Back In The Game, In A Serious Way

We just wanted to say that we're proud of our top Pro Mens DH racer, Adriano Digiacinto for placing 3rd overall in the BC Cup Elite Mens Downhill series! Adriano has raced on and off on our team and we are happy to have him back and racing so well again. His Santa Cruz V10 seemed to be a good match for his aggressive style. Adri had the first V10 back in the day and it seemed to work really well for him, hopefully it can see him to more podiums in 2010. Good riding dude.

-Scott

Climbing Grossglockner

Hello again from the depths of the Alps.

Today we, my son Blake and I, climbed the Grossglockner, another epic pass in the Austrian Alps.

While Stelvio (Stilferjoch) claims to be the highest pass in the Italian Alps at 2750m, the Grossglockner claims to be the highest pass in the Austrian Alps. It peaks out at 2540m, just 30m higher than the Timmeljoch, that "other" Austrian pass which we rode in the Tour TransAlp. Blake and I rode the pass in the northerly direction, which in retrospect after riding it, seems to be significantly harder than the opposite direction. The major part of the climb is about 18 km long and gains about 1950m in elevation. This results in a "difficulty score" of 288 which is significantly harder than Stelvio at 194.

Blake and I warmed up with a 15km ride along the river leading to the base, and then headed up. The first sign as we started up caught Blake’s full attention. “Achtung, high pass, grades at 12%” Oh, oh, what are we into here? In fact, the average grade going in a northerly direction is about 10%, but there are definitely sections with grades as steep as 15%. Going the other direction the average grade is only 8%.

Thank God for compact cranks as we rarely ever seemed to get out of our lowest gear for the vast majority of the climb. A good portion was spent standing up and mashing the cranks.

Part way up we passed the toll booth and things started to get really crazy. The wind picked up, the temperature plummeted, and snow started to appear all around us. From lessons learned earlier in our adventures we had made sure we were carrying a windbreaker and the jackets came in handy now. But, as we continued to climb, it became colder still until eventually we stopped at a pullout and had a discussion with my wife in the accompanying van. Blake decided to bail out as we had been climbing for almost 2 hours, and he was starting to become hypothermic. From Blakes 13 yr old perspective...

The Grossglockner was an experience. (Notice how I didn’t say good or bad!)

When we pulled the van over to the side of the highway and got out of the car I thought to myself, “Where’s the pass?” I then was informed from my dad that we would be having a warm-up of 5 kilometres or so. So I think to myself, not that bad, right? Well, my dad was quite mistaken. It turned out that we had to ride 20 kilometres, which would be a piece of cake in any other given time, but your attitude changes when you know you’re about to climb THE HIGHEST PASS IN AUSTRIA!!!! So we ride out on the road through the rolling farmlands, which was fairly nice. We saw a waterfall on the way, went through a small village. I was quite happy with the ride so far, until we got to the base of the pass and I saw the sign that said, “12% Grade, 33 kilometres.” And the climb begins...

Instantaneously after you see that sign you’re on a 12% grade, in your lowest gear, and heaving on the pedals; climbing the first switchback of the Grossglockner. I look at the people getting shuttled on buses up this huge pass and can’t help but be a little bit jealous. But I keep spinning the pedals, looking at my PowerTap, and trying to stay above 10 km/h. (sounds easy, actually quite challenging!) We climb for probably 40 minutes until we finally see my mom in the van, stopped just after the toll booth. She tries to convince me to get in the car and quit, but my dad steps in and tells me to suck it up and get moving. We climb for another 20 minutes until we get to a little downhill. At this point we’re at snow and jackets are on. We start on a short downhill, and once we get down to the bottom, the REAL Grossglockner begins. The pass steepens, and there are no more trees around you. All I could think about was having a hot chocolate at the end of the ride. (And it’s supposed to be summer...) We climb for another hour in the snow, until we reach a spot with a huge headwind, and that took everything out of my legs. We ride for another ten minutes until we see my mom, and I have a decision to make; either keep going to the top, or get in the car and get warm. I was convinced that there was still another good hour and a half of climbing, so I got in the car while my dad put on every piece of clothing that he had in his bag. So my dad was off and my mom and I drove to the top. I was disappointed later, because there was only another half hour of climbing, but the way I think of it, I rode 9/10 of the highest pass in Austria, so I was pretty proud.

