Schneider Second in Waukesha ToAD; Stays in Lead

Samantha Schneider (Team TIBCO) took second in the Waukesha stage of the Tour of America's Dairyland, maintaining her slim lead in the overall. The stage was the second of two National Criterium Calendar races for ToAD. 

Erica Allar (Colavita-Fine Cooking) took the win in a sprint finish.  Sam has a one-point lead over Allar in the overall series. 

Schneider's 15-year-old sister Skyler was 10th and maintained her lead in the category 2 series overall. She is also seventh in the pro women overall.

Ken Hansen (United HealthCare) won his second consecutive men's race but local rider James Stemper (Kenda 5-Hour Energy tried to make the race his own by spending the majority off the front in breakaway attempts. 

Fox Point resident Chad Hartley (Athlete Octane) took 16th while helping his teammate Daniel Holloway to a second place finish. Holloway leads the overall series for the pro men. 

Velocause racer Andy Feuersthaler finished 10th in the masters 35 category 1/2 race. Feuersthaler is now third in the 1/2 35 plus overall category. 

Benny Smith, also of Velocause, finished ninth in the masters 3/4 race. Smith is sixth overall in the 35 plus 3/4 series. 

Local riders Evan Hartig (KS Energy) and Nathan Labecki (ISCorp) took second and fourth in the category 2/3 race. 

The racers head to Beloit today for the Beloit Bike Classic. On Tuesday, they will be at Schlitz Park, on Saturday the Downer Classic, and Sunday in Wauwatosa. 

Schneider Dominance in Women's Pro Field at ToAD

Samantha Schneider (TIBCO) took both the win and overall lead Saturday in the pro women's field at the Giro d' Grafton event of Tour of America's Dairyland.

Schneider, from West Allis, WI, sprinted to a huge win in Grafton and came away with a slight lead in the overall standings. Her 15-year-old sister Skyler finished 11th and is still on top of the category 2 series.

More than 60 women finished in the field, one of the largest women's races in the country.

In the pro men's event, the United Healthcare juggernaut came away with first and second with Ken Hansen and Luke Keough finishing ahead of the field. Overall series leader Daniel Holloway finished third.

Chad Hartley (Athlete Octane) continued to shine as a teammate and still ended up 20th in the race.

In the Masters 1/2 event, Velocause team rider Andy Feuersthaler finished 10th and now sits in fourth place in the overall.

Local riders Chris Hill (KS Energy/ Team Wisconsin), Brian Kaker (LAPT), and Nathan Labecki (ISCorp) are at the top of the category 2 series.

Racers converge today on Waukesha for the Carl Zach Cycling Classic.

Schneider Third in East Troy ToAD Race

West Allis native Samantha Schneider (Team TIBCO) placed third in the East Troy stop of the Tour of America's Dairyland. Tina Pic (Fearless Femme) won the second round of the ToAD series Friday while Schneider's teammate Kendall Ryan took second.

Here's the story at the ToAD site.

Schneider, Pic, Ryan, and Erica Allar (Colavita-Fine Cooking) are all tied for points in the series. Schneider's 15-year-old sister and teammate Skylar finished 15th and kept her lead in the Oarsman Capital Category 2 competition.

Andreina Rivera of Kenosha finished 10th.

Andrew Dahlheim and Daniel Holloway of the Athlete Octane team finished first and second in the pro men's race. Their teammate Chad Hartley of Fox Point finished 19th.

James Stemper (5-Hour Energy/ Kenda) of Wauwatosa finished 10th. Chris Hill (KS Energy) of Racine leads the Category 2 series competition, while Milwaukee native and friend of Ben's Nathan Labecki (ISCorp) is in third.

In the Masters 35 plus Category 1, 2 race, Velocause racers Andy Feuersthaler placed fourth and Andy Ohlsson eighth.

Benny Smith of Velocause finished 6th in the Masters 3/4 race.

Ben's Increases Size of Women's Prime at Downer Avenue Crit

     Ben’s Cycle announced it is significantly increasing the size of the prime for the women’s race at the Downer Avenue Criterium June 28 in Milwaukee.

Women's field at ToAD 2013.
Photo by Tom Held, Active Pursuit

     In previous years, Ben’s has given $1,000  to the pro women in a Ben’s Cycle Prime at the Downer Avenue race, part of the Tour of America’s Dairyland.

     Vince Hanoski, owner of Ben’s Cycle in Milwaukee, said he wanted to grow his support of women’s cycling.

     “We’re significantly increasing the size of the women’s prime this year,” he said. “The final amount will depend on the size of the women’s field and how much we raise at the Ben’s Super Prime party.”

Samantha Schneider (TIBCO) moves off the front.
Photo by Tom Held, Active Pursuit

     A prime is a prize awarded to the winner of a particular lap in a criterium, a bicycle race of a specified number of laps on a closed course over public roads.  The Tour of America’s Dairyland is an 11-day series of races around southeastern Wisconsin.

