Santa Cruz Classic Criterium

Flying solo for Mike's Bikes against a stacked field of Cal Giant and Specialized, then add to it 39 laps and a hill and I will honestly say I was a little intimidated.

The "plan" was to be near the front and wait a dozen laps or so before attempting to get into a move. Low and behold that plan did not work as before I knew it there was a breakaway with fifteen or more seconds. How did I not see them go? Anyway, they were up there, and I was back here and Cal Giant was definitely not letting anyone bridge. I tried to sneak away around the hairpin and up the climb but all moves by anyone were pegged by a Cal Giant racer. A little frustrated I waited for the bunch sprint, the break was gone for good. On the bell lap I was in the first handful of racers going into the hairpin. World Champion Larry Nolan took a big pull coming out of it and through the soft chicanes toward the hill. Steve Reaney took off on the hill, everyone followed, I jostled then started sprinting.  Halfway through my sprint I thought: wow these Reynolds Forty Six wheels are fast!  They just kept spinning faster and faster (it was my first time using carbon wheels).  I kept sprinting, got held up by a fading racer, but slide by a few more. Kept sprinting. Managed to hold everyone but the breakaway of four and the National Elite Criterium Champ, Steve Reaney. 6th Place.

-Rainier

Turlock RR 2011 E4 Report

While many of the Central Valley destinations offered up by the long NorCal road bike racing season are, perhaps, less than picturesque, the same cannot be said for this weekend’s inaugural Turlock Road Race. The race course was situated as a clockwise circuit of the Turlock Lake, lapped twice for the Cat 4 field for a distance near 55 miles. From the start finish area, we were treated to a beautiful view of the lake and the brutally rolling course offered a wonderful change of pace from office park crits that are so easy to get to, but really leave a little something to be desired.

I arrived for my noon start in Turlock looking to shake things up a bit. My training has been going well, but a few spells of bad luck have left me

a little short on results. I hadn’t seen the course before, but I got a bit of a course recon report from fellow Mike’s Bikes racer, Paul Ngo, who had raced the 3s race early in the morning. Paul’s report of a lot of fast short rollers turned out to be an accurate picture.

The 4s race rolled out with around 75 riders with some fairly well staffed teams in attendance. Davis, Rio Strada, and San Jose had all brought at least 5 guys a piece, and, being alone, I had found a few friends in the staging area who were also short on teammates for the day. Immediately from the gate, the course has a fair bit of false flat descending, with a few mild rollers. Upon turning onto Los Cerritos, the real rollers start to show themselves and as the circumnavigation of the lake continues, the rollers from Snelling RR, and a very difficult set unique to Turlock combine forces to make for a very difficult lap of racing.

After rolling along near the front of the group with a few attempts to get a group to go up the road (one particularly vicious attack on a roller familiar to those who have raced Snelling punched a pretty big hole in the pack’s moral, if not the pack itself), I settled into the pack for the last half lap before putting myself out in the wind a bit to move back to front of the group in the closing 5k. With about 1.5k to go, the pace picked up a bit and the jostling for position began. With 1k to go a line began to form on the left side of the road, which a thought was odd given that the last bend was a very slight right hander. I stayed to the right and positioned myself behind a Daniel Stevens (a friend of the team) and when Oliver W. from Rio Strada let loose with about 200 to go and Daniel didn’t respond I screamed at him to jump and then went around him in an attempt to chase Oliver down. Unfortunately I ran out of road, but rolled across for 2^nd place.

Check out the video below for the final few kilometers. I’m the enormous guy in the Mike’s kit on the beautiful Cannondale SuperSix, Daniel is also on a SuperSix in a green/white SB kit and Oliver is in the dark kit with the white compression socks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWitLKKgOQY

All in all, I’m pumped about my first podium of the year. I can’t wait to unleash the full force of the Team Mike’s Bikes 4s (all 2 of us) on Copperopolis in 2 weeks!! MBFY!!

(Sorry about being so tall....it looks pretty silly doesn't it?)

-John

Apple Pit Criterium

I was finally able to sneak out for a bike race this Sunday and figured the Apple Pit Criterium in Santa Rosa would be a great low key event.  Well, it was great, but with 125 riders in the field it wasn't exactly low key.  It was a P/1/2/3 race and at 90 minutes long, the wind picking up and a motivated field, the race was sure to be fun. From the gun, riders were attacking like crazy, but nothing was really sticking.  Webcore  Alto Velo had the largest team in the race and they were racing very aggressively.  Moves would go and dangle, but nothing would get more than 10 seconds before coming back quickly.  I went with several moves and even attacked at what felt like the right time, got the right combination of riders (Cal Giant, Webcore, Clif. . . everyone with a teammate that would be happy to let us go) but nothing stuck.

However, at about the 50 minute mark, it was clear that the field was getting tired.  The front of the race was a long line of single file riders, all fighting hard for position.  Moves would lob of the front, stringing the field out more and more.  Shortly thereafter, I went with a move that contained several Webcore riders, a Cal Giant rider and a few others.  We worked and got a gap, with riders stickling onto the back from the field.

