Model for a Day

Took a trip to the future with Canari Cyclewear this week, helping them showcase the Fall 2014 collection for their catalog. So keep your eyes peeled for my mug wearing a variety of very nice tights, knickers, jackets and long-sleeved jerseys.

Thanks to Erik and Corbett at Canari for the call, and for being so nice about it when I fell off my bike in your photo-worthy threads not once, but twice. 

Hopefully that's the only hitch and everything else about the shoot was as productive as planned. Looking forward to the results! Here are some shots from behind the scenes: 

Think Pink! Jersey and Knickers available Fall 2014. Helmet courtesy of Rudy Project.

Got the party shoes on my girl for her big day (courtesy of Reynolds Cycling). And of course, thanks to Focus Bikes for my red and black beauty.

"What's that in metres?"

Does Your Bike Fit?

Lasers and Focus with Aaron Hauck of Inner Strength Fitt Lab 

I mean really fit.

Because let me tell you, there's a lot more to it than a couple measurements and turns of the allen keys.

I haven't had a fit in a few years, and with a nagging pain in my left knee I thought it would be best to call in the pros. After listening to Aaron passionately discuss saddle heights and pedal mechanics at the weekly Fiesta Island workouts, I picked up the phone.

We set up an appointment and down the rabbit hole I went. Here's what you need to know if a fit is in your future:

• Aaron suggested wearing a good cycling kit. Do this. Here's why: 
• Before you even get on the bike, Aaron spends about an hour with you testing your strength, flexibility and skeletal structure -- best to be comfortable while you're doing one-legged squats and hip bridges
• Your seat height is about to get dialled -- even a couple millimetres difference from your favorite chamois to the one you wore out and should have thrown away ten rides ago can make a difference. 
• You're going to be riding. I don't mean spinning, I mean he'll say, let's see you at "RPE 6."
• This is pretty much the worst time to forget your cycling shoes. 
• If you have two bikes, bring both. 
• Although I'm a mtb racer and lover, I do spend a lot of time on my road bike -- having them both set up at the same time just makes sense. 
• But if you can only bring one, make it your road bike. We sit in one position a lot more frequently on our road bikes so better make it a good one. 
• If you bring two bikes, bring both sets of shoes! 
• LASERS!! 
• In case you're worried about how *exact* Aaron is, you should know he uses lasers and he's not satisfied until your knee is tracking with laser-accuracy. 
• New Stuff
• If you have new pedals, or a new bar or stem, get it on the bike before you come to the fit -- you won't want to be messing with things afterwards 
• Similarly, be prepared to take down a list in case you need to pick up a new stem or pedals or handlebar. E.g. did you know that pedals have a widely varying range of spindle lengths?! It's the number-one suspect for my knee problem! 
• There's more to fit than fit ....
• I had no idea but this whole time, I was pedalling in a way that wasted a bunch of power
• Aaron showed me how to maximize my strengths and get 100% out of every pedal stroke
• We practiced on the trainer, and we practiced on the road too .... which brings me to:
• Bring your helmet! 
• I didn't bring one since I naively thought I'd be sitting on a trainer all afternoon. Hopefully this post will help you not make the same mistake. 

So in sum, going to an appointment for your bike fit is a fun-filled afternoon of medium sweating, moving around, riding indoors and out. Be prepared. For example, I was all of a sudden wishing I'd waited to do my intervals AFTER the appointment because even the small amount of soreness I was carrying was distracting when Aaron asked me how things were feeling. I wanted to be able to better isolate what was a problem, and what just needed a little stretching. 

In the days since, I've been working on that proper pedalling and body position Aaron taught me. Things are settling in, I'm starting to feel pretty darn good, and Aaron has already texted me twice to check in with how things are going. You see, I also learned a proper fit is not a one time thing. It takes a little tweaking and refining to get truly dialled in. I have really appreciated Aaron's attentiveness, dedication and his clearly-demonstrated love of what he does and how he helps his clients. 

You can find out more about Aaron and Inner Strength Fitt Lab Training Systems here. I highly recommend it!

Bike Touring with Synaptic Cycles and some friendly Electricians

Nice guys on nice bikes. Rest stop in Rancho Santa Fe. Ryan Brown photo.  

Monday, I had the pleasure to meet some of my first Texans, and their friends from Ohio and Kansas. All eight were in town for a conference to do with wiring/electrical work at the local luxury resort, La Costa. Every year the conference goes someplace new, and so every year, this merry peleton rents bikes, hires a guide and tours the local roads and thoroughfares. (It sure beats golf, am I right?!)

This year, those lucky roads were in SoCal, and the lucky guide was me. I was ably assisted by fellow mountain biker Ryan Brown, but we donned our roadie disguises and headed off to meet my old friend Joe (you may remember him from such blog posts as this one) of Synaptic Cycles. He was providing the fleet, which included high-end rides by Volagi, Focus and Calfee.

We headed out towards San Elijo Hills where my electrically-minded crew were quick to point out the lovely copper we have strewn about the hills in the area. My understanding from San Elijo Hills resident, Nick, is that the area was originally based on the mining of copper -- however that quickly ran its course. From there, we continued inland via Elfin Forest Road before stopping for water at famed Swami's rest stop, "The Church of God" -- featuring a potable water faucet in its parking lot.

We rolled into Rancho Santa Fe via the breathtaking Del Dios Hwy, taking in the views of Lake Hodges and marvelling at the increasingly green and lush gardens as we got closer to RSF. One of the most wealthy zip codes in America, they can afford to have water pumped in for such pursuits as golfing, gardening and pretend-orchards (I say pretend because I think most of them exist to bring down the property taxes, rather than out of enthusiasm for lemons and oranges ... they're farmers, dontchaknow).

