Hill Training

This year the majority of the West Michigan team will be riding in Killington, Vermont. While we don't know the exact route yet, a quick review of the area topo maps is eye opening. Killington itself sits in a valley nestled among the Green Mountains. It is surrounded by several peaks topping out at 2,500 to 3,500 feet. Nearby is the second tallest mountain in Vermont, the 4,241 foot Killington Peak. Now I don't know how many of these mountains we'll ride up, but based on previous JDRF rides I'd say we're in for a very "hilly" day.
With that in mind I started my hill training yesterday. I started out by climbing the 7 Mile hill. Not real long, but very steep and only a mile from the start, so I wasn't really warmed up. Then rode to Meyers Lake over the rolling hills near Rockford. Went west on 12 Mile and hooked up with the White Pine Trail. I got off the trail to finish my ride by climbing Childsdale hill. Not as steep as 7 Mile but much longer. A little over 20 miles in total. It was a nice ride on what looks to be the last decent day around here for about a week.

Movie Update

It's hard to believe that a year's worth of work is almost complete. This week we are adding music, doing audio fixes, and color correcting the shots. Very time consuming and not really that much fun, but stuff that has to be done. Tomorrow I am taking a preliminary copy over to Celebration Cinemas for testing purposes. Once that's done we put the finishing touches on the film and get ready for the premiere.

In other news, I'll be on the Shelly Irwin Morning Show on WGVU-FM (88.5) on April 15th (the day before the premiere) to talk about the documentary. The scheduled start time is 9:06 a.m. Also, watch for announcements in local magazines and papers and, of course, FaceBook.

Hydration is important

After four century rides in Death Valley, the need for proper hydration while cycling is obvious. This is a great article from the blog le-grimpeur that talks about hydrating while on the Tour de France. Enjoy.

by Guy WR

The organizers of professional cycling races, particularly the Tour de France, have always had some strange ideas about water. Restrictions on water consumption by the riders has been one way race organizers for Grand Tours have tried, even in recent times, to keep the races tough, as a test of the survival skills of the riders. As if the long stages, broken roads, heat, cold, furious attacks, terrifying descents, and interminable climbs were not enough, tyrants like Henri Desgrange and his successors have imposed rules on drink bottles (as well as many other trifling regulations).

Until at least the 1960s, riders as well had strange attitudes to water, believing that too much would bloat the stomach and lead to impaired performance. Mammoth stages on just a handful of bottles were not uncommon, before physiology and science caught up and the benefits of regular hydration were realized. Still, and in a tradition that continues today, riders took limited refreshments from spectators on the side of the road - another way the cycling has managed to include its supporters in the action.

Beer is always the right choice.

With the restrictions on bottles in place, even as seemingly recent as the 1970s, the café raid was a common occurrence. Domestiques would organize themselves for a mass raid on a designated outlet and its shelves stripped of almost any liquid beverage available: mineral water, sodas, beer, even Champagne. Then the domestiques, their pockets stuffed with all manner of bottles of different shapes and sizes, would chase down the peloton to share their booty.

Jersey pockets never go out of style.

For the seemingly helpless café owner, it would be all good fun. A few lost profits, perhaps a backhander from the race organizers to compensate, but a chance to rub shoulders with the riders, and have a story to tell local patrons afterwards. The raids added colour to the race, levity, and a sense of keeping the race firmly rooted to the towns through which it passed.

Keep your bottle opener handy.

For the domestiques, being a capable ‘water carrier’ was a valuable skill, even better if one remembered one’s bottle opener, or had another ingenious method of getting the cap off if the opener had been forgotten. Important, too, was the ability to source a team leader’s favourite beverage, perhaps even a little Champagne - which never did the riders any harm in decades past - to dull the pain of an impending climb.

Do not try this on your next group ride.

The rules have eased now on water, with the realization that dehydration actually exists and could be hazardous to the health of riders. Motorbikes ply the peloton with their sponsor’s wares, and team cars are always ready to provide refreshment - although there’s little Champagne to be seen, during the race at least. Domestiques are still valued, though, for their ability to carry bottles from the team car to their leader, but no longer do they need to remember their bottle openers.

Something a bit stronger than sodas.

But restrictions still exist, most notably on final climbs in stages in the Tour, for example, where team cars cannot give bottles to riders - as much to prevent cars from hampering the action and giving tows as forcing the riders to climb unaided. But spectators continue to provide a ready source of refreshment. Frankie Andreu gives an insight into the mind set of the riders in one of his diary entries from the 1999 Tour in the Pyrenees.

