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This is the Official Team SCARR-Ommegang blog. Look here are announcements, news and special deals from our sponsors, and race announcements.

Team Ommegang - Syracuse Bicycle

Provided courtesy of:
http://scarr-ommegang.blogspot.com/

CX @ BREWERY OMMEGANG -- REGISTRATION IS OPEN !!

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 13:52:00 +0000 - Register at BikeReg.com: 

http://www.bikereg.com/events/register.asp?eventid=10107

CX @ Brewery Ommegang

Cyclocross racing not just sponsored by Brewery Ommegang, Cyclocross racing AT Brewery Ommegang!

OCTOBER 3, 2010

USCF Permit #: 2010-Pending

 Start           Field                                         Time       Fee*        Prize
9:15 AM -- Cat 4/Citizen Men                     30 min -- $25 -- Merchandise/3
9:15 AM -- Cat 4/Citizen Women                30 min -- $25 -- Merchandise /3
9:16 AM -- Cub Juniors Age 10-14              30 min --   $5 -- Merchandise /3
10:00 AM - Masters 35+/45+/55+                45 min -- $25 -- Merchandise/3 + top age
11:00 AM - Cat 3/4 Men                            45 min -- $25 -- Merchandise /3
12:30 PM - Juniors 15-19                           45 min -- $10 -- Merchandise/3
12:30 PM - Singlespeed                             45 min -- $25 -- Merchandise /3
12:30 PM - Elite Women P/1/2/3/4             45 min -- $30 -- $250/5
1:30 PM  - Elite Men P/1/2/3                     60 min -- $30  -- $499/10

* Entry Fees for PRE-Registration -- Day-of registration add $10 Late Fee

Registration: Pre-Register at www.BikeReg.com . Specialty gift to first 150 registrants. Day of Registration begins at 8:00 am and continues until 45 minutes prior to each race. A $10.00 late fee is added for “day-of” registration. No mail in registration. USCF license required or one-day USCF licenses available for $10.00 on race day. Adult one day license holder may only race Cat 4. 2nd race for $5. No Cat 4 racers in the Masters categories.

Course: Mixture of grass, trail, & gravel roadway right on the grounds of the brewery with one or two man-made barriers and the now infamous tent loop. Course may be modified due to weather conditions or other unanticipated circumstances.

Rules: USCF rules apply. No aero-bars, no bar-ends. Mountain bikes (without bar-ends) are allowed. Pit area will be available. CPSC approved helmet required. Races may be combined and/or payouts reduced if 10 riders minimum is not reached in each field.

Directions: Brewery Ommegang is located at 656 County Highway 33, Cooperstown, NY -- about six miles south of the Village of Cooperstown. For detailed directions, go to www.Ommegang.com and click on the Directions link or see next page.

Contact: Greg at gwdgo2@aol(dot)com.
Post Race: Post Event Party!! Live band music featuring The Herbs under the “big tent” and YES !! …Brewery Ommegang “goodies” – the first one’s on the house! You will be guests of Brewery Ommegang. The legal drinking age of 21 will be strictly enforced. If you cannot be mature and are unable to behave responsibly, please consider attending an alternate event.
Elite Men Payout Schedule: 10 deep         Elite Women Payout Schedule: 5 deep

Sponsors: Please support and thank our sponsors: Brewery Ommegang, Syracuse Bicycle, William Nicholson & The Herbs, Endurance Factor & Chomper Body , More to come !!
Bonus:  Visit the Brewery on October 2 for Waffles & Puppets – a fun, family friendly event – see the events tab at www.Ommegnag.com for details.

Tour de Loop Recap

Sun, 22 Aug 2010 14:43:00 +0000 -  Six Ommegangsters headed up to Oswego for the Tour de Loop Sat. morning for an unusually early start (bike racing at 8:15 am?).  Lot's of familiar faces from the TNTS series there as well as the recent OCC Weds eve ride entering both the 30 mile and 50 mile events.

This race circuit seems to bring a somewhat unique flavor for the area in that there is not a big deciding climb, nor is it flat by any means --  it sort of just keeps slowly jabbing away at you with each cumulative hill or roller to slowly add an extra ounce or two of lead to the legs.

