tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56659218074671076752024-03-13T14:29:10.973-07:00Embrocation TeamProfessional Amateur Bike RacingTeam Embrocationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04058967547390650841noreply@blogger.comBlogger27125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665921807467107675.post-9491969730670461782009-08-04T06:41:00.000-07:002009-08-04T06:42:00.517-07:00Blog now lives elsewhereYou are now being re-directed to www.embrocationcyclingjournal.comTeam Embrocationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04058967547390650841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665921807467107675.post-63588772841288056252009-07-27T15:47:00.000-07:002009-07-27T17:51:28.627-07:00Emails tell the tale: One Sunday; two racesThis past weekend Team Embrocation competed at the Tour of the Hill Towns road race in central Mass. More on this later. First we examine our various efforts the following day at the local races in the Boston area. The best way to do this is share our team email thread...<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">KYLE STARTS IT OUT:</span><br /><br /><span class="il">"Dudios</span>,<br /><br />It was a wonderful Sunday, where I got to see nearly all of my teammates at two separate venues - how awesome is that?<br /><br />So it's 10am and I've got all kinds of time on my hands. So I sez to myself, "Kyle, you can make the most of your spare time and get your Wells on!" So I hopped in the Bullet and sped over to Newton, with kit in trunk and bike on rack.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Wells, Wells, Wells</span><br /><br />By the time I got there, James and Chris were already lined up with<br />the rest of the field. After a lightning sign-in and quick kit up, I stealthily blended into the pack about 4 laps into the race. Spinelli and Skippy were there, but the field was smallish, so it was likely to be a breakaway day. Spinelli was attacking his shadow nearly every lap, and there was always an Embro man there to get in it, or keep the field in check. With around 11 to go, there was a big group of 9 or so forming that showed promise. Skip, Spinelli and Flamioso were already<br />up there, and I managed to bridge up solo before they got too organized. The group worked well (except when Laflamme was sprinting for the primes - nice), and we almost managed to lap the field. With 1 to go, Spinelli attacked hard and Skip covered really well. I was pulling through when it happened, so missed that one. They quickly had 300 meters, and thought we may have lost our chance, but then... out of the ashes, came a man on mission. A blur of pink, blue and green came whizzing by like a locomotive going into the first turn. KYYYYYYLE!!!!<br />Laflamme rode like a man possessed for 3/4 of lap, DRILLING it, and we were closing the gap in a major way. Going into the final turn, Chris had us strung out, me sitting on second wheel as he buried himself, belting a primal Embro battle cry - yeah! The gap to the break was<br />still about 150m, and I sprinted with about 250 to go. We caught Justin/Skip as the Embro freight train came screaming by (express, no stop) - and I got Skip by a wheel. HOORAY! So we left $20 richer, along with a huge supply of Shaklee's, and a very tight Assos headband. The booty was good.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Uh Oh - Norwell...</span><br /><br />After Wells, James and Chris went on their merry way to ride many, many miles, while I took my shit eating grin to Norwell to do it all over again. In this story, we had myself, Peter and Jay, who was hungry from the shenanigans of yesterday. Spooky brought the house, so we knew it was going to be ON, and we ready to get in the breaks and ride to glory. But it wasn't to be for me. After 5 laps, my legs were saying, "Kyle, what the hell, man? This is NOT COOL!" My hammy cramped up immediately on the hill and I gave out my own primal scream, though<br />not nearly as macho as Laflamme's (this one had a hint of whimper sprinkled in for extra effect). So I stood, then sat, then stood again - then coasted the downhill at the back of the pack trying to rub it out (don't think dirty) but to no avail, so I made an immediate left to the parking lot. Pathetic.<br /><br />So remember kids - on really hot, humid days, drink lots, stay cool, and maybe consider just doing one race.<br /><br />Bradshaw/Combs - how did it end???"<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB0_CDjPHhouVTzHtKMfYcwYQ7t-9JUTePRmLzzQDJ88erzVU6doKSgVFBTPFBZRcPDFOtdAJfV433W7Wzz6Ygz6_8tbWH1RGRELUNgo2C-CUN_MccRPeqpdx0TBsChVKYpdNnQXczDMM/s1600-h/kyle.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 272px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB0_CDjPHhouVTzHtKMfYcwYQ7t-9JUTePRmLzzQDJ88erzVU6doKSgVFBTPFBZRcPDFOtdAJfV433W7Wzz6Ygz6_8tbWH1RGRELUNgo2C-CUN_MccRPeqpdx0TBsChVKYpdNnQXczDMM/s400/kyle.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363282040471840658" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">BRADSHAW RESPONDS:</span><br /><br />Norwell was fast as expected. Spooky was there with major numbers. Got in an early break with Al, it came back shuffled and he went off again with Amos in tow. I think met-life were the ones who let it go. They stayed away the rest of the race. Multiple attempts by Jay and myself to get a second group up the road, but it wasn't to be. NEBC had the second largest team there with 6 or 7 guys, they attempted to get on the front to reel in the break but couldn't really get it together. Chilled out till 4 to go or something then got agressive again and tried to get away and / or keep the pace high in hopes of getting the break in sight. No avail. Spooky set up the train with 1 to go but imploded in the last 300 meters. Actually heard someone say the lead out was too fast, not talking acceleration, talking about the flat run in.<br /><br />Results - Kyler was out due to crushing dreams at Wells. I had no sprint after yesterday and today's pushes. Jay had a junior ride like a junior right into his front wheel: spokeys got brokeys. Luckily Jay did not going down and was able to safely stop his wobble-bike with no further damage. See attached photos of sad Jay and sad wheel.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8tkHQvKscXm297lRRI00FSjm9KlctzRJPd0EIWiiJw2eHFaoEdsfNBJWkJMX-QESStkUxWN8PvuhnKOrmmCBFijvYd9z8_7x_dyGtBBmy_oIh3eQWYImu2gnP2d2TRwzilOrEGSeLgpY/s1600-h/img_1460.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8tkHQvKscXm297lRRI00FSjm9KlctzRJPd0EIWiiJw2eHFaoEdsfNBJWkJMX-QESStkUxWN8PvuhnKOrmmCBFijvYd9z8_7x_dyGtBBmy_oIh3eQWYImu2gnP2d2TRwzilOrEGSeLgpY/s400/img_1460.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363278023931113026" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">JAMES GOADS JAY INTO A RESPONSE</span>:<br /><br />Aw, shit. Did you throw down with the offender after the race? Show him The Brisket and take him to Champagneville?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg_5wAiS6C28zjnjdN2nj3JhM37CKzxTEVJK4uiDbZfmnnOF5KvZzMX2GYtYdQF6el2UtXTJAtIQk32Il6Bo4rJ-DSVhSgh4CdF3urfxXE-TawqA3s_A1SWTsvAMWORAxKEy5PxcC51XM/s1600-h/TurtlePond+139.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 277px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg_5wAiS6C28zjnjdN2nj3JhM37CKzxTEVJK4uiDbZfmnnOF5KvZzMX2GYtYdQF6el2UtXTJAtIQk32Il6Bo4rJ-DSVhSgh4CdF3urfxXE-TawqA3s_A1SWTsvAMWORAxKEy5PxcC51XM/s400/TurtlePond+139.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363304350344416514" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">JAY (DALE CHAMPAGNE) HAS A RIDICULOUS RESPONSE:</span><br />The roads were angry with me this weekend, fellas. Angry like an old man trying to send back soup in a deli. A fall yesterday and today; a young jabroni thrust his derailleur into my front wheel in an attempt to steal my mojo during the final 1000 meters. Seriously there was maybe a foot between me and the rider in front of me and this kid tries to squeeze in. I heard the spokes blow and wobbled like a Mexican space shuttle but was able to pull through like Cougar in the opening scene from <span style="font-style: italic;">Top Gun</span>.<br /><br />Dale Champagne is nothing if not a gentlemen, so no, I did not throw down after the race and the lad did not have to face the wrath of my fleecy and well oiled brisket. There were two of these youngsters and I wasn't sure which was the culprit so I filed a complaint with the race officials. I'm sure that will teach 'em. Also after consulting with Bradshaw, who rode a nice, aggressive race, I'd like to propose no more mixing categories with juniors, masters, riders with disc wheels, or with TT helmets.<br /><br />I'd also like to give the <span style="font-style: italic;">Dale Champagne Perseverance Award</span> to T-Shirt man who showed up at Norwell today. For those who attended Yarmouth you no doubt remember the gentlemen who raced in his t-shirt, cargo shorts, and saddlebag. Well he showed up ready to race today with full kit in hand. Well done T-Shirt man.<br /><br />Shout out to Kyler for starting and looking good even after racing wells.<br /><br />So long story short I need to rebuild my DT Swiss wheel, glue a new tire onto my Reynolds wheel, and am the recipient of the <span style="font-style: italic;">Dale Champagne Thanks For Coming Out Award</span> for the weekend.<br /><br />Good seeing you all this weekend I'll be in Philly next weekend but back and ready for Tokeneke the following week.<br /><br />Tootles,<br />JayTeam Embrocationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04058967547390650841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665921807467107675.post-18994940916906375402009-07-20T14:23:00.001-07:002009-07-20T19:18:31.420-07:00Weekend in Maine, food, racing and another podium<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioKvB3U_bFYpBLHYORh21SfNrtYeL0TSa0QtXsRTXaMEcNtgSlhiLGJgoD1mFQsFomaA6xtQ8fbu4CCYUgQtzPahsE9QkbrEgJnEfn1S-w_x6NREC9yb3v5GxLNuvTqmlvYexJXaqt4XQ/s1600-h/clamfest+1005.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioKvB3U_bFYpBLHYORh21SfNrtYeL0TSa0QtXsRTXaMEcNtgSlhiLGJgoD1mFQsFomaA6xtQ8fbu4CCYUgQtzPahsE9QkbrEgJnEfn1S-w_x6NREC9yb3v5GxLNuvTqmlvYexJXaqt4XQ/s400/clamfest+1005.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360676092428655698" border="0" /></a><br />After a lackluster team performance at Fitchburg we seem to have found our collective mojo in the past couple weeks with two podium finishes in as many weeks and some well-oiled team machinery at work as well.<br /><br />We had originally planned to compete at the Owasco Stage Race in central New York this past weekend but our plans were thwarted by that race's cancellation. Instead, we traveled up to the Portland, Maine area to stay with teammate Chris Laflamme for a weekend of training and racing. Jay, Bradshaw, Chris and I did a hard training ride in the Mount Washington area of New Hampshire with some good climbs and even better scenery.<br /><br />While our ride was great, the real story of the weekend was the Clam Festival Circuit Race in Yarmouth, ME on Sunday morning. Situated in downtown Yarmouth, this is basically a long crit with a hill. A 3+ mile course with a few tight turns, one steep uphill and a long, straight downhill to the finish in front of Yarmouth town hall. Laflamme did a good job selling us on the merits of the race and convinced us to attend in force. We joined the 90+ rider field with a 7 man team, including the ever-reliable Pete Smith and new teammates Kyle Smith and Jackson Weber. Our plan was simple: have constant team representation at the front and don't let any breaks down the road without at least one of our riders in it. I'm pleased to say that we accomplished this mission to the letter.<br /><br />Laflamme and Jay were in two early breaks and both won some prime money for their efforts. Meanwhile Pete Smith, Jackson, Bradshaw and I were being vigilant at the front of the race chasing down escapees and surges in tempo. Kyle remained safely encapsulated in the field resting as much as possible and saving his legs for the final sprint effort.<br /><br />Such was our plan for the first 5 of 9 laps of hard racing. On the 5th lap, Bradshaw chased down a small escape group, which coalesced into a 4 man break containing Dan Vaillencourt of Colavita/Sutter Home and Ryan Fleming of the Metlife team and unattached rider Damien Colfer. The four man break stayed in front of the field by just a few seconds for the remainder of the race. On the last lap, Bradshaw attacked the breakaway group up the final climb, about 800 meters from the finish. He managed to distance himself from his breakaway companions with only Vaillencourt able to eventually catch him only a couple short meter from the finish line.<br /><br />Bradshaw took second place by a paper-thin 7/100ths of a second margin. While losing by such a slim margin was frustrating, there was still much to celebrate in a most impressive performance from our resident strong man. And while and all-out victory would have been nice, we take some solace in the fact that Vaillencourt is both a salaried pro and one of the nicest guys in the peloton.<br /><br />Back in the field, we realized the break was going to stick and our guy was going to end up in the top 5, so we started to execute our secondary strategy: a setup for a very fast field sprint. At about 2k to go I moved to the front of the race and looked behind me to see a few Embro guys in immediate tow. I pushed the pace as hard as I could into the final turn and pulled off when I had nothing left to give. Laflamme, Jay and Kyle came streaking past me, up the hill and into the pandemonium of the final stretch where they unleashed their sprints. Jay had the best sprint to the line, finishing 3rd in the field just behind sprinters extraordinaire Adam Meyerson and Luciano Paval and taking 7th overall while Kyle and Laflamme had respectable finishes of 18th and 19th, respectively.<br /><br />All in all, a very strong showing - our best team performance by far and an audacious, well-executed race by Bradshaw, who was psyched by his performance. I know this because he kept saying "I'm pretty psyched!" Everyone was.<br /><br />Thanks for reading, now stick around to check out some of our photos from the weekend.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT6C7LCsqvEbWV9QRP82MApOSbMc0JDA_ARRUij4A1S6wfDqSN3FaRN_7vwnKb5s4c6rfvee4s8YNWlKLNUU7gttWGHlcT1GkxMUFwabgbjNCZ33-MZg9HvIeIv1O2l8SpNJ9D3dadORQ/s1600-h/clamfest+805-1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 339px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT6C7LCsqvEbWV9QRP82MApOSbMc0JDA_ARRUij4A1S6wfDqSN3FaRN_7vwnKb5s4c6rfvee4s8YNWlKLNUU7gttWGHlcT1GkxMUFwabgbjNCZ33-MZg9HvIeIv1O2l8SpNJ9D3dadORQ/s400/clamfest+805-1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360681078980481762" border="0" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Bradshaw and Jay roll out for 10 laps of hard racing.</span><br /><br /><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkb8g7VzfgQ72dn1LjehSd8QaJ-qq_M3-JAjJyHclMbel113pOdEPmzus8uCGfVfgEzVdkwHzOY9y4lJSctJUx-5LUiGDq2IEs99uBXc_ROciFWxE-O_QsRNVGZ6Fd27CV4r1q6G6xY04/s1600-h/clamfest+828-1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 343px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkb8g7VzfgQ72dn1LjehSd8QaJ-qq_M3-JAjJyHclMbel113pOdEPmzus8uCGfVfgEzVdkwHzOY9y4lJSctJUx-5LUiGDq2IEs99uBXc_ROciFWxE-O_QsRNVGZ6Fd27CV4r1q6G6xY04/s400/clamfest+828-1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360681083366765666" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Laflamme representing in the early breaks. </span><br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnkZgykKjKEoYxj2O5LVyvZQopnlhtyHaPUAU-BAvfWxje3b1knKk1Nzi2uam7NiuqrI91jd2Ak_zS9ZpMjHeW2yGSJde3myGg1eaHG7Rz22ZCxeuTSXdorwdhZ6kkcXLOLBWSFDlG47o/s1600-h/clamfest+891-1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 282px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnkZgykKjKEoYxj2O5LVyvZQopnlhtyHaPUAU-BAvfWxje3b1knKk1Nzi2uam7NiuqrI91jd2Ak_zS9ZpMjHeW2yGSJde3myGg1eaHG7Rz22ZCxeuTSXdorwdhZ6kkcXLOLBWSFDlG47o/s400/clamfest+891-1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360681088067440210" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">The winning break was originally 5 strong, but came down to Bradshaw and Vaillencourt in the final meters. </span><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi18R36Q_OHONJzDdCRuaksnyc-uGZJWnaYFxyAYKN0XGFSRdG2MXVoOFD0oOMN_cH6ZhEDEgUTv13eKCJWaDev3hlddA2OzOpQ4dX9Ly3yQKAhA4BvbZJnwdJbYhfA-_feNdiL57IfRVs/s1600-h/clamfest+955-1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 374px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi18R36Q_OHONJzDdCRuaksnyc-uGZJWnaYFxyAYKN0XGFSRdG2MXVoOFD0oOMN_cH6ZhEDEgUTv13eKCJWaDev3hlddA2OzOpQ4dX9Ly3yQKAhA4BvbZJnwdJbYhfA-_feNdiL57IfRVs/s400/clamfest+955-1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360679630276141650" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Bradshaw and Vaillencourt drive to the finish head to head.<br /><br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhto_Nans7DlH8lL_lJ7y-AtW9O6RrClC-pfHriOLzhr_ft1hgcX3lajRfWP6mQ7LDzqKNMdr4zxRuXzJm_Wwv3ovySKGeGJD4fh9TxhHOcA1GCbthrc4S-ZHvwe9yH1wIMTnNqavY4iMg/s1600-h/clamfest+958-2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 355px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhto_Nans7DlH8lL_lJ7y-AtW9O6RrClC-pfHriOLzhr_ft1hgcX3lajRfWP6mQ7LDzqKNMdr4zxRuXzJm_Wwv3ovySKGeGJD4fh9TxhHOcA1GCbthrc4S-ZHvwe9yH1wIMTnNqavY4iMg/s400/clamfest+958-2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360684879062979794" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Too close to call at the line, but Vaillencourt had an edge measured in inches.</span>.. <span style="font-style: italic;">just enough.</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br /></span></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi08BrWxAFegarJW9eN7iDNqpU1_KnaVhPPTk8oOj2uylHrkp2P_7XUAk8P8cmK5Tg_GrWic7jFr7qPXR2eiVAq9V1_m9Y0T0pBf2z5jLZ3qnF9G3s7Jra0cMYwnxAr5jP4n7_DdQP-rrc/s1600-h/clamfest+961-1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 273px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi08BrWxAFegarJW9eN7iDNqpU1_KnaVhPPTk8oOj2uylHrkp2P_7XUAk8P8cmK5Tg_GrWic7jFr7qPXR2eiVAq9V1_m9Y0T0pBf2z5jLZ3qnF9G3s7Jra0cMYwnxAr5jP4n7_DdQP-rrc/s400/clamfest+961-1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360684215965720370" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Jay doing his bad-ass thing at the finish taking 3rd in the field sprint.</span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqMiBU7KJZ2CTLUNbEKPGg1dVfy5HjXHZR3bDh9U93gvQgwf8DpufZxTL0WIoR4gPmkXb44846YlpzIZtPt7l5evkMtiyIU6bnW_LjAtENBqlp6O7NuTiZwUykuIGrFvPGgpDaFquSxoI/s1600-h/clamfest+979-1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 323px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqMiBU7KJZ2CTLUNbEKPGg1dVfy5HjXHZR3bDh9U93gvQgwf8DpufZxTL0WIoR4gPmkXb44846YlpzIZtPt7l5evkMtiyIU6bnW_LjAtENBqlp6O7NuTiZwUykuIGrFvPGgpDaFquSxoI/s400/clamfest+979-1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360679093966927826" border="0" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Cory Masson of Metlife and I roll casually through the finish having done our respective lead-out duties. </span><br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIxlAQikhPKrDvduAYWSw_m9AL5RW_MbBDB8Lmek0L7zg1-9orVGawtcMrXrOal-vZCBJ_a03T2kJ-IP65UBZe8jRa3_4FNiG4hgQ6YhGLzE82DAVXOKBaHaoTPz5JZsn0k_gZiCaffFs/s1600-h/clamfest+1001-1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIxlAQikhPKrDvduAYWSw_m9AL5RW_MbBDB8Lmek0L7zg1-9orVGawtcMrXrOal-vZCBJ_a03T2kJ-IP65UBZe8jRa3_4FNiG4hgQ6YhGLzE82DAVXOKBaHaoTPz5JZsn0k_gZiCaffFs/s400/clamfest+1001-1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360682888115770322" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Post-race meeting - job well done. </span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv6_ul5W6Qq8zR7cVa3KoF1oUfe8X5BaZD0x_PM-g4ed-yNf75bXdQAIeRsj6GTESXfBPGqdcIITE6smiaMiRYZGCNek5TbxSNLi3B-UWUPIEvM-pcjnKDucPe4ceX0w9npPiNjTOxDgA/s1600-h/moneyshot.