All of the sudden, our "breakaway" has 30 guys in it and the field sat up.  Hmm. . . awkward.  The race is almost over.  There are all of the strong riders and teams represented.  What now?  If we continue to race aggressively, something might stick out of this group. But there are a lot of guys with team mates sitting in waiting for a sprint, making a sprint likely. After some deliberation, I decided just to sit and wait.  Cal Giant soon made it clear they were working for a sprint (though they were yelling at everyone else who was waiting for the sprint).  Webcore was trying desperately for a break to stick from that group, but after being the most active team all day they didn't seem to have the juice left to make it work.

Going into the last few laps, I got good position on the wheel of Steve Reaney (Cal Giant) and waited.  Patrick Briggs (Yahoo!) jumped early and got a gap, but Jared (Cal Giant) hit it before the last corner with Steve and me on his wheel. I launched my sprint with ~200 meters to go, almost plowing into the back of Jared as he came backwards.  Reaney dusted me, but I still managed to get Briggs and Jared for second place.

It was a great race and tons of fun, just the kind of race to make you realize how lucky you are to be able to race your bike.

Unfortunately, Apple Pie's only went to the winner. . . got to work on that for next year.

Landpark Crit

My first race of the season, and my third in the P12 field could not have started better as the inclement weather tapered off and sunshine showed on Landpark Criterium in Sacramento.   I love Landpark!  It is essentially an oval shape, with the start/finish at one end of a straightaway, and two tight chicanes pressed together at the other end of the oval.

Thank you for the photographs Jim Elder.

As soon as the whistle blew, breaks commenced, one of which early on contained my teammate Nole Studley.   I watched closely in order to do my best to keep him out there but his break was shortly brought back.  I made sure to get into the next move, and when I was there I realized it wouldn’t be one to stick as it was lacking key racers from the largest team presence in the race, Clif Bar.  As such, we were quickly brought back.  My teammate Ben Stern was up there in the mix.  An attack here and an attack there and a couple laps thereafter, I found myself sliding away in a small group that chased a prime prize.  Maybe nine of us?  We pushed hard, although not exactly smoothly, and built up what one spectator said was a thirty five second lead on the peloton for the majority of the race.   However, some riders would not pull through at the front and others chased primes hard, causing our group to splinter and regroup, hurting our chances of successfully staying away.  To boot, there were two racers from the same team, Webcor, that were working well for each other and not for the longevity our little group.  That being said, it was a sprint for a prime with three laps to go that was the winning move for one of the Webcor riders.  Webcor race was blocking for his teammate ten seconds ahead and our little group could not pull it together to draw him and one other racer back.  My last ditch effort came out of the chicane, sitting third wheel the two ahead of me swung hard right and I attacked hard left to attempt a solo bridge to the two leaders.  My efforts were nullified when the small group latched onto my wheel five hundred meters later.  In that lap the peloton retrieved us and I had a couple laps to move around and get ready for a bunch sprint for what seemed like third place.  On the last lap, coming out of the first chicane I was second wheel and moving into the second and final chicane I was maybe sixth wheel.   The sprint for the finish was long and dodgy, I knocked fists and bumped hips, but managed to hold onto tenth overall.  Glad to be back!

-Rainier

Land Park Criterium

Team Mikes Bikes racers were itching for some action after what feels like a month of rain, I don't know about you but I'm getting tired of washing my bike (thank heavens for the Bike Smart Muck Off kit!)

Nole and I headed out saturday morning to the Land Park criterium in Sac. a really cool, technical course in a lovely park setting in south Sac. The weather was optimistic leaving my place in Martinez, but turned awful by the time we reached Davis.

We spoke to Becker on the way up and he informed us that the conditions were downright horrible, this excited me. We arrived at Mikes Bikes Sacramento and got ready. I was looking forward to testing out the team newly arrived racing wheels, Reynolds 46mm tubulars with specialized Mondo tubular tires. They looked fast anyways! I got changed, warmed up, and started out into a heavy downpour for the short ride over to the course for the 30+ 1/23 race where I'd have my first chance to race with Keven :)

The course was pretty crazy in the wet, especially the first half before the rain subsided. Keven bridged to an early break, (nice work!) which looked promising, unfortunately it was brought back and there was some reshuffling before a Jesse Moore inspired effort went clear just after the midpoint in the race. I sensed the timing of that but missed the move, and my effort to bridge came up a wee bit short. It was a lot of fun though, especially as the rain let up. Keven's strength was inspiring, looking forward to racing with him again soon!

In the hour between the 30+ and the P/1/2 the sun came out and the wind picked up and the course was completely dry for the start! go figure. Nole initiated the first move of the race, and moments later Rainier had made it into the significant move of the race. That break shouldn't have ever come back with 8 guys and all the major team represented, and no real chase coming from anyone not named Jesse Moore or Greg White. Nole and I were sitting in the chase group trying to block a bit at times and in general just watch for moves. There wasn't much coordination to the chase, but i suppose we were moving cause the group whittled down to about 18 guys. The break hovered around 15-20 seconds and Rainier looked really good whenever I'd catch a glimpse of them. With about 10 laps to go I figured they weren't going to stay away, because their advantage wasnt increasing at all and I think they started to attack each other. I told Nole to prepare to win this thing in a sprint and tried to keep him sheltered in the cross wind portion as best I could. The break did come back with less than 2 laps to go and the sprint was pretty chaotic from what Nole's pedal struck calf would indicate! He and Rainer got 10th and 12th respectively and yours truly managed to finish his second race of the day. Looking forward to upcoming NorCal Monuments: Santa Cruz, Menlo Park, and the Mike's Bikes Cat's Hill Classic. See you all there!

