Cyclocross season is upon us

Aaron Barr did his first cx race at Town Hall Cross and had a blast. Started off mid pack in the 35+ and he managed to get up to 4th, only to drop his chain going into the final turn.  Aaron still managed 5th and placed in the money.  

It's the Month of the Tour de France

For some of us, time stops for the Tour de France.  For others, they shift into another gear.  Aaron Barr is gearing up for Mountain Bike Nationals at Bear Creek Resort in Macungie, PA, for his Mountain Bike team sponsor and Tyler and Amanda Swords will be sporting the Swashbuckler colors at Bear Creek.  Check out the schedule to watch or for volunteering.    http://www.usacycling.org/2013/cross-country-mountain-bike

So let's see, I am a bit behind on the race reports for the team so I will provide some pictures as the summary.  Aaron Barr won most of his category 4 races that he was forced to upgrade to Category 3.  His first race as a category 3 race was for the Race Avenue Criterium which was sponsored by Audi Lancaster for 2013.  A bunch of us had bets Aaron Barr would take the win but he wasn't sure if he could manage the win.  The race was animated with a bunch of attacks and Jonathan Glick (Shirks Bike Shop) got away with another racer and drove it until Aaron bridged up and took the win.

In the category 5 races, Scott Bowser finished within the top 5 for most of his finishes. We picked up another rider, Jason Lindemuth a few weeks before Race Avenue Criterium and he and Scott mixed up the category 5 race up with Jason taking the win, too.

Jason Roth also raced the road trying to balance life, work, road cycling and triathlon racing and all the training involved.  He did very well since triathlons is his first sport and rode racing is a great complement to his tri training.  There is so much more to learn and experience in road racing where he and his teammates can work together on strategy and tactics while having a blast trying to figure it all out.  Check out his blog for his race reports as I don't want to put any more words into his mouth.  :-)  swimbikerundrink.blogspot.com

Amanda and her brother Tyler have been doing the mountain bike circuit as they too, will be racing at Mountain Bike Nationals next week.

The team is having a great season racing and hopefully the humidity will break for the last few months of the road racing season.  Enjoy the last week of the Tour de France and see you on the road soon.

These pictures are from the Race Avenue Criterium

Automatic Upgrade

In the beginning of June, Aaron Barr, Jason Roth, Scott Bowser and our newest member Jason Lindemuth raced the Tour of Mount Joy.  Three races in two days.

In the Category 4/5 race, Aaron dominated again with the Jason L. finishing second and Jason R. in 21st (not too bad since he was under the weather) in the Saturday road race.  Check out Jason's blog for his race report on the weekend.  Scott finished a respectable 4th in the Master's Cat 5 race. 
Sunday had a time trial in the morning and another road race in the afternoon.  I received some texts in the morning with some expletives about time trialing.  Although, Aaron won with Jason finishing 5th in the TT.  Jason L. was in the mix, too, but did not get noted in the results due to some miscommunication. 

The Swashbucklers had a great showing in the second road race, landing Aaron Barr with the GC win and Jason Roth with a top 10 GC.  Scott Bowser podium the GC with third overall for the Master's Cat 5.  The weekend results for Aaron landed him maximum points with USA Cycling where he has been automatically upgraded to a Category 3 racer.  Congratulations Aaron!

New Kits!

Look for us in our new kits!  Perfect timing for white with this crazy hot and humid weather.

SoYoCo Road Race

RACE REPORT

Aaron Barr

SoYoCo Road Race

Event Date: April 13, 2013

Weather Conditions: Temp in the mid 40’s with minimal wind out of the west.

My Event Goals: Stay in the front 5-10 throughout the race and finish on the podium.

Race:  Since this race was new to me, and I got there too late to pre-ride the course, I was hoping everyone would take it easy on the first lap of the 2+ mile course. The race started on a descent that had a tight right hand turn at the bottom of the hill. I thought that maybe if I took the lead and tried to set the pace, I could get a good look at that turn and the rest of the course before things got too heated up.

