Interbike Report - Leaving Las Vegas

Interbike 2010 was in Las Vegas last week. Just before the this year's show, we learned that Inrebike will move from a long time run at the Sands Convention center in Las Vegas to Anaheim CA, and it will be six weeks earlier in the year running the first week of August in 2011.

In recent years with many of the big companies in the bike business pulling out of the show, there has been a great deal of discussion about the utility and usefulness of Interbike (the changes for next year being made to supposedly address this). Indeed, some even question why Nineteen, a company that only makes triathlon wetsuits, would even be at a trade show called Interbike! The reality is that there is no specific trade show for the triathlon business, and many of our retail customers, prospective retail customers, distributors and the triathlon media all attend this show. Years ago there had been some discussions about a Triathlon zone or area at Interbike that never came to fruition. I take no credit for it, but when we (Nineteen) started going to the show four years ago, I sought out where the leader in the tri wetsuit business was, Blue Seventy, and I took a booth across the aisle from them. They were fine with this, and now, almost all the wetsuit companies can all be found within a very small area or short walk on the Interbike show floor - as well as more than a few other companies interested in the triathlon market. There is now an informal Triathlon Zone at Interbike that has developed over the past few years in the back left corner of the show floor.

Of course, with the move to the Anaheim Convention Center next year, it will be interesting to see how this will be replicated - formally or informally. Naturally the move to Anaheim, generated considerable talk amongst vendors and dealers at this year's show. If it was Interbike's intention to make the show "better", by drawing back in, some of the big players who no longer book booth space on the show floor( TREK et al . . ), and more dealers, they may be sadly mistaken in this regard. The reaction on the part of fellow vendors that I spoke to, and dealers was mixed at best.

I understand why Interbike has become not at all helpful to big players in the bike business, such as TREK and others. Pre-season orders are now taken in July and August, and these larger companies these days are in the habit of inviting in, all expenses paid, all or their best accounts to special events that they host either at their own facilities or elsewhere at nice hotels and resorts. Even smaller companies such as Cervelo have gone this route with their BrainBike events!

Ironically, for really small companies, micro businesses really, Interbike still full-fills a valuable a key role - it puts vendors(sellers) and dealers(buyers) under one roof for a few days. I know that for us at Nineteen, Interbike is perhaps the most important three days of the year for us and this year, was the best Interbike show that we have ever had - we met with more people, talked to more good prospects, and interacted with more key media in the triathlon business than we ever have.

Hopefully next year, despite the move to Anaheim and it being six weeks earlier, it will be more of the same!

Finally, it's important to know that Interbike is a Trade Show. In the gear oriented sports of cycling and triathlon, many consumers are obsessed with finding out what is the latest and greatest, but the general public is not welcome at the show. People who do get in or newcomers to the show, are often overwhelmed by all the gear and all the cool tech stuff or the VIP's just wandering around - Is that George Hincapie over there? I know I was like that, when I went to my first Interbike show years ago. However, it's important to note that often the key things that go on at a show like Interbike, are the quiet conversations that go on in the aisles, with customers, competitors, prospects and key movers & shakers in the business. This is where and how the real action in the business happens.

That being said, everyone wants to know what was the coolest thing I saw at the show. Well, truth be told, I barely got out of the Nineteen booth for the whole show and I really did not get a chance to walk the whole show or see much of it for that matter. This being the last Interbike in Las Vegas, that to me was the news of the show. I have been coming here for many years now, so on the last night of the show, I took a short walk up and down part of the strip near our hotel for one last time just to take it all in. I have always had a strange relationship with Las Vegas - it's not the kind of place I would ever go to on vacation, but thousands of people do. That walk of nostalgia amongst the masses strolling the Strip, past the Venetian, Treasure Island, Caesars, The Flamingo, Mirage and the Bellagio, and the other grand hotels and casinos of Las Vegas seemed a fitting way to end it all!

Ironman Canada is Different

Ironman Canada is different. Yes it shares the same race distances as all the other growing ranks of Ironman races around the world, but this is a very different event.

First of all it has some history. This year was the 28th running of Ironman Canada. Some of the greatest triathletes of all time have raced on this course. They say one of the single greatest Ironman Triathlons ever raced - Thomas Hellreigel's 8:09.42 winning performance in 1996 - was done on this course. Yes, they have broken 8:00 and gone faster elsewhere, but this is not an easy course - it can be very challenging.