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv6_ul5W6Qq8zR7cVa3KoF1oUfe8X5BaZD0x_PM-g4ed-yNf75bXdQAIeRsj6GTESXfBPGqdcIITE6smiaMiRYZGCNek5TbxSNLi3B-UWUPIEvM-pcjnKDucPe4ceX0w9npPiNjTOxDgA/s400/moneyshot.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360683290731453746" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Second place plus prime money - the spoils of war. </span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDvsK1AVyg15TcUgorVFFlFEW7qCYrHKczXTU4zYzm7DTh64poBWdi6dL2nx3hwSLYkO7fgJAsD6TfB07rVMEQSJg14692g1SaSOIIvRm8u7c9Sn3UHcB740N3Msg5rq4IeH8JFnKxsuU/s1600-h/clams.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDvsK1AVyg15TcUgorVFFlFEW7qCYrHKczXTU4zYzm7DTh64poBWdi6dL2nx3hwSLYkO7fgJAsD6TfB07rVMEQSJg14692g1SaSOIIvRm8u7c9Sn3UHcB740N3Msg5rq4IeH8JFnKxsuU/s400/clams.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360683655913703138" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">An much-deserved post-race meal, Maine style. </span><br /><br /></div>Team Embrocationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04058967547390650841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665921807467107675.post-52098976957511960642009-07-14T13:37:00.000-07:002009-07-15T16:08:59.755-07:00Victory in New York<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIiFL6_DNmTibsJMi2aMS6DdvXYvYg-GKDRQiE0u84tOao9hf1D5Sz4r52XPGWOvBFxPapW0jpzBTqdcQwOpM3Eh1MglUW3Lg7Rod2x9t8-XK3S3wWRhYXbxN_NaGyCo5u9TjxwlOBulc/s1600-h/unionvale.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 278px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIiFL6_DNmTibsJMi2aMS6DdvXYvYg-GKDRQiE0u84tOao9hf1D5Sz4r52XPGWOvBFxPapW0jpzBTqdcQwOpM3Eh1MglUW3Lg7Rod2x9t8-XK3S3wWRhYXbxN_NaGyCo5u9TjxwlOBulc/s400/unionvale.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358418821179301298" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The course</span><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Unionvale</span> is in the Hudson Valley area of New York State, which is quite a hilly area. We did 5 laps, each with 3 climbs, each one more difficult than the previous. There were also a series of descents after these climbs, some sections fairly technical. After the fifth and final lap we turned off course and up a 1.5 mile climb to the finish. The finishing climb is steepest toward the bottom maintains a fairly constant gradient until the last half mile where it flattens out considerably allowing for a big-ring finishing effort.<br /><br />In past years, the finish has come down to a select group sprinting for placing at the top of the climb.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">How it played out</span><br />Our field was relatively small - about 40 starters in the Pro/1/2/3 field. Some very good riders were in attendance, though, including Cameron <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Cogburn</span> of the Chris' Cookies team out of Ithaca, Matt <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Purdy</span> from <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Kenda</span>/Spooky and some very fast riders from the Jonathan Adler, Team <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Metra</span>/Wendy's and Anthem Sports.<br /><br />We showed up to race with Peter Bradshaw, Cory Burns and me. This was Cory's first road race since <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Battenkill</span> - he'd had a bad crash in a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">crit</span> earlier in the season and has been nursing himself back to form since, as well as slaying a few time trials in his homeland of upstate New York. Cory proved himself back in shape when he attacked only a few miles into the first lap, bringing three other riders with him and hanging out in front of the field for two laps. This perfectly executed move allowed Bradshaw and me to sit in, save our energy and let other teams do the chase work.<br /><br />Toward the middle of lap 3 the field made contact with the breakaway. Bradshaw decided to preempt the inevitable attack that would follow the catch and launched off the front of the field on one of the course's flatter sections. The field stretched out to single file as racers immediately responded to Bradshaw's attack. There followed a series of attacks and counter attacks through the flat section of the course and through the feed zone climb. While not steep, the feed zone climb was a somewhat long drag with a number of turns. The constant attacks and changes of pace lead to a fracturing of the field into several smaller groups. This breakup continued <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">throughout</span> the small downhill after the feed zone and into the next climb, which was another longish grind. Bradshaw was at the front setting a hard pace while I sat toward the front of the group read to respond to any attacks. When we crested this hill I realized how much the pace and series of attacks had affected the riders around me - many were hurting. Shortly after this crest, there started a fairly significant downhill section with some sharp turns toward the bottom. I thought I would try attacking on the downhill, figuring most of the field would use the moment to rest and recover from the previous climbs.<br /><br />This moment proved perfect for an attack. After the steepest part of the descent I peeked under my arm and saw I had opened a gap from the field. I pressed on, moving through a slight riser, around a sharp turn and into another downhill as hard as I could. A few minutes later I looked behind me again and saw nothing but open road. This was a pretty shocking experience for me. Like many racers who specialize in hill climbing I'm not the best at time trialing or riding consistently fast with my face in the wind.<br /><br />I rode solo for half a lap until 3 riders bridged up to me. I'm much better in a small group than on my own so I was most happy to see them approach me and I eagerly jumped on the back of their little group as they came past me. Our group of 4 quickly turned to a group of 3 as one of the riders fell off on the feed zone climb. We set hard tempo for the next lap, working well together. Our lead car fell back several times to give us time splits, which were all in the low two minute range. Our steady pace up the hills finally took its toll on another breakaway companion, who fell back on the final hill of the course. Our break was now two: me and Jeff <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Zygo</span> from the MVP Health Care team, who had been riding solidly and setting good pace up the hills. We approached the final climb together and hit the lower slopes of the 1.5 mile drag up to the finish side by side. Our pace was moderate for the first half mile until I decided to lift the pace slightly. I was surprised when I turned around to see that I had opened a gap to Jeff. I lifted the pace a little bit more and settled into a <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">rhythm</span> that I felt I could maintain for the duration of the climb without wasting the energy I might need to sprint at the top.<br /><br />The climb began to mellow out toward the top and I caught sight of the 200m notice coming up in the distance. I looked behind me again and saw no sign of any other riders approaching me.<br />It's the way I've always wanted to win a bike race - off the front of the group with nobody in sight behind. <br /><br />The course suited me well and I felt great that day, but the credit still has to go to my teammates, who played their parts perfectly. While I was in the break, Bradshaw was doing his best to control things in the group. He got into a chase group for a time and was able to finish in a more than respectable 9<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">th</span> place in the group surge to the line. Cory dropped out with some technical issues but not before he had done more than his fair share of work. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Up Next</span><br />This weekend the team will be traveling to Maine to participate in the Clam Festival circuit race in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Yarmouth</span>. Should be a good time and with most of the team in attendance we think we can do pretty well.<br /><br />Thanks for reading.<br /><br />JamesTeam Embrocationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04058967547390650841noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665921807467107675.post-15550414482430536332009-07-07T06:20:00.000-07:002009-07-07T09:06:32.060-07:00Lessons from the Fitchburg Longsjo ClassicThis past weekend we fielded 5 riders in the Cat 2 field and 1 lone rider in the Pro/1 field of the 50<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">th</span> annual <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Fitchburg</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Longsjo</span> Classic stage race. This marked a few firsts for the team and our riders: First NRC race for Peter Bradshaw; First Cat 2 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Fitchburg</span> for all other members of the team and the first major outing with our whole Cat 2 squad. As might be expected, we learned some serious lessons out on the road that will prove valuable in the future. As a team we had a decent performance, especially in the road race where we were able to represent in every break, despite falling a bit short in the long-run.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Lesson 1: Get a team vehicle. </span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9UkboooOwG0uH4gh-OVbbs87IgFC3lQ7WzJVbJ502_A3aia7aIXMvTE6PcZtntSsYNMPpODRQixnZffwmhJj_aNisCgYophZBcd3EJvNyXN9y8_8rZpbkH5PHIGgynqZWC3oqndT0eAw/s1600-h/Fitch2009+019.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9UkboooOwG0uH4gh-OVbbs87IgFC3lQ7WzJVbJ502_A3aia7aIXMvTE6PcZtntSsYNMPpODRQixnZffwmhJj_aNisCgYophZBcd3EJvNyXN9y8_8rZpbkH5PHIGgynqZWC3oqndT0eAw/s400/Fitch2009+019.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355722425215351042" border="0" /></a><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Ok</span>, so this isn't a real lesson about the race itself, just a wish for the future. Stage races are a big pain - two bikes, a ton of wheels, food, trainers, spare parts and clothes all shoved into a small Japanese car. The situation only gets worse as the weekend progressed with stinky clothing, etc.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Lesson 2: Dial in your equipment before the race! </span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg__s5NCQaYktcpi_j8CSlh4SBJkD2CuEe4i60whVLpe093r8va0DC5GSQLQcwMeubgx44juM-EMO99-XhFvhmSnk4p9HdzYiNHiVIDSH5YBBL_gSsb_t9DYEh36IQB1U5ppaKHvbs-bT8/s1600-h/Fitch2009+023.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg__s5NCQaYktcpi_j8CSlh4SBJkD2CuEe4i60whVLpe093r8va0DC5GSQLQcwMeubgx44juM-EMO99-XhFvhmSnk4p9HdzYiNHiVIDSH5YBBL_gSsb_t9DYEh36IQB1U5ppaKHvbs-bT8/s400/Fitch2009+023.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355722838504762370" border="0" /></a>Jay Combs has been known for impressive <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">performances</span> in time trials and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">crits</span>. At last year's <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Longsjo</span> he won the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">TT</span> and wore the leader's jersey in the Cat 3 race. We expected a good time trial from him this year as well and he expected the same thing of himself. Near the start gate, Jay noticed his rear brake caliper was not re-opening as well as it should, indicating some drag inside the cable housing. Jay's last-minute attempts to fix this small issue took his focus away from the action in the start house and he missed his start time by 70 seconds. His official time was listed as 20:34 putting him in 53rd place. Had he left on time and had he applied a similar effort his official time would have been 19:24, which would have put him in or close to the top 10. Nobody was angrier at Jay than himself for our first-day loss of a true <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">GC</span> contender.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Lesson 3: Have a plan B</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcNoznMZgJzF1X_JXk8IOGfWgVSQJG2LfXju4DraxKU4ePwJv3S37S9kvUhET3dS6ppeo3c2Dcs-bqjm5mkSMYTe_M23sxGdMSNOMJ5lvF3KCam1iQmJazBtAgh8o798-bdLG9NeXb6D4/s1600-h/chris1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcNoznMZgJzF1X_JXk8IOGfWgVSQJG2LfXju4DraxKU4ePwJv3S37S9kvUhET3dS6ppeo3c2Dcs-bqjm5mkSMYTe_M23sxGdMSNOMJ5lvF3KCam1iQmJazBtAgh8o798-bdLG9NeXb6D4/s400/chris1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355738794746698018" border="0" /></a>The stage 2 circuit race as the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Longsjo</span> is fast, fairly technical and in recent history has rarely favored a break-away. With our <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">GC</span> plans squandered, we <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">collectively</span> decided to go for the green points jersey. We <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">specifically</span> (and in retrospect, stupidly) decided to ignore any breaks, deciding instead to let the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">GC</span> contenders keep the race together while we set up for the sprint points. The first lap was flawless: Josh and I set up a fast lead-out for Jay and Chris, with Chris taking maximum points at the line. Shortly after, a break got down the road and managed to stay there the entire race, soaking up all the remaining sprint points and eliminating our hopes for that competition as well.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Lesson 3: Don't shoot all your arrows in the first volley</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO6oofoVR9w3DV9EeQH11n2euqWfvdmE0L2_QpXaGXYvVWr7_-NbaRxNpT0UGRZUTpHz2r2oRMxRs8WbgqVxZgzwj6HuzZA4CErMIO3QXUVgtVN1PWHQx3LfIpautDJ78jlU83ktE8urg/s1600-h/Jay2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO6oofoVR9w3DV9EeQH11n2euqWfvdmE0L2_QpXaGXYvVWr7_-NbaRxNpT0UGRZUTpHz2r2oRMxRs8WbgqVxZgzwj6HuzZA4CErMIO3QXUVgtVN1PWHQx3LfIpautDJ78jlU83ktE8urg/s400/Jay2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355738043302953938" border="0" /></a>Having given up both <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">GC</span> and green jersey aspirations we collected our pride and decided to head into the road race intent on having a good individual stage finish. We thought the key to this would be <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">diligence</span> at the front of the field and <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">representation</span> in all major breaks. At this we did <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">achieve</span> our goal. Jay and Chris managed to get into early breaks, Jay's lasting a few laps until the field caught all but the eventual race winner Matt <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">Purdy</span>. Later in the race I managed to bridge up to a larger break. 8 of us stayed between Matt and the main field for 3 laps only to be caught in the final few km. With so much effort given to driving breaks, chasing attacks and <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">controlling</span> the front of the race we had virtually nothing to give when the final 2km arrived. My break had just been caught, <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">while</span> Jay, Josh and Chris had ridden themselves into the ground in previous efforts. We should have assigned one rider to remain sheltered in the group until the final assault.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Lesson 4: Stick with the race leaders</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK1JI7XP0Z0gCwms4i8Mh8gBGPNCX7PssIi-Y3Nm2oKU8BSe1ediTiKo0iK0zVojA8gwW5ISQhv7VO6I9BQxqRgCyDGoCmnhAm79uVlxhyphenhyphenRVLoQOV28PEv2HVIEKfMEygjiqcWA8UKO_Y/s1600-h/Fitch2009+056-1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 302px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK1JI7XP0Z0gCwms4i8Mh8gBGPNCX7PssIi-Y3Nm2oKU8BSe1ediTiKo0iK0zVojA8gwW5ISQhv7VO6I9BQxqRgCyDGoCmnhAm79uVlxhyphenhyphenRVLoQOV28PEv2HVIEKfMEygjiqcWA8UKO_Y/s400/Fitch2009+056-1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355735551669018578" border="0" /></a>After two stages, there's a reason why the race leaders lead the race - they're the strong guys and they'll do what it takes to finish near the top. Don't hesitate to stick with them. Not a new lesson, just painful <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22">reinforcement</span> of an old one.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Lesson 5: There's no shame in taking neutral wheels</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY0AJjPsIsZCr-6msEsEc9fKwwDdWNbimGF74bwNuB0bDS_cKSJWDCFBn85c3VVnirf2eBx4PrPgGkKBm9Aa6HwYN-z7pPIsUfaK0R5cCjjzHHOrXUToN47WvQTxeRmhNXjK-gW0IPQXw/s1600-h/Fitch2009+218-1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 396px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY0AJjPsIsZCr-6msEsEc9fKwwDdWNbimGF74bwNuB0bDS_cKSJWDCFBn85c3VVnirf2eBx4PrPgGkKBm9Aa6HwYN-z7pPIsUfaK0R5cCjjzHHOrXUToN47WvQTxeRmhNXjK-gW0IPQXw/s400/Fitch2009+218-1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355743234948611170" border="0" /></a>A flat tire the week prior forced me to do a hasty and ultimately shoddy glue job on my tubular Fulcrum race wheels I like for <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23">crits</span>. I sheepishly went to the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_24">SRAM</span> neutral support pit prior to my race and explained my situation. Without hesitation they gave me a set of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_25">Zipp</span> 404 clincher wheels with Michelin Pro3 Race tires. This wheel and tire combo proved to be nearly perfect for the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_26">crit</span>. The <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_27">SRAM</span> guys also informed me that if you roll a tubular in a race USA Cycling can suspend your license for endangering the race. Jay raced safely on his <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_28">tubulars</span>...<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Lesson 6: Enjoy the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_29">crit</span></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSROFpYTGc-hiOYILCQBSNBZICXxpH5JfYA_pDMiHZl7eG8jd_YVwVdvzVoSMpNXLx9z9YEwPkDq9pJisiacN_9kR79H8oWrzBo07QolEcncbe_b0pDys3bby0Y7zHtu9Z06IaRVTbPWI/s1600-h/Fitch2009+667.