“The grupetto was a big one today. Many riders are tired and the first chance they get to sit up, they do. Christian [Vandevelde] was making deals all day in the last group. Guys were so hot and desperate for water, they were begging Christian for water and the promised to buy him a beer in Paris. He has about a case of beer waiting for him at the finish.

“Prudencio [Indurain], while riding in the group, spotted a two-litre bottle of Orangina sitting on a picnic table. When he spotted it he yelled out, ‘Who wants some Orangina?’ Of course, everyone wanted some; so Prudencio in one swoop swung over into the gravel and grabbed it off the picnic table. It was a party.”

No team loyalty when a rider needs water.

All screen grab pictures from Stars and Water Carriers, the movie of the 1974 Giro d’Italia.

Another beautiful day

Temperatures in Michigan topped 70 degrees today so Mary and I got out on our bikes after work and went for a short ride. We took the White Pine Trail south to WhiteCaps Park. The paved part of the trail now extends into downtown Comstock Park. There is a short bit on street riding to get to North Park Street which connects with the riverside spur of the WPT. This made for an enjoyable 13 mile ride this evening. It's great getting out this early in the season since our big JDRF ride is six weeks earlier this year than last. We need to get the miles in now so we'll be ready for Killington in August.

Ides of March

What a great weekend! Sunny and almost 60 degrees in Michigan in the middle of March. I was a good doobie on Saturday and cleaned up the yard. We had lots of sticks and leaves and literally hundreds on pine cones on the ground. After all the hard work I was able to take a little bike ride today. Just a 15 mile spin up to Rockford and back along the White Pine Trail. On the way back I passed my friend Michael Walenta and we rode together for a few miles. We even helped anothre cyclist change a flat. It was truly great to be out on the Cannondale instead of the mountain bike.

In movie news we are moving closer to completion. This week we are adding graphics and narration. Next week will be music and credits. And then we'll be done. Woohoo! Remember the premiere is April 16th and there will be DVD's of the finished documentary available for purchase. The cost will be $15 and proceeds, of course, go to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

WORLD PREMIERE

We are pleased to announce the World Premiere of "More Than 100 Miles: Riding to Cure Diabetes". This exciting event will take place on Thursday, April 16, 2009 at Celebration Cinemas North in Grand Rapids, Michigan. We are planning on a 7:00 p.m. start time, with an after-party to be announced later. Tickets will be available in advance and at the door. Ticket prices and other surprises will be announced soon.

Big announcement coming soon

We have been diligently working on the film over the last couple of weeks and now have a rough cut of the full movie. The next step is to add in narration, music, sound effects, graphics and all the stuff that makes it pretty. This is a very time consuming process but the finished film is going to look fantastic.
Before we get to the big announcement we have a small, but exciting announcement. Todd Herring of Craic Wisely will be composing some original music for the documentary. We're very excited to have someone of Todd's talent working on this project.
The big announcement is going to be the date of the premiere. We are still working out the details but I can tell you that it will be in April at Celebration Cinemas North in Grand Rapids. So watch this space as we hope to have the official announcement within the next week.

Saturday was a great day

Last night we showed the trailer for "More Than 100 Miles" at the Grand Rapids Bicycle Film Festival. It was very well received by the over 200 people in attendance. In fact several people told me it was the best film of the night. And it looks we'll be showing the completed film at next year's film festival, among other places.

But before we got to the Wealthy Theatre last night the sun came out, the temperature hit 50 degrees and the road was calling. So I pulled out my mountain bike and did a quick 5 miles along the Rouge River to Belmont and back. It felt great to be outside riding again. Earlier in the week I did 5 miles on a stationary bike in the gym. That was just exercise for the sake of exercise. Yesterday's 5 miles was pure joy. The warm sun, the cool air, the spray off my tires from the snow melt, all wonderful. Now I know that within a week we'll be back to sub 30 degrees and more snow, but it sure was fun to get on the road in February in Michigan.

Film Festival Update

The trailer for the ride documentary "More Than 100 Miles" will be the first film shown at the Grand Rapids Bicycle Film Festival on Saturday at the Wealthy Theatre. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the films start 7:30 p.m. That means don't be late, it's only 4 and a half minutes long. Check the film out on the big screen and see if it looks better than on YouTube.