Sounds like the trails are in great shape so grab your mountain bike and head over to the Ashworth parking lot for mountain biking at 5:30pm TONIGHT.

We hope to see you there!

What a great race put on yesterday at the base of the capitol. Can't beat the location, the crowd or the number of racers. Although PRC did their hand helping put on the this event, wow, we really need to put a shout out to all the race sponsors, volunteers, Rasmuseen Bike Shop but especially to 3 guys: Brent Mitchell (you've probably never heard the name, how about 'Pig'?), Kris Kunze and Randy Catron.

They were all very professional, organized and WONDERFUL to work with! So many had a hand in this event, along with our own Maria, Sara and Kelli but that was small potatoes compared to the work done by Pig, Kris and Randy.

Race reports and pictures to come from PRC but we just wanted to get this thank you out here to the guys for ALL of the help! What a successful day and we really appreciate your help, guidance and efforts with this race.

P.S. What is the date for next year's race? This is a start to a great tradition in the East Village!

Sorry Kids.. :( We kept trusting the weatherman all day and thinking it was really going to stop.

Unfortunately, it's still misting, cold and miserable in Des Moines and therefore we've decided to cancel our last 'Race Like A Girl' event for this evening.

Big bummer!

**** UPDATE *****

Boo... it's raining in Des Moines and appears it will be for quite some time based on the radar. PRC has decided to cancel the ride. :(



Join us tonight for the last 'formal' Papa John ride of the '09 season. We'll meet in the lot west of Rasmussen's at 5:30pm and will head south of town.

Bring your friends and hope you can be there!

Punk Rock Cycling's final 'RACE LIKE A GIRL powered by Elder Corp' , of the year is coming up and we’re going out with a bang! Join the punkalicious PRC chicks this Thursday, August 27th at Union Park in Des Moines. Registration opens at 4:45 p.m. and the races will begin at 5:30 p.m.

Don't miss it - there are two great races around Des Moines this weekend!

Saturday is the Big Creek Road Race, hosted by the All9Yards women's team.
Sounds like they have a wonderful race planned.
Click HERE for full details:

Also, this Sunday is the East Village Criterium, which PRC is helping host. Great sponsorship and venue planned.
Click HERE for full details:

Don't put that road bike away yet! Should be 2 fun days of bike racing!!

We hear the center trails are in perfect condition! Hope everyone can make it at 5:30 tonight for some mountain biking. Meet us at Ashworth Pool.

Hope to see you then!

Thursday night was the awards ceremony for the Elkhart TT Series (combination of 5 time trial results from April through August) where 4 PRC women placed. Kelli and Keely went 1, 2 in the women's open category with Alison Doyle taking 2nd place in the women's category 4 and Heather Myer-Davis taking 2nd place in the women's no aero category. Full Elkhart results can be found HERE.

Also, Kelli won first place at the Altoona criterium series hosted by All9Yards. Full Altoona results can be found HERE.

Congrats to all and special thanks to the men from All9Yards for doing a great job of providing us local race opportunities!

Have you ever heard of Fast Boy Cycles ?

This crazy dude, Ezra, is teaching cancer to cry through his funky blog that shares his world, his love for biking, and his battle with cancer. The site also shows you the custom built bikes he’s created. Ezra is a pretty punk cat, which is why we wanted to share.

And we know that cross season is quickly approaching. Maybe you would want Ezra to build you once of his fixed gear psycho-cross bikes, huh?

It's time! Punk Rock Cycling, Rasmussen and the DMOS race teams are teaming up to bring a great race to the East Village, Des Moines. The East Village Criterium will take place on Sunday, August 30th (next weekend!). We have a great course and venue, right outside the state capitol. Hope you can race!

Unless a thunderstorm hits, we're still planning on the Wednesday night Papa John ride. Hope you can join us tonight.

Meet at the lot west of Rasmussen Bike Shop for a 5:30pm ride. Bring your friends!

Punk Rock Cycling's final RACE LIKE A GIRL powered by Elder Corp , of the year is coming up and we’re going out with a bang! Join the punkalicious PRC chicks on Thursday, August 27th at Union Park in Des Moines. Registration opens at 4:45 p.m. and the races will begin at 5:30 p.m.

Because this is the last RLAG of the year, it’s the perfect chance for beginners to come out and try their hand at racing on the road. It’s also a great opportunity for veteran racers to get in a good warm up before the Big Creek Road Race and the East Village Crit that weekend. We will have the traditional men's A and B category races, women's races and a kid’s race.

A 'no-crash' course will happen at 4:45 for all the newbies interested in learning more about how to excel in the sport cycling.

This month we are looking forward to seeing the Rasmussen’s Death Squad, All9Yards men and women, DMOS, and all other Iowa cycling teams showing up! Bring the whole family to watch, drink beer (or soda), and have a blast! Remember that all kid racers will win cookies from Baby Boomers! PRC will also be giving out lots of fun prizes for the adults, too! Every race winner will get a free smoothie from FUEL JUICE BAR in West Glen Town Center. YUMMY!!!

Hope to see you Thursday, August 27th at Union Park!

It's Monday which means you should bring your mountain or cross bike and meet at the parking lot near Ashworth Pool. We'll most likely be riding gravel as the trails are probably too wet from the recent rain.

We hope you can join us!!

Take a run through the years with PRC's Emily.Maybe play this song while you're looking through it.
We love you Em! We'll miss you so much!

