A Return to the Blog--Newton's Revenge Race Report

All right--it's been a while since I've posted--and this time, I can't blame work, the house or the family--it's just been a great summer weather-wise (knock on wood) and I've been out riding! Truth be told, I have just been burnt out on blogging and rather than boring you to near death with the same old tales of our local training rides, I thought I'd wait for something worthwhile to write about. Yes- I realize this post is way after the fact, but better late than never, right? I had started it, but never managed to put the finishing touches on it.

We were off to Mt. Washington again--this time for Newton's Revenge. We took the whole family and headed over to North Conway, NH the Thursday before the race. This gave me a little time to relax after the interminable car ride. We stayed at the same hotel as we did in June and the kids were thrilled with the swimming pools. I went for a short ride on Friday while Cora and the kids explored some trails and waterfalls. Although Max and Phoebe wanted to repeat the awful meal we had last time, Cora had done a little research and found a great little place called Delaney's Hole in the Wall, which I think will become our restaurant of choice in North Conway.

Saturday morning we got up and got going a little bit late. The forecast had been for a few showers, but nothing major, so we were a little perplexed when we started to see cars with bikes on top with racing numbers headed toward us, away from the mountain. When we got there, we found that they had postponed the race for a day because the gravel parts of the road had gotten washed out overnight. So we turned around and spent most of the day at the pool with the kids. I was able to get out for an hour or so and spin. I happened across Hurricane Mountain and couldn't resist climbing to the top--probably wasn't such a great idea, but damn, it was a cool climb. Anyone who's done it knows what I'm talking about. I'm definitely going to hit this climb again--I'll just make sure to do it after Mt. Washington, not before.

When I got back from my ride, I found the kids totally waterlogged. We began the 3-hour process of trying to go to bed early. I actually slept really well, as this was not a high priority race for me. Without a taper and a couple of heavy weeks of training, I knew the day was probably going to be longer than I wanted it to be. On Sunday morning, the weather couldn't have been any more different than it was in June for the practice ride, or from the day before, for that matter. It was absolutely gorgeous--the car said it was 72 degrees at the base of the mountain.

Compare that to June:

The one lesson I took home from the practice ride was that I needed to get a solid warm-up ride in, so I headed out on Route 16 south and worked through my zones for half an hour or so. I actually felt pretty good, but I should have seen the writing on the wall, as I was sweating like a hog and had to stash my base layer. Being a novice (relatively speaking) to Mt. Washington, as I was sitting at the start, it never occurred to me that it wouldn't cool off as we went up the mountain. For the first two miles, I was well ahead of my pace from the practice ride and right on target with my power numbers. About 25 minutes into the climb, I was sweating like crazy and had already worked my way through most of my water bottle. I quickly realized that today was not my day. Miles 3, 4, and 5 I was really struggling, but surprisingly I was still on pace with my practice ride times, maybe even a touch faster.

By the time I hit the dirt road, I was down to maybe a sip or two of water, my average heart rate was 11 beats higher than it was in June, and my 5-6 mile split was a good 35 seconds slower. I was hoping for a little wind, as I was burning up--if it was there, I sure as hell didn't feel it. Whatever it was, climbing the dirt road section may arguably have been some of the worst suffering I have ever done on a bike. Mile 6-7 on the pavement was a little better--it was then that I realized that breaking 1:20 was going to be close. It seemed to me at the 7 mile marker that I was feeling better and probably went a little too hard, as I hit the final 22%, I was absolutely crushed--my heart rate was at a season high--never in my life did I ever think that I would love a 34x36 so much. As I made the final left-hand turn, I looked up and saw the clock hit 1:20.

The Devil got me good today!

I crossed the line at 1:20:14. Check out Max--he actually managed to shoot some video all on his own--I love that little Spanish climber!

