JB - Fellow Cyclist, Photographer and our Friend

Many hearts were broken this week with the news that John, affectionally known as JB, passed last Thursday. Not only was JB a cyclist but was a fixture on the sidelines taking photos of every race he attended. There were times when JB said it was a tossup as to whether he should buy a new bike or a new lens for his camera. After a JB sighting at a race, folks were patient to wait for the great photos he shared with everyone. When I saw him at a crit in downtown Norfolk, he lit up when he saw Kevin Dillard there because of the common bond they shared capturing the perfect picture.

I got to know JB back in 2004. I would see him here at the beach, see him in DC the next day, hear that he made a quick trip up to NY to race and then would head down to Florida to see his folks. When he wasn’t racing and chasing races up and down I-95 he was taking care of his patients and doing that quite well.

JB was also a cat lover and named his cats after cycling heroes. JB was a gentle giant.

I feel lucky that JB and Barb were able to come to Bike Va where we spent lots of miles on the road and many drinks poolside. I also feel blessed that JB was able to come to my home often for meals. His laugh and smile always lit up a room.

JB was a man behind the scenes. He was known to drive bikes for cyclists out of state while the cyclists were able to fly to their destination. He started his blog “Love2Ride” back in July, 2005, which was read by everyone. He did mountain bike endurance events, crits, Ironcross, road races and gave hours of his time to clean up trails. He never met a stranger. He never brought attention to himself, he always gave to others.

JB – We miss you, we all loved you. May you rest in peace.

BJ aka Podium Cat

A photoshow has been created in JB's honor. You can view it at:

http://www.photoshow.com/watch/Hk7WM3GD

We Conquered the Canal and the Langley Speedway as well!

There was an amazing turnout on Saturday for the Conquer the Canal time trial. 13 of our girls were able to test their skills in a 12 mile out and back course along the Dismal Swamp. This race filled to capacity early in the week so we’re glad our girls all chose to pre-register and be a part of this great race. Everyone performed well in all categories.

Laura, Ali and B J were the top 3 female times of the day.
The race results are as follows:

CAT 1-2-3
1st Laura 29:00
2nd Ali 29:52

CAT 4
5th Karen 32:52
6th Roberta 33:54
12th Lisa 37:36

40 plus
1st BJ 30:37
8th Barb V. 35:43
9th Suszann 35:53
12th Claudia 37:02
14th Susan 38:00
15th Wendie 38:17
16th Donna 38:30
17th Christy 39:07

LANGLEY CRIT

26 ladies showed up today for the Langley Speedway Crit. Rumor has it that times were fast. Laura and Ali got up the road quickly and did what they do best – get away and keep going! Everyone kept the rubber down so it was nice to race with a safe crowd. In the end, Laura took 1st , Ali took 2nd, BJ got 4th in the 40 plus women and Suszann took 6th in the Cat 4. It was a great weekend for racing and thanks to FAT FROGS for an outstanding job.

Well done ladies. Well done indeed!!!

Smithfield HAMmerfest

Looks like that chocolate bunny that Ali won at Jeff Cup fueled her for a first place finish at the 1st ever Smithfield Hammerfest Crit. The word on the block has it that it was a technical and challenging course with a nice uphill climb to make it even more challenging. Although there were crashes in some of the races, the women came out unscathed. Attempts were made to break up the race but none of them really worked. At the end Ali rode off with the win with the help of teammate Laura. Great job to both of you for keeping our team on the map and also showing great team tactics.

One of our upcoming stars, Suszann, was also out there holding her own in the CAT 4 race making it look easy. We are proud that you are learning your way on a crit course and look for great things from you in the crits, road races and time trials ahead!

Happy Easter to everyone.

Jeff Cup 2010

Ali and Laura went up to Charlottesville for the Jefferson Cup Road Race on Sunday. It was cold. They were cold. They tried to warm up. They were still cold. They raced with about 30 women. They raced 40 miles. They tried to break-away. But the other women pulled them back in. It rained. It was wet. Then it stopped raining. Then it started raining again. They were still wet, but now wetter. It came down to a field sprint. Ali took 2nd overall and 1st for the Category 3 women (YEAH!) and came home with the coveted Jeff Cup and Chocolate Bunny! Laura took 3rd overall and 2nd for the Cat 1-2 women. After the race Ali and Laura were both very cold again. They finally warmed up after changing clothes. And then they ate pizza. And then they sang to the Rolling Stones and Violent Femmes all the way home to Virginia Beach. Laura found a four-leaf clover at the rest stop on the way home. Ali thought it was a fake. Check out the picture to see for yourself. And that was Ali and Laura's Jefferson Cup Road Race experience. The END.

