台灣 Team Cinelli Ritchey 車隊

Photo courtesy of hong76415 @ http://album.blog.yam.com/show.php?a=hong76415&f=8937649&i=21902853

Even though I felt I was pretty close to the start line, everyone jammed in when the start gun went off. It took almost 2 minutes to get over the line. I assumed there may be somewhat of a neutral, but not so. Fast guys at the front went hard off the line, so I was in TT mode just passing the stretched out string of riders and gaps. I never saw the lead group. Doesn’t mean I wasn’t going fast though with a new PB 20min of 322w and 1 hour of 306w NP. Mostly rode solo and staying with a group of 3 other riders the last 8k and slowed a bit, probably should have tried to attack away from them, but felt I’d given a good training effort. Finishing time was 2:08 something.

12th not too bad.

This week I retired my trusty steed Cinelli Strato, and began anew on Cinelli’s Pro Best Of.

（阿丹 note: 這週 Rick 換新車，車架換 2012 Cinelli Pro Best Of：他之前的 Strato 是 XL，今年的 Best Of 用小一號的 L 。主要的原因是可把龍頭放的更低。Best Of 的座管雖是車架一體成型款，但也可裝入普通的座管。Rick 的車沒有裁座管，直接搭配全 carbon 鎖環和 Ritchey 的 SuperLogic 座管 ~ 這應比我的 Best Of 要輕，也更好調整座墊。。。hmmm… 也許我也應該這樣“升級”我的 Best Of? 除了 Quarq 功率大盤外，Rick 的戰馬比較有趣的是用最新，比 4-Axis 更輕 20克的 WCS C260 龍頭和還未正式上市的 SuperLogic 輪組。Rick 對新駒的印象：比 Strato smooth，但在出力時絲毫不軟）

The Strato has been a great bike for the past two racing seasons. Stiff, responsive, and light, (more…)

I’m now officicially in rehab (not like Amy Winehouse RIP). With much deliberation I scheduled surgery to repair a ruptured bicep in my arm. After 18 stitches, 6 weeks in a sling, no riding (doctor’s orders), and taking the bus to work, I’m starting to feel back to normal. I attempted to maintain some semblance of fitness with brisk walks and taking the stairs instead of elevator (22 floors). My reward today was a nice 1 hour ride in Dakeng! It felt great to be back on the bike, and I look forward to beginning a more sensible training plan for next season. Hoorah!

When I was an up-and-coming bicycle racer in northern California 28 years ago, I lost my best friend Charley to a bicycling accident. The recent death of professional racer Weylandt has brought up some buried emotions, images, and questions that I haven’t had to acknowledge for some time regarding Charley’s death.

The biggest change in me from that event was my distaste and loss of passion for cycling. I began to look at other directions for my future. It took several years to regain my interest in riding and return to racing, but it was never again my first priority.

Today through the generosity of Team Cinelli Ritchey I have the opportunity to again be a bicycle racer. (more…)

Wind Tunnel with United Healthcare.

Who? Team what? Team Cinelli Ritchey has deep roots in leading bicycle product design and racing heritage…

(more…)

After an exciting business trip to Interbike show in Las Vegas I made a detour to LA visiting friends. I had the luxury of bringing a bike with me and indulged in some coastal riding. Though LA recorded it’s highest temperature while I was there, I rode along the beach, connecting me to panoramic mountain climbs, easily 20 degrees cooler than inland. I cruised the bikini clad beaches of Manhattan Beach on my way to Rancho Palos Verde; and also north through the surfing communities of Venice, Santa Monica, to the mountains of Malibu, including some steep dirt roads.  A true So Cal experience.

Rick 和一家人上週六早 5am 從美國回台。9am 到台中家。11am 趕到大甲參加捷安特盃。。。

My journey began on Thursday noon in Northern California USA with a 7 hour car drive to drop off family and head to the airport for a 1:00am flight back to Taiwan. With 3 adults and 2 kids, that car was full of luggage! The flight was just over 12 hours landing in TPE 5:00 am on Saturday. A bus then taxi ride back to Taichung was next, arriving by 9:00am. Shower, food, gear and tool grab I was out the door around 10:30am in my car headed to Dajia.

This man earned some bragging rights last Saturday. Jet lag? What jet lag?

(more…)

My ride in the north coast series stage one road race was a good example of selection, timing and steadfast commitment. Either that or I got lucky, ha! Mere minutes after the starting gun, two riders attacked off the front. Not long after another rider accelerates to bridge. In the time of two heartbeats I knew this was my opportunity to get out of the pack and into a promising breakaway, so I chased hard… Once the initial accelerations and rotations were over, we had six grouped together with representation from: Giant, Equinox, Columbus, Cherry. With this mix there was less motivation for the main pack to chase, and those that attempted to chase weren’t organized well enough.

yeah yeah, it's another plaque... but the fans were impressed

(more…)

Here’s a pic of my early Strato build. Once I threw the wheels on I had to take this picture. This is a stunning bike! I feel some major motivation coming on…

Cinelli Rocks!!!
You need to put yourself on the list and order one of these. I promise you won’t be disappointed.

in the meantime, OUR Stratos are ready to hit the road (and did already this morning)

(more…)

Ray, Inigo, Rick

The Good
Beautiful Puli roads; Excellent team camaraderie; Wonderful company; Amazing meals; Unforgetable character building experiences.

The Bad
Rain, and more rain.

(more…)

The points racked up for Team Cinelli Ritchey in the National Series Races last year.

E30:
Tim – 41pts. – 4th Place
Inigo – 37pts. – 7th Place
E40:
Rick – 69pts. – 2nd Place
RM20:
Ray – 32pts. – 4th Place

In Elite team standings – 128pts. – 9th Place

However this doesn’t seem to add up. We should have accumulated 147pts. in Elite which would put us in 7th place, one point ahead of Specialized. Anyone care to follow-up on this?

A not so ghoulish day in Dajia (hint… it’s Halloween), cool breeze, bright but not too sunny or hot. Team CR was looking sharp in top shelf kit and equipment. No matter, it was my little kids that gained most attention! We rode a warm up lap, prepared for the start. Delayed! .. and worse, only 3 laps instead of 4. Wait some more. Warm-up was long gone, time for a nap, or some lunch. Finally racing, and predictably fast.

chicken little Kaikai, the lovely Xiaoyu, and princess Olive

(more…)

Excellent altitude riding during my trip to Lake Tahoe in the USA. I rode some of my favorite rides from my youth: Donner Summit, SkiSlope, Brockway Summit, Mount Rose… to name a few. I also rode some beautiful mountain bike single track on Tahoe Rim Trail. Two weeks of riding at an average elevation of 2500m has me in pretty good shape.

There’s a lull between races, hot weather, rain and typhoons… sound to me like a good time to take a break from the bike. Don’t get me wrong, I love to stay fit, but sometimes you can get burned out from the bike. I’m taking 10 days without touching or looking at my bike. I’ll take advantage of this time to do a little cross training to stay fit. One of my favorites is hiking the steep trails of Dakeng. It’s nice I get an upper and lower body workout AND get to spend time with the family!

cross training with the kids in Dakeng