UW Parkside Crit #2

First race on the new bike with the new team...we killed it. I was extremely pleased with the way everyone on my team raced yesterday. We were on the attack most of the race. Not much of a race report from me except that we tried and tried to make something work, but the headwind at the high end of the course was a leg killer.

In the end, the race came down to a sprint finish. Lee had an awesome race and pulled off a 4th place finish. Chip, myself and Steve pulled in 11, 12, 13th respectively to round out 4 Get a Grip racers in the top 15.

Here are a few pics from the race(sent over by former Higher Gear teammate - Thanks Ken)

Wisconsin Rider, Me and a Cliffy trying to get something going



Steve on the attack with support on the front of the field



Steve on the attack again!



Uwe making a solo attempt look like fun.


Overall, we had an awesome race. On the downside Tenney took a nasty spill and got pretty banged up, both body and bike. While laying in the gutter, he got a first hand view of 2 riders riding over his frame. Moment of silence for his System Six...only a few days old. (check Jon's blog soon...I'll let him tell it all)

The long wait is over...

We pulled a late night at the shop on Tuesday...wrenching together a bunch of team bikes. Well, let me start that over... The Get a Grip crew and our Cannondale Representative, Josh, pulled a late night wrenching on our bikes, while we sat around eating pizza, anxiously awaiting our 1st rides...we did throw some tires on a few sets of new wheels and swept up the shop. Many thanks to Kevin, Matt, Jason and Josh for the long hours and hard work they've put in not only on Tuesday night, but also just getting this team put together.

Steve's bike was the first one out of the gate, he was all grins and literally couldn't wait. We all gathered outside of the shop to watch Steve bomb up and down the street around 11pm.

And now, the finished product! (please note that I'm swapping out my old, blue tires on these training wheels for a new set of black ones. The blue clashes.)




Details, details, details....
Cannondale SI Carbon Crankset/BB (Huge, Light & STIFF)
Cannondale SI Integrated Headset with Massive Carbon Stem
Campagnolo Chorus 10sp
FSA K-Wing Bars
LOOK Keo Pedals
Selle Italia SLR Saddle
Easton Seat Post
FSA RD 400 (Training wheels)
ROLF Vector Pro Aero (Racing wheels)
Mass Wattage provided by Angelo on pasta

The search is over!

Quick weekend recap:

- Flew out to SF on Friday night
- Went out for a few drinks in the Haight with a good friend from college
- Early start...breakfast and some coffee and then rented a bike to get from apartment to apartment
- One "no show" (Thanks a lot!)...One dump and then an awesome place at Nob Hill (this ended up the winner!)
- Calamari & Chips and a Corona at Tarantino's in Fisherman's Wharf
- Quick rest and research apartments on Craigslist.com
- Return bike rental and walked around Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39 some (saw the sea lions)
- Zach from college (living in Sacramento) came in for the night
- Mas Sake for dinner
- Night out hitting the Marina bars followed by a late night diner
- Sunday morning - meet the rest of the roommates and got "accepted" (very exciting moment)
- Zach and I just grabbed lunch and enjoyed the sites while walking around by the bay
- Flight home

I know everyone gets excited about a new place and then it wears off after a while...I don't think that's going to happen to me and San Francisco. The city is amazing and there is just so much to do. My roommates are very cool and I'm really excited to move in. Nob Hill is a great area of SF and is close to everything (work, Chinatown, North Beach, Russian Hill...the city is really only about 7x7 miles)

I still call it OLN...

Found this VS schedule at the Road Mag blog...

March 11 & 18 Paris-Nice 5 p.m. ET
April 1 Criterium International 5 p.m. ET
April 8 Tour of Flanders 7 p.m. ET
April 15 Paris Roubaix 5 p.m. ET
April 22 Amstel Gold 5 p.m. ET
Sat. April 28 Tour of Georgia (one-week delay) 5 p.m. ET
April 29 Tour of Georgia (one-week delay), Liege Bastongne Liege 5 p.m. ET
Highlights of La Fleche Wallone (one-week delay)
June 17 & 24 Tour de Suisse 5 p.m. ET
July 7 – 29 Tour de France Varies

San Francisco Treat

I've been an Illinoisan for 30 years now...born and raised in a suburb of Chicago (Naperville), college at Southern Illinois Univ. at Carbondale (Go Saluki's!!!) and then back up to Chicago for the past 7 years...it's time for a change.

I've taken a new job in San Francisco at Active Athlete Media, starting in just a few weeks (very exciting company with a ton of potential in the online advertising world I love). I can't wait for both, the move and the job. The picture above is the Golden Gate Bridge (I know you know it by sight), but this bridge is going to be very important to me...It's just a quick dart across to some absolutely amazing riding.

The "Watt Off"

The Get a Grip grand opening party was a huge success! There were easily a few hundred people hanging out throughout the night (barely even elbow room for a while). It was a ton of fun and many of my teammates and I got our first look at our new team frames, Custom painted Cannondale System Six's!

The party was great...beer and drinks were flowing, Tulio (shop dog) was stealing cheese and meat cubes and they raffled off some amazing prizes.

So, onto the "watt off" ---- What happens when you get a bunch of cyclists together, feed them lots of drinks and have access to a power meter? Someone comes up with the great idea that we should have a "watt off" to see who can put out the highest wattage (great idea). Kevin tossed a set of flat pedals on the Serotta size cycle and we gave the trainer a bit of resistance. Then 1x1 we all flexed a little muscle and egos soared. My teammate Chipper gained the title at the end of the night, he is now the size cycle watt champion! Congrats!

Quote of the night "It was above the rim!" (yes, there was a Seinfeld moment)

Thanks and congrats to the Get a Grip crew for putting on such an awesome (and eventful) grand opening party!

Can my road bike do this?

Tricky Fixie

My Detroit Playas

A video the Detroit MSN Sales Team put together...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GJ-UvmASPI