May 2012
1 post
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Brussels Express
Expand this to full screen for the best picture:
Brussels Express from Sander Vandenbroucke on Vimeo.
April 2012
1 post
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Wolfpack Hustle
Not much description needed here, other than this is one of the best things I have ever seen.
You know we have a marathon in Boston, right?
March 2012
7 posts
3 tags
The George Bush of Biking.
Or do you hate Boulder, maybe?
Regardless of this, do you love bikes and the possibility of not driving your future (or present) children three miles to their school?
We have less than 8 hours to reach our $100,000 fundraising goal we set for the Ride on Washington this year.
We are within $1,000.00.
My dislike of Pete Webber, and everything he stands for (Boulder), is no secret.
I call...
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Bikes AND Cars
Volkswagen is really setting a precedent in the automobile industry by supporting Tim Johnson’s Ride on Washington and Bikes Belong.
As we proved on the five day, 540 mile adventure to the Nation’s Capitol, it doesn’t have to be bikes or cars. It’s can be bikes and cars.
Oh, and one more thing, Volkswagen of America CEO, Jon Browning, raced cyclocross in the UK...
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When is Enrollment?
I Like to Talk.
Everyone who knows me, knows this.
When I go on bike rides, I like to talk, even when other people don’t.
In two weeks, I will be doing a 5 day consecutive run of the longest bike rides of my entire life as part of Tim Johnson’s Ride on Washington.
I am going to be talking a lot. I hope the other riders are ready for this. I also hope everyone who plans on riding behind me...
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You're In Over Your Head
Until now, I have reserved updates for the Das Pro und The Rookie Kickstarter/Video project I undertook with Tim Johnson and Todd Prekaski last year to the Supporter List. As time has dragged on, there has been some public discussion about the project, so I found it best to post a public update here.
I will admit to procrastination on the editing of this film. I will also admit to having no...
February 2012
14 posts
7 tags
Red Bull, Red Meat, and Febreeze.
Our last night in Tokyo was to be spent back in the hip Shi BOO YAH neighborhood. We were to meet Tim’s Red Bull Athlete Manager in Japan, Arnie Ueno, at the Hachiko Dog statue again and we would be heading to dinner somewhere in the neighborhood.
When we got to the statue we immediately heard Arnie calling for us and he introduced us to his co-worker, Ai, pronounced “Eye.” ...
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Rice Balls, AKB48, and Raw Coffee.
After an awesome morning spent betting on bikes, we got back in the Cannondale van with Hiro and Ichi.
It was lunch time, and we would be eating on the road.
“McDonald’s or Rice Balls?” Hiro asked.
Tim and I both replied “Rice Balls” without hesitation.
Hiro shook his head and said, “Crazy Americans. They eat squid but not McDonald’s.”
...
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Betting on Bikes
The day before our trip to Tokyo ended, Hiro and Ichi surprised Tim and me with a trip to Keirin racing in Omiya.
Ichi was pretty pumped for the trip.
But Tim was concerned for his health.
It was close to a one hour drive, and from what I could tell, the Japanese were not accustomed to driving such a long distance. Tim and I didn’t care, as we just tried to repeat the Japanese...
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Eat the Head.
After our visit to Bonsai Cycle in Sendagaya, we made our way to the train with Kaiko Shimura, better known as the girl who is polluting the internet with images that would best be kept off the internet.
Thanks, Kaiko.
The train was crowded.
And unbelievably quiet! Seriously, no talking. Silence. Except for the click of my camera shutter. Whoops.
We got off the train in the hip...
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Crazy Americans
One thing we vowed to do while in Tokyo was to eat as the Japanese eat.
So far, I have shared Hotel Breakfasts, Sushi, Shabu Shabu, and now it’s time for a meal from Osaka called, “Okonamiyaki.” They call it the “Japanese Pancake,” but I can assure you, this ain’t your standard breakfast dish.
Yaki, in Japanese, is Grill. So when we were brought to our...
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How About Some Hardcore
Before the Cyclo Cross Tokyo 2012 race on Saturday, we were introduced, by Daisuke Yano, to the owner of Bonsai Cycle, a special bike shop in Tokyo.
Upon meeting the owner, he told Tim Johnson he made “replica helmets.”
“This one?” Tim asked, pointing to his Red Bull helmet?
