Reflections on Early Bird #1

Larry Nolan has a great expression that I’ve heard said one way or another at each Early Bird Crit. It goes something like, “You know how you thought you should get into racing because everyone you rode with told you how fast you were? Well, look around, because everyone here has heard the same thing.” I’ve always loved that line….I think it sums up the feeling of the Early Birds perfectly.

This year’s kick-off, Early Bird Crit #1, was no different. Everyone who comes down to Fremont, from the newest Cat 5 to the most grizzled Cat 1 (I’m thinking Pat Briggs here), all secretly harbors a hope that they’ve brought something to the table that others haven’t. For new racers, ignorance, as they say, is bliss. While for returning racers, that hope may stem from a winter training plan that started in October, a diet that was meticulously adhered to

through the holidays, or even a simple plan to not “show” any real form until later in the year. Regardless of the approach, every real bike racer comes into a race with a plan and a dream.

So what’s my plan this year? Well, frankly, to reveal that gives away too much right from the start, but let’s say that roaming around a race venue with easily the most well supplied and outfitted team in NorCal doesn’t hurt one’s mental approach. Before hardly a pedal has turned in anger, Team Mike’s Bikes is looking at a great year. Somewhere between the Cannondale Super Sixes and the fully custom Capo kits, we know we’re coming in hot!

Early Bird Criterium #1 came off very well. Several of our more experienced members showed up for the morning and afternoon mentoring sessions. Shawn and Maurice guided many new racers through probably their very first experience riding in a fast pack in the morning, followed by Hank spending most of the afternoon doing the same with the 35+ crowd.

To put a special icing on the day, Hank and Tyler got a chance to ride together and show off our amazing new Team kit in the combined P/1/2/3 race. Both showed excellent poise and I’m fairly certain I saw ear-to-ear grins on both guys!

Looking forward to the year doesn’t even begin to describe the feelings that start to swirl around at the EB’s. With a blend of excitement, hope, and passion (mixed with a healthy dose of fear) the year is off and running. It’s gonna be a good one. MBFY!

- John Becker

Prögress

Rand Miller said it right: "…the lack of racing in the off-season makes the Early Bird Crits seem like fun." (I know, never start off with a quote).  They are fun, though. EB #2

After seeing the aftermath of several gnarly crashes, I was easily convinced to race with the P/1/2/3s.  This didn't make me any less nervous, however, and so I got right to what I do best when I'm nervous: attack!  After a lap or two, about 10 guys rolled off the front, and then a Specialized guy and one more hit it off the front of that group.  I jumped hard and quickly bridged to them, and we made quick work of opening up a gap.  Two more joined (an old Specialized guy and some dude in a polka-dot jersey), and we managed to get 45 seconds on the field in the matter of a few laps.  Unfortunately, my power at threshold isn't quite up to par with ex-Lance compatriots or Nate English, and I popped.  I surfed around the pack (so so much more easily than with the 4s) and rolled across the line at the back of the pack.  My inabilities garnered the title "cream puff" from the NorCalCyclingNews blog, but, hey, I picked the right move!  At least I've got my head on straight.

EB #3

I had planned on riding down from Oaktown with Nole, but after he hangover'd out of it I ended up driving down solo.  Itching to be out in the sun, I got in a good 2.5 hours around Sunol and over Palomares before the race.  I decided my efforts would be best suited for the 4s race today (okay, I wanted to see how I'd match up against some old foes), so I parked it on the grass by turn 1, ate some mashed potatoes, hung out with a dog, and massaged my legs - I call it "coiling."  We lined up, and as I surveyed the field I began to fear for my sweet SuperSix (I call her Kalika - Indian goddess of life/death; creation/destruction).  Shawn said to "get frisky" or something like that, so after watching a few moves get pulled back I rolled up the gutter and dug deep.  I got 20 seconds solo by the first lap, but couldn't manage to recover, and a lap or so later I was swallowed up.  Palomares was laughing at me.  I recovered, watched more moves get pulled back, avoided the sketchballs, and finally heard "2 to go."  As expected, Dolce Vita's leadout train was forming and I began my poaching.  Last lap on the back straight I was in position, and all I had to do was follow the train, hop on the too-early sprint, and bike throw around for the win.  Hooray!

