Equipment Changes I
taken 09/14/2006 - What is different from last year? We’ll ask Lee to elaborate and find some insight on wheel choice.
Q. Why did you switch to a bottle cage on the seat post?
A. The Camelbak, while it held a lot of water and gear was heavy. Even empty it weighs almost three pounds. On almost every ride, there’s oppurtunities to refill bottles so the Camelbak became useless.
Q. And aren’t Camelbak’s on roadie’s sort of … lame?
A. Naw. There’s a guy at PIR who wore one. He kicked my butt all over the place. It’s not about gear. It’s the engine.
Q. When was the last time you used the Camelbak on the road?
A. [Grins]. The summer of 2005. It’s now dedicated to travelling; like at Disney World. It came in handy there in the heat of Orlando.
Q. You used to have a saddle bag. Where’d that go?
A. Anything that would fit in my 35 cc Pedro blowout bag can fit in my jersey pockets.
Q. Isn’t that heavy?
A. No.
Q. Okay. What goes in your jersey pockets?
A. Two CO2, the valve, two tire levers, a cellphone, ID, Credit Card, (3, 4 and 5 mm) allen wrenches, one inner tube, a small plastic jar of Endurolytes.
Q. What about food on those long rides?
A. All my liquid fueling can fit in one or two bottles depending on distance. Unless it’s a double century, it all fits in one bottle.
Q. Cool! What’s in the bottle?
A. A mixture of Perpetuem, Espresso Hammer Gel, and a little water to make it drinkable. I have a formula that I use. I’ll find it for you.
Q. Thanks. Your wheels are great.
A. I know. They cost almost as much as the bike. Hmmm. I guess that doesn’t say much for a Lemond Tourer with 105’s turned racer, but yes; I love my wheels. They’re bomb-proof.
Q. What are they again?
A. Rolf Vigors. They’re way lighter than the stock Bonty Selects. There’s some science that says something about rotating mass and ba, da, glick, gluck. I don’t understand it all. But it’s cool. I’ve shaved an entire pound from switching to them and ultra-light inner tubes.
Q. Then you stick a bottle cage in back full of water. Smart.
A. I am a little paranoid about the water situation. But it did help in Whitefish when the winds hit and dried me out with no support van in sight. Again, it’s about the engine. I still pulled a big percent of the last leg of STP. It wasn’t a great performance cuz I tanked near the end. Conversely, I would have freaked if thought I’d run out of water. Better to have piece of mind than save two pounds. Also, remember there’s food in one bottle up front.
Q. Anything else you’d like to add?
A. I like to match and I like racing jerseys? Most of the time, I’ll wear colorful kits and /or jerseys. It could be a take off from marathoning where I use the singlets with the most stripes and colors. I had seen a photo of me in race gear as opposed to plain tops and it just looked better with colors. Cleaner and more professional, I guess. Again, that’s cosmetic. It’s all about the engine really and how your fitness is measuring up to previous weeks.
September 21st, 2006 at 8:25 am
I can’t wait for the Biography on your Cycling Life!!!