I vaguely remember 3 or 4 volunteers grabbing me and holding me upright after crossing the line--I'm sure it wasn't for very long, but it seemed like an eternity as I tried to process whether or not I could get off my bike. I managed to hobble over and sit down--I was absolutely sopping wet--somebody gave me a bottle of water and it felt like the last supper. I must have looked pretty shitty, as I remember that 2 paramedics came over and checked my pulse. I'm not sure what they were getting at, but I much appreciated their efforts.

14 seconds--wow. People always talk about how steep and unrelenting this climb is, which it is--couple that with the unpredictability of the weather--hot, cold, driving rain, snow maybe? I'm starting to feel that doing well on this climb is a crapshoot. I'll be honest with you--I get more stressed out about what to wear (do I bake--do I freeze?) than I do about the actual climb. The verdict for now is that I would absolutely rather climb this in 40 degrees and raining than in 70-something degrees and sunny.

Tom Danielson missed breaking his own record by 8 seconds--he did manage to crush me by more than 30 minutes with an astounding 49:32. If I'm not mistaken, that 8 seconds cost him $5,000 bucks.

I guess the one good thing about my effort is that as bad as I felt, and I won't be dramatic and say it was the worst, but it definitely was in my top three crappiest days ever on a bike, I still managed to get pretty close to breaking 1:20. I was quite a bit faster, and certainly felt a hell of a lot better during the practice ride a month earlier. I've got no idea of what to expect now on August 21--I think it's fair to say, though, that the stars are going to have to line up for me to get into the 1:10-1:15 range. I still think it's possible if my taper goes well and the weather cooperates, but it's certainly going to hurt like hell--praying for a nice, light rain.

As far as the event goes--it's first rate--after gingerly walking to the car and waiting a bit we were able to head down and I made my way over to the tent, where I enjoyed a fantastic lunch. I'm already looking forward to August.

We stayed another night at the hotel and headed back to Cooperstown Monday morning. Cora and the kids went out for breakfast and I started out on my bike heading west on Rte 302. They caught up with me about 40 miles later, which was perfect, as it was hot and I had run out of water again--you'd think I'd learn.

We decided to make a stop at Mt. Ascutney on the way home, as it's just off the highway and I wanted to check it out before the race on July 17th.

Ascutney is a great little climb--certainly very comparable to Mt. Washington, except it's half the length and there are several areas where you get a little respite. I ultimately decided not to go back and race, as the 30-35 minutes of racing was greatly overshadowed by the 7 hours of driving. For once, I think my wife actually thought I was being practical--please don't tell anybody--it may ruin my reputation.

I Don't Know Burt Friggin Hoovis

But this video is really inspiring. Enjoy.



Then of course there is this:

Whiteface Hill Climb Report

Sorry I do not have lots of sexy pictures--I flew this one solo. I was really excited to head up to Whiteface as I have read it is a great climb. In July's Bicycle Magazine (can't find a link, p. 60 if you're interested), they compared it to Alpe d'Huez in length and grade. As a sidebar, I think the descent is crazy, as the frost heaves at 50 mph on a 13 lb. climbing bike make for a really scary ride.

I left Cooperstown and it was absolutely beautiful out. Three and a half hours later, when I arrived up in Wilmington, it was overcast and trying to rain. After signing in and finding out that I was in the third of nine waves, I believe, I had enough time to climb the first three miles, which served as an ample warm up--something that was sorely missed at Mt. Washington.

I wasn't sure what to expect, as I did not taper at all for this race and I did an extremely heavy week of training. My pipe dream goal was to go 54 minutes or better. Given how my legs felt, I thought that breaking an hour was a fair target. My strategy was to average about 95% of threshold and let the time work itself out. It was fun sitting on the starting line looking at all the modified gearing that people come up with to get up these hills. I later realized that Whiteface is very doable with a 25x11 on the back--the 36x11 sure looks good, though.

As the start gun went off, I was absolutely going backwards for the first mile. I think there were only 3-4 people were behind me. I couldn't figure out what was going on, as I was feeling pretty good. When I looked down at the Powermeter and saw that I was putting out 350 watts, I was hoping this was a case of a bunch of people going out way too hard. I dialed it back quite a bit, hoping the pace would slow. By the time we hit Santa's Workshop, things seemed to be coming back a bit.

