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MEETINGS

Meetings are generally held on the first Monday of the month, unless it's a holiday which slides it to the second Monday, at Mangia Pizza -- Mesa Drive and Spicewood Springs Road.
 
Come at 6:30 for pizza and salad ($6.00 per person).

The meeting starts promptly at 7:00.


Mangia Pizza
8012 Mesa Dr
Austin, TX 78731-1319


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Meeting Minutes Archive
Meeting minutes are archived in PDF files below for your amusement and amazement.

February 2008 Minutes PDF

March 2008 Minutes PDF


September 2008 Minutes PDF


5/3/2010
Monday, May 3, saw another very well attended VC monthly meeting. Some half a dozen of Mangia Pizza's finest concoctions were consumed in a remarkably short time; President Joe Haas called the rabble to order as the feeding frenzy slowed and the smoke cleared . . .

The first order of business was another bush beating for volunteers to fill a handful of vacant duties at the State Age-Based Crits, set for Saturday, June 5, at the Driveway. John Collins posted VC's remaining needs on this listserv. Email John if you can lend a hand: jccgtown@yahoo.com

Joe Haas and VC sponsor Bobby Fiddes announced Bobby's Bikes' expanded services. Bobby says he can now obtain just about anything parts/components/accessories-wise your well-trained heart desires --- Campy, Shimano, SRAM, Michelin, Vittoria, Tufo, Velo Flex, you name it. Email, or better yet, phone ahead. Bobby says it'll be no more than 3-5 days for almost anything (except PowerTaps, which take about 4 weeks), and he'll basically match any price in town. See http://www.bobbysbike.com/

Annick Beaudet, the City of Austin's Bicycle Program Manager, returned to update VC members on bicycle infrastructure planning and progress. She spoke on the status of the Downtown Bicycle Boulevard (still evolving), buffered bike lane marking on South Lamar from Barton Springs Road to Manchaca (coinciding with repaving, and set for completion by December), the possibility of a dedicated South MoPac bike bridge over Barton Creek, and studies currently under way to document the effects of signage and colored bike lanes on driver awareness of cyclists. Annick urged VC members to make their voices heard among city and TxDoT officials regarding positive developments in cycling infrastructure and the need for more. She also made the point that the more cyclists that are seen on the roads, the more general awareness that results, so get out there and ride! Contact Annick at http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/connect/email_annickbeaudet.htm
Also, see the city's cycling infrastructure and policy page at http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/publicworks/bicycle.htm

Joe Haas mentioned upcoming events: 5/8 -- Horse Country TT (Aubrey, near Denton); 5/8 -- ACA Armadillo Hill Country Classic (Liberty Hill); 5/8 & 9 -- Joe Martin Stage Race (Fayetteville, AR); (5/8 -- Head for the Hills Ride (Cedar Hills); 5/8 -- Rolling Hills Challenge (Columbus); 5/8 -- Heart of Texas (H.O.T.) Ride (Brady); 5/9 & 23 -- University Oaks Crits (San Antonio); 5/15 -- Cross Timbers Ride (North Lake, near Fort Worth); 5/15 -- Hamilton Hill-Aceous 100 (Hamilton); 5/15 & 16 -- Metro and Grand Crits (Houston); 5/15 & 16 -- Rocky Hill Ranch Roundup (MTB) (Smithville); 5/19 -- Ride of Silence (Amarillo, Austin, Beaumont, Coppell, Dallas, El Paso, Fort Worth, Houston, Mineral Wells, San Antonio, Tyler, Wichita Falls, and Willow Park); 5/22 -- Llano Dirt Ride (Llano); 5/22 -- Paws & Puddles Ride (LaMarque); 5/22 & 23 -- Tour de Cure (San Antonio to Austin); 5/22 -- Real Ale Ride (Blanco); 5/29 & 30 -- Mellow Johnny's Classic (MTB) (Dripping Springs); 5/29 -- Gary Glickman Memorial Crit (Dallas); 5/30 -- GS Tenzing Crit (Frisco); 5/31 -- State Skill-Based Crit Championships (Fort Worth); 6/5 -- State Age-Based Crit Championships (Austin)

