La Suprema

One of the benefits of traveling to odd places in the world to ride a bike, is exploring the culture and people in these little towns and cities. Tucson is no different, and while here I tried to soak up as much of the bike culture as I could. I love seeing how things are done differently from place to place. Along with BICA's one of the best things I've encountered were some of the local frame builders in the area. These guys are far from your mass produced Giants, Specialized's, and Cannondales. These guys are in it for the plane jane love of cycling. They offer each individual rider they're own personal bike.

One of these characters who I talked to was Ed, his company is La Supremo which just started up last year. While talking to Ed, you quickly realize he's a very calculating kind of guy. Every sentence is thought out and there is no error in his speech. He comes from generations of tinkerers and metal workers. His great grand father in fact use to work for the Colt firearm company many many years ago.

Blood runs thick and Ed's grandfather, father and himself have all adopted the metal working trade. Ed took up welding at a young age and became a machinist in industry. One day while he was machining gun sights of all things, he decided he wanted to make the plunge and do what a lot of use dream of. That is of course making bikes for a living.

While walking through the shop and studio of La Supremo. I quickly realized that along with having to know hundreds of different metal working skills you also have to be a tinkerer. You have to tweek things ever so slightly to make them your own unique thing. There are many projects in the shop that Ed has been working on. Some finished, some not, but they all have a little twist that you can tell have been thought out for hours before a file ever hit a piece of steel.

(Ed's latest project, a lugged steel fork. If you look closely you can see how many individual pieces had to be handmade in this bad boy.)

La Supremo only works with steel. Its an avenue that hasn't been perfected yet and offers such a range of ride quality mixed with craftsmanship. Not only does Ed weld, machine and braze his bikes, he also hand makes lugs. Custom makes forks, and bends tubes himself. He really is the one man show. Its something refreshing to see and talk to the guy who is thinking about you alone, when making your bike.

Though I'm a seasoned bike shop guy with 10 years under my belt. I could tell that Ed was 'dumbing' things down for me. This was how I wanted it, as most of the things he was talking about delt with hundred of years of bicycle evolution, not to mention metal working to go along with it.

He showed me some raw materials. Seatstay tubes to be precise. He pointed out 4-5 different ways to join a seat stay tube to the lug by the seat collar. All offering different ride characteristics and weights. All depending on what kind of riding you were intending on doing. Some had more clearance than others. Some were lighter, tougher. He then went on the explain what era, and what welder/manufacturer developed certain kinds of seat stay designs. So much intricacy for a simple seat stay. It definitely got me thinking about how this sport and passion has evolved, and the interesting people who have had their influence.

(The magic begins when your bike is made around your body)

Times are going good for Ed right now. The La Suprema brand is growing. There is no sugar coating the life of a intdependant frame builder though. “Its feast or famine” explains Ed. “Times are going good, but tomorrow may be different, when its slow, that's when I shift into marketing mode.” Ed said in July of last year, the first year, the total sales were $15, for the whole month.

While hanging out there the past couple days, people have been stopping by. Many people who I saw walk through the shop were authentically excited about their bikes. From working at a bike shop, you can tell the smile people have when they are truly happy with the service and individual attention they've received. Of everyone I saw and talked to about La Suprema bikes, they all were smiling from ear to ear.

Believe me, my pictures don't do La Suprema justice. Take a peak at Ed's website at http://www.edsbikes.us/index.htm

Up, up and away

I'm on the commute again. This time from Tucson to Port Moody BC, just a little ways outside Vancouver. So far its been good and its been bad. Number 1 the weather is terrible. Its been snowing and hailing lately and the temps have been way below average for Van, hovering around 5 degrees. I'm learning the riding here is questionable as well. For the most part I've only been able to find rides on insanely busy-traffic filled roads. There is next to no bike lanes and the whole time your looking over your shoulder waiting to get brushed by a car.

Scott Laliberte, the guy I'm living with says there are decent loops, and I'm waiting for him to show me the ropes around this place.

I started work as well. A few shifts a week a bike shop about 15kms away. Its a great little place, focusing on family bikes and a budding high end market. The English guy who just took over the place really has some good ideas. This being my 7th bike shop job I really like some of the things he's doing and hes really making it a community bike shop. Cheers. He's also given me free rein of the mechanic shop. Anything I need or feel should be done, are done.

