13. no, i mean 14.

i was supposed to run 13. Holly convinced me that the lakefront path was worth a shot this time of year, saying there are few bikers and it's plowed. well, she was right. i saw a total of three bikers the whole time and- credit where credit is due - it was a group of three on MTB's, 2 2CC kits and 1 met life. i half expected to see the Klug's out there, but I didn't. Running south, though, the trail was black ice and i found myself having to run in the snow to avoid falling. By the northbound trip it was mostly melted.

i miscalculated in my head, though, and the run from my house to the path down to 43rd and back was 14. it was slower than i had hoped - 3 hours- and with no stoplights on the path i've got no excuse for that beyond knocking off maybe 5 min for the elevator ride and dog chores. it was ok until around McCormick place northbound, where i got really bored. i guess i'm used to seeing street traffic. the last two miles just plain sucked.

the sight of the day was a tin with a big slice of deep dish pizza on a bench on Jackson that when i ran by again 2 1/2 hours later was half eaten.

26 miles for the week. 12 weeks till the marathon.

Colorado Springs, Day 4

i passed both the mechanic's and official's exam, threw down the buxx, am now licensed, and Ben now has a mechanic for his Big Time Ventures. yay!

day 4 brought little new content, with the exception of a presentation by the USA team soigneur, who talked about his job and how he interacts with the mechanic. It was, honestly, quite interesting. Soigneurs really have a tough role to fill and have to be massage therapists, nutritionists, and basic physical therapists. We stay up late washing bikes, they stay up late mixing bottles.

We also had a presentation about doping. As in, no. And never transport anything that's locked for an athlete. And so on. The rules are pretty strict, and one big problem now is security- that unattended bottles could have something slipped in them by some opponent who wants your team to test positive. Just like not letting people steal bikes, you should keep an eye on the nutrition.

After that they returned our exams and we all argued over what the solutions should be. Calvin from Park Tools led the discussion as some guys got seriously aggro over the answers to questions like these:
It's a pretty steep uphill 5K to the end of a road race and one of your riders is in a breakaway off the front. He radios back that he hit a pothole and bent his wheel. He already opened the calipers and it's still rubbing. Do you:
a) Prepare for a wheel change
b) prepare for a bike change
c) tell him to deal, he's almost at the finish line
d) lean out the window and cut his brake cable
OK, so I went with A, since I thought D will get you a fine for leaning out the window (true) and is illegal by the brake rule (untrue). Actually the rule says you have to start with two working brakes. So, the answer is D. Oh, and wheel changes on an uphill, not a good idea, since your rider's gonna struggle to get back to the pack.
I got an 87, which was about average for the group.

Top tips of the weekend:
- Don't let the air out of your tubulars when you're done for the day. Keep them inflated so that if you have a slow leak it will show itself.
- You don't need to open the brake calipers to do a wheel change on a road bike, so don't waste your time.
- Unless you're on the pro tour, always check your bike over hours before the race- usually before you leave home. When you get to the race, doublecheck your stem, bars, seatpost, and skewers for security.
- Gap your spare wheels.
- Never ride a tubular that hasn't cured 12 hours.
- Don't trust carbon after a crash. Tap it with a coin, it should "ping." If an area thumps, that's delamination.
- You really need all four bolts on the faceplate of your stem.
- Loctite is your friend, as is duct tape and a torque wrench.
- Helping other teams is nice, but this is a race, and you don't want to be the guy that gave the other team a wheelchange that allowed them to beat you.
- When jumping out of cars, always look back first.
- Do whatever it takes, but just get the rider to the finish line.

Anyway, that's the end of that adventure. I felt like for four days I was among superheros- and occasionally treated like one myself. It's hard being back in reality. I would strongly recommend the clinic to anyone interested in becoming a pro tour mechanic or just needing the license... outside of that, it's prolly a rather expensive venture but damn, was that interesting. A few pictures are on my flickr.

Colorado Springs, Day 3

After three hours of sleep last night I was a zombie today, but it was still exciting enough to keep me awake. Today's classes included BMX, tubulars, suspension, cx and team support, bike design, carbon fiber, and the complete sleeper on DOT compliance when you're driving the freaking team truck with trailer.

highlight of the day was Matt Bracken, Prez of IF, giving a presentation on bicycle design that amounted to a great short history of the rise of TI and carbon in frames, with some great stories thrown in about 1 1/4 and 1 1/8 headsets, fork rake, and how Chris King is a good dude. It's great hearing how builders have a tight community that helps each other out and how ideas grow when one company piggybacks off another's idea. I have to also say this: you could tell with every word Matt said that he really seriously deeply cares about not just bikes but also the biking community, his co-workers, his family, and being a good person. Oh, and he brought a sexy little $10,000 carbon frame with ti carved lugs and record and hotttttt.

most useful was probably the carbon presentation, second was the tubulars. carbon's a great material but boy o boy are there still outstanding issues... like braking heat on rims and the difficulty of finding delamination. but we've got the tricks now, don't worry... though Ric of FSA predicts the brake problem will bring about disc brakes in road biking... if you're a roadie with carbon rims, make sure you inspect your rims for remnants of melting brake pad. that stuff clumps up, heats up, and ruins your rims. Use alcohol to get it off. That's the other thing- carbonis stronger than most manufacturers will admit, so while you may be told that soft brake pads and mild cleaners are it, they can take ceramic pads and alcohol and such. In fact, ceramic pads may minimize the brake heat problem a little, though they'll void your warranty on some rims...

as for the tubular presentation, i did it all wrong last year! you don't need to scrape off ALL the old glue on the rim. you should use the vittoria mastik cement, since it's tested strongest. you shouldn't even try to get glue off the tire since the solvent that would do that would weaken the tire. the tape is USELESS... most importantly, the glue strands should be constant all the way around the rim, not just here and there, and you should be able to see them coming off the tire. and this is all coming from Calvin of Park Tools. (yes, of Calvin's corner.)

finally, i think i should do some rider-side training for my Half Acre teammates. while what i'm learning is how to get riders back in the game, i think more riders need to know the rules and how they can help, from what to do while waiting for a wheel change to what to look for in a quick bike check the morning of race day to when you can and can't get the free lap in a crit to what track races get wheel changes. it's too much to communicate in writing, but it's super important.

in a hurry to get to more class. one day to go and i'll be a licensed official and mechanic!