-Ben

Thanks for the nickname, it seems to be following me around

So I've been trying to learn Javascript.

It seems that the internet is all knowing, welcoming me with:

Once again, THANKS!

-Shawn

Madera Stage Race

After tons of confusion and oodles of disappointment, I was granted time off work and motored my way down to the Vlaanderen of Norcal: Madera.  Not quite a fair comparison (not fair at all, really), but the short rollers and farmlands and torn up roads do bring some similarity.  A guy can pretend!

Before diving into the nitty gritty, I'd like to make a note about race promotion.  Having racing the Merco weekend seven days previous, I found some stark contrasts.  Topsport did a fantastic job with Merco: results were posted within twenty minutes, start/finish areas were clean and concise, the registration attendants actually knew which side our numbers were supposed to be pinned, the crit course had full barriers, etc.  Madera, on the other hand, was yet another Velopromo event.  Don't get me wrong, I'm very thankful for the events Velopromo puts on...I just think they could up their game and attitude a little bit.  The differences between the two weekends were obvious.  I'll leave it at that.

Criterium

7:30 AM, ouch.  I expected this one to stay together, and it did.  I can't wait to get out of the 4s, the negative racing is killing me.  A few laps in, John rides up the inside next to me and jumps to bridge up to a little move, yet seemingly Schlecks it and nearly endos!  He rode his front wheel for a good 50 meters in a move that, as far as I could tell, defied all physics given his momentum and the fact that he started out of the saddle.  Impressive skills on instinct.  Turns out his rear quick release got knocked open in the previous turn, and his rear wheel came out of the dropouts as he went to jump, then popped back in when he landed.  According to the official, this was not a mechanical issue worthy of a free lap as nothing was broken.  REALLY?  I'm not sure if this one is on USA Cycling or Velopromo, but damn, very weak.  I didn't see John the rest of the race, as he was forced to TT around solo to not get pulled.  They finally pulled him with one lap to go and let him keep his number.  On that final lap, I moved up to fourth or fifth wheel and hung out there until the back stretch.  I noticed a good 5 mph drop in speed over the train tracks, and had the idea of a 1 km attack in the back of my mind if the same lull in pace happened.  Sure enough, the pace drops on the back stretch, and some guy a couple spots attacks pretty hard.  I risked it and jumped on his wheel, we had a gap around the last corner, and the guy takes the slowest possible line.  I was forced to jump around and start my sprint early as the pack hit it up the outside, and managed to hold on for 3rd spot by half of a wheel.  I probably would have had a better result if I was more patient, and I probably would have had a better result if that guy took a faster line around that last corner.  I'm learning new things about the last lap at every race.

Time Trial

Not much to say.  There was wind, as expected.  It hurt, as expected.  I remember passing a guy or two, some turns, and the finish.  John missed the second turn, which had no flag person and about three cones.  I finished 9th and was at 8th on GC.

Road Race

With about two minutes to make up for a GC win and no upgrade points for it, my tentative plan was to hang out and wait for the final rollers.  The first three laps were civil and nothing important went down.  We started the fourth lap and I rolled up next to John and gave him a good stare.  He knew, and launched off the front.  After everyone freaked out and chased him down, I countered and got a good gap.  I lost sight of the pack for a bit and hung on for a few minutes, hoping that someone would bridge and we could take over GC.  However, given the negative tactics and that first on GC was a big guy who put 1:30 into second place in the TT, it wasn't going to happen.  John told me to stay put and commenced with some wild display of stubborn power, attacking about fifteen more times and frustrating the hell out of the strong guys, who kept chasing him down.  He did well to soften them up, as I followed #1 GC over the apocalyptic pavement and to the rollers.  John hit it again and stayed out front for the first few rollers, and I jumped on the Davis train heading to the last hill.  Everyone hit it at the bottom, and I dug for 5th behind three skinny ass juniors - most notably little Diego, who also won the crit.  I probably would have had more in my legs if I kept it in my pants earlier on, but attacking like that is fun and I wanted to have a go at GC.  I played it smart the rest of the race, but, lesson learned.

Great fun this weekend, a few more upgrade points, lessons learned, huge pancakes, some good talkin' to from the Velopromo moustaches, and a thankful evasion of bed bugs.

Birthday Ride

Earlier this week I was asked what I was doing for my birthday this weekend. I usually don't do much of anything for my birthday but thought it would be sweet to do what I love, ride my bike.

This morning at 9am I rode to the bridge and was greeted by most of my teammates, a bunch of  guys from Team Roaring Mouse, along with several friends from the race scene. With a group this studly, the advertised pace of medium to mellow quickly went to medium to hammerfest after I jumped for the first city limit sign into tiburon. We continued on Paradise drive in a fast double paceline fashion until Travis from Metromint decided it was time to see who was paying attention and pushed on the pedals. We sliced through tiburon to the end of paradise where I snuck around Ranier for the last city limit sign. I looked behind to see I had opened a tiny gap on Nole so waved at Ranier to jump on my wheel for a leadout into the electric box sprint. However that crafty cowboy caught the train and pipped Ranier.

We regrouped at the coffee shop and had a nice mellow ride back to Mill Valley where Shawn convinced me that if I hired him as a coach I would no long crush but mutilate my competition.

Thanks to everyone who showed up for the ride!