Speaking of the course, this is perhaps, at least in North America, the only Ironman race that sticks to it's single big loop routes on each of the swim, bike and run. You feel like you are doing something - not just going around in circles. This can be daunting. Particularly as you make the turn at the half-way point in the marathon run, climb a little hill out of Okanagan Falls, and then if you look to your left, you can see the town of Penticton 11 miles off in the distance over the full length of Skaha Lake. It dawns on you that, I now have to run all the way back there!

This is a race that has tradition and honors it's champions. Few know this, but there is a large bronze plaque for each years mens and womens race winner, that has been put into the ground in a very nice arrangement surrounding a beautiful flower bed in Rotary Park. The plaque honoring Lori Bowden's win in 1998 is pictured at the top. During the race, Rotary Park serves as the transition area, and many athletes taking part in the race, will have run right over some of these winners plaques, perhaps drawing power and strength from the great champions of the past.

This was the race that defined what being a volunteer at an Ironman race was all about. This is were the 3000+ strong Iron Army came to be. Unlike many of the other IM races, at Ironman Canada, almost all the volunteers come from Penticton and other communities in the South Okanagan. This is their race. They want it to be the best. They want each and every competitor to feel welcome and have the best day that they can have out there. Everyone pitches in. The planning for next years race and the anticipation amongst the Iron Army has started already.

Then there is the stunning beauty of the area. Of course, it's a wine growing region growing some of the best wine grapes in the world. That helps to. Why is it that all the key wine growing areas around the world are like this? The Okanagan Valley is an amazing place.

This race is put on and run by the best race and event management people in the sport. Not only do they do a great job of putting on what logistically is an absolutely extraordinary event( people would not believe the details that need to be covered - and they are all covered), they are really down to earth people who really care about the sport of triathlon, this one event, Ironman Canada in particular, and each and every participant in the race. To see Graham Fraser or Joe Dixon talk, you can see the care and passion they have in their faces and you can hear the emotional connection to the event in their voices.

Finally, there is Steve King - the Voice of Ironman Canada. Yes there are other great race announcers of triathlon around the world, but it was Steve who really defined the term Triathlon Race Announcer making sure that each and every finishers name was called out and noted. I don't know how he keeps going and how he's able to keep all that information in his head, but he is so extraordinarily passionate about this sport and this race - that you can't help but want him to keep going on forever doing this.

I will admit that for me it is a bit personal. I had my single greatest day as a triathlete out on the Ironman Canada course - and so did my wife. And so have a number of my closest triathlon friends. I also raced the last triathlon I ever did, at this amazing race. I was glad and fortunate to go out on a good note and on good terms with this race, but the high-light for me that day was holding my then one month old son in my arms, after I crossed the finish line. He's 13 years old now, and when I look at him, I often reflect back to that day at IMC in 1997 and marvel at how much he has grown.

Ironman Canada . . it's different!

One of Those Days!

I Have been involved in endurance sports for many years. If the starting point was when I took up running at age 15 - that's nearly 35 years of these stuff. If you do this stuff long enough, you know that you have good days and not so good days.

Over the weekend I had "One of Those Days" - and not the good variety of these days. I was supposed to be doing an 80K road race on Sunday morning, but I woke up and felt really rough. It was to be a two hour drive to the race site, then a 2+ hour race then a 2 hour ride home - all-in, about seven hours of my Sunday was to be taken up with this race. Not sure why I felt terrible, as I had, had a fairly light week of riding in the past week. I decided to not go to the race, initially with regrets, and instead go out for a 2 hour ride on my own. Within 1/2 km of starting the ride, I knew that I had made the right decision. My legs felt dreadful and completely lacking of any fitness and strength. My regrets turned to a feeling of making a wise decision.

I was having the type of day that, you dread ever lines up with a race-day or a day with a really hard workout planned. I have had them over the years - fortunately, they have infrequently lined up with race days, but I am sure some of my really ugly performances over the years, have been because - it was One of Those Days.

The two hour ride was done well off my normal pace for this route, and as I came up towards the end of it, it was feeling more like the rap-up to a ride twice as long and as hard. Over the years, I have become fairly adept at predicting these low ebbs and making good choices as to whether to race or not, or postpone that really hard workout for another day when I can go really hard. Not sure what it is that leads to these days. I know that if you fastidiously track, morning heart rate, body weight, diet, key workout details, total watts used per-work etc . . . you should be able to track and predict these days. These days, I can predict them by feel, and yesterday I know that I made the right choice!

Your mileage may vary!

Picture at the top is from the end of the road at Chain of Craters Road in Volcano National Park, Hawaii, where recent lava flows have blocked the road.

Cervelo S2 or R3: Aero or not for road bikes?