Out came the arm warmers, the skull cap, and the leg warmers; on went another jersey, and an insulated jacket. And then I headed on up to the top! As I rode on it became increasingly clear that the road had been recently plowed as I had to avoid the snowbanks on the side of the road. The wind increased even more and I must say even with all my clothes I was quite chilly when I reached the top. I could not feel my toes,or my fingers.

The top, or what I believed was the top, came fairly quickly but involved a trip through an unlit tunnel of unspecified length. There was ice on the road, and I was concerned that once in the tunnel, the road might be quite slippery. Kim drove through the tunnel behind me with her lights on which gave me sufficient light to see my way. Once out the other side we were treated to the view of multiple families playing in the snow and tobogganing down the slope beside the road.

The road then cruised along for about 7 km as it made its way over a saddle toward the next pass.

Once over the next pass we were treated to a spectacular view of the surrounding mountains,

before we started the long descent. On the way down, I hooked up with a couple of Austrians doing the out and back from the north side and we ripped the downhill passing cars through the switchbacks.

The temperature rapidly increased so that once again as we hit the bottom we were sweltering in about 28C heat. With all my warm clothes, I presented quite a sight when I pulled over to jump in the sag wagon.

If you are into climbing on bikes make sure that you put this one on your list of must do's.

If you think that your fitness is not up to snuff, do the climb heading in the southerly direction as the gradient is significantly less.

TransRockies 2009 - Mud, Rain, and Hail

http://www.transrockies.com/trc/

Mud, hail, rain, wind, 532km racing, 14 252 m climbing, 14 410 m descending and NO MECHANICALS! That is one sure sign that our Giant Anthem X1 bikes are awesome and the staff at Steed Cycles set us up for success.

The TransRockies Challenge (Panorama to Fernie in 7 days) proved to be one of the most epic and satisfying races of our lives. We finished 3rd overall in the Open Mixed category and were honored to share the podium with the winners Mical Dyck (worlds bound National Team member) and her partner Jeff Neilson, and the Belgium team of Mieke Deroo (Belguim Marathon XC champion) and Xavier Vermeeren. Dean had the satisfaction of completing his fifth TransRockies and receiving his much anticipated belt buckle. His experience was instrumental in our success and my road racing background gave me the ability shut my brain off and suffer. Dean's dad and my parents were along for the ride and quickly became the best support ever and created an unforgettable family bonding experience.

Stage 3 Nipika Time Trial Dean and Alena

The seven stage race began in sunny Panorama where we summitted the ski hill, rode single track over high alpine traverses and descended avalanche chutes that mountain goats would be challenged to navigate. The sun lasted through stage two that offered up 107 km of racing from the Columbia Valley (Invemere) over the Rockies, which ended up being straight up a mountain range through a high pass, via hike-a-bike, and down a gnarly, steep, single track descend. It was here that we quickly realized our technical advantage over the Belgium’s and I thanked the North Shore trails for all the terrifying moments that made this seem fun. We finished the first two stages in 3rd. Wow there is sun!

The mud really hit us on stage 3. We raced beautiful muddy single track through Nipika resort in a 44km time trial that took over three hours. All the descents reminded me of my Slip'n Slide from when I was a kid but we kept upright and on our bikes. Dean kept me motivated through waves of nausea while we completed our streak of 3rd place finishes.

Then came gravel road and lots of double track, the 4th place Belgium team who climbed like demons and powered through muddy gravel, challenged us to a game of cat and mouse and came with in 3 minutes of 3rd after completing stages 4 and 5. It was here I realized despite my road background, and between Dean and the North Shore, I have had no choice but to acquire some technical skills.

