Indy Fab was out in force at the NUE Series opener, the Cohutta 100 on April 21. We didn't dominate, but we had a blast! Click on the riders' names for their individual blog reports.

Men Open
Harlan Price, 12th
Harvey Minton, 19th
Jeff Whittingham, 22nd
Patrick Jones, 33rd

Singlespeed
Mark Elsasser, 6th

Miles Standish RR; 4/22/07 race report

Another top ten finish for the FAST/IF powered by Lionette's cycling team. Good, but not good enough. We will get there though as our fitness improves and as our individual abilities as part of the team become more consistent and defined. The Miles Standish Road Race was a 55 mile circuit race covering 11 laps of a 5 mile rolling course with one "hill", yet not steep nor long enough to separate the group at all. Present were Steve Weller, Brian Hayes, Tom Gosselin, Stan Jurga, and myself Adam Branfman.

Before the race we discussed our race plan and the importance of being selective and smart in the moves that we chase down and are concerned with. The big hitters are becoming clearer the more races we do, and we are learning who is a threat and who is not. The race was aggressive from the start with attacks coming a few miles into the race. It got strung out as teams began to chase and as the wind picked up, definiitely playing a role in the today's race. Tom made it into the first notable break of the day that stayed away for several laps. The rest of us in the field did a great job of blocking and mixing up the chase out front to prolong the gap to the break as long as we could. Once that break was caught, there was a slight lull in the action with a few more attacks, but nothing truly dangerous played out for a few laps. The second significant break of the day included 7-8 people I think, one of which was Stan who made a strong bridge up to from the main group. Stan rode in that break for 3-4 laps before getting caught with 1.5 laps to go. Once again we were off the hook as far as chasing duties, allowing us to rest and sit near the front to watch if any dangerous moves were developing from the field. Steve, Brian, Stan, and Tom did a phenomenal job of getting in the small moves and chasing the dangrous moves down as we got closer and closer to the finish. We decided that I would sit in toward the end with about 2 laps to go as we were beginning to set me up for the final sprint. The racing got very fast and strung out as soon as that final break was caught, with a flurry of attacks coming off the front, notably by Ward Solar of Nature's Path Cycling team, and Al Donahue and Patrick Walsh of Nerac Pro Cycling. We marked everything the best we could and didn't let anything get out of reach.

I was marking Michael Cody of the Jelly Belly Pro Cycling team toward the end of the race, as was Patrick Walsh of Nerac. It seemed as if neither of us would concede his wheel to the other. Coming into the final 2k or so, it was Cody 5 wheels back from the front, with Walsh on his wheel and me on Walsh's wheel. I thought the ideal sprint setup was on the way as both Cody and Walsh are super strong and I could definitely follow them to the line. Confusion occurred about a mile from the finish, as a Legal Sea Foods rider attacked the front and his teammates sat on teh front, opening up a gap of about 20-30 meters instantly. He was chased by 6-7 guys leaving Cody, the marked rider for the day, on the front of the peloton unsure of what to do. It seemed as if no one wanted to close the gap and waste themselves for the sprint, yet there would be no sprint if no one closed the gap. This was a situation that I was unprepared for, leaving me unsure as of what to do.

Cody then put in a big acceleration about 1k to go, closed the gap, and still had Walsh and myself on his wheel. Cody then sat up, leaving us a bit stranded at the tail end of the group that gapped the field. I sprinted for 7th place. Everyone cruised across the line safely, completely exhausted. We finished the race very pleased with how things played out. We did everything we could as a team and raced a very smart, thoughtful race with all of our efforts occurring for a reason, instead of haphazardly wasting energy. We are racing better and better as a team. Confidence in our fitness and trust in ourselves is improving as well, whic are crucial elements for the FAST/IF powered by Lionette's squad this season.

results can be found here: http://www.bikereg.com/Results/2007/04/22-Myles-Standish.asp

Thanks for reading. This coming weekend we will be in Sturbridge, MA on Saturday and Palmer, MA on Sunday for two of the classic New England spring races. Stay tuned. . .

