Thursday, November 26, 2009

Happy Thanksgiving -Turkey Day! Enjoy & Eat up! Hike Later!

Funny how time moves on!

I was listening to a very close friend who has been on our system and a top dog "professional" in extreme endurance in Tri and at the local level in Road for over 10 years now. Note his guns (legs).

To the left is a pic of Tom Liby, going back those 10 years. Note the gear! Ha!

It's hard to believe that we have been working every day on this stuff. We lowered Tom's bike time by 20 min back then. We still lower people's times because you can't get around Newton's laws.

Funny how many fit ideas think they can? We see some very strange things coming from all the fit ideas. Ouch!

Ture the bikes are lighter, the wheels are better, the tire are better, etc..., but the human still has to build the muscle mass to boost the bike down the road.

Tom pointed out to me the other day how he made the mistake of not getting off the bike and allow his body to break down. In other words you will see people out every day thinking that is going to make a difference? You need balance, so get off the bike and go for a hike.

If you eat the bird, enjoy, but keep if you go for that 3rd plate to keep in mind Newton's second law of motion that states the net thrust force (F) equals mass times accelerates, in that the only way to boost the acceleration rate is to increase the applied force or decrease the mass.

Take a uphill hike, it will burn more of that bird off than jumping on the bike and take less time. I write this as I see 3 guys who just walked in from the 24-degree temps, who are sharing how cold it is even on the mtb. One of them said, I can't ride the road bike due to the wind chill at anything below 30-degrees.

Have a nice T-Day!

Monday, November 23, 2009

Georgia Gould is having fun training! Super smart!

Just like all sports, if you race day in and day out, you can burn out! Not only does the mind burn out, but also the body. It takes about 20 years to really become a pro at something.
In that time, if you are lucky, you learn how over thinking and over training can retard your game.

Some times, you need to allow your body, mind, and soul to time to get recharged and then come back stronger! Loose the playful and you will go away!

Georgia Gould knows what she needs to stay in the game. She pointed out that she doing this years cross events for mtb training and mostly just for fun. Georgia has the mind set and will be the first to tell you she loves a good race.

She is not the type of person to take a chairlift or tram to the top of a ski mountain, she will run! In fact, she doesn't even like skis on her feet to get down the mountain. Again, she will run!

For fun or not, to place in the top 5 in any sport is a big deal.

Georgia is showing that she is focused on the upcoming mtb season and knows what she knees to work on! She has changed her style a bit and we can see that. Looks like she is working on a part of the game she didn't have in the past. It will make a difference once her body gets use to it.


In the mean time, it sure must be fun to take 2nd as many times as she has, the whole time, in her mind, that she is not going to stress herself out about getting #1 every race.


Tops two-woman battle with Gould

United States Under 23 Cyclo-cross champion Amy Dombroski (Primus Mootry) out-paced Georgia Gould (Luna) in a two-up sprint to win her second consecutive UCI race at the Whitmore’s Landscaping Super Cross Cup held in Southampton, New York.


I was at the Whitmore’s Landscaping Super Cross Cup last year to watch. This year marked the 10th and final round of the North American Cyclo-cross Trophy series. Canadian Natasha Elliott (Louis Garneau Chasseurs) won the overall title and was presented with a $1500 check plus a pink heavyweight champion belt handed over from last year’s winner Georgia Gould.

Course changes make for tougher racing

Not like last year, warm autumn temps made for a gorgeous day of cyclo-cross racing in Southampton, New York. The course ran opposite to the previous day introducing tougher undulations that wore down the elite women’s field quicker.

Meanwhile, the Georgia might be doing this for fun, but the battle continued up front with Gould putting on a show for the Southampton fans. She attacked Dombroski several times through the twists and turns and technical sections of the circuit that suited her world-class mountain bike skills.

Dombroski’s sprint was enough to steel few bike lengths ahead of Gould for her second consecutive win of the weekend.

Results

Result
1Amy Dombroski (USA) Schlamm p/b Clement&Primus Mootry0:37:12
2Georgia Gould (USA) Luna Chix Having fun!0:00:06
3Kelli Emmett (USA) Giant Factory Team0:01

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Alex Grant is Wobble-naught fast!

Although La Ruta is an individual 4 day race retracing the route of Spanish explorer Juan De Cavallon, the experience is much more fullfilling if tackled as a team. Team Monavie-Cannondale demonstrated the greatest team performance in the 17 year history of La Ruta and along the way enhanced the experience of each individual rider.

Alex Grant 2nd Overall Open: We have known for a long time that Alex has what it takes to be one of the best mountain bike stage racers in the world. 2nd place overall at La Ruta and possibly the best performance by an American in the races 17 year history is only the beginning! His easy going nature and attention to detail help him thrive when the going gets tough and definitely are qualities that helped him conquer La Ruta and raise the level of the team!

alex4