B.I.K.E.S #4: Team Work

Music: DjJade with Sunday Morning Disco

Over the past two weeks, my Team Exergy teammates and I have ridden many miles along the ocean, climbed large mountains and have learned the language basics of Spanish, Russian, Italian and English..why? Well because 6 of the 16 riders are foreign riders! Do you know where Columbia is? How about Moldova? Switzerland? I hope you know where Canada is!

We have to learn the basics of one other's language to communicate during the races.  We even have a set of twins...but they are telepathic so they don't need to talk! Just kidding.

This past weekend we raced as a team and after four days of riding, came away with a victory! We raced for a total of 10 hours over four days, over 240 miles. Everyone's hard work paid off but it took an entire team of 8 riders and 5 staff members to deliver 1 rider to the podium.

That's cycling; all for one, one for all!

"It's my teammates, classmates and friends that make the victory memorable, not the victory itself"

Team Exergy Pro Cycling

Dream Big Edison Elementary!

Escalera-ing (Merco S.3 + S.4)

THE WETBLOG HAS BEEN RE-IGNITED, 
JUST IN TIME FOR RACING SEASON
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Saturday's afternoon criterium had a great festival atmosphere, better even than say half of the races at USA SPEEDWEEK in May. It was very apparent that this race has a 25 year history, is incredibly important for the struggling farming community of Merced, marks the beginning of the NorCal cycling season and is prestigiously regarded as one of the top three stage races of the year. Making it all too obvious why Logan, a Santa Cruz native, has had this race marked in red ink for months.  Yesterday he proved that he is on great form so today we were excited to get out there and keep the ball rolling. 

The course was shaped like the letter I, or more like a P and b placed on top of one another. This left a combination of 300 meter straightaways, short 70 meter bursts between corners, a lot of high-speed carving and some crafty bike handling as the roadway was well decorated with reflective turtles. The pace stayed high throughout the 80 minute event with California Giant riding extremely well on the front in defense of Huffman's yellow jersey.  But with 14 laps to go (14 miles to go), Bissell took over and the pace increased. We waited in the corner quietly for our moment and with Bissell's train breaking down, Conor Mullervy took over with 1 lap remaining. The rest of the team peeled off over the course of the next 1500 metres and Freddie delivered Logan out of the final corner for the 350 meter drag to the line. Looking strong in the sprint, the nature of urban racing caught up with Exergy and Logan was pinched by the cement parking curbs in the final 100 metres, placing 3rd on the stage but moving up with time bonuses = another solid day! The team rode extremely well together, the best team ride I have ever been a part of and we protected Logan from the many new Cat.1/2 riders who were looking for attention but not necessarily in the most constructive of manners.

VeloImages: Beauty Day

Starting Sunday's 192km stage, Bissell's Bevin led by 22 seconds over Optum's Zirbel, with Serge and Logan tied for 3rd at 23 seconds back, only 1 second behind Zirbel. With time bonuses at the intermediate sprints and 10 seconds in the finale, we had to be aggressive, stack the break and win the stage. Maybe send Serge up the road late with Zirbel, who we knew would try a late sneak after Optum had softened up Bissell's train.

VeloImages: Conor Mullervy Breaks

After 70 minutes of attacks, a small four man breakaway established a gap with Team Exergy's Conor Mullervy. They reached a maximum advantage of 5 minutes but after 80 miles out front, were caught with one lap remaining (25 miles). At this point both Quinn and I were caught out with mechanical problems that weren't helped with stiff officiating and were dropped from the field as Zirbel attacked hard and Freddie followed, the field chasing behind. Despite his own mechanical problem during those tense moments, Logan was able to stay in the group with the help of Tino and Kevin while Serge waited patiently for the serious doodoo to hit the fan.  

