Banana Belt #1 Race Report

It was pretty damn hard!

I know that's probably not a very astute observation. But what can I say. It's the truth.

I'm happy to report that I had no tire blowout on my car this time.  Unlike last time. I arrived with about one hour to spare before my race started. Having preregistered online (Which is really nice. Paypal makes everything easier.) getting through the line at check in was a snap.

I headed back to the car take the bike out, air it up and finish getting dressed.

It was cold (When I drove into the parking lot it said 31 degrees on my car thermometer.) So I was throwing more clothes on myself for the warm up. The area that I use for my warm up is the three tier parking lot for the boat ramp on the lake. It works pretty well because I can use the up hill to put some effort in and just cruse down the other side.

My teammate John joined my for a few laps around the lot. It was nice to jabber at him while I was doing this because it can be kind of monotonous by yourself. With someone else there it sort of feels like riding in circles with your friend's when growing up (Anyone else do that? We used to do it for hours...)

Then the race officials started walking around telling everyone that there was going to be a half hour delay for all races because of some icy patches on the bridges (I did notice some on one of the bridges on the way up to the starting area.).

So John and I continued to ride around a few more times until I ran into another couple of my teammates who were riding in my race.

Capitol Velo had pretty good representation on our race (5 guys.)  Tony, Tyler, Matt, Myself, and I'm sorry I can't remember his name (I'm terrible with names. Forgive me.). With the exception of Tony everyone else was using this thing as a training ride so in my mind it was Tony's show (If I can't kick ass than I want a teammate to.). And I told him I would do what I could for as long as I could.

The start time was fast approaching so I made one more quick stop to the bathroom.  Dropped off my extra clothes at the car. And headed to the line.

We were given the usual debriefing (Don't cross the center line, abide the race officials request, and look out for all the pot holes and cracked pavement.). I swear they should just make a tape of the same speech and use it at every race. It's always the same talk.

And we're off!

After the rise out of the parking lot we turned left (We were doing the course counter clockwise for this race.) and started to go down hill immediately. Which I enjoying much more than the other way already.

 Actually that's something I noticed pretty much the whole time. Everyone (Ok. Most people.) I talked to before hand said this direction was a lot harder. But I just didn't find that to be the case. Sure it has the "big" hill halfway through.   But the hard part of the hill is at the bottom and it levels out towards the top. Which let me keep up with the group fairly easily.  And then the rest of the time the down hill sections gave me a bit of a breather before the next rise would come around.

I had made a mental note to keep my nose out of the wind as much as possible. Which I was doing a fairly good job of. I did my best to keep my momentum going too. So if I had to slide up the out side at the base of a hill in order to keep moving it wasn't hard to do so.

The group we were in was a good group of guys too. Not many wiggy riders. Which really makes a big difference in the mood of the group. You don't have to be constantly worried that some dumbass is going to freak out grab a fist full of brake and cause a huge pile up. It always gets my spidey senses tingling the first few miles of a race when you there are guys like that in the pack. Ugh, makes Big E unhappy....

Anyway, the first two laps were fairly uneventful. There was one guy who tried to breakaway about half way through the second lap. But he just seemed to dangle out there a couple hundred yards. It didn't seem to me like he was much of a threat. But towards the end of the second lap a guy bridged up to him and they seemed to be giving it a go.

Enough of a go that once we passed the finish line after lap two that Tony and a couple of the other guys were viewing them as a threat. And so I figured I should help. Especially since I could feel in my legs I wasn't going to be in it for the finish anyway. So I went up to the front with Matt and Tony and we started to go to work. Luckily at this point we were in a down hill section. So I dropped the hammer. Within a mile we had closed the gap and had them back in the fold.

I was pretty spent by this time. Because the with in that mile we had gone up and down at least twice. So I just drifted to the back to try and catch my breath.

It being the third lap I was hoping that people would be saving themselves for the final lap up the large hill. But unfortunately that wasn't the case.

I think all the non-sprinters were figuring out that the finish hill wasn't long enough to create a break and if they were going to do something they were going to need to do it early.  And as we were about half way up the "big" hill of the course some guys attacked. And I just couldn't hang.  It was a classic case of if you can't catch up, you can't keep up. And as much as I buried myself to try and regain contact after the big hill. The damage was done.

I kept them in sight for a majority of the rest of the third lap but I knew it wasn't going to happen. *sigh* Sometimes it really puts your fitness in perspective. I was doing 24-27 mph for a while and I still couldn't bridge back up.

After a bit I hooked up with one of my teammates Matt who at some point during this also got shelled out the back. He had been doing a lot of work as well. Although I must admit to be surprised to see him back there I was glad for the company.

I wanted to finish the race so we continued along for our fourth lap. Which was a very painful affair. It's amazing to me how much I can shut out pain when I'm in the race. But once I'm out, the pain is just about all I can think about. It's weird how the mind works...

So Matt and I finished out the final lap together. And we just barely missed getting lapped by another field at the finish line. I'm not really sure which one it was but it made for a very painful final climb. After checking with the OBRA results page I came in 25th. Meh. Its not a very good result at all. But I'm happy with finishing, helping a teammate some and getting some good race miles in.

Next weekend will be more of the same. Although it sounds like my (step) son wants to race too. So I'm excited to watch him turn the pedals in anger.

Thanks for reading.

Rubber side down,

Big E

First Race Of The Year

So this weekend is the first race (Even though this race was suppose to be.) of the year for me. It's the Banana Belt #1 (This race was going to be last weekend. But because of ice was rescheduled.) It is a circuit road race around Hagg Lake (Near Forest Grove). My category does 4 laps of the course for a grand total of 44 miles.

I must admit that I'm not looking to light this one (Or any of the other Banana Belt series races for that matter) on fire. The course has maybe has a quarter mile of flat road. The rest is either up (Boo!) or down (Yeah!). And with a man of my, ahem, size doesn't have many places to shine.

So I am looking at this thing strictly as a "training" race. Even though I always hate that phrase. I want to do the best I can at any race I participate in. But the realities of life and gravity sort of force my hand sometimes. Meh. What are you gonna do? But who knows!

I may be feeling super human that day and can hang with the front group.



One thing I know for sure is that there is no substitute of race miles. And when the races I want to kick ass and take names in come around I want to be ready. And I will be ready.

Hopefully there will be a large contingent of Capitol Velo teammates there. And maybe I can score some good will points with some of the other guys by helping out. We shall see.

So it's off to the races I will go! Wish me luck! And to anybody else racing...

Rubber side down,

Big E

A Sweet Video You Need To Watch

VCA 2010 RACE RUN from changoman on Vimeo.

A Bike Review: Focus Izalco Pro 3.0

When I got to Scott's Cycle yesterday for the Tuesday night ride I noticed right away that there was a new bicycle tucked away in among the Trek's and Cannondale's.  When I asked Steve about it he said it was a demo bike from the Focus rep and they were considering bringing the brand in. Then he asked if I wanted to test ride it. Well he didn't have to ask me twice! I love sticking my arse (For all my British fans.) on a bright shiny new ride.

I looked up the general information about the Izalco 3.0 on the Focus website. And was happy to see that it's won a couple of awards already. One of them being an editor's choice award from Bicycling magazine for the 2010 version of the same bike. I also learned that they were the bike sponsor for Milram (Before they went under.) And are the current sponsor for Katusha racing team.

I was personally pretty excited to see a new brand in the shop. Especially what I would consider an up and comer in US road market.

The Build quality seemed to be excellent. Good paint. Straight decals and all the little details. Things like the drop outs were nicely finished. Internal cable routing is something I like personally as well. The Jagwire cables had seals to keep them from getting contaminated. Nice touch. All these things pointed to a level of care that I like to see on a bike that's MSRP is just over $4000.00.

The Aesthetics:

I think the bike has very pleasing lines. The chain stays with their wide horizontal profile and comparably thin vertical profile (Until they get to the bottom bracket anyway.) have a stylized delicate feel. As do the seatstays. Although I would say their lines were reasonably simple compared to some of the newer frame sets I've seen.

The down tube and head tube are huge. They give the bike a very solid look. Almost an anchor point visually for the whole frame.

And the top tube has a beautiful hourglass shape that at it's thinnest point appears to be substantially smaller than anything else in the front triangle.


The hourglass shaped top tube.

 In general I liked the paint/decal scheme on the bike. Although I must admit I am getting kind of done with predominantly white bikes. I think this is a good example of one. But it just seams like it's been done to death.

The Components:

A well rounded array of journeymen parts that any racer would be glad to have on their ride (Excluding the wheels. They are decent training wheels but unless you are just starting racing wouldn't be the best choice.) The bike comes with a Shimano Ultegra groupo (Except for an FSA crank). Mavic Ksyrium Equipe wheels. And a cockpit (Handle bars, stem, seatpost.) made up of FSA parts with a Fizik Arione saddle.

The Ride:

As we headed out of town the first thing that was very apparent with this bike is that it was designed to go. I felt no wasted energy in the pedal stoke. Each push down and rotation back was making the bike thrust (Didn't know there was going to be thrusting did you?) forward. With very little perceived flex. Now I'm not going to be one of those guys who talks about laterally stiff, yet vertically compliant. I think that phrase has completely run it's course. It's practically a joke (Actually it is a joke anymore.) phrase. But what I will say is that with all the power going to the back wheel. I didn't feel like my ass (I went back to the Merican way to say it.)  was getting beat up in the process either. Which is nice.

It also climbed very well. I gave it the beans going up the largest hill on the route we were taking that night and soon I was all by my little lonesome. Which made me feel good. It's a pretty light bike. At 16.5 lbs with those Ksyrium wheels, bottle cage and my pedals already on it. I think it could easily be in the 15 lb (ish) category with some race wheels.

The road feel from the front unfortunately is a different story. Don't get me wrong I like road feel in my bikes. I'm not a fan of a dead, muted feeling. Something that I think all manufactures of carbon bikes have addressed in recent years. But in my opinion this was more chatter than road feel. It could be in part due to the set up of the bike (The handle bar height and reach were not set up exactly how my bike is.). But mostly I think it was to do with the massive head tube reinforcement. It made for no flex when you get up out of the seat to sprint. But just cruising down the road felt bumpy.

The other quibble I have with the ride is the steering. I was looking at the geometry for the bike and it has a very short wheel base and not very much trail on the front end. That combo made for very twitchy steering. I think I could probably get use to it after awhile. But on this initial run it made me nervous. And who wants to be nervous when you are flying down a descent? I felt myself weighting the front end of the bike more trying to keep it under control (Kind of like my wife.).

The Conclusion:

All that being said I think this bike has a very specific clientele that would love it. Criterium racers. With its fast steering and little flex this thing could be a crit killer. I could easily see whipping this thing through some quick turns only to nail the gas again to bridge a gap or to take the win in the final straight to the line. It would be the perfect machine for the job.

Despite my quibbles with the bike I think Focus seems to be a very good bicycle company. And if Scott's decides to carry the line I will be very excited to see what other models they bring into the shop.

Rubber side down,

Big E

Bike Porn: The 2011 North American Handbuilt Bicycle Show

So this post is going to be all about bike porn. Which I am a real fan of (Not that that is surprising.)

The 2011 North American Handbuilt Bicycle Show was this last weekend in Austin, Texas and it appears to have been a hellava show.  I went to the 2009 show up in Portland, Oregon (Very near to where I live.) and was blown away by the beauty and care that have been put into all of the bikes.

And as a very intelligent person once said (Rambo, I think.) A picture is worth a thousand words. So this will be a very "wordy" post.

I'm just going to make a few comments on these particular shots (All except the bottom photo were borrowed (stolen) from Cyclingnews.com.  So if you want more. By all means go check them out. (The bottom one is from Red Kite Prayer.))


This is Independent Fabrication's road bike (Check out the seat mast. A more and more common thing on a lot of top end road bikes.) with it's lovely paint scheme with the custom Cole wheels to go with it. Gorgeous!

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This is something Calfee does very well. Integrate carbon stems and bars. Just beautiful red dyed carbon too.


The company Engin fabricated this lovely randonneur bike. With integrated lighting system and space for full fenders. Very classy color and paneling too.



Cielo is the bike brand for Chris King (A Portland based company). This particular bicycle has very classic lines with a steel fork and room for fenders (I'm a sucker for fenders.) that are painted the same color. Beautiful.


KirkLee has this black stallion as one of there show pieces. The Lightwieght wheel set alone would make your heart stop to see the price tag. Each set is custom made for the customer. KirkLee used a very suttle etching design for the decals and the different carbon lay up for the tubes and lugs is just awesome.


Crumpton is another brand that went with the black on black scheme this year. He is a builder well known for his meticulous detail and subtle designs... Sorry, I'm drooling a little.


Moots is a well known titanium bike fabricator that always brings some fun inventive stuff to the show each year. This 29" wheeled mountain touring bike is a great example. I love this thing! If I had a bottomless budget I'd have one of these in my stable at home.


Vertigo is another Ti builder that delivered this really cool city bike. Custom racks (Check out the really cool lock holder), integrated hub with belt drive and disc brakes. I want it! I'm not above begging...


This bike is really cool! Made by Black Sheep this 36 inch wheeled single speed mountain bike takes the idea of rolling over obstacles to a whole nother level.



This bike is made by Cherubim a Japanese builder. I think this one gets the sexiest lines on a road bike award from me. Also another road bike with disc brakes. I bet we are going to see a lot more of that in the future.

So there is just a little taste of what was there. I tell you I'm going to need a mop and bucket on my computer desk (Clean up on aisle four!).

I may come back this subject if there is another set of pictures that I think is worthy of the Bike Porn moniker.

Hope you all enjoyed! Now make sure to clean up after yourselves. And for God's sake pick up those tissues! Pervert....

Rubber side down,

Big E

The Spring Classics Are Finally Here!

This picture the final sprint in the Omloop Net Neiwsblad is from Steve Tilford's blog.

With the start of this weekend the race season finally starting to really swing. Not that races like the Tour Down Under, Tour of Oman, and the Tour of Quatar aren't good races. But they do not have heritage and real hard man weather like the spring classics. Belgium is where the real racing begins for the year (In my opinion).



I mean just look at a few of these pictures from the Omloop Het Niewsblad. Rain, wind, cobbles, classic wheels, the lion of Flanders flags whipping and hard men (No that kinda hard. Pervert) fighting for the ultimate prize. It doesn't get any better.  These are the races that I have always enjoyed watching (and dreamed about participating in).

Unlike in July. You see a different kind of suffering in these kind of races. Guys wrapped up from the elements left to die in the gutter as everyone is strung out along  a wind swept road. Just trying to hang on for dear life. Cursing for not being in the front echelon. Needing to close a gap that's only 50 feet. But it might as well be 50 miles. Because unless the road or the wind changes direction they're not going anywhere. Its an aspect of the sport that is written about quite a bit. But for what ever reason isn't shown on (or explained) TV very much.

Then there are the cobbles. They are jarring and fatiguing in the best of times. But add a little water and mud and they make even the most experienced racer pucker up in anticipation of them. Good stuff...


Langeveld won this years Omloop Het Niewsblad with a brave break away.

Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne was also this weekend. With Australian Chris Sutton taking the victory there.



And while there wasn't the rain like Saturday. There were plenty of burgs and wind to mess with everybody out there.

Even Tom Boonen had a go with about 7km left in the race.



Unfortunately team Sky wasn't having any of that and closed the gap with just 1km to go. Another red kite prayer un-answered....

So thanks guys! Thanks for running these races in the nasty stuff. Holding on for dear life for a chance to grab that ultimate prize. Not money or fame (Although I'm sure that's nice too.) But to quench that desire for competition. That primal urge to show dominance to all the other's that dare attempt to take it from you. Because I think that's what all athlete's try for. And only at this kind of level. Do you see it in it's most beautiful.

Rubber side down,

Big E

The Iditarod Invitational

These aren't pictures from Joe. Just examples of the machines.

A good friend of mine has a brother who is riding in the Iditarod Invitational that is starting this Sunday February 27th at 2 pm PST. For those of you who don't know anything about the race the website is here. It is run on the same route as the famous dog sled race. However this race is either done on foot, ski, or what Becky's brother is doing it on. Bike.

Bike!? You say. That's right. Giant wheeled bicycles specially designed for snow (Something like the monster trucks of the bike world.).



These are fantastic machines and the endurance race that Joe is taking on is one that has always intrigued and inspired me.

I had a chance to ask Joe a few questions not only about the race and his equipment. But I also got a chance ask him about his Grandfather "Tony" who died from Alzheimer's Disease and the charity that Joe is riding for.

I would like to apologize ahead of time to Joe and to you guys. I'm not a very good interviewer. A lot of my questions maybe had some redundancy to them. So bare with me. Thanks....

What made you decide to attempt the Iditarod Invitational? 

I guess kind of a natural progression to an interest in winter biking that started back in 2005.  My friends and I started riding more in the winter and figuring out how to keep warm, drink, eat and getting better equipment to travel on soft snow.  The winter biking had been around for a long time but I thought they were nuts and just cross-country skied or speedskated in the winter.  A few years ago my friend Greg Matyas actually started a bike shop called Speedway Cycles and developed a bike and components called the Fatback.  http://speedwaycyclesak.com/  There has been a revolution in winter biking here in Alaska and elsewhere over the last couple years.  Its been fun to be a part of that.  I raced smaller races such as the Susitna 100 mile and 50K events and the ITI was something that captured my imagination particularly the adventure, freedom and independence of it.

How is your training going thus far? Have you had any quantum leaps or any major set backs? (i.e. illness or burnout) 

Training has been going pretty good.  Into the taper now with less than two weeks before the race start.  Big endurance efforts have been done back to back like ride long on Friday then another long one on Saturday and shoot for a combined time over the two days.  I think that will better prepare me for a multi day event where you have to get up the next day and go again.  I was sick for a while in December but nothing major.  In addition to riding, been running, skiing, lifting weights and pushing the bike to increase general conditioning.  I do find the malaise after the long rides and the training draw on other life needs is tough.  It is not a sustainable way to live. 

What type of equipment are you going to use? (bike, sleeping gear, clothing, lighting system, navigation) What made you decide on those choices?

What type of bag configuration are you using on your bike?

I ride a Fatback Titanium bike that is powder coated olive drab.  It’s a nod to an old military jeep and is anti-bling. This is my third season on this bike.  It is a lot of fun to ride on frozen swamps, rivers, etc. that you could never access in the summer.  Snowmachining is big out in the Valley and rivers are groomed or get a lot of use and you can ride where they go.  Stop at a lodge for a cheese burger and cup of coffee.  We usually make between 5 and 10 mph.  Small planes on skis will buzz you and I’ve even had them land just to stop and chat.  We also see dog teams and they are quiet and can sneak up on you.  Everyone just out having fun regardless of transportation mode. 

I have a North Face Darkstar -40F sleeping bag mounted to my handlebars and aero bars for support.  I have a bivvy sack too.  I use a Princeton Tech Apex Pro LED headlamp.  A Pltaypus 3L water bag and insulated hose in a small back pack.  It goes under a jacket to keep thawed out.  I do not have any experience in temps below minus 20F and it will be a challenge to keep water flowing.  You basically use your body heat to keep it thawed out.  I have various tights and shell jackets.  I like wool tops.

What on the trail nutrition are planning on using? Any good junk food? How are you keeping your water from freezing?

I love Ensure Plus for endurance rides but they are bulky and freeze in low temps.  Will take a few of those and then bars, candy, beef jerky, smoked salmon, nuts, bacon, peanut butter sandwiches, etc.  The pace will not be real high so you can eat different things.  Water goes in a big bladder in a backpack under a jacket.  I’ll take some kind of endurolyte tabs.
You are doing this for your Grandpa Tony who died from Alzheimer's.  Was there anything about him as a person or his struggle with this disease that inspired you to do this race?

At his request, we addressed him “Tony.”  I recognize there is no normal life, only life, but my relationship with Tony was not idyllic.  Spending most of my life 2500 miles away didn’t help (Oregon/Alaska).  I did love and respect him.  He was fiercely independent.  As he developed Alzheimer’s this quality necessarily faded and it was hard to watch.  It’s like losing someone twice.  My family struggled to find help taking care of him.  Where do we go, what do we do, are we doing enough, should he be on his own at the farm?  The last time I saw him he did not know who I was but he still had his laugh, mannerisms, hand movements, the way he carried himself, etc.  He was in a wheelchair but even at a distance you just knew it was him like seeing someone walking across a parking lot at a great distance - - you can’t see their features but you can tell who they are.  Tony would think this event was crazy and would punctuate his comments with a few choice swear words for emphasis.  For me, doing this ride is a tribute to his independence.       

What are the main things about Alzheimer's and the Disease Resource Center of Alaska that you would like the readers to know about? Where can they donate?

This group provides assistance to people and their families who are impacted by this disease.  There is a place to go to get help.  I personally know a care giver that works at the organization and a client with the disease receiving care.  I thought raising awareness and funds might do a little good.  They are also a very financially efficient organization with the 2009 Annual report showing expenses of roughly $3.1M of which 85% goes to programs. 

Where can people track your progress before and during the race?

During the race, you can hear stories from the trail and follow racer progress at 

http://www.alaskaultrasport.com/latest_news.html 

For information about the ADRAA or to donate funds to the organization or watch the fund “thermometer” you can go to:  https://alzalaska.myetap.org/fundraiser/JoesUltraSport/

Becky also maintains a Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/See-Joe-Ride/146678732055881?ref=ts&v=wall

Thanks Joe! And good Luck! I hope the wind is always at your back and the....

Rubber side is down,

Big E