Myogenesis’ next foray into racing the Georgia Cup would be the Siege of Rome. Rome is a quaint little town in northwest Georgia, which just happens to be quickly becoming a “cycling city”. It is the only town in the state that has seen EVERY Tour De Georgia. Lance has won there; Ivan Stevic (who just won the world’s road race) won there this year. The boys in Blue would roll into town and see if they could add their names to that list.
Saturday morning would start the stage race with a team time trial. For this type of affair, we are usually well manned, but this time around, we would show up to a gunfight with our knives fully drawn. We had to finish with four, which is what we had. From the start, we decided, since we didn’t have the best time trial crew with us, which we would just roll and try to minimize damage. This would be a tough task, with the Aerospace boys showing up with Cuban rocket, Frank Travieso, Todd Henrikson, Eric Murphy and Tour De Georgia veteran, Eric Keim. On hand also would be the other pro team registered in Georgia, Jittery Joes. In their arsenal they would have another TdG veteran, and stage winner, Cesar Grajales, Tim Henry, Cody Stevenson and current Ga Cup leader, Thad Dulin.
Saturday night would be the Twilight Criterium around downtown Rome. This would prove to be a pivotal race in the overall, since were “minimizing damage” remember. The race started fast and we just waited for our opportunity. We knew we needed to be in anything that got up the road containing JJ and AEG. A break went after several attacks. Michael Lanham would be present to represent. Riding his Blue RC7, and working with his break mates diligently, Michael was able to lap the field. Within a matter of minutes of the break coming back into the fold, another would go. This time, Cleve covered, and once again, the break managed to make it back to the group. Coming into the final sprint, we made sure that Cleve and Michael were well positioned for the sprint………Cleve comes in with a 4th and Michael 7th. Race over, now a little Mexican grub (thanks to the promoters for dinner!)
Sunday…arriving at the race, looking at the standings, we were in 9th and 10th with JJ and AEG having 7 of the spots in front of us. Just fine, that means they’ll be attacking each other all day. All we had to do was go along for the ride. The 3 lap affair would start with a neutral roll out, and then a cruise around for the majority. Approaching the big climb for the first time, Aerospace went to the front, and drove the pace to put some pressure on the Bean Team. First time over the climb, the peloton stayed fairly intact, with all 4 Myo guys making in the main group. Down the decent, over the river and through the woods to the feed zone. About 5K after the feed zone, a set of 2 little, short climbs would be the next dance floor. Taking center stage was Eric Murphy (AEG). Eric, sitting 3rd on GC popped off the front with Tim Henry (JJ, sitting 2nd on GC) in tow. Cresting the top, the wiley pair had a small gap, and Cleve being ever vigilant, saw this as dangerous, so immediately jumped. The rest of us were sitting at the front already, so we were able to “deter” any reaction, and Cleve was able to get across. The break grew to 1:45 by the time they hit the climb. The climb this time would take its toll on the remaining field, with the only break and a chase group of 12 or so remaining afterwards. Michael Lanham was able to make that group, so now we had representation in each group. Shortly after the feed zone, the chase group was able to make contact with the 3 again. After a moment of relaxing, swigging some MYOGENESIS PODIUM and surveying who was still left, Cleve launched an attack, solo style, and caught everyone off guard. He would extend his lead to 4 minutes by the time the climb came back around. Cleve rolled it up the climb, riding tempo….because at the top, the finish line awaited. He was able to hold on and SOLO (is there any other way to win) in for the W………..Myogenesis takes down the pro’s at ROME.
We ended up 4th and 8th on GC…man, too bad since we just cruised the TTT.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
THE BEAVER STRIKES AGAIN
That toothy character we all know and love as Cleve R Beaver has once again gnawed his way through a forest of competitors in Huntsville, Al. . Cleve buried all his competition taking the win in the road race and the crit, leaving all others saying "DAM!" . Full story to follow as soon as he finds his dictionary.