With 4km remaining, Serge got his wish and snuck up the road with Zirbel, placing extreme pressure on Bissell's diminished train and leading Bevin to cover those moves himself.  Serge and Zirbel only needed 12 seconds to win the GC with the help of time bonuses. However at the red kite, it was gruppo compacto and Freddie dropped Logan off at 500 meters (essentially the base of the final 200 meter hill that led into the 300 meter downhill sprint finish). Logan cruised onto Optum's leadout despite the inherent chaos of the rapidly changing terrain and jumped past Ken Hanson (Optum) early at 250 metres with the help of a 54 tooth big ring, taking no chances today and sealing the victory in a stylish victory salute.

VeloImages: Stage 4 Podium

Veloimages: Stage Win!

Into the Void (Merco S.2)

Music: Soma by Deadmau5. Inspired by Brave New World, Aldous Huxley? What is Soma?

Do you enjoy the feeling of working out? Or perhaps it's the feeling that comes afterwards? The calm high, the 30 minute flying-endorphin-carpet; it's all good, feel content, feel fresh and alive, feel no pain. Today was stage 2 of the first stage race of the season, the Merco Cycling Classic. For half of us: Conor, Kevin and I, it was an easy day; ride tempo and finish within the time cut. For Tino and Quinn who are dangerous riders in 200km breakaway road races (there is one coming up in just 2 days time!), they toed the line with a few aero pieces each and looked to limit their loses and ride as strong as possible. But for Freddie, Logan and Serghei, all running full aero specifications, the pressure was on.

The atmosphere in and around a team trailer before any race is usually a mixed bowl of stress. As the mechanic perfects the equipment, our soigneur caters to our picky requests for caffeinated gels and warmup massages. To combat this nervous energy, energy that can quickly spark discontent, we all play around with quick jokes, funny gestures and shadow games to keep the environment positive; a relaxed and tight-knit team is critical. We are all friends off the bike, and friends on the bike; but some days are more for leisure, while others purely business.

Flipping on the 'business' switch is important. It helps us maintain our friendship during our leisure time.  At a time trial, that nit-pickiness is often higher. But that is very important as we all realize that we are working towards helping our leaders produce the best performance possible.  This intensity is not only critical but is expected and anticipated. Again, the business switch is on.

Today Serge and Logan did amazing rides. Although half of the team finished with smiles, easy breathing and open legs after 30 minutes of tempo, the other half gutted themselves. Arriving at the trailer only after a 10 minute post-race spin  in order to make sure they didn't fall over while dismounting, or losing their breakfast in front of twittered iphones and facebooked cameras. Plunking down into one of the team's blue pop-up chairs, a quick serenity overcomes the drained body. From the fogginess in the eyes, the pain in the back of the neck, the grit on the face and legs and "feet-sinking-into-the-ground" sensation in the legs, the quiet calm, earned only through absolute suffering is an exotic and well-sought after feeling. Like soma?

Exergy Podium! (Merco S.1)

Serge, myself and Logan sign-in while catching with Dave Towle. He'll be MC at the Team Exergy Team Presentation Party!
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Off-season over. Pre-race meeting complete. Pre-race nutrition complete. Race food prepared. Race drinks prepared. Feed Zone Van filled. Team Caravan car roof stocked with bikes and stuffed with team staff. Fifteen minutes to start. Five minutes till sign-in closes. Jerseys pinned, shoes shined, wheels polished and frames shiny...we roll out.

Six laps of a 12 mile course featuring one of the most interesting courses on the calendar. Winding through rolling, windy roads up a 2% grade in the final 6km of each lap, led into a 7 minute, 182 metre climb at 5% gradient. Over the summit, wind-exposed, a long 10 minute rolling descent completed the 30 minute lap. Despite active attacking throughout the race, in which Kevin, Conor, Quinn and Tino represented Team Exergy without fail, no major splits occurred. One rider escaped solo from laps 1-4, amassing a total of 2 minutes, after which time small breaks of 3-4 riders hovered in the 10-45 second 'unestablished' zone. With 1 lap to go, Quinn snuck away in his second big break of the day with Bissell strongman Ben Jacques-Maynes and 3 others. But with Bissell, Optum Health and Team Exergy all looking for a sprint finish with the shallow 2% run-in, the breakaway was reeled back in with 5km remaining.