Stage 6 was the breaking point and Dean is an animal. If I was at home I would have called in sick, but instead we rolled out of bed, put on gortex socks and rain capes and started a 101 km stage. I pushed harder and hurt more than ever before and was worth it. After two days of non technical racing, we were looking for the 20 minutes of single track at the beginning of stage 6 to gain a solid hold on 3rd place. We made it through the first 5 km climb on the 4th place team's wheel and Dean attacked into the single track. I followed: racing through the twisty, wet, and rooty, trail as though the race was only 20 km. I hoped that for some miracle I would last the remainder 80 km. We gained a significant gap and made it to the road with a small group. The rain came down in sheets and all we could do to survive was focus on a wheel and ignore the fact that we could not see anything. We knew were up on the 4th place team put 100% into ever pedal stroke for the next 80km of sheer agony. We finished stage 6 11th overall in 6:44, 2nd in the mixed category, and gained 40 minutes on the Belgium team in 4th. Life was painfully good.

Dean after Stage 3

Stage 7 was survival. I left everything in the mud puddles on stage 6 and did what I could to make it through the last 76km of TransRockies. I thought it would be a quick stage, but 4:44 minutes later, lots of pushes from Dean, and more mud, we crossed the line in 4th for the day, and a solid 3rd overall. We met the two Belgium teams at the finish, who made the race so exciting, and felt a sense of accomplishment between us all that simply can not be described.








TransRockes Open Mixed final poduim - Dean and Alena 3rd

Race Notes:

-12 pairs of break pads used between both of us!

-total race time 36:20:02, 14th team overall

Winter Gear From Sombrio is Here

It was not the nicest of days last week when the sky cracked open and dumped a lake on us, but that was just what we needed for the trails, and it wasn't going to stop DOD from riding to work. Lucky for him he had waterproof pants, and a Sombrio vapor waterproof jacket. As you can see he was totally dry under his Vapor jacket and pretty stoked about it.

We just got a new Stock of Vapor jackets, and Wingman shells for when the weather changes.

-Scott

Pig Roast, Sand-wedges, and Turn tables

It was smooth sailing in the F350 Super Duty on the road to wiffle golf. I had a confident grip on the wheel, and the sound of a diesel engine purring in the background.

If that ain't the tastiest looking piece of meat you've ever seen, you must not like burnt pig. Wierd... Well I can't tell you what it tasted like because all the gremlins ate it while we were out golfing.
Adriano is taking the plunge! The first step in the wiffle golf process. Can you taste the mountains...
DOD and Smash were both trying to spot the hole on this tee. The thing is this is not a 300 yard tee, its more of a 10 yard tee. Anyhow, between the two of them they found it.

Steve Mitchell, here showing us how Tiger Woods gets it done. Text book form.

The holes are well planned at Emerald Greens, there is always a place for your beverages. I was once told that you should consume a glass of liquids for every ten minutes of exercise. Good thing we came prepared.

A small Asian statue protects this whole.

Smash and The Fonz stopping to pose for the camera.

Mitchell and DOD are scoping this tight line through the tree. Wiffle golf may sound like a lesser form of the sport, but if anything its more of a challenge.

We caught a photo of The pencil, Greg Herbold with customer Rockstar flannel PJ's.

If it wasn't bad enough that DOD is a 6'4" gangledroid the power he put into this show is clearly shown in the arm flex seen here!

Andriano is focussed on the fairway. That's how he gets it done on the Downhill course.

Smash, earning her name-sake here one the long drive.

I really stepped into this one. What can i say, it was the 18th hole and I needed to sink one... no dice.

Adriano and Brian Kelly the designer of the Cove bikes were re-connecting here, up-tup.

There was a band, it was good. But! what was better was that DOD was freestyling, and Ian Ritz of Chromag was spinning discs, un-real old school scratching!

I don't totally know who is in this photo, but the lichen makes it look really cool.

Since the Pig was too small to feed all of the crowd, DOD called delivery specialist Kevin. a couple boxes of Domino's and two 2L of coke kept us alive.
We pinned it home in the F350 in order to get to work the next morning. Mission complete. Wiffle golf was an awesome time as per usual. Thanks to Chromag, Black Box, Tyler Morland, and Kokanee.

