Best of Interbike 2010

Interbike is fun, but really taxing. This is the magic formula for getting through it. I figured it out last year and went in with a game plan this time. I could probably charge for this tip...

I packed FRS for breakfast every morning

and counted on PowerBar for lunch.

Here are my best Interbike finds:

SRM crank for Cannondale and SRAM XX!

with a red computer, oh yeah!

Or, Skittles colors (Bri, you see the pink one???)

I stopped at the DZR booth because of the van,

I bought the Tosca women's shoes because they are awesome. 

Add cleats and use them on the bike! I thought I may be in trouble because we don't really have money to spend, but I was actually in trouble because I didn't buy Todd a pair! I will be ordering the Strasse shoes for Todd tomorrow.

Jagwire stuff is clearly the only option for blinging out your bike no matter what your color is.

See?

I need these road inline adjusters (with red ferrules of course)

and these tools. 

Forget the big, heavy hydraulic brake line cutters. I used the cutters (top left). One handed use, small and light. What else could you want? More colors maybe... They use Exacto blades which are easy to replace. I'll be ebaying last year's bench mount cutter if anyone wants it. The derailleur housing cutters (top right) have a pointy thing to open up the inside of the cable and a crimper for the cable ends; you can do it all with one tool instead of three.

This is what I have been waiting for; the new, lighter Magura rotors! The 140 rear will allow me to run the lighter rotor and get rid of the adapter on the Cannondale Flash.

Do I need to say anything? The Ergon EA1 in red! I found it at the Niner booth.

I had never heard of these, but the fit on the Gaerne road shoe was amazing. I need more info on the MTB shoes, but these Italian shoes seemed pretty slick.

Women's MTB shoe!

Red & Black splatter for the "cool" factor, overall white for the (temp) cool factor. Perfect.

I used Troy's Pro-Elite Feedback stand at the Cannondale trailer in Windham and looooved it! All the pro mechanic boys are on the Feedback main page.  If Dusty, Troy, Matt and everyone else is using it you know it has got to be the best. Pro riders may have to use what they get, but pro mechanics use what works.

Hmmm, this would be cool for our "house". A personal Rakk for each bike, no more leaning and scratching the maple cabinetry indoors, or RV paint outdoors. 

IMBA was giving away Camelbak packs for renewing your membership.

I was a test athlete for the new reservoirs; it was cool to see my/our feedback used in the final design!

 Lightweight long finger Ergon gloves. I want these.

New chocolate Fluid flavor! Awesome, you've got to try it. Now I'll be thinking about my recovery drink before I ever get on the bike. Maybe even break it out just for kicks. You know the "Oh it's okay, I'll work it off later" thing.

As I said I was on the lookout for all things cross, including bikes:

We saw a lot of Stevens MTBs in Germany

Check out the Raleigh SS belt drive.

My sister Erika races the Ridley and has two top-of-the-line frames in size 44.

I test rode the Felt at DirtDemo, it was fast!  I was flying by mountain bikers on the #5 trail. As I passed I would hear things like, "Did you see that? She was on a cross bike?!?" It was so fun.

Cross tires from Kenda:

Looks like I'll be more than covered with Stan's NoTubes cross wheels and Kenda tires; yeah baby!

I just need a cross frame...

2010 Interbike Outdoor Demo

Outdoor Demo/Interbike is always so much fun.  I love seeing everyone and scoping out the new cool stuff.  Here are a few pictures:

Clarion, our $33/night hotel, is "70's fabulous" on the outside but the rooms are pretty nice.

It is way hot, but the Dodge Charger is fun to drive!

Yeah Baby! New FRS flavors.

PowerBar time-released beta alanine, I need to try this.

Rotor. This is my 1st choice for a flat bar next year. Light, awesome graphics, red & black and bar end inserts!

Ruthie Matthes showing off the Vaude packs. And in red...

DH mud saddles anti-slipping features. 

I started checking out cross bikes, loved the SS Raleigh with belt drive,

custom World Cup graphics,

and cuddly bear.

Van Dessel fun bike

Race bike

End of Season Break

August was awesome, I based out of Durango, CO and flew to the Germany Marathon World Championship, Cannondale Women's Symposium in Santa Rosa, CA then Windham, NY for my first World Cup race. It is now a perfect time for a break.

It has been two weeks since Windham, I am still in Durango and have hardly ridden. Instead I attended workout classes at Core Value Fitness. "Brazilian Butt Lifts" (squats and lunges for 45 minutes) and "Burn and Firm" (all-body workout) on back-to-back days left me unable to walk. Thanks Kricket! 

I had a couple chill days hanging out with Scott Morris as he rested up for the Vapor 125. I spent quality time with my Aunt, Uncle and Grandma, tried trail running, and began catching up on everything that gets blown off during the race season. I saw the dentist for the first time in three years, researched a better health insurance plan (way too time-consuming), attacked all the piles of "stuff" that have collected, performed small auto repairs and am in the process of various motorhome repairs. 

 Maybe that'll hold the truck light in...

Re-siliconing the motorhome roof is much harder than one would think, I have band-aids on most fingers now, removing all the old silicon is a pain, literally. A recall was issued for our refrigerator, something about "resulting in fire and possibly death"; I should probably look into that... The main slideout has a broken piece which is a result of poor slideout alignment.  We had the slideout aligned a while ago and apparently the guy didn't do it correctly. The broken awning (last Interbike trip) was apparently a result of this incorrect alignment. For the last couple months I have just left the slide-out in, it is a little cramped, but I haven't been home much. Oh yeah, all the dash gauges went out again. Temporary solution: Garmin GPS for speed, wild guesses for gas consumption, and just hope nothing is overheating. I think we may be heading through Iowa next year to visit the factory.

Next up Interbike! This will be an easy trip since my bags are still packed. I am not taking a bike, so I guess I could unpack the bike box. I signed up for CrossVegas in hopes of being able to borrow a cross bike off the Cannondale demo truck. The plan is to watch a video on the plane ride to see how to dismount, mount, jump and run. Everyone tells me it is easy, I am not so sure.