I <3 my team

Yesterday we had an awesome turnout for our Wednesday team ride. Probably 20 people at points, from regular Cat 6ers to occasional riders to friends of riders and other teams. All abilities from 1/2/3 to newbie. We kept it real though riding easy until the hills and sprints where we kicked it up a few notches and then waited for everyone to catch up. The only true no-drop ride in town! Afterward we invaded the Town Hall for beer and burgers. It was a really good time!

Tour of Flanders party...

...was a huge success! Lots of people showed up, the beer was awesome, the coverage was exciting, the door prizes were awesome, and most importantly, people were having fun! I missed the ride because I had a weekend deployment, but I heard it was appropriately epic, with Tyler flatting twice and breaking a wheel. Many thanks to Drew, DS and Tyler and everyone who helped spread the word, the Bulldog NE, Ped, the sponsors/importers and everyone who came out! More pictures from Cuban our staff photographer here.

Earn your beer

Here's the ride on Sunday before we sample Belgium's finest and watch the Tour of Flanders. We head out at noon at the Boom Island parking lot and wind up at the Bulldog NE. In the spirit of the "Ronde van Vlaanderen" the Directeur Sportif has prepared a route featuring:

1. Hard ass flanders style ride.
2. Every short steep hill we could find.
3. It might be raining.
4. We stay purposely near the city at all times for folks to jump on or bail out.
5. We include a lap around the State Fair Crit course.
6. Every time you see a Weight icon... hill.

Are you man enough? (Of course you can always just show up at the Bulldog at 3pm.) Get your tickets and more info here, $25 for plenty of awesome Belgian beer and a special glass.

Belgian beer tasting and Tour of Flanders event!

Epic mustache ride!

Wow. -30 windchills, and my crazy team forges ahead with the "Who Wants a Mustache Ride"! We met up at Freewheel, warmed up with a nip of whiskey and rolled over the river to northeast. The biting wind was in our faces on the way out, but we hopped from warm bar to warm bar, never out in the cold for long enough to kill anyone! The highlight of the evening was probably polishing off too many "Das Boot" glasses to count at Gasthof. The rule is that the person that hands the glass boot to the person that finishes it off has to buy the next one ($40!). If you get handed the boot with enough beer in it to possibly finish, you better finish it or you're stuck buying the next one! Maybe we can't compete on our bikes, but we sure can compete when it comes to drinking beer! This proved to be the undoing of a couple of teammates who timed their "sprints" wrong, and the beer really hit after we rolled back across the river in the now ultra-freezing temperatures and winds (fortunately the wind was at our backs on the way back) to the Town Hall. Even in our inebriated states we were somehow able to make sure everyone made it home safely. After hitting the sack in the early hours of the morning, I had to roll out of bed to set up our table for the Bike Swap in Blaine! Ugh. Fortunately the Bike Swap was a success for, with those of us donating stuff to the cause raising at least $300 for our upcoming State Fair Crit Series! Thanks to everyone that bought or stuff, and major props to everyone that rolled with us last night!

Invisible tater tot, Skidsy ready for next year's "Who Wants a Unibrow Ride?"Cuban's eventual undoingChicks with mustaches - that's hot!T3 splashes - drink again!Official Cat 6 beer drinking champion - SpecQ!Bike tangle in arctic wind!One way to keep warm: battery heated insoles!

Mustache Ride...

...is on. I hear it's going to be a bit chilly. Who's tough enough? It's going to be fun - don't miss it!