After sagging a bit on the first four of six climbs, Logan and I stayed together and at the front on the final two ascents. Freddie and Serge were both riding strong all day and stayed near the front all six times up the narrow, bumpy but short climb of Hule Road. In the final 5km, Optum Health looked to practice their leadout train by placing all 10 riders (no rider limited at Merco as it is a non-NRC event) on the front, working for Ken Hansen. Bissell jockeyed for a while but eventually sat in after controlling the race from 25km to go with their 11 man squad. With Optum Health shedding riders, Team Exergy awaited for the final kilometres due to our smaller numbers. We arrived at Merco with the traditional 8 riders and had 5 left in the final 3 km.

Kevin guarded us from 3km to 2km to go, at which point I took over and moved up past four of the six remaining Optum Health riders. Hitting max heart rate during the 800 metre pull, I whipped off to the right at 1200 metres to go and caught a glimpse of Serge driving by, eyes on fire and teeth gritted, I wanted to chuckle but I didn't have any air to spare. At this point, Serge was partnered up again Tom Zirbel (a beast of a bike racer) but he did an amazing pull and took Freddie to 600 metres. At this point, Optum was down to their sprinter, Ken Hansen, who starting matching Freddie's acceleration thinking that he was going for the win. At 250 metres to go, Logan popped out and lit the road on fire. No one was on his wheel. Freddie strategically faded right. Logan had a huge gap! He caught Bissell's Patrick Bevin and Eric Young off-guard by going 50 metres early, who'd been following the Team Exergy leadout in the final kilometres. With 150 metres to go Logan held an impressive gap, but just got pipped in the finale. So 3rd place for the day, an awesome result! The team did a great race as well with strong presence in the breaks, an almost-perfect leadout; I should have waited until 1500 metres to go to ramp it up since we only had 4 guys for the final surge.

Tomorrow is the Individual Time Trial and I think we will surprise some people!

Sunsets and Sunrises: 2012 Calendar

Music - It's time to MOVE!

The season is upon us! This afternoon we are cleaning up our host housing here in Ventura, Ca. The Ferro Family has been extremely AWESOME in letting us spend almost 3 weeks with them at their beautiful home and we are all very excited to catch up with them again during the San Dimas and Redland Stage Races later in March.

Speaking of races...what is my calendar this year? Well right now it is quite full! So hopefully I can keep the rubber side down and finish line in sight. Be sure to search for Team Exergy at the races to pick up your own custom Team Exergy stem cap! OH! And if you haven't seen our new SPEED MACHINES....well check it! BAM!!

FELT FC TEAM EXERGY TEAM ISSUE 2012



Merco Cycling Classic: March 1 - 4
San Dimas Stage Race: March 16 - 18
Redlands Bicycle Classic: March 22 - 25

Presbyterian Hospital Invitational Criterium: April 14
Sunny King Criterium: April 21
Foothills Road Race: April 22
USA Crits Speedweek: April 28 - May 6
Tour de Grove: May 12 - 13
Wilmington Grand Prix: May 18 - 20
Tour of Somerville: May 28
Base Camp Invitational Criterium: May 31
Philadelphia International Championship: June 3
Tulsa Tough: June 8 - 10
Tour de Beauce: June 12 - 17
Canadian National Championships: June 21 - 24

Tour de Delta: July 6 - 8
UBC Grand Prix: July 10
Gastown Grand Prix: July 11
Exergy Twilight Criterium: July 14

Tour of Elk Grove: August 3 - 5

With Possible Late-Season Races Including:

Canadian Track Nationals
August NCC (National Criterium Calendar) events
Canadian Sprint Challenge
Fast Freddie Gran Fondo

My favourite race website so far is definitely the Gastown Grand Prix! 

Stylish and authentic, the classic is back! 

Gastown Grand Prix

Tapering the Pyramid

The past ten days, six of my teammates and I have stayed in Ventura, Ca to recover from camp, work on our leadout train and continue to gel as a unit. Each day was filled with an personal analysis of what we each needed to do in order to maximize our training. We could fret about lessons learned at team camp, worry about the upcoming season opener, or go about completing our daily training tasks as best as possible.

