Monday, March 31, 2008
Here We Go Again! Gould takes STXC!
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Georgia Gould keeps her "UNBEATEN STREAK" in Fontana, CA
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Rebecca Rusch in South Africa for the Cape Epic 9-Day mtb race.
Rebecca in red, on the left in South Africa for the Cape Epic 9-Day MTB Stage Competition Inbox X
(Hello Friends & Fans of Rebecca,
The following is a note from Reba recapping what she has been up to over the winter and also offering a pre-race write-up on the major MTB competition she is set to begin this weekend in South Africa. Enjoy the read and the pictures (at the end of this email).
Hello out there. It has been a long while since I’ve written, and a ton of experiences have presented themselves this winter. I’ve posted some new blogs on my web site with stories about my photo shoot with 5 World Champions and the Tour of California. There is also a posting about my surprise status as a world champion in another sport! To read more about these, click on rebeccarusch.com/news/blog.htm .
Just to get you up to speed...10 days ago, I left the snow in Ketchum and 35 hours later
landed in Capetown, South Africa. I’ve had a week and a half of amazing days mountain bike training and tire testing with the Specialized team. We have three current World Champ athletes here, plus team mechanics, tire designers, our team manager/comic relief and soigneur. There are 6 different accents and cultures represented in our group of 8 people. You can also read about the tire testing experience and check out pictures on the blog page.
However, our relaxing schedule and comfy bed and breakfast lifestyle is about to be turned upside down. In a couple of days we embark on a 9-day mountain bike stage race across the western cape of South Africa. The race is called the Cape Epic and is 966 km of riding with 18,500 meters of elevation gain. For you Americans, that’s around 600 miles and 60,000 ft. Each day starts and finishes in totally different places, and the race support crew will move along ahead of the riders. It is a two person team format, and I am racing with former 24-Hour World Champion, Cristina Begy. Cristina’s done this race twice along with a host of other multi-day bike races. She and I have never raced together or against each other before, but I know her race resume well. We were connected by a mutual friend and so far it seems to be a great match up. She has more cycling experience than I do, but we get along wonderfully. After just a couple days of hanging out, I already have a good feeling about our partnership.
This race is just four years old, but has quickly become the premiere stage race for elite level cyclists. The team entries fill up the 600 team limit in just days. Many of the pro cyclists have been using this race as a great early season training vehicle. The roster is full of Olympians, World Champions, National Champions from various countries and legends in the sport. There are 1200 riders registered and the top end of the field will be extremely competitive. In addition to the fast pace, the heat and the technical terrain, rumors of hippo and other wild animal spottings are also common in past race reports.
We will try to get out some update during the competition, but you can also follow the race on the official website www.cape-epic.com . This site also has a link to Cycling.tv where you can watch video coverage of the race each day.
If I have time, energy and internet access after each stage, I will be posting some daily reports and photos on VeloNews at www.velonews.com.
Enjoy the show and send me thoughts of tall glasses of iced tea!
Cheers,
Rebecca
Friday, March 21, 2008
Bart Gillespie kills it for Mona Vie Cannondale, but also Matt Ohran has super results! Hmm?
We have been working with Bart for years now and we expect him to haul it as he road away from the field. Bart raced off into the westner sun set at the Red Rock Desert Rampage and against some big names at a Intermountain Cup race held in St. George. He put about 8 minutes into 2nd place when it was done.
But other super results came forth! The founder of Mona Via Cannondale also had a super results, as he got a 8th place. Why is this cool, well for one Matt Oharn back was very messed up from motor cross bikes! In fact he had to get it worked on (cut on) and this is the first time that he has raced pro. He was not a happy lad! Now watch him go!, even pro! Hmm?
Both Bart and Matt will not set their bikes any other way except the WN & Myo-facts way!
That is why Mona Via Cannondale is the official fitting system of the team.
Results are the end all to all the different fits! If you don't get better results, improve your game, breaking your PR's well what good is the fit?
We are the only system in the fitting game that sets the bike up for the sag "you put on your bike". How many times do we see road fits used on mtbs? It is not the same game!!!
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
The 2006, 2007 World Triathlon (AK) Champion on WN & Myo-facts.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Field Testing!
Cycling is not like other sports e.g. distance running and swimming, its highly variable nature include (race tactics, courses, drafting, and environmental conditions, and that means that it is difficult for cyclists and their coaches to accurately use competitive performance to monitor to achieve optimal performance.
Not unlike navy seals, you must overcome the environmental conditions! You have to identify the specific strengths and weaknesses of an athlete's physiology that may influence the achievement of a particular goal.
With that, you hands don't always stay warm, and you can't feel the hoods. No matter! Your center of balance comes from your ears.
