In honor of the launch of the new sponsorship, Peanut Butter & Co. has donated 10 cases of its all natural peanut butter to Philabundance for their third annual Spread the Love Food Drive, which collects jars of peanut butter and jelly during the Valentine’s Day season (February 1 through February 14). Philabundance, headquartered in Philadelphia, is dedicated to reducing hunger and food insecurity in the Delaware Valley.

Peanut Butter & Co. Human Zoom is planning a vigorous race calendar focused on competition in the Mid-Atlantic Region, including the Wilmington Grand Prix (Wilmington, DE), the Tour of Somerville (Somerville, NJ), the Iron Hill Twilight Criterium (West Chester, PA), and the Liberty Classic (Philadelphia, PA).

From 2010 through 2011 Peanut Butter & Co. was the title sponsor of the Team TWENTY12 women’s pro team, owned by Nicola Cranmer and Olympic gold medalist Kristin Armstrong. That team is now sponsored by Exergy.

“Working with pro cyclists on a national level has been an incredible experience,” said Lee Zalben, Founder & President of Peanut Butter & Co., who is from Philadelphia. “We’re equally excited to be working with a regional team. In some ways, these athletes have to work even harder than the pros, since most of them are balancing careers, school, and families while pursuing their passion for sport and competition.”

Human Zoom Bikes & Boards, the two-store sporting goods chain that is the other primary sponsor, has been working with the team since 1992.

We really enjoy supporting this team with technical, operational, and organizational support,” says Mike Bufo, the owner of the Human Zoom stores. “We’re excited at the visibility Peanut Butter & Co. will bring to the team.”

Other sponsors include JL Velo, Canondale, Oakley, Sram, Bontrager, and Philadelphia Business Services.

You can follow the team’s progress at:

Team website: www.PBCoRacing.comTwi tter: @PBCoRacing Facebook: www.Facebook.com/PBCoRacing

Streets Commissioner Clarena Tolson announced today that emergency repair work on the retaining wall supporting Lincoln Drive between W. Rittenhouse Street and Forbidden Drive will begin Tuesday, February 7 and is expected to last approximately two months.

The work includes the rehabilitation and stabilization of approximately 500 feet of the existing stone masonry wall along southbound Lincoln Drive between the roadway and Monoshone Creek below the Pabst Lane Bridge. Last year’s record rainfall has caused the wall to be undermined by erosion and has caused significant new damage to the mortar joints. During construction, the parking area along southbound Lincoln Drive will be closed. The park trail between Pabst Lane Bridge and Forbidden Drive will also be closed to pedestrians and bicyclists. Periodic lane closures along southbound Lincoln Drive may be required during off‐peak hours. Detours are not anticipated.

The Streets Department thanks the citizens in advance for their patience and cooperation during this project.

The five-day competition is scheduled for August 28-September 1, 2014, which is Labor Day weekend. Races will include the individual time trial and road race disciplines for men, women and teams. The handcycle relay is a team discipline that has become a showcase event for spectators. All athletes compete in categorized events using bicycles that are adapted to his/her abilities: traditional or adapted bicycle, tandem, tricycle or handcycle.
                                                                                          
“The UCI is delighted to be returning to the United States with the UCI Para-Cycling Road World Championships in 2014. The UCI particularly looks forward to this event in South Carolina, as a World Championship event brings a high level of global attention and acts as an important vector for growth of cycling at regional and national level,” said UCI President Pat McQuaid. “The huge interest in this major international event further confirms the growth of the Para-cycling movement worldwide.”

The economic impact and exposure for the Upstate will be significant.  Based on a recent economic impact study from the data collected from participants and spectators at the Para-Cycling Road World Championships held in Canada 2010, Greenville should anticipate more than $4.5 million for the local economy.

Duane Parrish, Director of the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism, noted, “The selection of Greenville and South Carolina for this prestigious and inspiring event is another indication of the respect our state is gaining as a venue for major sports competition. In addition to being able to experience firsthand this world-class event, the citizens of the upstate will benefit from the money spent directly in the community and the considerable value of the global media coverage it generates.”

The Greenville 2014 bid was a collaborative effort between the City of Greenville, U.S. Handcycling (Evergreen, Colo.), Medalist Sports (Atlanta, Ga.), and Notus Sports, a developing South Carolina non-profit organization focused on bringing events to the Upstate. Medalist Sports is the sports management agency that has produced the USA Cycling Professional Championships in Greenville for the past six years, which has included the U.S. Handcycling National Criterium Championships.  In 2009, Medalist partnered with U.S. Handcycling to bring two national races to Greenville. The U.S. Handcycling Series continues to be part of the USA Cycling Professional Championships each year.

In Para-Cycling time trials, athletes start individually in staggered intervals and race against the clock. In Para-Cycling road races, athletes have mass starts for each category and distances will vary, with distances as long as 65 kilometers. Male and female athletes compete in categories related to defined disabilities, such as amputation/limb loss, blindness/visual impairment, spinal cord injury/wheelchair-users and cerebral palsy/brain injury/stroke.

Athletes who have completed 100-plus races are asked to submit to USA Triathlon a year-by-year breakdown listing the number of events finished. All completed triathlons - domestic and international - are eligible for submission.

To be recognized in the initial Century Club listing, athletes must submit their event totals to centuryclub@usatriathlon.org by March 1. USA Triathlon will then honor Century Club members based on 100-race increments - the 100 Race Club, 200 Race Club, 300 Race Club, 400 Race Club and even the 500 Race Club.