     Hanoski acknowledged that funding women’s fields on an equal basis on the men’s can be challenging. Bigger fields bring in bigger prizes, and small fields make it hard to justify more funding, he said.

     “It’s a chicken and egg thing,” he said. “So we decided to increase the amount of our women’s prime to see if we can bring more women to the event. Women’s cycling is at a critical place in terms of support and ridership. We want to do what we can. ”

     To locally increase that support, Ben’s also recently began sponsoring a women’s cycling club in Milwaukee known as the Bella Donnas.

     “We want to see more women involved in cycling,” Hanoski said. “With our support, we hope to do a small part in growing women’s cycling.”

Before the Grafton race at ToAD 2013.
Photo by Tom Held, Active Pursuit

     Ben’s will continue to fund the Super Prime for the men’s race.  Every year, the shop hosts the Downer Super Prime Party at the corner of Park and Hackett on Milwaukee’s East Side.  The money raised at the party funds the Super Primes.

     The Super Primes are typically held sometime in the last 10 laps of the men’s and women’s race. This year the primes will be awarded at the Ben’s party site.

     Tickets for the Super Prime party are $25 and include a t-shirt as well as all you can eat and drink. It is located at the corner of Park and Hackett in Milwaukee and begins around noon. You can buy wristbands at the party. 

     See you there!

Tour of America's Dairyland Kicks Off in Shorewood

The Tour of America's Dairyland began Thursday night in Shorewood in the Shorewood Criterium Cycling Classic presented by Shorewood Business Improvement District just before the skies opened and the rain fell. 

Erica Allar (Colavita-Fine Cooking) won the women's race in a field sprint, beating out West Allis native and niece of Ben's Cycle IT guy Dan Schneider Samantha Schneider (Team TIBCO) took second. Schneider won the overall ToAD women's series last year and is looking to repeat her win. Skyler Schneider, Sam's 15-year-old phenom sister also riding for TIBCO, took 7th. 

Daniel Holloway (Athlete Octane) won the men's race out of a four-man break. Wisconsin riders Max Anderson (Lakes Area Physical Therapy), Chad Hartley (Athlete Octane), Cole House, and Dan Teaters (Team Wheel and Sprocket) finished in the top 20. 

Matt Kelley (Quantum Mesa Cycles) won the category 2/3 race. Local riders Al Krueger and Fred Derocher both of KS Energy/ Team Wisconsin finished 6th and 8th, respectively.

Full results can be seen here. Racers travel to East Troy today for a full day of racing in all categories. Watch for Velocause team, sponsored by Ben's Cycle, in the results!

A Western-Michigan Bike Tour with Dan S.

Our IT guy at the shop, Dan Schneider, just returned from a four-day bike trip along the eastern coast of Lake Michigan in Michigan.

Dan, who has been riding, racing, and touring for more years than he can count, took the ferry to Muskegon with a few friends. The group pedaled over a variety of paved roads, gravel roads, and some unmarked forest roads.


On a bike tour, "I get to hang out with friends and go on a vacation that's all on bicycles rather than going somewhere and driving around,"  he said.

He took the ferry to Muskegon, then rode a loop from the ferry station to Grand Rapids, then Big Rapids, through the Manistee National Forest to Hart, then back to Muskegon.

"Touring is just relaxed," Schneider said. "No one wants to go really fast. We all just want to look at the scenery and have a beer at the end of the day."

Most of the route was planned on google maps, then Ride with GPS. They had hotels reserved along the way.

Dan rode his 2014 Specialized AWOL Comp bike. He loaded up all his gear in Axiom panniers (travel bags) attached to a Blackburn rack. Several times he used front-mounted Serfas lights, especially when the lights went out at one of his hotels!

He also had Specialized touring shoes and an Echelon helmet. His extra Bellwether shorts and jersey were stored in a Banjo Brothers frame pack. He was prepared for rainy conditions, but they had "really good weather."


All of these products are available at Ben's either online or in the store.

On Saturday, our web sales guy, Matt Hewitt, is leaving for a nine-day trip from Milwaukee around the northern tip of Lake Michigan, then back down along with eastern coast of the lake. He'll be camping along with way with friends. We'll be posting about his trip on a new bike when he returns. 

Milwaukee Bicycle Company Race Team Podiums at WORS #4

MBC Race Team rider Ron Knutkowski continued his strong season with a third place in the Comp division 35-39 age group. 

MBC Race Team rider Ron Knutkowski

Knutkowski, who has been on the podium for every WORS race he's entered this year, was only a minute back from the win. He was ninth overall in the Comp division, one of the fastest of the WORS categories.

The Red Eye Rendezvous in Wausau, Wisconsin, is the fourth of the WORS series races. 

