The message from Ignazio said "Pedala, pedala e pedala". And we did. I Nove Colli di Marco Pantani, the Po river delta, Campo Imperatore and the Val d'Itria. No road rash, no one got a flat, nobody quit. 6000m of climbing. Great week. Thanks guys.
Sud City Blogger

Final blog for Slocolnago, I am still out here, but fading fast. Final weigh-in, 159 lb. Down from a hefty 171, I've got the blog to thank.

Bike is bagged, packing bags tonight. Feeling cautiously confident that the three Canucks will not be last!!

In the immortal words of Freddie Mercury, "Get on your bikes, and ride!!".

Slo, out.

Last blog, if you guys are still out there....
Final weigh in 171 lbs.
Bike tuned.
New shorts.
Let's rock n roll.
Sud

SlowColnago,
1. you were only supposed to shave your legs, not wear women's shoes.
2. I agree, you shouldnt get a c40 (or c50) now. I don't want you showing me up on my new bike. Also if you dont have many challenging hills where you ride, you might want to think about something a little less whippy (but equally expensive of course).
sud.

Well, Beetle and Slocolnago finally made it out for the "big easy", our wind-up ride, this past weekend. It was a little more big than easy, I might add, but it went smoothly. We did 133 km at 25.7 kph average speed (netting out the rest stops, of course). Not much climbing though, other than a long gentle 7 km hill leading into Bellfountain, and a few rollers on Forks-of-the-Credit Road. Generally upwind (20 kph out of the North, per Env. Can.) and gradual up hill on the out leg, and very fast on the return leg, often top gear, 100 cadence.

We were both tired at the end, but had something left in the tank, especially after we had a chance to sit in the warmth for a few minutes. The weather was cool,about 9 C at the start, it never reached to more than 14 C. A tiny bit of rain at the end. I still think the cool weather wacks you out.

My biggest problem was entirely due to pilot error. I showed up at Beetle's house without my cycling shoes (mental note; never, ever, skip the morning coffee), and had to ride 133 km in Beetle's wife's running shoes and a pair of mountain bike pedals with toe clips. My ankles are still a bit sore, but much better than they were after the ride. Oh yeah, my saddle position was screwed up from having the bike in for the upgrades. It was tilted way back, so on the first long climb I had to ride the horn to stop myself sliding off the back.

I am psyched for the Nova Colli now. I'm very anxious to see the first climb, as we just don't have anything to compare here. I doubt we climbed more than 2 or 3 hundred meters on Saturday. I will reserve my 130 vs. 210 decision until the first climb is over.

Here's the really exciting news; HQ (Ramona) told me that if I wanted to pick up a C 40 this week, I should go ahead and do so. I told her that it was too late to get a new bike, but that it sure would make a nice Father's day/birthday gift. She agreed.

Slocolnago

Ciao amici.
A low pressure area has stalled over Europe giving the Scandanavians 30° temperatures and cooling things of in the south. Saturday was 21° and Sunday 15° (that's cold) and overcast. It's expected to move on mid week and improve the situation for our big ride. I managed some wind-up training. On Saturday after my son's play and before the wine tasting I squeezed in 70k on my circuit. Two laps @ 29.1 avg and one lap @ 26. About 1000m climbing. I still have some issues with my new gears. I took up some slack and oiled the stiff link which improved shifting and climbing, but its still not perfect like my old ultegra. Sunday was looking rough but in the end I manged to go for a 115k ride with lots of climbing. Avg speed 24.4. About 1700m of vertical. After 90k my back was starting to get sore, frequent standing up helped a little. I was pretty bagged at the end but it felt good. The single water bottle is a problem. 4:30 on a half liter of water is harsh. I stopped at my favorite fountain, but it was dry.
I can't wait to start, it is going to be a blast.
Sud

Wine blog: 2000 Jerman Chard followed by a 1997 Luce last night. Best Luce yet.
Sud

Beets, sounds like you have done a good job of ramping it up at the end. First with the 5 hr outings on the MTB and now extending the clicks. That's the way to work it. Like slowcolnago my training has been hampered by family commitments. I have been getting out regularly, almost everyday, but I am at nowhere near the level of fitness that I had hoped for. I have just been missing the "endurance" part of my training. My refusal to go on a diet has kept me pegged at 176-8lbs, which is off my target, but I am not making any excuses. I am pumped and ready to roll. I think a 100k+ day would be good on Saturday. it would help me get used to the bike. But please don't over do it. Last thing you need is an injury.
Sud

This past weekend was a bust. Mother's day, soccer, violin, ballet etc. all took precedence over my riding. Plus, the weather was shit. I managed to sneak out to the club for 75 minutes on the spinning bike, though. Stayed at quite high intensity, and did 3 out-of-the-saddle climbs; 10 to 12 minute each. Felt pretty strong.