My wife, Paolina Allan's S2

My R3

Which Cervelo road bike should I get? The S2 or the R3? It's a question I hear often. It's a good problem to have. Both bikes are at the head of their class. Both bikes get rave reviews from informed and knowledgeable road bike reviewers. Both bikes have a Pro Tour Race winning pedigree. Both bikes, as ridden by the Cervelo Test Team, are available, stock at Cervelo dealers.

Is having an aero road bike an advantage?

Here's my take on this:

Last fall I got an R3. This is the bike if you do a lot of road riding, in groups or on your own, and you prefer a more comfortable ride. After all, this is the bike that has won Paris-Roubaix twice in the past 5 years. This is also a great bike for road racing - it's very light, even with ordinary kit, and rides very stable and true. The knock against the R3 is that it is not "aero". However for the occasional road racer, as I am, it's of little concern. Most of the Master's road racing that I do, no matter how many times you try and break-away, comes down to a field sprint, so you are riding in a pack almost all the time. How "aero" your frame is, is the least of your concerns.

I recall reading a stat after one of Lance Armstrongs Tour de France wins a few years ago. Outside of Time Trials, in three weeks of racing, Armstrong, had spent a grand total of 12 minutes riding on his own in the wind, for that Tour de France win!

Finally - as many know, I have a wonky back. The extra vertical compliance in the rear triangle in the R3 is a welcome feature - on long rides and on rough pavement it is a very comfortable ride. We have a lot of lousy pavement in our area and we also ride from time to time on gravel and dirt roads and the R3 handles all this very well. The R3 has that "all-day" comfort that is highly valued by Pro Tour riders or any serious rider for that matter who puts in a lot of miles.

Recently, my wife got a new Cervelo S2. This is the bike that started out life being called the Soloist in the Cervelo line, and really invented the whole category of aero road bikes. The bike is very aerodynamic - it's even more aerodynamic than some manufacturers time trial and triathlon frames! This was the preferred bike for my wife because, women's road race fields tend to be much smaller than mens. There are more, small and solo break-aways that stick. You often have to bridge from one group or rider to another, on your own. Here, aerodynamics for a road bike, can be really important. Also, my wife travels from time to time to Stage Races where there is a Time Trial as one of the stages. By using the S2 with Clip-On aero bars, she saves herself the hassle of having to bring along a dedicated TT bike, and as previously mentioned, the S2 holds it's own when it comes to aerodynamics. The ride on the S2 would best be described as being firmer than that of the R3. It's still pretty comfortable for an aero framed road bike.

In summary - you should consider an aero road bike if you do a lot of solo riding, you are a woman road racing, you can make a break-away stick in road racing, or you want one bike to do it all - even be used as a tri-bike. If not any of that, then a non-aero road bike such as the Cervelo R3 will serve you very well.

So there. Hopefully that will help you decide which Cervelo Road Bike or an aero road bike is for you!

Centurion Colorado

The washboard gravel road is bouncing me all over the place - mercifully we are going down hill slightly. I thought the worst of the climbing was over, but no. We wheel around a corner and the road pitches straight up! Now in addition to blown out quads and being nearly 9,000 ft high and a scarcity of oxygen, I need to climb up this rutted dirt road that has me almost at a stand-still as I am barely able to turn the cranks over seated. I rise to get out of the saddle, and my quads give that tell-tale hint of massive cramping coming on, plus the back tire begins to spin out slightly, so seated I stay and I grind on. Thankfully, this hill is only about 100m long, but it takes me forever to cover that distance. This was my mile 80 of 100 at the inaugural Centurion Cycling bike race near Lyons, CO over the weekend.

I soldiered on getting back on the pavement and then after one false flat to contend with on the Peak-to-Peak Hwy., over 3,000 ft of downhill riding over 20 miles back to the finish! On the first loop I had done this descent in a group of about 20 and we made quick work of it at very high speeds. This time, I was solo and the wind had picked up a bit, and darned if I had to pedal and work harder this time around. Finally, I was caught by two others within 2 miles of the finish and then we worked together to get to the finish and then it was over for me after 5 hours and 39 minutes.

Quite frankly, I had no idea how this event was going to go - at a number of different levels. I knew one thing, it was going to be exceptionally well organized. The Centurion events are the brain-child of Graham Fraser, who literally put Ironman triathlons on the map in North America. He's more or less out of that business now( only running the Ironman Canada race), and now into these large group bike rides/races aka, Gran Fondos. Some say these are the next big thing, and I would agree. In some respects, I am the prototype, perfect person for these - former triathlete, sometime road-racer, like to stay fit on the bike, like group rides and races, and like big challenges.

