Teamwork and execution exemplified.

Awesome teamwork and effort shared through on board cameras and data from Garmin device. The race from this past weekend’s 2012 e3 Cyclebration, held in Folsom, California, LeadOut Racing exemplified teamwork, focus and execution, which helped them dominate the weekend. Data Driven Athlete combed the video and data for the video below from the finish of the race.  Kudo’s guys.

US Bicycling Hall of Fame launches gran fondo in Davis

Sacramento-area cyclists seeking long group rides should note that the city of Davis will host a new event on May 6th, the Legends Gran Fondo, which is organized by the US Bicycling Hall of Fame. The charity ride, which is open to the public, will raise money to support the USBHoF, a non-profit which recognizes the achievements of American cyclists.

The Legends Gran Fondo will start and finish in downtown Davis, at Central Park on 3rd and C Street. Participants will be given the option of riding the full gran fondo, a 90-mile round trip, or the Medio, a 65-mile route equivalent to a metric century.

Riders on the two routes will have access to high-quality rest-stop nourishment, SAG support and the opportunity to ride alongside some notable names in American cycling, says Blair Robertson in the Sacramento Bee. The most recognizable name, perhaps, is that of Greg LeMond, who won the Tour de France three times before creating his own line of road bikes.

‘Gran fondo’-style events have grown in popularity over the past decade, perhaps because they offer amateur riders the illusion of a pro-tour atmosphere, a contrast to the low-key club rides usually available to them. The bigger gran fondos – most notably Levi’s King Ridge Gran Fondo in Sonoma are spectacular events, featuring very large entry pools, lavish rest-stops, celebrity-participation and a festival atmosphere. In comparison, many charity century rides are dour, poorly organized and exclude riders who are unable to raise sufficient funds.

The Legends Gran Fondo features attractions like starting line call-ups, escorted rolling-enclosure starts, police and medical support, technical assistance, and an official timing-system which gives participants the chance to log their overall speed and progress. The routes are limited to 1,000 riders for this inaugural year, and they take riders out towards Winters, then south for a wide loop. Gran-route riders will do a second loop to make up the additional miles.

Registration fees are $95 for either route, which entitles participants to all the benefits of a fully-supported ride, plus a commemorative t-shirt, or $135, which includes a limited-edition USBHoF jersey. For more information, visit the USBHoF website.

Act Now!

After a week of rain we’re getting a break from the late winter this week (rumor has it that it might rain again tomorrow but, it’s going to be almost 70°). It’s about time y’all start thinking about commuting.

Lucky for you, between now and Sunday you can go to Santa Monica Mountains Cyclery and trade in that SUV for a bike.

Customers can pick out a new bike at the cyclery — which features a giant flat-screen TV, leather club chairs and an espresso maker, not to mention some sweet two-wheeled rides — then head over the Ford dealership. They’ll trade in their cars, get a check and head back to the bike shop. Any leftover money goes back to the customer.

If I only had an extra car.

NAHBS Coverage | Day 1, Stuck Outside Sacramento

It’s the first day of NAHBS and the doors have opened for industry and media types (hey, that’s me) but I’m stranded just East of Sacramento proper. Why? Did I get a flat on my way downtown, has my huge red convertible broken down after it’s long trek through the desert in search of the American Dream, or am I stuck grinding out my 8 hours in the office?

HINT: It’s probably that last one.

This is my first NAHBS – or will be if I make it there tomorrow, which is the plan – and I’m certainly missing out on the pre-show excitement of traveling to a new town, meeting new people and, really getting excited about handmade bikes. Twitter is filled with updates about getting together and pre-parties and post parties and during parties and group rides and hand cut steel. And as every bike blogger descends on the convention center this morning for the first looks at the show, I’ll be in my cubicle toiling away.

As the day goes on and NAHBS posts go up on other sites and their site traffic increases and ad dollars flow in by the truck load, I’ll be sitting here oblivious to it all. Then, as the show opens to the public and the media and industry types become more faces in the crowd and the day winds down, I’ll get off work. And sure, I’d have plenty of time to run on down to the convention center, do a quick run around the exhibit floor and maybe grab a quick beer with a few of my twitter/blogger buddies (you know who you are) but I’d be home after bedtime and when you have two young children, bedtime is a big deal.

So, in the morning, I’ll probably get up at a reasonable hour. Dress up in my some clothes that scream AMATEUR BIKE BLOGGER! and head on downtown. Maybe make it to the show by lunch. After that, I have no plan, but, I’ll keep you posted.

