Summer Road Maintenance Projects

An excerpt from Ted Green...

New "improved" chip sealing for 2011. The Washtenaw County Road Commission (WCRC) has posted its chip sealing plans for 2011. The good news is that for the first time the chip sealed roads will also be "fog sealed" which applies a sealant over the chips to smooth out the road and should make for better bicycling. I don't know the details, but I think the fog seal is applied about 2-3 days after the road is chip sealed, about the same time the extra chips are vacuumed up.

The WCRC is considering the fog sealing an "experiment" because it obviously adds cost. It has been well received in other states. Assuming we bicyclists find it an improvement, we need to send our thanks and feedback to the Road Commission in hopes that this practice will continue.


The effort from bicyclists to support road improvements in Washtenaw County last summer couldn't have hurt the introduction of the more bicyclist-friendly chip seal method being tested in 2011.

To see a list of the 10 county roads to be chip sealed in Washtenaw County this year, see the AnnArbor.com article.

Announcing New AAVC Sponsor: Challenge Tires!

For the 2011 season the Ann Arbor Velo Club welcomes Challenge Tires as a new club sponsor. Challenge has has generously extended wholesale pricing to the club. AAVC is in good company with this sponsorship as U.S. based ProTour team Radioshack will also be riding Challenge Tires in 2011. Challenge has given AAVC access to a variety of high quality handmade tubular and open tubular (or clincher) tires and tubes for both road and cyclocross, so we encourage everyone to consider Challenge Tires for all of your training and race tire needs.

If you are interested in purchasing Challenge Tires the club will be placing a single order for the year on January 31st - this means you need to place your order NOW even if you don't need that new set of 'cross tires until the fall. We expect to take delivery of the tires in time for all of the early season races, so don't forget to get a set of tough Challenge Parigi-Roubaix tires for Cone-Azalia, Barry-Roubaix, and riding the dirt roads of Washtenaw!

The club order is being administered through a third-party website, Kitorder.com. Visit the AAVC Challenge tire order page to place your order. When you arrive at this website you can each create your own account and place the order using a credit card. The order will then be aggregated on January 31st and sent to Challenge. The expected timeframes are listed below:

• January 20th – 31st, 2011: This is our team ordering window, please have your order completed by January 31st, 2011. 
• February 1st, 2011: Team order is submitted to Challenge and Challenge forwards it to the factory.
• March 15th, 2011: This is the estimated ship date from the factory—it typically the order takes 4-5 weeks to manufacture.
• March 20th, 2011: This is the estimated date of arrival for the product after it has cleared customs. Once it has been received it will be shipped to teams immediately. Our product will arrive 3-5 days after it has been shipped via UPS Ground. 

Contact: If you have any questions about your order feel free to contact Dave Vannette at: dave dot vannette at gmail dot com.

Introducing: AAVC Development Program

We are beginning a new initiative this year for AAVC club members interested in improving their racing skills and performance. It is simply called the Development Program. On Monday, January 31 at 6:30 at Great Lakes Cycling & Fitness (map) we'll hold a meeting to share more of the details, but some of the initial details are available on the Development Program page.

Development Program

New in 2011 is the AAVC Development Program!

The mission of the program is to increase the quality of AAVC race team membership by guiding club members from beginner to elite-category racing through long-term, intentional on- and off-bike development.

The Development Program will be open to all club members to take advantage of as their interests, schedules, and time allows. The Development Team will be a subset of the program comprised of AAVC members interested in advancing in racing category and who commit to consistent and season-long training, racing, club service, and Development Program participation.

More details will be shared on January 31 at 6:30 p.m. at Great Lakes Cycling & Fitness (map), and additional details will be posted online in the coming weeks. A brief description of the Development Program and the Development Team follows.

Development Program

• Who: any AAVC member or invited guests of the club (guests will need to sign a waiver)
• What: presentations, clinics, and activities designed to improve riders' racing skills and performance
• When: throughout the season as you are interested; activities will be posted on the club calendar
• Why: to improve the racing skills and knowledge of any interested club member

Development Team

• Who: any AAVC member 14-99 with a racing category 3, 4, or 5 committed to 10-15 hours/week (approximately; plus travel) of cycling (group and individual) and club activities
• What: regular participation in Development Program activities; commitment to consistent, structured training (individually organized, not team provided); racing at least 15 times during the season; service to the AAVC through various programs, activities and/or administrative leadership.
• When: all season long (February-November); specific activities will be posted on the club calendar
• Why: to assist committed racers in advancing to category 1-2

To join the AAVC, visit the membership page. For more information about the Development Program or the Development Team, visit the club calendar to see Development Program activities or contact the program director, Lucas Wall.

