Team SAP @ Liberty Criterium, July 24 in Malvern, PA



Uli's first race in 22 years



Almost second... almost



The Cat 5 podium



City To Shore 2011 - FAQ

With the Holiday weekend in sight and a great weather forecast, time to dust off your bike, get some miles in and sign up for the 2011 City to Shore ride!
We received some questions which we'll be trying to answer here. We'll add to this as needed.

How do I sign up?
Go to the MS website, select 'Register to ride and join an existing team', enter 'SAP' as in the Team Name field, search, then select: 'Team SAP' and follow the instructions. Done.


Can I sign up for less than 150 miles?
Yes. The 'City to Shore 150' name refers to the most popular distance: 75 miles on Saturday (Cherry Hill, NJ to Ocean City, NY) and 75 miles on Sunday (Ocean City back to Cherry Hill). There are many more options:
- you can just do the Saturday ride and take one of the many organized buses back to Cherry Hill (very popular option as well). Bikes will be loaded on trucks and arrive with the buses.
- you can start at one of the other start locations along the 75 mile route to reduce total distance
- you can sign up for an extra loop on Saturday which adds up to 100 miles (you can still decide to take it or not once you get to that fork, about 45 miles into the ride to Ocean City)
- staying overnight and riding back on Sunday is optional. The only available distance is 75 miles.

Are there rest stops along the route?
This event is very well organized. There are many rest stops along the route. All of them provide rest rooms, food and water, many also bike mechanics and some have bands playing

What are the options for overnight stay on the Jersey shore?
If you only do the Saturday, buses will get you and your bikes back to the start location. If you chose to ride back on Sunday, see the 'housing' section on the MS150 website. Some of us may get together and rent a house. Use the 'comments' function to exchange thoughts on this option.

Will we be riding in a group?
We'd like to have all team riders starting together in Cherry Hill. We will announce the exact time here on the blog.
We are looking for two volunteers to lead different pace groups so we can ride as a team. Especially over the first 15 miles the roads will be packed with riders so we'll have to make sure to stay together. It's really fun to see a bunch of riders wearing the same jersey.

Will there be any other team activities planned?
We host weekly team rides (see 'Upcoming Events' section on the left pane). Especially the flat Betzwood/Valley Forge ride lends itself to ride in different pace groups.
Prior to the ride we'll host a team luncheon at SAP headquarters in Newtown Square (date to be announced).
On Saturday of the event we'll take a group picture at the start in Cherry Hill (picture tent) and at the boardwalk in Ocean City.

Much more (general) FAQ here.

To be updated and continued...

Father's day weekend rides

What a great weekend, perfect weather for riding. Happy Father's day!

Sunday ride: Bill, Glen, Juan and Thilo

Juan for the first time climbed the famous Manayunk Wall, we enjoyed breakfast at Volo in Manayunk and on the way back we got some help from a very fit, fast and unknown rider. Who knows, perhaps she'll join our team.

Team SAP climbing highest paved road in North America!

Here the highlight from my 7 days of cycling in the Rockies:
It took me 3 hrs and 10 minutes for the 29 miles from Idaho Springs, CO to Mt. Evans, climbing from 7,586ft (65F) up to 14,127 ft (28F).

Strong winds and mountain goats made this an interesting challenge. 8ft tall snow banks helped a little bit to shield the nasty wind. What an experience!
Wearing a rain jacket and wrapping my hands in two shopping bags saved my life on the amazing one hour downhill ride. Team Carmichael got ready to start when I arrived back in the parking lot.

Official 2011 team opener Saturday April 9

Team,
Get your bikes ready for our first leisurely group ride from Valley Forge to Manayunk (and to the City if you are up for it).
We'll meet at 8.30am at the Betzwood parking lot (Corporate Parking Lot, S Trooper Rd, east of Rt 422) with a 9.15am pickup at the SEPTA parking lot in Conshohocken.
Tell all your friends! See you on Saturday.

Where is the Spring?

Dear Cycling Enthusiasts,
Team SAP is back in business. Over the last three weekends the core team tested the roads and while it's still chilly we are planning to kick off the season with a Schuylkill River Trail ride on the first weekend of April: Stay tuned for details.

"How To Survive Indoor Workouts" - Active Cyclist Newsletter Article

Fellow Riders...
Here's an interesting article from Active Cyclist Newsletter:

How to Survive Indoor Workouts

For many cyclists, training indoors feels like punishment. Here are a few things you can do to keep the boredom factor to a minimum...
» More

Spring will be here before you know it and we need to be ready for John and Uli to put us through our paces...

Ride On!

Marsh Creek MTB Rides

Great Mountain Bike Rides this weekend at Marsh Creek.
John and I did a great ride on Friday 11/26/2010. It was a little wet and muddy but once on the trails it turned out to be a lot of fun.
Here is the ride detail from my Garmin: Marsh Creek by wward80 at Garmin Connect - Details
Just a word of caution: the wooden bridges can be quite challenging when wet and your tires are muddy.



Sunday 11/28 - John, Sean, Uli and I did another great ride this morning. The temperature was in the low 30's but you warm up quickly. Conditions were much faster...and so were Sean, Uli and John. Made for a great workout.
Unfortunately, I forgot to start the garmin and didn't turn it on until we were about a mile in. So, here is a partial:


If you cannot see the embedded details: Marsh Creek by wward80 at Garmin Connect - Details

Winter rides

Hey folks,
We'll take it easy during the winter. There may be weekends without formal rides. Watch the 'Upcoming Events' section on the left for rides.
Uli will be riding in Miami during December and January. Join the Miami gang on Saturdays and Sundays at ~7.30am at the enry of the Rickenbacher Causeway - aka 'The Shark'.

Riding through falling leaves

We are taking it a little easier with group rides during the fall season. Usually smaller groups, some mountain bike rides, some climbing clinics,... fun stuff.
Please bring friends and suggest new routes.
And if you haven't ordered you team jersey, Frank is still taking orders (see earlier blog post).
See the 'Upcoming Events' section on the left for postings.
Or just 'comment' to this post with your mobile phone number and we'll get you on our text list for up to date ride reminders.