The commute is insane though. To get to work, a mere 15km away there is a whopping 500m of climbing(1000m to get home). The pitches vary from 9%-16%. Its crazy. Combined with my 20lbs backpack it will either make me insanely strong or kill me.

( Not many houses have these on the mantel)

Over the past few years I've learned to adapt to new surroundings. I don't really find it intimidating coming to a new place with new people, which is a good skill to have I think. The problem that I worry about is that I might get too use to this moving around. I don't want to be that guy who leaves whenever I get board of somewhere. I have to settle down at some point.

Before I left Tucson, I was at Fairwheel bike shop to say some goodbyes and to get some mags. I noticed something up in the rafters that caught my eye. I asked one of the shop guys what it was all about. He kinda shrugged and didn't say much. I then asked another guy, who I saw at the race the week before and his eyes lit up.

"That's Gord Frasier's Tour De France Bike" (Gord is like the Tucson cycling celebrity, not bad for a Canuk)

Whoa I thought, and I admired its very euro flair. Of course the bike isn't made by Look but is a custom....something. the old Mavic with tubulars are so bad-ass. Hell, the whole bike is bad ass.

Although Gord didn't finish the Tours he entered, he apparently was in a couple top 10's with the big guns in the sprint. Pretty cool to see his whip hanging up.

Tick Tock

I made sure to take in a final Arizona sunset a couple days ago. I'm convinced they are the best I've ever seen. Unbelievable.

Blogs been doing well. Its gotten about 75 hits so far today and its only 9:30...interesting. While I'm sitting in airports waiting to head to Canuk, I got to thinking....why is it that all airports are always under construction, or at least have little projects here and there that are never done. You would think someone would take the 10 minutes and paint over the 5x5m thing of drywall.

That's right...Meters. Goodbye America.

After 2.5 hours of sleep I'm rushing to the airport to wait. Somehow I managed to get through customs half easy(knock on wood). Its probably the first time.......well ever. They gave me hassle about my wheel bags, which I expected. A couple months ago an Air Canada clerk gave me a wheelchair symbol-tag to put on them. Its seems to give me some lee-way. God bless Canada. I guess I'm a minimal threat to the integrity of the whole United States.

I still didn't get away with my $85 bones to get the bikes on a plane. Damn I should'a been a golfer.

Jared, you bastard you were right about meeting people in Arizona.

Pice of Pie

Today was the last solid ride I was going to have in Tucson as I'm flying up to Vancouver on Tuesday. I wanted to make it a good one. Luc scheduled 5 hours, and I hadn't been up to the top of Mt. Lemmon yet. So, today was the day. Normally I wouldn't have gone up there on a day like today as the winds in Tucson were crazy! Other people seemed to think the same, as the hill was pretty bare for a Sunday.

Everyone I've been riding with has told me that on top of Lemmon there is a killer pie place. " The best pie of your life" they say. With this in mind, I knew today I had to make it to the top.

The legs worked all 24 miles up, and they seemed to flow up it much easier than they had the first couple attempts. The scenery is unbelievable, and the weather was warm at the upper regions compared to my last jaunt up the hill.

The Pie. I don't really like pie to tell you the truth. But, with so many people telling it it was so good I took the plunge. For $8 for a slice of pie it better have been worth it! It ended up being pretty good, I wouldn't expect any less for $10 for a Pepsi and a piece of pie. Looking at my mid-ride snack I made sure it was the only thing I ate. There was about enough calories for 5 Lemmon rides.

Of course the decent is after and I took it slow as Lemmon has quite a bit of traffic on Sundays. The hill wasnt nearly as cold as I was expecting which was good. This time of years arm warmers and a vest were enough.

I rolled in home with a ride time of 5:30(including pie) 140km's and just over 2400meters elevation gain.

(I bet they wouldnt like the snow if they got 10 feet of it for 8 months of the year)

BadAss

The idea of doing 5 hours of climbing up Lemmon today didn't seem all that appealing. Especially with this new friend I have in my loins the size of a nickel.

That changed when I watched this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8uyPnIveJo&eurl=http://www.belgiumkneewarmers.com/

Cant Beat the Heat

Yesterday I started to feel back to normal. The past few rides have been kind of hit or miss. I've felt fine off the bike then once I started riding, I was reminded of the lingering illness.

