We want you! LCBC Recruitment

LCBC has had a great first season of road racing and appreciates all the support from our sponsors, racers, families, friends, and fellow cyclists. Although the road season hasn't officially ended, we wanted to get the word out that LCBC is looking for enthusiastic, dedicated cyclists who are interested in road or cyclocross racing next season.

Our team was formed earlier this year to serve as a new face for Baltimore County cycling and an opportunity to unify the numerous avid cyclists who have a desire to be competitive in the world of road and cyclocross racing. We believe in riding as a solid unit and support and push each other to excel and exceed personal and team goals.

If you are interested in joining the LCBC team, shoot us an email at lequipecyclismebc@gmail.com and we'd love the opportunity to chat, ride, and get to know you.

In the meantime, we'll have representation out at the Highway to Heaven TT next weekend and will be finishing up the road racing season with Dawg Days of Summer. In the interim, a couple of our racers are already preparing for the cyclocross season and look forward to an exciting Fall schedule.

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.

Greenbelt Training Race and Team Update

Since the team took a weekend off of racing, they've had a chance to catch up on the Giro and Amgen while prepping for BikeJam. Meanwhile, Joe Siegel decided to enter a mid-week training race over at Greenbelt to test his new training regime and log another race for upgrading.

Still working on his last couple of Cat 5 races before upgrading, Joe entered the Group C Greenbelt Training Race. The field was about 30 deep, with some familiar faces as well as various unattached racers. In typical clydesdale fashion, Joe spent the majority of his time at the front of the pack, cranking away the watts and pushing the pace the entire race. Unfortunately once again, he was unable to inspire the other racers sucking on his back wheel to hop up there and form a legitimate breakaway. Already running on tired legs from a hard week of training, the power wasn't quite there to manage a solo breakaway.

Joe at Greenbelt Training Race, Group C

On the last lap, after the neutral turn, Joe, Nathan Ong, and another racer sat at the front of the group with little room for any racers behind them to pass. As predicted, a couple of meters out, Nathan shifted into his drops and started to lay the hammer down for his sprint finish. Joe quickly picked up on his back wheel and rode in for 2nd place.

Another solid performance by Joe in the Cat 5 field as he prepares himself for upgrading and joining the rest of the team. His upgrade will serve as a turning point, allowing the team to enter into 3/4 fields and race as a cohesive group with purpose.

As for our other racers, Dave Cohen is on the quick road to recovery from his double hernia surgery a couple of weeks ago. He's been easing into riding and recently joined up with the Wednesday night Twenty20 ride, winning the sprint section (and that's taking it easy, hah). On Monday, Andrew Stroup was out on a rainy training ride with Mike Retzlaff and crashed out over a bridge, breaking his left hand. This puts him out of racing for 6 weeks and a forced mini-winter break on the trainer. We wish him a speedy recovery. This leaves Luke Mysko to fend for himself at BikeJam this Sunday, but the entire team will be out at Patterson Park supporting our el presidente. Mid-term, the team is eyeing a couple of tour races (Tour of Page County) in June/July where we'll have the whole team riding together.