Racing – PROBIKEWRENCH

Good Days… Bad Days…

I had a busy Saturday at then bike shop, so I didn’t have much time throughout the day to keep up with goings-on in the cycling world. I got home after work, opened up the social media feeds and saw two rockstar mechanic pals with stories on opposite sides of the good day/bad day spectrum.

One of the pro mechanics had the best day ever. His rider won the UCI XC Marathon World Championships. Hugs at the finish line, gold medal and rainbow stripes for the rider. The bike worked to perfection, until a flat tire near the end of the race. The rider had such a big lead that the flat tire didn’t matter.

Being a team mechanic and having a rider win a big race (not to mention THE BIGGEST RACE) is such a good feeling. I was lucky enough to work with some extremely talented athletes, and had the opportunity to experience such wins on the domestic road racing circuit and at UCI races. You can’t beat those days. There is SO MUCH pride in having a winning bike, whether your legs did the pedaling or not. You did your job well. The machine performed as intended. The top step of the podium for your rider is the best.

Not a lot more to analyze on the winning performance. The plan worked. Pop the champagne. Great work.

Another of my pro mechanic friends had the worst day ever. He was working as a neutral support mechanic for a big US event, which drew some big teams and high-profile UCI ProTour riders from the US. One of those riders needed a wheel, his team car was already up the road, and my mechanic buddy jumped out of the car to assist. The wheel he took to do the change (correct wheel for the job), had some end caps fall out and go missing during the jump. He went back to the car for more wheels, and in a panic, grabbed the wrong wheels for the fix. He went back to the rear again to grab a spare bike, but it was too late. The rider started running until he could get to his team car. Race day was over for him. No chance for a good finish, at that point.

I have been on that side of the race day, as well. Once upon a time, I had a team rider that was in contention for a big win on the final day of a stage race. She powered up the hill and a chainring bolt fell out and she bent the ring, dropping the chain, rendering her out of contention. She was upset about the result, as was the team director, and I was to blame for not checking the chainring bolts when prepping the bikes the night before. Totally my fault, but couldn’t change the day or the result.

How do you recover from a bad situation like that? Here are a few things to do when your day goes bad:

Figure out what happened – What went wrong? If you didn’t have the right tool for the job, made an error, did something less efficiently than you could have…
Find a way to prevent it from happening again – Get the tool, find a way to fix the error next time, develop a more efficient way to get the job done.
Don’t get in your head about it – If you think you’re the first one to make an error of that magnitude… you’re not. You won’t be the first, and you won’t be the last. Your victories, wins, and accomplishments FAR outweigh the blunders.
Don’t EVER read the comments! – In today’s world, social media is extremely prevalent. Everything is on video, and everyone has an opinion about what happened, what should have happened, how bad you suck, how they would have done it differently. Don’t obsess over people’s words. They weren’t there. They don’t have any idea what your pressure situation looked like, and they definitely couldn’t have handled it any better.
Wake up the next day and GET AFTER IT! – Get up and keep moving. We live to fight another day. You won’t forget the blunder, but you are a professional. It’s your job to get back up and put it behind you. Just like professional cyclists have bad days, so do professional mechanics, and so does everyone else. Don’t let your bad days hold you back. There’s too much good work to do to let one moment at one race get in the way.

Because the bad days are few, those amazing days are plenty, and the next one is right around the corner.

Happy Holidays and Such…

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all my friends, family, and colleagues. I’m thinking of all of you this holiday season, and I wish you all the best for 2014.

The race mechanic requests for 2014 are rolling in. I’ve already had to turn down a few upcoming opportunities due to scheduling conflicts. I hate turning the jobs down, but it’s a double-edged sword. It’s really fun to travel, to see new places, and to work with new athletes on the road. The downside is being away from the family. I was on the road A LOT in 2013, and missed my wife and kids very badly. We’ve both been blessed with steady jobs, and are FINALLY falling into some sort of rhythm in this crazy life. As much as I enjoy managing all the moving parts and hitting the road, my flexibility to do so isn’t going to be there in 2014. I haven’t said “NO” to everything yet. I’m still trying to shift some things around to try and sneak in a bit of race work next year. Maybe get a little fix during the upcoming season…

I am hopefully going to do some more local races next year. I changed race team affiliations, and will be racing with Team Energy Velo for 2014. It’s a team that my shop sponsors, and it’s headed up by two very good friends and customers of mine. They’re looking after me very well, and I hope to represent them to the best of my ability at the races I’ll be able to attend. I’m trying to get a few solid results early in the season, in order to get my upgrade to Category 3 this Spring. I’ve been a Cat. 4 for as long as I can remember, and the tail end of the season I actually had some decent results. Hoping to upgrade sooner, rather than later.

