Monday, March 22, 2010

Niwot Crit #3

After a week’s hiatus do to inclement weather the March Practice Criterium series resumed this past Sunday. A sunny but cool Sunday afternoon greeted the racers. Several of the top local pros and elite amateurs were on hand to test their legs after a long winter. The Mix1 crew had an excellent showing in the last race of the day. Lining up for Mix1 were Josh, Matt Gates, Marcel, Jim, Pete, and LT. Joining the 35+ riders were two 45+ standouts Jimi Gibson and Matt Vawter. Mix1 was well represented and had one of the largest squads in the race. The race started with a quick pace as several riders tried to gain an advantage. Most attempts were in vain as no break succeeded until the halfway mark when a break of six riders got clear, including Chuck Coyle, Clark Sheehan, Dirk Friel and Colby Pierce. The field chased, but the leaders were not seen again. While Mix1 missed out on the winning break, they had a constant presence at the front end of the field. New recruit, Josh Barnett, had a solid ride and was competitive in the field sprint for the remaining places, taking 10th overall. As a group the Mix1 riders were content with the outcome of the race. It was the first race of the year for some, and proved to be a good opportunity to get an excellent speed workout and sharpen our focus for some of the bigger goals later in the season.

Josh, Marcel and Matt G. covering the front of the field with eventual winner Chuck Coyle.


Pete Lucke laying down some horse power with ACA leader, and cat. 1, Jon Tarkinton on his wheel.








Jim Thies at the front of the field and stretching it out with a huge pull. The field may have been blinded by those white, white legs James!











Josh contesting the fields sprint for 9th, where he finished second in the sprint and ended up in 10th, the only non pro/1/2 rider in the top 10. Way to go Josh.







Race commentary provided by Jim Thies. All photos from www.303cycling.com (thanks David & Kris).

Team Sponsor Clif Bar Featured in the Wall Street Journal

Clif Bar has been a team sponsor from the beginning. We love their product, love working with them, and love what they stand for. Today they were featured in the Wall Street Journal and here is a copy of the story on our great sponsor:



A Company Fueled by Athletes' Sweat

By MICHELLE WU


Gary Erickson first dreamed up Clif Bar while in the midst of a grueling 175-mile bike ride near San Francisco in 1990. Though tired and hungry, he couldn't bring himself to eat another PowerBar, then one of the few energy bars on the market. Figuring he could make something tastier, Mr. Erickson, then a bakery owner, came up with an original protein-packed recipe, named it after his father and launched Clif Bar in 1992. Today, Mr. Erickson, 52 years old, and his wife, Kit Crawford, 51, are at the helm of an organization that posts $235 million in annual revenue and markets itself largely through word of mouth. The Berkeley, Calif., company, which says it decided against a $120 million sale to Quaker Oats in 2000, says it plans to remain private, in part to keep the focus on its eco-friendly practices, such as sustainable agriculture and waste reduction. (Quaker declined to comment.)


Kit Crawford and Gary Erickson, the owners and co-CEOs of Clif Bar.

Q: How did you come up with the recipe for Clif Bar?

Mr. Erickson: I went to my mom's house, because she taught me how to bake. We went to work in the kitchen and 6 months later, we came up with 3 flavors of Clif Bar. When it hit the market people almost couldn't believe it was an energy bar because it tasted so good. Our first year we did about $700,000 worth of sales and we were in several bike shops and natural food stores around the country.

Q. How did you get the funding to grow the company?

Mr. Erickson: We ran it on cash flow. I worked out terms with everybody. I gave discounts [to distributors] and I asked for cash on delivery. I was able to stretch out payments with our vendors. To this day we haven't raised any outside capital.

Q. How did you get in stores across the country?

Mrs. Crawford: We went from bike shops to natural food stores and then we got into grocery stores after that.

Mr. Erickson: The whole area [of natural foods] has grown tremendously and we were right at the front edge of that. Now, almost every grocery chain has a natural food section.

Q. How have you grown so quickly, with minimal advertising?

Mr. Erickson: We talk to people at sports events such as bike rides, marathons, decathlons or skiing where they need the product. And we tell people to tell their friends. But the whole thing would have fallen apart if …we didn't love it.

Mrs. Crawford: We definitely chose not to advertise. It was kind of unconventional, and it still is. There's a social equity…when people use a product and talk to somebody about it, that is very powerful. And then those people talk to people, and it sort of exponentially grows.

Q. You have a motto of "Grow slower, grow better" – why do you want to grow slowly?
Clif Bar

Mrs. Crawford: In our business model, slower growth means natural growth ... so we can sustain the things we value. When we went organic [in 2003], that was a big risk. But by growing slowly, we could figure things out. Now, we've got around 30 million pounds of organic ingredients.

