Women Specific: New Route, Recap and CEC Racing Women

Hello Ladies!

It's almost Wednesday and that means it's time to get back out there for a ride! I'm very happy to see that we'll have beautiful weather for our ride tomorrow. I've planned just over 23 miles with options to extend and shorten depending on our group and day light. You can check out the route here. Sadly, we have to plan to be back around 7:30pm. Please bring blinkies if you have them. We'll be rolling at 5:30pm sharp.

Last week's ride was great! It was a bit blustery which kind of made it feel a bit like a warm fall day. I can't believe September 1st is Thursday! Suzy, Judy and Deborah joined me for what had planned to be about 21 miles that turned into 24, I think. I haven't been able to upload the ride details, but we definitely kept a nice pace. Thanks again for riding!

This past weekend some of the CEC racers headed to Monson for another adventurous cross race. There was a lot of competition in the Women's Open this weekend, including Sally Annis a UCI Elite Woman in cyclocross. Conditions got a bit hairy as the rain started just before the women's race. There was a good deal of mud, a wicked slippery run up and descent. Pretty much what you hope for in a cross course. There will be more details, pictures and bragging (yeah Nate and Sean for your 1st place finishes!!!) to come on the Racing and fb page. For now, here are a couple of dirty faces...

Hopefully we'll get to hear a bit more about the D2R2 that was also this past Saturday. Congratulations to all that completed this epic ride.

See you tomorrow!

Jen

Thursday Mountainbike ride

Hay gang....last minute post (as usual). First off, congrats to all you awesome CX racers! Wish I could have been there with you....soon though. Keeping it simple and going to Robinson for tomorrows MTN bike ride. 5;30 at the church lot and rolling asap....maybe bring the lights just in case? Ladies, I hope you had a great ride tonight....you to Jaymo! Gotta run, still have work to do tonight...see your smiling faces tomorrow!

Sweet dreams kids,

J E F F

Women Specific: New Route, Recap and CEC Racing Women

Hello Ladies!

What a gorgeous week we've had so far! Thankfully the string of perfect weather will stretch to tomorrow for our ride. I'm really looking forward to getting back out there with you all. If you want to check out the route click here. We'll be riding just over 21 miles on relatively rolling roads. A couple things to consider as we begin to wind down the season and lose day light:

1. Consider buying blinking white and/or red lights. We carry a couple great options in the shop which are super easy to use, and even recharge using a USB connection.

2. This hasn't been an issue this season, but please continue to show up before 5:30 ready to ride so we can make sure we take full advantage of as much time on the road as possible.

3. Be prepared and aware that we'll be picking up the pace at times to try to keep our rides above 20 miles as long as possible, and still get in before dark. I'm very excited to see you ladies that have been coming week after week grow in confidence on the road, in your riding, and become stronger.

Please don't hesitate to touch base if you have any questions or concerns. You can always reach me at the EL shop.

On to other news...

Last week's ride was great. The temperature was perfect, kind of like an early spring or fall day. We had some new faces out there which is always fun. Thanks Judy, Cheryl and Deborah for joining us! Click here for ride details. Below is a picture of the ladies at Hall Hill and Pease.

Thanks again for coming out! You ladies definitely make this ride.

Before I sign off, I can't help but send a huge shout out to my fellow lady teammates for the awesome performance at this weekend's Blunt Park Cyclocross Race. It was such a fun time racing with you all, and spending the afternoon hanging out and cheering on the men. A big welcome and congratulations to Dawn who completed her first cyclocross race! I certainly look forward to having you out there with us this season, and learning more from you. I can't go much further without also congratulating the guys for their strong presence and performance on Sunday. We seriously have the BEST crew of guys EVER! Not only do they kill it on their bikes, no matter if they are in the woods or on the road, but they are the best cheering crowd and mechanical support team. Besides the excitement of the sport, these men are definitely a top reason to come out to see a race. Thanks as well to Competitive Edge for your great support.

