St. George RCV Preview

Cool?

Special Mention

Special Mention

Every once in a blue moon (the Italians say, "Ogni morte dei Papa" every death of a Pope), RCVman stumbles across someone or something that is exceptional. Someone who goes the extra yard, is helpful without being patronizing, or is simply a master of his or her game. In all actuality I have met lots of people who fit this description, so when someone stands out they REALLY have to be special. As an example, do ya'll remember what customer service used to be? The Fredrick and Nelson standard? Or maybe in today's harsh day to day reality, just being polite is enough. With this as the intro I present two examples of which I speak, both from my recent visit to St. George, Utah.

Example One: I had a late lunch at the Bear Paw Cafe on Main Street the day of my arrival. Having forgotten that the 120 miles East from Las Vegas warranted a time change, I wandered into the cafe, fame del lupo (hungry as a wolf) and was seated by a incredibly beautiful girl with a million dollar smile. They serve the best waffles in Utah from 7-3 365 days a year. My watch said I had plenty of time, at 1:59. I ordered, I ate, I enjoyed, I was the only person in the cafe, I thanked her for a terrific meal and as I was adding the tip to the bill a couple walked in the front door and was told politely that they were closed. It was then that I realized that I was an hour slow (and quite possible a day late), and the staff had made me 'the exception'. Embarrassed but pleased I quickly added another number to the total and bid the gals adieu. If you are going to St. George in the future, EAT AT THE BEAR PAW CAFE.

Example Two: Tonya at Tri-Hive negotiated a deal with the La Quinta for a discounted room rate for the athletes participating in our ride. The amenities at LQ are superb, desk space with plenty of outlets, giant LCD, and more pillows than I could use in a month. I was only there for one night, but as I travel with severe special electrical needs, I normally consolidate all my gear in one area of the room for "RCV stuff" and then "other". I hung my favorite blue dress shirt in the closet and changed into more casual wear (appropriate for hiking). Now please remember folks that RCVman, over the last three years of this project has been around the world, he has stayed in hostels, cars, airports, flea-bags and homestays. Up until last week he has never, NEVER, forgot anything or left anything behind. But this time I left my favorite blue shirt in the closet. I remembered it the next day and went back over to the LQ and James, who is signed up for IM SG and rode with us Saturday looked high and low for my garment to no avail. Oh well. So imagine my surprise when I get a call yesterday from the LQ GM saying that they found my shirt (in the laundry) and if I would call them with an address they would be happy to send it to me. WOW. If you are in St. George in the future, STAY AT THE LA QUINTA.

Thank you and thank you.

The LQ is at the base of this wonderful trail.
The BPC is on Main St across from this street sculpture.

GBR

A couple of thousand years ago (2004) we put together a cycling squad to get into the Guinness Book of World Records. The goal was to ride longer than anybody over a 24 hour period. We used the CompuTrainer, natch, in ergo mode and each of the six riders went four hours as far and as hard as they could. IIRC we did almost 800 miles, thereby setting the new global standard. We even drank Martinlli's cider after the event. Sully, our female rider is shown here on the cover of a CD spin compilation I put together commemorating the event for Sully's birthday. Or more precisely because she lost all her iTunes making a data transfer and asked if I could burn one or two for her. The sweaty mugs of Glenn, Chris, Jim and myself who also rode that day only distracted from the jacket aesthetics and hence were axed, sorry guys. As a side note, our Junior rider that day was Keil Reijnen who is now riding for the Jelly Belly pro racing team. http://www.velobios.com/riders.jellybelly2009.reijnen.htm

Sunday's Ride/Swim/Ride

Here is the map for Sunday's Ride/Swim/Ride from Day Rd/305 out to Buck Lake and back. It is 19 miles there, 400 meters across and back (X2?) in the warm waters of shallow Buck Lake and 20+ miles back if we decide to take the Little Boston route home. You will need to bring goggles and a wetsuit (if you like) in a backpack. Also recommended is lotsa water and a couple of GU gels (or M&Ms). I think a good start time is 10am. So go to church early if you must. It is a nice little workout on what is expected to be a beautiful day in the GPNW. Please hit the comments tab if you plan on attending. http://www.mapmyride.com/route/us/wa/bainbridge%20island/102124346412774768