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSROFpYTGc-hiOYILCQBSNBZICXxpH5JfYA_pDMiHZl7eG8jd_YVwVdvzVoSMpNXLx9z9YEwPkDq9pJisiacN_9kR79H8oWrzBo07QolEcncbe_b0pDys3bby0Y7zHtu9Z06IaRVTbPWI/s400/Fitch2009+667.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355742682398537026" border="0" /></a><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_30">Crits</span> are usually a necessary evil part of stage races for me. For the first time in a while, I actually really enjoyed racing the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_31">crit</span>. Despite some sketchy road conditions in places the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_32">Fitchburg</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_33">crit</span> course is really fun and was quite fast and safe this year. The two penultimate turns are tight and anything less than total <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_34">concentration</span> can lead to bad crashes. This year we managed to avoid any such pile-ups in that section - every time through was clean and fast. It's the last day of the race - enjoy it.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Lesson 7: Acquire as many discarded bottles as possible</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU9__9M2hCNSUJc5gVidt4asXKEiD7kIHoCRIf95rmGT5qurrwuZQjbSkHriM4zLLVQiqR5P3Yi2dUq89_IcejAa4Qm0ZbGsgjh9spqoPGtJlG-mPhuCkjBWJ565SaC6vX8fCy9Brr6LA/s1600-h/Fitch2009+679-1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 345px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU9__9M2hCNSUJc5gVidt4asXKEiD7kIHoCRIf95rmGT5qurrwuZQjbSkHriM4zLLVQiqR5P3Yi2dUq89_IcejAa4Qm0ZbGsgjh9spqoPGtJlG-mPhuCkjBWJ565SaC6vX8fCy9Brr6LA/s400/Fitch2009+679-1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355746622052873042" border="0" /></a>Our team started the season with a ton of bottles. Before the start of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_35">Fitchburg</span> Bradshaw and I were only able to scrape together 8 between the two of us. Our other guys were <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_36">experiencing</span> a similar bottle dearth. So where did our bottles go? Into the bike racing bottle collective, of course. Every time we toss a bottle in a feed zone it's scooped up by someone from another team and goes into their collection. We know this for a fact because we see other riders cruising around with our bottles in their cages. And it's all good - that's the way it should work. The water bottle economy is one of balance - bottles out, bottles in - everyone maintains a balance. We've just become complacent about the bottles-in part of the equation recently. This weekend we managed to get back what we've given: we were diligent about picking up orphan bottles and <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_37">appropriating</span> them into our own collection. For those teams out there that are stingy and particular about reclaiming their own bottles, give and give alike I say...<br /><br /><br />Lessons learned; raced hard; a good time had by all. Onto the next race.<br /><br />Thanks for reading.<br /><br />JamesTeam Embrocationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04058967547390650841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665921807467107675.post-9586143169816769852009-06-23T09:29:00.000-07:002009-06-23T09:36:14.350-07:00Burns wins in Rochester<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKJiIhLdS9q-n8u6m8TUQseh71a7ABHAfZdpkP5KLu_LdmhkQPJANePSRfxJx4eDRwLeSszprvrV1fw9h5rPpb5EhJ_oWI7BYHIM7SeeFy7iPh8bC6zBW2060Kq06CI8H-mboJ2ZfZozU/s1600-h/tt+pic+1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 341px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKJiIhLdS9q-n8u6m8TUQseh71a7ABHAfZdpkP5KLu_LdmhkQPJANePSRfxJx4eDRwLeSszprvrV1fw9h5rPpb5EhJ_oWI7BYHIM7SeeFy7iPh8bC6zBW2060Kq06CI8H-mboJ2ZfZozU/s400/tt+pic+1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5350561344193496898" border="0" /></a><br />First the good news: Cory Burns won the <a href="http://gvcc.11net.com/results/JonDechauTTCategoryResults2009.pdf">John Dechau Memorial time trial</a> near Rochester, NY this weekend. He completed the 35km time trial circuit in 44:01.52. That's pretty damn fast, especially considering the rainy conditions. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjttWhzOBW0TmVIFt7s6wPCMadi-lDlGGrSSMN86AZRnNtqMJXBaqpSoCD5I-LhiOjKUn926NmOKfF1rbbdAkIwj-Rvi_tQ_-6Tr_yq8DmgVPI_CWFQFuWEM9o2s-DBkk57rgYBgJaSYEM/s1600-h/tt+pic+2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 326px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjttWhzOBW0TmVIFt7s6wPCMadi-lDlGGrSSMN86AZRnNtqMJXBaqpSoCD5I-LhiOjKUn926NmOKfF1rbbdAkIwj-Rvi_tQ_-6Tr_yq8DmgVPI_CWFQFuWEM9o2s-DBkk57rgYBgJaSYEM/s400/tt+pic+2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5350561347004938818" border="0" /></a>Team Embrocationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04058967547390650841noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665921807467107675.post-80876501567620221432009-06-16T11:15:00.000-07:002009-06-16T11:36:04.346-07:00A New Bike for Bradshaw<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAf44OCYJiS2KgQDIjKMtYdzKq4xqYEdtDYCanzxHUcJrkPAPiNy_c95rwzmCbw6CBPktj0jQzsw8fOvIV5bZKgz06KqLWWmNeio5udH6yoaIdNDoZxY83FUt4nnBK5P89szLiKoVR2Pw/s1600-h/Peg1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAf44OCYJiS2KgQDIjKMtYdzKq4xqYEdtDYCanzxHUcJrkPAPiNy_c95rwzmCbw6CBPktj0jQzsw8fOvIV5bZKgz06KqLWWmNeio5udH6yoaIdNDoZxY83FUt4nnBK5P89szLiKoVR2Pw/s400/Peg1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347994180111154194" border="0" /></a><br />Our resident strongman and clothing model, Peter Bradshaw has always been a strong rider on the road. This year he's been a regular participant in the local time trial series with the goal of increasing his TT performances in stage races, etc. His performances have been pretty impressive - I've made the mistake of starting just in front of him on a few occasions only to have him fly by after only a couple miles. He's done this mostly without the use of a dedicated TT bike. By mostly I mean he's been borrowing Josh's bike for the last few weeks and doing so has allowed him to set some personal best times out on the local course. <br /><br />Now it's a whole new ballgame. Enter one of the most unique TT bikes out there that will hopefully carry Mr. Bradshaw to some seriously fast efforts against the clock later in the year.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEN9MqYWpDRC6jjQM0WNx3rtTMK8q6l8hIjw8e2uHqp53VegQ5qc7QHlCtUhTP7chqFp1tSCV_T2G9jWM2eJLpJEUoh218lVtRufw3uTdU0y1p1tV_ZQ51bKF55sdGGAU4_A60naVhhnk/s1600-h/Peg2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEN9MqYWpDRC6jjQM0WNx3rtTMK8q6l8hIjw8e2uHqp53VegQ5qc7QHlCtUhTP7chqFp1tSCV_T2G9jWM2eJLpJEUoh218lVtRufw3uTdU0y1p1tV_ZQ51bKF55sdGGAU4_A60naVhhnk/s400/Peg2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347994186852185266" border="0" /></a><br />Our quest for a skinny bike for Bradshaw led me to my friend and great team supporter Craig Gaulzetti, who built our <a href="http://www.gaulzetticicli.com/">team's road bikes</a> earlier in the year. Craig is also one of the head fellas over at <a href="http://internationalbike.com/">International Bicycle Centers</a> here in Boston and had access to several TT framesets, the most unique of which was an unused Pegoretti TT bike left over from International's association with the Nerac team a few years back. The Peg TT bike is essentially the aero version of the Love #3 aluminum frameset. It's handmade in Italy and has some phenomenal welds and a pretty cool paint job.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU7VOfFa753l6kYwZNGQW9FHTgM_Jj1tPoLfgMSFOc1LsbBABJTrF244mRdoIpAt2OUh1ycN5LECqLKI6IuqOdnYALG0PpWjEa12y1yoxkYAiMSim9-v1RD9PscJw4S2_EnPA1OcTMPFA/s1600-h/peg3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU7VOfFa753l6kYwZNGQW9FHTgM_Jj1tPoLfgMSFOc1LsbBABJTrF244mRdoIpAt2OUh1ycN5LECqLKI6IuqOdnYALG0PpWjEa12y1yoxkYAiMSim9-v1RD9PscJw4S2_EnPA1OcTMPFA/s400/peg3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347994188369100818" border="0" /></a><br />So team Nerac's white, purple and red don't even come close to matching our blues and green it's at least unique looking and won't be any less quick. We'll probably send it to our painter over the winter so the appropriate team paint job can be applied. For now, we'll see just how fast it can go. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp4x4UnGnh_FTfJqV4BW9qhVrbjZFkGTL_vNEM_gmkB4Vp-U18-UwPiTu0fJGH7DHajbiyVTfDeDsyWTjpkFiWXIlIZW3r43yz0_u6uin4KIRriy5gYfxtOPmfzPSZ3hIA4-MRBKKWh0I/s1600-h/peg4.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp4x4UnGnh_FTfJqV4BW9qhVrbjZFkGTL_vNEM_gmkB4Vp-U18-UwPiTu0fJGH7DHajbiyVTfDeDsyWTjpkFiWXIlIZW3r43yz0_u6uin4KIRriy5gYfxtOPmfzPSZ3hIA4-MRBKKWh0I/s400/peg4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347994190676835650" border="0" /></a>We'll see a complete setup on this bike before too long and hopefully get some action shots as well. <br /><br />Thanks for reading.<br /><br />JamesTeam Embrocationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04058967547390650841noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665921807467107675.post-32542192576126971052009-06-11T05:11:00.000-07:002009-06-11T07:39:39.710-07:00Product Experience: Maxxis Road TiresI'll give you the bottom line first: Maxxis tires are among the most underrated road clinchers currently on the market. After more than 3 years using these and with a good number of us riding them this year I feel confident that they should be considered on par, or better in some cases, than Michelin, Continental and other leading tires.<br /><br />We've been using 3 models from Maxxis this year:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJybB4FAtlVF6a7kGs1Nv3zaPQJ1Rm5X67YSwELMEFOSP80DGo7fVShGDkhKSakwklDljQCcMADmzbMz8oU8pvigLJWPxexYKGWUPnBBRED87zV527W_8pFKpJ6OIS8AIheuXHqbj2FxQ/s1600-h/RaphaRace+030.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJybB4FAtlVF6a7kGs1Nv3zaPQJ1Rm5X67YSwELMEFOSP80DGo7fVShGDkhKSakwklDljQCcMADmzbMz8oU8pvigLJWPxexYKGWUPnBBRED87zV527W_8pFKpJ6OIS8AIheuXHqbj2FxQ/s400/RaphaRace+030.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346065403881666530" border="0" /></a>The <span style="font-weight: bold;">Re-Fuse</span> is an inexpensive and durable training tire . We've had very good luck with the 700x25 size tire which has held up extremely well over hundreds of miles in all conditions including many training miles on dirt roads such as on the <a href="http://embrocationteam.blogspot.com/2009/06/rapha-gentlemens-race.html">Rapha Gentlemen's Race</a> and the <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVVTRw-RBhYTvjQVvcmk3N-SbMxjlele4bgPZW1QYT2tURH1nSOg2X0NPK4x1h0MnmbZRyEdq_Xv5bAcdhMu98GvGWHGhh_7YKXtPzTfJcYyf4g81G_h7iGWYv7oHG3Ovd5ays0GDSqOs/s1600-h/MeetingHouse.JPG">Battenkill pre-ride</a>. This tire uses a very grippy tread pattern and the wider profile of the 25mm tire is perfect for the less-than-stellar roads in the Boston area. I've logged almost 2000 miles on one set of these tires so far this season with zero flats. In fact, I can't even locate any cuts or gouges in the tire's exterior. If there's a downside to this tire I would say that it doesn't inspire total confidence in the corners, nor does it feel particularly fast. Given that these are training tires, not race tires, these drawbacks are practically not worth mentioning. With their proven ability to go long miles and they're relatively low cost (about $35 apiece at retail) these are a worthwhile investment for any rider doing lots of miles on variable road surfaces. <br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUvMZdYtlBoHYWNxIlKH6GcS2tjlRAGc04yl-XCgsJk6tBop47Q3tREvslSuo-MXbLRsH3lrx-UAC99c-GgnQLO0UDLZJmYrwnjyQUens3rwXJfj9JK3RQfnNs1Vw8cSSIVqjE-sBlJLg/s1600-h/maxxis+003.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUvMZdYtlBoHYWNxIlKH6GcS2tjlRAGc04yl-XCgsJk6tBop47Q3tREvslSuo-MXbLRsH3lrx-UAC99c-GgnQLO0UDLZJmYrwnjyQUens3rwXJfj9JK3RQfnNs1Vw8cSSIVqjE-sBlJLg/s400/maxxis+003.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346063389145817746" border="0" /></a>The <span style="font-weight: bold;">Xenith Hors Categorie</span> is probably the best all-round tire we've tried from Maxxis. We've been using this dual compound clincher for training and racing with good success. The first noticable characteristic of this tire is how sticky they are in the corners. The very soft grey compound on the sides grabs hold of the road as well as any other pure race tire we've tried. The ride quality on these tires is also good. In most respects I would compare this tire to the Michelin Pro3 race. It's similarly constructed, has a familiar ride quality and performs in an equally high performance manner. The big advantage of this tire versus the Pro3 is how long it lasts. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNIMDoBfMzjyHGk6EkTyCGOd4wf4JgQbTznjrUCHWmRylSoOpaHuBfbDSXKdiwL79kbU3IzCa-OX7g3w6Zc0CwvtLKXh3uh9gDuBz41ONiI5rq-Pk2VdFU4IMEm5eO6biUt7VqUC3POcU/s1600-h/maxxis+004.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNIMDoBfMzjyHGk6EkTyCGOd4wf4JgQbTznjrUCHWmRylSoOpaHuBfbDSXKdiwL79kbU3IzCa-OX7g3w6Zc0CwvtLKXh3uh9gDuBz41ONiI5rq-Pk2VdFU4IMEm5eO6biUt7VqUC3POcU/s400/maxxis+004.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346063477614955986" border="0" /></a>While Pro3's wear out within a few hundred miles, we've ridden the Xenith well in excess of 1000 miles, including many winter miles. Our most used Xeniths suffer many small cuts and slices, especially in the softer grey compound, yet none of this damage penetraged the casing or resulted in flats. Price on the Xenith is slightly less than the Pro3 Race. They can be had a bike stores for about $45 apiece. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN77ekmHnxlvYLdezJW0_7w5qRehUJuhHTGqsbHhqbg1pridNXH-EM6BzWDafLxaP85-6tVmbcmO4y9t5ByHj2W5qjKsN4Q4Wb3D5CJzJlQihebv8mH0vCSeFsUKEl1APJ0mX17SN30hY/s1600-h/Courchevel-1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN77ekmHnxlvYLdezJW0_7w5qRehUJuhHTGqsbHhqbg1pridNXH-EM6BzWDafLxaP85-6tVmbcmO4y9t5ByHj2W5qjKsN4Q4Wb3D5CJzJlQihebv8mH0vCSeFsUKEl1APJ0mX17SN30hY/s400/Courchevel-1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346063963292796818" border="0" /></a>The <span style="font-weight: bold;">Courchevel</span> is a race-specific clincher. It's similar in ride quality to the Xenith but is slightly lighter and uses a triple compound for great cornering. It's more of a pure race tire than the Xenith but has held up well over a few hundred miles so far. It's not as smooth rolling as the Xenith but does feel a bit faster and corners with equal or greater confidence. This is one of the best criterium tires I've used. Price is basically the same as the going rate for Pro3 Race. <br /><br /><br />While the Maxxis mountain and cyclocross tires are widely used and well-accepted the road tires don't seem to have broken onto the scene quite so well. That's really too bad because from what we've experienced they are as good or better than many of the alpha dogs of the road tire world.Team Embrocationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04058967547390650841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665921807467107675.post-25643530120927080182009-06-09T06:49:00.000-07:002009-06-09T16:36:20.079-07:00Team Updates: CT Stage Race, Balloon Fest and Maine<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYPAAbOrLx0tDuzJfDRTpIuuG96mQoD1VHgduzjqrIvwbUXApsheJ-PB6r-leUA2hu4XmqpWIgXWHsZ3Zlngc_CdD2bgrJXT2etxYNRBwPbM204IapH1-wKHqOLDQigg4UrI-7HeicrL8/s1600-h/numbers.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 255px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYPAAbOrLx0tDuzJfDRTpIuuG96mQoD1VHgduzjqrIvwbUXApsheJ-PB6r-leUA2hu4XmqpWIgXWHsZ3Zlngc_CdD2bgrJXT2etxYNRBwPbM204IapH1-wKHqOLDQigg4UrI-7HeicrL8/s400/numbers.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5345354257944744610" border="0" /></a>It's been a busy couple weeks for Team Embrocation.<br /><br />First up, a little review of the Tour of Connecticut Stage Race two weekends ago. This was a new race on the calendar for 2009. Held in the rural area of northwest CT near Windstead the CT Stage race was a 2 day, 3 stage race with a ITT on Saturday morning, a Circuit race on Saturday afternoon and a long road race on Sunday. Although the race was off the beaten path, once in the host village of Colebrook there was little reason to leave as all the stages started and finished in basically the same spot. Very convenient. We also procured some comfortable lodging at a YMCA summer camp just a few miles from the race venue - also convenient.<br /><br />While the race wasn't very well attended, the level of competition was high with the entire MetLife, IF, Bikereg and Kelly Benefits teams, as well strong elements of CCB, CCNS and TargetTraining.<br /><br />The ITT was fairly standard - about 10 miles, out and back, rolling course. Bradshaw had a great TT and finished up 8th while Jay had an impressive 17th place on his road bike.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyfJbiXz6dMB5KJ1IY2CCm5b97VPZYZVWfN_00Mz3F_SE0t4Z8D1zFqaGVjglOxO82AUzFmWbaKVkXtZAauFnFH-ZCOAGGnyObgyFstRuYuvTxgOSbiAksb9h_S5m2IG6hK39Ek0gLw4U/s1600-h/TTbike.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyfJbiXz6dMB5KJ1IY2CCm5b97VPZYZVWfN_00Mz3F_SE0t4Z8D1zFqaGVjglOxO82AUzFmWbaKVkXtZAauFnFH-ZCOAGGnyObgyFstRuYuvTxgOSbiAksb9h_S5m2IG6hK39Ek0gLw4U/s400/TTbike.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5345353471933747890" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The circuit race later that evening was a blast. A hilly 3 corner, 3 mile circuit was fast, technical and entertaining. My only complaint was that at 24 miles it wasn't quite long enough. By the end I felt like I had just begun figuring out how to manage the course. Leflamme and I had decent finishes at the front of the main group behind a wave of Kelly Benefits riders chasing down Will Dugan of CCB who had a most impressive solo victory off the front of a charging field.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuajCkuYrKg0c-RApzTGrcUENH5sCwm2LKCdRf8HLKQYHEun7ICR1sQ2xMy9Bqd1xtfYcSN_DIQuwB58_PMFN5efVDJOU9-N0ukiII3fVe192Z6J7UUzomXeTWE2AQhUXK7_1bSWcF2kI/s1600-h/CTcircuitfin.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuajCkuYrKg0c-RApzTGrcUENH5sCwm2LKCdRf8HLKQYHEun7ICR1sQ2xMy9Bqd1xtfYcSN_DIQuwB58_PMFN5efVDJOU9-N0ukiII3fVe192Z6J7UUzomXeTWE2AQhUXK7_1bSWcF2kI/s400/CTcircuitfin.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5345353116268700274" border="0" /></a><br /><br />If the circuit race left us wanting for distance, the road race didn't. 90 miles of rolling miles up across the Massachusetts boarder and back down along the Farmington River with a tough finish in Colebrook. While there were not real major climbs to break up the group, there were many rolling, technical sections. Our predictions prior to the race proved to be inaccurate. We figured a break would not go early due to the length and style of the course. We were wrong - the eventual winning breakaway went off the front around mile 8. Caught off-guard and unprepared we were unable to put a rider into that particular break. We were in good company as MetLife and Bikereg also failed to place a rider off the front of the field. Those two teams organized a vigorous chase, to which we contributed our efforts as judiciously as possible. This chase was of no avail, however. With this knowledge settling in to the peloton, attacks began and small groups began to slip off the front of the race. We were aggressive in our attacks and eventually got Jay and Leflamme into one of the chase groups, but not in enough time for them to sweep up other riders off the front. They managed to finish in the mid teens on the day with Brashaw and I close behind.