Subject: Team Shell Cycling Newsletter - February 22, 2017
From: <[email-masked]>
To: Undisclosed recipients:;
Date: Wed, 22 Feb 2017 14:26:31 +0000

Team Shell Riders - 186

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TEAM SHELL CYCLING DASHBOARD

Team Fundraising Goal

Collected to Date

% of Goal

Avg. Collected per Rider

Safe Cycling Online Challenge

$200,000

$47,197

24%

$254

26%

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Dear Team Shell Cycling,

Thank you for all who have already volunteered this past Saturday.  We still need more volunteers for help out for our next ride support on Saturday, March 18th in New Waverly.  Please sign up now or have a friend or family member volunteer.  Volunteer Link - CLICK HERE<https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/R2R2017>

Two deadlines this week:

1.    Turn in your Team logistics fee by Tuesday, February 28th; see details below.

2.    Sunday, February 26th is the last day to order your team gear from the online store<http://www.peak1bikestore.com/shell>.

We still need about 70 of you to get your team registration fee in.  Thank you for those of you who already turned in your team support fee. Those of you haven't turned in your Team registration fee, please do so immediately.  After March 1st, 2016 the team fee will be raised to $80.

The MS 150 Weekend is now just a very short nine weeks away (59 days).  At this point in your training you should be comfortable riding at least 40 miles on your long day and sneaking in some additional saddle time a couple more days during the week.

In this Week's Newsletter

*         Safety First Message

*         Volunteer sign up for next Saturday

*         Team Shell Registration fee due now - going up on March 1st.

*         Bike Inspections

*         Team Shell Bike Safety Skills Training

*         Upcoming Training Rides

*         Fundraising Leaders

*         Handy Links

SAFETY FIRST MESSAGE:   Good Bike Fit keeps pain away

Coach Alan Bazard - Shell Safety Coordinator

Ideally, your bike should disappear from underneath you while riding.  What this really means is that you should not be thinking about your position on the bike while riding.  If something is causing you pain, this is making you think about your position or fit on the bike, and distracts your performance and endurance.  In simpler terms, if something is hurting it's not right and needs to be corrected.

When you ride for long distances, there is some normal stress and wear on the muscular system and muscles become tired.  However, there is a difference between tired muscles and muscle pain.  Time in the saddle (why we train) will adapt your body to the general soreness associated with riding for a long time (tired legs, sore butt, stiff arms, etc.).  But, if there are sharp pains, especially in joints (knees, hip, back, neck, wrists, hands, etc.), then this is indicating that something is wrong and needs to be corrected or you may risk an injury, or escalating an injury further.

Long distance bike riding involves a LOT of repetitive motion, and long periods of time staying in position on the bike.  The pedaling cycle puts constant motion and pressure on your lower extremities (legs, knees, ankles, and feet).   Good alignment with the seat and pedals will reduce or eliminate this repetitive motion from causing pain while riding.

On the other hand, your upper extremities (neck, shoulders, arms, and hands) remain virtually motionless providing stability and control of the bike.  Because these muscles stay primarily in one place, they tend to stiffen and react to long term pressure / stress.  To reduce or eliminate this pain due to stress, you need to have good alignment on the seat and handlebars.

Bike fit is the process (and sometimes science) of adjusting the components on the bike to optimize your body's position while riding.  Primary adjustments consist of:

*         Frame size
*         Seat height
*         Seat Forward and Back
*         Seat tilt
*         Seat width
*         Seat padding (softness or hardness)
*         Stem length
*         Stem angle
*         Handle bar width
*         Pedal crank length
*         Pedal axle length
*         Cleat type (Look, Shimano, Speedplay, etc)
*         Cleat position (forward, back, toe in, toe out)
*         General shoe size fit

Many of these adjustments interact with each other.  Because of the number of adjustments and the effects on different parts of the body, bike fit is best done by people trained in bike fit.  Most Bike shops do a very good job of bike fit / position and usually have trained staff who can identify problems and make the proper adjustments.  For more chronic issues and high performance bike fitting, there are professional Bike Fit Studios that use advanced technology (video, computer analysis, etc.).  Houston has two outstanding Bike Fit Studios:

Tad Hughes Custom Bike Fit Studio - www.tadhughescustom.com<http://www.tadhughescustom.com>

Bike Barn Custom Fit Studio - http://bikebarn.com/articles/custom-fit-studio-pg934.htm

The choice for bike fitting is a personal decision.  You should seek good advice before making random adjustments to the bike.

