TOYOTA / CYCLING TEAM PRESENTED BY GCCA

Driveway Miniseries Pro Race Overall Winner

2010-06-25T12:35:00.005-05:00

Congratulations to Colton for taking the overall this month at The Driveway Race Series with his field sprint win for 2nd Place last night. Drew spent the entire race off the front with Stefan Rothe of Team Hotel San Jose and held off most of the field for 8th. Thank you to The Driveway Series and all the sponsors for putting on such an awesome and unique event every week. This race really brings a lot to our daily lives here in Austin, TX.

Colton posing next to himself within the Holland Racing logo.

Jed, Joseph, Colton, and Drew enjoy the podium.

University Oaks Criterium 6/20

2010-06-21T13:46:00.002-05:00

Drew Hill sprinting to second behing Andy Wilson and Colton Jarisch taking the field sprint for sixth after a late race 5-man break narrowly holds their lead to the line at the University Oaks Criterium.

OKC Rocks Crit Saturday

2010-06-13T17:23:00.005-05:00

Jed Rogers takes the win by a massive margin on a vicious cross-head-wind finish around the capitol after a strong chase and lead-out by teammates Colton Jarisch (7th) and Drew Hill (11th). The teams ROL wheels flew great in the crosswinds and headwinds assisting Jed in his victory along with stellar coaching from Adam Mills at Source Endurance.

Tulsa Tough

2010-06-09T17:28:00.005-05:00

Hot Alchemy Custom crit bikes on display. Halfway through the season and these bad-rigs have been a dream to rip through the city streets.
Toyota Sienna, tent in Pro-pit area set up at the corner of turn 1 Friday night. This spot on the race course gave the team maximum visibility from all angles in the single most crowded and busy part of the race course. This provided for multiple fan interactions and questions about all products being used by the team.

Friday night, towards the end of the race with 5 laps to go, Drew Hill's last effort attack stayed for 2.5laps. Being out on the front alone like this at the end of the race gave the team and sponsors maximum coverage through the big screen and television crews as well as the announcers. The team road well and walked away with a respectable 5th place out of over 100 racers with Sprinter Jed Rogers.

Victory at the Gary Glickman Crit

2010-06-01T18:16:00.002-05:00

Victory: ATRA National CAT3 Omnium

2010-05-26T17:26:00.003-05:00

I won the CAT 3 Omnium this past weekend at the Superdrome in Frisco, TX. Friday night was a slow start, but my legs came back 'round on Saturday and Sunday. Below is the video of the 8-Lap Scratch Race. I beat out Eric Attayi by a mere 3 pixels for the win.

Jed Rogers wins the CAT3 8 Lap Scratch Race at the ATRA Nationals from Toyota Cycling Team on Vimeo.

Drew Hill 3rd Overall at Grueling Hammerfest in Fort Davis, TX

2010-04-15T22:58:00.004-05:00

Drew did a great job riding solo for Toyota / GCCA last weekend. Read below for his accounts of how the events unfolded.

Arrival
Friday morning 6:30am. I roll over taking a long spiteful glance at the bleeping and buzzing phone alarm next to me and resign myself to the fact that I have to get up and on the road for the very long day of driving ahead of me. Bikes; check. Food; check. Gear; check. Driving tunes; check. Fort Davis... ok.... here we go.

The drive out to Fort Davis is for some, a race and challenge in its own right. A few lonely country highways leading out to the endless drag of asphalt that is Interstate 10. The only saving grace once on this grand creation is it’s bendable 80mph speed limit that if utilized liberally can easily turn an 8hr trek into less than 7. I made it in under 6...

After calming down from the death metal and red bull once arriving in Fort Davis, I made my way to my housing at the Davis Mountains Education Center just on the outskirts of town. After unloading and organizing all of my gear, I kitted up for an hour or so spin up to the Prude Ranch for packet pick up and a chance to loosen up the legs after far too long in the car.

Upon arriving back at camp, I was informed by my fellow housing mates from Wooly Mammoth Cycling that we were indeed going to be graced by the presence of a true Native American mystic Shaman! (this had previously been discussed but neither confirmed nor denied) After a hearty dinner of well balanced veggies (courtesy of Wooly Mammoth Dinner Tyme) and some self provided meats I was very ready for some seriously awesome ancient magic. And oh how magic it was.....

I am not at liberty to discuss the inner workings of our truly epic ceremony other than to say that we were visited by multiple Eagle and Dragon spirits, given invisible healing treatments and for the finale were group hugged by a bunch of angels.... oh yes. There was much, much, more discussed and many more secrets divulged to us, but if I go on the government might try to sue or kill me..... according to our mystic shaman.

After my 2 or so hours of time spent in the spirit realm (and outside, in the cold, in shorts) myself as well as my legs were very ready for bed.