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpAlXbopRZQougYGiHPyHvNwpZ9vXn_9xYorDqnGTcyo_a6z542bVISnHv7gXcyALTcooLOG7BoNTgZes8SchPdj3cngrcxgF9iBBxf2qau0wbFD90Jsrf83cEf1CwyAPFNwpsSgxCCbs/s1600-h/jayrides.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpAlXbopRZQougYGiHPyHvNwpZ9vXn_9xYorDqnGTcyo_a6z542bVISnHv7gXcyALTcooLOG7BoNTgZes8SchPdj3cngrcxgF9iBBxf2qau0wbFD90Jsrf83cEf1CwyAPFNwpsSgxCCbs/s400/jayrides.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5345354703624879890" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The Connecticut Stage race was well-run and the roads were very beautiful. I hope it stays on the calendar for next year and draws a slightly larger crowd.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfu-DqQMnWYbdKznqIcbIOC1wZHydhrR8EFYTl-OA_aibDiObfa50ejzeWl97LDXdo88SyJNAig4ZTy_HShZJlpgloqkFKCFf93OKVshxsuRoHCOywYcgdyLYAquuNhn7dOWaODRf5R7s/s1600-h/field.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 225px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfu-DqQMnWYbdKznqIcbIOC1wZHydhrR8EFYTl-OA_aibDiObfa50ejzeWl97LDXdo88SyJNAig4ZTy_HShZJlpgloqkFKCFf93OKVshxsuRoHCOywYcgdyLYAquuNhn7dOWaODRf5R7s/s400/field.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5345355176447648210" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />This past weekend, we divided our efforts between a few different races.<br /><br />Bradshaw and I traveled to Cambridge, NY to participate in the 6th annual Balloon Festival race put on by Dieter Drake who is the promoter of the Tour of the Battenkill. The start/finish is basically the same as the Battenkill but the course is a circuit and primarily on roads. In fact this year, due to road construction, Dieter was forced to shorten the course and eliminate the dirt section altogether. We did 6 14 mile laps, each one with a decidedly difficult climb in the middle.<br />Again, we had a small but strong field composed of approximately 80 Kenda Spooky riders a good core from CCB and Bikereg and CRCA/Jonathan Adler. Immediately two Kenda riders went off the front and stayed there for two laps. I was able to get in a larger break with many strong riders on lap 3. We swept up the two Kenda racers off the front and formed a lead group of 9 that stayed away for about 2 laps. Despite our best the group caught us largely because of the efforts of Will Dugan and his CCB teammates who did not have any representation in the break. The penultimate time over the climb Dugan and a small cadre of riders slipped off the front. Over the next lap several riders jumped off the front of the group in chase including Bradshaw, who would ride in no-man's land between the lead and chase to take 5th. Behind, I ended up in the chase group with Justin Lindine of Bikereg, Colin Jaskievicz of CCB and four Kenda riders, who were unshakable and ultimately vanquished me in the finish.<br /><br /><br /><br />Meanwhile at the Lake Auburn road race in Maine, Chris Leflamme took third, winning the sprint out of his breakaway group and finishing behind Ted and Robbie King. He was the best of the mortal men on the day. I don't have details about this race so I will let Chris describe it in a future post.<br /><br />Also, Josh Gunn was out in Seattle racing and taking second in a road race there on Sunday. He'll fill us in on that soon as well.<br /><br />Thanks for reading. Training camp next weekend and then back on the road to Housatonic Hills Road Race in CT.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUxlEViVHEOdWFUJix1wNUHEbnKAAV12cWDVzlmqvf-W71PRR5BNgIzIFH4xCvX5h_7N_SL_8NBaVIoKxA1X0muL5X7hyphenhyphenJqW9omouyfwZcQQAGipqDFJUAmwfPdRubmPMxgS5RTi1tblw/s1600-h/OTR.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUxlEViVHEOdWFUJix1wNUHEbnKAAV12cWDVzlmqvf-W71PRR5BNgIzIFH4xCvX5h_7N_SL_8NBaVIoKxA1X0muL5X7hyphenhyphenJqW9omouyfwZcQQAGipqDFJUAmwfPdRubmPMxgS5RTi1tblw/s400/OTR.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5345356622173779842" border="0" /></a>Team Embrocationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04058967547390650841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665921807467107675.post-34537364461764999682009-06-01T14:28:00.000-07:002009-06-01T15:56:32.646-07:00Rapha Gentlemen's RaceLast weekend (May 23rd and 24th) we participated in a unique event. Clothing company Rapha hosted a wide range of regional teams to participate in a team time trial style race in New Paltz area of New York, up into the Catskill mountains. It was a phenomenal ride and we got to connect with many friends, including Embrocation founder Jeremy Dunn, who has been traveling the country as a rider for the Rapha Continental team.<br /><br />Bradshaw got some good little bits of video from the ride - really the most important parts:<br />- The Rapha team departing for the ride<br />- The spotting of the day's first <a href="http://thesummer.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/311-but-ball-2.jpg">lawn ball</a><br />- Us getting dropped by Empire<br />- Pete Smith getting a puncture caused by a fragment of an unidentified animal's skull<br />- In the paceline with the Continental team<br />- Finding our way back onto the course after missing a turn. Oops. <br /><object width="400" height="300"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=4942319&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1"><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=4942319&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="400" height="300"></embed></object><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/4942319">Lawn Ball! Red!</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user1593560">Peter Bradshaw</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.</p><br /><br />Each team started with six riders. Slate Olsen, in charge of Rapha USA and this race, had seeded teams with various start times by their perceived strength. In other words, slower teams started first with various time gaps to the faster teams - first team to complete the 120 mile loop were declared the winners.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpIX5BQPHqTY6zTM4pogGuq7AZR8PgdikM6Nx9BhGY4jFkIc5QpylEpCwEibAHP-hM50SWiVPy71XyykoeD2n0s5GfDvQnn5NRrtJvCcIdyY_YeU1dCuoH1om-3Vq2S5vh_hyphenhyphencxqKqdV0/s1600-h/EmbroTeamShot1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpIX5BQPHqTY6zTM4pogGuq7AZR8PgdikM6Nx9BhGY4jFkIc5QpylEpCwEibAHP-hM50SWiVPy71XyykoeD2n0s5GfDvQnn5NRrtJvCcIdyY_YeU1dCuoH1om-3Vq2S5vh_hyphenhyphencxqKqdV0/s400/EmbroTeamShot1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342480829554915602" border="0" /></a><br />We fielded 5 of our team riders: Peters Smith and Bradshaw, Jay, Josh and me plus Matt Roy, a guest rider with Embrocation and a long-distance race specialist. Our team started in the last wave alongside the Empire team our of NYC. To make a long story short, they dropped us in the first 10 miles - they went on to pass every other team on the course and finished first, winning themselves some pretty nice looking Rapha jerseys for doing so.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRF2Tz3wksZOc9vYJE67t7TyBwjU8b6Tee5v0rYhrVFKLvNn9732A3khVC7PZG-nMkahjUu9OTG5AY86gCPeEVwePlvZT_wlW37AhSqdakFFvwF0zdOoon7dKW3ulWQpOWj5OxfnvpKCM/s1600-h/IMG_2565.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRF2Tz3wksZOc9vYJE67t7TyBwjU8b6Tee5v0rYhrVFKLvNn9732A3khVC7PZG-nMkahjUu9OTG5AY86gCPeEVwePlvZT_wlW37AhSqdakFFvwF0zdOoon7dKW3ulWQpOWj5OxfnvpKCM/s400/IMG_2565.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342484344378902482" border="0" /></a><br />While our race wasn't really competitive, we did get 120 of the nicest miles I've ever done. With winding back roads, great views, solid climbs and technical descents the course Rapha had designed for us was beautiful and challenging. After one of the main climbs we caught up with the Rapha Continental team, who we joined with for the remainder of the ride. Justin Spinelli of Svelte Cycles was a guest rider on the Continental squad and has a <a href="http://sveltecycles.blogspot.com/2009/05/day-with-rapha-we-dont-need-no.html">good blog post on this</a> ride as well and yes we did leave them after the last checkpoint and yes, they did beat us anyway. Serves us right.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv-P7ApRXFls9GFNHIVbAul8TkeOgA3k-saaOV2Gb6Z8ldgHRtuixtwkyP7ek-rPhWNE4BlGrcFiB4LoNYr9iNTZ_quJa0Thy9buMgJWCQ4T5mkHblyKeTEjGzQDK5ElNNRSpSnV8P1xE/s1600-h/RaphaRace+037.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv-P7ApRXFls9GFNHIVbAul8TkeOgA3k-saaOV2Gb6Z8ldgHRtuixtwkyP7ek-rPhWNE4BlGrcFiB4LoNYr9iNTZ_quJa0Thy9buMgJWCQ4T5mkHblyKeTEjGzQDK5ElNNRSpSnV8P1xE/s400/RaphaRace+037.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342487828971594050" border="0" /></a>Rapha rented a house in the hills outside New Paltz to serve as the start/finish and after-party venue. More than 100 hard miles, plus beer, plus fireworks = things your mom told you never to do.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMH1ThL-SoRNesLzgEJpyx9sWFBfLYBA_RQc-vrhyphenhyphentZPNpplwPCNsOgtpLYQX6DeXK_E25EB1I_0rhlwaC76VaiPzspZwTU24Ts382odz_Oli9r-gHomTx-kGRLjllCFEbD3E9cuuNLsM/s1600-h/RaphaRace+219.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 178px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMH1ThL-SoRNesLzgEJpyx9sWFBfLYBA_RQc-vrhyphenhyphentZPNpplwPCNsOgtpLYQX6DeXK_E25EB1I_0rhlwaC76VaiPzspZwTU24Ts382odz_Oli9r-gHomTx-kGRLjllCFEbD3E9cuuNLsM/s400/RaphaRace+219.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342488417833985506" border="0" /></a><br />It was one of the better weekends of cycling I've had and a good bonding experience for team Embrocation and a chance to catch up with some good friends in a light-hearted setting.<br />It was also nice to do a hard organized ride without worrying about the ultimate results. This weekend resulted in a lot of good pictures and other media, some of which will appear later on in this blog while others can be found on the <a href="http://www.rapha.cc/rapha-continental/">Rapha Continental Site.</a> Keep an eye on these guys and track the progress of Jeremy's quest for the perfect tan lines.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY4THYLW32lTtpv6lqEKIBYh-xL7zncXDoXdIgsMFQCSYia6lDXccZKc49KA8L_VFEVk47R-8WLiJs6nAYU-scpkHt7MziXBp2ZUG_PE8SJea9slCYtTAK-oZMg_MfkuaZtv3Ex60WZQA/s1600-h/TanLine.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY4THYLW32lTtpv6lqEKIBYh-xL7zncXDoXdIgsMFQCSYia6lDXccZKc49KA8L_VFEVk47R-8WLiJs6nAYU-scpkHt7MziXBp2ZUG_PE8SJea9slCYtTAK-oZMg_MfkuaZtv3Ex60WZQA/s400/TanLine.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342493118820751954" border="0" /></a>Team Embrocationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04058967547390650841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665921807467107675.post-8373999530177802802009-05-26T10:27:00.000-07:002009-05-26T10:45:45.115-07:00Product Experience: DT Swiss 1450 Mon Chasseral Wheels<span style="font-weight:bold;">A couple of guys on the team have been using the DT Swiss 1450 Mon Chasseral wheelset for training and racing this year. Our newest guy, Chris Laflamme gives his take on these wheels:</span>
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<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiczsSaAFHkjNiDZsab-eCnc-x1rJrHnljYIbJd3Ix2sTyW1-k_DS8IdH-Smss6YdJ3V7hR7ToGsdJnwqv2CRmAZd9XsVUbe0-QzdGJw8ggsLKn8ULLJ2dc9ic6jl47dLm5h02NNPfTqGA/s1600-h/DTMC1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiczsSaAFHkjNiDZsab-eCnc-x1rJrHnljYIbJd3Ix2sTyW1-k_DS8IdH-Smss6YdJ3V7hR7ToGsdJnwqv2CRmAZd9XsVUbe0-QzdGJw8ggsLKn8ULLJ2dc9ic6jl47dLm5h02NNPfTqGA/s320/DTMC1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340187292457152850" border="0" /></a>
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<br /><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 11"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 11"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CJAMESM%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -0.5in;">Last season I was on the hunt for a pair of solid climbing wheels that would not only aid in my weekend adventures at the hillier New England races but also survive multiple seasons of hard racing: a low budget, high performance wheelset, if you will.<span style=""> </span>I had fairly limited options due to a self-imposed spending cap which is between $500-$800.<span style=""> </span>(With infinite money I probably would have gone for some nifty 404 tubulars for their weight and all around performance, but alas, infinite money is rarely the case.)<span style=""> </span>So, looking down at my wallet that was bereft of substantial biking equipment funds, I narrowed things down to the DT Swiss 1450 Mon Chasserals and a pair of Reynolds.<span style=""> </span>Being partial to unconventional colors I gave the 1450’s stellar looking white rim the nod and looked forward to adding its hue to my bike.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -0.5in;">
<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -0.5in;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzT6DDTQVKWBEMKi3XhFV4bLa3KYjTTgqeTZKmT7aUIvBBDwxWFE39oQQCJJ7IE6GD-7SXvOc5DgZmnNk25ipbubDOISfE0AvuErnrW9wTDuYkXidjDY0beWaFBtjZQezsBJrq2D2g5J0/s1600-h/DTMC2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzT6DDTQVKWBEMKi3XhFV4bLa3KYjTTgqeTZKmT7aUIvBBDwxWFE39oQQCJJ7IE6GD-7SXvOc5DgZmnNk25ipbubDOISfE0AvuErnrW9wTDuYkXidjDY0beWaFBtjZQezsBJrq2D2g5J0/s320/DTMC2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340187578576826738" border="0" /></a></p>
<br /><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 11"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 11"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CJAMESM%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -0.5in;">First impressions were moderately good.<span style=""> </span>At a claimed weight of 1450 grams (hence the name) my bike is noticeably lighter and more nimble than when running Mavic Cosmic Elites but also noticeably less stiff.<span style=""> </span>At 1450 grams I was less inclined to be filled with the crippling panic that accompanies descending at 50 mph through potholes on a 1100 gram wheelset and with the Mon Chasserals I found a very good confidence-to-weight ratio that I have not since regretted even though during sprints and on flats I often times long for something more aero and stiffer.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -0.5in;">
<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -0.5in;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -0.5in;">After a season and a half of fairly hard racing over many roads with less than ideal surfaces they have hit the truing stand 2 times and are probably due for another minor tweak soon.<span style=""> </span>The bearings roll as smoothly, or more smoothly, than when they were new, and the braking surface - somewhat unexpectantly - is showing little signs of wear.<span style=""> </span>I keep them well protected by always travelling with them inside the very pro looking wheelbags that were a surprise bonus and included in the package.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -0.5in;">
<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -0.5in;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT5XWkxf9w-BJTWCr4P7eq6kZdj2SPQe4EjiiXcb8KAEJ4UEJ99m88q_7bx9plJAh6hLkD3j4qGKfwqc35tsbgFhjEPxB_cmBdf9Cop0UZtuaF6szx8PLoulBM36Kc_1NhX05ZXb-ei48/s1600-h/DTMC3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 238px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT5XWkxf9w-BJTWCr4P7eq6kZdj2SPQe4EjiiXcb8KAEJ4UEJ99m88q_7bx9plJAh6hLkD3j4qGKfwqc35tsbgFhjEPxB_cmBdf9Cop0UZtuaF6szx8PLoulBM36Kc_1NhX05ZXb-ei48/s320/DTMC3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340188926140708706" border="0" /></a></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -0.5in;">
<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -0.5in;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -0.5in;">The major problem with these wheels is thankfully an easily ameliorated one.<span style=""> </span>It would not be an overstatement to say that the rim strips that come stock with these wheels need to be immediately removed and set on fire.<span style=""> </span>I read a warning that these strips would be garbage from the beginning on roadbikereview.com.<span style=""> </span>But, idiotically, I paid it little heed.<span style=""> </span>The first of three flats caused by these free floating, non-adhesive, chinsy plastic strips was descending down from the start finish of last year’s Sturbridge, MA road race.<span style=""> </span>The subsequent 2 were JRAs while commuting to work trying to determine what was wrong with the wheels.<span style=""> </span>After I took them out and replaced them with the tried and true adhesive Fond de Jante strips I have been flat free.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -0.5in;">
<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -0.5in;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -0.5in;">Overall, I would refer to this wheel as more of an all-around wheel and not a climbing specific one as it’s namesake suggests (Mon Chasseral being a mountain in Switzerland).<span style=""> </span>At 1450 grams it is not light enough to float with the hyper specialized climbing wheelsets out there but is light enough to not be any real liability on the hills.<span style=""> </span>The added weight gives added confidence when glancing over unseen potholes and other undesirable road obstacles and should add longevity.<span style=""> </span>At a retail price of between $700-$800 (depending on where you get them) this wheelset leaves you moderately light, feeling solid and confident in your equipment, but not feeling like you are riding budget wheels.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -0.5in;">
<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -0.5in;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -0.5in;">I don’t think I would buy them again, simply because of the vast array of wheels out there.<span style=""> </span>I would probably spend a little more to try something that is stiffer, more aero, and just as light.<span style=""> </span>But, that being said, I will be racing the 1450’s for the remainder of the season and will not have any qualms about it.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -0.5in;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -0.5in;">
<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -0.5in;">Chris </p>