There are two more local cross races this weekend if anyone is looking to check them out. Saturday is Monson Cyclocross Race and Sunday is Palmer 'Jungle' Cross. There is also Norcross Scurry MTB Race not too far away in Ashford, CT. No doubt Jeff Landry will be having some fun out there! Good luck Jeff, and good luck everyone on all biking adventures and races this weekend!

jen

Monday Night's Ride:

Hey everyone!

Hope you all had a great week. I'm back from vacation and ready to rip it with all my CEC Club friends.

We've had a busy weekend. As you'll soon see posted in the CEC Racing section. The cyclocross season has officially started with the Tobacco Valley Race at Blunt Park today. We had a pile of us there representing for the club & it was an absolute blast. A special thanks to Jen for bringing out the CEC van and setting up the tent and everything for us! You rule Jen!!! And a extra special hats off to our ladies team who completely took over the women's race! Now there was one person that didn't make it out to Blunt Park...Jeff Landry. Well, Jeff was busy winning the latest stop of the Route 66 mountain bike series. Congrats, Jeff!!! Stay tuned to the CEC Racing section for the wrap up!

And now for tomorrow night's ride, I have only posted one ROUTE. I would like to keep everyone together in one group, so I've made a ride that has a little bit for everyone. There are a couple nice climbs, so fun descents & a couple town line sprints. It should be a great ride!

And the weather for tomorrow looks awesome, but keep your eyes peeled to the WEATHER in case mother nature changes her mind.

Hope to see everyone tomorrow night.

-Scott

Thursday's MTB ride: Earl's

Thursday's MTB ride: Earl's

Morning Everyone!

For tomorrow night's mountain bike ride, we are going to be heading up to Hadley, MA to ride on Earl's trails.

Scott is on vacation, but Dan Walker and I will be leading the group out.

Here's where we are meeting: BAY RD. TENNIS CLUB

View Larger Map

Please plan on meeting up at 5:45ish as we will roll into the woods by 6:15PM.
We are riding rain or shine, so we'll see you all at the meeting spot!

-Christin

Women Specific: New Route, Recap and Cyclocross

Hello Ladies!

It's about that time again for another great Wednesday evening ride! I'm so grateful that we'll have beautiful weather to ride in, especially after all the rain we've been having this week. We'll be making a loop on some familiar roads again, keeping it pretty flat with a couple short hills, nothing you haven't seen before. Please feel free to check out the loop here. As always, it's a no drop ride. The more the merrier!

Last week I had the great privilege to ride with a super awesome lady, Laura. It was just the two of us. We ventured on our route enjoying some cooler temperatures after the rain storm. It really turned out to be a perfect night for riding. Thanks for coming out, Laura! Check out ride details here.

Mary Ann sent me some pictures from our group ride on July 26th that I wanted to share.

Descending Mountain Road

Intersection of Hall Hill and Watchaug Road

Thanks again for the pictures, Mary Ann!

I can't believe the time has come, but starting this Sunday, Cross season will have begun! Jeff mentioned in his last post about the season start, and like him, I highly recommend coming out to see a race, or even stopping in the shop to check out cross bikes. The first local race is this Sunday at Blunt Park in Springfield. Go here for race times and directions. Or for registration! Some of you might be wondering what this is all about, so check here for wikipedia's definition and watch below. The two video clips are of racers Nathan Orie (my husband, wink, wink) and our killer club Pres. Scott Decoteau:

I can't get the videos to work right now, hopefully they'll play once they're posted (fingers crossed). Just google "cyclocross" and click on video. You'll get the idea.

Better yet, just show up THIS SUNDAY, BLUNT PARK, SPRINGFIELD, MA. You won't be sorry, and we'll love to have your support. Don't forget the cowbell.

Happy Riding!

Jen

24 Hours of Great Glen & 72 Hours of RECOVERY!

So myself, Sean Rudzinsky, Jeff Landry, and Nate Lanchance are back and recovering from a LONG weekend of serious racing & fun!

This past weekend, we went up to the Great Glen trails at the base of Mt. Washington for their 16th annual 24 hour mountain bike race. What a BLAST! We raced the men's expert class as a 4 man team and managed to snag 2nd place in the expert class and 7th overall. As a team, we rode 257.3 miles and climbed 36,375 feet. To put it in perspective, all four of us raced about 3/4 of a cyclocross season in a 24 hour time period!

