30 april 2008

SRAMmel (morten)

Selvom jeg er indaedt Camapgnolo mand og har revet Anja med I fladet, saa kan jeg ikke lade vaere med at overveje SRAM som mulig afloeser paa vores racercykler. Jeg testede SRAM Force for Cykelmagasinet tilbage i 2006 og degang var skiftefunktionen helt unik. Nu har SRAM efterhaanden faaet mere fat i landevejsmarkedet og den nye Red gruppe er funktionelt og aestetisk paa meget hoejt niveau. Force gruppens hoejdepunkter var saerligt greb og skiftere, mens bremser og kranksaet var middelmaedige. Det goer heldigvis ikke saa meget paa en Cannondale cykel, hvor vi har det stiveste og letteste kranksaet med som en del af System Integrations-konceptet.
SRAM Red er omend endnu laekrere end Force, selvom bremserne i mine oejne stadig er aestetisk ufuldkomne.













Der er dog noget helt nyt i vente som aendrer tingene en hel del. Uden at naevne navne paa producenter kan vi vist godt sige at hvad der kommer i meget naer fremtid er vaerd at holde oeje med. Jeg testede nyhederne tilbage i marts og selv paa en vinterkold Schweisisk bakke var der ingen tvivl om produkts revolutionaere egenskaber.
Foreloebig er der dog kun at vente paa nyheden kommer indenfor os doedeliges raekkevidde, men indtil da kan vi vise Pinocchio som inspiration... Der er nemlig ingen baand der binder i fremtidens landevejs-komponenter...

27 april 2008

Bye bye Maria

Our good friend and colleague Maria is unfortunately leaving us. Luckily for her, she is going to be spending more time with her boyfriend Fredrik in Ticino and we wish them both the best of luck.
Until next time - heja Sverige! And good luck in Beijing!

Sommer, shopping & ny cykel

Vi har ventet og ventet og ventet, og i går lørdag skinnede solen så endeligt igennem. En hel uges regn og byer var glemt og borte. Temperaturen nåede 20 grader inden klokken slog 12 og selvom vi egentlig skulle ud og cykle inden frokost blev vi afsporet og havnede i stedet i ikke blot byens fyldte gader, men også det tættest befolkede butikker. Vi tror det kaldes kompromis, og det går ud på noget i retning af at Morten følger med i H&M og Anja følger med på landevejen. En mixed cocktail af 50% lyst, 50% selskabelighed, shaken, not stirred. Og som de kloge siger - det er altid rart når det er overstået.
Heldigvis fik vi da lidt med hjem, Anja fik to styks sweaters og en top og der var også råd til et par shorts til Morten.
















Lørdagens anden store nyhed ud over vejret var ny cykel til Anja. Turen til og fra restauranten er de sidste to uger foregået på cykel hver eneste dag, og når man skal tilbageligge 30 km på dagsbasis ud over at arbejde fuld tid, så skal grejerne være i orden.
Cinellien fra 2001 er blevet udskiftet med en 700c trekking-cykel hvilket betyder udvendige gear, skivebremser, letvægtskomponenter og ikke mindst et stel i cool, poleret aluminium. Meget naturligt står der C-dale på skrårøret, det kan vi næsten ikke komme uden om.
















Efter den hårde omgang shopping tog vi et par timer ved Rhinen i solen som opladning til en lille eftermiddagstur på landevejen. Vi kom trætte hjem klokken 20.15, men så følte vi også vi kunne tillade os sofaens bløde puder efter en indholdsrig dag.

22 april 2008

Get EightyAid!

Selv det mest velsmurte maskineri kan taale en smule tuning. Det gaelder ferrari motorer, schweiziske urvaerk og saagar ogsaa mountainbike forgafler. Man kan enten selv kaste sig ud i en opgradering eller fin-tuning, eller man kan lade de professionelle komme til.
For Cannondale's vedkommende hedder disse eksperter EightyAid. 88+ er en lille Tysk virksomhed, der har specialiseret sig i at forhandle, reparere og ikke mindst tune Lefty forgafler. Navnet kommer fra de 88 naalelejer, der soerger for Lefty'ens silkebloede vandring til forskel for traditionelle forgafler, der lader simple bushings tage sig af de til tider voldsomme kraefter en forgaffel udsaettes for. Tuningen omhandler fuldstaendig adskillelse af gaflen, rensning og smoering af alle indvendige dele, udskiftning af alle forseglinger, shims og O-ringe og ikke mindst et olieskift. Proceduren goeres udfra angivelse af rytter-vaegt, koerestil og foretrukkent terraen. Gaflens karakteristik og respons maales af speciaelt udviklet software og det skaber i helhed en komplet og individuel loesning.
Og hvad kommer der saa ud paa den anden side: Et styks race-tuned Carbon SL 110 Lefty med team-decals, der med ledningsbinder og ID-kort vejer ind paa 1220 gram.
Sweeeeet!

