-Scott

Tour TransAlp 2009: Day 7

Well after the last two days, today, the last day of the 2009 Tour Transalp seemed almost anticlimactic. 100km distance, 1550m elevation gain. Seems kind of easy! Profile here.

The ride started again with a good 33km of neutral start to warm up the legs from yesterday’s abuse.

The course wound through the grape orchards of the Trento wine region and I have to say was very enjoyable. The initial climb: not so much!

Yesterday’s effort took a lot out of a good proportion of the field and it seemed like a great many of the competitors decided that today was a cruise to the finish. Not so the infamous chocolatier Thomas Haas who blitzed by me about halfway up the climb and “won” the prime!

The rest of the day seemed to just cruise by and in no time we hit the final descent to the finish in Arco, only a few km. from the azure waters of Lake Garda. Just what you need, one last wicked twisty descent to finish the race on a high note and then the cruise down finish lane with arms raised in the satisfaction salute.

Congratulations to all the finishers of the 2009 Tour TransAlp, and especially Team Canada, all 26 strong!!!

I think that each and everyone of the participants can claim victory for conquering what many claim has been the hardest Tour TransAlp yet. Results here.

Anyone up for next year?

Tour TransAlp 2009: Day 6

Day 5 may have had the most difficult climb in the race and reached its highest point, but Day 6 was the longest in distance and included the most vertical gain at 3770m. Over the 180 km length, we would climb 5 major passes, several of which have been the site of major clashes in the Giro I’talia. Profile here.

Out of Livigno, we immediately retraced our route back up the Passo d’Eiro and then Passo Foscagno. Thankfully this time it was not raining, and although cold, with the lessons learned from the previous day we were much better dressed. The descent off of Passo Foscagno through the towns of Valdidentro, Premadio, and Bormio was pretty crazy. The train that I was on included about 40 riders and we ripped through these towns at about 55km/hr, dodging tourists, traffic, parked cars, dogs, cats, ferrets, all the while weaving through tiny little streets even occasionally on cobbles. After this ride, I can now see the attraction of road racing; what a natural high!

Out of Bormio, we headed up the infamous Passo Gavia. This is the pass that in the 1988 Giro d’Italia promoted Andy Hampsten to the Maglia Rosa, the only North American to win Italy’s grand tour. The story goes that despite the Italians pleading with him to ride “piano piano” over the climb, he went on an epic attack. Story here. The weather was so bad, -4 C and snowing that Hampsted remembers that “I kept one gear moving because all my other gears were frozen up with ice”

Our climb up the Gavia was not quite so cold but there was fresh snow at the top from yesterday’s storm. The descent included probably the scariest moment so far in the race. About halfway down, while traveling at about 55km/hr we entered a totally unlit tunnel about 1 km long. As could be expected… you could see nothing. Not the walls, not the roof, not the road surface… Oh yeah, not any of the other 10 riders you entered the tunnel with. How there was not a major crash is beyond me…I personally just started yelling “Don’t hit me, don’t hit me, don’t hit me”, hoping that the sound of my voice would “encourage” others riders away from me. When I saw the “light” at the end of the tunnel, I have never accelerated so hard on bike in my life figuring that the sooner I was out, the safer I would be. Absolutely INSANE!

The rest of the descent was not quite so crazy although Passo Gavia does not quite meet North American road standards. The majority of the road is probably a little over 2 m wide, and this often requires that the cars that meet back up to a wider area in order for you to pass. Throw in 1100 crazy road riders descending and you get the picture.

The next pass was Passo Tonale, about halfway through the day, and again as in the 3 previous passes Dave and I summited as the first of our motley crew. Our support team was at the top dressed in “black tie” with a table set out with white linen, crystal and silver. “Supported” we headed down the other side for another crazy 45 km long train ride. On this descent I just decided to hide well back in the group and save my energy for the last big climb of the day. It turned out that this was good planning as again the “Mediterranean” heat started to take its toll on those that had expended a lot of energy pushing the head wind on the descent. In my group, people started popping off the back in droves as we started the slow climb up to Passo Mendola.

