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Our
History
Ivy
League
Champions
1996 |
Eastern
Collegiate Cycling
Conference
Champions |
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1997 |
1996 |
The
Early
History
Benjamin Franklin once remarked that a cycle a day saves nine
steps. And so, it is said, that Penn Cycling came unto this
earth to roll ravenously over the cobblestones of Philadelphia.
The purity of the wheel fascinated our great founder for it
represented the cycle of life, and the innovation of man. Great
debates of philosophy and practicality arose from the wheel.
Recognizing the value of these debates, the American Philosophical
Society became formally established in 1740. From these roots, the
University of Pennsylvania grew.
Of little known fact is that this revered instit ution
of thought was nearly named the The American Society of Wheel. The
margin of its defeat was just one vote. It is from these origins
that Penn Cycling also descends. For many years, Penn Cycling
remained a secret, underground society dedicated to the literal
interpretations of our founder.
In the 1970's,
when the literal interpretation of the wheel became more accepted,
Penn Cycling emerged from its mysterious shroud. Lead by the likes
of Paul Winkfield, and Tubby Morris, Penn Cycling enjoyed a
renaissance. The club was still overshadowed by the larger "living"
interpretation of the wheel (the University of Pennsylvania), but
our chains were heard.
In the
mid-eighties, there was an upsurge of the cycling club. Andrew
Dordal has kindly described this era for us:
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"I was at Penn in the
early 80's and we had a small, but active, racing team.
There were at least five of us - Ian Jones (he was sponsored
by Austro-Daimler and was on the US team for the
Pan-American games in 80 or 81), Mike Holtzman, Jim Innes,
Dan, and myself - who met regularly for training rides. We
were considered a club sport by the school. We did a few
collegiate races (at Princeton and Lehigh), but mostly just
local USCF
races. In the Spring we all would ride out to the Prudential
Insurance campus North of Philadelphia for the Prudential
Spring Training series.
There
was a core group of 4-5 of us who met regularly for 30 - 40
mile afternoon rides. We'd typically ride out west towards the
Main Line area. I remember a collegiate race up near Lehigh
and another in NJ, but otherwise there weren't a lot of
college races. I did most of my racing when I was home in
Chicago for the summers.
I'm
not in touch with any of the other guys anymore. Jim Innes was
the main organizer for us. He graduated around '81 or '82 in
English. He was from outside of Philadelphia. Mike Holtzman
was the powerhouse - he was from North central NJ and raced a
lot. He graduated in '81 or '82 in Chemical Engineering. Ian
Jones, from Connecticut, was another powerhouse. He was on the
US team in the Pan-American games. I believe he was also in
engineering (biomedical, maybe) and he graduated in '81 or
'82.
We
didn't have any official sponsorship, but South Street Bicycle
Shop (I think they are closed now) gave us good discounts on
parts."
Andrew Dordal
BSME '83 |
Jim Innes
Ian Jones |
Early
Team
Sponsorship
None of the elders remembers the journey in darkness - also
known as the disbursement. We all remember the story of the light
though.
Quaker City Wheelmen, a local racing club in Philly gave a helping
hand to the team starting in the 1995 season. This was the first
time that a club had sponsored a college team.
One of the fastest growing segments of the bicycle road racing
community was among collegiate teams. The NCCA had and continues to
have an entire racing circuit including regional and national
championships.
Consistent with
the large growth of NCCA Bike Racing seen across the country, Penn
Cycling found itself with increasing numbers of interested members
as time went on - more individuals than they had the resources to
organize. Rather than accept a lower level of organization, the
teams two coordinators, Brian Hirsch and Randy Knarr solicited a
local racing club, Quaker City Wheelmen, for help.
Founded in
1976, the year of the American Bicentennial, QCW has always been
dedicated to fostering the developmental levels of the sport. The
needs of the Penn team fit their mission to an academic "T".
The two groups
worked out a affiliation agreement which allows members of Penn to
be supported by the logistical and material infrastructure of QCW
without interfering with the autonomy of the Penn team. Many Penn
members have joined QCW as their USCF club.
