Video Update #1 from South Africa (click on photo)
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Cyprus Mountain Bike Races and Finale Ligura, Itlay Cannondale Camp
Phoenix->London->Larnaca, Cyprus for four races-> Rome ->Genova-> Finale Ligura, Italy for Cannondale Camp -> Genova-> Milan-> Larnaca, Cyprus to get bags (headcold=DNS last race) ->London->Johannesburg -> Durban -> Pietermaritzburg for World Cup #1
Training and racing in Cyprus complete! The original plan was to race all 5 Cyprus races before heading to South Africa. Then I was invited to join the Cannondale Factory Racing team in Italy for a team camp. Luckily the camp fit right between the stage race and the last XC. It ended up being a bit too much and I (along with Jeremiah Bishop and others) ended up with a headcold. JB flew back to the USA and raced well at Mellow Johnny's, ProXCT#1; I flew back to Cyprus and decided to skip the last Cyprus race. Here is a quick re-cap of my travels:
I flew to Cyprus on my own again this year, but this time shared a 2-bedroom apartment with Maltese racer Stephania Magri (GB Cycles). Both Todd and Steph's boyfriend Ruben flew in later for the stage race which worked out really well as Steph and Ruben were awesome flatmates!
February 19 XC Race #1 Oroklini, Cyprus:
Victory #1, I remembered how to drive on the left side of the road (just don't ask Steph how well), luckily she is really mellow and positive. If in doubt, floor it. Right? Victory #2, Steph and I found the course.
Mike and the Sunshine Cup staff are the friendliest people you will ever find. Somehow they all remembered my name from last year and made me feel like I was their friend who just returned home. I had a great race, but flatted near the end and lost 4-5 spots. I forgot how hard it is to go race pace! This is going to be an awesome high end training camp.
Mike and the Sunshine Cup staff are the friendliest people you will ever find. Somehow they all remembered my name from last year and made me feel like I was their friend who just returned home. I had a great race, but flatted near the end and lost 4-5 spots. I forgot how hard it is to go race pace! This is going to be an awesome high end training camp.
Mid week training:
Cyprus Friends. I love Cyprus, everyone is so friendly. Michalis (right) helped me with logistics and took us on a long training ride mid week, we pre-rode the Point 2 Point course (day 2 of the stage race) and the XC course.
A Mom and Pop shop where I waited out a rain shower during a training ride. The owner kept asking what I was doing riding in the rain, I said I didn't know it was going to rain and he walked outside and pointed to the clouds. Then said "Wait one hour, then you can ride."
Limassol Bike Lane
A Mom and Pop shop where I waited out a rain shower during a training ride. The owner kept asking what I was doing riding in the rain, I said I didn't know it was going to rain and he walked outside and pointed to the clouds. Then said "Wait one hour, then you can ride."
Do we have these in the States?
Todd and Ruben (Steph's significant other) arrived to help us in the stage race.
Waiting for Todd at Cyprus airport. One day I'll have one of these chairs in the motorhome.
February 24, 25, 26 = Kapedes Stage Race (TT, Point to Point, XC):
Three days of racing against really fast racers in a cool old mountain town.
Photos above by Todd
Facebook photo by Nikos Nic
Facebook photo by Christopher Papakyriakou
Interesting to see Tucson rock training paying off. Thumbing through all these photos, Steph pointed out that most riders decided to run this section.
Post Race Frappe
This tractor did not fit through the roads with all the racers cars and he was not very happy about it. He had a word with everyone, but we couldn't understand, I smiled and Todd took his photo, such tourists.
Todd has a new toy, a Canon EOS rebel T2i with different flashes and lenses. After last year he decided that we need better photos of all the places we are going. After the stage race we played with the camera.
by Todd
by Krista
Feb 28th On to Italy:
I knew absolutely nothing about the camp except Cannondale sent me an email with my plane ticket info and said someone would be picking me up at the airport. Alex Grant and the guys got there earlier this week so I'd been watching his facebook to see what's going on.
Bye.
Todd and I can't seem to stay in the same town for long. He had just arrived in Cyprus and was already taking me to the airport to head off to Italy.