Alle der oensker deres Lefty (eller Fatty) Cannondale forgaffel tunet kan sende deres gaffel direkte til EightyAid eller indlevere gaflen hos en Cannondale forhandler. Alle services, priser og udvalg af tilbehoer kan ses paa 88+ hjemmesiden.

21 april 2008

Hvem der dog bare...

... Havde et ordentligt værksted - med værktøj ved hånden, reparationsstander, skruestik, kompressor og alt hvad hjertet begærer i væsker. Så ville det ikke være nogen sag at bleade et sæt bremser, trække kabler eller som her blot montere en bagagebærer. Hvilket også sagtens kan være irriterende, når man lige mangler den sidste M5 bolt eller den rigtige størrelse umbraconøgle.
Heldigvis kan man ikke se mine grå hår :-)

16 april 2008

Team Mil Sonrisas

En god ven af bloggen Andreas foreslog tidligere at vi kunne kalde vores ”hold” for Team Mil Sonrisas, som paa skole-spansk vist oversaettes til noget i retning af Team Tusindsmil. Vi synes navnet var saa godt, at vi fra nu af tilmelder os loeb under det praedikat. Indtil da bliver vi noedt til at traene en smule, saerligt set i lyset af at vi om tre uger tager til Toscana med Mortens gamle cykelklub AACR.















Soendag var vi ude og rulle med Juan og Miguel, der begge taler spansk, saa navnet Mil Sonrisas var lige i oejet. Det blev til 75 km og 875 hoejdemeter, ikke noget daarligt resultat efter loerdagens loeb og efter Anjas 3 ugers pause fra cyklen grundet en betaendt skulder.
Vejret var fint, halvskyet og 15 grader, saa vi var godt tilfredse. Anja tog rigeligt med toej paa, men vejret er ogsaa meget uforudsigeligt i oejeblikket. Miguel var i den anden ende af skalaen med korte bukser, men det er mest af princip.















Turene vi cykler gaar somregel ind i Frankrig (Alsace) og rundt i de naerliggende bakker. Der er mange cyklister paa vejene og vi fik ogsaa foelgeskab en gang imellem. Som i Danmark er alle gode til at hilse paa hinanden og med et faatal af biler saadan en soendag formiddag foeler man sig som ”ejer” af de smaa Franske landeveje.

13 april 2008

En snegl på vej'n... (morten)

... Er tegn på regn i Spanien eller ”Rain in Spain” as the original song from My Fair Lady is called, this little fellow is a proof that we have had a week full of rain in Basel.
















Saturday morning it was time for my second appearance in the Swiss Power Cup. This time, the race was in Muttenz, which is just 5 km south of Basel. Next to the St. Jacobs Stadium, where the semi-final of the European Soccer Championship is being held to months from now, we were to start at 16.00 this Saturday afternoon.
Anja and I spent the day shopping and relaxing, before I went to get my bike ready for the race. It was hanging in the exact same spot as I put it on, which proved that I have had no training during the last week. With six days of rain, i followed my friend Dirks advice and mounted a mud tire in the front. Narrow and with 35 psi, I thought it was the right choice for the hills south of Basel.
On the way to the race, my personal race support was so kind to equip me with a couple of bananas and an isotonic drink. Even so, I did not really feel in the mood for racing. My legs felt heavy and my body tired and I realized that racing in the afternoon is not my style.
















The sugar and Anjas smile helped me feel better and as we entered the horse track, where the start and finish area of the race was, I was about as ready as I could get. The race was fairly simple: one time around the horse track, out of the stadium on tarmac bike paths and up in the forest. Dirk told me that the first climb probably would be running with the bike due to the mud and the incline, and it turned out that he was absolutely right.
