Ray W and Big Dave M represented in the 30 mile field which had over 200 people with decent finishes in the top quarter of the field.  For the 50 miler, Drummroll pointed out a very strong regional rider to the other Ommegnagsters Fred H, Craig N and Eric K as they lined up for the start.  About half way through, Craig made a move on one of the tougher hills with this "strong" rider and one other guy for a three-man break.  Behind the break, Drummroll, Eric, and Fred sat in a 15 or so person chase group covering any attempts to pop off and close in on the break.  The break lasted the whole way with Craig taking the honors of first overall across the line in a well executed sprint.  Behind the break, the chase group was winding it up about a mile out when they came upon a fire truck moving very slowly as a follow vehicle for the 30 mile event (definitely an "Oh Sh*t" moment).  A bit of scrambling and reshuffling around the fire truck and a big field sprint with two more Ommegangsters making the top 10.

Results here ..... http://www.yellowjacketracing.com/2010

Post race included the usual retelling of the days battle stories with teammates and friends even including Fred's daughter recounting the kid's race.  Excellent post race assortment of fruit, muffins, local cider and even a kids bouncy house just steps from the lake front capped off a pretty darn good start to the weekend.

Critz Registration is Open !!

Thu, 19 Aug 2010 23:08:00 +0000 -

Congrats to Eric "The Mudstomper" Behrman (Team Stegosaurus) for being the first official registrant.

http://www.bikereg.com/events/register.asp?eventid=11574

Critz Farms Kermis -- September 18

Wed, 18 Aug 2010 05:45:00 +0000 -

http://www.bikereg.com/events/register.asp?eventid=11574

Registration opening any day now.  All details and info at the BikeReg.com registration page.  Bring the family as it could be a fun family day (where you can sneak in a quick bike race).  This will be sanctioned as a CX event this year.  Low key, fun event to mix things up and transition into the CX or fall MTB season.  Hope you can be there.

Zucchini Days & Summer Time Brews

Tue, 17 Aug 2010 13:33:00 +0000 -

Days starting to get a bit shorter, occasional thunderstorm welcomed to beat down the humidity, corn is really tall and has that sticky sweet smell when you ride by, tired of mowing the lawn, and while there's still some summertime racing still to be had, the true sign of the summer winding down ....neighbors pawning off their extra zucchini.

Squash or no squash, four Ommegangsters did their good deed to support Endurance Factor and Syracuse Bicycle (team sponsors btw) on Saturday by helping shepherd some tri types on the Syracuse 70.3 bike course as part of a training camp.  Crazy windy along the 56 mile course made it a bit challenging but all survived with the Ommegangsters presence much appreciated by the organizers and many of the tri folks.

Another four Ommegangsters rolled out Albany way to participate in the Capital Region Road Race this past weekend.  Rooster Mike & Dan the Plan doing the Masters thing and Dave Y and Craig N hitting some 3/4 action with Craig again pulling a podium spot -- nice work.

On a whim, Drumroll stopped off in Little Falls Sunday am on a return trip from his parents after attending a charity type event the night before.  The Canal Classic was on tap (beer pun) and he saw lots of familiar faces lining up.  In the end Wayne B destroyed the field while Drumroll battled with a couple MaxPower dudes in the first chase group to wind up 5th. 

Tour de Loop coming up this weekend and then a few other events like Thater, a MTB World Cup event at Windham (World Cup in our back yard folks -- not just the best MTBers domestically but the best in the world).

Planning for Critz Farms Kermis is coming along (Sept 18) as well as the CX event at Brewery Ommegang (Oct 3).  More details soon.

Deacons de la Dirt

Thu, 12 Aug 2010 23:02:00 +0000 - Ommegangsters done got dirty this weekend.  A trio of the boys headed down to the Catskills (ok, so maybe one walked out his front door) for some off road action.  Two hit the Belleayre Mtn stop of the NYS MTB series while the crazy man of the bunch decided he wanted to do a 2-day MTB stage race that covered oh, like 50 miles both days.

From Belleayre, Paul S podiumed in his division while the Rooster (who likely begged, borrowed or stole a MTB to race ) also ended up on the podium in his division. Awesome guys !!  (Props to Omme friends the Jeffina for a demo of dual domination in their respective divisions as well.)

So Jason H (aka Bob in some circles), figured putting in a 100 mi on the road over a weekend wasn't enough and went on to race the Wildcat Epic.  Not sure if ya'll have ever done 50 miles on a MTB at once but 2 days of 50 back to back is, well, kinda epic I guess.  He may still be recovering (that's alot of saddle time on a MTB if ya know what I mean) but deserves a congrats for his efforts.

You can tell the road seasons quieting down as there seems to be a slight uptick in CX talk on the group rides and such the past week or two -- Kirkland CX is just a month away.

Tour of Catskills Horsegate ..... Roostah, is that You?

Mon, 02 Aug 2010 21:18:00 +0000 -

So the Ommegangsters headed down to Rip Van Winkle land and pulled out some pretty awesome results at the Tour of the Catskills ... a 1-2 on the podium for stage 1 by Craig N and Eric K.  with Dave Y also placing well.  When the Tour of the Catskills was done and over, three Ommegangsters in the top 15 with a 5th, 9th and 14th out of pretty sizeable field.  Rooster flew the Omme colors (who new this Rooster could fly) w/a good result and Fast Freddie H doing the Assault on Devil's Kitchen for a 3rd.

On to the dirt at Highland, The King Karl F and Jason H on the podium in their respective divisions with a 2nd & 3rd.  Drummroll had pulled out a nice lead in his division on his SS until his chain quit and decided to lay on the ground after about 3/4 of his race ending with an unfortunate DNF.  (Props to Ommegangster bud Dave F on a successful foray back onto the dirt with a win in his division).

So back to Tour of the Catskills ... Was it true there was a horse named Cavendish out there .... ya gotta see it to believe it ....

e

Zuur !! ?? !!

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 01:19:00 +0000 -

 

Quite possibly unlike anything you've ever had.  

Zuur – or Sour – is a collaborative Flemish sour brown ale. A beer whose style arises from the mists of brewing history. It uses mixed fermentation, real fruit, significant aging, and master blending. All of these are ancient and revered Belgian techniques. This unique Flemish sour brown ale is complex, tart with a touch of sweetness, lightly malty and gently hopped. Zuur is a unique blend created in collaboration between Brewery Ommegang and Brouwerij Liefmans.

Witte Weather

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 00:51:00 +0000 - Been downright hot here in da 'Cuse (& upstate in general) the past few weeks.  Kinda makes you want to sit down in the evening and enjoy a refreshing Witte.  But hot weather be damned, the Ommegangsters still were out in force this past weekend.  Omme colors were flown at the NYS TT Champs, at the Walnut Mtn Classic & Race for Sight.

At the TT Champs, Eric G was just gettin his groove on and ran in to an unfortunate mechanical issue w/his seat -- try riding 30+K of a 40k TT with the seat at a 45 degree angle -- and he still posted a pretty respectable time.  A Rotter also flew the Omme colors at the TT with a respectable showing. (Props to Omme friends Dave F, Derek T, & Famous Amos for some medal action at the TT champs.)

Moving from the TT bike to the MTB, Paul S notched up a second place for his division at the Walnut Mtn Classic down in the Catskills.

A bit closer to the 'Cuse, The King, Cory P, Dave Y & Eric (Cat 3) K had a nice showing in the Race for Sight 'A' field with 2 'gangsters with finishes in the top 5.

Nice work all !!

Tour of the Catskills looming on the horizon as well as the BCTC ride and the Highland (MTB) Classic -- hope to see ya out there.

Waffles & Puppets & umm,? ... Cyclocross?

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 02:05:00 +0000 - Yup, a whole new adventure and twist on what has become one of the premier CX events in the Central Leatherstocking region.

On Oct 3, 2010, Team Ommegang - Syracuse Bicycle will be hosting the 4th annual CX event at the brewery ... we have called it CX @ Brewery Ommegang but we just might have to come up with a new name to reflect the new angle.

You see, on Oct 2, 2010, Brewery Ommegang is hosting another edition of their wildly successful "Waffles & Puppets" event.