My view of Rome from the Airport cafe during my 5 hour layover. I bought a book to see what I was missing, it's in German; there was an English version but I need to learn German. A Venchi Cioccolato Extra Fondente Bar and and English to Italian phrase book completed my airport purchases.
We hit the ground running in Italy, non-stop and no sleep till I got back to Cyprus. Cannondale knows how to do it! I am more in love with my bikes than I was before the trip if that is possible. The innovative thinking and dedication that goes into the design process is inspiring.
First night, introduction of Cannondale athletes to the press.
Next morning, Scalpel getting special attention.
Cannondale city, we took over the hotel.
Two days of riding. Check out all the Osprey packs.
Photoshoots
Martin Gujan
I know very few words, but I used them a lot. Buongiorno, Buonasera, Arrivederci, Grazie, Prego, Ciao.
And of course I ordered cappuccinos in the afternoon; I know better, but just couldn't help it.
March 2nd:
All-day flying, Genova Italy, to Rome, back to Milan (near Genova) and finally "home" to Larnaca, Cyprus. I learned a bit more about Cyprus and it's history on the flight back.
A sign to the Turkish settlers as you exit the Larnaca airport. Turkey currently occupies the northern part of Cyprus. Some info here.
Packed up again for South Africa
Monday, February 20, 2012
2012 Race Schedule & Sponsors
Hello from Voroklini, Cyprus; site of Sunshine Cup XC#1
The 2012 season is already underway, crazy. So far so good, the SRMs say I am more powerful than last year and with 2.2 minutes per lap off of last year's 1st Cyprus race I am starting to believe it! It feels like I have been going 100% since October putting together everything required to pull off a great International race season and now it's all coming together. I haven't been blogging, Facebook took over for a bit. I'll try to keep both updated, but visit my Facebook page for the daily travel/race updates.
I am currently in Cyprus for the Sunshine Cup, in between the last two races I will head to Italy for a Cannondale Factory Racing Camp, return to Cyprus for the last race then head to South Africa for the first World Cup. Italy is not that far, but will require all-day travel in each direction, I guess this is a can't-get-there-from-here island. This Cyprus/Italy/South Africa trip is one of at least three International adventures this year.
It was a great off-season in Tucson, Arizona! Amazing weather, many social events to choose from and awesome friends to ride with. I also held clinics, both on the trail and at O2 Modern Fitness. The clinics get better every year, next year Golden Gate! Other fun things just happen in Tucson, like getting to ride with a testing crew.
For my missing winter blog posts go here:
http://www.topofusion.com/diary/ just look for the G-form pads for the rides I was along for. Scott takes amazing photos (and some of me) while we are out riding.
Thanks Scott for the many photos of my winter!
Winter races worth checking out
Zuni 50 -New Mexico Endurance Series (NMES)
Black Canyon Trail -Arizona Endurance Series (AES)
Kentucky Camp 46 AES
McDowell 50 AES
Flight of the Pigs (super secret)
MBAA #1 XC -Mountain Bike Association of Arizona (MBAA)
MBAA #2 XC
SSAZ - (secret, but not super secret, you can find it on Facebook) who knew I'd have to do pushups before I could race? great slideshow here: http://www.mountainflyermagazine.com/view.php/a-bike-ride-with-friends.html
Obviously I would not be doing any of this without sponsorship, so thank you to everyone on the list, and many others of course. See sponsor links on the right side of blog.
