ECV Members: The Bike Committee is looking for volunteers to serve as Marshals and Ride leaders. Please contact paul@ecvcycling.org if you are interested.

Please Come: All Individuals, Groups, Families Who Love Beverly and Enjoy Riding a Bike (No Spandex Needed!)

The Mayor Will Say Some Words Regarding Beverly, Now and Into the Future.

Wear a Helmet Bike Safety Tips Refreshments Longer Ride Available Following Short Ride for Those Interested

Beverly: Where the City Meets the Sea and Country

21 May 2012 6:15p Roll off from Marblehead Cycles.
Get there by 6:00pm to sign liability waiver
Cost: ECV members: no charge. Non-members $10 (proceeds go to Bikes Belong)
60-90min duration

Lead by Chris Finn of Marblehead Cycles

Clinic Focus:

Riding in a group in an safe, efficient manner; proper bike handling skills; group ride etiquette;
Keeping a constant pace (not the same as constant effort)
Maintaining gap ahead 1.5′ – 3′
Maintaining gap beside 0.5′ – 1.5′
Gradual breaking
Avoiding sudden movements, especially when going from seated to standing
Pulling off gradually when pulling off the front
Proper pace when pulling off the front
Stay close to riders next to you, KEEP IT TIGHT
Eyes ahead – not on the wheel in front of you
Point out bad road conditions (holes, bumps, debris)
Single pace line
Double pace line

Requirements:

This is a relatively slow ride, no hammering please.
Must have a road bike in good, working order (bring your own tubes, pump)
No Mountain bikes or hybrids
No Aero bars
Please stay to the right, share the road, follow the rules of the road.
Must have a helmet in good condition
Must be 18 years of age and older

Rain Date: June 4th

To take part: Contact paul@ecvcycling.org to reserve your spot. We can only accept 12 spots and they are on a first come, first served basis. If there is enough interest, we’ll add more clinics to address the need.

Hi Everyone,

Thank you to the 45 or so who came to last night’s Annual Meeting. We’re excited for the upcoming season. Here’s a recap of what we discussed:

Membership – Dan Donovan is staying on as Membership Coordinator. We’re at 102 members. Not bad considering at January 1st we started from zero. Membership averages around 125 and we expect to meet or exceed that number as the good weather hits. We had a slight technical glitch and about 18 people who signed up or renewed since Feb 7th didn’t get on the email list. The issue was fixed.

Clothing – chris talked about all the various clothing options. We are sticking with Verge as our supplier. We’ve had a great experience with them. The order is on BikeReg until noon on 7 March. it’s likely we’ll have a fall clothing order more focused on colder climate gear. Special Edition Rosa Tour de Cure ECV jersey and bib shorts. ECV will take $5 for each piece for the fight against diabetes. Our clothing partner Verge has generously offered to donate 10% of what we do for sales of this kit to ADA.

Tour de Cure – Several ECV members have been doing this ride the past few years and ECV decided to create a team. Our Teams’ goal is $2000. This year’s date is Sunday 20 May. It’s unfortunate that the date for this ride conflicts with the Willowdale Mountain Bike race You can join the ECV Tour de Cure team here: http://main.diabetes.org/goto/ecv

Tour d’Essex County – will do the same route as last year. Due to the huge numbers the past two years, we need to engage the local Police Departments and may need an escort for the first few miles (essentially a neutral start if this were a race). After which, people will be free to drop the hammer and ride their own speed. Stay tuned for the date.

Board – the ECV Board (aka officers) is as follows:
Paul Boudreau, President
Chris McKernan Vice President
Michele Harrison – Treasurer
Patrick Cochran – Volunteer Coordinator – WELCOME Patrick!
Dan Donovan – Membership Coordinator
David Beaulieu – Kids Event Coordinator
Ron Smithers – At Large
John Adamik – Cross Coordinator

Time Trial Series – Many thanks to Ron Hartfelder who ran the TT series for many years and turned it into a finely tuned machine! Ron needs to step away from the commitment this year and has been helping us transition. We expect to have 6 dates this year. Stay tuned as they are finalized over the next few weeks.

Financial – Michele announced that we are healthy despite a year where we invested in some Gloucester infrastructure and increased our prize list significantly as a UCI Category 1 race. We urged members who have ideas for programs to come forward to discuss. Michele mentioned the Grant Program where ECV members could secure funds for ECV or charitable activities. Only one person in two years has taken advantage of this program. If anyone is interested, we can talk about reinstating the program.

Kids Events – David Beaulieu is staying on as Kids Event Coordinator. The main kids events are Gloucester and Beverly and we are committed as a club to producing those events. David spoke about the Topsfield event as not being the best fit. We’re considering two other kids events but need help from the membership: Marblehead and Newburyport. We will work with our affiliate bike shops Marblehead Cycle and Riverside Cycle for help in their respective towns. Please contact David if you are interested in helping out.

Rides – Chris Field has committed to leading the ever popular SpanKoM ride. Chris Finn of Marblehead Cycle will bring back the Wednesday Night Worlds Concept but change to a more stable day or the week. The ride will happen on Sunday mornings where it won’t have to compete with the TT series, GP Beverly and Witches Cup.

