Merry Christmas!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Join the Rampage this Saturday

Meet at Cafe Hollander (2608 N. Downer Ave., Milwaukee) at 10. a.m dressed like Santa!

Free coffee, route info and Fat Tire Beer (only if you're 21)!

Existing and new Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin members get drink specials throughout the day. (Bring your Bike Fed membership card).

New! Pre-ride meeting points: Join other Santas for the ride to Hollander! All roll-in rides depart at 9:30am!!! Riverwest: Fuel Cafe (818 E. Center St., Milwaukee); Tosa Village: Cafe Hollander (7677 W State St., Wauwatosa); Bay View: Anodyne Coffee Co. (2920 S. Kinnickinnic Ave., Milwaukee).

More info: http://bikewinter.org/

The Iceman Has Cometh

The Red Hawks ventured up and over Lake Michigan to Kalkaska and Traverse City this weekend to race the 28-mile Iceman Cometh Challenge. Eric Smith posted the best time for Ripon at 1 hour 55 minutes and 13 seconds. It was good enough for 5th place among the Michigan Youth Cycling Scholarship racers and the final spot on the podium in the category.

Other Red Hawks results:

• Andy Fehrenbach : 2:14:30 : 16th : MYC 12-18
• Tiffany Seering : 2:46:28 : 28th : Sport Women 19-34
• Paul Meuer : 2:47:53 : 21st : Beginner Men 15-18
• Andy Ayers : 2:56:41 : 28th : Sport Men 19-24
  

Smitty 20th in DH; Red Hawks 12th Overall

Eric was looking forward to the downhill competition at the collegiate mountain bike championships. After dropping a chain during his qualifying run for the four cross yesterday and missing the 32-man cutoff by less than a second; he was very much hoping to redeem himself today.

But a few technical difficulties had him a bit on edge. First, he discovered a missing nut on the pivot of his rear suspension. The bolt could not be tightened. It didn't seem like the bolt would come loose, so attempted the four-cross qualifier with confidence. The dropped chain cut his competition in that event prematurely, but it gave him time to practice the downhill. So while 32 D2 men raced for the national championship in 4X, Smitty took three runs down the DH.

On his third run, he severely bent his rear derailleur hanger thus effecting his ability to shift well. Between the loose bolt and the bent hanger, Smitty's confidence took a hit. Still, his outlook before departing on his first seeding run was positive and he came away with the 26th best time (5 minutes even) of the 51 D2 competitors — meaning he'd be the 26th rider to tackle the DH course for the real deal.

In his bid for the D2 national championship, he cut his time by 13.9 seconds to take 20th place with a time of 4:46.1. The winning time of 4:13.23 was put in by Michael Thomas of Appalachian State University.

In the end, Ripon finished the nationals competition in 12th place overall among the 25 Division 2 schools competing. Smitty's 20th in the DH, 22nd in the STXC and 28th in the XC dropped him into the top 10 in the D2 individual male omnium competition.

Tiffany 17th; Eric 22nd in Short Track

It's no secret, neither Tiffany nor Eric like the short track discipline. So after the grueling day both experienced on the mountain in the cross country event yesterday, they were most certainly not looking forward to the equally challenging short track course at Northstar.

They both put in great efforts in spite of the soreness in their bodies. It was exhilarating to hear Tiffany called to the start line first as the Midwest Conference champion. The exhilaration soon faded as the reality of the opening climb set in, followed be a nasty crash on the downhill section. In the end, Tiffany lasted only three laps before being lapped by the eventual winner, Kay Sherwood of Colorado College. Still, she wasn't the first to be removed from the race and placed 17th.

Having a good starting position would be key in the short track as the racers immediately climbed up a road of loose gravel. Eric was fortunate to have a place right up front, but like Tiffany, it didn't do him much good. He struggled up the long climb and the downhill section was too short for him to effectively use his skills to gain ground on the leaders.

Those leaders would eventually lap him, and Eric was pulled from the race with three laps to go. He finished in 22nd place among the 40 starters.

He hoped to do even better in the four cross event, but during his qualifying run, he dropped the chain and limped across the finish line. His run time was 35th best. Only the top 32 qualified for competition. Eric's time was 3/10ths of a second shy. Them's the breaks. You hope such bad luck doesn't occur during the biggest race of the year ... well, for Eric, the biggest race of the year is tomorrow. The downhill is his favorite event, and I predict he'll come back strong tomorrow.

Red Hawks Experience National-Level Competition in California

After Day 1 at the USA Cycling Collegiate Mountain Bike Nationals, Ripon was 10th (of 22) in the overall team omnium scoring for Div. 2 schools. This after a rough day for Tiffany and Eric.

Tiffany was the final woman across the finish line in the 3-lap, 22.5-mile cross country race Friday morning. She crossed the line in 3:30:46.40, battling the 800 feet of vertical on each lap and significant pain in her knee. Of the 19 D2 women who started the race in the village at the Northstar at Tahoe Resort in Truckee, Calif., Tiffany was 15th. Four women did not finish the race.

Similarly, Eric was the last man to cross the line for the D2 men. Eric finished the 4-lap, 30-mile race in a time of 3:07:03.65 to place him 28th among the 38 starters. Ten men did not finish the brutal race up and down the ski mountain at Northstar.

Regardless of the results, I was extremely happy with the effort and determination both riders showed today. In an odd move, the race officials pulled riders from the cross-country race if they did not complete the second (for women) and third (for men) laps in a specific time.

Had Tiffany come through the finish three minutes later after two laps, she would have been pulled. Instead she went out for her third lap. The effort almost proved too much for her though. But it wasn't. She completed the race ... a national race.

Eric was the last D2 man left to head out on the fourth lap in the men's race. Still he had a respectable race. He finished ahead of two D1 riders. And like Tiff, he completed a national-level race.

For both riders, it was tremendous experience. This is Ripon's first trip to nationals, but it will not be the last. Tiff and Eric will most likely be back next year, and now we all know what it takes to compete at this level.

Mountain Bikers Make the Marquee