What this means is that you should attend "Waffles & Puppets" on Saturday (Oct 2) and then race CX on Sunday (Oct 3).  Essentially we have made this a family weekend of fun.

[Read between the lines here family peeps .... a reason to head to Cooperstown for the weekend with the whole family, a chance to do some cool family stuff in and around Cooperstown and the brewery on Saturday and then get in a CX race on Sunday.  You just might impress the non-cycling spouse/partner of yours and get a bit of CX fix without having to pledge to conquer #'s 1 thru 5 on the honey-do list.

Stay tuned for more details ... Brewery Ommegang is really stepping it up for the CX event this year so start dropping the hints now about a fall weekend in Cooperstown.

Last years' Waffles & Puppets .... http://www.ommegang.com/index.php?event_view_id=12&event_view=2004-10-09&mcat=3

The Plan & the E-Squared Show

Wed, 07 Jul 2010 17:26:00 +0000 -

While some of us hit the BBQ and sweltered in the crazy heat, some of the boys got in some racing this past 4th of July weekend,  Well actually Dan the Plan started a day early with a 4-stage race out Fitchburg way.   A little circuit action, a road race, a TT and crit landed Dan in 15th place overall on GC for the Masters 40 Masters division.  Considering the magnitude of this event, and that he was likely racing some semi-retired pro types (probably 10 yrs younger), this is a pretty big accomplishment.  Great work Dan !!

The E-Squared show (Eric G & Eric K) rolled down to PA and jumped in the Nanticoke crit.  Working together to play the team cards, Eric & Eric each ended up on the cat 4 podium with Eric G taking the top spot and Eric K in 3rd.  Congrats on the podium!

On the horizon .... Tour of the Catskills, Empire State Games, State TT champs, and maybe some MTB action.... (and there has even been an increase in CX rumblings).

Corning Recap From "The Glen"

Sat, 03 Jul 2010 11:50:00 +0000 - Cat 5 Report from Hey-Soos:  Was cool to drive down to Watkins Glen again with my dad.  We hadn't been in years.  My dad has a long history there (since the 60's) as a driver, instructor, flagman, promoter, media assistant, and of course, spectator.  Needless to say, it was a bit nastalgic for the both of us, though no tears were shed.  I was already familiar with the track layout, but the warmup lap soothed my fears of any real climbs.  Realized we could "big ring" the rollers and hills.  My other fear was that if it rained that the track would be "greazy" from all the car activity.  Not so.  The Cat 5 race started right after the 4's, precisely at 4:31.  We were immediately instructed that the race would only be 3 laps, and were told that the top finishers would be right around the 30 minute mark.  Lap 1 was pretty uneventful.  Same with Lap 2 until the short straight on "The Boot" where I was at the wrong place at the wrong time.  The group splintered up a bit and separated to 2 groups leaving me a bit behind.  At the first turn of Lap 3 I encouraged the guys I was with to try and catch the lead group.  No luck so I tried to bridge the gap.  No luck again.  The group(s)? splintered even more and I was with 4 guys with about 2 turns to the finish.  Not sure where the lead guys were but I decided to at least get some positions on the guys I was with.  I took 3 of the 4 on the last straight but couldn't get the 4th.  I ended up 12th of 35 per chip timing.  I looked at my computer at the finish and realized that 3 laps (as decided by the officials) was only 26 minutes.  I really wish they would have let us do 4.  Fun race (even though it was short) at a really cool facility.

 Cat 4 and 3/4:  Great racing, lots of Ommegangsters present and great results ....   A big congrats to Eric & Craig with a 1-2 finish in the "4" field and ditto again to Eric w/a podium in the 3/4 event.

Results link:

http://www.bikereg.com/Results/2010/06/26-Corning-Circuit-Race.asp

BCTC Ride -- July 31

Fri, 25 Jun 2010 13:16:00 +0000 -

Ahh yes, the three B's most every cyclist has a sweet spot in their heart for... Brews, Bicycles & Belgium.  (Beats the heck out of those 3 R's or 4 R's from school.)