The Centurion Cycling event was very well run. Many serious road racers and people who had been to other century rides, kept commenting to me on how well everything was being run. For the triathletes in attendance who had been to an Ironman or 70.3 race in North America in the past few years, they were used to this level of service and athlete care.

The key unknowns to me were how exactly the bike would unfold and how I would go myself. Regarding the first point - about 300 riders rolled out neutralized for the first 2k for the 100 mile race. Then it was game on, and about 200 formed a front pack that raced over completely closed roads for the first 10 miles or so. It was amazing to have the full width of the road. Everyone in this large pack road very well and there were no issues. For most of this time, I was in the back third of this large group and it had the feel of a really big road race. At this point I was most likely going harder than I should have, but I figured, I should be able to cover this early ground quicker in the draft of the group, before we hit the first big climb, where I had a hunch it would start to break up. And break up it started to do, as we headed up the famous Left Hand Canyon road north of Boulder. Soon I was riding along in a little group of about 5 or 6 other riders. I kept the gearing light and the pedal revs high. I knew that we still had a long way to go.

This climb seemed to go on forever, but the scenery and the odd chit-chat between quick breathes with fellow riders kept me distracted enough. As we neared the top, the grade kicked up quite a bit to the town of Ward and I was finally forced to get right out of the saddle and really grunt it up the last steep ramp of the climb and then it was over.

Onto the aforementioned descent which was an absolute blast. My speedometer on my bike was not working, but we must have been hitting speeds close to 80 kmh. This group continued to do the pac-man routine and by the time we headed out for the second loop, it was about 30 strong. Then there was a big acceleration on the rollers outside of Lyons and I popped off the back. I had heard that the second time up Left Hand, with the addition of the Super James climb above the town of James Town, plus the dirt road section was, to put it in Tour de France terms Hors Catogorie- or beyond classification, or put another way, &*$#-ing hard! I road within myself and tried to keep the group in site. Sure enough, as we hit the lower slopes of Left Hand Canyon for the second time, many from that group started to drift back towards me and I began to pass quite a few. This was encouraging.

I kept this good feeling going until we hit the Super James climb. I had been warned about this. Suddenly, within the space of I would say half a kilometer, The Centurion cycling race went from being a moderate effort to, going as hard on the bike as I think I have gone in the last 10 years. I am not sure what it was. The altitude. The grade. The lack of a few more lower gears( a compact crank is recommended and I did not have one!). The heat. Suddenly, going forward and willing each pedal stroke around and the bike forward at a crawl was all I could do! At times, I had to resort to the old zig-zag to keep going. Never before, in 30 years of cycling had I ever had to do that. But I made it, and then I made it over the dirt and gravel road to, and then I knew that I would get through this.

Then, as I came up to the finish line my legs, burning, lungs heaving, the best feeling of all came over me - because I had felt this way, many times, many years ago, towards the end of many Ironman triathlon bike legs - I was done! Once I was across that finish line, it was all over and I could head directly to the beer tent - which the Centurion event organizers in their wisdom had conveniently organized. This is a far more sensible and sane way to torture yourself! There I was enjoying a beer, in the shade of the beer tent at 1:00 in the afternoon!

More than a few have asked me what is a Centurion race or ride? It is what you want to make it. Race it. Train it. Ride with friends. Just try and finish it. It has elements of it, that feel like a real bike road race. Other parts of it felt like an Ironman bike leg but you could regroup with others and work-together using the draft - how cool is that? At other times it felt like a bike tour in an amazing place with beautiful scenery. It is what it is and it is what you make it.

As for me, I will fully admit that going into this, I was for the first time in a long time, having a bit of performance anxiety. Not sure why. I guess because I had put it out there that I wanted to do it. It was a supreme test of the 30-year-base. Two months ago I would have said - no way am I going to be able to do this, but a reasonably intensive ramp up and I was more or less ready to go. That is the value of the 30-year-base, plus on race day the physical and mental strength is there because, you know that you have been here before.

I would be remiss if I did not mention that my amazing wife, Paolina Allan was also along for the ride, so to speak. She did very well and finished about 5 minutes ahead of me and in 4th place overall amongst the women. She had some cramping issues on the Super James climb and had a harder go of it than I did at the high altitude. The altitude did not seem to bother me that much. Not sure why, but I know that altitude adaptation is very individual. Nevertheless, there were too many fast old men and I did much worse than she did both overall and in my age-group!

We both plan on doing the Collingwood, Ontario Centurion Race in September - see you there!