The Hill Climb
The first stage of the three in Fort Davis is a 16 mile hill climb with about 1.5k of 17-18% gradient up to the finish line at the top of the McDonald observatory. This is consistently one of the hardest things I have ever done on a bike, domestic or abroad.

After a chilly start of about 48 degrees or so things quickly started to warm up after we began to make our way up the slowly rising canyon to the true climbs. An early break of 3-4 went away early on containing 2 Cat 2 riders one of which I didn’t know. Having ridden this climb before I sat patiently knowing that the steeper longer grades would, in all likely-hood, bring the break back.

As the false flats and the lesser hills passed, nervous tension began to build approaching the first real hill. As some of the larger teams started setting a solid pace at the front I slowly worked my way forward, knowing that just after this climb there would be a perfect opportunity to move all the way to the front on a very short speedy down hill curve just before the second and longest climb. Just as we crested the climb I made my move forward and put myself into the top three with ease. Perfect. Now stay here....

Progressing up the climb of about 12-13% I was able to comfortably hold my position and cover small surges up to the next relatively flat portion. By this point, the breakaway had appeared to be shattered and we were the front group.

Approaching the final grade is a small false flat rise past a parking lot and then the final kick of around 18% for the last 1k or so. On this false flat is where I started to feel less than good. Maintaining my spot in the group was proving to be slightly tougher than 2min ago. As we hit the final slope I felt my legs leave and slowly slid off the pace of the top 6 riders. However, knowing the break was behind along with all of the other Cat 2 riders I continued to suffer up the grade to the finish. Yes. Got it.

No. Didn’t get it. A single remaining Cat 2 rider from the break had stayed away to the finish for 2nd overall in the climb and first in the Cat 2’s. 2nd place. That’s ok. Time Trial this afternoon.... and I’ll destroy it.

Time Trial
The time trial course is a simple 16mile out and back with a deceptively difficult constant rising false flat, out with a headwind or crosswind and an insanely fast return on the same slope with the wind.

There isn’t really a lot to say about time trials. Put on goofy wheels, goofy clothes, and a really goofy helmet. Warm up. Ride hard. Really hard. So hard that you want to puke. Then you’re done.

I started my time trail slightly slower than I would have normally to try and give my legs a little more time to warm up properly and get into a faster tempo. After that I really just settled into the pain and kept closing on the rider 30sec ahead of me. At the turnaround I knew I had to really shatter myself after saving some on the way up so I clicked my gears down to 55x11 (front ring x rear gear) and told myself that there was no other gear. Stay here.

In the last 3-4k I gave everything left I had, caught my 30sec man, and though I was going to die. Probably a good TT.

It was good enough for 2nd. 1st place was about :40 faster. That’s a lot. At this point I was now 2nd GC (general classification) by only 9 seconds. The guy that had won the hill climb was in third behind me by about 30 seconds. This was shaping up to be a tight race.

Road Race
Sunday’s road race is a 74 mile loop that begins on mostly flats and rolling hills for the first 30-40 miles, then is broken up into roughly 3 longer, harder climbs, and then finishes with a long descent down the previous hill climb course onto a flat run out to the finish line at the top of a short steep-ish hill.

Beginning the road race on Sunday I was only nervous about two things. One: the prospect of getting tagged by a stray lightning bolt in the middle of a desert rain storm. And two: The guy behind me in GC getting into a break and taking the 30seconds or so he needed to pass me in the classification..... I didn’t get hit by lightning.

The day started slightly wet but not raining and thankfully not too cold, only cool. As we made our way out through town and past the end of the neutral start things got under way with various break away attempts going off here and there. As nothing seemed to be sticking the pace slowed slightly which ultimately gave way to a small group of about 3-4 getting away up the road, none of whom were any real GC threat for either the Cat1’s or 2’s. However, the three riders that bridged up to the breakaway at some point that I missed were. Heath Blackgrove 1st GC Cat 1’s, Chad Haga 2nd GC Cat 1’s, and Fortunato Furraro..... 3rd place GC..... Cat 2’s. That one guy.

Not panicking, I made my way to the front and waited for the first real climb to see where the break would sit at that point. A consorted chase effort was being made by Metro VW who had missed the break and were trying in vain to move their top ranked GC rider (Christian Helmig) up the road to the move that looked to be sticking. At the approach of the first climb (Bear Mountain) the selection began and the pack quickly evaporated from roughly 50 or so riders to a front group of about 13-16 riders. The break was still up the road and was drifting in and out of sight. This was bad.

After the summit I began to work with the remaining Metro VW riders to bring back my one rival up the road but after a couple of evaluations of the group and who was present quickly realized that my work efforts would only end up tiring myself. Team Hotel San Jose had the majority of riders in the group who were all working for their man up the road and would do nothing but cover attacks and sit on while others chased. Also in our group was the Cat 2 GC leader Scott Simmons who, to his credit, did a very good job of hiding at the back, and it wasn’t even until the end of the race that I, and others, even knew that he was there.

