Racing – PROBIKEWRENCH

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!

Tour of Utah Recap – Stages 1-3

My week at the Tour of Utah with Carmichael Training Systems was amazing, as expected. We had four athletes and three coaches, so the workload was okay for just one mechanic (me) and one soigneur (Colleen). Here’s a quick little day by day rundown of what happened:

Pre-Race Organization Day

The day before the start of the race, all the athletes and staff arrived, and we hit the ground running. As the athletes each arrived from the airport, they brought their bikes to me in the hotel parking lot, where all the teams were set up. I found a great spot next to some mechanic friends that work for Optum/KBS and got comfortable. My workspace consisted of a folding table, my toolbox, a box of ProGold lubricants and supplies that we were given (Thanks, Bruce!), my Feedback Sports Pro-Elite repair stand, two a-frame bike racks, and a CTS E-Z Up tent. That was really all I needed to get bikes built. Later in the week, I would need water hookups to wash down the bikes and such, but for initial building and preparation, it wasn’t necessary.

After all the prep work was done for the first stage, we had a rider/staff meeting to introduce each other, discuss the details of the camp, and plan out the next day’s schedule. It’s important to keep meetings like that kind of chill and to try and get to know the athletes a little better. Developing trust with them is key. They need to trust me to work on their bikes and support them throughout the week. I try to learn the athletes’ little habits and nuances early in the game, so I can address them before a situation arises on the road. By doing that, we can eliminate a lot of panic-stricken situations in the future.

Stage 1 – Ogden to Ogden (131.7 miles)

The logistics of this first day were kind of weird. In order for us not to get caught by the pros, we had to cut off a little “lollipop” section of course near Henefer, UT. We started out strong for about 200m… then the day’s first flat tire. Because we hastily prepared and had supplies and staff coming from several different locations, we forgot to pack any spare wheels. After installing a new tire and tube, the new tube was pinched by the tight bead of the tire. Flat tire number two. After changing that, we were on our way.

Less than 30 minutes later, as the riders were ascending through a tight canyon, just north of Ogden, we had a third flat on the road. One rider picked up a piece of debris in a tire, causing him to develop a somewhat slow leak. The object was removed from the tire, a new tube installed, and we were back on the road… again. Luckily, this would be the last flat for quite some time. We continued out of the canyon, and kept pedaling down the road.

After several rest stops and our turn around point on Hwy 65, we returned towards Ogden. We had to stop near Interstate 84 and wait a few minutes because the pro race was coming through. It gave us a good time to refuel, and the first chance for the CTS athletes to see the actual race in progress. Afterwards, we continued back up towards Ogden, making a rest stop in Eden. At the Eden rest stop, CTS coach Kirk Nordgren’s cousin was waiting with her kids and had homemade signs to cheer him on! That was a really cool experience, primarily because it was in the middle of nowhere, and they were just hanging out waiting for us.

After the last KOM of the day, North Ogden Divide, CTS coach Colin Izzard’s carbon clincher wheels came apart on the descent. He had been feeling pulsating during braking all day, but we couldn’t feel anything structurally upon inspection. Less than 500m into the descent, he comes on the radio and said his wheels were toast. Both his tires had punctured, and both his rims were victims of overheating and delamination. Not cool. He was very lucky to be able to control the bike without crashing, or worse. Definitely a situation where spare wheels would have been nice to have. We loaded he and his bike in the CTS truck and continued down the hill to finish with the group.

I had a bit of parts-switching to do after Stage 1. Kirk (camp manager), offered his wheels to Colin (lead coach), so he could continue to ride with the CTS athletes. Going from carbon rims to aluminum rims, this meant switching brake pads, wheels, and ensuring the gearing was proper for the rest of the week’s climbs. After switching around the parts, the bikes were washed and tuned, before stowing them in my hotel room (because of lack of a team trailer at this event – the CTS trailer was at Leadville, CO, supporting the riders at the Leadville Trail 100).

Stage 2 – Miller Motorsports Park – Team Time Trial (13.5 miles, 3 laps)

We transferred from our hotel in Ogden, south of Salt Lake City to Miller Motorsports Park, near Tooele, UT. The CTS athletes were getting the opportunity to get on course before the pros for the Team Time Trial stage of the Tour of Utah, which meant they were going to be riding their bikes on the world-class track, normally used for motorcycle and auto racing. We were able to set up our pit area inside one of the garages at the facility, just like the pro teams did. The guys took three laps on the track; one to warm up and get used to the track, a second “hot” lap, where they utilized time trial tactics, and after a quick clinic on the team time trial, a third cool-down lap. The guys were stoked to be able to get on the course, and I was stoked to be able to follow them in the support vehicle. I’m not going to lie… it was pretty rad to drive the truck on the track, even if I wasn’t pushing it as hard as I would have liked…

I left the track a little earlier than the athletes, so I could get back to the hotel and get the bikes ready for the next day’s stage. The guys only did 13.5 miles on the day, so they didn’t need as much attention as they did after a 100-mile day. I wiped them down with some ProGold ProTowels, checked them over, and put the bikes away for the evening.

Stage 3 – Ogden to Salt Lake City – 85.5 miles

Stage 3 was very interesting. The Tour of Utah’s route utilized a lot of the same roads on this stage as it used on Stage 1, just backwards. The first climb of the day was heading the opposite direction over North Ogden Divide, then ran the route backwards, to Snowbasin for the third time this tour. Following that, we descended down to Morgan, UT, and around a reservoir to Hwy 65, and up over a mean little climb called Big Mountain. It was a pretty big challenge for the guys, and there was some separation in the group, but the view at the top and the descent into Salt Lake City was amazing. The CTS athletes continued to surprise me, and did a great job staying together. It made it pretty easy to support them from the vehicle, and take care of them when they needed assistance because of their cohesion as a group.

Except for Stage 1, there were no real mechanicals, flats, or any real issues up to this point, which made me feel pretty confident in the work I was putting into the bikes. Usually, the third day is when everything starts to get ironed out, as far as systems go. I was starting to nail down my organization of the support vehicle, seeing how things were working for me on a couple of road race stages, and figuring out the group’s dynamic. After a few days on the road, you get used to their patterns of natural breaks and rest stops, and beat them to the punch. The key is to be one step ahead of the game, unless you can’t be… then you just remain flexible.

I’ll write more about stages 4-6 tomorrow.