Black and White...

Made it happen...very light and trick looking...

2010 vs 2011 Cervelo R3 SL OR 2011 R5???

Decisions....decisions.....

Looks like I'm probably leaning towards the discounted 2010 models since I've read that the 2011's require some new exclusive to Cervelo standard "BBright" bottom bracket and crankset that only Rotor makes at the moment. Also read that BB30 is suppose to fit with some adaptors, but, even those adaptors are not yet available. Also, there still is no geometry out on the 2011 models.

BUT, it does look like the newer R5 (no...not the $CA$ version) will be better than the 2010 R3 SL: "The new R5 closely mimics the R5ca. For 2011 it replaces the current R3sl. Bastie said that bottom bracket stiffness in the R5 is 100-percent higher than in the R3sl it’s replacing, and the head tube is 40-percent stiffer. Even with the improved rigidity, the 2011 R5 weighs the same as a current R3sl."

100% and 40% stiffer......hummmm........

http://girodilento.com/2011-cervelo-r3-first-picture

Just Thinking.....

I've been waiting for this price drop to finally happen.....and when I checked today, IT DID!!!

Been looking at the Cannondale HM, Scott CR1, Look 585, Kuota KOM and others, but I think the Cervelos below would be the lightest, stiff enough, best riding, and best fitting and looking for me:

R3SL???????? -

OR...

R3??????? -

I like both color schemes....just not sure if 100grams is worth the extra dough...

I Like White Seats and I Cannot Lie...

Granted...even in pimp looking white, it ain't sexiest looking seat out there. But, this 255g Viagra sounding V-Flow Max seat has a HUGE cutout for guys who need it (I'm not bragging).

$170, straight and direct from John Cobb (www.cobbcycling.com ) with free shipping and a 180 day satisfaction gaurantee, I don't see how I can go wrong to just see if this seat works for me or not...

Speedplay Pedals???

http://www.speedplay.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.slipperypedals

You've got to be kidding me...I wonder what other "two pedal brands" they tested against? 33 seconds is killer "free time" with just a change of pedals...maybe they were thinking old school platform and clip pedals?

I would seriously consider switching if I didn't just buy another pair of my old Time Impacts...

Viva La France...Beppu, Arashiro, and Miyazato...

This past weekend was probably one of the biggest weekends for anyone interested in cycling and golf and, who is of Japanese (esp. Okinawan) heritage!

TDF: AWESOME JOB ARASHIRO AND FUMI !!!


I've (and I'm sure a lot of other people) always wondered why there were no Asians in the Tour.....I just figured it was for the same reason you don't see any Africans in the Tour.....just not "made" for cycling at the highest level. But in this past tour, Fumiyuki Beppu and Yukia Arashiro (born in Okinawa) put an end to those thoughts.

For the first time EVER, these 2 Japanese riders FINISHED the biggest, baddest, most crazy bike race in the world. They even showed really good in several stages, and Beppu showed especially good in the last stage where he absolutely dropped the hammer and started the only breakaway on the Champs-Élysées! He even won the "Most Combative" award for his exploits on the final stage. Hopefully...they'll be more to come, especially with all the good track Keirin sprinters in Japan. I wouldn't be surprised to one day see an awesome road sprinter come out of Japan...
Oui...Beppu flashin the Shaka!!! w/ Arashiro...


Evian Masters: CONGRATULATIONS AI MIYAZATO
A Happy Ai on a Sunny Sunday Afternoon in France...

Must have been a great for Ai Miyazato (born in Okinawa) to finally get her first win...and a MAJOR at that!!! She did it the hard way too, by having to win in a playoff.

TDF - Stages 16 - 21...

What a great race it was.....and the scenery of France was stunning in HD.

The last week was as exciting as advertised and we saw how mortal LA was when he couldn't go with the initial moves of Contador. Then we saw how awesome LA was when he attacked. We also know that Cavendish is by far the fastest man in the sprint. And the Schleck brothers will be force to be delt with in the future.

But after the race, it was really sad to see that LA and Contador were not getting along at all. Right or wrong, I think LA should have been like a "big brother" to Contador and just be the bigger man...I mean, Contador is still so young compared to LA!

The way I kind of see it, Contador attacking probably assured the team of the yellow jersey, cause who knows if Contador may have had a bad day, and that time he made would have been the cushion for him to keep the yellow!!! Cause if Contador had a bad day...there's no guarantee that LA or Kloden would have made it into the yellow jersey...especially without Levi being there.

