Ripon to host WCA Crit Championships June 14

The best bicycle racers in Wisconsin and beyond will converge on Ripon Saturday, June 14 for the Wisconsin Cycling Association’s 2008 State Criterium Championships presented by the Ripon Restaurant Group. Riders will compete in 11 categories for the Wisconsin State Championship Jersey and nearly $7,000 in cash and prizes.

Medals will be awarded to the top three riders and a Wisconsin Championship jersey to the overall state winner in each category. Racing action begins at 8:30 a.m. with the women’s races and continues all day with the final pro race beginning at 5:30 p.m. The 3/4-mile race course will run counterclockwise with a start and finish on Watson Street in the heart of Ripon’s historic downtown business district. The route then winds through a stately residential neighborhood and the Ripon College campus before the final 130-meter sprint to the finish line.

A free Kids’ Fun Race and Parade for children 9 and under will be held on Watson Street at 2:45 p.m.

The event is hosted by Lakes Area Physical Therapy Cycling Club and the Ripon College Red Hawks Cycling Team. Cash and prizes are being supplied by race sponsors the Ripon Restaurant Group (owners of Roadhouse pizza, Dos Gringos Mexican Restaurant and Suds on the Square); Precision Plus Inc. of Elkhorn; Fond du Lac/Oshkosh Cyclery; Attitude Sports of Fond du Lac; Bicycle Doctor Nordic Ski Shop of Dousman; Open MRI of Sheboygan; and KC’s Driving Schools of Southeastern Wisconsin.

We’re very excited to be bringing bicycle racing back to Ripon with one of the premier events in the state. This community once had a grand association with the sport of cycling dating back to the state bicycle meets of the Wisconsin Division of the League of American Wheelmen in the 1890s. We believe this event will showcase Ripon once more as a wonderful place to host a bike race.

With discounted rates at Ripon hotels, racers and fans are encouraged to come early and stay late. The weekend’s activities begin Friday, June 13, with Ripon’s Village Green Summer Concert Series featuring Andy and the Automatics from 7 to 10 p.m. Dos Gringos, Roadhouse and Suds on the Square will be catering to racers and fans with special hours Saturday and outdoor dining on Ripon’s historic square at the north end of Watson Street.

More information can be found on the race Web site at www.ripon.edu/wcacritchamps.

12 Hours of GEARS

I participated in the first Wisconsin Endurance Mountain Bike Series (WEMS) race of the season -- the 12 Hours of GEARS -- at the New Fane trails near Kewaskum with Stud Weasil & the Damm Swell Guys. Our team consisted of Mike Skurek, Steve Loos, John Lanser and I. Each of us rode two laps, giving the other three a layoff of six laps. I completed eight laps, each just shy of 5 miles in length. My lap times were consistently in the mid 21-minute range (21:32, 21:08, 21:37. 21:37, 21:31, 21:49, 21:40, 22:10).

This was the second year I've participated in this event. Both times it has proven to be lots of fun (view the photos). There are seven more events in the WEMS series. You might want to check one out:

June 28
Levis/Trow 100 (Also the Wisconsin Singlespeed Championship)
Hatfield

July 12
12 Hours of Blue Mound
Blue Mounds

July 19
Metro Challenge
Franklin

August 16
Blufflands Epic Enduro Race
LaCrosse

August 30
Stump Farm 12
Green Bay

September 27
Thunderdown in the Underground
Merrill

October 4
12 Hours at John Muir
La Grange

Did You Ride Your Bike to Work Today?

It's national Bike to Work Week. If you can ride your bike in a race or for training, you most likely can find a way to ride it to work. Here are four reasons to give it a try ...

You'll feel better: A study by researchers at Bowling Green State University found that people who cycle for just 10 minutes enjoy the same mood boost and reduction in depression and fatigue as those who cycled three times as long.

You'll be healthier: The average adult loses 13 pounds his first year of commuting to work by bike. Just three hours of bicycling per week can reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke by 50 percent. A 140-pound cyclist burns 508 calories while pedaling a mild 14 miles in an hour.

You'll save money: Based on gas prices of about $3 a gallon (and we all know gas is closer to $4 a gallon, currently), the annual cost of owning, operating, and driving a passenger car roughly 15,000 miles is nearly $11,000. Conversely, it costs roughly $120 a year to maintain a bike.

You'll help the environment: Sixty percent of the pollution created by automobile emissions happens in the first few minutes of operation, before pollution control devices can work effectively, making the negative impact of short trips more substantial. Drivers in the United States alone could save 462 million gallons of gasoline a year by increasing cycling a mere half percentage from 1 percent to 1.5 percent of all trips.

So park the car. Ride your bike. How many reasons do you have not to?

You can download a booklet of helpful tips on commuting to work by bicycle for the League of American Bicyclists.

Ride in RC Style

Want to get decked out in an official Ripon College Red Hawks cycling kit before your next ride? A new jersey and shorts design is now available, along with jackets, vest, arm warmers and a cool cycling cap.

Visit the Ripon cycling team Web site to find out more and for pricing. Then contact the Ripon College bookstore to place your order.

All items are customized for Ripon by Champion Systems

Show your Red Hawk pride on the road and trail. There's no doubt you'll get noticed.

Go Hawks!

Be Careful Out There

This article from the Sydney Morning Herald in Australia reminds all cyclists that there are bad people out there driving heavy hunks of metal that will mess you up if they want to.

First: ride responsibly. Second: ride responsively.