Owens Healthcare Cycling Team

Team Profiles
	Dave Albrecht \| Profession: Computer Systems Engineer \| Racing Since: 1986 \| Category: 1 I am returning to cycling after a 14 year hiatus because I never stopped loving the sport. Before retiring I was a US National Team Member with more than 40 podium finishes in the US and Europe. Cycling Quote: Racing never gets easier no matter how fit you become. More fitness can be translated as the ability to suffer even longer before your body finally fails...

	Thomas Bey \| Profession: Interventional Radiologist \| Racing Since 2004 \| Category: Master's Cat 3 Fourteen years of studies including hundreds of sleepless nights have taught me a lot... I've learned that one has a LIMITED supply of both mental and physical energy and that, in order to succeed, both energies must be used efficiently. I've always sought key mentors and tried to harness the team spirit in all of my past work and recreational endeavors. This team has fantastic mentors especially in Mark, Terry and Mike. A great cycling team functions somewhat like a dynamic real-life game of chess, capitalizing on the current peak mental and physical prowess of all its players...life to it's fullest! Cycling Quote: Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent." Calvin Coolidge 1872-1933 Vice President 1921-1923,President 1923-1929

	Mark Blaser \| Profession: Chemistry Teacher at Shasta College \| Racing Since 1974 \| Category: Master's Cat 2 My interest in endurance sports began 30 years ago as a high school distance runner in Athens, Greece. Since then, I have trained for and competed at distances from 800 m through ultramarathons. In the late '80s, inspired by the Wide World of Sports coverage, I picked up swimming and bicycling and competed as a professional triathlete, twice placing 3rd in the National Long Course Championships, and in the top 15 in the Ironman World Championships. For the past few years, I have focused on bicycle road racing, for the pleasure of riding a bicycle fast, the mental and physical challenges of competition, the camraderie of my cycling buddies, and the overall health and enjoyment it provides. Cycling Quote: "If you can fill the unforgiving minute with 60 seconds worth of distance run, ..." R. Kipling

	Todd Dodds \| Profession: Director of Specialty Pharmacy/HME Racing Since: 1986 Category: Master's Cat 3 Started cycling back in the 70?s riding my sister?s Schwinn which began my love affair with the sport. From that point, I rode and raced BMX bikes for years. Eventually, I started riding mountain bikes which I still enjoy today. However, I found that mountain bike riding took a great deal of time, so, I started road cycling. Whether I am riding on the road or in the dirt, the feeling I get reminds of the first time I learned how to ride a bike. Cycling Quote: "Those who are lifting the world upward and onward are those who encourage more than criticize."

	John Friesen \| Profession: CEO Owens Healthcare \| Racing since: 2004 \| Category: Master's Cat 2 Over the years I have logged a number of hours running. After developing a stress fracture in 2002 from running I turned to road cycling for exercise. I took part in the "Wednesday" evening ride in our area and learned that road cycling is extremely challenging sport. The part of road cycling that I found intriguing is the sport combined both individual and team efforts. In 2003 I had the opportunity to go to Europe and watch part of the Tour de France. After watching the Tour I made the decision to step up of my level of commitment to the sport and began racing as well as forming the Owens Healthcare Cycling Team. The rest is history... Cycling Quote: "Every day you may make progress. Every step may be fruitful. Yet there will stretch out before you an ever-lengthening, ever-ascending, ever-improving path. You know you will never get to the end of the journey. But this, so far from discouraging, only adds to the joy and glory of the climb" - Sir Winston Churchill

	Paul Lennon \| Profession: Custom Home Builder\| Racing Since: 1984 \| Category: Master's Cat 4 My first off road ride was the Whiskeytown Downhill in 1984. That is where it all began. I got 1st place in the Ring of Fire race in 94. Since then I have raced a number of races. I love to ride. Cycling Quote: "Speed is your friend."

	Jonz Norine \| Profession: Attorney \| Racing Since 1979 \| Category: Master's Cat 2 A bike racer should be mentally and physically disciplined. I was a competitive swimmer, then runner, triathlete, and for the last 15 years, a cyclist, and have learned that lesson over and again. I hope to use my experience to help the team ? and have fun doing it. Cycling Quote: Mankind has invested more than four million years of evolution in the attempt to avoid physical exertion. Now a group of backward-thinking atavists mounted on foot-powered pairs of Hula-Hoops would have us pumping our legs, gritting our teeth, and searing our lungs as though we were being chased across the Pleistocene savanna by saber-toothed tigers. Think of the hopes, the dreams, the effort, the brilliance, the pure force of will that, over the eons, has gone into the creation of the Cadillac Coupe de Ville. Bicycle riders would have us throw all this on the ash heap of history. -P.J. O'Rourke. ?You Bet.?