Gotta get some of my fitness back. I hyper-extended my left knee the day before the Hincapie Gran Fondo, and decided to ride the entire 80 mile ride with a little soreness in the knee. That turned out to be a horrible idea. I severely strained my patellar tendon, and was off the bike for over a month. There were times I could barely walk, and most nights I spent with my leg elevated and icing. With some amazing help from one of my friends, Jeff, a physical therapist, I was able to rehab and strengthen the knee back to normal. My fitness took a serious dive, however. I’ve been able to ride during the past three weeks, but it’s still winter, and I’m being a bit of a wuss about it. I’ve signed up for the Strava/Rapha Festive 500k challenge, which entails riding 500k between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. I don’t see any way to finish it, short of burying myself on NYE, but I’m doing as many miles as I can until then to see if I can regain some of that lost form. Definitely got some pounds to shed and some muscle to regain in that leg…

Oh… I need some help. I want to plan some sort of bike adventure for 2014. I need some ideas. Leave me a comment here if you have any thoughts for what kind of bike mischief I might get into.

Good talk. See you out there.

Per the Usual…

It’s been so long since I blogged, I can’t even remember what the subject of my last post was. I will say this… it has been one HECK of a year, and it ain’t over yet. Here’s a timeline, of sorts, since I last blogged:

I finished up my gig with Carmichael Training Systems at the Tour of California (Holy Cow… I haven’t blogged since May/June!). It was another great trip out west. We had a busy 10 days out there, and I got the opportunity to work with a lot of great coaches and staff, and a very talented group of cyclists. It’s always a pleasure to work with such a professional organization like CTS.
For Memorial Day weekend, I missed USPRO Championships in Chattanooga, TN, in order to head to the Princeton/Pennington, NJ area for a training camp for the team I was working Race Across America with. Team Melanoma Exposed consisted of 4 employees of Bristol-Myers Squibb, all of who were dedicated to raising money and awareness to combat melanoma. We had a great training weekend, and were definitely prepared for our trip across the USA in June. I also learned that not all of New Jersey is as terrible as portrayed on MTV. The Princeton area was beautiful, and had some amazing roads for cycling. I’d like to get back there with my own bike sometime.
While in California, I was asked to work at the Philly Cycling Classic with the Specialized-Lululemon Women’s Team. I was stoked to have the opportunity to work with them for that weekend. It was good to see my friend Carmen Small, again. She was one of the ladies on the Aaron’s team when I wrenched for them in 2007. She’s come a long way since then, including winning the USPRO Women’s TT Championship the previous weekend. The whole team was amazing, and after a very interesting race (including temporarily being pulled from the caravan for our vehicle being too tall), we pulled off the victory, with Evie Stevens taking the win. As a mechanic, it’s always good to get a win like that… it validates the work you do.
I flew home from Philly to Greenville, SC, to start my new job as Store Manager at BikeStreet USA. It was a bit of a weird transition, because I only got a week and a half to work at the store before heading back out west for RAAM. For two months, I stayed with my best friend, Josh, commuted by bike to and from work, and had to try and buy a house… all while the rest of my family was in Florida, vacationing with the in-laws. It was tough to be without them for so long.
Mid-June, I flew back out to California for RAAM. This was my first time working the event, so I didn’t know what to expect… and neither did the rest of the team. We were determined to make it work, however. After a couple of prep days, we started in Oceanside, CA, and around 8-9 days later, we arrived in Annapolis, MD… ocean to ocean. The team finished 3rd in the Men’s 4 Person Team division. It was a surreal experience, and I can’t even come close to describing it all right now. I will say that once you spend over a week working, sleeping, and enduring 16 people in an RV… there are definitely some bonds forged that cannot be broken. Take that however you like…
Since late June, I’ve been at the helm at BikeStreet USA in Greenville on Woodruff Road. I think we’ve got the best staff in the business, and I’m dedicated to making things work more smoothly and efficiently around the store. We’ve done well for the past few months, made some changes, and we’re constantly looking to improve the way we do things around the shop, to enhance the customer experience, and to make our shop the go-to shop in the Greenville area for… well, for bikes in general (No offense to my other buddies at other shops in Greenville… nothing but love for you guys!).

