Summer Adventures, New Friends and New Kits!

Not a lot of writing this Summer because of, well, a lot of riding! It's a long one so I'll get right to it!

Last update I had Sea Otter coming up and it wound up being such an amazing adventure. Monster Energy hooked it up with 4 days accommodations in Monterrey, Ca just minutes from the Laguna Seca event location. The even itself is bigger than anything I could have imagined, estimating over 65,000 people in attendance over four days. Hundreds of Industry brands were on site bringing the latest & greatest of cycling products. Racing action was on for four days in everything from Road racing, 'Cross, Downhill and XC. The Pro races were absolutely amazing to see up close. The event has become big enough to bring the best of the UCI Professionals and we were treated with top international racers like Nino Schurter in action! I was provided with a sweet S-Works Epic to use for the trip which was perfect for the race course. I spent the better part of two days with a Monster Energy film crew and MotoCross/MTB Legend Johnny O'Mara exploring the filming, exploring the race loop and learning some skills from Johnny. Having never ridden out West, the terrain was quite different and Johnny definitely provided some useful tips. When race day came I managed to suffer like a dog for the early parts as the weather took an unexpected drop in temperature. Half way through I found my legs and had a better time out of it. Ultimately I kept it upright and had a blast in the beautiful race loop. Check out some pics below from my trip.

Had an amazing trip to Sea Otter 2015! Thanks to Muscle Monster & Greg Sellers for the amazing experience!
Posted by Eclipse Racing Team on Saturday, May 2, 2015

The muddy result of Big Frog

Before the night sets on the Renegade Run

Boyco has had his own busy Summer as well. When XC season ends, he likes to take his rides the endurance and Adventure route. His search of Epic rides has taken him to the muddy mess of the Big Frog 65, a 65 mile XC race in the mountains of Tennessee, to the more spiritually pure Renegade Run, a 90 mile NIGHT ride through the Ocala National Forest back in Florida. More of a Gravel Grinder than an XC event. The Summer isn't done yet as next up he continues to the leg ripping Oraam! With over 10k feet of climbing in the mountains of North Carolina, the ride has become a yearly challenge for him. The war stories when he returns are always special so looking forward to his report.

This Summer brought some changes to the team as well. Our good friend Norris has left us for the great state of North Carolina. He'll always be a part of the team, but we'll miss him and his constant shenanigans on the bike. We continue with great support from F2 Performance Labs, ESI Grips, Cytomax, Magura, & Rudy Project., but after three great seasons with Bike Tech, we've stepped away as we've taken a bit of a change in direction with the team. We can't thank them enough for all their support along the way. Happy to report that Alex has reignited his passion for riding after a tough personal year, and we've included some new (old) friends from other teams to join us as well. While they'll fly their sponsor colors on race weekend, they're Eclipse Racing when it comes to race day fun and support.

Speaking of the team, new kits arrived just in time for our new member Victor to take it out to the famous BC Bike Race, a 7 day stage race in the wilderness of BC! He's sponsored by Mack Cycles in Miami, Florida, but you need a lot of kits for 7 days so he managed to fly Eclipse colors a few times. He rode consistent the whole event, faced a bit of a challenge with a crash mid way through, but charged back to finish 19th in class!

As the Summer ends, the focus will turn to the FSC/CC season which begins in September. We'll write up more of our new members as the season kicks off. Keep coming back for more pics and stories from the season!

Thanks for reading!

Endurance and the Otter

This weekend we enjoyed the Markham 100k, quite possibly the last race of the year before the killer South Florida heat arrives. Boyco's been prepping for quite the endurance run in the next few weeks, he teamed up with his sister for this one. With the Hammerhead 50, Big Frog 65 and Marathon Nationals all lined up starting next weekend, it gave him the opportunity to take some long runs, then have her take a lap to give him a break. Meanwhile I changed my plans for this event. Just over three weeks ago I was given the amazing news I'd won a trip to Monterey, California for the Sea Otter classic thanks to a Monster Energy contest! My preparation has shifted back to XC since then, so I treated this like a hard training ride/race check and called it a day at the half way point.

Results aren't posted yet but we had good times all around. We're all tuned up for the weeks to come. Stay tuned for our next few reports!! Enjoy some pics from the Markham 100

Great event as usual by the Markham crew! Tag yourself if you're in there and like our page if you haven't already!!
Posted by Eclipse Racing Team on Monday, April 13, 2015

2015 US Cup ProXCT #2 - Fontana LIVE!

Race #2 is streaming live shortly! Huge turnout in the top US Series. Live coverage starts at 2pm EST. Watch the USA Cycling feed here!

Spring is coming...

Spring is just around the corner, which mean slow times for us, so here's the mish-mash of events coming up in the next few months!! Florida's Endurance events are already ramping up. The 12 Hours of Santos kicked it off last month and events will be in full swing in April with South Florida's Markham 100 followed by the well known Hammerhead 100 in Ocala. Many South Florida racers are taking it to the road after that to Tennessee for the NUE Cohutta 100 and even the USA Cycling Marathon MTB Nationals in Georgia. The event doesn't make it this far South normally so there's plenty of excitement coming out of Florida for it.

The 4G Wristband collection

For the types that prefer the adventure, plenty of Gravel Grinders are popping up. The 2nd installment of the Great Gator Gravel Grinder (The 4G) just passed and brought out a great turnout. Part Gravel Grinder, part scavenger hunt, riders are able to select from two distances and must collect wristbands along the way for a chance at the podium. While not an official race, there's prizes for the Top 3 finishers to successfully find all the wristbands on the course. Organizer Gary Mendenhall and his team do a great job of marking unique and often hidden trails all over South Florida near the Everglades, creating a truly unique event. Added this year was a Scavenger Hunt band, with a riddle for a clue and a small marker to mark its location. I was lucky enough to grab it this year and came away with a set of tires. It was a consolation prize for me as I just missed the podium, coming 4th place for the 2nd year in a row. Still a great event and looking forward to the 2016 4G! Check out some pics of the action below.

Post by Eclipse Racing Team.

May  brings us the 6th Annual Fakawi 50, or the Largest MTB Group ride in Florida. A little further north in Weston, Florida, the route typically hits the levees and hidden roads on the edge of the Everglades. Those that live in the area know that it's typically in the middle of rainy season, which usually makes it quite the muddy mess! Its remote locations lends to its name, as in "Where the Fakawi?" This will be my first time tackling the event so looking forward to it!

As for us, we'll be going through some changes for 2015. After three great years, we part way with Bike Tech as a title sponsor. They helped us step up our game and we truly appreciate everything we accomplished together. Our own Eric Norris is turning a new chapter of life and moving to North Carolina, and while he won't be with us, he'll always be part of the team. Our co-founder Alex Serrano is taking a step back from racing this year as well. Boyco and I will carry on and we'll add a couple of more friends to the team, but we'll be taking this as a step back to enjoy the more social aspects of riding. We'll still be at select races and events and posting pics and stories though so keep following along with us! We continue with great sponsors in F2 Performance Labs, ESI Grips, Cytomax, Rudy Project, and Magura. A few of us have even picked up support from clothing brand Twin Six! We're waiting on our new Eclipse kits to arrive, but will be rocking the T6 Metal kit in the near future until then.

Stay tuned and follow along. Cycling is in our blood and we're going to keep sharing our adventures with our friends!

The Coconut Cup Series is complete!

Congratulations to Mike Boyco who finished the season strong with a victory and 2nd place in the last two rounds of the Coconut Cup. The results bumped him to 3rd overall in class for the 2014-2015 series! Stay tuned for his tales of the end of the season!