Life of a Spanner Man

2012 Plan So Far

2012-01-15T08:09:00.016+11:00

It's Two weeks into the new year so I thought I would try to get off to a good start by putting in my first of every two week post for the season, well that's the plan any way.

For the top tier pro teams their season has already started with the TDU. For the second Pro Conti level teams, for most it's the final weeks of training camp phase with their first races in just a matter of weeks. For the lower third tier Continental teams like the one I work with, it's training camps and preparation time. For some they are half way through this stage, for others it's just starting. The trick to getting a good start to the season is early preparation. Your next season should really start when the current one begins, there is that much planning to do and deals to get signed.

So this year I am back with the Norwegian outfit, known this year as Osterhus-Ridley. So still no top pro team for me this year, but I feel I'm getting closer. Last time I was home I was asked the question which I sometimes ask myself, "when was I going to a big team". Well it's not quite that simple. Positions don't come up that often and it is still even hard when new teams form, because usually some also stop. It is a bit of a case where once your in your in. There is people in the circuit that aren't that great at what they do but still manage to go from one big team to another because they're in the top level circle already. It is all about who you know or with some people how much you talk the talk. I've heard of guys that have been in the game less than me but still manage a big team gig. I sometimes wonder what it will take, but if it means sucking up to someone then I'm happy where I am. With this team I have good equipment, plenty spare materials and a pay rate that I probably take home close to the top pro level anyway.

As always with most continental teams, everything is last minute. At this level it is always hard to secure a good sponsor and eqiupment sponsorship is mostly all swollowed up by the bigger teams. All these negotiations at the top level are done by staff working almost around the clock on the next deal.
The teams plan was that after many months of discussions a big sponsor would sign, and everything could be organised before the year was out, so come January we could get started directly with the season at the teams first training camp in Spain, which started this week. I began to picture building bikes looking out over a Spanish coastline. For this to happen thou deals needed to be signed and sealed well before, and that is something that is always one of the bigger challenges at the Continental level, securing that big deal early.
In December there was still talks on things like what groupset we would use, what wheels we would ride with, and the week before Christmas I was informed of the decision to get bikes with custom team paint schemes done. From there I knew even with a big sponsor or not that I wouldn't be starting work in January.

So despite things not quite going to plan the team moves forward and things now are quickly coming together. Bikes are again obviously Ridley but with a bit of a change. Racing Depot is the distributor for Campagnolo in Norway, so why we rode with Shimano no one really knows. But this year we have made the switch, So I will build all bikes with Campa Record. I briefly worked on it with the Marco Polo team in 2009, but I have not used Campagnolo myself for 10 years, so I'm a little anxious to see how far it has come. Each rider recieves two bikes of either Helium or Noah and then we have four reserve bikes which will be the Excalibur model, one of which will be mine to use during the season. Then they also recieve a Dean TT bike.
Wheels and componets will again be 4ZA, with the addition of their saddles also. Last season was a good test for 4ZA wheels and I liased with them a number of times regarding the deveopment of the wheels, so it's good to have them on board again in 2012. With the whole Shimano thing out we also change pedals to Look.
just half of the Record groups that arrived to me. One thing I can say about Campa is that it's nicely finished, and I'm a fan of the traditional looking chainrings, can't wait to see how it works. One other thing with the Campagnolo is I've had to do something I love doing, purchase some new tools, but more on that later.

As for riders, the team is all young guns, all U23. The new structure on the team should bring some new races, and maybe some good results. The older riders have stopped and the two Swedish are out making it an all Norwegian team.
On the staff front, I will solo on as the mechanic, but Philippe is not with us this season. He has a back problem that would soon see him walking like a crippled man if he kept going the way he was. With that in mind he decided to take a position on another team closer to home with less traveling and less labor intensive work. For him it was the right choice, but as far as his replacement I'm not sure what will happen there, we really need a fulltime soigneur.

So hope you stay tuned for the season ahead.

Back With It

2011-12-23T04:15:00.006+11:00

I think it has being a while since I last posted something and I have probably lost a few loyal readers due to it, so my apologies there. I thought I should get back with it since I've had a few people quietly mention my posting is lacking and since that 2011 is almost over I thought I should get one in before the year is out. So I hope everyone had a great Christmas and is enjoying their festive season, I'm certainly enjoying mine but I have sure kept busy this winter.

So why the long pause in posting? Well my last post was about my trip to Dubai, so that was May,"Gee, it has really being that long since I posted". Well after that came June and that month is always a busy race schedule in Norway with the Tour of Norway and the Nationals. July was some time off but most of that was spent at home. Lindsay and I bought a house around then so July and August was spent packing, moving and renovating. We did some quick reno work by stripping all the outdated wallpaper. Some of the plaster work was in bad condition but we did a quick patch up job and painted it so we could move in. In the months gone by we have totally stripped what appeared to be a lush garden but was indeed well over grown, we moved the fence back a meter and installed a gate and done some more painting inside the house. Now I am building a laundry in the garage, since we can't really fit the car in and is full with bikes anyway, may as well make a decent laundry. So the house has kept me very busy. Philippe helps me wash the bikes of the now current National champ Alexander Kristoff.

August was the teams last month of stage races with a tour in Spain in which the guys did really well with some podium results. The other tour was a 2.1 in Italy. September was the last month abroad with some single day races in Belgium before heading back to Norway for the final National Cup race at the begining of October. August and September were by far the busiest with me working 410 hours over that two month period, but in 42 days instead of 60. October was just a few days work with packing everything at Racing Depot and cleaning out the truck to finish the season up.

November was back to work on the house, but the weather was still quite warm so a morning ride was a must. It was the first time I could get out on the bike and explore our new area in which we now live, and I wasn't sure when the weather would turn really cold so I got out for a spin while the higher temps still lasted. I also purchased a cross bike back in April but only now really had the chance to spend a heap of time riding it, and there is some good forrest trails here compared to the other side of town where we used to live.
I also had a friend of mine, Matt, come visit from the UK so I could teach him some wheel building. Matt bought all the materials and I just showed him the technique and tricks to make a decent wheel. I wouldn't go as far as saying I'm a master wheelbuilder but I know my way around when it comes to the more traditional style wheels. It is the more classic style wheel that I really enjoy working with. After a week he had 2 sets of nice 32 spoke training wheels.

With December almost over I have spent most of it working around the house. I also did one bike service for the husband of a collegue of Lindsay. He was not so happy with his bike servicing from to his local bike shop, so hopefully I have sorted his troubles and it might just bring a few more clients my way come next winter.
We had friends from Dubai visit for Christmas before they headed to Amsterdam for their New Years, for Lindsay and I, it will be a traditional kind of New Years at home with a small group of friends and a show of backyard fireworks.

So have a great and safe New Year and I hope you keep reading next season.
Cheers

Something Different

2011-07-07T00:04:00.021+10:00

So here we are in July, summer time, Tour time, vacation time, whatever you want to call it. Last year Linds and I were in the Alps on vacation but this year there will be no Cols climbed. The last month has being a tad stressful, well for Linds anyway, she has been the one dealing with it all. But the reason for no post was, one, I was working and I never get time to post while working, and two, just recently we got the final go ahead on a house we bought here, so June was busy and now July is moving time.

But last post I mentioned some work I did in Dubai, so i will give some insight into that as it is different to what I normally do. It was May when I headed to Dubai to oversee the set up of a new store there. A good mate of mine, Lukey, put me in touch with a friend of his that wanted some help with the bike department within the store, so no, not just a normal bike shop. In the end I'm not sure of how much help I was, becuase Sam is a well organised guy and knows what he wants. Sam Whittam is the founder of Adventure HQ, the master mind behind it all, the man with big ideas. A store of 30,000sq ft with it's own climbing pinnacle and high ropes course inside the store. There is even a walk in fridge that can go to -25 to test your snow gear, not that you need that in Dubai on a daily basis, but what the hell. The store is your one stop outdoor adventure store, everything from bikes to jetskis, fishing rods, camping, rock climbing, 4WD, snow gear, you name it this store will have it.
the store logo sits in a brick wall which features as a waterfall.

When I first visited the store it was a empty shell, 6 months later [there were some delays] things had moved ahead at a rapid rate. This picture is taken from where the bike department is situated looking out to the main entrance.

So my main objective while there was to set up the work counter and plan out where everything would go. Also to train the mechanics and maybe do some short video clips for the shops website. I only had 8 days there and I wasn't sure what to expect, with anything. A while ago I had drawn up a plan of the work counter and sent to Sam, so that was pictured in my mind. I arrived in Dubai at 1am, was up at sparrows fart to go for a ride with Lukey, then off to the store. First thing was to sort out the tools. As it was not the Park Tools Kit I had in mind, thou would be enough to do most jobs, I had to sort out what tools there were and see what else extra the workshop may need. In a professional workshop you don't want to be working on a customers high end frame installing BB30 bearings with a hammer and screwdriver. it is important you have the right tool for the right job, this gains the customers confidence and trust for the workshop.

Here the work counter finally gets installed. Now that picture I had in my mind just went out the window. Still, a nice big custom made counter. A stainless steel surface would be laid on top at a later stage. The thing I had to work out was how to store everything. There was a huge amount of empty space inside the counter and trying to figure out how to best utilise that space was a small challenge. A bike shops work counter is unique, it's not something you just order off the shelf. It must be thought out, how all the small spare parts and such will be stored.
I spent much time thinking and planning, putting everything on paper trying to piece it all together to get everything to fit. I had no stock to go off so I had to think of all the spare parts they may carry for stock and think of how it would be stored. Sam was wanting all workshop related items stored in the counter, so that is a lot of stock to fit in.

The next planning out was the tool board, which I first did on this sheet of cardboard by laying out the position of the tools and then outlinning once I was happy with it. Again, I had not all the tools on hand, so I had to figure out the space to leave for the tools still to come. Here two workers hold up my cardboard draft as I stand back to see what it looks like, then take the photo to send to Sam for his approval.

Next big job was to install the Park Tool workstand. Now there was some drama with this. The thing I wasn't used to about working in Dubai was dealing with the workers. These guys work a normal day but get paid peanuts. Their not qualified tradesmen either, they have had no special training or even have the right tools. Workers would be using a nail to file or chisel something, rather than use a proper file or chisel. There was times I lost my patience I will admit, but mainly with their lack of urgency to do something, for me anyway. Once the position was decided for the stand, the tile was cut out. The foreman had drilled the first hole and made a mess of it, then some time when by before he sent a worker to finish the job. I had to explain to the guy 3 times that the 8mm bit they were using was not the right size needed for a 10mm expander bolt, but the foreman said they didn't have a 10mm bit. I was left there shaking my head in frustration. In the end the bolts were not secure enough to hold the stand in place for even a days work of servicing bikes. The foreman had to oversee everything in the whole store, he was a very busy man and only had a small handfull of workers to do things, and the stand I think was the last on their to do list. So after me asking nicely to try have it fixed with failed progress it was left to do before opening.
At least the stand was in the correct position, we could run the air line from the huge 10bar compressor which sits in a storage bay out back. Workers stood way beyond a ladders top saftey step to fix the air line along the roof to hang down at the center of the workshop where the workstand is situated. I had to make some further adjustments but I would use a higher ladder.

I then had to install all the storage draws inside the work counter, in the end I used just a simple Ikea product.
This storage solution just fell short of filling up the huge space inside the counter but it was the best solution. They are screwed in place to avoid moving about and there is 9 sets in total. These will hold all the workshop servicing related items, which should be more than enough. On top of the counter will sit 3 storage boxes, these will store all the smaller parts like bolts, cable tips, headset parts etc.

In the last days there the stainless piece had arrived for the tool board, so I set to work on that with my plan I had drawn up, thou there was a few minor alterations made along the way.
So this was the finished result, although not completely finished yet, the empty spaces are for the tools which were yet to arrive. The hard task was finding the right types of hooks to hang the tools. I wanted something that was clean looking to match the stainless surface and would work with the different tools. The other thing was doing the outlines, some I had to do free hand or with a ruler. I was happy with the end result. The last thing to do was drill the holes in the work top for the Park truing stand and bench vise to be fitted once the stainless top was installed.

So it was a good experince there, something different to working on a team. Now to the main story, I even got to do a race while I was there. A local organiser was running a criterium event, thou it was more like a kermesse. It was at the Autodrome, Dubai's F1 motor racing track. The racing scene in Dubai is not really developed like here in Europe but it is slowly growing, maybe due to how readily accessable it is, thou it is not a sport to do in summer.
I was doing the B race becuase I didn't have a licence to do A, Sam was also doing B. Lukey did the A race which started at 6am, to beat the heat of course. We donned our hot off the press specially made Adventure HQ jersey's to promote the store. Lukey won his race beating the national sprint ace, which he did by hitting him from a long way out. Then it was my turn, a 90 minute race with the temps already in the mid 20's at 8am, with stuff all training in my legs I wasn't real confident. There was an attack right from the line, my immeadiate thought was SHIT, but I settled in ok. As the race developed I was feeling ok, there was a break of 5 away but I wasn't too worried, finishing was the goal. Organisers had people around the course giving out bottles of cold water, not your qualified soigneur [or even experiencd at giving a bottle] but it was very welcomed, especially for one not used to the heat. I managed to grab a few bottles in the closing laps which kept me hydrated. Sam had blown so it was up to me to fly the Adventure HQ flag. I put in a few small attacks but the bunch seemed unwilling to really continue the attacks.
So by two laps to go the break had split, I calculated to be 3 remaining out front. The remaing breakaway riders were in sight, the pace had lifted. Two riders went hard up the last hill, I quickly slotted into 3rd wheel. The guy that led the chase had blown just as we caught the breakaway, the rider on second started his move for the line, I stuck to his wheel as he was giving me the perfect lead out. The race announcer was shouting in the loud speaker "THIS IS FOR THE WIN", but I had the feeling it was not. Out of the final turn I come off the wheel and kicked to win the sprint. I quickly learned there was one guy still out front, he finished 8 seconds ahead of us. None the less, second was good, I was surprised myself just by finishing.

Check out Adventure HQ at www.adventurehq.ae or if your in Dubai stop in at Times Square Center, Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai.

Til next time

Time to Relax, At Last.

2011-05-26T04:57:00.023+10:00

So I know this is only my 6th post for the year and I will be the first to admit I have being slack in making more of an effort, but this is the first week I have had completely free since starting the season. I have heaps of ideas to post on but this year has just being ridiculously busy and the time to sit down and write a post has being very limited, just look at the date of this post, I started it like 3 weeks ago and have just now found the time to finish it.

This year has gone at such a crazy speed. January was the end of my off season with Feburary a mad rush of building bikes and preparing wheels, March was an intense amount of driving from one country to another for races [clocking up almost 5000km in 5 weeks] and April was about the same. The time at home in between races was spent working, preparing more wheels. May was more races [close to home thou] but my free time then was spent in Dubai helping a friend set up a bike store [more on that next time] and now we're in June already with 3 weeks of the month spent in Norway. In the last few weeks I could really feel everything starting to catch up with me. My eyes felt constantly heavy like I could fall asleep at any moment, my whole body was tired. A sleep in the car during a race was looking possible for the first time since starting this job. I was feeling like I was almost at breaking point. On paper the teams program didn't look that busy but the races have just followed one after another quite quickly, with only about a week to a week and a half in between. Unlike last season, I seem to have had less time or even energy to get out for a ride. I don't know why but I certianly didn't feel this fatigued at this same point last season. I have had much more of a work load this season, and I can only put that down to the preparation schedule in those first months. If I have to open another tube of tubular glue it will be too soon. I started the season with 6 12 pack boxes of glue, and I think I have used 5 of them in the past 3 months.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining about the work I do, after all I'm not here to ride my bike everyday like some tourist. I was bought up to work hard and started working fulltime at the age of 15, so I'm quite used to constant work. But for people that think this is a glamorous easy job just working on bikes all day, think again. Yes it does have it's benefits but working on the bikes is just a small part of this job. For an idea of what a week for me in between races can involve then following is a schedule of my week once I returned home from the Olympia Tour, which was on a Saturday. And this was a more quieter week.

Sunday, this was already penciled in for a no work day.

Monday, send some work related emails [I liase alot of feedback with 4ZA about our wheels], do some bookkeeping of my work for Mr Tax Man then clean out the truck. After every race with every one in a hurry to get home, there is normally stuff packed anywhere and everywhere, and most of it has to come out so I can just get to the bikes. Just this alone can take 3 hours. Also in the first days back I have all my washing to do, at races the wash machine in the truck is normally back logged with riders clothing. A 6 hour day.

Tuesday, well I squeezed in a quick morning one hour ride before starting work at 10 servicing all the wheels. This included taking off all the old tubulars, checking every wheel for trueness, clean and regrease rear hub and cassette body and glue on a new pre glued [done the day before] tubular, do that a number of times and I was done for the day. A 7 hour day.

Wednesday [another quick ride], bike service day. Clean all TT bikes, spare bikes and race bikes [13 in total]. Then with the race bikes the work can vary, on one it was replace a shifter and some cables, regrease bottom bracket, some new bar tape, check it all over and the bike is finished. On another it was just a simple general check over of the bike. The goal is to have the bike in top shape for the next race which hopefully gives me less work while at the race, but there are some things that have to be done at a race. Chains, bar tape and cables get replaced on a regular basis [usually I do this at home], it will vary from bike to bike when this is done but I record every bit of work I do on each bike so I can see what was done and when it was done. With the time and materials I have it is not possible to strip and rebuild every bike to new after every race, this is not pro tour, I'm just one man. A 10 hour day.

Thursday, another quick early morning ride by riding to work with Linds [at this rate I may get fit again], go out and get a few work related items, go to the supermarket for some groceries, drive an hour to the bike shop for some more Morgan Blue chain lube and then once back start to pack the truck. A 9 hour day.

Friday, wash the truck, finish packing [including my own bag], tidy the house a little and then leave, spend the rest of the day and the next day driving before arriving at our location for the race. Friday a 12 hour day and Saturday a 15 hour day.

That's a typical week in between races, ok maybe it doesn't sound too bad as I have no boss constantly looking over my shoulder giving me greif every minute of the day. I work at my pace and the fact that in the last 10 days I'm still being paid while I sit at home doing sweet stuff all, hence why I can finish this post. Some days I might only do half a days work, others can be a full 8 or 9 hour day. I plan the work and spread it out to a little each day and try to finish each day by 6, just before Lindsay gets home from work. At the races the days can be much longer, thou not including the time sitting at the bar having a few cold ones. In the last month, over a 26 day period I worked 284 hours, which is taken from the time I finsh having breakfast until the time I down tools for the night. From what I gather it is easier on a big pro team because they have more staff, but where I only do about 150 days away, fulltime pro tour staff can do up to 300. The downside to a normal job is no bonuses, no sick leave, and so on. Also the fact that despite doing a stellar job all year doesn't always mean you have a job the following year. It's unlikely an established buisness will be looking good one day and then suddenly be closed shop the next, but a cycling team can go bust real quick.

So if your wondering why I haven't wrote much lately then I hope this gives some insight into why that has been and what this job involves, it's not the easy life as some might think... yeah ok maybe it is. Now my rest week is over and I now head back to Norway for the championships, then bring on July because I have the whole month off, that will be nice.

Tour of Flanders for the tourists

2011-04-22T05:06:00.006+10:00

(By Linds)

It's a long weekend this weekend, and as usual Mark is away, so I have plenty of time to catch up on my things as well as a few of his, like making a new post!

Just to give you an idea: Mark finally started this season back in the end of Feb. In the 60-odd days since then, he's had 4 days free, and in the last 7 weeks he's driven over 10000km. So on the Wed before easter with the weather an amazing 23 deg, sunny and no wind, when I demanded he join me and my friend on the long (60km) detour ride home at 6pm, although he still had work to do before leaving for this weekend's race the next day, and although he put up a good fight, he was not allowed to resist. In the end the smile when we got home said it all.

Even the weekend of his birthday, although he was not away racing, he had to 'work'. The team sponsors at Racing Depot in Norway bought down a bunch of shop owners for a weekend to have a look at the new 2011 range of Ridley's and ride then watch the Tour of Flanders. As there were so many of them, Mark had to cart the loaned Ridley bikes to Gent and back in the team truck. Fortunately for us we planned to do the ride anyway, so it was not a big deal.

I'm not sure if we'd talked about these tourist sportive rides before or not, so let me tell you about our adventures in the Tour of Flanders sportive. Basically this is a massive organised ride with +/- 20000 participants, along the course of Tour of Flanders, including all the famous parts. There were a few options: 259 Km full tour, 140 km part tour, or 75 km 'light' tour taking in only 5 climbs (one of which is the Muur). We chose the 75 km version.

We arrived with the truck and multiple cars about 8.30 am and had to park on the side of the road about 5 km from the start place. Then we had to get our numbers which was a disaster, as although we had pre-registered the numbers didn't arrive in the mail in time, as with all the dutch registrations. Eventually we got going about 10.00 am, as the sun was starting to warm up to a beautiful spring day. One good thing is that you can start at any time between certain hours, so you're not in one big mass-start. So we rode and rode and rode, along the flanderian roads and bike paths. While the route was pituresque through the flanders countryside, unfortunately many roads were main roads and the police were forcing us to ride on the bike paths. Now I don't personally like many bike paths here because it's a bit of a tight squeeze 2-abreast, and a bit nerve-wracking when you need to pass another rider going in the other direction. So add into the mix the 20000 riders on this day, many of whom like to think they're Spartacus himself and smash their way around the course, and you start to get the idea.

(At one of the feed stations, also a junction where you choose the 75 or 140 km)

The route we chose took in 5 climbs from the race: Leberg, Berendries, Tenbosse, Muur-Kapelmuur and Bosberg. The first 3 were mostly easy, but maybe that's just because I took it easy as they were very rough. One of them, I don't remember which one, was VERY long, maybe more than 1 km? Not sure, but it seemed to go on forever, and I was glad to get off it! Mostly because the first half went uphill (not so bad) but the second half went falsly downhill, so you kept picking up speed and it was difficult to manage the braking without doing the wrong thing with the handlebars.

After a while, and a few break stops at the great revitalisatie points, we eventually got into Geraardsbergen and to the Muur. For those who know the ToFlanders, the Muur is where it ALL happens. But not the bottom, which is ashphalt and is so steep in stark contrast to the rest of Gerardsbergen it looks like someone built it specifically for the bike race. It ALL happens at the top, or the last few hundred metres to be precise. So knowing what was coming we toddled on up the first part of the Muur. Eventually we got to the cobbles and found a nice rhythm. Mark rides faster than me naturally, so he got ahead and was able to take a great photo of me coming up the Muur's cobbles.

As I got to that point I realised why Mark had stopped half-way up the Muur and not at the top to wait for me. After all, the steepest part was just up and around the corner, so I wondered why he would stop and break the rhythm. Turns out they were all stopped, as they were only letting a few riders up every 30 sec or so, to give people space to get up the hard bit. For us this turned out to be a bad move, as we never got our rhythm back for the cobbles. About 100 m into the famous steep part where Spartacus attacked Boonen last year, at the same point and time I totally lost traction (I"ll get to that importance later), I heard a loud snap then a "Godverdomme!" (F***). Mark didn't lose traction, he broke his chain. So we had to hike the rest of the way up the Muur. Not possible to start on 20% incline cobbles, and Mark's bike wasn't rideable. Fortunately for Mark he's ridden the Muur before a few years ago, so wasn't as disappointed as I was that it beat me this time.

Also even more fortunately for Mark was that Shimano had their neutral service point at the top by the chapel, so he didn't have far to go to get it fixed. The funniest thing though was how difficult he found it to let the Shimano guy do the work as he prefers to do all his own work. But like all mechanics, Mark had to respect the Shimano guy's (Dieter was his name) skills and tools and let him be. Mark's pet peeve is riders who help themselves to his tools to fix something themselves and usually break it and Mark has to then fix it more, and go looking for his now-misplaced tools.

The chain was a quick fix, and after a quick chat realising we all knew Gil from DFL/cyclingnews-jako/cinelli, we were on our way. 15 km further we were over the Bosberg and back to the finish. Then after a nice hotdog, it was back to the truck and then time to go home.

Now let me tell you about how difficult it is to ride the Muur. It's not the cobbles alone. It's not the gradient alone. It's not that it's in the forest thus the cobbles are usually still moist, alone. It's the combination of all of them that makes the Muur special. Riding cobbles takes skill. You've got to stay seated so your wheels stay on the ground so you don't get air and land badly and crash. You've also got to push a big gear, basically so you're pushing weight down for the same reasons. All the while you've got to be relaxed in the front to let the bars bounce, but with enough guidance to keep the wheel straight. The best position for this is on the tops of the bars, but each to his own with getting the optimal position and weight distribution. Add a little gradient and then you've got to combine all this with climbing the hill, which means weight distribution over the wheels becomes important. You've got to keep it over the back to keep the traction on the back. But you've got to keep the front down else you'll do a wheelie. Thus the rhythm becomes important on the cobbled climbs. Up until about 10% this goes ok. After that you start trying to climb out of the saddle, but on cobbles you can't. Then you get the Muur, and it's 20% part with moist cobbles. You have to stay seated, and if you don't have the rhythm (aka nice weight distribution and ticking over a nice gear) you're never going to make it. A 20% hill alone is hard, and you gotta have the "Lance Dance"-like standing climb rhythm to get up it. But when it's cobbled, you gotta sit and get the weight down. More so when the cobbles are wet like they are on the Muur, as it's in a foresty part and never sees sun.

So this is how a 100m stretch of cobbles really takes skill. And my hat goes off to anyone who makes it up there, and I'm going back one day to do it again when I don't have to stop and break the rhythm and I'm going to challenge the Muur to a re-match.

Till then, enjoy the riding.

Lindsay

Getting Prepared

2011-03-17T06:30:00.011+11:00

Well it was a fast start to the season and I found myself from doing nothing to doing everything. In two weeks I would build 20 bikes and fit tyres to 62 wheels and prepare all the spare materials for in the truck. The teams first races have been run and won [but this blog is not about race reports] and although it wasn't the start I'd hoped for, the team was looking good for the season. I actually started this post while in Croatia when I was in bed sick, the last thing you want while at a race. Lucky for the 3 training days between the two races I could afford to rest. I had plenty of work to do with wheels still to glue up, but rest was more important at this time. With this job, it's not like you can just take the rest of the day off and go home for a day or two. So you rest when you can, it's not a good feeling spending the day feeling like shit, sitting in the car for 3 plus hours feeling even more shit and then standing in the cold washing bikes for a further few hours til the sun is down. After some heavy antibiotics I was feeling much better after the 3rd training day, but then Philippe got it and then a couple of the riders got it, not the best start.
I think what led up to the sickness was the rush of work, read on and it will give you an idea of what it is like to quickly prepare to get my season going.

Lindsay was in the UK for work when I left for Norway, so I had to lug my toolbox and bags first by bus into Eindhoven then by train to Amsterdam for my flight. Off topic, here I bumped into BMC rider Alexander Kristoff , he was on the same flight to Stavanger to do some training at home before Paris-Nice. We didn’t really speak much at the Worlds but he is a friendly guy to talk to. Mind you he was not so friendly when his bike had arrived in Stavanger broken, the chainstay in two. He said the team had not prepared the spare bikes yet so he had to fly with his training bike for now. Packed in a soft bag it was never going to withstand the carelessness of the baggage handlers, especially with the way it was packed for him. Soft bags are ideal for travel due to their light weight, but you really have to pack the bike properly with extra padding, not exactly rocket science stuff but maybe worth another post.

The reality soon came that there was not really anyone to pick me up. Morten said he’d try to arrange something while he was in Spain. But since he had the key to where I was staying I really had nowhere to go. I got the feeling thou he never did really organize anyone, but then felt bad when his flight was delayed and missed his connection at Oslo. So I had to wait 5 hours. My accommodation was fixed just days before when one of the riders [Joffi-aka Johan Fredik Zeisler] was good enough to give me the use of his apartment while he was on the camp in Spain, so I would call his place home for the week I was there to work. The next day I was straight down to Racing Depot to start work on the bikes. I only put the three spare bikes together and my back was already killing me from standing at the workstand.

a stack of new Ridley frames to play with.

A week was not long to get everything done, but I had a plan to make things go efficently. The first day was just a short day with a little organizing and assembling the spare bikes, the next day would be a full day of bike building. Once I got my work area set up I was quickly rolling through the bikes like an assembly line, thou just a one manned assembly line. After two days my feet were killing me. When you stand at the workstand for 8, 9 hours a day it feels like you have shin splints sometimes. When I come home from days like that it is a great feeling just to take your shoes off. After two full days all the road bikes were built. I was given a key and alarm code for Racing Depot so I could work as long as I wanted, since everyone goes home at 4. A ten hour day is not unusual for me. I also needed to work over the weekend so not to lose any days preparing, no point taking days off when work is to be done. By the weekend all TT bikes were either fully or partially built. The weekend was also the perfect time to have the truck in the loading dock of Racing Depot so I could prepare it for packing as some old materials had to come out, thou with the help of a few guys from Racing Depot it had to be pushed into the dock as the start motor was stuffed. Sitting 5 months in a Norwegian winter was not good for it I guess. The riders had ransacked the truck for any useable spare materials so there was not too much to sort through, so it was soon ready to be reloaded. The last major thing to get ready was the spare materials, so with some shopping up the aisles of Racing Depot I soon had most items. By the end of the weekend I was feeling I had everything organized, the stress level was coming down. Monday there was not much left to do so I had spare time to build time trial bikes for the local Sandnes team. Tuesday our 4ZA wheels arrived and I quickly wondered if I would now have time to get them all ready as this was the day I was due to leave. But with the truck needing a new start motor I would not be leaving before Friday, then was the next ferry so Friday would be the day to now leave, this gave me some extra time.team bikes almost ready to go.

