Racing Blog » 2008

BioWheels-Deltec Wins at Highland Rim

May 15, 2008 on 5:03 pm | In Road Racing, BW/Deltec Road Squad | No Comments

5/10-5/11/2008 McMinnville,TN

The Biowheel’s boys showed up with an impressive squad for the 2008 Highland Rim Omnium. This year we had a total of 7 riders spanning 3 fields. Racing in the Masters 30/40 field were: Chad Schoenhauer, Jason Smith, and Mike Small. In the Cat. 3 field were: Andy Pooser, Chris Emory, and myself. For the Cat. 4 races Travis Fender raced his second event since upgrading 1 month ago.

In the master’s race everyone made the break of about 20. Crossing the line in 6th was Jason, with Chad 7th, and Mike taking 10th. For our race Chris was the only one who could make the break. Coming into the finale he sprinted to 3rd. Andy and I settled for 15th and 22nd. In Travis’s race he was able to make the breakaway, and finish 5th. I don’t think it will be long before we see him racing as a Cat. 3!

After a brief nap at the hotel we were out warming up for the TT. It would be a 2.5 mile climb up the plateau. Chris continued to show his strength and won the Cat. 3 race. Jason came in 7th, and Chad 9th for the masters. Travis made a huge statement with a time so fast, he would have been 5th in the pro/1/2 race! He settled for second though. Andy and I continued our mediocre performances.

For Sunday’s crit. the masters were first. Jason and Chad worked with Hugh Moran of Organic Athlete to control the break. The break stuck and Chad got 8th(plus some primes), and Jason 10th. In the Cat. 3 race Chris went for the money taking 3 primes and settling for 4th place. Andy wasn’t feeling well so he sat out the race, and I blew up very early after going for a prime on lap 2.

This years Highland Rim Omnium turned out to be another great weekend for the BioWheels-Deltec team.

Posted by:Zach Bannow

Chain-Lube Creeping Toward $10,000 A Barrel

May 14, 2008 on 4:43 pm | In Mountain Bike Racing | No Comments

I just looked up at the TV and there was another story on CNN Headline News about how oil has reached another record high price per barrel.. Eeek!

Which got me thinking…(double eek) I wonder how much a barrel of chain lube would cost?

Aren’t you glad you’re not haunted by these painful errant cycling thoughts all day?

Well, the bottle of Finish Line in my backpack has a price tag that says $6.99, or roughly 7 bucks for a 120ml bottle of Finish Line lube. According to one of the ka-gillion website calculators out there, there’s 42 gallons or roughly 159 liters in a barrel.

My crain is brampin’ right now. Okay. Focus. Focus. How much would a barrel of Finish Line cost? (picture a hamster running on a squeaky drum-treadmill between my ears)

At the rate of $7 for 120ml Finish Line, you’d pay $58.33 for a liter of Finish Line. If Finish Line were available by the barrel, 159 liters, you would pay $9274.47for a barrel-full of slippery happy bike goodness. Holy crapoli!

Oh you want gallons? You are so not Euro. Send back that Quick Step team kit right now! For the metric system snubbing general public, Finish Line chain-lube costs $224/gallon.

($224 per Gallon)

Sorry…didn’t mean to make you paranoid about the drops you left on the garage floor. Cuz, foodreference.com says there are 46080 drops in a gallon.

Didn’t think I’d take it this far did you?

At the rate of $224/gallon, every drop of finish line you accidentally drip on the garage floor costs you .00486 dollars. Pretty much, every two missed drips, is a penny (bloop) down the drain.

So, how much does it cost to lube your bike’s chain? This is maddening I know. But, I can’t stop. I must see this to the end.

There are 116 links in an uncut 2006 Dura Ace 7800 Chain (according to Shimano’s website), A drop of Finish Line costs .00486 dollars. So, it costs 56 cents worth of Finish Line to lube an entire chain.

But, most chains are cut down a few links you say. I say, I’ll leave it up to you to count the friggin’ links in your chain without losing your place and your mind. I may be going overboard, but I’m not goin’ to the bottom. Roughly, on the typical fully geared road or mountain bike, you could say it costs 50 cents to lube your chain with Finish Line.

So the next time your forgetful cycling buddy asks, “do you have any chainlube?” What will you say?

I say…what goes around comes around. I’ll gladly share my Finish Line, but you’ll have to wait for me to get it out of my safe deposit box.

