at Wells that this wasn't going to happen. I feel I went into everything with some realistic expectations for myself:

1. Get comfortable with the format.
2. Try to utilize the gears as much as possible.
3. Don't make a complete fool of myself.
4. Have fun.

Summary:

1. I think racing the track helped the most with being able to hold a tight line through the corners and being comfortable holding a wheel. Despite the lack of teams on the track, there was plenty of communication between riders about taking turns pulling, etc. all of which I felt comfortable jumping into. Honestly I think racing Wells Ave is going to be some of the best training for the track, and it would be great if maybe next year we could get some good team turnout so we could work on tactics and whatnot.

2. Utilizing gears may sound foolish, but having never really ridden a road bike I had to make a conscious effort of making sure to shift to make sure I wasn't mashing all the time. Towards the end of the race when things went downhill for me I defaulted to staying in one gear and just hammering away, so this is obviously something I'll need to work on more.

3. I guess this is more about the results. Which was 7th out of a pack of 7. And I made a lot of dumb mistakes (which I'll get into later) that resulted in me falling off the back of the pack during the last 1/3 of the race. But during the first 2/3 or so I was able to pull more than I should have and dump too much into a prem' lap than I should have. Even though they were foolish, I'm glad I was able to hold my own when I could and get positive feedback from the other racers afterwards.

4. Without a doubt a success in this regard. I had a blast and I'm looking forward to doing it again next week.

Like I mentioned, I made a couple dumb mistakes that came back to hurt me in the race, which hopefully everyone else thats going to be going out there for their first time can learn from:

1. Make sure you have your water with you. I started the race without checking to make sure I had a bottle on the bike and about 3 laps in I realized I left it in my bag. Didn't think this would be a big deal but around lap 8 or so I kinda wished I hadn't. By the end of the race I had definitely learned my lesson, and probably downed over a gallon over the following 2 hours in my attempts to rehydrate.

2. The crit is a lot longer than the track. I knew this was true, but it didn't hit me until I went back and thought it over after the race and realized it was 12 miles total. I started the race at a pace that I was comfortable with on the track, which I found out I couldn't carry through the last third of the race. I pulled hard and sprinted out hard, all of which I couldn't hold up.

Overall, I'm definitely glad I did this. For me it was a lot like the kilo on the track: I've never done it before and have no clue on what I can expect physically from myself unless I push myself to find out where my boundaries are. Like I mentioned, I think its going to be great training for the track and I'm definitely going to recommend people get out there and give it a go.

I'd also like to thank Thane, Kip, and the mechanic whose name I can't recall for spending the time with me to make sure the bike was a good fit and made it so that I could get it out the door and onto the street ASAP. Its all very much appreciated and won't be forgotten.

Omnium Pursuit Photos Added

Some of the photos from this past Tuesday and Wednesday night's pursuit races have now been posted to the flicker site:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbtrackteam/

They're not organized into galleries at the moment, so you have to browse... the slideshow feature works pretty well...

race reports? well's ave? how'd it go?

-croth

New Riders Crit at Wells Ave

Tomorrow morning Wells Ave will be hosting a Cat. D crit for anyone very new to crit racing. My personal feeling is that everyone that reads this is at least competitive in the Cat. C race which rolls off immediately afterwards. The D race starts at 8:30am, the C at 9:00am. If you want to get your feet wet with crits, the D race is informal and reserved for newbies. Crits like Wells Ave are excellent cross training for the track, and despite what you may have heard, are generally very safe and a chill atmosphere of cyclist with good attitudes-- very similar to Londonderry.

Aaron just bought his first race-worthy road bike so the two of us will be riding out there from the shop around 7:30. Shoot me an email if you're interested in coming with.

congrats Peter!

Just wanted to take a minute to congratulate Peter on winning 15th Annual Cycle Messenger World Championship in Dublin!

Road Ride

Good luck to the A's and C's Tonight!!

Nick and I and whoever else wishes to will be road riding thursday (Aug 9) morning. Please to join if you like riding bikes.

6 AM meet at the shop.
ride to Walden pond area and back, aiming to be riding for 2 hours (back at 8am)so the folks with jobs can get to work on time.

CB Pursuits Prove Exciting!

Tuesday's Omnium night was full of excitement as racers in the D and B fields went into full TT mode. Our new Cambridge Bicycle team kits were a big hit, and they must also be very aerodynamic as Tyler took top honors in both B races, with Nick taking a second and a third placing. Nixie also seems to be coming into his own with a strong, confident ride in the Individual Pursuit and a second place finish in the Australian Pursuit. Full race report and photos will be uploaded soooooon......

We're going back up tonight, rain be damned, for more action in the C's, A's, Masters and Womens fields. Check in at the shop for a ride; SPECTATORS ARE ALWAYS WELCOME (Bring your friends!).....

viva,

-croth

TT gear sighting

Dear Team,

I just got a good deal on used clip on aero-extensions at Bikes-not-bombs.

As CB is out of stock, I thought i could pass this on without it being a conflict. There is one pair remaining at BNB, they are asking 40$ for them. They are older style, (think lemond "punching" through the air, rather than Levi and his pointing thumbs)

Worth a look for the wednesday racers.

sincerely
Seth

tuesday track run, aug 7th

Due to robots that fall over and trips to seattle, I have some space in my car to go to the track tonight for the omni. I phoned Lauren and I know Nixie was looking as well. Reply here or to me directly if you'd like to join me and nick. I usually meet up at the boathouse where i work around 3:30.

409 mem drive, on the river side.