Our group was set. We dropped a few riders over one or two of the climbs but overall maintained a steady pace that allowed for the three riders up the road to hold their gap until the end.

The finish of my race led me to believe that I had maintained 2nd GC and the Italian up the road had surely won from the large time splits that we had been receiving from the motor bike referees. This was not the case....

The Italian rider off the front had been dropped on the last descent and had finished just in front of our group..... and had bumped me from 2nd place GC..... by 4 seconds. Scott Simmons (also in our group) had as it turned out, held his lead by also.... 4seconds. Ouch. Radios would have been nice. 9 seconds to first and 5 seconds to second.

The Davis Mountains had never previously been “beautiful” or “enchanting” in my eyes, but this year they managed to catch my attention and really make my time on the bike there enjoyable. Pretty much one solid attack could have given me the win or taken me out of the race. All in all I tried to race smart and conservative and paid the price. A lesson learned for another race and another day. That’s what this is all about anyways right? Live and learn.

Big thank you’s to family, friends, team mates, and sponsors for everything from hugs and handshakes to bikes and bills. None of what we do would be possible without your help and support. And we like what we do!!!!! So thanks!!!

Until next podium, cheers.

Drew Hill

Toyota / GCCA & DCM Photography

2010-03-31T20:08:00.004-05:00

We are proud to announce a new sponsor for the remainder of the 2010 racing season: DCM Photography. Dave McLaughlin is the man behind the lens, and if you've ever been to the Driveway Race Series in Austin, you may have browsed through all of his images the next day. However, photographing cycling is just one of his creative outlets—check out his portraits, wedding photos, and commercial work.

Main site: www.dcmphotography.com
Weddings & Portraits: www.dcmphotography.blogspot.com
Cycling: www.dcmcycling.blogspot.com
Commercial: www.dcmcommercial.blogspot.com

We will soon have a new GCCA website to showcase his talent. Stay tuned.

Alchemy Bikes, Rol Wheels, The Driveway, and DCM Photography

2010-03-27T18:04:00.003-05:00

Here's a professionally shot photo of our new rigs by Dave McLaughlin of www.dcmphotography.com. Go buy a beautiful racing shot here or hire him for your wedding and show up here.

We'd like to thank Alchemy Bicycles and Rol Wheels for setting us up with these super light, insanely stiff, and extremely responsive crit machines. This recent Thursday was my first race on it at The Driveway Series here in Austin, and I sliced through the last chicane of riders to grab second place just inches behind Team Hotel San Jose's sprinter, Will Ross and in front of Jet Fuel's 2007 Canadian National Track Champion, Daniele DeFranceschi. I was not expecting to even finish the fast-paced crit due to all of my recent injuries, setbacks, and lack of training, much less get second. Check out the bike throw at the line here.

My boys, Drew Hill, Colton Jarisch, and Joseph LaFico played an awesome roll in chasing everything down and dragging the field to breakaways in order to keep the finish as a pack sprint. Colton even crashed, got back in, then drilled it towards the front to keep the pace high at the end.

Cheers to fast bikes with fast wheels on them and great teammates! This season is going to be a fun one!

Colton Jarisch in the Austin's American Statesman

2010-03-25T10:36:00.003-05:00

Colton was featured in Austin360 today. Grab a copy inside the Austin American Statesman, or go here to read the article.

Colton and I have our new Alchemy bikes built up, complete with new Rol wheels. Joseph's and Drew's are being built as I type this.

Our sweet Alchemy paint jobs go great with our 2010 Toyota Venza. However, we're about to get a brand new 2011 Toyota Sienna. Be sure to come check out this sporty new van at the next race.

