Bike Trail Cleanup

Several members of North Iowa SPIN and North Iowa Touring Club spent a few hours on Saturday morning picking up trash along the bike trail from Eisenhower Avenue to the kiosk/rest stop. Participants were Earl Hill, Dave Delperdang, Leroy Stonecypher, Mike Wollner, Barry Trump, Kris Dahlstrom, Price Dahlstrom, Mark Dix, Tim Putnam, and Steve Schurtz. There were many bags of trash generated, and the trail looks great. The event was organized by Barry Trump and Earl Hill. Thanks to them and to all that helped.

2007 NISpin Class

"Spinning at the HED. Mason City" "IA Shop"
Originally uploaded by North Iowa SPIN

We plan to have an announcement about the spin class location and date of the first class really soon. Please be patient and it will be well worth the wait!

Enjoy the nice weather!

CALLING ALL JUNIORS!

REMINDER...

The North Iowa Spin Cycling Team, a part of the North Iowa Touring Club, is excited to announce the formation of the Junior Spin Cycling Team.

Junior North Iowa Spin Meeting:
Saturday October 20^th at 3:00 p.m.
Mason City Public Library in the Learning Center

The purpose of the Junior Spin is to introduce interested youths, ages 10 – 19, to the sport of competitive cycling. This is open to any young athlete regardless of where they live or current level of cycling skill. All that is required to participate is a desire to learn about bike racing, a bike of ANY type and a helmet. We will be tapping into the experience and expertise of NI Spin and NI Touring Club members to mentor and coach this group. We will conduct group rides broken out by skill level, along with information sessions before each ride. We will focus on rider safety, how to ride in groups, race preparation & tactics, equipment, bike maintenance, nutrition for the endurance athlete and many other topics.

NI SPIN riders in final Iowa Cup standings

Two North Iowa SPIN team members placed in the Iowa Cup final standings. Evan Peterson was tied for 16th in Cat 4, and Tim Putnam was tied for 17th in Cat 4. Others listed are Jay Friday, 11th in Cat 3, and Todd Juhlin, tied for 17th in Cat 4. Congratulations to all these guys!

http://cyclingupdate.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=248&Itemid=29

Junior North Iowa Spin Meeting Set:

by John Johnson

To: Parents, Coaches & young athletes

The North Iowa Spin Cycling Team, a part of the North Iowa Touring Club, is excited to announce the formation of the Junior Spin Cycling Team.

Junior North Iowa Spin Meeting:
Saturday October 20^th at 3:00 p.m.
Mason City Public Library in the Learning Center

The purpose of the Junior Spin is to introduce interested youths, ages 10 – 19, to the sport of competitive cycling. This is open to any young athlete regardless of where they live or current level of cycling skill. All that is required to participate is a desire to learn about bike racing, a bike of ANY type and a helmet. We will be tapping into the experience and expertise of NI Spin and NI Touring Club members to mentor and coach this group. We will conduct group rides broken out by skill level, along with information sessions before each ride. We will focus on rider safety, how to ride in groups, race preparation & tactics, equipment, bike maintenance, nutrition for the endurance athlete and many other topics.

Group training rides are set to begin next spring as soon as weather will allow us to ride outside comfortably. We are planning to have two group rides each week, on Tuesday evenings and Saturdays. During the winter months the NI Touring Club sponsors indoor spinning classes three times each week. All Junior Spin participants will be able to attend spin classes free of charge. This is a super way to get in shape during the months we are not able to ride outdoors.

Our ultimate goal is to have the Junior Spin members participate in bike races individually and as a team. There are many opportunities in close proximity to participate in road races, time trial races, mountain bike races, and Triathlons for the adventurous types.

Cycling is a great cross-over sport for cross country runners and swimmers. Many professional cyclists got their start on a cross country course or in a swimming pool. Clear Lake native and professional cyclist Tom Zirble was a cross country runner for the Lions. Lance Armstrong started as a swimmer, moved to triathlon and then finally focused on cycling. The time in the pool at an early age eventually lead to 7 Tour de France victories!

There will be an informational meeting held on Saturday October 20th, at 3:00 at the Mason City Library in the Learning Center room. We are looking forward to seeing you there.

If you should have any question please feel free to contact any of the following individuals.

John Johnson 641-380-0166 johnjohnson116@mchsi.com

Matt Curtis 641-423-2851 waynes@netconx.net

Tim Putnam 641-422-4192 putnatim@niacc.edu

New Spin Location - Coming Soon!

"Spinning at the HED. Mason City" "IA Shop"
Originally uploaded by North Iowa SPIN

We have a viable location and hope to have an announcement next week!

Stay Tuned!

Arkansas Senior Games 2007

Story by Earl Hill and Photos by Jim French

On September 22 and 23, Connie French and Earl Hill participated in the Arkansas Senior Olympic bicycling competition. Jim French has a daughter living in Benton, AR, and Earl has a daughter living in Little Rock, AR. Therefore, both took the opportunity to visit family while enjoying the camaraderie of competitive cycling.

The TT was held at National Park Community College and the road race was held at Lake Catherine State Park—both in the Hot Springs area.

The weather for the TT was hot and the humidity was relatively comfortable. However, there was a half mile climb into an 18 mph wind on the back side of the oval. This was tough—particularly given the fact that we had to climb the hill twice.

The temperature for the road race was reasonable, but the humidity was almost insufferable as we climbed out of the valley to the heights above. The threatened rain started almost as soon as we were off. This was an out and back course—half of which was on newly resurfaced blacktop and the balance on an older chip and seal surface. The blacktop was quite slippery at the turn around. The finish line was at the top of a short rise.

Connie took a gold in the 5K TT as well as the 20K road race. Earl took a silver in the 5K TT and a bronze in the 20K road race.

I don’t know the exact numbers, but I believe there were at least as many out-of-state competitors participating in the weekend events as there were riders from Arkansas. There may have been other States represented, but I personally met riders from Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Illinois. The participant from Pennsylvania, Horst Bernhardt, was making a tour of state senior games. If I recall correctly, his next stop was Nevada and then on to Utah.

If you like moderate hills and high humidity, the Arkansas Senior Olympics might be for you.