Philippe arrived in Stavanger on the Monday to collect the first team car, then Tuesday he had to drive 300km to Kristiansand to catch an afternoon ferry. He then drove through the night [arriving at 5am] to get home. So home for two days then he had to fly back again on the Friday to collect the second team car. While he was going back and forth I had time to glue up the race wheels, which is normally a several day process. First a layer of glue on the rim, then leave to dry overnight. Then do a layer on the tubular base and also leave overnight. Next day do a second layer on the rim and a second on the tubular and leave again overnight. Then you do a third layer on the rim and stick the tubular on, pump it to the max and leave for at least two days before riding. Now repeat that 36 times, it takes a few days but a few days I didn’t have. The spare wheels were easy, tyres and tubes, a cassette and 1-2 hours later and you’ve done 7 pairs of wheels. It must be luxury on a pro tour team to have 2 months to do all this, me on the other hand, about 3 weeks.
Friday had come and it was time to load up. I had to grab a few more spares and then spent most of the day just loading the truck. That night, two hours after Philippe’s flight landed we were on the overnight ferry to Denmark to start the 1000km drive home.
the truck on the lift getting a servive before its long season on the road.

Sunday I had something on so no work would be done this day, then Monday I had to drive the truck two hours away into Belgium to have it serviced and a roadworthy check done. Tuesday I could finally finish gluing the race wheels. I also had to go through my wash equipment, make sure the hoses aren’t split, have enough connections and check that everything works on the truck. The stress level was up again but you live up to the fact that some things you just don’t have time to do. Wednesday I gave the truck a wash [I never go off to a race with a dirty truck] and then went to Ridley to pick up the rest of our 4ZA wheels, more gluing. Then run around and get a few bits and pieces before repacking the truck for the trip. By 6pm I was finished and feeling like I was a little closer to being ready to go on the road, last thing to do before going two and half weeks away was pack my bag and spend what little time that was left with Lindsay.

Now I'm home for a bit and this weekend get to do some riding. Linds and I are off to the Tour of Flanders tourist ride. An organised ride that covers the route of the ToF, thou we will just do the 75km loop with just a few of the cobble sectors. We will do it with a group of people from Norway that are customers of the teams sponsor, so should be fun and I will post on it soon.

Til then,
Mark

Season ready to go.

2011-02-21T06:08:00.006+11:00

For most continental teams the season is just begining, including mine. The off season is over and done, thank god, this one just seemed too long. Pro Tour teams don't have that much of an off season with the first race being the Tour Down Under in mid January. But for most Continental teams they just don't have the budget to race from January to October, some are lucky to even have a training camp.

This year I'm back with the Sparebanken Vest-Ridley team and the riders are in their second stint of a training camp in Spain. The plan was for me to be there but the planning didn't quite come together the way Morten had hoped for. So my off season was a little longer than I was expecting. It's always a good time to get some fitness on the bike in but December was pretty much a white out. Even with the snow gone it's always hard to get motivated when the days are dull and grey with below zero tempertures. I prefer the cold but sunny days to ride. I'll be honest and say the south of Spain would have being a good place to be. I do enjoy the off season thou to relax from months on the road, driving thousands of kilometers, hotel after hotel. It's good to be in one place with nothing to do and nowhere to go. In the winter it's all about spending quality time with Lindsay, and keeping the house in order by doing all the chores. During the winter I also took Dutch lessons twice a week, so there is always something to do. As nice as this all is, this year I hope to be proactive enough to make some changes that will alter what has being a too longer off season in past years, due to not recieving a pay cheque in the winter months it can become a little stressful at times.

Tomorrow I go to Norway to prepare all the race bikes and load the truck. The plan is to be up there a week, which I hope is enough time to get everything done. The bikes again are obviously Ridley and most of the guys will be riding the Noah with two or three on the Helium. The riders are given the choice of race bike to use, unlike most teams at this level where they're just given any model bike. I think the Helium is a better all round bike and I would have them on all the same bike, but it's not up to me. Don't get me wrong the Noah is a nice bike with a huge amount of technology gone into it, but I'm just not a huge fan of all that fancy tech stuff. A good rider can race on anything. But some riders believe the Noah as Ridley states, is a faster bike. Wind tunnel tested it is said to have a 2km/h advantage in a sprint or up to 15 watts less power needed to average a 50km/h breakaway. Whether the riders choose it for this I don't know. But the thing is, some of them will never get in a break or be in the sprint, so really whats the point. Some riders will try to impress you with all the tech talk possible, but for me I don't give a shit, just race your friggin bike. What wins a race is what's in your mind, your heart and your legs, with also a little bit of luck and of course a well maintained bike.

Some riders, and even in the shop some customers, can be difficult to work with and while these riders are usually great to work with, some riders can make an issue out of the smallest things, yet do nothing in the race to justify it. But it is a common thing with young riders these days. Last year there was a drama over bidon cages. The first type we used [and may again this season] were always breaking, so to save some trouble and a little bit of cost I decided to change them. I opted to use an alloy old style cage, very sturdy and they don't often fail. But this created huge drama's, none of the guys were happy but one more so because they were 20 or whatever grams heavier than the previous ones. They have the choice of two bikes that are over half a kilo in weight difference, and after going the heavier bike then complains about a couple of grams between bidon cages, PLEASE.
Black bar tape was another huge issue, it mentally almost ruined one of the riders. This season 13 of the 18 Pro Tour teams use white bar tape, with Vancansoleil, BMC, Garmin-Cervelo, Radioshack and Omega Pharma-Lotto all using black. If it is good enough for them it's good enough for me. But this year I asked for extra white as with the bikes we have it looks better. Black is just better to use early in the season when rain is more likely. It saves me time scrubbing white tape to look white again, or even replacing it which we can't do. We're not Pro Tour and have a pallet load of white tape to be replacing it everyday, as much as I like the tape looking new everyday. It depends alot on the colour scheme of the bike to which tape should be used, but that is something that is up to the mechanic. The rider should in no way be concerned about what colour his tape is, if concerned about petty things like that then your race is over before you even turn a pedal . The rider should concentrate on one thing and that's riding the bike, after all it's not his bike, it's the teams. So hopefully I hear none of that this year, it will be "here's your bike now race it". I first use what we're sponsored to use then being the mechanic the rest is up to me, the rider should just ride.
The Helium race bike

Groupsets on the bikes will again be Dura-Ace with Ultegra on the spare bikes and training bikes, which are the Orion model. Time trial bikes will again be the Dean, but we do not have too many TT's on the program so I'm not sure if we're using the top line Dean or lower Dean RS, again that is not up to me. We no longer will use Mavic as our wheel sponsor opting for Ridley's in house brand 4ZA to supply wheels, bars and stems. Their low profile carbon tubular wheeelset must be light, in the Helium the bike is said to weigh 6.6kg, thats a light bike. For racing I will have 8 pair of high profile carbon wheels, 8 pair of the low profile carbon wheels plus 8 pair of alloy whheels to use for training rides and spares. The race wheels will be tubulars, so with not much time before our first race, I doubt whether I will get them all glued. I also have disc wheels to prep. Normally the tubs must stretch for a few days then have two coats applied with 24 hours between each. Then 3 coats on the rim, again with 24 hours between each, so that's a good weeks work just preparing wheels. It's no real huge stress thou, in the 2007 season I was gluing tyres on wheels the night before the Omloop Het Volk race because delivery of the tubs was late.

I always like to have things done in plenty of time but some things are out of my control. There is many decisions to be made for a team to even start the new season, especially where funds are concerned. In a perfect world everything would be signed and sealed by Christmas and all bikes and such are ready to build in the early weeks of January before the first training camp, as in this teams case. But that takes alot of organised man power to pull it off. This team does not have the management staff to spend all their time on securing deals for the following season. Morten is like a one man band sometimes, and getting everything organised himself is a huge task, one that I wouldn't wish for. But sponsors are signed and with everything finalised on the equipment, we can let the season begin.

Til next time

The Radio Ban

2011-02-09T03:21:00.006+11:00

There is much talk about the use of no radio for the riders this season. In all honesty the radio has good points and bad points. At the Sparebanken Vest-Ridley team last season we did not have the use of race radio for most of our races, and it will be the same this year. Did we miss it? yes and no, did it make any difference to the style of racing? absolutely not. For all the people that think no radio's will make more exciting racing, your dreaming.

Below is a statement from the UCI about the radio ban posted on the cyclingnews website-UCI stand by radio ban Feb 8th:

“It’s a decision that has been taken after consulting all parts of cycling sport – organisers, riders, even the press, because don’t forget that there are a lot of people from the press, and especially television, who say that cycling with ear-pieces is not very spectacular any more”, the UCI Press Officer, Enrico Campani, told Cyclingnews.

Firstly the riders are saying they have had very little input into the decision and secondly it seems the UCI might be under pressure from media and public. This makes me think there is more to this than just what we read. We all know the loss of race radios will do a jack of difference to a race, these guys are professionals, they know how to read a race. And with the moto going up and down all day giving time splits, they know exactly when to start the chase. They don't need a DS in their ear to tell them that.
Also on cyclingnews was the race report from the Trofeo Cala Millor - Cala Millor race, which was no radio's:

"A large group tried to get away early, but Leopard Trek and Garmin-Cervelo chased them down.

There were three climbs on the day's stage, all category four – just enough to test the legs in the very early part of the season. Shortly after the first one, at about 40 km, a threesome of Luis Pasamontes (Movistar), Adrian Saez de Arregi (Orbea) and Steven Cozza (NetApp) established themselves, and with the peloton's permission, took off. But when the gap hit nine minutes at the 65km marker, the peloton decided that was enough.

From there the gap dropped steadily, with Leopard Trek, Garmin-Cervelo and RadioShack leading the chase. It was a slow but sure chase, with the peloton timing things perfectly and not catching the trio too early.

With 27km to go, Pasamontes took off from his two companions, who were soon caught by the field. He, too, was caught with 15 km to go, and HTC-Highroad, Rabobank, RadioShack, Movistar and Garmin-Cervelo all moved in for the sprint finish. Philippe Gilbert of Omega Pharma-Lotto tried to break away within the final 10km, but Garmin-Cervelo and Rabobank quickly rode him down, and the mass sprint was set up."

And NO RADIOS. How is this any different to races with radios, it's the same outcome. An early escape for most of the day and then caught 15km to go where a bunch sprint was the result. The only thing that may make the racing more exciting was if the riders had no idea of time gaps. You can take out the moto giving splits, but then times are announced to team cars on Radio Tour anyway, which would result in every DS in the race wanting to drive into the peloton to tell his riders. Back in the 80's you could do that, but the UCI don't allow it now, too dangerous. If riders had no idea of who or what time a break was up the road, only then I think racing would become more interesting, maybe.

Cycling is a tactics sport, with radios it is purely who does what with what information they are given, the best. Chief Comm will give team cars info on who and how far is up the road, in which then the DS can work his plan, same as a football coach on the sidelines. But what good is this info if we cannot tell the riders. Radios help play tactics to win the race. With out radios we just hope the riders know what to do, because many don't. They can be strong as 10 men but when it comes to tactics, not a clue. But it is more often the radio is used for just general race information, whether it is the course ahead, the weather or to tell the riders one guy is coming back with bidons, which helps avoid half the team coming back for the same thing.
Professional cycling is now a modern sport with some of the best technology, with that comes radio communication. Ok yes some directors get carried away with the radio by barking orders into it every second, but for most it is just a means of giving the rider as much information as they need to get the best result possible. As Jonathan Vaughters states in the article 'Radio Silence', posted on cyclingnews Jan 14th,

"Cycling is a team sport, and just like any other team sport, from soccer to American football, the athletes need to have the best information and best communication possible, so that the best decisions can be made. The argument that the smartest rider or team wins when radios are banned is bunk; the smartest rider is the one who knows how to use all the information available to make better decisions than his opponent. The smartest team? The same."

I think he is bang on in every aspect he says in this article. Yes ok years ago they never had radios, but they never had carbon bikes or wheels either. Times have changed, the racing has changed and people just need to accept it. I say the radio should stay in the professional ranks.

Just my two cents, from the inside and not an armchair.
Mark

Bike vs Car

2011-02-04T21:49:00.019+11:00

Earlier last week I was reading some articles and comments [www.theage.com.au-human tumbleweed-Mon Jan 31] about cyclist versus motorist from my hometown Melbourne. It is quite a debatable topic and has been on a number of occassions and argued for a great length everytime, but it's one that I always find interesting to read about. The topic started from a known celebrity being thrown from his bike as a car cut him off while he was riding in a bike lane, it ended him up in hospital with a broken back. A number of motorist there believe [like many places] cyclists are a hinder on the road and for the more avid hater we have no place being on the road at all. While the cyclist can range from your full Pro rider to the weekly racer to a rider that rides 2 times a week on his K-mart special to get to work because his wife needs the car.

Major cities are built with cars in mind for obvious reasons, and Melbourne has never had a great infrastructure or funding to improve it for the use of bicycles. But I think it is much better now than say as little as 10 years ago, for the sport has grown hugely popular and more so on a recreational level. For many years there the bike outsold cars, and maybe still does. Four years ago was the last time I lived in Melbourne and I found then that many roads had a marked bike lane alongside the road, it may in some cases have come to an sudden end but the lane was there. And this is something that must change to make it a more cycle friendly city. Bike lanes should flow with the road rather than force the cyclist into the flow of traffic. I would even go as far as getting rid of the suburban nature strip in some areas to create a bike lane, the nature strip is just a waste of space anyway. Roads need to be designed with the cyclist in mind, and I think it is slowly going that way.
The other problem is the education of motorist, they're taught to just drive the car rather than road craft. The whole system of a family member [or whoever it may be] teaching you to drive needs to be scrapped, it should only be done with a qualified instructor and maybe that area too needs an overhaul. This is a change that should of happened years and years ago to make people better drivers, just look at the road toll for proof. The problem is, along with some poor road design, most motorist don't even think about a cyclist while driving their car, and sometimes even when there is a visable bike lane. I'd seen it many times where they might suddenly turn into a side street without thinking there may be a cyclist approaching. Lindsay was knocked from her bike like this when a motorist took the advantage of a gap in the traffic and turned in front of her. Luckily she was not seriuosly hurt, more frustrating thou, the driver didn't even ask if she was ok or bother to say sorry. You even have some people swerve into the gutter to stop you riding up the inside of traffic because they hate that you can go more freely past on a bike. I had once one guy do it when I was in a bike lane, his return argument was there shouldn't be a bike lane. Some motorist have insane ideas and think that we should all ride on the provided shared bike paths, or should not ride two abreast, but they obviously never ever ride a bike at any time of their arrogant life. A cyclist at some point will drive a car but a driver that never rides a bike is a different story. I would one day like to see that person ride a bike just to see what we deal with and maybe they will change their attitude. Maybe then they will learn to look out for cyclist much more.A typical inner city bike lane in the Netherlands, notice no nature strip.

I had even read one comment from a guy that claimed he is a keen rider himself but couldn't understand why [quote] "well-past-it wanna-bes in ludicrous lycra outfits with Tour de France-style advertising logos all over them" weren't using the provided bike lane [I think he may be refering to a bikepath] along a certain stretch of road, as all they were doing was holding up commuters trying to get to work and [I quote again] "TO EARN A LIVING". This guy is clearly not a proper cyclist and most likely a guy that just rides a bike for exercise while wearing a tracksuit, and for some insane reason thinks cyclists don't earn a living. Not too mention the road he was refering to I believe is a dual carriage way, so his real problem is getting held up 20 seconds while he waits to change lanes, BOO HOO!. He also believes roads are solely built for "MOTORISED TRAFFIC", which just shows that he is more your bike path rider than an actual cyclist, as there is a difference. We all know shared paths are not the best to ride on, as these are more family or casual riding enviroments. Secondly cycling is a social sport and as it is legal to ride two abreast then why not as it is safer. Bikes are also refered to as vehciles so it allows us to ride on the road, having no motor means we need no registration. It is people like this guy that really need educating.

It is the same situation where motorist think we cyclist should pay registration and display a number plate to ride on the road. The idea of this really winds me up, especially when some cyclists agree to it. I think thou it will never happen as it is too much of a political red tape nightmare and the line will never be drawn. But many anti-cyclist drivers believe this will make a difference and will give us cyclist the right to ride on the road because they think by paying their car rego gives them to rightfully use the roads, it doesn't, taxes pay for roads and we all pay that. As for the number plates, they believe that will solve the problem of riders running red lights. The law states it is legal to ride a bike on the road, so why would you want additional costs on a car that you already pay for to sit in the driveway all week because you choose to ride, and you want to pay more for that freedom. All us cyclist need to do is STOP RUNNING RED LIGHTS!.
Some motorist also think because we ride a bike we don't even own a car and therefore don't pay rego or taxes, we do but just choose to go by bike, whether it is to get to work, our sport or just doing our bit for the enviroment. If anything we should pay less registration and taxes because our car is used less. I'm not sure what the answer would be to this debate but at the moment it seems to be a very grey area. There needs to be a solution that suits everyone, I really dont know what the solution would be but more of a police presence catching red light runners is a start, maybe it will ease the mind of the motorist if they know this is being done.

Melbourne is a very populated city of 4 million people and can be a nightmare to navigate for the new cyclist, but in all my time living there I never had too much of a problem and think it is a great city to be cycling in. In 13 years of living there I had seen some strange actions by both drivers and other cyclist. I myself had a number of near misses and a couple of heated arguments, but nothing ever serious. In my first months of living in Melbourne I had three minor accidents. Coming from a country town, traffic is not something you have to worry too much about so I had to learn the way it behaved. As a cyclist you have to be aware of everything around you as you are the most at risk of injury, motorcycle riders are taught the same thing. Learning the roads is something you learn as you ride more often, and being able to read traffic situations while on the bike is something that comes in time, after all two similar situations will differ from a bike to a car. Reflexs help alot and this comes with all the racing experience, you learn to react quickly to an akward situation. There are many riders in Melbourne that you can tell don't race, and these are the ones that often are the problem on the roads in regards to common sense within traffic. I've seen some guys do some stupid moves on the bike, that either endanger themselves or just result in them being a pain in the ass to the flow traffic. Some of us cyclist just need to use a little more common sense and think about the bigger picture.

I would always try to pick roads that had a bike lane or roads that were two lanes in either direction, often in peak hour times. Then on some occasions I would ride on roads that were one lane but very wide. Around Melbourne there are many roads like this and you can get in a decent 50 or 60 kilometer [sometimes more] ride around the burbs on these roads and are also quite safe, even at night. Sometimes we cyclists thou put ourselves in situations that is just asking for trouble from motorist, it can be common sense things like riding two abreast on a single lane road in peak hour traffic or riding in a bunch that takes up the whole road. I was never a supporter of the infamous Saturday morning 'Hell Ride' as I believed it did not give the sport a good image, it was basiclly a non sanctioned road race. Riders would be across two lanes of traffic, swarm cars at intersections and running red lights, it made me ashamed to be a cyclist so I had no part in it. If we want the respect from motorist we must respect the laws of the road and think about the way we act on the bike and what image it has for the sport. We all just need to think a little too, and simple things like, maybe it's not such a good idea to get in front of 3 cars at the traffic lights that just past you 50m ago, maybe its better to wait behind. Otherwise maybe we will end up having massive number plates hanging off the back of our 10 grand 6.8kg pride and joy racing machine. I think education needs to improve on both parts.

I am fortunate enough thou to now live somewhere where none of this is of any concern. In a country with a population of 16 million and a bike ownership figure of almost 90%, it is a country with the bicycle in mind. The Netherlands is a great country for riding a bike, thou for me it is far too flat, but for your commuter it is perfect. I'm not one for stats but for the sake of comparing, whats known as a modal share where all journeys in the Netherlands made by bike is 27% to Australia's 1%, out of 16 popular biking countries Australia is the lowest and the Netherlands the highest. In a more simple term, around 40% of the nation commute on a daily basis by bike where as Australia is only just under 5%. Lindsay's work even paid her a sum to purchase a bike to commute to work if she rides [and not that they keep tabs] atleast 50% of the year, and also gets a maintance allowance for bike related items for her riding to work needs.
The bike lanes or paths here thou are well designed that give the rider right of way in nearly all circumstances, with the exception of a few round-a-bouts on major roads. Some roads in Melbourne are so wide yet no bike lane. Here in the Netherlands in the city area's it is common to have the house, then a small footpath [maybe 3ft wide], then sometimes space for car parking, then the bike lane and finally the road. if it can be done here in such dense cities I'm sure it can be done in Melbourne with all the big wide roads that are there, it just takes a bit of planning with a cyclist attitude and obviously the funding.A bicycle parking lot in Amsterdam. 40% of Amsterdams metro population travel by bike.

I came across an interesting blog from a UK guy living here in Assen, its called 'A view from the cycle path' by david Hembrow, if you google it, it gives you a great insight into the Dutch way of commuting, very much worth a read.

Til next time and safe riding
Mark

Years of Bikes part two

2010-12-29T08:51:00.044+11:00

Ok so it was not quite the end of the 90's where I finished the last post. Putting these posts together has bought back alot of memories of my racing days. Part one was somewhat easy as far as the photos go, but towards the end of the 90's was getting a touch hard to remember. In this post I had some trouble locating photos, some were on Lindsay's computer and were lost when it once crashed. Trying to remember what year I had what bikes was also hard, especially from 98 to about 2002 because of living and work changes also going on in my life.
So just to recap on where I left off, the Viner had been in the shed collecting dust while I was riding the green Norco. Once I had the red Norco [now with Campag] I put the 105 groupset on the Viner and sold it.

In mid 98 I moved house [which seemed to be my normal routine every 12 months] to a new area of town and needed to find a new local bike shop. I was never really committed to one shop at this time. A shop I often went to was too far out of the way now and I only really went there because a friend shopped there and he had a friend that worked there. I had being living in my new area for a month or so now and took a walk down to the local shopping strip to get some groceries. I happen to notice there was a bike shop there but didn't go in. Some weeks later I was wanting some V-Brakes [yes they were out now] to upgrade on the old Apollo, so I thought I would visit my newly found local shop. I went in and had a friendly chat with the owner Jae, before walking out with a set of XT V-brake callipers. To be honest the shop never really appealed to me that much as it was small and a bit messy, but what attracted me to the shop was the down to earth and honest approach of Jae. There was no bullshit sales talk or pressure to buy anything. I now went into O'Mara Cycles to see Jae for all my bits and pieces and the last thing I bought at my old shop was the Campag groupset for the red Norco because it was a great price, not long after that the friend I knew there left so there was no need to go back.

Some time passed and I was a bit of a regular now at my new local bike shop. Jae would have liked me on one of his bikes as I was still riding the red Norco, which was a brand he didn't sell. But for some time I was already keen on something else. My friend knew a guy that was selling his De Rosa and I had being thinking about buying one for a while. A shop on the other side of town was selling the same iteam-Nova bikes that the then pro team rode, but new ones were expensive so I just bought this one. The blue was a matt finish and always looked dirty no matter how much I washed it, that I hated. I bought some race wheels for it off my friend, Mavic had released their first Ksyrium wheelset and were a huge weight advantage over the 32 spoked wheels I had always raced on. What were once good quality 32 spoked race wheels were now training wheels. The other changes I did to this bike were fit some Record ergo shifters when the Chorus ones were no good. One of the changes on road bike by now were the use of a A-head type stem that was first itroduced on mountainbikes some time ago. The one inch threaded steerer was no longer used. Not long after I bought the De Rosa I had sold the red Norco.

It had been over 12 months since I first walked into O'Mara Cycles to buy those V-Brakes and I think around late in 99 I was offered to race for Jae's shop as a sponsored rider. At the time he mostly had track riders so with me more into the road it would be a good change for him and the shop. I now felt a little guilty about buying the De Rosa, so I opted to get rid of the shit matt blue and have it painted in Jae's glossy blue and yellow shop colours to show my gratitude for given me sponsorship. I did cop a little flak from some people for doing that to a De Rosa but I didn't give a shit, the sole reason was for Jae otherwise I could of resprayed it any colour I wanted. As the 2000 road season went by I said to Jae for the coming track season I would get back on the track for reasons of more exposure for the shop. I did a design and put this bike together in a few weeks once track season started, and although a well built bike there was just something about it. At the time I picked the colours, Jae and I thought they looked really good but along with the colour scheme the ride quailty was also not sitting well with me. In the end as much as the colour wasn't doing justice, the ride quality was a more major factor. I rode it for that one season and eventually sold it because it just didn't feel right when riding it, especially on the steep banked velodrome.

I didn't do alot in the 2002 season because of work. I did enough to keep in shape by still training and doing the odd race or two on the mountain bike. Despite the old Apollo looking a little outdated, it did give me the motivation to start another season racing on the dirt. Then sometime early in 2003 Jae got this deal brought to him that the distributor was clearing out these Merida Magnesium Elites and the price was too good to pass up on. This bike was like 9kg, Manitou forks, complete XTR with Avid Ti V-Brakes, Ritchey WCS componets, Mavic 517 rims, I mean this bike had the works. The frame was magnesium alloy and although some cracked, mine never did. The bike loved to climb, it was so nimble to ride through tight single track and to this date is the best mountain bike I've had. I sold the Apollo to a friend to use as a commuter and started racing the 2003 winter season aboard the Merida, even going to the Nationals. I raced it again in 2004 and took this photo on my return trip from the Nationals of that year where I finished 5th in my class. My class was Expert back then, the one down from the 'I'm a fulltime sponsored mountainbiker' Elite class. I was clearly no Chris Jongewaard, or a Trent Lowe so the Expert class was enough for me.
Mid 2003 I had also started working at the shop as Jae's mechanic.

By 2004 we had a few more guys involved in doing the road season. Everyone on the team were offered a special deal on a new team bike that Jae was offering us. despite working at the shop I was the last one on the team to recieve my new bike. I sold the De Rosa to a guy that had been eyeing it off in the shop over a period of weeks while it was on display. Now with some extra cash [hence why I was the last] to hand over I jumped on my first carbon bike, and with the new Shimano Dura-Ace 10 speed. I was reluctant to change from my Campag after my Shimano experience on the green Norco, but the Dura-Ace was something else, I haven't used Campag since. The frame was an Alex C-1 and was from a local distributor wanting to get his new brand out there. It was a comfortable bike and fitted me well. It was a good all round bike for different types of racing and was a big improvememt over the alloy frames I had being riding. The biggest improvement was the Dura-Ace thou, it was so much better to shift than the sloppy feeling Campag.

By the same distributor that supplied that Alex road bike I was offered to ride this prototype mountain bike frame, but they had changed the bikes name to Inexa. I had someone keen to buy the Merida so it was sold. I was to ride my new bike and give feedback for future production. At the time there was only two in the country and I rode this one throughout the 2005 mountainbike season, riding again the Nationals where I finished 4th on this bike. Shifting was from Sram X-9, the brakes I don’t remember but they were not that good anyway and cranks were XT. I built the bike up mostly with parts we had in stock at the shop in order to clear some stock. It was a nice looking bike but compared to the Merida it was too heavy for my liking.

After some seasons away from the track I got another frame from the same Inexa distributor. This was a far improvement over the orange one I had built. It was a similar ride to that Ken Evans I use to ride in my earlier years. It had a very low top tube and head tube so when this photo was taken the bike was only new and despite my bar height being the usual height I eventually dropped them another 10 or 15 mm. I also had another bar set up, a pair of road bars with another stem that I would use for training and endurance races, it was these bars that mostly stayed on the bike rather than the sprint ones you see here.

So it was now 2006 and with the Inexa deal going a little sour for the shop, most guys on the team were now riding Trek's. Me on the other hand sold the C-1 frame and took delivery of Inexa's new model. The C-2 was a better geometry for me and looked like a more solid bike, but it lacked a bit of get up and go. From these guys I was riding their frames, bars, stems and wheels, so I was to say the least giving them a fair go. But the bike just didn't do it for me. As we were mainly a Trek dealer at O'Mara's we also sold the Lemond bikes and the Rep told me that Trek were clearing out some old models that I could pick up at a smoking price. It just so happened that they had a bike that siuted me and I was soon aboard a Lemond Tete de Course [Sorry but couldn't track down the photo]. This was what they call a spine bike, with a lower titanium section and a upper carbon section. This made a very nice bike to ride, best of both worlds really, comfortable yet stiff and very light. It was a classy looking bike and was riden by US pro teams such as Saturn and Webcor, it was the best I would own since the Hillman. I stripped my Dura-Ace group from the C-2 frame and sold it and the wheels along with other remaining bits to different customers. With the Dura-Ace now going on the Lemond I fitted a new Bontrager kit including post, bars and stem. I went shorter in the stem as the top tube was a touch longer than I prefered. I also got some Bontrager Race X Lite wheels for it that were sort of a gold colour and matched the brushed titanium frame colour just nice. I owned this bike for maybe 5 months before selling it prior to moving to Europe, as I did with all my bike stuff. I got a good price for the Lemond and also sold some Flashpoint [made by Zipp] carbon wheels I got for the bike to the same guy. The Inexa track bike I also sold and the mountain bike was stripped with the parts sold to a regular customer and the frame going back to the distributor.

Once in Europe I never really owned a road bike for the first two years. In 2007 the team I was working for rode the Litespeed Siena, so I was given one of those to ride for the season. It was a nice bike and I was prepared to buy it at the completion of the season, but was told a rider needed to borrow it until the new bikes arrived, I never saw it again. During that winter I did many mountain bike tours on a borrowed bike, so for the next winter I bought this Ridley Scorpion. While not as top end as my other mountain bikes I've had it would do the job. The tours here can get quite muddy so I just settled for an alloy frame with a XT group. I decided not to get the disc brake option because the bike I borrowed had disc brakes and they just clogged with mud and continued to be an annoying noise throughout the ride, not to mention chewing through brake pads like a hot knife through butter.

For 2008 I was actually a registered rider for the Continental Cyclingnews-Jako team and recieved this Fuga bike as my team bike. The frame was very similar to the Alex C-1 I once owned, exactly almost. The Dura-Ace was from a Litespeed the previous season but still worked well with a new chain, cables and brake pads. At the end of the season, like with most teams, the bike was given back and sold off. At the end of that season I decided to get my own bike so I wasn't stuck without one over the winter.