RCVman IM STG Preview

CompuTrainer Real Course Video IM St. George Preview

It is a rare opportunity to preview an Ironman course almost a year before its inaugural running. Looking back is easy, what if we had known about Yellow Lake, White Face, Hayden Lake Rd. or Stagecoach Rd. before we first raced them, what would we have done differently? I can say from this experience, that I would have A) trained for hills, B) trained for hills and C) then done some hill training. Maybe then, I could have enjoyed the ride a little more and finished off at least one day with a decent run. Yeah, what if.

On May 23rd of 2009 the CompuTrainer RCV crew, in conjunction with Utah's Tri-Hive Magazine http://www.trihive.com/and First Endurance Racing Nutrients (EFS) http://www.firstendurance.com/teamed up with local RD Jeff Gardner to do a preview ride of this soon-to-be-famous bike leg. We did 70 miles, due to road construction and our twice going briefly off-course. We left from T1 at Sand Hollow SP and rode all the way to T2 in downtown St. George. Almost 60 riders participated in the field test in three self-seeded groups. The CompuTrainer Real Course Video crew filmed the event in order to produce the first ever Ironman RCV to be released before the actual event. No more, what ifs.

Following is the course assessment from the cockpit of the RCV camera car as if followed the group on the shoot.

It's a perfect day for this ride, slight cloud cover and here at 0900 all three groups have already left the park area. Without morning winds come May 1, 2010 this will be a beautiful swim. The water today looks almost turquoise with nary a white cap. On the way to the start of the double loop, there are two significant climbs that pretty much set the tone for the course. There will be work. Please remember these names: Telegraph Rd. and Red Hills Parkway. Remember them because they will try to steal your juice, early.

The real fun begins at about mile 30, when we leave the burg of Ivins and head out and up towards Gunlock, the last town in America still resisting sprawl. And as a result without a budget for road repairs. The patched chip seal will rattle your gold teeth as it fills your legs with lactic acid. All this on our climb to the switch-backs the locals call "The Wall". And trust me folks, that noise you are hearing could be your heart and lungs just as easy as it could be Pink Floyd.

At the summit we take a right onto Highway 18. If I an the RD I am putting an aid station here. Half of our group took advantage of a small convenience store to top off their electrolytes with cherry Popsicle. I seriously doubt this will replace Gatorade on race day, but I have seen weirder things in special needs bags.

And then, heading back towards St. George, it gets fast in a hurry. Almost fifteen miles of 7% fast. We hit a max of 50.7mph in the car and were still following riders fully laid out and hanging on for dear life. It is a screaming decent, not unlike leaving Yellow Lake in Penticton, but longer. And bumpier. The torrid summer sun out here does wicked things to asphalt and tar, so as much as you would like to relax and catch your breath, please, give this section all due respect and attention. Consider yourselves warned.

Once you have completed all this from the turn at Ivins, please repeat the loop and finish downtown. And from what I have seen the run is no walk in the park, meaning...

...that this course will be a real test. It has moments of Canada, stretches of Placid, hints of Moo, and memories of CdA. Maybe the course it most resembles is Lanzarote. Or maybe even France. It is no Arizona and a polar extreme of Florida.

The people who will be successful on this course on May 1 of next year will be the ones who are most prepared. At first glance that might seem obvious, but to the savvy triathlete there is a world of difference between being prepared - and being prepared to climb. Suffer in training so your race day is manageable. The quality of your training will determine the level of gas left available in your tank come T2. This course is as honest as it is scenic. It will separate the contenders from the pretenders mucho pronto. It will NOT BE FUN, if you show up on race day with nothing other than your base fitness. It will hurt if you are MOP. If you are FOP it will hurt even more. If this will be your first IM I have some advice:

Please, please train for hills so you don't wake up on Sunday morning and ask, "What if?"