I felt pretty good and got into a rhythm. I started passing quite a few people, which gave me the sense that I was flying. As always, pacing is so important, so I concentrated really hard on my cadence and maintaining my power. At the 20 minute mark, I was averaging about 2% over threshold and realizing that I wasn't going to be able to maintain this pace for an hour. Although it didn't slide off catastrophically, the power did come down more that I would have liked over the next 37 minutes--not ideal pacing on my part.

I had not pre-ridden the course, but was told that it flattens out at the top. I just wish I had known how much, as it seemed like the finish came pretty quickly. I finished in 57:38--I believe 47th overall and 14th in my age group, although I haven't seen any official results yet. As seems to be my MO on hill climbs, as I got to the top and got off the bike, I started freezing my ass off and only had my rain jacket on me. After ravaging the well-stocked food station at the top, I didn't have to wait too long before I noticed that people had already started down. If you haven't figured it out by now, I'll say it again--I'm not a huge fan of going down hills. I was reasonable certain that this was going to be sketchy. I hit 52 mph, which in my opinion was crazy, and there were people flying by me like I was standing still. Wow!

Luckily the rain didn't start until I got to the car. A quick change netted me third for getting in on the free massage table. A very nice bonus for what was a great race. I'm already trying to think of a way to go back up and ride it again--looking forward to next year's race.

Westside Dirty Benjamin

At the start, a happy and only slightly confident Dave. In the bottom right corner of this shot you can see a very unique single speed. A unicycle. Someone was going to do 106 miles on a uni! Qman was impressed. I was wondering about the taint damage.

At the half way. I was pretty bummed because I was working pretty hard and hadn't passed anyone in a long way. Only a few had passed me and my pace was relatively strong. I told myself I would back half. Anyway, I rode up to a group of four who were chatting away and one dude asked me what I just ate. I didn't compute until he said you rebound fast. I chalked that up to the fact that a small group passed me up a hill about an hour before. I was delerious and in a no talk zone as they blew by on their "super brutal cyclocross bikes" (say in a dorkey robot voice) anyway, I said thanks and hit the gas for a 15 minute leg burner. Needless to say that was my only tactical move of the day.

I rode into the halfway a litle despondant, but after my slight move on the 4 cyclo dudes I thought I might be aable to reel in a few more after the refuel. I rolled in to see the whole family and about 40 or 50 people laying around in the grass. I thought fuck there are only about 40 or 50 people in front of me by my calculation and here they all are. So, I never got off the bike I grabbed a Starbucks double shot and pounded 1/2 a pbj and took off right as Jess was saying "everybody is taking like 10 minutes what are you doing?" I guess to everybody, wifey included, I looked like a tool rushing in and out. I just figured, hey I'm going to make you idiots chase me. So I took off. I counted 20-25 tire tracks in the road as I was whaling away trying to put as much distance between me and the "slackers." Then the trail got a little loose and the gravel gave way to a section of very powdery dust. My bigger tires didn't seem to notice. But, it made tracking really easy b/c all the bikes in front of me were searching for purchase. I counted tracks. 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8...no fat tires. What the hell...in the gravel each pair looked like two bikes. When they began to weave around climbing in the dusty ground I could make out each pair individually. Holy shit...now I really began to whale. At about this time I was feeling like the back half strategy was going to pay off. A group of 3 went by noticebly faster than me, and blew by a turn. As I slowed to turn around and go back I yelled out to them and a broken spoke flew into my der and crunch good buy xt der and hanger. 1 hour later and 40 riders passing I have a SS and a good gear ratio. It was a real bummer to see all those guys go by who I would have been holding off mostlydue to a very flat second half that had very loose gravel...to my advantage. I figure I was going to be able to average 16 on the way home. On the SS I averaged 14. Pretty fast for my first 45 miles on a SS.

Here is a shot of the little dudes. Mack has a red mohawk.

