Cold Water

Posted on March 2, 2009 by Ernest

Here is an interesting fact. Reasearch from a study published in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise found that Chilled H2O could help you maximize your exercise. Cyclists were able to work out 23 percent longer when they drank cold water then a beverage that was at body temperature. So I guess I need to be using my Polar Bottles a little more.

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Riding with the Pros – Well sorta

Posted on February 15, 2009 by Ernest

The Pro Cycling season has kicked off while many of us are still stuck indoor on our trainers gearing up for another great year of cycling. We long of the occasional day where the weather breaks and we can venture outside. If not we watch videos from previous races or adjust our training schedules to catch some of the coverage of events such as the Tour Down Under or the Amgen Tour of California.

Here is a break up for the boredom!

Want to “ride along” with the pros? What follows is a break down of each of the stages for the Tours. Then next to it is a distance that is a percentage of each of the days stages. You can pick your corresponding distance for the day  and ride it either indoors or out.

Thanks for the help from my friend Nathan and also the write of the Maryland Bike Routes link to the right.

  2009 Tour Down Under – Australia
  Date  Distance Est Climbing Highest elevation
    (miles) (feet) (feet)  
Stage            
1 Norwood to Mawson Lakes 20-Jan 87.5 2500 about 1650 ft  
2 Hahndorf to Stirling 21-Jan 90.6 4600 about 2600 ft  
3 Unley to Victor Harbor 22-Jan 85 2000 about 1400 ft  
4 Burnside Village to Angaston 23-Jan 89.4 2000 about 1300 ft  
5 Snapper Point to Willunga 24-Jan 92.5 2000 about 1200 ft  
6 Adelaide Circuit 25-Jan 56.25 0    
             
    TOTAL 501.25 13100    
             
  10% – Trainer Dist 25% 50%
  Distance Est Climbing Distance Est Climbing Distance Est Climbing
             
Stage            
1 8.75 250 21.875 625 43.75 1250
2 9.06 460 22.65 1150 45.3 2300
3 8.5 200 21.25 500 42.5 1000
4 8.94 200 22.35 500 44.7 1000
5 9.25 200 23.125 500 46.25 1000
6 5.625 0 14.0625 0 28.125 0
             
TOTAL 50.125 1310 125.3125 3275 250.625 6550
         
             
2009 Amgen Tour of California
    Distance Est Climbing Highest elevation
Stage            
P Sacramento 14-Feb 3 N/A    
1 Davis to Santa Rosa  15-Feb 108 2800 about 1700  
2 Sausalito to Santa Cruz 16-Feb 115.9 4400 about 2300  
3 San Jose to Modesto 17-Feb 104.2 3500 1930  
4 Merced to Clovis 18-Feb 115.4 5800 about 3800  
5 Visalia to Paso Robles 20-Feb 134.3 1700 about 1700  
6 Solvang 21-Feb 15 N/A about 1000  
7 Santa Clarita to Pasadena 22-Feb 88.9 4700 4906  
8 Rancho Bernardo to Escondido 23-Feb 96.8 5800 5123  
             
    TOTAL 781.5 28700    
             
  10% – Trainer Dist 25% 50%
  Distance Est Climbing Distance Est Climbing Distance Est Climbing
Stage            
P 0.3   0.75   1.5  
1 10.8 280 27 700 54 1400
2 11.59 440 28.975 1100 57.95 2200
3 10.42 350 26.05 875 52.1 1750
4 11.54 580 28.85 1450 57.7 2900
5 13.43 170 33.575 425 67.15 850
6 1.5 0 3.75 0 7.5 0
7 8.89 470 22.225 1175 44.45 2350
8 9.68 580 24.2 1450 48.4 2900
             
TOTAL 78.15 2870 195.375 7175 390.75 14350
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Photo

Posted on January 23, 2009 by Ernest

I love this photo that I took on a ride the Sunday after Christmas:

Taken from the Annapolis scenic overlook
Taken from the Annapolis scenic overlook

 

A larger versions is available in My Gallery.

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The Year of the Component

Posted on January 21, 2009 by Ernest

The year of the component.

This year and last year has seen a lot happen on the component side of things. SRAM has become a legitimate player on the road side of components with the release of Red and the redesign of Rival. Shimano released the long awaited redesign of Dura Ace with an electronic shifting version to be out late spring. Not to be out done Campagnolo has come out with an eleven speed versus of their Record and Chorus groups as well as a Super Record Group. Things happen in threes right?

Continue reading →

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Dura Ace 7900

Posted on January 15, 2009 by Ernest

We just received the first Dura Ace 7900 gruppo to the store. I’ve posted some photos of the new gruppo in my Photo Gallery. They are really neat and I will write some more about it later. This is an amazing gruppo with a bonded hollow front chainring.

Also I just returned from the Park Tools 2009 Tech Summit and got to play with the Dura Ace Di2 electronic gruppo. It isn’t out yet but will be available in several months. I managed to get a few photos of it and have also posted them in my Gallery in the Components section.

Hope everyone is staying warm!

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