NAHBS this weekend

Friday, March 2nd is the first day of the annual North American Handmade Bike Show, which is being held in Sacramento for the first time this year. The exhibition brings cycling manufacturers and enthusiasts together for three days of events showcasing the finest handmade bicycles in the world.

Every year since 2005, NAHBS has assembled industry pioneers and innovators in a succession of cycling-friendly cities for the event, which has grown in attendance by 10% each year. This year, 172 individual exhibitors will spread out across the Convention Center in anticipation of several thousand attendees. Last year, the show attracted more than 7,300 industry enthusiasts.

In addition to the vendors’ booths, the show features seminars on a range of topics from framebuilding and engineering, innovation in bike frame materials, custom design and the business of marketing small-production high-end frames.

NAHBS predicts new trends in bike building for 2012, including a surge in the use of modern stainless steel, which is gaining popularity as a lightweight and strong alternative to traditional steel frames. Also, after several years of high-profile road-bikes dominating the national consciousness, mountain-bikes and city-bikes will this year form the majority of the total bike categories represented.

Running concurrently with NAHBS is the local ArtBike! community arts initiative, which will be promoting cycling-related film and culture in Sacramento. Hosts include the ever-reliable midtown restaurant Hot Italian (creators of the Savage Sprints), and a tie-in with Sacramento Beer Week, which is currently in progress.

NAHBS kicks-off on Friday with an industry-exclusive morning, followed by regular admission until 6pm. Awards take place on Sunday at 3pm at the stage area of Hall B & C. Pre-registration is available from the website, and tickets will also be available onsite.

Dirty Dozen Race 2011 – Canton Ave

Race takes place in Pittsburgh and attacks thirteen of their steepest climbs. This is Canton Ave at an average grade of 21.5%. Check out the details of the segment on Strava here.

Levi’s King Ridge Gran Fondo, 2011

If you follow me on Twitter you might already know that trip didn’t go exactly as planned. Sam and I got to Santa Rosa on Friday night as planned check in and headed downtown to have some dinner and a couple of drinks. Everything was great and both of us were feeling quite keen for the ride. But shortly after we’d gone to bed Sam got ill and in the morning he was barely able to get out of bed. Riding the bike was out of the question.

So I ditched him. I did offer to drive him home and just skip the ride, but in the end his wife drove on down to get him and I went out to ride by myself. Or with 7500 strangers.

The conditions were a lot different than the previous two years. Most of King Ridge and the approach to the coast were socked in with fog. It was cold, the roads were wet and the wind was blowing, but it was a good day. Amazingly, when we got to the coast, the sun came out and it started to warm a bit.

I felt pretty good and just ground out a good rhythm most of the day. After crossing the Russian River near Jenner I opted to turn left on Willow Creek Road for the dirt option and, while it was hard work, I was glad I did. Willow Creek was probably about 10 miles of dirt and gravel roads, all of it gradual climbing with about 3 miles of proper climbing.

I’ll put together another video in the next few days with the footage of Willow Creek Road I have, but for now, this pretty much captures how the day went:

Countdown to #LeviGF, 0 Days

Rolling out now…see y’all in about 7 hours.

Countdown to #LeviGF, 4 days

I dropped Eva off at the local bike shop yesterday. They promised to overhaul or replace the bottom bracket and have her ready for me sometime today. Taking your bike to the shop 5 days before a big ride isn’t ideal, but I’m pretty sure a creaky bottom bracket all the way up King Ridge would drive me and the other 7500 riders crazy (or, at the very least, drive Sam crazy since I plan to sit on his wheel pretty much all day…shhh…don’t tell him).

My plan had been to continue to bike commute through Thursday, just to keep my legs primed and ready, maybe even go for a short spin on Friday when Sam and I arrived in Santa Rosa. The trip to the shop doesn’t ruin everything but it has me a little anxious.

I’ve decided to distract myself by obsessively checking the Saturday forecast in both Santa Rosa and Jenner to get an idea of what conditions are going to be like. Right now, it looks like it’s going to be nice, but I’m not convinced.

Countdown to #LeviGF, 9 Days

It’s starting to look like I’ll log my 3000th mile of the year during Levi’s Gran Fondo – as long as I get out for a ride this weekend, which is sort of required. I put a new chain on Eva the other day. New brake pads too. There’s a cable and housing set on my work bench I meant to install, but now it seems too close to the event to be messing around with my components, especially considering I, mostly, have no idea what I’m doing. Anyway, at least the bike’s ready.