A video sample of the course will be uploaded to our site by Friday. We hope to have the RCV produced and released by September.

Cheers.

RCVman
The racing man's Kokopelli

http://www.ironmanstgeorge.com/

I Cried Again

This time for the family and friends that cycling phenom Steve Larsen of Davis and Bend has left behind. I saw SL race many times and was awed by his prowess, speed and dimension. He was also one of those 'very real' kinda guys, rare indeed. Not many folks excelled at so many different types of bike racing as Steve did. When I saw this photo from yesterdays ride of his son leading a peloton paying tribute to his Dad, well........the flood-gates opened. More on the legend of SL here as penned by Dan at ST, he was 39: http://www.slowtwitch.com/News/Steve_Larsen_gone_at_39_816.html

Inside Straight

Trails 2

On way home today. Taking the slow route for once. Stopped at the Cedar Pocket SP in Arizona this afternoon just off of I-15 on way from StG to Vegas. I am very much enjoying this dry desert heat, the red rocks, the Joshua Trees, the blue sky and all the lizards. So I filmed Trails 2 and will (possibly) post if when I get back tomorrow after a quick view. Here are some stills however of todays spontaneous hike. I am back in LV at the Main Street Station, way up downtown, where there is a free street fair tonight featuring Blood Sweat & Tears. I am going to try to rally for it but if not I will add Lucretia McEvil to the set list upon return.

It was a good trip. Lots to do upon return as I promised Burke and Tonya that I would get them each some video soon. Plus there is IM Moo laying in wait and the IMC trailer that I would like to have ready for the soon to be released IM Canada RCV (whoa, there is a news-flash!) Also need to get in some serious saddle time as just filming and trail walking, while wonderful, won't get me anywhere near IM shape. And I miss that.

RCVman from Vegas
"Hitting inside straights with uncanny regularity."

SG Preview

Just back from the StG RCV preview shoot. We had well over 60 riders with us on this perfect day for a 66 miler. Tough course, mates! This one is gonnna separate the contenders from the pretenders mucho pronto. Serious climbing pretty much right outta the gate and some nice faces to attack at several points. It'll be a real test. But more on all that later. We made it through with only a couple of missed turns, the first costing us 40 minutes and a chance to catch the fast group. we ended up getting only about half of the riders in the shoot as a result of my missing that one turn. Mea maxima culpa. Took a quick look at the last tape and it looks great, so we'll rush it thru the render and shake process asap to get it over to Roger. I told everybody that Sept. might be reasonable release date, so we'll see how she goes from here. Thanks to Jeff, Tonya, Alex, Jim at La Quinta and all the riders who made it today. I hope you all had as much fun in front of the camera as I did behind. Stay tuned, I'll post some video clips as they come out of the first render, maybe end of next week. Adios St. George, see ya next May 1!!!

Pix: The swim at T1, Sand Hollow.
The new dash monitor system at mile 40.
The last group at T2 awaiting the RCV shuttle back to T1.

Happy Trails

This Beautiful trail was literally outside my door at the La Quinta in St.George, Utah. Took some video but had uploading issues that I won't be able to re-work-around until tonight after the RCV shoot. This is going to be a long day, and as the wind and cloud cover crept in at sunset last night, I am keeping fingers crossed. I'll post these three shots from the Sony PM1 and then I gotta head out to Sand Hollow to get set up amd meet the group. Enjoy the ride until we meet again.

New Spin

After my conversation with the fine folks at Trek Travel on Wednesday, I felt compelled to cut another version of the TT Santa Barbara tour. Problem was that I only had about 10 hours to do it, as the St. George IM preview shoot is tommorow. I currently sit in my wonderful room at the La Quinta in SG and wanted to post this before my trail run in the red rocks literally outside my door. I will post some stills from that after we preview the ride start and I pick up the van at the airport. Might be a while, so in the meantime...........