-Hank

Support our Africa Riders! - BBC Team Time Trial

If you haven't navigated over to our Meet the Team section of the site (still under construction) or been to Mike's Africa Project Blog or even know what Mike's Africa Project is, you probably don't know that back in October when the team was being put together, we made the decision to sponsor two of the riders from Mike's sister shop MK Cycles, PK and Nkulumo, and help them participate in racing in Zimbabwe. To read more about this, head over the Africa Blog and check out the following post.

Mike's Bikes Africa Sister Shops from Mike's Bikes on Vimeo.

Well the beginning of the month marked the start of the race season for PK and Nkulumo: "The Bulawayo cycling season kicked off on February 6th, with a 60 km (37 mile) road race, involving over 30 cyclists. Not surprisingly, our guy Nkulumo came in first; sports pages across Zimbabwe were gushing about his “raw talent” for the following week. The rest of the team didn’t do so bad either. PK came in 6th, Q came in 10th and it is rumored that Godfrey came in 17th. The second race of the Bulawayo racing season was an 50 km (30 mile) off-road race held on February 13th. Not surprisingly, the guys from MK Cycles once again rocked it. First place went to PK, Q came in third. Nkulumo was looking really good, until he snapped his rear derailleur, resulting in him placing seventh." For a full race report with photos, check out this post on the Mike's Africa Blog.

Back in January I received an e-mail from Greg Tsutaoka from Berkley Bicycle Club asking if Team Mike's Bikes would be interested in co-sponsoring their BBC Team Time Trial. I informed Greg that we were already planning to support the Mike's Bikes Cat's Hill Classic along with a few other track events this year but were looking for some additional support for our Africa riders. Greg spoke to the BBC Board and quickly got back to me that they would love support our Africa project with part of the races proceeds.

These proceeds along with a portion of the teams budget and other fundraisers will be used to purchase race clothing, bikes, and equipment for PK and Nkulumo. Below you will find some info on the BBC TTT and bios for PK and Nkulumo. See you guys at the TTT!

-Hank

Berkeley Bicycle Club Team Time Trial The BBC TTT is a unique race and always a favorite for spectators. Team Time Trials involve a small group of riders all on the same team working together to race against the clock. They must each work flawlessly in coordination with their efforts, taking turns at the front pulling the group along, and rotating to the back resting in the draft. As riders cross the finish line, the team is awarded the time of a specific rider who crosses the finish last. For example, in a five person team, typically the time is awarded to the third rider to finish. This ensures that a certain number of riders must finish with the group and that the team is only as strong as its weakest link, or third weakest link in this case.

Few time trials ever feature two person teams. This is a unique opportunity to grab a teammate, friend, or even girlfriend and come out for the race!

Race History The race began in the 1980s as the Pinole Two Man Team Time Trial. This was an out-and-back race from Pinole Valley High School to Bear Creek Road and back. It was a grueling, slow up and out, with a fast return back. The road rules got more and more restrictive and the race was moved to the famed "Bears Loop", featured in the Berkeley Hills Road Race. In fact, the time trial course today is about 3/4 of a single loop of the Berkeley Hills Course.

The Course Teams start at the corner of Camino Pablo and Bear Creak Road. The start is a fast ride, mostly downhill along the San Pablo Reservoir. Teams turn right and begin several miles of rolling hills until ending up at the base of Papa Bear. This challenging hill tests a team's fitness and ability to stay together. Next it's just a couple of miles more, but with the finish at the top of Momma Bear, there's still a lot of climbing to go.

Categories Along with the standard racing categories including Elite, Masters, Womens, and Juniors, this race has several unique additions. There is a co-ed category, a category for tandem bikes, and the extremely popular men's and women's "Merckx" categories, where riders are restricted to standard road bikes, no aero dynamic gear allowed. You don't have to spend a lot of money on a new bike to compete in this race!

Who Can Race? Anyone can race. The race is sanctioned by USA Cyling, the governing body of bicycle racing. Every racer must hold a USA Cycling license. Don't have one? You can buy a 1-day license at the event. Because this is a unique event that draws cyclists of all stripes, we believe that this race sells more 1-day licenses that any other race in Northern California! So bring a friend and come out for a fun day on the bike!

2011 BBC TTT Race Flyer

2011 BBC TTT Course Map

2011 BBC TTT Course Profile

Phathisani PK

I was born and raised in Bulawayo and part of the Ndebele tribe, the 2nd largest tribe in Zim but the main tribe in Bulawayo. I have ridden bicycles my whole life and when I was 12, I started riding at a local BMX track. I have a background in auto mechanics and that has helped me as a self taught bicycle mechanic. In addition to cycling, I also have a passion for running and swimming although I only race bicycles. I am a big fan of Hip Hop and Jay Z is my favorite artist.

I started entering races in high school and have been successful on the local level. My long term goals are to race in the Tour de France and to train younger cyclists like Nkulumo. I spend a lot of my time now training on my bike, working out, and training Nkulumo. Next season, I hope to win at least 5 races at the elite level and possibly quality for the Zim National Team. I‟d like to travel to Harare for the bigger races in Zim and maybe even to South Africa.

I raced in six races last year with a 2nd place in the Tour de Falcon (70 K) and a 1st in the Matobo Game Park Fun Ride (70 K).