Colton's Pace Bend 5th Place Race Report

2010-02-25T14:35:00.004-06:00

Photo courtesy of Tom Craddock

Pace Bend, a race notorious for not suiting a break-away, and ending in a dangerous bunch sprint. This wasn’t the case last weekend though. The morning started off with Joseph arriving at my apartment early Sunday morning. The lactic acid from the prior days tough race was tingling in my legs, along with the anxious hope in my chest at the thought of a podium finish in one of the state’s most well known races. After a fairly ordinary start, with a few moves unsuccessfully trying to get up the road, a group of ~10 guys rolled off the front. Having a ten second advantage on the filed, I decided to bridge to it, in the hopes of staying away. After a few reshuffles, dangling off the front of the peloton, Brant Speed (Team Hotel San Jose), Thacker Reeves (Garmin Transitions), and myself decided to “pull a fast one” on the chasers and put in a few strong digs. Around mile 15 of the 80 mile race and working hard together with our partners for the day (including representatives from Bike Barn, AT&T, Austin Bikes, Metro VW, Velossimo, and ALS-C3) the break got some momentum and eventually put in 5 minutes time to the chasing peloton. Around mile 60, only 7 of the original 12 men were left. With 12 miles left in the race Ryan McFeely (Team ALS-C3) attacked with Brant Speed following. Thacker, David Arteaga (Velossimo), and I stared at each other a little too long trying to make the others bridge the gap. The move worked, leaving the race for third between the three of us and Andrew Gonzales (Metro VW). I attacked through the feed zone with ~4 miles to go and shed Andrew, leaving only Thacker and David to contest against. After slew of attacks, counters, and cat and mouse tactics, Thacker jumped 2km from the finish. He was brought back by David and I countered. Eventually getting brought back and pinned in front of my two break away companions, forced to lead out the sprint. Thacker ended up taking 3rd and David 4th, leaving me with 5th place the 2010 addition of Pace Bend. My data file can be found at http://connect.garmin.com/activity/25483636

Congrats, Colton!

2010-02-09T10:03:00.003-06:00

The Drew Hill/Joseph LaFico train did their best to deliver Colton Jarisch as close to the front as possible on the last lap of the Kenny Hill Autowerks Spring Classic at Driveway Austin. Colton then proceeded to go around a bunch of riders and sprint his way to 4th for some well-earned upgrade points and a few greens. He finished along side top sprinters, Josh Carter, Alan Ting, and Will Ross. Congrats, team—very well done!

Welcome to the Team!

2010-02-02T08:36:00.003-06:00

We are proud to announce yet another addition to our Elite Team—Drew Hill. Welcome, Drew. We're all excited to see what this multi-faceted squad will do this year.

Welcome to the Team!

2010-01-08T09:53:00.006-06:00

Toyota / Cycling Team presented by GCCA is proud to announce the addition of Colton Jarisch to the Elite Team. Colton comes from Victoria, TX and is currently pursuing degrees in International Business and Finance from St. Edward's University here in Austin. He started racing road bikes only three years ago and has moved up through the categories quickly. Last year he placed well at the U23 Nationals and Tulsa Tough and had many strong rides and finishes in Texas. Colton has a ton of drive and passion and we are very excited to see what the 2010 season will present to him. Welcome to the team, Colton.

Check out the Rigs

2009-11-17T21:29:00.012-06:00

Swung by to visit with James Flatman of Alchemy Bikes today as I received an update that two of our frames were completely welded. Here are a couple pics of Jed's and my bike.

Super Stoked to see the masterpiece that James and I came up with in the flesh. It should go to paint (actually powder-coat) this week.

Yep, That's Mine!

That's Jed's

Almost there. Headed to the Paint shop in Colorado (Spectrum Powder Works)

The Process of Bike Building

2009-11-06T19:44:00.003-06:00

I rode over to Alchemy Bicycles today to play with Bendi and watch James build up Joseph's new frame. It was the first time I'd been around an aluminum bike being built. The frequency of welds was higher pitched than what I've heard for steel. While I was there, James mitered the downtube, chainstays, and tacked the dropouts to the chainstays.

Rear-end of my frame before the brake brace is mounted

James Flatman mitering away

Bendi on guard

James tacking the dropouts to Joseph's chainstays

Joseph's front triangle

First Alchemy / Toyota Frame Tacked

2009-11-04T19:22:00.003-06:00

OK, so I was excited before, but seeing this thing tacked together has me waaayyy more excited now.

Team Bikes...the Raw Material

2009-11-02T22:55:00.003-06:00

Through the process of having our new team bike made by Austin Custom Builder James Flatman of Alchemy Bicycles, we'll be bringing you little shots of them being made. Since James puts so much hard work and TLC into the rigs he builds we figured a little behind the scenes action would be great. Plus we're pretty stoked to see the bikes that we'll be riding being made first hand...Thanks James, for letting us hover for a while!!

Alchemy Bikes to be at '09 Texas Custom Bicycle Show

2009-10-20T23:31:00.003-05:00

Be sure to go checkout the clean work of James Flatman and Alchemy Bicycles at the Texas Custom Bicycle Show this weekend. They are our bike sponsor for the 2010 racing season. We all can't wait to get our hands on ours.

Downers Grove Eye of the Storm

2009-08-15T12:22:00.007-05:00

I went out to Oak Forest Nature Preserve yesterday for a nice easy ride with a couple openers in preparation for tonight's Pro-Am in Downers Grove IL. This race is prior to Sunday's Elite National Criterium Championship. Crit Nats has been a goal of mine for about 3 years. Once I figured I had a crack at getting my Cat 1, I marginally fixated on this race ever since. So with the upgrade in the bag and my first time being eligible to do this race I figured I should make this trip to Chi-Town to give it a whirl. I used the title "eye of the storm" because there's been quite a flurry of preparation, travel and a little stress getting here...so Now an easy ride before the real action gets cranked for tonight's event.

and when I mean easy I mean easy...Yes that's 63watts.

