I am finally getting caught up. I love to see everyone out there representing us in the colors of the IC3! And I love to have new images to add to the top banners of our website. So, keep up the racing and keep getting images to me. If you have some pictures from any event -- tour, race or just riding with firends -- get those to me and I will add them to the rotation. Also, be looking for chances to snap some photos because now that we are getting a good selection of images, I want to do some seasonal groupings. Thus, this fall, keep sending me pics of CX'ing, mtn biking, or anything else you might be doing.  This winter I would love some cross-country ski or snowshoeing pics as well as some from our indoor spins.  Next spring I want to have a whole slew of 'Spring Training' pics, etc.

Since I have just added a eight new images from this fall to the banner photo rotation, I think this would be an appropriate time to get some specific guidlines out there for how to submit new photos and the various parameters that they should be. The size we need to fill in 1000px X 300px, so images that are short and wide work best.  I can "fill" the ends with a grey fade, but I really like to fill the whole space with image when I can.  The larger the image and the higher the resolution, the better the banner looks [and the more creative I can be with it].

Lighting can also be a problem with action shots.  It is sometimes hard to get a riders face with the proper light when they are hunched over the bars.  If you have the ablity to light/color adjust before sending that would be appreciated. When you feel you have some worthy images, please This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . If you have a few, you can zip them up to save space.

All of these new banners work well, but if Eric or Matt has a higher resolution image I would love to get that to work with.

Here are the eight new banners:

From Darryl Smith of the NorCal Spoke:

All IC3ers......

Your chance to win the tour... Yes the tour de France fantasy league...  You have heard your friends talk about fantasy football well here is one better...cycling..

Please send link to those club members who may be interested.

Winner receives  two tires 

You must sign up before Saturday...this league is run from England, so I would sign up early Friday the tour starts Saturday morning.

You must sign up for our mini league to qualify

Please sign into our mini league---- see # below
Please use real name on team name so we can track your results, there will be thousands of teams.
Currently over 6000 teams

http://www.velogames.com/index.php

League Name: IC3 National
League Code: 29223443


Any questions please call me...

Darryl

I have officially lost track of how many times I have done it. It might be eight. It might be ten. It doesn't really matter. I still love it. And this year it promises to be better than ever. I am talking of course about my favorite race -- Greenwood Dairy Days 38 RR. Greenwood is just a little po-dunk town of about 1,000 people smack dap in the middle of Wisconsin. Just east of Willard; west of Loyal; south of Owen; north of Neilsville -- yup, pretty much the middle of no where. But that is where my dad grew up and went to High School. My mom grew up nine miles away just outside of Loyal. I spent my summers growing up on those two farms working, playing and sometimes riding my bike. I never dreamed I would someday race in that area.  Then, about ten years ago I saw a race flyer for the Greenwood Dairy Days Road Race and thought it was a joke. I HAD to do it. 

What I saw blew my mind. The town nearly doubled in size with racers and families from as far away as Minneapolis, Chicago, Green Bay and beyond. And nearly the whole town came out to support the event with booths and food and people cheering on the roads. The 4H had a pie stand and a church group sold malts and shakes. Not exactly "race food" but perfect for the middle of no where.  I rolled up to the start line with over 200 other people. There were your normal racers, plus tandems, recumbents -- even mtn bikes and some brave dad with his kid in a burley. I thought "This is the size of the Tour de France".  The race is part of the Wisport series and was in the home town of Wisport founder Dar Vollrath and this race was meant as a mid-season party -- and it lives up to that every year.

So, when we started the Twin Cities Spoke in 2007, one of the first races we did as a club was the Greenwood Dairy Days 38. Seven of us made the trip, camped out at my Grandpa Leonard's farm, did the race and had a ball.

The next year it grew to 11 racers and about 20 camping on the farm. This was our biggest group to date on the farm and was marked by a wonderful [depending on who you ask] thunderstorm in the middle of the night.

In 2009 Don brought a tree to add to "Leonard's Woods" -- a memorial for my grandpa.  

And last year, we hosted our first non-IC3 racers, Fred and Tom.

For 2011 we will be missing the new pappa's -- Cory & Aaron -- who have made it every year up until now, but we are excited to be hosting more non-IC3 racers.  We have invited people from the Balance team, Flanders, Penn Cycles and the entire Big Ring Flyers team to camp out with us.

Please join us, too -- RSVP so that I can make sure we have the correct accomdations for everyone.

