This deserves a quick blogging because I was and am very pleasantly surprised. My mother-in-law who is visiting from Russia went out front for a bit and when she came back in she said there was a package. I didn't believe her because I thought it was the phone book in a plastic bag I had left out there from the day before. She then went out and grabbed a box and brought it in to prove her point. I didn't think anything of it because I knew we were expecting some things my wife had ordered. Nothing for me. No worries. After half an hour I decided to clear the doorway of this box. I look at the shipping information and notice it's from Performancebike... PERFORMANCEBIKE.COM?! It is for me! I had totally forgotten that I had won a drawing on their facebook page. And besides winning I didn't have very high expectations for actually getting anything. BOOYA! Open up the box and there were three items inside! I was only expecting one of the three things (again I probably wasn't paying much attention to the contest details). A book, chamois butter, and co2 cartridge pump kit, all for me!
The Stuff in the Box
There they are: Chamois Butt'r Original, Pro Cycling on $10 a Day by Phil Gaimon and Lezyne Caddy Kit-S (which will probably be replacing my plastic sandwich bag). Big thanks to Performancebike.com for the great cycling stuff and big shout out for them! Follow them on Facebook and you can have opportunities to win great and useful items like these and much more since they have drawings pretty often. Check out their website too. I've bought things from them in the past which is actually how I got introduced to them and the Facebook page and I am glad I did!
Here's the drawing I entered which is pretty typical.
Friday Giveaway time, inspired by pro cyclist Phil Gaimon! LIKE this post & answer our question below, by 8PM ET 2/6, for a chance to win one of 3 prize packs including: a copy of Phil's book 'Pro Cycling On $10 A Day', aLezyne Inflation Wallet Kit and a tube of Paceline Chamois Butt'r.
What question do you most want to ask a pro cyclist?
And here's my question (I don't think it really played any role in the winning) if you were wondering what it was.
Andrew GatesWhere's your favorite place to ride and do You have a favorite street?
I've raced before but nothing official until this past weekend. I raced in the Chico Stage Race. I'll get to my experience in the 3 stages that I did in another post and maybe a little in this one but first I would like to go over all of the stages in a kind of spectator and/or racer point of view. For the P 1/2 and 35+ 1/2/3 categories there were four stages and for everyone else there were three (stage one was not included). I'll brake it down stage by stage. You can get lots of info on the race at the race's website http://www.chicostagerace.com/
Stage One : Thunderhill Twilight Circuit Race
This was pretty awesome. I wasn't in the race but I'm sure for the racer's this was a great experience. Races on motorways seem to be only for the elite so to have this included in the Chico Stage Race may have boosted its chances for growth in future and it may turn the event into a classic in the U.S. The field was 110 strong for the P 1/2 race! The crowd didn't seem to be big but that can be thanks to the event being held about 40 minutes outside of Chico in Willows, CA (it took my family about an hour to get there). There were probably a lot more people there than it appeared becuase of the courses size and the amount of places which the track could be viewed. Several small bleachers could be found around the track but most people had brought lawn or camping chairs they could take around with them and sit pretty much anywhere along the track. The race could also be viewed from a skybox which I happened to like besides not being able to take decent pictures through the tinted glass. Almost the entire track was visible from the skybox.
With sprint points being given out throughout the race it made for alot of action. Several riders attempted breakaways but I think the courses nature pretty much drowned out any of those attempts. It came down to a sprint finish which was really close, because I couldn't tell who won from where I was standing and I don't think the riders knew either because no one raised their hands in victory. Good fun, and a great experience. Part of the reason I wanted to go, besides getting to watch the race, was just being somewhere I'd never been and it was a beautiful place. The track is set in foothills and right now they are all green.
The best part was getting in the car. Why? Because my three year old son thanked me for taking him to "the bicycle race" or more specifically "Papa...spacibo za to chto ti prines menja na velisopednaja gonka." I'll tell you what. That made quite a happy person. He thanked me several times actually. He watched some of the race but luckily at the track there is a small playground area which made it easier for my wife to watch the kids (she is an amazing woman who let me have fun this past weekend at the races). Besides having the playground there was lots of room for kids to run willy nilly and not get into any trouble. Here's a couple videos from youtube of the race and the winner.
