OBRA Awards Dinner 2010!

Lore of Leadership
borne from Cyclisme, again graces the banquet halls of glory!
Leonard, Blomberg and Brubaker.

Two years in a row, Cyclisme Racing programs have presented two new champions for the peloton's review. Each year two more fine Cyclisme cyclists went up on stage to take an award before the stars of the OBRA peloton.

Last year it was 13 year old Naiqwan Pellman who won the "Overall BAR" for 14-15year old juniors, and a rookie Cat. 3 named Jake Hansen who won the Cat 3 Overall.

Now, representing three categories Cyclisme was especially proud to present two very strong and charming women to be followed by the Oregon Peloton. Jenn Leonard and Mielle Blomberg won the "Overall" in Masters 30-35, Masters 35-39, and Category 4 Women. If you know Mielle, then it does not surprise you she was not satisfied to win just one category.

Symbolically OBRA Legend and Sister in the Lore, Tina Brubaker chose 2010 to dominate the whole pyramid. Always benevolent and ready to give something back to beginners. We are all very proud of muscly Ms. Brubaker.

Like Candy Murray said to Stephen Bedford in his first year on Word-RCB, "Oh Cyclisme, that's a good team to be FROM!"

Yeah thanks Candy, and we think OBRA is a fine peloton to beat.

Vive Cyclisme!

Boys and Girls Club and the Major!

The Legacy

of

The Major










In an effort to reach out to faces missing from Cycling,
this time at Blazer Boys and Girls Club February 18th,
Graphic Designer Tim Bergmann, did it again.
Drive by The Club and see the posters in the window!

See more about the Major Taylor Education Program (here)

Kent Ross

Rookie Extraordinaire
by
Jake Hansen

This last Winter Junior Cyclocross Star Keegan O'Neill introduced a new junior to our team by the name of Kent Ross.

With his newly-built-up KHS road bicycle donated by Flo Liebowitz, and built up by Crank, Kent has been training hard.
He trains in the women's ride on Saturday out to Sauvie Island, then on Sunday out to Rocky Rabbit and at the Atomic Ranch with the clean and jerk in the driveway. Kent does it all. He can't get enough.

He has not missed a weekend since joining the team and his athleticism shines on long hills like those leading out of the Rock Creek river Valley.

Kent can sprint too! He has been making the Master's Men work hard for their Fijian Vacations (aka the sprint to the orange cone) at Tuesday night Master's practice.

Junior Team Captain, DeyShaun Lee, has quite a team brewing with the likes of Kent Ross and Keegan O'Neill under his tutelage. They have been doing yoga together at Crank.

Consistent work coupled with Kent's enthusiasm and passion for riding his bicycle have us all seeing big things on the horizon for the young bicycle racer.

A new set of Goals

LEARNING CURVES
By M.M.Blomberg
Jan.24^th, 2011

I have a new set of goals and a new list of questions for the 2011 race season, but I wanted to share some insights from my very busy first year of racing in 2010. Thanks to my coach JB, Word-RCB Team, Team S&M and the many people that shared their spirit and experience with me in 2010.

Fitness + nutrition + recovery = Performance. A smidge of determination and a smattering of crazy helps too.

You don’t know how good of a hill climber you are until you race Mt. Tabor. It’s harder than it looks.

Base training does not mean riding around the base of a hill.

It doesn’t matter which direction you start at PIR, there will ALWAYS BE A HEADWIND.

Ride with folks that are stronger than you once a week (more if you love to suffer and your ego can take it).

If you get a chance to meet/ride with a pro/cat 1 in your style of racing, ask questions but be respectful of their time.

PRE RIDE, PRE RIDE, PRE RIDE! The suffering you know is better than the suffering you don’t see coming.

Drafting is like a big hug that keeps you safe in its’ loving embrace.

Getting dropped feels like someone loaded your bike with 20 extra pounds of sucking.

Gravel and knees don’t mix but I seem to mix them a lot.

You can never tell how fast someone is by looking at them.

Gu Chomps are both a snack and a meal depending on the ride.

Crashing during a race hurts more three days later, bruises take a week to fully form and it never hurts quite as bad when people are cheering for you.

Leave the wheel that doesn’t serve you, there is usually a better one close by.

We all give up something for racing. Usually it’s yard work.


Happy New Year!