<br />Team Embrocationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04058967547390650841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665921807467107675.post-46567840192214336782009-05-22T16:48:00.000-07:002009-05-22T17:14:49.419-07:00Bad karma. Good racing.The Lake Sunapee Road Race went fairly well for us last week. It was the first time the entire team had ridden together at once and the results were promising. We made our presence known and did our best to pull back a wide variety of breaks in the first couple laps. The course was challenging, as it features long straight sections into the wind, some rolling hills and a couple rather technical sections as well. <br /><br />Our only disappointment was not placing a rider in the winning break. This break was only 3 riders strong, so we weren't the only team to miss out. We did, however put two riders in the chase group who were able to pull off 6th and 11th, respectively. <br /><br />Despite this good bit of racing, we also saw some seriously bad karma amongst the cycling community these past couple weeks - or at least some very bad luck. <br /><br />In no particular order:<br /><br />Last Tuesday, our friend Colin Murphy of Kenda / Spooky was on his way to a training race and got hit by a car from behind. We hear he's ok, but his bike wasn't so ok. <br /><br />This past week during the normally very safe and uneventful Tuesday night race at Wampatuck State Park was punctuated by a very bad crash. A touch of wheels at the front of the group sent several riders to the ground hard. At that moment the race was over and the ambulance called in to assist. Best wishes to those involved. <br /><br />On our way home from that same race, our group was nearly hit by a car. In a moment of inattentiveness I ran into the back of the rider in front of me and toppled to the ground. No serious damage done, but more bad luck. <br /><br />In another freak accident, the father of one of the IF Team riders hit a pothole, snapped his handlebar, fell to the ground and broke his nose and suffered a host of other injuries. <br /><br />Somewhere in Pennsylvania one of the Rapha Team riders had an <a href="http://embrocation.blogspot.com/2009/05/075-endless-summer-rapha-continental.html">unfortunate run-in with a car</a> and spent some time in a hospital. <br /><br /><br />It just seemed that in a short period of time so many cyclists close to us had accidents. Thankfully, most of the riders mentioned above are fine and will recover shortly. It has made me a bit more jumpy than normal. <br /><br />This weekend we're off to a unique event: A gentlemen's race in New Paltz, NY put on by Rapha. I don't really know what this means, but it's sure to be a good time. More on that when we return. <br /><br />JamesTeam Embrocationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04058967547390650841noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665921807467107675.post-34875140273713800242009-05-11T15:27:00.000-07:002009-05-15T07:38:50.106-07:00Sterling Road Race Disaster and a Little Redemption<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgypMiYu5QyW8_pz6GgbQa0OmG9C3JwmfTuLXJhA4HMLyWJ_IYNtpGqIrxZvnbv8xx8cFlMRIHrZT5XONoefDTotQ_4YwVgbyLFHFJiuyzqRnkir43pkOFWBBoVXQW6Hu3RflGi_a-3_OU/s1600-h/mobydick.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgypMiYu5QyW8_pz6GgbQa0OmG9C3JwmfTuLXJhA4HMLyWJ_IYNtpGqIrxZvnbv8xx8cFlMRIHrZT5XONoefDTotQ_4YwVgbyLFHFJiuyzqRnkir43pkOFWBBoVXQW6Hu3RflGi_a-3_OU/s200/mobydick.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5334696671920382178" border="0" /></a>We all have them: The races that, no matter what, we just can't master. Every year I come in to the Sterling Road Race with good form and decent results in the preceding weeks. Every year I give Sterling my all and every year it goes sideways for me. Sterling is my white whale, and for another year I've yet to slay it. <br /><br />On paper, Sterling should have been a good race for us. The course is great, our whole team was there and in good form and we were coming off of several solid results in the previous weeks. <br /><br />The pain started on lap 2 of 10, when I found myself in a break with Justin Spinelli (Kenda/Spooky), Robbie King (I.F.) and eventual race winner Dan Vaillancourt (Colavita). I had no business being out front with this crew and within a lap I fell back to the field. From there, the race spiraled out of control. Bradshaw found himself stuck on the front, chasing the break almost single-handedly for a couple laps. We missed key secondary breaks due to inattentiveness, fatigue and bad luck. With two laps to go, Bradshaw's cassette loosened, causing his drivetrain to lock up. (Subsequent forensic analysis revealed stripped threads on the lockring as the culprit.) He was out. <br /><br />Josh and Jay made valiant attempts to pull back breaks, but we found ourselves in the wrong place at the wrong time at just about every turn. Another year, another Sterling, another disappointment. But this is bike racing and that's the way it goes sometimes. I'm sure I'll be back next year to give another attempt at slaying the beast. <br /><br />The next day, we decided to race the Wells Ave. training crit in Newton to possibly redeem ourselves a bit. We took the bulk of the primes and Jay took the overall win in a competitive field. Sure, it was a victory at a training race, but it was a victory nonetheless and a solid boost to our collective ego after the previous day's bruising. Plus, as David Phinney says, "Every victory counts." <br /><br />Tip of my hat to the Metlife team, who raced fast and intelligently and for being generally good guys at this race. <br /><br />On to Sunapee tomorrow. <br /><br />JamesTeam Embrocationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04058967547390650841noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665921807467107675.post-31563950422300917972009-05-08T13:51:00.001-07:002009-05-08T17:38:24.737-07:00Notes on Team EquipmentPart of our team mission is to help provide content for Embrocation Cycling Journal. A good portion of that is to figure out some way we can provide some level of honest product assessments. Not reviews so much as experiences, good and bad.<br /><div><br />Our road team has no official equipment sponsors other than Gaulzetti Cicli. We do have very close relationships with several product distributors, which gives us easy access to basically whatever we want. We made our equipment based on a few factors: Cost, performance, durability, accessibility and aesthetics in some cases. Here's a quick breakdown of some of our choices and why we chose them:<br /></div><p><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px; display: block; height: 289px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333565999629153314" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifYqX5OH0y5DatIm5nbhy69UQqgRZDADdsGMinAK1uQyyV6F1ZAgOmcvIYbfKyE2BqUvRiP9uJmAYqcPJFx7-WAlaY8KRnTLPq7mitYMhsO9O7tb_2IktZpM3G_Mud9n-gP-3g6zP152s/s400/gaulzetti_studio_hero.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /><strong>Gaulzetti Frames</strong><br />We started out knowing we wanted to work with a local company. It just so happened that Craig Gaulzetti was starting production on his latest project exactly when we were in need of bikes. The timing was perfect, it provides a story worth telling and the bikes are really cool. We've received four so far with a few more inbound. We'll be talking more about these bikes later on at length.<br /><br /><br /><strong>SRAM Groups </strong></p><p><strong></strong><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTCikK6-4tSucMvh7QbnetXvaevT1uwRobQNoOdj5S0d7s-K8bRWJbTj0ejjTclFfNmn5lAXDbRdz6X4W062UozDBpatqnslI3OAHk_v6JJS36eJcKdSGOw-MKRnYrgyizVjnfsZe2RIQ/s1600-h/red-gruppo-on-white-1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 110px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTCikK6-4tSucMvh7QbnetXvaevT1uwRobQNoOdj5S0d7s-K8bRWJbTj0ejjTclFfNmn5lAXDbRdz6X4W062UozDBpatqnslI3OAHk_v6JJS36eJcKdSGOw-MKRnYrgyizVjnfsZe2RIQ/s200/red-gruppo-on-white-1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333577083534551442" border="0" /></a></p><p>All four current team bikes are equipped with SRAM Red groups. The decision to go with SRAM was really motivated by the cost to performance ratio, which seems be the best currently going right now. As a long-time Campy devotee I was inclined toward that, but I did not feel comfortable stretching the team budget for parts that arguably aren't any faster. A Record 11 group costs several hundred dollars more than a Red group. At the time we were acquiring team parts availability of Shimano's new 7900 group was not solid, so I dismissed it as an option. Subsequently, it's also proven to be much more expensive than previous versions of Dura Ace. So far, so good on the SRAM Red equipment. We've had a few snafus, but nothing that wasn't resolved shortly. All in all, good racing components. I'll go through some of our ups and downs in subsequent posts.<br /><br /><br /><strong>FSA Cranks</strong></p><p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaGANN5sqKJz8KthEblO1tOHdM-p5jty0A6WinsDk9MSqMnH2cwWkJ15pjNXaSqbphIUYqbydCOGfwQmvM4PIY1EJvSX450H_T5EpbNXjslI2qE6Gnh4AnOOoij_SVVfBcT2wo1R8WB_8/s1600-h/FSAkforceBB30.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaGANN5sqKJz8KthEblO1tOHdM-p5jty0A6WinsDk9MSqMnH2cwWkJ15pjNXaSqbphIUYqbydCOGfwQmvM4PIY1EJvSX450H_T5EpbNXjslI2qE6Gnh4AnOOoij_SVVfBcT2wo1R8WB_8/s200/FSAkforceBB30.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333577632231637202" border="0" /></a>Our frames have BB30 bottom bracket shells and I wanted to take advantage of that by using true BB30 cranks as opposed to standard cranks with adapters. The original plan was to order complete SRAM Red groups with their new BB30 cranks. These cranks have been in extremely short supply and to this day are largely unavailable. We also discussed our crank needs with Cannondale, the original inventors of the BB30 system. They were enthusiastic about the project but ultimately could not supply the needed parts in time. FSA makes a wide variety of BB30 cranks but their top-end K-Force Lite crank is not inexpensive. I contacted FSA and was pleasantly surprised when they reacted positively to my proposal. Three team bikes are now running the FSA K-Force Lite carbon crank with ceramic BB30 bearings. Josh was keen on using his SRM equipped Shimano crank, so we fitted his bike with the reducer adapters instead.<br /></p><br /><p><br /></p><br /><div><strong>3T Bars and Stems</strong></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAC-cAq80U8l6p_GhQGBL-lfC7ds4wBIkRrweYbjxpDTxkH1rRF481Ual10OhnW6Fb0pGDvmuSktJ01li_HPxzGjCHtrIhA8JAeT-Vy7u8mvnLQxjatiCN-jx_HcE4g5VK4jvqZvPOcCk/s1600-h/3Tarxteam73.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 110px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAC-cAq80U8l6p_GhQGBL-lfC7ds4wBIkRrweYbjxpDTxkH1rRF481Ual10OhnW6Fb0pGDvmuSktJ01li_HPxzGjCHtrIhA8JAeT-Vy7u8mvnLQxjatiCN-jx_HcE4g5VK4jvqZvPOcCk/s200/3Tarxteam73.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333577922585246690" border="0" /></a>All four team bikes are running some variety of 3T bars and stems. 3T offers 3 levels of product and two distinct bar shapes. Morrison and Bradshaw are running the <a href="http://www.thenew3t.com/images/arx/TEAM/fullsize/1.png">Arx Team stems</a> and <a href="http://www.thenew3t.com/images/ergosum/TEAM/fullsize/1.png">Ergosum Team carbon</a> bars. These are 3T's mid-range components - a light aluminum stem and a carbon bar with a really nice ergonomic shape. Josh is running the aluminum <a href="http://www.thenew3t.com/images/ergosum/PRO/fullsize/1.png">Ergosum Pro bar</a> and matching <a href="http://www.thenew3t.com/images/arx/PRO/fullsize/1.png">Arx Pro stem</a>. Jay opted to go with 3T's lightest components and is using the carbon <a href="http://www.thenew3t.com/images/arx/LTD/fullsize/attacco%20bis.png">ARX Limited Stem</a> and the super light <a href="http://www.thenew3t.com/images/rotundo/LTD/fullsize/rotundo%20ltd.png">Rotundo Limited bar</a>, which is a more traditional round shape.<br /><div> </div><br /><div> </div><br /><div><strong>Selle Italia Saddles<br /><br /></strong><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ52M9XmzmaJUIWAEHErrH0yu-dmAkqcexTbps-2jRwQcvpbpDQXo0uEB-FwoCw2FgUsorO3D876pkbAAXkGOWNivHFDhIHmGoiP_GafTSln9kZ3AQ-JlSWUK9Cbmv1tpw76vrEgWu4rA/s1600-h/siSLRFibra.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ52M9XmzmaJUIWAEHErrH0yu-dmAkqcexTbps-2jRwQcvpbpDQXo0uEB-FwoCw2FgUsorO3D876pkbAAXkGOWNivHFDhIHmGoiP_GafTSln9kZ3AQ-JlSWUK9Cbmv1tpw76vrEgWu4rA/s200/siSLRFibra.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333613853900444482" border="0" /></a>Selle Italia offers a dizzying array of saddles. To simplify things we narrowed the options down to the core of their saddle options: All team members were given the choice between Flite and SLR series saddles. All chose the SLR with 3 on the standard SLR Ti saddle and Jay on the <a href="http://www.ekonobike.com/images/selle_italia_SLR_KitCarbonioFlowblanco.jpg">SLR Kit Carbon Gel Flow</a>.<br /></div><div> </div><br /><div> </div><br /><div><strong>Wheels<br /><br /></strong><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhSXOh7xtXsLCqIs7DF6sCmZKqv2IbPrqbX6_1M8PoSIKM8oZBdY2QpupoyEo5GiAGutz0lxmFFfLm0VcNX5CBOAfHJ4vn-jtJfW3jRillDHg8xgP4pnNKp467-rD5iRTGz-xQyxB0Ddc/s1600-h/ReynoldsDV46CUL.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 182px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhSXOh7xtXsLCqIs7DF6sCmZKqv2IbPrqbX6_1M8PoSIKM8oZBdY2QpupoyEo5GiAGutz0lxmFFfLm0VcNX5CBOAfHJ4vn-jtJfW3jRillDHg8xgP4pnNKp467-rD5iRTGz-xQyxB0Ddc/s200/ReynoldsDV46CUL.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333614924418838338" border="0" /></a>Things get a bit more complicated when we're discussing wheels. Wheels will be the focal-point of our product testing in the near future so a few varieties are floating around amongst the team members right now. Most of us will, at some point be riding Reynolds wheels during the course of the year. We have their price-point clinchers, the Assault and the super light DV46T UL in tubular. We'll also have some of the MV32T UL tubulars this year for the mountainous races later in the year. I've long been impressed with the Reynolds products and since they switched to a DT Swiss hub this year their products are hard to resist. Also in play we have <a href="http://www.sbanewengland.com/images/Fulcrum-Racing-Zero-2.jpg">Fulcrum Racing Zero</a> tubulars and Racing One clinchers. We also have riders using DT Swiss 1450 Mon Chasseral wheels and <a href="http://www.sbanewengland.com/images/EastEA90SLX-1.jpg">Easton EC90 SLX</a> clinchers. We'll be publishing our impressions of all these wheels shortly.<br /></div><div> </div><br /><div> </div><br /><div><strong>Tires<br /><br /></strong><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwktkn4fVnDATnyZvKQoKuSm4Q7xLEH3m2aLc5s3mtlQQbTB00CanakLWpCgXJGKZNyaxmx71WYnvUK9oUB-EjHD-scVwzkY8pJnbkJIKsV9aZxW9IakewRbndX4_llxLPn0ckbQ9BI_w/s1600-h/Courchevel-1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 179px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwktkn4fVnDATnyZvKQoKuSm4Q7xLEH3m2aLc5s3mtlQQbTB00CanakLWpCgXJGKZNyaxmx71WYnvUK9oUB-EjHD-scVwzkY8pJnbkJIKsV9aZxW9IakewRbndX4_llxLPn0ckbQ9BI_w/s200/Courchevel-1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333615588271593330" border="0" /></a>This is pretty much the same situation as wheels. The exception is our tubular choice - we're devoted to the Vittoria Corsa Evo CX. It's the king of tubular tires as far as I'm concerned and costs less than many inferior options. On the clincher side of things we're using the Vittoria Corsa Open tubular (clincher version of the tubular), Michelin Pro 3 Race and a variety of tires from Maxxis, one of the most underrated road tire manufacturers currently on the market. We'll be giving extensive impressions of all our rubber options in a bit. <br /></div><div> </div><br /><div> </div><br /><div><strong>Other stuff</strong></div><br /><div>There's not official team pedal, but it just so happens that everyone is very happy with Shimano's SPD-SL system. We've been using SRAM's various bar tapes including the awesome Superlight faux leather stuff. We're also using their white shifter hoods on a couple bikes. </div><br /><div> </div>We'll have individual assessments of each of these products in the coming weeks. Stay tuned...<br /><br /><br /><div><br /><br /></div>Team Embrocationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04058967547390650841noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665921807467107675.post-22334243730167137552009-05-01T14:56:00.001-07:002009-05-01T15:00:43.135-07:00How to back out of a race with dignity and grace<meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 11"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 11"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CJAMESM%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal">I received this email earlier today in reference to the Jiminy Peak Race this weekend. All racers who read this take note:<span style=""> </span>Let this be the archetypal form of the back-out letter to your teammates.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">
<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Straightforward and to the point?<span style=""> </span>Check.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Humorous delivery?<span style=""> </span>Check. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Co-opting of current events to enhance comedic effect?<span style=""> </span>Check.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Repeated self-deprecation?<span style=""> </span>Check</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Attempted effort to mollify spurned teammates with promise of food and drink?<span style=""> </span>Check.</p><p class="MsoNormal">
<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">
<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">
<br /><span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><i style="">From:<span style=""> </span>Joshua Gunn<o:p></o:p></i></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><i style="">Subject: Not racing tomorrow</i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal">
<br /><b style=""><i style=""><o:p></o:p></i></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><i style="">You've been dreaming all week of racing with me. You have a poster of me on your wall. You want to wear my socks and own my signed, limited edition saddle that's custom crafted for the wattage cottage. <o:p></o:p></i></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><i style="">
<br /></i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><i style="">Nothing lights a fire like a dream deferred, gentlemen. To that end, I must announce that I will not be racing this weekend. Under advice from the team doctor, Dr. Rosencrantz, MFA, I can't race with this lingering cough -- the direct offshoot of the H4V2 miniature horse virus that I contracted from the miniature horse that was malingering near the feed zone at Frog Pond. <o:p></o:p></i></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><i style="">
<br /></i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><i style="">In the words of Dr. Rosencrantz, "You don't want to mess with the miniature horse virus!" <o:p></o:p></i></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><i style="">
<br /></i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><i style="">Also, I should reveal that Jill is out of town this weekend, so if anyone wants to come over and drink some beers and poach some turkey burgers on Saturday night, we could hang. It's just an idea. I have a big empty house, and I don't feel like watching re-runs of "Alf" alone. <o:p></o:p></i></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><i style="">I'm not contagious anymore. Just slow.
