News

Attention GVCC members:  

1. Marshals are NOT stopping cars.  Marshals are there for the benefit of letting us know if the intersections are clear.  When they are not clear of traffic and they hold the flag up - YOU stop.  Riders do NOT make the decision of whether they can proceed - that is why we have marshals!  Anyone ignoring marshals will be suspended from GVCC events.

2. Marshals should station themselves to see traffic in all directions and still be visible to riders.  It does NO good for marshals to see riders but not traffic.  Hold the flag over your head and straight out facing riders so they can see that they need to stop.  Wave riders through if it is clear in both directions.

3. Do not EVER cross the yellow line.  That includes setting up for and exiting all turns.  We have ZERO road closure and must obey traffic laws.  IF you have a clear intersection as indicated by the marshal and you are going too fast to stay in your lane - SLOW DOWN.  These courses are between 5 and 10 miles long.  You aren't going to get away in a turn!  ANYONE IDENTIFIED AS CROSSING THE YELLOW LINE WILL BE DQ'D THAT NIGHT.  Serious gross infractions (attacking over a yellow line on a hill or with approaching traffic) or REPEATED offenses will result in 60 day GVCC suspension.  If needed, USAC will be contacted and additional action will be taken.  Yellow line is serious - a rider was killed just this week in the mid-west by having a head on with a truck - let's not make the news that way here.

4.  If you are towards the back of the group - look behind you!  If cars are coming up to overtake the group - yell "CAR BACK" so that people can move the right as much as possible.  YOU MUST MOVE TO THE RIGHT!  We don't own these roads any more than the cars do - EVERYONE has to live by the traffic code.  Don't ride all bunched up taking the whole lane from white to yellow.  Most people don't want to sit in the wind anyway - so get behind someone - or attack and get away.  If you are only using HALF the lane it is much easier to move a little more the right when cars to come.

We have some large groups - so it is even more critical that we do all we can to be safe, law abiding and courteous to motorists and residents.

If we are going to continue to have training events we need to do everything we can.   I know we have a lot of new people out there - if you are a veteran member - please help enforce the rules so we don't loose our events. - TS

Saturn Rochester Twilight:  - click for commentary.  Results posted on www.rochestercrit.com .

Ben Pritchard 1982-2007

ParkAveBike.com : This picture was taken minutes before Ben Collapsed and died of heart failure while riding a lap at The Hardcore 24, June 16th, 2007. His last words to his teammates were "See you in under one hour. Funeral Services will be held Wednesday, June 20th at: Anthony Funeral Chapel, 2305 Monroe Avenue Rochester, NY 14618. 5pm-Greeting; 6pm-Funeral Service.

Note: If you have upgraded from cat5 to cat4 (via USA Cycling) and are racing in the B4s now - you need a new GVCC barcode number so that your points are properly allocated.

If you picked up a number this week - please email me your name and new number. - TS

Wednesday tempo rides:  There will be a Wednesday tempo training night this week from Full Moon Vista Shop at 5:30 pm.  These will be steady endurance/tempo (18-22 mph) rides lasting about 2 hours.

Marshalls

Check out the 2007 Schedule and sign up to marshall at least one night this season. We have a lot of racers on the road this season and the marshalls help keep our race nights fun and safe. Thanks in advance! See ya'll on the road - MM

Remember there are NO membership signups the night of racing.  If you have not gotten a membership in at least one week prior to your first event you will not race.  Your Giro athlete release form was not your GVCC membership.

Giro Final 2007:

The 2007 Giros are complete with Jason Skalski (Preferred Care) taking the top honors from runners up Justin Jones (Shikluna) and John Roden (JW Dundees) in the A's.

B group was dominated by Jose Rosario followed by Brad Crosby and junior Milosz Nowak.

Women were dominated by Yvette Labombard (JW Dundees) and Rosie Garlapow (Terry Precision).  Great to see so many new women riders out this year as well!