ROS II

Some astute observations on the real cost of a silly and senseless war. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2009238378_opinc20herbert.html

And on the battlefield of another sort, this to honor those that were unable to get up after their last fall. Both of these break my heart.

Bainbridge cyclists will ride in silence tonight

May 20 2009, 1:00 AM · NEW
Bainbridge Island bicyclists will take a slow, silent ride Wednesday evening to remember the fallen and promote car-bicycle awareness.
It is part of a world-wide Ride of Silence event to honor cyclists who have been injured or killed while riding bicycles on public roads.
"This is not a protest, this is a solemn procession to remember the people who have been hurt or killed while riding," said Kim Bottles, an organizer for Squeaky Wheels.
Roughly 50 people attended last year's event, and organizers are hoping for a larger turnout this year.
Anyone can participate. Individuals who have personally been affected by bicycle accidents can wear a black armband to remember a deceased rider and/or a red armband to remember an injured rider.
According to Bottles, Bainbridge has a decent record for bicycle safety, but there are always unfortunate accidents each year.
"Cycling is a really viable way to get around... generally speaking most island motorists are courteous to cyclists" Bottles said. "But the biggest single impediment to riding is fear of cars."
Bottles, who was hit by a car and knows of friends who have died on roadways, feels that raising awareness and riding in force will help remind motorists of their duty to protect bicycles on the road.
"If you ride for awhile you see many instances where cars are just not paying attention or don't recognize the risk they are putting cyclists in," he said. "We want to raise awareness to people when they are driving to take it easy, give three feet of room and slow down. If they do that we could get more people riding."
The second annual Bainbridge Island Ride of Silence will take place at 6:45 p.m. on Wednesday, May 20. The ride will start from the Marge William Building on Winslow Avenue across from the Winslow Green. The length of the slow-paced ride will be eight miles. ROS Global link here: http://www.rideofsilence.org/main.php

Another Adventure Weekend

As promised, here is the video from the weekend's trek up to Ft. Worden for the Rhody Run. I've done better, but I have also been under less pressure and had more time, and not to mention with a much larger budget.

10

Weekend wrap-up.

As you will recall, dear VBA, on Saturday we embarked on a ride/camp/run/ride multi-sport training weekend from RCVman Global HQ on Bainbridge Island up to Pt. Townsend, and back. Rated on the classic scale of 1-10, this one was unanimously a 10. Weather got up to 73 on yesterdays return leg and the rides, punctuated each way by a 10 minute shuttle crossing of Hood Canal, provided a scenic and timely break to the peddling action. In between 45 mile rides, we had a great camping site at Ft. Worden State Park and the 7.5 mi Rhody Run XXXI was a blast as well. I have some additional video that is second up in the render queue this morning, so I'll post a little clip of the highlights and comments from the happy campers, rocking riders and even some RCV action from Big Valley Road, later in the day.

PIX:

Tony flats on Big Valley. You couldn't pick a better spot.
Eric, Trish and Tennis on the return ferry ride, yes it was a nice day!
Ft. Worden SP.
Eric, Sam, Elliott and Michael at the campsite ready for marshmallows.

Magic

It's not magic and it's not a mystery.

There is no hocus-pocus and you need no detective. No slight of hand and you already have every clue. And despite all the smoke and mirrors, you need no new gadgets, nothing additional and no more advice from experts. You have everything you need right now. Here, today, this very instant.

I am speaking of your training as it relates to fitness, optimal health, quality of life and if you so choose, racing.