	Matt Ream \| Profession: Sales Rep \| Racing Since: 2004 \| Category: Senior 2 Having spent my younger years as a competitive swimmer and onto earning an athletic scholarship through college, I developed a great appreciation for fitness, focus, self-determination and dedication. Following a fruitful career in competitive swimming, I spent several years trying to find a new fitness outlet. Spending much time trying out new things: mountain biking, white water kayaking, rock climbing, backpacking and others. However, all said and done I did not find anything that could match the similarities in fitness, endurance and training than those between swimming and road biking (my new passion since April 2004). * Most importantly, my cycling would not be possible without the support of my wife... i.e. my personal "manager". * Cycling Quote: "It's not about the bike." In my interpretation, it is about the dedication, desire, passion and most importantly the camaraderie between fellow cyclists, friends, family and teammates.

	Bill Reuss \| Profession: Dentist \| Racing Since: 2003 \| Category: Master's Cat 2 Cycling gives me a chance to enjoy the beautiful area we live in and develop great friendships with others who have a passion to push their pedals to the point of exhaustion. Cycling Quote: If one is good two or three must be better... -Bankrupt Cyclist

	Mike Simpson \| Profession: Nurse \| Racing Since: 1984 \| Category: Master's Cat 3 Three words: Down by the river... I am living in a trailer while I build a beautiful home. I will add my bio once I get back on the superhighway aka triway and biway. Cycling Quote: Put your nose on your stem and pedal!!! -Unknown Rider

	Terry Tupper \| Profession: Event Director, Cycling Coach, Police Officer \| Racing Since: 1983 \| Category: 1 I've been competing since 1983 at the age of 15. Proceeded to chase after my dream of becoming a professional cyclist for the next 12 years. Raced in Europe in 1989-1991 and 1994. I was never a star which forced me to become very tactical in my efforts to win races. Now coaching, I have coached 4 athletes to 6 National Championships and 8 medals. Race Director for The Sea Otter Classic and assistant for USPRO Championships and SF Grand Prix. Cycling Quote: "Anyone can win the race if he feels great. It is the real champion who can win when he feels like s--t." -Phil Anderson

Team Profiles
	Dave Albrecht \| Profession: Computer Systems Engineer \| Racing Since: 1986 \| Category: 1 I am returning to cycling after a 14 year hiatus because I never stopped loving the sport. Before retiring I was a US National Team Member with more than 40 podium finishes in the US and Europe. Cycling Quote: Racing never gets easier no matter how fit you become. More fitness can be translated as the ability to suffer even longer before your body finally fails...

	Thomas Bey \| Profession: Interventional Radiologist \| Racing Since 2004 \| Category: Master's Cat 3 Fourteen years of studies including hundreds of sleepless nights have taught me a lot... I've learned that one has a LIMITED supply of both mental and physical energy and that, in order to succeed, both energies must be used efficiently. I've always sought key mentors and tried to harness the team spirit in all of my past work and recreational endeavors. This team has fantastic mentors especially in Mark, Terry and Mike. A great cycling team functions somewhat like a dynamic real-life game of chess, capitalizing on the current peak mental and physical prowess of all its players...life to it's fullest! Cycling Quote: Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent." Calvin Coolidge 1872-1933 Vice President 1921-1923,President 1923-1929

	Mark Blaser \| Profession: Chemistry Teacher at Shasta College \| Racing Since 1974 \| Category: Master's Cat 2 My interest in endurance sports began 30 years ago as a high school distance runner in Athens, Greece. Since then, I have trained for and competed at distances from 800 m through ultramarathons. In the late '80s, inspired by the Wide World of Sports coverage, I picked up swimming and bicycling and competed as a professional triathlete, twice placing 3rd in the National Long Course Championships, and in the top 15 in the Ironman World Championships. For the past few years, I have focused on bicycle road racing, for the pleasure of riding a bicycle fast, the mental and physical challenges of competition, the camraderie of my cycling buddies, and the overall health and enjoyment it provides. Cycling Quote: "If you can fill the unforgiving minute with 60 seconds worth of distance run, ..." R. Kipling

	Todd Dodds \| Profession: Director of Specialty Pharmacy/HME Racing Since: 1986 Category: Master's Cat 3 Started cycling back in the 70?s riding my sister?s Schwinn which began my love affair with the sport. From that point, I rode and raced BMX bikes for years. Eventually, I started riding mountain bikes which I still enjoy today. However, I found that mountain bike riding took a great deal of time, so, I started road cycling. Whether I am riding on the road or in the dirt, the feeling I get reminds of the first time I learned how to ride a bike. Cycling Quote: "Those who are lifting the world upward and onward are those who encourage more than criticize."