MANY THANKS to our marshals each week-  Jack Kaperski, Paul Knerr and Ned Walsh!!!  We all owe these volunteers a huge thank you for helping us have safe and fun races.  Pay them back by signing up to marshal for the G-tour events and tell them THANKS!

Special thanks to Park Ave Bike and Handlebars Cycle Co. shops for hosting the 2007 events.  Also very special thanks to Handlebars Cycle Company and Full Moon Vista Bike and Sport for the complimentary prizes for the overall points winners.

Please support our shops that make these events special. 

If you did not pick up your prizes at the awards presentation, you will have to make arrangements to pick them up from Full Moon Vista or the first GVCC Tuesday night.  I won't guarantee delivery after 10 days. - TS

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4/1: Rain was on the move and the clouds open up with cold rain minutes into the racing.  The "A" race was loaded with a flurry of attacks and a relentless pace that shed most of the field by the end with only the determined and those without punctures to see the finish.

The final results for the 2007 series:

3/31:  Cool skies didn't mean the racing wasn't hot... plenty of attacks and an aggressive A group.

WGVCC (Womens GVCC):

Spring is right around the corner, with Giros and regular season races starting in just week!  Women that are interested in racing in the GVCC this year, please plan to attend at meeting at Full Moon Vista Sunday, March 11th at 5 p.m.

If you haven't signed up for the GVCC yet, that will also be a great time to fill out and submit your club application and be ready to go!

Call Full Moon Vista Bike and Sport for details. 546-4030.

Giros Giros Giros!!!!

2007 Giros start March 10 - 1 week from now! click for flyer

Note:  A few changes for this year's Giros:

* Reg in Buffalo will only be at Handlebars Cycle Co.  No sign-in at the fire hall. (Rochester reg is still at Park Ave bike shop.

* The BFLO course will be slightly altered since the bridge by the fire hall is out.  SAME Course as previous years - just no short laps

Get your licenses and memberships in!  One-day licensees will not be sold at Giros and you need a valid race license to ride.

NOTE:  Unused pre-pay insurance from last season(s) will not be rolled over for the upcoming season.  - TS

GVCC Spring Classic....moves to Bloomfield.

click for flyer

Looking for some information on how to get started cycling, perform basic skills or even improve the skills you have?  Want to gain valuable knowledge to become a better rider/racer?

Full Moon Vista Bike & Sport is holding weekend seminars on safe riding and racing that will thoroughly prepare you for the upcoming season. The seminars include over 10 hours of instruction on a variety of topics!

 Sign-up today! FMV is also holding free one-hour customer clinics throughout the winter. Check out the Full Moon Vista site for additional information.

GVCC 2007: Schedule is posted and events are permitted. Training events start beginning of April (about 11 weeks).  Make sure you have your USCF racing license and memberships turned in.  Memberships must be in 1 week prior to your first GVCC event.  That means received not in the mail someplace.  There are no "night of" sign ups (with the exception of first time visitors).

Master 45 group survey results:  There will NOT be a Masters 45 group in 2007 due to insufficient interested.  The survey has 13 yes and 13 no's.  Even if there were all yes votes there would not be a significant group for racing (note that more than half of the 13 yes votes were by those NOT eligible to race in it). TS

iBike info:  There have been recent inquiries regarding the iBike.  Please see the following comparison charts:  ride 1 and ride 2.  The iBike tracks very well - it is not as accurate as PowerTap, Ergomo or SRM, BUT it is reasonably priced and a great option to start to understand the merits of training by power with some very good data.  iBike also has a TT option to overcome the issues of aerobar air disturbance. 

I can get a discounted price on them but we will need a group of 5 total.  Please contact me before January 26 if you would like to purchase one.

2007 USA Cycling club permit active. You can renew your USCF racing licenses at this time, as we have renewed the USAC permit for the club.

The club membership application is now updated and we are accepting memberships for 2007.

 The club race schedule will be out in about 2 weeks. 