Team Ommegang - Syracuse Bicycle will be hosting an informal, low key ride from Brewery Ommegang as part of the Belgium Comes to Cooperstown (BCTC) festivities on July 31.  We'll be meeting under the big arch at 9:50 am and will start the ride at 10:00 am sharp.   The ride is tentatively planned to circle Otsego Lake which from the brewery is about 32 miles or so.   We'll keep it low key but will be riding at a "club" pace of probably around 18-20 mph. 


This is an open, ride at your own risk invite but you'll need to be a fairly serious cyclist with a well tuned road bike, must be self supported (items to change a flat & know how to do it) and be able to ride at 18-20 mph in a pack for 30 miles.  We'll need to be back to the brewery by noon time so while our intent is not to leave folks behind, we cannot wait indefinitely.


IMPORTANT:  We also need to put out a disclaimer that this ride does NOT get you access to the BCTC festival.  This event sold out long ago and unfortunately, there are no more tickets available.


Additional info .... you will see parking adjacent to the brewery as you will not be able to enter the brewery driveway.  The arch meeting point will be self evident at the main building.  The road on the western side of Otsego Lake (Rte 80) can be busy with car traffic -- we'll need to exercise appropriate caution.


If you have questions, please use the following link ------> Team Ommegang - Syracuse Bicycle Contact


Cheers !

Fathers Day Weekend Recap

Wed, 23 Jun 2010 21:14:00 +0000 -

Dave Y and Paul S took their MTBs to the William Lake event (part of the H2H series) while a few of the guys hit the Giro of Otisco Lake.

Williams Lake Summary ....

It was very hot, but the course was fantastic. Very rocky and they run 

you through a cave that was lit with LED lights. Pretty sweet. 

Paul finished 2nd in Master's category and Dave finished 1st in the 

Single Speed  category.  It was a great course with many tight and 

rocky sections with full-power uphill bursts.

Otisco Lake: Summary ..... 

 A short but hilly road event found two of the newer Ommegangsters 

testing their legs.  Ray W and Dave M enjoyed some heat and hills to

finish in the top half of the respective pack.

A busy weekend but good to see a few got out.

Black Fly Challenge Recap

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 02:15:00 +0000 - Black Fly Challenge Recap as borrowed from by Skinny Phil at http://mudbloodandbelgianbeer.blogspot.com/

Team Ommegang - Syracuse Bicycle was out in full force again for The Black Fly Challenge. This years addition brought wet roads and sand.

I think we had about 8 gangsters there to represent. Drummroll, AJ and I went up to Indian Lake Friday night to avoid an early morning commute. If you've never been to Indian Lake, its best suited for relaxing, so that's what we did. We drank a couple of Ommegang's finest, watched a little TV, jumped on an unsecured WiFi network for a little iPod e-mail, and got some rest. A few loud kids kept AJ up, and Drummroll spent some time trying to keep a mosquito out of his ear, but otherwise we got some decent sleep.

In the morning, Drummroll and I hit up the local diner for some eggs and carbs, and AJ stayed behind to drink a couple of bottles of Starbuck's finest and eat some Cliff Bars or something. Drummroll and I even signed a petition to help the fine folks of Indian Lake secure a new grocery store since apparently the local store had recently gone belly up.

Having worked out some automobile logistics in advance, we headed down to Inlet for packet pick up. As luck would have it, it was raining pretty hard. Close to pouring. When we got to Inlet it was looking pretty bleak. I'm always up for a challenge, but now I had to start thinking hard about what clothing I had packed, what to wear, how many layers, etc. Then, about 20 minutes before the race started, the rain stopped. Perfect . . . I think.

Quick warm up, second guess tire pressure a few times, and then line up. For what it's worth, I ran about 53lbs. I know some dudes went for closer to 70, but I thought I'd shoot for closer to CX, but with enough air to smack a rock at 35mph without too much fear of pinch flatting. Looking around at the crowd as we lined up, it was clear that this was a deeper field than last year. I was still optimistic, but thoughts of another 2nd place were tempered by more realistic aspirations of a top 10. Apparently Dan Staffo from Handlebars decided to check out what the Black Fly had to offer, and I made the mistake of talking team friend Tim O into going. That pretty much meant that barring a mechanical, first and second were pretty much wrapped up.

