Zero Waste results from Louisville USGP

This year the US Gran Prix of Cyclocross Series has committed to a Zero Waste initiative, in an effort to minimize the amount of trash produced at all 6 races in the Series. This initiative is being funded by the USGP and Crank Brothers, and organized by the CLIF BAR Development Team and Eco-Cycle.

The goal of a Zero Waste event is to plan out as much of the potential waste stream as possible ahead of time, and then make sure that as much waste produced on race day as possible can be reused, recycled and composted. To learn more about Zero Waste, please visit Eco-Cycle's website.

ZERO WASTE RESULTS FROM LOUISVILLE USGP WEEKEND:

Diversion Rate: 75.6% (meaning less than 25% of the total materials collected went to the landfill).

Resources Saved: 2 trees, 918 kilowatt hours of energy, 846 gallons of water, and diverted 3900 pounds of compostable materials from the landfill.

Summerhill's report from Louisville

As i wrapped up my first grand prix weekend as a u-23 i have to say that as hard as it was i still had a lot of fun, and definitely learned a lot.

My trip started out at 6:00 Thursday morning when i had to still pack my bag - the night before i had actually fallen asleep on top of all the clothes I was supposed to be packing. Thankfully my mom came to wake me up early which gave me just enough time to
finish packing and get all the last minute things taken care of.

The next thing I know i am sitting on the runway finally on Kentucky soil. As our bags were unloaded every other persons’ bag managed to make it off of the flight except for mine. So, without any riding clothes, toothbrush or fresh pair of boxers, we met up with Jim Hale, one of our friends at Pedro’s. Jim picked us up in one of the coolest Sprinter vans i have ever seen, the Pedro’s Love Tour Van. From there we drove to the course where i got to see one of the coolest features i have ever seen in an American cyclo-cross race…the giant hulking beast called the Green Monster was a genuine European fly over!

The next day i woke up around 9, ate breakfast and went back down to the course where i got to be a part of my first USGP Media Day, where i got to do a photo shoot and was interviewed with people like Tim, Lyne, Jeremy, Jessie, and Katie. Later in the afternoon I coached the CLIF BAR kids clinic, along with Ben and Troy Wells from TEAM CLIF BAR and US National Team coach Geoff Proctor. We had 25 kids from the local junior team Red Zone practice their mounts and dismounts and carrying their little bikes over the barriers, and practiced riding the sand pits.

24 hours later i found myself on the start line shoulder to shoulder with people I’ve grown up watching race, like Mark McCormack and Ryan Trebon. The gun goes off and i switch in to gear. As the laps count down i am now sitting in second U23 position, about 10 seconds off of Jamie Driscoll’s wheel when the next thing i know Chris Horner is coming up on my left hand side going really fast. Thankfully Chris doesn't have nearly the bike handling skills as he does power on the straightaways so i was able to stay with him as he pulled me back up to Jamie's wheel.

As the last lap bell rang i new that no other U23 was going to catch us and either Jamie or myself would wear the USGP leaders’ jersey at the end of the day. As we entered the finishing stretch, i attacked to try to distance myself from Jamie, and thankfully i managed to hold that small gap all the way to the finish line.

The next day’s race went just about the same except with Jamie crashing out early it gave Chance N and Nick W the open door to take the lead with me. It was fun and really hard racing in the group with those two, with lots of attacking. i basically jumped the same place i had the day before and thankfully it worked again and i ended up taking the win with a sprint both days and the USGP leaders’ jersey.

I know that without the help of a whole crew of people this solid weekend for both the team and myself wouldn't be possible. A ton of thanks goes out to Nick, Alex, John, Josh, Jim, Ben and our amazing host families in Louisville.

I’m already looking forward to the next USGP weekend in New Jersey!

Tour of NREL Wind Energy Test Site

Last Friday before the Boulder UCI race weekend, several CLIF BAR team members took a fascinating tour of the National Renewable Energy Lab's Wind Energy Test Site, located up on a windy mesa between Golden and Boulder.

