Join Sugar Cycles and BMC Sunday morning, Februrary 26th, from 8:30am to 12:00pm to ride the best BMC has to offer. A no drop road ride will roll out of the park at 8:45am and return around 10:45am. For those who love the dirt, you can demo BMC’s MTB bikes at the Justin P. Brindley Trail system.

There is no charge for on tour events.

Riders should bring their own pedals, shoes and helmet along with a photo ID and credit card.

Riders will need to sign a release waiver before participation. SEE ALL OF YOU THERE!!!

Sugar Cycles presents the third annual Texas Dance Hall Ride, that will take place on Saturday, March 10, 2012. Multiple ride options include 30, 45 and 65 miles. All distances start in front of the historic Senglemann’s Dance Hall on Main Street. Riders of all ages and capabilities will be able to tour the famous Painted Churches constructed by German and Czech communities during the 1890′s. The riders will also get to experience three of Texas’ historic dance halls, all over one hundred years old, Sengelmann’s, Swiss Alp and Moravia.

An art/craft show, art tractor parade and live music with street dancing will start soon after the 9am send off, for family and friends waiting on the riders. Activities will flow into the Dance Hall of your choosing early in the afternoon. Plenty of free parking and showers will be available.

Registration: https://www.bikereg.com/Net/15314/Texas-Dance-Hall-Ride

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/372555966095014/

Directions:
Leaving Houston, take
I-10 West 88 miles. Exit
US-90, exit 677. Turn
left onto US-90. Turn
left onto TX-222 SPUR/LYONS AVE.
Turn right onto N. Main
St. 531 N Main St. is on
your right.

General Ride Information:
Questions: info@sugarcycles.com
Start Line: 531 N. Main Street
Schulenburg, TX 78956

View the map!

Please contact Sugar Cycles for more information or questions!

If you’re looking for a light weight, comfortable helmet that looks good as well as protects your nogging, then take a look at the S-Works Prevail helmet from Specialized.

The S-Works Prevail is not only physically comfortable around your head, but it very light weight and is designed to allow the air to flow through/over the helmet.Check out the features of the helmet:

Help save the anthills.  Please check out the GHORBA website for all the details.

GHORBA needs your help in a grassroots effort to save the forest and trails at Terry Hershey Park. We have recently learned that Harris County Flood Control District, through its Charting Buffalo Bayou Project, intends to implement a plan in which a number of detention basins will be built along the south side of the Bayou from Hwy 6 to Beltway 8. The detention basins will be 3-4 acres in size, possibly both wet and dry bottom. To build such basins, all the trees will be clear-cut and large volumes of soil removed. This will result in much of the natural-surface trail we call the Anthills being destroyed. Moreover, the forested areas consist of old growth trees and are home to a diverse array of birds, insects and animals. This habitat will be lost and so will an important trail system utilized on a daily basis by hikers, runners, and riders, if the proposal is implemented.

Visit the GHORBA website: http://www.ghorba.org/trail-news/save-the-anthills

The TXBRA 2012 [tentative] road race events have been released and is now online for your scheduling pleasure!

Most of the usual suspects are back for 2012 that will guarantee for some great racing and competition.

Alsation, Mineral Wells, Lago, Fayetteville and Ronde von’s to name a few…see the full schedule after the jump.

Here’s a shot of the schedule as it’s posted now – 11/2011.

Craig “Crowie” Alexander wins Kona on Specialized Shiv with a course record

Riding the brand-new Shiv, Crowie improves his bike split by a whopping 13 minutes.

Thirteen minutes and 14 seconds. That is the gigantic difference by which Craig “Crowie” Alexander improved his bike split over previous years at the Ironman World Championships, which he won for the third time Saturday with a new course record of 8:03:56.

Crowie rode the new Specialized Shiv, a bike designed from the ground up exclusively for triathlon. As befits a three-discipline sport, the Shiv features three advantages over other bikes: unmatched aerodynamics, an integrated hydration solution and extensive options to ensure the perfect fit.

For Crowie, the math was simple. Aero + fuel + fit = 13 minutes.

“That bike is a rocket ship,” Crowie said of the Shiv. “A total rocket ship.”

At the 2011 Ford Ironman World Championships, Crowie emerged from the water with the lead group. Over the 112-mile course along the coast, Crowie crushed it on his Shiv.

Crowie came in fourth off the bike, with a time of 4:24:05. In years past, his best bike times were 4:37:19 and 4:37:33.

Crowie left the transition in third, behind Chris Lieto and Luke McKenzie. Still fresh from his time on the bike, Crowie blew through the two leaders on the run and never looked back.

He secured his third Kona title with a time of 8:03:56, smashing a course record that had stood since 1996.

“Crowie is one of the most consistent athletes here,” said Mark Cote, Specialized’s Road Product Manager and Aerodynamicist from MIT. “His bike times have always been between 4:37 and 4:39. So to have a 13-minute improvement because of the changes we made… it makes me believe in science.”

Check out the Shiv at specialized.com.