Nkulumo

I was born in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe and have lived here my whole life. I am part of the Ndebele tribe, the 2nd largest tribe in Zim but the main tribe in Bulawayo. I grew up riding my bike and using it to get to school, that‟s where my passion began for cycling. While growing up riding my bike, I was also an active swimmer and soccer player. I‟m a big supporter of the local Bulawayo club, The Highlanders. Everyone here in Zim also supports an English Premier League team and Chelsea is my club. In addition to cycling, I am also an artist. I enjoy painting landscapes the most.

I started racing last year when I entered a three day race from Bulawayo to Beitbridge, about 350K. I won my category and have been hooked on racing since. My long term goal is to be a professional cyclist and my goal this next season is to upgrade from intermediate to elite and be successful.

Cantua Creek Race Report

While a bit hesitant to pack the car and head out into the awful weather Friday night, I made the 3+ hour drive down to beautiful Coalinga, CA in anticipation of the following days Catua Creek Road Race. While the drive down did little to encourage me, the sky on Saturday morning had cleared and as the air began to warm, I knew we had a great day for racing on our hands.

The Cantua Creek RR course is actually a 26 mile (round-trip) out and back course. The majority of the course is pretty flat, with the exception being a couple freeway (I-5) overpasses and a challenging, lumpy section at the start finish area. The course is all single lane, with the centerline rule in effect.

The E4 race was a three lap affair (70+ mile total). Of course, this early in the year, everyone is still feeling out their own form as well as the condition of the other racers, so it’s tough to pick a guy to follow all day. I had a few ideas of who had been going well and thought I’d wait until the last lap to see who looked strong.

The race got off to a typical fast start, and everyone was moving around the road trying to get comfortable. Because of the rain from the week, the shoulders of the road were fairly muddy, causing more than a few nervous riders, but more annoyingly, the mud was very sticky causing quite a bit of mud to build up between brakes and tires. I was unfortunate enough to pick up a rock that became jammed between by front tire and the crown of my fork. After trying to shake it loose for about 30 minutes (mental note: DO NOT put your fingers in between your fork and spinning tire!), I was forced to stop to get the rock out. While certainly a blow to my mental game, the group wasn’t moving particularly fast at that point, so I got back in without much a problem.

….and it was a good thing because that’s when the attacks began! Two juniors sprinted away from the group and as soon as soon as they were reeled in, another pair of racers decided it was time to go and they went away. The group didn’t respond at all to this pair until the second lap when they were caught after the start/finish downhill section. Once again, the group was pretty mellow until a solo effort went clear and was completely left alone. In fact, most of the group had no idea that anyone had gone. As the group rounded the turn around at the far end of the course we were informed that he had 1:10-1:30 on the group. While not panicking (35+ miles left after all) the group definitely stepped-up our efforts. It wasn’t until starting the 3rd lap, though, that he was back in the fold.

So there we were, 2 laps complete, 25 miles to go. At this point the group began to really accordion a lot. It was a fascinating bit of racing, because we were surging so much. At some points we would start drilling it and the next moment we would all slow down to about 15 mph. It seemed that no one wanted to give anything away and so no one chose to do any work. A few small attacks were tossed in on after the last turn-around, but they really did little more than accelerate the group for a short time. It was becoming clear that we would make it to the last section of rollers together.

The finish at Cantua is about a 2.5-3k section of road that begins with a sweeping right hand turn over and over pass and then a series of rollers into the line. The final k is and up hill right hander, flatish section, and then a 200m roller up to the finish line. The centerline rule was in effect until 200m when we were allowed full use of the road. Although the pace had gone up, no one made a break for the line early, and the pack started to swarm a bit between 1k and 200m to go. I had been sitting in the top 10 at the 1k sign, but as the pack swarmed, I got pushed back a bit, and at 400m to go I began to pick my way forward. I chose wheels pretty poorly, as one guy blew up at about 300m the next guy pulled his cleat out of his pedal and began weaving all over the road. By the time I started to sprint at the 200 sign, a small group of 4 had already begun their kick for the line and I was left behind, rolling across in 8th

The good: The course has a fun finish and the weather was beautiful.

The bad: I didn’t really give myself a great chance at the win.

But overall, it was a very solid day of racing free from crashes and flats, and that’s always a plus.

-John

Out of the Storm - Fresno Weekend - Cantua Creek & Pine Flat Road Race

Quote of the weekend:

"Are you trying to kill us? There's gasoline on the ground."

- Gas station attendant reacting to Ben's camping trip meal at the gas station.

Well, who would have thought that a 4am wakeup call would lead me to beautiful weather. In the right place and at the right time.

Ben Stern and I headed out of Berkeley running water off with the wipers. When we hit Coalinga, the sun came up and we were treated to a 4 hour window of blue skies. It was still 40 degrees… burrr.

For Cantua Creek Ben mentored the Cat 5 field. I mentored the Cat 5 Masters Field. For Pine Flat, we switched groups.

-Shawn

Specialized Toupe Saddle

Don't fix it if it ain't broke.  I have applied this adage to saddle choice for as long as I've been riding a bike. I have been sitting on the old-school Sella Italia Flite for years, I had no reason to change it.  It was for this reason that when I received a Specialized Toupe Pro to race on as part of Team Mike's Bikes I wasn't exactly ecstatic.

