Lance Armstrong becomes part-owner in Honey Stinger

If you don't like my endorsement, maybe you'll like his:

http://velonews.competitor.com/2010/04/news/lance-armstrong-becomes-part-owner-in-honey-stinger_113493

Pistachio Diet?

A couple of good articles:

http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/?pg=fullstory&id=8055

http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/?pg=fullstory&id=8172&status=True&catname=Latest%20News

2nds and Seconds

This week brought plenty of racing in the form of two local events (Ring of Fire and the River TT) as well as another event (Iron Gate TT in Mebane, NC). After a solid weekend of training last week I had a couple of rest days before racing at the track on Wednesday.

The team rocked it Wednesday. The plan was for me to 'take it easy' and sit in, in preparation for the TT the next night however I eneded up taking some points and then being in a break with Thomas for 10+ laps. After being a little scatter-brained two weeks ago we were able to pull it together and put two of our guys, Thomas and myself, into the top 3. Unfortunately those were the bottom 2 positions as Luca Damiani beat me in the last sprint to take the win. A little secret: Nick from Metro cut me off from the apron on one of the sprints to take points which would have put me in the lead . . . oh well, it's a TRAINING RACE! Either way, it was fun, the team rode well, and it was good training. Jess and I stopped at Lucky Otter afterward (as usual) to finish off a nice evening.

Thursday was the first River TT of the year in Asheville. Unfortunately when I was registering I found out that the course had been arbitrarily lengthened this year, by about 400m!?? Not the best thing to tell racers that have been doing this course for nearly a decade. Either way, a TT is a TT, so I did my usual 30 minute TT warmup and in the process realized that my plan of 'taking it easy' Wednesday didn't work out, and I was about to pay for it with one of my worst performances on the river. My fatigue led me to break my position several times and I couldn't produce the power in my tight position like I normally do. Either way, my 4th place and the associated effort was good training and gave me a benchmark to go off of for the real race on Saturday.

Our son, Ethan, is now 6 weeks old and Jess had a trip to her parents' place planned so we decided to visit our good friends, Pete and Kristy Cannell in Mebane for the weekend and introduce them. Of course we decided to multi-task and I did a time trial on Saturday around a local winery there. While Pete said he wouldn't recommend the wine, he did recommend the race, so I registered and planned on the race on Saturday. I wasn't super-fresh going into it, but as I warmed up, I liked the course, the weather was perfect (mid 70s, partly sunny), although there were sustained 15+mph winds (not ideal for holding my ultra-low TT position!). I went off 3rd and despite the hills and wind I was able to pace myself well while maintaining the best power during a time trial that I've done aside from the National Championships last year. My effort was good enough for 2nd place and I missed out on the top-spot to Ken Johnson, a formidable albeit toothless opponent. The rest of the weekend consisted of good friends, food, and wine and some well-deserved rest. Tomorrow it's back to the 'real world'. I hope you all enjoyed your weekend as well!

Full results here: tricyclists.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/all_men1.pdf

Best Twinkie Ever!

Being on call last weekend, I decided to hit out with my teammate Eric Muehl for a ride I've been wanting to do for a long time: http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/340321 (Garmin pooped the bed that day, so I couldn't upload the file . . .). It's been on my mind ever since I read this Bicycling article by Justin England.

The goal today was climbing, and we got it, with about 7k total feet in about 3 hours! The ride started with a steady climb up Elk Mountain, then we dropped down Ox Creek and headed to Barnardsville and Dillingham. This is when I started to look for a spot to get water. Unfortunately Sunday's aren't a great time to be looking for open stores in rural WNC! I figured I'd just get by until we saw a BP just before we started our ascent to the BRP. I wanted a drink and an oatmeal cream pie (kind of a tradition when I climb up to the Parkway). No luck on this front, but when I asked the clerk if he had any, he just pointed to a basket of Twinkies and Ding Dongs and said 'we got those'. I said 'oh well', he said 'They're FREE', we said 'THANK YOU' as we shoved a couple into our pockets. OK, so Twinkies aren't Paleo, but seriously how can you refuse one of these for free on a Sunday. I think it may have been a sign from God telling me to take one, so I did OK?

However I worked on my delayed gratification and decided to wait until Craggy Gardens (the top of our climb) before I indulged in the heavenly cakey goodness. The climb started benignly enough with a steady, paved false flat, and then the road abruptly ended and turned to rocky service road, before turning into a tree-strewn, gated-off steep portion. It seemed fun enough, until about 45 minutes later when we were STILL CLIMBING. It wasn't the grade, or even the length, but the fact that you just had to grind it out on the rocky, dirt surface for such an extended period of time. I can tell you that the reward at the top was worth it though . . .

Best Twinkie Ever

Eric and I dropped back down to Asheville on the Blue Ridge Parkway and headed home for beers and some good food with friends in front of Paris Roubaix as we watch Fabulous crush all comers. I hope you got to enjoy a great ride and the storming performance as well!