My team manager at the time had this alloy Fuga frame sitting at his house, it was my size so I bought it. I first put the Ultegra SL group on it but then I gave that to Lindsay when I purchased the 6700 group you see on it here. It's nothing flash but it does me fine for now, and this is the bike I still ride today until I can justify in getting another one. I don't race as much as I would like to so there is no need for something high end, and even with this bike it is still suitable to race on. I'm sure I could still hold my place in a race on this bike with guys riding top end bikes and wheels, presuming I'm race fit of course.

The last bike to add to this list is my town bike, a retro style bike I put together with old bits and pieces from a couple of trashed bikes. Again nothing flash but is good for something to ride to the shops. The town bike plays a major role here in the Netherlands and come in a huge range, from a basic singlespeed with a back pedal braking system to a full cruiser with suspension everything and sometimes a small motor. But for me my retro Fuga will do. Soon there will also be another bike to add to this long list. A bike I have being considering the last year or two, a cyclocross bike. It would be nice to upgrade my road bike to something nicer but I think I will get more use from a cyclocross bike, so that will be my next bike.

So I think that brings it to a total of 24 bikes since 1983. My parents bought me my first race bike followed by a couple of hand me downs from my brothers, then from there I purchased my own bikes. I would hate to count all the cash I have spent on bikes over those years but the way I see it, is that it's better on something like that rather than drinking or smoking all your cash away and it has probably taught me a little more respect for the things I own.

Years of Bikes, part one

2010-12-28T03:38:00.046+11:00

Well 2010 is drawing to a close, I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and plan to have a safe, happy New Year. As you may have noticed I have gone with a new look on my blog to go with the new year. I would also like to thank everyone for their comments and support throughout the year, while I don't respond to every comment I sure read and appreciate all of them [besides the odd offensive one which I just delete].
With the year coming to an end I was thinking to myself the other day that it has been 27 years since I started racing, and I must have had a number of bikes over those years. So I thought it might be interesting to take a look back in time and cover all the bikes I've owned in that time. Most I still have photo's of but there is some I don't, which is unusal for me but they have most likely been lost at some point as I always took photos. I have split the post into two parts with the first covering pre 2000 and the second that will cover from then to present.

It was 1983 when I started racing and my first bike was a Record, not really a known brand back then I think but it served me well. I can not even remember where it came from. My Dad must of brought it from somewhere because the bikes my two brother's Chris and Peter had were too big, not to mention they were still using them. It was a road frame but becuase I started on the track we built it as a track bike. Before I got the frame, I had began riding I think a bike of Chris' to get used to the fixed gear before racing started . Once I had the frame we put it together and off I went to my first track meet in Hamilton where that day I won like 3 races and was instantly hooked. After the track season I then transformed the bike to a road bike. I remember it was like Christmas putting all the parts on it for the road season, it was like getting a new bike every time. I can't explain why but in some photos I had yellow bar tape for the track season, except for these photos where I had white for both track and road seasons. The white made sense because the Record stickers were white, but the yellow I can't explain. In those days white bar tape was an obvious choice, but there was an exception to another colour only if it were the same colour as the stickers on your frame.

I had maybe ridden the Record for 5 years before I was handed down this yellow Daccordi from Peter. It was a tad big but it was a nice bike for someone at my age. The componets on the bike were a bit of a mix match with a Campagnolo rear derailleur, Galli cranks and Dia-Compe brakes. The tubeset was aero shaped and had internal brake routing which were some new improvements on some frames back then. I wasn't real keen on the yellow but it did have chrome forks which was nice, and it was Italian made.

It was now around 1990 and I didn't ride the yellow Daccordi that long as Chris had bought an original PDM team frame [which he has now restored, visit the cycloretro link on the right] and was no longer using his red Daccordi, so I rode it for a while as the stand over height was better than the yellow frame. I used this bike for my early junior years [called then Sub Juvenile 1 or 2, depending on your age] but knew I would one day need something a touch bigger. Chris also upgraded his groupset for his PDM frame, so I got some of his old group, no more did I have brake cables out the top. The bars were a classic shape that some pros still use today that you find in many different brands, but back then there was only one brand to use, Cinelli. These were the criterium 65-42 bar. I had the Campag post at the limit and a 120mm stem also out at the limit line. The Turbo saddle was also all the way back.

It was around this same time when I purchased my first bike, thou the road bike would come later. I had been working part-time at the local supermarket and doing some work helping my Dad at the school where he worked because I was really wanting a mountainbike. So I saved up and went to my local shop, handed over a hard earned $750 and bought this Mongoose Iboc Comp that I had my eye on for the past few months. Back then the color was white with a cool smoke effect through it which I do have a photo of somewhere, but I eventually painted it the green you see here and used it as a commuter when I'd later moved to Melbourne. It was a double butted steel frame that had Araya rims and DeoreLX componets, but well before the days of V-brakes or even suspension forks. This photo was taken when I had no use for it in Melbourne anymore and was giving it to my Mum to ride around town. But my younger brother Damien decided to borrow it, ride it to his girlfriends house, then ride it to the supermarket only to have some low life scum bag steal it. In a small country town it would have been an easy bike to spot but as angry with Damien as my Dad was he never saw it again.

It was now I think in 91 and this was by far the best bike I've maybe had, yes to you young guys it mighten look like much, but this was a real racers bike. Why you ask, the main reason and maybe the only reason is that it was custom built for me. The Daccordi I was on was just a touch too small and my new frame was built to be a size between the red and yellow Daccordi's I'd previously ridden. I purchased this bike with the help of my brother Chris. He had previously worked at Brunswick's Hillman Cycles as a spray painter and we went about some measurements and options of what I wanted. I picked the tube set, the colours and design of the whole bike. We then took a trip to Melbourne and gave the requirements to the guys at Hillmans. Three weeks later I had a frame. I first fitted it with the Campag from the Daccordi, but I had my eye on a new group, something outside the box. As we know Campagnolo had being around for years and was then a true racers groupset, Shimano had being around for a few years now but this group was a mix of both. The Suntour Superbe Pro group had the polished finish of Campagnolo but the technology workings of Shimano, which I thought was even a little better. Spring loaded brake levers matched with the callipers were smooth and a big improvement. At the time the Motorola team started using the new Shimano STI 8 speed, but it was not available yet and would be way too expensive if it was. The bike had the ever reliable Columbus SL tubing painted in Italian colours with what was known then as a fish net effect, where the painter holds a net over where he fades one colour into another, real 80's. But the best thing back then was the chrome and was a must have. I had the ever popular Cinelli A1 stem and Cinelli Giro bars in 66-42. Chris I think by now had learnt a trick from the pro scene that I remember seeing a picture of in a magazine, where the La Vie Claire team riders had small holes drilled in the bar for the brake cables to run internally through the bar, it gave a very tidy look and smooth feel to the bar. The wheels were also custom built by a local guy in town, Mavic Open 4cd rims, 32 hole built 3 cross of course. Also I had did away with the old clips and straps from the Daccordi and got the new Shimano clipless pedals, fitted a very pro saddle in San Marco Rolls and an Avocet 30 computer. This was my race bike so I bought an old brown frame [a good brand but I can't remember what it was] off a friend of Pete's and used that to ride to work and train on during wet weather. At that time I owned 5 bikes.

Back then this was the way to get a real race bike, bikes off the shelf were not that great and not common, to find the right size was also hard. There was no where near the variety of today, custom was the best way to go. It was now 1994 and after my first 12 months of living in Melbourne I decided to take a break from the road and start mountainbike racing instead. I went into the city to see a guy Chris sent me to talk to at Cecil Walker Cycles. I spoke to Greg Griffiths there about trading in my beloved Hillman on a top end mountainbike racing machine. Greg sorted me out but what I wouldn't give to have that Hillman back, even just to hang on the wall.

Before I go too far ahead, about the time of getting my Hillman I had also upgraded on my track bike. The old Record was long gone now and I was now riding this AWESOME Ken Evans on the track. It was Pete's track bike which he wasn't using, and you can't leave a nice bike like that just sitting in the shed. Ken Evans was a very good frame builder and this one suited me perfectly. It also used the flatened aero tubing which was a bit of a new technology in the late 80's. The group on this bike was of course Campagnolo, with high flange hubs and mavic tubular rims, it was a fast bike. I crashed it once in a race on a concrete velodrome, in a group of 4 chasing back markers on bell lap coming off the front straight, a guy decides to drop off the back of his group that we were just about to pass. He suddenly swings up the bank and takes out 3 of us. I was on the front of the chase and clipped him as I passed. With all the skin off my right leg, a huge chunk from my elbow and hip, the bike was in far much better condition, thank god. At that time I was still using clips and straps on the track, that I remember because after sliding along the track for 10 meters I was still strapped to the pedals and had someone unstrap me. So I later changed to Time's less square version clipless pedal you see pictured here but they had too much movement for the track. I then changed to the Shimano's from the Hillman because they had a tension screw you could tighten up so it almost made it impossible to even unclip.

So back to trading in the Hillman. The price for this mountainbike was $2100, which then was alot of money for a bike but Greg had given me a good price for the Hillman so the change over price was not that much. The bike was an Apollo Expert and was the model down from the top line Team model, which was what a young Cadel Evans was racing on at the time. These were extremely high end bikes for Apollo and was just before the time when they changed their high end line of bikes to the name Raceline, in order to sell more. By this time mountainbikes had front suspension, thou on this bike they were very basic. The group for memory was Shimano and I think XT, no V-brakes yet but chunky alloy frames were quite a popular thing and much lighter than the old Mongoose which I had now given to Mum and to later hear it had been stolen. I raced the Apollo for two years before hanging up the bike from racing sometime in the year of 95, to sometime in 97. In that time I didn't race at all, but got a second pair of wheels and put slick tyres on the original wheels and rode the bike to work. The picture is of me racing the Apollo in 94, my second moutainbike race in Melbourne's outter east. Being slightly sick this day I crashed and DNF'd. My first race was at the Broadford Motocross track in the pouring rain, there I finished 4th.

Missing the sport I decided to get back into it and bought an old Viner steel frame from a shop, bought some parts and rode that clunker for atleast 6 months to get fit again for racing. By This time the road bikes had changed greatly since my Hillman bike, so I saved hard and soon had enough to purchase a proper racing bike. Everything now was mostly alloy frames and intergrated shifting was now almost standard. So I pruchased this Norco Forza, I even had a choice of two colours to pick from. It had the Shimano 105 group which I mainly went for due to budget reasons, the next model up was better but I just couldn't afford it. I did however upgrade the cranks to Ultegra and got a second wheelset that were similar to these ones. But my new wheels would be tubulars for racing on and were hand built by Terry Hammond.

The green Norco eventually cracked just behind the bracket, and because it was still under warranty I was given this red one as a replacement. The Super was a newer model and came with a carbon fork, but as the frame was the warranty item I was told I would remain with the old Cromoly steel fork from the green frame. It didn't bother me too much, I was more bothered by the fact that I had to take the whole bike in to be changed over. I was keen to do the work myself but the guy at the shop said it would void the warranty. I didn't adapt well to the Shimano my first Norco had so I replaced that with this Campagnolo group [I think it was Mirage] which I picked up cheap, wheels included. The bikes then were not much different from what you see today but for road bikes one inch threaded forks were still used with a quill style stem.

So that takes us up to the end of the 90's and the first part to this back in time review. If I counted correctly there was 11 bikes I've had so far. I will post part two next week when I have finished putting everything together.

HAPPY NEW YEAR AND SAFE RIDING.
Mark

Becoming Pro.

2010-12-03T07:37:00.013+11:00

I started this post a few weeks ago but have struggled to get it finished. Despite the cold weather and happy to sit on the couch with the pc, I have had a few other things going on, including a request to write an article for a magazine.

My Mum had recently visited so I spent some much needed time with her. As well as many other places, I took her to Norway has I had to have a chat with Morten about the prospects for next season at Sparebanken Vest-Ridley. At that time it was not looking as good as he'd hoped but it is apparently now looking real promising for next season. I thought I had a good chance at a new pro conti team but after many emails have had no response since the inital contact earlier in the year, so I think that's a dead end road for this coming season. Good thing thou about the smaller teams is the program is not as busy so I get some time at home which makes Lindsay happy.

So anyway, on my Mums flight home I decided to go with her some of the way to Dubai. I have friends there I have being meaning to visit for a while, so it was a good excuse. I would only be there a few days but it was good to escape the colder tempatures. While I was there I was also given the chance to check out a new soon to be bike store, in which I now have involvement in setting up the workshop layout and training of staff. So that has kept me planning some things since returning. As interesting as that is [more details I'm sure will follow], while in Dubai my mate Luke handed me a book to read, not that I had much time to read a 200+ page book. Now while Im not one for reading a book just for the sake of reading, this one was cycling related and I thought it might be worth a read. It turned out I couldn't put it down. Anyone who has dreams of coming to Europe or younger kids with a dream to turn pro should read this book, it's called A Dog in a Hat. It is the story of a young American kid named Joe Parkin. It was back in the late 80's era when Joe had packed his bags bound for Belgium to become a professional, he soon finds himself on a rollercoaster ride around a life of betrayal and drugs, but discovers a love for Belgium. A great story.

There are many riders who have dreams of racing in Europe, but getting here is hard. This is a strong topic for me and would like to one day change this for young hopefuls wanting to aleast try it. Like many guys in the 80's - 90's era, they came to Europe with no team. Through someone they knew, a rider would make a few phone calls for some accomodation and would soon find himself racing in the Euro scene at the amateur ranks. While some riders still do it this way other riders these days tend to go about it a different way. It's like their above the amateur level and want to go straight to Continental. The mentality of not coming unless they're paid or sign a huge contract you hear to often. The reality is [and I have stated in a previous post] that you need to invest in yourself for someone to invest in you. Yes you need to support yourself, but there is nothing wrong with trying to find a couple of private sponsors at home to support you. If that is covered then your half way there. Gone are the days when guys like Joe Parkin and our own Allan Piper and Phil Anderson packed their bags to try their luck by starting in the amateurs, and it's sad because that's how you develop experience and depth, instead of being a spoiled brat like many are these days. Not every parent is able to afford a scholarship with their local Institute of Sport, or the rider meet the right credentials to join the squad. Your better to race the domestic scene with a few short stints in Eurpoe at the amateurs to gain the experince, while doing some study to have something to fall back on, then early mid 20's you can concentrate 100% on cycling.

I actually don't agree with U23 riders going to the Pro Tour level, especially when their only 20. As good as they might be I beleive being a great national level rider doing a few stints in Europe off and on and then go sign a contract for a big Pro Tour team is not the best way. The racing is a big step, the money can be too much [at that age], which they don't know what do with and the chance of burning out from the racing and the pressure is much higher. But you can understand why they do it, cycling doesn't last forever and the big money contract is attractive, but if your in it for the money than your better off a footballer. I don't say all young guys are like this, but some are and this is just my opinion. I think at the age of 24 is a better age to go to a pro tour team.

A few months ago a couple I know had a house where they took in riders, he had always a low budget [sometimes almost zreo] team and gave non European riders the chance to race in Belgium. Sadly he had to sell the house. For seven years he had near perfect guys in the house, some have stopped while some are still racing and in the pro ranks. But the last couple of years was too much, the guys were different, it was their attitude. Now I'm not going to point fingers but some of the guys were good and some were not, and I'm not talking about their riding. All season the house was a mess, bedrooms were not the rooms of someone wanting to be a professional. If your on a team, no team mate will want to room with you if you live like a pig, period. There was almost every week someone sick. The house was such a state it caused the owner's wife much stress and a number of nervous breakdowns and a bucket of tears from being heart broken to see her house in such a state. After going through the house and seeing the so called "yes it's clean" condition it was in, it was far from clean. Rather than a clean tidy apperance as if people had move out, it looked like it was still lived in. She could not go through it again if the riders of this day and age are the same, they had to sell it. Although the riders were given the opportunity to be pro, none of them really took it in both hands and appreciated it for what was given to them. Some even thought that what they had at the house was not great, conditions or the cost were two things that come to mind. Yes ok the house was old, but don't be such an unapprecitive prick.

So if you're a young rider wanting to come to Europe, then this is my advice. Where ever you stay the number one rule is HAVE RESPECT. Respect the owners and the belongings of their property in which you stay. If they set rules, respect those rules. Keep the place clean, at the most when your not at a race, all you have to do is ride your bike for 5 hours, so don't be lazy and clean up a little. And keep your room tidy and clean, living like a pig will cause you to be constantly ill.

ROUTINE, A true professional will be out training early, like 9am and be back just after lunch on a good day. If you return from a race late in the evening [like 9 or later]which you sometimes do, then don't proceed to spend hours cooking a meal to feed a small army and then more hours just to eat it to find yourself crawling into bed way after midnight. Better to have something directly after the race [fruit is good or just some sandwiches] and cook a quick meal once home and get to bed as quickly as possible, this will speed your recovery.

THE BIKE, keep your bike clean and in good condition. When you come back from a race, the next day wash your bike, then you train a few days on a clean bike before washing it again the day before your next race, not the morning of the race like some guys did. Take pride in your bike [even if a team bike] as it is your tool to success. There is a photo in the book of Joe Parkin sitting on a bike for a team postcard, he was not happy because the bike he was on had dirty handlebar tape. He says he would not be seen in public with dirty tape.
WHEELS, don't bring race wheels for training. For example, don't train on a wheel like the Mavic Ksyrium Elite, train on something heavy like the Aksium, or better still have something custom built that is 32 hole with 3 cross lacing as this will last you on the rough Belgian roads. If you end up on a small team then don't expect the lastest and greatest equipment, appreciate what your given and learn to ride on no matter what. Everything these days is a huge improvement over what guys had back in earlier days, and they weren't complaining.
you should give your bike a good wash once a week, not always up against the wall and the drive train a quick once over. Get a workstand, a bucket of soapy water and do it properly.

LISTEN, it's the best thing you can do. listen to the people around you that have being in the sport for many years. If the staff your with say do this or that, then atleast listen to what their saying, you may disagree with what their saying but your better to keep your mouth shut and just listen. Never act like a know all, especially about racing in Belgium if it's your first time.

THE LOOK, try to look professional. Don't go out there with your helmet not on straight or arm warmers with the sponsors logo on the underside. Take time to make sure everything looks good. I know sock hight is a big topic but come on, it's just a fad. If the sock reaches your calf then it's far too high, 3 to 4 inches of cuff is more than enough.

Lastly, and is the one thing I regret not doing when younger and now find myself struggling to do, is try to learn some of the language of the country you wish to live. Take a class if you must but knowing the basics will be appreciated and will come in use when entering at races and at the local shops. But my biggest regret thou was not coming to Europe when I was 20, like my older brother Peter did.
So if you keep these things in mind then your well on your way. Joe Parkin raced 6 years in Europe, while not a long successful life as a professional he did get to be a professional through the way he was as a person and a rider. The pros are quite reserved people, focused, their not people that draw attention to themselves by being loud or by acting like a complete knob. By all means have some fun but remain focused in your goals, being professional on and off the bike will go a long way.

Safe Riding
Mark

The Right Pump

2010-11-09T01:51:00.017+11:00

As usual with my off season there is no racing to write about, so I take the time to write about other things than the normal travel and race stories. Most of us have atleast once come across the drama of choosing the right pump, so I thought I would share a recent experience of trying to find the right pump and give a quick review of what I ended up with.

All season I had been using the ever faithful SKS Rennkompressor, an old traditional style pump that works well. Many pro mechanics still use one because of their reliability, but I wanted to go outside the box and find something a little better than a good working pump that has a unstable base and flimsy handle. So I began my search, looking at different pumps, but how do you tell if it's a good working pump. Sure you can search the internet all day and read reviews and forums [which is what I did] but the best way is to test one. If you get a good recommendation from a team mechanic or from a shop that uses a particular pump, then that is often also good, after all they are the guys that use them day in day out.

So after reading some reviews I made my purchase, and I will admit that I went in a little blindly [as the average consumer would] by not trying before buying, but that is the downside of online shopping. I chose this pump because I had read some good reviews but also read some bad reviews on this pump, but I thought it can't be that bad as it was a favoured top brand. Once I recieved a few days later, straight out of the box I noticed the base was loose, not a good start. On the first use it was hard to get the head on and off the valve, but it seemed to pump well. With the pumped extended out it was also a little wobbly. I used it at one race to pump all the wheels, but after 3 or 4 wheels the guage stopped working, then soon after the pump stopped working. With the pump extened it would not expell the air out of the chamber, I tried some different wheels [incase it was the valve] but it was the same. Lucky I still had the faithful SKS that day to finish pumping the wheels.

Annoyed with the pump I seeked out to return it. The online store where I purchased it were happy to replace it, but this time I would choose another pump. I don't know if it was broken or just poor quality, but I was left disappointed in this pump given the reputation of the brand.

My new pump now is a Lezyne Alloy Floor Drive. This pump not only works well, it looks classy. It has a CNC machined one piece base which allows it to stand stable and the feet are positioned well enough for a good stance when pumping. It also has a nifty clip in piece at the base to store the chuck when not in use and keeps the hose tight so not to snag on anything.

It has a reduced barrel diameter which is said to reduce pumping effort, but to pump a completely flat tubular to 120psi it takes 26 pumps, so not sure if it is that much of a reduced effort. I usually use the compressor if a tire is completly flat thou, that will take it to aleast 8 bar then I hand pump the rest to the disired pressure of 9 or 10 bar, depending on conditions. Although the pump also seems a little wobbly when extended, it dose have a slightly larger than normal internal shaft diameter.

The gauge, despite being at the bottom of the pump and not a white face, it is large and easy to read with clear bar and psi readings. It also holds the pressure stable, has some pumps the guage needle will give an unreliable reading while pumping. So there is no more of "that's around 120".

The handles are a nice shape and are sturdy despite being threaded on to a internal center piece.

A good feature of this pump is the alloy flip-thread chuck. Although a little more fiddley and time consuming than the standard push on chuck as this one threads onto the valve where the plastic cap would normally screw on. This allows a secure fit and there is no chance it will pop off before you reach your desired pressure, which is great when pumping high tubular pressures.
It also seals well, which is important if you are on your own pumping wheels as sometimes have been and end up pumping with one hand because the chuck is not sealing properly. Also, if you have high profile rims and have a valve that just sits out of the rim, then with this pump you may still [providing the thread is exposed] be able to pump your tire without the use or hassle of a valve extender. The chuck will release a small amount of air from the tube when unscrewed but that is expected.

With a quick unscrew of the chuck you can flip it over, screw it back in and your ready to pump a schrader valve tube, easy. The chuck spins on the base part that attaches to the hose, but sometimes two hands are needed to unscrew the chuck from the valve to stop the hose from slightly twisting. Thou not a major flaw I will see if it becomes annoying when the season starts and I have to pump several wheels.

Overall I think this is a great pump and hopefully it will serve me well. But a good pump is one that you can maintain, which is why the SKS Rennkompressor is so popular, because of it's wide range of spare parts. After you replace a few seals and rubbers the pump will last year after year. Lezyne is a great brand for high finished products and Im sure it will also be up to the job. It is important to have a good pump as tire pressure can be sometimes crucial in a race. In Belgium some pros only put 7-7.5bar in their tires, some get obsessed about it. I remember when Nico Mattan would ask for something like 7.2 and 7.8, insane as it sounds, in his final season of racing he didn't have a single flat all year. But you need a pump with an steady gauge to get those figures. I would normally run the pressure around 7-7.5 bar if conditions are wet and on cobbles, around 8 bar if roads are ok but wet and 10 bar if it is good smooth dry roads, but this will also depend on the riders weight. So for most of us 120psi is a good all round pressure and is usually more than enough.

Safe Riding
Mark

A moment from the Worlds

2010-10-28T02:25:00.015+11:00

I have been a tad slack [well very slack] on getting this posted but what an experience the Worlds were, to do it for the first time and be a part of the team that pulls off the win is beyond anything I could have imagined. Thor was easily one of the favourites but to part of the winning team was unbelievable.
Mal drops by with a couple of his workstands for me to use as I prepare Thor's bike before Sunday's race.

We made the move to stay at a hotel in the city just near the start, you never know what can go wrong travelling to the start of a race. I was nervous the morning of the race I will admit. The day before I had spent checking over every detail on the bikes. Edvald had some brake cable inners that were starting to fray a bit where they clamp on the calliper, rather than risk them breaking I replaced them, things like this I was fussy about. Morning of the race I checked everthing again, brakes, gears and every bolt just to be sure. With the bikes appearing to be ready I was pacing up and down thinking in my head, going through my checklist to see if there was something I may have overlooked. Then there was a last minute change of Thor's bidon cage, although identical to the one on his reserve bike he said it would be better than the other. I wasn't about to argue with the man despite the short time I had to change them, plus fit a wheel magnet and change the wheels of Edvald. The one thing I have learned is to stay calm, if not mistakes can happen. I was so focused on having the bikes good I forgot to put my suitcase in the van, luckily the hotel staff kept ot aside for me.
the race car ready for the days race with Thor's spare bike at the front, Edvald's at the rear and Alexander's on the other side. I had to use about 3 or 4 zip ties to get Thor's bike to stay in the rack.

the riders get ready in the hotel lobby before riding off to the start.

at the start in Federation Square in Melbourne.

out on the road on the way to Geelong.

the three boys stick together after a piss stop.

While the race communication through out the race was rather poor there was some tense moments inside the car on that last lap. We would get very brief information on who was attacking and what the time gaps were. We were behind what was left of the main peloton and were unaware of what the gap was to the front group, as there was no info given and what seemed to be no team cars going through we thought the gap was not more than one minute. But on the long straight after the last climb we could clearly see the gap was more. I told Steffen just to pass the Peloton, it was more important we be behind the group with Thor. Without hesitating he put the pedal to the metal to catch the group with Thor. It was then we realised the gap was easily like 5 minutes or even more as we didn't catch the group until the first climb. If he had a mechanical in that time it would have been race over.

me in the car, hard at work of course.

At 10km to go it looked as thou Thor's race may be over [which he admitted later] as a small group was away with Gilbert further up the road. Luck would have it thou as it all came back together in the closing kilometers. In the car we were on the edge of our seats, the race radio was completely silent most of the time. With a not normal quiet radio Steffen opted for info by phone from Martin who was at the finish area watching it on tv. Martin informed us it was all back together and Thor went through the last corner in like position 6th or 7th wheel. Martin was informing Steffen of how the sprint was panning out. I was leaning over the passenger seat trying to ears drop on the details, none of which I could hear or really understand well. Then there was a brief silence from Steffen and from Martin on the phone, then there was a loud scream from Steffen, a long loud AAAARRRRRGGGGGHH!! "he won?" I shouted to Steffen. He was banging the steering wheel and replied "he won", followed by more screaming. We congratulated each other but there was a slight hesitation if it were confirmed, but some teams were already congratulating us so we knew it had to be real, or was it so close to need a photo finish, we weren't sure. We were still driving down past the 1km to go banner at this stage. On the final corner we stopped the car to view the replay on one of the huge spectator tv screens, for us it was confirmed, Thor with his arms in the air. Steffen and I congratulated each other again and drove on tooting the car horn and waving to the spectators. It was hard to take it all in at that moment, even I had to take a few deep breath's.

That night the team celebrated with a great dinner and lots of champagne. While most hit the night spots I opted to get an early night [2am was late enough] as there was much work to be done the next day. I had much running around to do and started my day of packing up at 7am, while most chose to sleep off their big night.

So after a week at home visiting family it was back home to Holland. I was flying back to Oslo to catch a flight to Stavanger to sort out the bikes from my Sparebanken team and then drive the truck back to Belgium, but a late email from Morten threw a spanner in the works. The truck was to stay in Norway now, and I had already booked my flight to Stavanger. After a few back and forth phone calls to Morten and a checking of available flights it was decided I would fly home. So I paid an extra 300 or so euros, waited 6 hours at Oslo and flew back to Brussels. Thou I may have to go back to Stavanger at some point to collect some tools I may need in the off season, now that I think of it I even left my workstand up there.

Now my Mum is here visiting so I will enjoy some down time [hence the delay of this post] while showing her around some of Holland and nearby places in Europe.

I must give a big thanks to Mal Sawford from CCCC, my brother Pete at Eltham Cycles and my parents for helping me with getting together materials for the Worlds.

Until next time
Mark

At the Worlds

2010-09-29T22:31:00.013+10:00

Before I begin, let me just say a quick word about an anomymous comment [now deleted] I was left which I took as insulting. I won’t go on too much as I don’t want to give the person the satisfaction but my respected readers will know that the picture of the Ultegra derailleur on my banner is from my own bike. I work with high-end materials regularly but just because I ride Ultegra does not make me less of a mechanic, I can easily buy Di2, Dura Ace or even Super Record if I want to, but do I really need it since I ride maybe 3 times a month these days?. I am not one of those show ponies that has to have all the bling just to ride up and down the beach, I mean bloody hell, my race wheels are 32 hole 3 cross GP4’s and the bike itself is aluminium and weighs a tonne. So just because I don't ride the top level components does not reduce my skills as a mechanic, I ride with what is within my needs and budget. So next time keep YOUR “B grade” [as I was called] comments to yourself.

Just to note, this post was posted but for some unknown reason did not stay posted, so it may seem a little late now to read.

I have been back in Oz for a little over a week now. I had an average flight as I was sick just days before leaving and actually spent a whole day in bed just prior to flying out to Oslo to hook up with the team. We arrived in the evening and by the time all 19 of us had our luggage I was looking forward to a hotel bed, for a change. But that was put back further than I thought as there was 2 hour bus trip to Torquay to go.
First days work is always put the bikes together, so that was done quite easily and quickly by myself and Lorentz, even without workstands. Then we had to go collect all the rental cars and then I had to make a trip to Pete’s shop to collect all my bits and pieces that I had arranged, things like workstands, cleaning items, table, chairs, coolers etc. Most teams bring all this with them or they buy it here, but there was some overweight concerns so I organised what I could. The bike storage area at the hotel for us to work from. Here there is also 3 other teams [Netherlands, USA and Canada] and each morning it is a buzz of mechanics making bikes ready and riders coming in to go out on their days training, where it is a noise of different languges until they all head out so there is just 3 or 4 mechanics left doing their thing.

This is our bike storage area. The riders are all out training except for Thor whose bike sits in the corner with spare bikes hanging above.