The finish, legs cramping. I had just enough water for a 3 and 1/2 hour second half. It took closer to 4 and 1/2. That left me rationing a little and I finished my rationing with about 1/2 hour to go.

The single speed.

Dirty Hands


Ouch, as the pack comes off.

So, I finished my first official hundie race in pretty exciting fashion. What I can say is that in the first 50 miles I was under 8 hour pace and the second half which was mostly flat or downhill...well, lets just say I managed to limp in. I had a marvelous and spectacular technical. With the help of a bunch of great local riders: Tan (sp) Neal, Jay, and a really cool local shop owner Porter we converted the EMD to a single speed for my roughly 45 mile finish. I hope to pay it forward someday. I had a perfect gear that didn't spinout until I hit 16-17 MPH. It made for a few uncomfortable climbs when my legs were scorched, but I never dabbed. I only changed gears once, stupidly b/c the der was gone. That did make me feel stupid, but hey, nobody will ever know...right. I'm thiking SS is really good for BigDave...less to break. Anyway Dr. MJ is right...new team bikes are in order.

My Little Friend

This little guy hit me in the head about an hour into my two hour and twenty minute ride. I tried to feel around when it happened and felt nothing so I gave it no more thought.

When I got home and took the helmet off, I noticed him as he popped up from the vent.

Just another reason to wear a hat under your helmet. The kids were impressed that I was not scared and would "let" a bee "ride" with me--I just played cool--not a big fan of Hymenopteras.

Blackfly Challenge Race Report

This was a rough week for my bikes. The Powertap was not working--got it fixed--then it stopped working again. My 29er rear ZTR race rim was cracked and I sent it off to be replaced by Stan's crash replacement program. On a more minor front I managed to strip a chain ring bolt on the Serotta. That's a little backround as to how the week was going.

I was very excited about the Blackfly for some reason--partially because a group of us from Cooperstown were going and also because after riding the course earlier this week, I really thought I could do well. I woke up physically feeling good but for some reason I still felt like something was not right. I chalked that up to the last minute late night change-out of the rear wheel--remember I had a similar problem the morning of the LT 100--really bad karma.

We picked up Nate and were on the road by 6:30--on time for a change. I was a little startled when the GPS said we would get t0 Inlet by 8:30--a full two hours before the race start--I've never been that early to a race in my life. I figured I would use the time for a nice solid warm up. Unfortunately, by the time we arrived in Inlet it was pouring which pretty much left us running for cover and dragging our asses getting ready.



I'm the guy who always brings everything to a race--like leg warmers when the forecast is for the 80's. But somehow I managed to forget my knickers and baselayer--not really a big deal but it was a touch cold (in the low 50's) and certainly the rain was not helping--more bad karma. With a brief and wet warm up, I was feeling surprisingly good.

Do not blink because this is going to be a really short race report. After getting a nice spot on the starting line, I managed to get myself to the front pretty quickly. I settled in behind 10 or so guys on a cyclo-cross bikes and was feeling really good. I stayed up front and the first paved section was going like a road race. My plan was to kill myself to stay up front over the first couple of climbs, as I figured that was where the race was going to get sorted out. I was with Chris on his single speed cross bike and Nate also on a cross bike. As we hit the first little climb at the 2-mile mark, I was going full throttle and got to the top with the lead group--I'm guessing maybe 15 guys. I saw only one other mountain bike--I was feeling really good, but then I noticed that my HRM was now not working--what's up with all this?

As I suspected, the cross bikes all took off over the top and I was totally spun out in the 42x11 and loosing ground. As we made a quick left right combo onto the dirt road, they slowed just a touch. I was hoping the big tires would now be an advantage. As I hopped over a 4 inch rock all was going really well until I landed and could not figure out what the hell just happened.



I heard something that sounded like a shotgun going off--the 2 guys next to me screamed something and the bike got really squishy--OK, I flatted! As I tried to pedal to the side of the road, I was not moving.