Honey Stinger Organic Chews Review

GOOD TO CHEW ON:

I've been using these for over a year now as part of my pre-ride/race ritual. Honey Stinger gels have been a staple in my jersey pocket for years due to their taste and honey-based nutrition, so it was natural that I try these. While some other products have 'slicker' packaging, I like the ease with which you can open the pouch on or off the bike (I used to open other products before I put them in my jersey). If HS could make the packaging easy to open, but more of a tube, I think these would be perfect. These are awesome on the start line when it's hard to choke down a gel, or throughout a long ride when it's nice to chew on something but you don't want to fill your stomach with a fiber-filled bar. I typically eat these while I'm getting dressed, at a stop during the ride, or on the start line instead of a gel now. I like to rotate the flavors so they don't get stale on my palate and I've found all to be quite agreeable.

My wife loves to eat these while she runs, and many would agree that she's more discerning than me! I would definitely recommend these.

http://www.roadrunnersports.com/rrs/products/HNY100/

RACE REPORT: Boone-Roubaix

Whew! Hard race for sure! Felt good, not super-fresh, but solid. Good pre-race nutrition and on-bike as well, eating a Honey Stinger Protein Bar for breakfast, then using Honey Stinger Gels each hour during the race. The bike was equipped with the new Bontrager Aeolus 6.5 wheels (tubular), which performed flawlessly! 50+ riders lined up with Mountain Khakis, Pro-shop, Cannondale, and UHC all with 3+ man teams. It was just Emory and I for ACE-Highland Brewing. The course was comprised of small loop-big loop-small loop x 2. It started with a relatively flat section, then a gradual climb before a decent and then built speed into the first "pave" sector with large chunks of gravel! This was the first section where the field started to splinter as riders flatted left and right and I tried to avoid losing teeth as chunks of rock flew by my head! The course then rolled quickly into the first uphill dirt climb, followed by a paved climb. The backside of the course had a long paved climb followed by a steep dirt section that blew the race to pieces!

I got popped on first big lap up the first major dirt climb, mainly because I was too far back leading into it, but was able to chase back on relatively quickly. The group was shattered from about 50 to less than 20 at this point only 30 minutes into the race! We settled into a nice pace until the uphill paved/dirt section where I stupidly at at the top of the paved portion (this is where good course knowledge would be handy as I would then have avoided throwing up on myself as my heart rate hit close to 190bpm within 1 minute after eating!). It was at this point that I was left alone to chase back on, but was quickly caught by Chris Emory as well as a group of a few more that were able to catch back on again. In a race like this, course knowledge, equipment, fueling, and fitness are ALL key!

Heading into the final lap, Mountain Khakis controlled the front with Hamblen setting pace, Neil attacking, and Hekman seeming to wait, looking strong. A group of 3 went up the road, but was mis-directed off course, which was unfortunate for them. It was at this point, the second time up the big dirt/paved climb going into the big loop that my legs started to cramp from the effort necessary to climb a 15% dirt climb I had to pull back into my own rhythm. I joined a group of 6, including Chris Emory that paced ourselves through the last lap together. We could see the action up ahead (in the distance) led by Hekman taking the win. After Chris' earlier attacks softened the group a bit, I was able to win the (halfhearted) sprint from our group for 10th. Chris rolled in for 15th on the day.

Check out Carolina Cycling News report here: http://carolinacyclingnews.com/2010/04/05/boone-roubaix-an-instant-classic/

Overall, I was pleased with our performance. As usual, it's hard going up against pro-caliber teams, but we put in a decent showing with both our men in the top 15. I plan on doing this race again next year, but would go into it about 5 lbs lighter and fresh, instead of in the middle of a training block!

1 Mark Hekman Winston-Salem, NC Team Mtn Khakis fueled by
2 Pascal Bussieres Quebec, QC Team Spirit/Cannondale pb
3 Spencer Gaddy Team Ion - United Healthcare
4 Jon Hamblen Winston Salem, NC Mountain Khakis - Fueled by
5 Pete Custer Alexandria, VA Your Ad Here p/b Bicycle Pro
6 travis livermon winterville, NC Champion System / Cannondale
7 Thomas Ziermann Wilmington, NC Window Gang Cycling Team
8 Edward Adamy Southern Pines, NC Carolina bicycle company
9 Brad Perley Kennebunk, ME Lees-McRae College
10 Christopher Larsen Asheville, NC

Full results here: http://booneroubaix.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/BR-p123M1.pdf

As always, thanks to all of our sponsors - check them out: Highland Brewing, Trek & Bontrager, Liberty Bikes, Rudy Project, PML Pathology, Mosaic Realty, Honey Stinger, Swiftwick, Carmichael Training Systems, Dr. Steve Miller DDS, Crossfit Brevard, Joe Lilly Photography, and Affordable Home Inspections.