Things went a little down hill for me on the second day as I became sick with food poisoning or something, so just to be safe I was isolated from the team as quickly as possible. I went to stay with my brother Chris and it was luckly he was going away with his wife and kids just incase I had something contageous, which is why I was sent away from the team. They had to take every precaution as a lot of money is invested in the trip here and the last thing we want is the team to fall ill, because it has happened before. So Sunday I was given the all clear to come back, it just mean’t I missed the warm up race. The day turned out ok thou because I was at the hotel to wash the girls bikes for when they returned from their race that morning.

Monday I was back into the swing of things, not that there was much to do. The bikes all arrived ok so not too much work had to be done with those, just prepare them for the days training, give them a wash afterwards and that’s about it. With Thor’s two reserve bikes the last to arrive everything was ready to go. I spent a day in the car with Steffen following Edvald on a 7 hour training ride, as I knew the roads. He apparently likes to photograph so I used his camera to take a few shots of him training in the Otways area.
the riders get ready for a days training.

So today has being a busy day making sure everything is ready for our first days racing, the under 23 men. The task was to make sure all their wheels were in racing condition, by this I mean clean,true and good tires fitted. Also the cables were all checked for condition and replaced if needed so that the shifting was perfect, then all bolts were checked before the bikes were finished off with a fresh roll of bar tape. For this race there is only neutral support, so no follow car, which means I will be on the sideline all day. Lorentz will do the girls race while I stay at the hotel preparing the 7 bikes [ 3 race and 4 spare] for Sunday’s main race, hopefully it’s a Norwegian on the top step.

Til next time
Mark

Preparing for the Worlds

2010-09-16T03:05:00.004+10:00

Lets just say I'm looking forward to be working with the Norwegian national team at the World Championships, mostly because it is not often I get to do what I do in my home country. I have done races in just about every country in Europe and this will be my first big race back home outside the Sun Tour, which is more of a holiday.

I have just returned from France where I did my last race with the Sparebanken team, a 1.1 cat race where we finished on the podium. Micke attacked from the front group with another rider at about 10k to go and they held off to dual it out, Micke ended up second. It was a nice way to finish the season. Now they just have 3 pro kermesse races in Belgium before going back to Norway to finish their season with some national cup races where Ziesler is in second overall.

Becuase of my duties with the Sparbanken team, there was not too much I could arrange for the Worlds, most organising is done by the federation. They have a team of staff that every year just do the Worlds. But I have joined the team thanks to Morten and obviously having local knowledge which can help on a trip like this to go smoother. With everything getting packed in Norway it is a little out of my control, It's not their first time at a race so they know what materials are needed, I hope.

However, I was asked to come up with some training routes for the team to make the training efficent, I don't know the Torquay area that well so I hope the routes I've come up with are ok. At times I will need to ride with the team as the group may split up, so I couldn't make the routes too hard. We will maybe take a look at the small roads on the way to Geelong, being an ex Werribee resident I know these roads a little better. And of course we will take a ride in and around the Geelong course and then maybe a much needed cafe stop. So I have all my maps printed ready for the guys to look over.
I was also given the task to organise a couple of things through being a local. First was all the Powerbar nutrition and was lucky to have a local distributor help me out, and thanks to my brother Pete at Eltham Cycles I was able to order it through his shop. My local club Carnegie Caulfield has helped me out with some indoor trainers for the riders to use warming up during the Time Trial days or for bad weather , thanks Mal. Also thanks to family members I am able to borrow items like coolers and everything I need to wash the bikes, which saves me some baggage weight. My toolbox alone weighs enough, when I have all the tools in it I need it can weigh about 13kg, and with a 20kg limit it does not leave much room for personal baggage.

It is huge logistics doing a race of this level so far away, there is so much you have to take and airline overwieght is not cheap. So the goal is always take just what you need and try to keep the overweight as low as possible to stay within budget. We have something like 14 bikes been sent, plus wheels and some spare parts. Thor alone will have his race bike plus two spare bikes and I guess about 3 or 4 different pairs of wheels to choose from. Groupsets is another issue as the three elite guys all ride different groups, so we need to have the spares covered for all three. The past weeks I have sent emails back and forth making sure we have it covered. A Team Sky mechanic will cover Edvald with the Di2, Thor is covered for Sram spares and last I heard it was just to get some spares for Alexander who uses Campagnolo. The main items needed are derailleurs and shifters, things that can break in a number of ways. I also asked for every rider to bring one spare rear mech hanger, they often break in transit [riders sometimes are not the best at packing a bike when it's not their own] and with the many different bikes we will have it would be more effort to chase up one locally. Small items like brake pads and cables don't weigh much so we bring a few and if we need more then we buy it. I have a small box of spares in my toolbox which contains universal items like an assortment of bolts and headset parts. The riders were asked to bring anything special to their bike they may need, like say something for a TT bike. You always hope nothing happens but you never know and you have to be prepared.

So as I transfer my clothes from one bag to another I do a checklist in my head to be sure I have everything, have I organised everything there?, do I have all the tools I need?, what clothes do I need?, hmm... now let me think a moment.

Think I've got it all. A last lunch together then Lindsay will take me to the airport. Next bed/shower I'll get is back home in Melbourne. See you there.

Funky

A Champions Bike

2010-08-30T20:11:00.017+10:00

It was great for Ridley to custom paint a special design for Micke to go along with his Swedish championship jersey, there has been pro tour riders not even get a special bike. We would have liked to take delivery of it much sooner but it takes some time to design and paint it, and with a summer vacation thrown in it was not possible to have it for Tour de Pyrenees like we had hoped. But it was important we have it for the teams biggest race, the 2.1 Poitou-Charentese.

I picked up the frame from Ridley last Friday and had to have it built before leaving for the race on Sunday. First impressions of the frame were good, a nice pearl white with mettalic blue and some flat yellow highlights. An all blue and yellow design would be too much, the white separates everything given that his kit is all blue and yellow. Ridley put some nice touches on the frame which I think Micke had some input with, by putting his name on the on the down tube and the description Svenkes Mastre 2010 on the top tube is a reminder of what the special paint scheme is for.

As nice as the frame is what was more of a thrill to work with was the Shimano Di2 groupset. I had seen it up close on other teams but had never worked with it let alone ride with it. The group goes together like any other groupset with just the wiring being obviously different than connecting standard gear cables. The wiring takes a little extra time to route the right way, you dont want to get it wrong and have it caught or rubbing on anything. I was supplied also the internal wiring kit, but holes needed to be drilled and time did not allow for that. With a task like that you don't want to rush it and have it all go wrong. I also had to go to a shop to buy part of the wiring that was not supplied for some reason, the kit that runs from the shifters to the juction box [junction A]that sits at the handlebars. Three wires, a small box with a couple of lights and a button cost me 99 euros, not what I call cheap. But without it the group could not be put together. With this trip taking some time from the build it was quicker to run the wiring on the outside, the trick is to make it look neat and tidy.

the group layed out before being mounted to the frame.

Another thing to be aware of is when adjusting the limit screws on the rear derailluer, you can not move it side to side like the mechanical version as you will damage it. The front derailluer you can move side to side as like the mechanical to set the limit screws. The angle screw I don't really see the point of but comes with small protector pads so the screw does not damage your frame, this I did not use as it will depend on the type of derailluer mount on your frame.

The shifters I think are a nice shape, with a similar shape but a softer feel to the old 7800 version, the 7900 shifters are an improvement [as far as comfort goes] over the previous but the Di2 hoods make the 7900 feel like a lumpy mattress. It is also good that they went back to having the fixing bolt on the side rather than on top. Shimano should have used the same hood design on their other groups as even Lindsay could get her hands around the hood and still brake easily. So I think it is a more user friendly design, with no big eye sore of a gap if you dial in the reach adjustment.

like the previous 7800 the fixing bolt here is in a much better position.

With the group all wired up I could now set the limit screws and adjust the gears. I have to admit it was much easier than what I first thought. Without the chain on you set your high and low limit screws on both derailluers, go throught the gears while checking alignment. Then fit your chain, shift the derailluer to a middle cog, press the button on the Juction A box until it lights red and shift the gears until it is running quiet and smooth. In adjustment mode the rear derailluer will move micro shifts both ways so it aligns correctly, once done press the button again to go back to normal shift mode and your done. If all is ok after test riding then you never have to tune it again, easy. This is by far for me the best groupset to work with, it will only go out of alignment if you bend your hanger, the front has automatic trimming and shifts perfectly. It took a couple of rides for Micke to get the gears feeling right so they weren't noisy or skipping, but with a quick adjustment I had it shifting correctly.

But now the bike has being stripped of the Di2 and replaced with standard 7900 shifting due to a broken wire to the front derailleur. I first had the wire running on the right behind the crank, but that had to be changed when Micke changed to his SRM crank where it was pushed against the wire. So it had to be rerouted and the only option was behind the bottom bracket in front of the rear wheel. There was just enough space for the cable but the Schaals-Merksem race we did last Sunday was condtions like a wet Paris-Roubaix. Mud had built up on the tyre and wore through the wire exposing the electronic wires. The shifting still worked but every now and then the rear derailleur would shift by it's self or not at all, yet the front would shift fine. So now we will run the wires internally but Micke will have it done by someone back at home, which saves me the hassel.

not such a new bike anymore on the left and what damage the mud did on the right.

Componets have come a long way over the years. When I started riding it was 6 speed and then in my senior ranks 7 speed came out, it was a big thing. Gears were like 13-21 with a 42x53 up front and shifters on the down tube. Frames were steel, wheels were 32 hole box section rims and clipless pedals had just come out. My racing bike then was a custom built Hillman with Suntour Superbe Pro, Mavic open 4cd rims, Time pedals and Cinelli bars and stem. These componets then were the best you could buy, Suntour was new on the road scene, as with Time, but as with Mavic and Cinelli there was not too much else to go for, they were the tried and true racing brands. Apart from Suntour, all the brands then are still around today and now have carbon everything, but electronic shifting is by far the biggest change, Mavic had tried some years ago but failed. Shimano seem to have go it right first go and now it will be a matter of time before it's rivals can match it.

On another note, it is almost the end of season here as the team enters it's last few races, for me however I have one more race as I prepare to head home mid September for the World Championships to mechanic for the Norwegian team. Thanks to Morten it was a position I was offered due being a local. So there is a little stress organising some things there but I look forward to working my first worlds.

Til next time
Mark

Victory in the Pyrenees

2010-08-12T18:36:00.006+10:00

After returning from vacation I had a few days to prepare the bikes as it was back to France for the 1.2 Kreiz Breizh Elites race. I was up before the sparrows to pick up Patrick and make the 867km trip to Rostrenen by 4pm. We stayed in a what was not your normal hotel as it was I think a boarding school. With all the teams in the one place each were allocated two rooms, the riders in one room, staff in another. There was shared showers and toilets and yeah, no bedding. I somehow forgot about the part in Morten's email mentioning to take bedding. Morten was not on this trip and Franky [owner of the truck] was in his place, he went and bought some quilts and pillows for everyone to use which are now in storage at my place as Im sure they will come in use another time. The food was like military style where you line up for your one serving. I was told last year the Drapac team ate at a resturant every night, and even this year some other teams paid their own hotel to stay elsewhere. Sometimes it's not all glitz and glamour, not at this level anyway.

As for the race, the riders had some lengthy rest time after their nationals and must have been still in holiday mode, not quite getting the results they may have hoped for. Franky tried hard to motivate them but I think he found it hard without the use of race radio's, which I think was a wrong move by the UCI, but that is another whole can of worms. Franky went as far as to get out on the local laps to shout at the riders from the sideline while I drove around in the race convoy. Although it may have broke a few rules I realised the director has not much to do without radio's to talk to the riders.
The last day was the hardest with an early start of 6am, have the race all day and then the long drive home. After Patrick driving the first leg, I drove through the graveyard shift and walked in my front door a couple of minutes before 5am, a solid 23 hour day with about 2 hours of average sleep. Then I had 3 days to prepare everything for our next race.

This time I was on my own for the 1090km journey to Toulouse, home of the Airbus A380. It was a long 13 hour drive in the truck with only stopping 4 times to refuel. I didn't need to arrive at any given time so there was no hurry to drive fast, not that the truck can go fast. Philippe and Benny had arrived in the two cars much earlier than me and after Morten and the riders flew in that evening [apart from Filip who missed his flight] it was time for some sleep before the next drive to Lourdes where we would stay the next 3 nights. Benny and I left ahead of the others to get to the hotel to check in, allocate the rooms and get the bikes ready for a training ride.

The tour got off to a great start with Filip and Christopher in the days break, but it had split in the last few kilometers and it came to a bunch sprint which Roy had won, VICTORY!. This earn't him the yellow and green jersey's and more importantly for Morten and I car number one in the convoy.
The team was not to so much to defend yellow for stage two as Roy is not a climber, but with Micke in the winning break the tour was looking good. The stage tackled the Tourmalet and Aspin Cols before the summit finish at Saint-Lary Pla d'Adet. Micke paid the price of not eating enough and drop off from his breakaway companions losing 8 minutes in the last 6km. He bounced back the next day to go in another break and finish 4th on the stage which moved him back up a few spots on GC.
Roy in yellow on stage two.

It's good to hear on radio tour that your team is very active at the front of the race, and the French commentators love an aggresive race. They get excited when the attacks are going and our team was being repeated constantly over the radio in the opening kilometers of the final stage. The attacks paid off and Filip again was in a break. I think the peloton gave them a little too much time, but maybe that's what the race leader wanted. But who cares, we had a guy there and were ready to win. Morten had told Filip not to let anyone go, "go with everything". Luckily the break worked together to the end as the peloton were closing in by the time they reached the local laps. Through the final round-a-bout Filip was in a good position, by this stage we had stopped following with the car and were on the sideline to watch the sprint. At 150m to go he was sitting in second wheel with a slight gap on everyone else, you could see the focus on his face as the other rider was giving him the perfect lead out, but was it too early. He looked strong in the sprint but with everyone in the break wanting the win we waited, and sure enough we saw his red and white jersey cross the line with arms in the air. I was there with Morten and Benny on the sideline, we all shouted YEAH and high fived each other. Philippe was at the finish to see him cross the line.
Roy also was going for a good result and after a lead out from Micke finished second in the bunch sprint just missing out on the green jersey. Christopher also finished second in the sprint classification.
Filip lines up for his win.

After the tour we had to make the 90km trip back to the hotel where the truck was, load everything then drive 4 hours back to Toulouse. There we would stay the night, but Morten and Philippe were driving straight back, all the way to Norway. There was the Oslo Gp, a post tour crit which the riders were doing. It was asked if the race bikes could be used, so 6 bikes, 6 pair of Cosmic wheels, a bike bag, their luggage and about 10 cans of Red Bull were packed into one car. A 2500km drive all night and all day plus a 3 hour ferry crossing, that's one drive I'm glad I wasn't doing.

Two stage wins was just what the team needed, it's good motivation for the riders and it's good for us staff that put in the long hours to be rewarded with a win. And the days at this race were long, the shortest day I worked was 12 hours. As I'm on my own I have to do all the prep work, pump all the wheels, load the car, wash the bikes, check and fix everything myself. The second night I missed out on dinner, but in France that is not a huge loss. Philippe had to have a word with the chef because what they were serving the riders was just not good enough, a slice of turkey, some beans and deep fried potato bits is not very nutritional for a rider. The first night we gave the riders our serving because they were still hungry and we staff went out for pizza.
I didn't even have breakfast at all in the hotels at this race, there is nothing I hate more then warm milk on my cereal, and making the often served baguette with ham and cheese is for me more lunch than breakfast. So I headed out to the truck where there was cereal, juice and yes cold milk. After Philippe's stern words to the chef there was a buffet for dinner the next night, no where near 5 star eating but much better than the first night with fish, chicken, rice and pasta for the riders to choose. This is a usual problem at smaller races as 2.2 races don't have the same budget as a 2.HC. Fortunatly my next race is a 2.1 so it might be a little better come dinner time.

Now I have some time at home with just some wheels to go over and the truck to clean out. Our last night at the Pyrenees tour the hose came off the washmachine and flooded the floor of the truck, so I need to fix that. The other day I was back in Geleen to service some of the Marco Polo team bikes and will do a race with them next week, other than that there is not too much else going on, should for sure get out on the bike.

Til next time
Mark

In the Alps and Le Tour.

2010-07-18T03:52:00.014+10:00

Lindsay and I have just returned from our trip to the Alps where we spent 10 days in Bourg d'Osains riding some of the famous Cols in the area plus catching some of Le Tour de France. I was hoping to publish some of this post while I was away on my holiday, and while I spent some time writing it while sitting on the side of the road during the tour, time just didn't allow to get it finished and posted. So I will try to keep the post short while I sum up the last two weeks.

It was our first time cycling in the Alps so it was great to have some local advice on some of the rides. We stayed at a BnB called Le Velo Juane that is ran by Alan and Lynne Coldray, a British cycling couple living their dream. They helped us with some good routes to do as well as telling us how hard a climb would be. Lindsay also used a website called climbbybike.com which tells you the gradient of a climb, so that also helped with selecting gears. Our first ride was a mostly a flat ride with one short steep climb to Oz Station (30 km return, 7.5 km climb), as a warm up for the week ahead and particularly Alpe d' Huez the next day, but nothing can warm you up for the 21 hairpined climb. We also used the Oz Station climb to select our gearing. Thanks to the invention of the compact crankset it makes climbing the steep slopes somewhat easier and is what most people now use. I stuck with the standard 39x53 combo with a 11-28 on the rear while Lindsay decided to use her old Sram compact cranks with a 12-27. For our first climb Lindsay had to use her standard 39-53 crankset because I forgot to take the bottom bracket for the Sram compact crank. Onto Alpe d’Huez, and fortunately Alan lent us his Shimano compact for a day as we had to order a new bracket at one of the local bike shops. As much as the compact crank is a good idea for most people, I would personally prefer the standard cranks but would like to have more of a climbers cassette with the cogs closer together at the top rather than at the bottom (11-28 gives 21-24-28 top gears), thus giving you a closer gear selection for climbing than decending.

At the bottom of Alpe d'Huez.

The start of Alpe d’Huez is steep and seeing the sign that reads bend 21 can really mess with your head as your already suffering with such a long way still to climb. But both Lindsay and I made it without stopping as we timed ourselves from the chrono sign you can find at the bottom. Lindsay did it in 1 hour 25 while I made it in 1 hour and 1 minute, which we thought was not bad considering where we live and our bikes probably weighed more than a ships anchor. The decent is fun but since Lindsay is new to descending, we took our time to stop and take a few photos.

The hairpins of the Alpe

Our next ride was a long day of climbing up through the valley to Col de Sarenne which takes you up the back of Alpe d'Huez, before descending down to Allemont via Villard Reculas (total 60 km ride, 30 km climb). After this really tough ride we needed a rest day as the legs were tired from endless climbing. Lindsay was still a little fatigued even the day after a full days rest so I headed out for the next ride on my own. I chose the cliff edged Villard Notre Dame ride, but without some quality lighting the tunnels are too dangerous as they are absolutely pitch black. So I turned back and headed up the nearby Col d’Ornon.

Lindsay nears the summit of Col de Sarenne.

Day 5 was another hot day in the Alps but it was time to take on the next big climb, Col du Galibier. We cheated a little and drove out to the village La Grave and rode from there. It is the easier side of Galibier, starting with the Col du Lauteret, but still 20kms of climbing (40 km return). The last 1k was really hard and I had to use the 28 as the 21 and 24 were now too hard to turn over.

Atop the Col du Galibier.

On day 6, we tackled Col de la Croix der Fer from Bourg d’Oisans. This was by far the toughest ride of our stay, far tougher than the Alpe, and twice the length and a bit steeper. Although there was some downhill in the ride, from Allemont up to L’Rivier was a very long hard 5 km climb. There was a short steep decent before another long steep section up to a reservoir, then a steady drag up to the summit of Croix der Fer. With a few stops on the way up and lunch at a lonely hill top resturant it was a 9 hour day by the time we returned back at the BnB (95 km return ride). Some will say it is not the proper side we did which is true from a Tour aspect, but it was still a good 30kms of climbing. So as we quickly learned you should always look at the hours of a ride here, not the distance. At 2.5 km from the summit of the Croix der Fer is the turn off to the summit of the Col du Glandon. Little did we know that the Glandon summit is only 200 m from the turn off else we could have ‘done’ two summits in the same day!

Summit of Col de la Croix der Fer.

The following day it was Tour time and we were off to see stage 9. Our plan was to go to the top of Col du Madeleine but we were just 5 minutes to late when police had blocked all access to the top, 5 hours before the riders were to pass through. Left with no other options we had to watch it pass by on the flat. In the end it turned out for the best as the day was hot and we found a nice shady parking spot at 5km to go with only about 10 people there. It also meant that we could tell our families back home exactly where we were so they could watch for us, and with only a few people around we also got most of the freebies from the caravanne. We also were able to watch the tour unfold by watching it on tv thanks to two Italian guys in a motor home.

Tour favorites Contador and Schleck roll through our viewing point.

The tour the next day was passing about 30km from where we were staying so it was easier to ride there. Along with Alan, Lynne and two other guest we made our way to Laffery, where the race would climb the cat 1 Cote de Laffery. The crowd was already big by the time we arrived just before midday. By the time the race came through the crowed had grown and the atmosphere was even bigger, it sure made up for missing out on the hill top crowd that we would have experienced atop the Madeleine. On the return trip we rode a loop that was mostly rolling hills and beautiful scenery, but ending with a climb up to the backside of Col d’Ornon. In the end we did a 100km loop plus sat and waited for the tour to pass for about 4 hours. Thou it was a great day out, getting home at 8 pm, for me it was a tad too much chamois time. That was the last ride for Linds and I, as it was time to head home, but not before one last visit to the tour.

The tour crowd on the Cote du Laffrey

Lindsay booked a hotel in the start town for stage 12, which was not far from the finish of stage 11. So we found a park on the road side at 2km to go, and again sat there most of the day waiting, saw the peloton fly past in about 5 seconds, and got a wave from Matty Lloyd casually riding in, before heading off to the hotel.

It was time to witness a start of a tour stage. Now I don’t care for getting special VIP passes just to see the big stars or rub shoulders with who's who of cycling. While the Radioshack and Saxo buses were already crowed I didn’t care too much for seeing Armstrong or Schleck. I was there to catch two riders to say hello, first was Daniel Lloyd from Cervelo, who I managed to catch from the fence line when he exited the bus. His time was taken up by a reporter with too many questions so we didn’t get to chat long. The next guy was going to be hard to see as he had entered a no go zone unless you wore a particular pass. But out of the blue, Linds and I were just standing there on the fence waiting when some French guy just handed us this special pass which allowed one of us access. So I took the pass and went in to the area where all the riders and so called stars alike mingle before every stage. There I found the guy I was looking for, Wesley Sulzberger, sitting there in the shade in his own little world. We had a nice chat before he gave me his race cap [which he clearly didn’t need under his helmet in hot weather], signed the FDJ t-shirt I got the day before from the tour caravanne, and headed off to start saying hello to Lindsay on his way out. It’s riders like those that I have a lot of respect for.

So that was our trip, the riding was fantastic and the Tour was… well the tour. I don’t think I could follow the tour for more than two or three days as a spectator. For me the actual race is not much different to a normal race, just a bigger crowd and more media. It’s all the other plomp and poohah that makes it a big event. As a spectator though, you have to deal with traffic, road closures, a lot of waiting, stuck up French police and pay for average food. I think the tour was a great experience to witness and if you get the chance you should catch it, but after working in the business, I much preferred the 8 days riding my bike and watching the tour on TV. I would like to see the tour on Alpe d'Huez, otherwise I will save it for when or if I ever get to work at the tour. Tomorrow it’s back to work for both of us.
This weekend I head back to france with the SparbankenVest-Ridley boys for the Kreiz-Briz tour.

Till next time, keep pedalling
Funky

Nationals week - part two

2010-06-30T23:45:00.008+10:00

Last time wrote I was a couple of days into the Norwegian championships and had the team time trial as the next event.
The day before the event Geir Inge had broken part of his handlebar while training on his TT bike. Without an arm pad the bike can be difficult to ride, and with the spare one I had not usable it was looking like a problem. Thou we were very lucky that one of the local bike shops had just what we needed in stock. The team time trial was ran as a club event, and teamed with another member from the Sandnes club they took the title by a clear 17 seconds.

The next day was a training day for the riders and I was hoping to get on the bike myself but was kept busy at the truck. Thou my day would not start til 10 when it is time to unload the bikes for the training ride, then on this day I planned some time to give the race car a good clean out. By the time that was done the riders would return and everything packed away for lunch. This would be around 1 o'clock, so a couple of hours off there, a trip to the supermarket with Phillippe and that's about a day done. A race day wouldn't be too much different, well not until the main race anyway. Thursday was Time trial day again but the individual event. The morning was the usual training ride for everyone and then it was time for me to do last minute checks on the two bikes for Fillip and Geir Inge that would be competing. We left for the race at 2:30 and by about 9 we were done.
Fillip and Geir Inge pass each other in the ITT.

In the evening we decided to venture out on the town to find a good bar. After a brief walk around we found a place called Downtown, which was a bar/nightclub. There was a English guy singing some good classic songs in the bar and upstairs was more for the young techno dancing type. I much prefered downstairs but as it was a Thursday night it was rather quiet, so after a few beers we were heading home as it was nearing 2am. Friday would be a day off, I was up to get the bikes out and that was it for the day. Myself and Phillippe took a day to see some of Trondheim, so along with Morten we headed into town. For a better look of the city we went for dinner at the rotating resturant which was a great veiw and a great meal [yes even without the bristo fries Morten].the view of Trondheim from the rotating resturant.

Saturday was a full work day with the washing of everything, bikes, wheels and cars. I wanted everything looking good for race day. In the evening it was back to the Downtown bar for a few cold ones. There was much more people there than Thursday and if wasn't for the no serving alcohol after 2am rule the night probably would have gone much longer.

Time to get up came much to quick and I was severly lacking sleep. Despite this I managed to have 30 minutes spare with everything preped, loaded and ready for the race. I was hoping for a quiet day in the car and we were not only looking after our guys but also BMC's Alexander Kristoff, and guess who flats when I feel like crap. As crap as I felt it was a smooth rear wheel change, well I thought so. By 4 laps to go I was feeling much better, just as the race was heating up. Roy was up the road in a small chase group with guys like Hushovd, Rasch, Boasson Hagen and Arvesen on the charge behind. Lindsay was watching the live feed on the internet and sending me txt messages of how the race was looking up front. When you see a riders face you can tell if they are suffering or have a bit left for the end. Roy didn't have enough to stay with Thor but had enough to grab 3rd spot.Roy in the chase.

It was a good way to end the week, Roy with 3rd place and the criterium title while on the Friday Michael put on the national jersey for the Swedish title. So I think there may be a blue and yellow Ridley Noah coming.

What followed after was some packing up and the after party, thou this time I was going to have a relaxed night as it was a long drive home the next day. I was feeling so tired and had to stop for a powernap on the drive to Larvik where we would catch the ferry the next morning. I was looking forward to a nice bed and a good nights sleep and was quickly dissapointed when realising that Phillippe and I would have to share a bed. With the two single beds apart the mattress was far to lumpy, but putting the comfy double pillowtop across the two was a much better option even if it mean't sharing with Phillippe. We quickly realised why the receptionist was so confused that we wanted only 1 room! We were away at 7 to board the ferry by 8 and from there it was a 16 hour journey home, just minutes before midnight I was home.

The first day for me after such a long drive is a total relax day. Then I had to make a quick trip to Geleen to service 4 Marco Polo team bikes [two fellow Aussies Jonathan Lovelock and Brad Hall] as one last job before I start my 2 weeks off. Lindsay and I are off to France for some cycling in the Alpes and to see some of the tour go by, this is my first time off in July as I have been in China the last 3 years so I plan to enjoy it.

Til next time
Mark

Nationals Week - part one

2010-06-20T23:59:00.005+10:00

It is Nationals week in Europe here and the past few years it is normally a weekend off for me, but not this year. I am at the end of my 3rd week here in Norway and in the first days of the championships.

After a relaxing week off with Lindsay, Monday was back on the tools to clean up all the bikes from the Ringerike tour. I was staying on my own at a boarding school just on the edge of Stavanger so it was fairly quiet for 3 days. I spent most of Monday at Racing Depot [sponsor] doing the bikes and reorganising the truck. Tuesday I went for a training ride with Roy, 60km with 10 hill repeats up a 1.5km climb. I would like to say I did the 10 but could only manage 3. I gave myself a head start only for Roy to catch me half way and proceed to drop me 50m later, 5 or so years ago I would have stayed on his wheel and done the 10 no worries.

It was then back to Racing Depot to grab some extra spare materials. It is great to have Racing Depot on as a sponsor when it comes to materials, I go shopping there up and down the warehouse with my shopping list seeing what spares I need in the truck. Its the kind of shopping I don't mind doing. Most things I needed were the common items like bar tape, shoe cleats, tyres etc. It makes my job so much easier having all the little spare materials on hand. I also took delivery of some Mavic Aksium wheels to keep in the truck for the training days the riders do when at races.

Wednesday the truck was all packed with the inclusion of 5 more bikes which I was transporting for the Stavanger team. Phillippe flew in later that afternoon and then we were off to Trondheim the next morning. We would take the same road we did for the Ringerike trip travelling to Geilo and staying 50km further in a place called Gol. We had good time so we made a few stops at some tourist points checking out some of the huge waterfalls that surround the area.One of the huge waterfalls we stopped at for a quick break in the drive.

Friday was an early start for the final 7 hour leg to Tronheim. We had to be there by 3 to pick up Jahn Frederik and Fillip at the airport. But we had just enough time to drop by the hotel and check in, Phillippe did the airport run while I drove out to drop of the bikes for the Stavanger guys.
Morten had arranged two appartments for us to stay in for the 10 days. With the appartment we are able to cook which Phillippe [ex chef] takes care of. Eating at a resturant every night would be quite expensive and is not always the best food for the riders.Phillippe wipes down the kitchen after a day of preparing food.

