Tour de Georgia - Stage 5 Suwanee to Dahlonega

Wow. What a blast! Stage 5 finishing in Dahlonega was a thriller. We picked a decent spot, so we could see the last 150m. The top three: Richard England, Rory Sutherland, and George Hincapie. I watched the peloton fly by us in Suwanee @ 10:30 am, then we gathered the kids and headed to Dahlonega - very cool town. There was a lot of excitement and energy, everyone was pumped. We were hoping Hincapie could pull of a stage win here, but he couldn't get around England and Sutherland after the last turn.

Here are some pics from stage 5:

The Devil Went...

Down to Georgia! We are packing up and shipping out to catch stage 5 & 6 of the TDG. Stage 5 is an epic mountain stage (see my earlier TDG post) and of course stage 6 will be amazing with Brasstown Bald as the finish. I've got my bright orange 2008 TDG visor, my nephew has the matching jersey, so we are all set. I'll post pics and reports as soon as I can download them.

As for now, Toyota United's Ivan Dominguez (Toyota United) takes stage 1, J.J. Haedo (CSC) takes stage 2, Greg Henderson (Team High Road) takes stage 3 and the overall lead. Thursday's TTT is at Road Atlanta.

Live and On-Demand Tour de Georgia Coverage

If you are not as lucky as me to see the Tour de Georgia in person (I'll be at Stage 5 & 6), the next best thing is to watch the tour live on the web. As you can see below, there are many other races being covered, see below for more info...

WCSN.COM/cycling

Cycling enthusiasts can watch exclusive events, races and their favorite cyclists online through complete, live and on-demand coverage via a $4.95 monthly subscription plus free access to results, video highlights, breaking news, behind-the-scenes features, and more . In 2008, WCSN will offer coverage of the UCI Road World Championships (Varese), UCI Mountain Bike World Cup and World Championships, Tour of Germany, Nature Valley Grand Prix and WCSN USA CRITS Championship Series. Also, on-demand events available for viewing include 2008 UCI Track World Championships (Manchester); 2008 Cyclo-Cross World Championships (Treviso) and 2007 UCI Road World Championships (Stuttgart).

Hilly Training Ride

Last night's group ride. 38.66 miles, lots of hills, according to mapmyride.com it was 724 ft. of climbing, great weather...




Oh yeah, my fans we're waiting for me when I got home...

Earth Day 2008, Sunday 4/20/2008

You should consider attending Earth Day Festivities @ the Cleveland Zoo. Not just because being eco-friendly is the “in-thing” lately, but because it is the right thing to do.

This year, groups will be riding to the Zoo from Dewey’s Coffee on Shaker Square and Phoenix Coffee in Downtown Lakewood.

For information on getting to Earth Day via Bike, click here.


Here is the Shaker Route:


And the Lakwood Route:

Bikepooling?....www.OhioBikeBuddies.com

Thanks to Benjacat,I've set up my account with www.ohiobikebuddies.com. I certainly would like to commute with friends, so if you are interested in biking with a companion, check out this site.

JC

Cycling Trivia - American Stage winners in Le Tour de France

Ten Americans have won stages in the Tour de France.

1. Lance Armstrong (retired - had 25 stage wins and 7 overall victories)
2. Tyler Hamilton (Rock Racing Team Captain-after 2yr. doping suspension)
3. Andy Hampsten (retired - Won 1992 L'alpe d'Huez)
4. George Hincapie (Team High Road)
5. Floyd Landis (lost his appeal to the CAS, serving a 2 yr suspension)
6. Levi Liephiemer (Team Astana - banned from all ASO events including the Tour de France, for prior team member's doping scandals)
7. Greg Lemond (retired - 5 stage wins and 3 overall victories - PROFESSIONAL WHINER)
8. Davis Phinney (retired and watching his son Taylor Phinney develop into a strong racer)
9. Jeff Pierce (retired - Won Champs-Elysees stage with in 1987)
10. David Zabriskie (Team Slipstream-Chipotle - won 2005 prologue)


Which American will win a stage this year? Hincapie? Zabriskie? Someone else?

Whatever the case, it won't be this guy...

Website Review: www.crazyguyonabike.com

Cycle touring. I have little experience in this area, other than a weekend camping trip my Dad and I took when I was 13 or so. So I’m not the man for any advice, but what I do know is that there is a great resource on line for anyone interested in touring on two wheels. The site is filled with touring journals, articles, forums, reviews, resources, classifieds, websites, and ratings.

I’m always pleased when I read a good cycling adventure. The Journals section of the site links you to cycling adventures all over the globe. Some adventures are in the planning stages, some ongoing and some are completed. I recommend using the search feature of the site to find an adventure that interests you.

For example, when I searched for the word “Ohio” I found Patrick McLaughlin’s journal titled Transamerica Adventure – Spring 2008. http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/ACBNSGOAB He updates his journal daily and so far has cycled from Lakewood, OH to Augusta, KY in ten days.

One of my favorite journals is Tzuo Hann Law’s, Long Way Home. http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/longwayhome Tzou traveled W-E across the U.S., Ireland, Scotland, England, Europe, and Asia. He took the really, really, long way home, from college back to Malaysia, on a loaded bike! 17,753 miles over 293 days!

If you signup for an account you can post your touring journal (if you are into that). Or, you can track your favorite journals and/authors by adding them to your favorites. Not all journals are epic adventures, some journals range from day-trips to around the world. So whatever your touring taste, the site contains journals relating to your level of interest.