Stage Two - Paskenta Hills Road Race
This is also a course that I think is worthy of making the Chico Stage Race a classic. Mostly for it's 4 mile strip of gravel which rips apart races. The higher category races hit the gravel twice since they do two laps which makes this race a 90 miler. This had even fewer spectators since it's a bit further than circuit race was probably 50 minutes or so from Chico (it took me about an hour and 20 minutes). This race is also set in foothills so it's pretty though while racing I didn't really look around too much, but I've ridden the course before when I did look around and there are streams and green hills with the cascades as a backdrop (still with some snow caps). Last time I road here (not in the race and alone) I did a little talking to the livestock out there. Call me crazy but it's fun to make the animals look your way and image them thinking, "Wh wh What? oh it's a crazy cyclist." There were sheep and goats and horses and cows so I got to make many farm animal sounds! You may think of stink when I mention all of the animals but none of them were close to each other. Lots of open pasture for the animals to roam with a road running through it for cyclists to ride and race.
Back to the race. Once there there was plenty of parking and space to warm up on your trainer or even ride around a bit. The local elementary school was putting on a fundraiser with a spaghetti feed for any tired and drained riders. The race course is pretty simple. About twenty miles of flatness and then a bit more than twenty miles of mostly rollers where there is more up than down and don't forget the four miles of gravel (which is also rollers) towards the end of the lap. The finish is pretty flat with a slight up hill at the very end which could make for a decent sprint finish but I didn't see one so I couldn't tell you how interesting it is and I don't think there were any mass finishes anyway.
I didn't bring the family out to this one because there's not much out there for little kids. It's a very small town and the few times I've been out there I didn't see any playgrounds or anything so not much to do unless you are old enough to enjoy just being outside and waiting, longing, yearning to see, after almost two hours, a cyclist or if your lucky a whole group! Not good for watching, but definately fun and challenging to ride. Here's a couple of videos one is really long (about and hour) but most of the rollers and all of the gravel on the course and the other is the P 1/2 winner.
Stage Three : River Road Time Trial There's not too much to explain for the time trial other than it's just about as flat as you can ask for and has two easy right hand turns. When I say easy I mean there's no need to get out of your tuck for the turns. The pavement is decent. It's not ideal but the road is definitely not bad. I saw a few bikes that had flatted during my tt. Riders were let off in 30 second increments throughout the day. If you wanted to see screaming fast bikes with huge price tags then this was the place to hang out. It was only a bit over a mile away from the downtown criterium so most everyone road there bike to the start and back to the criterium from the finish since most of the parking is downtown. Here's a video of what I'm pretty sure is the P 1/2 riders.