So far the work load has been light on with only Fillip and Jahn Frederik competing in the U23 race Saturday and then the criterium on Sunday with the same two plus Roy and Frode. After a miserable day [weather and results] at the U23 it was a good day at the crit with Roy taking the title. It was a late finish so the bikes went straight in the truck and will be washed at a later time.
Roy just takes the win after a long sprint to the line. Fillip come across in 7th place.

Today I got out for a 60km ride with Jahn Frederik then went to watch the mountainbike championship followed by some food shopping with Phillippe so he could cook us another fantastic dinner. Tomorrow I hope to get out for another ride but I have two Time Trial bikes to get ready for Frode and Geir Inge to do the team time trial later in the afternoon, so it will be a long day. The rest of the week will should be rather easy with Fillip and Geir Inger doing the Time Trial on Thursday and then the main Elite race on Sunday.
Someting I have not been around for a while, mountainbike racing.

So the week is going well and we don't even have our team chief here, but Morten arrives on Wednesday. The only problem I've faced here is getting to bed at a reasonable hour, it is still so daylight late at night. I even woke up at 3am one night thinking it was well after 7 because it was so light, but I'm getting used to it now.

Til next time
Mark

On the road in Norway

2010-06-03T08:05:00.012+10:00

This is a post of the first two weeks of my Norway trip. I spent two full days of travel to get here with a stop in Flensburg at the German/Danish border. In some parts of Germay there is the no speed limit zones [not that the truck can go more than 115km/h] but with all the road works they have it really slows down the trip. A 6 hour trip took 9 hours in the end. I was on the road with Philippe following in the car behind, we had 2-way radio so it made the trip a little more interesting. The last part of the trip is 4 hours through Denmark [boring], 3 hours on the ferry and then a 5 hour drive to Stavanger. After arriving late on Saturday it was straight to dinner then to the room as it would be an early start for the Rogaland GP race on Sunday. As we arrived late, rather than having to fight for water and power I decided to not wash the bikes after the race and clean them on Monday when all the other teams had left. In the morning I had to take the truck down to Racing Depot for a bit of a photo shoot for the local paper, then it was back to the hotel to wash the bikes and Prepare them for the next race. Tuesday was driving day again, the trip to Geilo for the Ringerike GP would be a 6 hour trip. Norway does not have the motorway network that Europe does, so the trip to Geilo was on small highways that zig zags its way over the fjords and mountains which made a spectacular drive. Trying to drive and take in all the scenery at the same time is dangerous on these roads. stopped for a break at the top of a mountain pass. The Ringerike GP was a 5 day tour and we only had to move hotels once. The first two days was in Geilo where all of us stayed in one cabin and then the last 3 days just outside Oslo, but it also was a real hotel rather than some kind of bording school. But accomodation was enough for a few hours sleep. We would be up quite late after finishing work at around 10pm, but the problem is the daylight lasts so long here you don't realise how late it is. Most nights we were up until 1 or 2 just talking and having a few drinks. After Ringerike I was to drive back to Stavanger, but Lindsay had a week off and came to visit. Lindsay met me for the last stage in Honefoss, north of Oslo, then we drove to Kristiansand to take home one of the riders Jahn Frederik, and his family was kind enough to let us stay a couple of nights before making the trip to Stavanger. Jahn Frederik took us out for a ride on one of his regular routes, a 50 km tour taking in the spectacular scenery of the southern Norwegian coast and hills. then we spent the afternoon looking around Kristiansand and the surrounds on foot. Arriving in Stavanger, Morten had arranged a cabin of our sponsor Oster Hus, in the nearby hills for Lindsay and I to stay for a few days. The cabin was located in the mountians 100km from Stavanger, in a place called Sinnes. It was really quiet up there as it is a ski area so this time of year not too many people are there, just a bunch of deserted cabins and lots of hills. We did some hiking, went out on the bikes and drove around to take in the sights, and more importantly just relaxed. Back in Stavanger now for a few days, helping the guys out with the annual Egersund-Sandnes off-road ride (an organised tour with 10000 participants), then cleaning up the bikes/truck after Ringerike before heading north to Trondheim for the Norwegian Championships next week.

Till then, keep riding. Funky

P.S. be sure to check out the latest photos in my album and below is some quick video clips from in the car.

My office.

2010-05-20T05:16:00.011+10:00

Lindsay was kind enough to give an insight into what it is like to live with me working as a team mechanic. Indeed she puts up with alot of my work stuff around the house, but I have not much other choice. I am very happy with the team and the materials that I have to work with and compared to the big teams with their huge budgets and ample service course space, it is a very different world.
Like Lindsay said, the team operates out of Norway but that is a long way to go to service course after every race, so the truck is what you could say a mobile workshop. We must take as much as we may need on the road, small items I may require the riders sometimes bring when they fly. So while the big teams have these massive warehouses to work from, I just have the truck and my backyard. And the truck is the main part of my workshop.

So here is a look around the truck.

After every race I empty out the truck to clean and re-organise.

No team truck would be complete witout these three items, a washmachine, dryer and a fridge, all very important when at tours. The ideal place for these is in the front with a wall separating and side door access, so the mechanic soigneur can work without getting in the way of each other. But Philippe and I make do with this set up.
This is the set up which I use for water and power. I have a four-way connector in which the main water supply plugs into, this then allows multiple points of use. Not only does water then feed the washmachine but also the retractable hose for washing the bikes and cars, a nozzel to wash my hands and an extra plug incase another team needs to plug in.
Boxed sections on the floor store all the spare parts.
here I have some of the most common used items like bar tape and brake pads, also some headsets, chainrings and cassettes.
spare forks, seats, stems, bars, seatposts and pedals is what is in this section,
then tyres, tubes, mavic computers and spokes are stored here.
cables are used by the box and I store them in tubes like this so they are easily accessable.
I store all the small parts in containers like this. Here you can find everything like a spare handlebar plug to a STI shifter, I like to make sure I have every small part covered.
with so much spares not much goes past me without recording it, a spreadsheet like this helps me keep track of all the parts we use throughout the season.
the truck holds 16pairs of wheels in these racks plus what's in the bikes, and the truck can hold 16 bikes, that's quite a sum of value.
While the left side of the truck is all my materials, majority of the right side is for the soigneur. On the bench top Philippe stores some of the nutrition, towels, water and his rub oils.
In the box is more nutrition supplies and an assortment of food and kitchen items for making the lunches as such.
Here I have the Tacx trainers hung on the wall and boxes of bidons stacked ready for the next race, no pallet loads of bidons here.
with everything cleaned and organised the truck gets loaded for the next race.

So that is a look around the office where I spend much time. later this week the truck will be loaded with all team materials as I head to Norway for the next races. I will most likely give another post from there as I will be there for a month.

safe cycling
Mark

Life WITH a Spanner Man

2010-05-14T00:49:00.002+10:00

(By Linds)

Recently Cyclingnews took a tour inside the service course of some of the largest teams in the business. It was interesting to see how different it is to what the service course of the lower teams is.

As Mark so elegantly put it the other day, the continental Europe service course for his Sparbanken-Vest-Ridley team is no more than where the truck is parked at night. In between races, this happens to double as our house. Of course, being a Norweigan-based team, they operate out of their sponsor's warehouse at Racing Depot in Stavanger. But that's a long way for Mark to travel each day...

So lets take a tour.

Although we don't have a drive way or garage, there is actually a special spot right beside our house that fits the truck just nicely. Although this is where the car is parked when the truck isn't home, when it is, the car has to fight for a spot on the street. Fortunately the truck is backed up against our gate, so it is difficult to see when things are moved between the truck and our yard.

When the truck arrives back after a race, it's usually a complete mess and needs cleaning out. This means all the race bikes and equipment need to be removed - onto the lawn they go. While they're out, they usually get cleaned and serviced. This I don't mind so much though, because often it means I can put my bike in the queue (and luckily there is one other white bike in the stable that mine goes unnoticed).

Being friendly to the environment, the team re-cycles as many drink bottles as possible, but ultimately they need washing too. Normally Phillip the soigneur does this, but somehow it ended up this time with Mark. So into the sink they go. Bidons are a prized item in Europe with many fans collecting them, that is fine for the big teams with their endless supply but for smaller teams we tend to preserve as many as we can.

The bikes and equipment are then stored in one or more places: the spare room, the office, the small shed, or our living space, or any combination. At this moment, we have time trial bikes and bike bags in the spare room, the boxes of bidons and nutrition and kit are in the office, and the race bikes are in the shed. With Mark being home for 2 weeks, I refused to allow anything to be stored in my living area.

Oh, here I should also mention that after every trip, Mark does bring home a large load of washing. What does he do with it? He empties it onto the floor of our other spare room, sorts it out, then washes it. It then goes straight back into his bag ready for the next race, bypassing the wardrobe.

A few weeks back Mark had to stock up on everything for the start of the season, but EVERYTHING was emptied out of the truck so a new fridge could be installed, and this was what I came home to

This week Mark is in Luxembourg, and there is a time trial. So if anyone wants to visit, this week the spare room is be free of bikes! In fact, I think the only hint of my house being the service course will be one box of bidons in the office, but actually maybe they go too?!

As for the race cars, Manager/DS Morten takes one and usually Philippe the soigneur takes the other. On the smaller teams the manager is also the sports director, as well as moonlighting as logistics manager. So it's up to Morten to plan the logistics of getting everyone to the races and keeping track of the cars, flights, race supplies...

And that's the end of the service course tour. It's very short, but the service course here is no more than what fits in the truck. Supplies are constantly replenished throughout the season, as we simply don't have the space for stocks (not to mention that we don't have near as many riders either).

While living in what feels like a bike shop sometimes, living with the mechanic does have some upsides too. Take for example the opportunity to see the races from VIP1. A few weeks back the team did 2 races here in Holland, and I was able to visit them for the first time this year. With the race being over ~200 km, it's always much more fun and exciting to actually follow it than just stand on the side in one spot. Luckily Morten allowed me to join in the car for a nice tour around a part of the Dutch countryside that I hadn't seen yet.

Here is a typical view of Holland: the water in the dyke to the left is higher than the land to the right: the windmill litterally pumps the water out, making for some very nice, fertile land for farming, and some interesting scenery!

Also, it's rare to get shots of Mark actually working, usually he's behind the camera...

Crossing the dyke and back down the other side, Morten gets the chance to check how the boys are doing, since radios are not allowed now in 1.2 races.

Fortunately the only mechanical for the day

But going to the races is not the only advantage to living with the mechanic. As I mentioned earlier, I have a bike mechanic pretty much on tap, who provides professional services for even the most menial tasks, such as removing a front headlight...

For all who wonder what I do when Mark's away so much, well actually I have also a fantastic job (though I work regular hours at the office each day) doing what I love, as well as having great friends to go riding and running and shopping and coffee-drinking with. So we've both been blessed in that respect, as often with expat families one parent works, the other goes nuts at home. For us though, we have learned to make the most of Mark's home-time. One way we do this is on his days off, he sometimes joins me riding to work, and then always rides in to meet me and ride home again together. So I'll never get stuck on the side of the road fixing my own flat, hehe. This day in the photo above we took the town bikes, but sometimes we go on the road bikes, and a bit out of the way, which makes for a great 1-hour 'holiday' that sure beats sitting in traffic...

So that's the ups and downs of life WITH the mechanic, and I wouldn't swap it for anything!

Linds

Self Investment

2010-04-29T02:08:00.006+10:00

At the moment I am in a two week period off before going back on the road. On the weekend I was in the North of my adopted homeland at races Arno Wallaard and Noord Holland Tour. Both races I have done on previous occasions with the cyclingnews team, so rather than repeat myself [which I sometimes do] I thought it would make a change to write something else.

I was reading the latest post from Tommy and thought it is good to see him toughing it out and winning. But I thought that what he wrote is a very real insight into what it is really like. I've often wondered why there is not so many Aussie riders willing to make the sacrifices to try their luck at racing in Europe. When I was working along side Gil we had many emails from Aussie riders wanting to join the team, but when you tell them there is no budget so the rent has to be paid for the house, some you don't here from again. I once heard from a rider he will not come to Europe unless he is paid, how arrogant I thought. I've also known of riders coming over only to go home after two weeks, clearly your not that serious about your cycling. Some guys may sit at home waiting for emails from teams or some are just happy riding at home. If your not on the top teams in Australia then your on your own for getting to Europe, and I suggest you start early. I think there is only one team in Oz that develops riders to the Europe scene, so either your there or you self invest.

When Lindsay and I moved over we invested alot, we sold our brand new car that was only 6 months old, our bikes, some furniture and whatever we could to do it. We came here with nothing but two suitcases, and over the years we've had some support from family but we really couldn't have gone far without the help of Gil and his wife Monique. They gave us everything we needed to settle in and we couldn't have asked for more, we wouldn't be where we are now if it wasn't for them.

To be honest, Tommy was lucky. Once the Cinelli team got started last season we filled the rider roster pretty quickly, taking back some of the previous cyclingnews team riders. I had a mail from Nick Walker in which I got him a spot as someone had pulled out. Then I recieved Tommy's mail, the team was full but I said I would see. Not to give Tommy an even bigger ego but I knew he was a good rider and would suit the Belgian style of racing. After much discussion with Gil I convinced him to give Tommy a ride. The door was open but it was up to Tommy to walk through it. It was alot of money he would have to pull together in order to race here, but it would be an investment in himself and his future as a rider, to see how far he could go was up to him. And this it where it differs for some riders, you have to be willing to self invest a little for someone to invest in you. If you really want to race in Europe then it is no good being at home. Easier said then done, ok, but the first thing you need is the money, then a place to stay and maybe an arrangement to get to some further races [most you can ride to]. If you have these three things covered then your well on your way to start racing in Europe, you don't need to be on a team to race the amateur races here. It is how alot of riders start out, Phil Anderson would have never become the rider he became if he didn't pack his bags and head to Belguim to race. It is tough, the Belgians don't mother you like they do in Italy, in Belgium they make you a real bike rider, you tough it like the way Tommy is and they respect you more, there is no pitty for the weak in Belgium and more so for the non Belgian cyclist.

Through being on the Cinelli team Tommy met Nico Mattan and is now on a good amateur team, although a rank down from last year he can now win alot more races and maybe that will be enough to get him back to the next level. It is all about experience which is why I say you have to start early. The Belgians want to know that you can race in Belgium, they say "if you can race here you can race anywhere".

So do what you need to do, save your money, beg borrow [not steal] and sell what you have to, it will take 150% of commitment if you are serious. And I know it will be hard, trust me, I tried. You work fulltime for the money but you can't train and rest as much, so you work part time but then you can't save enough. I know because I've tried both ways. But you will find a way if your commited, and maybe one day things may change for riders wanting to try their luck at Europe and it will be easier.

Safe cycling
Mark

Back in France

2010-04-21T04:54:00.008+10:00

It has been a while since I have done a race in France, I don't think I can remember when the last one was. The race was Tour de Loire e Cher, that makes a tour of the flattish region.

The drive down there was a short 6 hours. The traffic around Paris was not too bad so I did not lose too much time. I read on cyclingnews that they made a deal about Contador having to drive 1900km to get to Belgium for the Ardennes classics because of the Volcano drama. BOO HOO, mechanics and soigneurs drive that and more on a regular basis. And when your in a car like the Audi he had the drive does not seem like 1900km, I've done 2300km in an A6 so I should know. It is common in the smaller teams that riders do travel by car, but with our riders coming from Norway flying is much quicker. The guys were picked up in Paris by either Morten or Philippe, then it was 160km to the hotel in Blois.

Frode gets some advice from Morten while in the break.

This race Morten has done on four occasions I think and finished high on GC, it was a good race for him but not for the team this year. First day Gier Inge crashed out, then the spare bike was used again [so far one has been used at every race] as Anders also crashed and was out on the 3rd day. Frode was in a good break but didn't have the legs to keep in there, Roy and Michael were in the mix but not the breaks that got away which is how it was for the last 3 stages. So Morten was expecting some good results but it didn't turn out that way for the guys. The next few races should be better for the guys I think. They have some good racing in their legs now.

Philippe and Benny make sure the legs are good.

The upside, well for me anyway, was the food was a little better than what I have previously experienced when at a race in France. Breakfast was the usual minimal cereral choice with just Corn Flakes on offer, criosants, bread, some sour yoghurt and of course coffee. Simple but enough, but it's good Philippe knows how to make a great sandwich which everyone gets for lunch. Dinner at a race in France is normally boiled chicken, over cooked pasta with a very watery sauce and some very basic salad, but not this time. Although we had to drive to the headquaters hotel and line up for dinner it was quite a change from what I was expecting. But they were keeping tabs on how much people put on their plate as a tour official looked over your shoulder as if he was the soup nazzi from the Seinfeld episode. There was a note at the door in french and English saying what you were allowed to take. The day Ander's crashed I decided not to go to dinner in order to work through and not finish so late, so Morten bought me back a Big Mac meal. I managed to finish up just as they returned from dinner, so I saved myself an hour.

This volcano saga had also effected our riders as their Paris flights back to Norway were cancelled, plan B was in motion. Benny quickly arranged a guest house near to his place in Belgium where they have been staying the week until the next race in Holland this weekend. So not such a long trip for me this weekend.

Man Down

2010-04-12T05:06:00.006+10:00

Just as I try to write this post from my last race in Italy, I am about to head off to the next race. I had planned to do this post some way through my trip while in Italy but that clearly did not happen with good reason.

Last Monday I left for Italy in the car with Philippe, after we quickly bolted on the roof rack we were on the road at a reasonable time. The trip seem to go alot quicker in the car than in the truck, and the Skoda is a nice car to drive. Philippe is always up for a talk also, so it makes the time go quick. As we were getting towards the end of the trip I recieved a call from Morten, he was calling to say he was not going to make it. This would be the start of a hard week.

Benny was going to step in as DS as well as do some massage, but with that it meant I would be mostly on my own for taking care of the bikes. Without Morten we were basiclly a man down. We all have enough experience and all knew what had to be done to get through the race, but the work load would be now a little more. We also had Henrik, a new guy that Morten bought along to learn the ropes of life on the road. He was a physio guy but new to the team atmosphere, new to even cycling. So while he helped out with the massaging, getting his hands dirty with the bikes was not his thing. It is one thing to know how to do a particular job but in this inviroment you must work as a team, especially in the small teams. I have heard in the pro tour teams that people have their job and thats it, soigneurs don't help mechanic's and vise versa, that's just what I have heard.

So my work routine would have to be efficent. I would have all the bikes washed before dinner, so 3 to 4 hours work from set up to pack up, but that is just the washing. After a quick chow down at the dinner table it would be back on the tools to spot clean the bikes and check them over plus any additional work like change flats, about another 2 hours work. It was long days with an average of 16 hours of work, that's start and finish time, if you include the time you get out of bed til the time you hit the pillow again it is more like an 18 hour day. Oh, did I mention that the hours I was washing the bikes it was raining and not any shelter to stand under, just the clothes on my back to keep me dry, or not.

As for the race, not too much went on. The prologue was an easy day, stage one Michael finished second in very wet conditions so that was good for the team, then Johan was disqualified from the tour for hanging onto a moto when trying to latch onto the grupedo. For mechaincals it was just a few flats, thou I did have to use a spare bike again for the third time on only the second race. Michael's seat had come loose. I tried to fix it out the window but on the Noah frame there is a single bolt on top of the seat post which is tight to get to, it also takes a 13mm wrench. Last time I had to use a 13mm open wrench on a bike was on something from the 70's. I'm sure there is a better way. Anyway, the wrench got jammed in there and I wasn't able to free it so there was no choice but to use the spare bike. I later took the seat off [mast included] and got the wrench free, then tightened the seat taking a guess at how level to have it. We checked with Michael during the race if I had it in the correct position. Once he was happy with how it looked, benny pulled the car over and I refitted it back on his Noah, put it back on the roof, caught back up to the race and changed bikes back again. Not your simple wheel change.

The last day was a long one with a wake up time of 5, do the race, pack everything then drive home. But I could not make the full distance and had to stop for the night just over the border into Germany.
Once home the work did not stop, there was bikes to clean up and service and I had to make some adjustments with some things in the truck. I was hoping for a relaxing day on Sunday to watch Paris-Roubaix but that wasn't to be, I did watch it but it was more just on in the background. But now everything is packed, the truck shiny clean and I'm off to the next race.

Tot Straks
Mark

Time at home.

2010-03-28T23:45:00.004+11:00

It has been good to have the week at home this week. After 3 weeks of on the road it is good to just relax at home. I made use of the nice spring weather and got out on the bike. My bike was in a bit of a poor state thou, being a little dirty from the last few times I rode. Sometimes it is not possible to wash my bike in the winter becuase the outside tap and hose is normally frozen up. Ok so you think wash it with just a bucket then, but if the temps are freezing then the moisture that is trapped in your bearings can turn good bearings into completely stuffed bearings. It is sometimes better just to leave it and just try to keep your chain clean and hope it makes it through the winter.

But this week I got out for 4 rides with a total kilometer count of about 140km, about 500 less than when I was really riding. If I had the truck here there would be bikes to service, wheels to fix and who knows what else. But even then I would still try to get out for just an hour or so. In a week off usually around 200 per week is all I get time for, by the time Im ready to build the kilometers I'm off to another race.

Saturday I went and bought myself a very useful tool I have wanted for a while, an air compressor. These can be very handy in the mechanic buisness and have a couple of uses. One is to air dry the bikes after being washed, but better yet it also blows out all the dirt from all the hard to get to places like behind the brake callipers, very important in the wet races. Two is to pump the tyres every day, much easier than a floor pump when you have to check pressure of about 30 or more wheels. Most mechanics here are equipped with one and Im sure every good home mechanic will also have one, if you don't then it is worth getting one to get your bike that extra bit clean. The compressor I bought was 110 euros with the fittings and should be every bit worth it.

But today is cycling tv. This morning I was watching the track worlds and now I have the choice of Gent-Wevelgem or Criterium International, what a great excuse to stay out of the cold and kick back in front of the tele.
Then later I have to pack my bag for tomorrow as I go to my next race in Italy. Philippe and I will do the 10+ hour drive down in the newly stickered second race car.

Tot Straks
Mark

The driving

2010-03-24T03:26:00.010+11:00

Not long ago I was sitting at home not doing a whole lot, and now since the start of March I have not stood still for 5 minutes, well that's how it has felt. Since starting with the team I have already travelled over 5500kms in 3 weeks, there is more to this job than just working on bikes.
The trip to Norway was long but I chose to break the drive into two days as Monday morning I had to make a two hour trip to Belgium to pick up the first of the new roof racks, then the 5 hour trip to Flensburg on the German/Danish border would be where I would stop over. With the 4 hour drive through Denmark I arrived way early for the ferry in Hirtshals and had a 3 hour wait. Then the 12 hour overnight crossing with probably only 2 hours of good sleep before arriving in Stavanger at 4 in the morning. Morten had met me there and we drove to drop the truck off then to his place where I hit the pillow again for 3 hours before getting up and starting work down at Racing Depot. There I spent the next four days organising materials from last season going through what we needed and didn't need, plus put together some new materials we needed. Some spares are used from last year but thanks to the guys there I got all the new materials I needed from a groupset to cable tips. We spent all of the Saturday just loading the truck with everything we had put together to take on the road. By the end of the day everything was in, back at Morten's there was some last minute packing then a quick stop at his inlaws for a very quick dinner before catching the ferry for the trip home. This time I managed alot more sleep which was good as I needed it for the 9 hour drive home.
There was no time for rest when home, as first thing Monday I had to unload most of the truck to go pick up the second of our roof racks. Then it was time to make some modifications inside the truck so things are stored away to make space and so that nothing moves around when on the road. Tuesday I was out to pick up some things the team needed, like chairs, cooler, hoses and a number of other small things. My car was so full that the only space left was the drivers seat. Wednesday I was off to Ridley to pick up a new frame for a spare bike plus some extra materials. Then over to Booischot to say G'day to Gil and pick up some of my things from the old truck. I then rushed home to finish some work on the truck before the daylight ran out.

Thursday was the day to leave and make the 1100km journey to Bergamo in Italy. Unlike the trip to Norway I had some company for this trip. Patrick I have worked with the last three seasons and he was on the soigneur roster for this team also. I was hoping to be on the road by 7am but my bag was still not packed, but we were away an hour later. We just had to decide whether to go through Swizterland or go around it. As they have border control, official paperwork is needed for all the materials in the truck and their value, this paperwork I did not have. But time was against us and going through Swiss was 200km shorter. We took the chance and went through with no problems, they took a look in the back but we had a Croatian officer so I think he let us through as he knew the race we were going to. We arrived that night at around 9:30pm.

The next day was a brief sleep in and we were soon back on the road just after 9am. First we had to go to Santini to pick up the race clothing, then shoot over to the first airport to pick up the rental van. Renting a car is normally straight forward but this time is was not, 2 hours later we had the van. Lucky for us the first flight of riders was delayed 2 hours, the second flight was at 1pm, both were on the other side of Milano but we made the pick ups on time. Then we just had to pick up Phillip who had flown in at 10am, but poor him had to wait all day. It was not worth driving from one side to the other of Milano 4 times, the logistics were busy enough so it was better to pick everyone up at once. Now the truck was really loaded and after a quick stop for a bite to eat I arranged for Phillip to take the van on ahead to get the riders to the hotel in Croatia as soon as possible. The truck would go much slower now that it was full.

Patrick and I were due to arrive at 11pm, about 1 hour after Phillip and the riders. We were lucky at the Swiss border, but the Croatian border, not so lucky. We arrived at a small border control, they were understanding but would not let us through without the proper paperwork. They instructed us to go 3km east to a bigger border control, "they have more trucks pass there and may let you through" they told us. So off we went, but they just laughed at us for even trying to cross without papers. Even more so when the realised what the value was of all the bikes and wheels in the truck. So Patrick and I found ourselves parked at the border waiting for Morten to turn up, who was still on his way down from Germany and still 2 hours away. We made a bet at what time he would arrive, Patrick got it bang on, 1am. Morten had arrived but another hour went by as he charmed them somehow and was able to write everything in the truck and the value on paper. We got our approval to continue on, another hour of driving and we arrived at the hotel. A cold salad provided by hotel staff and then it was off to bed at around 4am. Tomorrow would for be a sleep in.

We stayed in Croatia for the week, having a single day race on Sunday, then the 4 day tour starting on Thursday. The guys got some good results in these races, with Geir Inge finishing 11th at the Porec Trophy, and Michael finishing 9th GC in the Istrian Spring Trophy. We drove back to Milan the sunday night, this time with Morten to cross the border with the hand-written papers. Fortunatly our next race is Settimana, also based in Milano, so we left the truck there and flew home on Monday. I head back down with the second team car and Phillip on Monday, for the race start on Wednesday.

Leaving the truck in Italy means that my days off in between can be spent relaxing after 3 hard weeks. And with the weather now around 15 deg, the days are perfect for spinning the legs over and trying to build up some [climbing] strength for July.

Tot straks,
Mark

Back on the road

2010-02-25T22:53:00.005+11:00

Well it's almost time for me to get back on the road after a much longer than wanted off season. Most mechanics have a much shorter off season than I have normally had, due to soon as the season being over their preparing for the next and then at training camps or early races in January. This is the norm on the big teams, however when working for a 3rd division continental team everything starts much later and often some things at the last minute. Although the time off has been great it can be mentally frustrating to sit on the sidelines while I see other mechanics already working or preparing for their season, but I know Im not the only one. There is way too many staff here for the amount of teams there are, hard to believe but very true. I have had no work to do due to all the teams bikes being built up by the supplier in Norway, but I will have my work cut out through the year been the only mechanic on the team. My goals have always been to work at least at the pro continental level and I could of this year, but you sometimes have to go with the best situation that will suit you and I believe for the long term I have made the right choice despite sitting out most of the off season which can be a financial burden.

But my holiday rountine is about to end. The past months have been rather quiet, I wake up to make Lindsay her lunch before seeing her off to work, then I would sit at the computer to check emails followed by a read of the CCCC website and then cyclingnews and other related cycling stuff. If the weather is ok, in which most of this winter it has not been, I would head out for a pedal of 1 to 2 hours. Then have some lunch, do some housework, watch a little tv [lately the winter games] and then prepare dinner. Not real exciting but the day passes quickly enough, though working at a service course preparing bikes would be better. We have had alot of snowfall here this winter and very cold temps to keep the snow around longer than normal. It makes it hard to get out on the road so the mountainbike is the only option, or just dont go at all which is sometimes the prefered option. I was out on the road the other day thinking the snow had melted enough to be on the roadie. Sticking to the roads rather than the bike paths I came to a stretch of road that was still covered in snow and ice. Clearly not melted enough. I have been out on days wearing two of everything so the only place you feel the cold is on your face, but some riders even cover that so they look like their about to rob a bank.

But it's all back to work on Saturday as I have to go to Avelgem in Belgium to pick up my team truck that I will be using for the season. Then on Monday I have to pick up the custom made roof racks for the two team cars then drive all the way to Norway to have the sponsor stickers put on the truck. I will spend 3 or 4 days there while that is being done and to check over all the equitment and load everything that we need for the first races, then do the long drive back home. Then it's a few days at home before getting behind the wheel again for the drive to Italy and onto Croatia for the teams first race. So it's finally back to work after some lengthy time off, and this year Lindsay and I had some decent holiday's with the trip to Austria at Christmas and just last weekend we did a 4 day trip to Rome which was a fantastic way to finish up the long break. Now it's time to check over my tools and get things ready.

Mark

Talking Torque

2010-02-10T03:37:00.007+11:00

You may have read it already but if not there is a very interesting article about torque wrenches and their purpose on cyclingnews.com. Now I'm not one of those tech head mechanics that go into every tiny detail but torque settings are a very important detail and the article explains clearly why.

Your cycling tech guru or DIY guy will probably have a torque wrench because they most likely work on their own bike and like to have all the cool tools like us professional mechanics, but what if your someone that has to take your pride and joy to your local bike shop. Well, don't be afraid to ask if your shop mechanic has one on the tool board that they use, because many may not. As the cyclingnews article says, only a little over the required torque setting can leave devistating results that may eventuate some time down the track. It is no harm in asking to have peace of mind that your carbon bars, post or frame will not have a crack in it at some later point.
this is my torque wrench and although not cheap it is not the best as it's a 4-20Nm but has attachments for only cassette and Bottom Bracket which usually have a higher torque setting, so not my smartest purchase.