	John Friesen \| Profession: CEO Owens Healthcare \| Racing since: 2004 \| Category: Master's Cat 2 Over the years I have logged a number of hours running. After developing a stress fracture in 2002 from running I turned to road cycling for exercise. I took part in the "Wednesday" evening ride in our area and learned that road cycling is extremely challenging sport. The part of road cycling that I found intriguing is the sport combined both individual and team efforts. In 2003 I had the opportunity to go to Europe and watch part of the Tour de France. After watching the Tour I made the decision to step up of my level of commitment to the sport and began racing as well as forming the Owens Healthcare Cycling Team. The rest is history... Cycling Quote: "Every day you may make progress. Every step may be fruitful. Yet there will stretch out before you an ever-lengthening, ever-ascending, ever-improving path. You know you will never get to the end of the journey. But this, so far from discouraging, only adds to the joy and glory of the climb" - Sir Winston Churchill

	Paul Lennon \| Profession: Custom Home Builder\| Racing Since: 1984 \| Category: Master's Cat 4 My first off road ride was the Whiskeytown Downhill in 1984. That is where it all began. I got 1st place in the Ring of Fire race in 94. Since then I have raced a number of races. I love to ride. Cycling Quote: "Speed is your friend."

	Jonz Norine \| Profession: Attorney \| Racing Since 1979 \| Category: Master's Cat 2 A bike racer should be mentally and physically disciplined. I was a competitive swimmer, then runner, triathlete, and for the last 15 years, a cyclist, and have learned that lesson over and again. I hope to use my experience to help the team ? and have fun doing it. Cycling Quote: Mankind has invested more than four million years of evolution in the attempt to avoid physical exertion. Now a group of backward-thinking atavists mounted on foot-powered pairs of Hula-Hoops would have us pumping our legs, gritting our teeth, and searing our lungs as though we were being chased across the Pleistocene savanna by saber-toothed tigers. Think of the hopes, the dreams, the effort, the brilliance, the pure force of will that, over the eons, has gone into the creation of the Cadillac Coupe de Ville. Bicycle riders would have us throw all this on the ash heap of history. -P.J. O'Rourke. ?You Bet.?

	Matt Ream \| Profession: Sales Rep \| Racing Since: 2004 \| Category: Senior 2 Having spent my younger years as a competitive swimmer and onto earning an athletic scholarship through college, I developed a great appreciation for fitness, focus, self-determination and dedication. Following a fruitful career in competitive swimming, I spent several years trying to find a new fitness outlet. Spending much time trying out new things: mountain biking, white water kayaking, rock climbing, backpacking and others. However, all said and done I did not find anything that could match the similarities in fitness, endurance and training than those between swimming and road biking (my new passion since April 2004). * Most importantly, my cycling would not be possible without the support of my wife... i.e. my personal "manager". * Cycling Quote: "It's not about the bike." In my interpretation, it is about the dedication, desire, passion and most importantly the camaraderie between fellow cyclists, friends, family and teammates.

	Bill Reuss \| Profession: Dentist \| Racing Since: 2003 \| Category: Master's Cat 2 Cycling gives me a chance to enjoy the beautiful area we live in and develop great friendships with others who have a passion to push their pedals to the point of exhaustion. Cycling Quote: If one is good two or three must be better... -Bankrupt Cyclist

	Mike Simpson \| Profession: Nurse \| Racing Since: 1984 \| Category: Master's Cat 3 Three words: Down by the river... I am living in a trailer while I build a beautiful home. I will add my bio once I get back on the superhighway aka triway and biway. Cycling Quote: Put your nose on your stem and pedal!!! -Unknown Rider

	Terry Tupper \| Profession: Event Director, Cycling Coach, Police Officer \| Racing Since: 1983 \| Category: 1 I've been competing since 1983 at the age of 15. Proceeded to chase after my dream of becoming a professional cyclist for the next 12 years. Raced in Europe in 1989-1991 and 1994. I was never a star which forced me to become very tactical in my efforts to win races. Now coaching, I have coached 4 athletes to 6 National Championships and 8 medals. Race Director for The Sea Otter Classic and assistant for USPRO Championships and SF Grand Prix. Cycling Quote: "Anyone can win the race if he feels great. It is the real champion who can win when he feels like s--t." -Phil Anderson

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Team Profiles

Team Profiles