Birmingham Bike League 2011-2012

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BBL Recap The weather wasn’t always cooperative, but we had a great BBL season this year any way with several new riders. Tomorrow is not an official BBL ride, but there will be a group leaving from the Mountain Brook Starbucks at 9AM to ride 50/60 miles at a steady pace.

Feb 18 – BBL dodge the rain? It looks like the forecasted torrential rain may hold off quite unexpectedly until later in the day. I’d recommend a shorter version of the loop – unfortunately I had already made plans assuming it would be pouring down rain right now. So I will not be able to make it – if anybody gets this message before BBL, please pass the word not to wait for me. Thanks!

Feb 11 – BBL arctic blast The forecast is for some arctic cold air tomorrow. Wear your warmest clothing and no fear of overheating later in the ride as it is supposed to stay cold all day. We will be starting at our normal starting time of 9AM from the Irondale Starbucks. Three attack zones (78, Sterrett, Mimosa) and two KOMs (Vandiver and Cemetery Hill) on tap. See you in the morning!!!

Feb 4 – Rained out The sun was apparently a one week deal as it rained again this week. I was out of town, but I believe a small group did a shortened ride. No points?

Jan 28 – Sunny – finally! We started out a bit chilly, but temps warmed up pretty quickly on the longest BBL of the year so far. 45 miles into our ride was the Sterrett attack zone where Jason Kellen and Paul Tower claimed top honors followed possibly by Kevin Pawlik, Pat Allison, and Ed Merritt? Paul set a blistering pace at the bottom of Vandiver that only Mark Fisher and I could follow. I attacked in the switchback to take the KOM followed by Mark. Pat and Justin Bynum came in 3rd and 4th with Paul holding on for 5th. Mark and I worked together to stay away for Mimosa with Mark taking the sprint followed by me. Then behind in the sprint for 3rd place, Ed Merritt came out on top followed by Chris Allison and Pat. For the final KOM up Cemetery Hill, Tony Robbins went early and then Pat put in a monster attack before the Cahaba River bridge downhill. I chased in between but Pat quickly distanced me and eventually I was swallowed up by a field led by Mike Powell at about the same time that Pat caught and passed Tony. At this point Mark came to the front and finished closing the gap to Pat as all the attacking had whittled down the front group to maybe 10 riders. I attacked as we passed the cemetery entrance and got a gap that I was able to hold to the end with Mark Fisher laying down the chase behind. I believe it was Chris or Justin taking the sprint for 2nd with Mark holding on for 3rd. Next up was either Justin or Chris followed by Ed or Michael. Somebody please email with the correct results for the first attack zone and the final KOM. Thanks! Brian Toone

Jan 21 – Rained out Torrential downpour on the leading edge of a strong thunderstorm arrived at the Irondale Starbucks at exactly 9AM. Ride canceled! Points have been updated from the New Year’s eve ride. Please check them and let me know of any mistakes.

Jan 14 – BBL Bob’s Bikes Great turnout for a VERY challenging ride today – 3 attack zones and 2 KOMs. A group of 3 nearly stole the show on the Camp Winnie AZ, but in the end it was the Allison brothers taking 1st and 2nd (Chris and Pat) followed by Will Hibberts, Kevin Pawlik, and me in 5th. Only a few miles later the Sterrett AZ was kicked into action with Morgan Ramey and I taking a flyer at the very beginning. We got caught on the last hill with Pat coming out in first this time followed by Will, Kevin, Chris, and Justin Bynum. Only a few miles after that, we started the Vandiver AZ where Mark Fisher took an early flyer. Paul Tower was stuck in the middle when Pat, Justin, and I bridged up. Mark was able to hold on to take the KOM with Pat, me, Justin, and Morgan following in that order. The last AZ was the Cahaba River bridge featured on the Tuesday night worlds long loop. Again, Mark went early with Paul Tower bridging up to him. The two of them stuck it to the end with Mark taking the bridge followed by Paul. Pat, Kevin, and I were close to catching them but ended up finishing behind them in that order. The last KOM started immediately with the short, painful Pumphouse climb. Mark surged at the bottom. I countered and rode to the top solo with Pat, Mark, Justin, and Chad Williamson behind in that order. Strava rated the ride “Extreme” and I would have to agree with that! Updated points available here. Let me know if I messed up the order anywhere. Thanks! Also, I just posted an annotated power map for the attack zones and KOMs here – http://toonecycling.wordpress.com/2012/01/15/bbl-power-records/

Jan 7 – BBL Shortened The forecast was for rain so we decided to do a modified shortened loop with no points this week in case the bottom fell out on us while we were riding. Fortunately, the rain pretty much stayed away and we had a nice enjoyable group ride with only one KOM on the always fun Bailey Rd (curvy side).

