Stop and Spin

2011

2011-08-28T15:48:00.000-07:00

After taking the last year off from adding anything to my blog, I kinda felt like it was time to start posting again.

New year / New City / New Team

Im deep into my 2011 season now, living in the one and only New York City and racing bikes for Team NoTubes/ AXA Equitable.

Life is good!

Red Rock Canyon State Park

2010-09-28T10:36:00.000-07:00

Last week I went to Las Vegas for the Interbike trade show. I was pleasantly surprised to get in some great riding in Red Rock Canyon State Park. The park is located about 15 miles from the strip and it was an awesome place to escape to every morning for a ride. I was also pleasantly surprised to find the terrain quite challenging with some good climbing and fun descents! As you can see from my pictures, the views were absolutely amazing and it was a lot of fun to explore a new area.

I def looked twice when I saw this sign. Not sure what I would do if I ran into a wild horse... and I have no idea what a burros is?!

Maybe this is a burros?

Interbike - Red Rock Canyon State Park

2010-09-21T22:39:00.000-07:00

I arrived in Las Vegas tonight to attend Interbike for the couple of days. For those who don't know Interbike is the largest bicycle trade show in North America and runs for 3 days every fall. I attended Interbike once before back when I was a junior racer with Kelly Bicycles but Im sure a lot has changed since then and Im excited to see how it has grown.

Before I go to Interbike, Im going to check out Red Rock Canyon State Park in the morning. This is supposed to be a really pretty park and Im excited to get in a go riding in a new area!

Mile High Club

2010-03-27T19:10:00.001-07:00

I love exploring new areas and new roads! Today I checked out the San Gabriel mts and was amazed to find some great roads which are perfect for training. The reason I was amazed was because Im not from the area and I have a stereotypical view of LA being all highways, cars and traffic.

Last weekend I raced in the San Dimas Stage Race and throughout the race I always saw these snow covered mountains that loomed in the far distance. After doing an easy ride Monday and a more steady ride yesterday, I figured it was time to try and reach the snow!

Can you see the snow covered peak in the distance?

After climbing over the first ridge I started to realize that the snow was a little farther away than I thought.

The roads were empty and the area was beautiful so I decided to continue on in my quest for snow.

The trees started to thin out at this point and the snow seemed a little closer.

Here I'm at about 4,500 ft, proud but still not at the snow!

The killer part of the ride wasn't the first couple thousand feet of climbing, but rather the fact that it got considerably steeper as I went up. At this point I realize that the trees are back, but are now the type you would find at elevations like Lake Tahoe or Aspen.

Getting close and also feeling a long way from LA!

SNOW!!! And then I start to realize how cold it is!!!

The best part about the whole ride was asking a skier to take this photo of me! He had just finished his last run of the day and was freaking out that I had ridden up the whole mountain. He asked if I needed a ride... "Ride? Haha, I'm on a ride", I said and then I jumped on my bike and sped away.

San Dimas Stage Race

2010-03-23T18:34:00.001-07:00

I raced in the San Dimas Stage Race last weekend which was my 1st NRC stage race as a pro-1. I learned a lot from this race, got in some great training, survived all 3 days and also had a ton of fun. The race had it fair share of mishaps (2 broken wheels); however, it is best to get the bad luck-equipment issues over with early in the season rather than have them confront you when it really starts to matter. While I was racing against Australians, Italians and other racers who have months of racing under their belts already in 2010, this was a training race for me so I kept reminding myself my real goals are months away.

By far one of the coolest experiences I have had in the sport of cycling was being the first person in the world to race the new Rock Racing X-2 frame. While I had a very nice frame last year, this new frame is a true racing machine! Super super responsive and very stiff! The weight of the bike built up with the same parts as my previous rig shaved off over 1 lb!!

Rock Racing went above and beyond in every aspect this weekend. The level of support both pyshical and emotional that they gave was amazing! Not only was I treated like a pro, but I also had people from the company at the races everyday cheering me on and having fun. These guys LOVE the sport of cycling, pure and simple. They also know how to have fun which is a big bonus. Here is a great example - I had a good friend who I went to school with at UPenn come to watch Saturday's road race. After finishing the almost 4 hour race, I was stoked to see not only how much he learned about cycling (his first race ever) but also that he wasn't bored and actually had a great time! With the RR being 86 miles many first time spectators would have gotten bored and possibly left early. The Rock Racing team's enthusiasm for the sport is contageous and I was so happy that my buddy had fun and was there to cheer me on!

An ice bath after Saturday's road race helped freshen my legs up for Sunday's 90 min crit. This was just one of the many many lessons I learned over the weekend. As a Cat 2,3 & 4, I always found many of the pro racers hard to approach. While some are still that way, many were very open to giving me advice, encouraging me on and showing me some tricks. Neil Shirley from Kelly Benefit is a perfect example. I met Neil the weekend before at Tour of Murrieta and when I ran into him again at San Dimas this past weekend he was very friendly and encouraging. Neil is a huge huge talent and very experienced but most important in my book is the fact that he is humble and friendly. You will learn more about racing following someone like that around a pack for 1 day than you would racing on your own for a full season - meaning, find someone much better than you and soak up their knowledge!

I broke a spoke in Friday's time trial and as a result was way way down in the overall for the whole weekend. Honestly though, it didn't matter to me because I was just having too much fun. I was the only Rock rider there and my job was simply to test out the new bike and fly the Rock Racing flag throughout the weekend.

Sam from Rock Racing was there everyday to help me out and I would never have survived the weekend without him. I kept saying "thank you" throughout the weekend and although I was probably a broken record by the 3rd day it was hard not to be so gracious to him and everyone else at Rock Racing for giving me a chance. The team associated with Rock Racing is full of class and I not only had a great time with them but I also developed some lasting friendships!

Beautiful beautiful Solvang

2010-03-23T18:30:00.001-07:00

I spent the last 3 days training in the Santa Barbara wine country. I stayed in the town of Solvang and really enjoyed my time up there. The weather was amazing, the people friendly and the roads ideal for bike riding. I have been to some beautiful places to ride over the years, but Solvang might be as good or better than any of my precious favorites.

3 days was not enough here! I will without a doubt be back soon to explore this area more.

SoCal - 1st race of 2010

2010-03-17T17:01:00.000-07:00

Last week I left the San Francisco area and came down to Southern California to get the first part of my 2010 season underway. I had originally planned on starting my season a few weeks back, but after coming down with a nasty cold I decided to do the mature thing and put off my first race till I was 100% healthy. My 2010 season is going to be very different than last season and one of the primary differences is that I'm only focusing on a select few races. 2009 was my first year back on the racing scene and as a result I had to crisscross the country trying to find as many races as possible in order to get the points needed to compete with the "big boys" this year. Now as a cat 1 my focus is on gaining experience throught the year and then going for the W when I know my chances are good.

On Friday night I was lucky enough to attend my first pro team presentation. The Bahati foundation is a new pro team for 2010 and it supports a great cause. It was pretty cool attending the event but it was even cooler lining up next to Mr. Bahati himself the following day. Coolest part of the event besides Rashan's heartfelt speech was the fact that he got the Crenshaw high school band to play at the event. Very classy move and something I'm sure the kids will remember for the rest of their lives.

This past weekend I competed in the Tour of Murrieta. We did a crit on Saturday and a circuit on Sunday. Saturday's race was fast and dead flat. I was racing against a lot of crit specialists such as former national crit champ Rashan Bahati. I was def not in my element; however, I recognize that I need to do this type of racing in order to build speed and at the end of the day it will help me in the long run. I stayed in the pack and tried to follow the more experienced riders to see which lines they took in the corners, where they sat in the pack in relation to the wind and where they moved up in the pack on the course. It was an awesome experience ripping it up with the likes of Floyd Landis and some other big name racers and despite the fact that the racing did not fit my style it was a lot of fun! I ended up finishing with the pack and let the big boys sprint it out for the win.

On Sunday we did a circuit race. Although there were not any hills it was not quite as pancake flat as Saturday's crit so I was a little more comfortable. As the the miles stacked up I became more confident in my form and spent most of the race riding forwards the front of the pack. There were over 120 racers in the pro-1 field and it was amazing how long the pack strung out when the pace was high! Towards the middle of the race I tried jumping in a few breaks and although I got clear twice with riders from United Health Net, Adego Energy and some other pro teams the breaks never really had a chance. In the end it again came down to a sprint and I was happy to roll in behind the sprinter but towards the front of the 1st group.

I gained a lot of experience doing the Tour of Murrieta this weekend and also had a lot of fun. I didn't really know what to expect of my form and was happy with how I road and how my body responded to the higher speed and longer distance of the Pro-1 races. One of the best things about the level of racing I'm doing now is the later start times and the fact that there are a lot of people watching! It was also cool to go home at night and read about the races on Velonews and other cycling websites that I follow on a regular basis.

I'M BACK!!!!

2010-02-27T07:34:00.001-08:00

In March 2009 I did my first real bike race in 10 years. It was a small crit in Princeton, New Jersey and I lined up not knowing what I wanted to achieve or what impact that race would have on my life. I broke away solo on the 4th lap and held off the field for the win. My mom and friends were present in Princeton that day and while they reveled in my unexpected win, I knew that there was a more important aspect to that day than simply winning the race.

While winning the race was very cool the more important event that day was that I got back into racing my bike. In the months that followed I traveled all over the country and tackled some of the hardest stage races on the US calendar. I went from racing weekend warriors as a Cat 5 to lining up with the pros as a Cat 1. By August, I was in Reno, Nevada at a pre-tour of Utah training camp with Rock Racing. While the directors and staff couldn't believe that I was able to keep up with the likes of Sevilla, Victor Pena and Mancebo, I knew all along this was just part of my overall plan.

At the end of the season I reached out to a number of pro and elite amateur teams. While I did get some emails back and some phone calls returned the interest was not that high. I was too old (26?!), too green (lack of experience? Haha, if they only knew the full story) and did not have any results (14 top 10s in P1/2 in 2009 alone). In the months that followed my amateur team I raced for in 2009 fell apart and the one pro team I had sparked interest in failed to get a UCI license.

One of the most defining characteristics of a successful person is ones ability to bounce back from defeat. While I kept running into closed doors over the winter the last thing I was going to do was give up! In fact, Im doing just the opposite. Im picking it up! I moved out to California for the winter, I made the training not a 3 hour a day activity but a 24 hr a day lifestyle. 2010 is going to be my year and for all those who don't know, watch out....I'M BACK!

I did my first bike race when I was 11 years old. It was called the Boggs Mountain Bash and I still have the race number hanging in my room today. My love of cycling started long before my first official race. Here Im at 8 years old going out for a spin with my neighbor Jane.

At 13 I got my first sponsorship with WTB. Here Im at the Big Bear Norba National. WTB was not just a bike team it was a family.

I loved biking from the start, but I also loved winning. Im used to being the underdog and as you can see it has never stopped me before.

Even as I got bigger so did the competition ; however, the results stayed the same.

My first "factory ride" was with Kelly Bicycles. Chris Kelly not only loved my energy and enthusiasm but also recognized my talent. He provided me with the support I needed to succeed and I delivered.

I won small races and I won big races. I won in mtb (cross country and downhill), BMX, road and cyclocross. My biggest win was the 1998 Grundig World Cup in Napa

This was not only a dream come true but also a wake up call. I have a talent and I need to see how far I can take it.

See you on the road

Spin in Napa - 1st Crossfit class

2010-02-25T00:46:00.002-08:00

I went up to Napa this afternoon and did a short spin and then my first ever Crossfit class. My buddy Lucas shattered his patella last May while out training in Spain and has been using a number of cross training techniques to build up his core strength again. Lucas is a super positive thinker and after his unfortunate accident last year he saw an opportunity to completely rebuild his base strength. Some people would throw in the towel after having such a horrific accident but Lucas turned the negative into a positive and I would not be surprised if he comes back even stronger than he was before.

We went for a short spin around Napa before the Crossfit class. It was a pretty nice afternoon and although the ride was short it was cool to check out some new roads.

After the ride we went to Wine Country Crossfit. I didn't know that much about this type of cross training but after hearing Lucas talk about all the benefits I was eager to check it out.

When I first walked into the studio I was a little confused. In many ways the place looked more like a jungle gym than a hardcore workout studio. Never the less, I was excited to give it a try and see what it was all about.

The owner of Wine Country Crossfit was this really nice women named Beth and she gave us a quick tutorial on some exercises. She then ran us through a number of drills - Air squats, cowbell dip thingys, knee to elbow pullups.

This was just an intro class but I really liked what we did and I'm going to give it another try next week. I learned today that I really need to work on my flexability and core conditioning. I also really appreciate Beth and the others not making too much fun of me as I struggled with some of the moves. I can't tell you exactly what Crossfit is about yet but I'm excited to go again next week and hopefully Beth will not pick on me as my lanky skinny frame may need a little time to adjust to the new movements.

More Chileno Valley Grasshopper photos

2010-02-23T22:27:00.001-08:00

My friend sent me some more photos today from last weekend's Grasshopper race in Chileno Valley. These pictures come courtesy of Veronica Lenzi. Here is a link to her website. She is a very talented photographer and it is def worth checking out some of her work!

Here is a cool pic of me leading my buddy Dave van Orsdel and Bissell rider Jeremy Vennell over a climb. Will Riffelmacher is just behind us. Will is a former national collegiate champ on the bike as well as a national class rower. He was super friendly after the ride and I hope I can ride with him again in the future.

This is a great picture of my buddy Peter Cracknell leading my other friend Eric Fischer over one of the climbs. Peter and I both were on Pegoretti bikes that day and Im sure Dario would have been proud seeing us mix it up with all the riders on plastic bikes.

Chileno Valley Grasshopper Photos

2010-02-22T22:24:00.001-08:00

I found some good pictures on the web from the Chileno Valley Grasshopper this past weekend thanks to Nick Gaetano. Here is a link to his web page to see some of his other work. Nick not only takes great photos but also does some cool paintings, design work etc. Thanks for coming out Nick!

Here is a picture of me following a Bissell rider through a corner.

You have to keep it fun for the photographers!

Lucas Euser from Spider Tech leads us into a turn. Lucas is a not only a super friendly and nice guy but also has a very inspiration story. Last May Lucas was hit by a car while training in Spain and shattered his patella. It has only been 9 months since his accident but as you can see Lucas is back and riding strong. Great to see him out there and I know I will be rooting for him this season!

Here is a cool picture of the back of our group. As you can tell from the road we're clearly in "farm country".

Fun in the dirt

2010-02-22T22:11:00.002-08:00

I decided to take advantage of the sun today and go for an adventure on the mountain bike. When I was a junior I used to bike on Mt. Tam every week and it was fun to get out there again and check out some of the trails I used to ride. I don't know the mountain like I used to, but it was fun doing a long loop around the mountain exploring trails I had not been on in over 10 years!

The riding outside of San Francisco is some of the best in the world. While I mostly stay on the road these days, you have to remember that this is the birthplace of the mountain bike and therefor as a native of the area I have mountain biking in my blood. I can try and put the urge to going mountain biking in the back of my mind, but every now and I have a relapse and want to go play in the dirt again.

It is basically the same as riding on the road but with dirt and rocks. One huge plus to being in the dirt though is that there are no cars!

The ground was still a little damp from all the rain we have been getting.

Some amazing views!

I used to run around Phoenix Lake all the time for high school cross country practice. This time I flew by on a 29ner.

After sticking to fire roads most of the day I couldn't help but explore some of the ultra secret singletrack that I first learned about growing up here as a kid.

I was long long overdue for a day in the dirt. Mixing it up every now and then is really important in training and I can't believe that I have not been riding up here for so many years.

Chileno Valley Grasshopper

2010-02-20T23:58:00.002-08:00

Wow! Today was my first Grasshopper race and I had a blast. The riding was hard and the people were very cool and friendly. We did an 80 mile loop with over 8,000 ft of climbing and not only did I have a great time but I also made some friends who I'm sure I will connect with in the future.

I was pleasantly surprised to see the Bissel team as I pulled up to the parking lot for the ride. I knew that there were going to be some talented riders but I had no idea the field was going to be stacked with top level domestic pros. Bissel was in town doing a training camp and it was so much fun to ride with them today. I also thought it was pretty cool that they would come out and support a local event like the Grasshopper series.

As we got close to the starting time the numbers of riders continued to grow. My guess is that there were over 150 riders?

After starting out in downtown Occidental we took a sharp turn and immediately starting climbing Coleman Valley Rd. The first climb was steep and it put people in the hurt right from the gun. I got caught back a little in the mass start and after watching some of the Bissel pros fly by me, I decided that I shouldn't wait too long and jumped on one of their wheels.

By the time we got off Coleman Valley Rd and were cruising down the coast the front group explode exploded and was down to about 15. Half of the riders were from Bissell with some other pros from Adego Energy and Spider Tech also in the mix. It was pretty cool riding with these guys and the overall atmosphere was friendly despite the fact that we were totally ripping it up.

The front group shed a few riders as the miles added up but for the most part stayed intact. I got gaped twice on 2 large climbs around mile 40 and 50 but was able to climb back on both times. I felt real powerful riding but def did not have any top end speed once the hammer dropped. Never the less, I didn't get dropped and I got to ride with a bunch of top domestic pros. Very very cool experience!

Grasshopper Tomorrow

2010-02-19T22:52:00.001-08:00

Im really excited to do my first Grasshopper Adventure ride tomorrow. It is the 2nd Hopper of the 2010 and it looks like we're going to be doing a cool loop around Chileno Valley. Im really looking forward to riding some news roads and making some new friends. Ill give a full recap with photos tomorrow when Im done.

The course looks like it is going to be a brutal day in the saddle. 80 miles and 8,000 ft of climbing!

Mixing it up

2010-02-18T23:58:00.002-08:00

Today I decided to mix it up and go for a mountain bike ride. I have been based in Marin County, California for the last few months and for those who don't know this is the birthplace of the mountain bike. With this in mind it is no wonder that some of the best mountain biking in the world is still found here today.

I started out with some climbing on the fire roads.

I spent most of my time riding today on Mt. Tam. There is an amazing trail system here that connects all the different towns in Marin and it was easy to jump around to different parts of the mountain.

Riding the ridge to get up to the singletrack.

Mt. Tam poking through the fog in the background.

And now the real fun begins!

Back in the Redwood trees the singletrack was super fast!

I had a lot of fun changing it up today and riding the mtb. I def need to take advantage of the trails around here and get in the dirt more often. It was super peaceful on the mountain and I really enjoyed exploring the trails!

Fun group ride

2010-02-17T23:18:00.002-08:00

I love group rides and I love nice weather. Today I got both as I went out with a friendly group of about 30 for a nice 4 hour loop through West Marin.

The group stopped to get some coffee at The Java Hut in Fairfax. Can you believe how sunny it is?!

One of the coolest aspects of cycling is that it brings young and old together. We prob had an age range of 40 years on the ride today yet everyone was connected through their shared passion of the sport. Very cool.

As you can tell it was another very nice day out.

With no clouds the views were unreal!

The hills are green from the wet winter but the conditions today were like spring.

I tried to snap a quick picture on the downhill before things got too fast.

I saw some beautiful flowers someone was selling on the sidewalk as I made my way home.

Spring already?

2010-02-17T00:08:00.002-08:00

I know it is still February but it felt like spring today in San Francisco. I feel bad talking about the weather because a lot of my friends on the east coast are stuck in the snow right now. Never the less, as you can see from the photos it is hard not to tell just how nice the weather was out here today. For 2010 the Amgen Tour of California was moved to May. One of the reasons that it was moved to a later date was because of how bad the weather has been in past years during the race. Interesting to take note that if the ToC wasn't moved it would be going on right now!

This descent is about 15 minutes from the Golden Gate Bridge. Can you believe that this paradise exists so close to the big city?!

Sorry, this photo didn't turn out that great because the sun was too strong. The camera on my iPhone is still on winter mode.

I always thought spring started around April but I guess I've been living on the east coast for too long.

CTS Leadville 100 camp

2010-02-15T23:25:00.001-08:00

This morning I tried to enter the Leadville 100 through a roundabout way. In July, Carmichael Training Systems is holding 3 camps that will grant a total of 60 riders access into this summer's epic. The camp is pricey and you have to show up in Leadville almost a month before the race, but I was willing to do whatever it took in order to do the race this year. Registration for the camp opened at exactly 9:00 this morning and I felt like a little child eagerly waiting to buy concert tickets for his favorite band.

In order to improve my chances I used 2 cell phones and called non stop from both at the same time. Every time I called I got a busy signal. Finally, at 9:14 I got through...! YES!!!! And then a long recording starts giving out information about the camp etc. My hopes rise, Im now on hold. I continue to call with the other phone while I adjust the first phone to speaker. Then I hear the recording say Im the 44 person on hold. For the next 45 minutes I wait on hold as the number of people on hold goes down and down until Im the last person. Finally a friendly nice voice picks up. She sounds happier than a Southwest Airlines flight attendant. This must be a good sign! I eagerly ask her about the camp to which she replies with the dreaded words. Already sold out! 60 spots at $1275 went in 44 minutes. I hang up the phone in defeat. No dice. No Leadville 2010. Ill keep looking for a way to somehow enter but my chances are looking very slim.

On a happier note, I visited this amazing organic barkery today.

The Wildflower Bakery is in Freestone and is a must see if you're out cycling in this area. The roads are amazing, the people super friendly and as you can see the baked goods are top notch. Mmmm

Coleman Valley Rd.

2010-02-14T22:31:00.002-08:00

I had an amazing ride up in Bodega Bay today. The weather was incredible and I was excited to explore some new roads. I cruised around Bodega Bay for a bit and then decided to do the Coleman Valley road climb that was featured in the Amgen Tour of California.

The climb begins directly off of Highway 1 and is narrow and gradual at first.

After climbing for a little at 5-6% things open up a bit and you begin to see the climb that lies ahead.

And then it starts to get steeper.

When the real climbing begins it feels as though you're climbing into the sky.

A reminder that this road is not just another road. Steve Cozza is a Norcal native and rides for Garmin now. I used to race him in cross country in high school and it was cool to see his name painted on the roads from when the Tour of California came up this road. He hurt himself in the Tour of Qutar last week and I hope he has a speedy recover and is back racing soon!

And more climbing... It did get more gradual todwards the top.

Once up top it was serious biker paradise!

The weather was in the 70's and although it is February it felt like spring.

Beautiful views with the Pacific in the background.

After exploring the climb I went back down to the bay and continued up the road. Riding along the coast on a clear and sunny day was so much fun! Can you believe this view?! Hard to keep my eyes on the road.

The Mavericks surf competition was held yesterday down in Santa Cruz and from the look of the ocean today they could have had a second round up here today!

Hard not to love it out here.

With perfect conditions and beautiful roads I had so much fun checking out Bodega Bay and some of the surrounding areas today. Can't wait to see more tomorrow!

Wet day but good ride

2010-02-12T21:51:00.002-08:00

It was really wet out here in San Francisco today but I was still able to get in a nice ride. I don't mind riding in the rain, but I always try and take it super easy on the downhills and be more aware-careful in general because of how slick the roads can get. Since it rained most of my ride I don't have many photos but I do at least have a few.

As I climbed past the Golden Gate Bridge the weather cleared up for a minute and I was able to snap a couple quick pics.

San Francisco off in the distance from the pier in Fort Baker.

Leadville 2010? Still a chance?

2010-02-12T12:46:00.002-08:00

This week my application to the 2010 Leadville 100 was denied. While I knew the chances of getting selected were slim, I was still eager to race in Leadville and was pretty bummed when I got the email from the race directors. Never the less, I have now found another way to possibly still race in Leadville this August. It is not very simple but it provides entry into this years race. In order to take this backdoor entry approach you need to attend a 2 day camp in July in Leadville, Colorado. At first I thought this sounded crazy and was completely out of the question ; however, the more I think about it, the more I like the idea of previewing the course and being able to fine turn my equipment selections etc. In addition, it might provide the perfect tune up for the race, as I know the altitude will be a major factor hampering those who arrive just days before the race! The steps of getting into the camp are not simple so as of right now I can't tell you whether I will be in Leadville this August or not. Im pretty set on racing in this years race so Im not going to give up quite yet.

Camp information

California Board of (Cycle) Tourism

2010-02-11T08:18:00.002-08:00

I really should try and get a job with the California Board of Tourism.

Hard double day

2010-02-10T18:45:00.002-08:00

I had a hard double day today with a good gym session this morning and then a hilly ride this afternoon. These double days really wear me out but I'm hoping that all the hard work now will pay off once the racing season picks up. Does gym work in the off season make you a faster bike rider? I don't know for sure, but I know the best way to find out something is to give it a try. Even if the gym work doesn't directly benefit my riding I feel healthier and I will def look a lot better on the beach this summer. Actually, I will probably still look goofy on the beach with my cycling tan lines etc but you know what I mean. On another note, check out these pictures I took while on my ride today. It is hard to believe that all these empty roads exist less than an hour north of downtown San Francisco.

Cloudy skies

2010-02-10T00:41:00.002-08:00

I was able to stay dry and get a nice ride in yesterday despite the dark clouds that seemed to follow me around all day. I'm hoping the weather stays dry so I can get a couple more big rides in before the weekend.

Jacquie Phelan

2010-02-09T23:06:00.001-08:00

Last Sunday I had an awesome time at the DirtBowl fundraiser. The event was very successful and raised almost 10k for the NorCal High School Mountain Bike League and the Marin County Bicycle Coalition. I had a lot of fun riding mountain bikes and not only made a bunch of new friends but was also able to reconnect and catch up with some old friends I had not seen in a long time. One person in particular that I had a great time catching up with was Jacquie Phelan.

I first met Jacquie when I was around 14 years old. I was a little bike "grom" growing up in the middle of the Marin mtb scene and Jacquie was a huge force in the cycling community. When I was young and just starting out in mountain biking Jacquie was always super friendly and encouraging to me and she was exactly the same way this past weekend.

Take a second to learn about Jacquie. She is an amazing women who has done a ton for the sport of cycling!

Here is a link to a very impressive wikipedia on her:
Jacquie "Alice B. Toeclips" Phelan

Here is a link to a cool little short movie on Jacquie called:
Girl Meets Bicycle : Jacquie Phelan : An American Hero

Also check up on Jacquie and follow her on her blog:
Jacquie's blog

2010 race schedule

2010-02-08T21:47:00.001-08:00

The start to my racing season is approaching quickly and I have started to plan out my 2010 race schedule. One of my goals for this year is to try and participate in as many epic/classic/hard/beautiful/historically significant races as possible. Last year I was able to race in 9 different states. It was cool being able to race in so many different areas of the country and I intend on doing an even broader and more intensive schedule this year. In addition, I also hope to race in europe at some point later in the season.

Here is what I have outlined so far:

March 6th > MERCO Credit Union Grand Prix Criterium (Merced, CA)
March 7th > MERCO Credit Union Foothills Road Race (Merced, CA)
March 12th -14th > Madera County Stage Race (Madera, CA)
March 19th - 21st > San Dimas Stage Race (San Dimas, CA)
March 25th - 28th > Redlands Bicycle Classic (Redlands, CA)*
April 3rd - April 4th > Philly 2 Day Cycling Classic (Philadelphia, PA)
April 10th > Tour of the Battenkill (Cambridge, NY)
April 24th - 25th > Tour de Ephrata (Ephrata, PA)
May 6th - 9th > Joe Martin Stage Race (Fayetteville, AR)
May 23rd > Kelly Cup (Baltimore, MD)
*-pending team approval

DirtBowl

2010-02-07T23:48:00.002-08:00

I had an awesome time at the DirtBowl today. The weather was great and it was fun to rip it up for a couple of hours on the mountain bike. There were a number of old friends who showed up for the ride and it was great to reconnect and catch up with my some of my early mentors.

We met at the San Geranimo golf course and took off in small groups of 8-10 towards Fairfax and Camp Tamarancho.

We hit up a ton of singletrack on the ride today... Actually come to think of it, I don't think we did anything but singletrack!

We stopped a number of times and allowed everyone to regroup and relax for a little. The mtb scene is super laid back and is not only about enjoying the trails and working out, but also about making new friends. Here Ned Overend is checking out a hill that Gary Fisher and Otis Guy are telling everyone they used to race up and down. I think "The Lung" was considering doing a couple quick hill repeats but the group took off again before he had the chance.

The wonderful and always friendly Jacquie Phelan.

Another pit stop and more awesome views. The clear skies and sun were an added bonus.

The Gary Fisher Superfly 29ner I barrowed performed like a champ! I have not been on a mtb bike for about 10 years and to say the technology has come a long way would be an huge understatement. Larger diameter wheels, hydro disc brakes, tires that look like they came straight off a dirtbike, riser carbon bars... the list could go on and on.

Wet day in Chileno Valley

2010-02-06T23:58:00.002-08:00

I went on a wet 4 hr spin today with 2 of my friends in Chileno Valley. Although it did not rain that hard we did get pretty wet and the roads were slick. Chileno Valley is an area that is new to me and it was fun to go out there again today. The roads are super quite and the terrain rolling. Today we did a similar loop to the one I did last week. So my thinking is that the next time I go out there I should mix it up a bit and see some new roads. As you can see from the pictures the area is captivating and the roads are endless.

Mtb test ride

2010-02-05T23:07:00.002-08:00

I picked up a sweet "29ner" this afternoon that my coach Craig Upton generously lent me for this weekend's DirtBowl. I have not been on a mountain bike for a long time and let's just say the technology has come a long way. Craig's bike seems to be super dialed in and it was fun to take it on a test spin this afternoon. First thoughts are that this thing is fast!!! The larger diameter wheels translate into a bike the rolls over just about anything and also keeps up a high rolling speed with little effort. After cruising around the neighborhood and getting comfortable with the new pedals, I went straight to one of my favorite trails in Mill Valley and tested out my mtb legs.

I stopped in downtown Mill Valley to strap on my night light. It is hard to tell from this photo but it was getting dark at this point and I knew I better put on the light sooner or later.

Craig's Gary Fisher 29ner that he lent me is super fast and fun. Ill do a more in depth review-feature after I put in a few real rides.

Night riding can be a blast. Tonight I didn't plan on doing a night ride but as the sun started to set I was not ready to go home. No worries though because I had planned ahead and brought a light.

DirtBowl fundraising

2010-02-04T10:13:00.001-08:00

The 1st annual DirtBowl is coming up this Sunday, February 7th in Fairfax, CA. Im really stoked about getting back out on the mountain bike and my friend just showed me this nice article in the Marin Independent Journal about the event. Im happy to be taking part, but I need everyone's help in raising money as this is a fundraiser and I can't show up empty handed. The proceeds benefit the Marin County Bicycle Coalition and the NorCal High School Mountain Biking League. Thanks for any help you can give!

Link to my fundraising page

Spinning with my buddies

2010-02-03T22:54:00.002-08:00

Today I went for a nice spin with my buddies in order to strech out my legs. I was still hurting when I woke up this morning from the long rides I did Saturday, Sunday and Monday so it was good to loosen the legs a bit before I do another block of training. Here are some cool pics I took along the ride today. Enjoy!

1st Annual DirtBowlc - Feb 7, 2010

2010-02-02T22:03:00.001-08:00

This coming Sunday Im participating in the 1st annual DirtBowl which is a fundraiser benefiting The Marin County Bicycle Coalition and the NorCal High School Mountain Bike League.

I think it is so cool that all the parties involved got together to create something like the DirtBowl. I started racing mountain bikes when I was 11 years old in Marin County and now Im traveling all over the country racing pro road bikes. Even though I started at such a young age, there was no mountain bike league in high school. I think that it is great that the opportunity to compete in mountain biking as a high school sport exists. From the high participation levels you can tell that it is obviously catching on.

Another connection I have with the DirtBowl is that it is begin held at Camp Tamarancho in the city of Fairfax. I did a lot of mountain biking there as a junior and even won the Marin Knobular. This used to be Marin County's only annual mountain bike race when I was growing up here in the 90's and as a result was always a big competition within the local community.

The DirtBowl is a fundraiser, please sponsor me. It benefits the kids!!!

NorCal High School Mountain Bike League. Wish I had this when I was in HS. Click the image to get more info.

Marin County Bicycle Coalition. These guys have worked hard on behalf of the cycling community for years! Clink the image to get more info.

Chileno Valley

2010-02-01T22:06:00.002-08:00

I did another long ride today exploring an area called Chileno Valley. I have been trying to spice things up recently and ride in some new areas so it was cool to ride some fresh roads. My old high school running coach Tom was my guide and he showed me an area I'm sure to go back and explore again. The loop we did was rolling and fast. The roads were perfect for training and there were hardly any cars. Check out the pics and you will see that I have found my new training Mecca. Total loop from door to door today was 101 miles.

As a cyclist it seems that I'm on a constant search to find that new cool place to ride. When you get to ride for the first time in a new area or on a new road there is a certain level of excitement that builds within you. I love exploring new areas and it was so much fun today to get a closer look at an area I have in the past overlooked.

Big Basin

2010-01-31T23:30:00.002-08:00

This morning I drove down to Santa Cruz and road in Big Basin Redwoods State Park with my buddy Rob. Rob has lived down in this area for over 10 years and it was cool for him to take me on a great ride on some really really beautiful roads. The high point was riding through Big Basin Redwoods State Park. This is the oldest state park in California and is a pretty special place.

The roads north of Santa Cruz were not congested with cars and we did a lot of great climbing and descending. Def not much flat around here!

The trees in Big Basin were crazy big. It is hard to tell how big the tree is in this photo!

Prob 35 ft + in diameter?

Some amazing views from up on the ridge.

The sun was setting as we finished up our ride. This is a really cool area that I need to explore more. I raced a lot of cyclocross in this area as a junior but have not come down here to train ever. I think after today that will be different. Big ups to the Santa Cruz mountains! Till next time...

Marshall ride

2010-01-31T09:28:00.002-08:00

Yesterday I went on a sweet 5 hour ride with some friends in West Marin. We hit up Marshall and Tomales Bay before heading back through Olema. The weather was dicey but we managed to get in some good miles.

As I started out to go meet the guys the sky looked super clear.

After meeting up in Fairfax, we headed out towards Marshall and Tomales Bay. The clouds got a little ominous at this point but a little drizzle was not going to slow us down.

The hills are so green this time of year!

Once we got to Tomales Bay the sky cleared up and the views were beautiful!

The temperature felt especially warm after spending a week on the east coast.

Great first ride back in Northern California!

Wilier Le Roi

2010-01-30T00:39:00.002-08:00

I just got back from NYC tonight and I wanted to post some pictures of the bike I was riding all last week. I got this Wilier Le Roi a few years back from the nice folks at Cadence Cycling in Philadelphia. The story behind this bike was that they actually purchased it off the floor of Interbike from Wilier USA. It went from being a display at Interbike to then being a display at Cadence. Never the less, once a new edition of the Le Roi came out, it was out with the old and in with the new. And that is how I became the lucky and proud owner of this Wilier Le Roi.

Last weekend the president of Wilier-Triestina was killed by a car in Italy while he was out for his usual weekend bicycle ride. It was tragic to learn of this news and I was proud to be able to ride my Wilier this week in his honor.

Cold!

2010-01-24T22:25:00.002-08:00

After enjoying some nice sun yesterday it was a little different today as the winter chill was back and I had a wet and cold ride. It didn't seem that bad for most of my ride, but once I got cold the feeling never left and I retreated home to dethaw in the shower.

It was overcast and wet all day. For some reason, I had a lot of inner drive to push myself today. I left the house eager to put in a good day of training despite the poor conditions.

Every athlete has days where they feel good and days where they don't. Today I pushed myself and my body responded well. I don't have much speed in my legs yet but I'm feeling a lot stronger thanks to my winter cross training and long California rides.

Seeing huge ice formations on the side of the road is a def reminder that this is not California!

Back on the east coast

2010-01-23T19:47:00.002-08:00

I got back to the east coast late last night and was happy to find sunny conditions when I woke up this morning. I went out for a nice spin with my buddy Milan and despite the fact that it was pretty figid we has a good time.

As we cruised up the Wesr Side Hwy there was not a cloud in the sky.

Althought it was nice out the leafless trees clearly show that it is still winter.

We stopped at Strictly Bicycles in Fort Lee for some bottles. This place is owner by a super friendly guy named Nelson. Inside the store they have a cool coffee bar complete with flatscreen.

The roads look different here every season. The last time I did this ride was over the summer and it was kinda cool to see all the bare trees and empty roads.

After doing a good loop we came back into the city over the GW bridge.

Awesome view from the bridge. Super super clear!

More beautiful views as we cruised home on the West Side Hwy.

Leadville application process

2010-01-21T09:09:00.001-08:00

2 weeks ago I decided to put my name in the lottery for entry into the 2010 Leadville 100. Leadville takes place every August and is considered by many to be one of the hardest single day athletic challenges that exists. Not only do you have to tackle 100 miles on a mountain bike over a super mountainous course but you also have to do it at a very very high altitude!

This morning I read a cool article about the massive spike in entrants for this years race. At the moment there are entrants from over 98 countries trying to get into the 2010 edition! Over the last couple of years this race has become more and more popular thanks to the participation of such legends like Lance Armstrong and Floyd Landis. In addition, last summer the movie Race Across the Sky was released and now bike riders/racers/lovers from all around the world want to make the journey to Colorado to compete.

While the number of entrants keeps rising, I have my fingers crossed that I will be at the starting line come August.

Mondonico

2010-01-19T23:47:00.001-08:00

During the winter months it is not uncommon for racers to switch to a winter training bike. This past weekend I got the opportunity to train with one of the best US based riders in the country. While this rider is on a very successful continental team it was cool to see him riding a classy older Mondonico frame. When pro teams switch bike sponsors between seasons the riders are sometimes left with periods during the winter where they are between bike sponsors. While this rider could easily get a number of bicycles given to him to train on during this transition period he instead choses to ride an older Mondonico frame that he originally got while growing up on the east coast. After admiring the frame all weekend on the road, I snapped some pictures of this classic.

One of the reasons I got so excited about this bike is because of the history and significance behind the Mondonico name. For those who don't know about the role this family has played in Italian frame building, read a little about the Mondonico family and then you too will share my appreciation of this beautiful machine.

Overall the bike has very clean classic lines. As you can see the bike is set up as a winter training bike. Larger frame pump, rear fender, power meter etc are all winter ornaments that will get put away come race season.

The Mondonico stickers and paint still look awesome after years of riding. The orange color of the front triangle really pops!

Cool front head badge. Also the lugging on the front of the bike was left unpainted and polished...

While on the rear it was painted.

Of Course.. Columbus tubing as well.

Is this frame number 70 of 70? Antonio can you confirm this?

Seat stays are super skinny and the rear triangle is obviously not orange. Power meter for winter amusement.

Here is another shot of the skinny seat stays. Looks good!

Redlands Cycling Classic 2010?

2010-01-18T23:59:00.001-08:00

Tonight I sent in an email to the Redlands Cycling Classic trying to get placed on a composite team for the Pro stage race which takes place from Thursday March 25th to Sunday March 28th in Redlands, CA. The race starts off with a prologue followed by 3 more days of racing and Im keeping my fingers crossed that I will get the opportunity to compete. Redlands was started in 1985 and has so much history that it would be cool to get the experience. It is also the first race on USA cycling's 2010 National Racing Calendar (NRC) so it would be nice to start off the season in the thick of the action. Im out here in California training hard so hopefully I will be at the starting line in Redlands come March.

The Geysers & Pine Flat

2010-01-17T20:59:00.002-08:00

I had a great time riding in Sonoma County again today. Although the conditions were a little wet the riding up here is amazing and I had a lot of fun. We did a nice climb up Pine Flat road and then checked out the area locally known as the Geysers.

The ride started out super flat but that was soon to change!

There are some great roads to train on here. Not a lot of cars once you're off the main roads and some nice steady climbs.

The hills are so green this time of year!

The fog was thick at the top of the climbs so I'll have to come back for pictures another time.

After finishing the ride I was already wet so I decided to test out a new post ride recovery technique. Why take an ice bath when you can rope swing into a freezing cold pond?!

This is called the point of no return.

Omg, it is soooo cold in here!

Triathletes refer to this as the transition.

I call it sprinting to the hot tub!! Such a fun weekend!

Skaggs Spring Road

2010-01-16T23:38:00.002-08:00

Today I went on an epic ride up in the Alexander Valley in Sonoma County. I met up with an amazing group of athletes to tackle Skaggs Spring road. To those in the cycling world, this is widely known as one of the hardest and most beautiful rides in not only northern California but the US.

I woke up early and drove up to beautiful Sonoma County to meet the guys for the ride.

We started in Healsburg and headed towards Lake Sonoma where the real ride would begin.

The first 20 miles or so was flat as we cruised past vineyard after vineyard.

After getting to Lake Sonoma the real ride began. I had never done this ride before, nor had I researched its history, so I really had no idea what lay ahead...

And the climbing begins.

Some very clear views!

After about the 3rd or 4th 1000' climb I started to realize that this was no normal Saturday morning ride.

At our turnaround point we found two nice women to give us some bottled water since the signs said that the tap water was unpotable. After generously offering us the water they then asked if we would return the favor and unload their pickup truck full of groceries. We proceeded to help and prob saved the two women an hour as they had literally cleaned out Costco! As we turned to leave one of them offered us some cake and cookies she had made. Here is Paul cutting up the cake. Mmmm

After the cake we turned around and now tackled Skaggs from the other direction. Suprise suprise, more climbing.

The one positive to climbing is that you get some great views.

And more climbing...

After finishing up the return on Skaggs Spring road we got back on the flat and headed back to where we started. All in all, the ride was about 90 miles with 9000 ft of climbing. Not bad for a Saturday morning stroll.

Skaggs Spring road lived up to it's hype as a hard and beautiful ride. In the same sense I left today hungry for more. I will def be back up here soon as Skaggs and I have some unfinished business.

Half Moon Bay

2010-01-15T00:07:00.002-08:00

Today I went on a great ride to Half Moon Bay. It was a beautiful day here in San Francisco and the sun was out in full force. It was nice to head south of SF for a change as I usually head north to Marin County for my training.

Cruising through Golden Gate Park the sun was already warming things up. After meeting up in the city with Dave and Eric we headed west towards the coast.

The Pacific Ocean was raging.

As we headed further south into the Rift Valley we passed some beautiful views like this one at the Crystal Springs Reservoir.

Then we climbed out of the Rift Valley and headed towards Half Moon Bay.

We made a pitstop in Half Moon Bay and reloaded on liquids.

After refueling we headed south in search of Tanitad Creek Rd. This is a climb that was featured in stage 2 of the 2009 Tour of California. It is about 15k long and we were eager to check it out.

As we headed south we hit up some awesome fast singletrack! It is always cool to mix it up and do a little dirt in the middle of a long road ride.

The singletrack turned into a smooth fast path and before we knew it we were riding past the Ritz enjoying the views and saying hi to the guests who were surprised to see 3 fully clad bikers flying down the hotel paths.

Wow!

The huge castle like building in the background is the Ritz. Here we have snuck onto the golf course path and are headed futher south.

This is the start of the Tanitas Creek Rd. climb. It starts off pretty steep.

The view looking down got better the higher up we got.

The roads were empty today! We passed a couple of other cyclists but overall pretty quite.

The view from the top of the climb as we headed inland.

A fast and fun descent. I def need to come back and check out these roads again! The climbs seemed to be longer than up in Marin and these type of long gradual climbs can be very helpful when preparing for the race season.

As we passed Crystal Springs again the sun was starting to go down. What a fun day!

Blazing

2010-01-14T20:18:00.002-08:00

My good buddy Milan Sopic sent me this awesome photo today that he edited of me in the TT last year at The Cascade Classic in Bend, Oregon.

Milan is super talented when it comes to anything graphic or web related and it was cool to check out all the small details he added to this photo. Double click the photo to check it out up close! From the smoke behind me it looks like my rear tire might be burning up!

La la Land

2010-01-13T08:13:00.002-08:00

The last 2 days I have been down in LA conducting some meetings and getting some time in the sun. Training so far this winter in SF has been a lot of fun, but when I arrived in LA on Monday morning I was amazed at how warm it was down here compared to up north. I'm going back up to SF today but I def think a small training camp down here in the next couple of weeks is in order!

The blue sky doesn't lie! Mid 70s yesterday

A cool bridge we passed in Pasadena.

I'm a total design freak so when my riding partners suggested showing me the Gable house I jumped at the opp. The Gamble house is an amazing example of construction and design by the famous Greene and Greene team. The house was built around 1910 in less that 11 months and is considered one of the best examples of American arts and craft architecture.

The front doors. Pasadena has a lot of nice architecture but the Gamble house is no ordinary place. All the furniture inside the house was custom made and took alomst twice as long to build as the actual house. In total 17 different species of wood were used in construction!

The house had these amazing sun decks that wrapped around the back. As I stood there I couldn't help but try and imagine what it would have been like 100 years ago standing in the same spot next to the same house!

It is always fun riding in new places. When you have guides that are interested in showing you stuff that you're into it is even better. The boys stopped to show me the Gamble house and I was pumped about that. Def need to come back minus the spandex for a proper tour.

Long long day in the saddle

2010-01-10T20:52:00.002-08:00

This morning I went on a super long ride with some of the AC team. We met up early at Above Category in Mill Valley and headed over Mt. Tam in order to escape the thick fog which had blanketed the bay.

Climbing over Mt. Tam the sun started to sneak through.

The redwoods are amazing!

We cruised up the coast for a bit and then decided to climb back over the mountain inland.

Going back over the mountain was a bad idea! All of a sudden we were in some heavy heavy fog and things became cold and wet.

Fog = water = slick roads. Kris went down in front of me as we descended in the fog. Thankfully, he got up with a smile and walked it off like a champ. It was not fun seeing Kris slip and slide across the road. Just happy it wasn't worse. This is Kris and his strawberry.

Kris' rear was a little soar the rest of the way.

Whenever there is a spill a stop for coffee and snacks is always good. I had to take a pic of the Pegorettis looking so good outside the cafe.

After the pit stop we headed back out to the coast because we knew it was sunny out there.

The fog we had just left looked like a blanket over the ridgeline.

Such a great view! We are now back around where we were at 10am, although now it's 3pm and we are down to 3 from the 6 who started.

One last time over the mountain and then home. Peter leading the charge with the Pacific Ocean in the background!

Some people would think it is crazy to meet at 9am and ride till 4pm; however, when you have a place as special as Mt. Tam it is easy to let a day slip by as you pedal away.

5 hrs out in West Marin

2010-01-09T17:58:00.002-08:00

Today I went out for a nice 5 hour spin with Dave and Eric from AC. Although it never got that warm, it stayed dry and we had a good time exploring some news roads and getting in some good base miles.

When I got onto the bike path this morning to go meet the boys I literally ran into a traffic jam. It was around 8:30 in the morning and I came up to a group of literally 30-40 weekend warriors. Cool to see so many people out on their bikes!

After meeting the boys and climbing over Mt. Tam we headed north along the coast.

Boats tied up in Tomales Bay.

We had a great tailwind as we headed along Tomales Bay. Tailwinds are great until you have to turn around. Then it becomes this evil thing called a headwind!

And then we climb...

Hmmm, I think we go straight?

Despite the fog it was another beautiful day out in West Marin.

1985 Sasla road bike

2010-01-08T09:34:00.002-08:00

Yesterday on my training ride we stopped at the Bovine Bakery in Pt. Reyes Station and sitting outside the bakery I noticed this beautiful violet colored road bike. After talking to the proud owner I asked if I could take some pics to share this beautiful bike with the world.

At first glance the bike looks very simple and doesn't seem to immediately warrent a second look. Never the less, don't be fooled by the lack of carbon rims or 11 speed levers. After talking to the proud owner I found out that this is a 25 year old Salsa road bike that was built in Petaluma, CA. She has owned the bike her whole life and she loved the fact that I appreciated her bike. How could I not?!

The placement of the rear brake was one of the first things that caught my attention. It is positioned on the underside of the chainstays. I have seen this on a few mountain bikes but never on a road bike.

How clean are the lines on this rear triangle?! Seat is secured by a single bolt that goes directly into the seat tube! On top of that the seat tube is also areo. Classic!

Lots of other small details going on here. Check out the crown on the fork! Cable for the front break is run through the stem! Areo headtube! Cool downtube shifters!

Here is another view of the fork. The lines on the fork crown were super clean and it looked soo cool!

Front brake cable is fed directly through the stem! The owner of the bike told me she had it powder coated about a year ago and that the painter had been careful to take all the proper steps to assure the preservation of the frame. Once I got her talking about her bike she went on and on about how well she cared for it and all the great memories she has had on it etc. It was awesome to see this women's enthusiasm for what is truly a beautiful bike.

4 hours easy

2010-01-08T08:49:00.002-08:00

I went on a nice 4 hour easy spin yesterday to strech out the legs with Dave and Eric from AC. My calf was bothering me a little earlier in the week so we went nice and easy in order to strech out the legs and loosen the muscles a bit. The fog stuck around for all of our spin but we still had a good time.

We started out with our jackets on and did some climbing in order to warm up.

After shedding the rain jackets we headed west towards the coast.

Eric on the left, Dave on the right

Time to cruise back towards the crib.

It's hard to see in the other photos but easier to see here. Eric is like 6'4", Dave 5'8". I guess a bike swap would be out of the question if someone has a mechanical?!

My new training bike - 1/7/10

2010-01-07T19:26:00.002-08:00

Today I rode my new training bike. I have actually had the bike for over 10 years but it recently had a rebirth with an overhaul and a couple of upgrades. The bike was built by Chris Kelly for whom I raced for as a junior. I primarily focused on the mountain bike stuff but as a true bike geek I also enjoyed going fast on the road. Chris built me a road bike about a year after I started racing for him and I'm proud to annouce that I'm still riding it to this day.

Over 10 years old but still rides and looks good!

I put a new Fi'zi:k areone CX saddle on the bike. This is the same saddle I use on my Pegoretti. How hot does the silver and black look?!

Matching Fi'zi:k silver tape?! You bet!

The Kelly frame and stem were built in Oakland, CA by Chris Kelly in 1998. Chris built the bikes in his welding workshop in this old brick warehouse off the freeway near downtown Oaklands and slept upstairs! I have many fond memories with the Kelly crew!

Kelly was a true frame builder in that he built them all: road, cross, mountain, special DH bike with 13" travel, you name it Chris could build it!

This particular frame is made from True Temper OX Gold. Gotta love quality steel.

Back in the late 90s Shimano Dura Ace 9 speed was the gold standard.

Gotta love the old 9 speed hoods. Def a litte different than what I have on my race bike.

Leadville 2010?

2010-01-06T22:19:00.001-08:00

Tonight I put in an application for entry into the 2010 Leadville 100. I will find out around Feb 8th if Im selected for the race. I don't know how good my chances are of getting in but if Im selected to participate I intend to fully honor the opportunity and truly tackle this epic race. Does this mean I will be racing mountain bikes in 2010? We will have to wait and see until the lottery...

2009 flashback - Tour of Mt. Nebo (PA)

2010-01-05T22:37:00.001-08:00

Last July I competed in the Tour of Mt. Nebo in Lancaster County, PA. This race has a long history and it was great to find out that the course suited me quite well. There are a number of races in every region of the country that command the respect of all those who race in that area. In the PA bike racing scene one race that commands that type of respect is Mt. Nebo. This course is in your face hard and everyone who races it remembers it.

One of the best things about this race was that I had a big support crew. My dad was out from California and I also had my best friend Brian and his girlfriend Becky helping out. My AC teammate from NYC Milan was also there racing.

At this point in the race there was still a large group at the front but a breakaway is up the road with about 2-3 in it. As you can see some people are already in the hurt. I look kinda bored in the back and appear to looking through the pack trying to see where the break is up the road.

When the front group in a race starts to blow apart simply because of the difficulty of the course that often means it is a good time to attack. As we came into the pit zone the course went super super steep again. Here Im going off the front of what is left of the front group. There is still one guy off the front at this point who was left from the early break. The front group was about 15 when he broke away but at this point it is completely splintered to about 3-4... so I thought it was a good time to charge ahead solo.

When I say it was steep, Im talking like 20%+.... In at least 3 places per lap!

Pain is only temporary. In situations like this you just have to push through. I remember that I had to throw my glasses off in the pits about halfway through the race because I had so much sweat dripping off my head and it was pooling on them. Despite doing this, I still had issues after as the sweat then just went straight into my eyes! That is just part of racing in the humidity of the east coast in July. Maybe next year Ill rock the headband? Or at least the arm band to wipe the head?

I ended up staying clear of the chase, good enough for 2nd place in the P 1/2 race. The leader had broken away earlier in the race and we had started the pullback too late...

Han's bday ride

2010-01-03T17:25:00.002-08:00

This morning I went on a ride that my buddy Han's put together. Today was his 49th bday and his idea of fun was to see all his buddies go out for a 5 hour ride and try and drill the legs off each other. Hans is a super nice guy and it was awesome that around 30 people showed up for the ride. To spice things up, Hans offered gift certificates for a number of different sprints-climbs along the way. As a result, Han's bday ride turned into a total slaughterfest and I found myself in "the hurt" for the first time since last racing October.

We had a great turnout for the ride today with riders from Thirsty Bear, Morgan Stanley, Safeway, Helens and a number of other teams represented. In the winter months I often train with a small group or solo so it was fun to ride with some old friends from other teams and make some new friends as well.

Hans the birthday boy!

My AC teammate Dave was in the house and won a $15 Trader Joes sprint!

Chris Phipps, animal lover, stops to take a pic of his new friend. I know Chris from my days as a runner and not only is he a stud on the bike but also a real nice guy.

Paul Dyrwal was also there and made sure that the pace was high throughout the ride. I have only ridden with Paul a couple of times but he is a real powerhouse on the bike.

Ah, top of the last climb, time to cruise home.

Dave, holding my bike and looking so pro. Any single ladies out there? He speaks Italian...

NYE ride

2010-01-02T08:52:00.002-08:00

I did a fun ride on NYE with some of the AC crew. I spent the night of NYE down in LA so I wanted to get a solid ride in before my short trip down south.

I first met up with Dave and we headed to the coast to do a little loop before meeting up with the others.

Awesome view as we climbed past the Golden Gate Bridge into the Headlands area.

Dave aka Baby Dave aka DVO aka pimp daddy D.

After Dave and I cruised around for about 2 hours in the Headlands we met up with some of the other AC guys and headed towards Pt. Reyes Station.

Peter on the front with Dave keeping the pace high.

Jeez my legs hurt, I wonder if anyone else at this party rode for 5 hours today?!

Morning ride

2009-12-29T15:11:00.002-08:00

I did a nice 3 hour spin this morning. About an hour into my ride I ran into my friend Scott Z who rides for KBS. Scott won two huge UCI stage races last year and was 3rd in the TT at US pro nats! After meeting up with Scott, we did a nice loop together and I got to ask some questions to a very very seasoned pro about racing, training etc. It is always good to ride and train with people who are better than you and hopefully I will get to ride with Scott a bunch this winter. The best part about Scott is that he is not only a very experienced pro but also also a super nice cool guy.

The fog was crazy thick when I took off this morning.

As soon as I climbed over the mountain all the thick soupy fog was gone.

We stopped for a quick pit stop above Muir Beach.

The view was great as we made our way along the ridge.

Scott Z cruising ahead of me.

Double day

2009-12-28T21:14:00.002-08:00

I had a nice double day today here in San Francisco. I woke up early and did a core workout with Mike Lopez at Body Image. After that I jumped on the bike and did a nice spin to strech out the legs. I'm trying to come up with a couple of loops to do some training on so today I looked for a climbing heavy loop and enjoyed some quite roads around Muir Woods.

I tried to keep a good tempo on the climbs as I road today.

I noticed these really cool Oak trees.

I'm hoping that all the climbing I'm doing over the winter will translate into stronger legs come next spring.

One of the best things about climbing is the view from the top.

The view from the bike path as I made my way home.

5 hours with the bears

2009-12-27T17:55:00.002-08:00

Yesterday I went on a great 5 hour ride with the Thirsty Bear team and some other friends like my high school running coach Tom Lyons and longtime friend and mtb legend Otis Guy. We did a nice loop out to Marshall and then came back along Tomales Bay and down the coast to Stinson Beach before cutting over the mountain to get home. It was great to catch up with some old friends and the riding was awesome!

Great view of Tomales Bay once you get to the top of the Marshall climb.

The Thirsty Bear crew was in the house.

It was a little overcast, but the roads were dry and empty.

I stopped at the beach on the way home to take this picture.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-25T22:36:00.002-08:00

I took the day off today and enjoyed spending Christmas with my friends and family. Lots of love, laughs and food!

I went on a nice walk this morning in Sausalito and took this picture down in the harbor.

Another beautiful day in California...

Long winter rides

2009-12-24T23:37:00.002-08:00

The last couple of days I have been doing some longer rides. When I was back on the east coast I spent a lot of time in the gym, so when I got back out to California I switched my focus towards getting some more road miles in my legs.

Mt Tam and Marin county have been a beautiful place to train.

The weather has been super clear and the roads emtpy!

We rode by this harbor the other day and saw this awesome tugboat!

The window of the tugboat. Soooo Marin....

Bovine Bakery in Pt Reyes Station has some great baked good for those long winter rides.

When the sun goes down you know it is time to go home.

Solid first day back in California

2009-12-21T21:15:00.002-08:00

I had a nice first day back in California today. Although it was super foggy out I had no complaints as I was literally snowed in back east 24 hours ago. I went to see Mike at Body Work this morning and did a solid core workout before hitting the roads for about 4 hours.

The sky just couldn't make up its mind today. First it was rainy, then sunny, then windy and then foggy. I guess that is northern California weather for you! In the background of this photo you can just make out the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge.

Whenever I get back to California I usually head straight to my favorite training grounds. One area I love to visit is Alpine Lake which is pictured above.

Although it was foggy out today, it was really beautiful. The fog also makes the air extra fresh and clean which I really noticed as I was climbing today. After being back in NYC and Philadelphia for the last 10 days the air out here is like candy on my lungs.

It was awesome looking down through the fog and seeing some rays of light hit the beach and ocean 2,000 ft below.

Cycling in Central Park, NYC

2009-12-19T18:23:00.001-08:00

I shot some cool video clips of my AC teammate Milan Sopic in Central Park today. Milan is born and raised in "the city" and is not only a great training partner but also one of my best friends. 2009 was his first full season racing and I think that 2010 is going to be a breakthrough year for this strong all around rider.

Gym workout in Philadelphia

2009-12-18T20:12:00.002-08:00

The past couple of weeks I have started to mix up my winter training with some weight lifting and other cross training. As I was doing my workout today I thought it would be cool to snap some pics along the way and show what type of stuff Im doing.

When Im in Philadelphia I workout at The Sporting Club. It is a huge place and has a lot of fun toys.

Before I do anything I warm up by running for at least 15 minutes. Running gets my blood flowing and warms the muscles before the real workout begins.

I have been doing a lot of work with the medicine ball. I use it for strides, lunges and other drills aimed at strengthening the core and leg muscles.

Im looking to weight machines to help develop more strength in my legs this winter. This particular machine is called the leg extension.

The leg press is another machine I have been using a lot. I do both single and double leg presses.

I have also incorporated a number of workouts with the Nautilus machine into my routine. This machine allows for a large range of motion and allows me to taylor the workout to benefit the muscles Im trying to target.

NYC - Philadelphia - Off week

2009-12-17T08:26:00.001-08:00

I have been back on the east coast for a week now and although Im having a good time and have been getting a lot accomplished on the business end, Im secretly craving the empty roads of Northern California and the soreness that long weeks of winter base miles gives you. Never the less, the week off has been good on my body and I have been enjoying myself. In addition I have been doing a good amount of gym work and even jumped into a spinning class earlier in the week. On Tuesday, my NYC based AC teammate Milan and I braved the cold temp and went out for a nice afternoon spin. Even though it was chilly out we had a great time and were able to catch up and talk about the upcoming season.

Riding through Central Park

Stopping at Via Quadronno for sandwiches can improve a ride no matter how cold it is!

The Le Roi and Prince.

There is a certain creative energy that is unique to NYC.

Eastern Athletic in Tribeca has been a nice quite place to workout while in NYC.

Travel day

2009-12-10T17:50:00.001-08:00

I took a day off today and traveled from San Francisco to New York. Traveling with a bike is always interesting but it went pretty smoothly today. I just finished building up my bike and it looks good to go.

Bike case in the kitchen? You have to make some compromises in NYC.

Last day in Cali/ Double day

2009-12-10T01:42:00.001-08:00

Today was my last day in California before I take off for a little 10 day east coast adventure. I have a lot going on in the next couple of days so today I focused on getting one last good training day in before I take it down a notch for a week. I lifted weights this morning with Mike Lopez at Body Works in Strawberry. Mike has put together a program for me this winter and is really pushing me to develop my core strength which I think will come in handy this spring. In the afternoon I went for a nice spin and hit all my favorite spots one last time before I leave.

The skies were clear today as I headed out.

My Pegoretti bike has been a blast to ride out here. I have been riding a pair of Fulcrum 7 training wheels for most of the time I have been out here but today I opted for the Edge 68s. Wow are they fast!

The city of Belvedere is where I was born and raised. Im very very lucky to say the least. Belvedere is the green land mass that juts out into the water on the right.

Solid 4 hour spin

2009-12-08T23:06:00.001-08:00

I mixed it up today and did a little bit of everything. I headed out in the afternoon and started climbing right away since it was cold out again. I road directly to the coast and although it was not windy there was a chill in the air. I did a new loop up the coast and then ended up meeting up with my buddy Hans. Hans is a former runner turned cyclist and is not only a stud on the bike but also a really nice cool guy. The two of us road together for about an hour and then we met up with a couple of his friends for their weekly Tuesday night ride. I went with them for a bit, but since I didn't have a light I figured it was best to not push my luck and I called it quits as the ride conveniently passed my house.

The sky was looking pretty ominous when I first starting riding up the coast.

Stinson Beach, CA - A beautiful place.

The view riding up the coast was epic

The sun was setting quickly as I climbed over the mountain to go meet my buddy Hans.

After linking up with Hans we cruised through a beautiful little marsh area on our way to Sausalito.

Chilly afternoon spin

2009-12-07T23:02:00.001-08:00

After a good session in the weight room this morning I snuck in a nice 3 hour spin before the sun went down. The weather is unusually cold for this area and I even saw some snow today on top of Mt. Tam! Despite the temp being in the high 30s-low 40s I was able to warm up and enjoy myself. There were not a lot of people out on the roads and despite a brief rain and hail storm the sky was super clear.

Descending Pine Mountain.

This is good, yes?

There were some amazing views as the skies cleared up after a short hail storm on the climb. This is like a playland for cyclist.

The view as I headed for home was breathtaking.

Morning spin

2009-12-07T00:10:00.002-08:00

This morning I went on a nice spin with Chad (owner of Above Category), Dave (my teammate) and Scott Z (Superstar Kelly B rider). We checked out some areas that I have not been around since being back here and it was nice to chat and spin out the legs. I was feeling pretty tired today so I was happy not to have a long day in the schedule.

Although it was pretty cold out the skies were blue and clear this morning.

Left to Rigth: Dave, Chad and Scott

Chad is doing a long term test on a sweet Parlee Z3.

4 hour spin / Northface Endurance Challenge

2009-12-05T19:40:00.001-08:00

This morning I went on a nice 4 hour ride with my teammate Dave and our adopted teammate/riding partner Jeff. We ended up linking up with a couple of different groups and made some friends while enjoying a clear but chilly day outside San Francisco. After riding, I went over to Mill Valley to pace my old friend Preston for the last 6 miles of the Northface Endurance Challenge. This is an epic 50 mile trail running race through some of the most beautiful areas of coastal Marin County! This was Preston's first 50 mile race and he said that it was even harder than the Ironman he did last summer! With over 10,000 ft of elevation gain this is not an event for the weak.

It is so cool how many people are into cycling out here in Northern California. After meeting up for our ride, the 3 of us quickly encountered a number of groups and decided to tag along and make some friends.

As we rolled towards the coast the views started to look good!

We got a flat but were quickly back on the road.

Thanks to a helpful attendant at the Olema Deli I found out today that "Mexican Coke doesn't contain high fructose corn syrup like American Coke but instead that good sugar stuff"... Hmmmm, interesting, Team AC powered by Mexican Coca-Cola.

Preston on mile 44.

Preston on mile 48 running down towards the finish. Spending the last few miles of the race with Preston was pretty cool and although I don't think he was paying attention the views were out of this world. Check out the Golden Gate Bridge sticking through the fog in the background!

English Paul's Pegoretti Marcelo

2009-12-05T00:11:00.001-08:00

5 hours

2009-12-03T18:31:00.001-08:00

Today was my first 5 hour day on the bike in my build up for next season. I started with Chad (the owner of Above Category), Dave (my teammate) and our friend Eric Fischer (U23 powerhouse). The 4 of us did a nice 3 hour loop before Chad and Dave had to split off to go to work. I had planned on today being a long day, so I continued on my own for 2 more hours. I didn't go extremely hard or anything but the legs are definitely feeling tired tonight.

The fog was thick this morning as we rode through Sausalito towards San Francisco.

After passing under the Golden Gate Bridge we started to climb towards the coast.

Cruising through Fort Cronkhite the fog started to clear.

After Fort Cronkhite we did some nice climbing along these awesome cliffs!

As we made our way home we quickly realized a very high tide had come in and flooded parts of the bike path.

Golfday

2009-12-02T23:16:00.001-08:00

After putting in a good first week of training out here in San Francisco, I took a nice day off and played my first game of golf. I have never played golf before because I typically play more action packed sports like soccer, basketball, tennis etc. Never the less, I gave it a shot and had a blast. After zipping around all week on my bike it was nice to slow things down a bit.

I like the driver! Go big or go home.

Early morning ride

2009-12-01T14:47:00.001-08:00

This morning I went on an early morning ride with Above Category owner Chad and my teammate Dave. Dave just got back from spending the holidays with his parents in Minnesota so it was cool to catch up with him. We kept up a nice tempo and did a good loop around

Olema from Mill Valley.

The sky was pink as I left my house a little after 7am and rode to the shop to meet Chad and Dave for our ride. Here you can see the morning sun as we stopped to take off some of our layers.

After warming up for about an hour we picked up the tempo a bit and started to climb towards Olema.

Once in Olema, we turned inland and rode through Samuel P. Taylor park and back towards home. Dave on the left, Chad on the right.

The weather was really warming up as we finished our ride. Just another beautiful December day in Northern California.

Beautiful long painful solo ride

2009-11-30T22:53:00.001-08:00

The weather out here today was absolutely beautiful. With this in mind, what better thing to do than go on a long ride in one of the most beautiful places in the world!

As I set out on my ride, I saw this women painting on the side of the bike path. It made me pause for a second and realize how unseasonably nice it was out.

After climbing over Mt. Tam I headed straight for the Point Reyes National Seashore...aka heaven for a cyclist.

After doing a nice loop around Olema, I headed south again on Highway 1. After passing Stinson beach I started to climb and when I looked back I saw this amazing view.

As I headed home I kept checking out the huge waves that were rolling in. I didn't see many surfers in the water although I did see a ton of cars with boards on their roofs. Check out the huge Vulcher in the top left of the picture ; I saw a bunch of these guys today.

The sun started to set just as I made it over the mountain.

Did I mention it was nice out today?

Morning ride - AC Juniors cyclocross race

2009-11-29T18:00:00.001-08:00

This morning I went on a nice 4 hour ride with my old high school running coach Tom and his friend Mitch. We did a beautiful loop out in West Marin and it was nice to catch up with Tom and talk running for a bit.

After the ride, I jumped in the car and headed to Golden Gate Park in San Francisco to watch the AC juniors tear it up in a cyclocross race. Now I say the AC junior team but a more accurate description is probably the ACR U16 terror squad. Despite the fact that none of the juniors has a valid drivers license they seriously took charge of the race. ACR's Spence Petterson won the mens B race and the rest of the team also had strong showings. There were probably over 100 riders in the field and the junior team seriously represented with all the riders in the top third! Good job boys!

It was a beautiful day here in Northern California. I stopped to take this picture as we crossed Alpine Dam around 11am. Not a cloud in the sky!

ACR's Sklyer Taylor, age 14, looking pro warming up before the start!

ACR's Bob Siegel(16) and Spence Peterson(14) warming up before the start. Bob and Spence had some sort of crazy warmup routine they were doing, but it apparently works well as Spence went on to win the race with Bob a solid 7th!

This is a video of the start of the men's B race that the juniors were in. A huge field!

Check out all the people cheering at the run up. Gotta love the energy out here!

Here's a good pic of Blair Peterson, Spence's dad, flying up the run up in the singlespeed race. Blair is a super nice guy and it is cool that Spence has his whole family, mom and sisters included, cheering him on at the races. Side note - Blair is riding a super sick Potts singlespeed cyclocross bike. Steve Potts is a legend in the frame building/mountain bike world. He personally helped me out as a junior and it was cool seeing Blair race such an awesome machine.

The English ride

2009-11-28T21:17:00.001-08:00

I went out with my friends Peter, Paul and Kris this morning on something they call the "English ride". Peter and Paul are both originally from England and each Saturday morning they get together with some of their other blokes from England and they all go out for a ride together. We did a great loop out to the Limantour Beach in the Point Reyes National Seashore from the Java Hut in Fairfax. It was a real fun group of guys and there were some breathtaking views along the way. Fun times.

After getting out to Olema, we started to climb over the ridge out to Limantour Beach

Once we got to the top of the ridge we did an epic downhill to the beach. Check out that view!

This is the view from the beach looking south towards San Francisco. Amazingly clear!!!

When Im out in San Francisco I often ride with my buddy Peter. He is a real cool guy, a total workhorse on bike and looks like Mario Cippolino! His new Pegoretti is so awesome that I had to take a pic. Check out that paintjob!

Recover spin / weights

2009-11-27T15:53:00.001-08:00

I went for a nice recover spin this morning. I have put in over 200 miles in the last 3 days so it was time to take a chill pill today and let the legs rest a little. I also needed to recover from the massive amounts of turkey that I ate yesterday.

2009 AC team captain Ian Tuttle joined me for the spin. Ian will not be racing in 2010 as he is applying to grad school and focusing on his other passion in life, writing. Never the less, it was great to get Ian out for a ride and I hope that I can lure him out again soon!

After the ride I went directly to In N out for a pit stop and then on to the gym to do some easy weight work on the legs. Now it is time to relax and let the body chill before I put in a big weekend. Maybe a movie and some sushi?...mmmmm

Gobble gobble, AC Thanksgiving ride

2009-11-26T23:00:00.001-08:00

This morning was the AC Thanksgiving ride.

After meeting at the shop, the group climbed up Mt. Tam

We stopped for a pit break in Stinson Beach.

Cruising back towards the shop. Check out Chad's hot new ACR/ BKW shorts!

The view as I cruised back to the house for some turkey! I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Double day

2009-11-26T00:20:00.001-08:00

This winter Im mixing things up a little with some cross training. Part of the cross training is some light weight lifting, with a focus on the legs. This morning I walked to the gym to strech out my legs and then did a 45 min weight session. After getting back to the house, I scarfed down a quick sandwich and jumped on the bike for 3 1/2 hours for this epic loop. The weather was incredible again and Im starting to think that I may even get a little color while Im out here.

There was not a cloud in the sky as I set out for my afternoon ride

After leaving the house I headed straight to Highway 1 and went north up the California coast.

Roads were smooth and uncrowded

After going up the coast awhile, I cut inland and went through the Pt. Reyes National Park

I made it home just as the sun was setting

Eventful 1st day in California

2009-11-25T09:54:00.001-08:00

Yesterday was my first day of training in California and it was both beautiful and eventful. I took off to train around 11 am and quickly shed my arm-warmers and leg-warmers as I realized I had underestimated how nice it was out. For 3 hours I spun away rocking out to my ipod, taking in the beautiful scenery and snapping the occasional pic. Then a flat! Not that bad but then I had the realization that I despite bringing my tools, air etc I had no extra tube! After fumbling through my tool case I found a vintage patch kit that had probably started to decompose from years of no use. Never the less, I was able to MacGyver it and soon I was again spinning down the road. I got about another 20 minutes in and then realized something funky was happening with the drivetrain on my bike as it just didn't quite feel right. WAMMM, and I hit my knee hard on the handlebar. Now something def is not right as my bike will pedal and shift gears but the actual pedal stoke will not propel the bike forward. Then the realization sets in that I have broken my free wheel and that it is time to start hitchhiking. 2 friendly car rides later and Im back at Above Category headquarters. Despite my tech problems it was a beautiful day and Im so happy to be out here training for the winter!

As I was climbing I came around a switchback and saw this amazing view that I had to stop and take a quick picture of. Hard to believe that this will be my "winter" playground.

My body and my bike both like being back in warm weather!

Video from Sunday Cadence ride in Philadelphia

2009-11-23T23:59:00.001-08:00

I just arrived in San Francisco tonight and Im happy to finally start my winter training tomorrow. In some ways I feel very behind where I was last year at this point. Never the less, I developed a lot as a rider during the 2009 season and thus will be starting at a lot higher level than I was ever at last winter.

I also want to mix up my training a little over the next 8-10 weeks and focus on building more core strength. I have a good cardio system from my days as a runner, so over the winter my goal is to increase my muscle strength in my legs and my overall core strength through pilates, weightlifting and other cross training techniques.

I put in 2 good rides this last weekend in Philadelphia with my buddies from Cadence. Here is a short video I took on Sunday's ride.

And it begins again...

2009-11-07T10:14:00.001-08:00

Today was my first day back riding after taking a nice 3 weeks off the bike. My body went through periods of feeling both good and bad while I was resting. The first couple of days off felt awesome but after about a week of no exercise my muscles started to ache and my body went into that deep recovery mood.

I was going to start riding again this coming Monday, but after hearing the weather was going to be nice this weekend I let myself get talked into doing the monthly employee ride out of Cadence bike store. When Im in Philadelphia, Cadence is basically my go to shop and it is always fun to go out for a spin with the guys who work there. This morning there was a real good turnout for the ride with almost 50 people showing up for the 8am spin. Not bad for November on the east coast!

The river looked very cold this morning!

The pack pulling up to an intersection.

Stages art opening in NYC

2009-10-31T12:16:00.001-07:00

Went to a real cool art opening last night at Deitch gallery in NYC for Lance Armstrong's Stages art show. The show opened in Paris this summer during the tour and is stopping in NYC before ending in Miami for Art Basel in December. I had a great night and even got to speak with the man himself about everything from racing the Tour of Gila this year to training with Victor Hugo Pena. Lance was super nice and it was real cool for him to take some time to chat.

W Magazine article on the show

Tom Sachs bike was pretty awesome, yes that is Tequila!
The piece is titled, "Lance's tequila bike for girls"
The front end of the bike had all the special tools to complete the project

Lance was in the house and having a good time. Very friendly. Milan, Lance and I chatting it up.

As you can tell it is almost November in California

2009-10-29T18:47:00.001-07:00

Winter break - August flashback

2009-10-28T18:51:00.001-07:00

This past August at the University road race in Santa Cruz, California the AC team had all five Cat 1/2s in a race together for the first time all season. For me it was one of my season highlights as I finally got to race with 2 of my teammates for the first time.

David Van Orsdel, me, Kris Lunning, Ian Tuttle & Chris Turner

Tuttle and Van Orsdel before the race. Notice mountain bike legend Ned Overend in the foreground and cyclocross stud Bary Wicks in the background.

Lunning before the race staring the hill down. This was my first time racing with Kris and it was awesome to see his power as he continually drove the pack up the hill.
Tuttle, Lunning and Van Orsdel drill it up the climb.Tuttle was our team captain in 2009 and has decided to focus on writing in 2010 instead of racing. Of course I want Ian to succeed at whatever he does, but hopefully Ian will be back racing with us soon. If it was not for Ian I would not have been on the AC team.

Van Orsdel sits in the pack and assesses the situation as Tuttle and Lunning keep the pace hot on the front. Dave and I got to race both the Tour of Gila and Cascade Classic together in 2009 and it was so much fun racing with him. He is going to be a great training partner this winter and if I had to bet I would expect some big results from him in 2010.

The group sprint, I took it out and never looked back

The guy behind me was from Japan and I love the look on his face in this photo. Im not really a sprinter but if it is uphill I can accelerate pretty quickly.

This is me talking to my old high school running coach Tom Lyons, post race. Tom has always been a huge supporter of mine and although Tom still coaches running he is now into biking and it is awesome to see him excelling on 2 wheels. Did I mention Tom won his race that day!

Winter break - Painting around the house

2009-10-27T17:46:00.001-07:00

I'm now 2 weeks into my winter break and my time off the bike is flying by. I have been painting my house and getting all my stuff in order to spend the winter out in California. In some ways I still can't believe that I have committed to relocating for the winter in order to train but I'm getting excited as the date of my departure approaches. I'm also excited because the weather here is starting to get nasty and I know from last winter that building a base when there is snow on the ground is hard.

You can tell from my pants that I have been in full on house fix up mode
Pick a color any color
A picture from last spring before a training ride

Winter break - New AC jersey

2009-10-21T14:30:00.001-07:00

New AC jersey just arrived in the mail.

The new AC jersey looks awesome in white!!

Im a week into my winter break and my time off the bike is going very quickly. Im planning on spending the winter months in a significantly warmer climate than Philadelphia, so with this in mind I have been working very hard on trying to get my house in order so that I can rent it out for the winter.

At this point it looks like Im going to be basing myself in San Francisco starting at the end of November as this will allow me to properly train for next season. Im originally from San Francisco and the combination of family, friends, weather and riding partners makes the Bay Area an easy choice.

On another subject I got a new AC jersey today in the mail today. This one is an exact contrast (white for black, black for white) to the ones we raced in all year. Pretty cool.

Checked out the cyclocross scene

2009-10-18T18:37:00.001-07:00

I drove out to the Pennsylvania countryside today to watch the Wissahickon Cross UCI C2 cyclocross race. It has been raining here for the past 2 or 3 days straight so I was excited to see the condition of the course and watch some strong elite riders duel it out.

I used to race cyclocross as a junior and I have been flirting with the idea about giving it another go. It is not in the plan this winter but come this time next year things may be very different. I spoke with the legendary Chris Kelly (founder of Kelly Bicycles) last week and lets just say there are some people who are interested in seeing me back on the cyclocross scene. Kelly reminded me that as a junior in 1996 I won the overall Surf City cyclecross series in Northern California. This was an epic series that had some amazing courses and was sooo much fun. While mountain biking was what originally got me hooked on cycling, cyclocross underlined how much fun racing you bike should be and also introduced me to the strong Nor Cal cycling community that supported me through my days as a junior.

As for today's race, Ryan Treborn of Kona won the race easily ahead of his teammate Barry Wicks. I raced Wicks back at University Road Race in California this past August and was surprised how quickly he was off the back in that race. Today was completely different and it was cool to see him in his element putting the pain on some top domestique road pros who were out giving the dirt a try. Just goes to show what special skills are required in cyclocross.

Final thoughts- Big props to the Kona 1-2. Kona bicycles was a huge supporter of mine as a junior and it was good to see them dominating. As a junior mountain bike racer I was partially adopted by Kona one summer and have some amazing memories traveling around the country in the back of their truck from one NORBA National to the next. I got to do everything from visit the company headquarters in Washington state to take the factory team on a ride in my hometown of Marin prior to the UCI World Cup in Napa (which I went on to win!). I don't know who is still around from back in the day but I still have a lot of fond memories and it was great to see them go 1-2! (Jake would be proud!)

Yummy! It dried out a lot from yesterday but there was still some nice thick slow mud

Charging it!

Richard Sachs makes some beautiful bikes.

I saw only one dismount section on the whole course so I posted up there for some action
The fans on the run up were awesome and there were even some $1s and $5 stuck in the mud for the riders to grab as they struggled up the hill

2009-10-15T13:28:00.001-07:00

Fall is officially here on the east coast

2009-10-13T20:35:00.001-07:00

Today's high in Philadelphia was in the 50s which means that in my book summer is officially over. I went for a nice spin this afternoon and despite the chilly weather had a lot of fun. Im going to stop for my winter break later this week so before I do so Im making sure I get one last ride around some of my favorite loops.

NYC birthday weekend

2009-10-12T12:19:00.001-07:00

I had a great weekend up in NYC getting in some "city" miles, going trap shooting and celebrating my friend Milan's 25th birthday. Milan is my teammate, domestique, security, webmaster but most importantly best friend. 2009 was his first year racing and I think that 2010 will be a breakout year for this strong rider from New York City.

We went to a lot of races together this year from the Tour of Gila in New Mexico to the Fitchburg Classic in Mass. There were definetly some ups and downs along the way. Milan talked me into racing at 730am in NYC in early March, wtf 30 degrees!! I talked Milan into driving down from NYC to do the Tour of Nebo in Pennsylvania without mentioning the fact that it was really called the Tour of Mt. Nebo and there was over 6000 ft of climbing (he is a sprinter) haha.

If it wasn't for Milan I would not have gotten back into cycling last year and if it wasn't for Milan I never would have even thought about doing over 40 races this year! When you have a best friend who loves to bike it is awesome. I have a lot of great friends but very few who understand what being a true cyclist is about... the commitments, the training, the suffering but more than anything the fun! Cycling can bring people together. I know it is only October but Im already getting excited about crushing it next season and I know no matter what happens in the races Milan and I will be having a good time as always.

Milan- "Forget the clays, show me the where the duck pond is at!"
New York City represent, represent
Milan changing a flat, city style
From the bike to the hair... a work of art

Valley Forge Nat'l Hist. Park

2009-10-09T17:19:00.001-07:00

Being born and raised in San Francisco, Im often sarcastically asked how the riding is in Philadelphia. Valley Forge Nat'l Hist. Park is about an hour spin from downtown Philadelphia and as you can see from the photos it is absolutely beautiful! I have a couple of nice loops that I do out here when Im training hard during the race season. The roads are very smooth and tend to be pretty empty. While I do miss the west coast, as you can see from the photos Im not doing too bad out here.

October in Philadelphia

2009-10-07T08:17:00.001-07:00

I have been enjoying some nice mellow rides the last few days here in Philadelphia. Here are some pictures I took from my short spin last night.

Doing the group ride thing

2009-10-04T07:25:00.001-07:00

During the race season I was so busy traveling and racing every weekend that I did not get to do any cool relaxed weekend group rides. Over the winter these early morning weekend rides had become part of my normal schedule. Group rides are fun for a number of different reasons and I enjoyed getting out there again and doing a great 3 hour loop with some friends. Here are some pictures from the ride. It was cold, wet and we had a number of punctures but all was good.

My bike - 10/1/09

2009-10-01T11:50:00.001-07:00

I have been training and racing on the same bike since March. The frame is a Pegoretti Love #3 custom AC Team model. I think that Dario made only 5 of these frames and Im extremely honored to be riding one and to be on the only team in the world that is sponsored by Pegoretti!

The bike is built up with a Campy Record group. Up front I have an Edge fork/bar, Chris King headset and a Deda stem. I currently have my bars wrapped in gold Deda tape (bling, bling).
I have been using a variety of Edge wheels this season and still have not settled on a favorite combo. My current setup is a deep dish 68 Edge up front and a shallow 25 Edge in the rear. I use DT Swiss hubs on all my Edge wheels.

Other details on my bike include FSA K Force Light SRM cranks, FSA chainrings, Thomson seatpost, Fi'zik saddle and Look Keo pedals

Pics from tonight's ride around Philadelphia

2009-09-29T16:42:00.001-07:00

Went on a nice spin around Philadelphia tonight with my friend Brian. Here are some photos from the ride.

Pics and a video from today's ride

2009-09-28T16:23:00.001-07:00

My racing is over for the season however Im still going to be riding/training for about 2 more weeks before I take a nice winter break. While in some ways it has been hard to find the motivation to ride the last week, Im kinda taking advantage of this "no racing but still riding for some reason period" and took some cool pics and a video on my ride today.

The thinking behind this "no racing but still riding for some reason period" has to do with my training for next season. I want to make sure that I don't take more than 20 days off during my winter break; in the same sense, I also want to make sure not to start training too early for next season. According to people who know a lot more about training than I do, the ideal time to start training for next season is at the start of November. So with this in mind, Im going to continue to ride until around the middle of October and then I will take my much deserved winter break.

Tour of Catskills results (kinda)

2009-09-24T06:43:00.001-07:00

Results are finally out from Tour of the Catskills and lets just say that they're a little questionable to say the least. At the end of the day I can't be that angry because it is not like I won the race ; however, it would have been nice for the promoters to actually get the results right after spending more than 3 days working on them.

Stage 1 - 14th

Stage 2 - 8th

Stage 3 - 8th

Overall - 10th

Tour of Catskills update

2009-09-23T07:39:00.001-07:00

It is Wednesday morning here in Philadelphia and despite finishing the Tour of the Catskills on Sunday results for both the 2nd and 3rd stages are still not up! Never the less, I had a fun weekend of riding and was able to put in some good miles. This was my first experience riding in the Catskill Mountains and despite the problems the race promoters seem to be having with the results it was a good experience overall. Pictured are some beautiful waterfalls that we passed on stage 3 that I went back and checked out after the finish.