Team LOF helps support Bahati Foundation in Philly

Team LionOfFlanders.com was happy to be able to help support Bobby Lea and the rest of the Bahati Foundation team yesterday at the Philadelphia International Championship. Ryan provided the boys with team socks and water bottles to help them in their battle against top international competition in the hardest single-day event in America.

Photo: © MarcoQuezada.com/NYVelocity

Bobby Lea was instrumental in an early break of 16 in helping to set up both Cesar Grajales and Nathan O’Neil to secure the KOM and sprinters competitions, respectively. Congrats to Grajales and O’Neil, as well as the rest of the Bahati Foundation squad on a job well done yesterday.

Photo: © MarcoQuezada.com/NYVelocity

LionOfFLanders.com is proud to be able to help support athletes of the caliber of the Bahati Foundation team. We wish them best of luck the rest of this season and beyond.

Race Report – Tour of Somerville

Memorial Day weekend brings with it lots of racing, and if you’re on the East Coast there’s a strong chance that you’ll be racing the Tour of Somerville on Memorial Day. Known as the “Kentucky Derby of Cycling,” the Tour of Somerville is the longest running bike race in the USA. It was first run in 1940 and only ever stopped from ’46-46 due to WWII. The Tour of Somerville is the biggest one day race in the country, and also one of the most prestigious.

In the Category 3 race, Andy Kuklis was the solo representative for Team LOF.com against a field of 135. The racing was knock-down and drag out, including several crash (all of which Kuklis was able to avoid). Being a true sprinter and calling on his track experience, Kuklis was able to put himself into good position for the final sprint and took the team’s first top 10 with an 8^th place finish. It was a great performance and Kuklis set the bar for the next race.

Ryan checks the competiton

Onto the Category 2 race, Team LOF.com was represented by Ryan Pomajevich, Rich Uliana, Matt Swiatek, and Lou Devlin. The field was 110+ deep of some of the strongest talent in the region and beyond. The 90 degree heat did little to slow the field down, as racing was fast and aggressive from the start. Everyone rode well together, and late in the race it was evident that it would come down to a field sprint. Coming into the final lap Rich placed himself into good position and held it all the way out of the final turn. No amateur to racing at the Tour of Somerville, Rich played the final sprint well and took a hard fought 6^th place.

Matt flies the LOF.com flag

And for a full day of racing for Team LOF.com, Randy Smargiasi took to the line the the Pro/1 race. Randy raced tough and hung in to finish in a field full of the biggest professional teams in the USA along with some internation pro’s and top amateur from around the country. Team LOF.com is very proud to have Randy representing us in the Pro/1 race.

Team LionOfFlanders.com would like to once again congratulate Andy Kuklis and Rich Unliana for their outstanding performance at the Tour of Somerville. Both results certainly put Team LOF.com on the radar and let people know to be on the watch for us. The team would also like to thanks our all of our sponsors, without whom we couldn’t do this nearly as well.

Team LoF.com Spotlight: Mike Cushionbury

Mike Cushionbury, Mountain Bike Stud

Mike Cushionbury, or “Cush,” leads the mountain bike contingent of Team LionofFlanders.com. He’s certainly no stranger to the road scene or a cyclocross race, but put this guy on dirt and he turns the competition inside out. Recently, the Team LoF.com editorial staff had a chance to sit down with Cush and find out what really makes him tick… you know, besides carbon frames and PBR.

What’s your background in racing mountain bikes?

I’ve been at it for over 15 years, racing in SoCal at places like Big Bear, Mammoth Mountain and Tahoe. Along the way I won some races and then earned a pro license just before moving to Eastern PA in January ‘08. The trails here are so f’ing tough they made me want to quit racing. But instead of giving up, I’ve sacked up and this year I’m back at it completely.

What’s your current race rig?

Rig? I have a stable: Specialized S-Works Epic, S-Works Stumpjumper Carbon 29 HT and Epic Marathon 29

What are your goals for the season? Who’s ass do you want to kick and why?

My goals are to do well at the Trans-Sylvania stage race and the Shenandoah 100 this year and whatever major stage races I do next year. I pretty much just focus on enduros and stage races now though I would like to kick Ryan Pomajevich’s ass in a crit, that’d be neat because he wouldn’t take it well.

How’s your season going so far? Any high or low points?

Finishing second at the French Creek On The Rocks 6-hour enduro was an absolute high point. It started in the rain, and it was way rocky – the definition of east coast terrain. Exact conditions I’m expected to crumble in. It took two years, but I finally learned how to ride and race here.

