THE CYCLING HOUSE NEWS

Le Tour de France & Riding in the Alps

We’ve had an amazing first week in France. The weather has been a little too rainy at times but that hasn’t slowed us down. The highlights so far have been our Col du Menee and Col du Roullette ride (85 miles with two big mountain climbs) and watching stage 19 on Alpe d’Huez and Stage 20 in Vizille.

Cadel Evans and the Shleck brothers riding past The Cycling House crew flying the Montana flag. Photo by Brendan Halpin

The Tour de France is an absolutely spectacular event to see in person.  Alpe d’Huez was the biggest party we’ve ever been to.

 

Our spot on Alp d'Huez was just past the Dutch corner. Huge party!

 

Brendan and the front group starting their way up the Col du Rousett. Checkout the Lavender!

 

Ty driving support and doubling as the days photographer.

 

We were all smiles at this cool little "hike-in only" restaurant just a few minutes from The Cycling House.

 

This poppy field is just down the road from The Cycling House France.

More photos and news coming soon. We are off to ride the Col du Galibier!

Cheers from The Cycling House Crew.

Posted in Business News, TCH Camper News, TCH Staff News on July 26th, 2011

Heading over to the French Alps!

It’s July. The high mountain passes are open, the Tour has started, and we’re headed over to France to ride bikes and watch the tour.

Col de la Croix de Fer- Day 3, 65 miles, 5,500 feet

You can check out our ride schedule for the first week right here! ~250 miles and 20,000 feet of climbing.


View France camp Week 1 in a larger map

We’ll be doing our best to keep up with the US Cup MTB race in Missoula. We’ll also do all we can to answer your questions about other camps, store inquiries, etc, but our priority will be riding bikes, eating great food, taking in the alps, and experiencing the TDF first hand.

Posted in Business News on July 5th, 2011

Montana Triathletes – Ironman Coeur d’Alene

The Cycling House was delighted to have been present at the 2011 Ironman Coeur d’Alene. Congrats to all Ironman CDA competitors! IM CDA truly is an amazing race for both spectators and athletes.  The 38 year old Craig Alexander absolutely flew through the course to finish with a time of 8:19:48. Missoula, MT triathletes have repeatedly brought their A-game to this race and last weekend was no exception. Here is how the race played out for friends and staff of TCH:

Adam Jensen (Team Zoot Sports) of Missoula had a phenomenal race and finished 5th overall with a time of 9:05:42! Adam Jensen loves pain.

Adam Jensen digging deep on the run to finish in 5th place overall! (photo by Phil Grove)

The Cycling House head coach, ride guide and all-around badass, Brendan Halpin (Zoot Sports) also had an amazing Ironman.  Tendonitis, the flu and food poisoning can’t keep Halpin from competing. He finished 11th overall in the pro mens field with a time of 9:34:19.  Every time brendan rode by the Missoula cheer squad on the bike leg of the race he had a smile on his face. Nice work halpin!

Brendan Halpin finished his Ironman with a time of 9:34:19

Matt Shryock (French interpreter for TCH) also of Missoula, MT finished 15th overall in the mens field.

Matt Shryock at the Couer d'Alene Ironman (photo by Phil Grove)

Ironman CDA was Graham Meng’s first ever full distance Ironman. He graduated from dental school just days before this race and must have figured that the perfect graduation gift for himself would be a 10.5 hour suffer fest. He loved it!

Graham Meng (DDS) racing for the Meng dynasty and Hammer Nutrition (photo by Phil Grove)

Couer d’Alene is about a 2 hour drive from Missoula so there are copious amounts of Montanans cheering on the racers.

Most likely the fastest fans around: Linsey Corbin, Joel Brown, Ryan Payne and Jeff Cincoski. Linsey Corbin dominated this race last year and set a women's course record. When she isn't racing she on the sidelines cheering her guts out.

 

This is the group of Montanans that put their effort in the night before IM to support the local CDA economy. (mainly the businesses that don't close until 2am)

The legendary Ironfan, Phil Grove

If you competed in last weekends race please drop us a line! We would love to hear how it went. – The Cycling House

 

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Posted in TCH Camper News, TCH Staff News on June 28th, 2011

Crested Butte recon is hard work!

The Cycling House is planning a mountain bike camp for the summer of 2012 in Crested Butte, Colorado. To make this happen takes some serious leg work (pun intended). You can’t host a camp without intimate knowledge of the trails…. So, right now Ty Brookhart is riding trails as fast as the snow is melting in the high country. Many of the more iconic CB trails like the 401 are still snowed in, but as you’ll see, it could be worse.

