Twenty-five amateurs will be allowed to ride the 2.1-mile (3.4-km) prologue time trial on Feb. 17 before 130 pros take the course, then see how they stack up against the cashmen.
This is a charity event for the Palo Alto Recreation Foundation with 25 TT spots being auctioned. Winning bidders will receive the full pro treatment, including official UCI timing, a closed course, race announcers, photographers and awards for the fastest man, fastest woman and largest donor. The minimum bid is $500, and you can place yours by calling 800-341-0310 until Feb. 10 at 5 p.m. (PST).
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The older my children get the more cycling becomes a seasonal sport for me. Especially in the late summer and fall. Coaching and shuttling them from sporting event to sporting event leaves little time for training and unfortunately the shootout.
However, once January comes around my family knows it’s “bike time” as Ralph says. My 4-5 month absence does provide me with a unique perspective to note the changes I observe in the shoot out.
First, I’m amazed how many people have been turning out for the shootout these days. I’d guess 200+ riders showed up yesterday. In the old days you would only see numbers this large in the weeks before El Tour. It doesn’t look like the professional drug scandals are hurting the general cycling community’s enthusiasm for the sport. Read the rest of this entry »
Anyone who has spent time riding bicycles in Tucson, Arizona, has seen the man known as the Grey Wolf. The Wolf lurks in the desert the same way the Coyote lurked in the desert waiting for Road Runner.
I’m not sure if he has a phone tree of potential ride partners, or is just a group ride opportunist. On any given day, he can often be found circling at the top of Helmet Peak where he might try to join your ride. He never really joins the ride per se, but tails about 30 feet behind. On occasion, the Wolf might join the end of the Shootout on the Old Nogales highway and try and mix it up in traffic. He gets so excited that he growls and bays like a horse or wolf, and thus the nickname.
If the Wolf is wearing a pink jersey, rest assured matching shorts and shoe covers will follow. He also has the ability, depending on the mood, to don a bandellero or cycling cap.
He does not carry a pump on his bike, but instead uses a utility belt. He sticks the pump through the belt and into the first layer of his shorts. The pump looks like a lone arrow in a quiver. The utility belt also fits his walkman — without auto reverse. I have personally seen the Wolf manually change cassettes mid ride. I asked him once what gets him moving as far as tunes go, and he replied, “You know the good shit, BAD.” WTF???
Back on the Wolf’s wear, he usually outfits himself with two pairs of shorts. The under layer is exposed just above the knee. It is almost like a support layer. The outer layer, which is held in place by the utility belt made of patent leather, is most likely pink or green. The jersey is usually pink or green as well, and always matches the shorts. To round out the getup, his final touch is to match the thin watch band on his wrist to whatever color utility belt he happens to be running that day.
As one of the ways to promote RoadBikeRides.com and get content, RoadBikeRides.com is going to have a contest to launch the site. There are going to be some pretty cool prizes to those that finish 1st thru 10th place.The contest will start sometime in January or February, 2008 when the site goes live.The prizes will be as follows:
1st place - $10,000 cash
2nd place - Brand new top end carbon fiber road bike - Retail Value of approximately $5,400
3rd place - Zipp 404 clincher wheel set -Retail Value of approximately $2,100
4th thru 10th place - Garmin Edge 305 -Retail Value of approximately $379.15
2008 AMGEN TOUR OF CALIFORNIA WILL SIGNIFICANTLY EXPAND ANTI-DOPING TESTING AND PROCEDURES FOR UPCOMING RACE
Partnership with USADA, UCI, USA Cycling and AEG Created to Develop Unprecedented Approach to Anti-Doping Policies
LOS ANGELES, January 22, 2008 – The upcoming 2008 Amgen Tour of California cycling road race will adopt the most comprehensive anti-doping protocol in cycling history it was announced by Andrew Messick, president, AEG Sports, presenter of the race, at a press conference today.
Messick was joined by representatives of a partnership assembled to develop and enforce the anti-doping initiative, believed to be unparalleled in scope, including Steve Johnson, CEO of USA Cycling; Sean Petty, chief operating officer of USA Cycling; Bob Stapleton, owner of Team High Road, an elite UCI ProTour team participating in the 2008 Amgen Tour of California; Mari Holden, 2000 Olympic Silver Medalist, former World Champion, and Athlete Ambassador to the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA); riders and team officials as well as representatives of organizations and federations who helped to develop and will oversee and administer the groundbreaking program. Read the rest of this entry »
Power meters have become the ultimate training tool for the pros, but what can one do for you? It’s simple: With every crank of the pedals, a power meter will show you how to improve your performance. But first you have to understand how to use the technology.
If you are training with a power meter or thinking about getting a power meter there is a must read. Training and Racing with a Power Meter is the ultimate guide to training with power. Training and Racing with a Power Meter presents a wealth of information to you in a clear and concise manner. Finally!