Important:  If you have been riding these past few months and you still have pain associated with bike set up and position, get these resolved in the next week.  Similarly if you need to make any minor adjustments do so immediately, and then test the adjustment on a training ride.  It is strongly recommended not to make any changes to seat adjustments (up, down, forward, back, etc.), cleat adjustments, handle bar or stem adjustments within 3 weeks of the event ride.  Unless something is physically broken and needs to be replaced, don't change the adjustments.  There are many tales of woe and agony by people who have made a seat or handle bar change the night before the MS 150 - Don't Do It!  You've trained hard for the event.  Go with what has been working during the training rides.

For questions or more information on Bike Fit and Bike Position, contact Coach Alan - [email-masked]<mailto:[email-masked]>

Volunteers Needed for R2R Training Rides - If you are participating in the R2R training rides, please sign up to volunteer on the link below.  You may opt out of volunteering if you recruit a family member or friend to volunteer in your place.  This training series is successful because of the volunteers.    Please help me by stepping up and volunteering where you can.  Below are a few dates for volunteer opportunities.

Please don't assume that someone else will volunteer; please step up.  I promise not to keep pestering you all once we get the entire volunteer slots full.  Until then, expect additional emails.  Let's fill these spots this week. :)

I only have two volunteers signed up for the New Waverly ride on March 18th; Thanks you Laura and Jackie!!  I still need a couple more SAG drivers and about 10 Rest Stop volunteers.

Volunteer Link - CLICK HERE<https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/R2R2017>

*         8 Volunteers needed are for break point set up, take down and serving riders.

*         4 SAG wagon drivers - drivers will drive the ride route and assist riders with transport if needed.  Truck, SUV helpful but not mandatory.

1.    Feb 18, Ride 4 in Sealy - Thank you for all who helped out this past weekend!

2.    Mar 18, Ride 7 in New Waverly - Still need vols.

3.    Apr 8, Ride 10 in Cat Spring - Still need vols.

In weeks 5-8 of the Ready2Roll Training series, we will need some Water Wizards.  The responsibility of a water wizard is to simply pick up a few empty water/Gatorade 5 gallon coolers and return them filled with 4 gallons of water to the next week's training ride.

2017 Team Shell MS150 riders - Team Fee to go up to $80 after March 1st
We will close off team registration on Friday, March 11th.  This year's ride support is currently $70 per rider. Please pay your team fee by February 29th in order for us to meet certain vendor payment timelines in support of our team.  Thank you for your support!

Mail a check ($70 till March 1st), made out to Shell Employees Club to:

150 N. Dairy Ashford

Bldg. E - 0238 A

Houston, TX  77079

c/o Team Shell - Mark Poindexter

Safe Cycling Online Challenge - This is a mandatory online safety training for Team Shell. We only have 26% of you that has completed this.  We require 100% of our riders go through this online training every year.
This online quiz is intended for educational purposes to increase a rider's knowledge and awareness of cycling safety. This online training does not replace the Team Shell required Hands on Bike Safety Class, once every 3 years. This online quiz has been prepared by the BP MS 150 Safety Committee whose aspiration is for you and our team to complete this annual event with zero harm to all MS 150 riders, volunteers, organizers, and the wonderful communities who open up their hearts and communities to us.  The Safe Cycling Challenge can be accessed through the Training & Safety section of the MS 150 website at: Take the Safe Cycling Challenge<http://biketxh.nationalmssociety.org/site/R?i=eidQHJL2SVdiqpJYCGcnWw>

Team Shell Jerseys and Kit - Orders must be placed before Feb. 26th

Your order will be delivered directly to your home for under $30.   http://www.peak1bikestore.com/shell

Bike Safety Training dates
The first Bike Safety training skills class is next Sunday, January 24th.   Please remember that this class is mandatory to ride with Team Shell.  You need to only take this class once every three years.   Schedule your class now.  All bike safety training classes will be held on Sundays from 2 - 5 PM at our Shell Woodcreek campus.  Our goal is to have zero accidents in all of our training rides and in the MS event.  I will remind you the week of your scheduled training class.