I may recap some of these events in greater detail later, but for now, I’ll try to start posting a little more regularly. We FINALLY got our internet set up at our new house, so I’ll have a bit of time in the evenings to catch up on things. I post fairly regularly on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, so if you just can’t wait for a new blog post, follow the links to those pages.

Thanks for the support. More good stuff coming soon.

Death and Fear in Cycling

Today, the cycling community lost a very dear friend, South African XC mountain biker, Burry Stander. He was tragically killed by a taxi while training in his hometown. The entire MTB racing family, and most friends that follow competitive cycling, are mourning greatly.

Burry was riding his bike, just like you or I ride our bikes every day. If we take to the roads, we are putting ourselves in danger. Cyclists cannot predict what auto drivers are going to do while driving. We can take all the precautions possible, but we are still no match for a 2,000 pound vehicle heading our way. Mountain biking carries its own inherent dangers, even if we choose not to ride insane stunts like riders in our favorite MTB videos. Rocks, roots, trees, and even crazed animals are all hazards that could be encountered on a trip in the woods.

Should we stop cycling, all together? Should we take all risk out of our lives to ensure that we survive our day-to-day lives? Absolutely not, I say. Regardless of how we try to shelter ourselves from potential threats to our livelihood, ceasing our activities and living under an umbrella of fear is no way to live life.

“A life lived in fear is a life half-lived.” — Spanish proverb, in Baz Luhrmann’s movie Strictly Ballroom

Remember Burry Stander’s family and friends in your prayers, as well as those family and friends of other cyclists that have been killed while cycling. Take time to mourn, but do not allow sadness and fear to encompass your life. Do not live in fear, but in action. Join a cycling advocacy group, and do your best to encourage positive and progressive cycling legislation in your local cycling community. Obey the rules of the road. Wear your helmet. Teach a beginner road cyclist how to properly ride in traffic. Lead a group ride. Go live.

My friend, VeloNews journalist Dan Wuori, echoed the sentiments of many cycling fans tonight in a Tweet:

“@dwuori: A Cyclist’s Prayer: Watch over those who ride and bring comfort to all who mourn. #RIPBurry”

Tour of Utah Recap – Stages 4-6

Back to the story…

Stage 4 – Lehi to Salt Lake City (134.3 miles)

We started about 25 miles into Stage 4. Because it was a 134 mile stage, and it had a “lollipop” in it, we had to push forward to get as far into the stage as we could before getting held up by the pros coming through. Our start point was in the middle of the Utah desert. Seriously… it was the desert. The stage profile was very flat, so the riders made pretty good time. Unfortunately, because it was the desert, there was very little scenery. I did snap a few shots of the flat landscape and some Pony Express landmarks, though.

We did get caught by the pros on the lollipop, but we made it almost to the “end of the stick” before heading north, towards Salt Lake City. It was a very long day, and I blame it mostly on the lack of scenery for the first several hours of the ride. The week, so far, had been uneventful, as far as mechanical or rider support issues, which was good.

Stage 5 – Newpark Town Center to Snowbird (101.1 miles)

This stage was the queen stage of the Tour of Utah, with around 10,000 feet of climbing. There were some serious climbs ahead of the guys, but we were more concerned about the start of the ride. We were scheduled to have a ceremonial start at Newpark Town Center in the midst of a gran fondo that rode the entire race course. Instead of the “ceremonial start” we were supposed to get, we ended up getting thrown in amongst the fondo riders. In case you weren’t aware of it, support for an event like ours gets a lot harder when you add an extra 700 RIDERS to the road…

The extra riders added to the confusion, for sure. At our first rest stop, I tried to speed up to get going and beat a group of fondo riders back onto the road, and forgot to shut the tailgate of the truck. Looking in the rear-view mirror, I saw my big cooler come out of the truck and go spinning into the highway, rocketing bottles all over the place… I cleaned up the mess, drove to a grocery store to replenish my ice and water, and continued on. Everything was good in the end, but for about 45 minutes, I was pretty panic-stricken.