Power Training:

If you are looking for more information on different power meters and background on Cyclingpeaks (and TrainingPeaks) then Doug Bush of endurance Factor is hosting Hunter Allen (CyclingPeaks developer)  for a power training seminar February 16-17.  See his website for more info: http://www.endurancefactor.com/hunterseminar.htm

Note to teams: as many of you are designing new team clothing and settling rosters/sponsors, make sure you follow USCF guidelines for designating your club on your jersey.  Make sure you have GVCC as your club and register with USAC as well.  Don't risk a DQ at a race for not following the rules.  All rules books are posted on USAC's website in pdf format.

2006 Letter from GVCC Pres: 

…We have concluded another season of racing our bicycles and are solidly into the winter months of rain and snow.  While many of you may be thinking that 2007 season is a long way off there are only about 17 weeks until the first Giros will kick off and we have some things to do to ensure another great season.

 2006 was a cycling’s biggest year in Rochester.  Membership ... click to read

GVCC women’s group - off to a great start!
The first WGVCC meeting was a big sucess with 24 women showing up for last nights meeting at Full Moon Vista. The next meeting is planned for Dec 4 at FMV. Disussions will include: Club racing for 2007, training plans, a WGVCC jersey design and more

Intersted in training with power?  I have been running the new ibike in comparison to a power tap for a few rides.  The iBike performs very well as you can see on the chart (red is iBike and blue is Power Tap).  The chart is only showing the 60 rolling average from 1 second recordings for 57 miles and the smooth lines are best fit 6th order polynomials (actual data point not shown).  The polynomial is not a very good fit for either power meter, but shows at least the general trends and comparison. 

I have noticed that my iBike is giving average watts of about 10 watts low.  Upon seeing this twice now I re-weighed myself and found that I had underrated my total (body + bike + WINTER clothes) by about 4 pounds.  So this is likely the discrepancy.  Especially since I have exactly the same watts for both meters on a 1 hour ride last week with much less clothing on.

Overall it is a very good meter for the money - something to consider if you have not been training/racing with power because of the higher cost of the other systems.

If anyone is interested in purchasing a meter - let me know, since I can get a deal .  We will just need quantities of 4 or 5 to do that. If you want to discuss the iBike further drop an email as well - Todd Scheske

click chart for full pdf view.  Or Click here for other 51 mile ride

Remembering Jon - By Ainslie MacEachran, October 20, 2006 on VeloNews

Saturn Twilight Goes UCI:

 The Saturn Twilight Criterium is now on the international calendar and will be a feature stop of the 15 race UCI America ProTour!  In just three years this event is now on the level with the Amgen Tour of California, Tour de Georgia and Commerce Bank International Championships!  All here, right in Rochester!

Scott Page gets the keys to the City!!!  Mayor Duffy has awarded Scott the keys to the city for his work on the Saturn Twilight Crit!

2006 Season comes to a close!  We have had a difficult week with the loss of Jon-Boy, but it felt good to end the season on a positive note - racing the last races aggressive and hard. Jon would have wanted that. Huge thanks to Todd Scheske for organizing yet another fun and challenging season. Be sure to thank him next time you see him... he puts alot of his personal time and energy to make this club as great as it is.

The Awards dinner will be in the next few weeks - stay tuned for details. And group rides will start in about a month. Get those fixed gear bikes ready! -MM

Jon Dechau  Learn about Jon's legacy and how you can help. A PayPal account has been set up by the GVCC to help the family's immediate needs. Learn more by clicking here.

Dechau killed by Motorist:  Jonathon Dechau (center above - after winning the Niagara Classic in 2003) was killed last night September 13, 2006 while out training on his bike.  Jon-boy was a great competitor and an even better friend.  I spent so much saddle time and countless hours on the road as we chased our dream and passion in cycling.  We have lost of one the best. - TS

Mathis comes up big at Bear Mtn!  Preferred Care's Mike Mathis pulled out a VERY nice 2nd place at Bear Mtn - finishing only a half wheel behind a Navigators Pro rider in a 6 up sprint from the less than 20 survivors of the 80 mile RR.  Congrats Mike!