2012 Sponsors:
Cannondale
NoTubes
SRAM
Osprey
SRM
Primal
Kenda
FRS
Oakley
Feedback Sports
CarboRocket
Jagwire
Mavic Shoes
Uvex Helmets
Fi'zi:k Saddles
Hoka One One running shoes
GoBandit helmet cam
Therm-ic heated Insoles
Genuine Innovations
PowerBar
G-Form
2012 Race Schedule
2/19 Sunshine Cup XC#1 Cyprus
2/24-26 Sunshine Cup 3-day stage race Cyprus
2/28-3/2 Cannondale Factory Racing camp Italy
3/4 Sunshine Cup XC#3 Cyprus
3/14 World Cup#1 South Africa
(AZ, USA for 2.5 weeks)
4/14 World Cup#2 Belgium
4/16-17 Training France
4/18-5/5 Training Italy
5/12 World Cup#3 Czech
5/19 World Cup#4 France
(AZ, CO, TN, USA for 3.5 weeks)
5/12 World Cup#3 Czech
5/19 World Cup#4 France
(AZ, CO, TN, USA for 3.5 weeks)
6/23 World Cup#5 Canada
6/30 World Cup #6 NY, USA
7/7 USA National Champs? ID
7/14 ProXCT? WI
7/28 World Cup #7 France
9/08 World Champs Austria
7/28 World Cup #7 France
9/08 World Champs Austria
10/07 Marathon World Champs? Italy
That's it for now, headed to bed then tomorrow out with friends for a long MTB ride in the Cyprus mountains.
Monday, December 12, 2011
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
2011 World Cup Racing & Travel part one
My year has been pretty amazing. I am already having a hard time remembering where we have been, so am creating a summary. I'll link to earlier posts for more detail.
2011 Races
This map shows where I have been, but Google Maps only lets you list A-Y. It ran out of little markers for all of the places I have visited this year so I tagged only towns where I participated in a cycling event. Todd was able to attend all non-USA races and a few USA ones with me. He spent most days working behind his computer while I investigated and came home with stories. We tried to travel together as much as possible but spent a good amount of the year apart. Luckily we'll both be in AZ for the winter and hopefully we can both agree on the same town. :)
From the beginning:
After great winter base training in Tucson, AZ complete with Trips for Kids Events, MTB Clinics and Singlespeed Arizona (SSAZ) it was time to hit the road. Race travel began mid-February and ended with the September 4th XC World Championship in Switzerland. After Worlds, Todd and I spent four extra days sightseeing then flew out of Munich Germany to NM where I built up a new SuperSix road bike and caught a plane to Las Vegas, NV for Interbike. I am now back in Santa Fe, NM, with plans to head to Durango next week then possibly to VT and I'll have to find time to go to SD for a driver's license. Travel hasn't ended but racing has.
Feb 18th - March 9th
The first stop was the Mediterranean Island of Cyprus via London (post here/same as SSAZ link above). Cyprus is about 50 miles (80 km) south of the Turkish coast (west of Syria and north of Egypt). The national capital of Cyprus is Nicosia (Lefkosia). Official languages are Greek and Turkish. Larnaca is home of the International Airport (IATA code: LCA). Since Cyprus is a former British colony the English language is widespread and you drive on the left side of the road in an 'English' style car. Cyprus is a popular European vacation spot because the weather is pretty amazing. The northern part of the island is occupied by Turkey and people really don't like to talk about it, although they said it would be perfectly fine for us to ride our bikes across the border (we didn't).
Cyprus
A: Larnaca Airport
B: Village of Voroklini, first housing rental and site of XC race #1 February 19th
C/E: Larnaka, second housing rental
D: Village of Kapedes, site of three day stage race in the mountains February 25th-27th
F: Amathous, location of XC race #3 March 5th
March 10th- 14th
After being 'home' for 36 hours we loaded up the van and drove to Bonelli San Dimas, CA for ProXCT #1 (post here/same as SSAZ link above).
3rd in XC and 3rd in weekend's Triple Crown
(blog post of March 15th-April 16th with lots of South Africa pictures here)
March 15th- 24th 'Home' Tucson, AZ to begin building up 2011 race bikes
March 26th-27th Fontana, CA ProXCT#2
Great start, bad race. Cyclingnews.com photo.
.
Still on 2010 bike, not quite enough parts from Cannondale to ride my new bikes yet and 2011 kits were not available till Sea Otter.
April 15-16 Sea Otter Monterey, CA ProXCT#3
Thanks to Scott Morris for a nice AZ photo and to Cannondale for the poster.
Best part of Sea Otter. SRAM Ladies Lounge.
Sea Otter race photo ended up on the cover of the 2012 Women's Catalog
and on an inside page. Pretty cool.
Todd and I flew directly from Monterey, CA to South Africa for the first World Cup race the following weekend.