Hearing and balance can be divided into 3 parts: external, middle, and inner ears. The external and middle ears are involved not only in hearing, but can be used to check the winds! The inner ear functions in both hearing an balance. The inner ear contains the sensory organs for hearing & balance. It consists of interconnecting fluid-filled (endolymph) tunnels and chambers within the petrous portion of the temporal bone.
You have to learn your balance, as it is not what you do in the normal daily activities. You have to train your brain and sense other parts of the body to move in & out of balance.
You can't let cold numb hands slow you down! You have to learn to balance from the eyes, or better yet the seat of your pants!
As the head changes, such as when a person bends over (to get more aero), the maculae respond to the changes in position of the head, relative to gravity by moving in the direction of gravity.
As a person begins to move in a given direction, the semicircular canals begin to move with the body, but the endolymph tends to remain stationary relative to the movement (momentum force; in the opposite direction).
There is more balance disorder's in people than you would know. Think about when things go numb? The brain must adjust to these unusual signals, or symptoms may result such as headaches and dizziness.
That means you have to get out on the bike and put in the time for the brain to adapt!
Another racer on track! Pua gets 7th in her first World Cup!
Saturday, March 15, 2008
There's more than the eye can see!
We measure you and your every joint, place that in the correct range of motion, then allow the muscles to adapt!
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Spring is here and we are starting to see Snipes! What kind of bird are they?
There are birds that can haul it for a short distance and then have to shut it down after 100 meters, and there are birds that can go from north to south and not fatigue.
No question, many birds have different tissues to respond to stimuli that normally evoke muscular contraction.
Did you know that not all birds have the same muscle tissue? Not all birds are the same. Look at a duck's muscle and note the dark tissue, due to mitochondria that function in cellular metabolism and respiration. Then look at a ring neck pheasant and note the lighter color (white) tissue, also known as a game bird. The pheasant can run, jump and make distance fast. It only hits it for a short distance and well, game over. On the other hand, the duck can have a long flight. Call it "Bird Sense."
It is said that "birds of a feather fly together." I suspect the sounds they make are the same given their environment and time they spend together. But then you see a few birds on their own. Bodie Miller, a very different bird, does his own thing. This bird has put distance from the US Ski Team. He is winning races.
There are many different birds in the sport of cycling. Take the Snipe. Pretty much likes its own natural environment work and live. They are develop maximum independence while doing their own thing.
The Snipe: A wading bird of wet meadows with the very best brown camouflaged plumage and a drumming display flight. If you attempt to get to close to the snipe it may set into flight. There are several species, e.g. The common snipe gallinago.
You can be looking right at them and not know they are there!
When growing up, we use to take people out snipe hunting in the dark as a joke. We would provide the novice outdoors person a bag and set them out in the woods. Then we would leave him and see how long he would stay out there. A few times, we would sneak up on them in the dark and make bear sounds and watch them climb the nearest tree. That was good fun!
ORGIN Middle English: Of Scandinavian organ; compare with Icelandic myrisnpa; related to Dutch snip and German Schnepfe
But there is another type of snipe. The Sniper - this bird takes shots at something from a hiding place, attacking from afar with a sly or verbal attack. It may be considered "fight or flight" as our science continues to unveil more truths! The sniper wants to know everything we are doing...Why does the sniper worry about us?
It seems that we are stepping into their woods and they feel that our science (the tools we use) might endanger their informal ways. Perhaps the science is going to make a few birds leave the meadows, as they are having a hard time with the difference our science is making. It goes against what they have been sounding, as they attempt to make a living.
In the past, it has been very easy to tell people anything on how to best ride a bike. If it didn't work, well they might not have come back for more. But when someone sees the light the camouflaged ideas go away!
Think of it this way: If you have 30 people paying you 100 plus per month for information, that is $3,000 per month or $36,000 per year just for making your bird sounds! If you are a good looking bird you might get a lot of bird watchers!
We are hunters of more truth. We don't mean to kill off the birds, but the birds better present more truths or they will be unveiled and won't be able to make a living in the woods.
We have always heard of the myths that go along with this bird (snipes). But by using our bird dogs, transmitters, and newly aligned custom fitted shot guns (bikes) we are finding them out! The snipers have heard that we now use video out in the meadows (or next to them on the road). We are learning a lot!
No matter how fast these birds are, we are finding them out,as we use science to bust their myths! Perhaps the only thing these birds can do is snipe at us from a far as they become endangered.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Road Bike Action Magazine on Bike Fit?
Then comes the question about the hip shape and it allowing you to use the quads and the hamstrings. We measure your hip shape and know where it needs to be in space according to the type of game you wish to play.
What about the riser FSA flat riser K-Wing Bars, placement of the hoods, shape of handlebars, etc.?
It is more about where the hands are in space than this "Slam or not Slam". I do agree with one statement: The more muscle groups that are engaged, the more power will result. And, you need that power when you climb or want to go faster. Just like a weight lifting, golfing, and skiing, cycling is dynamic.