Monday, December 31, 2012

Itching to Race Again

The off-season will soon be over. I am wishing the summer to come faster, although when the summer does come I will again be wishing the winter to come even faster. You can never be happy with the weather here in Fresno, it is either cold and wet, or hot and dry. I think this off-season I may have lost a few thousand cells in the parachutes I call my ears, they catch wind like a sail and manage to almost receive frost-bite by the end of all my winter rides. I am ready for the base miles to end, and the hectic year of traveling and racing constantly to begin.

Early Birds will begin shortly. I will be reunited with most of team once again. I do miss them over the off-season, as they are the people I share many of my laughs with. Hopefully I will see all of the infamous Nor-Cal Pro's out at the Early Birds. Maybe we could manage to get Donut Boy (Rand Miller) racing his bike again, an early season comeback where we could constantly heckle each other, like old times. I look forward to finally racing again. Thanks for the read, hopefully I will get in touch with all my competitors soon.

Jack Maddux


Saturday, December 29, 2012

A Season to Remember


"What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals" -Henry David Thoreau

As the New Year approaches, we reflect on the achievements we have reached in the 2012 season. With 100 wins, 220 podium places, and 451 top ten places this season, we have taken the results, good or bad, and learned from each of them. We also did not take our wins for granted either. I realized that each accomplishment the team achieved, it was not about the jersey we won or the Velo Promo t-shirt we received, but it was due to hard work, teamwork, and talents of the riders.

Team Specialized continues to teach their riders how to become the best cyclists they can be.  In addition, we are also being taught to become “men for others” by giving back to the community. I am looking forward to another season with the team.

-Matt Valencia 

Monday, December 24, 2012

Base Training

Late fall and winter mean base training.  Lots and lots of hours where your coach tells you to go relatively slow (but some how it still makes you sore!) This year my coach has me doing 2, 4 week blocks.  I am in the middle of the 2nd one currently; I will not be sad when it's over.

Learning to manage your time to schedule class, studying, big base hours, finals and of course your social life in college is definitely an important skill.  Training and just going out and riding while you are in college, especially when you live on campus, is a great way to get away from everyone and everything; the stresses of everyday life.

I planned on having a strong fall of racing; collegiate track, MTB and cyclocross.  But I got the illness known commonly as mono.  It only put me back for around 2 weeks of off the bike even though I was extremely sick.  I was planning on having an awesome cyclocross season but this illness hit me the first week of November.  So I was only able to race 4 cyclocross races: the Ft. Collins USGP and Boulder Cup UCI weekends.  As fun as these races were, they were some of the hardest races I have done and doing a few races where I had been competitive would have been nice or at least finishing on the lead lap.

Base is a good time to step back from racing and just go out and ride. You can plan your race schedule and contemplate the next year.  Racing season will come soon enough because the first RMCCC race is March 9.

I have found teams for next year.
Mountain Bike team where I will be racing mostly locally along with Nationals in PA and a few Pro XCT races: The Hometeam (New team for 2013 details to be released very soon) we have a factory sponsorship from Spooky Bikes, a custom fabricator in VT.

Road team is soon to be announced but it is very very likely I will be riding a Specialized bike in 2013.

Dean Haas

"Luck is where the crossroads of opportunity and preparation meet." Seneca 

Sunday, December 23, 2012

The Late Ride


After years of early morning rides starting anywhere from 6AM to 7:30AM, I decided I would try to put together a so called late ride.  I always thought that an 8AM ride would be a little easier on me and anyone who wanted a few extra winks. So I decided, for fun, to see if anyone else had the same feelings regarding an early morning ride versus a slightly later ride. My first thought was to come up with a catchy name for this ride. After much thought it dawned on me, why not just call it “The Late Ride!” Now that I had a name, I needed to let my friends know of this new South Bay ride. I created a Facebook page for The Late Ride about a month ago and sent out the first announcement. Since there are several other Sunday morning rides in the South Bay, I naturally thought that I’d be lucky if I got more than a handful of riders to show up. Finally, on the first Sunday I left my house to ride to the start point of my new ride and was very surprised to see more than 30 people had showed up for the ride. It turns out that a lot of people felt that a later start worked for them too.

The Late Ride meets at the Ballona Creek Bridge in Playa del Rey (CA). The ride proceeds north thru Venice, Santa Monica, and ultimately onto Pacific Coast Hwy towards Malibu. This is just a tempo ride of approximately 60 miles with 5,000 feet of climbing up into the Santa Monica Mountains and back. We stop for a well deserved lengthy coffee stop towards the end of the ride for storytelling, laughs, lies, and camaraderie.

This ride has been a welcomed change after a long season of Sunday races, hard training, and the like. Soon I will be back to a full season of racing and this has been a lot of fun with my friends. We’ve been doing this ride for a month now and will continue for another week or two. I invite you to come along on The Late Ride if you live in the area or are in town. Check out The Late Ride Facebook page for current news and announcements.

Thanks for reading.  Diego Binatena, Team Specialized Junior Racing
 

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Yes, it's still December!

December - you're either racing cyclocross, spending precious time with family, vacationing in far off lands, or gearing up for the new road racing season.  As one of the leaders of the Early Bird Training Series I am always amazed at how fit racers are in January.  On the one hand, they need to be fit to keep up with their peers.  On the other hand, I don't understand the rush.  Some of the absolute best racing is in the late summer and early fall, yet folks are killing it in January. 

I recently pulled some Strava data from the very first Early Bird of 2012 (Jan. 8th) and was amazed to see that the category 4's race at 8:30am averaged 25.6mph!  Besides the fast pace, most hadn't gone through a corner with a competitor leaning on their shoulder in a number of months.  January is the perfect time of year to practice pack skills before the real racing begins.  Mostly, it takes a patient person to stay within yourself and stay on track to your goals, whether they are to win in February or September. 