To boot, last year I borrowed a Toupe from a friend to race at the track and after a couple laps I swore to never again sit on that saddle.  It felt like I was sitting on a knife!  Needless to say, I figured my new Toupe would be left in the closet.  That is until I got a hip bone width measurement as part of the Mike's Bikes BG fit.  And no, my fit specialist, Jake Lopacinski, did not run a tape measure across my butt. Rather, he uses an incremented seat pad that records the width.  Turns out ergonomically I am best on a 143mm width saddle. Very well, I thought, I have just the 143mm width spot in my closet for this thing!  Days later, despite my stubborness I attached the saddle and went for a ride. I completely forgot I was riding a new saddle!  In fact, not once during the ride did I think about the fact that I was riding a new saddle until I got home and set my bike against a wall.  I found my new favorite road saddle!  Amazed and confused, I called my friend whom I borrowed the Toupe from a year earlier and inquired of the width of the saddle he lent me. Go figure, it was a 130mm saddle. Go get your butt measured!

-Rainier

Word of the Day: Inexorable

Or, why I hate the wind. For me, there are a few things that make riding a bicycle unenjoyable: 1) knee pain, but the BG Fit has taken care of that, 2) saddle sores, 3) wind. Rain does not make this list (but sometimes makes the "reasons I enjoy riding" and "how to make a good ride epic" lists).

Not a whole lot of cyclists enjoy riding in the rain, and this is actually one of the reasons I love it. While everyone else is sitting at home on the couch or in mental toil on the stationary trainer, I'm getting in some solid training miles - made all the more sweet knowing that few other people are doing the same. It's also great for mental toughness. Going into robot mode and chugging through a downpour makes suffering in the heat, off the front, up a hill, or in the cold much more bearable. (See last year's Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne 2010 as an example of robot mode, when all the glamourists dropped out and only the hardmen (Stannard, Flens, and my favorite, Bobbie Traksel) were left). I'm also most prepared when the rainy races come around. I even look forward to misty and cold races. Finally, it makes many common post-ride activities, such as coffee drinking, a warm shower, and eating a burrito under a blanket while zoning out in front of the television so much greater.

On the other hand, there's wind. Wind is relentless. Around here, it blows in all directions at once. Instead of making a ride epic, it makes it suck. Unlike rain, you can't commiserate with fellow riders about it, as the words are muted by it's deafening howl. A forty mile ride in the wind keeps you out there for four hours. In the rain, you can still hammer out a solid pace; in the wind, you white-knuckle grip the drops and, despite your cross-eyed chugging, you're crawling along at 12 miles per hour. Descending in the rain is alright if you play it smart and take it slow (I know, I wiped out descending in the wet at team camp...), but going downhill with crosswinds leaves you subject to mother nature's gusts.

Anyway, this rant was brought about by a rather windy ride that Hank and I went on today. I got as far as the bridge before I found myself wishing it was raining.

-Ryan

Rainier's Photo Journal - Training Camp

Ten miles into our first ride together as a team.

Ten miles left of our first ride together as a team.

Ben adjusting.

Paul crushing.

Matt contemplating.

more here and here.

Shawn's BG Fit

Lets first start off with my first impressions. "I'm here to see Trevor for a bike fit." "Trevor, your fit is here." Trevor stand s up from his loft office and heads down the stairs, immediately greeting me with a smile. I meet him at the bottom of the stairs and as he stands there a towering over me I cannot help but think, "is he standing on the stairs still?" Turns out he used to be a pitcher in college.

Anyways, back to the subject at hand. Trevor spent a significant portion of the bike fit looking at how my body worked. That is, he looked at flexibility, imbalances, and length discrepancies prior to getting me on the bike. Once on the bike, he systematically went through every detail to ensure I could put out maximal power and also ensured that I wouldn't find myself getting injured to a poor bike fit.

At $225 ($175 with purchase of a new bike) for a 4hr assessment + follow up, it is well worth it even if it's just for the peace of mind knowing that you will not get injured due to a poor bike fit. Did I also mention that a proper bike fit = more power output?

Bottom-line, if you have ever found yourself aching in your knees, hips, back, or shoulders, you it's absolutely necessary to go see Trevor at MB for a BG bike fit.

Team Camp Food

Rather than getting some good training miles or winning city limit sprints, my goal for team camp was to feed everyone.  There was quite a bit to get done in the upcoming days, with breakfast, dinner, ride food, post-ride food, snacks, and coffee for 13+ hungry teammates.

First, and most frustrating, was the trip to Costco.  I definitely do despise that place, but where else can you buy 88 strips of bacon for 8 dollars?  Hank and I blew through there as quickly as possible, leaving with a literal truck-full of food.  An extra stop to a more manageable grocery store and we were set for food, almost.

Since we'd be arriving late Friday night, and some brave folks were riding to camp, we decided to get dinner taken care of for us.  We trusted Dr. Davey Jones to put together some seasonal variation of his PanAfroLatinEurAsianAmericana cuisine.  We set of to camp with more than 10 lb. of roasted roots, quinoa salads, orange chicken, turkey, hummus, and more.  Over at Mike's Sausalito, we love Dave.  He runs his catering business out of the little kitchen in the Bait Shop (1 Gate 6 Rd., Sausalito, CA) across the parking lot and makes sandwiches for us in the meantime.  He's into the whole seasonal thing, and you can see his jars of homemade sprouts, local veggies, and if you're lucky, you'll walk in when he's just pulled a whole roasted turkey out of the oven.  I can say without regret that I eat there every time I'm at the shop.  Shoot him an email to get your next party/event/bridge tournament taken care of with delicious food.

