Specialized S-Works Helmet Review...

Over the past holiday season I was the benefactor of a beautiful Specialized S-Works helmet. I have to admit, the style on the S-Works is top notch. When you have a large head often you find all helmets end up pretty thick. This, however was not and issue with the S-Works. The fit was great, although comparable to my Bell Sweep, and the Giro Atmos The final big plus (as claimed by manufacturer) with the S-Works is the multiple vents and weight.

So how does the Specialized S-Works stack up at the retail price of $230 vs. a something like the Bell R Sweep at $90.... well. I gave the S-Works a thorough testing and I admit that I really enjoyed it and you can definitely feel the additional venting, but com'on. Overall I think the helmet looks pretty good, but style wise it's right up there with the Bell R. I mean the performance was about the same as the my Sweep and the weight at size large really doesn't make a very big difference.

So, the only reason to buy the Specialized S-Works is if you want to show every one at the group ride you got mad flow... or if you get one for free, or deep discount. I mean DEEP DISCOUNT. The performance is no different than that of what you would get with the Sweep, Atmos, Pneumo... or dare I say it... the regular Specialized Decibel. In fact the Decibel offers the same performance, and if you looking for the style, the helmets look almost identical.

After a few tries I finally decided that I would return the helmet. It was just to hard to justify wearing something that will eventually be destroyed in a crash. With the crash return policies today, it's just not worth wearing that much coin on your head.

Ultimately, the helmet is made to protect your head... all of which do the same at this level. So, if you want to drop the coin for a few more vents and marginal style points than by all means grab yourself the Specialized S-Works. There is a lot of competition out there and many better suitors... be wise in your decision.

Final thought... IF YOU RACE, BUY THE CHEAPEST... IT WILL BE DESTROYED, YOU WILL CRASH

hope this revew helped...

Hello GC Weight...

A stunning blow to the racing season today... I realized that with no job, no medical insurance...

NO MEDICAL INSURANCE, NO RACING

On the not so off chance that I go down in a crit... I like would to have some help paying the docs back for fixing up a broken collarbone.



On a lighter note... pun intended... I clocked in today at



168.2 LBS



Can we say GC weight... or at least lighter and faster than last season so far. Now all I need is a job with benefits so I can go race... and have money for entry fees.

GOOO LANCE, GO LANCE, LANCE!!!!

This past weekend at the Pasadena stage of the Tour, I caught some good footage of one of the local Lance fans... Keep in mind that Lance and the main peloton are now on the last lap of the circuit and over 4 minutes back. None-the-less my portly victim here had showed up to to chat on his cell phone about how he came down to watch, "Lance Kill It." I just thought it was a good sighting... enjoy. Ford this one is for you...

Listen for the "Gooooo Lance" and then straight back to the phone. I mean really with the Iron Horse kit...He even lied on the phone and told his buddy he was dressed in the diablo kit all red... Okay okay, I'll stop... ENJOY.

Solvang Time Trial Trip

Well, it took sometime but now I got pictures and the data loaded up to make a proper post for our Solvang Time Trial trip.

This year had no shortage of Lance fans... from the moment we showed up on the scene it was Livestrong fever and Lance mania... but all in due time.

We rolled up to Santa Barbara Thursday night and met up with my boys dad for steak dinner and some wine. Despite the fact that we had about 80 miles to put down the next day, we barreled through a decent amount of drinks. It started with wine and dessert was an Irish Pub for another 3 Guinness'... another set of cocktails at a local watering hole by the hotel... and a final bottle of wine from the 7/11 on the walk back to the room. Of course Steve and I were innocent victims that ended up three sheets to the wind, along with Mr. Ford. The good deal for Stevo's pop is that he wasn't planning on riding over the San Marco's Pass to Solvang the next day.

We woke up that morning bright and early, with some hefty headaches as well. Although, the excitement of the ride was upon us, thus, shaking off the hungover feeling was somewhat easy going. After a hearty breakfast and some route planning with google maps we set off. We left SB from downtown and headed for the old San Marcos road that would take us up to the pass via a less congested route. The views from the road were amazing, which was expected on a climb that takes you from 125ft to a max elevation of 2,225ft. This was quite a burly climb given our disposition... we had about 9 miles warm-up (neutral zone) and then from mile 9 to 15 we climbed 2,100 ft to the top of the pass. We luckily were hit with this climb early on and we were rewarded with a solid 4 mile 7% descent on the other side.

The remainder of the ride is very beautiful along the 154 hwy, with mostly rollers and a gradual downhill all the way to Solvang.

Ride Profile: Santa Barbara to Solvang

We were very excited when we arrived in Solvang, the place was off the hook packed. There were about 25,000 fans packed into the small danish city and easy access to catch a view of your favorite cyclists before they hit the course. We arrived before the stage started so we hit up the Belgian Cafe, where we rewarded ourselves with a Belgian waffles and bacon cheeseburgers for the recovery meal. After our calorie rich post ride meal, we hit the course and took several shots cheering on our favorite riders... Photos to follow.

STEVO, LOW PRO

WHO'S THAT IN THE BACK?

LEVI, SETTING COURSE RECORD

GOOOO LANCE!!!! GO LANCE, LANCE LANCE... OH MY GOD LANCE!!!

I ALMOST TAGGED HIM... SERIOUSLY

OH MY GOD, FLOYD GO FLOYD... WHAT CAN I SAY I'M A FAN

After the Stage wrapped up we got ready for our departure, but not before my boy Steve got a quick pic with the coolest rider in the pro peloton. None other than Jens Voigt. He was outside the Saxo-Bank bus signing autographs and setting up for post ride interviews. Other notable sightings were Christian Vandevelde, Bobby Julich, and a quick crossing of paths with David Zabriski.