Stage Four : Chico Downtown Criterium This one is for everybody. In that there are a lot of people to come out and watch. One of the main events is the kid's races! I didn't get to watch all of them since my race had just finished but I know they had several different races for different age groups and I know that it was really cute. I could see the younger kids all lined up across the road from a distance and it was quite the site. The crit could be viewed from anywhere on the course since it's located in downtown Chico which also means that there are quite a few places you can choose from to eat. From a viewers perspective there is one thing you need to be aware of. My brother and I were talking before my race when he says," what's that smell?" He was right it smelled bad. We had stopped in front of a pair of benches. He answered his own question,"Oh, yeah this is where the bums hang out." It is true. The park area in the center of the downtown criterium course is where the homeless/vagrants, whatever you want to call them spend a lot of time whether it be just sitting, or sleeping but worst of all using the bushes as their personal toilets. Just a note to be aware of. Better to stay around the perimeter of the course or close to the sidewalk on the inner part of the course. With all of the primes being handed out, keeping the racing lively, and the larger crowds the crits were the most exciting part of the stage race. One of the best moments was probably seeing Garrett Marking, a local rider who's only 15, win the Cat 3 crit. It was simply great racing by him and his team (Limitless Cycling). Garrett got into a 3 man break early and held it well over half of the race when they were swallowed up. Another Limitless Cycling member counter attacked keeping the pace high. I think the most impressive part came with three to go. I believe a Team Audi rider was in a solo break and on this third to last lap the peloton caught and Garrett broke away. He was able to hold on to the finish where he raised his hands up in victory and gave a few punches to the sky and of course the crowd loved it. After the race I overheard several riders who were in the cat. 3 race talking about how they were pushing the pace but could not keep up with him (Garrett) and were stunned to find out he was only 15. Here's a link to Garrett crossing the line http://instagram.com/p/l5r-8SNQoG/ . The course itself is a good one which I would consider fairly difficult though my only experience doing crits prior to this one were on fairly rectangular courses. It is an L shaped course with 6 90degree turns. The finish line was pretty close to the last corner so pretty much anyone who came into that final turn holding pretty good speed took the win. I think the pro 1/2 winner talks about it a little after his win. Here is a video of that (P 1/2 winner) and of cat 4 45+ race. It's the whole race but you can see the course.
The conclusion here is that this race is getting bigger and better. It has all of the elements to attract bigger teams and better riders. The courses are great and a couple of them are ideal for spectators. I'm already looking forward to doing this one again next year. And... the overall winners (P 1/2) were... I don't know. You'll have to look it up. Cruel maybe to those who really want to know but they were all from the same team - Optum Pro Cycling (who also won the team competition). Pretty sure two of the top three are Routley and Friedman from the videos above.
I put in for two licenses at once. It was time for me to renew my driver's license and I decided to go the distance and get a cycling license so I can race this year. After filling in all forms and sending what had to be sent in the mail, this meant waiting at the mailbox for several weeks. The big question was which would come first. After waiting two weeks which one came first? The cycling license! It's only a piece of paper that you must tear out from a larger peice of paper, but it was definately more exciting than getting my new drivers license in the mail. And... the cycling license came with a sticker.
The sticker which comes with the license is pretty large I'd say about 4x7 inches or so.
I usually don't care for stickers but I have a binder for school that was waiting to be stickered. It came with something else too but I was so excited to get the license that I kind of passed over the rest of what was in the envelope. Here's a picture of someones license. My looks exactly the same and after looking at the pictures online it appears that from year to year the only thing that changes is the color of the strip and year.
Someones 2014 cycling license
Here it is blue and on previous years it was red, green, white, etc. I think I was expecting it to be slightly more sturdy but i guess it doesn't have to be since you have to get a new one every year. Now that I have my cycling license I can race without getting a day pass everytime I race (even though I've never done an official race). That will hopefully change this year since I've made the goal to make getting the license worth it by entering a number of races. The new driver's license came in the mail a week later. The conclusion here is that the US Cycling organization is better than the California Gov.
No this is not me. It's Ima Cardholder ;)
The drivers license it a better looking document. I guess the US cycling organization isn't worried about people making fake racing licenses like the gov. So if you want a nice piece of mail get a cycling license.
I woke up at 12:30am and was feeling pretty good. I bought new front and rear lights for my bike and I've been dying to try them out. Except I've been sleeping through the night which is unusual for me but fully accepted. Sleep is good (but that is for another post) I've also been wanting to make a segment on strava for a lap around town that I want to do more often since they just added a nice bike lane for part of my to be lap. With this in mind I jumped on my bike and lit up the night with my new SecurityIng® 4 Modes Waterproof 2800 Lumens Cree XM-L U2 LED Bicycle Light (& 6400mAh Battery Pack & Charger, Cree LED Bike Lamp Light Super Bright Lighting Lamp for Outdoor Sports Like Camping, Hiking, etc..) which might just be getting a smashing review after some more use. The rear light seems to be nice too but it's not something I can really see in action while riding, though it did offer a little light to my feet while clipping in. Hopefully I'll get up a review of both the front light and the rear light (a Portland Design Works Danger Zone Tail Light). Happily I used my new lights and could see great in the pitch black streetlightless roads around town, but riding at night is scary, at least it was this my first time. Scared of the dark? No. But there were the
Deer may be skittish but atleast you don't need to fear an attack!