-Ryan

BG Pro 3D Video Fit Session

Last week I had to opportunity to get a Specialized Pro Body Geometry Fit done by Mike's Bikes own BG Fit Specialist, Jake Lopacinski.

I was pretty excited to get his input and adjustments after changing my entire bike and setup including saddle, cleats and pedals, shoes, bars and stem, and even levers. In order to get rolling I pulled the specs from a previous fit I had done several years ago and adjusted for what felt right.

Scheduling

I scheduled the appointment through Mike's Bikes website for the San Rafael Location but also had the option of having the fit done in

Palo Alto. Mike's uses Time Center which allows you to see when Jake is available and book the time. It also confirms and reminds you of your appointment but also allows you to inform Jake of anything he should know prior to your fit.

Pre-fit Interview

I expected to walk into the fit studio, kit up, and hop on the trainer but was greeted with the complete opposite. Prior to getting on my bike, taking any measurements, or even changing into my kit, Jake sat me down and asked me a series of questions regarding previous and current injuries, current fitness, and cycling aspirations. The questions were specifically phrased to jog my memory and give Jake important information when fitting me to my bike. For example, in the past year I had a tear in my quadriceps tendon, a tear in my upper quad, and a tear in my rotator cuff but have been focusing on post ride recovery and stretching.

Flexibility Assessment

Next Jake had me finally change into my kit in order to test my flexibility and take some measurements of my body. He did a series of tests which had my walking, standing, sitting, and on my back raising and dropping my legs. In addition Jake took measurements of my legs and inspected my feet. He informed me that I had excellent flexibility in my lower back which would allow me to achieve a very comfortable yet aerodynamic position on the bike. Jake also discovered that my left leg was 1cm shorter than my right from my hip.

Side and Front View Adjustments

Finally it was time for be to get on the bike, but not before Jake took complete measurements of it so that we had record of what we started with. Prior to changing anything I made it clear to Jake that I had achieved saddle bliss with the angle of my Specialized Toupe and didn't want to change the angle on it.

After measurements were taken, it was time to warm up. Jake had me spin for a while to get comfortable and into a similar position if I was on the road. During this time he took a short clip of video footage to preserve my previous position and fit.

After watching me spin for a while, Jake reviewed the footage and began his adjustments. He first made adjustments to my grey Look cleats in order to compensate for the 1cm difference in leg length. By moving one cleat on my S-Works shoes I would be able to fully extend both legs in my pedals stroke. Next he moved my Toupe saddle slightly back on the on rails. Finally Jake added toe wedges which came with my Moderate (Blue) Specialized BG Footbeds. It's important to note though that after each adjustment was made, Jake had me pedal and give feedback on the changes.

Jake (and a few other people) also made comment on how far out my reach was when on the hoods. I am currently running a 120mm stem but he made suggestion to switch to a 110mm stem and a bar with further reach in order to bring my shoulders back a bit when on the hoods but achieve the same position when in the drops. He said that it wasn't required as I currently have no neck or back strain but I am going to give it a try once we place our Zipp Bar and Stem order.

Video Analysis Finally came the super cool part of the fitting. Jake took more footage now with the adjustments he made. He then spliced the footage together using the specialized software and drew digital lines on my knees to show the difference in my pedal stroke from the adjustments.

It's pretty cool to see the changes and the difference they are making.

Follow Up After tweaking and adjusting my bike to the proper fit and reviewing the footage. Jake informed me that I should go out and put some mileage on the new fit and let him know if I have any problems. After changing out my bars and stem I will definitely be stopping by to have them checked.

Jake will be performing BG Pro Fits on all Team Mike's Bike riders. I encourage you to ask for feedback or any questions on our fits. More information on the BG Pro Fit process, pricing, and scheduling can be found at the following link on Mike's Bikes website.

-Hank

Early Bird Road Race - Pee Breaks Rule

I love the Early Bird Road Race. I have done this race three years in a row now and each year I look forward to it. Not sure if its the 20 mile promenade that allows you to catch up with fellow riders, the kicker of a climb that sheds the sprinters, or the rolling descent back that drops the weenies, but this race is awesome.