I'm not sure how this happened--someone thought I hit the wheel with the chain ring when it came off--who knows.

I then realized this was hanging from my right foot--I'm thinking--what the f@#$ !

I looked at the bike and realized what had happened and knew my day was over. I was very lucky that I was not hurt and that this happened a couple hundred yards from where the spectators were, otherwise I would have been walking or even worse waiting a good long time for help. I was very fortunate to get a ride (thanks Tim) to Indian Lake where I was able to wait for Cora. No cell service can be quite a problem.

I was so bummed--I really felt like I had a good race in me.



Chris riding very strong on his SS--finished in 2:15 and change--huge ride on a 53x17--just plain sick--he was 9th in his category--congratulations to him on a great day/ride.



Mike finished strong as well--very nice! Great job getting 1st in his category/age group!



Nate smiling, though not having fun--he'll tell you it was not his day. Nate--I know you easily have top ten speed--Cora and I had a great time with you in the car and I really look forward to racing with you more in the future.

Although I didn't get any pictures of him, John did a fantastic job and placed 5th in his category and age group. More importantly, he looked sweet in his new Jackrabbit kit!

CycleOps Power News Article by Joey Adams

Check this out. I'm famous--nah, apparently I'm just an ordinary guy. Seriously, though, a huge thank you to Joey for all his help over the last couple years.

Mt. Washington Practice Ride Report

It's kind of crazy to think about the insane things we do because we are addicted to riding. Case in point--our trip to New Hampshire this weekend to do the practice ride for Newton's Revenge.

Crazy spending close to 15 hours in the car getting to and from Mt. Washington as there is no real direct route from Cooperstown.

Crazy getting up at 5 am.

Crazy that this was all to ride for about a hour and fifteen minutes. One might suggest that this is not the most efficient use of time.

As you know by now, Mt. Washington is one of my A races this year, so I felt it was well worth the drive to go up and see just how hard the climb really is. The start was any time between 5 and 7 this morning. I opted to "sleep in" which meant we were up at 5 to make it to the start by 6:30. As I was signing in, it was 60 degrees at the bottom and 40 at the top with 30 mph winds. I was told there was a 2 hour window of "no rain" forecasted--of course, that was 4:30 to 6:30 am.

The challenge was figuring out what to wear. I started out way over dressed. Ten minutes in I was burning up, so I dumped a layer with Cora which left me with a thin base layer and a long sleeve top with knickers. This combo worked just fine until I got above the tree line.

Cruising along at about the 3 mile mark. Rain status--light drizzle and I'm guessing it was some where in the low to mid 50's--very comfortable.

Popping out above the trees--the rain got heavier and the wind started to show its presence. I was starting to think it was getting a bit cold.

I think the unpaved section starts at about the 5 mile mark and goes to just past the 6 mile mark. I'm sure when dry, it's not all that bad. This morning it was wet, so to add insult to injury, it was a real power suck. I could feel my skinny little tires just sinking in. For whatever the reason, I found that riding up the little streams of running water gave the firmest ground.

Just before getting off the dirt, the rain was really coming down. Luckily the wind on this side of the mountain were not blowing as hard. I remember feeling like I hit a "flat" section which was much needed as I was able to ease up a little--I looked down at the Garmin and the "flat" section was weighing in at a corpulant 14%.

Once I got off the dirt, there was another relatively steep pitch and then it seemed to ease up a bit--I'm guessing this is somewhere between the 6 and 7 mile mark. As you can see, the fog had set in--what you can't see is the rain, which was much heavier and the wind had to be at a full 30 mph--I felt fortunate as the winds are 75+ mph 100 days out of the year.

I actually managed to ride the last mile above threshold, which I had not intended on doing but I was getting really cold and there was something about seeing the 6 and 7 mile signs that got me kind of jacked up.

You certainly can't tell, but this is the last 50 yards and it's 22% grade over the roughest paved road. Funny thing is that it's so unbelievably cool that the 500+ watts it took to get up came pretty darn easy. I can only image how cool it will be with hoards of spectators hootin' and hollerin'.