Joe also shared VC's recent race results, the highlights of which included Mino Giunta's sweep of all stages and the Junior GC at Fort Davis, Frank Kurzawa's 5th on GC in the 50+, Weston Giunta's 9th in 35+ 4/5, and Ethan Moorhead's 14th in Cat 3; Chris Thibodeau 11th overall at the Mineral Wells
Stage Race; Ken Greene 20th in the Coldspring RR Cat 4, and VC placing six riders in the first 18 in the 50+, with Chris Thibodeau and Mike Haney 7th and 8th, respectively; and several Top 10's at April Driveway events, including two Junior victories by Mino Giunta and placings by Greg Hall, Ken Greene, and Doug Ballew. Special mention goes to Ethan Moorehead and Frank Kurzawa for braving brutal conditions at the Tour of the Gila. Good on y'all, mates! See all VC race results at the VC web page (http://www.violetcrown.org/) or at the TXBRA site (http://www.txbra.org/results10/).

The club back-slapped Jamie Mitchell for upgrading from purgatory to Cat 4!

Doug Burnett announced that the May Italy trip is off due to lack of a quorum; however, he's strong-armed a bunch of guys from points elsewhere to put together an Italian excursion for the end of June/beginning of July. There's still room! Ping Big Doug if you want in on the fun.

Prince of Polyester David Wolfe appeared with a box of VC kit extras, and he still has a few to vend, so if you're looking to pick up that extra item or two, drop him a note; also, JoePrez reminded all that ordering info regarding the VC supplemental kit order will be posted shortly -- stay tuned to this bat channel!

Until June, BASTA!

Scrivano de Corona de Violetta


4/5/2010 meeting

The club dining room at Mangia Pizza was practically groaning under the strain as upwards of forty VC members, prospective members, and family attended the April meeting last night. Joe `Prez' Haas welcomed all and congratulated the faithful for the turnout at the meeting as well as at recent races and rides, including VC's unofficial annual spring rendezvous at the Rosedale Ride. Several attendees were sporting their exceptionally sharp chocolate-and-powder-blue Rosedale T-shirts.

JoePrez ran down the list of cycling events scheduled prior to our next meeting: 4/10–11 Fort Davis Hammerfest; 4/10 Pedal Power Wildflower Ride (Stonewall); 4/11 Space Race (LaMarque); 4/17 Ride for Heroes (Aledo); 4/17–18 Mineral Wells Stage Race; 4/17–18 MS150 (Houston to Austin); 4/18 Fiesta Wildflower Ride (San Antonio); 4/24–25 Matrix Challenge criteriums (downtown Dallas); 4/24 Red Poppy Ride (Georgetown); 5/1 Coldspring Road Race; 5/1 Shiner GHASP (Great Houston/Austin Shiner Pedal); 5/2 Sugar Land Criterium. Track racing has also gotten under way at both the Frisco Superdrome and the Alkek Velodrome (check the TXBRA schedule). And don't forget the Driveway criterium series, every Thursday evening through October at the Driveway in east Austin.

David Serrins reminded interested parties to network in advance of Friday, April 30, for the pre-GHASP Shiner drive-down (drive to Shiner, drop off cars, ride back to Austin; ride back down to Shiner Saturday morning, ta-daa! Your car's waiting for ya!). The rendezvous is in Shiner near the brewery, with a tight wheels-down time for Friday's return leg. Ping Monsieur Serrins for logistical details.

May is Bike Month in Austin, and mention was made of the Austin Bike Poster Show, May 6 thru June 5, promoting Bike Month and bike awareness in the city of Austin. See http://www.atxbikepostershow.com.

JoePrez intimated that the club is considering a kit reorder sometime in June/July. If you missed out on the season order in January, joined the club after the fact, or realize that you really should have ordered a second pair of those nifty redesigned bib shorts, ping Joe Haas and indicate what items (and how many) you would be interested in ordering. Once Joe has assessed interest and we appear to be approaching the required minimums (12 total per item regardless of size), you'll be notified about preordering and prepayment.

Racing promotion guru and taskmaster-emeritus John Collins made the official call for volunteers for the June 5 Age-Based State Criterium Championships presented by Violet Crown and Holland Racing. John previously posted a list of duties requiring volunteers on the VioletCrown@yahoogroups.com listserv. See the posted duties and contact John to offering your assistance.

John also mentioned that the club needs officials for the 6/5/2010 event as well as for the fall cyclo-x race, and the club is encouraging members to consider the possibility of becoming a certified USA Cycling race official. John has the details. The club might consider footing the bill for such a certification clinic -- at least for members -- so contact John and/or Joe Haas if this sounds like something that might interest you.