Thank you to our good friend Carole Sharples for putting up with us Crazy Canucks for a few days. We loved Boulder and look forward to coming back soon.

Picture at the top - Paolina and I Ready to roll at the first ever Centurion Cycling 100 miler in Lyons, CO

Centurion #1 - It's Here!

Made it to Boulder and we have settled in staying with a good friend of Paolina's, Pro Carole Sharpless.

I could go on and on about first impressions of Boulder, but it's the kind of place as a life long endurance athlete that, within 24 hours you are trying to figure out how you can move here! Went for an easy 2 hour ride this morning and we must have seen well over 100 people out riding. I lost count after a bit. There are so many serious cyclists out on the road that you feel like a bit of a fool waving at everyone passing the other way. Back home it's a bonding moment with that loan cyclist you may see in your 3 hour ride!

The legs feel good, but after a couple of hard efforts this morning, you know that you are at 5,300 ft of elevation in Boulder. The quick lesson and bottom line - I'll need to keep it aerobic as much as I can almost all the time on the Centurion 100 mile ride on Sunday. Go anaerobic too soon or too often, and it's going to come back and haunt me - particularly when we climb up to 9,000 ft. Stay calm. Keep the gears light. Stay comfortable. Repeated hard efforts early on are going to make the back half of that 100 miles very hard.

Had a good long chat this afternoon with one of the principals behind the Centurion events, Graham Fraser. He believes that these types of events are the next big thing - well organized, and well run Century rides that are what you make it. At the front, these events will have the feel of a real bike road race. Further back - people will make of it what they want/can. It's all good. The Boulder/Lyons Centurion is the first event of what is going to be an amazing series of events and I feel lucky to be able to be here for the first one. The people behind this, beyond Graham Fraser are some of the best people in this sort of event management. They are set to become, must-do, go to events for cyclists looking a challenging course and a very well run event with amazing support services.

All that support is great, but it's going to be me and me alone who is going to have to get myself over the Super James Climb on Sunday - supposedly the hardest and most challenging part of the Centurion 100 mile course. It comes up at about 75 miles and is supposedly a bit of a leg and lung buster. The good news is that it's 25 miles of downhill to the finish after that!

Almost There - Centurion CO in Less Than Two Weeks

The first ever Centurion Cycling event is coming up in less than two weeks. As usual, I had been a bit overly ambitious about my ability to get in some solid kilometers of cycling for this event, but in the last couple of weeks the legs have come around a bit more. It's been capped off by a big push over the recent four-day long holiday weekend where I was able to get in over 350K of riding - with big chunks of it in hilly terrain and at a fairly hard pace. All that being said, my 30-year aerobic and endurance base is going to be put to a supreme test over the Centurion Colorado course with two massive 25-mile climbs each topping out at over 9,000'.

It will be interesting to see how this spells out and who ends up riding with whom. Personally, I have no illusions what-so-ever of being able to hang with the front group. My wonderful Wife, Paolina Allan, should be able to give you more reports from the front as she seems to be rounding into fine form right now and should go well. For me it will be about pacing and riding well within myself on that first big climb - descending well - and then taking on the second climb and seeing what happens. I am a bit concerned about the altitude - but there is not much I can do about that. We'll just have a go at it and see. I am guessing that, with this size of event, that small groupettos will form with like-fit riders who will be able to pace each-other up the climbs - misery loves company!

The bike is all set( Cervelo R3). Still not sure what wheel-set I will run - Zipp 404 Tubulars or Bontrager Race-X-Lite Aluminum clinchers. I am leaning towards the latter, as these are the wheels that I have done most of my riding on this year and they feel very good shorn with Vittoria EVO CX tires. It's a great, all-around, reasonably light, aero and bomb-proof set of wheels. On the advice of a few, I will be going with an 11-28 cassette. The Super James climb on the second big climb does have a steeper section right near the top that may be very testing - not so much due to the grade, but for me the altitude. There is also a stretch of dirt road on this second climb as well, but I have no concerns about this at all, as we ride on dirt and gravel roads quite regularly.

My wonky lower back that has caused me a bit of concern of late has decided to come-around as well, along with my legs. It weathered the big kilometers over the weekend quite well. I must say that the R3 is very helpful in this regards as it does take the buzz out of a lot of the rear end vibrations and hits.

It's a significant first attempt at a large Gran Fondo style ride for organizers Graham Fraser and Len Pettyjohn, but I am sure that given their experience with this sort of thing, it will be exceptionally run. I am really looking forward to it.

Look for a full report here, in the week after the event.

Picture at the top was taken about mid-way up Mt. Lemmon, just outside Tucson, AZ.