<br /></i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal">
<br /><b style=""><i style=""><o:p></o:p></i></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><i style="">Josh<o:p></o:p></i></b></p> Team Embrocationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04058967547390650841noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665921807467107675.post-45897463223918101612009-04-26T15:59:00.001-07:002009-04-26T16:46:05.809-07:00No Spring - Straight on to SummerWe had a double race weekend this past Saturday and Sunday. Both days featured very un-April-like weather with highs in the 80s. Saturday was the Turtle Pond Circuit Race in Loudon, NH put on by the MetLife team. They did an excellent job with organization and running the race. Compliments are due to them. Sunday was the Quabbin Reservoir Road Race, which is one of Mike Norton's races and replaces the Sturbridge race on the calendar. Despite suffering some organizational problems, the race venue was as scenic as the come and the course was quite good. All in all, a good race. More on that later.<br /><br /><br />Results for both races will be posted on the <a href="http://www.embrocationcyclingjournal.com/team/">team website</a> soon.<br /><br /><br />It's always hard to tackle the first truly hot race of the year. We become used to training and racing in the cold so much so that even mild weather feels extremely hot when it arrives. To go from winter to summer in a matter of few weeks can be a shock to the system. Saturday's race at Turtle Pond was our first effort in summer heat. The entire field suffered and many riders dropped out. We were very fortunate to have several supporters in the feed zone for this race. They did a fantastic job helping us survive the extremely hot, dry conditions by keeping us supplied with water - at least one bottle every lap seemed to be the necessity. Our feeders also had enough hands to lend assistance to our friends on the Kendy/Spooky team, who also rode a great race.<br /><br />Better to tell this story in pictures:<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsvAod9j4X74qELREAlp-kfKUuXBx4LZwY4IlOcMbTAfbJK0HclzZmpqXaFIach2MIarC9sM0ZzCq2ULjJhfqqTIU3kG1iSekAEedzroibzuZoMcVJyO1rLT-N22VGsPmzCDflc6_1B5Y/s1600-h/TP2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsvAod9j4X74qELREAlp-kfKUuXBx4LZwY4IlOcMbTAfbJK0HclzZmpqXaFIach2MIarC9sM0ZzCq2ULjJhfqqTIU3kG1iSekAEedzroibzuZoMcVJyO1rLT-N22VGsPmzCDflc6_1B5Y/s400/TP2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329145320989926066" border="0" /></a>Embrocation on and ready to go. For this race we used Mad Alchemy Summer edition.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1E-RYTxw-hWTgJPM8z0YKOetKN1rLTWggNQiD2gr_i-ggM37E0L-vKK5oyrstwZ5pLUlW9KynnbJ5DEwLjMA0hEWzlOs72A9xEsM6eDfDKjpvvzzUDclYO_BYEtDqUJuIlT41XUCYGBg/s1600-h/TP3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1E-RYTxw-hWTgJPM8z0YKOetKN1rLTWggNQiD2gr_i-ggM37E0L-vKK5oyrstwZ5pLUlW9KynnbJ5DEwLjMA0hEWzlOs72A9xEsM6eDfDKjpvvzzUDclYO_BYEtDqUJuIlT41XUCYGBg/s400/TP3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329145326699871026" border="0" /></a>Josh fuels up just before the start.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhIKKuxY1JwKmpPFkOg8uWesEUKVBqc4IXyLN1P7bLq26MUaTXKPXgliWIcGZQWHyVlUkc_LyPBHxLSZv0KSJt2LtQfPDJq1KZ-QfJSHdk3TOxKot4vZwRrnWgTF1K204Kb38oY3GV6BM/s1600-h/TP4.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhIKKuxY1JwKmpPFkOg8uWesEUKVBqc4IXyLN1P7bLq26MUaTXKPXgliWIcGZQWHyVlUkc_LyPBHxLSZv0KSJt2LtQfPDJq1KZ-QfJSHdk3TOxKot4vZwRrnWgTF1K204Kb38oY3GV6BM/s400/TP4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329145331785430242" border="0" /></a>The Pro 1/2 field rolls out.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC1lB1vuvTwktZIG3yCSSSD1tez2DD2bQIIA53vNh_7Wn6MZih6xht6GJrpxFvwwEIrKjyj5KaJT2bMSSR7BxtVGcb8lQ7o2PGix_STQLodwZRKRvi-nPy3KNoJkGOwmssiBtPM8QwiIg/s1600-h/TP5.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC1lB1vuvTwktZIG3yCSSSD1tez2DD2bQIIA53vNh_7Wn6MZih6xht6GJrpxFvwwEIrKjyj5KaJT2bMSSR7BxtVGcb8lQ7o2PGix_STQLodwZRKRvi-nPy3KNoJkGOwmssiBtPM8QwiIg/s400/TP5.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329145336596893954" border="0" /></a>Bradshaw reaches for a bottle as he tries to bridge up to the breakaway.<br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidAlabWxY0FtEjO7XEjMLcmf1ETVEEIZa2X-NY1h3zl1taUtAvcy-OdBHApZZZbOxMWcJCQsRmTnx6EywnInWChOGx3ATgCpBCodlxV8DPvhI1sgxwqZKMXuIvxnr40OjG6279FQxgZDc/s1600-h/TP6.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidAlabWxY0FtEjO7XEjMLcmf1ETVEEIZa2X-NY1h3zl1taUtAvcy-OdBHApZZZbOxMWcJCQsRmTnx6EywnInWChOGx3ATgCpBCodlxV8DPvhI1sgxwqZKMXuIvxnr40OjG6279FQxgZDc/s400/TP6.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329147378049310050" border="0" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">The main field was only about 8 riders strong as they came through the feed zone on the final lap.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgluD0MuvR4u3hCIq2B-Pgp8Qw42wbKSArHv4eU5HUkuFL70wb_vDNIbfNdfUqeFY6MAxfajHbIO8vrnLTWlKhv5BOH-BtHPps-WP0QWqYh8BYzDu7rV5IVAwh0sJWB2YZLS8V9wR10FmU/s1600-h/TP7.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgluD0MuvR4u3hCIq2B-Pgp8Qw42wbKSArHv4eU5HUkuFL70wb_vDNIbfNdfUqeFY6MAxfajHbIO8vrnLTWlKhv5BOH-BtHPps-WP0QWqYh8BYzDu7rV5IVAwh0sJWB2YZLS8V9wR10FmU/s400/TP7.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329147384431684466" border="0" /></a>Josh had a tough day and decided it best to drop out - he was in good company as many other riders made the same decision.<br /><br /><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9cyLyOPBzIET5fvMuuCIvwHUcjulQoa1E9cSNAnsbmTjhkwjv7pa37QNeBVU4jR6k6ahn9O6kOmW82M5naxT-mvpKMWkLix4HF53Khv0lxnmCTjuIdwVG94o_4-ADlPE686frTtGjUbo/s1600-h/TP8.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 423px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9cyLyOPBzIET5fvMuuCIvwHUcjulQoa1E9cSNAnsbmTjhkwjv7pa37QNeBVU4jR6k6ahn9O6kOmW82M5naxT-mvpKMWkLix4HF53Khv0lxnmCTjuIdwVG94o_4-ADlPE686frTtGjUbo/s400/TP8.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329147387048787218" border="0" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Josh then added to our feeding efforts for the remainder of the race.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoqm1k4SdsR9-QLcBG3TVDXqsVnofcCNWPUxSF2ZGCHgkMohTgVJDCtcxpW3X1mOgkWE2IHGO6BBQu9MQzdvl2QSo9OyTVPZFTDpJu1KWHErd3WnPQSn6Ek7ZRDCWvUpFbZ4b4mONFOag/s1600-h/TP12.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 209px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoqm1k4SdsR9-QLcBG3TVDXqsVnofcCNWPUxSF2ZGCHgkMohTgVJDCtcxpW3X1mOgkWE2IHGO6BBQu9MQzdvl2QSo9OyTVPZFTDpJu1KWHErd3WnPQSn6Ek7ZRDCWvUpFbZ4b4mONFOag/s400/TP12.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329150097260562690" border="0" /></a>... and then gets down to business modeling Embrocation socks.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixa9D8QvPXJkaZqmxmpFzo2vsntIVRaVXAuZYpUDoCPTa7vdxuqRD6HL_o5BDnRKcm_EKQlB-J4zd4IkHuGzirsO6SW9K7OpldOm7sQEHqpr0EmQXQp9RxJAccwQHpfp3_tS2sHk9AtWw/s1600-h/TP9.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixa9D8QvPXJkaZqmxmpFzo2vsntIVRaVXAuZYpUDoCPTa7vdxuqRD6HL_o5BDnRKcm_EKQlB-J4zd4IkHuGzirsO6SW9K7OpldOm7sQEHqpr0EmQXQp9RxJAccwQHpfp3_tS2sHk9AtWw/s400/TP9.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329147393950434322" border="0" /></a>Jay manages a smile as he rides solo between the break and the main field.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSFuJ28m7gOId996oW5gbV5b8qegX_gavSqkWqwS_zjpsKtTzDrPMvhx1HmFPkNxoYRP_kX3SXgXWSrE3g2Yw_fBAUKxbQOFIPQASsmOdiwMlGcEDeqfcjvO8NW9DHIdJGcQaeiz0KROw/s1600-h/TP10.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSFuJ28m7gOId996oW5gbV5b8qegX_gavSqkWqwS_zjpsKtTzDrPMvhx1HmFPkNxoYRP_kX3SXgXWSrE3g2Yw_fBAUKxbQOFIPQASsmOdiwMlGcEDeqfcjvO8NW9DHIdJGcQaeiz0KROw/s400/TP10.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329147394610006098" border="0" /></a>Bradshaw had the best finish of the team despite suffering some mechanical issues. He rolls in solo.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghTmtEWpdxAJoURx9-9rhDNEGwVdtYA1-AqnwbMZrqzSBp68wLAh1KVlGRl03gSdlgQICxATOGFf2epOlDf3rxNKXerKSAOSZ5aYOhKpsx89P0lkG15CweCvrYUiJ2EGZigxOlDE2Lfmc/s1600-h/TP11.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghTmtEWpdxAJoURx9-9rhDNEGwVdtYA1-AqnwbMZrqzSBp68wLAh1KVlGRl03gSdlgQICxATOGFf2epOlDf3rxNKXerKSAOSZ5aYOhKpsx89P0lkG15CweCvrYUiJ2EGZigxOlDE2Lfmc/s400/TP11.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329148548930717698" border="0" /></a>The team assembles after a hot and difficult race.<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><br /></div>Team Embrocationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04058967547390650841noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665921807467107675.post-33435629805591614112009-04-23T11:21:00.000-07:002009-04-25T06:12:03.996-07:00Battenkill: Post Race Carnage ReportAs I write this we're still waiting for final results to come in on several of our riders. Compliments must be paid to Dieter who put together another awesome Tour of the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Battenkill</span> this year. The new course was great, the organization was solid and the fields were large and competitive. Problems with accurate results persist, but this technical glitch ought not to cast a shadow over the success of the race.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG-_eaalNYXQ6jhtATUDOf3RxPkCAI-fCtZI7GQ1ADCbw8B3fVr_99UyoMv7HzoO8cTGhqzAWDYaV_2rxkqnznpJJjDnB5GFXbeaD8c1cnYkwXwPmN5yNKLb2N8kNKK83m8zlRKLAt5x4/s1600-h/JamesBattenkill.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 282px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG-_eaalNYXQ6jhtATUDOf3RxPkCAI-fCtZI7GQ1ADCbw8B3fVr_99UyoMv7HzoO8cTGhqzAWDYaV_2rxkqnznpJJjDnB5GFXbeaD8c1cnYkwXwPmN5yNKLb2N8kNKK83m8zlRKLAt5x4/s400/JamesBattenkill.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327957291869895042" border="0" /></a><br /><br />So, here's how it went down for us:<br /><br />Cat 1 field - Bradshaw and Burns raced solidly, both finishing in the mid twenties in a stacked Pro/1 field. Cory was active in chasing down attacks and breaks the entire race, while Bradshaw applied pressure on the final climb to shake loose a good number of chasing riders.<br /><br />Cat 2 field - Josh cracked his front wheel at some point during the race but was able to ride in with the lead group for a 19<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">th</span> place finish. James suffered a flat tire while in the lead group with about 20k to go and chased the remainder of the race. While chasing, James picked up Jay who had been caught up in a crash and was unable to shift properly after. Those two chased the lead group in for 38<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">th</span> and 39<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">th</span> place, respectively.<br /><br />Cat 3 field - Jeremy Dunn was in the break with a very good shot at a victory. He flatted on the final climb and despite some key teamwork from Pierre, who gave up his front wheel for Jeremy, he was unable to catch the eventual race-winning group and finished in the low twenties. Still, not bad.<br /><br />All told, the team put in solid performances that were, in some cases, thwarted by mechanical problems. Such is the nature of all races, most especially the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Battenkill</span>.<br /><br /><br />Despite our numerous mechanical issues, the team rode very well together. Hopefully we used Battenkill to work all the kinks out of our system and used up all our bad luck in one spot. Next on the calendar: Turtle Pond and Quabbin this weekend.Team Embrocationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04058967547390650841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665921807467107675.post-88259886468454592642009-04-10T14:13:00.000-07:002009-04-10T14:59:57.979-07:00Team Bikes - Part 3: First Bike, First RideGaulzettis are in the house. Quite literally - I have a bunch of these bikes in my house now.<br />I was able to build mine up last night and took a first ride today. I did a fairly long ride up in the Fitchburg area today with Jay and all I can say is how impressed I am. It really does everything well and rides very similarly to the best steel bikes I've ridden - not a bad thing for an oversized-tubed aluminum bike. As a team, we feel fortunate to be able to ride such capable and unique bikes and I expect these will rise to every occasion during this season. <br /><br />I could go on and on about it, but for right now, I'll just post some pictures of the frames and the complete bike. I built this bike up with a mixed Force/Rival group for right now. It's a Battenkill-specific build, so durability and function are the name of the game. It weighs in at about 16.5 lbs with pedals and a stupidly heavy FSA Gossamer crank, which will be replaced shortly with a much lighter K-Force Lite carbon crank. To me, the real beauty of these bikes is how functional they are. There are no superfluous features for the sake of marketing hype and no corners cut when it comes to build quality. These are simple, well-built race-specific bikes - something strangely missing from the market these days. <br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdvP40zqzQddGEDlHgcaTIWO3iOFPaAvdj7HRVfhKKJ7VFKSGIqk69f1uZRHGozO-anBeK27UB5Ey5aZQTBGhVO0lzTCMOWNcPL98FZa40RnNTm8qCh5WjWAx2A5DxxiNI7M1zrQzJvL0/s1600-h/GBB1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdvP40zqzQddGEDlHgcaTIWO3iOFPaAvdj7HRVfhKKJ7VFKSGIqk69f1uZRHGozO-anBeK27UB5Ey5aZQTBGhVO0lzTCMOWNcPL98FZa40RnNTm8qCh5WjWAx2A5DxxiNI7M1zrQzJvL0/s400/GBB1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323184552110581330" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV-ieLfjaHXBo9V0aNz2GIQhO4GiP2MmxcfJ79fonYFh0ZnFDY-fdZLSZiJTKL8C269_doVYtkRvXI2fy3pee-lt5jdoe9u2CwlKtoRYoqtl_z7kfiSBuf-OaNZL5jkY15eJCMRUSxATM/s1600-h/gbb4.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV-ieLfjaHXBo9V0aNz2GIQhO4GiP2MmxcfJ79fonYFh0ZnFDY-fdZLSZiJTKL8C269_doVYtkRvXI2fy3pee-lt5jdoe9u2CwlKtoRYoqtl_z7kfiSBuf-OaNZL5jkY15eJCMRUSxATM/s400/gbb4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323175851141611778" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-TnPCRgt70jMlGCcqf017umddtlnR3o_velwHRwT9VQc5SqkrAgoF1m7FYWGNUPr0HeCNM-0rrHx4ZWhud5lgsBfXcYNNGhNXWMG62fkdgeSm7ryXviHpK_Gj6mUWW4TvhJTm6rQJQU4/s1600-h/gbb3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-TnPCRgt70jMlGCcqf017umddtlnR3o_velwHRwT9VQc5SqkrAgoF1m7FYWGNUPr0HeCNM-0rrHx4ZWhud5lgsBfXcYNNGhNXWMG62fkdgeSm7ryXviHpK_Gj6mUWW4TvhJTm6rQJQU4/s400/gbb3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323175846004312466" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9sMW0HZQjzBe1DSVml8ysMdvteiPFvZ8mqHfdnKnhGf4L0OZXfr0dCHcDBJaNTgR-G5ozsQ4ni6TZ5ZIisqjYCYPhUuJLBCeTkxx8CcO2rR3Y97UYDES7tKfi3yAJ99CI-k0Gbjj5hlE/s1600-h/gbb2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9sMW0HZQjzBe1DSVml8ysMdvteiPFvZ8mqHfdnKnhGf4L0OZXfr0dCHcDBJaNTgR-G5ozsQ4ni6TZ5ZIisqjYCYPhUuJLBCeTkxx8CcO2rR3Y97UYDES7tKfi3yAJ99CI-k0Gbjj5hlE/s400/gbb2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323175841021740802" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Here are some images I took during the build process.</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrQpkiPhyphenhyphenpJc8OYv9QQt5spo5gaJfIKk45owFacX5jMOIqqeJ95Ig0J40Ta52z_tGRt5aRWzkc23DwKSwi61XPGfj4yicPo-WSHmASrLUdD8hTKKknI_JRLLetdQ7Kq1jUxFLgVOMbDhs/s1600-h/cb19.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrQpkiPhyphenhyphenpJc8OYv9QQt5spo5gaJfIKk45owFacX5jMOIqqeJ95Ig0J40Ta52z_tGRt5aRWzkc23DwKSwi61XPGfj4yicPo-WSHmASrLUdD8hTKKknI_JRLLetdQ7Kq1jUxFLgVOMbDhs/s400/cb19.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323182535650525714" border="0" /></a>The frames are made from Dedacciai light alloy - 7005 series aluminum.<br /><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaV78uXIKNyANxdOlJGZ7HR82pJi1esaXUji-luasdoxoYe6WhdKyOtqGQl7Xsa7HjlbYnRH1nW8UJsC6Ox4nnK7nZjxFBDrgwDzZJRMUsrPH_OfbcX6vyQFmea8cuj9qLcdngc-B7at4/s1600-h/cb17.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaV78uXIKNyANxdOlJGZ7HR82pJi1esaXUji-luasdoxoYe6WhdKyOtqGQl7Xsa7HjlbYnRH1nW8UJsC6Ox4nnK7nZjxFBDrgwDzZJRMUsrPH_OfbcX6vyQFmea8cuj9qLcdngc-B7at4/s400/cb17.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323182179254308226" border="0" /></a>Embrocation logo on the seat tube.<br /><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsaJhFwCd8TUx661ivNyu3vY_Qd8BKAkWPOCM7prDh3emGMkPn4FndlJxbfip9S8SUGLKoJBP4PvFY9oRmU5xKkh-CETsTbylEo0stz0lSzoYzxQNS4VBiPaVVvIgtehcfaZXRBBpVoy4/s1600-h/GB1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsaJhFwCd8TUx661ivNyu3vY_Qd8BKAkWPOCM7prDh3emGMkPn4FndlJxbfip9S8SUGLKoJBP4PvFY9oRmU5xKkh-CETsTbylEo0stz0lSzoYzxQNS4VBiPaVVvIgtehcfaZXRBBpVoy4/s400/GB1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323176702274512610" border="0" /></a>Dropouts and derailleur hangers are a simple yet effective affair.<br /><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj354GPXBXIPJiYAh1fHnq6xRoXO_ryXhB5cIodCMjCQOY9OUtJjycif4ebXhNSwOahqF6tV-toLWNkZX25owxObc4pC41mZT0B_MjgihVDSF5klJfEiqhQH8SkUqhz1s8W_3nDUy7rjdc/s1600-h/GB5.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj354GPXBXIPJiYAh1fHnq6xRoXO_ryXhB5cIodCMjCQOY9OUtJjycif4ebXhNSwOahqF6tV-toLWNkZX25owxObc4pC41mZT0B_MjgihVDSF5klJfEiqhQH8SkUqhz1s8W_3nDUy7rjdc/s400/GB5.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323176746492379394" border="0" /></a>Dedacciai supplies a propietary seat mast cap to match their light alloy tubesets. It has 4cm of vertical adjustment and is very easy to install and adjust.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUZBQpkSzyq1KSaZZWdy5rViX2cfgdLXHlTV5LPOTMmf7xk24R2iwMZZ7yjCnIp2vKYae36Hsu2r_HTJZ3cEGXiUA_yEnA6_Zb6yNYzo-Fm22LCoxkWwn1cTRxHvNpRcLm1kcN2uQcIAA/s1600-h/GB4.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUZBQpkSzyq1KSaZZWdy5rViX2cfgdLXHlTV5LPOTMmf7xk24R2iwMZZ7yjCnIp2vKYae36Hsu2r_HTJZ3cEGXiUA_yEnA6_Zb6yNYzo-Fm22LCoxkWwn1cTRxHvNpRcLm1kcN2uQcIAA/s400/GB4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323176747213084354" border="0" /></a>Our painter did a truly great job. All the lines are clean and accurate with excellent paint clarity.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju3isa4D3-saBLrQX5WtRv7xHhq9hj9txmRkEpOArYcRTymjOOgw4B66m9Ol2Oiv13JJpDPcE1NIZr6qCsZyHibV0kEsq545Fc6RNYMqa1pgWX6q1-wf-IwiDNkPAb8BHNDI2GEJfqDys/s1600-h/GB3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju3isa4D3-saBLrQX5WtRv7xHhq9hj9txmRkEpOArYcRTymjOOgw4B66m9Ol2Oiv13JJpDPcE1NIZr6qCsZyHibV0kEsq545Fc6RNYMqa1pgWX6q1-wf-IwiDNkPAb8BHNDI2GEJfqDys/s400/GB3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323176733016168354" border="0" /></a>Yup.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdOmSsSUZ1koWUrZF68gUOUSy6V6EVRASX6OakY0wGRVyVCAP8sTS7iUKTlk2svmCeXZe4ENCLjeESbbAJCHsXD3IQW586j2VGU-IozILl1hXAbXSXQyU7GWmWwXj_Rnn2VfNhtk4vTj4/s1600-h/GB2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdOmSsSUZ1koWUrZF68gUOUSy6V6EVRASX6OakY0wGRVyVCAP8sTS7iUKTlk2svmCeXZe4ENCLjeESbbAJCHsXD3IQW586j2VGU-IozILl1hXAbXSXQyU7GWmWwXj_Rnn2VfNhtk4vTj4/s400/GB2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323176719304044114" border="0" /></a>These welds don't mess around. They're text-book quality.