I was glad to hop on yesterday and feel like my old self. I'm still not 100%, but pretty close I think.

Today's ride was the big one for the week. 6 hours in the saddle. I decided to throw in some climbing in as I ran down to the Madera Park climb, which is basically 10miles of gradual 2-5% climbing, then about 3 miles of some of the steepest monster climb ever.

Once you ride 17% grades, you never forget it. Its something that equipped with a 23 in the back I had to draw in the Single Speed legs even to get up the damn thing. The Garmin doesnt lie.

The top is satisfying for the fact that you have a downhill for about 50km, and the scenery is really nice. Even with 30degree base temps, the snow is not far from the top of the climb.

For a 6 hour ride in 30 degree heat its tough to keep the sugars up. I'm getting so sick of energy bars, so I experimented today with some real food on the ride, being tortilla wraps, peanut butter and some marmalade. I think I might have to make it a regular thing. Of course there is always the half way pit stop to fuel up on Yankee Gas Station Treats. These goodies have enough calories to do 3, 6 hour rides. And they are oh so good.

I rolled in after 180km, and 1800m of climbing in the legs. A solid day I'd say.

Someones Watching...http://www.opusbike.blogspot.com/

Someday.....http://www.howtoavoidthebummerlife.com/weblog/archives/2008/03/moustaches_in_cycling.html#more

NRG love

In 2005 I had about enough of the racing scene and I needed a change in my life. I thought of the one thing in life that I really wanted to do. I thought about it for a month or so, and decided that I would like to move to a small BC town and do nothing but ride my bike.

A couple months later I was on a plane to the small town of Cumberland, where I rode for a couple days the year before, and scoped out the town. I took a suitcase and 3 bikes, and had a reservation at a hostel.

When I got there it was terrible weather, but I was in heaven. When I say small town I mean one street. Nothing but the hostel a couple bakeries, a coffee shop and a bike shop. I was staying at the Riding Fool Hostel where I ended up living for about 8 months. Living in a hostel for 8 months isn't easy, but I started working there, and ended up running the place for the month of August.

If anyone has ever lived in a small town they know there isn't much to do. I kind of embraced this as I just rode my single speed. Cumberland has some of the best trails in North America. You can ride for days and not ride the same trail twice. So all I did was ride. When I wasn't working I rode. After riding I drank with my bros(ended up drinking a lot actually) and this was my life. It pretty much revolved around these things.



When your riding a single speed for about 20 hours a week, you tend to get fast. After a couple months of just plane-jane riding I started to pick up the pace. I went to Cumberland not intending on racing at all, but I ended up racing more that year than I had ever before.



Mostly I entered Vancouver Island Cups, but eventually some bigger racers entered the palette as well. One being the Test of Metal, the largest continual MTB race in North America. It frequently gets upwards of 800-900 participants. Since my good friend Melissa Dekker was heading over I decided to go, not really knowing anything about the race.

I entered a mountain bike mecca. I could remember being so nervous before the start and thinking "WTF have I gotten myself into. 70km on a rigid SS, I'm going to have a rough day."

The race started and I found myself toward the back being over spun on the SS since it was on pavement. I entered the woods after about 20 minutes probably a couple hundred people back in the pack. Slowly I just worked and worked and worked myself up to the front. The Test is very frustrating on a SS. There is a mixture of trails and ATV/Gravel road so a lot of the time you find yourself over spun. This is horribly frustrating as I worked my nads off in the trails then would get passed by everyone who I just passed when the course opened up.

Despite being overspun for most of the race, I started the 9 mile climb and thought "Holy Crap that's steep" On a Single Speed you cant do anything but pedal. So I did. I pushed as hard as I could. Interestingly enough I started passing a lot of people. Not just jowblows but full on Rocky Mtn Semi Pro riders and the like. It was here while I was bleeding from my eyes, spinning about 40rpm and crying that I noticed someone watching me. I didn't think much of it and kept breaking my knees.(ended up being an NRG west coast rep)

I finished the race, being the first SS guy, which was pretty cool. I can remember being very frustrated by the race. The fact that it could have been so much faster if I wasn't over spun. Food for thought another year I summed it up to.