Crested Butte from the Upper Loop trail

The Mountain States Cup is part of the Crested Butte Fat Tire Bike Week (starting this Thursday). Racers from all over will come to race XC, dual slalom, and downhill on some of the best trails in Colorado.

The Mountain States Cup is this weekend- they've marked the course for the 40 mile XC course

The course for the XC race is just spectacular! So much singletrack and a few dirt roads too. But, as you can see, it’s not the worst situation.

If you must ride the road with your knobbies, this isn't so bad....

The singletrack around CB is everywhere and the descent on Strand Hill is so fast and flowy it’s hard to believe it’s right out the back door.

The beginning of the Strand Hill descent. UNBELIEVABLY FUN!

Ugghh. Not more singletrack through aspen forests...

With the race this weekend several friends will be coming into town, including Bryce Daviess -a part time TCH staffer and Moots welder, and formally of Missoula fame. Check back as we’ll post an update after the long weekend.

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Posted in Business News, TCH Staff News on June 20th, 2011

Racing Bikes in the Mountains of Montana

July 23rd and 24th will likely be the best weekend of your summer if you’re able to make it to Missoula, MT for the Missoula Pro XCT Mountain Bike Race.

Sam Schultz Missoula Boy

Sam Schultz is the local hero and the favorite for this race. He'll have his work cutout battling the local lunatics (seen here 2nd and 3rd in line behind Sam) as well as the rest of the pro field.

The venue is perfectly nestled just a couples miles from the center of the universe (right of center) at an old ma and pa ski area that most of the Cycling House staff grew up night skiing at.  There will be great local beer, awesome live music, die hard fans, tasty local food and the attendance of the best professional riders in the US. This is the National Pro XCT Series Finals! If  you want to learn more about this event then check out this link.

Andy Schultz will be happy to race on the dirt that he rolled in as a youngster

 

Missoula XC Mountain Bike Race

 

Don't be surprised if you see a few axes and crazy people running around.

 

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Posted in Business News, TCH Staff News on June 9th, 2011

Spain 2012

We had such a good time in Mallorca, Spain that we’ve already booked another camp for next year.  May 7-13, 2012. Ken Whelpdale and The Cycling House crew are ready to put on another great show on this amazing island in the Mediterranean. Here are a few folks that you can expect to see at in Mallorca next year.

Our Mallorca Family! Magda, Madre and Ken Whelpdale. This family loves cycling, great food and Spain.

 

Our ride guide, Nick Bonner. Originally from Great Britain he now lives and rides in Mallorca.

 

Brendan and Owen

 

Ty Brookhart and possibly even Chorizo!

We can guarantee you won’t get bored from riding your bike in Mallorca.  Check out more Mallorca pictures here.

Cruising down another backroad in Mallorca.

 

The Cycling House Mallorca

The food at The Cycling House Mallorca is always a hit.

Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner are great times at The Cycling House.

 

Paella. A classic Spanish dish.

 

Don't forget great coffee!

Check out our Mallorca cycling camp page here.

May 7th – 13th, 2012

  • The rate will include everything but airfare
  • Bringing your own bike is great but if flying with your bike is too expensive or not worth the hassle we will be renting high end road bikes for this camp. We will rent you carbon bikes with Shimano 105/ultegra. $200USD/Week
  • This is an International trip so arriving a day or two early is very understandable. We’ll help you with setting up a place to stay before camp starts.
  • This camp will be ending on Sunday, May 13th. Staying a few extra days in Mallorca is encouraged and we can help you with setting up accommodations, bike rentals (if necessary), and anything else you need for the remainder of your trip.
  • We are capping this camp at 12 riders and it’s first come, first serve. Contact Us for more information.

 

Check out our Mallorca webpage here.

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Posted in Business News, TCH Staff News on June 8th, 2011

Montana Life by Brendan Halpin

Training, racing, coaching, cold beer and injuries. Brendan Halpin checks in from Missoula, MT. Click here to read his update.

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Posted in TCH Staff News on May 23rd, 2011

7 days in Europe

Owen and Ty hopped a flight to Europe and seven days and 3,100 kilometers later they’ve covered the bases for TCH’s July camp in France and checked out the Tuscan villa for Spring of 2012.

To keep it light, fast, and flexible no travel reservations were made. No extras were carted.

A week of sleeping under the stars.

A nice pad and sleeping bag is all you need for a European recon mission. Olive orchards are a nice place to sleep

 

This spot should work just fine

Rallying the roads, checking the routes and enjoying the beautiful views.

High speeds and nice sunsets were aplenty

Chamonix, France

and eating the local fare.