On the teams, most riders do some adjustments themselves so it is hard to keep everything correct all the time. Early in the season some riders will even take a 4 or 5mm hex key to the start line for last minute tweaks, and most tend to over tighten. We no longer have the strength of steel frames where the bolt would break first, componets are much lighter these days. I once witnessed the late VdB tighten his seat bolt so tight I thought it was going to break there and then. Most riders tend to want the bolts tight, so their seat or bars don't slip when they hit a bump for example. Some riders make adjustments then ask the mechanic to check the bolts, and while most of us have a good idea of what is too loose or too tight there is many mechanics that would not have a torque wrench in their box. Maybe they do, but it is not often you see them use one. I have also seen riders grab a hex key from the mechanics tool box and give the bolts one last tighten, just to make sure. The riders would rather have the bolts tighter than have something slip during the race, after all it's not their bike or equitment. I have seen at the end of the season posts, bars and fork steerers with slight crack imprints in them from over tightening. And just a note on fork steerers, if you have a carbon steerer be sure to use a stem that is specific for clamping on carbon steerers. Last year we had ones that were not and ended up with a few cracked steerers.

Mt tool box largely contains tools from Park Tool, but my torque wrench is not and actually does not work [probably from not been stored correctly] at the moment. I must see what the problem is and try fix it or get a new one, because I like to check the bolts every second day when on a tour. Using a torque wrench can also prevent damage to the frame, with many intergrated posts these days it can be easy to over tighten and end up with a cracked frame, something that I would not want to be accountable for.
my main tool box that has all my most common tools in it for working on the bikes. I have another tool chest that has other tools more for when building the bikes up. If you want a similar race day box like this Park Tool now do one called the EK-1, it has most tools you will need to do basic work on a bike.

So a torque wrench is a very important tool for any level of spanner man, and if you do not see the need to buy one then no harm in asking if your shop does use one. Though for a good quality wrench many are expensive [mine sells for about 160euros] but there are some cheaper options like the BBB unit, and you get all the needed attachments. There is also the Ritchey Fixed wrench's, but I'm a huge fan of Park Tool so if you want one of those you can expect to pay anywhere from 60 to 200euros as they have a range to suit different needs. Don't however make the mistake I made and just buy one on impluse, be sure it is what you need. If you want it to check stem bolts then a 4-20Nm is fine but be sure it has or you buy the correct attachments. Areas to look for torque settings are usually printed on stems, seat clamps, front derailleur clamps, cassette lockrings and sometimes crank arms. Almost every bolt these days will have a torque setting which your user manual will most likely tell you if not printed on the componet. And that all leaves me to ask the question, "Are bikes and componets now being made too light?".

RETRO RIDE.

2010-02-04T19:18:00.002+11:00

If you live in Melbourne then there is a Retro Ride on this weekend. For the people that are in to the older era of cycling or if your just after a different kind of ride. A relaxed pace and a easy distance, so even if you have an old bike and are new to the sport it is a great chance to get out there.

Chance to buy cheap.

2010-01-25T02:05:00.009+11:00

Thanks to everyone for the comments and messages I recieved on my 'Tan Lines' post. The aim of the post was to make people aware of how it can happen to anyone and of how serious it can be. Graham, if every kid in the development programme now puts sunscreen on [and yes even you Callum] before clipping in for a ride in the sun, then I will be happy the message got across. While looking good can be a big part of cycling, having skin cancer shouldn't be.

Well not too much going on here for me at home in Europe. While the pro season has got underway with the Tour Down Under, for the smaller teams it starts a little later as the budget does not stretch that far to be racing from January to November. As much as I am eager to start with my new team, they are in the final stages of organising, while the riders are enjoying some training in warmer weather. While they do that I sit at home here on a snowing 2 degree Sunday afternoon watching the final round of the cyclocross world cup on tv, which Neils Albert managed to win after getting held up and stuck in 20th place on the openening lap, great ride. But I would rather be working putting new bikes together, but I guess someone else is taking care of that.

What else, well, a little while ago I built up a Cinelli TT bike to display in Gil's shop front. I will be honest and say that TT bikes are not my most liked bikes, they always seem to have cable routing that doesn't flow and brakes that never work. I don't care if a hidden brake is 10% more aerodynamic, if the brake does not work properly then what is the point. Once, in Spain with Rock I had Victor Hugo Pena telling me he must have a good front brake, "I do not care what you do, just make it work" he said. The Fuji had a system where the front brake would route through the fork steerer and exit at the fork crown with the calliper mounted behind the fork, looks neat but it just didn't work to my standard. So I ran the cable externally and with a V-Brake cable guide it seem to work a little better, enough to make Victor happy anyway. the Cinelli TT machine, not as fast and aero looking as some but will surely do the job. The bike is new but the wheels are used and can be sold with the bike for a small extra fee.
FSA's fast looking crankset with I think 44x54 rings [could be 55 but I can't remember]

With the Cinelli no such trouble thou as the cables are to some point external, and the brakes use standard callipers, so maybe not as aero but you can gurantee your brakes and gears will work. The bike was fitted with Sram 2010 Force shifting componets, FSA brake callipers and the very smooth looking FSA Neo Pro TT crankset. Steering the bike is a Cinelli Bat TT bar setup that looks neat with the bike, but there is not too much adjustment available in the pads without maybe some modification. The extensions have full adjustment thou and the cables are routed internally through the bars, but I did have to drill a small hole for the brake cables to enter into the bar, otherwise they would have been left hanging free and looking messy.
Now last time I knew the bike was on display and for sale, the price I think was 2500 euros with NO wheels. This bike is brand new and would cost easliy double that in a shop. Along with that there is some other frames and bikes also for sale. With most teams selling there equitment off at the end of each season, it can be a good chance to pick up something real cheap. Gil still has left over some Litespeed Saber TT frames from the 2007 season that had very little use that will sell for 950euros. There is even some old steel Fuga frames going real cheap, some new old stock and some used that start at 50 and go to 100euros. If anyone is interested and wants to know more feel free to email me [funkyhoward@gmail.com] for further info, we may just have something that suits your needs.

Below is some of the old steel frames for sale. The frames were made at the time aluminium hit the scene so of course they never sold.
brand new steel criterium model.
brand new Crono model, a TT bike that uses a 650C front wheel which you don't see these days.
a slightly used [but in good condition] competition model, and below a brand new yellow version, love that chrome. there is also a green version.

also an aluminium frame wih cro-mo fork.

I will try to post the rest of the collection or email me if interesed and I can send you detailed photos.

Cheers
Funky.

White Winter

2010-01-10T05:42:00.015+11:00

Last time I talked about the hot summer my home land has right now and the clear dangers of it. Here in Europe is a different story as it's true when they say it's one of the coldest winters in years. It has been the longest sub zero period since moving here and the forecast still reads below zero temps and snow fall.

Our back yard in it's current state.

I was asked a question by Mike on how the riders here train in the winter months, everyone is different but I will try to give you an idea of what some may do and my personal experience.

My first winter here wasn't too bad and I managed to get some kilometers in on the road bike, it was cold with around 5-10 deg celsius, but the conditions were ok. This winter it is impossible with temps below zero for the past month and now 6 inches of snow, and I think most riders would opt for an alternative way to train. Most roads or bike paths are currently covered in snow or are very icey which makes it hard to train at all on the road, and the mountianbike for me is (usually) a much better option. For the riders that have options to move somewhere warmer usually do so. However, apart from the obvious road conditions, there are other obstacles to sub-zero riding. I'm talking about your drink bottle freezing over after half an hour, and just the other day Lindsay and I went out for a short mountain bike ride but found ourselves without rear brakes whose cables had frozen [due to water in the cable from the last wash], Lets just say it got interesting at times!

me out on the mountainbike.

Australian riders have the perfect situation where they can race here all season and then go home to train in the warm summer months. Even those who stay all year in Australia don't get the problematic conditions during the winters as are presented here this year in Europe. Many top European riders would not stick around for the cold period and choose to go to a place closer to the equator where the conditions are warmer for those longer rides and early season preperation. Many teams would also now start to have their training camps in these warmer places in order for a solid block of training rather than have it interupted by bad weather and risky conditions. Training on a wet road is one thing but training on an icey road is too risky.
one of the many bike paths I use on the road bike to cut through the forrest, not today though.
a snow covered road which I would often use on the roadie, again, not today.

Riders have to sometimes think outside the box. Some riders may spend alot of time on the trainer, in the gym or on the mountian bike or cyclocross bike. I know Sven De Weert does many of the mountian bike tours that are on at the moment, it's not huge kilometers, but it's enough to keep your fitness up over the winter. I did many 3 hour mountianbike rides with him in my first year when the conditions were just a mud fest [see some earlier posts], these rides would be fast and hard so it would be almost equivlant to a 6 hour ride on the road. Riding in the snow is a similar resistance to the mud. When it's muddy or heavy snow, it's good resistance and skill training that can make up for the big kilometers you can not do. Some riders are known to do the odd cyclocross races for this reason, it's good strength training and is done at a high heart rate which can increase your lactate threshold. The riders that live in the hilly regions (Scandinavia or the Alps regions) I know do alot of cross country skiing too, which is one of the best cardio workouts going, and it's something different to the bike. Even something as simple as hiking up a snowy mountain track for 2 hours towing a toboggan provides some awesome cardio exercise, and an awesome fun time racing back down on the toboggans as Lindsay and I experienced on our Holiday in Austria.

Lindsay speeds down a mountian slope on a tobbogan, it took us 1.5 hrs to walk up and about 20 minutes to come down.

When the weather turns nasty, I think it is not so important to take risks and push to rack up the k's on the road, but to do something to maintain the cardio base and strength. Your better to do short hard rides rather than long cold wet rides in order to stay healthy, leave the longer rides for when the weather is warmer. Another important point is to keep your training interesting and to mix it up rather than doing the same road kilometers day in day out. It is not so motivating to get on the bike during the winter months, so use them to do something different for a change. I believe in the winter it can be all about quality, not quantity.

As for my coming season, as I continue to battle my way through this industry it is looking better at this time of year. As usual I sent out many emails to teams, and in October I had applied for an advertised position with a new pro tour team that were looking for mechanics. So they called me, interveiwed me, told me I will get a call in a week and then that was it. After many follow-up phone calls I never heard from them again, not even a 'sorry but your unsuccessful' call. Next thing I knew they were doing final round interveiws, but I had my doubts at the start as I was told the roster was full even before I applied, so I wasn't too upset. As the next couple of months went by two more deals had fallen through Gil and Rudi's fingers due to sponsors pulling the pin. Now they have something else on the table which I could have waited for, but the deals not yet done and I don't think the team would have suited me anyway. Most of all though I felt I needed a change.

So I have taken a position with a team which thanks to Benny, he gave my name to. Sparebanken Vest-Ridley is a Norwegian Continental team that develops young talent in Norway. I enjoy helping the younger riders so it made the decision easier to accept their offer. They seem well organised, have good sponsors, nice equipment and a good program which will see me start the season in Croatia then to Italy, France, some races in Norway of course and should finish the season in Belgium. Im really excited about the coming season and working with different people. Lindsay and I met Morten [sport director] and his family at their home in Germany on our way back from Austria, and I look forward to working with him and the team come March.

Ride safe
Funky.

Tan Lines

2009-12-29T06:29:00.005+11:00

I hope everyone had an enjoyable Christmas and you look forward to the New Year. During my off season there is not too much to write about as a mechanic. So it’s a good time to write about other stuff related to cycling.

While I write this post I’m on holiday in Austria with Lindsay, making the most of the winter period here by clipping into snowboards rather than bike pedals. It makes me think of the hot summer days our home land is having in Australia at this time of year. It’s not that I miss the hot summers, I could never stand it over 30. It makes me think of all the riders, especially the young kids, out there on the bike on those hot days, and the danger they often put themselves in.

Me on top of Hochoetz in Oetz, Austria, enjoying the off season by snowboarding.

When I was a junior rider I was, let’s say, on the white side, and to have a little brown on the legs would have been great. When it came time to shave the legs I did not hold back as I thought it would make them browner. I would see all the pros in the magazines with their stand out tan lines, even my two brothers who raced had tan lines. They make you look like a real bike rider so I would always work on the tan lines for many years as most of us probably do, as for some it's a riders identity. In my early years my parents always made sure I had sunscreen on at least at the start of the day of a track meet. But when the parents are not watching anymore we tend to get a little lazy. In the later years I would go out training around 9am on a summers day and be out for up to 5 hours, but not think to apply sunscreen at all, because when you leave the house it can be a little fresh, so you may have arm warmers on and you don’t put sunscreen on the legs because you want them browner. I was someone who always got the comments on how white my legs sometimes were, so of course you want them browner. So I think you get the idea.

In April of this year I was diagnosed with Basal Cell Carcinoma (BCC), a form of skin cancer. It’s not as serious as the Melanoma type but its cancer all the same and should not be taken lightly. The BCC type is when the skin cells on the surface of your skin are cancerous due to, most of the time, sun damage. Left untreated and the tumour grows, most of the time slowly but can also grow rapidly in some cases. Until now it was only my family, very close friends and co workers [due to time off racing] who knew, first that I had it, and secondly, the details that follow. But this is something that I want to make everyone aware of.

When I met Lindsay back in 2005 it was about the size of a pimple that wouldn’t heal, but gradually it grew to about the size of a 50 c coin. Most of the time it appeared to be just dry skin/scab that occasionally cracked and bled. Finally deciding that it wasn’t just a sore that might go away one day (also that I'd now had it 5 years), and that it was becoming alarmingly large (the whole cancerous area on the surface was from the top of my ear down to just behind my jaw with an average width of about 2cm) I got it looked at.

My first round of treatment was in June where I underwent a form of chemo called photodynamic therapy. They treat the cancer with the very thing that causes it: UV light. This light therapy is a very strong UV light that they use to burn the cancer cells. First they apply a chemical cream to the cancer area, and then you wait 2 hours, then the first UV treatment for 4 minutes with no anesthetic, just a dab of a wet cloth which helps for a mere 2 seconds. The UV light excites the cream into action to burn the skin. Then I waited for another 2 hours before the next round of 18 minutes under the UV, this time with anesthetic, which helps a little. This is a treatment that is very successful but is very very very painful. The burning is a pain I would not wish upon anyone. The result is to actually burn the skin like a severe chemical peel. Its’ hard to describe, but imagine an acid burn on the treatment site and you might get the picture. Eventually it healed over, and the top layer of cancerous skin peeled away to reveal fresh new skin.

Two months later I was back at the hospital for the next round of treatment, Mhos Micrographic Surgery. There was a piece that was too deep for the photodynamic therapy and had to be cut out. What started out as something the size of a pimple 5 years ago ended up being the size of a teaspoon, and 5mm deep. So over a 5 hour period I went under the knife, had a piece removed, bandaged up, waited for results and then went back for more until it was all removed (four times total to cut it out). Then the plastic surgeon came in to give me a face lift to fix the hole, with a pull of the skin here and there and 14 stitches in front of my ear it was covered up so you can barely tell it was there. But I know it’s there. For a while I had no feeling in that part of my head and to this day there is still nerve damage there, which may or may not come back.

After my surgery. You can see the size of my small finger nail, now put a teaspoon next to it [the surgeon said it was actually half the size of my ear] and that's how much it grew.

My head was so swelled up I couldn't even put my glasses on.

When I got back from my last race at the Sun Tour I went back to the hospital for the 6th time to have it all checked and everything was ok, the bad news was that I was told once you have it in one place there is a 99% chance you will have it somewhere else. So now I am on a 5 year skin cancer check up program where I get my skin cells checked every 6 months. An area on my right arm will also be looked at closely next time.

So if you think it can never happen to you, it can. Although mine was on the face, tan lines don’t seem that cool anymore. Even thou where I live now the sun is not as ‘hot’ as what it is in Australia, I now put some cream on if it’s a sunny day. And for the people back home riding in the hot Aussie sun, as well as everywhere else in the world, (especially the young kids), remember to Slip, Slop, and definitely Slap on the sunscreen, and if something is unusual on your skin go see your local doc to have it checked. Skin cancer can happen to anyone and anywhere, and not everyone is as lucky as me to have the type that does not cause other tumours. And remember it's not how brown your legs are it's how well they turn the pedals.

Have a happy new year
Funky.

Sad news

2009-12-14T21:54:00.005+11:00

It is very sad to read the news that Lorraine Collins has passed away. Lorraine was a very dedicated member of the Carnegie Caulfield Cycling Club turning up to every race to help and take entries. She was very hard working and there was not much that would keep her from spending her time with the club. Most people probably knew Lorraine as just the grumpy lady that takes your entry and would not be one to argue with about your handicap, but behind all that she was really just a very sweet caring person. She devoted a lot of her time to the club, even at tough times. I caught up with her briefly when I was home in October and remember saying that I would see her again next year if I was home.

Lindsay likes to remember her, aside from the racing, as the sweet lady who visited at the Brumby's Melbourne Central every second tuesday morning for a sweet treat and quick chat on her way through town.

Lorraine will be sadly missed by everyone that knew her and our thoughts go out to her family and those close to her. Now she can be reunited with Ike.

Fixie Confusion

2009-12-03T00:40:00.000+11:00

This is a topic which just mind boggels me. When I was home last I had a conversation about this new Fixie trend with my brother Chris, a trend that started in the American bike courier trade and has now grown everywhere as a trendy hobby for your recreational cyclist, and there are some who have it all out of context.

When my brother told me he saw a girl in the city wearing casual shirt, jeans and high-heeled shoes riding a Eddy Mercx Motarola team bike built as a Fixie, I just could'nt understand it. If the bike was not an original then I guess it's not so bad, but if it was would she even understand the history of that bike, my guess is probably not and wouldn't even care. The Motarola team [like 7-Eleven before it] paved the way for American cycling in Europe to what you see today, without that, American cycling on a pro level wouldn't be where it is now. So atleast have the respect if you have an original bike like that and restore it to the original condition as it once was. My brother has restored his PDM Concord bike which you can view on the Cyclo Retro link in my side bar. This is how classic bikes should be restored and owned. Unless you've raced on these bikes [like I have] that are now known as retro, then you will never appreciate them for what they really are.
clearly not the bike the girl was riding but this is a perfect example of how classic bikes should be.

When I was at the shop we used a local frame builder and we got him to make a road frame with no cable bosses or derailleur hanger attached. It would be a fixed gear road bike for a good customer that wanted to improve his pedalling technique along with other experimental reasons, thou a custom made one this is my definition of a real Fixie.
You need an old road frame, I mean old enough so it has long horizontal rear dropouts for chain tension movement. You need something like an old Repco or Malvern Star type frame. Like on this build it is best to use track hubs with nutted axels as it holds much better when under load, hence why road bikes nowdays have verticle dropouts. What gear you put on is up to you, but the smaller the front chainring the easier it is to get it going. We used a Miche track crank with like a 48x16 gearing. Then we fitted front and rear shimano brake callipers as you have to fit a brake becuase it's reguired by law. A bike is unroadworthy to ride on public roads if it has not atleast one functional brake. On this build we put traditional road bars with Shimano R400 brake levers, but the more common option is a flat bar or old riser bar with a single mtb brake lever connected to a front calliper. This in my view is a proper fixie, its a road frame bulit for riding on the road with a fixed gear.
this is what I believe is a fixed gear road bike, everything but the gears.

For the people that have a track bike and say they have a fixie is wrong, ITS A TRACK BIKE, it's purpose is to ride on a velodrome. Ok maybe the old school frames from around the 50's not so much as the frame angles were much more relaxed. But if your so called FIXIE frame has reverse rear dropouts, no holes drilled to mount the brakes [thou older frames probably will] or no holes for a bidon cage then what you have is a TRACK BIKE, NOT A FIXIE. The steep angles of your modern day track bike is not suited to ride on the road, not to mention it's illeagal. I'm not going to explain it all but for a detailed reason go to www.sheldonbrown.com and click on Track Bicycles, here it explains some crucial differences. Also all the resisting you have to do on the pedals in order to stop at traffic intersections [and I hope you do because running red lights on your bike does not do the sport any justice] is really bad for your knees and can lead to serious ligament damage. On the track we dont really resist the forward motion, we just ease off the pedals and come to a slow stop to prevent knee damage.
this is a genuine track bike and a classic one at that.
and this is your more modern day track bike used today.

While on the subject of track, I have even seen adds on ebay with people selling track stuff and labelling it as Fixie stuff, like wheels bars and cranks. Come on people, a set of track wheels are not Fixie wheels, their TRACK WHEELS. Back in the day when all the old rims like GP4's and the like never had specific brake surfaces mean't you could use them for track or road because back then there was no such thing as factory built wheels, we bought our rims, hubs and spokes and had our wheels all hand built. Now days with all rims coming with a machined brake surface you can opt to buy specific track rims which mean they have no brake surface, much like they use to in the old days, it's that simple. It's the same as mtb disc rims which you can only use with a disc brake set up. Now these track rims are NOT Fixie rims, proper Fixie wheels should be road rims [as you should run brakes] laced to track hubs. I know there is now a new market out there with all these non specific track coloured componets which is fine as that in my opinion is true Fixie culture, and there are a few specialty shops around [www.shifterbikes.com has some nice Fixies] to cater for you and your fixie fetish, but if you buy a genuine track bike then join your local club and go do some track racing. It would be cool to turn up on an old school track bike and be beating guys with flashy carbon BT's. And if your already a road racer then it's perfect training, and I think Mike Goldie would agree with me on this. I believe everyone thinking of racing on the road should start on the track. The track is where you learn your pedalling technique, it will also teach you how to sit close on a wheel in front and how to perfect your sprinting ability, not to mention the reflex's you will gain, more than what you will just riding on the road.
So don't ruin a good track bike, join your local club and use it for what it was intended for, otherwise get an old road frame and go to your nearest speciality store and build a proper Fixie and use it for what ever to look cool, but just don't call your track bike a Fixie because it has a fixed gear. Use your 'proper fixie' for commuting or your 'fixed gear road bike' for winter training, but be sure your experienced before riding in a bunch where everyone else is on road bikes as you don't want to cause an accident, that's not cool.
And in saying all that, as long as your not hurting anyone then its good your just riding a bike but its just my view.

this I think is your 'proper fixie' which you could put together yourself...
where as this is your off the shelf fixie for your city riding.

cheers
Funky

Photos are from the following websites;
http://www.cambriabike.com/shopexd.asp?id=77978&page=CBO%20FIXIE%20FIXED%20GEAR%20SINGLE%20SPEED%20ROAD%20BIKE
http://tywkiwdbi.blogspot.com/2008/05/fixie-bikes-one-speed-and-no-brakes.html
http://www.shifterbikes.com/
http://www.trekbikes.com/be/nl/bikes/urban/
http://www.fujibikes.com/Specialty/Track/Track.aspx

6700 vs Sram

2009-11-20T21:56:00.003+11:00

To answer the question how does the new 6700 Shimano Ultegra group compare to Sram. I said I was happy with my 6700 but not everything about it I am happy with but the pros out number the cons.
I've used the old Rival but Sram have recently released their new Rival group and have gave the Force group a face lift after it was plaged with problems. Either I have yet to test so I can only compare it to the Red. The old Rival is nowhere in the same league but at the moment with the new releases I think I would prefer the Sram and this is why.

Cyclingnews just this week put up their review of the 6700, and it is fairly much spot on as far as the shifting goes. Shimano gave into their consumers and went for hidden shift cables and it's a move which I think has cost them. No longer is it the smooth light feel it used to be. The lever throw is longer and feels almost sluggish, you can feel the friction for sure and Dura-Ace is the same. Pre Sram you either liked the clunky shift of Campag or the lighter shift of Shimano. Sram is somewhere in between I think. The Red has a clunky sound but it is light at the lever and the throw is much shorter. I prefer the shifting of Sram over the new Shimano but I am yet to also try the 11 speed Campag range. The thing with Shimano is it has always sounded whisper quiet through the gears and still does, but Sram makes a slight noise like if its just not quite meshing right. It's something many mechanic's here agree on, your always fine tuning gears, replacing cables and the rear derailleur is a pain for wheel changes. I also think some componets on the Sram wear out a little quicker than on Shimano.

For me the new Ultegra is only let down by its shifting on the rear, the front is perfectly smooth at the crank yet the feel at the lever is not the same. I would have prefered if the group was the same but the shift cables [although hidden is a much better look] on the outside like before. Everything else on the 6700 is perfect, well not all is perfect as there is those name plates with the tiny screws. Maybe with some high quality cables it may improve the shift, but you shouldn't need to. The shift at the moment has too much friction. Maybe it's all a plan to get people to buy Di2, but I doubt it.

Sram is a tad more expensive so you have to buy what you can afford. For about the same money as 6700 you will only get Rival with Sram, but that is not a bad thing. The new Rival has alot of hardware borrowed from Red so it will be a good contender as far as performance. If you can budget a little more the new Force is very close to the Red and for that money you could also just about buy Dura-Ace or Chorus. Performance of groups these days are all very close, it just comes down to weight and thats what you really end up paying for.

If your thinking of upgrading then stick to your budget and try and test the different groups if you can to see what you like the feel of, my view may not be the same as yours.

Hope that helps
Funky.

Groupset Upgrade

2009-11-14T03:26:00.014+11:00

I recently upgraded the groupset on my bike to the new Shimano 6700 Ultegra which I purchased from Rock with their end of season sell out equitment. I had the old Ultegra SL, but it is still an upgrade because this group has all the new ergonomics. I had worked with the 7900 Dura Ace at Rock so I was already aware of the changes that annoyed me with that, which I will explain as I go. With the Ultegra being very close to the Dura Ace I was interested to try the new change of Shimano out on the road for myself. So here is my view and a basic rundown of the new groupset, for anyone thinking of upgrading the same.

Firstly, as I said it is much like the top level Dura Ace, almost everything is the same apart from all the Ti hardware that the DA uses. Let me start with the most obvious and biggest change, the shifters. They are certanly much more comfortable then the old version. The rear of the hood body is much wider which gives you great support under your palms, and if you double wrap your bar tape like I do it fills out the hood [just where they meet the bars] real nice. The front of the hood is narrower which is good for getting a grip with your fingers. The levers mechanicals are open to the elements and you can feel the inner workings just slightly with your fingers underneath, but it is a smooth clean finish and it doesn't feel as thou something is pretruding enough to bother you that much. But you realise why there not used much in cyclocross, teams had stuck with the more consealed 7800 DA instead and this season are now using Di2 which seems to be faultless in all conditions. I have used the Di2 but it's way out of my budget to have.

The hidden cables are also a much cleaner look, but as they do not run the smooth cable line as before shifting is what I believe not as crisp as the 6600.
The other bad points are the body's fixing bolt is now located on top and can be hard to get to. The rubber hood covers are quite solid and do not give you much room to fit the 5mm hex key in, but this is really a one time thing, once there set that's it but take care not to damage the bolt. The inner shift cables are a little more tricky to guide in than previous and replacing the outter is not as simple as before. If you replace just the inner it will not just thread directly into the outter, you will have to pull back the tape and with a tiny flat head screwdriver push on the inner and guide it through. And then of course there is the little name plate you have to remove from the front everytime you need to change a brake cable.

Also I find the lever a tad bit far away, but that is with the bars I use and not everyone will have this trouble as it depends on your bars and the length of your fingers. As you can see above my finger tip just reaches the lever and with these gloves on it's hard to grip. The group comes with reach inserts to push the lever inwards but they stick out a little and clearly look like an ugly add on. I would have prefered if they made the lever more like the Di2 lever blade which is alot slimmer. Lindsay had a try of the new 6700 and she could not even brake with her hands on the hoods, but she does have small hands so that is something to keep in mind. She now uses my old Ultegra SL and finds that much more user friendly for her smaller hands. In all, these are all minor things and probably will not bother the average weekend rider, the comfort of the new shape makes you forget everthing else.

The new 6700 brake callipers share a resembalance to the DA with a better look than the previous Ultegra. Shimano have once again increased the braking power of this new generation brake, not that they needed to has they stopped you quite good before. The new adjuster barrel is much better and is more easily to turn when on the bike. It sits there freely but has a small rubber ring on the bottom to prevent it from falling out. And unlike Sram or Campy, Shimano make the STI hoods and now callipers that you do not need cable ferrules, only at the frames bosses.

The crankset also sports the new Hollowtech technology and uses virtually the same Hollowglide chainrings has DA but with a different finish. When I first saw the DA it appeared the chainring bolts threaded into the crank, but that is not the case. They thread into the outter ring going through the crank spider as normal. If you strip the thread in the ring your up for a new ring, but thats better than a new crank arm as some may have first thought.
Not too much to say about the front derailleur besides it works. It has both trimming in the small and large rings and still has the strong spring tension and cage stiffness Shimano has always had. It will do both standard and compact cranks.
My pedals I have gone back to some 105's I was given as my old DA pedals were worn out, 4 years they lasted but they were giving me a sore left knee so they had to go.

The rear derailleur is identical to DA but uses a alloy cage rather than the carbon, which I think the alloy is stiffer. The short cage derailleur will now also take a 28T cog. It also like the front, still has that strong spring tension to give it rapid precise shifting. I also like the way the Shimano derailleur has spring tension on the hanger, unlike the Sram. With wheel changes in a race it is much better as the tension pulls the derailleur out of the way in order for the wheel to drop straight out. I don't yet have a cassette but the new 6700 is all steel sprockets and the lighter lock ring as DA does, not to mention a huge range of ratios. I also am running an older chain as my local shop didn't have the new one in stock. It is slightly different and is designed to work with the pick up points on the front rings better, but the old version seems to work ok for me at the moment. The new chain is also slotted and has slots only on one side of the outter plates. The side [that's the outter plates] that doesn't have slots goes to the outside and the all slotted side goes to the inside.
One more thing to mention is the satin finish the group has, keep it clean. Work on it with greasy hands and you'll smudge grease prints all over it and spend some extra time cleaning it off with some kind of desolvent.