April 17-April 28th Pietermaritzburg, South Africa WC #1
Full SA blog post here
4th place even with a fractured back and food poisoning, so crazy. Cyclingnews.com photo
May 2nd- May15th 'Home' Santa Fe, NM Oak Flats XC race May 7th
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May 15th-June 1st Dalby Forest, Yorkshire, England WC #2 and the Black Forest, Offenburg, Germany WC #3:
May 15th we flew into London rented a car, picked up SIM cards, waited on lost luggage, and drove ~4.5 hours north to Pickering, North Yorkshire, UK where Todd had found us a great place to stay.
The Cannondale Factory Racing guys were across the street and Jeremiah Bishop stayed with us one night on his quick in-and-out trip. Pickering is the type of town where you walk everywhere, to pubs, small
markets, and shops. You really wouldn't use the car unless you were leaving
town. However, the venue was in Dalby Forest which was driving distance away.
We learned that if you hit a pheasant (one of the animals owned by the Queen) you may not pick it up as that would be illegal hunting. But if the person in the vehicle behind you picks it up that is okay.
I participated in the Sprint Eliminator in town Friday and raced the World Cup Sunday May 22nd. My back was still fractured for these races and I didn't do very well, but we were really here for the experience and what a great experience it was!
After spending the afternoon at the XC venue I decided last minute to do the Eliminator. I mistakenly thought I could warm up on the town streets, but they were so packed with spectators that this was not possible. Most riders knew to stage with rollers in an alley that was closed to spectators, Todd had a rough time getting in and actually didn't make it in till after my races. Luckily I was able to leave my extra clothes with the Luna team but Todd had all my calories and water...
After the race we packed up and headed to Germany. As always there were a few things we hadn't considered. We had to go back to the London airport to acquire an insurance document allowing us coverage across the border, then paid an unexpected ~$400 to take the train under the English Channel.
Plenty of time to read all about the tunnel system and think about switching to driving on the other side of the road upon exiting.
We spent the night at a Comfort Inn in Calais, France thinking a known name
meant a good hotel. It was okay except that it was really dirty and
there was absolutely no parking, we followed the advice of the guy who
checked us in but were almost towed in the morning. Our best meal (ever?) was lunch at
a tiny family owned restaurant in town, where you can watch the chef
cook. We were ready to hit the road and just wanted a quick bite to eat. I had sous vide fish infused with fresh pineapple on a veggie
puree. I had no idea what I ordered since we couldn't read the menu, but I watched it being prepared so knew exactly what was in it. Amazing. Although we were the only ones there, besides the family, it was nothing close to quick but well worth it.
We drove into Offenburg, Germany to find our next rental house, turns out it was the address of the landlord and the rental was located elsewhere. Our new landlord did not speak English but had a neighborhood teen ride along as a translator. We figured the place was just up the street.
We drove out of the nice neighborhood, out of town, through a vineyard on narrow windy dirt roads, then into the Black Forest. At first we were worried about how far from town we were, then we started getting nervous about following a total stranger into the forest. Our landlord pulled over at the base of a steep road and told us to use first gear and go to the top. All we could see was a steep wall of a road disappearing into the forest. We drove while they walked up. There was only room for one car at the top and Todd was given a lengthy lesson in K-turns even though it was obviously the only way to get out.
Once you made it up the drive you had to climb stone stairs to the gate, then switchback stone steps to the front of the cabin. Once entering the cabin another set of steep stairs led to the main floor, the kitchen was in the cellar, or entry level.
It is hard to find good deals and know what you are getting when you don't speak the language. Being alone in the Black Forest in a crazy cabin with post-it-notes that say (in German) "don't drink the water", little witches hanging from the ceiling and a creepy painting of the mad little girl, was actually really cool.
This rental apparently did not include towels or washrags. Luckily, knowing Europeans don't do washcloths, I brought my own; but they aren't great for drying off after a shower... I ended up giving Todd an extra pillow case to use as a towel. The cabin did have a small Euro clothes washer which was great. It is pretty typical that even when you find a place with a washer there will be no dryer.
So that covers Feb through May. After going through more photos, I'll come back and update the rest of the year which looked like this:
Pickering Rental
Beautiful countryside (full of pheasants).