Madison Avenue has done a miraculous job of convincing us that we can never reach our potential without one, or several, of the following:

A five thousand dollar carbon fiber bike.
$150 running shoes.
Sunglasses that cost more than a weeks worth of organic groceries.
An on-line coach.
A gym membership with a personal trainer.
Something called a Scion to haul all your stuff in.
Supplements, smart water, power bars, tri-camps, boot-camps, cross-fit camps.
A power meter.
An indoor pool.
A GPS tracking system that charts your every move as well as heart rate, sweat rate, miles logged, speed, distance, output in watts, elevation gain and the latest movement of your stocks (assuming you have any left).
A video camera to record all this.
A plasma screen to watch all this on.
And of course, a big house in the Cul de Sac, to watch all this in.
You are also going to need a lawyer in case you pull a hamstring, an insurance agent to cover your assets, a massage therapist, nutritionalist, physical therapist, marriage counselor (if applicable), mechanic, private security company, a techy-geeky-nerdy friend, two mixologists and an agent.

Have I missed anything?

Yeppers, folks, according to THE MEDIA we need all this to.......what?

Run?

Bike?

Swim?

Train, get in shape, stay in shape, ramp up for an event?

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

Dear VBA, you honestly need none of the above. All you need to do is find something you like to do, and do it often. You like to run in the park? Do it every day, vary your speed, intensity and distance and drink plenty of water. You dig the bike? Get on one and go. You like spinning indoors? Find a like-minded group and go get 'em. You like to swim? Go jump in a lake (sorry).

You don't need toys. You don't even need tools. What you do need is the understanding that YOU are responsible for YOU, and that doing something healthy that improves all the positive things mentioned above, can (and should) be done right here and right now.

There is no magic involved. It can't be had in pill or powder form and the only mystery is why you continue to kid yourself into thinking that something outside of YOU will change the insides of YOU.

Then again, just knowing this is very magical.

Addition By Subtraction

The highly anticipated video of the Cabin Demo. As detailed in the YouTube info box, this is/was my neighbors place built in the 1920's and not lived in since 1979, we think. It is/was an easy chip shot from RCVman Global HQ. There are/were lot's of stories about the place. And now it's gone. "+BY-". Now that I have all the side projects almost out of the way, maybe I can get back to the GPS data on Ironman Wisconsin. You can breathe now.

Momentum

Ran across this today. The lead article in the latest issue was penned by my old triathlon buddy Erik Neumann and features none other than local coffee roasting celeb Chuck Beek. I suppose you could say that the cycling world runs in small circles.






http://www.momentumplanet.com/cities/seattle

Il Giro

Due photographie dalla Giro d'Italia. Alto: And you thought it was cold on YOUR ride today? Basso: Team TT on the Ponte Liberta, the bridge heading into/out of Venice. I always found it mildly euphoric making this crossing.

Also, for your reading enjoyment, a fine article on (again) one of the many differences between training indoors and riding outside. This time on stimuli. Enjoy (and comment please, as I take minor exception to this thesis).

The Upside of Arousal

Among the biggest differences between training indoors and out, and between training and racing, is the level of arousal you derive from your surroundings. Greater arousal leads to heightened performance because there are more stimuli; your brain is more engaged and your emotions are feeding your motivation to perform. Emotional arousal also has a physical impact on your parasympathetic nervous system (the one that triggers your fight-or-flight response) which sets off a cascade of hormonal and metabolic effects that lead to increased ability to focus, greater strength, and heightened reflexes. When you strip away stimuli by removing the competition, it becomes difficult to reach competition-level performance in cycling training. And when you remove the stimuli of the wind against your face and the sensation of speed from watching telephone polls go whizzing by, it’s more difficult to achieve the same level of motivation, and hence put out the same high-intensity effort, on an indoor trainer.

http://www.roadcycling.com/training/Mind_Over_Matter_002482.shtml

RSVP

YOU are invited to attend our next two upcoming rides. Yes YOU!