So in all I think it is a fantastic group for the money. It is lighter than the previous, has a good look and works very well for your average rider. But if you are one of those people that just have to have Dura-Ace then that's fine, but if you want to save a few bucks then go for the Ultegra. As far as buying a bike, if your looking at two identicle frames but one has 6700 and the other with 7900 and your deciding whether to spend the extra 1000 or so price difference and thinking you would really be stretching the budget doing it, then go the one with 6700, it is so close to 7900 you will barely notice the difference. I think Shimano have done well with this group and marketed it well, they should sell alot of them as groups and bikes spec'd with it should also do well, being that it is so very close to its bigger brother. I'm happy with it.

Happy riding
Funky.

Holiday Over

2009-11-02T05:03:00.006+11:00

My three weeks home in Oz has ended and I'm now back at my European home in Holland, trying to brave the 10-15 degree difference in weather temp as I prepare for the winter off season.

Peter and Stefan at the start of The Warny.

I had my last official race at the Sun Tour but I did one last [or two] race for a favor to my brother Peter and his mate Stefan by doing the feedzone for them in the Melbourne to Warrnambool Classic.
It's a job I have done a number of times at this race, having no real interest in doing the race myself when I was racing, although I did start it one year when it was 300km in distance. Being a Warrnambool boy there were questions to why I'd never done the race but the truth is I've never being interested, I always had such a busy year juggling fulltime work, racing track, mountainbikes and of course road. So again I would do the feed for Pete but this would be the first time after spending 3 years in Europe, and it really opened my eyes to the difference in the way races are organised and run compared to Europe. I don't want to say too much about it all as this could turn out to be a long post, but I have put forward my thoughts to the people involved. There were some things I noticed in the Warny [and the race on Sunday] that seemed to me just either unsafe or downright stupid. The Police seem to do a fantastic job, but their job could be made easier by better planning and organisation of the race for everyone involved. I'm no expert but there are a few things that could be done to make it better. I will just say getting to the feed in Lismore was a nightmare, and alot of people following the race had no idea which way to go.

Guy, Roy, Peter and Stefan at the start of the Shipwreck Coast Classic.

After some much needed family time it was time take the long flight home. Luckily all the materials we bought over for the Sun Tour was taken off our hands, so for me travelling back was made much easier with just my bag, toolbox and two empty bike bags. Once back it was soon straight back onto the tools as Gil had some bikes for me to build up, thou not new team bikes rather than Cinelli bikes for public customers. Gil is a authorised Cinelli dealer in Belgium and sells them through his shop and he gets me to build them up when ordered. The idea is to give the customer more of a one on one service, they get to hand pick their build to create the perfect bike. Then if they wish the customer can have me size them up on the bike and get all the measurements perfect. The other day I built one up for Patrick's [our soigneur] brother which was one of the custom frames for VdB, it came up nice with the red paint work but I prefer the white one. There was only one problem with the frame, someone at Cinelli forgot to fit the cable guide tube that sits in the bracket juction for the front derailleur cable to run through. But that was something I had come across before [on another brand] so I was able to fix it. Patrick and his brother were here just this weekend to check the fit of the bike where I could make any personal adjustments, so when he picks the bike up all he has to do is ride it. Just on Friday Sven delivered two more for me to build, in which one has to be ready on Monday so it looks like I have some work to keep me busy. If I can do 3 or 4 builds a week plus a fit up then it may just make those winter off season days go a little quicker until I find a team.

On that note, I recently applied for a team but am waiting to hear back, and I still wait to see what comes of the new team from Gil and Rudi where they have some good options on the table, but its all just talk until the dotted line is signed on.

Cheers
Funky.

Sun Tour turned Rain Tour.

2009-10-19T11:39:00.003+11:00

The Sun Tour this year should have been called the Rain Tour, apart from the first days racing it was a week of rain, wind and crashes.

After my last post the tour for me had started with picking up the team vehicles and other stuff later that day and then driving to Ballarat the next morning. There was not too much to pack as we were here with two riders less and some of the team were meeting us up there. The first day was just to unpack the wheels and get them ready, the riders bikes were ready. Matt [soigneur friend of Aaron] and my sisters partner John were the two swannies and they helped get the wheels ready. Later on my co mechanic Troy arrived to give the bikes a clean after the training ride the guys went for.

The first days race was the circuit race around the Ballarat city center, so that was a day of standing in the pit area, no flats so a easy day. The opening road stage was ok weather wise but alot of wind which made the race a crash fest. Sando and Ivan had flatted in the early part of the race but rejoined the field, even after the change for Sando was a little slower than I normally do for those bikes. But sometimes that happens where it just wont go in as easy as what it should.
By the end of the day Kemps and Tanner finished in the front group and were looking good for the rest of the tour. Now we started with only 5 due to last minute [very last minute] changes to the team roster as the team also had Mexico on at the same time and then Justin was out on the first day, so defending positions would be tough for the guys.
As we were in Ballarat who are on stage four water resrictions, meant no usual washing of the bikes. So with no hose or pressure washer allowed and the weather turned from nice to wet, Troy and I headed to the car wash. One we were under cover and two we could give the bikes a proper wash. From here on the tour had terrible weather, the worst I've seen for the Sun Tour in a while. I knew the stages to and from Warrnambool would be tough with crosswinds as it was on roads I spent many hours on as a teenager riding on. It was also great to do the tour as a professional mechanic in my hometown, something that might not happen again for a while if at all. It was much better for accomadation on this tour than I have seen in previous years I have done when the tour was up north. This year the hotels in all towns were top notch.

As the tour went on we had lost Ivan also, and Sando was hanging in there doing what he could for the other two. The work to stay up front was tough for David and Aaron competing against guys with a full team and the non use of radios. Laurenzo was not allowed to bring the ones from Europe as they are illegal to use here. So Teri had hired some but they were like bricks in the riders jersey pockets. So they had to think for themselves and stay on the ball, in which David admitted to been very tough as you tend to get lazy with the radio. But Im not about to say get rid of the race radio, I think these days with more traffic and more obsticles on the road they are an important saftey device for the riders. So with the consistant riding of David and Aaron, Laurenzo and I had a car convoy posistion of car 4 on the last road stage, not bad for a team of 3 riders.

As tradition continues, the mega team gear sale was on. We got to Lygon street a little later than what I was hoping for and the crowd was already big. I had barely put four things on the table and people were keen to buy. I handed the pit area over to Troy [as he had done hotel run all week] while I stayed at the tent to sell. All the small parts I had sold along with two pair of wheels and one bike. But I still have one bike and 7 wheelsets to sell in the week I am here before heading back to Europe, and I really don't want to lugg it to the airport. I hear they plan to move the Sun Tour to Febuary sometime for 2011, which I think will be a good move if they really want to lift the profile of the race. Alot of big teams would then have their training camps here doing the TDU and the JHST for pre-season training, but it might mean there would not be the mega barginns to buy at the end of the tour as it would be the start of the season. But it's a good move I think, the profile of racing in Australia really needs a major lift which I believe is long overdue.

So now its time to catch up with family, have some good Aussie food [meat pie and fish n chips] and chill out before the season is finally over with my last unofficial race in where I will do the feed for my brother Peter in the Warnie.

Cheers
Funky.

Down Under.

2009-10-09T09:50:00.003+11:00

With Franco Belge run and won I am now back home in Melbourne for the start of the Sun Tour.

Franco belge was a four day race that started last Thursday. I was at the hotel late Wednesday due to other appointments, so it was up to Jean Maree to get the bikes organised. There wasn't too much to do and he had most of it all done when I arrived.
The first day was an early start getting out of bed at 6:30, something I haven't done for a while. That day would be a 10pm finish. The thing about this race is the sart times are mid-day so the finish time is around 5, then by the time the bikes are loaded and your back at the hotel it is 6 or 7. Then you have to set up and start work. The first couple of nights the dinner was arranged early so we had to down tools and go eat before it got too cold, the dinner that is. Otherwise you get nothing. Jean Maree loves to chat as well so I have to keep him focused, but he's one of the best bike washers I've seen, so good you would think your chain was brand new.

I spent 3 of the 4 days doing the second car with Gil, which was rather easy as you don't get to do too much in the second car unless you have someone in a break or someone out the back. So it can be very boring at times, more so when the race gives a break almost 10 minutes lead, ride at an average of 36 and the stage is 227km, it's a long long day in the car. It does not make sense for that race to have such long stages at that time of the season, no one can be bothered racing too hard for that long. And with us staff, with the transfers it turns out to be a long day.

So with that tour over I had two days off to get ready for the next. Monday I had to drive across Belgium to the Rock service course to pack bikes and wheels for the Sun Tour. Two spare bikes and 12 pairs of wheels is all we were taking, so a 2 hour drive there, 3 hours work packing and 2 hours home again and day done, thou I did have to stop in Lueven and check out Lindsay's big project she has been so busy working on. Tuesday was just a day to pack my tools [trying to get the toolbox as light as possible by not bringing all the tools] and clothes and run around and do some things, like the groceries for Lindsay.
At the airport Laurenzo and I had just the 4 bike bags and our suitcases to check in, soon as Robbie McEwen was finished checking in. Laurenzo paid the 950 euro overwieght [and two bags were just wheels] and we were off.

After arriving Thursday night we were taken to the hotel, had a much needed decent meal and then a good nights sleep. And now today as I write this post in the lobby I have a little spare time to rid the jet lag before picking up the team vehicles and the like.
So until later in the week, thats about it.

cheers
Funky

Season coming to an end.

2009-09-13T03:36:00.014+10:00

Time is sure flying by as my season is nearly over. I have been rather busy going back and forth as it is the time of season when all the single day races are on, well for the Cinelli team that is. There was a budget for only so many tours and they have been and gone. Since the start of August I have had 11 races, not as many as what I'd like but it's better than nothing. I still continue the search for a team that can give me a contract for a full season, that is the ideal situation for me. The start of this season was good when I picked up the work with Rock, that was a good 3 months of locked in work, then in between I did some races with Cinelli including China. But from there things have been a little more quieter. If the last half the season could be like those first 3 months then that would be great.

Mind you I have had some time off also, something which I'll save for another post.
Then I did it easy for a couple of weeks by not doing the car and doing the feedzone instead. It makes a good change to do something different and I enjoyed the time out of the car. Thou the feed can get scary when there is 250 odd riders coming towards you at race speed, it's something that takes some courage and practice. When I first started working with JM he wasn't that keen to do the car, but now he has done a few more races he is getting used to it, but there's no way he will do the feed.

I have about 5 more single day races left, then four days for the Franco Belge tour and then 2 days after that Im off back to Oz for the Sun Tour. Then it will be back home to Eersel where I will probably be making some trips to the Booischot house to clean up the Cinelli bikes. So it might be enough to keep me busy I hope, and we will see what happens to the team from Booischot next year. At this stage I'm not sure what is going to happen with that team, there has been many meetings and things been said by one person and something different by another. If the team goes on some of the guys may return but some I think will not, and some will for sure not because of their own actions. But I think the outcome will be known very soon.

But for now I go on with trying to find secure work for the next season, if it means going to another team then so be it. Even thou I am freelance which can have some benefit, for example when I did those trips to Spain, I earnt in one two weeks work what Lindsay earns in a month. But then another month might be half that pay cheque. So it sounds better to work for one team all year getting paid the same every month as it's more of a routine and financially better, but if I can get enough work for different teams freelancing then that would be good. But then that's something not in my favour right now. As glamorous as this job sounds [don't get me wrong because it is] it does have down sides, and the down side of freelancing is chasing the work all the time. Like I said, if my whole season was like those first 3 months the that woul be ideal. The main issue for me is I'm probably still on the outter circle as far as mechanics go here in Europe, I just need to get inside that circle, and a very small circle it is that from what I see happens to be quite full. Even with new teams starting, and big teams, there is also teams stopping. So it is never an easy task to get in the circle.

Thanks to Linds here are some rare picture's of what I do, it's not often you see photo's of me doing what is really the work I do.
Eddy and I make ready the bikes for a race in Antwerp.

Nico and I load the car with spares for the race.

wade gets a flat

and is helped back to the race with a brake check

Nicholas gets a flat

And then also needs a brake check

Then Wade gets a second flat

Cheers
Funky.

Les O'Mara

2009-08-21T16:37:00.002+10:00

Its great to see the Les O'Mara Memorial on this weekend run by the CCCC crew. I just wish I was there to ride it. This post is a little late but I have been rather busy.

The O'Mara shop has been around for years and is well known around Melbourne. Les first opened the doors in 1945 when his wife purchased the shop just before his return from the war and was named Corsair Cycles [after a WW2 plane]. The shop was originally situated on the Nepean Highway in Cheltenham and then moved to a little corner shop in Station Street, which I believe he built.
In the 80's the shop had changed hands, I guess Les wasn't getting any younger and it was getting too much. The shop had again moved and was now in Charman Road. In the mid 90's the current owner then was wanting to sell the buisness. The shop was bought back and taken over by Les' grandson Jae, thou it would now go by the family name of O'Mara Cycles.

In the year 98 I was living in Cheltenham and was looking for a local shop. Charman Road was walking distance so when I saw the shop I had to go in. The first thing I bought was a pair of XT brake callipers. Jae gave me a good price but what I found was how relaxed it was in there, Jae was just happy to chat and we became friends from there on. I believe the shop still keeps up that same atmosphere today, a shop where your not pressured to by anything, regulars having a coffee and a chat.
So I was very much a regular from there on and after a year or so I started riding for Jae on his race team. At that time the only other riders were Wokka and Rob Tidey I think and were track riders, but I was a road rider so it was a plan to build a road team.

In 2004 I started work at the shop as Jae's mechanic, I gave up my delivery driving job and put the experience of working on my own bikes to good use. This is where I know the famous Les from, or Pop as we called him in the shop. Every Friday morning Les would come up from Frankston to see his old shop and spend some time in the trade he gave so much to. He would start with chatting to his old friends Billy, Sugar and Kevin who would everyday ride to the shop, sit out front and have a coffee. Then Les would come inside to see the shop, tell me stories of his days in the shop and often ask me "so you like the bikes?", "It's a fantastic sport" he would say. He would potter about the workshop cleaning up, some days just sitting there talking or sweeping the floor around me. Other days he would wander back out into the street for a chat, which took Les a while as he would stop and talk to almost everyone. In Charman Road he was well known by all other shop owners and local residents. Jae would go out and get us all some lunch, Les would have a sandwich and then catch the taxi back to Frankston until next Friday.

So I want to encourage everyone to do the Les O'Mara Memorial, even if you don't know the shop, He is a man that has put so much into the sport and to the industry that you have today. He was a great man, a honest hard working man and I am honored to have known him in the short time I did, and is surely missed by alot of people. I can't be there for his first memorial ride but I wish I could to pay my respects. So from me and on behalf of everyone doing the race I say "Les, this ones for you old fella".

Goodluck to everyone racing.
Funky.

Recovery after China

2009-08-10T17:17:00.006+10:00

I am still here and did make it through the China trip, just. I know I said I would report from China but the internet is not always available in the Qinghai region. Thou wireless networks are better than previous years there but access to some sites are limited, and that included mine.

Well China was the same as other years, lots of packing, unpacking, hard beds, crazy driving and the regular meal of spaghetti and chips. Only four of us had been before, for everyone else it was a new experience.

There was a few changes this year thou. We were no longer staying in the city of Xining rather than a training/rehab sports base about half an hours drive from Xining. The rooms there were much nicer but the convience of been in the city center has its perks. The mechanics work area was no longer a private room but a tent outside. They were good to work under when the sun was out but when it rained they did absolutly nothing. I think the second day we were there it rained overnight and everything we had on the ground was wet, and with no sides on the tent the rain just came straight in. That day I had some work to do but there wasn't much I could do with it raining flat out and the riders were'nt about to jump on the bike anyway. So I opted to go with the other staff into the center to get some race food supplies.

The other thing different was the team cars, and I thought they were small the previous years. This year they were a little Skoda, nice little car but very tight for space. When you have to throw spare wheels in there, the riders wet bags and a cooler the car soon filled up pretty quickly. The other thing was we only had two bike racks on the roof and we bought 3 spare bikes, but I solved that by asking if the South African team would take our 3rd bike as I noticed they didn't have one.
Other changes were two new stages, or two stages that they used to do in earlier editions.

The hotels were reasonable as usual, clean bed sheets and running water is all you need for a nights stay. The food is the usual, choices of meats, salads and of course rice, spaghetti and chips. And I stuck to eating mostly rice, spaghetti and chips with occasionly some meat. The new guys tried a bit of everything. You just have to be lucky, everyone reacts differently to some foods but its not so much the type of food but the way its stored or prepared. One day I saw the chef's carrying in a box of meat. The truck it came out of was not a refridgerated one, then they dropped it on the ground, picked up the piece of meat a continued onto the kitchen. But thats their culture and you have to expect that, their also not used to preparing food for 300 people so they do their best.

As for the race, as normal the riders struggled with the alitude for the first couple of days. Only had a few flats to change, two out the window adjustments and one bike change. But the bike change was for a Paraties rider, as we were the only car near him and as he had a broken bike the right thing to do was give him a bike or he ran the chance of not finishing [as I saw on a later stage for one unlucky rider]. The team didn't have any fantastic results there but no-one crashed, they all stayed healthy and they all finished, well except for Matt you fell sick to food poisioning on stage 7 and had to withdrawl.

Then with the tour finished it was time to pack. Eddy gave the bikes a quick wash then everyone [obviously not the riders] chipped in to help pack which made the job done very quickly. Then it was time for the after party which was at this very slap together bar at the sports center, clearly not the same bar as other years which just didn't have the same atmosphere, but the beer was cold.

Then for me everything went shit as I was very sick [same as what Matt had] once I returned to Beijing. I went into the Silk Market for some shopping but had to return early, after much vomiting I spent my time in bed until we left. Once I got home I was just getting over the sickness along with the jet lag. It took me a couple of days to start eating normal again as my insides were completely empty.

So since recovering from China I managed to put a leg over my bike and go for some short rides with the hope of doing some races before the season finishes. I spent a few days checking over wheels and giving bikes a quick service before the busy race schedule ahead starts. With the Cinelli team I have races on every 4 to 6 days until October. Then it will be the time to sell off the team bikes, so for me that means the stripping or swapping of parts. But for now its that time to send out the cv in hope to land a spot on a major team, otherwise as usual in this job I'm not sure what is in store for me in the coming year.

Cheers and ride safe
Funky.

Time to recharge

2009-07-07T19:01:00.002+10:00

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.

Colombia week two

2009-06-25T02:22:00.006+10:00

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

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

Mid race update from Columbia.

2009-06-13T13:09:00.002+10:00

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.

FBD Insurance RAS

2009-06-03T02:19:00.004+10:00

Well I guess its time for another post. Hopefully in a couple of months I will be able to post from the races as I intend to buy a lap top so I can give reports while at the race instead of writing it all when I return home.

Thanks to the people that take the time to leave comments and send me mail. And Hayden, your more than welcome. I will be in China the last two weeks of July returning home some time around the 3rd August, but send me a mail to let me know your plans.

So my last race was the RAS in Ireland with Team Cinelli. I was not planing on doing this race as I would be home two days before going to Columbia and it seemed it would be just too much. But they needed me and I needed the cash. Thou there was a short straw to doing it, and that was of course the drive. I was not the only one thou as Gil and Stefan also had to do it while the riders flew. Three drivers and two vehicles, atleast we could sleep in shifts.
I was at the team house [or the pig pen as I see it, dont get me started.] to pack the truck mid afternoon as we were leaving at 11pm to catch our first ferry in Calais at 2am. Its a short crossing of an hour and a half, just enough time for a quick kip on a lounge if your quick to get one. Once off at Dover we would drive through the wee hours of the morning in aim to beat the mad traffic rush around London and catch the next ferry in Holyhead around 2pm. This crossing is 3 hours so its more than just kip time. I managed to find a vacant lounge chair and get 1 hour of shut eye. Then we were off in Dublin fighting the 5 o'clock rush hour traffic to our hotel for a much needed decent meal and bed.

The next day the 5 riders arrived and the bikes were prepared for a training session, although the weather was typical Ireland, grey and wet. Sven and Nicholas managed to pick a dry spell and go for a quick spin.

Our tour started well with Nick getting up there in the uphill sprint for third and claiming the white jersey. The days racing was wet and cold and it would stay that way until the last day. Stage 2 we lost Logan to a knee problem he was having, so the team was now of four. Stage 3 was quite for us also but the guys were finishing up there in the top 20 and Bert was in 7th on GC.

Stage 3 was also the day Gil put a rider into the fence, funny. We were going through the convoy to do a wheel change for Sven. As it happens, we see him and he see's us, so we quickly slip into the convoy to stop. Gil pulls the car slowly to the left just in front of Sven when we hear this AAHHHH!. Just as I was about to open the door a rider goes thumping along the car, scrapes a thorn bush and parks himself up against a rock fence, then abuses Gil. I know these guys drive on the left, but you dont ride through the convoy on the left cos that what happens. Anyway, he rode on, we apologised and everyone was happy. The last thing we want is a angry Irishmen. Stage 4 was better with Nick taking an impressive stage win on another uphill finish. Bert was also moving up on GC and did alot of work to get Nick into a good position for the win. This guy is a machine.

Stage 5 there was a break up the road, in the closing kilometers it was a 1:30 time gap, Bert goes on the front and within 3k the gap is like down to 30seconds. This set Nick up for stage win number two.

Nick (light blue jersey) following Bert (tall lanky guy) as they motor to the front.

Nick with the second stage win. The stage winner gets the light blue jersey for the next day.

Stage 6 saw Nick on the podium for another 3rd. Its great getting results but for me it means working late. With Nick placing he had doping control, so Stefan would go back to the hotel with the other riders while Gil stays with Nick and I stay with the car [to watch the bikes on the roof]. Then when we finally arrive at the hotel and as I was the only mechanic, I would have to run around and connect water and electricity before I could start washing bikes. But by this stage we were down to 3 riders, Bert suddenly had to withdrawl from the race and be home for personal reasons. But the guys battled on to the end and we left with some great results thanks to great teamwork.

Then it was time for the all night drive home after the final stage. After dropping off the riders at their hotel and some more of the same dinner, our ferry out of Dublin was at 9pm. This time we booked a cabin and slept a good part of the 3 hour crossing in a decent bed followed by a quick wake up shower. Then from midnight it was non stop all through the night. I drove all the way across England while Gil and Stefan swapped the driving, then I got to sleep once off at Calais sleeping all the way back to Booischot. The back seat of the truck makes not a bad sleeper.

For me it was a good tour and I'm glad I got to do it. The hotels were great, the food was great [although a bit repedative, I got tired of english breakfast everyday] and our longest transfer was 45kms with most of the hotels not far from the finish each day. I had 5 flats but only got out of the car once thanks to the neutral service. But we did cop a fine for some out the window brake adjustments [pushing] early in the race when Peter was in a small crash.

So my trip to Columbia thankfully was put back a week, so I have had some rest the past week to spend some time at home (with Lindsay, who also had a long weekend this weekend, and the most perfect weather ever!), but I leave for Columbia tomorrow so I'll write when I'm back.

Ride safe
Funky

Back to Spain.

2009-05-06T01:17:00.006+10:00

Man I've been so busy I dont even know what day it is. Since my last trip to Spain alot has gone on with friends visiting, father inlaw visiting, races on, and a stack of numerous appiontments here and there.

I have just returned from another week in Spain but before all that I had alot of other stuff going on. I was back doing some races for the Cinelli team which was the Denain race. After seeing our friends Luke and Sarah off on the Monday, Tuesday I had to myself and then Wednesday I was at the Booischot house cleaning and fixing wheels from Drenthe before leaving to Denain. Once at the hotel for the race, there was more work to be done with bikes to check over and a new bike for Vdb to be built as well as one for Bert. There was two guys from Cinelli so it was important the bikes looked good [like fresh bar tape fitted, white looks crap when its dirty]and all in order. Dinner that night was about 9pm for about 15 minutes then it was back on the tools to finish up an hour or so later. As for the race, not much happened that I can remember. Then I also did the Duren [Germany] race with the team a few days later, but this time I gave the car role over to Wim and I did the feedzone. It was just one of those days where I wasn't up to sitting in a car, plus I did the race the previous two years.

Monday had come around again already and Lindsay's Dad was arriving for a two week visit. He had to tag along the first week as Linds and I had arranged appointments. I had set myself up as a freelance mechanic but now it was time to make it official, so we had appointments with the local doctor, the tax man, then had to go to the town hall for some letter I needed to take with me to the chamber of commerce to register as a indpendant [freelancer], then i was able to finally open a business bank account. All this took two days, and on top off all that I had driving lessons [for a dutch licence], and I was running around getting a few things for my next trip. Then I was off to Spain with Rock Racing again. I went over to Geraardsbergen to stay the night at a BnB just down the road from Rudy's as I was picking up Willy and Wilfred at 6am. This is the third time I've driven across France in like a month, Im getting to know the road well now.

We arrived in Oyon-oion at our hotel around 7pm, after a good 13 hours of driving in a car that was packed to the limits of bags, my tools and bidons. We had even filled up the spare tyre compartment with bidons. We were hungry but couldn't sit down to eat until 9, the door to the resturant was locked until then, thats Spain.
I was here for a one day race called Vuelta a la Rioja. Jose arrived with the truck mid morning, so then it was time to prepare some bikes. Race day was a shocker, that rain that just drizzels all day. Not fun to work in when your loading and unloading the car. As for the race it wasn't too bad with Oscar in the main move but just starting his sprint a little too far back and came in 4th. David Vitoria also finished well in 6th I think. Then it was time to leave the finish in Logrono and head up and along the coast 450km to Gijon for the Vuelta Asturias tour. David [soigneur, there's too many David's on this team] and I arrived just in time for dinner around 9, so it was eat and then off to bed.

I had a day to prepare the bikes that had to be all washed from Rioja still, then some needed new cables and I gave them all new chains, so it turned out to be a full days work. The tour started well for us with Chady in a two man break and winning the stage by around 3 minutes, this gap would eventually fall as the big climbs were to come.

Nice location for cleaning the bikes after stage 1!

But it was a great start for the team, and then Oscar gets in a break and wins stage two beating Olympic champion Sanchez in the sprint. Chady was left to defend for himself, and although we lost yellow the cards were looking good.

Stage 3a was a short mornings road stage that was another day of that light rain all day. After mornings stage Jose cleaned the road bikes while I made ready the TT bikes. Jose worked in the rain where as I managed to find just enough space in the back of the truck, but then I had to load all the road bikes onto the cars so I ended up wet anyway. By the end of the day Chady had lost some time but was still in 2nd place. It was still good for us as we had Oscar and Paco [Mancebo] also in the top 10, the only team with more than one rider to do so. Stage 4 was the best stage, the tatics by Laurenzo worked out perfectly. After a few early attacks Paco and Tanner made the correct break, Tanner was to drive that break as hard and as long as he could which he did. The first climb was a steep one and Tanner's job was done, the gap was set and it was now up to the yellow jersey team to bring it back. But the break was too strong and the leaders team not strong enough. Paco was now the new leader on the road with only two guys he had to watch, but Paco was strong and has the experince from the big tours so he rode smart and won the stage as well as yellow.

Some of the nice hills the guys rode up...

The last stage we had to defend the jersey. The team had control until the first climb which was a cat 3. The attacks were coming from everywhere and a split on the climb had formed. My job as mechanic in the car is also to record the numbers in the break and quickly point out any rider that is of danger, in this case it was Sanchez. He was still down a little on time but we did not have our full team at the front. Only Oscar, Paco and a very clever Freddy were there to cover the attacks. But this team is strong. Laurenzo ordered the others to get it together and chase, they made a mistake and now they had to work harder than ever to make it right. So after the climb Chady [getting tired], Tanner [sick], Kemps [first race since TDU], Pena [just a driver anyway] and Velasco got on the front and they chased and chased. Velasco had flatted in all the confusion but they made it back and regained control of the race til the last moment. Even Kemps was seen at the back struggling but did another 20k on the front when asked to do so. Tanner and Velasco still finished after been told they could take the broom wagon, no, 30mins down but they finished. The team was strong and deserved the win.

Paco and his Yellow.

We had another one day race before heading back, but it was an easy day. If they felt ok and were in the move then they could go for it, but it was a mountian top finish and most guys were tired. Paco, Oscar, Pena and Vitoria were the ones to finish. At the top I had a quick chat to Simon Clarke who seemed to be enjoying been based more in Europe now. He said he was in Spain with not his best form but he still rode well, especially on the decents rejoing the peloton 3 times.

It's a long way from Glenvale on a Sunday morning. Keep at it all you youngsters, this may be you in a few years.

Then it was back to the hotel where we would very quickly pack everything and start the trip back. From the hotel in Gijon it was 300 or so to Valladolid airport to drop off Chady and Laurenzo, then Damien and I drove another 600 something to Bordauex so he could catch his 1am train. But a funny story is that we stopped at this random petrol station, Damien took a wiz around the back and saw the camper [which Willy and Wilfred were driving back] parked there. With all the stations along the way, we stopped at the same one Willy and Wilfred had stopped at to sleep for the night. So we played a trick and gaffa taped up the doors, just enough for them to say "What the f$#@" when they got up for breakfast. Then we drove on making Damien's train with 15 minutes to spare. I drove for about another hour before finding a hotel at 2am. Thats another trip done.
Next Im off to Ireland for the RAS with Cinelli.

Stay cool,
Funky

A month flat out

2009-04-20T15:02:00.002+10:00

My season now is starting to look busy and finding time to sit down and do a post might become hard, but hopefully that won't happen. As you can tell by the last post Linz did, I was a little all over the place, which made going to Spain a break from all the back and forth, as its a solid 3 weeks away.

I had not been to Spain before so I was looking forward to it and to working with the Rock Racing guys again. It was kind of a step up for me to be working with Rudy Pevenage, the man behind Jan Ullrich's TdF win and the 1,2,3 T-Mobile victory at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. Also I would be working with Laurenzo La Page, a guy that was once a good 6 day rider but once retired, he became a director under the wing of Johan Bruynel at the US Postal squad. So I felt I was with some talented people.