Every time I have done this race, it has played out the same way. On the long roll out to the climb, a few strongmen attempt to attack and hit the climb early. They dangle off the front for a bit, then realize it was a bad idea and get swallowed up. The climb is always a ball buster which creates a natural split in the field and allows a break to form off the front. It's worth it to turn yourself inside out on the climb to make this selection because after the descent, if the break works reasonably well together and holds off the

field, it comes down to a sprint between them in the last 500 meters. My first year doing this race as a 5 I made the selection on the hill but ripped open my front tire on the descent and last year as a 4 I made the selection and sprinted in a break of three for 2nd place.

This year was no different than the past two years. There were a few small attacks leading up to the climb and just before it, but the field wasn't letting anything stay away. Kovarus and other teams sent a few people off but Chica Sexy was patrolling the front keeping everything together for their stud David Mesa who won the San Bruno Hill Climb earlier this month. Paul and I floated around the field until the last few miles before the climb where I worked my way up to the front to prepare for pain. Sure enough right when we got to the base on the climb, riders began to press on the pedals. Sinelnikau Aliaksandr from Third Pillar (one of three P/1/2 riders combined with our field but scored separately) went first and got my attention along with a few other riders. Looking at the garmin data, my heart didn't appreciate my responding to this move, but my legs didn't care. Dancing around my max heart rate, I kept it together to the turn around point and sat last in selection of six which included two P/1/2 riders. After doing my best to not crash myself out on the descent, our break of six got organized and began rotation. Everyone did fantastic work but Aliaksandr and Chris Isley of Webcor really showed some strength. The motorcycle gave us a time update of a 40 second split. As we started to get closer to the finish I noticed Marco Arocha of Velosport starting to leak sand as he reached the front and quickly rotated off to the back. Real subtle but smart. With 1km to go, congratulations on a successful break were exchanged and we shuffled for the sprint. I sat third on Mesas wheel and at 250m he went with Arocha. Mesa faded but I ran out of road and finished next to Arocha for 2nd. I asked Arocha about his sand bag issue and he said that he was getting popped off the break and needed to recover. Sorry Marco, don't think you go from getting popped to leading out and winning a sprint in a few km later but nice tactics. I proceeded to ride back to the car and drove to Mike's in Sausalito for a busy Saturday at work.

6 points in the bank. One other thing to make clear though. Pee Breaks Rule. For all you Cat 3 riders who whined and complained when at mile 10 I went to the front and polled for a pit stop, then proceeded to pedal off even though 10 of us had stopped for a nature break, you suck. Thanks to Dr.Phil (no idea who this is) for apparently going to the front and slowing em down. I went to the bathroom right before the race, but I also drank coffee and a bunch of water. I know it's only a two hour race, but I'm not going to carry a basketball full of Mountain Dew up the hill.

- Hank

Early Bird Road Race

I rounded the turnaround in top 10, I thought that I would have been able to catch Hank on the long way down. There was Hank's group of 7 and then me and then other other chasers. After putting in a hard solo chase. I sat up and was joined by a group of about 6 riders. They were pulling pretty hard, know that Hank was in the break, with strong legs and flowing blonde hair, I rotated through but never pulled. We got as close as 38 seconds, with time checks from the moto. We could see Hank's golden locks flowing ahead and there was no group insight from behind.

After we popped some cream puffs along the way, the group stopped chasing at about 2km to go to gear up for the sprint. One guys launches at 1km to go, he fades, others take over and they fade. I waited, but never launched a full out sprint and rode in at 3rd in the group sprint for 8th overall from the P123, but 6th in the 3's.

Looking back, I regret not going harder on the climb to be with Hank's group, I placed too much confidence on catching on the descent.

Good job Hank! Another great start to the season!

- Paul

A Beautiful Day for a Ride!

Today was one of those winter days that makes a cyclist feel spoiled to reside in California. I set out to get in some hill work and while warming up and riding to my climb du jour, I enjoyed a wondorus clear view of the carquinez bay. Seated atop the cannondale supersix steed, adorned in capo garb, I floated along in comfort smiling at the world around me. My recent BG fit had me feeling better than ever on my machine, especially happy were my feet, having just set up the cleats and selecting the appropriate orthotic insert. who knew I had flat arches? certainly not me. Sometimes an adjustment takes some time to feel comfortable, this was not one of those cases, I instantly felt way better (and stronger) with proper arch support, thanks to Jake (the Body Geometry fitmeister at Mikes Bikes) feeling good on the bike I was able to focus on my workout, and the easy to use Garmin edge 500 unit kept my efforts honest. Looking forward to another early Bird Crit tomorrow and the start of the real racing right around the corner. I hope the rest of you all had as enjoyable a ride today as I did. Forecast is yellow circles for the foreseeable future, go get those miles in!