Q. How did more expensive organic ingredients affect your bottom line?

Mr. Erickson: We just hoped that by telling our consumers what we were doing, we would be rewarded. Since going organic, Clif Bar has grown by almost 20%. We were able to absorb the margin hit because we grew.

Q. Why did you decide against a possible sale to Quaker?

Mr. Erickson: Those years leading up to almost selling the company were the hardest years, with growing pains and partnership issues. [Mr. Erikson ultimately bought out his former partner in the bakery, Lisa Thomas.] At one point it seemed like the right thing to do. PowerBar was sold to Nestle, and Kraft had bought Balance Bar. I felt sick to my stomach. This was not the bike ride I had wanted to be on. I thought: I want to do this my way. So I listened to my gut.

Q. In retrospect, do you think you made the right decision?

Mr. Erickson: Yes. It's been better every year from that moment.

Mrs. Crawford: We really value the ability to steer the company and its values, and we just can't see that happening if we don't remain private.

Q. Last year, the FDA issued a ClifBar recall because of possible Salmonella contamination. How did you deal with that experience?

Mr. Erickson: Stuff like this can happen - no matter how good your procedures are. We were just honest with people. We returned every single call. We made sure everybody got an email back. We gave people coupons. You have to do the right thing, be honest with your consumers, with your retailers, the press, everybody. I can tell you firsthand, we had some of the biggest buyers from some of the biggest grocery stores say that no one has ever handled a recall better than Clif Bar. And that's all we needed to hear.

Q. What is your advice for aspiring entrepreneurs?

Mr. Erickson: First, you have to do something you believe in. I believed from the start that Clif Bar was a worthy product. Then, keep making it the best you can. Also, you've got to be humble about whatever you do—do not become arrogant, and always keep your ego in check. And never give up.

Sunday, March 14, 2010

CU Crit


This past weekend the team was greeted with very nice weather for a home town race at the CU Research Park on Saturday. The same could not be said for Sunday, with a 20 degree temperature drop, a mix of rain and snow and 2 races getting cancelled. Jim, Josh, CJ and Matt S. lined up with the Pro/1/2 field as there was no maters races this weekend. New 45 Plus rider Jeff also raced with the cat. 3's. The pro/1/2 event went well, with all riders comfortably finishing in the field, happy to get some quality training under their belts.


Jim Thies riding strong in the CU race and coming back after a crash last weekend.











Matt Segur rode a strong race for Mix1 as well. It was Matt's first race of the season and he made the main breakaway of the day. Unfortunately that breakaway was caught, but Matt was happy with the effort.



















Josh making his Mix1 Masters Cycling team debut and this race severed as his return to racing after a several year break. Josh will never tell anyone this, but Josh is a past winner of the CU Research Park Crit in the pro/1/2 category. He won the race in the early 2000's from a very strong breakaway. Josh looks solid in his new kit, his new Velo Vie team frame and new Mavic Cosmic Carbon wheels.














CJ riding in the field with a look on his face that says, "man I am having a lot of fun". Luckily is new Mavic wheels kept him moving along at a fast pace!





All photos are courtesy of www.303cycling.com, if you get a chance please check them out.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Mix1 Masters on the Boulder Velodrome

As you may know a group of local cyclists finally pulled off what has been talked about for years, they built a Velodrome in Boulder. A little over a year ago the Boulder Indoor Cycling facility opened to the public. Since then it has been a success with offerings for riders from little kids, to high school students, to beginners, to world class athletes. Over that time plenty of the riders on the Mix1 Masters team have used the track as a form of off season training. This winter team riders Henrik Petersen and CJ Gauss have constantly been on the track on Tuesday nights and snowy weekends.

Recently the Boulder County Business Reporter newspaper was out at the track and spent time filming CJ and Henrik's group, plus doing interviews. Here is a link to the article that includes quotes from Mix1 riders and a video:

http://www.bcbr.com/article.asp?id=104131



Or here is a print out of the article, without the pictures and videos:

Racing at the V, By Ryan Dionne

February 19, 2010 --

BOULDER - Spinning around a 142-meter track over and over while being chased by another rider is an every day occurrence at the Boulder Indoor Cycling track. The velodrome, which opened in January 2009, is a wooden oval track with 45-degree banked turns.And every week, racers grab their fixed-gear track bikes, don their cycling shorts, jerseys, helmets, gloves and shoes, and put their skills to the test." We're pretty lucky to have this," said CJ Gauss, a local rider sponsored by Boulder-based mix1 Beverage Co. Though Gauss, and many others, is a sponsored rider, it's not just elite racers or hardcore enthusiasts who use the velodrome. Steven Herzfeld, the velodrome's cycling director, said they see everyone from first-timers, who typically become staunch riders, to professional bikers. "It's not an elitist group of racers," he said. Yet, Olympians ride and teach at the track. Former Olympian Colby Pearce and professional rider Chuck Coyle are on the list of coaches at the velodrome. Those coaches are there to get people hooked on the thought of track racing. Herzfeld said after the initial $30 membership fee to get riders in the door, most riders take a roughly $120 to $140 introductory class to learn more about the ins and outs of the velodrome. Gauss said he and his road-biking friends took the course and most, if not all, have since bought track bikes and are regulars at Boulder Indoor Cycling. At first they used bikes that the business "rents" for free. Unlike a road bike, when on a track bike, riders can only go as fast as they pedal. If the bike's rear wheel is turning, so are the pedals in the same way a "fixie" or fixed gear bike operates. Herzfeld and Gauss both said riding a track bike is safer when riding in a tight pack because nobody has brakes. Many crashes in cycling are caused by riders braking hard and then causing a series of fender bender-type crashes. The fixed gear also helps riders become stronger by forcing them to constantly ride with the same gear ratio and continually keep their legs moving. But the track isn't meant for recreationally riding in circles. Numerous times per week riders show up for a handful of individual and team competitions. One race, "pursuit," pits two riders against each other. They start at opposite sides of the track and try to catch each other within a specific number of laps.Another race, "Madison," is much like a relay in that one rider is in the race while the other is resting or slowly circling the track. After a set amount of laps or time, the riders fluidly and quickly switch. The first team to cross the finish line after a set distance wins. Local companies sponsor some of those riders. Businesses like mix1, Excel Sports Boulder, Vics Espresso and even Google are some of them. "A good example is Google," Gauss said. "They don't have a lot to do with cycling, but they've got a big office here. They've got guys who are into cycling. One of the guys on our team rides for them. (I'm) happy to have cool local companies like that involved."With the high cost of cycling, the riders appreciate any help. Though perhaps less expensive than road biking, track bikes can range from around $700 to a few thousand dollars. "The sky's the limit on track bikes," Herzfeld said.But even in a recession, the velodrome has a consistent pack of riders going in and out, Herzfeld said. Though many other velodromes along the Front Range have failed in the past, he thinks Boulder Indoor Cycling is different. For one, among the co-owners, Herzfeld is the only one who rides, which helps the group take a more businesslike approach because they're not as emotionally invested. He also said the business has enough options for everyone from private party spaces, kids riding areas, the track and an indoor mountain bike park. All of this is in a minimalist warehouse easily accessible from throughout Boulder and the surrounding area.And because the velodrome is inside, unlike some others throughout the state and country, it's not impacted by weather. That makes it a great place for riders to train as they prepare for their summer racing season.

Monday, March 8, 2010

1st Weekend Of Racing


The Mix1 Masters Cycling Team kicked off the 2010 race season this past weekend. "Big Ring Bill" Stalhuth took home the team first top 10 of the season on Saturday with a strong ride in the Frostbite TT, while on the same day Jim Thies got things started in Denver with the City Park crit. On Sunday the racing was closer to home, with a crit in Boulder. Matt Vawter, Jimi Gibson, Henrik, and Marc Holbert got things off in the B race, with both Matt and Marc taking top 10's as well. Up next was the pro/open race with Pete, CJ, Marcel, and Henrik lining up for that. No top 10's in the pro race, but everyone did fine and Henrik deserves the ironman award for doing both races. The photo at the left is of Pete and Marcel early in the Pro/Open race.


Henrik from the Pro/Open race, having already finished the B race. All photos are from David Kutcipal and 303 Cycling. check them out if you get a chance.

Friday, March 5, 2010

2010 Season Has Arrived

Sorry for the lack of updates, it has been a long winter. 2009 spoiled us with lots of sun. This year it has snowed weekly and been pretty cold on the other days. Enough of that, tonight is the eve of the 2010 racing season. It kicks off tomorrow morning in northern Colorado with a Time Trial and then continue with crit in Boulder on Sunday. The TT was a good event for the team last year with Matt Segur taking second by 0.3 seconds and LT making the top 5 as well in 35 Plus. Matt Vawter showed some early form with a fine 5th place in the 45 Plus. Good luck to everyone racing this weekend.

Also right on time the team clothing showed up today from Italy. A PDF mock up of the clothing was previewed here back in 2009, but here is a spy shot taking of the gear from the team's secrete equipment headquarters. Look for the 2010 team to be racing well again and looking great in a new design.