Fayetteville Stage Race

The Fayetteville Stage Race has been my nemesis. It consist of a road stage on Saturday morning, a short rolling TT Saturday afternoon and then another road race Sunday morning. It should be a good race for me since I TT well but it has always had my number. The first year I did it I had a bad TT on the short rolling course and then broke a spoke on the 3rd stage and DNF. I missed the following year and then last year the Saturday road race was epic. It started out fogging and in the upper 50s/low 60s about a quarter of the way through I double flatted and was chasing after that. Then a cold front hit and the winds picked up, it started raining and hailing, and the temperature dropped into the 40s. By the end of the race I was down and almost hypothermic. I did the TT and finished 10th but my body was wrecked so I went home and DNF'd again.

This year I was determined to finish. Saturday started with a 68 mile road race. It was a fairly smooth race but was fast as we finished in 3 hours flat. The last hour of the race I could feel cramps coming on and in the finishing sprint my legs completely locked up and I barely made it over the finish line but had a group finish. I spent the rest of the day trying to hydrate and get my body ready for the TT.

I started off on the TT which was the first race on the Kestrel but it felt extremely hard and I was definitely slow. Quickly my 30 second guy caught me, then another guy, and another guy. I couldn't figure out why I couldn't get any speed and figured it was the cramps from the morning. I finally rolled in a miserable 4 1/2 minutes behind the winner. Getting back to the car I realized my rear wheel has slipped in the drop outs and was rubbing on the brake the entire TT. It was frustrating to have more bad luck but encouraging to know at least I didn't suck that bad.

Sunday was a 65 mile road race and it was brutally fast from the start. It was also windy and the field was quickly strung out and guys were dropping out after the 1st of 4 laps. Half way through the 2nd lap I couldn't stay with it any more and came off. I managed to find 3 other guys and even though we were slow the second half of the race we still managed to finish in 3 hours. I was happy to finish even if it was 40th out of about 65 riders. I have finally finished Fayetteville and maybe next year everything will finally fall in place.

Goings On....

So there hasn't been much to report on the racing front but its not because I haven't been, uh, going to races. A week ago I was coming off the worst allergies I have had this year right before Lago Vista. It was the 20th anniversary of the race so they ran it backwards which meant you went up the steep side and down the gentle side. Unfortunately it was a weird/bad day that culminated in the first asthma attack I have had in 4 years and pulling out after just 2 laps. My next race experience was at the Cronometro TT which is a prep TT for Fayetteville. It was a comedy of errors that included missing my start time and learning to always race prep your bike to make sure its ready before you go to the race.

In spite of all this I have had good sessions on the trainer and I've been staying busy. After about a year with SRM and no complaints whatsoever, I started looking at other options. The new TT bike I have has a BB30 bottom bracket that I was using adapters on to run the SRM but it didn't feel like it was working as smoothly as I would like. Also, I want to buy a new road bike frame next year but the frame I want won't work my version of the SRM. This presented 2 options, upgrade to wireless SRMs (very expensive, both initial cost and maintenance but it's the gold standard for power meters) or the wireless Quarq Cinqo (half the cost, easier and cheaper to maintain, and developing an excellent reputation). I went with the Quarq Cinqo because of the price, the ability to use it as a true BB30 but still have the flexibility to switch cheaply in the future, and ease of maintenance. I also went back to a Garmin Edge 500 for the computer versus the old SRM PCV. The Garmin doesn't have as big a display as the SRM but it provides a lot more functionality, a more customizable display, and easier interface so it has been nice having it back.

Quarq Cinqo (sorry for the bad iPhone photos)

My other project was taming the insanity that was the garage. There were plastic tubs and a chaos of bike parts and tools. Any activity meant moving stuff around to get to what I needed and lots of searching for the tools amidst the mess. I finally went out and decided to try my hand at some DIY garage organization. I bought some lumber and built a shelf/work bench along with some peg board and organized my bike area. It worked out well and opened up a large area around the bikes so that I can now easily get on the trainer or set up the bike stand and work on the bikes without moving anything or taking the car out of the garage.

All this stuff now fits in such a small area and its so easy to find!!!