MBC riders are gearing up for the fifth race of the WORS series in Eau Claire and then the Subaru Cup at Cascade Mountain. 

Knutkowski on the podium. Again!

Getting a Flat: What Pump Should I Use?

The one thing anyone who rides should carry in a saddle bag or jersey pocket is a spare tube and pump. What type of pump you bring depends on personal preference and riding style.

So here are three options for pumps you carry with you on a ride. Under each picture is a caption with a link to our website for more information.

In case you're not sure, here's how to change a flat. 

1. CO2 Cartridges. 
These are disposable cartridges that blow a stream of carbon dioxide to fill up a tube to about 90 psi. 

Planet Bike Airship CO2 pump

They are convenient and quick. The down side is that they are bulky, heavy, and usually don't fill up the tire all the way. You can use one of the CO2 pumps like the Airship to modulate the amount of CO2 going into the tire. 

Portland Design Works Shiny Object CO2 inflator 

You can also save space and weight by simply running with just the inflator head. These have some level of modulation. 

Planet Bike Red Zeppelin CO2 inflator

I use this Planet Bike inflator since it's simple and lightweight. You can recycle these cartridges in the metal bin, along with any soup or vegetable can.







2. Mini-pumps. 
These are light-weight and simple to use. The downside is that you need to pump a lot to get enough air in the tire. 

Topeak Micro Rocket Master Blaster Frame Pump

Planet Bike Versair mini-pump with foot pads

Several manufacturers, though, have redesigned their mini-pumps with small footpads so you can use the mini-pump as a floor pump, making the whole process much easier.

You can also add a bracket to your frame to keep the pump secure. I used to ride with a mini in my jersey pocket until I crashed and landed on it, bruising a rib! The bracket is a good idea!

    

Topeak Road Morph frame pump

Our internet guy, bike polo star, and bike tourist Matt swears by the Topeak Road Morph for his riding.




3. Frame Pump
The final option is a full-out long frame pump. These generally fit under your top tube with a spring mechanism in the pump. The advantage is that you can pump out more air than a mini. Sometimes a frame pump can scratch your frame paint.

Portland Design Works Big Silver Frame Pump

My ride typically determines the kind of pump I use. I always carry a spare tube or two and a CO2 cartridge in my saddle bag, along with a couple of tire levers to get the tire off. When I'm doing a long ride or all-day event, I'll get out the frame pump and a few extra tubes to make sure I don't need to make an emergency phone call home! 

ebay did a nice write-up on pump options as well to give you more information. 

Don't Tell the Boss: First Look at Fugitive

So the prototype for the Fugitive, Milwaukee Bicycle Company's new gravel bike arrived at the shop yesterday to be built up and tested.



And maybe the boss told me not to take any photos yet. 


But maybe I got too excited about the bike, and maybe walked by when he wasn't around and took a couple of pictures of the Fugitive.

Maybe I was dreaming about long rides on rough roads in comfort with the steel fork, longer chain stays, raised bottom bracket, and disc brakes.


But if the boss sees this post, I'm going to ask forgiveness rather than permission. 



The Fugitive will be worth it.  

Phone, Internet Problems at Ben's/ MBC

We've been experiencing significant phone and internet problems over the past two days. So if you've tried to reach us or contact us, please be patient. Our phones will record your number, so we will try to contact you or try to call us at your convenience. 

You can also always visit us at our website. 

Thank you for your patience, and as always, we appreciate your business at Ben's Cycle and Milwaukee Bicycle Company.

We Take Product Testing Very Seriously

The employees at Ben's Cycle ride their bikes. 

We ride to work, for fun, to travel, to race, for transportation, even to play bike polo. 

If there's a bike, we ride it. 

And we ride the bikes we sell and service: Milwaukee Bicycle Company, Specialized, Globe, Cervelo, Focus. 

Sometimes, though, we crash. 

Hunter is the pup at Ben's at 19. He rides to work nearly every day. Last weekend, he and a friend were riding home on their fixed gear bike built up from parts we sell at the shop. 

He and his buddy got to racing each other, and he lost control of the bike and went over the bars. 

He snapped his collar bone in two pieces. 

But he's so tough, he rode the four miles to his house. 

Hunter is a sales guy at the MBC side of the shop.

Paul, the old man of the shop, was racing his Specialized Stumpjumper at a WEMS (Wisconsin Endurance Mountain Bike Series) event at the Emma Carlin state trails. He went over the handlebars on the trails and had a concussion and tore the labrum in his shoulder and needed surgery last Wednesday. 

Paul, who is much, much older than Hunter, is the marketing and social media person for Ben's/ MBC. 

However, most of the time, we stay upright.

Dan, our internet and electronics guru, will return to the shop tomorrow after a four-day 200-mile ride around the east coast of Lake Michigan. He didn't crash once.  

Matt, Dan W., Al, Steve, and Josh all rode their bikes to work today, and none of them crashed either.