Passo Mendola turned out to be the “pussy” of the day. We kept expecting it to rear its ugly head as we climbed, but the farther we went up, the less the gradient became. The descent on the other side was again epic. It seemed we flew through at least 50 full switches as we came down and the central section was blazingly fast and flowy, while perched on the side of a vertical cliff. How they build these roads is beyond me!

The finish arrived and Kaltern put on a great welcome as the beer was cold and flowing well. 6 down, 1 to go! Results here.

Tour TransAlp 2009: Day 5

Oh that Stelvio!!!!

What can you say about a pass that has 49 switchbacks to the top with the last 20 or so up a vertical wall?

What adjective can I use to describe this day? This was the day that we had been thinking about all winter long!

Dread, worry, anticipation, concern, fear, enthusiasm, pain, abuse; I could go on and on.

With the temperature at about 28C, the day started with some serious heat as we left Naturns for a 35km neutral ride to the bottom of the Stilfserjoch, Stelvios’ official name. It seemed the weather had finally changed to the heat that we had expected for the race. Stelvio is about 23 km long and climbs about 1900m for an average gradient of about 8%. By our calculations it was the toughest climb of the race rating a difficulty of 194 compared to Cypress’s measly 76. By all accounts the climb started well with several of the boys attacking off the bottom. Jamie Armstrong flew by me vowing to be the first to the top; Thomas Haas was not far behind. The rest of us settled in for the long climb. The scenery was spectacular and on the way up the first several km. I had the chance to see our descent route from the mountain bike TransAlp three years earlier.

Stelvio is extremely intimidating. The start seems to meander up the valley. At about 10 km in it starts switch backing seriously up the side of the mountain and at about 13 km in you look up and see the “wall”.

The wall seems like an endless number of switchbacks and it literally goes straight up the side of the mountain. You can see it all from the bottom and it really does strike some serious “apprehension/fear” in your heart. Of course, as could be expected, the weather took a significant change for the worse at exactly this time with a nasty head wind and very cold rain when riding/looking toward the wall. Most of us had dumped our “warmer” clothes at the start as it seemed that the chance of rain/snow was extremely slim. We all paid the price now. Thankfully the switches facing away from the “wall” allowed us to warm up a bit before we bit back into it on the switch above. We eventually made it up to the highest point in the entire race (2750m) only to find a bunch of junior ski racers just finishing their morning training and coming off the snow loaded with skis. Slightly incongruous!

Down we went on the other side with the temperature increasing by the minute until at the bottom we were again sweltering in the Italian heat. Almost immediately we started the second big climb of the day, the Passo Foscagno. As we reached the top, a quick look ahead revealed we were still in for some excitement as in the distance one of the biggest thunderheads I have ever seen was hanging over the last pass of the day, the Passo d’Eira. As Dave and I started to descend toward the Passo d’Eira, the skies opened up and the lightning and thunder roared all around us. We both saw one lightning bolt hit a cell tower just off the side of the road and the thunder that followed just about knocked us off our bikes. The rain might as well have been biblical in amount. It just poured! Neither of us had real rain gear, and personally, I just made the decision to just get it over with as fast as I could. The descent off of Passo d’Eira was crazy. The road was a river with dirt and ditch debris sweeping over the road about 2 inches thick. I just thought mountain bike and let the thing go. By the time I reached the finish in Livigno, I could feel neither my fingers or my toes. It felt just like winter riding in Vancouver! The organizers at the finish were fantastic, attempting to deal with many hypothermic riders as they came across the finish.

Although I thought that Dave’s and my ride was cold, the riders behind us had it even worse as the storm moved toward them. Dave and I may have suffered for maybe 20 minutes; many at the back were in the rain for almost an hour or more. Day 5 will certainly be remembered as an epic a ride as could be imagined.