Another great feature is the RSS feeder. I have my favorite journals added to my RSS feed, this way I can track all new updates easily by checking my feeds list. Just like you do with my blog right?:)

Most of the journals are filled with excellent pictures and descriptive accounts of their travels. If you are like me, and you are too busy, so you can only dream of adventures like this, then this site gives you a chance to live vicariously through the authors.

Other great features include: A classifieds section, where you can buy and sell touring gear, or look for a companion for your next adventure. A journal guestbook, where you can add comments and post questions to the authors. A ratings page displays highly ranked pics, journals, resources, etc., that can be sorted in various ways.

The best way to familiarize your self with the site is to start clicking on the links in the toolbar and discover new adventures.

PS: For anyone familiar with riding in the Chagrin Valley, I cringed when I read an account of a fully loaded tourist who rode up Old Mill Hill. If she only knew that Berkshire road was a half mile down the road!!!

Goals Update (Berkshire Road & Gettin' Skinny)

Berkshire Hill:
The goal is to break the 8 min mark by July 1, 2008. For the past couple of weeks I have been do 3 x 5 min Power Climbs on the trainer with 7.5 min rest in between, 2 x per week. While I'm out on the road I have been attacking more hills with roughly 30 seconds out of the saddle for every 1:30 in the saddle. Apparently this is working....

3/24/08: 10:58
3/27/08: 10:01
3/28/08: 9:54
4/07/08: 8:54!! New personal best and it's only early April!

Gettin' Skinny:
Hmm?, the goal was to lose 30 lbs. by 4/23/2008. While my overall fitness has increased rapidly, unless I can drop 14 lbs in the next 2 weeks I think I'll fall short of my goal. Since I have been lingering at 194-195 lbs, I probably need to watch what I eat a little better and do some major endurance miles rides.

A Winking Lizard, Pink & Purple Sparkly Flames, and Goofy Bunnies

Even though Sunday (4/6/08) was the best weather we have had this year, no bike for me. Instead, I enjoyed a pleasant day with the family in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. We drove down to Peninsula and took a short stroll on the tow path. Following that, we had a nice lunch at The Winking Lizard. I felt obligated to leave a nice tip, due to the disaster zone that my 11 month old left under our table (cheerios, mac ‘n cheese, placemats, napkins, puffs, etc.)

After lunch we walked over to Century Cycles to browse the store. We were about to leave when I noticed a few kids helmets. I thought to myself, this is perfect timing. When Lily is 1yrs old, next month, I can start taking her on bike rides in her trailer (industry recommends all children to be at least 1 year old before going on any rides – their neck and neck muscles aren’t strong enough to support their noggins before 1 yr.). So the Century Cycles dude helped us determine which would be the best helmet for Lily. She laughed and smiled at the store clerk, until….he tried to put the helmet on her. I couldn’t see my daughter’s face because I was standing behind her, but when the store clerk’s face went from all smiles to “blank – uh oh, what did I do?” I knew what was coming. She wasn’t happy about the helmet at all; I’m not surprised because she never was a big fan of her winter hats, either.

So the dilemma was: do we go with the pink flames or the goofy bunnies design? I opted for the flames, of course, but my wife was all about the bunnies. Lily didn’t have a preference, she just smiles and laughs and points at everything and calls everything doggie. I insisted this could define her cycling style forever, let’s go with flames! But even when my wife changed her mind and opted for the flames, the store was out of the flames. Darn. So it is goofy bunnies I’ll have to look at for the next how ever many years until she grows out of that helmet.

More importantly, I will be tuning up our tandem, with new pedals, toe-straps, & mirrors.
I’ll be picking up the trailer this Saturday (4/12/08), and adding a new flag and lights. I should have the whole rig set up and ready to go for Lily’s first ride.



Now, if I can just get my wife to wear a helmet...

Chagrin Valley Training Ride 4/5/2008

Pretty Hilly Ride from home in Uny Hts through Chagrin Valley up E. side of valley via Shaker, to County Line to Dines. I turned around at Crestview Drive, then County Line to Fairmount to Chagrin River, then up Old Mill Hill to Gates Mills then home via Fairmount. 1:52:48, 31.45 miles, 16.7 mph avg. 6:03 Old Mill Hill.

Harder Efforts = Better Results....

I don't think this will shock anyone, but check out this article: Bicycling Training Tips.

Book Review - Momentum Is Your Friend - Joe Kurmaskie

What an excellent read!! Talk about big brass balls! Kurmaskie, author of Metal Cowboy, goes cross country (W-E)...with two sons (7 and 5yrs old) in tow! I'm not kidding, check out the picture:




He left from Portland, OR and blazed a trail that included Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Kentucky, Ohio (he really rips on southern Ohio's roads, but enlightens us with some good lovin' from friendly Ohio people), Pittsburgh, Virginia, and finally D.C.

If you enjoy reading about cycling or adventure or family bonding this book is for you! Aside from a really odd description of some troll he saw on an orange bike, the rest is a detailed look at how hard the journey was and how rewarding! One warning though, as you read this you will 1) Want to quit your job 2) Buy a sweet Rodriguez touring bike 3) Ride off into your own special adventure!

For a teaser go to his article in Men's Journal.

I will defeat you Berkshire Road!!

I am so tired of getting dropped on this climb I am going to blow-myself-up (not literally like jihad style – as in LT) every time I hit this climb until I significantly drop my time. I discovered this climb last fall and did 9:28 as a best time (not in that good of shape). Since I’ve never really set concrete goals in the past and this year I am already trying to accomplish my goal to lose 30 lbs. Why not set this goal too?

So, here it is: Break 8:00 minutes by July 1, 2008.

So far this year’s stats:
3/25/08: 10:58
3/27/08: 10:01
3/28/08: 9:54

-JC