Road Apple Roubaix:

It was a cold and snowy Saturday on February 21^st. We headed out to Middlefield to ride in the Road Apply Roubaix. All of us planned on doing the 40 miler, but as the old saying goes…Man plans and God laughs. The roads were sketchy to say the least. Chris was on his sscx, and Randy on his gravel bike; while I was on my sscx with studded tires. I tired to get video to capture the intensity of the ride, but the video did not come out the way I had hoped.

With limited traction, even with studded tires, the day did not go as planned. It was a fight to get up some of the smaller hills. Stand and pedal, loose traction. So sit and spin was the technique for the day…in more ways than one. Just to muscle through is what we did. 

Chris left Randy and I early. He knew that if he wanted to finish the 40 he’d have to take off and go. So he did. For me the worst time was out on Route 87 and the down hill. With the road conditions, and drivers; it made for a very sketchy time. My choices were to either brake the whole way with hopes of not hitting something stupid or braking too hard and falling into a ditch or worst…traffic; or just let it ride. So…I feathered the rear brake and just let it go. I can honestly say I have never been so freaked out on a bike.  I made it on a wing and a prayer. Randy and I assessed our situation and agreed to at least get off of 87 and go from there.

Once we got on more of the back roads, we were doing ok; but we weren’t getting any kind of speed. It would have taken us all day to do 40 miles, and it just wasn’t worth it. So we peeled off at the 12 mile mark and opted for hot coco, beer and pizza as the better option.

A few hours later Chris came rolling in. He was one of only five that completed the whole 40 miler…on a SINGLESPEED!!! He said it was one of the most brutal rides that he has ever done.

All things considering…it was a great ride, and we’re going to be back in the spring to ride the course without all the snow. ;) Thanks to everyone that made it happen. Next year…I’ll bring my fat bike…

getting fat...

On fat tuesday some of us were able to get out to Ray's for their "fat bikes get in free" day.  Always a good time hanging out with a bunch of people on their "Ray's bikes" and kids on their BMX bikes; and here we roll up with tires that are 4 inches. 

Ray's had this promotion last year, and I have to be honest I was a little skeptical about taking a fat bike to Ray's. Often the best bike is one that has smooth tires, and front suspension works well with the constant bumps of the wood. But actually keep the psi up on the tires, and they handle very well. With the knobby tires on the fat bikes, and thanks to a buddies post on twitter, I couldn't help but think of Buddhist Monks chanting while riding. The constant deep humming was kind of like a trance, and drew the ride into a meditative state.

There was one guy on his fat bike throwing it around like it was a little BMX bike. But make no mistake that you can throw these things around and get air on them...people that are much more riding talent than I. I'm just happy to grab some air like a little kid that just made a ramp out on the front sidewalk, and thinks that a few inches in the air is like ten feet.

We rode around for about three hours, and had a really good time. The only downside was that the Taproom next door is only open Thursday, Friday & Saturday. So no quick beer(s) before; which some say is a good thing. But I disagree. 

Until next time....

Let us introduce ourselves...

We are a multi-discipline team (mountain, road, cross) for those who are honestly committed to and passionate about cycling.  We’re a team that’s proud of the area, the sport and each other.

Part of our mission is to connect with others who share our passion for the sport and who want to be an advocate for the sport.  We seek community minded people who want to make where they live a better place.  And, we also want to promote a healthier lifestyle (physically, mentally, emotionally and socially).

We are not here to concentrate our energy on cat 1 and cat 2 in the racing community. We started this team as a group of like minded people that enjoy riding and racing together. This came about as a sense of community. Within that community, to support each other as cyclist and each other as people.

Cycling is important to us, and we also want to advocate for that. To introduce people to cycling. To introduce people to racing that want to race, but are hesitant. To show and teach the skills that we have learned throughout the years, and pass them on; as a team.

Another question that has come up is "What does 765 mean?"

765 is a locomotive engine that used to run on the Nickel Plate Railroad, back in the day. The Nickel Plate R&R came through Cleveland from New York on it's way to Chicago. The 765 was used on the Nickel Plate as a freight & passenger train.

It's this kind of heritage & blue collarship (like that one?) that we want to organize our team around.

We are not exclusively racing, we are first, a community of like minded cyclist. If you are interested in joining our community...drop us a line at 765racing@gmail.com