Adam Branfman
Newton, MA
FAST/IF powered by Lionette's

Turtle Pond Circuit Race; race report 4/21/07

Jon Bruno, Greg Montello, Dave Berryman, Stan Jurga, Steve Weller, Brian Hayes, and me, Adam Branfman took to the start line for the Turtle Pond Circuit race today in Loudon, NH. The race would be 70 miles ridden on 6 laps of a 12 mile circuit with one significant climb of about 1.5k. It was odd to be wearing only a jersey and shorts, without the typical leg and arm warmers, base layers, hats, gloves, etc. It turned out to be a pretty tough day for the FAST/IF powered we Lionette's boys today on the road. The plan was to mark and be in the first early break of the day. Lap one was screaming fast, with the start of the race at the base of the climb. Warm legs were a must for this race. We decided that Dave and I would be in the early break, and should it stick, the team would be in great shape with two very good looking guys like ourselves in the break, and a solid team in the peloton. Steve, Dave and I made it into the first early move, but soon realized that we were only 7 miles into the race and already in the hurt zone. The break got caught about halfway through the first lap and the racing began with a huge collection of attacks throughout the race. It took quite a while for us to recover, but recover we did and continued to chase down what we could. The main group kept diminishing in size as people fell off of the back as the race picked up, and as we raced up the climb each lap. Brian Hayes had an unfortunate flat on the second lap. We did the best we could to chase down the breaks and to control the front of the race as much as we could. We all did a great job at the front marking what we could, although the race was super fast and recovery in between efforts was minimal. The team began to feel the effects of the fast paced race and the heat, and slowly, the guys just couldn't make it up the climb with the main group by the end.

The effort was there the whole race, but the legs just didn't agree with the mind today. At the start of the last lap, Steve and myself were near the front of the race going into the climb, but unfortunately Steve got caught up before the top of the climb and just missed the main group as we crested over the climb. I made it into the lead group of 15 at that point and the pace quickened as we descended and rolled through the rest of the course. Fiordifrutta took control of the front of the race and caught a 10 or so man break a few miles from the finishing climb. We took the final turn and the front of the race exploded as Fiordi flew up the climb winning the field sprint behind an escaped their escaped teammate Josh Dillon. I managed a 16th place, struggling up the climb with two very cramped legs. Steve Weller finished 38th place. All in all a very tough day for the FAST/IF powered by Lionette's squad. We got a good dose of perspective, however, as far as our fitness and team racing abilities at this early stage in the season. There is much that we learned and will apply to our races from this point on about how to race effectively and intelligently as a team.

Thanks as usual for reading.

results can be found here: http://www.bikereg.com/Results/2007/04/21-Turtle-Pond.asp

Adam Branfman
Newton, MA
FAST/IF powered by Lionette's

Battenkill Roubaix, April 14, 2007 race report:

Jon Bruno, John Hanson, Stan Jurga, Dave Berryman, Brian Hayes, and I took to the start line on April 14 at the 3rd annual Battenkill Roubaix in Salem, NY. In true Roubaix (or upstate NY in early spring) fashion, the FAST/IF powered by Lionette's squad headed 4 hours north west to Salem NY for the Battenkill Roubaix. This is the third year that Bttenkill has taken palce, and it has already become one of the most popular and competitive professional/elite race destinations in North America. Teams from Canada and the US descended upon the tiny upstate NY village of Salem on this past Saturday to race a 75 mile point to point road race, 25% of which was on dirt roads. Teams of note in full force were EVA/Devinci (Canada), Jet Fuel Pro Cycling (Canada), Team RACE (Canada), Fiordifrutta Elite Cycling Team, FAST/IF powered by Lionette's, Legal Sea Foods, Kenda/Raleigh, CCB/Volkswagen, Champion Systems, Coast to Coast Development, and GS Mengoni. A select few well known professionals showed up as well including Michael Cody (Jelly Belly Pro Cycling), Al Donahue (Nerac Pro Cycling), Dan Vaillancourt and Andy Guptil (Colavita/Sutter Home Pro Cycling), and Andrew Randell (Symmetrics Pro Cycling from Canada). The race started hard from the gun with the first dirt road section about 2km in. Much like a cross race, everyone wanted the hole shot going into this narrow dirt road climb. We climbed and descended for the first half of the race at a pretty aggressive pace, with a few attacks going off the front but nothing sticking and no real threats. The first real threat came at about 45 miles in or so when a yellow lab/retriever mix of a pooch made his way into the peloton as we were cruising at about 25mph. The peloton swerved to miss the dog who seemed to be having a blast running in the opposite direction of the 130 person deep peloton. We regrouped soon enough and the action continued. Just before the dog joined the action, the pace motorcycle led the entire peloton off of the course into a village. The motorcycle realized the mistake, banged a u-turn and began heading in the right direction. For a motorcycle, easy, no problem, a quick u turn and on his way. For 130 skinny guys on bikes, not so much. There was a moment of chaos/humor/stupidity as we all slowed to a stop and u-turned our way back up the same street we came down. We were riding on people's lawns, sidewalks, gravel gutters on the side of the road, regrouping as a peloton to head in the correct direction once again. The race became neutral for a few miles as we were sure to not drop anyone, and eventually things got rolling pretty hotly once again. Soon enough, right before the worst section of dirt rollers about 20 miles from the finish, Fiordifrutta massed at the front of the race to get things going and began to ride a very hard tempo to try to break the group up a bit. We went up and down these 20% steep dirt climbs, one after the other. The problem here was that there was not ample recovery in between cimbing efforts. The climbs were not terribly long, just really steep with a soft dirt road surface that made the tires seem glued to the mud. As a team, we made it over what would have been great to be the last climb, only to find out that after a short descent and a hard right turn, we were climbing again. I believe this is the point that broke all of us. Fiordifrutta exploded the race at this point, and a lead group of about 20-25 took off leaving stragglers behind. FAST/IF powered by Lionette's found ourselves chasing in our respective groups until the finish. Jon Bruno, Brian Hayes, and myself chased in a group that by the end was 20 or so guys. The good news is that everyone finished, and finished safely. No crashes or incidents on the road, and no mechanicals either. I did hear that someone did an endo right in front of Stan as we were racing through one of the small villages, and the guy's chain popped off his bike and flew right into Stan's hand. He caught the chain and whipped it to the ground and out danger. Weird. That was the race really. A hard, early season race that required ultra toughness and superb fitness. Our fitness is getting there and surely will be in a few weeks to come. We did our best at Battenkill, but found ourselves outmatched and over powered when the going got heavy. We are however encouraged by the performance, and we are given a huge dose of motivation to keep up on our training and fitness as the racing season is just getting going.
*results are posted here* http://home.nycap.rr.com/drakesnorth/images/Results.pdf
Thanks for reading and thanks to all of our sponsors for the tremendous support and for giving us the opportunity to race our bicycles under your names. Until next weekend. . .

Adam Branfman
Newton, MA
FAST/IF powered by Lionette's

Many of you may know that we at FAST/IF powered by Lionette's (IF Racing) are committed to giving back to the community. I teach high school, but don't think that is applicable to my other life as a cyclist. We donate monies to a scholarship fund, cycling organizations, the PMC, and donate our time too.

What follows is one of many reports you may find on this site about our commitment to our communities.


Happy Mondays

I am not talking about any 24 Hour Party People stuff here. I did not have to crucify some brother today. Yippee, yippee, yah, yah, yay, yay, yay.