deer. I came across four of them on my 2.5 mile ride. The first one scared me the most because it was on the side of the road and I didn't see it and it didn't see me until the last second at which point it jumped. Luckily for me in the right direction. The others I saw from a distance and whistled and they went on there way no problem. A dear could end my ride quite easily so I happy to dodge this first obtacle. So along I ride and see more "wildlife." Infact the most wild of animals.
The night cyclists least worrisome foe:the cat
The CAT! Ok, so I saw a few cats and they were the least of my worries while riding since they were all a far away and steered clear of me. But the next foe was probably the most worrisome opponents I came accross. A dark (I think marbled) pitbull. I'm not a big fan of pitbulls, and animals with little fear that like to chase bikes or cars (how dumb is that anyway - that's like a person chasing an airplane) such as dogs can pose a threat to the cyclist - in this case me. I've been barked at on several occasions and chased by dogs that were behind fenses but this pitbull was strolling down the single lane street coming in my direction.
Rare shot of a pitbull at night. You won't find me taking one.
The dog saw me and I saw the dog but I am not a local news headline (thank goodness). Neither of us gave up ground and went on our ways. I quickened my pace after we passed and listened to make sure I didn't have the enemy attacking. No offense to the dog, but I never want to see you again. -- I would like to note that it took quite a while to find a picture of a pitbull at night. I guess no one goes out seeking a pitbull at night for a photoshoot or says," Hey check it out it's a pitbull let's take a pic."
The last nightcreeper I saw was a
the nights final opponent:the raccoon
raccoon. It was pretty big. It was probably medium dog sized and as many know raccoons can be quite scary. The raccoon and I snuck up on each other so I'm sure the raccoons heart skipped a beat too as I rode away and it ran. Again in opposite directions! I was back in bed by 1:00am.
After this short 15 min. or so night ride will I be riding at night again? Yes, but I think I got a heads up that there are definately others up at midnight for cyclists to worry about. Less cars, more animals! I think I'll take my chances with the animals. I think a collision with a deуr would end better than a collision with a car. I saw this pic which with a few animal modifications pretty well sums up my first night ride.
For me it would have been a deer, dog, racoon, cat combo. I think there's a rooster on top in the photo.
So I got my second tire that I'm going to use for training. It is a Maxxis Re-Fuse. My Bro. has them on his bike for training and their fairly cheap and I could get them in red so I went for it. I only got one because I wanted to try out other tires too. If you haven't checked out an ealier post on the box of the continental tire that is what I got a continental grand prix 4 season. I honestly wanted something with red walls but whatever (beggars can't be choosers). The tire looks nice and is fairly thick. I simply want fewer flats. Both tires have gotten decent reviews but now i need to make a decision. Which one to put on the front and which one on the back? If anyone want's to chime in and give an opinion feel free. I've got a red tire and a black one. I've got my own opinion and my wife has given me the opposite opinion and I haven't put either tire on yet so it's still up in the air.
The packaging doesn't have the amazing women on it like the continental but I guess if you want to pay 20 bucks less for a tire you get less packaging and a tire made in Taiwan. This says nothing of the quality which I'm guessing is just about the same. We'll see which one gets a flat first.
On the back it shows that this might just be the tire for me that is that it is right there in the training area and... maybe someday for commuting. I'm pretty sure it tips the scale as you can see it's not a stat their flaunting, but I'm not sure and I don't care because the heavier the better. It's for training right!?!
Here's a close-up on the tread just incase tread is the deciding factor for you when choosing a tire. Haven't used it yet so I can't give my opinion and honestly don't think I'm experienced enough to notice that one tire is handling better than another. I'm excited anyway. I love getting new stuff for my bike. Now to make a decision. Which tire where?