Toyota / Cycling Team pb GCCA '10 Sneek Peak?

2009-08-10T19:41:00.001-05:00

These photos just surfaced:

This appears to be the Toyota Venza driven by Toyota / Cycling Team pb GCCA parked high enough to catch some Austin skyline.

Matthew Mahon, local Austin hot shot photographer could not be coaxed into telling us what the photos were for.

Is this the team we think it is, cause there appear to be FOUR pairs of legs!?

We hope to find out what this is about soon.....

Rockwall Criterium

2009-08-09T15:17:00.001-05:00

After a night of pedalling around on our bmxs, cruisers and basket bikes on the east side and watching films at the Bicycle Film Festival, Toyota / GCCA members Jed, Joseph and I set off early Sunday morning to Rockwall, TX in hunt for some upgrade points for Jed at the 60 min Rockwall Criterium.

.9 mi course, four turns, very exposed, with some stiff headwinds after turn one.

A Kelly Benefits rider took the heat from the street and set a fire to the field. This would be a day of the gutter. If you were too far back, the gutter was your race course. If you were on the front, better like to ride in the wind.

Our only objective today was to get Jed some upgrade points. Without making any excuses, not one of us made the ten man break that included Kelly Benefits, Heath Blackgrove (THSJ), Bret Crosby (TX Tough), Andrew Dalheim (Metro VW), etc. This was truly the winning break and we were left out in a field of riders content to let time tick away the "getting dropped from the race" on their to-do list.

Jed managed to sneak away with a few riders and I later bridged up with "Surfer" Nick Kiernan (TX Tough). Surfer and I broke away with 3 to go as the leaders lapped the field and Joseph surfed with them up to Jed's group.

Surfer and I decided to drag race it to the line. It was the noble thing to do and I was impressed I didn't get completly smoked. Jed won the field sprint while Joseph took 3rd at the line.

12th, 13th and 15th. Not the results we were hoping for but the team dynamic is coming together and we hope to pull off a big surprise at the upcoming Austin weekend and TX Tough!!

Time for some lunch.

- Post From My iPhone

Cooper Clinic Race Report

2009-07-22T20:58:00.005-05:00

We loaded the Venza for the first race Jed, Joseph and I were to all compete together outside of Austin since Houston Grand. The Cooper Clinic in McKinney, TX was a Toyota sponsored event where we were treated with ice cold water (heaven with temps near 110), shady tents, and a massage therapist all courtesy of Pat Lobb of Lobb Toyota.

The .9 mi, ten turn course will one day be the neighborhood streets Dallas suburbanites will raise families and teach their offspring with training wheels. But on this scorching day, before any brick was laid or foundation poured, we ordained these streets worthy of a crit course. Better yet, Bret Crosby of TXTough made a bid to have a street named after him by winning the 75 min race with a tactful solo move that saw him lap the field.

Attacks were aplenty and Toyota / Cycling Team p/b GCCA displayed early dominance by taking the first two primes. Brian Fawley of Park Place Lexus and Matrix RBM also were always at the head of every reshuffling. At about minute 25, a very active field lulled temporarily, having made many combinations of a break that kept coming back together. As if on cue, "Surfer" Nick Kiernan of TXTough set the stage for what would be a one-man act. Kiernan strung out the field for an entire lap and when the dust was settled his teammate, Crosby, snuck away while most were like men lost in the desert, promised water if they do as they are told. At about the time it was obvious Crosby was not coming back Leo Frayre and Steen Rose made away as quick as virgin newlyweds. Surfer Nick was next, catching the two escapees about the time Crosby lapped the field. Brother Joseph was the last to escape the charred remains of the peleton to put in his solo bid for 5th place. I led out Jed for the field sprint in 6th position. I held on after the lead out for 8th, being passed by Fawley.

All in all, not a bad day with the entire team finishing in the top ten. Many thanks to Lobb Toyota and its friendly staff and for having the cool shaded station where we all hashed out our post race excitement. Also, many thanks to Josh with Rol Wheels for the neutral support!

Tour of Lawrence

2009-07-10T11:27:00.015-05:00

Jed Wins. Photo courtesy of Tom Soeteart

The team set off this past week in Hanna’s trusty ole' Toyota 4-Runner to the Tour of Lawrence in Kansas. The ToL was a first year event and it was well run to say the least. The events consisted of a Friday night Street Sprint (200-meter standing start up hill race), Saturday evening Criterium and a Sunday Circuit race on a 4.4-mile providing 7,000 ft of climbing in 53 miles.