We'll do the "big easy" last ride this weekend for sure, then the bike goes into the bag.

Mark Carli gave me a cycling nutrition booklet. Excellent suggestions on diet before, during and after an endurance ride. It's a quick read that both of you should look at, I'll bring it along.

Hockey today, weights tomorrow, spinning after that for the rest of the week.

Slocolnago

Bike's in... and it looks good. It has a sloping aluminium frame with fully carbon fiber forks (including the central bit) and chain stay. This makes it much more rigid that my old carbon fiber, but still very comfortable. It's shimano ultegra throughout ...and oh yes, 9 gears rock big time... The new hog weighs in at 8.8kilos including pedals. It's a totally different ride, and much more stable over bumps. All in all I think it represents excellent value.

The guy at the shop measured me with some hightech aparatus and a laptop to calculate my "ideal" position. We adjusted the bike accordingly and were amused to see that it is very similar to my old postion. Bars are alittle lower and it is little deeper when I am on the drops. But it is actually a tiny bit shorter overall. The top bars are a flatened oval which gives a wide area to rest you hands on. I need to test it on some longer rides.

He confirmed that Lance nixed the left break shifter for a several hundred gram weight advantage..

Of course the same mechanic is in the doghouse for over tightening a chain link causing it to jump ruining my lunch time ride and making me mess up my hands.

No excuse except to blame the legs now.

sud

Lance schmance. My front brake shifter is absolutely trouble free, simultaneous derailleur shifts, under load, etc. And, I have a wide ring spread, 52 - 36. Maybe Lance should switch to Campy. Actually, I suspect he uses a downtube shifter because they are still by far the lightest way to go, not because his mechanics can't get his high end Dura-ace to work properly.

No riding since saturday. Hockey Monday, weights yesterday. Planning for more weights tonight, and maybe some spinning if my schedule cooperates.

Slocolnago

Way too go Beets on taking your training to the next level. I would be concerned were it not for my new major bike weenie device, a Garmin Forerunner 201 GPS. The only problem is a tendency to drive off the road while looking at the screen and flipping though the menus. It brought my days average speed down by 40%, but who cares, I knew exactly where I was. I think.
Sud

Thats pretty expensive bike improvement at almost $300 an ounce. You might even find the C-40 too whippy.
sud

Try as he did, Beets could not drag slocolnago out. The planets just did not align for a trip to e-ville this weekend. Ramona was eternally greatful, she's had a brutal week and the weekend was packed with kid's stuff.

The down pour let up Saturday afternoon so I squeezed in 75 km at 25 kph. No stopping at all, one power bar on the go ( "a la mussette") 17 C and very windy. Did a bunch of hill repeats, about 600 m of climbing. I had way more energy that I've had all spring. It must be the warmer temperatures, cycling in the cold rain is exhausting.

Or, maybe it's the cool new wheels, bars and stem !! To be truthfull, the wheels feel fantastic, very stiff and responsive, but quite comfortable. I had to choose between Ti cogs at 13/23 or 12/23, or steel cogs at 13/26. I went for the steel 13/26. So, I will have 36/26 climbing gear for the Cols (about 38.5 "). I did 10 climbs without using the small chain ring at all, the 26 is a dream.

The new cassette also shifts much more smoothly, it is a Record with the fancy side cuts that help the chain ride up onto a bigger cog, etc.

The bike now weighs in at 19.9 lbs "neat"; 21 lbs. with pump, 2 bottles (empty), tools and spare tubular. Not bad for a steel bike. A guy (MAJOR weenie) was picking up his new C 50 when I was in picking up mine. Not a speck of steel or aluminum on the bike, all Ti and carbon fibre. It is a 62 cm frame and it weighed in at 16.9 lbs !! See, $14,000 can save you all of 3 lb ! They have a 52 cm C 40 in stock, $5,000 for the frame, stripped. Hmmmm, better warm HQ up to that one first.

Slocolnago

Saturday: Nothing. Home with the kids all day. Sunday I ran in a 10.5K race along the Lungomare. It was sunny warm and beautiful. I came in at just over 47 min including a slow start bogged down with the cowd.
Sud City Blogger