Ride Uno: Saturday and Sunday , May 16 & 17, Bainbridge Island, WA to Ft. Worden, WA, 50 miles each way. This one comes with an extra bonus for you multi-sport types as after a night of camping on the beach (above photo w. Mt/ Baker in back), we will tackle the 7.5K Rhody Run before saddling up again for the return ride. Looks like this: Ride, camp, run, ride, eat. SAG available btw.

Ride Dos: Saturday, May 23rd. St. George, UT. 62 miles (one of two loops) previewing the bike leg of the inaugural Ironman St. George course to take place on May 1, 2010. This one even made the headlines of Ironmanlive.com My sources tell me that there is still room at the Inn and with Southwest flying there for $300 r/t out of Seattle, it's a value packed opportunity for the intrepid rider. On Sunday I am planning on heading down to Zion National Park for a hike before heading back to Las Vegas for a night and flight back Monday morning.

So, VBA, if interested (as you should be) hit the comments tab and repondez s'il vous plait

CTs on the Web III

More sites, blogs, reports and testimonies from CompuTrainers users, Multi-Riders and RCV racers. Yeah baby!!!!

Top: Nice home set up. http://blogs.sun.com/babo/entry/computrainer

Middle: A blogging triathlete gives us a first hand report on riding the CdA RCV. Bottom Line: Fanny thoroughly spanked. http://www.blogcatalog.com/search.frame.php?term=computrainer&id=5fa626a1a9120c5d0039ce4967c348cc

Bottom: And my fave o' the day, the author gives a pros/cons analysis of Spinning VS CT. As most of you know by now, I am very partial to both. Could group indoor rides with Multi-Rider on an RCV course be better than sliced bread?
http://cosaro4rides.blogspot.com/2007/01/spin-vs-computrainer.html

Red Hot RCVs

It appears that Kurt has set up a rather vainglorious retail outlet at this years Wildflower Triathlons Festival. I remain disappointed that I couldn't attend this years event, being about 350 miles south doing the Trek Travel gig, but it certainly looks as if the message is clear: GET YOUR RED HOT RCVS HERE!

Nice work buddy.

FloScan II

The other vid shot while I was in SoCal last week. For all you boaters out there, here is how you become a Happy Camper!

A Flat Minor

This REALLY BIG 'story' just in from our media cousins at CNN.
Answer: What you get when you drop a baby grand down a mine shaft.

Bridge and Cabin both down

We had another busy weekend. One of the last remaining cabins from another era was leveled on Friday and this morning we took an intel ride out to scout logistics on the closed (for repairs) Hood Canal Bridge. The cabin dated, to the best recollection of local historian and unofficial Mayor of Venice, the honorable Frank A. Peabody, to 1949. The last time it was inhabited was most likely 1979. It has been taking on water and listing badly for at least twenty years so I contacted the owners and offered my services to coordinate the demo. Yeah, yeah yeah, I filmed it, so you will all get to see the carnage in time lapse sequence as soon as I finish three other pieces that have merited higher priority (profit). You can hold your breath if you want to, because it's good practice, but it will be at least a week, and THAT I don't recommend.

Tony and I found out first hand that crossing the canal during the bridge closure is easy. From Lofall, just south of Big Valley Road, two 140 person passenger only boats sail every 30 minutes. http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/sr104hoodcanalbridgeeast/ The rule is that walk ons take precedence and after that up to five bikes per sailing. No charge. A shuttle bus also runs every half-hour from the Winslow terminal. Pretty sweet actually. We'll do it next week when we ride up to Ft. Worden. The crossing makes for a nice water break and as you can see from the photos, it is a special little slice of the GPNW, in our backyard.

All for now. If you wanna ride with us next week to Pt. Townsend, camp, and ride back Sunday (oh yeah, and run the 7.5K Rhody Run) just hit the comments button and let us know. And if you need somebody to knock down a house, we now do that too.

TTSB The Vid

Here is the first cut of the Trek Travel Santa Barbara Wine Country tour video. For historical perspective I have also embedded an incredible clip on the making of the Rattle and Hum documentary. The cover version is by some old pals of mine from LA who are currently gigging around Venice, my old stomping grounds about 90 minutes south of where the bulk of the TTSBWCRCV was shot last week. I think it fits pretty nice.

