Tentative Red Hawks Cycling Schedule Unveiled

I've been working on putting together the schedule for the inaugural mountain bike season of the Ripon College Red Hawks. The itinerary is based on the tentative Midwest Collegiate Cycling Conference schedule. In an effort to minimize travel time and related expenses in this first year, I've included some non-MWCCC alternate races that are closer to home. So here is what the schedule looks like as of today...

Aug. 24
@ Wisconsin Off Road Series Race #9: Border Battle

Aug. 30 & 31
@ University of Missouri

Sept. 6 & 7
@ University of Illinois

Sept. 13
@ Chequamegon Fat Tire 40

Sept. 20
@ Minnesota State Championship Series Race #10: Revolution's Single-Track Escape

Sept. 28
@ Wisconsin Off Road Series Race #11: Wolf River Rendezvous

Oct. 4 & 5
@ Butler University

Oct. 11 & 12
MWCCC Regionals @ Purdue University

Thank You

I would like to extend a sincere “thank you” to everyone who made the 2008 Wisconsin State Criterium Championships successful. It was wonderful to see bike racing back in Ripon after a long hiatus. In addition to the race’s many sponsors — most notably the Ripon Restaurant Group — I’d like to thank the following:

• The City of Ripon, who in spite of dealing with serious flooding issues city wide, did its best to meet our race needs — from ensuring the recent utility construction on Watson Street was finished and the street paved in time for the race to the phenomenal job done clearing the course streets of all debris Saturday morning.
• Craig Tebon, executive director of Ripon Main Street Inc., and Paula Price, executive director of the Ripon Area Chamber of Commerce, for their help with many logistics.
• Ripon Area Builders for providing barricades to block off streets.
• Tom Walker and the Alliance Laundry print shop for helping with Road Closed signs.
• Doug Kelm and Graphic Sign and Letter for the banner that hung across Watson Street, and Oshkosh Tent and Awning for repairing the banner when storm winds tore it.
• The Ripon College Physical Plant for use of vehicles and assistance in hanging, removing and re-hanging the banner.
• Brian Azinger, Dan Garcia, Chris Schattschneider and Ripon Medical Center for on-site first aid and medical assistance.
• The downtown shops and neighboring residents for their support.
• The Wisconsin American Legion and Badger Boys State for adjusting their plans to accommodate the race.
• Charles Oberweiser of Ripon College's Office of Community Engagement for his work with the Kids Fun Race and Imagineers Screen Printing and Sports for the donation of a gift certificate to the "winner" of the kids race.
• John Rohde at Custom Team Apparel who delayed his vacation plans until our race volunteer shirts arrived Friday afternoon.
• The race officials and all of the volunteers who worked registration and helped move traffic while keeping the racers and spectators safe.
  

On behalf of the LAPT Cycling Club and the Ripon College Red Hawks Cycling Team, thank you again to everyone mentioned above and to those who I may have forgotten to mention.

The Crazy Men (and women) of Cycling

When one of your friends does something that you're not really sure is good for them, do you support them? What if that something is racing a bike across the country. Dave Haase is attempting his fourth Race Across America (RAAM). He's twice finished in fourth place. This year, he's determined to win.

Dave is a great guy and a great ally for cycling in general. He owns and operates Attitude Sports in Fond du Lac, Wis. RAAM is not for the weak bodied or willed. Dave certainly has a strong will and he's proven his body can withstand the torture as well.

I truly wish him the best. He's just one day into the race, with about eight more to go. A lot can happen in those nine days. You can follow all of the action on the RAAM site or Dave's own Web site. The latest posting on Dave's site says he took a wrong turn last night and "almost got taken out by an owl."

Here's a good pre-race interview with Dave: