I've had some good down time the last two weeks and the batteries are almost recharged before I make my next trip to China with the Cinelli team. This will be my 3rd time to the Tour of Qinghai Lake in China which is always on when the Tour de France is on. People ask me if Im going to see any of the tour but for another year I have to say no, I'll be in China. But maybe some TdF action next year as it starts in Rotterdam which is about 2hrs by car from where I live.
I leave for China on Monday and have not organised anything yet, but there's still plenty of time for that. I've travelled a bit now so I know exactly what I need to take and how to take it, but as far as the bike materials go Im not too sure. I haven't worked for Cinelli since the RAS in Ireland so I don't know what materials the team has at this moment, Im not sure if we even have enough wheels. I have a race with them on Thursday so i just need to have a look through the supplies and see what they have. I know what I put in the truck for Ireland but whether it is still there is the question.
When you go away some distance to a tour you need to make sure you have all the basic materials like cables, chains, brake pads and tyres. I hate asking other teams for the basic things, it doesn't look good for the team or yourself. I always like to have everything but sometimes it may not be possible. There is always something specific you need but forgot to bring with you. Being my 3rd time to China I know roughly what to take, and I will have Eddy working along side me and it is something like his 6th time there so he also has a good idea of what we need. That reminds me, I must call Eddy.
So for the next couple of days I will enjoy watching the tour before packing everything on Sunday. The riders bikes are packed at the last minute as they need them to train on. It takes a little time to pack them as you need to pay special attention to the rear derailleur hanger, the chainrings and the bars. You don't want anything damaged that could of been avoided if packed correctly. That means taking the hanger/derailleur off, zip tying the chain to the large chainring [to avoid damaging the teeth] and tucking the bars up under the frame to prevent breakage. I also like to pull the levers in and tape them to the bar. Then pad up the frame with foam [I like to use pieces of cardboard], put in some dropout braces and your done. Then throw in some wheels, some spare parts and of course fill the bag out with bidons. Repeat that several times and your all packed. But maybe I will pack the spare bikes Friday just so Sunday is not so hetic. In saying that, it depends if I'll have the car to get to the teamhouse Friday. I've been busy doing driving lessons the last few days [and months] and if I pass I will have my Dutch licence which means I will soon be able to buy my own work car. That should make life a little easier on Lindsay as I don't have to take the car off her or ask her to take me places.
Also, some blog info, I now have my own little lap top so some race updates from the races will now happen. My posts might not be as long, some might be really breif but it should read better as you can read about my work while Im at the race.
Other news is I have the Sun Tour on my calendar, so if all goes well I should be home for that which will be great. My brother recently moved his shop to a bigger one so Im keen to check it out. If you want good honest service and reasonable prices on family bikes, check him out at Eltham Cycles. He wants to do more road bikes but those things take time and planning, so stay tuned.
Anyway, time to go watch some Tour coverage on the tv.
Funky
P.S. sorry there is no captions for the photos from Colombia, I will try to fix that.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Colombia week two
The other day I returned from Colombia [now with the correct spelling, thanks John] and have enjoyed the last few sunny days just lazing around the house. This is a post from the second week of the tour which turned out much better than the first
After the rough start to the tour with everyone feeling a little sick and mishaps in the opening team time trial, the team was feeling better and some results came in. My rest day was indeed not a day of rest but a full day of work changing cables and chains. The bikes are time consuming just to change a cable as they have internal routing but also there are cable stops that have to be removed to feed the cable sleeve through. On Victor's bike the cable stop for the brake had a burred screw which takes a tiny 2mm allen key. So what I told William to do was drill out the screw, remove the stopper and run a continuous cable from the lever to the calliper. It worked but it just took extra time. Other than all that, we had to change a few tyres which we have a good sponsor there in Vittoria and they have supplied the team with a decent amount of tubulars which is a good thing as you use alot. During the tour we went through something like 30 tubs and the flats average was about 2 per day, which is not bad considering the road conditions on certian stages and that some days were wet.
After the rest day there was the ITT which we were hoping to win with Oscar but it didn't turn out that way. Victor and Paco also put in quick times but it just wasn't enough. The earlier part of the week not alot happened, a stage went through Geurilla territory and then there was a landslide that closed the road and stopped the race for two hours, that was a long day. The guys also did have to contend a very tough mountain top finish where it was 18% in some parts and riders were being pushed along by the spectators, it was a great atmosphere.
What happens when the race just stops for 2 hours.
With the tour coming to an end Rudy was keen for a stage win, but time was running out. Stage 12 there was a incident with Velasco. He had a flat, it was a routine change, Chepe bought back to the convoy as far as we could [more on that in a minute], and within 30 seconds he was on the deck and changing bikes. He finished the day but was disqualified for pacing and was not allowed to start the next day, dissapointing. But that day was sweetened by the stage win from Victor, in a final break of four Chepe and I followed Victor from when the break formed at about 50km to go, and by the end he was seconds ahead of the peloton but put in a huge show of strength up the final climb to the finish. It was nerve racking in the car as we were unsure if he would make it or be caught, then the race radio shouts "VICTOR HUGO PENA", the team got its victory.
Then the next day was the unexpected victory, Chady breaks away with 80km to go and solo's to the line. Chepe and I were there again in the second car to see it happen, Chady with time up his sleeve punching his fist in the air, giving the famous Rock Racing salute with 1km to go and then throwing the two arms in the air as he crosses the line. We missed the team car deviation in all the excitment and drove the across the line instead where Chady was mobbed by fans and reporters. two in a row and the team team was going for number three.
The crucial mountian time trial on the final day. It was a day of this one or that one as far as bikes go, normal bike or TT bike, normal wheels or disc wheel. Guti was out early and gave the info of the conditions. Paco set out on the TT bike and set the best time, I was on course with Victor who was on his normal bike with clip-ons and a disc and had also set a new best time. Then Oscar, who decided to change bikes just before his start also came in with a new best time, but Rujano couldn't expect that winning the tour by 5 minutes was enough as he went on to take the stage. Oscar finished third.
So that was the tour over and it was time to pack everything up which I mostly did on my own and some help from Willy, packing all the wheels and materials to take back to Belgium and then the 8 race bikes, 8 TT bikes and 3 spare bikes. In the end we had 6 bike cartons, 6 bike bags, 2 cooler boxes, 1 bag of spare parts, my tool box and all our suit cases to check in, good thing we didn't pay the excess weight.
The race was good organisation and only one crappy hotel, but for the rules, if you're going to follow UCI rules follow them all. You cant have a vehicle over 1.6 meters high in the convoy and yet they disqualify your rider for coming back behind cars after a fall or a flat. And they have way too many cars in the convoy that travel on the left, so team cars can't get through quick enough to get to their riders in the peloton. And telling us no feeding with 20km to go on a hot mountain top finish, have some sense. Its strange to see the different rules race officials apply at races where I travel.
With everything ready to go, Monday was a day to be a tourist. After a good sleep in and some brunch at the donut shop [a toasted sandwich] we headed up to the mountain that sits on Bogota's city edge. At almost 3000m [2980m right Chady?] you could look down on the whole city. On the way back we decided to walk back to the hotel, Rudy and Willy were a little ahead of us when some guy on a moto tried to snatch Rudy's blackberry straight out of his hand. Like the girl grabbing the camera from the car, their not afraid to snatch it right in front of you. Myself, chady and Robert weren't far behind so the guy rode off. Then Robert decided to arm himself with a stick that had a nail petruding from it [good photo on Chady's facebook page].
So if you come to Colombia, leave your flashy stuff in the hotel or take a stick.
Apart from that, the whole Colombian culture was interesting. It was not third world as many people think, most people have a house/building to live in, and cars and all. I've seen many worse places for living/hotels/schooling conditions, such as China and Serbia. All the school children lining the race course were all wearing school uniforms. And people don't just come around kidnapping you for no reason, the Colombian mafia only deal with those in their business, stay out of their business and you'll be ok. Just don't wear/take anything flashy cos the petty thieves will steal the shirt off your back.
There's a few more races there later in the year, so maybe I get to go back, which would be good because the coffee is great.
Keep riding
Funky
 |
| From Colombia |
After the rough start to the tour with everyone feeling a little sick and mishaps in the opening team time trial, the team was feeling better and some results came in. My rest day was indeed not a day of rest but a full day of work changing cables and chains. The bikes are time consuming just to change a cable as they have internal routing but also there are cable stops that have to be removed to feed the cable sleeve through. On Victor's bike the cable stop for the brake had a burred screw which takes a tiny 2mm allen key. So what I told William to do was drill out the screw, remove the stopper and run a continuous cable from the lever to the calliper. It worked but it just took extra time. Other than all that, we had to change a few tyres which we have a good sponsor there in Vittoria and they have supplied the team with a decent amount of tubulars which is a good thing as you use alot. During the tour we went through something like 30 tubs and the flats average was about 2 per day, which is not bad considering the road conditions on certian stages and that some days were wet.
 |
| From Colombia |
After the rest day there was the ITT which we were hoping to win with Oscar but it didn't turn out that way. Victor and Paco also put in quick times but it just wasn't enough. The earlier part of the week not alot happened, a stage went through Geurilla territory and then there was a landslide that closed the road and stopped the race for two hours, that was a long day. The guys also did have to contend a very tough mountain top finish where it was 18% in some parts and riders were being pushed along by the spectators, it was a great atmosphere.
 |
| From Colombia |
What happens when the race just stops for 2 hours.
With the tour coming to an end Rudy was keen for a stage win, but time was running out. Stage 12 there was a incident with Velasco. He had a flat, it was a routine change, Chepe bought back to the convoy as far as we could [more on that in a minute], and within 30 seconds he was on the deck and changing bikes. He finished the day but was disqualified for pacing and was not allowed to start the next day, dissapointing. But that day was sweetened by the stage win from Victor, in a final break of four Chepe and I followed Victor from when the break formed at about 50km to go, and by the end he was seconds ahead of the peloton but put in a huge show of strength up the final climb to the finish. It was nerve racking in the car as we were unsure if he would make it or be caught, then the race radio shouts "VICTOR HUGO PENA", the team got its victory.
Then the next day was the unexpected victory, Chady breaks away with 80km to go and solo's to the line. Chepe and I were there again in the second car to see it happen, Chady with time up his sleeve punching his fist in the air, giving the famous Rock Racing salute with 1km to go and then throwing the two arms in the air as he crosses the line. We missed the team car deviation in all the excitment and drove the across the line instead where Chady was mobbed by fans and reporters. two in a row and the team team was going for number three.
 |
| From Colombia |
The crucial mountian time trial on the final day. It was a day of this one or that one as far as bikes go, normal bike or TT bike, normal wheels or disc wheel. Guti was out early and gave the info of the conditions. Paco set out on the TT bike and set the best time, I was on course with Victor who was on his normal bike with clip-ons and a disc and had also set a new best time. Then Oscar, who decided to change bikes just before his start also came in with a new best time, but Rujano couldn't expect that winning the tour by 5 minutes was enough as he went on to take the stage. Oscar finished third.
So that was the tour over and it was time to pack everything up which I mostly did on my own and some help from Willy, packing all the wheels and materials to take back to Belgium and then the 8 race bikes, 8 TT bikes and 3 spare bikes. In the end we had 6 bike cartons, 6 bike bags, 2 cooler boxes, 1 bag of spare parts, my tool box and all our suit cases to check in, good thing we didn't pay the excess weight.
The race was good organisation and only one crappy hotel, but for the rules, if you're going to follow UCI rules follow them all. You cant have a vehicle over 1.6 meters high in the convoy and yet they disqualify your rider for coming back behind cars after a fall or a flat. And they have way too many cars in the convoy that travel on the left, so team cars can't get through quick enough to get to their riders in the peloton. And telling us no feeding with 20km to go on a hot mountain top finish, have some sense. Its strange to see the different rules race officials apply at races where I travel.
With everything ready to go, Monday was a day to be a tourist. After a good sleep in and some brunch at the donut shop [a toasted sandwich] we headed up to the mountain that sits on Bogota's city edge. At almost 3000m [2980m right Chady?] you could look down on the whole city. On the way back we decided to walk back to the hotel, Rudy and Willy were a little ahead of us when some guy on a moto tried to snatch Rudy's blackberry straight out of his hand. Like the girl grabbing the camera from the car, their not afraid to snatch it right in front of you. Myself, chady and Robert weren't far behind so the guy rode off. Then Robert decided to arm himself with a stick that had a nail petruding from it [good photo on Chady's facebook page].
So if you come to Colombia, leave your flashy stuff in the hotel or take a stick.
 |
| From Colombia |
Apart from that, the whole Colombian culture was interesting. It was not third world as many people think, most people have a house/building to live in, and cars and all. I've seen many worse places for living/hotels/schooling conditions, such as China and Serbia. All the school children lining the race course were all wearing school uniforms. And people don't just come around kidnapping you for no reason, the Colombian mafia only deal with those in their business, stay out of their business and you'll be ok. Just don't wear/take anything flashy cos the petty thieves will steal the shirt off your back.
There's a few more races there later in the year, so maybe I get to go back, which would be good because the coffee is great.
Keep riding
Funky
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Mid race update from Columbia.
Well its end of week one in Columbia and I have managed to steal a computer from Chepe [second DS], so here's a quick update before he wants it back [thou he's proberly at the bar].
Im here at the 59th Vuelta Pilsen a Columbia, a two week tour with 15 stages and some going into the clouds at around 3500m. Im here with the Rock Racing team and tomorrow is a much needed rest day, but not so much for me.
The team arrived in Columbia a week early for training and to get used to the altitude but I arrived a day before the tours start which was last Saturday and began with a team time trial prologue. It didn't really go our way has Kemps was sick, Velasco's saddle moved, the pace was too much for Sergey and then shit really hit the fan when Mancebo jammed his chain after hitting a bump on the road. I first thought it had jumped off the front ring so that would be a quick fix but it was stuck between the 11 cog and the frame. I got it out just as Chepe grabbed the spare off the roof, but time was lost as Mancebo was the 6th man and the time was from him. Not a good day.
Stage 1 was a wet day but only a distance of 85kms so it went ok for the team. The second stage had only some small climbs so not a great deal went on, but we did lose Sergey this day after been disqualified for a small push. But stage 3 had a few drama's, first losing Kemps [he never really came good after been sick], then further on Chepe and I were coming back to the peloton [after Kemps got in the car] when we found Guti sitting on the side of the road with a broken derailleur hanger. It was lucky we had Kemps' bike on the roof, a tad small for Guti but it would do until further up the road where I replaced his hanger and he could continue on his own bike. At this stage the first car of Rudy had over heated and we had to change cars. Things were on the up as a break was 9 minutes up the road in stage 4 and we had Cesar Grajales in it, but he was a bit out numbered with some teams having 2 or 3 riders there [i think he finished 6th and took the green jersey]. The 5th stage was another flat day and we were keen for another break but the leader of the tour was out the back and the two GC teams were driving the pace so high no break was possible [146kms with an average of 50km/h]. Then today was a tough one with 40kms of climbing to be done. There was a break gone but the team had Velasco and Chady in it. The day was looking good as Velasco was setting pace for Chady to keep some in reserve for the win. That was until Jose Rujano [3rd place GC Giro rider] broke from the peloton and made up 4mins on the climb and flew past the break like they were standing still. Oscar also made up ground on the climb, caught Chady on the decent and finished 3rd for the stage.
So its rest day for the riders tomorrow but I have a bunch of work to be done like change cables and chains plus ready the TT bikes as Sunday is a time trial. I have my Columbian helper William to get things done thou. He doesn't speak any english so it has being an interesting week of communication, but Im used to that now and have slowly trained him into my way of working as each day goes on. He has being doing the first car has he knows the climbs and that is important for Rudy. So I have had a change of pace and do the second car with Chepe who is a good guy, bit of a player but a funny mexican guy.
So far Columbia has being good, it can be frustrating at times working with new people but you find your groove and do what works. My mornings have been mostly around a 5:30-6am wake up and about a 7pm finish, so not too bad. The hotels are reasonable with one having no water in the morning [thou the whole town was out] and one having no hot water, but it has been humid here and around 25 degrees so a cold shower is refreshing after sweating all day. The food has been a little basic and a tad repeaditive, but Im used to that now and makes it great to go home to a good home cooked meal from Linds.
Well it's now well after 11pm and its time to get ready for bed. My room mate Robert has passed out already [photo to come] and I have had Victor in here hiding from something since before dinner, along with other riders popping in and out. Rudy also just stopped in to ask me how many disc wheels we have, so hopefully the door now can be shut and I can sleep. Im currently in Medellin, a big city that looks and sounds lively, maybe tomorrow I can have a little look around. Oh, and Columbia is not as bad as what people make out to be, very much worth a visit and I'm glad I got to experince it, so far. Thou you have to keep a close eye on your belongings sometimes. I always keep a eye on the bikes at every race but here, at a stage start the car door was open, I turned away for a second and there was a girl reaching in to grab Chady's camera out of the seat pocket, Chepe caught her with it in her hand but she put back and then had to convince us she didn't take anything, which she didn't. Other than that its being great here and I'll tell you the rest when I return home.
Adios
Funky
P.S. thanks for the lap top Chepe.
Im here at the 59th Vuelta Pilsen a Columbia, a two week tour with 15 stages and some going into the clouds at around 3500m. Im here with the Rock Racing team and tomorrow is a much needed rest day, but not so much for me.
The team arrived in Columbia a week early for training and to get used to the altitude but I arrived a day before the tours start which was last Saturday and began with a team time trial prologue. It didn't really go our way has Kemps was sick, Velasco's saddle moved, the pace was too much for Sergey and then shit really hit the fan when Mancebo jammed his chain after hitting a bump on the road. I first thought it had jumped off the front ring so that would be a quick fix but it was stuck between the 11 cog and the frame. I got it out just as Chepe grabbed the spare off the roof, but time was lost as Mancebo was the 6th man and the time was from him. Not a good day.
Stage 1 was a wet day but only a distance of 85kms so it went ok for the team. The second stage had only some small climbs so not a great deal went on, but we did lose Sergey this day after been disqualified for a small push. But stage 3 had a few drama's, first losing Kemps [he never really came good after been sick], then further on Chepe and I were coming back to the peloton [after Kemps got in the car] when we found Guti sitting on the side of the road with a broken derailleur hanger. It was lucky we had Kemps' bike on the roof, a tad small for Guti but it would do until further up the road where I replaced his hanger and he could continue on his own bike. At this stage the first car of Rudy had over heated and we had to change cars. Things were on the up as a break was 9 minutes up the road in stage 4 and we had Cesar Grajales in it, but he was a bit out numbered with some teams having 2 or 3 riders there [i think he finished 6th and took the green jersey]. The 5th stage was another flat day and we were keen for another break but the leader of the tour was out the back and the two GC teams were driving the pace so high no break was possible [146kms with an average of 50km/h]. Then today was a tough one with 40kms of climbing to be done. There was a break gone but the team had Velasco and Chady in it. The day was looking good as Velasco was setting pace for Chady to keep some in reserve for the win. That was until Jose Rujano [3rd place GC Giro rider] broke from the peloton and made up 4mins on the climb and flew past the break like they were standing still. Oscar also made up ground on the climb, caught Chady on the decent and finished 3rd for the stage.
So its rest day for the riders tomorrow but I have a bunch of work to be done like change cables and chains plus ready the TT bikes as Sunday is a time trial. I have my Columbian helper William to get things done thou. He doesn't speak any english so it has being an interesting week of communication, but Im used to that now and have slowly trained him into my way of working as each day goes on. He has being doing the first car has he knows the climbs and that is important for Rudy. So I have had a change of pace and do the second car with Chepe who is a good guy, bit of a player but a funny mexican guy.
So far Columbia has being good, it can be frustrating at times working with new people but you find your groove and do what works. My mornings have been mostly around a 5:30-6am wake up and about a 7pm finish, so not too bad. The hotels are reasonable with one having no water in the morning [thou the whole town was out] and one having no hot water, but it has been humid here and around 25 degrees so a cold shower is refreshing after sweating all day. The food has been a little basic and a tad repeaditive, but Im used to that now and makes it great to go home to a good home cooked meal from Linds.
Well it's now well after 11pm and its time to get ready for bed. My room mate Robert has passed out already [photo to come] and I have had Victor in here hiding from something since before dinner, along with other riders popping in and out. Rudy also just stopped in to ask me how many disc wheels we have, so hopefully the door now can be shut and I can sleep. Im currently in Medellin, a big city that looks and sounds lively, maybe tomorrow I can have a little look around. Oh, and Columbia is not as bad as what people make out to be, very much worth a visit and I'm glad I got to experince it, so far. Thou you have to keep a close eye on your belongings sometimes. I always keep a eye on the bikes at every race but here, at a stage start the car door was open, I turned away for a second and there was a girl reaching in to grab Chady's camera out of the seat pocket, Chepe caught her with it in her hand but she put back and then had to convince us she didn't take anything, which she didn't. Other than that its being great here and I'll tell you the rest when I return home.
Adios
Funky
P.S. thanks for the lap top Chepe.
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