Dec 31 – BBL New Year’s Eve I was traveling, but Pat sent me this recap of the ride. Please read and add comments to straighten out the points order if you know where you or someone else placed. Thanks!

Dec 24 – BBL Christmas Eve We made the minimum so the attack zone and KOM counted … Jason Kellen started the AZ sprint from at least 300 meters out straight into a headwind and was able to hold it until about 10 meters before the line where he was passed by Ed Merritt and Chris Allison right at the line. Jason held on for third with me just behind in 4th. I believe it was either Morgan, Gavin, or Joe in 5th. For the KOM, I went early and was just barely able to hold it all the way to the top of Cemetery Hill with a hard charging Pat Allison just behind, Gavin, Michael Gaston, and Jay/Jake? in 5th. I’m a little unsure about the order so I’ve guess at it. Email me if you notice any mistakes. See the updated points here.

Dec 17 – BBL Double Take Another great turnout despite the cold start to the morning. The Sterrett attack zone saw Pat Allison take his first points of the year with Jason Kellen very close behind in 2nd. Chris Allison edged me at the line for 3rd with me taking 4th. Ed Merritt crossed the line in 5th. This week saw our first KOM points of the year go to me, Pat, Jason, Michael Gaston, and Ed. I believe Hallie Blunk took the Sterrett attack zone and KOM for the women with Nichole and Terri fighting it out for 2nd and 3rd. See the updated points here.

Dec 10 – BBL Points Kickoff The weather was a bit colder than expected, but we had a good turnout for our points kickoff. The Sterrett attack zone didn’t disappoint – with Justin Bynum taking an early flyer in a two-man move. Will Hibberts rode strong to close the gap within striking distance for the final hill. Chris Allison made a strategic bridge, but a late attack with Ed Merritt and Kevin Pawlik looked promising especially when Will let off the gas to force Chris or I to close it. I hesitated and then caved attacking to close the gap and start my sprint from about 250meters out. Will, Chris, and Ed were all able to come around at the line with me taking 4th and Kevin taking 5th. What a strategic, exciting first AZ of the year! Check out the points and let me know if you see any mistakes. Thanks!

Dec 10 – BBL Points Kickoff This week will include the first attack zone of the BBL season. We will do the same route as last week with one addition: the Sterrett attack zone. For those of you who are not familiar with the Sterrett attack zone, please see the annotated map below. We will use the same points system as last year (5 points for 1st place, 4 points for 2nd place, all the way down to 1 point for 5th place). We will also use the same handicap system as last year (5 bonus points for cat 5s, 3 bonus points for cat 4s, 2 bonus points for cat 3s, and 1 bonus point for cat 2s). Hope to see everyone tomorrow!

Dec 3 – BBL Mountain Tunnel Beautiful weather and great turn-out for the ride today. Already looking forward to next week’s point kickoff ride.

Nov 26 – BBL Kickoff Great turnout today for the BBL kick-off ride. The new route was definitely hilly (steep hills) on the way out so maybe we’ll go for something a little bit more tame next week. Stay tuned for details and see you next week!

BBL 2011-2012 Who’s ready for some fun, epic, awesome training this winter?!?! BBL is back, and we’ve got some new things we are going to introduce this year to make the training even better and funner (we live in Alabama so I can use the word funner, right?) First, we are going to explore some new routes this year. We’ve got something in mind that heads out through Ross Bridge and then climbs back through Hoover. We’re also planning something to head up towards Springville. We’ll run the normal route in reverse a few times. We haven’t thought about points yet, so add your comments at the very bottom of this page if you have any suggestions on tweaking the points system this year. Thanks!!!

Upcoming Ride: BBL Arctic Blast

When:

2/11 @ 9:00AM

Where:

Irondale Starbucks 1658 Montclair Rd Irondale, AL 35210-2410 (205) 951-1907

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ATTACK ZONES / KOMS
AZ #1 - Sterrett
KOM #1- Vandiver (no regrouping before Mimosa)
AZ #2 - Mimosa (regroup after this AZ back at AL-25)
KOM #2- Cemetery Hill