Boys in Black ride to Gold

"There's a lot of black out there!" - A racer commenting on the presence of the Cambridge Team at the New England Velodrome

It was a good day for the Cambridge Bicycle Track Team, who took home multiple medals in the events at the New Hampshire Amateur State Games this past Tuesday. The team took home gold medals in both the A and C Olympic sprints. Jeremy Dunn was the lone Cambridge rider racing A's, but that didn't stop him from anchoring the cat A olympic sprint to gold. In the cat C olympic sprint, Aaron, Jordan, and Erik rode to gold despite Erik having a pedal strike coming out of turn three in the first lap.

The match sprint put two Cambridge men on the podium, with Aaron taking silver and Jordan taking gold. Erik fought his way to silver in the points race despite serious pressure from other competitors and some uneasy riders in the pack. I, n the second C points race Zach threw down and took home another silver medal for the boys in black. Lastly Jordan posted the second fasted cat C time for the Kilometer, rounding out the medal count.

It was a solid performance that brought well deserved attention to the individual and team talents that have developed on the Cambridge team, and another great night of racing at the New England Velodrome.

trip to Lehigh Valley Velodrome?

Craig had mentioned maybe getting a trip together for the team at our meeting, so I took it upon myself to check out the schedule and see if there were any good weekends coming up and the weekend of August 11th/12th looks like it may have some potential. We could do the rookie races on Saturday, then watch the Atlantic Regional Masters Track TT Championship on Sunday.

I guess the first step would be to see if there are enough of us interested that it would make this worth while, then we could hop on ride arraignments, etc.

Here's a link to the Lehigh Valley Velodrome, look at the schedule and feel free to propose any other dates that look like they could worth the trip down.

Rideshare - check GoLoco

Team - I signed up for GoLoco and posted a ride leaving Cambridge Bicycle to New England Velodrome for tomorrow's (wednesday) race. You may have to search by address, in which case it is 259 Mass Ave, 02139 to 23 Grenier Field Rd Londonderry NH

cheers!

Tuesday warm-up ride

I did this last week in preparation for racing on Wednesday: haul up Mass Ave to Lexington Center and back. Its nothing long and I see its purpose as making sure my legs are warmed up for the next day; from Cambridge Bike its just a hair shy of 10 miles each way with a nice park in Lexington to catch your breath at. If enough people are interested, we could make this a weekly thing, maybe tack some extra miles onto it/change the route weekly.

I'll be out of town tomorrow morning and a good chunk of the afternoon, but should be back in time to do this. Meet at 7pm at CB. If I'm not there, head out without me.

training training.

Hey Team.
Despite my defense of the points race this week, (thanks again Nick). I also lost a match sprint to nervous guy on tuesday night.

So I want to do some interval training to speed up my sprint next week, doing it with a group makes everyone feel more accountable and more likely to do the work and also keep me honest about the effort.

There's a workout i do with my rowers that i think adapts well to the track and has the same basic training goal.

3 or 4 sets of 250m sprints.
I propose finding a quiet street near the shop (sydney st area?) and marking off the distance. if a few people are interested we can run it like alley sprints. after you finish each one, ride around the block and get in line for another until you finish each set. take a break, start the next set. lather rinse repeat. proceed to nearest bar with tdf coverage when finished.

Monday night, 8pm?

-Seth

Race as a team...

Seth, being the defending NH Amateur State Games Champion of the Cat B points race, asked that I block to help him defend his title. I’m pretty competitive, so I told him that I had plans of taking his title away, despite the fact that he's a teammate.

On the first points lap he took first place, gaining 5 points. I was day-dreaming at the moment of the sprint and fell back in the group, so I didn’t get a single point. I was going to have to make up some ground on him if I was planning on any kind of victory. I made my way back towards the front as the field recovered from the sprint. In general, Seth and I tend to stay close to the front in any race. I think it stems from the fact that we’re both all around riders, not particularly strong at sprinting. So we proceeded as we usually do, keeping the pace up for the group.

As the second sprint began I realized I had managed to be boxed into the sprinters lane when an early attack came from behind. Seth was ready however, and picked up a couple more points, and I still had zero. At this point I realized I had one mission: make sure Seth wins.

After the sprint Seth moved to the front again to keep up the pressure until the final sprint. Realizing that he needed to save every drop of energy he had left, I made my way up to him and yelled for him to get out of the sprinters lane and grab my wheel. The next two laps consisted of me emptying my tank at the front of the pack. Seth sat behind me watching for an attack. The B group has some serious sprinters. I wanted to wear them out, so I kept the pace up as high as I possibly could. I didn’t look back to check if a gap was opening. I didn’t care, because I was going to give it everything to put him into position for the final sprint.

With one and a half laps to go, two IBC members came over the top. Seth reacted and took third on their wheel, and I grabbed Seth’s wheel. As we came around corner four for the bell lap, I let a gap open that I knew was going to be painful to close. To further seal the deal, I remained in the sprinters lane and let the entire pack of potential spoilers take the long way around.

For the second year in a row, Seth Davis took gold in the Cat B points race. Congratulations, Seth!

Team Members added!

Welcome to all our new Team Members! Many have been racing with us since the first weeks of practice, and many more are committed to the long schedule ahead. We are most excited about the new friends we are going to make and the fun summer of racing that lies waiting. Keep your eyes here for team roster updates, race recaps, and photo galleries of all the racing action. And don't sleep on the next week of racing in the Omnium Series.

allez allez!

This blog is contributed to by the entire Cambridge Bicycle Track Team. It is meant to be a collection of the teams happenings during the '07 season at the New England Velodrome.