AND AS I PROMISED.......THE FULL STORY;
Team Myogenesis holds strong through the midpoint of the season with Cleve Blackwell securing a "W" last weekend in Rome. He tested his strength and perseverance last weekend as he tried again to bring home a win at the Spring City Cycling Classic in Huntsville, Alabama. Blackwell decided to save his cards and go for the Master's 35+ victories as the team needs to be as fresh as possible for the upcoming Charlotte, NC Presbyterian Criterium. Myogenesis rising star Michael Lanham, Alabama's finest Travis Sherman and Ron Williams, as well as Griffin's love child Casey Magner would round out the boys' roster for the 2-day event.
Saturday, July 22nd had the field doing a 16 mile loop around the base of Keel Mountain with a scorcher of a hill climb Time Trial following the road race. Landrum, Sherman, and Williams would test their legs and lungs in the Pro 1/2 race with 5 laps around the mountain. Williams got into an aggressive break from the gun; however, the field proved to be too strong and it was reeled in with less than a lap to go. Michael helped counter the break and it came down to the sprint. He won the bronze medal in the Alabama State Championship Road Race. Williams and Sherman finished nicely in the pack, deciding their work was complete for the day.
Cleve went after it from the gun in the Master's35+ Road Race, a circuit of 4 16 mile laps. Throwing in attack after attack was the ever-strong and witty Doug Pomeranz, along with Alabama's Andy Maddox, making the break a tough ride. After smoothing out the pace, the three would eventually gain enough time on the field for a sprint for the Gold. Andy led the two men out with 1k to go, and Cleve threw the hammer down, out sprinting Doug at the line. Cleve would only hope that he had saved enough for the Time Trial.
After pre-driving the course with a slew of curse words climbing the 19% grade in the car, Blackwell had his work cut out for him. No time trial bike would suffice, so he opted to do the race on his Blue Rc7. It was an excellent decision, and Blackwell would torture himself for a 2nd place finish, behind by only 16 seconds on the 10 mile course after all was said and done. A good night's dinner with Michael and Miss Holiday would cap off the night and prepare them all for the next day.
Sunday, July 23 started off surprisingly cool. Cyclists were complaining that they should have brought arm warmers but alas, who would have thought this in July in Alabama? The competition proved to be hot though as the Master's men came to the line for the Crit. A few attacks would prove no match for Blackwell, Jim Brock and Mike Hurley, both from Bob's Bikes in Birmingham, who now proudly carry the Myogenesis Nutrition line. The three would race hard, eventually lapping the field. Again down to the sprint, Cleve attacked on the final hill, securing another victory for Myogenesis. Deciding he felt strong enough, Blackwell would wait for his other team mates to race for Casey in the Pro 1/2 later on that afternoon.
The Pro 1/2 was too hot, making it a difficult race for the Myogenesis boys. Blackwell and Magner got into a successful break but after Blackwell went for a prime, another attack went and left a chase group of 6 to follow, Eric Murphy, Matt Winstead, and Michael Olheiser. Struggling to regain their composure, the chase group would sprint for 4th place, with Cleve getting 6th. All in a day's work.
See the boys in action for FOUR days at the Gwinnett Bike Fest as they make final preparations for the Presbyterian Criterium in Charlotte, NC.
-Jackie Soladay (Pen name of Cleve Blackwell)
Saturday, July 22nd had the field doing a 16 mile loop around the base of Keel Mountain with a scorcher of a hill climb Time Trial following the road race. Landrum, Sherman, and Williams would test their legs and lungs in the Pro 1/2 race with 5 laps around the mountain. Williams got into an aggressive break from the gun; however, the field proved to be too strong and it was reeled in with less than a lap to go. Michael helped counter the break and it came down to the sprint. He won the bronze medal in the Alabama State Championship Road Race. Williams and Sherman finished nicely in the pack, deciding their work was complete for the day.