What do you think is the most important LoF.com product for any racer and why? The beer coozie?

The coozie is second most important piece of bike gear, it’s what’s inside that coozie that counts. But you do need a quality coozie… so I have about 20 of them.

How do you embody and honor the Lion of Flanders when you race?

I race hard but I don’t take myself too seriously. I like post-race beers and long, filthy dirt paths on road rides don’t scare me.

Recovery

We get a lot of questions here at Team LionOfFlanders.com, mostly about how we race so awesomely and what our training habits are, etc. I thought I’d take the time to answer one of the questions we get most often: recovery strategy.

As any good racer will tell you, recovery is key to great performance. One of the most important things you can do immediately following a race is to start hydrating. On a good hot day, Team LOF gets the rehydrating process started with some ice cold High Life’s. The carb ratio is ideal for optimizing glycemic replenishment and is obviously easy to drink. High Life’s are also fortified with lots of stuff like vitamins and amino acids and stuff…

The next step is getting in a real meal within 2 hours of completion of the event. This is how the body will get the essential nutrients it needs from whole foods, such as more carbs to top off the tank plus protein to repair and rebuild the muscles. Again, the Tem LOF.com standard issue is stop at Five Guys burgers. We prefer a well-timed call-ahead order so that its ready when you get there, no waiting in line with the common folk. When you call, tell them you want the LOF:

Bacon double cheeseburger with ketchup, mayo, lettuce, onion, and jalapeño

You’ll want no less than 2 burgers per rider, and somewhere around 6-10 High Life’s (depending on dehydration level and rider weight). If you follow this simple recovery strategy we can guarantee you:

1)you have a delicious meal

2)you’ll have a nice buzz

We can’t guarantee it will make you faster, but here at Team LOF.com it’s all about the lifestyle.

Team LoF.com fields Track Team

A few of the members of our team are track riders.
Randy, Kuklis (aka Judas), and Ryan all are regulars on Friday nights at the Valley Preferred Cycling Center in Trexlertown, PA.
Although Kuklis has abandoned his friends and teammates for a more lucrative “pro” contract, Ryan and Randy will be flying the TeamLoF.com flag.
There are nine Friday night races this season beginning June 18th and ending with the toughest night on two wheels, the Madison Cup.
The boys will also compete on Tuesdays from mid-May thru mid-September in the 24-7 Fitness Clubs Pro/Am Series.
Come check us out this season at the VPCC!  And don’t forget to ask Kuklis where his teammate is on Madison nights…

Team LOF.com weekend report

Although there was no racing for Team LionOfFlanders.com this past weekend, there was tons of quality riding and fun in the Lehigh Valley.

Fri was a great training day with Ryan, myself, and non-teammate but good friend Bill Elliston. We logged 4 hours of fun; you can read all about it over at eightplustwo.

Sat evening we had a nice team dinner, and we’re always happy to see our sponsor Ommegang being served locally so we enjoyed some Hennepins – a great easy drinking summer time brew from those good folks.

Yesterday saw myself, Ryan, Kuklis, and Plunkett hitting up the local hammerfest of the derby. It was sunny, humid, and fast as usual. Big crowds out for the ride as expected:

Just another weekend of riding in the Lehigh Valley.

Team LoF.com Training in Portland

OK, so it wasn’t the team so much as just me. And it wasn’t training so much as business conference. Now that’s not to say I didn’t get out at all. Saturday morning I was able to be out for a spin up and down the Willamette river on this trusty stead my hotel provided me with.

Cruisin' Portland

Yeah, it’s not quite Di2, but it was still an electric shifting 3-speed. It was a fine bike for wheelies and the transmission worked fine until you hit an uphill and it didn’t want to down shift.

Frankly, I spent most of my time in PDX not soaking up the bike culture, but at my conference and drinking the city’s fine, fine malt beverages. Still, it was impossible to avoid bikes in the city with the nation’s highest commuter-per-capita stats. While coming into town from the west, low and behold, I saw a painted Lion of Flanders zip-tied to a pole to direct a local ride. Apparently some locals enjoy their own spring classic known at the Ronde van West Portlandia.

Good on them. I think the folks out west could use some of our socks.

Oh, and did I mention the beer was amazing? Because it f’ing rocked. The only thing the town is missing is Belgian beer, but they made up for it with kick-ass IPAs. Here’s a quick write up of one of my favorites I had while there:

India Pelican Ale – Pelican Pub &  Brewery

I split a bomber at Bailey’s Taproom… but ended up enjoying most of it myself. Despite the extra strength, it hardly felt like a heavier IPA. In fact, I had no problem finishing my pint. What I really loved about this beer was that it covered a lot of different hop flavors – floral to earthy to citrus – and balance them all well to make a slightly juicy, and wholly delicious IPA. Yum.