With the helping hands of teammates and our favorite Dave Parrish, everything else went smoothly.  I truly could not have done this without the help I received, especially from DP, but I'm working on it for next year.  Breakfasts consisted of: rice, oatmeal, eggs, bacon, and a spread of toasted breads and fixings.  The breakfast rice was a hit, and I've got a recipe posted below.  Lunch was simple, with meat/cheese sandwiches for the ride and pretty much whatever we could get our hands on after we returned.  Dinner was substantial: a big bowl of salad, roasted brussels sprouts and carrots, regular old pasta with sauce, saffron rice, baked sweet potatoes, and grilled chicken.  We were regulated to 2 beers each, but combined with the hot tub and cookies and ice cream we still managed to get a little loopy.

A couple more notes and some recipes:

• Just about everything we ate was gluten-free!  The benefits of a gluten-free diet are well documented (anti-inflammatory, easily digestible, more nutrient rich (gluten actually carries anti-nutrients that block uptake), and more...) and many pro team cooks are moving in this direction, notably Garmin-Cervelo
• Sweet potatoes and rice: not conventional breakfast foods, but they should be. Both are easily digested and elicit a quick insulin response. I've been experimenting with using these before rides, and I've been warming up much faster and feeling much better in the first half of rides

Breakfast rice:

• Olive oil (or butter)
• 1 cup uncooked rice (I used cal-rose sushi style, but any will work. Try basmati)
• 1 c apple juice
• .5-.75 c water
• Honey
• Cinnamon (or clove, nutmeg, other spices)
• Fruit: raisins, dates, bananas, apples...

Coat the bottom of a pot with olive oil, heat over medium-high. Add rice, toast until it becomes fragrant (nutty). Add apple juice and water, cover, bring to a low boil, reduce heat and simmer. After ~5 minutes, add a bunch of honey and some cinnamon, stir. When the rice is about 75% of the way there and only a little liquid is left, you can (but don't have to) add .25-.5 c milk for a creamier consistency. Continue to simmer until finished; my test is to get a spoonful and turn it sideways to drip back into the pot - when it takes a while to slide off the spoon, it's ready. Add fruit within the last few minutes. The whole process usually takes about 30-40 minutes. I like to make huge batches and store in the fridge for the week.

Breakfast sweet potatoes:

Quick version: Pierce holes in potato with fork, microwave until fully cooked, mash with apple juice/water, molasses, honey, spices, fruit.

Long version: cube potatoes, toss with olive oil/butter/bacon fat and spices, bake at 425 until done, mash (or not) with apple juice/water and fruit.

I Heart Criterium Racing

Record breaking temps and two days of 180 degree turning fun! The Cherry Pie Criterium is the unofficial kick off crit for the NorCal road racing season, and its a good one! This years unbelievable February weather helped make it an enthusiasm builder weekend. Fresh off our team camp (which had weather on the other side of the spectrum) the Mike's Bikes team was kitted up and throwing down at Cherry Pie and the Ronde Van Brisbeen (Saturday) races. On Saturday, Keven and Paul rode like studs and both finished in the top ten on a tricky course. I hear they bagged some primes (prizes for the winners of a lap) too. Some awesome POV camera work by a fellow racer shows just how well these two raced on Saturday and is a very cool watch. Scroll to 1:30 for some good footage of Keven and Paul:

Sunday was just delightful, Shawn and I headed out to Napa really early and saw off some of our friends in the junior race, which was a field chock full of up and coming talent. Great to see the kids progressing (and good recon of those twerps for when I face them later in the day in the P/1/2 race). I set up shop on top of the little hill where you can see nearly the entire racecourse, and had a bunch of friends, teammates and so's join me for spells. My first attempt at Ryan's magic breakfast rice was successful and powered my mornings spectating and poor yet spirited dancing. Our cat 4's had a good race, unfortunately Bex got involved in a spill and while he was ok, he just missed the free lap rule and was unable to reenter the race and tear everyone's legs off on the bell lap. Ryjo pulled a 10th-ish finish and looked comfy out there. Paul and Keven were all over the front end of the race for the second day in a row and rode efficiently. They were just a bit off from closing the deal, with Keven in the top 10 again and Paul just behind. Its just a matter of time till these two strong riders sniff out just the right timing and tactics to notch the Mike's Bikes team some wins. By the time that race ended I was digging deeper into the picnic basket for some sandwiches, bananas and other snacks, starting to get anxious to throw on my own kit and start warming up.

Finally it was time and I rallied Shawn to kit up and get a warmup going. It was definitely getting windy and I noticed I felt a lot better warming up with the aid of a tailwind! Did a few sprints to open the legs up and felt solid. Dibble and Studley arrive and we are all smiles. Get to the line to see a good sized field (80+) We went in without much of a plan except to use Shawn early. He did a great job watching the front end of the proceedings early on and can be seen pictured off the front tailing the likes of Mike's Bikes Berkeley employee and Yahoo! strongman Nate English. Tyler took the reigns from there and got into the mix in some of the days failed breakaway attempts. The reversed wind (from most years on this course) played out in a fast yet clumping type race for the P/1/2 field and nothing got very far up the road despite some strong riders digging hard.