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAA2G5D5rvOVfEJnYivwF4R1jtP5mtF4Qd15rxpFoE6zv9RJpPZKIaKt2K96qz3nFP1rVuceW3wfWGPGBLNfH1VtIUkL0s1bSpp7QVC77NddUtA76Cf0U43cacKZYd5QmICD6gVC5bgms/s1600-h/GB8.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAA2G5D5rvOVfEJnYivwF4R1jtP5mtF4Qd15rxpFoE6zv9RJpPZKIaKt2K96qz3nFP1rVuceW3wfWGPGBLNfH1VtIUkL0s1bSpp7QVC77NddUtA76Cf0U43cacKZYd5QmICD6gVC5bgms/s400/GB8.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323177327172523778" border="0" /></a>Chainstay bridge is nothing fancy. Big welds get the job done.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirmewQxqV3dCQkQjD6AY-inOaPVo8eHyo0kUlbBFxMpmsB8R2Ndopy6Hh0oaI0ed3bzCuEZkNQniFuC0zmdeBdRXIjdO6W1PYe9ivn6hyv9vUseEOXINPSG6pRq3z-7bGzx71XaS29uCU/s1600-h/cb20.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirmewQxqV3dCQkQjD6AY-inOaPVo8eHyo0kUlbBFxMpmsB8R2Ndopy6Hh0oaI0ed3bzCuEZkNQniFuC0zmdeBdRXIjdO6W1PYe9ivn6hyv9vUseEOXINPSG6pRq3z-7bGzx71XaS29uCU/s400/cb20.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323183850790052418" border="0" /></a>The downtube and chainstays are huge. Using the BB30 shell allows maximum real estate for the welds.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcaFt9c3KAwqszsaAP2TtcHwGvLmNBVXlNG-utNIhhF2YPYNLFD_0piwM5YQXjpuk9FMyTUd-3HzwVc6WLDJoJ-FRgy7NS34moUVNFIPYm80iDr0YgvM81xWtCYtr6d16b-2Yl5yfSi9E/s1600-h/GB7.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcaFt9c3KAwqszsaAP2TtcHwGvLmNBVXlNG-utNIhhF2YPYNLFD_0piwM5YQXjpuk9FMyTUd-3HzwVc6WLDJoJ-FRgy7NS34moUVNFIPYm80iDr0YgvM81xWtCYtr6d16b-2Yl5yfSi9E/s400/GB7.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323177321595371106" border="0" /></a>The team bikes use standard Chris King headsets.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLrrY6LcLDnjvWr_qSrEWXS4HL8yqR1XpuOo8c_yY-apRYjCAZ26Brz8uajp5tLHVPnVjaUVP6VArp2NWW60BuVZY9hP8-cfJxBASVqAmIk27Zpsrmr2ozQbA0Ce9Q6YfEkuv5KPAUlrE/s1600-h/GB6.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLrrY6LcLDnjvWr_qSrEWXS4HL8yqR1XpuOo8c_yY-apRYjCAZ26Brz8uajp5tLHVPnVjaUVP6VArp2NWW60BuVZY9hP8-cfJxBASVqAmIk27Zpsrmr2ozQbA0Ce9Q6YfEkuv5KPAUlrE/s400/GB6.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323177320511083074" border="0" /></a>The bottom brackets are huge BB30 compatible aluminum shells.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9mUwXD0W81aHSbxwi2uhudEteFHGJkUx_qYO0SQkAehrqsQpDb0YHQBLyWZV_XNRucocrxqxBCf3Ue1xvYSTpgk4skEzUb3gK8qYcD_ioeyHY-AAVjznn_GEo7socqz8mKTjW7YmQKUE/s1600-h/cb14.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9mUwXD0W81aHSbxwi2uhudEteFHGJkUx_qYO0SQkAehrqsQpDb0YHQBLyWZV_XNRucocrxqxBCf3Ue1xvYSTpgk4skEzUb3gK8qYcD_ioeyHY-AAVjznn_GEo7socqz8mKTjW7YmQKUE/s400/cb14.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323183003212202706" border="0" /></a>The team bikes use Serotta F3 forks, which share contruction methodology with Reynolds Ouzo Pro forks but in a different shape in multiple stiffness levels.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL0rp97qnzV4JjkSZVDZ5Xvl7V0CyjJ90HAOkOhQbigYNhyphenhyphenQ4n-hMaNTY4Yse5Av6YKyiDFPxDnUENiwidtjav-7FfZHVapMd2Jm5i2UPrsbUPoP8BrdJCDZdAafvJ_ckeu_daaBl-7HI/s1600-h/cb15.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL0rp97qnzV4JjkSZVDZ5Xvl7V0CyjJ90HAOkOhQbigYNhyphenhyphenQ4n-hMaNTY4Yse5Av6YKyiDFPxDnUENiwidtjav-7FfZHVapMd2Jm5i2UPrsbUPoP8BrdJCDZdAafvJ_ckeu_daaBl-7HI/s400/cb15.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323183005855567218" border="0" /></a>The Serotta forks also use titanium dropouts without lawyer tabs for easy wheel changes.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUoFHLb-ybVGXlzRQ_CHvwun1GYHSYkhZsYn7DgYedoFa7syM_M-A9meNyYLl483W_SmmAbVOaQCN6SK5UHagpv0C5fuMpeR_LTTzkBed9grPILmSO-26bRP3zlROO8V4vz4WEY0x-C10/s1600-h/GB9.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUoFHLb-ybVGXlzRQ_CHvwun1GYHSYkhZsYn7DgYedoFa7syM_M-A9meNyYLl483W_SmmAbVOaQCN6SK5UHagpv0C5fuMpeR_LTTzkBed9grPILmSO-26bRP3zlROO8V4vz4WEY0x-C10/s400/GB9.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323177332612213154" border="0" /></a>The bikes very nicely match our team kits. A necessity, of course.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjchKxr425VjsY_86FyWYjAeFgPJ0XOcu_SPv1bNDgjyvhQH4yuvNGVUpx4ccyPh6HPmk3zrlyq4S7E00TKTOzIp1ZKWKLerSp9pVdDJ_qvzHl5MQTTsvnBeJ7m_fE4lSZnSg3iXkneKNk/s1600-h/GB11.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjchKxr425VjsY_86FyWYjAeFgPJ0XOcu_SPv1bNDgjyvhQH4yuvNGVUpx4ccyPh6HPmk3zrlyq4S7E00TKTOzIp1ZKWKLerSp9pVdDJ_qvzHl5MQTTsvnBeJ7m_fE4lSZnSg3iXkneKNk/s400/GB11.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323177690632176418" border="0" /></a>More bikes to build this weekend...<br /><br /></div>Stay tuned in the coming weeks for more pictures and ride reports from other team members.Team Embrocationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04058967547390650841noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665921807467107675.post-2886598736850773912009-04-06T18:20:00.000-07:002009-04-06T19:15:31.157-07:00Battenkill Pre-Ride Report, etc.This weekend I took a trip up to my former home of 5 or so years, Saratoga Springs, NY with the intention of doing some serious training in hilly country and doing a pre-ride of the revised Tour of the Battenkill Course.<br /><br />Joining me was the always stalwart Jay Combs. Our plan was to do a longish ride up in the Adirondack foothills on Saturday followed by the pre-ride of the course the following day.<br /><br />Saturday proved to be a truly epic day - more so than I had intended actually. (To be clear, I think epic is an overused term in the cycling world used to describe rides that, on any objective level, fall short of deserving that adjective.) We did 95 miles with 4500 feet of climbing.<br /><br /><iframe src="http://js.mapmyfitness.com/embed/blogview.html?r=edb2ce7fa2adbf4854fd3f94eac4a0db&u=e&t=ride" width="100%" frameborder="0" height="700">&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;lt&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/span&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;;a &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;href&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/span&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;="http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/ny/saratoga-springs/214123906862193098"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;04/04/2009 Route&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;lt&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/span&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;lt&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/span&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/span&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;/&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;lt&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/span&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;;a &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;href&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/span&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;="http://www.mapmyride.com/find-ride/united-states/ny/saratoga-springs"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Find more Bike Rides in &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Saratoga&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/span&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; Springs, New York&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;lt&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/span&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;</iframe><!-- MMF PARTNER TOOL --><br /><br />To add to the degree of difficulty add mid to high 30 degree temps, rain, snow and 35+ mph winds coming from the west. There was a good degree of ice on Lake Sacandaga as we rode by.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnfWWytbjjx7Xn-MbouJ1pjdi8rho-m5wdHTEreCqh5bf1FLNbWdGHACP8TwrY8IMnLjACrnktH3iX0b5lN1uz_K1GCoCOYHD846oSdLcnXtaWJPqqqHdz4uxVhEfbkeHd0mrUKQ-xXp8/s1600-h/IMG00042.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnfWWytbjjx7Xn-MbouJ1pjdi8rho-m5wdHTEreCqh5bf1FLNbWdGHACP8TwrY8IMnLjACrnktH3iX0b5lN1uz_K1GCoCOYHD846oSdLcnXtaWJPqqqHdz4uxVhEfbkeHd0mrUKQ-xXp8/s400/IMG00042.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5321760008202287762" border="0" /></a>Pretty desolate, cold and difficult all told. We probably overdid it a little bit.<br /><br />But who cares. Really what I want to talk about and the two or three people who will read this want to know about is the Battenkill course. Here's the short story. It's completely different, longer and much harder than the previous version.<br /><br />Here's the longer version: The race previously started in Salem, NY. A true one horse town. This year Dieter Drake, the race director, saw fit to move the start/finish south a bit to Cambridge, which ranks at least two and a half horses on the same scale. Still a small, rural town but it has charm, more than one store and a really nice main street nestled between rather large ridges on all sides.<br /><br />The course uses many of the same roads as it has in the past, but all recycled routes are done in reverse. This includes the first climb from years past, which is now a screaming downhill after a dirt climb. Racers may also remember the final climb from the past - half dirt, half road with a right hand turn at the top followed by a very fast descent onto the finishing straight. That's now a very steep uphill followed by a fast dirt descent... you get the idea.<br /><br />The infamous Meetinghouse Road is still a major factor, but comes much later in the race.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVVTRw-RBhYTvjQVvcmk3N-SbMxjlele4bgPZW1QYT2tURH1nSOg2X0NPK4x1h0MnmbZRyEdq_Xv5bAcdhMu98GvGWHGhh_7YKXtPzTfJcYyf4g81G_h7iGWYv7oHG3Ovd5ays0GDSqOs/s1600-h/MeetingHouse.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 190px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVVTRw-RBhYTvjQVvcmk3N-SbMxjlele4bgPZW1QYT2tURH1nSOg2X0NPK4x1h0MnmbZRyEdq_Xv5bAcdhMu98GvGWHGhh_7YKXtPzTfJcYyf4g81G_h7iGWYv7oHG3Ovd5ays0GDSqOs/s400/MeetingHouse.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5321761699190882306" border="0" /></a>I think it's easier going this way as each of the four pitches gradually becomes smaller and less steep. Meetinghouse drops onto a relatively flat section of about 4 miles. This turns into a fast descent and a long stair-step climb followed by a fast downhill into Cambridge. The final few K are flat with a 90 degree right turn onto main street and about 250 meters to the finish line.<br /><br />There is also a higher percentage of dirt roads this year. They come early and often. This year, the dirt conditions appear to be very good. Unlike last year, which was extremely dry and warm, upstate NY has had a good degree of rain and colder weather. The dirt roads were, for the most part, moist and well packed down. There were few sections with loose gravel. Toward the end of the course there was one section about 15 meters long with golf ball sized white stones covering the entire surface of the road. This looked like some county plan to add structural integrity to that section of road, but made it extremely treacherous for those on skinny tires.<br /><br />Having done the course this year, raced the previous course numerous times and having lived there for years, here are my recommendations:<br /><br />Use a cassette with a 25T cog or higher. Some of the dirt sections are extremely steep - especially at the beginning of the course and it will be good to have a wide range of gears.<br /><br />There should be no need for extra wide tires. This isn't Belgium - there aren't cobbles or extremely rough sections of road. I used 25mm tires on the pre-ride and will be using 22mm for the race.<br /><br />Use tubulars if possible. While the dirt roads are in good shape and fast, there are sink-holes and some larger rocks rolling about loose. They were not a problem in a small group during the pre-ride as we were able to avoid them. In a large group however, avoidance might not be possible and you'll want to reduce the risk of pinch flats and blowouts.<br /><br />Bring lots of provisions and/or be diligent about getting feeds at both feed zones. The course is relentless and there are few places to rest - hiding in the group won't help much in this race.<br /><br />It's a harder course than before, but in my opinion, more fun. It's more rhythmic, rolling and the dirt sections are much improved. Not sure I'll feel the same way after race-day. As Jay put it after he regained blood-flow to his synapses, "it was the longest 62 miles I've ever ridden." He needed two bottles of chocolate milk and a cherry coke before he started to recover.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBhI13YNo2z6w2r0g5Jr0rIop8GulgXcEpLQP2-nKh1zjCuebGa4aU75iFHS85JGKJoj5lHCAtVGFzTEsayVCwKyn2JnKF5O4Dm0pP5ty0gVbBs7dRUUOjBswUcRKybSbvJprcxIQbV1Q/s1600-h/IMG00044.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBhI13YNo2z6w2r0g5Jr0rIop8GulgXcEpLQP2-nKh1zjCuebGa4aU75iFHS85JGKJoj5lHCAtVGFzTEsayVCwKyn2JnKF5O4Dm0pP5ty0gVbBs7dRUUOjBswUcRKybSbvJprcxIQbV1Q/s400/IMG00044.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5321766761709758066" border="0" /></a>Pretty much sums it up.Team Embrocationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04058967547390650841noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665921807467107675.post-56396607461300976012009-04-01T10:54:00.001-07:002009-04-01T11:00:29.748-07:00Team Bikes - Part TwoThese pictures arrived from our painter yesterday. Now I'm getting psyched for real.<br />That was great news. The bad news: He made a small error and every bike says "Bradshaw" on the top tube. Oops. Not to worry, he's fixing them today and it shouldn't add more than a day or two to our lead-time. Next time we see these, they'll be fully build race bikes.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglkBcDld-IOUL3p5BzWahqfksadnqFnrNoDEvtZ-NDzvHs4XCigb4mHtOMsrhW9cKy0OVTIUrTq0dN3dbkcuE7BHZmJiMwxmfEaSEFq1qUcA4jOEA-7A1H_z9Cofxzii50nyTJr1cVuF0/s1600-h/GaulzettiPainted3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglkBcDld-IOUL3p5BzWahqfksadnqFnrNoDEvtZ-NDzvHs4XCigb4mHtOMsrhW9cKy0OVTIUrTq0dN3dbkcuE7BHZmJiMwxmfEaSEFq1qUcA4jOEA-7A1H_z9Cofxzii50nyTJr1cVuF0/s400/GaulzettiPainted3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319784076035341058" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDYMcR_y-IOF3glJgZFWRtXnhf134vUKJv6B4FD9GlJGZVWT_F3b1kz6fVlVYXk-mBLC4kFGsX3aivTrfbL3HhZeyZyUIwSWZoYHPOImqwehvhdgCYBvz_W5YrTyYlU0wUh-yktd_rT1E/s1600-h/GaulzettiPainted2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDYMcR_y-IOF3glJgZFWRtXnhf134vUKJv6B4FD9GlJGZVWT_F3b1kz6fVlVYXk-mBLC4kFGsX3aivTrfbL3HhZeyZyUIwSWZoYHPOImqwehvhdgCYBvz_W5YrTyYlU0wUh-yktd_rT1E/s400/GaulzettiPainted2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319784076888144306" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF-1Du-0BtohEeKkRdGRdTLT9AnDRcj6ROpXX2nfW2l9dtkSbrZ4fJGj9JEExvxMEd87y7LLWD2SwHfRg9dpx40shJ9QzQxJPolR58QoGoMPNXieB9H7Dvvob-h6iWOATXVE10PPJWgew/s1600-h/GaulzettiPainted1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF-1Du-0BtohEeKkRdGRdTLT9AnDRcj6ROpXX2nfW2l9dtkSbrZ4fJGj9JEExvxMEd87y7LLWD2SwHfRg9dpx40shJ9QzQxJPolR58QoGoMPNXieB9H7Dvvob-h6iWOATXVE10PPJWgew/s400/GaulzettiPainted1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319784073692483394" border="0" /></a>Team Embrocationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04058967547390650841noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665921807467107675.post-47507819806025512032009-03-27T05:59:00.000-07:002009-03-27T06:13:15.401-07:00Man down, but ok.If someone asked me to make a macabre bet as to which team rider would suffer an accident first this year, my money would NOT be on <a href="http://www.embrocationcyclingjournal.com/team/roster.htm#burns">Cory Burns</a>. After all, he's the only one of us who doesn't ride every day on the lovely New England roads, surrounded by the well-tempered Boston drivers. He's from Watertown, New York. (Brownie points to anyone who can tell me where that is without consulting a map.) Being from upstate NY myself I can tell you that while the redneck driver factor is relatively high, this is more than balanced out by the lack of traffic and the wide-open roads.<br /><br />Despite this, Cory had a bit of a run-in with a van last week while out training on his TT bike. He's going to be ok - nothing broken on his body. His beautiful Cannondale Slice TT bike is, well, not so ok. Take it out back and shoot it, Cory. Don't let it suffer anymore.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6UPL4nWGzIfCRKXj6wadoIpEWNn4WTdRjeKnaOW6uDAmWWHCfFsPV-vbJX8wkWuxfg6XcLjJOIOPdHlxDTBJLh6HOdxI5T28EUH3MNo2a1RSe2XUNiPNGxO4C-J_hkOPAd4Hs0k0b0jE/s1600-h/100_0483.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6UPL4nWGzIfCRKXj6wadoIpEWNn4WTdRjeKnaOW6uDAmWWHCfFsPV-vbJX8wkWuxfg6XcLjJOIOPdHlxDTBJLh6HOdxI5T28EUH3MNo2a1RSe2XUNiPNGxO4C-J_hkOPAd4Hs0k0b0jE/s400/100_0483.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317852963877451474" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOh0qR5p6joZk-N68UCbBTDD1xKamxhVnSYAVDeAAAWugWpK3WNHh9Fy4xFjlN5kW8XTZGkWuLmgZhyphenhypheniuF9NAnM9LG6nmkRG77femrbCxT1ct4Dasnhce_m_H3TQMyfZTE5i-zQ8Fh3pk/s1600-h/100_0485.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOh0qR5p6joZk-N68UCbBTDD1xKamxhVnSYAVDeAAAWugWpK3WNHh9Fy4xFjlN5kW8XTZGkWuLmgZhyphenhypheniuF9NAnM9LG6nmkRG77femrbCxT1ct4Dasnhce_m_H3TQMyfZTE5i-zQ8Fh3pk/s400/100_0485.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317853111710772178" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdNQGtieMmE1dpHd30MAKhYsSdXB3BOrruC00gflP9gOgyWwVF1VQCIS1yn5S56W2kp-WzZdarCGoJGI4-3FtMR7KKHiq_KyxAYnaH_dhLxEvLbbBnyFjZhTePjLPqo22Qi_4h6sPwnG0/s1600-h/100_0486.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdNQGtieMmE1dpHd30MAKhYsSdXB3BOrruC00gflP9gOgyWwVF1VQCIS1yn5S56W2kp-WzZdarCGoJGI4-3FtMR7KKHiq_KyxAYnaH_dhLxEvLbbBnyFjZhTePjLPqo22Qi_4h6sPwnG0/s400/100_0486.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317853214942160674" border="0" /></a>Team Embrocationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04058967547390650841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665921807467107675.post-85145234343565489132009-03-24T09:43:00.000-07:002009-03-24T10:08:27.827-07:00Volume 3 Release PicturesThanks to all who came out to the unveiling of Embrocation Volume 3 last night. We appreciate your support more than we can express and hope a good time was had by all. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivrP91GrF2OY0lZgt4wTMJ5w1v1EULDvUAn7Yl3axIVF9soVkHAsuXyw96g_QfYPQCVJ8wDQw2cGk2liYLLiOytpwhSHOZ5yiRqYbn8dlW1qzEIpUve6S3HLXS1X0UJ1igZtB6LvkO0jE/s1600-h/Party1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivrP91GrF2OY0lZgt4wTMJ5w1v1EULDvUAn7Yl3axIVF9soVkHAsuXyw96g_QfYPQCVJ8wDQw2cGk2liYLLiOytpwhSHOZ5yiRqYbn8dlW1qzEIpUve6S3HLXS1X0UJ1igZtB6LvkO0jE/s400/Party1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316801927339561186" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggnLXGUgcEh7HWrmQ2m_gAkEl2pktK2QX8TbaUSC7kkbHAup5QEVddoQj_f1Cg2c3QhGZ8xg_2ECku3dyxiWAVWvsBhuNigFduoG7QLyLP5n-kVi7roZwsD5RE1iip6AXCwy8Ebr77kR4/s1600-h/Party2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggnLXGUgcEh7HWrmQ2m_gAkEl2pktK2QX8TbaUSC7kkbHAup5QEVddoQj_f1Cg2c3QhGZ8xg_2ECku3dyxiWAVWvsBhuNigFduoG7QLyLP5n-kVi7roZwsD5RE1iip6AXCwy8Ebr77kR4/s400/Party2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316801757655578930" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM130T0gR0oK865aGvUuTi5oL6ypN5gX-vt5ciHlocCAROVcTDXAZKX2RjWk2LhR__1mrwgVt1IHfuU6HoaTz51fY1mXZ3qwdUfUjR4rOzZ1MXhWM2_isnWsVn9XFIv6IigOIUz6hxwcE/s1600-h/Party3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM130T0gR0oK865aGvUuTi5oL6ypN5gX-vt5ciHlocCAROVcTDXAZKX2RjWk2LhR__1mrwgVt1IHfuU6HoaTz51fY1mXZ3qwdUfUjR4rOzZ1MXhWM2_isnWsVn9XFIv6IigOIUz6hxwcE/s400/Party3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316801694958362946" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqhsrFZKtfg0EhHrW2Vgjx2pMBGbA1SPz1KTdz-TjdXCNmuOBf0GetOTzVfk0CJOBSHj9IOEKOz-Gj_Yt5Ocev9zuQdnL1gSA8rSF3xE2VMs8pyoMTuGpqZcoz9c2Bb-D4_Zu8YOgGBnA/s1600-h/Party4.