A couple days passed and I can remember making the oatmeal in the hostel kitchen. Manus came upstairs(the hostel and the bike shop were connected). He said Mike from NRG was on the phone and wanted to chat with me.

We spoke and he said they saw me riding at the Test and wanted to help me out. I never felt more PRO before or since. Within a day or so I had enough Cliff shots to kill a horse. A whole wack of Surly chainrings and goodies, and about 4 SETS of Maxxis tires with the promise of more if I needed them.

The Maxxis Tires were the big thing for me. Anyone who rides half often knows tires are crazy expensive and tend to not last very long. The Schwalbe's I was riding during the Test Of Metal had Duct Tap lining the inside of the sidewalls as thy had blown out about a month before. No Joke. Needless to say I was very happy.

It turns out I had a better Test of Metal than expected. I broke the longstanding SS record at that race. My time ended up being 3.02, braking the old one by about 2 minutes. Its one of those things I didn't really understand at the time.

Over the past couple years the boys at NRG and I have remained close. Even though I continually get further from their market( ie being a dirty SS guy to a full on road guy) they are still willing to help me out. Even this year, I don't know where I'll be, but they still have helped me out with the necessities of Cliff Shots, Maxxis Tires and couple other goodies from Surly and NRG products. All I can do try to spread the NRG love for 'em. Thanks for all the help the past few years guys!

Cheers to Guiness!!

The Crit on Saturday was one of the most intense rides I've had in a long time. It was my second Crit in 3 years(since Canada Games crit) so needless to say I suck at working the pack. Riding Crits are one of those things you need to get use to, and the only way to do it is to keep riding them. If I knew what the hell I was doing, my average HR would have probably dropped from 177bpm to like 160. It just takes time to get to know that stuff.

My biggest accomplishment was that I finished the bastard. I can remember looking down at the Garmin and having a HR of like 190 and thinking.."This is so intense, this is too much" then looking down at the clock and seeing I've only raced for 16minutes, of 60. I managed to hold on to finish, but I pretty much wore out the nose of my saddle. I held on, even though guys were dropping like flies.

The road race was a different story. I was feeling decent and rode the first lap fine, but it was when there was $100 KOM on the top of the climb that the pack went to shit. After the second lap a break had gone, and I worked my ass off to try to bridge it back. By the time we caught back on we hit the climbs again and my legs were toast. I rode for a bit and managed to do about 5 laps before pulling the plug. I got to the point where the legs just weren't working. Being the first bit of intensity of the year, I think the Crit killed me more than I realized.

These races aren't Joe Blow races either. The thing about Arizona is that everyone has been racing since Dec/January, and come mid May most guys pack it up, as its too hot to ride. So essentially this is their peak season. Not to mention at the 'local' race there were guys from the Pro teams Health Net, BMC, Colivita Oil, and Todd Wells(#2 ranked MTB'er in the States.)

I noticed more than a few former American National Champion bands around the shoulders as well. Not to mention a former World Champion band(no Joke). Again, these guys don't joke around. The legs will come, and the pack form as well. Its just takes time for this mountain biker to adapt to these little things.

Enough about the bad showing on the weekend. You people had your way and for the second tine in 6 weeks the weather went to shit. We're talking crazy weather. 2 inches of hail and 5-10degree temps. Not nice. I hear its suppose to be 27 on Wednesday though.

I'm counting down the days until I head back up North. I'm really looking foreword to getting rid of the sickness and putting in a solid week before joining my team for the first Canadian race of the year. In the meantime we had a Canadian Pancake day here at the house. There were 7 of us cyclists all eating too much and procrastinating about riding in the rain. Its a tough life.

Yankee Crits

Very Very hard day. Zone 5 is 175 bpm-195 bpm(heart beats)...basically as hard as I can push for an hour. More on that later.

Opus

I wanted to take some time and give a shout out to some of my sponsors. One of them being Opus Bikes. I've had a lot of random sponsors over the years. Some good, some not so good. Sponsors that gave stuff for free, others who provided things I had to pay for.

Last year as travel increased, I needed some new bikes and some support. There wouldn't be a way I could afford to travel and buy my bikes along with clothing and all that stuff. I asked Jared at Smooth Cycle if he thought Opus would be in for a sponsorship for 07. He called the rep Terry Tomlin to see what he thought.