Right from the gun, Dan started driving the pace. It was clear that he wasn't going to wait around for the race to unfold. By the top of the first hill, there were only 4 of us. Thankfully things eased up a little and some guys got back on in time for the second hill. At that point, Dan got away and eight of us were left behind working pretty well as a group. So far the rain and wet weren't much of a factor. As we pressed on, keeping Dan in sight, it was clear that some guys in our group were strong, and others, myself included were drooling on ourselves. As we started to roll through the flat sections with wet sand, I started to worry that my brakes were rubbing. Sadly they weren't, it was just incredibly tough going. Riding in the wet sand was WAY harder than the previous years in the dry loose stuff. I'd also decided to roll with the Michelin Mud's instead of the Jets, and although I may never know, I think they created more traction than I really wanted.

At a certain point, our group started to splinter and Tim O, Eric Grimm, and Randy Hadzor built up a small lead on the rest of us. Next thing I knew, the rest of my group had built up a small lead on me. At this point, I knew I was in 9th and I had no choice but to ride within myself or risk blowing up, so I watched my teammates AJ and Fred roll up the road. Now I'm asking myself, can I hang on for 9th? A few minutes later, I see Eric Grimm changing a flat. Now I'm in 8th.

As I rolled along, I saw a couple of guys coming up on me, so I eased up, popped a gel pack and waited for them to catch me. Thankfully, it was Drumroll and a beast of a man named Paul from Battenkill-United on an MTB. As Drumroll passes me, he says "This dude is really strong." That was all I needed to hear. I recovered pretty quickly, and got to work with both of them. Drummroll made some rolling introductions, and I let Paul know that he was in first place in the MTB division. None of us had a reason for any team BS, etc. so we just kept on working. I felt pretty good about my top 10.

Once we hit the pavement, I turned around and saw Eric Grimm literally flying down the road. He quickly caught us and we jumped his wheel. At this point, I knew that AJ and Fred were in the next group up the road, so we just hung onto Eric's wheel for dear life. He dragged us right up to AJ, Fred, and another dude, and then right up to Randy Hadzor. Now we had a group of eight with three guys off the front. Getting dropped or blowing the sprint would mean 11th place. The group kept the pace high, and with a little less than a mile to go, Fred hit the gas and opened up a small gap. He was quickly brought back though, so I took a go at it thinking 4th would be pretty sweet. Sadly Drummroll and Eric quickly caught me, but luckily Drummroll held off Eric for fourth and I was pretty happy to hang onto sixth. AJ took 7th, and Fred took 11th after cramping. Four guys in the top 11 ain't bad. Fred deserves a special mention since he was on my old Trek XO1. It's a great winter bike, but I wouldn't want to drag it over all of those hills.

All in all, the team had a great showing. Team friend Tim O took second, and I think everyone was fairly pleased with their performance. There's no question that we all raced hard and left it all on the road (or wet sand as it were).

The race organizers did another awesome job with the course, packet pickup, chip timing, etc. Those guys really get it, and I'm sure that our team will continue to flock to their race.

After the finish, Mrs. Skinny hustled me off to Lake Placid where she was running the half marathon with some friends of ours the next day. Despite an injury, she did well and I consumed my weight in beer. Great weekend.

PS - somehow I ended up being listed as the first place "beginner" in the results. I know I was in the CX category when I picked up my packet so I'm not sure what happened there. I don't want anyone thinking I'm a sand bagger. I did clean enough sand out of my drive train, hair, ears and eyes to fill a bag though . . .

Amazing Results Overview

Tue, 15 Jun 2010 00:03:00 +0000 -

Quick Summary ....

Brian H -- Ohio State TT Champs -- Gold !!
Craig N  -- NYS Cat 4 RR Champ -- Gold !!
Craig N & Eric G  -- Silver & Bronze at NYS Crit Champs
Dave Y  -- Silver NYS RR Champs
Drumroll, AJ M, Skinny Phil, Fast Freddie, Sean B, Rooster, Paul S and Jeremy K pulling off 4 of the top 11 spots at Black Fly and all within the top 50 or so out of almost 350 with some top age group placings as well.

Congrats Gents !!

