Giant | Low Cadence

Posts Tagged ‘Giant’

Sometimes you just need a Giant carrot

Friday, April 17th, 2009

First things first. You’ll notice the sponsor section over to the right – on the main page. I’m trying to line up some sponsors for the blog and I’m glad to say that Quarq is the first on board. Obviously, I’m looking for sponsors who have products I use and believe in. Quarq falls in the category. Thanks Jim and Mieke!

Now for the ride. I sent a text message to John James early in the day. We had been getting together to do some riding and Thursday evening was supposed to be the next opportunity. He responded with “I’m riding easy.” I was hoping he would say that. A hard ride on Tuesday and Wednesday had me tired.

When I showed up I found that Bob Rentz was there. Now things were getting to be like old times. Mike and Art had ridden the night before so a reunion wouldn’t be complete. Matt – Turner, that is – was there as was Anthony and Rob. The only guy along for the ride that I hadn’t ridden with before was James Barker, the regional sales representative for Giant.

We rolled out and indeed it was a nice leisurely ride for the most part. For the first hour we averaged 161 watts. The only excitement during that hour was nearly having the whole group taken out by a family with a bassett hound in the middle of the road.

We came around a curve and there they were. The poor dog didn’t even move. I did my best to keep from taking down both Matt and myself when my wheel got caught between his wheel and deraileur.

The only other dog issue came when a little wiener dog came flying out in the road to eat me up. I had been lulled to a false sense of safety because most of the homes in that area had hidden fencing. So, as I saw the little runt heading across the grass toward us, I figured he would stop. No. He kept coming. My fear wasn’t that he would bite me. I was afraid he would get that pointed nose stuck in my spokes!

Then it was time to climb Altamont. I started up behind Matt and James. This would be James’ first attempt up the climb. I was curious to see how he would do.

Matt eased up some and then Anthony came to join us. Before long it was just James, Anthony, and myself. At the halfway point, Anthony backed off and I was left to hang onto James’ wheel.

He didn’t look in trouble at all. He was just holding a steady cadence. I started getting into difficulty. This was not supposed to be a night for an effort. With about a third to go, I eased up just slightly and just focused on my own pace.

I figured the one thing I had going for me was that James had not climbed this road before. He had never encountered “The Wall.” I decided to recover a bit and see where he was in front of me when we were both on that stretch.

When I entered the straight, I could see him about halfway up. I dropped my gear about three rings and stood on it to see if I could at least come up close behind him. As I reached the halfway point, I looked up to see him in trouble. Ah! There was a chance!

I started huffing and puffing to get around him and passed him in the last 30 to 50 meters. I rolled across the KOM line in 12 minutes and 12 seconds – just 7 seconds off of my personal best. My Quarq CinQo was telling me I had put out an average of 304 watts for the 12 minute climb. Mr. Barker was a very good carrot!

I figure he came across no more that 15 seconds later. So, his first ever attempt of Altamont was around 12 minutes and 30 seconds. I guarantee that his second time would be better. Matt put in a 13:12 effort – a personal best for the big man.

Of course, we still had to go down. Anthony took off to claim that prize. Matt and I took off after him. Sure enough, James was right on our tail.

Matt had his best climb ever up the mountain, but when he is along on a ride I figure the downhill portion belongs to him. He and Anthony were tearing it up and I was just along for the ride. I’m still a little fearful after my broken finger incident so I was not taking some of the turns as hot as they. I slowed James down a bit.

As we came off the mountain it was Matt in front with Anthony, myself, and James finishing up the train. I tried to get some momentum to come out of the draft, but the two guys in front were just too strong to get around.

The best part? I feel great! This weekend is the State Criterium Championships and I’ll be joining my teammates to see how we can do. I’ll admit that this is not my favorite style of racing, but maybe if I just do it some more I’ll get used to it.

All I know is that we have some awesome bikes to ride on out there. Thanks, James!

Tags: Altamont, Bob Rentz, Giant, James Barker, John James, Matt Turner, Paris Mountain, The Wall
Posted in Rides | 1 Comment »

I took a ride with Craig’s bike

Saturday, March 21st, 2009

After work Friday, I headed out on what I thought would be an easy spin around Cleveland Park. Saturday was to be a long day in the saddle as I was to ride 5 hours in a fund raiser ride. That isn’t too bad, except this five hours would going around in a one mile circuit.

While easily spinning along I came to a stop sign to turn right. I thought I saw the shadow of a rider coming up behind me. I made the turn and then the following turn onto Woodland Way to begin the climb. That is when the rider came up beside me.