The pack was more or less together when we reached the hill; I was taking it easy at the start and placed myself as around 30th of the 50 riders. Everyone got off his bikes on the climb and we ran as well as we could to the top. Unfortunately we had to do 100 height meters on the first climb, so it proved to be quite a challenge. I passed a couple of riders before we reached the top, but then things started to go down hill – literately.
We descended on muddy narrow trails with several drops and wooden lugs in the way. My narrow front tire did not help me much in the tight corners but it was slicing through the mud as quickly as I was capable off.
















After the decent, we came back on tarmac followed by a long section of flat single trail course. This trail ended by the horse-stadium, which we entered for the final part of the course.
This part was my fear. In the middle of the horse track, there was an artificial technical course build. It consisted of jumps bumps, drops and narrow passages. I had already seen several riders try the course during the warm-up and I had also tried a couple of minutes, hoping that this was just ”for fun” for whoever wanted to try on mountain biking. I did not hope for us to race this part of the course. But on we went, the first real obstacle was jumping over a pitch 70-80 cm wide and of course I misjudged the power needed to force the bike over, pulled the handlebar to hard and landed with the weight way to far on the back. The bike spun underneath me and i went on my back down to the ground. Not a good start, and things was about to get worse...
In the end of the technical course, we had to drop down a concrete wall about a meter tall and this time i did not pull the bike up enough so I went over the handlebar causing the crowd to go Ohhh!
















Newer mind, on the bike again and push in the pedals. I came out on the horse track and concluded that my Flying Circus impression has caused me to drop 5 places.
The rest of the race went better and better for each round. The climb was still in running mode and I was slow on the downhill, but on the flats i was picking up speed and advancing a bit. The technical course still proved to be difficult, but I managed without scaring the crowd more that day.
4 rounds was the result of the day, feeling reasonable during the ride and most of all overcoming my apprehension for drops and jumps. The mud was not as bad as expected and the race organizers had done everything they could to dry the course. Next time I’ll stay to Nobby Nick when it comes to tire selection, but thanks to Dirk anyway for the advice. Speaking of tire, I would like to recommend Maxxis Crossmark as a really good all-round rear tire. Fast but still with plenty of grip in most conditions.

10 april 2008

Udsigt til mere mudder (morten)

Paa loerdag er det igen tid til loeb i SwissPowerCup-serien, og denne gang naermest i hjemlige omgivelser i udkanten af Basel. Jeg havde haabet paa en toer uge og godt vejr loerdag, men mens jeg denne uge er i Holland, saa staar det ned i staenger i Basel. De sidste to dage har det regnet uafbrudt fortalte Anja i telefonen og vejrudsigten lover heller ikke for godt for torsdag og fredag.
Saa maa man jo se det fra den positive side, om ikke andet faar jeg da muligheden for at forbedre min tekniske kunnen.

















Min ankel har det rimeligt, har ikke haft betaendelse eller smerter siden mandag, saa denne uges ufrivillige pause haaber jeg er nok frem mod de kommende ugers traening.

06 april 2008

Winterthur Slush

The morning started more than early. According to the plan we were at the Basel train station at 06:25, just in time to buy two tickets. But as if the time of day was not challenging enough, the lady on the train told us that bikes were not allowed. Time was running out, because we had to be in Winterthur latest by 08:15 in order to get start-number and a quick warm-up before the shot of the gun at 09:00.
We took a quick decision and I got ahead on the scheduled train to get to the race area on time, and Anja stayed behind with the bike to take the train at 07:07. This way we could get both registered and hopefully get the bike to the race on time.
















Anja at the Basel SBB at 06:30 in the morning, left behind with the bike.

The travel to Winterthur was influenced by the chaotic morning, and we were constantly in contact on the mobiles to make the trip as smooth as possible. When we were halfway on the trip it suddenly started snowing, and I changed in the train toilet to get ready for a real Winter-experience. Charming!
When I arrived in Winterthur, the snow had turned to rain. Anja was half an hour behind, but the schedule looked ok. I arrived at the race area, got registered, started warming up and waited anxiously for Anja and the bike. At 08:45 Anja arrived on the bike wet, cold and standing up in the pedals, since the bike was way to big for her.
















Ready to go!