This is a republish from the Joe Biker Blog on AOL. For more click here: http://journals.aol.com/joejoebiker/joebiker/

Off Road Assault on Mt Mitchell is 7/27/08

May 9, 2008 on 3:47 pm | In Mountain Bike Racing | No Comments

BioWheels is proud to be support ( and rock! ) the 2008 ORAMM.

Registration is open here.

You may have luck with this website, as well, www.blueridgeadventures.net

Here is the flier- 2008 Off Road Assault on Mt Mitchell Flier

Some archives from ORAMM all over this site. Start here for 06 article, and here for a 2007 entry from Laurie Neubert.

See ya’ll there, we’re bringing the beer!

2008 Zipp OVCX Cyclo-Cross Tour

May 6, 2008 on 12:58 pm | In Cyclocross | No Comments

ZIPP OVCX TOUR ANNOUNCES 2008 SCHEDULE

Highlighted by Rare Three-Day International Weekend and USGP

kids cross

Press Contact Information: SpectaSport LLC
Ken Getchell, kenmacpr@yahoo. com; 610-397-1950

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

May 5, 2008; Conshohocken, PA, USA: Highlighting the Ohio River Valley’s new-found reputation as one of America’s best cycling destinations, the Zipp OVCX Cyclocross Tour has announced its most ambitious schedule ever, highlighted by a USGP weekend and the only three-day UCI sanctioned cyclocross festival in the world apart from Belgium’s “Christmas Week”. The 13-race Tour, sponsored by Zipp Speed Weaponry wheels and components, will also feature some of the finest domestic races in America and no fewer than three open state championship events.

Four of this year’s Zipp OVCX Tour events will take place in Louisville Kentucky, home of the famed Kentucky Derby thoroughbred horse race and recently honored by Bicycling magazine as one of America’s Best New Cycling Cities. In the June 2008, which hit newsstands on May 1, the editors of Bicycling say that “The mayor embraced cycling” and the bike summit he called “created a visionary goal – the Louisville Loop – that has inspired the whole city”. The article concludes with a brief overview of last year’s USGP races, part of the Zipp OVCX, “The reception was so enthusiastic that locals are now talking about building a cyclocross park.” This year’s USGP races in Louisville take place October 25 and 26.

The complete 2008 schedule is below. For more information, see OVCX.com or e-mail OVCX director Mitch Graham at mitch_biowheels@ yahoo.com.

Continue reading 2008 Zipp OVCX Cyclo-Cross Tour…

A blast of speed from the past… the return of “the Badger!”

May 5, 2008 on 3:09 pm | In Mountain Bike Racing | No Comments

BioWheels racer Kevin Caldwell aka “the Badger”, returns to the heat of battle after 6 years of retirement, calls Louisville, KY home, and takes victory at Younger’s Creek, KYMBA race #2.

Kevin was one of the original “OG’s” on the BioWheels Racing team back in the day. It was circa 1994, when BioWheels Workshop was starting it’s ascent to becoming one of the nation’s finest bike shops. Nestled in the Ludlow Garage in the heart of Clifton, Cincinnati, OH, sporting a full half pipe for bike display and for after hour fun festivities, BioWheels was just getting its feet wet in the bicycle industry. Right from the get-go BioWheels understood the importance of community outreach and bicycle advocacy. I’ll never forget the pain we endure at our first big event, the 1995 24 Hours of Canaan. Look at the hoodlems in this shot. I am the clean-cut guy on the right in this picture.

What continues to draw me near BioWheels is the heart of BioWheels philosophy. It is not to not keep the secrets of bicycle maintenance and training away from their customers, but to interact with them and allow them to be involved at any level they so choose. The days of the wizard behind the curtain wrenching mysteriously on your bike were over with the creation of BioWheels.

Kevin returns to racing and to the BioWheels team after 6 yrs of hiatus. Kevin and his wife Nicole are proud parents of 4 children. Kaija age 8, Malaki age 6, Karyss age 4, and the newest addition at 18 months Azaryah. Kevin works at Humana Inc. as a Provider Relations Consultant and he also runs an online sports nutrition business with his wife Nicole. Kevin and his family reside in the promise land of Louisville, Kentucky.

Kevin and his family call Louisville home and the “promise land” why one might ask? Continue reading A blast of speed from the past… the return of “the Badger!”…