I participated in the Sprint Eliminator in town Friday and raced the World Cup Sunday May 22nd. My back was still fractured for these races and I didn't do very well, but we were really here for the experience and what a great experience it was!
TT for seeding. Sprint Eliminator in Pickering.
Cannondale Boys
The Venue out at Dalby Forest
Parallel tracks, a great feature of World Cup courses.
Todd checking clearance on one of the A-lines.
I am taking the picture while standing in the B-line, after the drop you have to turn hard right.
Actually riding because there was an audience
The hard right from the A or B line will line you up for this.
Sign showing directions to Worry Gill and Medusa's Drop.
Spectator walking signs are everywhere telling you how long it takes to certain technical features.
Things for kids to do in the venue.
Coffee
Osprey Europe.
It was a bit like Sea Otter with lots of vendor booths.
Todd watching one of the big screens during the last event of the weekend. We were both too tired to stand, I sat on the grass and didn't want to get up.
Getting on the Euro Train for a ~20minute ride.
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It takes about an hour to queue, travel and disembark. And longer for those of us that didn't know to get a ticket online ahead of time.
Calais, France (I think)
Maps and GPS required.
Things to think of renting next year.
I used my Droid Global with local SIM and data shut off, but wifi is really hard to find.
We got back in the car and followed.
Although it looks flat, this is the steep drive. Todd is pushing both our bikes up.
Steps, set one of three.
Inside the gate, switchback steps. Set two of three. Here the cabin actually comes into view.
The cellar-like kitchen, cold and wet.
Indoor steps to main level. Set three of three.
Main room, complete with flying witch (top right).
and mad girl in the rafters.
No Towels.
This rental apparently did not include towels or washrags. Luckily, knowing Europeans don't do washcloths, I brought my own; but they aren't great for drying off after a shower... I ended up giving Todd an extra pillow case to use as a towel. The cabin did have a small Euro clothes washer which was great. It is pretty typical that even when you find a place with a washer there will be no dryer.
We found a secret route through the vineyard and could ride to the venue!
We drove to Offenburg for daily wifi access and groceries.
Bike Rentals
Offenburg has bike rentals which make for a better way to access shops than by foot, you can pick up from one place and drop off at another using your cell phone.
.
May 29th World Cup Race #3 Offenburg, Germany. Exiting the Snake Pit (a mass of roots).
.
The Offenburg course was really fun and a photo Todd took ended up on the BTI catalog. After the race we had friends over to our lost cabin. We used the wrong briquets for the BBQ, smoked out the entire place, the chicken basically tasted like smoke, but I had a great time eating local breads, brats, and sauerkraut while drinking German beer.
Friends. Todd with Melanie Spath and Cait Elliott
.
Both Mel and Cait have blog posts about the races:
Mel's Dalby and Offenburg blog post.
Cait's Dalby blog post and Offenburg blog post.
Mel's Dalby and Offenburg blog post.
Cait's Dalby blog post and Offenburg blog post.
The day after the race Todd and I went exploring the Black Forest, a long wandering ride looking at signs like this that didn't really help at all.
.
.
Black Forest road/bike routes.
So that covers Feb through May. After going through more photos, I'll come back and update the rest of the year which looked like this:
- June 11th SRAM Skills Clinic at Beti Bike Bash Denver, CO
- June 12th Beti Bike Bash XC race Denver, CO
- June 13-15th Fun trip to Salida, CO to ride with Scott Morris
- June 18th MTB Skills Clinic for a NMRoadRiders Santa Fe, NM
- June 19th Road Race Los Alamos, NM
- June 25th ProXCT #5 Morris, WI
- July 2nd World Cup #4 Mont-Sainte-Anne Quebec, Canada
- July 16th USA XC Nationals in Sun Valley, ID USA
- July 23rd ProXCT #7 (Final Series Race) Missoula, MT USA
- July 30th Tagging along on Todd's work trip to Germany
- Aug 13/14th World Cup #6 Czech Republic
- Aug 20/21st World Cup #7 Italy (Final Series Race)
- Sept 3/4th World Championship Race SUI
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