2013 Year-End Summary: By Eric Roy

Rose Bike Racing has wrapped up for the 2013 season, and I wanted to take a moment and give you a quick summary of the year.  100% of funds from our sponsors went directly towards jersey costs (all purchased jerseys were heavily subsidized, racers were reimbursed for jersey costs), and a small material donation to the Local NEMBA Chapter for plastic cards to mark the race loop at UMaine.  Be sure to thank all of our sponsors... we do not exist without them.

To put it simply, people noticed the swarm of shamrock jerseys in the crowd.  Every race organizer in Maine made a point of contacting me to thank our team for supporting their events.  I was also approached by the local FOX/ABC affiliate to do a feature on mountain biking in our area, and they plastered our team jersey throughout the 2 minute segment.  

A quick rundown of achievements and statistics for the 2013 season:

• Our team was represented in 25 races in Maine and all over the United States.
• More than 30 people on our team raced this year, tallying more than 100 race appearances overall
• Team rider Niki Milleson finished 7^th overall in the National Ultra Endurance Series
• Team Rider Delia Massey finished 1^st overall in the highly competitive  MFG Cat 4 Cyclocross Series
• By my count, we had athletes reach the podium 30 times in 2013 for their respective age group and racing level, including multiple top 3 finishes from several team riders.
• Team Rider Jeremy Bousquet logged just under 1500 miles for charity in 2013, and he’ll be making the jump to racing in 2014.
• Our team blog has received over 2500 hits since it went live in March.

Despite overall success in 2013, we have reason to believe that 2014 is going to be even better.  We have already added several racers to the roster for 2014, and we are always looking for more.  If you know of anyone who wants to learn more about the Qualey Granite/Rose Bike Team, have them contact me on Facebook, or rosebikeracing (at) gmail.com.  There is also a FAQ tab on the blog.  The same contact information can be used for sponsorship information as well.

Because I’m a nerd, I have posted a few graphs that highlight our growth as a team over the past couple of years.

Race Report: Orono Woods Ramble: By Jeremy Bousquet

Race Review- Orono Woods Ramble

As a first time mountain racer I had a lot of different feelings and emotions coming out. I know I wanted to ride the course before the race, something that I have done before during shop rides and free rides with friends, but for preparation purposes and as I thought, the course changed when you implemented the race concept.

The course is a fun, technical mix of double and single track. The first part of the course takes on the King Root Extension, which for me was something that I could run faster than I could ride. The rest of the ride is about choosing the proper line, knowing when to shift, and having a blast on the bike. Riding a hard tail bike for me is a great ride, but I could see where a full suspension would be an improvement to the fun you can have on the course.

Moving forward, the ride is in its first year, for a first time ride and course, it was well organized and challenging. Next year it would be nice to see more classes and maybe an extension on laps or distance, although the simplicity of the race and classes made it something to want to return to next year.