In closing, let's take a more detailed look at "fitness" and take a reminder that the "off-season" is the perfect time of year to work on any one of your weaknesses. 

Five Components of Health Related Fitness
1- Aerobic Endurance
2- Muscular Endurance
3- Muscular Strength
4- Flexibility
5- Body Composition
 
For me, I try to focus on the last three at this time of year. A bit of smart weight lifting, yoga and "push-aways".  Merry Christmas, Larry Nolan, Team Specialized

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Are you up to the Challenge?

Team Specialized has been with Strava since 2009 and its been a fun ride.  As long time users we've been through it all.  When you first start up on Strava you see all sorts of "achievements" because you are earning personal best efforts on a lot of your rides, even if you have ridden the same segment for years.  As the saying goes "if your ride isn't on Strava, you didn't really ride".  After you've covered your local rides its always a blast to venture out into new territory.  With Strava this is as easy as going to "explore" and finding new routes.  A perfect feature for any traveller.  Strava is compatible with most phones, and its free, so if you are not on Strava.com you should check it out.

One of their upcoming challenges to their rider base is to pour out 500 kilometers between December 24 and 31, for a cool average of 62.5km (or almost 39 miles) per day.

I've been checking in with teammates to see if they are up for the challenge and thought it best to express my opinion on the team blog -

LOVE the idea of riding 500km in 8 days IF you have time, the weather is good and the pace is right.  It can be the perfect time of year to put down a great base of endurance rides, especially if you head out to new and unfamiliar roads.  A chance to break the routine.

I HATE the idea of riding 500km in 8 days IF you have family obligations, cannot ride all 8 days, the weather is poor for a majority of the week, and you cannot back off on your normal pace.

Christmas Eve to New Years Day is usually a time with family and friends.  Talk to them before you head out the door! 

Weather and pace are related - if the weather is bad (cold and wet) you might be apt to skip a day and overdo it on another day.  Not good.

Best of luck if you take the challenge, but best to keep the whole of the 2013 racing season in mind as you set out for your 500km in 8 days.  Good luck, Larry Nolan, Team Specialized

http://app.strava.com/challenges

Saturday, December 8, 2012

Ambassadors - part 2

In addition to saying a good word about your sponsors, there's a whole lot more to defining what it means to be an "Ambassador".  The ambassador role on Team Specialized starts with the selection process of teammates. We look for good sportsmanship, integrity, and for riders with the right perspective.  Winning is the goal on the bike, but how we get there is what defines us. We don't "win at all costs" and when we lose we have an attitude "oh yeah, this is our hobby, and we're not saving lives".

That said, when the effort is measured and you gave it your all and did not win, then we learn from our experiences and move on to the next event. So, there you are on the podium on the bottom step because you didn't win today. Are you still smiling? Did you congratulate the winner on their efforts?

As we finish off the fall charity rides and edge closer to the racing season we reflect back on the folks we help out on the road. For example, at the MCDS Tour of Marin we had teammates at the front setting a moderate tempo for the 50 mile ride and we have teammates scattered throughout the 200 rider group. Most importantly, we had riders dropping off the back to ride with and encourage those that could not keep up. So what if we finish ten minutes behind the lead group?   Most of the time you meet some very nice people!

Robin Williams and Wyatt Wiesel - 2005

Friday, December 7, 2012

Ambassadors


Team Specialized is supported by SRAM and we’ve been working together for the past six years.  Remember their “take the leap” ads?   We were there!  While combing through the 2013 SRAM price list this morning, their use of the word “ambassador” struck me.  We’re one of many supported teams, yet we can deduce that we are supported because of our stellar past, and future potential.  But, I was wondering about their definition of the term “ambassador” and what it meant to Team Specialized.  What role do we play in helping to grow the SRAM image and branding?  Surely, racing and riding on the latest SRAM components alone didn’t help SRAM achieve its 2012 sales goals(!)  No, this one goes much deeper.  Team Specialized has an commitment to help SRAM grow its name in the cycling community by passing along a good word about their products and their willingness to improve. 

In my opinion the relationship that Team Specialized has with SRAM and many of its sponsors should NEVER be taken for granted.  If something is given, something is required in return.  This is a critical lesson for our junior teammates to learn in their young and bright futures. 

For newly sponsored and seasoned athletes, what does “sponsorship” look like to you?  We all love the “bling”, but what’s to be given in return?  Got an opinion to share?

Larry Nolan, Team Specialized

Sunday, December 2, 2012

I'm Melting


“Strength does not come solely from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.” – Gandhi

Winter. Rain. Cold. Maybe some snow depending on where you live. All things that “get in the way” of riding.

Be wet. Be cold. Ride the rollers. The options you have to deal with winter weather.

Think about it though, unlike many other sports, bike races are run rain, shine, 30 degrees or 100 degrees.

So why not layer up, grab a Clif Bar or two and go out and ride? What, are you going to melt from a little water? Riding in the rain can be fun; go places you haven’t gone before because when it’s dry you have “better” places to go to train. Don’t want to have to descend in the wet, but still want to climb, do lots of short hills at threshold. Ride the rollers even; throw on a race DVD (this years Vuelta, Roubaix, or one of the many Eddy Merckx films). Or catch up on your favorite TV shows (I like CSI: NY). If it’s cold, layer up; Squadra makes some very warm long sleeve jerseys if you are lucky enough to have them as your clothing sponsor.

So what’s your excuse for not riding today? If you do a truly epic ride in the rain or snow, it’s a great story to brag about to your friends. Same thing if you’re crazy enough to ride the rollers for longer than an hour and a half or two.

Common this is a tough sport; we do what we love rain, shine, sleet or snow.

- Jason S