FreshBikes Group Ride

Since the LCBC team has taken a brief hiatus from racing for a couple of weeks, we wanted to highlight an awesome group ride one of the team members, Andrew Stroup, stumbled across while down in DC on a weekday. The Arlington FreshBikes Tuesday group ride is not your common group ride. Unlike the numerous group rides we've grown accustomed to in Baltimore, you aren't simply joined by 5-6 other cyclists looking for a good workout, but a posse that is almost overwhelming.

Feeling like a neutral roll out for a gran fondo, Andrew was joined by ~150 other cyclists for a solid training ride through Arlington, Falls Church, and McLean. Attempting some reconnaissance pre-ride, Andrew identified some cyclists who he raced with throughout this season, talking about the A riders, the B riders, and then everybody else. As the ride began, FreshBikes requested all the "slower" riders to start up front. The group was escorted by a train of police cars and bikes, blocking major intersections and roads for a continuous roll out to the "loop." As the ride progressed out of Arlington, Andrew found himself in the middle of the pack, passing and being passed by various cyclists over some moderate rollers at a casual pace. As the group turned onto an on ramp (yes an on ramp) and headed West, the groups quickly broke off and the ride was on.

By the time Andrew realized what was happening, the A group noodled off the front. Keeping in contact with some of the other cyclists he had raced with, he bridged up to them and stayed in contact with the lead B group. He quickly learned that the A and B groups were more of a race than a ride and found himself constantly drafting, pulling, or bridging up climbs, around corners, and down descents.

The B group headed home after one lap, while the A loop stayed around for a couple more for some extra suffering. Andrew was with 3 or 4 riders that broke off the front of the B group and was rejoined with the remaining group as they entered back into Arlington.

Overall, the group ride was a great change of pace, a chance to catch up with some fellow racers in a non-hostile environment, and some good conditioning as the summer racing season comes to a close. As far as upcoming races for LCBC, we have our eyes set on the Highway to Heaven in a couple of weeks and the Dawg Days of Summer as a closer for this year's season.

Hagerstown Challenge Criterium

Despite the blistering heat, LCBC showed up for another weekend of racing. Andrew Stroup and Joe Siegel packed their steads and headed out West to the Hagerstown Challenge Criterium on Saturday for the Cat 4/5 race.

The course looked promising, a 4 turn, fast and moderately technical course. Andrew and Joe performed their pre-race rituals and warmed up, mentally and physically, preparing themselves for the race ahead.

The Cat 4/5 field was small and the start of the race was fast. Halfway through the race, Andrew dropped out due to mechanical issues, leaving him to support Joe from the sidelines. In the closing laps, Joe had the best shot at a solid finish as he joined a 4 man breakaway in the last few laps of the race. In the final turn of the penultimate lap, Joe was riding the inside line, but had to take the turn tighter than planned. Before he knew it, his bike slid out from underneath him and ended his shot at the finish line.

Fortunately, Joe was able to walkaway from the crash with no broken bones, but was rewarded with some gnarly road rash down his right side. Sometimes the racing gods aren't in your favor and you're simply rewarded with the ability to walkaway from a race. Until next time, stay safe and cool.

Assault on Franklin Ave

On Monday, an unfortunate event occurred where one of the LCBC riders was assaulted on Franklin Ave during the Fed Hill Race Pace Recovery Ride. During the downhill descent on Franklin Ave, heading back into the city and towards Pratt, a group of kids jumped into the middle of the street, forcing Andrew Stroup to slow down. As he reached them, one kid grabbed his bike while the other hit him in the head and was then thrown into a parked car. Fortunately, Andrew wasn't badly injured and his bike only suffered a crooked shifter.

As Andrew composed himself from the incident, he went to confront the kids who quickly ran off. The neighbors came out and helped him clean up before he got back on his bike and headed into Baltimore and then home. It's sad to see this type of random act of violence in Baltimore and even worse when people accept these events as commonplace circumstance. Andrew was told these type of occurrences aren't uncommon when the kids aren't in school, noting "kids in July."

LCBC is glad Andrew was able to walkaway from the incident without serious injury and suffered only a bruised knee. Stay safe out there, since avoiding the heat isn't the only concern while riding in July.