Cool Things I Saw at Interbike 2014 (Part 1)

You would not believe how light this frame from Razik was!!!

I found a few beautiful steel frames... but you really had to look for them.

Simple. Put your headlamp UNDER your stem. Brilliant!

More coming later this week. 

Viva Bike Vegas Update

My 4 weeks to train for a metric century turned into 3 weeks when illness hit me for nearly a week. In the middle of those three weeks my amazing wife gave birth to our 8th child. As you can imagine, this further limited my, so called, "Training." Most of my workouts consisted of intervals on the stationary trainer at the gym with one 27 mile bike ride being my only real ride of any significant distance. I did a number of 10 mile or less rides in hopes of getting used to sitting on the saddle again.

Somehow, I finished the metric century. This was my only goal. With Map My Ride showing two Cat 3 and one Cat 2 climbs, I had no goal for finishing under any set length of time. And that is a good thing since I took longer doing this metric century than a full century would have taken me when I was younger.

Most of it was fun. Fourteen miles were excruciating. The finish was a peaceful sense of accomplishment.

Before

After

What Is Your Motivation? Some Tips and Tools for Staying Motivated

"It doesn't get easier,
you just get faster." Greg LeMond 

When it comes to health and fitness, motivation is everything. It really isn't that important what your
motivation is, as long as it is something important enough to you that it will be lasting. A 10 lb weight loss goal is great, until you have lost the 10 lbs. Then what? Riding a century when you turn 40 is great, but when the century is done, then what?

I have found myself in both of these scenarios in the past three years, only to lose motivation and lose everything that I have worked for. When that short term goal is achieved and I have not anticipated it with setting up another high motivating short term goal, the doughnut or the pillow are stronger forces than my inner motivation.

The way that I see it is that we need to tackle the power behind motivation on two levels. First, it is important to have your "Big Picture Motivation." For me, this would be things like improved long term health to be more active with my wife and kids and to be able to be around to see my kids grow up and start their own families. Your "Big Picture Motivation" (BPM) is the noble, high value motivation. And just like the other "BPM" (Beats Per Minute), it is like the constant and steady heartbeat underlying each moment of every day.

Often we need more than just this constant BPM to motivate us. We need a shot of Adrenaline to get us out of bed or to help us to overcome the temptation to stop for another mocha frappa-latte calorie bomb. This is where the short term, very achievable, goals come into play. This is preparing for the next Gran Fondo or triathlon, or the next getting under 15% body-fat, or whatever may be highly motivating for you. We will call these our Adrenaline Goals.

Here are a couple of tips that I have come up with...

1. Your BPM should be something that will not change in the short term. Completing an Ironman is a great goal, but it is not your BPM. If this is a goal for you, ask yourself, "Why do I want to complete an Ironman?" Keep asking the why question, and answering yourself very honestly. This will get you back to your core reason for why you are trying to improve your health/fitness, lose weight, or training like a madman. 
2. It is possible that when you get to your BPM, it is so big that it loses its motivational power. If this is the case, ask yourself, "Why is this important to me?" Write down all of the answers. This list is part of your BPM, and it is the part that is your long term motivation. I could say that my BPM is "Better long term health." That, in itself, is not very motivating. Stick a chocolate chip cookie in front of me and "long term health" isn't concrete enough to dissipate the temptation. But when I ask the "Why?" question, I start finding the motivating factors in my life. "Being around to see my future grand-kids," or "being in good enough shape to enjoy sports with my kids," are concrete motivating factors that are certainly at the core of my BPM.
3. In general, Adrenaline Goals should be things that you can achieve in three months or less. This will help keep you motivated. Setting goals that are too long term can lead you open to mental fatigue and giving up. There can be exceptions to this. Let's say you want to complete an Ironman. That will take you more than three months. In this case, set up intermediate goals along the way to this longer goal. 
4. Don't just set one Adrenaline Goal. If you do, you will risk floundering when you have achieved this goal. Set the immediate goal and your next follow up goal that you will work towards once the immediate goal is achieved. When you achieve the first, immediately plan your third so that you always have the goal you are working toward now and the next goal you will work toward. If circumstances change, you can always alter the follow up goal to suite what will motivate you most in your life and circumstances. Don't feel locked in. Any good system should be there to serve you and not the other way around. 

There is no magic bullet to stay motivated. It takes commitment, focus, and steadfastness. But these simple tools ca help us set effective goals that will continue to help motivate us immediately and long term. 

I would love to get your feedback, but keep it civil. :-)

Sedentary to Metric Century in 4 Weeks

I have just four weeks until the metric century that I signed up for. I am too stubborn not to ride in it. However, life has really gotten in the way of my goal. Not only have I not lost the 5 lbs I wanted to lose and put in the base miles, I have instead gained 5 lbs this summer. I am starting at ground zero (or below if that is possible) and have 4 weeks to train for a metric century. I will post my progress and training here a couple of times each week.

Today:
Gym (Fitness 19) - 45 minutes on stationary bike followed by stretching.
Rode moderate with a few HIIT intervals and a few high cadence (110+) Intervals mixed in.

Note: I signed up for the "50 mile" ride, which they just announced is a 62 + mile ride. Maybe to them it's a little increase, but for some of us that's a whopping 24% increase!

Fezzari: The Buying Process

The buying process was quite simple. The Fezzari.com website takes you through a step by step tutorial of getting all of your measurements. You can then order online with all of your fit specific information. I, however, chose to call in my order since I have back issues which I thought could effect how they fit the bike to me. For one thing, I wanted a riser stem to lift me higher, and wanted to inquire about handlebar upgrade to the carbon.