Ohio TT Champs:  http://www.team-cobc.com/groveporttt.asp

NYS Crit Champs:  http://www.bikereg.com/Results/2010/06/13-Saranac-Lake-Downtown-Criterium.asp

NYS RR Champs:  http://www.bikereg.com/Results/2010/06/12-Wilmington-Whiteface-Road-Race.asp

Black Fly Challenge:  http://blackflychallenge.wordpress.com/race-results/

Amazing ....

Mon, 14 Jun 2010 16:24:00 +0000 -
So you're probably looking for a summary of all the various amazing racing this past weekend ... it's coming (soon), we're just awaiting posting of the various results so we make sure we cover all bases.

Anyway, while you wait, I strongly suggest you give this amazing Maredsous elixir a try ... no we're not jumping ship on Ommegang ...you see,  if you do your homework (part of your "ale-ducation"), you'll see that Maredsous is a cousin to Ommegang as it too is part of the Duvel-Moortgat family.   Try some and my bet is that you'll thank me

Lots O Racing

Fri, 11 Jun 2010 02:12:00 +0000 - Ommegangsters all over the Binghamton and Rochester regions this past weekend.  ESG (Central) qualifier (circuit & TT) and the TVC 4/5 circuit race in Bingo along with 2 crits sandwiching a road race near the greater Rochester area.

Results show a handful of the boys will represent the CNY region at the Empire State Games (congrats !!), some top 10 actioan at the Bingo 4/5 circuit race & even more respectable results out of the Rochester races.   Results links are below:

http://www.bikereg.com/Results/2010/06/06-ESG-Central-Region-Qualifier.asp
http://www.bikereg.com/Results/2010/06/07-Tioga-Velo-Club-Circuit-Race.asp
http://gvcc.11net.com/

Race 4 Hope Results

Thu, 03 Jun 2010 20:02:00 +0000 -

Four Ommegangsters participated in the Race 4 Hope held a few miles south of Skaneateles down the east side of the lake this past Sunday on Memorial Day weekend.

After some respectable results last year, hopes were high for a repeat this year.  As the race rolled out (with a rather up tempo "neutral" start  .... at about 28 mph), it was noticeable that the field was a bit deeper than the year before.   Some graying old vets (that seem to never age once on the bike) and some young guns mixed it up pretty good as the lead peloton dwindled down as the rollers gave way to a couple of more sustained climbs.  In the end, the Ommegangsters placed quite respectfully with a podium spot for Eric K in 3rd, Adam L with a 7th, Skinny Phil an 11th and Drummroll with a 16th to put all four in the top 20 out of 100 plus racers.

Special props to Ommegangster amigo Tim O for riding to the race from Caz, finshing 2nd overall, and then riding back home to Caz.  Skinny Phil gets a mention too cause he rode there as well from his casa, placed well, and rode off to a gathering of some sort after the event. 

Full results here:  http://www.skanraces.com/images/r4h_2010results.pdf

Freddie was up late (more Tour de Syracuse Pics)

Mon, 31 May 2010 10:51:00 +0000 - TdS Cat 5

TdS Cat 4

TdS Masters

 

Tour de Syracuse

Fri, 28 May 2010 01:43:00 +0000 - Where to start????  Lot's of positive feedback on the Syracuse race this past weekend & lot's of Ommegangsters posting some stellar results.  Some wins, some podiums, some top 10's, and all around good team representation & team vibe.   Since so many Ommegangsters were racing, you'll have to check the results at http://tourdesyracuse.com/.   Also some decent pics from the race including perhaps the best Euro-stylin' locks in the peloton ....

More pics at http://www.btbathletics.com/

Bristol Recap

Tue, 11 May 2010 01:09:00 +0000 - We had some great results. 1, 3, 5, 6, 10, 15. Sweet.

Adam L's report ...