Race Report – Lower Providence Crit

 

Team LionOfFlanders.com made the trip to just outside of Philly yesterday for the 23^rd Annual Lower Providence Crit. The race is the quintessential industrial park crit; 4 corners, flat, and fast.

The team was represented by Kuklis, Ryan, and me in the P/1/2/3 field. Expecting a strong field as usual, everyone was a bit surprised to find that Scott Zwizanski of KBS showed up (he is a local guy after all) as well as a few of the Richmond Pro guys.

The action was pretty fast from the gun, with a wind out of the west that made a cross wind from the left on the finish stretch. The field was large, over 100 deep, and a great variety of ability ranges. Eventually Scott Z. got off the front solo and held for the win, chased by Michael Stoop (Richmond) and Isaiah Bristol. They were then followed by another group of 4 for a total of 7 guys up the road. Ryan rode a aggressive and attentive race, marking riders and going in a break with some favorites but it did not stick.

Coming into the closing laps, it was evident that the field sprint would be coming up which mean it was time for the team’s sprinter, Kuklis, to take over. He got himself into great position on bell lap, however was forced to go out of the last turn which was just a bit too long. He pulled down a solid 16^th, followed by Ryan in 21^st, and myself in the pack. Another good showing for the team, and clearly progress is being made.

Plunkett represented in the Cat 4 race, racing aggressively as well and coming in safely with the pack. Also of note is Bowman, owner of SMC and sponsor of Team LOF.com, joining us in the 1/2/3 race and putting in a good ride.

A big thanks to the promoters and all involved for putting on another great race.

Garmin file from race here – like I said, perfect 4 corner crit.

Celebrating the Classics

Cave-aged Hennepin Saison

Are we already halfway through classics season? God damn. I’ll take April’s one-day races over the Tour de France any day (or month). There’s never a dull finish. Nothing is certain. And the strong riders always win – no taking it easy to recover between mountain stages.

Naturally, Team LionofFlanders.com takes classics season very seriously. And by very seriously, we race our asses off and become superfans for the pro races. Matt Swiatek and Ryan have talked plenty of our racing exploits, so I just want to share this image from our Paris-Roubaix party. Plunkett busted out the good stuff with vintage, cave-aged Hennepin from Ommegang. Talk bout heavenly elixir. I don’t care if there wasn’t a monk brewing the stuff, it was unreal of complex and yet smooth the drink was. Next time you’re in Cooperstown (home of Ommegang), make sure to stop by the brew house and ask for the good stuff (pretty much everything).

Here are my notes:

At first glance, Hennepin looks innocent enough with its hazy, yellow color and fluffy white head. But it smells like no other beer you’ve had, featuring tangy orange and earthy hops. Upon tasting, there’s an odd complexity of citrus and herbs. Peppered lemon flavor with a hint of vanilla gives way to a tart bite of green apples, grapes and finally a grapefruit-like bitterness. It’s truly an adventure in beer.

Race Report – Cherry Blossom Challenge

Team LionOfFlanders.com made its season debut this past Saturday at the Cherry Blossom Challenge in Branch Brook Park (Newark, NJ). The race was 50 miles, or 23 laps on the 2.2mi flat course through the park.

Ryan, Andy, and Matt represented the team in the 1/2/3. An early move got up the road early, and while the team was unfortunately not represented they did continue to race well. Ryan spent a lot of the time near the front of the field, taking more than his share of pulls to keep the pace moving. Andy and Matt both rode well and stayed together, up front and out of trouble.

Going into the last lap, Ryan and Andy sensed the pace was about to pick up when Bill Ellison (Van Dessel Cycles) took up the pace-making for the lead-out with ¾ of a lap to go. Ryan played the finish well, taking top 5 in the field sprint for 24^th place. Matt and Andy came in closely behind, rounding out a solid first performance for the team.

Though obviously disappointed to not be represented in the break, Team LOF.com was happy with how everyone raced for the first real race of the season. Obviously with a little more work and communication the team will be much more effective racing together.

Next up on the racing calendar is this Sunday’s Lower Providence Crit. In its 23^rd year, Lower Providence is a true spring classic in the PA BAR calendar. LP is a classic 4 corner crit in a smoothly paved industrial park, and is quintessential crit racing: fast, aggressive, and hard. And that’s just how we like our crits.