AAVC 2010 Year in Review

2010 was a big year in the Ann Arbor Velo Club with its increase in membership and activity with racing. Below is a recap of some of the highlights.

Membership, programs, activities

• Winter trainer rides twice a week that regularly saw about a dozen riders per night.
• Redesigned clothing to highlight the Ann Arbor Velo Club name.
• Had 50 people order clothing with the new design creating a much more noticeable club presence at races.
• Hosted 4 races in March-April as a part of the Spring Training Series, with more than 350 riders participating.
• Hosted the Cone-Azalia race in May with more than 175 riders.
• Helped set up the Vets Park Cyclocross course for the mid-October race weekend.
• Had an active Tuesday evening criterium training series that regularly drew a good sized group.
• Updated our website, membership tracking, and communications tools to improve club communications
• Increased our membership numbers 20% from 2009
• Supported the Huron River Drive repaving project that resurfaced important sections of this roadway.
• Riders raced in more than 10 states from the East Coast to West Coast.

Race Team Accomplishments

• Category 4 men were 3rd overall in the Michigan Challenge Race Series
• Pear Tree Pens women's team was 1st overall for the Women Category 3 in the Michigan Challenge Race Series (more info from the women's team site)
• Two Wheel Tango/Morgan & York team was 5th overall in the Master Men 35+ in the Michigan Challenge Race Series
• The Master Men 55+ were 1st overall in the Michigan Challenge Race Series

Rider Accomplishments

• Hana Berkooz qualified through the Tour de Frankenmuth LAJRS race then attended the Regional Junior Development Camp in La Crosse, WI in August.
• Richard Rainville had a busy year winning the overall in Junior Men 13-14 Michigan Challenge Race Series, attending Junior Track Nationals in Trexlertown, PA and Cyclocross Nationals in Bend, OR, and won Michigan's first Junior Road Racing Scholarship Series (earning some money for post-secondary education).
• Rodger Bowser, 1st overall in the 35+ masters category of the Tailwind Cyclo-Cross Series.
• Tom Barret, 2nd overall in the B men category of the Tailwind Cyclo-Cross Series.
• Larry Bohnsack, 2nd overall Master Men 55+ in the Michigan Challenge Race Series
• John Shedlock, 3rd overall Master Men 55+ in the Michigan Challenge Race Series
• Kristi Hewitt, 2nd overall Women Cat. 3 in the Michigan Challenge Race Series
• Emily Flynn, 3rd overall Women Cat. 3 in the Michigan Challenge Race Series

2011 Trainer Ride Schedule

Thanks to all who completed the poll about the trainer ride schedule. We wanted to make sure we didn't miss an obvious time. As a result of the feedback and to keep consistency with the past and warmer weather road rides, we'll keeping the Tuesday and Thursday times, but also adding a Saturday time.

The full schedule for rides is always available on the calendar page, but here's quick rundown on the details for trainer rides.


Timeframe: January-February (March is contingent on weather and store space)
Location: all rides are at Great Lakes Cycling & Fitness, 2015 West Stadium Boulevard, Ann Arbor, MI (Google map).
Days and times:

• Tuesday & Thursday, 6:00-7:45 p.m. Set up starts at 6:00 p.m., riding is roughly 6:30-7:45, then pick up and out of the store by 8:00.
• Saturday, 10:00-noon. Store opens and set up starts at 10:00 a.m., riding is roughly 10:30-noon.

Please Remember...

• Bring a towel to help keep sweat from getting on the floors.
• Bring your own trainer/rollers. We sometimes have a loaner or two available but check first before counting on it.
• Bringing a fan is helpful to stay cool. Some fans will be there but more are welcome.
• There will usually be a video playing (often a bike race), but the workout is on your own--no organized group work.

Poll: Trainer Ride Schedule

We are trying to schedule trainer nights for the rest of the winter. These will be 1-2 hour indoor trainer workouts at AAVC sponsor Great Lakes Cycling and Fitness on Stadium in Ann Arbor. Traditionally we have planned these workouts to coincide with our weekly in-season rides (Tues/Thurs) but we know that people may have different schedules in the winter.

We want to know when you would be most likely to join us for trainer workouts beginning in January. The dates provided in the poll are only for the first week but we hope to use your feedback to set the schedule for the rest of the winter. We hope to add a weekend workout as well, so if you can join us on the weekend select whether Saturday or Sunday works best for you.

Please follow this link to let us know which days would work best for you: http://doodle.com/eymigf4smaxqr3q2

Happy New Year!!