Mondays for me, for the next six weeks, will consist of 11 hour work days. Thursdays too. Why is this happy? As a teacher I am nearly always concerned / stressed about something. Working with underprivileged, inner city, high school students is no ride in the park, folks. Everyday brings frustrations that out number the joys. It is these joys that we cling to. These Zen moments when everything comes together and we actually know why we are here, doing what we are doing, where no one else wants to tread. The front lines so to speak. Today was one of those days.
Today I started an after school cycling program for Boston Public Schools. Presently we have a pilot program at a middle school in Roxbury. I now, and in the past, teach high school students and primarily work with upper classmen; juniors and seniors. Today I stepped into a Middle School for the first time in 5 years. The same middle school that I started my teaching career at, for one day.
The students were so small, so young, so naive, so open, willing, contemplative, introspective. I walked into a classroom and the hands shot up with questions. I felt like royalty, a dignitary at the biggest ball in town. All these kids wanted to dance with me. The wanted to have conversations about whatever was on their minds. They held nothing back. They were free, young, not jaded. I wanted to just converse with them for hours, but I was there for a reason. Oh yeah, the reason. Good god, I do have a reason. I am there to teach them. Not about Foreign Policy or Study Skills, but about something I am even more passionate about. Cycling. Wow! I am actually here to teach them how to be safe, excited, respectful, responsible, passionate cyclists. Somebody pinch me.
Today was amazing. First, a fellow teacher who was in the middle of an ELA lesson received me at the school. She welcomed me warmly into her room. (This is a big move for many teachers. They can be very protective of their rooms and their teaching. This is a wholly other conversation though) Their teacher asked if I could answer some questions about my high school for the students and I willingly accepted. The students were respectful and every question left me hoping each student would come to our school. After many questions they got back to their lesson as I sat at the teachers table at the side of the room. The lesson they were involved in was yet another reason how this day felt like the completion of a circle, a cycle, an epic ride back home. They were reading a Robert Frost poem. It is not the subject matter, the writer, or the poetry that made this experience. It was what they were doing with the text. They were involved in a lesson on annotation. Yeah, so, you ask.
I am also presently working on a teacher research project on annotation of text. To see middle school students working on this gave my project more legitimacy. It felt that the outcomes of my research could span the grade, ages, of all students. I saw the deeper necessity of the project; the greater application.
Soon I was in a borrowed classroom with ten, hand picked students who desired to learn more about bikes. It was a dream. We talked, did activities, got to know each other and began to understand the need to trust one another. It is on this trust that we will build an experience that I hope will stay with these students forever. When I get stressed, I ride my bikes. My hope is that these students will also use bicycles as not only a vehicle for transportation but also as a vehicle to transport themselves to a better mental and physical state.

More to come, I am sure.

Thanks to the following for making this program possible:
ClifBar, Hub On Wheels ,The Digital Bridge Foundation, and everyone that has worked so hard behind the scenes.

Here's a race report I wrote up after Saturday @ Chris Hinds.

Chris Hinds Criterium, 4/8/07; Charlestown, RI
All in all a good day for the FAST/IF powered by Lionette's boys. Jon Bruno, Brian Hayes, Steve Weller, John Hanson, Greg Montello, and myself took the line at the start. Legal Sea Foods, CCB and ourselves had the largest team representation, so our chances of doing well were pretty high so long as we worked well as a team. It's amazing what you can learn from one bike race. I am fairly new at this, lacking the same experience that the majority of my teammates have racing in a pro/elite peloton. It was decided before the race that I would shadow Michael Cody, a Jelly Belly Pro Cycling team rider, and one of the most powerful sprinters in the country. I would learn a lot about positioning, moving through the pack, leadouts, following wheels, etc. from this mission. And I did. Steve would stick on and mark Matt White from the Fiordifrutta Elite Cycling team, another powerful sprinter in great form right now. The rest of the team would mark other breaks and attacks throughout the race. We all made our way into breaks, sharing the load of chasing down attacks. There were two breaks of note I think that looked promising, one in particular with Brian. John Hanson in particular unleashed the power to drag back the final break and set up our team for what would be a field sprint. Cody jumped off the front with 3 to go I think, and I jumped with him to begin the leadout and final acceleration before the sprint. Our team massed at the front with Weller, Hanson, and Bruno forming an awesome leadout for me to sit on and ready myself for the sprint. I had never been so comfortable in a bike race before, as I was in this moment. Having a team of guys who are watching your back at all times is a huge reassurance, and I am proud and honored to be on such a team as this. They went hard for the next two laps, trading pulls as I sat on their wheels, leaving me on Cody's wheel going into the final lap. The pressure was now on me to follow through and demonstrate my positioning and sprinting abilities. Cody took the sprint for 1st and I ended in 4th, with Brian in 9th. Overall, a great team effort with lots of offense and a good bit of control over the race. As a whole we were pleased with our work today. We stayed organized and worked together, taking turns and sharing the load. I have so much to learn about bike racing, and among the countless things I learned today, most importantly I learned that I am racing on a team with the ideal group of guys from whom I can learn everything I need to know about how to win bike races. I can't wait to take this momentum into next weekend's racing at the Battenkill Roubaix in Salem, NY. As usual, huge thanks to our title sponsors FAST, IF, and Lionette's; and all our other sponsors who make the FAST/IF powered by Lionette's Elite Cycling team possible.