Until the real stories come out as to what really happened during the race.....I guess it's all soap opera gossiping...

TDF - Stage 15 and Tantalus

TDF: Sunday was a pivotal day in the TDF w/ Contador flexing his muscles showing everyone who was the strongest on the hilltop finish. Too bad Sastre and Cadel couldn't show any better than they did, hopefully they will do better in the remaining climbing stages.

LA just couldn't match the pace of Contador, but he still did damn good considering...in fact, gotta really watch for him this coming week to see if he gets stronger...

Tantalus: And, since Sunday was a climbing stage, I did my own little climb of Tantalus this weekend. I was really surprised when I stopped the clock in 24:33 as I haven't climbed up there for a long time. Gotta say that my new Kinlins performed really really well as the added stiffness really helps when you climb standing. I also am pedaling with a new technique and I "think" it is helping cause my legs never got that blown out feeling at any time. Usually, at 24:30, my legs and lungs should have been feeling really blown! Gotta test out my new techinque again on Tantalus sometime again soon...

The Power and the Heartbreak TDF - Stage 14 and 13

Stage 13 - Break went away again and Cervelo Test Team soloed in for the win - great for this young guy.

Stage 14 - Today's stage was super exciting and super frustrating.

The Power - Ivanov rode away from his breakaway companions just like he did in 2001. What a pedaling style that guy has...just super smooth and powerful - awesome to watch! And he did it EXACTLY like he did in 2001 when my and my brother were watching the tour...I remember us thinking how awesome it was back then and it was just even fore awesome in HD.

The Heartbreak - 1st of all, I think Astana really &^%%# Big George. There was NO REASON for Astana to be on the front of the peleton...infact, per the TV, at one time they were on the front for over 30 minutes straight with about 60 to 80kms to go. I was thinking to myself...what are these guys doing...why the hell don't they FORCE the yellow jersey to chase????? It's not their kuleana to do sh!t so why burn any of your matches on the day before the big climbing stage....their tactics surely closed down WAY more than 6 seconds today and if they had just backed off a bit to keep the gap at like 10 minutes or so...it would have been FINE cause Big George is surely going to loose over 10 minute tomorrow...

2nd, I'm glad I don't have any Garmin stuff cause this American team really %^$^%$#& Big George in pushing the pace in the last 5 to 10km or so. I mean, the French teams would NEVER chase down their own country men, especially if they had a chance for the Yellow Jersey...but these clowns are so @#@#%$! that instead of having an icon of American cycling in Yellow today, they HELPED to rip vertual jersey OFF of a FELLOW Amercian's back. Big George has been representing America for over 14 years in the pro pelton and what these guys did to help AG2R shut down the last minute or so is inexcusable...what a heartbreak for George...

Leipheimer Out & TDF - Stages 9, 10,11,12

Per LA's Twitter (twitter.com/Lancearmstrong), Levi is out of the TDF with a broken wrist...bummer for Lance though...I'm thinking they could have "tag teamed" their cards to some awesome results in the last week...

Stage 9 - Breakaway makes it to the end.

Stage 10 - No Radios = Rider Boycott w/ no real racing till the last 5k or so...never even bothered to watch.

Stage 11 - Most exciting, crazy and dangerous sprint finish yet when Garmin's Farrar ALMOST comes over the top of Cavindish...he actually made up big gournd to the finish...but he just had to start from too far back...

Stage 12 - With 1.5kms to go on a solo break, my DVR runs out of "tape" and I can't see the finish. Had to check the internet to see if Sorensen actually won...

TDF - Stages 7 & 8....ZZZzzzzz...and Radios...

Borrriinnnggg.....as far as for the overall...

What a waste of good mountians. At least one of those stages should have been a mountian top finish (2 would have been asking too much of the riders I think). It got to the point where I just FF to watch the last 10 minutes or so of racing.

Good for the stage winners though. And good for Thor H. on how he ripped the Green Jersey off of Cavindish's back by hanging tough on the first couple of climbs. It was intersting to see Thor sprinting against Hincapie for the intermediate sprints...really no contest. But even if George won, it wouldn't have made any differnce cause Thor was only down by 1 point going into the stage, so he would have gotten 2nd place points anyway.

Also, I'm really interested in seeing the stages with no radios allowed. I think it's going to make for some really exciting and more confusing racing. You'll only be able to get your time splits from the motorbikes and I think it will really add a new facet to the "text book" racing that goes on now...