Thinking about purchasing a power meter and don’t know which power meter to buy? The 2 most popular power meters are the Saris Power Tap SL and the SRM.
I have used both the Saris CycleOps Power Tap SL and the SRM. Although the SRM is a great power meter I would recommend the PowerTap SL for the following 3 reasons.
3 Reasons Why PowerTap SL is so Popular
1. Watts First of all power meters are getting popular because they are way better than heart rate monitors for monitoring your training. Power output is an objective measure of exercise intensity representing the actual work you put in the pedals.
The PowerTap SL collects huge amounts of data during your training ride. These data gives you a great opportunity to optimize your training and analyze your race performance. These analyzes can be time consuming, but it is here you really get the value for your money.
2. Light weight PowerTap SL is a lighter version of the original PowerTap. The weight is reduced by using a carbon hub shell combined with a new lightweight aluminum axle combine for the hub. The complete system now weighs 480g including computer.
Saving some weight has a lot of attention from high performing athletes, because no one wants to carry heavy equipment that doesn’t provide extra speed for their bike (at least not immediately…) The hub has a weight that is slightly heavier than Dura Ace and Campagnolo Record, but that shouldn’t have much influence on the overall performance and especially not with the current rules weight limits from UCI (minimum bike weight: 6.8kg).
3. Price In many years SRM was the only provider of power meters, but only professionals (or rather their sponsors) were willing to pay the price of these power meter cranks. Now you can buy a Powertap SL Hub 28 hole Shimano with software for a lower price than cheapest version of the SRM crank (amateur version).
If you are training with a Power Meter and really want to take your training to the next level also check out TrainingPeaks which is the ultimate software for cyclists and triathletes training with power, heart rate or GPS device.
Above picture is the GST Racing team climbing up Gates Pass. It is steeper than it looks!
In Tucson everyone is always talking about the Shoot Out as the best group bike ride, which it is. But there is another group ride in Tucson called the Tuesday ride which, in my opinion, is just as fast and hard. If you want to get in shape do both the Tuesday ride and the Shoot Out.
The Tuesday ride is short and fast with a some climbing. This ride has a little of everything: flats, rollers, and a short killer climb.
The ride starts from University and Park on Tuesday mornings. The ride start time varies from 6 AM in the summer, 7:00 AM in the spring and fall, and 7:30 AM in the winter. Call Fair Wheel Bikes @ 520-884-9018 for start time.
It seems as though the Shoot Out during January and February keeps getting bigger and bigger from year to year. Professional cyclists and Triathletes from all around the world are discovering what a great place Tucson, Arizona is to train during the winter months. Todays ride was one of the bigger Shoot Out packs I have seen.
The cool thing about training in Tucson during the winter months is that the temperature change from the morning low to the afternoon high can be a temperature swing of 40 degrees. Today just happened to be one of those cold mornings in Tucson. When the packed rolled out from University and Park at 7:30 AM the temperature was in the low 30’s. Most people would wait to ride in the afternoon when the high for the day will be in the mid 60’s but not when it comes to the Shoot Out because it is such an awesome group ride!
We are really lucky to have a bike ride like the Shoot Out in Tucson. The ride is a very unique group ride. You would be hard pressed to find another ride in the country like the Shoot Out, if so comment below.
Today’s ride had some big named riders in the peloton. Native Tucsonan Phil Zajicek who rides for Navigators Professional Cycling Team recently moved to Boulder, Colorado. Phil flew in for the weekend to get out of the cold for some training. I think he just missed his mommy. So to our surprise Phil Zijicek was out on the ride.
Phil had a great ride today and put the hurt on the peloton along with other pros in the group Curtis Gunn and some Canadian triathletes.
Phil took the sprint at the top of the hill. So if the Shoot Out would declare a winner it would have been Phi Zijicek. Pictured above Phil Z.
For the most part today’s Shoot Out was fast and steady with not many aggressive attacks. It took the group a little while to warm up. For us Tucsonans 30 degrees is cold.
Coming back into town there is a sprint at a city limit sign. By this time, many of the pros had turned off to do Madera Canyon adding miles to their day. So it gives the local amateur riders a chance at the sprint coming back into town. Waste Management and GST Racing lead the sprint out. Scott Baker and Peter Brown of GST Racing did a couple monster pulls off the front along side the Wast Management train. Unfortunately other GST Racing team members could not pull off the victory and Tim Doud of WM won the sprint.
Twenty-five amateurs will be allowed to ride the 2.1-mile (3.4-km) prologue time trial on Feb. 17 before 130 pros take the course, then see how they stack up against the cashmen.
This weeks 
COMING SOON…
is the ultimate guide to training with power. 
1. Watts
for a lower price than cheapest version of the SRM crank (amateur version).
Today’s ride had some big named riders in the peloton. Native Tucsonan 
