Need A New Ride?

Are you looking for a sweet, race-ready bike that won't break the bank?  A friend in New Berlin is selling this very nicely equipped GTR Team Carbon from GT for just $1,500.  Check out the details and contact me if you're interested:

Frame: 58cm (slightly sloping top tube)
Fork: Reynolds Ouzo carbon, with carbon steer tube
Headset: Cane Creek
Stem: Bontrager carbon
Brakeset: Campagnolo Record titanium
Derailleurs: Campagnolo Record, front and rear
Crankset: Campagnolo Chorus Carbon Ultra Torque
Chain: Campagnolo Record
Bottom Bracket: Campagnolo Record
Shifters: Campagnolo Centaur Ergo, 10-speed
Seatpost: Thomson Masterpiece Elite
Saddle: Bontrager Inform RXL
Wheelset: Spinergy carbon clinchers with PBO spokes
Tires: Specialized All-Condition

The frame has seen about 3,000–3,500 miles of use, the derailleurs about 5,000-6,000 miles, and the crankset about 2,000 miles.  The wheelset has been used only 500-600 miles and the shift levers and chain are essentially unused.  This is going to be a great deal for somebody!

Morals Clause

Jonathan Vaughters (L) and Matt White

This blog is long overdue for a reader poll, and this time I want to hear what you think about Sunday’s firing of Garmin-Cervélo directeur sportif Matt White.  Search the cycling forums and you’ll see that this issue is hotly debated by the fans, both on its specifics and on the underlying motives of CEO Jonathan Vaughters.  My own take is this: in a sport whose credibility with the general public is so damaged by doping scandals, the mere appearance of impropriety is grounds for censure.

I applauded Rabobank when it removed Michael Rasmussen from the 2007 Tour de France.  Remember why the team took that action?  Rasmussen didn’t test positive for any banned substance; his “crime” was that he had failed to provide a complete and accurate account of his whereabouts while training before the Tour.  Rasmussen appeared to be avoiding out-of-competition doping controls, and that appearance of impropriety cost him the maillot jaune, his job and his reputation.

Perhaps there was nothing nefarious in White’s recommendation of Dr. Luis Garcia del Moral to rider Trent Lowe—and, as the incident happened way back in April 2009, the trail is cold—but I say it’s better to be safe than sorry.  White is at least guilty of violating the terms of his employment.  The doctor may be guilty of considerably more.  Cycling needs to wake up to something our mothers have been telling us since we were little: you’re known by the company you keep.

Whizzers Of Oz

Tom Leezer and Jos Van Emden try their best not to take the intermediate sprint points.

Always a stage race for the sprinters, the 2011 Tour Down Under again lived up to its reputation.  I won't tell you who won—and try not to look at the VeloNews feed over there on the right—but the entire tour came down to the final sprint on the final stage.  I watched the live Internet stream on what for the racers was Sunday afternoon and for me was Saturday night.  If you haven't seen the finish yet, check out the Versus rebroadcast on our Sunday at 4 p.m.

Tonight's live stream at Versus.com won't be the only one this season, and tomorrow's rebroadcast won't be the last cable/satellite coverage.  Check out the full Versus cycling schedule here.

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

“Neat, but will it work with my SPD pedals?”

The truth is, in the last week there hasn’t been much cycling news for me to share.  Cycling has been very much on my mind, as always, but the weather has been cold and snowy and since my last update I’ve spent more time shoveling than pedaling.  Without any realistic prospects for outdoor riding in the immediate future, I have been evaluating my equipment needs and making little changes here and there.  Yesterday I installed a new Easton EA70 stem on my flatbar Giant FCR3, replacing the heavy adjustable stem that was stock equipment.  The purchase was more for vanity than for performance—few things scream “Fred” louder than an adjustable stem—but the new stem is less than half the weight of the old one.  Soon I’ll be making some changes on the Raleigh Competition too, the most significant of which will be a wider handlebar (44cm instead of 40cm).  And I’m thinking about going to stainless steel bottle cages for the Raleigh as a way to get around the frame clearance issues I have with the Tacx Tao cages.

It will be many more weeks before I get my Team Pedal Moraine kit, but this week I plan to order some Bontrager bib tights that I hope I’ll have in time for the first outdoor ride of the new year.  With both orders completed, I should be set on clothing for a little while.

I have been a good soldier with my training so far in 2011, logging more time on the bike trainer and staying diligent with my upper body strength program.  I’ve been a lot more restrictive with my diet in recent weeks but so far that hasn’t paid dividends on the bathroom scale.  At least I haven’t gained any weight this month.  I hope to shed several pounds when the trainer workouts get more structured and difficult.  For now, hiking is still part of the cross-training plan.  Today I hiked through the snow at Royal Oaks Park and Lac Lawrann Conservancy.  But starting on Tuesday, Feb. 8, it’s all about the bike trainer for the remainder of the winter.

And just what am I training for, exactly?  That’s still unclear.  I have a long list of competitive events that interest me.  Some are familiar and some are not.  I intend to try mountain bike racing but I don’t know the WORS courses, so I have been doing a little reconnaissance by watching YouTube videos of old races.  Obviously there’s only so much information I can obtain that way; it’s not meant as a substitute for actual riding.  But ideally I’d like to cut my teeth on races that don’t ask too much of my technical riding skills.  I’m not sure how far I can develop those before the racing season starts on May 1.