I glanced over and heard him say, “Nice bike.” That, of course, made me look at his own bike. It was a Giant and looked like a TCR Advanced frame. However, there were numerous other markings on it that I didn’t decipher at the time. “Yes, these Giants are very nice. I love mine,” I replied.

We continued on talking about riding and racing. Around one turn I asked him if the bike was an SL model. Clay responded that indeed it was. We went back to talking about various training methods and our plans for the year.

He asked me if I had raced any this year and I told him that I had only been able to do the River Falls race because of my broken pinkie. He then asked me about the accident. I told him the story and finished up by telling him that I rode up to the top of the mountain after the wreck with Craig Lewis.

He looked over at me and said, “This is his bike.” I took a little closer of a look and realized those markings I couldn’t make out on the front fork were Team Highroad stickers. Sure enough I looked closer and saw other sponsor logos.

Turns out Clay Jones is a member of the Hincapie Triathlon team and had taken a look at some of the Giant bikes that the local Hincapie Barkley team were releasing because of the bike sponsor change. None of them worked well (the SL bikes have the integrated seat post). There was another bike there that fit him perfectly. It was Craig’s.

Craig was willing to sell and Clay got a pretty good deal on a very sweet bike. There really wasn’t that much of a difference in the look of the two bikes. The SL had the integrated seat post. Our components were different and the SL was about a pound lighter.

Clay said that the bike pretty much had fallen in his lap and maybe he had spent a little more money than he had originally planned (that is not to say he didn’t get a VERY good deal), but it was worth it. I told him that not only did he get a great bike, but he got a really cool story to go along with it.

By the way, Clay wore me out. And so, that is how I ended up riding with Craig Lewis’ bike. Hey, Craig, when you get ready to get rid of that Scott… give me a call!

Tags: Clay Jones, Cleveland Park, Craig Lewis, Giant, Highroad, TCR Advanced SL
Posted in Bicycles, Life, Rides | No Comments »

First date and I’m in love

Friday, March 13th, 2009

As I watched John turn the wrench to loosen the heart of my Tarmac I felt a tinge of guilt for the action I was about to take. My Specialized Tarmac Pro had been a wonderful friend. We had climbed Mount Mitchell together and crossed the finish line as winners for the first time. Now another would take its place.

Enter the new Giant TCR Advanced. It arrived just yesterday and I got the call to bring my Tarmac to the shop so I could switch out the crank and wheels. The crank had to go with me because it houses my Quarq CinQo power meter. The wheels were my better ones so I wanted those on there for my first ride.

2009 Giant TCR Advanced

Looking at the two bikes, I wasn’t so sure what I thought. The Tarmac is a very elegant looking machine. The curving top tube and narrow carbon fiber frame of pearl white and blue is very appealing. The Advanced is the dark color of graphite. The header and bottom bracket are over sized and the down tube is huge. The look isn’t elegant. The look is solid and fast.

Of course, you can’t judge a bike by its looks. John finished the construction and told me to hop on and take it for a ride. The first thing I noticed was that it was lighter. When I rolled it out the door for the test ride, the bike weighed 15.5 pounds. That is nearly a pound less than the Tarmac.

John did an excellent job moving my measurements over to the Giant. The bar was slightly lower but the hoods were in the same position. He said I now had the “racer boy” setup. My quick spin around the block showed some promise.

Now it was time to give the bike a better workout. Not too much… I didn’t want to stress the cables and connections too much. Just a bit of a test to see how my body worked on the new setup.

I met up with my friend Chris Hartzler at Cleveland Park and we began to make some laps. I’m not here to say that I could notice all the nuances of difference between the two bikes. I could obviously tell I was using new components. The shifting was crisp and responsive.

The ride was very similar and I’m sure a lot of that had to do with the fact that I was using the same wheels. However, there were some differences that I could feel. These changes had more to do with the geometry of the frame.

The Advanced frame is slightly smaller. So, there was a bit less bike beneath me. I noticed this mostly when I would come out of the saddle to sprint. The top tube was much lower as I rocked back and forth. The center of gravity was lower still. This gave me the feeling of the bike being more nimble.

The setup is different, but I like it. The TCR Advanced gives me confidence. Diving into the corners was enjoyable. Coming out of the saddle on a burst up a climb was exhilarating. What a ride!

There is still a soft spot in my heart for the memories I made on the Tarmac, but the way I figure I’ve got more time ahead to make some new ones. If the next rides on the Advanced are anything like the first one, I’m pretty sure my future memories are going to be great ones. Let’s go!

Tags: Cleveland Park, Giant, John James, Specialized, Tarmac, TCR Advanced
Posted in Bicycles, Review | 2 Comments »