Please help us meet Goal Zero by getting into one of these classes.

*         Jan 22 - Basic Class

*         Feb 26 - Basic Class

*         Mar 19 - Advanced Class (must have taken Basic Class- not a first time rider class)

*         Mar 26 - Basic Class

Register for your safety training class CLICK HERE<https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/BikeSafetyClass2017>

Other Group Riding Skills Class<http://biketxh.nationalmssociety.org/site/R?i=uRb0rILCc3jP-_Img4-RMw> for Austin and Houston.  There will be a fee for these non-Team Shell cycle trainings.

The Group Riding Skills Course is conducted by the League of American Bicyclists. The LAB is the Society's education partner and a national organization dedicated to cycling, cycling advocacy and cycling education.  These classes fill up fast.

Bus Transportation

Wondering how you're getting home? We have you covered!  Passenger bus and bike transportation on Sunday from Austin to Houston (Tully Stadium, Rhodes Stadium, and Waller Stadium) is $35 per participant. If you do not purchase transportation online by the deadline (April 26, 2017 at 5:00pm) but wish to purchase transportation, you may do so on-site on Friday (cash or check only) and/or on Sunday at the Bus Depot in Austin (cash and checks accepted as well as Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express).
Buy a ticket<http://biketxh.nationalmssociety.org/site/R?i=NzcqJRgGv5W_n2Cq0l8WQg>

Fundraising - Keep those funds pouring in.  Thank you for all that you have already done to support MS.
We have a couple of you that we have still working out the double match credits with the MS Society.

                             Top Fund Raisers to Date

                                                   THANK YOU!!!
$5,000 +

$500 +

Chris Russell

Daniel Elizondo

$2,000 +

Peggy McElroy

Todd Nunnally

Bill Wendes

Stuart Lunn

Mark Clark

$1,000 +

Yogita Gidh

Ramon Berrocal

Andres Bustos

Diana Malin

Michael Schellinger

Todd Jones

Mark Poindexter

James Kinzler

Rich Schmidt

Marisabel Grunewaldt

Jerry Jose

Chuck D'Angelo

Allen Broyles

Eric Thiede

Arjen Tjalma

Upcoming Training Rides

*         Ready2Roll Training Series - Must be registered with R2R organization to participate in this training series.

Sun. Feb 25th                8:00 AM          R2R #5                                   Bellville, TX

Upcoming Training Rides

Training Ride #2 - Fulshear-Brookshire - Feb 11, 8:00 am - 23, 37 (or 51) miles

MS 150 Community Training Rides               Schedule<http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/DocServer/TXH_2017_BP_MS_150_-_Recommended_Rides_Calendar.pdf?docID=82780>

February, 25, 2017     8:00 AM          Texas Independence Bicycle Tour<http://www.deerparkrotary.org/>                 Deer Park, TX                               30, 48, & 62 mile routes    Shell

March 26, 2017          8:00 AM           Clay Walker's Band Against MS Bike Ride<http://www.bandagainstms.org/ride2017.html>    Humble, TX                               20, 35, & 65 mile routes    Shell

Golf Clubs of Houston                                    Official Team Shell Training Ride - Let's have a great turn out.

Handy Links

*         Register for Team Shell<https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2017TeamShellCycling> - We will close registration on March 31st

*         First Time Riders<http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR?fr_id=28263&pg=informational&sid=13237>

*         MS150 Safety<http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR?fr_id=28263&pg=informational&sid=13250>

*         EasyMatch User Guide<https://secure1.easymatch.com/shellgive/resources/General.Public.File10.pdf>

Handy Links

*         First Time Riders<http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR?pg=informational&fr_id=25298&type=fr_informational&sid=11513>

*         Packet Pick Up Details<http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR?pg=informational&fr_id=25298&type=fr_informational&sid=11527>

*         Event Route Maps<http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR?pg=informational&fr_id=25298&type=fr_informational&sid=11501>

*         Packing List for the event weekend<http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR?pg=informational&fr_id=25298&type=fr_informational&sid=11528>

*         MS150 Safety and Fundraising Requirements<http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR?pg=informational&fr_id=25298&type=fr_informational&sid=11551>

Be Well!
Mark Poindexter
Shell Health - U.S. Wellness Manager
Tel: +01 832 337-2149