“Yes,” he replied, “This one is very difficult.”
We were...
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Cyclo Cross Tokyo 2012 GoPro
Some video from the handlebars of Christian Heule during Cyclo Cross Tokyo 2012.
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Cyclo Cross Tokyo 2012
I didn’t realize this, but this was the first ever Cyclo Cross Tokyo, and to say it was a success is an understatement.
We all woke up early to be at breakfast in the hotel by 7am. We were at the course with bikes, wheels, trainers and other supplies by 8 for the 40 minute course inspection, since Tim and Erik had not yet ridden the course.
There was still roughly 1.2km of sand on the...
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Dinner Before the Race.
Back to chronological order, here…Friday.
On Friday, the rest of the racers arrived in Tokyo: Ben Berden, Tim Johnson, and Eric Tonkin.
Christian, Jamey and I were passing time in my hotel when Berden arrived at the hotel in Daiba late Friday afternoon and stopped by our room to say hello.
Ben’s most pressing question was what we were going to do at night.
He was welcomed...
Tokyo at Night.
I am going to step out of chronological order on posts here. I have to. Racing cyclocross is, well, racing cyclocross. You can imagine what it was like and I will definitely share my photos and video soon, but right now I have something more interesting to share.
After Saturday’s race, our Champion Systems hosts threw a party and fed us all we could eat. We can’t thank Ryoji,...
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Wait up, #Japandler
You saw Christian Heule pre-riding Koksijde behind Sven Nys.
Now you get to see him pre-riding Cyclocross Tokyo behind me…notice how natural I look in the Cannondale p/b CyclocrossWorld Pro kit. I could get used to wearing those colors…hopefully Team Director, Stu Thorne, will take notice.
If you’re looking for some analysis on this course, here goes:
The stuff in the...
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Cover the Plate.
Earlier this year I waged a bet with a kind gentleman from Canada.
The contest was a head to head battle at the Grand Prix of Gloucester in the Men’s B Race and to the victor went a hefty supply of Pure Maple Syrup from the loser’s region.
Long story short, I won the bet and received my winnings at the NBX Warwick Race in early December.
That weekend, Christian Heule stayed with...
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Sushi in Tokyo
After leaving the airport, Shinya brought The Dangler and me to meet two more Champsys hosts, Chiharu and Ryoji, at a local Sushi eatery, not far from our hotel.
Bear with me on these next photos because, like I mentioned, I would prefer to not have to think at all when using a camera and it stresses me out having to do so. As a result, Todd edited these remotely and did what he could to fix...
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#Japandler
A few months ago, I got an email from Tim Johnson saying he had two options for after the World Championships in Koksijde; A race in Costa Rica or a race in Tokyo, Japan.
My response to him was something along the lines of, “Is it even a question?” While I’m sure Costa Rica is beautiful, Japan has always seemed, well, like JAPAN.
Shortly after the email exchange, Tim asked...
January 2012
5 posts
4 tags
Wait up, Sven Nys
Here’s your chance to ride behind Sven Nys.
This is 3:28 of the Worlds course in Koksijde. Some of the sand dunes seem more rideable than in the past.
Thanks, again, to Christian Heule:
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UCI, Eat Your Heart Out.
More GoPro goodness from Christian Heule. This time, it’s from the World Cup at Hoogerheide, NED.
I was going to accuse Christian of playing this video slightly sped up, but then I would be an idiot.
Congratulations, Christian, your “Exclusive Access” footage has won you the Twitter battle. Send me Swiss Chocolate.
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I Will Smash You Down For Ever.
Cannondale p/b CyclocrossWorld rider, Christian Heule, snuck a GoPro into the World Cup at Lievin this weekend.
The course looks surprisingly greasy in Christian’s footage. Many referred to this race as a “grass crit,” but this footage indicates it was a little more complicated than that…
As much as I hate to promote the Twitter account of Christian Heule (we have...
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ROADTRIP
Five hours and 29 minutes from now, I will be getting in THE VAN.
After a brief stop in Jamaica Plain to pick up The Wilcox, we will point THE VAN west.
Destination: Madison.
Operation: #cxnats
Last time we did this, we drove 46 hours longer and we had a well-caffeinated Thom P to ease the burden. Thom has moved on to airplanes this year, but we know he misses the days of old.
He,...