VC's resident randonneur ranger Ray Smith gave the club a presentation detailing the effectiveness of training with power. Ray's chat included a slide show and handouts discussing the definition of power, its importance in cycle sport, and its relation to VO2 uptake, heart rate, lactate threshold, and rate of perceived exertion. Ray discussed the benefits (measurable physical improvement) and drawbacks ($$$!) of training with power, the analytical and motivational aspects of the regime, and the pros and cons of various power meter systems. Ray endorsed Hunter Allen's power training seminars and encouraged riders to check them out. Thanks as always, Ray.

Coach James Karthauser, long-time VC denizen, showered attendees with giveaways including vintage wind vests, skinsuits, jackets, gloves, and various other cycling raiments accumulated over a couple of decades of involvement with the sport in Texas and points global. He then cheerfully bid the club arrivederci before heading off to the magical hills of Tuscany to run a cyclo-tourism concern with a pal. We're sad to see him go but happy to have a true VC connection in that most beautiful and cycling-mad part of the world. Ciao, Coach Kart! Watch for us on the strade!

Finally, VC TXBRA co-conspirator Jay Bond ran down the list of race results for the previous month, including Greg Hall, Frank Kurzawa, Bill Neale, and Mino Giunta all going top 10 at the Ronde von Manda; Zaza, Mike Haney, Rick Hall, and Brad Houston (3rd, 7th, 8th, and 9th, respectively) in the 40+ Ronde von Manor; Zaza once again, along with Ethan Moorhead and Michelle Lester, with top 10 stage finishes -- and Ethan and Michelle top 10 on GC -- at the Fayetteville Stage Race; excellent Chronometro performances by Frank Z., Ethan Moorhead, Seymour Goldstein, Bill Neale, David Wolfe, John Collins, Mark Dawson, Brad Houston, Ron Burzese/Lynn Wyatt (tandem), and Rick Hall; and a brilliant Cat 3/4 3-4 by Slim and the Wolfeman at Tunis Roubaix. March also saw fine rides by John Schreffler, Ken Greene, Doug Ballew, Scott Morris, John Bartle, Jay Bond, Weston Giunta, Michael Klein, and Jamie Mitchell. Go to the web site for full details.

Until May . . .

Au revoir, mon amis!

Le VC Ecrivain



3/1/2010 meeting

VC's March monthly meeting was extremely well attended, perhaps in anticipation of an early-ish kit shipment, and literally half a dozen of Mangia's finest XL concoctions were inhaled in the blink of an eye. Several prospective new members and one or two newly enlisted recruits joined the usual suspects for salad, pizza, and general conviviality as we speculated about just when spring IS actually supposed to arrive in central Texas . . .

Generalissimo Joe Haas ran through a brief list of announcements:

* 2010 kit is expected to land before the next monthly meeting -- stay tuned for official word regarding distribution details.

* Race promo swami John Collins has finalized arrangements with Holland Racing and Andrew Willis regarding the 2010 State Age-Based Criterium Championships, scheduled for Saturday, June 5, at the Driveway in east Austin. Beginning at the next monthly meeting (Monday, April 5), John will solicit volunteers for specific pre-race and race-day duties for the event. If there is a specific role you'd like to play, ping John and let him know.

* Upcoming rides/races: 3/6 Bastrop - Pedal thru the Pines; 3/6-7 Bryan - Tunis Roubaix; 3/13 Schulenburg - Texas Dance Hall Cycling Tour; 3/14 San Antonio - University Oaks Crit; 3/20 Liberty Hill - Spokes 'n Spurs; 3/20-21 Fayetteville - Fayetteville Stage Race; 3/27 Austin - Rosedale Ride; 3/27 Stonewall (LBJ Ranch) - LBJ 100 Bicycle Tour; 3/27 Schulenburg - Schulenburg Steeple Chase Bike Ride; 3/27 Manor - Ronde von Manor; 3/28 Manda - Ronde von Manda

* Gettin'-it-all-over-ya liaison Jamie Mitchell reported his (modest) and Jen Joy's (much better) results at recent TMBRA mountain bike events. Jamie yearns for company, so if you're interested in racing over mud, rocks, beer cans, old abandoned sofas, cow pies, etc., on a regular basis, chat Jamie up.