Without any regional results(I was in BC), and not having talked to Terry in years, he was full on aboard. I mentioned that I wouldn't be in the Maritimes very much as I was looking for more National results(this bites Terry as he is an East Coast rep). No matter he said and within a few phone calls I had a team kit, helmet, and the best most ridiculous deal I've ever seen given on a bike that wasn't free. Needless to say I was pretty impressed that Opus and Terry put that much faith me for a unproven return.

The year went by, and I tried to be in the East Coast as much as possible to fly the flag. For the most part, the season went ok. After a year of not racing consistently I had some good results. But one thing that I really appreciated was the support from a Canadian company.

I feel I can really appreciate Opus Bike as opposed to any other brand because I've seen them both from a racer's point of view, who spends his life on a bike, and also as a salesman. Opus being a Canadian company, based out of Montreal makes it hit a little bit closer to home. Not to mention they are a great riding bike, and they tend to be 2/3 cheaper than your Treks, Cannondales, Specialized with similar parts packages.

Jared once told me that of all the bikes he's ridden(shop owner) the Opus was the best riding roadie hes had. I can attest to that as the Fhast(even though I haven't been on it this year) is top 2 MTB bikes I've ridden. Next to my beloved Surly 1x1.

This year the support continues with Opus. Terry and the crew have again given me great support with the possibility of minimal return. I'm riding for a team in BC(hence their team kit/sponsors) but I mentioned I was worn thin when it comes to clothing. Terry said it was no problem and I now have my boots filled with enough Opus clothes to get me through the year.

Even after these legs stop spinning with racing intentions. I can definitely see myself rocking the Opus brand.

Out with the old, in with the new

Who would have thought that jabbing your genitals with a needle and milking out 3 weeks worth of blood and puss would make for a pleasant bike ride. Finally, after suffering for weeks, I can sit on my saddle properly. No more standing for 10 minutes at a time.

The cough and sickness lingers. I feel fine, but I notice I have a little bit less power. Could be from the 30degree temps, or could be from loosing 12 pounds too though. I'm at the point now where I think I have to tone down how quickly I'm loosing weight. 2 pounds a week is healthy, but I think I'm getting a little too close to the edge, which is also another reason for the sickness coming on and sticking around.



There is another race in the area this weekend I might try to hit up. A Crit on Saturday and a Roadie on Sunday. We'll see what the Garmin has to say about that.


(no need for the old heart rate moniter watch anymore)

So yeah, the Garmin. Probably the coolest thing to happen to cycling. I'm finding out things about rides and myself I had no idea. " Yeah, that's a tough ride....." I didn't realize it was tough because there was 1000meters of gradual climbing in it that I didn't know I was doing.

Best washing instructions ever.

Return to Sender

I pulled into the driveway finishing up the days ride(back on the bike). I was going to make a post giving an update on my mustache growth when I saw the illusive package. Finally after over a month of waiting. Its here!

It was probably the best care package someone could get. A brand new Garmin. Clothes from Opus and NRG, along with enough cliff shots to turn anyone into a diabetic.


The Garmin is an interesting toy, and I quickly set out to understand the damn thing. I'm a big fan of just riding. For the past few years I haven't ridden with anything...no heart rate monitor, not even a computer, so this was a bit overwhelming for me.

Despite my prior training habits, Coach Luc needs input. So I'm giving him all I can. My ride feedback has gone from...."yeah, felt good today....average HR was about 134bpm".

To now bar/pie/plot graphs of anything you can think of. "Yeah...HR was this, while at this elevation, and my cadence was that, for this long...what color do you want the graph in?" "Hmmm what was the humidity that day....here it is."


I got some feathery gloves from NRG as well. The Brown Trout Lite's. Great for crit racing in the states! I'll talk about my killer sponsors in the next couple days, but in other news.



I called Doctor JF on PEI. I told him about the Sore problem, and he said I should milk it for all I was worth. So, I was off to the pharmacy to get supplies. Yesterday also happened to be beer-chili day, so I got hooked up there as well.



A couple jabs with a needle and lots of anti-biotic, I'm wondering how the ride will go today.