We also serve as an aggregate of local rides by listing the rides of our affiliate shops on our web page. ECV urged its members who do regular rides to consider leading one.

Gran Prix of Beverly – a successful event last year. The City & Rec department love the race but asked that we consider moving away from our date as there was a perception by some that we were taking away from LobsterFest and other Homecoming events on that day. To that end our new race date is 25 July and we are now considered the Opening Event for Beverly Homecoming. We also discussed at length the decision last year to not hold a women’s race. The decision was not taken lightly and we reached out to many in the racing community outside of ECV to make this decision. In the end, it was a business decision we simply could not financially support it. The cost to put on this event is significant. in addition to the police detail, we use hard fencing on mot of Cabot Street. This year the cost of the Police detail is about the same as last year, new for 2012 we have to hire a Fire Department detail and order even more hard fencing. No decisions have been made yet about the race schedule.

Cross – John Adamik will resume coordinating the Weekly Cross Practice sessions. We may start the practices a couple of weeks earlier to reflect the earlier start of cross season the past few years.

The Grassroots team was a hit. Mazda-branded version of ECV kit was tremendously successful. Grassroots support tent present for all NEPCX and select regional races.

Over 300 Race Starts
133 Top 20 Finishes
93 Top Ten Finishes
33 Top Three Finishes

We are working on sponsorship and have no information about Mazda or other sponsors. However, as a club we are committed to continuing this program regardless if “Mazda” or another company is on the skin suit.

Gran Prix of Gloucester – last year we decided to “crank it up to eleven”. We invested in a world class flyover and stairs to enable use of Half Moon Beach as a course element. New for this year, the weekend is now 29 & 30 September.

The UCI gave GPG high marks for the 2011 event. For this year we are working on a deal with cyclingdirt.org to live stream the elite races. This will result in an expected 30,000 live views and anywhere from 130,000 to 250,000 hits on the archived coverage and supplemental videos.

End.

With four fantastic route options – from a 15 mile ride through charming countryside and nearby parks to the more challenging 100 mile Gran Fondo, an epic ride throughout the North Shore including a time trial segment, the event has something for everyone.

To commemorate the event, ECV will be offering a special “Rosa” version of the club kit for all club members with a portion of sales being donated to the American Diabetes Association.  In addition, the club’s clothing sponsor, Verge Sport, has generously offered to donate 10% of kit sales to ADA.

The fundraising minimum is $200 per rider and ECV has set a goal of raising $2000. To join the team or make a donation please go the team’s page on the Tour de Cure website

In 2011, more than 55,000 cyclists in 80 events raised more than $18 million to support the mission of the American Diabetes Association: to prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of all people affected by diabetes.

For more information, contact Chris McKernan

Hello ECVers! Come One Come All!
It’s that time of the year again. ECV is holding its annual general meeting on February 28th at the Cove Community Center in Beverly. We’re also wrapping up the 2012 clothing order on this night.

Program:

• 6.30p Cocktails
  7.00p Buffet starts
  7:15p start meeting
• 9:00p meeting ends

Costs:

• ECV Members: Free
  non-Members: $10 for buffett
  cash bar

You can purchase/renew ECV Memberships onsite.

Matt, Nick, and Joe at Gloucester Day 1 by Tiffany Remy

Hi everyone,

As the cyclocross season winds down I wanted talk briefly about the last two races: NBX Gran Prix in Warwick this weekend and the Ice Weasels Cometh the following weekend.

NBX GP is the final race of the Verge series and the Shimano series. As a partner of ECV, Mazda will be on hand to show off their cars and meet cross racers. If you’re racing or spectating, please take the time to say hello and thank them for their support. Mazda is excited about their involvement with ECV and cyclocross. We hope to continue our partnership in 2012.

ECV's Jewel Event: the Gran Prix of Gloucester

The following weekend is the unofficial season ender, the Ice Weasels Cometh. This race is a blast. In general the emphasis is on fun more than actually racing for a result. There are plenty of adult beverages passed to riders DURING the racing. It really is a festive celebration of the season. ECV will be there in full force with riders in all categories and a hospitality tent.

Here’s video from last year: http://www.youtube.com/user/ddonovanjr?blend=3&ob=5#p/u/0/ADVUbNG9zz0

I wanted to leave you with one final thought. A former ECV member who moved away from New England recently showed up at a local cross race and was blown away by the numbers of ECV members. He said it felt like the good old days.

Happy Holidays! Enjoy the decent weather while it’s here and RIDE!

Paul Boudreau

From the so-called heyday of the 90s when there were TONS of ECV at cross races.

Volunteering: Jason K

Sets of wheels, shoes, tools, clothing, food, drink - Just a sampling of the items we have lined up for our Gran Prix of Gloucester volunteers.

