This is the first time I’ve ‘re-blogged’ something, so lets hope it works. Our beloved (and vicious) team is back to full strength so check out the new line-up (Patrick and Julian are the new ones, if you haven’t been paying attention. 

After much back and forth and name calling (of the team, not each other), we think we have settled on one for our Haute Route team – Team Vicious Cycle. The name, I believe, speaks to you on several levels, if you let it, and has the correct ‘bad-ass/humor’ ratio, making our team serious and not at the same time.

We threw out some pretty good names, too, which I’d like to share with you. Team 53:11 (chucked because we thought people would look it up in the Bible…), Team No Finish Line (much loved by a few of us, but simply crushed when Vicious popped up), Team InterAlpine, Team Virtual Wheelality, Team Slow Twitch, and Team Cyclepath, all showed up on the radar along the way.

Also, since I first introduced Team No Name in August, we’ve had a few changes. Some of the original crew are here, but a few have have fallen by the wayside, bringing in Chris, Paul, Ed, Patrick and Julian (OK, that’s quite a lot).

Some fun facts about Team Vicious Cycle:

1. Out of 9 guys we have 5 countries represented (Ireland, USA, Canada, England and Holland).
2. No women, dammit.
3. Average age = 43 (thanks Mark and Patrick for bringing this one down!), age range = 31 years

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• Name: Mark McKillop
• Age: 29
• Nationality: Irish
• Place of Residence: Reading, UK

Why am I riding Haute Route: Because I love climbing and pain – why else 🙂

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• Name: Julian Darwell-Stone
• Age: 55
• Nationality: British
• Place of Residence: Edinburgh, UK

Why are you riding Haute Route? Needed a challenge for 2013, had never cycled the Alps and thought I might as well go for the toughest option in choosing the Haute Route.  Now need to find some big hills in Scotland to practice on!

• Name:  Patrick Peeters
• Age:  29
• Nationality: Dutch
• Place of residence:  Sydney, Australia

Why are you riding Haute Route?  It was either this or an Ironman. This one seems more fun.

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• Name: Ed Hudson
• Age: 60
• Nationality: American
• Place of Residence: Columbia, SC
• Brief Background: Brief Background: Biking forever, other sports windsurfing and almost anything automobile related, an engineer that went into medicine

Why are you riding the Haute Route?  I had been looking for a way to do the classic climbs and this not only simplifies the logistics but also more importantly gives you a group of enthusiasts to share the experience.

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• Name: Paul Armfield
• Age: 38
• Nationality: American
• Place of Residence: Winston-Salem, NC

Why are you riding the Haute Route? Climbing is my forte and what I enjoy most.  That, and the fact that I consider the Haute Route a “bucket list” experience, are the two main reasons that I want to do it.  The biggest challenge, I think, will be doing so many massive climbs on consecutive days.

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• Name:  Brad Wilfley
• Age: 41
• Nationality:  Canadian
• Place of residence:  Calgary, Canada

Why are you riding Haute Route?  Mostly because it’s been a couple of years since I had a season goal for riding which makes motivation a bit hard.  This will eliminate any issues with motivation…I’m already working on my training plan for next year – hill repeats on Highwood Pass (Canada’s highest paved road) figure a lot in my future, as do a lot of long, boring days on a trainer.

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• Name: Chris McCarthy
• Age: 43
• Nationality: American
• Place of Residence:  Columbia, SC

Why are you riding the Haute Route? I’ve done many mountain centuries and want a larger challenge.  Besides The riding in the Alps looks amazing!

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• Name: Robert Armstrong
• Age: 56
• Nationality: Canadian
• Place of residence: Calgary, Alberta

Blog: www.nofinishlineblog.com

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• Name: Gerry Patterson
• Age: 44
• Nationality: Canadian
• Place of residence: Nîmes, France

Why are you riding the Haute Route? My coach told me to!

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Again, I am amazed at the speed at which the empty spots were filled up, given our humble cycling network. Aaron takes much of the credit here, since those who stepped up were from his neck of the woods and found by him.

We can all look forward to a winter of indoor trainers and old TdF videos, but at least we’ll have 8 others (who’ll understand) to complain to now.

Next up – Team Kit!