As we continued on, I had to fight my way through the fondo traffic up and down the intermediate KOM climbs to keep up with my group. The climbs were tight and twisty, and it was very difficult with two-way bike traffic and auto traffic. We managed to make it through the KOM’s, through the small towns where sprints were located, then approached the climb to Snowbird. I had visited Snowbird before for a Specialized dealer event, about 3 years ago, so I knew the climb up to the resort. It was a long, somewhat steep climb, and coming at the end of a 100-mile day, it was going to be no easy feat for our guys.

I made the decision to give the guys bottle hand-ups from the roadside on the way up the hill. They would ditch their empty bottles, I’d give them a fresh bottle, then I’d give them a spray of water on their back or head and give them a push up the road. This made a huge difference to them. They were able to shed a bottle, get a little reprieve from the heat, and get a friendly boost up the road. Helped for a second, at least…

All the guys made it up the climb, except one coach, Colin Izzard. He had the legs to go up the climb, but one of the riders suffered a broken spoke, so he sacrificed his rear wheel and helped me sag the guys up the hill. I definitely needed the help that day. It was hot, and we did a lot of work on that last climb, making sure all the guys were okay.

Stage 6 – Park City to Park City (77 miles)

This was the final day of the Tour of Utah, and had some of the steepest climbing I had ever seen. The ride was pretty chill for a long while, except for scrambling around for some odd course markings on some smaller, sketchier roads. A lot of times, we headed out earlier than the course marking crews, so sometimes we miss turns if the numbers in the race bible get jumbled. We had two or three odd turns that weren’t marked well, so we had to figure that out before moving forward. Once we got back on the main road, we found our way.

There were a few major climbs in this stage. The first was through a gated neighborhood, Wolf Creek Ranch, usually closed to the public. Once we turned on the climb, we one of the steepest pitches I had ever seen. After 5 days of riding, I know the guys were begging for it to stop, but the climbing continued… The boys started “paperboy-ing” (weaving side to side to take the edge off the climb), so I got out of the truck to give them little pushes through some of the turns. Unfortunately, this was only the first major climb of the day…

The guys continued on, rolling comfortably until we approached Empire Pass. Empire Pass was hand-selected by Levi Leipheimer for this race, due to it’s length and difficulty, and probably because Levi knew the climb inside and out (Levi won Stage 6 on this day, after our athletes finished). Needless to say, this climb was a huge obstacle for the athletes, regardless of their fitness. Less than 500 meters into the climb, the “paperboy-ing” started again… I knew we were in for it.

Strangely, one of our athletes, Shannon Lawrence from Bermuda, started stretching his legs a bit. He was very nervous going into the day, and said for the first 40 miles of the ride that his legs were feeling very heavy. On Empire Pass, he had evidently worked all the kinks out, because he steadily motored away from the rest of the group. I don’t know what got into him, but he changed from flatlander to climbing machine that day. It made things a bit difficult for me, though… he was so far up the road, I would have to zoom ahead in the truck to take care of him, then wait or drive back down the mountain to feed and push the other riders. It was definitely a test of my abilities, not as a mechanic, but as a sag driver (NOTE: My legs were sore the next day from running and pushing riders up 20% grade hills for two days… just sayin’…).

Shannon made it to the top first, and the rest of the group followed shortly thereafter. There was a nice, long, windy descent with one minor little kick in it before the finish in Park City. All the group descended into town together and finished the CTS Tour of Utah Race Experience together. All the guys made it, and like most of the CTS events I’ve been to, they seem to have forged a bond and developed a sense of team accomplishment that I have only seen in my days in the Marines. All the guys are friends, and seem to have gained a brotherly bond over the course of the week.

After we returned back down to Salt Lake City, I began packing bikes for the riders’ journeys home. Once completed, we organized the trucks to travel to their respective destinations, then got ready for our team dinner and departure. Another race week in the books. Next up, four days off, then back out west for the Tour of Colorado… STAY TUNED!

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