Silently Preparing

     2011 is upon us and it's time to look forward to next season. A new sponsor has brought some new goodies to try out, and having a job has allowed me to upgrade my equipment. It was hard racing the last few years while being a student with no income, but I'm glad I did it. It makes you appreciate everything you get. My bikes have seen better days. The mountain bike is a 2007 and has been destroyed in nasty races countless times. My road bike wasn't the most high-end to start with. Add in the thousands of miles it has seen since 2003 and you have one worn out machine. So I saved my money and researched every bike on the planet in hopes of getting an upgrade in machinery.

    Looking up bikes was torture. I couldn't decide what I wanted. Factoring in wheel size, suspension, drive train and warranty made things overwhelming at times, not to mention looking at price. I also poured through sponsorship applications trying to get help from anybody I could. Didn't even get a reply to single application so I was on my on. I raced for PricePoint back in 2003 and liked their Sette brand of products. It never was high-end stuff, but it was affordable and, most importantly, dependable. Recently, Sette unveiled a new crop of high-end carbon products, including bikes. I really wanted to go with a 29er, but I just couldn't find an affordable hardtail that was light enough to race. Yes, I have decided to go back to a hardtail after 7 years on a full suspension. I really like riding full-suspension, but at the level I'm at, it just makes more sense to go hardtail so you can climb. That's where our races are won. Anyway, I decided to go with Sette's new Serum carbon hardtail. It's 16", but I got a good deal on the model with XTR. Came with Avid Elixir carbon brakes and Mavic Crossmax ST wheels, both upgrades from my current parts.

Loving the XTR Shadow carbon rear derailleur


    So I was a bit skeptical about going back to the hardtail. I figured it would beat me to death and wouldn't be fun on faster, rough trails like my trusty Racer-X is. I thought of this buy as sacrificing fun for results. But I know that I can ride any kind of bike fast once I get used to it, so I had hope.

     I have now logged about 15 hours on the bike and I freaking love it! The frame is way more forgiving on the rough stuff than I expected. I'm not getting beat up and I'm not having to take different lines. It accelerates like a beast. I didn't like the narrow, flat bar to start with, but after a few rides I think I may leave it on for a while. The XTR shifting is by far the most crisp shifting I have ever had. The bike has a 5 year frame warranty too. Can't beat that for the price. Only change I am making to it is to swap out those ugly tires for some fast Maxxis ones! It's more than 3 pounds lighter than my current race bike.

    Now I thought I would only be able to afford one new bike this year, but with the savings I got on the mountain bike, buying a road bike was actually an option. The Sette Forza line of road bikes were the first bikes that caught my eye. Very nice bikes with nice components. I thought and thought about what to get and ended up landing on the Forza. I wanted a Specialized, but the Forza was half the price. Hard to argue with that. And again, it comes with a 5 year warranty. The Mavic Cosmic Carbone wheels have been on my wish list for a long time. I can't wait to ride this bike in a crit! I haven't had it very long, so I haven't had a chance to ride it yet. This bike is also about 3 pounds lighter than my current ride.

     Counting the All City SS cross bike that I won at Cross the Way, I got myself 3 new bikes in 8 days. Sweet! And I got the road and mountain bike for less than I expected to pay for one of them. We will see how they hold up in the long run. I'm happy to be the guinea pig on the new brand.

     Maxxis is back on board for 2011. I am so thankful to have their support again. This makes 7 years. They have stuck by me through good times and bad. They were pretty excited about my 2010 season and felt the need to help out a little more for 2011.




     Also on board for 2011 is First Endurance. They sponsored me several years ago and I am happy to have them back. My nutrition on the bike has been an issue the past few years. I just simply couldn't afford to eat and drink anything other than Gatorade and whatever enegery bar I got in my bag at registration. I'm getting a very nice discount on all their products and have already received my first order. They even threw in a few extras for me! They'll be taking care of me on the bike and also in triathlons as I expand in that sport.

    I will continue to support Wood-N-Wave as long as Steve Wilson is the owner. The man is like family. I doubt I will be in the orange and blue jersey, but I will still support the shop and the team.




     So there's a little bit about how my 2011 is coming together. I'm working hard for next year. I won't be like everybody else and say I am working harder than ever or laying it all out for next season because I have been doing that every season. The strong fight while the weak rot. You know those weak people, the ones who are around for 3 years and then sell all their bikes. I'm going to keep fighting every year. I can't help but keep pushing myself. It's just the way I am.