Adam Branfman
Newton, MA
FAST/IF powered by Lionette's Elite Cycling Team

Preride - The commotion started as soon as I stepped up to the registration table and the word got out that there really was a couple of lunatics that were going to attempt the race on single speeds. Just to add fuel to the fire and really break the spirit of the dual suspension riders the cushy 80mm fork went into the trunk of the car and the full rigid fork was slapped into place. I was determined to make it hurt as much as possible and have a smile while doing so! Rolling out through the streets of Knysna I could hear the cracking of more then a few necks as I rode by on a single speed, and a full rigid one at that. The most common comment coming out of competitors mouths - "you're kidding" or "you're not serious are you" - well hell yes I was, it was time to make history and put Independent Fabrication on the map as the first single speed manufacturer to complete the Cape Epic - almost 900km of riding and over 15000 meters of climbing (think of it as riding to the summit of Mt. Everest two times!).



Day 1 - In a race of this length the key was going to be intelligent riding and not getting sucked into doing something stupid (and trust me many thought what I was doing was stupid enough) like trying to hammer the first two climbs which were on the steep side. After riding/hiking the first two climbs of the stage I was able to settle into a nice pace that matched the field where I neither gained or lost ground. Once into the rolling hills it was time to show the gearies what riding a single speeds is all about and I proceeded to slice through the field on each of the climbs (there was a bit of motivation to ride hard as the forests trails are inhabitant by cobras). Finally after 70km of yo-yoing with the field it was time to really put it down......the Prince Alfred Pass.....12km of 6%-7% grade climbing on hard packed dirt road, a true single speed dream. And put it down I did, slicing through a field of geared bikes spinning along in granny and first or second while I ground it out in the equivalent of middle/middle gearing. After wrecking havoc on the gearie's minds it was time to throttle back and use the balance of the ride as a recovery for the next couple of days.


Day 2 - Perhaps on of the most challenging due to the profile and length of the course. The rolling downhill for the first 40km proved to be less then optimal as I couldn't pedal fast enough to stay in the pace lines and there wasn't enough climbing to claw back the ground I was losing on the flats/downhills. The day's strategy was to keep as far up in the pack as possible so that when everyone had to hike-a-bike (the great equalizer for single speeds) I wouldn't be caught at the tail end of the field in the preverbal traffic jam. The strategy proved successful and I was right in the mix when everyone came off the bikes. Coming off the Kamanassie was a slow affair and I took the pounding the trail offered up and I am sure I frustrated more then a few dual suspension riders that were caught behind me (then again if they were behind me at this point they deserved what they got). Again from here to the finish it was a game of watching the clock and keeping my pace constant to avoid any issues with the time cutoff. The longest day in the saddle had the surprise of an additional 5km added on at the end and more than a few riders were caught out by the clock with one team missing the cutoff by 2 seconds.