Yes, our lives have been simple thanks to the Team Exergy staff, who've sheltered us from the stresses of pre-season logistics but that doesn't mean we have been lying around wasting away. We realize that many people want our jobs and we have been working smartly each day in respect of the high level expected of us come the 2012 racing season. Thus each task performed over the past six months nevermind the last ten days, be it finalizing our TT bike setups, perfecting our race food recipes, creating a team rider manifesto, discussing our latest leadout trial or learning Spanish from our newest Columbian teammate Andres Alzate, has required equal attention and maximal focus.

When we do get some time to relax and explore, often times it is on the internet and I enjoy shuffling around TedTalks. Here are 3 of my favourite discussions as of late. With the beginning of the 2012 racing season, the beginning of a new spring, and the beginning of a new intercalary cycle approaching, it is easy to look far ahead into the future. But then again, it is small steps we make today that dictate our tomorrow.

Centenarians Among US: Those who live the longest on Earth: what do they do and what do they not?

What do you think was the most important invention of the 20th century? And how will that invention need to change in the 21st? I really enjoyed this one!

Why do you buy? Do you buy a product or an idea? Do you know you are buying an idea? Although sometimes coming across a little bit pompous, this speaker shares some great insight about inspirational actions of the 20th century's greatest leaders.

Checklist?....Check!

If you’re not prepared to be wrong, you’ll never come up with anything original.” (Ken Robinson)
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As both a coached cyclist and a coach myself, I have the unique opportunity of experiencing both sides of the objective/subjective dichotomy. As a rider, I ask questions of my coach that are based mostly upon subjective feelings and comments; his answer is based around keeping my mind focused on what is important...extracting the best performance out of my ability. As a coach, I answer my clients' questions with information that will help that manage their situation and simplify their total stress level, again in an attempt to help them extract their best possible performance. Thus coaches don't always tell the client everything! They tell them what they need to know!

When I worked as my own coach during my neo-pro season of 2011, I had to have objective AND subjective discussions with myself. I found the best way to plan and complete my race season preparations was to sit down for 1-2 days at the beginning of each month to objectively analyze my previous training and establish goals and protocols for the coming weeks. If I wrote it down, I would do it! Those were 1-2 days of stress! Then come a training day, I would revert to the subjective rider, how do I feel? Am I motivated? Recovered? If not, I will modify the plan slightly, but not totally toss it aside. This way I could take solace during my rest days and satisfaction after completing my hardest.

So how does a coach keep it all in order? Coaches should build checklists! And for that matter, so should teachers! There was a great piece by Dan Coyle (one of my favorite authors) recently discussing this. Plus, with checklists that bred a means to an end, what can instill an atmosphere between the client/student and the coach/teacher that fosters communication, trust and eventually creativity! Building a lifetime appreciation for learning either through athletic pursuits or artistic journeys.

Find Your Own Style

Vanessa recently busted out some new work!

To Infinity & Beyond

Music

Have you noticed a growing social-media emphasis on the Aurora Borealis?? Well if not, let's get you back up to speed! Aurora & Spacestation. Where is this growing interest coming from? Any ideas??

Is it that camera technology has finally caught up with our modern day's expectations of video resolution? Perhaps these images were just never made available before.  Do the aurora represent one of the 'missed' landscapes of natural photographers and artists of the 20th century...is there a niche left to be captured?

What is so compelling about the collision between charged solar particles and Earth's atmospheric gases? Why do we keep staring and studying this musical dance? Maybe because it's one of nature's most intricate and complicated art forms, synthesizing patterns so diverse that scientists have only learned little compared to other scientific areas of study.

It's da bomb!

Fortunately the CSA, NASA, and the ISS have recently teamed up with the University of Calgary's AuroraMax initiative to provide live HD streaming for skywatchers around the world. Most recently, "ISS astronauts Don Pettit and Dan Burbank will be on standby for the next six weeks to photograph the Northern Lights for AuroraMAX, a public engagement initiative dedicated to promoting the science and the splendour of the aurora borealis".  U of Calgary NEWS LINK.