Laura Cook Goes Pro!!

One of our own has been chosen to be a part of the Vanderkitten Pro Team in 2010! See the Press Release below.

Vanderkitten Announces 2010 Roster and Sponsors

Vanderkitten Presented by Kenda revealed the 2010 Road Team kit and sponsorship line-up today at http://vanderkittenracing.com/. “This season is about streamlining our program, building on our consecutive USA Crits Team Titles, supporting our National Championship winning athletes, and continuing to gain exposure for Women’s Cycling outside of the racing community” said David Verrecchia, Vanderkitten Creator.

“We will continue to build upon our long-term partnership with Kenda and Storck Bicycles, combining our resources to promote Women’s cycling by developing a program that will help launch cyclists to new levels” added Vanderkitten Managing Director, Mark Zefeldt.

Vanderkitten Racing also adds an “official” mountain bike squad of Barbara Howe and Shannon Holden focusing on endurance and multi-day stage races in the dirt. The MTB squad will also ride Kenda tires, Easton and SRAM just like the Road team, in addition to the impressive Ibis Mojo SL and Tranny Carbon frames.

“The Ibis relationship has been so easy and so supportive it was a natural evolution to take what we did in Cross, and apply it to Mountain for Vanderkitten” adds Barbara Howe of Vanderkitten.

Vanderkitten/Kenda’s Road sponsor list includes Vanderkitten Clothing, Kenda Tires, Storck Bicycles, Easton Components, Giro Helmets and accessories, Motortabs, SRAM, Tifosi eyewear, Relegate Coffee and the Hawley Company.

Vanderkitten’s Roster includes: Captain Jennifer Reither, Jennifer Wilson, Anna Lang, Starla Teddergreen, Erika Graves, Barbara Howe, Shannon Holden, Haley Beann and Laura Cook.

Vanderkitten Racing was established in 2007 to promote Women’s cycling and create a sustainable model of top-level athletic participation for women.

Anything But Dismal!

It’s hard to believe that just a year ago we fought wind, rain and cold temps at the 2009 DD Time Trial. It was so dismal lots of us found ourselves not even able to warm up because the tents were no shelter for the rain coming at us sidewise. Luckily for all of us, this year was a different story. After checking weather for the last week which at one time called for rain, we were pleasantly surprised to have the temps in the 50s, a bit of a headwind out, but no rain in sight. The only small distraction were a few dogs who had enough sense to stay out of the road. 25 ladies signed up in all categories and the beach Vanderkittens took 12 of those spots. Laura, Ali and BJ had the 3 fastest times of all the registered women.

Results for our team

CAT 1-2-3

1st – Laura – 1:02:44
2nd – Ali – 1:06:06

CAT 4

3rd –Karen – 1:15:17
4th – Roberta – 1:15:30
7th – Suszann – 1:22:46

Masters

1st – BJ – 1:06:43
4th – Claudia – 1:22:51
6th – Barb V. – 1:24:36
7th – Susan – 1:24:39
9th – Donna – 1:28:14
10th – Wendie – 1:29:13
11 – Christy – 1:29:25

Great job to the race promoters!

Snowball Crit #2

Another great day weather-wise for Snowball Crit #2 yesterday. Looked to be about 20 women who showed up for this one…most of the same riders from two weeks ago with at least two out of town girls making a road trip to participate in this last local training race. Some break attempts were made early on by Laura, Ali and a couple of others which provided some short lived division of the field but eventually everyone came back together. On a Cat 4 prime lap, one rider headed out without chase from anyone, took the prime and as it turned out, also took several more laps solo. She eventually got about a 17 second lead from the group so with about 8 laps to go, an effort was made to bridge up to her. It succeeded ultimately and a group of five at that time then began trying to hold the gap for the remainder of the race.

Cook sat in with the field & timed her move to bridge up to the lead group. Another rider followed on her own at some point thereafter bringing the total to seven women for the last 2 laps. Coming into the back stretch the sprint started right before the straightaway and a hard effort was given by everyone. In the end, Cook took 2nd and Ali came in 4th.

Team effort out there with racers and supporters!

Roberta, Ali, BJ & Laura

First BAR race of the year coming up next weekend: Dismal Dash Time Trial. Hope to have a lot of VK team members entered and racing against the clock!