When I called in, the person who I spoke to was very courteous and found out the information I needed. It was a simple process and my bike arrived about a week later.

There was one problem with the bike. In order to compensate for my back, they sent me a 53 cm frame. Their feeling was that it would help me get the more upright it that I needed. It was a great idea, but didn't work and here is why. I am very short. I have a 28.5 inseam. The height from the floor to the top of the top tube was approximately 30.5. Even with the stack height of my shoe/cleat I needed another inch just to clear my inseam. So, after consulting the great community over at Velo Reviews, I emailed Fezzari. Here is the best part: No problem! They emailed me the return label, and had FedEx pick it up as soon as I was ready. I had a replacement bike, with a 50 CM frame, within a week. AWESOME SERVICE! Take their "No questions asked guarantee" very seriously!

So the new bike arrived and I was able to easily get it together. BTW: I did have them swap out the regular stem for a riser, but did not opt to upgrade the handlebars.

My Pre-Ride impressions of the bike:
#1 Beautiful! This is as nice a looking bike as I have seen anywhere at any price. In this price range, if you even find a carbon frame, the carbon weave is completely covered in paint so you cannot see it. On this bike there is a very nice balance between paint and visible carbon weave, showing a flawless weave on the frame! No covering upof low quality carbon.

#2 Detail: Fezzari did not skimp on the details like you might expect on a mid-range bike. On everything from the components to the handlebar tape to the custom tube designs on the frame, everything is top quality.
#3 Overall Impression: Wow! I am so glad that I did not settle for a lesser bike (at the same price) from my local shop. This bike is elegant! I am a lover of classic handmade Italian steel frames because of the artistry and craftsmanship and have often thought of many carbon frames as industrial, stamped out products. Not so with this Fezzari. I have no disappointed with the aesthetic beauty or craftsmanship of the Fezzari. Bravissimo!

The Ride:
I have not logged enough miles to finish this aspect of reviewing the bike yet. I will say that the ride is super comfortable. The CR2 absorbs road vibration extremely well, yet is amazingly stiff. When you put pressure on the pedals, it all translates into forward momentum. The bike feels FAST!

More to Come!!!

How I Decided to Buy A Fezzari

I first heard of Fezzari Bicycles through the Fredcast cycling podcast. Dave, host of the Fredcast, interviewed someone from Fezzari Bicycles and was loaned a Fezzari CR5 to ride for review purposes. I remember being impressed with two things most: 1)The incredibly low prices they were quoting, and 2) The 23 point custom fit that they do on every bike that goes out the door.

Certainly, I have always been an advocate of supporting my local bike shop. However, the savings which they were talking about was in the thousands of dollars. I couldn't ignore that. Having priced some bikes that I was saving for, I was sorely dissappointed that $2,000 would get you a bike that was considered "entry level." Back when I was racing, 20 years ago, that could get you a top of the line, hand crafted, Italian steel bike, which was not only a dream to ride, but agruably a work of art as well.

I eagerly awaited Dave's review... and waited... and waited.

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It just so happens that I live in the Las Vegas valley, which is host to Interbike, the main trade show in the United States for the cycling industry. Dave, from the Fredcast, and the crew from VeloReviews were hosting a Tweet-Up during the event and I was luckily free that night. It was a fun event with a great charitable purpose behind it. (I also walked away with a sweet wireless Cateye cyclo-computer)

I had the opportunity to ask Dave about the Fezzari bike which he was testing. He gave it a fantastic verbal review, along with what he thinks will be their challenges in the bike industry. I asked him point blank, "should I consider this over the ---- (famous bike model) I have been considering?" He replied with a strong "Yes." This weighed heavily in my consideration.

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I began to really look at the CR3 online and read any Fezzari reviews that I could find on the Web. Every review which I read was very positive.

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Then Dave's Fredcast episode came out with his review. You can listen to it at the link below.
Fredcast Episode #168
http://www.thefredcast.com/?p=1587

Now, just for comparison sake. Let me tell you what my local shop quoted me versus what I am getting from Fezzari:

Local Shop: Lower level Specialized Roubaix (Carbon). Shimano 105 Grouppo. Quoted $2,600. Extra for bike fit and possibly replacing parts such as the stem and bars for proper fit.

Fezzari: CR2 (Carbon). Shimano Ultegra. 23 Point fit so that parts like the stem and bars fit from the moment you get the bike. Sale Price $1,850! 30 Day money back guarantee.

The best that I found a Roubaix with Ultegra parts online (to compare apples to apples) was between $3,200 and $3,400 dollars. That's over a $1,400 difference for a comparable bike!!!

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More on why I chose the CR2 instead of the CR3 coming soon!

New Bike Coming!

It's time to get serious about riding again after a hiatus from the bike for a bit. I set two goals for myself which I needed to accomplish before I upgraded my bike:

1- Complete a century ride - no point getting a better bike if I am not riding. Any bike can take up space in the garage equally well.
2- Save up the money.

As you know, I completed the 115 mile Viva Bike Vegas ride in October. Some Christmas gifts, of the financial sort, have pushed my savings over the necessary threshold to purchase my new steed. I expect it's arrival in just a few days.

While I have been looking into the Fezzari bikes, I have run into many people with questions of their own. The price points are mesmerizing, but are the bikes really as good as claimed? I plan to write numerous posts on this topic as I receive, open, and begin riding my new CR2. I will also post in the next few days a full overview of how I arrived at buying a Fezzari and how my experience of dealing with them on the phone has been. While I am extremely excited about getting my new bike, I promise to disclose everything and be unbiased in my reviews.

Pax!

Fezzari CR2