* Secretary-emeritus and TXBRA envoy extraordinary Jay Bond attended the TXBRA awards shindig and staggered back with a veritable embarrassment of hard-won laurels and hardware for assorted VC stalwarts, including Chris Thibodeau (50+ 'cross Premier Cup champ and south region 4th place), Jen Joy (Elite Women 'cross Premier 2nd place, north region 3rd place, and south region 5th place), Jay Bond (50+ 'cross Premier 5th place and south region 5th place), David Wolfe (40+ 'cross Premier 10th place and south region 2nd place), John Bartle (50+ 'cross Premier 11th place and south region 7th place), Greg Hall (40+ road east region 3rd place), Ethan Moorhead (U19 road central region 3rd place) and Mino Giunta (U19 'cross south region 4th place). Jay also dragged back a couple more team awards, both for cyclo-cross, for the 2009 and 2010 seasons, respectively. VC now owns sufficient matching silver bowls to hold the chips, salsa, AND guacamole at the next holiday celebration . . .

* Bondo also ran down the list of VC skins on the wall for the 2010 competition season thus far, and it took longer than you'd think. I can't remember them all, but they include three out-and-out victories (Mino Giunta in the junior state cyclo-cross championship, Frank Kurzawa at the Sunday Primavera at Lago Vista 50+, favorite son Kristian House at the Sunday Primavera Pro/1), and several nice placings by these and other riders including Jen Joy, Ken Greene, Michelle Lester, Rick Hall, Greg Hall, Ethan Moorhead, Brad Houston, John Bartle, Mike Haney, and Weston Giunta. For the complete list of VC results, see the web page at http://www.violetcrown.org/index.html or the TXBRA web site.

* The aforementioned pride and joy of Violet Crown and reigning British Professional Road Champion, Kristian House, showed up at the meeting and shared with us his assessment of the state of racing in Texas ("strong"), his plans for next winter ("Texas, not Oz"), and his big win last June ("no words suffice; Cav's an OK guy, BTW"). He also brought a DVD of the Eurosport coverage of the British Pro Road Championship, which I presently have in my possession. It's definitely worth watching, and I'll pass it along to another club member next week.

Until April, stay upright, y'all . . .

Kurt Bauer, 2010 VC scribe




The 2-1-2010 meeting
 
Mangia's Pizza on Mesa ( just South of Spicewood Springs road intersection )
6:30 PM - Salad, Pizza and Tea/water buffet ($6.00)
7:00 PM - Meeting

Meeting Agenda
2010 officer elections
2010 season clothing order update
Recent race/ride results
VC glory
Free Q-tips for those still trying to recover from the Texas State Cyclocross mudfest
Tea and sympathy for Copperas Cove survivors . . .

Minutes

We chatted about the pipping of Bam-Bam at the Cat 4 line during Sunday's Tour of New Braunfels RR and recounted various other rider experiences from the same event -- getting lost due to bad directions from people at a church, in spite of the fact that there was a Garmin zip-tied to your stem; witnessing a harrowing stack-up in the Cat 5 event (shocking, I know); trading how-cold-was-it stories, etc.

We debated the relative grossness factor of crated cats in a confined, airless space versus a dead cow belly-up in a bar ditch, both of which featured on club rides this Sunday past.

We congratulated Mino Giunta on his State Junior title in CX, plus various other outstanding VC performances at the same event.

Ethan Moorhead informed us that he has served his time in purgatory and now cats up to 3's.

We patted the responsible members on their collective present and absent backs for contributing to VC's once again taking the TXBRA team cup for CX.

We discussed the 2010 season kit order, expected around the first of March. Socks, sourced from a different manufacturer, are due sooner but will be distributed with the rest of the kit. Research into the possibility of sourcing solid black Elite Wrap bibs/shorts at a discount comparable to custom from LG are ongoing -- the response to initial queries was unsatisfactory. Tom Paterson suggested we share our own independently sourced bib/short details -- preferred manufacturer, style, price, etc., on the listserv as a service to fellow club members.

Jay Bond's BOD appointment as VC TXBRA delegate was announced.

John Collins announced VC's formal agreement to partner with Holland Racing and Andrew Willis to promote the 2010 state age-based criterium championships in June. More details and volunteer info. to come.