The time has come to say good-bye…for the time being at least. As many of you know, Nathan and I are off to San Luis Obispo, California this Friday. Why you ask? Well, I hear the economy out there is booming and unemployment levels are the lowest in the nation. Just kidding! Actually I am headed graduate school and Nathan is pursuing opportunities to grow his business in the heart of diabetes research. San Luis Obispo..aka SLO..is about nine miles inland, settled directly between San Fran and LA. I will also mention that it is home to Team Colombia-HTC. Ya, that’s right, you know you love George Hincapie.

I do plan to be involved in the cycling community out there…after all, I’m not sure it is even possible to avoid it with all the great riding. However, I am sad to leave the wonderful friends I have made here in Des Moines. The cycling community has introduced me to some of the most independent, strong, respectable, and adventurous women in Midwest. I admire each and every one of you. Believe it or not, as role models in the community, we have all made a difference. Thank you for welcoming me to be a part of that.

I’m really bummed that I am missing cross season, but super pumped that I am going to learn how to surf! (I just need to get over my fear of sharks) I’m also really bummed that I am going to miss the Dirty Du, but excited to explore all the new trails that will be in my backyard.

I’ll keep in touch. We’ll back over Christmas. And, who knows, maybe back in Des Moines next summer. I hope some of you can come to visit while we are there! Just make sure you bring your bike. :)

- Emily

It was a weekend of firsts for me. As many of you know, I have not done any racing since my crash in Muscatine in May. I doubted that I would ever line up again. I thought…well, I’ll just go back to triathlons because they are safe (except that drowning part). Still, I have been trying to make it to as many races as possible to support the team, volunteer, and keep involved with the sport and the people. When I headed out to Grinnell Saturday afternoon for the Grinnell Twilight Crit, my plan was to just cheer on my teammates. I brought my bike and kit just in case. The field was small, the payouts were deep, the course was flat, wide and safe. This was a perfect opportunity for my first race sans spleen. Joining me at the line was my teammate Emily, Becky Fletcher from DMOS, Dana Loo, a junior from DMOS, and Kathleen Porter from Bike Tech. The course was in downtown Grinnell, with nice wide streets and 6 turns. It was hot and humid with a very strong south wind. We hung together for the most part during the first half of the race. Emily and I attacked a couple of times, but were quickly caught by Kathleen and Becky. The pace was pretty high throughout most of the first part of the race. At one point Emily attacked and I could tell Kathleen and Becky had to work hard to catch her while I sat on the back. That was my opportunity to go, so I attacked and I got a gap. I was able to hold the gap through to the end for my first win. Emily got away from Kathleen and Becky in attempt to bridge up and finished in second place. It was a fun race. Hats off to Dana (12 years old I think?) for getting out there and mixing it up with the women! The Women’s Cat 1/2/3 field was small--only three, which is too bad because the payout were huge and deep. Keely rode strong and came in a close second.

Next up was Sunday’s mountain bike race. Following my accident, I was inexplicably encouraged to take up mountain biking. As it turns out, 2 days prior my accident I had bought a brand new Specialized D4W mountain bike—entry level, but a nice bike. So, on our regular Monday Night Women’s Mountain Bike Ride (which takes place every Monday at 5:30 starting at Ashworth Pool), some of the women decided we would try the mountain bike race at Lake Ahquabi. We were told it was beginner friendly because it is not a technical course, but that it was challenging because of the hills. So I decided to test out this mountain bike racing thing and signed up for my first mountain bike race. It was hot. Rain threatened but never arrived. The course was mostly double tack. The beginner’s race was one lap around the lake, which was about 7 miles. I had pre-ridden the course of Friday and had to stop at one point to keep from dying. It is a very hilly course. I am not much of a climber on any kind of bike (hence the success of the flat course described above). The race had a mass start, which made me a little nervous because I did not want to slow anyone up. I started in the back and managed to pass a couple of people during the race, but mostly rode alone—which was fine with me! I ended up finishing 3rd in the beginning women category and came away with a good bottle of wine. Keely raced the sport division, and got second place. The organizers did a fabulous job, but seriously, that finishing hill is just plain mean! It made me feel a little bit better that I wasn’t the only one who collapsed in exhaustion at the finish line (never mind that I did one lap to their 3 or 5…wow!). I learned that mountain bike racing is a lot harder than road racing—at least it is for me.

Just a reminder that Emily's birthday celebration and her send off before moving to California is this Wednesday evening at Star Bar, following our PRC Wednesday Papa John Ride.

Hey bike fans! As many of you have probably heard, there is an anti-bike petition going around to ban bicycles from Iowa roads. Boo.

There is also another petition that has been started in support of bikes.

Please check out THIS LINK, sign the petition and help spread the bike love! Thanks All!

As many of you know, our friend and teammate Emily is moving to California to pursue her master's degree at Cal Poly. Although this is a beautiful part of the country and a great opportunity, we're really going to miss her. Emily's last night in Des Moines is next Wednesday, August 12th and better yet, that is Emily's birthday so double reason to celebrate!

Following our team Papa John ride Wednesday at 5:30, please join us at Star Bar around 7:30 to give Nathan and Emily a proper send off. Even if you can't make the ride, please stop by Star Bar and give your best to them before their move.

We hope to see you there!

Join us tonight for our Wednesday Papa John Ride leaving from Rasmussen Bike Shop at 5:30pm.

Bring a friend and we hope to see you tonight!

Sara's Race Report