After the initial Century Club listing, USA Triathlon will add new additions to usatriathlon.org

The drinking of green beer will have to wait since these college guys will be busting their lungs on the hills of Fairmount Park. This race is gaining steam and with the great turn out last year seems like it is going to stay around forever.

The organizers are reaching out to the greater cycling world looking for some able volunteers to sign up for some pretty short shifts with action packed racing coming by every few minutes. Check out their request below.

The ECCC season is approaching and so is the 2012 Philly Phlyer. In order to make this race weekend happen we need volunteers. To sign up, please use this form: bit.ly/PhlyerMarshal

To all Drexel, Penn, and Temple collegiate racers: In order for you to participate in this race weekend you are required to help marshal. If you do not sign up to marshal you will not race. Team captains, please forward this to your team’s email list.

The Philly Phlyer is held Saturday, March 17th (Memorial Hall in Fairmount Park) and Sunday, March 18th at Temple University.

With names like Cavendish, Evans, Hincapie, Gilbert, and Renshaw, you will see the fi’zi:k saddle cross the lines under our current superstars.

Greatly contributing to its strength-in-numbers is new addition Team Sky (with Pinarello bikes). BMC Racing Team (BMC), Garmin-Barracuda (Cervelo), Liquigas-Cannondale (Cannondale), Rabobank (Giant),  Cofidis (Look), Francaise des Jeux (Lapierre), Saur Sojasun (Time), Androni Giocattoli (Bianchi) and Team Colombia Coldeportes  (Bianchi) are again all on fi’zi:k’s roster of UCI WorldTour and Pro Continental road teams.

The Kurve saddle

Throughout winter and at early-season training camps, the fi’zi:k teams have been testing the new Kurve range.  While it is still unknown which pros may ride the new product, the response from riders thus far has been consistently positive. The ability to customize the overall saddle flex by changing the Nose Tuner and the structure of the innovative Re:Flex shell that provides a unique level of comfort, are the two key features that have caught the attention of the pros. Ivan Basso and Phillipe Gilbert are among those that have been riding on Kurve saddles at their respective training camps. The three model line-up of Snake, Chameleon and Bull -based on the fi’zi:k Spine Concept fit system, provides three distinct shapes replicating the Arione, Antares and Aliante.

Among fi’zi:k’s UCI Pro Tour and UCI Pro Continental teams, saddle choice is divided almost evenly among the Aliante, the Arione and the Antares. fi’zi:k attributes this to their Spine Concept saddle-fit program where the rider is matched to their saddle based on both the cyclist’s spine flexibility as well as their riding style.

For more information about fi’zi:k’s high performance saddles, footwear and accessories visit the website at www.fizik.it.

Racing has concluded here in Beijing. Everyone is packing up and bracing themselves for the 20+hours travel time that lies ahead of us!

Competing in their first World Cup Events Tela Crane and Jennifer Valente both had respectful  rides in the Women’s Keirin, as did Kevin Mansker and Jimmy Watkins in the Men’s Sprints yesterday.

Though times were not as fast as everyone had hoped and expected, the experience of another World Class event will help build this young track program.

I had the chance to sit down with Pennsylvania’s Liz Carlson, who finished 12th in the 500, and 14th in the Women’s Team Sprint, and chat

Carlson said, “We are counting the positives towards building bigger goals. The Women’s Sprint team is a young and new group that is working on gaining experience as they build towards the 2016 Olympics in Rio.”

Team USA at The Great Wall

Carlson said of the new direction the track program is taking, “There has been a tremendous investment being put into the track program that is palpable and exciting. Great new talent brings energy to the program and the leadership between Coaches Jamie Staff and Benjamin Sharp really fosters the hard work and dedication it takes to succeed.”

Carlson says that racing is hard, but “The coaching staff really takes into consideration what the athletes are going through and how best to manage time zone changes, food, culture, and as we have noticed here, air quality really shows that the staff is athlete focused and results driven!”

As for all of the travel, the young track racer said, “The team has grown as a whole. Team building activities like the trip to the Great Wall of China has helped us get used to each other and also experience the countries we visit.”

To end the weekend we all traveled down to the Pearl Street/Silk Market to experience some more of Beijing’s Culture! Anyone that travels to Beijing has to stop and experience this, good fun!

Great job to all the athletes, coaches, and staff that worked hard this week! Next stop will be the final round of the World Cup which will be in London February 11-20, 2012.

Gear Up for Gearing Up is a 90-minute indoor cycling fundraiser to benefit Gearing Up, a Philadelphia-based nonprofit organization providing women in transition with the opportunity to safely ride a bicycle for exercise, transportation, and personal growth.

On January 29th, you can join over three hundred Gearing Up supporters in a city wide spinning class or yoga session at gyms all over the city. Why are you just sitting there? Register before time is up! REGISTER NOW

Participating Fitness Centers

East Falls Fitness

Focus Fitness of the Mainline

SWEAT Queen Village

SWEAT Manayunk

Body Cycle Studio

PEAC Health and Fitness

Total Body Fitness, Lansdale

Participants and Non-participants are eligible for an incredible raffle with over $3,000 in prizes.  Tickets are on sale until February 10th.  Winners will be randomly drawn using www.random.org at the end of the day on February 10th and will be notified via email.  Tickets are only on sale on bikereg.com and will not be available for purchase at the event.

BUY RAFFLE TICKETS NOW

Great rides by Bobby! Next up will be the 4th round of the World Cup in London February 11-20th.

Philly’s own Janine Verstraeten is a Massage Therapist and Soigneur with Team USA and is currently in China with some of our local racers at the UCI Track Cycling World Cup in Beijing. She is going to report to us every few days as our national team vies for World domination.