So I didn't exactly have the best vantage point to observe the finish, so I'll defer those details to Eric K's report, but from my perspective...  The weather on the drive out didn't look so promising, but a little more than half way out from Syracuse the solid grey gave way to partly sunny skies. With the high winds and the break in the rain the roads were in great shape for the race, with the next wave of rain coming within 5 mins of the race's conclusion, so we got real lucky. The race went off without a hitch. The RRR guys have their sheet together and put on a really well run event.  The lines were at a minimum, the groups were sent out on time, and the results were recorded via chip timing. I'm not exactly sure how many racers there were in the 4 field, but I thought it looked to be about 50-60 strong. The first part of the 17 mile loop was pretty flat and I think a solo break went here and there, but with the heavy wind, they got reeled in by the peloton pretty quickly.  After the opening flats, the course got the legs warm with a couple small rollers which slowly grew in size giving way to the first of two notable climbs where we started to see the field thin out.

After some descending we hit notable climb #2, a two-ish mile climb that got things started off with a short, steep pitch. The field thinned out a lot more with this climb and I almost got thinned out myself, having to dig deep to rejoin the group after getting dropped near the top of the climb. At the top of the climb there were some gradual rollers that eventually gave way to some long descents including a bomber that lead to a 2-3% false-flat where the start/finish was located. The picture on the RRR website (http://www.rochesterroadracing.com/) is from the vantage point of the top of the descent and the finish was approx adjacent to the blue warehouse. Long story short, one dude went solo somewhere over the second half of the first lap for the win and I held tight with the chase group until the final climb, finishing in 15th. Eric brought it home in 3rd and Skinny came in at 10th.

Bike to Work Week -- Team Challenge

Wed, 05 May 2010 12:28:00 +0000 -

http://www.bikeleague.org/programs/bikemonth/

Thought we'd throw this out there to the Ommegangsters..... If you (Team Ommegang - Syracuse Bicycle member) do ride your bike to work between May 17-21, plz keep tab of your miles and post your tally in the comments portion of this post.  The one with the most miles is the unofficiual winner.  Maybe we could even provide the unofficial winner with an unofficial prize of the coveted Belgian style recovery beverage.

Hottenbecks Spring Classic

Mon, 03 May 2010 23:00:00 +0000 - Plenty of comments over the previous couple of weeks about the bitter cold and rain.  Well, that all changed in a hurry at Hollenbecks where temps were just as challenging as the climbs and the finish.

The Ommegangsters had some decent results while some really got slightly "toasted" by the heat.  As the pre-race pic shows, short sleeves & shorts made good sun glasses a near necessity by the abundance of bright, white, pasty skin tone of the various cyclists.

Some decent results w/a bit of podium action and top 10 action by the Ommegangsters.

Also a shout out to J Haight for a top 5 in the Cat 2 35-39 AG as the sole Omme-dirt dog at the Waywayanda H2H MTB event down Jersey way.

Hollenbecks results here:  http://flcycling.org/?page_id=1353

Add'l Hollenbecks pics: 

http://galleries.jdanvers.com/p509902199/h178ccb1#h178ccb1

http://kozlowski.zenfolio.com/p157937542 

3 Pronged Attack

Thu, 29 Apr 2010 01:13:00 +0000 -

Attack 1:  Quabbin Resevoir Classic --  Dan the Plan w/a top 10 in a 70+ field of Masters 45+. 

Attack 2:   Ramble around Prattsburgh --  A couple of Ommegansters trying the (semi) off road deal.  Paul S w/a podium spot and the Haight w/a top 10 in their respective age groups and both posting top 25 spots overall out of a 90+ person field.

Attack 3:  Binghamton Circuit Race:  Ommegansters galore in Bingo town.   And We have a winner -- Turbo take top spot in the 35+ Masters and AJ F also on the podium in 2nd spot.  Eric the Bolt with a podium spot in the 3/4 race with decent showings by D Yaco, Skinny Phil, Rooster and Cory P w/the 3/4's.  Another podium for the #2 spot by Eric K in the "4" race" with Yaco & Rooster also in the top 10.  The "4" event also featured Skinny Phil, diaper duty Mike, K, and Cory P flying the Omme  colors.  The two "5" races included top 10's by Craig N, Jeremy Hey-sus K  with Craig N on the podium for the second "5" race.  The "5" races also included Fast Freddie (who got crashed but toughed out a finish), Mighty D Moore, and the Razor Ray  W all gaining a taste of the Bingo circuit race action.

Congrats gents ... let's kep the momentun & podium spots a coming.

Go Team Ommegang-Syracuse Bicycle.