NAHBS Austin 2011

So the North American Handmade Bike Show was in Austin this year. I have seen the coverage of this event in years past and practically drooled over the pictures so when I found out it was going to be in Austin this year I was ecstatic. It was the closest thing I have experienced that embodies the "kid in a candy store" feeling.

Here are some of my favorites from the show. A link to all my photos (I'm not a great photographer so it is what it is) is here.

Meeting the legend himself, Dario Pegoretti

The coolest cycling shoes I have ever seen.....

My ultimate Ti bike, a Moots...

My dream road bike, a Pegoretti Responsorium

Vanilla cyclocross..... drool.....

Vanilla track bike

Vanilla single speed cyclocross....

Boo Bikes carbon and bamboo cyclocross bike

Walburg

A week ago was the Walburg road race. Walburg is the closest thing Texas has to a classics race. It is not a challenging course except for a finish on a short hill but the weather always makes things crazy. In past years I've seen sudden rain showers, strong winds that shifted throughout the course. It is a course that traditionally tears up the field and is a true survival of the fittest.

This year the weather was amazingly cooperative. Temperatures were in the low 60s and the winds were light in comparison to any other years. The race started off and my legs didn't feel great but I figured they would get going as the race went. MSU and Sun & Ski both had sizeable teams and were putting the hammer down frequently. I managed to stay near the front and continued to wait for my legs to come around. Unfortunately I missed a surge right before a turn into the brutal crosswind section and had to spend too much energy trying to stay with the group. Afterwards I worked to move back up but with every surge I couldn't match the move and slid back in the field. In the beginning of the second lap the pace slowed and I thought my legs were finally coming around but a crash followed by an attack caused a gap and a group of us were chasing to get back into the field. I managed to get in a better position going into the crosswind section but another crash followed by yet another attack created another gap and we were chasing again. Now the legs were feeling really fatigued as we headed back torwards the finish and the final lap when a third crash and attack created yet another split. I fought hard to get back on but soon after I was back on my crank seized. I looked down and my front derailleur cable had slipped and the derailleur twisted pinning the chain. I hoped nobody would run into me from behind but to my surprise,the rest of the field was gone.

I started walking and another racer was kind enough to get me a allen tool so I could get the derailleur straight enough to ride back to the car. Honestly, as much as it was a dissapointment, it was also a mercy killing. My legs were so shot that any attack might have been the final straw for me. I love Walburg and wished it had gone better but that's part of racing. Walburg always test you physically and mentally and leaves you wanting more.

Alsatian Country III

Last year was a miserable year where I never felt strong with the exception of the State TT and the blowout derailed that. After the Move, the Wreck, and everything else, I felt like I had a fresh start. I've been riding less but when I ride, I don't just ride, I train with a purpose. In prior years I have started racing early and raced every race I could to try to race myself into form. This year I'm racing less but trying to build form and maintain it throughout the year so I ultimately grow stronger.

My first race this year was Alsatian Country III. It is a 2.5 mile circuit with the start/finish at the top of a slight grade. Just after the finish it is a short descent into a hard right turn then a long, fast sweeping run into another right that led to the long slight grade back to the finish. The finishing run was into a moderate headwind.

It was a field of about 60 including several teams with a large representation so I tried to stay hidden near the front and wait for the end. I haven't had a lot of long rides so I wasn't sure how my legs would hold up and finish at the end. The race was chaotic and moves off the front didn't last long. Going into the last lap the field was down to about 30 and 2 pairs went off the front. The rest of the field didn't seem to want to chase and so just before the last right hand turn I moved up to 3rd wheel and we began the last grind to the finish. It was a hard finale and I had the legs to unleash my unimpressive sprint and finished 12 in the field and 16th overall. I felt I raced smart and had good legs so it was a definite confidence builder. It was a good race to build on and hopefully have some nice results this year.

