I recently took delivery of a 2012 Blue Triad SP. I’ve been doing the
Karen Hornbostel Memorial Time Trial Series and will be doing some
Duathlons and the Boulder Triathlon Series this year. I was looking
for a bike I could ride in both. I was looking for a quality,
affordable carbon bike that I could use for TT/DUs and Tris.

Looking at the Blue site I loved the look of the Triad SL, especially
the SL LE with its matte black – sick! Unfortunately my budget
couldn’t accomodate the SL and I don’t like the look of the EX so I
settled on the SP. The SP has the same geometry as the 2012 EX, which
is also the same as the 2011 SL. The only difference is the lower
grade (heavier) carbon. The bike is plenty stiff for me and the ride
quality is good, even on the horrible roads down at the Cherry Creek
Reservoir. I’m pleased to report that the black and white color
scheme of the SP looks even better in person than I expected. I’m
really happy.

If you read the triathlon reviews of the Triad’s the most common
complaint you’ll see is that the bike isn’t super low and long. I’m
still tweaking my position but will be able to get a good position on
the bike. The relatively short/high geometry works for me. The seat
post offers two positions for different seat tube angles — 76 or 80
degrees. I’ve the bike to be stable and easily controlled from the
first moment I got on it. Apparently the triathletes you see riding
out zig-zagging the road either just aren’t good riders or their bike
isn’t as stable as the Triad.

The spec on the Blue website shows SRAM Apex crank and front
derailleur. My bike came with an FSA Gossamer BB30 crank and an FSA
F.D. Both work fine. First off I swapped out the American Classic
wheels for some deep dish carbon wheels I bought for this bike, 58mm
in front, 85mm in back. The second change was from the stock 90mm
stem to a 110mm. I’ll have JD or Dana cut off an extra 2″ of steerer
tube once I’m done fiddling with my position. One change to the stock
components I’d recommend is the inclusion of a 53/39 crank. I’ve spun
out the 50/11 high gear and won’t need a 34/26 for the terrain I’ll be
riding on this bike. The hardest climb I’ll do on this bike is Olde
Stage Road and even with my patent pending sloth climbing style I can
get over that with a 39/26. The shifting of the Apex rear derailleur
is surprisingly good with the indexed bar-end shifters. I’d prefer
the return to center shifters but those aren’t cheap.

I don’t have experience on another TT bike to compare against, but I
have noticed a significant difference between this bike and my road
bike with clip-ons. The effect is particularly evident at speed, once
you hit 25 mph you can stay there much longer and with less effort. I
rode the bike for the first time week 6 of KHMTT. I was 64 seconds
faster, or an average of 0.9 mph faster than the week before with the
same wheels and helmet with similar conditions. I’m in the bottom half
of my category still at KHMTT, but I can’t blame the bike anymore, now
its all about fitness.

All in all I’m a happy camper with the bike!

An excellent book on optimizing nutrition is Racing Weight by Matt Fitzgerald.

HBO is airing a special tonight and tomorrow called The Weight of the Nation about the obesity epidemic in America.  It can also be viewed online without a subscription.  Check it out.   And be grateful that you have found a sport that helps keep you in check.

You can read more about Jens and Chris at:

• Hardly Serious with Jens Voigt
• Chris Horner Racing

The Sufferfest produce a number of different training videos that are meant to target different training zones.  My personal favorites include:

• Hell Hath No Fury
• The Hunted
• Fight Club

Hell Hath No Fury

This is your standard 2×20 Threshold workout with a short 3:30 time trial to finish things off.  This video got me to realize how cool women’s cycling is and what a shame it is that we don’t get to see more women’s race coverage.

The Hunted

I think this one is probably my favorite.  The variety of this workout is what makes it so great.  You start with a good 5 minute tempo warmup, then a 20 minute threshold workout.  Finally ending things with a brutal set of inverse intervals.  When you get done with this workout, you feel like you just got stronger.

Fight Club

I like to do this workout as I start to introduce threshold intervals in the early.  This video is pretty much inline with what Friel calls “cruise intervals”.

Music

I can’t really speak to the music on these videos.  I typically do them with the volume turned off on the TV while I listen to my ipod (everyone else is usually sleeping while I’m doing these).  But we’ll be posting our own Foxtrot playlist in the near future.