I first had to get myself to a place the other side of Brussels [160kms away] where I would meet the other staff, soigneurs Willy and Wilfred and more so the other mechanic who was driving the truck. The truck we had was an old one but it was fitted out really well. It had a decent size area for the bikes and a very organised soigneur section in the front, like most trucks are. I was to drive a camper which was a borrowed one from a small team. Marcel was the other mechanic, a guy with 20 years experince that has done every job in cycling. He was once the mechanic for the super team of the late 80's and early 90's, PDM, my favorite team as a teenager.

I also must mention that 3 days before leaving the team had nothing, no truck, no camper, no team car and no TT bikes not even bidons, Rudy and Laurenzo got things together very quickly. So there was a few things to pack before the trip started but then 1600kms later we arrived in Palencia. Yeah the driving part sucks about this job as everyone else gets to fly. But we had a day and a half to unwind and get things ready. Later that day I met the other soignuers, David, a spainard and Damien, a French American guy.

My first day of Vuelta Castilla y Leon was spent not in the car but at the hotel preparing TT bikes, so an easy first race day. I even got time to watch some of the race on local TV and saw the crash that put Armstrong out of the tour. Then it was TT day, which I hate as its alot of work for such a short race. So many bikes to make ready but then there is alot of waiting around for your last rider to finish which in this case was second last. David Vitoria had just missed out on the stage win the day before, so he was in green and rode off second last.

Then it was my turn in the car as we were changing hotels so Marcel had to drive the truck. The team car is an Audi A6, so its much bigger than the little Fiat I am used to in Belgium. I have more leg room and the window goes all the way down, so no bruising of the ribs when I'm hanging out the window adjusting gears. Thou I still did come away from that race with sore ribs as I normally have the cooler in the back behind me, but the rear seats in the Audi are a little high for reaching to the bottom of the cooler for bidons. So the following day I sat it on the seat beside me until my ribs had healed. Other than that its a nice car to work in.

So the first week in Spain was good, the sun was shining, the hotels were nice, the food was good and most days I was up at 7 and finished work at 9 as the transfers weren't that long [when there were transfers]. But I did learn that when the Spanish say breakfast at 7:30, they mean 7:30 and not a second before. So you couldn't really eat until 7:45 in the end as nothing would be ready. The guys rode well and they finished the tour with 3 in the top 30 on GC with Valverde taking another stage win and Leipheimer, Contador and Zabriskie filling the Podium.

At the finish of that tour we stayed in Valladolid the night before making the trip to Bilboa to another hotel for a single day 1.1 race called Gran Premio Llodio. David and I went up in the camper and when we arrived we had trouble finding the hotel which was a new hotel. It was so new they didn't even have signage on it yet, and in the lobby there wasn't even furniture. We were the first people to stay there apparently as it had just opened.

The weather in this part of Spain was much different to what we had earlier in the week, it was a wet days racing. I spent the first half of the race in the car then Marcel jumped in for the last half while I set up a wash area at the truck to clean up the bikes as the guys came back. It wasn't much of a wash, just a bucket of soapy water and a bucket of clean water to rinse them off. Not much you can do when you can't plug a hose in, but atleast the riders went home with cleaner bikes. After Oscar been in the break for most of the day it came to a bunch sprint where Victor came in 6th, so not a bad day.

This is where Marcel left us as he had to be off to South Africa with the Belgian mtb team and wanted to spend some time at home beforehand. So from here I would be working with Jose, a Spanish guy that doesn't speak english and I dont speak spanish, mmm.

Salamanca was our next hotel stop. On the outskirts of town there was this motorway hotel that was very spanish. In the main bar there was what I believe to be family photos of Matadors and the head of a bull mounted to the wall and elderly people sitting around playing cards, it was a seedy place but great to experince.
From there I was off to Portugal for the 2.1 ranked Volta ao Alentejo em Bicicleta. After meeting Jose the night before we were up early and making our way. Willy and Wilfred had left just before us but somehow ended up doing an extra 150kms and arrived at the hotel sometime after us. They had GPS where as Jose just used an old fashion map, ya can't go wrong with a good map.

Again we had a free day to prepare stuff and would stay in the same hotel for 4 days then in the next one for 2. Its much easier when your at a tour like that, but the downside can be transfers. Some days we had 40km but other days it was 130km.
The tour started well for us with Chady making the break but just missing out on the win. It put us in a good position and it was good to be in a winning position. The guys rode the tour well getting some top 10 stage results and a final GC result of 5 riders in the top 20. Portugal itself was nice too, the weather was good and the landscape was simlar to Australia with gum trees, no Koala's thou.

The Portugese coast

Directly after the last stage finished it was time to pack up and make the long 2300km trip home. I left the race at 4pm and covered a nice 760km before stopping for the night at 1am, I had stopped earlier but the two hotels were closed so I had to drive on. The next day I was back on the road at 9 and made the 1200km back to Eersel by 10pm, just to give you an idea of the driving involved in this job.

One guy missing from the races here was Tyler. I was saddened to hear of his recent troubles, and as we all now know tested positive to a drug he was taking for his depression. Some might say its an excuse, call it what you will but I know the illness is real and should not be treated lightly. It's gotta be hard how things off the bike can impact so much on the bike. Depression is a very serious illness, just like Cancer. I urge you all to give your support to anyone suffering depression, as support is what they need the most. I wish Tyler all the best in his battle, and know that if he puts in as much in this battle as he did on the bike, he'll only come out stronger.

I had one quiet day but then was back at the Cinelli teamhouse cleaning and sorting out wheels. Then I was taking the weekend off as Linz and I were having friends arrive for Easter. Luke and Sarah came over from Dubai to see some of Europe. It was great to see them and it was great to ride with my old training buddy from back home once more. I took Lukey on some real Belgian roads and cobbles around one of my favorite areas near Booischot while the girls did some shopping in Leuven. The next day Luke and I were back on the bike but in the forrest this time. Then we went to see the team race in Aarschot, I wasn't really working that race but they got an idea of what I do. So I hope they enjoyed their stay and liked the lifestyle Linz and I have here.

Thats about it, I've taken a while to do this post, firstly because Spain was a long trip and then I have been at races with Cinelli since returning. So maybe the next one wont be so long.

Cheers and ride safe
Funky

No time to be sick

2009-03-23T05:44:00.008+11:00

(by Linds)

The last post was put up in such a hurry the ending had to be re-written to coincide with the change of schedule for Mark.

The last month has hit Mark like a big double-decker bus, going from next to nothing for over 12 months, to doing the last 12 months work in 1 month! As you know, the team managed by Gil De Weert and Rudi Dubois was going ahead this year as an Australian-registered, Belgian-absed, Continental team under the name Fuga-Down Under. The team would be 10 or so guys, mainly Aussies, with a few others. A week before the guys started arriving, news broke that the Cinelli team, to be managed by Nico Mattan, wasn't going to get a racing licence. So, with Fuga-Down Under open for new sponsors, and Cinelli wanting to sponsor, the two setups merged. Within a week, the team became Cinelli-Down Under, and included the addition of a few high rated Belgian riders. And then for Mark, it all began.

The first bikes arrived on Sunday, the first race was the following Saturday. At the same time, the first guys were arriving. Luckily the first ones (Matt and Tom) bought their own bike with them, so Mark could concentrate on getting ready the bikes for the guys who had just arrived or were arriving in the next few days who needed a bike to ride. To keep a long story short, yet to give you an overview of what it is like as a mechanic with regards to work hour, here is a list of the work Mark has done in the past month:

Feb 23 - Built bikes for Nick, Daniel and Wade 7a - 9p
Feb 24 - Built bikes for Chris, Matt, Tom and Sven 8a - 10p
Feb 25 - Built bikes for Tommy, Nicholas, Michael; Fitted tyres to FSA wheels 8a - 7p

Mar 1 - RACE - Beverbeek Classic
Mar 2 - Cleaned wheels, completed bike for Tommy 1p - 10p
Mar 3 - Worked on bikes 8a - 5p
Mar 4 - RACE - GP Samyn; completed Michael's bike until 1am
Mar 5 - Drove to team presentation and race hotel
Mar 6, 7, 8 - RACE - 3 days West Flanders

Mar 9 - Washed bikes and wheels, completed Nicholas's bike 9a - 5p
Mar 10 - Fitted out truck 9a - 5p
Mar 11 - RACE - Wanzele
Mar 12 - Washed wheels and worked on truck 1p - 5p
Mar 13 - Team training in Waregem 7a - 11p

Mar 14 - Washed truck and fitted racks in rear 12p - 5p
Mar 15 - RACE - Lokeren-Stekene / Kemzeke
Mar 16 - Washed wheels and trued all wheels 1p - 5p
Mar 17 - Drove to race hotel, made bikes ready for race
Mar 18 - RACE - Nokere
Mar 19 - Washed wheels and organised materials for Montenegro/Belgium, and packed for Spain 10a - 5p

You'll note that March 19 there are 3 destinations listed: Montenegro, Belgium and Spain. This week, Cinelli-Down Under is racing both at the Tour of Montenegro, and at a few Belgian races. At the same time as this, Mark is in Spain, doing some work with Rock Racing. Yup.

Rudy Pevenage called about 3 weeks ago asking Mark to do 2 weeks in Spain with Rock. At the time the Montenegro/Belgium double wasn't on the calendar for Cinelli, so Mark was free to go. After some confusion about whether he was going or not, the travel details came in at the last minute on monday (16th). He had to leave on Friday (20th).

Put into this mix that he woke up sick on wednesday (18th), so sick he had to get out of the race car after 40 km otherwise he'd through up all over Nico, and spent the rest of the race sleeping in the truck. He made it home really late that night, but when I woke up on thursday he looked like he'd been hit by a bus. Seriously. He had one of those flu's that just knock you off your feet. He wasn't getting out of bed too quickly on thursday.

Luckily for him, my boss is super flexible on days-off at the last minute, and Nick was happy to ride somewhere different for a change of scenery. The original plan was for Mark to get organised for Spain on thursday morning, then go to the teamhouse thursday afternoon in the truck to arrange what was going to Montenegro and what was to stay for the Belgian races. He'd stay there that night (on the couch, all the beds are taken now), and get one of the guys to drive him over to Ninove to meet Rudi P on Friday morning. That went out the window pretty quickly thursday morning. I called Nick and he jumped at the chance to ride a different road than normal. He came across that afternoon to pick up the truck to take it back to the teamhouse, after helping Mark get all his tools out. 2 tasks done.

When I got home that night Mark was at least out of bed. He had to leave the organisation of the Cinelli gear to Eddy. But in the end we got to Ninove on time and didn't forget anything.

So now he's in Spain at Castilla y Leon. Plus a few other races down there next week.

Till then,
Linds

A Busy Start.

2009-03-16T19:19:00.006+11:00

Sorry if it has been a little long since my last post but I have been so so busy, I have barely been home let alone had the time to sit down and do a post. The teams racing is well under way now, and the Cinelli Down-Under team had its first race on the 1st of March with a race not far from where I live called the Beverbeek Classic. Lindz and I drove the short 20km to the race where we met up with the team that had already arrived, I just didn't know it because they were hard to pick without a truck. The team still has alot of things to get done before we start looking like a team, but having one team car with Cinelli on it was all that could be done before this first race. It was strange not working from the back of a truck, and for my first race for a while I felt a little lost at some points. I soon found my rythym and got everything done with time to spare.

The next day I would ride to the house with the plan to spend a few nights there instead of traveling back and forth. Tommy was arriving in which I had to go pick him up at the airport then get his bike finished for him to ride. Tuesday was more work and later that day my new mechanics truck arrived, Gil and Rudi purchased a brand new Peugeot dual cab truck to transport the bikes. I didn't really get to look closely at it as I was busy with other things, then I was going home to spend the night and grab more clothes for the next few days as I would be away longer than I first thought. Wednesday was our second race, G.P. Samyn. The truck had no fittings yet so the bikes and wheels were wrapped in blankets and carefully placed in the truck so they wouldn't move around too much. To drive the truck was nice, its smooth, quiet and comfortable, a big improvement on the previous truck. But it has no stereo, something that has to be sorted out soon. After I got back from the race, it was no rest for me. Michael had just arrived so I was up til 1am completing his bike before going away to the 3 Days of West Flanders the following day.

The team had its presentation at the Hotel Cathedral in Tournai on the Thursday and from there I would stay for the next 3 days. I was given some team apparel to start off, some jeans, a polo shirt and a white jumper. I knew if I had to wear mine working it wasn't going to stay white long. I had some old Fuga stuff to wear but some photos [from a previous race] had got back to Italy and someone there wasn't happy that a couple of us were not in the Cinelli clothing, and fair enough too. But now my nice new white jumper is ruined with grease stains all over it, so I'm going to leave my nice jeans and one shirt for the dinner table. Later I was also given some pants, a vest and a winter jacket, all of which are black so perfect for working in. The 3 days were tough and I almost forgotten what it was like. Up at 6:30 to have breakfast [if it was ready] and in the car all day then worked in the cold until about 9, then had dinner before back on the tools for some final work and going off to bed around 11:30, you can do the math but thats a long day.

After returning from West Flanders I stayed at the teamhouse the night as the next day Nick Walker arrived and I had to complete his bike, then I was off home to see Lindz. But there wouldn't be much rest as a free day would be spent on the truck fitting it with some racks before the next days race. So right now I'm in that routine where I do a race one day, then at home for a day to wash the wheels and truck before going to another race the following day. Its the day on day off roster, except for me its only a half day off. Its a busy time now as we are still getting everything together, bikes had to be built and the truck has to be fitted. But things are starting to slow down a little as it all comes together. Soon I will have another round of spare bikes to build and wheels to make ready as the rest of it starts to arrive. Its so much easier when this all happens in the off season, but this team did come together very late than normal.

The team has some big races coming up and a tour in Montenegro [hope I have enough wheels], so until next time, which I will try to post sooner if Im not too busy. Check the photo album for photos from the last couple of weeks work. They include the Beverbeek Classic, a training ride in west-flanders, and the three days of west-flanders. Sorry for no captions, I have just been too busy. I was looking forward to a few days off, but tomorrow I head to Spain for a few races down there over the next two weeks...

Cheers
Funky.
And thanks to the people that take the time to write a reply or send me a mail, much appreciate your support.

Building team bikes.

2009-02-26T19:50:00.006+11:00

Well as I have said the team is rolling ahead under the name Cinelli-Down Under and our first race is this weekend. Again there is a good mix on the team with nationalities as well as new and old riders. Coming back this year from Australia is Nick, Chris and Michael along with Matt and Tom from the UK and Sven and Peter from Belgium. The new guys we have from Belgium are Jerome Baugnies, Bert Roesems and of course Frank Vandenbroucke [also two more I think]. We have another Kiwi on the team in Logan Hutchings and from the States we have Wade Wolvenbarger. New on the team from Oz is Daniel Furmston, Mark Jamison, Nick Walker and fellow CCCC blogger Tommy Nankervis. So I think the team is strong this season and we should do well in the races we aim at which will be led by Belgian star DS Nico Mattan.

So now the bikes which are the top line Cinelli Best Of model. I have spent the first part of the week at the teamhouse just going flat out on the bikes. Lindsay took me over to the house Sunday night where all the equitment was there ready to go. My tidy workshop was now full of boxes. This year we are using Sram so that was exciting. In the shop you work on new and different stuff all the time but when your on a team you can work on the same equitment for number of years. Im not one of these mechanics that go crazy over tech thou, for me to like anything it has to be functional. I dont jump up and down if its got carbon this and titanium that, but for a team mechanic you have to work with what your given and its a bonus for me if its user friendly because you are working on it so much. So its good to have new stuff to work on but I hold my breath until I am actually working on it. I only had a quick look over the new equitment that night as the workshop is cold with no heating. The finish on the frame was very good, which is what I would expect for a bike from Italy. The frame joins are nice and smooth, the bracket and headtube are well finished and the paint is of high quality. One nice touch on the Best Of frame is that it has cable giudes that slide onto a sleeve that is rivoted on, so when the guide is on it hides the rivots which leaves a nice clean finish. There was some concerns about the seatpost arrangements whether the guys would get them high enough as the Best Of has a intergrated seat mast and uses a mini seatpost that works like an old quill stem, but the seat tubes on the frames were longer than I first thought so it was no problem at all. All round the Cinelli was looking good. I also took a quick look at the other things we had like the Red group which I have seen before and the FSA wheels, brakes and cranks we will be using. All of it looks good but we'll see how it all comes together.
Monday morning I was up early to get started and the first thing to do was sort out my work area, this is something I am particular about as everything has to have a place. I set out the boxes like an assembly line and as I build the bike I just take what I need from each box, you have to have a efficent system to work quickly.
Matt and Tom were first at the house but they had their own bikes there so their new bikes would come later. Nick had already been there 3 days without a bike so his was the first to be done. I build the bikes to a sit position which is the first phase. This is so they can sit on the bike and get a rough idea of how they want their bars and hoods set before the cables go on. Then I connect all the cables, tune the gears and brakes and then work with the rider doing the seat adjustment to complete the build.
To start the bike I install the fork after filing down the notches on the dropouts, this is for quicker wheel changes. Then its onto the bracket which the Cinelli frame comes with the new press fit BB30 bottom bracket, something I had never worked with before. A good read of the instructions can always be useful when working with new things. Once the first one was done and the right technique for installing the bearings sorted the other bikes were easy, but it was good to have my Park Tools bearing press otherwise it would have been a mission. Some of the FSA K-Force cranks were tight and some went in with a little more ease, but I will see how they go. The cranks are susposed to be some of the stiffest cranks on the market. The Sram Red goes together really well and works first time with just small derailleur adjustments. The only thing I found was the fixing bolt for the levers is in a awkard spot when mounting to the bars. With Nick's bar position set it was time to cut the steerer, connect up all the cables and then cut the seat tube. I was a little nervous about this thou, get it wrong and it could be a costly mistake but it seemed straight forward. First I measured the height and compared that to where his seat needed to be, then just cut the difference off the seat mast plus a tad more incase he needs it to go down a fraction. I installed the post with a 5mmm spacer and it turned out to be perfect. The post has about 30mm of adjustment in it but the idea is to use as less spacers as possible so more of the post sits in the frame. But its good to know if you cut the mast 10mm too much then you have room to move unless your measurements are way out, then you could have problems.
Then it was onto Wade's bike but his was a different model, a frame from last year that uses a standard post. Daniel was arriving that night and Chris was arriving the next morning so their bikes were next on the stand. By Tuesday afternoon I was on roll and onto Matt and Tom's and then finished off that night with Sven's. Wednesday I completed the first phase of the other guys bikes that haven't arrived yet. Jean Marrie is taking care of the other bikes because they all live over in Flanders near him, Belgium is not a big country but it takes a long time to go 150kms.
Wednesday the boys were on a group training session with Nico, so it was quiet at the house working with just Chris there recovering from jet lag and Sven dropping by to do his adjustments. We only have some of the FSA wheels but later that night Gil turned up with some Schwalbe Ultremo rubber, so I qucikly fitted those to get the wheels we have ready. Then the boys came back from their Flanders ride and there was some adjustments to be done has expected.
So 3 days, 7 complete bikes, 4 semi built bikes and 10 pairs of wheels ready to go, and Im stuffed. Its being too longer off season and I must be a little out of condition or something, but I will soon get int the swing of things as I look forward to the season ahead.

Cheers
Funky

Cycling as a junior.

2009-02-18T03:24:00.005+11:00

Time for an update on the team situation but i first want to reply to a comment Graham left me about the junior riders which inspired me to write this quick story of what it was like for me when i was a junior.

When I started cycling back in 1983 there was no where near the choice what kids have these days. I had two older brothers that raced, so up until I was about 17 it was hand me downs. Although my first bike was bought for me as everything my brothers had was too big. It was a red Record road frame that I would use as a track and road bike for my first few years. The road conversion didn't consist of much for a sub juvenile rider then, it was more of just adding a rear brake and a freewheel instead of a fixed gear, which is what my friend Steve rode with for a number of years. But as the years went on I enjoyed my cycling, I trained hard on the roads around Warrnambool and was getting some results. With this came better stuff and by the time I was in the Juvenile [U15] ranks I had a 5 speed cluster with a rear derailleur along with front and rear brakes, a proper looking road bike. It was around this time my friend Steve and I were busting to ride the senior ranks with our local clubs Sunday racing. I thought if I could prove myself there I should one day deserve a better bike.
By the time I hit the juvenile 1 [U17] ranks I had being handed down first my brother Peter's yellow Daccordi frame as he was on a new bike before heading to Belgium to race. It was a massive upgrade with its Columbus areo tubing but I was still using my old mix match/left over parts groupset that consisted of Dia-Compe brakes with the cables out the top, hidden cables were the new big thing then. The bike turned out to be a touch big so I then got my other brothers bike. Chris had purchased a PDM Concorde through working at Hillmans, so I was handed his red Daccordi. But I was growing quick and it was already a tad on the small side but would get me through the season. I did though get a upgrade of groupset with this bike from the Dia-Compe to the very common and must have Campagnolo, it was the stuff for racers.
By the start of the 90's I was in the junior [U19] ranks and the hand me downs was ending as I was able to buy my own bike. I was a high school drop out [something I wouldn't encourage kids to do] and had been working fulltime since the age of 16, so after the first 12 months it was time to buy my own custom built bike. I even was able to start buying my own cycling kits like PDM, Tulip and Panasonic. Chris sized me up and we made the trip to Hillmans to order my frame built from the latest Columbus tubing. Back then I handed over 800 hard earned big ones just for the frame. It was about that price again when I purchased the top of the line Suntour Superb Pro groupset. Now this was a groupset way above everything else at the time, and just before Shimano had released STI which there was no way I could afford.
In 1993 I made the move to Melbourne, rode for 12 months racing A grade with the Northern clubs then gave it away to race mountain bikes for 2 years. Then I got into fast cars and gave the sport away for about 2 years. But I soon missed it and wanted to get back into it but all I had was the mountain bike, so I saved up and started all over again.
I started with a Cro-mo Viner frame, purchased a mix of bits and pieces and trained on that for over 6 months until I got my fitness back. Once I started racing It wasn't long before I purchased another bike in the way of an alloy Norco with 105, I now had STI. This was the bike I pretty much stuck with racing in C grade with CCCC and eventually raced my way up to A grade where I then rewarded myself with a De Rosa purchased from a friend. My first carbon bike wouldn't come until I had the offer to ride for O'Mara cycles where we were given a deal to purchase a Alex C1 frame with the new 10 speed Dura-Ace. Finally a bike that was of high spec, but most importantly one that I had worked for and earned.

So i think it is important for kids to learn how to achieve what they want. I dont agree with juniors riding carbon bikes specd with top end componets at say C grade level. Some kids may have all the good stuff and some don't, sometimes you have to make do with what your given or allowed to have. It is more that the kids learn how to achieve those items by working hard at their goals, and most importantly they should just enjoy cycling for what the sport gives them at a basic level. They will enjoy the Dura-Ace or Record much more when they know they have deserved it. Spend only what you need to for the level you are at and as you progress you can reward yourself with a new frame or faster wheels, whatever it may be. As much as its important to buy only what you need you have to reward yourself when you achieve set goals as it will give you that drive to do better each time your on the bike. But then you have the people where money is no object and what I have just said is ignored.

Good to hear Callum went OS and Im sure he enjoyed his time there. Its also good to read Grace doing well, you may well have a champion in the making there Graham. Keep up the good work with the kids and I hope what I've wrote will be of interest.

So now on the work front. In January I signed a deal with a proposed Pro Continental team but it all went sour and I am now sorting out the mess with Sporza Belgium. At this time the Fuga-Down Under team was going ahead with no title sponsor except that of the Fuga bike brand. But just recently a new sponsor has come in and the team will now be called Cinelli-Down Under as the bike and componets manufacture came in as title sponsor after their previous team management didn't get the team off the ground. We use the name Down Under as the team is Australian registered [we dont have a second title sponsor and with this name it promotes Australian cycling] and it is what the team was called when Gil first started out. The team has already had alot of coverage in Belgium papers with the signing of Frank Vandenbroucke, so Australia is in the news here and Aussie talent in the spotlight. We will have 5 of the guys return from last season as well as 4 new Aussies on the team along with a number of good Belgians. So it should be a strong team and the program looks good so far with it being close to the program the DFL team did in 2007.

So has the teamhouse starts to fill up this week, stay tuned for more stories and photos from this new team I will be working with.

Cheers
Funky

A Mechanics bike.

2009-02-03T19:16:00.020+11:00

After a couple of years of riding spare team bikes it was time I got my own. I decided to do this because at the end of every season the bikes are sold off, and I have been left without a road bike each winter. Normally you could not ride your road bike here in winter as the roads are too dangerous to ride on because they can be very slippery when the tempatures have been below zero. But then there are some winter days when its a clear blue sky, the sun is shining and the roads are dry, its just very cold.

So i thought it was time to buy my own so I had a bike all year round. My budget wasn't big and you have to be realistic, buy what you can afford and the purpose you intend to use it. By this i mean, no point buying something top end if your not racing alot unless you have the money, then go for it. For me I plan on not racing too much this year as I hope to be too busy working, so I opted for something mid range that I could afford.
The frame is a Fuga [of course] alloy CRG [Custom Race Geometry] that was originaly a proto type frame. Lucky for me it was built to my specs and would more than do the job. It has a 55cm top tube [horizontal] and a 53cm [c-t] seat tube with an angle of 73.5 and a head angle of 73 with the head tube measuring 15cm. So its a standard sort of measurement for a race bike and suits me perfect. Now your proberly wondering why Im not running Dura-Ace. I wanted the new Dura-Ace but just couldn't afford it, so i thought maybe the 7800 will do. But this is when the being real comes in. I dont plan on racing much so the Ultegra SL is fine and I saved myself 300 euros, plus it has the same mechanics as the 7800 Dura-Ace anyway.

The frame has some radical shaped tubing to give it extra stiffness, along with the reminder that its from Belgium.

The curved top tube that is round at the seat junction and then forms a oval shape at the head tube junction. The signature is of ex pro Brian Holm, founder of the name Fuga [which is Italian for attack].

Cables have to be cut the right length, too long and they look ugly, too short and they wont function properly. As you see I like to have my shift cables so they just almost touch, which has to be in the center of the stem. Make sure thou you have your bars and brake hoods all set first. My brakes I run the so called euro stlye, right rear left front. It all has to do with the side of the road we drive on and hand signals, but for me its the way the calipers are designed for the cable to run the smoothest way. And also if your in a crit for example and your on the limit, when your fatigued and need to up shift the rear, with Shimano you can sometimes grab a little brake as well. So if your front brake is on the right, well you can get the idea.
Here the front brake cable is cut the correct length, no sharp bends in the cable means less cable drag.

Its the same on the rear, no big bends so it flows nicely into the caliper.

It can be hard to find a good handlebar, but Im a big fan of the Bontrager stuff. Here i use their Race Lite VR bar which have a nice shaped drop and are flat on top for a good transition from bar to hoods. I always set up the bars so the flat section of the drop is at the same angle as the head tube, then adjust the brake hoods so they are flat across the top from the bars. They should be high enough so they relax the upper body. If they are too low they will take the wieght of your upper body giving you sore shoulders, arms and hands. My stem is at the lowest which makes the front end stiffer and a lower profile for racing. This can only be done if you are flexible enough in the back. My bar hieght is 89cm from the ground and i have ran the bars that hieght for a number of years now, but the length can also effect your back. I use a 120 Race Lite stem, but I can only use a 120 if my top tube measures 55cm across. My saddle is 6cm behind the center of the bracket which gives me a reach of 55cm [tip of seat to center of bars]. My set up is forward a bit more than most as thats how i like it, its a comfortable position when racing hard as you tend to move forward on the bike anyway.

My cranks are 172.5 which is a change for me as I used to use 170, but this was because Lindsay uses 172.5 and she will eventually get the groupset. I still use the old Dura-Ace pedals and have had these ones for like 4 years now, they are the best pedal but I will one day upgrade to the current version. The cassette on the back is a 11-23 but here i like to use sometimes a 11-21, the 18 can be sometimes just the gear you need when it goes slightly upwards.

Here is the bike in race mode, although the carbons can be a little too stiff for some races here and I prefer a shallow alloy rim thats a tubular, because if its wet you can use lower preasure without pinch flatting.

Bike Specs:
Frame: Fuga CRG 53cm [alloy with carbon rear seat stays].
Fork: Fuga carbon with alloy steerer.
Bars: Bontrager Race Lite VR 42cm
Stem: Bontrager Race Lite 120mm, 7 degree.
Seatpost: Ritchey [a Bontrager Race X Lite ACC is on order, those post are the best]
Saddle: San Marco Era.
Cranks: Ultegra SL 172.5, 53x39.
Derailleurs: Ultegra SL.
Brakes: Ultegra SL.
Shifters: Ultegra SL.
Wheels: Mavic Aksium Race, but i might get some Bontrager classics, great training wheels and are cheaper than building a set. Race wheels are not a piroity at this moment.
Bidon cages: Bontrager Race Lite.
Bar tape: Bontrager Gel.

So thats my bike up close, its nothing over the top but suits my needs. As you can see Im a big fan of Bontrager componets as throughout the range everything is engineered and designed well and have something to suit everyone. The bike weight is just on 8kg, which you could get much lighter with top end componets all round. But i dont have the money or the need to warrant something high end right now, maybe next year.

Cheers
Funky

Lindsay rugs up for a cold day in the saddle. The first sunny day 'warm' enough for a ride for quite some time.

I take the bike out for its first ride. Thanks for the kit Wezman.

One of the many bike paths you can ride on here. I did a loop of 94km last week and 80% of it was on paths through the forest, you just need a bell.

Or I sometimes find nice little back roads like this one on a training route.

This is the Dagje Strand ("Day Beach") in Brabant, which is basicly the closest thing to a beach. They have them all over this part of Netherlands. It is only about 10mins from our house and although it looks quiet now it will be full of people come summer time.