Today after I came in from the cold I watched the Versus coverage of the Tour Down Under.  Versus will broadcast highlights all week long, a nice distraction from the frigid temperatures and additional snow that are coming our way.

Get Your Gravel On!

We don't really have cobbled roads in southeastern Wisconsin, but you can get a little taste of Paris-Roubaix and the Ronde van Vlaanderen on April 17 by joining me for Cheesehead Roubaix.  If you rode the 2010 edition of this event, then you'll recognize much of the route.  But for 2011 the route has been redrawn to include even more unpaved sectors!  It should be a great test of fitness early in the season.  Everyone is welcome, but please understand that there's no support: all riders are on their own.  Are you tough enough?

Busy Day For January

John and Jimmy watch The Flying Scotsman while they pedal.

When I got up this morning the wind chill was -6, but I wasn't going to let that stop me from having a full day of cycling-related activities.  I spent the morning at Mutual Mall in West Bend for the second installment of this winter's Spinner and a Movie indoor cycling series.  Then I rushed home for lunch and a shower before joining nine of my new Team Pedal Moraine teammates for a 90-minute hike through Glacial Blue Hills Recreation Area.  The afternoon concluded with a meeting of nearly the entire roster of Team Pedal Moraine.  I scored a team T-shirt and ordered my race kit.  It will be several weeks before I get my jerseys and other stuff, but there's no rush.  We still have plenty of winter to endure.

2011 WCBC Schedule

The 2011 Washington County Bicycle Club schedule is now available online.  Follow this link to get a printable copy of the schedule and waiver form.  Paper copies will be available at area bike shops soon.

Come On Down!

Washington County Bicycle Club's Annual Business Meeting

Monday, January 3, 2011 @ 6 p.m.

Riverside Brewery & Restaurant, 255 S. Main St., West Bend

On the agenda: the 2011 ride schedule (date and route selection), membership dues, a new ride leader incentive program and more.

 

On the menu: Monday is 50-cent chicken wings night.  The price is right!

2010: A Statistical Review

With the day off from work and temperatures in the high 40s, I rode outside today for the first time ever in December.  (January is now the only month during which I have never ridden outdoors.)  Today’s ride was just 10 miles; I would have liked to stay out longer, but it started to rain and I wasn’t willing to get wet.  There’s nothing left to prove this year.

With a total of 4,650 miles, 2010 was my second-highest year for mileage.  I would have set a new personal record—beating last year’s 4,800 miles—if not for the August 6 crash that kept me off the bike for 10 days.  Spread out over 137 rides, I averaged 33.94 miles per ride and that is a personal record.  The mileage breakdown by month looks like this:

000 January
000 February
350 March (PR)
650 April (PR)
690 May
600 June
710 July
548 August
460 September
532 October (PR)
100 November
010 December (PR)

I also established a new PR for miles in a single day: 113, on October 17.  That was my only century this year.  But I rode 13 metric centuries, far more than in any prior year.  And, for what it’s worth, I spent 52.5 hours on the bike trainer when I couldn’t ride outside.  For cross-training, I went hiking 10 times, spent 15 hours on the treadmill and did my 30-minute stair climbing workout on 17 occasions.

So, not bad.  But tomorrow the numbers get reset to zero, and it starts all over again.

Rec Trails

How fortunate are we?

Back in 2004—my first year as a cyclist, not just someone riding a bike—I discovered that I really enjoy rec trails.  Compared to today, I was neither as fit nor as comfortable sharing the road with motor vehicles, so rec trails made for easy days in the saddle.  The Bugline Trail, the Ozaukee Interurban, the Wild Goose and the Old Plank Road Trail were among my first rec trail rides.  I rode the Des Plaines River Trail and the Stone Bridge and Long Prairie trails in Illinois and, while on vacation, the Perkiomen Trail near Philadelphia.

With the opening of the Eisenbahn State Trail in 2006, my affection for rec trails grew again.  The Eisenbahn is a 25-mile-long playground just a few hundred feet from my home.  And like the other rec trails in the immediate area, the Eisenbahn doesn’t require a state trail pass.  But in 2011 my off-road rides won’t be confined to rec trails; I have mountain biking ambitions.  The mountain bike trails at New Fane do require a state trail pass, and I’ve already got mine for 2011.  I’ll need it at Greenbush too, and probably elsewhere.  At $20, my state trail pass likely will prove the least expensive of my preparations for the upcoming season.  Cheapskate that I am, I’ll try to make the most of it.  I’d like to return to the Glacial Drumlin and Military Ridge trails next summer.  I rode both in 2009 but missed them this year.  And maybe it’s time to check out the Badger State Trail, the Sugar River Trail and others.

These days, riding a rec trail isn’t the relaxed day out that it used to be.  Riding a trail in its entirety is now the minimum goal for any rec trail excursion aside from my frequent rides on the Eisenbahn, which take many forms.  When I do ride the entire Eisenbahn, that’s 50 miles round-trip.  On the Glacial Drumlin, it’s 100.  Even without big elevation changes, all those miles add up … especially the unpaved ones.  Rec trails can provide good training.  Sometimes it’s the accumulation of miles and sometimes it’s speed.  At least once a year I time trial the Eisenbahn from Kewaskum to Eden.  Several times a year I ride the Eisenbahn from West Bend to Campbellsport and back, targeting a negative split: a trip back that’s faster than the trip out.  These guys would know what I mean.  Maybe I’ll dust off my Eisengoose Fat-Tire Century route next October and invite them up to West Bend for “Fall B.A.L.L.S.”