Also.....I think Lance really wants to WIN his 8th TDF...and I think he is going to really let loose in the last week...we'll see...

TDF - Stages 3,4,5 & 6

Stage 3 - What an awesome race that was - especially watching in HiDef when Columbia initially split the field. I'm sure every bike rider has experienced a situation where someone opens up a gap, and it's do-or-die and you try to bridge using all your matches...and you get so close to making contact, but no matter how hard you go, you just can't get across that last 20 or 30 meters...then you pop and that gap just explodes - never to be seen again - lol. It was especially cool to see Beppu putting the hammer down in the break in the beginning and end!

Stage 4 - That TTT course was just a little tight for 9 men. In fact, having less people, like Garmin had, might have even been better since you could rip through the tighter sections without worrying about loosing your last couple of guys. I felt especially sorry for Cadel cause he lost BIG time in that stage - and through no real fault of his own...though...he really didn't help himself when he accelerated at the end and dropped 3 of his riders!

Also LA and Cancellara really put on a show pounding at the front for both of there respective teams - especially awesome was Cancellara cause he needed to do all the work in the last 10k since his team doesn't have the class of Big Dogs like Astana does. And...LA ends up like 22/100th of a second OUT of the yellow jersey...well...LA WAS the 5th man for Astana across the finish...he should have just thrown his bike and it might have been his...

Stage 5 - Thomas Voeckler really had some big b@lls in attacking from KM 1 and holding off the field by 7 seconds! That was a fabulous ride for him and the 5 other breakaways to keep the field at bay for so long!!!

Stage 6 - Just got through watching Stage 6 and all I can say is what a crash fest. I hate those white lines, that's why for the wet TT a couple of weeks ago, I decided to sport the "dork mirror" so I could ride in the road as much as possible...keeping crossing the white lines to a minimum.
Also, the TDF just wouldn't be the same (or as exciting) without Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen. You just gotta just love Phil Liggett's commentary, something like..."he should keep a little in reserve cause when David hits the final climb, his legs are going to burn like a furnace!" Lol...What a great race the TDF is...

TDF - Stages 1 and 2, and Training

TDF: Can't believe it but, their OLN is broadcasting the TDF in HIGH DEF!!! Now this is really living in luxury! Makes the racing way more vivid and intense...

Stage 1 - I thought Cancellara would win...and he did by a big margin. LA did really good coming in 10th? He should get better as the race goes on...so who knows what will happen on the Astana team. Could it be another Hinault (Armstrong) vs Lemond (Contador) soap opera type of TDF???

Stage 2 - What a fabulous finish for Japanese rider Yukiya Arashiro of BBOX Bouygues Telecom - who came in 5th place sprinting against best in the world!!! I hope this wasn't just a one time flash and I hope he can contend in all the future sprints. Cavendish, as usual, was just too fast for anyone pulling out a 2 or 3 bike win...I think the only way you beat him is to jump first, and force Cavendish to come around your top speed.

4th of July Weekend Training - I'm hoping I didn't over do it.....got in 2.5 on Friday, 3.5 on Saturday, and 2.5 today...not bad considering how cr@ppy my pulled groin muscles feel. I even did 4 loops of Aliamanu on Friday, the first medium hard climbing I've done in probably 2 months or so. On Saturday I did about 2 hours in the CRAZY crazy 4th of July trafic with the T-man. And today, wanting to just take it easy, I rode my old school Bridgestone - which is always retro fun!

But, what WASN'T fun, was using some large leaves (as gloves) to work out a kink in the B-stone's non-DuraAce chain under Nimitz Highway! On a bike you don't ride often, don't ever buy anything else BUT DA, unless you want your chain to rust and kink...

Malaekahana 40k TT

Last Sunday was the annual 40k TT out at Malaekahana. As usual, got there a little later than I wanted to, and combined with a early start, I got in a shorter warm up than usual...NONE. Straight from the car right to the start line.

Conditions were rainy for the first couple miles and extra extra windy. In fact, the winds hit 48mph out at Kahuku. On the way out, I decided to ease into the race for the first 10 minutes or so to try and work up to my race effort. After about 15 or 20 minutes I finally felt pretty good - I was feeling good all week actually.

It was really really windy and I got to the turn-a-round in about 32 minutes or so...no worry, I knew I would have a raging tail wind on the way back. Well, it wasn't as much of a tail (more of a side) as I thought it would be...either that or I was losing power.