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WatchThanks to my 2004 SUPER COMPUTER, you can all waste an hour on this vintage footage. Check out Ben Berden!
December 2011
3 posts
4 tags
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Shedd Park - My Side of the Story.
I feel it is only fair I defend myself after reading Colin’s outlandish claims regarding our Shedd Park Showdown on his BLOG.
I didn’t sleep Saturday night, at all. I had a sore throat. My dog got run over by a car the morning of the race. My BB30 sealed bearings were seized up. I wanted Carl Ring to have the opportunity to use his “clever” heckles. My right shoe was...
November 2011
4 posts
5 tags
Upgrade?
I think it’s time to finally address the issue of upgrading here on the blog.
I have spent many a sleepless night thinking about this.
Like any good blog, I feel I need to list the Pros of staying a Cat 3 vs Upgrading.
Pros of Staying a Cat 3:
1. Paycheck.
2. CyclingDirt Interviews.
3. Photos all over Facebook.
4. Wife continues to idolize me like when we were in High School...
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Anatomy of Another Crash
Thanks to my buddy, Todd, for this one. Picture credit goes to Elaine J DeBitetto.
I would say you don’t want to do this, but then what would we look at on a Tuesday morning?
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The Anatomy of a Crash
On the last lap of the Cycle Smart International Day One race last weekend, Robin MacDonald-Foley captured my demonstration of how to not ride the sand.
So there you have it. Don’t do this. Especially on the last lap.
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My First CX Win - And Another Thing.
I won a race today…Sandbagger…yeah, yeah, yeah. First win.
Later in the day, I was shown this tweet from local bike builder Spooky Bikes:
Total a-hole statement.
Even worse is it was directed at Todd Prekaski, a guy who gives a lot back to the sport.
While Todd hasn’t won a race on his Cannondale Super X with Sram Red and Zipp 303 tubulars, I think it’s safe...
October 2011
5 posts
Hiatus of the Blog.
The most recent post from Providence is going to be the last one for a short while.
Todd and I have caught up on all blog posts, photo galleries, and video projects until our next trip October 29th and 30th. We love projects, but we need to finish the one that started all of this.
What this means is we will be running silent and running deep finishing up DAS PRO und THE ROOKIE, a project...
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Providence Day One - From the Eyes of the GoPro
Disclaimer: I don’t have time to proof-read this, so if there’s something amiss, it’s here to stay.
I’m going to tell the tale of the race in a different way today. Hopefully it’s awesome.
You will get to see what I saw during the Providence Day One Junior/B Men Race (Juniors riding away from me, for the most part) and I will offer some narrative in between.
...
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Christian versus Ted.
We ran into Christian Vande Velde in Chicago after the Madison, WI USGP Weekend.
He just happened to be at the dealership where Christian Heule was trying to buy a Bentley.
I asked him about racing cyclocross and this is what he had to say (amongst other things):
So…do me a favor and ask these guys to race, would you? You can use the Twitter handles I placed at the end of the video...
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Set Yourself Up. To Fail.
I like to set unreasonable goals for myself.
In doggy classes they call this, “setting your dog up for failure.”
For example:
My wife will not take the dogs off leash in a busy parking lot. She will wait until the dogs are in the car and then unleash them.
I, on the other hand, will unleash them 50 yards before reaching the car to see if they will go to the car like I want. ...
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Gloucester Recaps
Prepare yourself for the most amazing race recaps in the history of race recaps.
By prepare, I mean hold your breath.
I’ll be right back…promise.
September 2011
11 posts
9 tags
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WatchThe second installment of the Luna Chix presented by Lazer Helmets.
8 tags
Patience is a Virtue
The most unbelievable update of all time is coming.
But first I have to go remove and replace clapboard.
In the meantime, enjoy this photo from Todd Prekaski:
Christian Heule and Zach McDonald
We can’t be sure exactly what words were exchanged here, but it has something to do with someone chopping someone else in the corners and someone retaliating during Day One of the Planet Bike...
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singleWHAT?
After finishing second diddle to Nate Morse in the Cat 3 race, Todd and I took to the course with camera and camcorder for the Elite Men’s race.
As I mentioned earlier, Christian Heule showed up to test out his legs before he flew out to Vegas (where I now sit, writing this post).
Photo: Todd Prekaski
Recently recruited rider, Dylan McNicholas, had every intention of winning this...