Cleve went after it from the gun in the Master's35+ Road Race, a circuit of 4 16 mile laps. Throwing in attack after attack was the ever-strong and witty Doug Pomeranz, along with Alabama's Andy Maddox, making the break a tough ride. After smoothing out the pace, the three would eventually gain enough time on the field for a sprint for the Gold. Andy led the two men out with 1k to go, and Cleve threw the hammer down, out sprinting Doug at the line. Cleve would only hope that he had saved enough for the Time Trial.
After pre-driving the course with a slew of curse words climbing the 19% grade in the car, Blackwell had his work cut out for him. No time trial bike would suffice, so he opted to do the race on his Blue Rc7. It was an excellent decision, and Blackwell would torture himself for a 2nd place finish, behind by only 16 seconds on the 10 mile course after all was said and done. A good night's dinner with Michael and Miss Holiday would cap off the night and prepare them all for the next day.
Sunday, July 23 started off surprisingly cool. Cyclists were complaining that they should have brought arm warmers but alas, who would have thought this in July in Alabama? The competition proved to be hot though as the Master's men came to the line for the Crit. A few attacks would prove no match for Blackwell, Jim Brock and Mike Hurley, both from Bob's Bikes in Birmingham, who now proudly carry the Myogenesis Nutrition line. The three would race hard, eventually lapping the field. Again down to the sprint, Cleve attacked on the final hill, securing another victory for Myogenesis. Deciding he felt strong enough, Blackwell would wait for his other team mates to race for Casey in the Pro 1/2 later on that afternoon.
The Pro 1/2 was too hot, making it a difficult race for the Myogenesis boys. Blackwell and Magner got into a successful break but after Blackwell went for a prime, another attack went and left a chase group of 6 to follow, Eric Murphy, Matt Winstead, and Michael Olheiser. Struggling to regain their composure, the chase group would sprint for 4th place, with Cleve getting 6th. All in a day's work.
See the boys in action for FOUR days at the Gwinnett Bike Fest as they make final preparations for the Presbyterian Criterium in Charlotte, NC.
-Jackie Soladay (Pen name of Cleve Blackwell)
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
NEWS FLASH
Rode Trip to Steven Springs, PA. for Nationals. Making the trip to Pa. for the USA Cycling National Championships would be Jafer Bezier (contesting the U-23 category) and Cleve Blackwell (masters 35-39) for www.myogenesis.com.
Day 1, drive to Charlotte NC. to stay with the Soladay family, to have a amazing meal sponsored by Health Claim Solutions.
While in Charlotte, we where able to do the famous Booty Loop, known for the 24 hrs of Booty.
Day 2, 7 hrs drive to Seven Springs, Pa. Drove straight to the Crit course. Did a little ride around the 3 turn flat office park crit course. After several laps of recon I decide to go explore a little around Summerset, Pa. What a cool town with amazing scenery.
Day 3, Exploring starting with off-road snowmobile trails right out the back door of the cabin we stayed at. Thanks to our great friends with the Locos race team for the digs.. With our Maxxis Courcheval tires and incredible RC7 Blue Competition Cycles bikes smoothing out the bumps, you would of thought we where on our MTB’s. We bombed some trails with incredible panoramic views .I would not recommend trying this ride at home. After hitting the snowmobile trails and a couple of dirt roads, we somehow managed to get back alive.
Day 4, THE CRIT, not the best of courses for Cleve. Flat, Flat, and more Flat. The field numbered 100+ of the best Master’s racers in the US. After couple of breaks getting away and then being dragged back, it would come down to a field sprint. What was left of the 100 + fighting for the Stars and Stripes jersey. This would have been a prefect course for Big Jon, who was not able to make the trip due to freak accident, on a training ride the Thursday before. Jason Snow, a strong racer out of Florida, racing for the Cycle Science team, ended up with the coveted jersey. Cleve rolled in with a very respectable top 30 placing. Cleve is not a crit racer, his day would be coming in a couple in the form of the road race.