Penn Members
began training under coaching supplied by QCW member, Dr. Peter
Durdaller, a former racer with 30+ years in the sport. Under his
guidance, the University of Pennsylvania Cycling Team went on to win
the 1997 ECCC Road Championships, Ivy League Championships and the
first every ECCC MTB Championships.
More
Recent
History...The
2000's
The 2000's witnessed a change in the composition of the Penn Cycling
team, away from a graduate student dominated club at the beginning
of the decade, towards a more undergraduate and balanced team in
subsequent years.
Frank Passaro led the team in
2003-2004. The team showed substantial growth during 2004-2006 with
the leadership of Adrian Gerrits. He helped to increase
participation in the club, and expand the presence of the club
across campus by attending events such as activities and club
fairs. Adrian qualified for nationals in 2005 and represented Penn
as an individual in the Road race and criterium at Collegiate
Nationals in Lawrence, Kansas.
Some of the team remained involved in
the cyclo-cross and mountain bike seasons, a trend that increased
later, but the majority of the team’s efforts were still geared
towards the spring road season. At the time,
the team mostly focused on road cycling during this time period.
There were large group rides in the fall and a small group of 5-10
racers who trained throughout the winter. This included
coordinating training plans, 6:00am hill rides, and a few too many
rides that should have been canceled because of ice and cold. There
were a variety of activities aimed at recruiting new members and
training new racers such as practice races led by local racers and
team members, more group rides for all levels, and larger groups
traveling to and staying at races together.
Many of the team members joined local
rides throughout the year including the Quaker City Wheelmen Tuesday
and Thursday night rides, the practice criteriums in Fairmount Park,
and of course the Tuesday night drives ride once the time changed.
Penn's relationship with Drexel cycling really evolved at this time.
Successful efforts were made to help develop cycling clubs around
Philadelphia. Temple's Cycling Club also got started around that
time.
In
terms of results, 2006 was by far the most successful year in recent
Penn Cycling history. Penn had a solid men’s and women's team. Penn
sent seven riders to nationals, finishing 13th overall.
2007 was a bit more subdued in terms of the team’s success, but was
marked by the return home of Andrew Pederson from his time in
France. This was a year with one of the most successful moustache
months (see below). The Philly Phlyer expanded to become a
dual conference race, hosting both ACCC and ECCC, and was the
largest collegiate cycling race ever at that time.
Traditions
There were a variety of new traditions that started during these
years.
-Mustache Month (ask Alex Wooten
for pictures)
-Tandem Bike Rides to the quad (and other places)
-Penntury
-Philly Phlyer
Mustache Month
Mustache Month is February and is strongly encouraged by all male
cyclists on the team (or others who are alive in February).
However, it should be noted that there was a strong correlation
between those having terrible looking mustaches and those having
trouble with their relationships/girlfriends threatening to break up
with them if they didn't shave. However, they do make you go
faster.
**Andrew
Pederson is currently winning the nicest mustache competition. (this
does not include folks who already have mustaches)
Tandem
Bike Rides
A tandem was purchased in 2005 that was used to pick up girls from
the quad (or their houses) to bring them to great Penn Cycling
events or incredibly fancy dates. The bicycle was purchased at the
Trexlertown bike swap. It was passed down to the next leaders in
2007 (Pederson and Wooten). It was very heavy, and when the
handlebars for the rear rider broke, you were only able to stay on
the bike by holding onto the sides of the person in front of you,
which made for some hilarious tipsy bike rides home from center
city. It has made for many great pictures. Unfortunately, it was
later stolen (If you find someone with a red 50’s style tandem
without rear handlebars, call Penn Cycling).
Penntury
After returning from a cross country cycling trip, Alex Wooten got
super-excited about hosting a 100 mile ride each year, and so
started the
Penntury in the fall of 2005. This
ride still continues on a Saturday each fall.
Philly
Phlyer
Adrian Gerrits' brain child, executed
with the help of Johann, Joe Kopena, Devlin, Al, and many more. The
race was a wild success, and Penn won a lot of different events. We
could probably write volumes about the race in its different
years...but we'll spare you.
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