The first lap seemed to work out as planned with Jason and I doing some moderate pulling along with two Thru-It-All guys, Joe Hydrick & Adam Snoke. On the second lap, after the first tight right hand turn, was when things started to get moving. We picked up the pace for the rest of that lap, to the point where when we crossed the start/finish line, we were down to an 8 man break. From there we stayed in the 8 man break all the way to the finish, with Jason, Joe, Adam and I seemingly doing most of the pulling. The finish was an uphill finish with about 20-30 seconds of somewhat steep climbing. Coming into the final mile or so, everyone really slowed up to try to save something for the finish. That’s when I thought it may be a good time to strike. While Jason and I were sitting in the back of the group, I told him I was going to go for it a little early and try to surprise them. He thought it was a good idea, but he liked his own chances better at the sprint. I wasn’t sure if my plan was going to work, but with Jason’s backup plan, I felt a little better about it. At a predetermined spot, about a ¼ mile or less before the finish, I started sprinting and didn’t look back until I crested the hill. I expected to see them all over me, but I think because I surprised them, I had opened up enough of a gap that I could cruise in for the win.

I’m excited to have my second win of the season and I hope that my luck continues. I’d like to thank Swashbuckler Brewing Company for their support and for some great recovery beer.

Strasburg Road Race - First Race for the Team for the 2013 Season

RACE REPORT

Aaron Barr

Strasburg Road Race

Event Date: 3/16/2013

Weather Conditions: All week the forecast was calling for rain or snow starting around midnight and continuing throughout the race. Fortunately, the rain held off and we only had to deal with some minor snow showers. As with most Lancaster County races, no matter how little wind there is "supposed" to be, there is typically enough to make it a factor. This race was no different.

My Event Goals: Stay in the front 5-10 throughout the race and finish on the podium.

Race: Michele asked me to write this race report and my first excuse was that I can never remember the details of a race, even after just crossing the finish line. Though true, that excuse did not phase her one bit and I wasn't quick enough to come up with another excuse, so here is my account of the race.

First, I'd like to say it was a great experience riding for Swashbuckler Brewery Co. Cycling. Michele and Scott were very gracious to have hooked us up with kits and other race support like whoopie pies & beer. Another great experience was racing with my new teammate, Jason Roth. We both seem to have similar riding styles and racing mentality and as Jason said, "we will definitely cause some trouble this year".

The race started on an incline and by the time we were over the top of the hill, I was in a break with a rider from another team. We rotated pulls for about ¾ of the first 5.5-mile lap, staying ahead of the pack, but by only a few hundred yards. As we came to the last incline before the start/finish line, he and I decided to ease up and rejoin the pack. Amazingly, Jason dropped his chain on the first hill, but was able to pedal his way back into the pack before the end of the first lap.

The race was then fairly uneventful leading up to about the 4th lap, when suddenly I got stuck out of position and fell into the back of the pack. Considering this was the first Cat 4/5 race of the season, I knew I was in a somewhat dangerous position. As I was trying to make my move back to the front, another rider to the front-left of me lost his balance for some reason, careened off the road, right across my front wheel, taking another rider with him. I felt like Tom Cruise in Days of Thunder, riding straight into the carnage and somehow out the other side. After that close call, I got back to the front with Jason and we stayed there for the final lap or so. The final mile of the race got heated up and we were battling up front, all while still trying to save some for the finish. We started up the final incline, I was about 3rd wheel and I think Jason was right behind me. I was trying to stay as far left as possible so I would only have to protect my right from anyone trying to pass. As we came over the final hump, which then dropped down through a gravel covered s-turn, I kicked it into to high gear and waited for someone to sprint. At that point, I heard some commotion behind me which was Jason getting mixed up with a few riders and he ended up losing my wheel. I started to close on the lead rider, who then stood up and turned it on to try to hold me off. I think he was gassed and to my surprise he sat back down and let me sprint by him for the win!

I'm very excited to have won my first race as a Cat 4 and looking forward to a great season with the team.

Welcome New Swashbuckler Racers for 2013

We are the same team comprised of racers new to the sport of road cycling.  For 2013, the roster includes Aaron Barr, Ryan Campbell, Eric Moon, Jason Roth, Amanda Swords, Tyler Swords and Brian White.  Look for us at the races and say hello!  We may be a bunch of Swashbucklers but we are a friendly bunch of bicycle weilding characters.

 Aaron & Jason

Amanda

 Brian

The Swashbuckler of all Swashbucklers: Scott Bowser