The weekend of October 1 & 2 promises to be filled with action as Great Brewers Gran Prix of Gloucester is the first stop in a new UCI international series.  As a result, we are expecting a record turnout for both racers and spectators alike. With the the race just next weekend, the membership of Essex County Velo is once again greatly needed in several areas.  We can’t pull it off without your help and are looking for volunteers. Ask anyone who has helped in the past — it’s a blast!

Like the past few years we’re making it worth your while. First off, volunteers get free food at the ECV Hospitality Tent. We’re raffling off more cool stuff in our volunteer raffle including stuff from Mavic & Louis Garneau and more. Just like past years, the more you volunteer, the better your chances of winning. Volunteer opportunities are broken up into shifts and the more shifts you take the more raffle tickets you get.

See below for volunteer descriptions and time slots available.

Volunteering: Post-event Celebration

Please contact Patrick Cochran (patrick@gpgloucester.com) if you can help
out.

Wednesday 28 September
Number Sorting party at Acapulco’s 6:30-9:30pm

Thursday 29 September:
We need a few bodies late afternoon 2:00-4:00pm to help with prelim course set up

Friday 30 September:
Course set-up – Staff will be at Stage Fort Park all day from 10:00AM until 6:00PM. Two shifts are available: 10:00AM-2:00PM (lunch provided), 2:00PM-6:00PM.

Saturday 1 October:

5:30-7:30AM Course set-up: One dozen hearty soles to help with last minute set-up.
6:00-11:00AM Registration: (we need lots of help for this shift!),
7:45-10:45AM Marshals (coverage for C4 Men, C4 Masters, C34 Women)
10:30am-1:30pm Marshals (coverage for Junior CUB, Masters 45+, Masters 55+, Masters 1/2/3)
10:45AM-2:30PM Registration
11:45am-2:00PM Marshals (coverage for Juniors, C3 Men, Masters 55+, Masters 1/2/3)
2:15pm-4:30PM Marshals (coverage for UCI Women, UCI Men)
4:30PM-7:00PM Course Changing: people to change the course which is different on Sunday
(Marshals who can work thru the end of the Men’s Elite race will get double raffle tix for their shift!)

Volunteering: Derf O.

Sunday 2 October:

5:30-7:30AM Course set-up: One dozen hearty soles to help with last minute set-up.
6:00-11:00AM Registration: (we need lots of help for this shift!),
7:45-10:45AM Marshals (coverage for C4 Men, C4 Masters, C34 Women)
10:30am-1:30pm Marshals (coverage for Junior CUB, Masters 45+, Masters 55+, Masters 1/2/3)
10:45AM-2:30PM Registration
11:45am-2:00PM Marshals (coverage for Juniors, C3 Men, Masters 55+, Masters 1/2/3)
12:30-2:30PM – Kids Race setup, marshalling & tear down
2:15pm-4:30PM Marshals (coverage for UCI Women, UCI Men)
4:30PM-7:00PM Course Changing: people to change the course which is different on Sunday
(Marshals who can work thru the end of the Men’s Elite race will get double raffle tix for their shift!)
Course Clean-up: 4:30PM-7:00PM.

Please contact the volunteer coordinator, Patrick Cochran,

patrick@gpgloucester.com

Volunteering: End of Day 1 Celebration

ECV Grassroots Cyclocross - Driven by Mazda

Dear ECV Members,

Over the last few months we have been working with Mazda to help them expand their exposure within the cycling market. The demographics of cyclists, and more specifically crossers, align closely with their target market. To that end, we are proud to announce the formation of the ECV Grassroots Cyclocross Program – Driven by Mazda.

With the club’s long history in cyclocross, our partnership with Mazda allows us to continue and build upon our mission of supporting cycling at the grassroots level.

The program is open and free to all ECV members. The basic requirements to participate are:

-  to maintain a current membership
-  to race in the new kit design this season

The program plans to provide mechanical & hospitality support for all races on our schedule. A full schedule will be posted early next week. Mazda will be exhibiting at all the Shimano NEPCX Series events (Gloucester, Providence, Northampton, Warwick). Members are encouraged to participate in as many of the NEPCX events as possible as they are the primary focus of the Mazda sponsorship. Members who attend all the Shimano Series events will receive added program benefits at the end of the season.

As an added incentive to join, we are offering through Bikereg, a limited edition long-sleeved skin suit from Verge for only $45. You can buy two for $80.

With the season rapidly upon us, we are planning to kick off the program at our first target event, Gloucester. Therefore the order deadline for clothing is tight. Order deadline for the skinsuit is Tuesday the 20th of September.

I hope all of you are as excited as we are to begin what will be a long lasting and expanding program.

To join or renew your  membership to ECV link please go to Bikereg.com
To Order Grassroots clothing - http://www.bikereg.com/events/register.asp?eventid=14319
To Order additional ECV Clothing http://www.bikereg.com/events/register.asp?eventid=14345

We look forward to seeing you this cross season,

Paul Boudreau – President
Chris McKernan – Vice President
Michele Harrison – Treasurer

Joe Anthony asked me to add the following notes about the Four Gapper ride

http://ecvcycling.org/the-four-gapper-bike-ride-2011/