Jed absolutely destroyed the Street Sprints on Friday evening including the Pro riders and sprinter extraordinaire Josh Carter. The Final was between Josh and Jed and Josh definitely got the jump on Jed but by the half way point Jed's leg turn-over was too much and he finally overtook the savvy sprinter in the last 5-meters or so. All told, Jed had to go through about 8 sprints during the night, winner moves on style. Josh is one hell of a competitor, hats off to him for giving Jed a run for his money.

If you’ve ever wondered what is takes to beat a Pro in a one up sprint check out the power file from Jed’s winning sprint.

After a great nights rest at the Hotel Eldridge where the race promoter placed us, we were game for our race of choice in the Saturday evening criterium. The field was stacked and included reasonably large team in TradeWind Energy/Trek, Mercy, Team Hotel San Jose with “pros” Sean Sullivan and Health Blackgrove. Team Champion Porsche was in attendance with crit specialists Frank Travieso, Yosvany Falcon, and Seth Hansely.

Joseph and Bryan cruising. Photo Courtesy of Tom Soeteart

Considering we had a small three man squad with the addition of composite rider Bryan Fawley, we decided to employ late race tactics and not worry about the super aggressive teams at the beginning of the race. With about 25-20min left to race Bryan and I were riding up front when we realized that Jed was riding in the back of the pack (I asked him to get some rest and surf some wheels for a while), so as not to waist our sprinters legs the duty goes to me to fall back and bring him up to the front of the bike race. It was a relatively easy effort and it was back to patrolling the front.

Jed on Front pushing the pace. Photo courtesy of Craig Sparks

Two riders were off the front, so with about 5 laps to go I gave good hard pull to excite the pack into working to bring them back.

Joseph on Front putting in a dig with 5 laps to go. Photo courtesy of Tom Soeteart

The effort was to no avail and the larger teams (to our utter amazement and disbelief) did not go to the front to bring the dangling break of two back, only 10-seconds up the road. Ubber-pro Health Blackgrove took the victory.

Jed and Bryan had solid finishes coming in 7^th and 8^th overall respectively.

Bryan finishing 8th. Photo courtesy of Tom Soeteart

It was then on to the local pub to celebrate and give back to the local community. Lawrence Kansas is a rocking little town when the sun sets.

Sunday presented a brutal course to the riders as we lined up for the final race of the weekend. Jed and Bryan got call ups as did all top ten finishers of the previous nights crit. Bryan raced extremely well and was part of the initiating group to cause the front break away. The course proved too difficult for our crit loving legs and we did not place in the race. That said, considering Toyota / Cycling Team p/b GCCA scored an overall victory in the Street Sprints and two Top Tens in a fast, technical crit we walked away with fond memories of Tour of Lawrence and looking forward to next year.

Alkek Sprint Night

2009-06-28T12:10:00.005-05:00

Joseph and I went out to Houston for the last Spring race of their season. Due to the blazing heat, it was a low turn-out. Joseph also raced out there the night before, then did a 3 hour ride in the morning, so he was pretty blown before even starting his flying 200m Time Trial. He was grossly under-geared, but still pulled off a pretty good TT and almost edged out his first opponent during in his first match sprint ever. He finished off the night with a 3rd Place and some tired legs.

I tried a new gear ratio for my flying 200, but I think the headwind on the back-straight was working against me. It was the slowest 200m TT I've done so far at 12.1 seconds, but somehow was enough to barely squeak by for top time. Since we only had 5 riders, I had a by-run for the quarter-finals. Dan Morgan got a really good jump on me in the semi-finals which forced me to chase for a full lap. I was laughing at how bad he got me. It was like I was sleeping up there by the rail. Brendan Sharp and I had a really fun Final—conversing in the first two turns. I drew the obligation, but could not get him to come around me. We waited really late to start our sprint, which was a good thing for me, but my reaction times were still lagging.

Next weekend: Tour of Lawrence!

Semi-Finals: Dan Morgan vs Jed Rogers

Finals: Brendan Sharp vs Jed Rogers

Lots of racing

2009-06-23T22:22:00.004-05:00

OK, so it's been a while since we've updated the blog. However, we've been real busy racing, training, and recovering. The Venza has been strategically placed at every single race we've been to and we've had a handful of spectators come take a peak and learn about it.

We had a great time in Tulsa a few weeks ago even though our firecracker of a sprinter and attacker was back in Austin healing up from two consecutive crash weekends. Friday's crit ended well despite a crash that took out Joseph early on—I snuck down under a bunch of guys in the last turn to pull of a second place. Saturday's crit was super hot. Aaron Sinclair from Houston rode very strong, covered some attacks, and got in a break mid-race. Joseph was also very active covering breaks, going for flyers, then on the last lap made a miracle happen. I was winded after going for a silly prime with 10 laps to go and I slid really far back in the pack. Joseph came back, latched me on to his wheel and with about 1km left, pulled me from about 45th to about 15th and delivered me perfectly into the inside of the last turn. I cut the turn as hard as I could and sprinted the last stretch to get 7th! I could not believe what we had just pulled off. Sunday was really hard for Joseph and I because of the hilly course, but Aaron rode really strong and finished the race respectfully. After everything was said and done, I was able to hold on the 5th overall at the 2009 Tulsa Tough.