Condolences to all the folks in Santa Barbara who were, or still are, beating back the flames. I wish I truly had the power to send down some of our Seattle rain to ya'll.

On Fire

Looks like I got out just in time. I have a call into the rest of the group to see if they had to detour. Stunning images of the fire fighting effort, smoke from the hills above SB and of 'man on fire', Aussie Jayson Austin setting the Masters World Record for an hour ride. JA went 48K averaging 302 watts at a cadence of 112. Hot. http://tregan.com.au/photography/Sport/Cycling/One_Hour_Record/

Trek Travel Wrap

Trek Travel Day Four

Another one in the books VBA. This one seriously rocked. Could it be that RCV man has a slight case of low grade triathlon burnout? Or is it simply a case of new territory, new terrain and new SWAT ops? Regardless of the diagnosis, the past four days, embedded with the Trek Travel group on their inaugural tour of the Santa Barbara wine country, was by all measures, another successful RCV sortie. So while I sit at LAX awaiting SWA flight 88 home, let's take a quick look in the rear view mirror to see what where we've been and what we've done, shall we?

The mission was twofold; One, capture the tour, and all its rides, rests, reveries, restaurants, rocks, rolls and road rashes in order to create a tour promo-piece for Trek Travel. This, of course, to aid and abet in the pending partnership. Two, capture and create a sample SBWCRCV (Santa Barbara Wine Country Real Course Video as if you didn't already get it) for the Madison/Chicago Trek Multi-Rider Centers and to demo at their big (as to rival Interbike, but only for Trek and their thousands of domestic dealers) show in Madison this August. Whew, that's all!

So how'd we do, you ask? Fine, I think. It is always hard to tell what the video will end up looking like after compression and encoding, but I think I got most of the highlights and strong interviews with all the participants. It is doubly difficult to access RCV footage as the Shake/SmoothCam process can do drastic damage to resolution in the pixel color space, so I have learned over the years to hold the superlatives until I have had a chance to look at rendered footage in the studio. That being said, I think it will be furdy puckin good, producing an effective RCV sample for the world to see and enjoy, not to mention ride and train with.

I even got in a ride today!!!! Checked out of the swanky Santa Ynez Inn at 0500 and drove to Ojai. Stuffed the backpack with gear and headed out to meet the group at Rincon. Once we were ceremoniously re-united, I attached the Gorilla-pod to my helmet and affixed the new Sony HD cam atop, after quickly realizing that the handlebar mount that I had envisioned (for monitoring purposes mainly) was creating WAY too much shake. And we then proceeded to ride back to Ojai after an initial 7 miles or so along Hwy 1. Along the beach and on the Ventura River Bike Trail for 25 miles, back to Ojai. I haven't looked at that footage either, and since my flight gets in at 9:45, meaning a midnight ferry, and I have an 0700 spin class in the House of Pain tomorrow morning, I might not get a peek till Thursday night.

So stay tuned VBA, I'll post some of today's iPhone pix tomorrow, and video samples as they roll off the G5. Gonna take a week or so to Kung Fu the promo, and remember we have a FloScan piece to slide in there as well as the Madison GPS tweek and the mastering of The Triathlon Coach DVD.

And please remember RCV fans, no matter the fever or ills that beset the RCVman in his valiant and never ending quest to bring you the finest cycling entertainment available......YOU GOT THE CURE!

Pix: The all new and improved RCVman HD Helmet cam ready to roll.
My beautiful Trek Madrone awaits the "Yah" command on PCH.
Ventura Beach at sunrise.
Another road stretch in Santa Barbara County. Very cool ridin'.