You may notice I now have a rain jacket on--this was my second time up the steep part. I beat Cora to the top on my first trip so I re-rode it for the photo-op. Not the brightest move as the 5 minutes of standing around soaking wet in the wind before going back up literally almost did me in--I have never been that cold--kind of scary how fast it came on.

A shot from the car on the way down--it's a pretty spectacular mountain and it's an even cooler ride. I was very pleased with my effort. My goal was to average 90% of my threshold and break the coveted 1:20 mark which I did. The road up averages 12% grade and other than the first couple hundred yards at the start, it literally never lets up. I started late which meant my "warm up" was on the hill--not so fun--it took a good 20 minutes to get into a rhythm. Teaching point to self--bring the trainer and a tent next time.

I'm scheduled to ride Mt Washington 3 more times this year and my goal is to increase my average power each time and then go for broke on the 21st of August with the lightest set-up possible. If I can ride at threshold for the whole trip up, I should be able to get somewhere in the neighborhood of 1:10. Of course, this is all contingent on the weather as it is every bit as unpredictable and nasty as they say--oh I forgot to mention a brief moment of hail today--sound familiar? What's the deal with me and big climbs?

Going to scout the Blackfly course tomorrow--did not spend enough time in the car this weekend, so I thought I'd add another 5 hours. At least this time, it will be sans whining, fighting and cranky kids. Good times.

New Kit on Old Fat Man

Contrary to popular opinions the new kit was totally necessary. Totally. What you really have to ask yourself is if it is necessary for spinning class. I thought so and gave it a whirl today. Special thanks to the team captain for suiting me up.

New Kit

I know, just what we needed--love the old school look.

Fitwerx and Parlee Z5 Review

Ever dream about finding that ultimate bike shop? Of course, it would have to sell high-end bike goodies-even better, it has them in stock so you can see and feel the bounty, as if you need something to push you over the edge. Then it's instant gratification--out the door you go with the much "needed" goods--much better than the standard operating procedure of "we'd be happy to order it for you."

If asking for in-stock, super high-end goods was not enough, let's ask for a staff that knows more about all things bike than you ever thought possible. Now I know this is already sounding too good to be true, but in my dream world, the customer service would be second to none and while I'm at it, I would also ask for a mechanic that treats my bike like the piece of art that it is.

Well, I finally found the perfect place--Fitwerx in Waitsfield, VT.

I had avoided getting a new road bike for quite awhile, mostly because my current road bike at the time was a rolling torture chamber and I had no desire to pay a lot of money to revisit that pain in a new flavor. After talking with Joey about how much less taxing it can be to train on the road, he assured me that Ian at Fitwerx could solve all of my problems. After doing some online research, all of which was extremely positive, I took the plunge and called Ian to talk about my needs. We scheduled a fitting (you can read about the process on their website). The fitting was most impressive--four hours later, after many measurements of both me and my current bike, much conversation and some very cool video footage, Ian had his numbers--the magic angles, inches and centimeters that were going to change the years of unnecessary suffering I had done on my Litespeed.

Much of the conversation was about my desire to have a road bike that was not only race-worthy, but more importantly, comfortable enough to ride all day. Of course I had to build the bike with components that will last a good long time. I was amazed by Ian's knowledge of a wide variety of frames and components but even more remarkable was his insight on how each of these parts would or would not best suit my needs. I left the shop thoroughly impressed. Several days later I got an estimate for my perfect bike and as you know, that was the Serotta Ottrott--I can only say I love it more now after several thousand miles than the day I got it.

Ottrott

So why am I writing this now? Well, several months ago you may remember the wheels started churning so to speak and I wanted to build a bike to climb Mt. Washington. So again

I called Ian and did not really say much more than "I need all the help I can get to climb Mt. Washington in August--what can you build up that is super-light, comfortable and tough enough to ride everyday?" We discussed several frames and that was that. Realizing that my requirements were somewhat of an oxymoron, I was not expecting a build quote by the end of that day but I got one. Again-perfection! A mixture of components that I never would have thought of on my own--and I do a lot of on-line research--built up on the new Parlee Z5.

