What’s New With the Team?

By Martin • April 16th, 2009

Since this our second year as a race team but our first year having a website, we may as well bring every up to speed with what’s been up with District Velocity Racing.

We Got a New Name: In 2008 we were simply known as “The Bike Rack.” For 2009 we’ve become “District Velocity Racing p/b The Bike Rack.” Why? Cause having “p/b” in your team name is just way more pro.

We Got New Sponsors: On top of our fantastic and reliable friends at our title sponsor, The Bike Rack, we picked up a few valuable partners that will help the team develop over the year. Lyons & Sucher is an advertising firm focusing on home builders and developers that’s run by a close friend and riding partner, Mark Sucher. Early on Mark saw the team’s potential and signed on to help us, and we wouldn’t be here without his loyal support and guidance. Sports & Spinal Physical Therapy is probably well known to many runners, swimmers and cyclists — they do physical therapy and provide other services for athletes of many stripes, after all. Bear Dog Landscaping is a Virginia-based landscaping firm run by our local fast-man, Chris Schmidt. More on him later. The Farm at Sunnyside is an organic farm in Little Washington, Virginia, right in the shadow of the beautiful Shenandoah National Park. Their fruits and vegetables are available at local farmers markets. Finally, Twisted Brazz Studio and Inward Out Designs are basically responsible with how this website and our team logo look. If we look smooth, it’s to their credit. If we don’t, it’s our fault, not theirs. Thanks to all our sponsors for helping making the 2009 season a reality.

We Got a Cat 1: Back to Chris Schmidt. A local fast-man that’s been messenging and racing around here for years, Chris came to District Velocity from The Bike Lane. We first noticed him at the 2008 ING Capital Crit when he single-handedly chased a two-man break for 12 laps in the 35+ race. He didn’t catch ‘em, but he placed fourth. He also had a wicked goatee that provoked us to call him “The Wizard.” While the rest of us work our way up to the higher ranks, Chris will be representing the team in elite races. He’s also the resident Zen master. If you ask him how he wins races, he’ll simply say, “Cross the line before anyone else.” If you follow up by asking how he does that, he’ll likely add, “Ride faster than everyone else.” There’s some beauty in the simplicity, isn’t there?

We Got a New Team Kit: With a new season and new sponsors comes a new kit. It’s pretty much the same as last year’s, spare the inclusion of some white (it makes everything faster, right?) and full-zip jerseys. Finally. Everyone knows that you need to have the jersey fully unzipped for that sweet picture while you crest a hill on a hot day. Sugoi is again our kit supplier.

We Had a Training Camp: Over the weekend of March 13-15 about 30 team members set off to the Lost River State Park in Mathias, West Virginia for some much needed pre-season training. Over the course of three days we put in some 150 miles of riding with 12,000 feet of climbing. In 40-degree weather. With rain. That toughened us up good. We also joined some NCVC boys to pre-ride the course for July’s Lost River Classic, which features some brutal hills on a 10-mile loop. Conclusion? The race will be a hit, though it’ll also likely shed anyone who isn’t ready to endure some pain. It may well be the only race in our area that you Sastre wannabes can win.

We Got Bike Fits: In early March some of the team members head down to Sports & Spinal to work with Jeremy and Scott, the local bike fit gurus. Each rider was given a comprehensive fit that included flexibility tests, video analysis and many adjustments to cleats, saddles and stems. Personally, I may have broken the record for most dramatic fit change ever. My saddle was raised a full 5 cm, making me finally realize that hamstrings are helpful in races. After the experience, we can all safely say that a professional fit is well worth the time and money. And if you need a great one, head to S&S.

That’s where we are now. See you out at the races!