Friday, January 31, 2014

Back from the Dead

It's back!  I have been spending some time the last few months thinking about the Team Tom's Blog and every time I came to the conclusion that I want to resurrect this communication medium.  Unfortunately, work has been pretty busy, so it has taken me a while to get this going again.  Lots of things have been happening in the cycling world and with our team and I plan on sharing this with you over the coming months.  Just typing these words make me feel good about this decision. 

Before I go (until next week), I wanted to share a nice little article about training in the winter.  The information inside this is good but it is also a little depressing because it highlights all of the things I have done wrong this winter.  But we can't improve ourselves without learning from our mistakes.  Do yourself a favor and click on the link above and, if you have time, watch the Webinar that covers the topic in more detail.  

Thursday, February 28, 2013

Group Rides for March 2013


During the month of March, Team Tom’s will be taking a brief hiatus from our normal weekend Group Rides.  The race season is upon us and, as a team, we need to re-group and work with each other on improving fitness, increasing skills, and understanding race strategy and tactics. 

We value the friendships we have formed on our group rides and are thrilled when others come out to ride with us, so please understand that this is only temporary.  Good cycling habits are hard to break, so we encourage you to continue meeting at the parking lot of Tom’s Bicycles (68th & Peoria) at 9AM on Saturday and 1PM on Sunday.  Hopefully, other like-minded individuals will be there anticipating a good ride.  Since there will not be ride leaders for these rides, we will use a standard route(s) for these rides.  All rides will depart together and follow the same initial route, but there are 2 turnoff points available giving you 3 different mileage options (38, 50, or 65 miles).    

We appreciate your understanding during this break and look forward to riding with you again in April.  





Friday, November 2, 2012

The Blog is Dead (Long Live the Blog)

In short, I am going to stop updating the Blog for the time being.  I don't know if I will ever update it again, but I can't bring myself to killing it off completely.  

In the meantime, please connect with our team via Twitter or Facebook in order to stay updated on upcoming rides, race results, and other cycling related information.  

Friday, October 26, 2012

Weekend Ride Plans 10/27 & 10/28

As the Seasons change, so does the temperature and so does our ride times.  A few weeks ago, the Sunday ride changed from an 8 AM departure to a 1 PM departure.  Starting this week, Saturday's ride will leave Tom's Bicycles at 9 AM.  Starting an hour later will allow for a little more sunlight and a little warmer temperatures.  (It will also allow for a little more sleep.)

Saturday's ride will be a slight variation of "Coyote Corner".  Between the Tulsa Run and some problematic construction taking place downtown, we will need to stay on the West Bank and take Avery Dr. both on the way out and the way in to town.  Total route is 58 miles.  Click here to see the map.  We leave the Tom's Bicycles parking lot at 9 AM.  

Sunday's ride is also 58 miles long and will take us out to Skiatook via Lake Rd.  Click here for the map.  We leave the Tom's Bicycles parking lot at 1 PM.

If you have any questions, please put it in the Comments section and I will do my best to reply in a timely manner.

Friday, October 19, 2012

Weekend Ride and Ruts & Guts

The weekend is upon us and I am, once again, a little late in getting the ride plans published.

The most important thing I can tell you about this weekend is that we have 3 days of Cross Racing in the Tulsa Metro Area that is affectionately referred to as Ruts & Guts.  If you are reading this blog, odds are that you are a Tulsa-area cyclist and you like to support your local cycling community.  The best way you can do this is make your way to these races and cheer on your friends.  In order to give you more time to watch the racing, we have decided that there is no plan for a Sunday ride (since it would conflict with Sunday's races).  Having said that, if you show up at Tom's at about 1 PM, you might find other people looking for a ride...

Saturday's ride will depart from Tom's Bicycles at 8 AM.  It should be a pretty "benign" 43 mile ride out to Hectorville.  If you are racing this weekend, it might be a good idea to come out on Saturday morning to spin the legs to flush the junk out of them from Friday's race and get ready for Saturday's race.

Friday, October 12, 2012

Weekend Ride Plans 10/13 & 10/14

Starting this weekend, the Sunday ride will depart from Tom's Bicycles (68th & Peoria) at 1 PM.  This will be the official start time for Sunday's unless otherwise noted.

For Saturday's ride, we will depart from Tom's Bicycles at 8 AM.  The 52.5 mile ride (for anyone willing to brave the threat of rain and promise of a strong South wind) will take us to Hectorville via a more easterly route, West up to Mounds, and then North through Kiefer on the way back into town.  Map is available here.

Sunday's ride will depart at 1 PM (and to be honest...the weather looks a lot more promising).  We will travel North to Skiatook and get in some solid climbing with a total distance of 58 miles.  Map is available here.  

Friday, September 28, 2012

Weekend Ride Plans for 9/29 & 9/30

It is probably a waste of time to post these ride plans this late in the week, but here they are...

Saturday's group ride will leave from Tom's Bicycles (68th & Peoria) at 8 AM.  The route will take you to Coyote Corner and then back into town.

Saturday's Alternate Route is the TBC Fall Century (other distances available).  Click here for more information.  

Sunday's ride will also depart from Tom's Bicycles at 8 AM.  The route will travel North to Zink Ranch and then back into town for a total of 53 miles.  

Friday, September 21, 2012

Weekend Ride Plans for 9/22 & 9/23

Sorry I am a little late getting these posted, but here are the ride plans for this weekend:

Saturday's ride will depart from Tom's Bicycles (68th & Peoria) at 8 AM.  We will head North to Skiatook, come back via Cincinnati Hill, and stop downtown at Topeca Coffee before returning home.  Total distance is 58 miles and I bet it takes us close to 4 hours to complete this ride (counting stoppage time).  I will be on my fixed gear, so don't worry about getting dropped if the pace gets to high (surely we will never get that fast).  Click here for a map.

Sunday's ride will also depart from Tom's Bicycles at 8 AM.  This is the standard Coyote Corner ride and it is also 68 miles.  Click here for a map.

Be sure to check the weather before you head out on one of these rides.  The conditions will be variable, so plan appropriately when determining what to wear.