Because I was feeling good all week, I really thought I could do another 57 something, but I stopped the clock in 59:09. Not really all that happy with my time, but considering most people rode slower this year than last year, I could only feel good that I matched my last year time (59:11) in probably the toughest conditions I've ever did this race in.

Another thing I could feel good about, was that I was probably the fastest "dork" sporting a side mirror!!! That thing probably puts out some massive drag, but, I figured considering the rainy conditions, I wanted to ride in the road whenever possible - not having to weave in and out of the shoulder over the slippery painted lines and blot-dots. I ended up riding on the faster and smoother road for about 98% of the ride and I never once looked back to see how the traffic was. I figured it was probably a wash considering...and I felt a lot safer too...

Me w/ mirror :-)
http://www.photoreflect.com/pr3/orderpage.aspx?pi=0NKM000J000097&po=97

For sure next year I need to go back to my 10/1 intervals to really push the anaerobic threshold...this year I only did long non-stop 30 to 60 minute sessions and never really hurt myself like those 10 minute intervals do. I just didn't have that extra toughness to push through those sections where it got tougher.

ALSO, I have GOT to get me a disk rear wheel...all the way back during the race ALL I could think about was those charts which show how a disk can "push" you along in strong side winds (high yaw angles). See: http://www.hedcycling.com/aerodynamics_technology/

The D-man also did this race and did the fastest time he's ever done in the tough conditions - he even beat "most" of the riders he "planned" to beat.....like all the g..ls lol...
http://www.photoreflect.com/pr3/orderpage.aspx?pi=0NKM000J000102&po=102

RESULTS (June 21, 2008 Malaekahana 40km TT)
1 2 MIKE ZAGORSKI Elite Men 1/2/3 0:53:56.85 27.6
2 24 TONY LANG Master Men 30+ 0:56:21.95 26.4
3 16 RAY BRUST Master Men 30+ 0:56:46.50 26.2
4 69 TAI BLEWCHTA Elite Men 1/2/3 0:57:45.85 25.8
5 22 KEVIN KAWAINUI Master Men 30+ 0:58:02.90 25.6
6 8 AARON WALLEN Senior Men 4/5 0:58:03.05 25.6
7 31 EDUARDO SA Master Men 30+ 0:58:41.05 25.3
8 60 CARL BROOKS Elite Men 1/2/3 0:58:43.10 25.3
9 1 GARY SHIELDS Master Men 50+ 0:59:01.50 25.2
10 27 MICHAEL OKURA Master Men 30+ 0:59:03.40 25.2
11 28 STEVEN SERIKAKU Master Men 30+ 0:59:09.50 25.1
12 18 MIKE FERREIRA Master Men 30+ 0:59:31.50 25.0
13 66 GREG PRICE Master Men 30+ 0:59:58.00 24.8
14 25 DAVID LUM Master Men 30+ 1:00:22.60 24.6
15 7 CASEY TUCKER Senior Men 4/5 1:00:29.90 24.6
16 13 BEN SAMBRANO Senior Men 4/5 1:00:40.15 24.5
17 45 DAVID SUMIDA MASTER MEN 50+ 1:00:52.95 24.4
18 61 DAN MILLER Elite Men 1/2/3 1:00:56.60 24.4
19 70 JOHN CLIMALDI Elite Men 1/2/3 1:00:56.65 24.4
20 37 DEVERY ANDREWS Master Men 30+ 1:01:07.60 24.3
21 3 NGUYEN LE Elite Men 1/2/3 1:01:08.55 24.3
22 10 TROY KEIPPER Senior Men 4/5 1:01:36.95 24.1
23 63 JAMES MCGUIRE Master Men 30+ 1:01:47.75 24.1
24 33 MIKE ABBOTT Master Men 30+ 1:02:49.75 23.7
25 29 JASON SMITH Master Men 30+ 1:02:54.70 23.7
26 26 DARIN MIYAMURA Master Men 30+ 1:03:14.55 23.5
27 11 NOEL CAOAGAS Senior Men 4/5 1:04:01.50 23.2
28 19 MIKE FUJITA Master Men 30+ 1:04:02.15 23.2
29 32 ROBERT ROY Master Men 30+ 1:04:10.65 23.2
30 56 MICHELLE FOSTER Master Women 30 1:04:14.00 23.2

100 to Zero in 2...

Today, I got a flat like I never had before...

On a slight turn, riding in the middle of the road by Salt Lake library, I ran over some d@mn unseen %$^@%$*&@!!! scum piece of metal and puctured my still almost new EVO CX front tire and was down to the rim in like 2 seconds. Pretty scary when you think about it...what if I was doing 30+.....no wonder the pros ride on tubulars...