I took a couple of days to research the parts I was not familiar with--the frame, Zipp crankset, and Hive brakes, to name a few--all of which got high praise across the board in the performance, light-weight, style and durability departments. The most clever part of the build is the SRAM XX rear derailleur and 10 speed cassette which will give my feeble little legs a bunch of bail-out room as the gas starts to leak all over the place half-way up Mt. Washington--very smart and I'm sure I'll love it even more when I have to use it.

I can go without my power so I have the 404 on the back for training purposes.

The Zipp 202 tubular--I went with Continental GP 4000 tires because they are super puncture resistant. I'm sure I could brake the 13 pound mark with lighter tires--not sure it's worth it.

I also used Tufo Extreme gluing tape instead of glue which works very well--lots less hassle and has eased my "transition" to tubies.

The SRAM XX 11-36--lots of bail out room.

It's like a piece of jewelery--now I want to upgrade the mountain bikes to the XX.

The 202 rear wheel with the SRAM XX 11-36 cassette. I think I will eventually try a Red 11-28.

This wheel is close to a pound lighter than the 404 (with Powertap).

I'll tell you what, I sure do love having power on board--my only regret.

SRAM XX rear derailleur to accommodate the XX 11-36 cog. I am going to put a Red derailleur on after Mt. Washington.

The Selle Italia SLR team edition with carbon rails--the same saddle that is on the Ottrott--love it more and more each time I ride it. The Easton EC90 post is an old favorite--I think it's my third one now--if it just had some markings on it to help with adjusting saddle angle it would be perfect.

The bottom bracket area is big and stiff. I can't honestly tell the difference of the narrower BB30 bottom bracket which is a good thing. The Zipp cranks came with ceramic bearings--very nice!

I've never been a guy to buy high end pedals but these rock and were well worth the upgrade.

The Zipp cranks are another piece I wish I had put on the Serotta as they are lighter and of course look great. The biggest benefit though is that you can go to a 53x39 by changing the rings--a lot cheaper than swapping out the whole crankset.

Everyone seems to love the SRAM red. I keep hearing great things about it, but truth be told, I did not put it on the Ottrott because after riding it I was not impressed. This time around, after hearing even more positive feed back from other riders I went with it--still reluctantly but justified my decision because it weighs less than the Dura Ace. I'll be honest and I thought I would never say this I'm a big fan--it just took awhile to get used to. Now I'm wishing I had it on both bikes because going back and forth between the two is causing me, with my limited mental capacity, to make a lot of bad shifts.

The Hive brakes--awesome--what else can I say. They stop like crazy and are super easy to adjust--can't ask for any more than that.

More about this later--the new Joule 2.0.

With this build, after the initial estimate, I worked with Steve for the majority of the process--with big-time industry credentials, he knows bikes and could not have been more awesome to work with. Like Ian, Steve went above and beyond--prompt in returning phone calls and e-mails, and pleasant in dealing with my last minute vanity changes--top notch customer service.

So, here she is, all 13 lbs 2 ozs of her.

( wt is with the 202 rear wheel)

So back to why I am writing this now. I picked up the new bike a month ago and have had the chance to really ride it (close to a 1000 miles now)--again, as with the Ottrott, the Z5 fit is spot-on perfect. As for the ride, out of this world--for being as light-weight as it is, the bike feels surprisingly beefy, stiff, smooth and super comfortable and yes, it climbs like a mountian goat. I'm still waiting for the stem, which is on backorder from Zipp.

My second go-around with the crew at Fitwerx was again fantastic--since getting the bike, I have received several e-mails and a card thanking me and reminding me to let them know if I have any problems. More so, these guys love their bikes and they just plain want to make sure I love mine too. So you can bet on it, I'll be back--hopefully in time for cross season, if I can just somehow sneak it past my wife.