Joe Haas took over as VC club president for 2010, and Andy Austin was elected by acclamation to the post of president-elect for 2011. Greg Lakomski was denied parole on his sentence of 25-to-life as VC treasurer and was returned to his cell by the lovely Donna. Kurt Bauer was elected secretary for 2010, relieving Jay Bond from the post he has held for the past two years.

Till March . . . Adios, muchachos y muchachas.

KB





The March 2
, 2009 meeting's agenda :
 
Mangia's Pizza on Mesa ( Off Far West )
6:30 PM - Salad, Pizza and Tea/water buffet ($6.00)
7:00 PM - Meeting

Agenda
Clothing update (should be soon)
State criterium championships status update
Randonneuring and other S/M pursuits
Race reports (we have good results -- as well as war stories -- to share)
Sundry (as opposed to sun-dried) items

Minutes
Here's what Pres. Bauer said about the meeting:
"Last night at the VC monthly meeting, John Collins briefed us on secured sponsors for the State age-based criterium championships set for June 6 and spoke of work items and volunteer needs going forward. Anybody planning to volunteer at the event who hasn't attended a Thursday night crit at the Driveway might consider checking it out when the series resumes on Thursday, 3/12.

Greg Lakomski told us we're basically set for a club "sponsorship" package from Quarq, makers of the CinQo power meter. Quarq will give us a 15% discount on the price of the package as long as we order five units. Details of the system(s) available are at http://www.quarq.us/home , and Greg Lakomski is fielding feelers from interested club members. You, too, can enjoy the advantages of Quarq sponsorship, just like Carlos Sastre, Thor Hushovd, and other members of the Cervelo Test Team.

Kaiser of Kit David Wolfe announced to a happy gathering that 2009 team clothing is expected this week, and he will have a detailed post on the listserv and the web site regarding centralized distribution this weekend. PLEASE DON'T CONTACT DAVID DIRECTLY UNTIL HE POSTS SPECIFICS! The stuff ain't in yet, and then he needs some time to bag up the goods per each member's specific order.

Club meetings will remain at Mangia Pizza, Mesa and Spicewood Springs Road, on the first Monday of each month. 'Nuff said.

John Bartle will execute on the hows and whats of the club's official support of the effort to urge TxDoT and the City of Austin to hold off cannibalizing the southbound shoulder of MoPac over the Barton Creek greenbelt before construction of a bicycle/pedestrian bridge. Traffic pressure has both sets of officials considering taking the shoulder as another traffic lane, which will leave no "safe" route for cyclists over the greenbelt. John urged club members to investigate the city's efforts to revise the Austin Bicycle Plan and mentioned solicitations by the city for input regarding specific geographic areas where traffic control modifications and specific bicycle-related monitoring efforts might fruitfully be made. For more info see http://tinyurl.com/dbq33a

The club members warmly greeted Ethan Moorhead and his soigneur (dad) with a hearty round of applause as he entered the dining room following his victory Sunday in the junior race at La Primavera at Lago Vista. Ethan then regaled the attendees with the wheel-to-wheel wiliness that he used to schnook the other guys in der schpurt. Ethan has racked up an impressive 2009 thus far: two fifths, a fourth, and a victory. Well done! Tom Linehan joined Ethan in sharing the overall great results for VC this weekend, with Greg Hall grabbing a second place, Frank Kurzawa fourth, and Tom himself fifth in the 40+ event.
Columbia High Road and Cervelo got nuthin' on VC.

The club welcomed new VC member Luis Acosta. Glad to have you, Luis!

The club heard a personal appeal from Betty Barnes, wife of Dave Barnes, for support of the couple's efforts at this year's Livestrong Challenge. Like her friend Lance Armstrong, Betty is coming out of retirement and getting back on the bike to raise awareness of the fight against cancer, both in gratitude for her own survival and recovery and in support of her cousin, a recently diagnosed cancer sufferer. See http://austin09.livestrong.org/bettybarnes or http://austin09.livestrong.org/davebarnes
and consider making a donation.

Ray Smith presented a PowerPoint slide show on randonneuring. Ray completed a 200K ride at the end of January along with fellow VCers Laura Zotter and Lynn Wyatt. Ray, riding with the Hill Country Randonneurs organization, will tackle a 300K brevet this Saturday, from Westlake Hills, around the Dam Loop, out to Fredericksburg, and back into Austin. Let's hope the wind is kind! Good luck, Ray."