START FROM IRONDALE STARBUCKS
Turn right onto Crestwood Blvd		0.1 mi
Turn left onto Coosa Ave		8.1 mi
Turn left onto US-78			9.7 mi
Continue onto Kelly Creek Rd		16.0 mi
Turn right onto AL-174 E		22.9 mi
Turn right onto Cook Springs Rd		25.1 mi
Turn left onto US-78 E			29.9 mi
Sharp right onto Tunnel Mt Rd		31.4 mi
Continue onto Mountain Top Loop		32.9 mi
Turn right to stay on Mtn Top Loop Rd	33.1 mi
Turn left to stay on Mtn Top Loop Rd	34.0 mi
Turn right onto Cook Springs Cutoff	34.5 mi
Turn right onto Wolf Creek Rd		37.4 mi
Turn left onto Co Rd 55			44.0 mi
Turn left onto AL-25 S			47.6 mi
Turn left onto Co Rd 45			48.0 mi
Turn right onto Cloverleaf St		51.0 mi
Turn right onto Co Rd 43		51.2 mi
Turn left onto AL-25 N			51.2 mi
Turn right onto Co Rd 41/Mimosa Rd	55.6 mi
Turn right onto AL-25 N			62.0 mi
Turn left onto Elliott Ln 		63.9 mi
Turn left onto Montevallo Rd 		65.5 mi
Turn right onto Zeigler Rd 		66.1 mi
Turn right onto Rex Lake Rd		67.6 mi
Turn left onto US-78 W			69.5 mi
Turn left onto Elder St			77.6 mi
ARRIVE BACK AT FINISH			77.7 mi

Garmin 500/705/800 users – download BBL_Everything.gpx and save to your “newfiles” or “gpx” folder.

Sponsors

• Birmingham Bicycle Company (BBC)
• Bob’s Bikes
• Cahaba Cycles/Homewood Cycles
• Tria Cycling Team
• DonohooAuto
• Infinity Med-I-Spa
• Danny Feldman from LFLM
• Gravlee Fitness
• ScottUSA Bicycles
• ZIPP – Speed Weaponry
• Red Bike Coffee
• Lead it out Cycling
• Dr. Terri Jones (Chiropractic Care)

Email Brian Toone to find out how to sponsor this series and see your business and logo listed here.

Fundamentals and purpose of the BBL:

1. Safety first and foremost
2. Fun and fitness
3. The intent is a structured winter training medium for riders who compete (Racers cat 5 – pro) not specific to just road.

Structured training ride:

1. The ride is an endurance pace averaging 18-20 mph with multiple hard efforts (attack zones) Attack zones will have much higher avg speed!
2. The riders will briefly regroup at the end of designated attack zones
3. There will be at least one store stop unless announced prior to the start that there will not be any stops.

Notes:

• While any and all are welcome to join the ride those who are not familiar or have never competed may or may not be able to keep pace therefore those that can not keep pace, it is up to them to be responsible for knowing that route as well as having all necessary items to in able them to get back to the point where they started.
• In some cases the ride may or may not totally regroup it depends if a particular rider or riders can or cannot maintain the average speed during an ATTACK ZONE or OUTSIDE an attack zone.
• THIS RIDE IS NOT INTENDED TO BE A CASUAL GROUP RIDE. IT IS A STRUCTURED WINTER TRAINING RIDE FOR THOSE WHO COMPETE.

Complete Results and schedule

Click on the date to view results/recap when available. The start location will typically be the Irondale Starbucks, but watch this page for announcements if we change the start location to explore a new route that would be difficult to reach from the Irondale Starbucks with a large group.

Date	Time	Start Location	Details	Recap/Points
Nov 26	9:00AM	Irondale Starbucks	Kick-off event
Dec 3	9:00AM	Irondale Starbucks	New western route
Dec 10	9:00AM	Irondale Starbucks	Points Kickoff
Dec 17	9:00AM	Irondale Starbucks	Double Take
Dec 24	9:00AM	Irondale Starbucks	Christmas Eve Special
Dec 31	9:00AM	Irondale Starbucks	New Year’s Eve Ride Party
Jan 7	9:00AM	Irondale Starbucks	Rain shortened
Jan 14	9:00AM	Bob’s Bike’s	Bob’s Bonanza – Camp Winnie – Sterrett – Cahaba Heights – Homewood
Jan 21	9:00AM	Rained out	Rained out
Jan 28	9:00AM	Irondale Starbucks	Longggg
Feb 4	9:00AM	TBD	TBD
Feb 11	9:00AM	TBD	TBD
Feb 18	9:00AM	TBD	TBD

We value your input and want to make this the best winter training series experience for everyone, so please leave us your comments and suggestions. Note: your comments will be moderated and potentially edited (spelling, etc…) so your post may not appear right away. Don’t despair, it will eventually get there!