There were around 50 riders in my race, and as we lined up behind the starting line, I found a guy around my size, which I decided to stay close to. The strategy was clear, get through the first two laps in reasonable shape and push as hard as possible on the two last laps. This being only my third real MTB-race I already knew my technical skills as well as my level of power-output would meet its toughest challenge so far.
And I was right. After a sprint start over the fist 200 meters, the road turned right and up steep hill with a 15 percent gradient. Over the first 2000 meters we climbed over 150 meters, which is equal to an average climb of 7,5%.
The climbs proved not to be the biggest issue. I felt pretty good and passed a couple of riders before we reached the top. At this point I was about in the middle of the pack, but then things got technical.
A mix of deep mud, roots and poor technique led me to drop down through the ranks. The forest was really ripped up by the more than 500 riders on the trails the day before. Apparently it had also been raining several days of the week, and I found myself going down face-first more often than Bambi in the Disney Christmas show.
Coming to the goal line after the first round, I believed I was among the last ten riders. From thereon I staid more or less the same place in the race, but luckily my technical skills improved throughout the laps. All in all I was down in the mud 6-7 times but Anja told me after the race that I was far from the only one. Unfortunately I ripped my pants in one of the crashes, but my skin feels smooth after the mud-bath treatment.
















Soaked after the first lap

There are no official results in at the moment, but the race was a big success in spite of the morning, the wet and cold weather and the tough ride. Not to mention the 20 minutes I waited in line to clean the bike! But today I learned more about cross-country riding that I have done the whole winter riding the Allschwil forest. A race on a trail ridden the day before by professionals like Thomas Frischknecht, Christoph Sauser and Florian Vogel was a great experience. I think I would place more or less in the middle when it comes to pure strength, but I got to ride more in demanding conditions.
A day like this shows how lucky I am to have a girlfriend that helps and supports me to make this possible even when it means getting up 05:15 in the morning and getting soaked on the hills of Winterthur.
















Now the only issue is my right foot, where the inflammation has come back, so I will keep it calm until next weekend, where the Swiss Power Cup is in Basel. On Saturday I will try to take advantage of home territory!

05 april 2008

Crossed fingers

12 timer til løbet i Winterthur skydes i gang... Er bange for det bliver en kamp for ikke at slutte sidst, men nu må vi se. Tasken er pakket, Anja har gavmild masseret mine ben, cyklen er smurt, og togtiderne er printet. Løbet foregår midt i byen, så der er heldigvis ikke langt fra stationen, hvor vi ankommer 08:05.
Det bliver sjovt og ikke mindst hårdt.
Billeder imorgen, med mindre jeg er helt sidst, så kan det være de bliver censurerede :-)
God nat!

01 april 2008

Swiss Power Cup (morten)

Så er det snart ved at være alvor. Sæsonstarten er meget tæt på og idag er min tilmelding til Swiss Power Cup gået igennem. Cup'en består af otte afdelinger fordelt hen over foråret og sommeren og alle kan være med. Jeg skal deltage uden lisens, dvs. i motionsklassen. Derudover spænder deltagerne fra professionelle teams som Cannondale/Vredestein med Jacob Fuglsang ombord til børn helt ned til 6 år.
Løbene foregår forskelige steder i Schweiz og lørdag gælder det Winterthur, der ligger tæt på Zürich, knap 2 timers togtur fra Basel. Jeg skal køre søndag med de øvrige motionsklasser og børnene, mens det lørdag er de professionelle, der pudser OL-formen af. I min klasse er der 50 forhåndstilmeldte, men mon ikke det antal stiger en smule på dagen. Mit navn er at finde under K, men som en af de eneste har jeg ikke noget team eller klub at repræsentere. Noget tyder på at de folk, der stiller op i motionsklassen mener business...
















Ruten er 6,2 km lang med 181 højdemeter pr. omgang. Jeg skal køre 4 omgange, så det giver 24,8 km og 724 hm totalt. Det lyder udfordrende, og det er jeg sikker på det nok skal vise sig at være.
Min cykel er endnu ikke helt klar, der mangler stadig nogle stumper og min forgaffel er hos EightyAid for at blive tunet, så første løb bliver vist på vintercyklen. Så har jeg til gengæld 3x9 gearing, skulle stigningerne vise sig at kræve alle tre klinger i brug. Det satser jeg dog ikke på.