One thing I will mention about doing these videos while listening to an ipod is that a 4 year old coming down into the basement to startle you by yelling “Good Morning” is pretty much guaranteed to send you careening off the rollers.  So make sure you have a little extra room.

Here’s the trailer for The Hunted.  Definitely check these out.  Happy training this weekend and looking forward to seeing you out on the roads once the sun comes back!

Tri-Lakes TT

On Saturday, our racers were greeted with great weather and an amazing course down near Palmer Lake outside of Castle Rock.  The course consisted of a series of rollers on a loop.

• Our reigning SM3 State TT Champion Peter Schimpf took 1st place in the SM3 race.
• Eric Jensen also scored a podium finish with 2nd place in the SM5 race.
• Roseanna Neupauer also score an impressive 4th place in the SW4 race.

Deer Trail

Foxtrot had yet another solid road race with two top ten finishes in the SM3 Deer Trail Road Race.  Below is a report from our 7th place top finisher, Paul Shumate

I wasn’t exactly excited about the race with multiple out and backs, narrow roads, and wind.  I did have 3 other teammates Lee, Steve, and Peter who were racing so that was at least a plus.  Our field started out 35 strong with partly cloudy skies and temps supposedly getting up into the sixties with fairly light winds.   It turns out that we would only be on CR 217 once since there was a bridge out farther down the road and then doing three laps on the other stretch of road.

The race started out at a reasonably pace with a neutral start and mostly a headwind going into the first out and back.  Going into the first turn around I was near the back and didn’t bridge the gap quickly enough and had to chase harder and more than I expected.  After that, I tried to position my self better at the turn arounds and went full gas to regain contact with the guys up front.  We were well represented with Lee, Peter, and my self at/near the front of the peloton.  Steve had some sort of mechanical I think near the first turn around and ended up chasing for a while and eventually regaining contact with us in the middle of the race right as a group of 45+ riders were catching us.

As the 45+ group approached, the moto-ref neutralized the field and asked that we stay to the right.  In the chaos three racers decided that riding neutral meant to attack the field as they were riding slow and following instruction.  Just about the least classiest move and borderline cheating.  But a strong chase by the rest of the field brought back the break a few minutes later.

GS Boulder had a couple of guys riding pretty strong and attacking multiple times through out the race.  One was Carfang, who won the Louisville Crit, so he needed to be watched.  On the second to last big roller I was in a bit of trouble and got separated and thought my race was over.  I was able to regain contact a few seconds later and knew I just needed to hang on a little bit longer.  We caught the solo break end the last 2 km or so; it seemed like he broke away at like 15 miles or something.  I was in a good position going into the last 1 km, but was boxed in during the sprint, not even getting out of the saddle to contest, finishing 7th.  Lee finished 10th, with Steve and Peter finishing at 22nd and 25th I think.

We only did about 48 miles on the abbreviated course.  The weather turned out to be perfect, the race went better than expected, and having teammates always makes things more enjoyable.  So maybe Deer Trail isn’t so bad.

Comment below if you think we left something out!

1. Cooler and extra beverages – bring an extra bottle for warmup and a recovery drink for after the race. Best to keep them in a small fabric cooler so they are nice and cold after the finish.
2. Extra jersey or undershirt and old pair of sunglasses for the trainer – use a different jersey or shirt and sunglasses on the trainer, this will keep you from being soaking wet with sweat stained glasses at the start line.
3. Hand Sanitizer/Baby Wipes/Rubber gloves – great for wiping off any grease or cleaning up. Use the gloves when you work on your bike. Helps prevent getting grease all over your kit.
4. Baseball cap – I hate helmet head
5. Pins – hang onto the pins from a good race. These will bring you good luck
6. Release form (filled out) – why write when you can type. This will prevent errors in results and give you one less thing to do at the race. I usually have a few copies at home or in the car
7. Compression socks – not everyone believes in these. but for long car rides, these things are great for both before and after the race.  just helps keep the legs feeling fresh
8. Extra tube(s) and an old tire – worst thing is to get a flat or cut tire before the start. You probably bring extra wheels, but now you’re down a set.
9. Disc Wheel Floor Pump Adapter – you likely bring a pump. But if you’re a TT specialist, don’t show up without your “crack pipe”
10. Avery Beer – shameless plug, but oh so good!  if you’re like us, the best way to finish off a race is to tailgate with your buddies after a hard day of riding. Don’t forget to designate a driver and drink responsibly.