Day 5, Pre ride for the Road Race. Damn they don’t make hills like this in Ga. As a side note: Why are Big Farm Barns always RED?
Day 6, The road race is upon us. 150+ toed the line for this dance. The race started fairly briskly with only a group of 50 making it over the 1st climb, and we still had to go over it 3 more times. To add insult to injury, the race would end on a climb to the top of the ski resort at Seven Springs. The Last climb into Seven Springs would be the deciding factor of the race, as 10 guys scampered away up the hill. Cleve along with Chris Harkey, of the Hincapie/Dasani/Bianchi team, would give it one last ditch effort to make it across. Just a little late, as the boys got the break in sight, they also saw the finish line. Cleve would roll in with Chris, at just over a minute off the winner, in a very respectable 12th place.
Day 7, Jafer would be doing the U23 race, with some top teams in the country like AEG\Aerospace, SlipStream, the US National Team, VMG and many others. You can click this link to see the results. https://www.usacycling.org/news/user/story.php?id=3046
Day 8, head to Rome, to re-join the team and get ready to tear up the Georgia Cup.It’s good to get back to GA.
Latro,
Cleve Blackwell
7\14\07
Day 1, drive to Charlotte NC. to stay with the Soladay family, to have a amazing meal sponsored by Health Claim Solutions.
While in Charlotte, we where able to do the famous Booty Loop, known for the 24 hrs of Booty.
Day 2, 7 hrs drive to Seven Springs, Pa. Drove straight to the Crit course. Did a little ride around the 3 turn flat office park crit course. After several laps of recon I decide to go explore a little around Summerset, Pa. What a cool town with amazing scenery.
Day 3, Exploring starting with off-road snowmobile trails right out the back door of the cabin we stayed at. Thanks to our great friends with the Locos race team for the digs.. With our Maxxis Courcheval tires and incredible RC7 Blue Competition Cycles bikes smoothing out the bumps, you would of thought we where on our MTB’s. We bombed some trails with incredible panoramic views .I would not recommend trying this ride at home. After hitting the snowmobile trails and a couple of dirt roads, we somehow managed to get back alive.
Day 4, THE CRIT, not the best of courses for Cleve. Flat, Flat, and more Flat. The field numbered 100+ of the best Master’s racers in the US. After couple of breaks getting away and then being dragged back, it would come down to a field sprint. What was left of the 100 + fighting for the Stars and Stripes jersey. This would have been a prefect course for Big Jon, who was not able to make the trip due to freak accident, on a training ride the Thursday before. Jason Snow, a strong racer out of Florida, racing for the Cycle Science team, ended up with the coveted jersey. Cleve rolled in with a very respectable top 30 placing. Cleve is not a crit racer, his day would be coming in a couple in the form of the road race.
Day 5, Pre ride for the Road Race. Damn they don’t make hills like this in Ga. As a side note: Why are Big Farm Barns always RED?
Day 6, The road race is upon us. 150+ toed the line for this dance. The race started fairly briskly with only a group of 50 making it over the 1st climb, and we still had to go over it 3 more times. To add insult to injury, the race would end on a climb to the top of the ski resort at Seven Springs. The Last climb into Seven Springs would be the deciding factor of the race, as 10 guys scampered away up the hill. Cleve along with Chris Harkey, of the Hincapie/Dasani/Bianchi team, would give it one last ditch effort to make it across. Just a little late, as the boys got the break in sight, they also saw the finish line. Cleve would roll in with Chris, at just over a minute off the winner, in a very respectable 12th place.
Day 7, Jafer would be doing the U23 race, with some top teams in the country like AEG\Aerospace, SlipStream, the US National Team, VMG and many others. You can click this link to see the results. https://www.usacycling.org/news/user/story.php?id=3046
Day 8, head to Rome, to re-join the team and get ready to tear up the Georgia Cup.It’s good to get back to GA.
Latro,
Cleve Blackwell
7\14\07
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