The team will be headed to the Alkek Velodrome this weekend for a Texas Cup race. Wish us luck.

Colton Jarisch of Velossimo and I warming up along the river in Tulsa

Friday night's strategic parking on the inside of the first turn

Saturday's Crit finish line parking job

Hustlin'

Saturday after LaFico made a miracle happen

We heart Tulsa

Joseph hearts salsa

Zheng Gu Shui

2009-05-06T22:09:00.007-05:00

Ahhh, good ole' Zheng Gu Shui. You know Zheng Gu Shui..right? Ok, I'll acquiesce with the smarty-pants Chinese herbal jargon. My point here is this stuff is fantastic for healing up ones blown out shoulder. As my mate John so eloquently stated in the last post, it's been a hard couple of weeks, with illness and crashes. The great thing is that when you surround yourself with good people, good things happen and progress continues. After a couple early season crits in St. Louis and Dallas with good results, it seems as though I've been plagued with a wee bit of bad juju. First the sinus infection which I thought I could kick on my own, (wrong!) led to an exacerbated ilness. I then lined up this weekend and hit the deck straining my AC joint...again. The great thing is that the crit season is upon us and that excites both myself and my teammates. Thus I need to make sure that I can ride well and score some results for our wonderful sponsors. This leads me to Zheng Gu Shui and it's wonderfull effects. Along with the chinese herbs, massive icings and Advil I've been able to get back on the bike (inside) and keep the progress going after just one day's rest. Long live Chinese Medicine and riding fast.

Race Reports and Coping with Crashing

2009-05-03T22:50:00.002-05:00

The last two weeks have seen just as many members involved in crashes.

The Matrix Crit, held in the Wilson Block Historic District, Dallas started the two day event under windy overcast conditions. During the 90 minute event, just as an 18 man break reeled in and the sun took of its cloudy mask, the right breakaway artists played their deal making hand. A hard chasing field was spitting out riders on every lap of the technical course. In the ensuing charge, I found myself on an unknown rider's wheel. This was the first sign that I was on the rivet myself. Like a swinging pendelum, the wheel in front of me sweept my wheel and I, along with several around me went down. The result is I took a free lap (or two), finished in the field, which is like the 4th group to cross the line and miss Sundays race along with about the next two weeks for healing. With JLa out again (this time on antibiotics for a sinus infection, geez), Jed is the only Toyota / Cycling Team memeber who starts on Sunday. Jed's race tactics are marred by the exclusion of the "one hot lap" prime. He positoned himself perfectly at the start of the race and was likely set to take the first prime offered except he overshot a turn and went off-road. What could have easily been a quiet ride home in the Venza, was quite the opposite with a stop at our favourite place to fill up and get kolache's in West, TX.

The Sugarland, TX Sugar Crit's venue is "a pedestrian-oriented, main street city center and a central business district that is within walking distance of stores, services, restaurants, sidewalk cafes, entertainment, and a hotel & conference center." The P12 race was marked with numerous crashes that affected the outcome for the team. At about minute 30, Jed put a lil $ in his jersey pocket for winning a prime. This would be the only luck for the team. Joseph got stuck behind a crash and was able to take a free lap while Jed took to chasing and used valuable reserves trying to get back up to the field except it was already three groups away. Joseph was involved in another crash, this time injuring a shoulder that had only just healed from a recent crash. The team is holding vigils for healing, sunny weather and victories for the month of May.

Ivan Mukasa/James Bailey P1/2 Race Report

2009-04-19T20:52:00.003-05:00

Toyota / Cycling Team were excited to finally take the new, freshly wrapped team car on its first road trip this weekend. Brother Joseph out with the sniffles, Jed and I loaded up on Friday night and headed up to Ft. Worth for a weekend of racing. Here's the report:

