Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Coffee, Cycling, and New Wheels

Coffee and cycling just seem to go together. Bianchi has a bike they describe as a "Cafe Racer," anywhere you go you can find a "coffee shop ride," and most riders I know like to kick start their systems with a cup or two before a race. If Euro-pro is the style, coffee is the must-have accessory. But try as I may, I just don't like the stuff. I tried all summer to ween myself onto it, working up with iced mochas, and other sugary drinks filled with enough milk, sugar, and chocolate mask the coffee itself. No luck.

Last Saturday, when everyone was showing up for Day 2 of racing, Daniele walked in cradling an enormous coffee maker in his arms. Vince showed up with another one. They trotted down the infield, plugged the in, pulled out some cups, and starting kicking out espressos. Now the ties between cycling and coffee were getting even more explicit. Jet Fuel beans were poured into a Saeco coffee maker (Which was an impressive machine. Put in whole beans, push a button, and a few seconds later it spit out a fresh, hot double shot of espresso.) sitting on the infield of a velodrome during a 6-day.

Some of you may have heard that I'll be joining Speedfix Racing for next season. Sponsors and riders are still being finalized, but one company that's been on board for a while is Cane Creek. When Der Kruser told them about the racing I was going to be doing this fall, they decided to hook me up with some new wheels to race on.
They were even good enough to send ones that had been tied and soldered, and had tires already glued on. And they shipped the to me here in Canada. I'm pretty pumped to try them out at training tomorrow night.

Taking these factors into account, here's my 10 step plan for the final 3 days of the Forest City 6-day:
1. Arrive at the track
2. Drink an espresso
3. Change into riding clothes
4. Drink an espresso
5. Put on fast new wheels
6. Drink an espresso
7. Warm up
8. Drink an espresso
9. ???
10. Win

There's a good chance that step 9 will either be "Develop heart condition," or "Vomit." In either case, I figure the combination of new wheels and scary amounts of coffee is the only way I'll be able to stop Daniele from winning all the sprints at will. I'll let you know what happens.

7 comments:

Tenacious T said...

If you're planning to drink that much espresso, number 9 may be "Miss start of first race due to inability to leave restroom"

Charlie_A said...

Hate to point this out, but those don't look like TUFOs.

SickBoy said...

charlie... shh....

Charlie_A said...

You just need some stickers (like Michelin).

http://www.cyclingnews.com/road/2007/tour07/tech/index.php?id=/photos/2007/tech/features/tour_tech_607/Bouygues_Telecom_mystery_tubular

Seriously though, anyone getting rid of their "old" wheels? I may be interested.

Charlie

Charlie_A said...

OK, that link didn't work, but you get the idea.

Anonymous said...

I saw that you and elena were starting up a team. It's awesome that you guys are really getting some serious sponsorships too. Have fun with them fancypants wheels but don't let your zipps start getting too jealous.

Lunatic Biker said...

Yeah Crosby, great to see you and Elena starting a new team. You two will provide great leadership.