Below are more details on the weekend. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Amenities include:

• Out buildings [like a machine shed with loft or haymow] if some would rather sleep in there than under the stars or in a tent, you are most welcome to do so. They are also good for shelter in inclement weather.
•  There is a farm house with a basement if weather gets really bad, but we try not to use it since I will have some family staying in there and want to respect their space.
• Bathrooms will be primitive. Again, respecting the guests in the house, we will provide a port-a-potty or two and there are acres of fields and bushes that will work great.
• We have a spigot with running cold well water. I, personally, prefer not to drink it, but it is available for washing up. If you want to bring a "Sun shower" feel free -- we don't provide such lush amenities. We will bring some drinking water but you might want to bring your own to make sure there is enough 
• We don't advertise a dinner Friday night, but I usually put a kettle of spaghetti on the stove and cook up a few pounds of it. Let me know if you are coming that early and we will make extra and may ask you to bring something to pass, like bread or salad.
• We usually have a bonfire, but since it stays light until after 9:00 and there is a race the next morning it is usually broken up by 10 or 11. Guitars and other "camp-fire" instruments are welcome for anyone who wants to lead us in song. Since we are a Christian group, we may break out in spirituals or hymns, but we do not limit our singing to that.
• We used to make pancakes in the morning, but found that hindered performance, so we have dispensed with that practice. Please bring your own b-fast or patronize the locals and eat in town.

Things to bring:

• Tent
• Sleeping bag
• pillow
• towel or cloth
• flash light(s)
• bug juice
• water or other drink
• If you are coming for the Friday night meal bring something to pass [we will get a list out once we get a head-count.]
• Your own version of B-fast
• Sense of humor. Although we try to use Christ as a model, and He accepted everyone as they are, we, as humans, fall well short of that and have standards that must be kept.

I will be there sometime Friday morning and use the afternoon to set up tents, prepare the grounds [i.e. mow the lawn] and spend time with family. You would be welcome anytime you can make it on Friday.

Everyone welcome the latest addition to the Silver Cycling / Hollywood Cycles race team -- Roscoe P. Coltrane:

Order NOW for early August delivery. Don't forget to order all of your FALL riding gear, since this will be the last order of the year.  THIS ORDER CLOSES JUNE 12th.

If the early season race results is any indication, it seems our Spring Training Camp was a success -- at least for those who have pinned a number on. Congrats to all those who have been racing, even dispite questionable weather.  So far this early season we have seen:

• BMan [Balance] WINS 2011 Ragnarök 105
• BMan [Balance] WINS the Cat3 Ken Woods
• BMan [Balance] 5th [time] Opus II; Cat 1/2/3
• Dave Jones [Nature Valley/Penn Cycles] 5th in 50+ Open at Ken Woods
• Eric Sundstrom [TC.IC3] 11th in Cat 3 at Ken Woods
• Craig Anderson [TC.IC3] WINS Team Wisconsin (Whitnall Park) Spring Classic; Cat4/5 heat.

Did I miss any results from thosw who were are Spring Training?

Mr. Manske laughed as he notched his first win of the season -- already!  Insiders say that he sites his recent Spring Training climbing for his awesome level of fitness.  WAY TO GO BMAN!

A reminder that our own Tim [On_A_Mission] Turnquist is the FaithStory presenter at Wooddale this weekend. Rumor has it that somehow he worked in a plug for the Club. For all the details you have to show up and see for yourself. By the way, check out the bottom of page 4 of the Wooddale WEEK.

If you miss this weekend at the Eden Prairie campus, please make it a point to see him live next weekend [April 10] at the Edina campus.

This year as we prepared for Spring Training Camp I was saddened to hear that Cory could not join us. Granted, he had a good excuse since he and his lovely bride, Emily, are due to have their first child -- right when we are headed to our Spring Training Camp.  But, as I thought about it, he has been on every road-trip and outing this club has had. He was on the first ever ride, all of the Greenwood outings and much more. He is a man of few words, but his presence speaks volumes. So, to keep the spirit of Cory with us, we have created a portable version of him so that he can continue to participate with the team. Photogenic, little devil, isn't he?  Look for him in lots of pictures coming out of the Camp. In addition to making a Flat Cory, I have a FaceBook Page dedicated to chronicle all of Flat Cory's adventures. We will be uploading images and messages from Camp to that page [as allowed by our internet connections and smart-phones].

For all of you who can't make the trip either, follow along on FaceBook -- you can simply view the images, share them with your FB community or, better yet, leave messages for him on his Wall.

Our friends at Tonka Cycle and Ski are getting into the Twin Cities Spoke! I ordered some Ravx Stitchwrap Bicycle Handlebar Tape in black & orange [with white stitching] and Steve went ahead and ordered a few extra rolls to have on hand since it is our team colors.

Last year, many of you admired the red/black bartape that they installed on my Javelin, so this is your chance to freshen your ride and show your team colors.  While you are at it, schedule time at Tonka to have your bike gone over and a full tune-up to prepare for the season ahead.

Some of you know him as Kristopher, some know him as K-Dawg or Kfer, but there is a 6 pound 15 oz bundle of joy that will know him as Dad.  Please extend a great big TC.IC3 welcome to Levi Andrew Johnson, born Feb 24, 2011.  My prayer is that he inherits his father's fight and athletisism and his mother's charm and good looks.