Sat April 18th
P1
The Ivan Mukasa Memorial Race was held at Eagle's Canyon Raceway in Decatur, TX on an overcast morning. The P1 race had 15 starters. About 15 minutes in, Dave Wenger (Super Squadra) attacked and took Geoff Godsey, Nick Kiernan (TX Tough) and Scott Veggeberg (GS Tenzing) to complete the winning break. I tried to stay on the neutral side of the battle royale that was occurring between Super Squadra and TX Tough, but I got spit out the back after thirty minutes and finished last, 13th place, one slot out of the money. Congrats to Mr. Wenger for the W.
Cat2
Jed Rogers could not wait to get his new race whip out to a Texas Cup race. The hands down winner of the one lap to go sprint at this week's Driveway Crit, a little refresher on lap cards was all he needed to go into Saturday's race with a head full of confidence. The race had about 40 starters and was stocked with attacks, all to no avail. Mario Arroyave (Velossimo) earned the Most Aggressive Rider award with his numerous solo efforts off the front and almost ruining the field's opportunity for a sprint for the win with a last minute attack. Gary Glanger (Lexus Park) and Tom Kubicek (Tilson) were off the front and sprinted for a mid race prime, won by the latter. All of these details will only be remembered by those that raced or stood on the sidelines on this overcast morning. All the history books will have about the 2009 cat 2 edition of the Ivan Mukasa Memorial Race is that at 200 meters to go, Jed Rogers shot out of a 35 man field to claim his first victory of the year, Congrats!

Sun April 19th
James Bailey Memorial Race
The morning of the James Bailey Memorial Race greeted us with rays of sunshine. In exchange for that, we raced on a very flat course with a stiff, 15+mph wind for 77miles or 16 laps. About 40 starters for today's P12 race, the two teams to watch were TX Tough and RBM. I knew TX Tough were going to want to make up for missing out on the win yesterday, but I was not prepared for Stefan Rothe (TX Tough) to make the first and only statement at two miles in. Ryan Wolhrabe (RBM), on the other hand, was, and the two of them were never seen again. With the two riders from the only teams big enough to strategize in the break, the race was quickly shut down and the chance of an escape was like taking a roll of the dice. My break was caught and countered by the first successful chase group of 6. For the next 7 laps, the 15 or so riders left in the field could never organize a chase and we just chased each other down if there were any attempts. At 6 laps to go the RBM rider from the chase group was dropped and carried a message from the front lines to the rest of his team. RBM was quickly on the attack and I jumped into an 8 man chase group. Some were sitting on and I coaxed most into rotating through, except Geoff Godsey (TX Tough). Luckily for us, his seat broke and he was forced to abandon. The seven man chase group cooperated perfectly for the next 5 laps until about 1 mile to go. We were sprinting for 8th, so i think we were looking for the finish line mostly for the finish. I took the sprint and all the glory that comes with it. My top ten earned me enough for a full tank of gas and a kolache.

2009 TOYOTA Venza now wrapped

2009-04-10T20:54:00.005-05:00

The awesome new team vehicle just got a little more awesome! With the help of Sibley/Peteet Design, 787 Group, and Austin Graphics our brand new TOYOTA Venza got it's own team uniform. There's also a rumor that this may be the first wrapped Venza in North America... errr, wait... OK, I'm starting the rumor now. 360 view below. See you at the races.

How It Came To Be

2009-04-07T22:57:00.003-05:00

After a few phone calls to one another Jed, John and I thought it would be a swell idea to concentrate on a singular goal..... race crits....Well. You see, with Jed's quick leg speed from his formative days as a BMX Pro, John's late race breakaway tactics and cunning finishing talent, and my heft in a late race sprint for primes or podium placements, we decided that we'd get together and race our bikes this year. We have diverse backgrounds, talents, and quirks but the one thing that was apparent when we discussed our 2009 plan was our collective nose for the finish line. We like seeing it with clear wheels and we decided it would be a great combination of skill and fun for 2009.

We'll be bringing you our pics, videos and tales from P/1/2 races and training regiments. That said one of the most important pieces of our success is our sponsors. So we'll be highlighting them as much as possible, brining you the best their industry has to offer.

The NEW 2009 TOYOTA Venza

2009-04-06T23:43:00.004-05:00

Expect to see the TOYOTA / CYCLING TEAM PRESENTED BY GCCA's new 2009 Toyota Venza at upcoming cycling events and tune in here to learn about all the great things this new cross-over vehicle has to offer. Toyota really did their homework on this one and the team is excited to have such a great vehicle to travel the country in. If you see us out and about and you're nice, maybe we'll let you take it for a test drive.

For more info on the Venza, click on the title of this blog entry to link directly to the Venza website.

Welcome

2009-04-06T22:05:00.003-05:00

John and Joseph leading out the Point-a-lap

Joseph burying himself off the front for the second half of the Point-a-lap

Beautiful Alkek sunset

Jed took the newly formed team down to Houston this weekend to hone some technical skills on the Alkek Velodrome. Joseph and I were newbies and raced in the 4/5 category while Jed raced with the big boys in the 123 category. Joseph and I shared first place in all the races we competed in while Jed waited until the last race of the night to get his result. The 50 lap 123 scratch race came down to a sprint of about 12 guys including Daniel Walker and Alan Ting. Jed took second, a well deserved result considering all the efforts he put in that night. He's in the old green skinsuit in the video below.

The last two laps of the 123 50 Lap Scratch Race
1st Daniel Walker
2nd Jed Rogers
3rd Alan Ting