We rolled out of RSF with Pizza Port in our sights at its original Solana Beach location. It's known for its delicious pizza pies and even better known for its delicious contributions to the hopping (see what I did there?) craft beer scene in San Diego.

Luckily, by this time, the climbs were all finished and we enjoyed a nice little tailwind along the coast, all the way back through Cardiff, downtown Encinitas, Leucadia and then back up alongside the Batiquitos Lagoon to the La Costa resort.

This loop is one of my favourites, so I was really happy to share it with such a fun group of visitors. Word has it that later that night, they became award winners with their conference, so I trust that all in all, it was a good day for Encore Wire and friends.

If you're from out of town and would like to head out on a road ride without the irritation of packing up your bike, give Synaptic Cycles a call and Joe will get you set up. Tell him I sent you :)

Interbike Postmortem

We rolled into Vegas and I couldn't believe my eyes. So much insanity crammed into a completely inhospitable part of the desert. We took a stroll on the strip at 10pm and I felt like I was in a hot yoga studio. Air conditioning mixed with whatever oxygen+ gases they pump into the casinos to camoflauge the cigarette smoke. No discernible dress code. No rules. No curfew.

I rode a rollercoaster, had a taco in a pyramid, saw the fountains, the pirates, the brides and bachelorette parties, the show girls, the costumes, the homeless, the volcano, the cigarette girls; rode in a limo, walked my legs off and took the tram. Shopping malls full of dreams where the Prada salespeople first offer you a glass of champagne. I had a short drink and a very, very tall drink. On the street. A fine meal, and salads made of sad brown lettuce. In Vegas, there's something for everyone.

But during Interbike, "everyone" is a bunch of cyclists, all sorts. You can tell who they are and what discipline they prefer just by looking at them mingling with the rest of 'Merica.

The Show
I did not expect to be so hyped on the show. I was like a kid in a candy store. I can't even fathom how many millions of dollars were on display on the conference floor of the Mandalay. Bikes, accessories, apparel, trips, fitting, helmets, shoes ... and then the booths themselves. Just amazing. This is the first year that Interbike was opened to consumers (Friday only) and I think it would be worth tracking down one of those invitations.

Elite CX Women (My fav Cdn mtb-er, Catharine Pendrel
in blue a couple back!)

CrossVegas 
I have never been to a cyclocross race. I have never really seen the appeal -- I mean, in Ontario, it's all about racing in the mud, snow and cold. It's a 40 minute all-out effort where you actually are expected to get OFF your bike. Does not compute.

But since everyone was off to CrossVegas, I was swept up in it as well and *now* I kind of get it. Even though we didn't have rain/snow/mud/cold to contend with. To my dismay, I found myself wishing I was out there ripping around so I guess I'm eating crow.

The Chris vs Kris Highroller Championship of the World

National Crit Finals HighRoller Crit! 
The night after CrossVegas we had more pro-level racing right outside the conference centre. But I was distracted by fun on Highrollers (BigWheels for adults!) and almost made the finals on these three wheelers. Congratulations to Coach Richard who did go on to the finals and came second to a BMX Olympian, no big deal. I have no idea what happened in the actual crit.


Last Friday Night/Waking Up In Vegas 

After all was said and done, and I'd managed to *not* show up to the Focus Bikes booth hungover on any of the show days, I was sucked into the ashtray/sewer/hole that is Las Vegas. But you know what they say about that ...


Here's some photos I snapped from the trip. Big thanks to Tim and everyone at Focus Bikes for having me along.

Interbike coming together, one day before it all gets started. Taken from atop a union ladder in the Focus booth. 

Starbucks, comfy shoes, name tag -- ready to hit it! 

Team car for Jelly Belly

Ryder Hesjedal stopped by the Cervelo booth (Focus and Cervelo are sister companies) so I got a photo with my favourite Canadian hero -- he won the Giro the same weekend Gerhard proposed so it was pretty much the best weekend ever. 

Ryder's Giro d'Italia trophy. Every winner gets their own. I touched it. 

*THIS* guy and his 36 INCH mountain bike ... when does it stop?! 

Team Jelly Belly/Rapha Focus stopped by our booth and told everyone we had free beer. But really we just had jelly beans. Awesome to meet (from left) Jeremy Powers, Freddie Rodriguez, Nic Hamilton and Brad Huff.

Focus Izalco Max awarded "Best In Show" by Bike Radar .... droooool

My "Best in Show" - A gorgeous offering from Electra I got to see when it was still in production. 

In which I meet Nelson Vails and am informed he's kind of a big deal. That's another story ... 

So many jelly beans ... Stop the madness. 

Always cracks me up when people take photos with iPads. Nothing more to see here. 

The welcome wagon at the Bellagio

Paris in the desert. 

Bumblebee

Waiting for the fountains at the Bellagio, trying to remember the plot of Ocean's 11

A picture of a million picture takers. oh, and a volcano. 

The aftermath. 

On the Eve of Interbike

It's a lovely day when you're packing up your suitcase for your first trip to Vegas! I'm super excited to be helping out the gentlemen at the Focus Bikes booth (number 6010 if you want to stop by) until Saturday at Interbike.

I've been impressed so far with how connected I feel already to the whole spectacle thanks to the numerous apps, emails, "show planner" and "connections" resources the show provides. It's also pretty amazing how many of my new friends here in SoCal are going to be there (or are there already for "Outerbike.")

For those that don't know, Interbike is North America's largest trade show for bike industry folks. Held every year in Las Vegas, it also features a big outdoor demo at Bootleg Canyon and of course Cross Vegas, the famous cyclocross race (if you're into that sort of thing).

Stay tuned for my first impressions of Las Vegas through social media and I'll be sure to post a summary of the whole crazy time. Til then, I'm off to roll the dice. If you're in town, be sure to look me up.