Trek Travel Day Three

iPhone pix o the day:

Bottom right: Trek Travel Guide John is the first one out of the Inn parking lot at 0900 sharp!
Top right: The RCVman WFB set up at Los Alamos Park ready for take 3.
Bottom left:I have always been awed by these majestic Red Oak trees, always.
Top left: Drum Canyon Road.



Trek Travel Day Three

Another beautiful day for riding in and around Santa Ynez. Oh, and Feliz Cinco de Mayo amigos. The group did around 60 miles today with two climbs of note and a lot of rollers amid the vineyards and ranches. Not to difficult to imagine why so many people come here to log miles, pros included. We found out at dinner last night that Lance LOVES to ride the Fig in preparation for one of the TdF stages, perhaps 17, if I recall, as the climb closely mirrors the Alp's grade and length.

On a tech note, knowing some of you come here solely for this, I used the "Wildflower Bubble" today under the camera to absorb a little of the road vibration which I was told predominates the first climb over Drum Rd. In other words, the road sucks. And it did. Pretty common for single lane, sparsely used mountain passes, but still a major league PIA for the RCVman. (I would have paid big bucks to hear Heath Ledger say that as TJ). I shot this 16 miles THREE TIMES because of all the switch-backs and because I found out the hard way that the WFB (Wildflower Bubble), actually an inflated child's water wing gaffers taped to the rear view mirror, can, with enough road vibration, roll the focus barrel-ring enough to wreck your shot. And since I can't see the viewfinder from the drivers seat, I didn't figure this out until I had already spend two hours and two trips over the pass. As Robin might say, "Third time's a charm RCVman." After all this the second half went very well and I believe it will produce a stunning RCV for the Trek folks to enjoy. Which is, of course the RCVman's way of saving the day.

Tomorrow is yet another day and my last with the group. Going to test out the new Sony MHS-PM1 HD camcorder on the Trek Madrone, as a section of the route is on a spectacular 'bikes only' path through Ojai (like OHIO without the final O). As of this moment, and it may change, I am leaving at COD to get to SB and ride this 20 mile portion, then ride back so I can meet the group, drop off the bike, say so-long, drive to LA, ditch the Sebring and catch my 1800 flight home (with a stop in Portland.)

All for now VBA. I need a cape.

Trek Travel Day Two

Some quick pix from today (as we ride, bottom to top) while I review video and devise tomorrow's strategy.

The gang at the Santa Ynez Inn prior to the Big Fig ride.
Tom hammers away at the summit of Mt. Figuroa.
A view back from the back side decent.
Hands on dinner at The Chefs Touch in Solvang. http://www.thechefstouch.com/

Gonna be a killer RCV folks. That was a 16 mile avg 6% climb that took me almost two hours just to FILM. Wait till you get to ride it !!!!!

Trek Travel Day One

Trek Travel Day One

Met up with the Trek Travel gang in Santa Barbara yesterday. Great group. The guides, Mark and John are superb hosts, knowledgeable, personable and with tons of cycling experience. We packed all the gear in SB and headed out for Santa Ynez with a stop at the Demetria Winery Estates http://www.demetriaestate.com/along the way. After a sample of their wines and a lunch on the veranda where one can easily lose GPS bearings and think this is Tuscany, we rode the 17 miles to the base camp at the Santa Ynez Inn and regrouped for a meet & greet followed by dinner.

Today is the first RCV shoot and we'll crank out 66 through Solvang, Ballard Canyon and then tackle 'The Fig", the most notorious climb in SB Co. There are seven folks in the group, with one a CompuTrainer user. I suppose those are pretty standard numbers, providing me with both an opportunity to film some testimonials and promote the product. Today should be fun, despite the open road conditions and small group. Took a scouting run this morning at sunrise and think this will prove to be a terrific long term opportunity for both CT RCV and Trek.

Gotta get set up. More after the ride tonight. GREAT video on the way.

Pix:
Tuscany or Santa Barbara County?
The Trek Travel sag wagon heading out towards Santa Ynez
At the Demetria Winery