Kestrel 4000 PRO SL

It's finally complete!! The first bike in the recent "revamping" of the bikes is finally complete. This bike was not without some difficulties to the extent that I was calling it a "demon bike" and actually took it to Austin Bikes twice. The first time was because I was using a 3T Ventus stem/bar but it has an airfoil behind the stem that covered over the frame where the cables entered. I agonized over cutting the piece off but the idea of modifying a bar on which I trust that much of my body weight wasn't a good plan. I finally sold the Ventus which was my favorite TT bar and went with its little brother, the 3T Brezza II with a 3T Arc Team stem. This combination fixed the first problem. Then I finished the build and cabled it but couldn't get it to shift smoothly. It turns out the shifters need the housing to run into the frame to have consistent cable pull. The Nokon housing won't fit in the internal sheath, only the inner lining but the inner lining isn't stiff enough to prevent flex and irregular cable pulls. This meant that I used traditional Jagwire housings for the shifters and Nokons for the brakes to keep the brake cables as tight as possible. The last experiment on this bike was the ISM saddle. A traditional TT saddle produces some serious chafing/soreness in the nether regions due to the way you sit on the nose and makes it hard to do repeat days on the TT bike for events like Tour de Gruene. The ISM saddle essentially cuts off the front of the saddle and so far is the most comfortable TT saddle I have tried. I also set it up with the SRAM R2C shifters which are my favorite bike "bling" item. Shifting is very easy and consistent similar to road shifters and while this is not a must have on a TT project, they are a huge nice to have. I did the first non-trainer ride on it this morning and once I got used to the TT position the bike felt smooth and fast. Unfortunately it was cold and cloudy this morning so the ride was short. There is a local TT series so I'll post more later after I spend some more time on it.

Build List	Kestrel 4000SL
Frame/Fork	Kestrel 4000SL 57cm/Kestrel Fork
Headset	FSA CX Headset
Stem	3T Arx Team 80 mm
Handlebar	3T Brezza LTD 40 cm w/ Blackwell Wrist Relief Extensions
Seatpost	Kestrel
Bottom Bracket	SRAM BB30 w/ Wheelsmith Adapters
Crank	SRAM SRM 172.5
Chainrings	SRAM 54/42
Pedals	Look Keo Classic
Front Derailleur	SRAM Force
Rear Derailleur	SRAM Force
Cassette	SRAM 11/26
Chain	Shimano Ultegra
Shifters	SRAM R2C Shifters and 900 TT Brakes
Brakes	TRP T-920
Brake Pads	SwissStop Yellow
Seat	ISM Adamo Racing 2
Cables	Gore/Nokon
Wheels	DT Swiss with 88mm Carbon Tubular and Corima Disc
Tires	Vittoria EVO CX 21 tubular

SRAM R2C TT Shifter Problems and Repairs

So I'm a little geeky about TT bikes and parts. One part that has always had my interest are the SRAM R2C TT shifters but the approximately $300 MSRP seemed excessive for my budget. In doing some research it seemed some individuals had issues with the shifter going "limp". After reading it appeared to be a very fixable problem so when a pair of "broken" shifters went up on eBay, I decided to test my theory. Here are my "budget" SRAM R2C shifters.

The "broken" shifter

Loosen the screw in the red plate to separate the shifter from the body and expose the internals

Loosen the screw the rest of the way to free the silver plate covering the spring and remove the silver plate

You can see the spring is twisted and off center. This appears to be the main issue that causes the shifter to "break" and swing up and down without changing gears.

Center the spring back down around the black hole the screw goes through. In this picture you can see the metal plate where the beginning and end of the spring attach. The long center prong one the 3 prong side of it will go down in between the beginning and end of the spring.

Carefully put the silver plate down so as not to dislodge the spring off of the black screw hole. Then use the back end of a knife or similar to push the two black pieces on either side of the long prong. Finally, carefully reinsert and tighten the silver piece in with the screw and then re-attach it to the rest of the shifter mechanism. The shifter should not work like new.

This worked perfectly for me and allowed me to get some great shifters on a heavy discount. Be aware that if you shift it to the extreme (highest or lowest gear) without a cable attached, this seems to dislodge the spring and cause it to "break". I was able to replicate this easily and then "fix" the shifters again. Shifting back and forth in the middle range didn't create the same problem. Some individuals have mentioned that it has "broken" while riding and if you have significant friction in the cable routing (which isn't uncommon on some TT frames and aerobar combinations), then it can create momentary "slack" while riding. If this happens when shifting to the extreme, it could theoretically re-create the scenario that happens when you shift it without a cable thus causing it to "break". Admittedly, I haven't ridden these shifters much yet but I will update if something changes. So far they have performed perfectly and have actually exceeded my expectations as it replicates much of the feel of shifting normal SRAM road levers. I hope this was a help.