Team member Andrew Simms' dad works at the site, and gave us an extensive tour of some test wind turbines, and showed us how they test new blade designs and motors. Highlights were getting to go up on top of an older turbine (fortunately only half as tall as the latest models), and seeing the incredible size of the blades and motors up close. The scale of the testing equipment and the procedures used to test are pretty incredible.

Boulder weekend results

Nov. 3 - Redline Cup, Boulder Reservoir

- Zack Gould, 2nd in Jr. 10-12
- Danny Hiller, 2nd in Jr. 15-16

- Andrew Barker, 2nd in Cat. 3!!!!
- Kevin Mullervy, 6th in Cat. 3
- Robin Eckmann, 8th in Cat. 3
- Conor Mullervy, 9th in Cat. 3
- Yannick Eckmann, 13th in Cat. 3
- Cody Cox, 19th in Cat. 3

- Danny Summerhill, 10th in UCI Elite
- Brady Kappius, 24th in UCI Elite
----
Nov. 4, Boulder Cup, Harlow Platts Park

- Zack Gould, 2nd in Jr. 10-12
- Danny Hiller, 3rd in Jr. 15-16

- Conor Mullervy, 1st in Cat. 3!!!!!
- Robin Eckmann, 3rd in Cat. 3!!!!
- Cody Cox, 12th in Cat. 3
- Andrew Barker, 15th in Cat. 3
- Yannick Eckmann, 16th in Cat. 3
- Kevin Mullervy, 20th in Cat. 3

- Danny Summerhill, 16th in UCI Elite
- Taylor Lane, 37th in UCI Elite

Sierra Elementary School Visit

The day before heading out to Kentucky for the first stop of the USGP series, teammate Andrew Barker and myself visited Ms. McCarthy's 1st grade class at Sierra Elementary in Arvada, CO. I brought in my Salsa bike and Andrew brought in some of our team clothing.  We first explained what kind of racing we did and how we race in all types of weather on half dirt and half road.  The kids had some good questions about how long we had been racing, how long the races are, how many races we have won and where we race.  After explaining our racing we explained the sustainability mission of the team.  Ironically the the class was learning about recycling at the same time!  In addition to cycling we talked to the class about eating food that was grown locally and is organic.  We talked about trying to minimize CO2 production by riding bikes to school which a lot of the kids did.  We emphasized the importance of wearing helmets while doing it.  At the end, we took the kids outside and I showed them some dismounting and carrying skills.  I also popped a wheelie and the kids all started cheering.  They kept on telling me to do it more. It was hilarious.  I just hope that they don't go home and try it!

USGP Report - round 1+2, Louisville, KY

Summerhill sprints to USGP sweep
CLIF BAR kids clinic, USGP Zero Waste initiative, and team bus
highlight weekend

October 27-28, 2007 – Louisville, KY – The CLIF BAR Development Cyclo-
Cross Team kicked off the US Gran Prix of Cyclo-Cross Series this past
weekend at the Papa John’s Derby City Cup in Louisville, KY.
The CLIF BAR team’s development and sustainability mission was
prominently on display in the burgeoning Kentucky ‘cross scene, and it was a
real treat to receive such a wonderful welcome and see all the enthusiasm
and potential there in Louisville.

Here’s a quick summary of the weekend’s highlights:

- Friday’s CLIF BAR kids ‘cross clinic was a great success, with 25 young
riders joining CLIF BAR Development Team’s Danny Summerhill and Team
CLIF BAR’s Troy Wells for an hour of instruction.



- Summerhill won two exciting sprint finishes over strong Under-23
competitors to take possession of the USGP Series leader’s jersey (he
finished 14th and 15th overall in the Elites – pretty good for an 18-yr old!)



- Robin Eckmann rode to a strong win in Sunday’s Junior 15-16 race.



- We ran our first-ever Zero Waste event outside of Boulder, and Louisville
really embraced the idea and helped us achieve a 75% diversion rate
(meaning only 25% of the total waste generated ended up in the landfill).
Thanks to the US Gran Prix organizers, Crank Brothers and Eco-Cycle for
making the entire USGP Series Zero Waste.



- Thanks to Stonyfield Farm, the team rolled out its new team bus, a green
biodiesel/waste vegetable oil-powered school bus. The full scoop on the bus
will be coming soon!