The tire still looks salvagable...so I decided to try one of those shoe goo repairs...

But, in case the tire is ruined...I was so p!ssed that I ran down to McCully tonight and bought their last EVO CX. They only have the old 290 tpi tires...there are new 320 tpi ones out now!

Anyways...I still can't get over how good these tires ride and grip...and with my new rims, how fast the setup is...

New Wheels...

After hearing so much about how good my 30mm deep Kinlin with aero spokes are, my brother is thinking of going one "deeper" with a set of these 41mm S 4.0 Soul Wheels. Total weight about 70 or 80 grams or so heavier than my Kinlins, but, the weight is all in the rims.

The Soul hubs weigh in at 72g (Front) and 202g (Rear), 274g pair (weight without skewers). My two DA hubs weighed about 430 grams or so. That means the rims will probably weigh about 105 grams more per rim - say about 565 grams per rim with the wheel set weighing 1,680 grams. This is for the black set, cause the white rims weigh 30 grams more each - probably for the paint.

Soul also makes a set pretty close to my Kinlins, their S 3.0 with a 30mm deep rim and total weight of only 1,480 due to the lighter hubs. Hummmm....what do you choose.....increased weight or better aerodynamics???

In any event, the S 4.0 is pretty reasonable at only $420 shipped!

http://bikesoul.com/2009/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=25&Itemid=36

2009 Metric Century Bike Ride

100km reward...this year's shirt is nice...

A perfect day. I usually NEVER ride this early...but this was how dark it was out my window at 5:45 this morning.

Today's clear, calm and flat conditions were a prefect for bike riding and a good test for my new Kinlin wheels. The Verdict - same as before, these things are awesome! They definitely make it easier to just cruise along without having to work as hard through the bottom of the stroke. Also, I've gone back to my Shallow Deda 215 bar and 11cm stem. The Deep bar just didn't feel as good in the tops and while standing...

This was the first time I can remember where on the way out, the wind in Kahuku was not bad at all. I was a little worried that we would face a head wind coming back, but, it was OK on the way back too. And, although I don't have a picture, the calm conditions made the ocean at Kahana Bay super clear and glassy.

This year's course was also a little shorter and a lot easier since on the way back to Haleiwa, we didn't have to ride up and loop around on the windy Highway. Instead, we took a shortcut turning right and riding right through the town...

Here we are, back safe and sound...it was a really good ride...

7800 > 7900??? Pt. 2

From Cyclingnews.com, the following:

"Columbia-Highroad is also running a mix of Shimano Dura-Ace 7800 and 7900 componentry at the moment. Most of the setup is from the newer package but many of the riders were using the older 7800 rear derailleurs. Cassettes and chains were also a mix of old and new but that is perhaps more due to stock on hand since the team needs so many of them.

Team officials wouldn't confirm as much but the rear derailleur swaps are presumably due to the older model's more durable - and stiffer - pulley cage. Given the abuse these bikes have been subjected to over the past few days, a little extra durability and resilience is likely more than worth the handful of extra grams in this case."

More reasons to save some bucks and NOT switch at this time...

Some Interesting Stuff...

Dura Ace 7800 > 7900??? - Looks like Cervelo Test Team, the team who actually BUYS their own grouppos (so that they can use what they LIKE), thinks 7800 Dura Ace is BETTER than the 7900. Apparently, the 7900 just doesn't shift that well in their new S Cervelo frames since it has some funky cable routing. In fact, I even remember reading, a while back, that a cyclocross woman pro also was also sticking to 7800 since it handles the mud better.
http://www.cyclingnews.com/tech.php?id=/photos/2009/tech/features/ronde_van_vlaanderen109/RVV_Cervelo_S2_RD

http://www.cyclingnews.com/tech.php?id=/photos/2009/tech/features/ronde_van_vlaanderen109/RVV_Cervelo_Hammond_bar

Small Kine Bike Stuff

Some new stuff I'll be adding to my bike.

New Vittoria Diamante Pro rear tire - since I'm running the Vittoria CX on the front, I wanted an equally good riding, grippy and more durable rear tire...just gotta avoid all that glass and keep my fingers crossed while I ride.

New White Profile Bar Tape - my old tape just really needs a changing...

Koolstop Salmon Brake Pads - my new Kinlin rims don't like the old DuraAce pads I had on there...especially when it's raining...