CHECK OUT THE TEAM STATS HERE

Needless to say, we are all exhausted and plan on spending the rest of the week recovering. I am going to be heading down to the beach (I know it's raining) for a little surf trip, so Steve Wallbridge, Jen Audia, Dan Walker and Christin are going to be running the show until next week.

It looks like today is going to be a wash out, but if the rain breaks, Dan and Steve will be leading the group out.

Stay tuned to the blog for the Wednesday rides & Thursday mountain bike ride. And also keep your eyes peeled for the full race report from Christin.

See you all soon!

-Scott

Thursdays ride

Hey gang...hope all are doing well! Keeping it simple for tomorrow and riding good old Robinson. Why...because it's awesome...and also want to keep it simple and prepare for this weekend. What's this weekend you ask? Doing my first ever 24hr mountain bike race, The 24 Hours of Greatglen! I am super physced and honored to be entered with my friends Sean, Scott, and Nate (ride that off camber)Lachance! So come on out, have some fun. Meeting at the usual spot at the usual time.

So, what else is going on....well, here's something to put on your list. Jaymo (Jason Moriarty) and myself have been mapping out our local trails at home. We are working on the first ever "Stafford fifty". Haven't got all the details yet, but here's the concept....A club sponsored fifty mile mountain bike ride through the Shinipsit trails followed by a cookout on Hampden road! We will do it as a no drop ride and have specific bail points for those looking for an early start at the after party. It's gonna be a compliment to the club century ride (which was awesome/lets do that again) and a great opportunity to close out the mountain bike race season and introduce the start of cycle cross. The timing will be mid to end of September on a Saturday and we are open for suggestions.

I will close out with the subject of cycle cross. If you have any interest at all then I highly recommend coming out to an event. It's so much fun...just ask anyone at the shop. I was lucky enough to see my new cross bike yesterday, now I can't wait to ride it. If nothing else, stop by the shop and check it out for yourself. It's a super fun way to stay on the bike all the way till winter and you don't have to spend a ton (unless you want to) to get into it. Even if you're not interested in racing, a cross bike is a great addition to your bike family. I love taking mine to places like the rail trail, beach roads, and scenic dirt roads out in the country...anyway, check them out when you get a chance. I can already picture awesome cross bike group rides this fall...

Goodnight kids, thanks for reading...

J E F F

Women Specific: Recap and New Route

Hello Ladies!

I have returned from an incredible vacation in Maine, and I'm so looking forward to riding with you all tomorrow night. It looks like there is the potential for scattered thunderstorms from 4pm on Wednesday, so please keep an eye on the weather and check back tomorrow on the blog or call the EL shop in the event we cancel the ride. The route is posted here if you want to check it out. From here on out we'll be lessening our mileage as we begin to lose daylight. So sad.

Before signing off, I want to say what a great time I had on our last ride. It was such a beautiful night exploring some new roads, including Stafford Road's climb and Mountain Road's fast descent. Everyone did such a great job, and I'm so excited to see the progress we've had as a group this year, our first year! Thanks again ladies for all your support! You can check out the ride details here.

Hope to see you all tomorrow at 5:30!

jen

Monday Night's Rides: August 8th

Hi Everyone!

Hope you all had a great week & we hope you're ready to ride!

I've posted the routes for tomorrow's rides to the blog:

ROUTES

The weather for tomorrow looks like rain again:

http://www.weather.com/weather/wxdetail/01028?dayNum=1

As usual, keep tuned to the doppler, the blog & email us if you are questioning whether or not we'll be riding. We will as usual wait till the last minute to cancel the ride (4PM). If the ride gets canceled due to weather, we'll send an email out.

Hope the rain holds off & we hope to see you all at the shop tomorrow!

-Scott

It's Thursday, let's ride Robinson!

Hey everyone! Dan here, posting on Jeff's behalf. Tonight we'll be heading over to Robinson State Park - It's been a while! We meet HERE at 5:30 and hit the woods at 6:00. Looking forward to it.

-Dan