-Ben

BG Pro 3D Video Fit Session

A little footage from my BG Pro Fit today with Jake in San Rafael. Full write-up coming soon!

Jake setup a side and front view and took footage from before and after making adjustments. See the next video on our Flickr page for the side by side comparison!

Early Bird Mentoring Skills Clinic AM session

"beep beep BEEP BEEEEEP BEEEEEEP!!!" "C'mon, the sun isn't even out yet." "BEEEEEEEP BEEEEEP BEEEEP, WAKE UP!!!" "Ughhh, fine!!! (grumble grumble grumble) Happy now?"

"Welcome back to bike racing season, Shawn."

Well, after having a conversation with my alarm clock I decided it was time to have a conversation with my coffee press.

Fast forward…

In Fremont, heart beating. "Bike race parking." "Yeh-ah!" I get to join the orange vest crews alongside Maurice to help mentor the fresh blood. I swear there were 150 people there. It was amazing. I get paired up to mentor a group of 20 with help from one of my upcoming junior stars, Ellis Anderson. We're off and I'm leading the group down the middle of the road to test out "bike bronco" on the always feared, bot dots. "Yee-hah!"

Our next task, get a group of riders, many who have been afraid of riding in a group to feel comfortable riding inches from each other and rotate in a steady paceline. Ellis was a rockstar, helping control both the front and the back of the group. The pacelines were absolutely beautiful. I swear they were smoother than some of my breakaway companions in the pro/1/2 fields. It looks like the future of cycling is looking bright!

- Shawn Rosenthal

Introducing Team Mike's Bikes

I sit here in utter amazement as I type the first blog entry into the Team Mike’s Bikes site. Only two months ago, I sat down with Matt Adams and Ken Martin, the owners of Mike’s, to discuss putting a team together. In this time, we got 13 riders fully kitted in custom Capo apparel and on bikes from Cannondale ready to race by the first of January.

Mike’s Bikes has been an excellent company to work for and fantastic to have as a title sponsor for a team. The company has eight stores in the Bay Area with a ninth opening in Walnut Creek, as well as online distribution. In a time when bike shops are closing their doors, Mike’s has only continued to grow. While some of this success might be due to the growing popularity of cycling, I can tell you firsthand that their success is directly attributable to the owners’ management of the company. Mike’s has an extremely high standard of customer service which creates an excellent retail experience.  The mission statement is to simply “Get more people on bikes!”  This requires not only knowledgeable and friendly employees, but enthusiasm and the same passion for cycling.

I will admit, prior to working for Mike’s, I viewed them as a soft bike shop on the edge of the Mill Valley Bike Path where weekend warriors went to pickup a gel and refill their water bottles. Little did I know that through their doors sat the glorious Cannondale SuperSixes and Specialized S-Works’. Mike’s is even now carrying Wilier and Focus, two foreign-born, high-end bicycle manufacturers, and wheels from Zipp, Reynolds, Mavic, and Shimano to round out the stable. With a full range of men’s and women’s clothing and shoes, professional bike fittings, wheels, parts, accessories, Mike’s pretty much has just about everything cycling related you could need and want. As a team, we hope to unveil this reputation and help Mike’s Bikes push further into the high-end road bike and bike fit market.

Our racers share the same enthusiasm for cycling as Mike's through our own means. Whether they’re bringing fresh faces into the sport, providing coaching resources to those who cannot afford it, mentoring new racers, or leading local group rides, this team is an extension of the Mike’s Bikes family.  We plan to bring this passion to the race circuit throughout the whole season; look for us in the peloton, at the reg tent, compliment us on our sweet kits, yell “attack!”, or maybe just stop in to your local Mike’s Bikes and say hi.

See you out on the road.

Hank