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; 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display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs4NZ-LCFXdU7nRoeVXrf9ilVrGPua3In3a8e3upuOxG6_LpYfQdPMSpuskmzz5UtMeh5aIFO4-51khcFf2oSovRCbFL8HY9sY7T6G6_YF39HwsZP8Xx_-69PJcgwBzkpUuVlqsweKmcY/s400/Party25.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316800069850409906" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0ueCO46S2c4Ah5Uhqkc8m3X4F0DPuvwRkAmf8I_ZrwauVo6addfJiQZphRtvesNM4j1bPJ5b_l-sb8XmF1pusQ04wRzRj8xzM3Z-vBvlH4HoqicNMUQKpvqQTrd4Gjgzn5T-AUeUYxcQ/s1600-h/Party26.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0ueCO46S2c4Ah5Uhqkc8m3X4F0DPuvwRkAmf8I_ZrwauVo6addfJiQZphRtvesNM4j1bPJ5b_l-sb8XmF1pusQ04wRzRj8xzM3Z-vBvlH4HoqicNMUQKpvqQTrd4Gjgzn5T-AUeUYxcQ/s400/Party26.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316799994418882114" border="0" /></a>Team Embrocationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04058967547390650841noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665921807467107675.post-77607577895687697922009-03-23T14:17:00.000-07:002009-03-24T09:42:55.647-07:00Weekend Ride/Food ReportGood showing from the Embrocation team riders this weekend both on and off the race course. In sitting down to write this, however I realize that it's going to be less about the riding that we do and more about the food we eat at various points in said ride.<br /><br />Saturday was our now-traditional weekend morning ride from Cafe Fixe in Washington Square, Brookline. I'm not sure exactly how this ride came about but I do believe it was Dave Chiu of the NEBC team who turned us on to Cafe Fixe as a place to start our weekend sojourns.<br /><br />Cafe Fixe owner, Max, has been very good to us and allows us to scuff up his nice hardwood floors with our cleats. He even takes an interest in our rides, teams etc.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJyL_-ks-PsdV3uNOV4T4FUJ5k3DiQyesvmDxh62rZHUOU93d0IdEIktnvxpP_tFVO5ex0ZENF2Ug4Ar9QVRqzqs_2ANRdz5aobARyr8fYsGzcwvkWKDwzOp21A_mwX2J4l_VQ8qHafGc/s1600-h/IMG00030.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJyL_-ks-PsdV3uNOV4T4FUJ5k3DiQyesvmDxh62rZHUOU93d0IdEIktnvxpP_tFVO5ex0ZENF2Ug4Ar9QVRqzqs_2ANRdz5aobARyr8fYsGzcwvkWKDwzOp21A_mwX2J4l_VQ8qHafGc/s320/IMG00030.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316497167925203362" border="0" /></a><br />His welcoming attitude to cyclists aside, he also offers some tremedously delicious coffee beverages and baked goods to get us sugared up before we hit the road.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo7qAgkff0PKTZF1_KRVyItK82dO5bN0hz4C5d58yZCyoeZul8qgNIXOAyabvrTjRfTBQGJ3hTGeMwgfvve43AARYu2v5069mDYCpeQ39Zyi99wAaRUHeT0qVVtQKenkKbzeQ2hALnkX4/s1600-h/IMG00032.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo7qAgkff0PKTZF1_KRVyItK82dO5bN0hz4C5d58yZCyoeZul8qgNIXOAyabvrTjRfTBQGJ3hTGeMwgfvve43AARYu2v5069mDYCpeQ39Zyi99wAaRUHeT0qVVtQKenkKbzeQ2hALnkX4/s320/IMG00032.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316497616519488690" border="0" /></a><br />We had a fairly large contingent joining us on this particular Saturday - 13 riders in total started with us heading west toward the Framingham area. We had riders from Embrocation, NEBC, Cambridge, MetLife and Kenda/Spooky joining us. This was the scene outside Fixe just before go time:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5t6rhiiN0NQU0knROth8PY8Yj9yGbGwntdPDAiSqSUoOrN4foRhk4WAsNL5NU-kLS4SJM5qmTTRM9Gh9V8OdnKM1XRkDezDV0c0Oopr0LxLRsvaj8WQTOYd5hcL77v3MbKlrGX7Ph8AE/s1600-h/IMG00035.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5t6rhiiN0NQU0knROth8PY8Yj9yGbGwntdPDAiSqSUoOrN4foRhk4WAsNL5NU-kLS4SJM5qmTTRM9Gh9V8OdnKM1XRkDezDV0c0Oopr0LxLRsvaj8WQTOYd5hcL77v3MbKlrGX7Ph8AE/s320/IMG00035.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316499758678520242" border="0" /></a><br />Like I said, good showing.<br /><br />The route was out west, through Weston, Wayland and north of Framingham then south, across Rt.9 to Holliston. From there, we took the long way to Dover for another lunch stop. The ride had been hard-paced so food was a necessity by this point.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXqBesuSeo4q45Jl5EvlIhtIIrsD5MxNSTPenWZTz2goJNzxIaiPwNC-KTzmafK09AB69B_flxyGoBxwRkGSn9e1jskMqFW3EOybM54JJPSe5xMT2wNgTp5xzD3UcOTwyUs8tEVA2ZMbo/s1600-h/IMG00036.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXqBesuSeo4q45Jl5EvlIhtIIrsD5MxNSTPenWZTz2goJNzxIaiPwNC-KTzmafK09AB69B_flxyGoBxwRkGSn9e1jskMqFW3EOybM54JJPSe5xMT2wNgTp5xzD3UcOTwyUs8tEVA2ZMbo/s320/IMG00036.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316500258531805666" border="0" /></a><br />85ish miles, at 18+ mph average. Not the longest ride of the year, but the fastest average helped in large part by a tail-wind on our way out and some serious pace-lining on the way back in.<br /><br />Sunday - Wells Ave. Jay, Gustavo, me. Good showing as we raced aggressively, went on the attack a bunch (Jay), pulled back several dangerous breaks (me) and sat in the back until the end (Gus). I was able to slot in behind Mark McCormack for the final sprint, which helped me take 5th or 6th. Jay blew himself up trying to get away with 2 to go, a bold move that has worked for him before.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQGpDXBwq61i7ss1FCwhGsLKaMyJuCaLmRoPMuXQqDth5TczW3vgJ1U3nY0k8ppIpSwgEubRjo2u82ft2x4qJbItsvCDxOcWiMN5G9DQLTcbFmvOC7u1pogESk9kSrK_6qKPvAhKD2ba0/s1600-h/P1080893.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQGpDXBwq61i7ss1FCwhGsLKaMyJuCaLmRoPMuXQqDth5TczW3vgJ1U3nY0k8ppIpSwgEubRjo2u82ft2x4qJbItsvCDxOcWiMN5G9DQLTcbFmvOC7u1pogESk9kSrK_6qKPvAhKD2ba0/s320/P1080893.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316795112661903618" border="0" /></a><br /><br />After the race, out to Dover for an easy hour warm-down ride and, of course, food.Team Embrocationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04058967547390650841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665921807467107675.post-16723703835048118842009-03-18T18:01:00.001-07:002009-03-18T18:40:49.092-07:00Team UpdatesIt's been a few days since my last post. There have been some developments since then.<br /><br /><br />First, we got in our first real team ride. Actually it was basically the same as every other Saturday ride has been over the last couple months except that we had all of the local Embrocation guys on the ride, including Pete Smith who made the trip down from the north shore.<br /><br /><p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314698192151445938" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3XCsZYhANAIaj_B1jzeEZ-uv-7n5magsJV6SKdhE6BV2u2BsekZdQzD7khEYPzzI3-Okpcnb0H8b5-f76PtoRgpuskK0wG1NJDsgcFqjHkqYoUF3yexEo5YNbOjT_6OBViqkaL3mG_VQ/s320/P1080817.JPG" /></p><br /><br /><br /><p>It wasn't just us, of course. We had a few of the usual suspects from the local scene, including a couple Cambridge Bicycle guys who are always good company. All in all, a good day with good company, and more than a couple stops for baked goods.<br /></p><br /><p></p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314698666529041954" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhctl3HfXVe_EvXS_Zd53ga8Ib0epl_SIHFzvvE7yQV5fPIWw2NdbodsOp0WEj9-qYizBrgXBji6AhlgYJj12TYG88aecCXIEGQ-omi2J64WO1nCVVPg1mm6kqIiv9eZ90noF7XDvytbYg/s320/P1080806.JPG" /><br /><br /><p>Next, we have a couple new additions to the team worthy of mention:<br /></p><p>First, we have Cory Burns who joins us from the former Fiordafruitta team. Cory sent me an email inquiring about the team about a month ago and I jumped right on the opportunity to pick him up. I had the pleasure (actually it was painful) of racing with (against) Cory in last summer's Empire State games, when I was still an official resident of that state. You could say he put in a solid performance when he won the ITT, lapped the field in the points race and pulled his team to a silver medal in the team time trial. He's fast and even though he'll be the odd man out not being a Boston local, I couldn't turn him down. Hopefully we'll see more of this from Cory this year (although in more fashionable duds - seriously man who takes top step of the podium in jeans?): </p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314700705375296578" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEguYefzKEv_JLhVznFHaujuzb33HyIJl0C1fNyV0O5HoltoyX0fmRIhv5ujwiOw_SQ19mY2gsnl3uhbMVSP1PzX113Taq8mc4W-xcQV6JLEF_RIa1X0S_YjrmUxfYLvcjH3fXjTLKgxA/s320/100_1468.JPG" /><br /><br /><br /><br />After a lengthy, and at times bitter contract negotiation, we've signed Pierre Vanden Borre. PVB comes with a hefty price tag but his skills in the Cat 3 field will prove invaluable. <img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 220px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 220px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314707430961365650" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikgXm57l4uLKYOcXx8f_H1g2ao6iOzjMDruwRDDN7fm29ETH1l75rtNkewxbHaWGAUBLK4Qk7kix380OL3KcN7S6d5FbqG_z415771bQEm6saDg7_EvK3cZIVCt-VQ1iDfBRDP1Qex1ck/s320/pvb.jpg" />A distance specialist, PVB is also a member of the non-racing but arguably more illustrious <a href="http://www.rapha.cc/continental/index.php?page=376">Rapha Continental Team</a>. These are a bunch of dudes wearing expensive clothes, doing stupidly long rides all for the benefit of the Rapha photographers and videographers following them around. In actual fact, I'm jealous and admit it's pretty cool and the stuff they come up with is great: <a href="http://embrocation.blogspot.com/2009/02/034-rapha-rides-toc-episode-2.html">http://embrocation.blogspot.com/2009/02/034-rapha-rides-toc-episode-2.html</a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p>Lastly, I wanted to draw attention to the team's website: <a href="http://www.embrocationcyclingjournal.com/team">www.embrocationcyclingjournal.com/team</a>. This is pretty raw right now, but we'll be adding quite a bit of content when the season really kicks into high gear. Stay tuned.<br /></p><br /><p>There is one change to the website worth mentioning. I recently changed Jay Combs' web profile picture. It seems Mama Combs had some misgivings about Jay's previous picture. Personally, I didn't see a problem with it. It's the best picture I've ever seen on the local sex offender registry. You be the judge. </p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314702870722132530" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsF6TmHU-27VkU_1M5O8P6T7vxaRjEVhPUAkfpFYBQYEWhERR3vsyPrgYJ9LhYU5HEtae3pbbCSWOQsP5KEMngndHKK2q3ZRbCwUhfXxVSiqcFlWm6p3mZeJ8PsYSJhe-rHurvTVCxyoA/s320/DSC00669.JPG" /> Worry no more, Mrs. Combs. Your lad is a respectable young man:<br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 271px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314702283772128082" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfWohQXCdoJzgx4RNhR9C-WtWP6d7ACyvDRgo1DxjEsJUjMS2lCcpHvkbu0096dTRyO1cRqHD1OfxEo8bduuhvIuj-JgZfFh1BA-xV04-oQtVGMpTxtiy97CG-6I01l9-9HG0_C7NV1Eg/s320/combs.JPG" /><br /><br />That's all for now. We'll have more after this weekend's festivities.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />James<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div>Team Embrocationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04058967547390650841noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665921807467107675.post-34901185131687547432009-03-05T13:56:00.000-08:002009-03-05T15:25:58.969-08:00Team Bikes - Part One<span style="font-family:arial;">Some encouraging news today on the team equipment side of things. The first images of our team bikes came in and I'm starting get really excited about these things.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Here's some background: When we decided to start up the road team this year, we were in the market for new bikes and we knew we wanted to do something handmade and local, if possible. At the same time I heard that my friend Craig Gaulzetti was starting up his own venture - </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.gaulzetticicli.blogspot.com/">Gaulzetti Cicli</a><span style="font-family:arial;">. We talked and agreed that the Embrocation road team would be the ideal way to launch his new bike brand.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Craig is not a builder himself, but he is a designer with an incredible knowledge of frame materials, geometries and the requirements necessary to make bikes race-worthy. He's importing alloy tubes and stays from Dedacciai to his specifications. Once Craig completes the designs, the tubes and build sheets are sent out to Joe at Primus Mootry in Colorado where the assembly is completed. This past weekend, Joe did his magic and our first four team frames are complete. Check it out:</span><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center; font-family: arial;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPmkdBTNHpYXNxJjpZ3snD-eIeaazWNGkN3fiPrNGWPTcbDUB2SMUhxTlVOsM4XzTauXP8mET04oVh2YOHqdow0oyz27DicmHdWeV9qNaELn1eqWPHiOe7L_IToxo7rnJL4NILKDVBa6U/s1600-h/EmbroBike1.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPmkdBTNHpYXNxJjpZ3snD-eIeaazWNGkN3fiPrNGWPTcbDUB2SMUhxTlVOsM4XzTauXP8mET04oVh2YOHqdow0oyz27DicmHdWeV9qNaELn1eqWPHiOe7L_IToxo7rnJL4NILKDVBa6U/s320/EmbroBike1.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5309830047455507698" border="0" /></a>Team bikes are made from Dedacciai Light Alloy and feature integrated seat masts that will be topped with Deda's own adjustable seat clamp. Craig designed the bikes with very specific tube selections for specific riding characteristics: Stiff bottom brackets and front ends. Most modern carbon bikes have stiff bottom brackets but lack appropriate stiffness in the front end. Craig hates this as he feels it degrades the ride quality and handling, so stiff front ends it is.<br /><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center; font-family: arial;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center; font-family: arial;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_CDpYYEf9Hqnmtk2ikwyZf3QAlghN-jgOe9LvRaEiq6oH8-_qIA-vlWkZAoDh9GjgVJwRVfWcWGIm5hrDbtYCOaO-7WzwSGsQFH0zjSlDBtrfx645TX8hPIMuYlWDo2uVimcNEG5m3nw/s1600-h/EmbroBikeBBShell.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_CDpYYEf9Hqnmtk2ikwyZf3QAlghN-jgOe9LvRaEiq6oH8-_qIA-vlWkZAoDh9GjgVJwRVfWcWGIm5hrDbtYCOaO-7WzwSGsQFH0zjSlDBtrfx645TX8hPIMuYlWDo2uVimcNEG5m3nw/s320/EmbroBikeBBShell.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5309830732835541922" border="0" /></a>Gaulzetti frrames use BB30 bottom bracket shells. BB30 is supposedly stiffer and lighter than normal cranks. Probably the best thing about BB30, though is that the cranks have a lower Q-factor and hence more heel clearance for the crankarm. Using a BB30 shell with metal bikes also provides more real estate to work with when welding. This means larger diamter downtubes and chainstays can be used in increase stiffness and overall strength.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmT43O6-Bebp4peX0XIimLB6PqCj-Q1thGw2R4q9Ej5QXwSY7YOJXY2W1Sb8LkUhTNle0dhr2mZCxDvhpqtp1Amd7eN_c6vaGY-BY5J7V5Jf_B-UcejW70SpYA1h7llAjFOhRKDvKG_Ms/s1600-h/EmbroBikeHeadTube.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmT43O6-Bebp4peX0XIimLB6PqCj-Q1thGw2R4q9Ej5QXwSY7YOJXY2W1Sb8LkUhTNle0dhr2mZCxDvhpqtp1Amd7eN_c6vaGY-BY5J7V5Jf_B-UcejW70SpYA1h7llAjFOhRKDvKG_Ms/s320/EmbroBikeHeadTube.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5309832010242885986" border="0" /></a>As opposed to the bottom bracket, which is using the latest configuration, the headtube will take a standard 1 1/8" press-in headset. In the case of the team, we'll be using the Nothread headsets supplied to us by Chris King.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWhzqqIax1J4WVOFhsZHMyVFoSS_iMsTCruHpRN9WB89KUQKhwZVK6ackOWzJSlhMgpG8-kM8Zc6vP7kjpMSMhVcX5lprslUvqbiA-MGnWk8DTtQ5TcyWsP1A0YIaWme7OdNEW6ko0YRs/s1600-h/EmbroBikeSeatCluster.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWhzqqIax1J4WVOFhsZHMyVFoSS_iMsTCruHpRN9WB89KUQKhwZVK6ackOWzJSlhMgpG8-kM8Zc6vP7kjpMSMhVcX5lprslUvqbiA-MGnWk8DTtQ5TcyWsP1A0YIaWme7OdNEW6ko0YRs/s320/EmbroBikeSeatCluster.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5309833216311646626" border="0" /></a>Joe at Primus Mootry does really nice work. These are as nice welds as you're likely to find on any aluminum bikes. You can also see here how small the seat stays are relative to the chainstays and the other tubes. This is to allow some degree of comfort in the rear end of the bike.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfoLWdKo8DMfip1n-NmgsyBKQx415WFm8dEu3ukU245WU2gadIeKWUMVRnBocewnXPEPdn69oHAxTHlCn1NRJn-X614buzzGD8aV0SUBX3jPYOymQBlehRqR7pnuizuOQtOebvefHfVfU/s1600-h/EmbroTeamBikeLineup.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfoLWdKo8DMfip1n-NmgsyBKQx415WFm8dEu3ukU245WU2gadIeKWUMVRnBocewnXPEPdn69oHAxTHlCn1NRJn-X614buzzGD8aV0SUBX3jPYOymQBlehRqR7pnuizuOQtOebvefHfVfU/s320/EmbroTeamBikeLineup.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5309847915118261362" border="0" /></a>Our first batch of 4 team bikes ready to go to paint. These are intended for Josh, Bradshaw, Jay and me, respectively. The two smaller frames are approximately size 54cm, while Josh's bike is the largest and is about a 62cm - he's a big unit.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi33RO6QMMZg5Goiz_Lhip_PplAroMc4d9k17i44HtR6UkPOR7xo1IKVFAbUPKuR_o2APuaOL3gTpP_fUAAwsvzqjsz1Bm-doRjnCL9IE6KZmRq0VSSh2rX-com6GiE2GwGal0cMe02P84/s1600-h/EmbroTeamBikeLineRear.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi33RO6QMMZg5Goiz_Lhip_PplAroMc4d9k17i44HtR6UkPOR7xo1IKVFAbUPKuR_o2APuaOL3gTpP_fUAAwsvzqjsz1Bm-doRjnCL9IE6KZmRq0VSSh2rX-com6GiE2GwGal0cMe02P84/s320/EmbroTeamBikeLineRear.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5309847810149052290" border="0" /></a>Here's a good view of the relatively svelte seat stays and the integrated seat masts themselves. The Deda seat cap has about 4cm of vertical adjustment once we've cut these to size ourselves. We also have the option of cutting them completely off to use standard seatposts if we so choose.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">So that's our first look at the team bikes. These four are off to paint and then over to us for final assembly. Stay tuned to see how this project comes out in the end. <br /><br />James <br /></div><br /><br /></div>Team Embrocationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04058967547390650841noreply@blogger.com1