In the end the race came down to an unorganized and chaotic bell lap where Nole had a strong effort and can be seen building the confidence to sprint with the big names. We already know he can produce the speed! The podium was made up of Logan Loader, Fast Freddie Rodriguez, and Sam Bassetti. Gotta love NorCal, where else can you get your arse handed to you in an office park crit by a former ProTour star for a mere $30?! Can't wait to get a few more weeks good training in the legs and some of our strongmen off the IR. Gonna be a great inaugural season for Team Mike's Bikes.

I'm off to get married, see y'all in a hot minute :)

-Ben

Our New Specialized Prevail Helmet!

With the arrival of the new bikes, new kicks, new kits, new season, new teammates, etc. comes the arrival of the single most important piece of equipment in any cyclist’s arsenal of cool stuff (no Floyd, it’s not testosterone patches); a new helmet. This year Team Mike’s Bikes will be rolling around with the Specialized S-Works Prevail atop our pretty little heads and we had our first chance to take them out this weekend at camp.

Short version: What a helmet!!! Go get one!!!

Slightly more detailed version:

There are a number of factors that go into making a successful helmet, and the Prevail has really nailed them all. First and foremost, of course, is the safety. This helmet meets and exceeds all the standards that the red-tape folks love to throw at helmet manufacturers, and has even incorporated a dual density foam system which is designed to dissipate impact around the shell of the helmet, rather than just transferring it into your noggin (kinda like the foam you used when you dropped an egg off a roof in high school…yes, that’s why you used the foam). While you hopefully never exploit this feature, it’s good to know it’s there.

The comfort and weight of this thing are absolutely unbelievable! My first impression when I picked it up was that I was holding only an outer portion of the helmet and that there were bits still in the box that I had to assemble. Not so. My helmet (size medium) weighs 212 grams with all the padding and straps installed. This is within a whisper of  claimed weight of the lightest helmet on the market right now and you don’t have to give up comfort and security to achieve it. The Prevail comes with a fully adjustable webbing system that can be customized to achieve a perfect fit. While a bit tough to describe (ahem….go look at one at your local Mike’s), to achieve perfect fit, the inner helmet cradle can be moved fore and aft in addition to the ratchet at that back that you’ve come to expect from top helmets. The ventilation is top notch as well. The large front vents channel a TON of air through to keep things cool. All told, this thing goes on to your head and disappears, which is probably the best thing that can be said about a helmet. The team rode ours straight out the box for about 6 hours on Saturday and everyone was really impressed with the comfort.

The inner helmet fit system allows for near-custom sizing

So what’s left to say? Well, I hate to say it, but a helmet that looks dumb won’t get worn. Now, before we go any further, anyone with anything worth protecting wears a helmet, but there’s no reason to wear one that looks like something Lemond would have pitched off on the final climb in the early 90’s. No worries here. The Prevail has got the looks nailed. Specialized put together a helmet here that looks like it belongs at the top of the sport, with all the right curves, lines and fins to really complete the look of a serious racer.

The team in full flight with our fancy new helmets

In summary, the Team is really excited about the new helmet and for all the right reasons. It’s safe, it’s light, it’s comfortable, it looks great, and it’s fast (go check out the wind tunnel numbers). If you’re in the market, this is your next helmet.

-John

Team Camp Photography

For those of your that don't frequent our Flickr page or are friends with some of our riders on Facebook, we had some beautiful shots taken from Studio Six this past weekend at our team camp. Here is a sneak peak at some of the excellent photos to come and visit our our Flickr page for some more photos taken by us at camp including a video of our own Maurice displaying one of his other talents. Enjoy!

-Hank

Day Two - Team Mike's Bikes Training Camp

Today was the second day of team camp. The morning started a little later than Saturday and a whole lot slower. The one-two punch of Morgan Territory-Mt. Diablo had us all clambering for coffee and breakfast. Much to our delight, the was plenty of both to go around as Ryan "Master Cook" Johnson was preparing a spread fit for a king. There was everything from bacon and eggs to a delicious oatmeal concoction, and, of course, lots and lots of coffee. After stuffing ourselves with delicious food, it was time to think about riding. Unfortunately, the July-like weather that had recently descended on NorCal had left, leaving in its wake an onslaught of wind and rain. Naturally, some moaning and groaning ensued, but eventually we donned our Capo kits and prepared to ride.

With much grumbling, we eventually set out on our ride. After just a few minutes, the sky opened up, dishing out what was to be the worst weather of the ride in the first 30 minutes. After a few flats in the opening miles, we settled in for a beautiful ride through green rolling hills and mostly fair weather.

The second day of training camp is always interesting. The riders who pushed themselves hard the day before are showing it, their stiff pedaling and slow accelerations giving them away. It is also a day when those who have arrived with god fitness come to the fore. There were several riders who rode impressively, despite the previous day in their legs. Paul Ngo put in an impressive ride, finishing the climb up Patterson Pass first after a hard fought contest. He also managed to contest the sprint at the end of the day!

Ride data from Ryan's Garmin:

Team Mike's Bikes had a great start to the season with its inaugural training camp. With the start of the NCNCA Road calendar right around the corner, we can't wait to get out and show you, in person, the new team. Come on out to Cherry Pit in Napa next Sunday, February 6th (Super Bowl Sunday!) to see us start the season right.

Until next time.

-Tyler

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