Solano Avenue Cyclery – We race for Solano Ave Cyclery because it’s by far our favorite shop in the whole wide universe. Charlie is a loveable freak, and he somehow hires the best mechanics and the most knowledgeable salespeople. You won’t find a lot of attitude at Solano Ave Cyclery – just a bunch of folks passionate about the sport of cycling who understand that customer service is what separates the quality small shops from the rest of the riff raff out there.

Art’s Automotive – A number of us on the team have spent time, here or there, working as some type of mechanic. So when we find an auto mechanic shop that is straightforward, trustworthy and fun to do business with, we clamp on like a crazed raccoon. Art’s Automotive is like a Boy Scout troop that happens to do auto repair (and drink a beer now & then at the appropriate times – Boy Scout troops shouldn’t do this). Art’s works on Toyotas, Hondas, Nissans, Mazdas, Acuras & Subarus. They’re so damn good that it’s worth buying a car based on what Art’s works on just so Art’s can do the service.

Felt Racing – We race on Felt’s F15. Let’s put it like this: Our bikes are crazy light (58cm at 16 lbs!); the little climbers & the hefty sprinters love the ride quality; the bikes are painted a sinister matte black; and the F15 goes really, really fast. In addition to the wonders of the Felt race bike, we also happen to love working with Bev, Jim, Andy and the whole Felt bunch.

Old West Gun Room – Bob at Old West Gun Room (Old West Bob) is a longtime customer at Solano Ave Cyclery. He’s been riding a bike for as long as we can remember. We actually came up with the blue camo team kit design before we even thought to ask Old West Gun Room if there was an interest in sponsoring the race team. Sorta like the cart coming before the horse. If you think all gun shops are the same, you’re shamefully mistaken. As a retail environment, Old West Gun Room is far from the norm. You definitely don’t need to be a gun owner to enjoy a visit to Old West Gun Room.

CLIF BAR INC – It doesn’t get better than CLIF BAR goods when the time comes for filling the tank with nutritious, natural, high-quality energy food. The Solano/Art’s Auto squad is fueled by Clif Bars, Clif Shots, Builder’s Bars, Luna Bars, Mojo Bars & the soon-to-be-released Clif Shot beverages. If CLIF BAR makes it, we eagerly ingest it - and then we win things.

Speedplay – For some of us, this is the first season on Speedplay pedals. We were fools to have waited this long! The Speedplay Zero pedals absolutely rock. They have all sorts of adjustable float, set-up’s a cinch, and the shoe to pedal connection is soooo solid it’s confidence inspiring. When we’re sprinting even faster this season, you’ll know why.

Dave Ratoosh Reality – Dave is a great local cyclist who happens to also sell real estate. We’d sign Dave up to ride for the Solano squad in a heartbeat if he ever wanted to race in blue camo, but he actually races for another local squad that we think very highly of. Dave supports a number of local racing teams. He’s like the local Patron Saint of Amateur Cycling Teams. And if you need a house, Dave is definitely our realtor of choice. William, one of the guys on the team, bought a house with Dave’s assistance last season – this season we’re going to paint the place blue camo and turn it into our clubhouse. Our little secret. Don’t tell William.

Mavic – Is there actually another wheel manufacturer out there? Hmm. Really? Why? We train and race on Ksyriums and Carbones. The roads around these parts can be pretty bad, yet our wheels look remarkably good. The Ksyriums are remarkably strong for how light they are. And the Carbones feel like cruise control when the speed kicks in during a long race or in a crazy-fast sprint finish.

Pinion Engineering – Pinion is a full service engineering and design firm that specializes in consumer products – taking the product from idea to store shelves. Pinion believes in a healthy environment and actively supports and specs recycled materials, design for disassembly, and manufacturers that respect human rights in the work place. Oh yeah, and the firm's prinicpal, Jeff Wyatt? He wins races for us.

Fast Freddie Coffee – Apparently Freddie does more than win Giro stages and USPRO Champ jerseys. He also brews up a mean cup of delicious coffee. You’d never know that Freddie is a coffee nut – he’s so mellow and even keeled; nothing like most of the guys on the Solano/Art’s Auto squad. It’s usually pretty obvious that we’ve had one cup too many of the Fast Freddie Turbo Blend. If you like a good Sumatra flavor and the whole idea of putting something called ‘Turbo Blend’ into your system strikes your fancy, definitely order a bag of Freddie’s tasty beans and drink like a champ – a USPRO Champ, that is.

Fi’zi:k – fi’zi:k saddle are so stylish we’d probably use them even if they were cripplingly uncomfortable. Lucky for us, our bikes can sport the fi’zi:k style, and our nether regions can live happily ever after. The Arione is the team’s saddle of choice – five out of five dentists* claim that it’s the most comfortable, best-looking race saddle known to mankind. Black saddles with white stripes look almost too good on the team’s matte black race bikes. Just wait until the new red fi’zi:k gel bar tape arrives! We actually loose a significant chunk of training time just staring at our bikes, admiring how good the fi’zi:k stuff looks. If we’re under-trained when the racing starts, it’s fi’zi:k’s fault.

*Not real dentist

Rudy Project Eyewear – We’ve been racing in Rudy Projects since the team’s first season. The glasses just keep getting better and better. Nothing beats RP’s Racing Red lense for the NorCal weather conditions. And the glasses come in all sorts of slick frame colors. With a blue camo team kit we tend to opt for the white frames. It’s a little-know fact that white frames are 4% faster in the sprint. Yup, now you know our secret.

Giro – It always trips us out to see goofballs out there riding without helmets – especially when the goofballs are experienced cyclists who should know better. Not only is riding without a helmet unsafe for the rider, but it also sets a terrible example for all the kids out there who, we like to pretend, look up to us. And with Giro lids, there’s just no good excuse for not sporting a bike helmet. The Giros are comfy, extremely well ventilated, and they look good. Oh, and rumor has it that a Giro helmet can also help to keep your head intact in the event of a tumble – that’s a pretty neato feature too.