Also, my brother Darren is one of the top researchers so check out his work here!

Live Nightly Feed                or                Top Favourites

Feb.21st CBC Piece

The Business #2: A Day at Camp

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Rise: Fresh, cool sea air brushes up against my face; my body warmly tucked underneath a mammoth of blankets. Holding my breath, studying my cellphone clock, I take my morning heart rate while lying prone. Thirty eight today, not too tired, not too rested; good, great for day 7 of camp. After quietly leaving the motorhome, careful not to wake my teammates, I cook my quinoa and egg breakfast in the kitchen. Over the next 30 minutes, my teammates slowly file in, some more quiet than others...who will be strong today? Each goes about making their lunch, fixing their breakfast and bantering with one another about yesterday's ride. 

Pre-Ride: Forty five minutes till departure, I rest in my bed to help digestion and practice a little meditation. I plug in my favourite music and relax. Beyond this auditory barrier, our seigneurs busily rush around the house and driveway, preparing 5-10 bottles per rider, packing bags of bananas, coolers of coke cola, boxes of tin-foil clad lunches into the Mini Cooper and the Volvo. They align our bikes in perfect formation against the wall lining the back of the driveway, our seats in a circle around a table filled with gels, bars and apples. Our mechanic touches up on any of the tasks that slipped his long list the night before, making sure the tires are pumped to 115-120PSI, the handlebar tape is clean and our top-tubes are clear of snot and drink mix from the day before. Every day it feels like we ride a brand new bike.

Brief: In a circle the riders relax in blue pop-up 'sofas', a white pop-up tent shades the sun; our Director calls attention to the route, safety concerns, planned stops and any structured efforts. "Today is our final big day of camp. 180km. 12,000-15,000 ft of climbing (no one has done the ride before). We have Heybuckshot here..so don't smile when they take your picture. Stay as a group up all the climbs, except the final one. Make it hard, it's a race ya?" We are up and we are off. Check your brakes, check your skewers, check your headset. Then the plastic cleat covers come off, we shove them into our 'car' bags (our KASK helmet bags with a makeshift name tag which include our special food, special bottles and extra arm warmers and gloves) and hand them off to the seigneurs as we ride past the cars at the end of the driveway. 

Commute: Rushing down onto the 16-28% descent, adrenaline starts its morning drip. Flying down towards the Ventura valley floor, the sun warmly bakes our arms and chest, protected by black rainjackets. The jackets will come off in 20 minutes, so will the thick gloves and knee warmers. This is our commute. We try to stay comfortable during our commute, because we know that before long the day will start, the horn will honk, the bell will whistle, the pace will go up, the tailwind will die out, the road will tip up, and we will follow the double yellow line until told otherwise.

B.I.K.E.S #3 - Cramming in California

Update #3 - From the heart of Team Exergy's Pre-Season Camp, we take a tour of the compound before another hard day of training. Over the past few weeks, the Edison Elementary students have been learning about the Human Heart. As we train more and more, our bodies become more efficient at eating, using energy and as a result.. PEDALING!  We will spend many hours resting at heart rates of 35-45 beats per minute! How fast is your heart rate beating right now! Excited about the end of the school day??

On our longer 4-5 hour rides, we ride between 130-150 beats per minute. At this intensity we burn equal parts sugar and equal parts fat, almost 4,000 kcal total! When we tear up the tarmac and crush our pedals, our heart rates skyrocket to 185-200 bpm!! That is almost as fast as a hummingbird's...actually not. Hummingbirds have a max heart rate of 1260!!

Why are heart rates so different? Well it depends upon the size of the animal's rib cage. A Hummingbird has a very small ribcage and thus a very small heart that has to beat many times to pump blood to its wings. There are even differences between the cyclists on Team Exergy. Some riders have larger chests, and larger hearts and thus lower maximum heart rates. But this rib cage size doesn't always match one's height. For example, I am only 5'6", one of the shortest riders on the team, but I have a large rib cage and thus a low maximum heart rate of 184 bpm.