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (Sept. 25, 2011)—With an abundance of speed and only a trace of aerodynamic drag, Mark Cavendish, Matt Goss, and the Specialized Venge ruled the World Championship Road Race. Cavendish raced his Venge to victory for Great Britain, with Goss—normally Cav’s trade teammate on HTC-Highroad—taking silver for Australia. Germany’s Andre Greipel finished third. All three men wore Specialized Prevail helmets.

“I know when I kick if I am going to win or not. When I win, I win,” Cavendish said. “I saw Goss come close to me in the end. We knew it wasn’t going to be a walk in the park, we knew it was going to be close.”

Cavendish lost the position of his British teammates through the last corner of the 260-kilometer race, and tucked onto Goss’ wheel with 900 meters to go.

“I know that’s a good wheel to be on,” Cavendish added. “I saw my gap and went for it, even if it was early.”

On the slight incline to the finish, Cavendish appeared to be losing speed as Goss charged. Goss failed to get Cavendish, but he nipped ahead Greipel.

Cavendish became the first World Champion from Great Britain since Tom Simpson, 46 years ago, 1965 in San Sebastián. The monumental victory—combined with his green jersey from the Tour de France—caps what must be Cav’s best season to date.

Goss was brilliant throughout the year, starting by winning Milan-San Remo (and debuting the Venge to the world) and finishing with a silver medal at Worlds.

“I don’t like being a bridesmaid, but it’s a good way to finish the year,” Goss said. “The team rode so hard for me today. I would have loved to have won for them, but I can’t be too unhappy.”

“It was uphill and I won,” Cavendish continued. “There were a lot of people who marked me down as a favorite for today. Some said that it was too hard for pure sprinters, but I did it. I had two goals this year: the green jersey at the Tour and this.”

Cavendish’s win marks the 17th World Championship title for Specialized. This fall alone, Specialized riders won three titles at the Mountain Bike Worlds Championships (cross-country, junior downhill, and four cross) and three at Road Worlds (men’s road race plus the men’s and women’s time trial).

About Specialized:
Specialized was founded in 1974 by riders for riders. Based in Northern California, we focus on the rider’s need for functional and technically advanced products that provide a performance benefit.

Call us or stop by our Missouri City location to check out the Specialized Venge!

Be sure to check out the latest throw-back from Specialized – they’re taking you back to 1974 with a new pair of shoes and gloves!

Classic style. Modern technology. The 74 shoe harkens back to the halcyon days of cycling when style and individuality mattered most. Body Geometry technology, Boa® lacing, and a supple kangaroo leather upper make it super comfortable, too.

Timeless Style. Perfect materials. Those were what 1974 was all about. Now, add modern technology and you get a great fitting glove with a little nostalgia attached to it.

Please contact the Missouri City location for more details or to purchase.

From Specialized:

With TT titles by Martin and Arndt, the Shiv remains undefeated at worlds

The unstoppable Shiv is now 4-for-4 in World Championships. Any questions?

With Judith Arndt’s and Tony Martin’s domination of the World Time Trial Championships on the Shiv TT, Specialized has now claimed 16 World Titles since Ned Overend began the tradition in 1990. More notable, perhaps, is the fact that Specialized’s Shiv time trial bike has been ridden to victory every single time it has been used to contest a World Title.

At the Shiv’s first World Championship in 2009, Fabian Cancellara rode it to victory. Despite the UCI forcing Specialized to completely redesign the frame — it was too fast — Cancellara repeated in 2010. This year, Arndt was the first woman to race the Shiv at Worlds. She won handily. And then on Wednesday, Martin crushed all other comers by more than a minute in his first Worlds on the Shiv TT. Do you see a pattern here?

The TT titles by Arndt and Martin continue the hot streak for Specialized athletes. Jaroslav Kulhavy, Michal Prokop and Troy Brosnan won their respective races at Mountain Bike Worlds earlier this month. And with Mark Cavendish and Ina Yoko Teutenberg all on flying form, more rainbow jerseys are likely this week for the California bike company.

“We are delighted to have a played a role in the success of these amazing athletes,” said Specialized spokesman Steve Francisco. “Our engineers have worked closely with the riders to ensure their every need is met. The final results clearly speak for themselves.”

Fresh off beating Cancellara along with everyone else at the Vuelta a España time trial, German Martin found his first Worlds gold in Denmark.

“I felt very confident after the winning in the TT in the Vuelta,” said Martin, who also won the German national time trial. “The chance to get a world championship was never better. Winning it was perfect finish for a nice season.” For the men’s road race, most insiders are expecting a sprint finish. And who better to take the W than the world’s best sprinter? Mark Cavendish departed the Vuelta early to focus specifically on Worlds. Ironically, one of his toughest competitors at the nation-versus-nation race will be his trade teammate Matt Goss, who won Milan-San Remo this year on the Specialized S-Works+McLaren Venge.

Want to take a ride with one of cycling’s greatest coaches?  You’re in luck!

The Houston Tour de Cure is proud to have Chris Carmichael of Carmichael Training Systems riding and supporting the American Diabetes Association.

Please check out the Tour de Cure webiste for more information!