The local farmers markets were almost a daily occurrence

Their French and Italian is to the point where they can politely order a chocolate croissant and coffee with ease.

Under the Tuscan sun...

The last day in Tuscany was capped with a swim in a Tuscan lake east of Montepulciano; and a losing game of fooseball with two eight year old Italian boys before heading back to France. The last day was spent catching up on emails in Chamonix and dinner in Annecy.

Annecy, France is a nice place to end a road trip

All in all it was a great trip. The Cycling House crew is looking forward to basing out of the French Alps in July to watch the tour, cycle some epic rides, eating great food and enjoying every minute of it.

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Posted in Business News, TCH Camper News, TCH Staff News on May 21st, 2011

Brendan Halpin – MT & Wildflower, Anya Runs

Brendan had to pull a near non-stop drive from Tucson, AZ to Missoula, MT to make it back to the “Montana World Championships”. This race is always stacked with professional talent and it’s a highlight to any triathlete that resides in Montana.

Brendan racing in the Montana World Championships. Photo by Myke Hermsmeyer

Although battling a cold, fatigue from driving nearly 1600 miles solo and sore muscles from moving boxes, furnisher and bikes out of The Cycling House Tucson, Brendan still took 3rd overall in the pro mens race.

The following weekend was the Wildflower 70.3 in California’s central coast. Brendan had a  incredible run and solid race overall. He placed 18th in the pro men.

 

Brendan Halpin, Adam Jensen and Matt Shryock all had great races at Wildflower.

 

 

Jen Luebke raced strong in her first time racing the pro field at Wildflower. She placed 17th overall!

 

Zoot Sport Triathlon Team. Jen Luebke, Brendan Halpin and Adam Jensen representing Montana on the Zoot professional team.

Anya Wechsler was racing in the Redwood National Forest shortly after ending her season at The Cycling House Tucson. The Avenue of the Giants Marathon is a tough race that goes through the Redwood National forest (California Marathon State Championships).

Anya ran like the wind through the Redwoods!

Anya placed 2nd overall in the women’s race with a time of 3:09! She caught the 2nd place girl in the last 400 meter of the marathon.  TCH sends Anya a massive congratulations for an amazing performance through some enormous trees!

Anya in the finishing stretch on her way to 2nd place overall in the women's race!

We are now prepping for The Cycling House France. We have a quick scouting trip this upcoming week and the official camp starts on the 17th of July. Join us if you can!

Ready for Europe

Cheers,

The Cycling House

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Posted in TCH Staff News on May 6th, 2011

Glancing back at Mallorca

Our first camp in Mallorca, Spain has come and gone and we already decided after the first day of being there that this will be an annual trip for us . Mallorca is incredible! Here are a few of our favorite photo’s from camp.

The city of Palma is a hot spot for vacationers from all over the world. We didn't spend much time in the city but it didn't take long to see why people come here.

This was our first real ride for the week and it set the tone for the rest of camp

Mallorca is a large island off the coast of Spain in the Mediteranean. It’s surprising with its diverse vegetation, terrain and culture. Everyday you have an option to go flat, rolling, hilly or climbing. During each ride the flora can change from an arid desert feel to green-richly soiled farm pastures to a forrest with pine trees and ferns all in a matter of a few miles.

Riding in Europe can be over stimulating because everywhere you look you see sights like this

Nearly every ride we did in Mallorca had at least one cafe stop. It didn't matter what town we were riding through, as long as we rode to the center of town (look for a big cathedral) we found good coffee.

Our Mallorca Cycling House was very nice. With 8 bedrooms and 9 bathrooms it was spacious and comfortable.

Many of the roads were lines with century old rock walls

Nice descent, hard climb. The Sa Callobra ride was a beast.

Climbing for a Meditereanean vista

Ken was the go-to guy in Mallorca. Logistics, ride routes, mechanical support and most importantly having his amazing family around to help out gave a real Spanish family feel at camp.

Our Chef was incredible! Born and raised on the island and owning one of the nicest restaraunts in Mallorca, he was an instant hit at the house.

We enjoyed lunch and dinner (and wine) on the outside patio.

Owen enjoying the European riding...tough day in the office.

Anya leading the group up one of the many climbs that we rode during the last two days of camp.

We promise this is not staged. Picture perfect.

All in all we had a great time in Spain. Thanks to those riders who joined us for our first Mallorca camp! We had an unforgettable time with you. Many more photos and stories to come.

Dates for Mallorca 2012 are coming soon…

 

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Posted in Business News, Featured Products, TCH Camper News, TCH Staff News on April 10th, 2011

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