Day 3 - The fast jeep track across the plains proved to be quite slow as the gearies decided to ride most of this section in granny gear and second. Probably the worst combination I could encounter - slow riders and rocky terrain. Again I had carefully plotted time points along the course to ensure there would be no issues with the clock but due to the slow pace in the opening 40km I found myself almost 30 minutes behind pace at the first rest stop. This meant no rest and a hard paced push up Fielie's Folly (430 meters of climbing at a 14% grade) and an equally fast descent down the other side where one could really open it up. The following 30km again was a game of losing ground to the gearies as the pace lines would come blasting by and disappear in a cloud of dust. Once on the Calitzdorp Crusher (3km of stony jeep track with grades from 8%-14%) it was the great equalizer - hike-a-bike and I was back in the game and ahead of the clock. Another fast fun descent and it was onto the asphalt for more high speed descending (I recorded a high speed of 81kph on this section). From the base of the Huis River it was once again single speed heaven with 8km of asphalt climbing with grades of 6%-8% - time to eat the gearies for lunch. The grade was perfect for a single speed and I made sure anyone with gears paid the price on this one. Having to mind the possibility of STPs (separation time penalties and to break a few geared riders spirits) I actually rode back down the hill to hook up with my teammate before putting it to the geared bikes one more time before making the summit. From here to the finish it was time to throttle back and recover for the next day.




Day 4/5/6 - After a call to my coach it was decided that all of these days should be approached with the idea of using the shorter course and lower levels of climbing to let the legs recover, which is just what we did. Again plotting critical time points along the course and monitoring our progress we rode to recover the legs with the goal of making the finish in Lourensford Wine Estate.



Day 7 - Knowing that this was potentially the hardest stage due to the grade of the climb and the type of terrain (sandy/rocky jeep track) on the climb up Groenlandberg I was once again very mindful of the clock and had to push the early pace on the roll out of Villersdorp. The climb was all I feared it would be, the slow pace of the "Granny Gear Conga Line" being the absolute worst the a single. I was able to hold station in the line, although it did take it's toll on the legs, and was able to summit with the pack. After what had to be the most grueling descent of the race (due to the rocky and rough terrain) I pulled into the rest stop for a quick drink and to have all loose filling replaced before getting on with the task at hand. From here on it was a game of pacing and using sections of the ride for recovery rather then having to push the limit to make time. After a relaxing ride through the forest I had my heart set on being "rewarded with panoramic ocean views before descending into the sleepy coastal town of Kleinmond". Little did I know that Dr. Evil had decided to skip the view and send us on a bone rattling descent into what I refer to as the "Valley of Death" where temps hit 34C! Suddenly once again I was questioning the time allocation. The odometer showed 30km to the finish (at this stage I had learned that in Dr. Evil speak that could mean up to 50km) and now there were potential issues with keeping pace. The course had turned rocky/sandy jeep track and there was only one real line through. Given these conditions once again it was take a number and ride in the "Granny Gear Conga Line". By pushing the pace I was able to bring it home comfortably within the time limit and live for another and final stage of the race.



Day 8 - With the rising sun I realized that this was the day to make history and become the first single speeds to ever complete the Cape Epic! This alone was enough to carry me to the finish and that ice cold beer(s) that awaited. Most of the ride was along rolling terrain with a lengthy section of asphalt leading to Sir Lowry Pass and the Gamtou Pass (a national historic site where the original Voortrekker pioneers took their wagon trains over the mountains and inland to settle South Africa). This was followed by a run along the railway line (I actually did give it a go straight down the center but passed on the idea after about 50 bone jarring meters) before the final roll into the finish (with the Dr. Evil bonus of an extra 16km over the original distance) and the celebration. One of the great memories of the race will be all of the support and encouragement that we received from the peleton throughout the course of the race. There were constant jokes, words of encouragement, acknowledgement of what we were attempting and offers of free pulls from the pace lines when they came by, and more then one of these slowed the pace to let us get on the end and relax for a bit.

IF racers Harvey Minton and Patrick Jones placed 3rd and 5th in the Expert 35-39 class on a rainy, muddy mess of a race course. My full story is here.

Chris Wurster recently finished the Cape Epic on a Single Speed, RIGID IF.
WOW!!!!!!!!!!!