2009 SWCCC Road Shedule

Here's a brief shedule of events coming up for UA Cycling this Spring. If you don't already know, the SWCCC is the Southwest Collegiate Cycling Conference. A huge thanks goes out to our Conference Director, Nancy Ellis, for pulling this all together. Here it is:

• ASU Crit - February 22
• Lobo Classic (Albequerque, NM) - February 28-March 1
  
• Hillsboro Classic (Las Cruces, NM) - March 14-15
• UA Crit (Home turf!) - April 5th
• Collegiate Road National Championships (Fort Collins, CO) - May 8-10
  

Collegiate MTB Nationals - Banner Elk, NC

Chloe Forsman and Erica Zaveta

Here are some pictures from Collegiate MTB Nationals. A huge thanks goes to Erica's Dad for taking the pictures. We'd also like to thank Travis Woodruff of momentumendurance.com for providing valuable race support and keeping our bikes in good working order. Consistency characterized the weekend of racing with Chloe finishing 6th in the XC and 6th in STXC. Erica Z finished 11th in the XC and 11th in STXC. Some other notable facts.

• We were the highest ranked team in the omnium for only collecting points in two events: D1 Women's XC and D1 Women's STXC.
• We were the only team consisting entirely of women.
  
• Arizona riders have no problem handling mud, drizzle, fog, and 40 degree weather.
  

Now for some pictures.

bike snob on training

"Personally, I'm against training. In fact, I feel that if you're against doping in cycling then you should be against training too. Some riders have access to more and better training, which in turn forces their competitors to attempt to match that training in order to level the field. In turn, the former riders seek out increasingly esoteric training methods to reclaim their advantage. The result is a cycle as vicious as it is dorky, and as anybody who's spent any time around bike racers knows, training (like drugs) can take a horrible toll on a person. Sure, training is much less likely to kill you than drugs are, but in large doses it is almost guaranteed to make you incredibly boring and unpleasant to be around. If I want to have fun, I'll ride my bike. But if I want to spend a lot of time around people who constantly monitor their bodies with electronics, can't drink alcohol, and go to bed early, I'll volunteer my time at a hospital."

- bike snob nyc

Bike Swap Donations

The University of Arizona bike club is trying to raise money for our events like the U of A criterium, which has been a huge success, as well as sending a team to races and Nationals this has been equally successful.

We are asking that anyone who has some old cycling gear that they no longer need and would like to get rid of to donate it to us to sell at the up coming bike swap, November 15th. We have a couple of donation sights one at Fair Wheel, our sponsor shop, and at a few other shops around town. All the proceeds go directly to the club and any thing that is left over will be donated to those in need. We are always looking for donors and support and it is greatly appreciated.

Friday Ride

Every Friday afternoon, Matt Jones leads a mellow road ride through the Catalina Foothills. The Friday ride time has changed to 3:30pm so nobody has to worry about a lack of sunlight. Here's the details:

What: Matt's Friday Ride
When: Friday's from 3:30pm-5:00pm
Where: The flagpole just West of Old Main (see picture below)
Distance: 15-25miles
No drop (we don't leave anyone behind on this ride)
Great for beginners
Helmet's required

UA Criterium Promo Video

The tentative date for the University of Arizona Criterium is April 4, 2009. Please note that this date is subject to change. Below is a promo video that was made for last year's criterium.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjU7ZJZdUnU&fmt=18

Bike Fix-It Day

WHEN: Wednesday, November 5, 2008 7:00am - 2:00pm
WHERE: University of Arizona Mall

Drop on by the table surrounded by bikes on the South side of the UA Mall to learn a thing or two about the cycling club. We're inflating tires, lubing chains, tightening loose bolts, making sure your wheels don't fall off, and fixing whatever is broken on your bike. And we're doing it all for free.

PAC Bike Count

A huge thanks to the volunteers from the Cycling Club for participating in the first annual PAC Bike Count. The cycling club covered the intersection of Mountain and Helen during peak commuting hours on October 21st and...counted bikes. The PAC organized the community wide bike count to collect data on bicycle commuter trends.

Here's a little more information on the bike count: http://www.kold.com/Global/story.asp?S=9217241

Chloe and Kim counted just over 400 bikes. Actually, Kim did the counting and Chloe took note of helmet use and how many women were out there. We noticed the women were a little smarter about helmet use, unless you were a guy in spandex...

2008 MTB SWCCC Champions

That's right. The Cycling Club took home the 2008 MTB conference champions trophy. New Mexico State University hosted the event in conjunction with the Horny Toad Hustle in Las Cruces, New Mexico on September 21st. Melanie Meyers finished 1st in the women's A category, with Erica Zaveta finishing shortly after in 2nd. For the men's A event, Kyle Colavito (UA) finished 1st and "The Real" Matt Jones of NMSU finished 2nd. Justin Berkompas finished 1st in the Men's B event.

Chloe Forsman sat out the event with a stitched up knee. She also found out that hiking out to the feed zone to sit in the sun for a couple hours is hard work, maybe even more draining than racing.

Overall, the team performed well and qualified riders for the 2008 Collegiate National Championships held in Banner Elk, NC.

The Shootout

This is the route of the infamous shootout training ride, it's just under 60 miles with just over 1800ft of climbing. The ride starts out at a social pace but after Valencia the ride becomes race-pace. I've indicated some options and points of interest for those not familiar with the ride. start times vary depending on the time of the year. You can call Fair Wheel Bikes at 520-321-4372 for the current start time.

Below is a link to the Google Earth file showing the route.

The ride leaves from University Ave. just West of campus on Saturday mornings (6-7:30am)

Download the File

Team Description

The University of Arizona Cycling Team is a group of cycling enthusiasts and racers who attend the University of Arizona on a full time basis. Since its inception in the 1970s, each member of the team has actively pursued their education at the University as well as their physical limits on the road, track, and in the dirt. The team has been recognized and receives support from the University, as well as many other areas in the Tucson community. In its current form, the team boasts over 50 members from a wide variety of educational disciplines and interests. However, each member is brought together by their passion for the sport of cycling and their drive to excel. The club's main activities include weekly club rides in the Tucson and surrounding area, club meetings and social events, winter training (indoor trainer rides and weight lifting), bike maintenance classes, skills workshops, sports nutrition and sport psychology lectures, and of course competition in the Southwestern Collegiate Cycling Conference.