STEVE AND JENS... TIGHT...

We soon decided it was time to get going... and we were not excited or looking forward to a difficult ride home, in the face of a fading sun as well. We charged out hard and took down the first 20 miles back pretty quickly. Apparently Stevo was riding with a lot of enthusiasm about having just gotten a photo with Jens. I was no good... especially once we hit the big climb back over the pass. The awesome 4 mile 7% grade descent was all of a sudden not so awesome. I got off to a decent start but soon felt the "BONK" coming on. Just shy of the KOM, I slowed to about a 4 cadence and almost jumped off the bike. When I did reach the summit, I stopped to wait for Steve only to find that him and another rider were hot on my tail.
The pain was over... it was time for the descent. A really awesome descent down Old San Marcos road... categorized by Italian Alps style switchbacks, and steep fast swooping turns. It is a very technical downhill and you have to be aware of the occasional car... so you have to be on point for this one. We bombed down this super quick taking only one quick photo of the view.

Ride Profile: Solvang back Santa Barbara

By the time we had gotten back to the car, it was already dark. As we cruised the last few miles into town, I was so bad that I was having trouble maintaining even a moderate pace. But at the end of the ride we got the greatest reward of all. We snuck into the Hotel hot tub and chilled out for about a half hour, which definitely helped for next day recovery. It was also a great way to clean up after a long day. Finally to top it off we hit State St. for a huge Italian meal. We went to Pascucci, which is an amazingly good Italian spot. We had a full pizza for and appetizer and each grubbed a lasagna.

It was an amazing getaway and a great way for the two of us to unwind from the pressures of unemployment and focus on the finer things in life... like wine and cycling.

Now that's a finish

Big win for my boy Mark Cavendish, and second only by a deep dish rim Tomika Boonen. The next several years of watching these two go toe to toe is going to be awesome. Although with a bit of pre-stage ski pratice I think Tom could have pulled it off... wink-wink.

ONE DAY LEFT TO THE TIME TRIAL!!!!!!!!!!!

Today we pack up for Santa Barbara and get ready for the Solvang Time Trail. Now lets all cross our fingers for big Floyd Landis to kiil it tomorrow.

Quoted from - www.cyclingnews.com

It wasn't plain sailing however; Cavendish was nearly pipped on the line by a fast-charging Tom Boonen (Quick Step) but held on to take the win, with Juan José Haedo (Saxo Bank) in third.

"It's massive for us and for the team," Cavendish said about the win. "The team did so well today. They stayed with me on the climbs and with a flat run in like that there was only one outcome that it could have been... when you have a team like mine.

"We got the lead out right - straight past the Cervélo team - and we saw how strong they were yesterday. But when they [Cavendish's teammates] drop me off with 100 metres to go, there could only be one outcome!"

BIG THOR FOR STAGE 3

On a personal note, I am getting SUPER AMPED for Friday. Why, you ask? Well, on Friday morning my boy Ford and I will be attending the Stage 6 Time Trial in Solvang. Ahh, the ups of unemployment is freedom. On top of attending the event we will be riding from Santa Barbara to Solvang... it will be the ideal mini cycling get away. The kind that makes girls sick, because we will probably spend 12 hours straight talking cyling non stop. There will definitely be pics to follow.
Now the Stage 3 wrap up...

Another cold and rainy stage yesterday... and aside from the beginning crash with Levi, a pretty boring one at that. Although all was redeemed at the end of that stage in a classic bunch sprint. I am a big Thor fan, but where was Tomika and Cavendish. I was bummed to see Boonen miss out and the sprint and Cavendish struggle to find a wheel. Oh well that's the way it goes... the have another chance for a sprint points Thursday. So for now big ups to Thor.

Quoted from http://www.cyclingnews.com

Thor Hushovd (Cervélo TestTeam) has recorded win number one for 2009 with a powerful sprint on the wet streets of Modesto at the end of stage three. Cervélo rode the perfect train to deliver Hushovd to the line, ahead of Oscar Freire (Rabobank) and former teammate Mark Renshaw (Columbia-Highroad) after an uncomfortably wet and cold day in the saddle.

"Hayden Roulston started it with a little more than one kilometre to go, then Dominique Rollin pulled into the last corner," explained Hushovd. "Then Brett Lancaster took over after the last corner, and I passed him with about 150 metres to go. Our team did a great job today, and I am really thankful. It's the first time we've worked together and it went well, so that was a good start.

Cervélo's leadout was textbook; they lined up three ahead of him before the final kilometre and delivered him precisely to the line ahead of a disorganised peloton, something the experiened Norwegian paid tribute to. "I know that with these guys, we may be one of the best lead-out teams in the world, and I think today that we showed it," he said.

Tour of California Stage 2

THE BIG STORY YESTERDAY...

All I can say is Wow... Levi's attack on Bonny Doom road yesterday in the Tour of California stage 2 was nothing short of SPECATACULAR. He starts off the climb with a 4 minute time gap on Barredo from Quickstep and ends up taking the KOM.

However, I am bummed to see that my boy Floyd left his legs in Champs-Elysees. So far lack luster performance for Landis but I still have high hopes he will have at least one big stage. So while it's pouring rain and the weather sucks again this year in Cali, make sure you tune in to watch the Tour. Or, if you have a job you can tune in at you desktop. When the picture does come through it's quite impressive.

Quote from http://www.cyclingnews.com/

Leipheimer takes big step to number three
Having told Cyclingnews yesterday that he was still upbeat about his overall chances at the Tour of California, Levi Leipheimer has taken a big step to title number three with a win in Santa Cruz.

The experienced American knew that yesterday's stage winner in the rain may have been hurting on another wet and cold stage. "Mancebo did a big effort yesterday, and we figured he was going to be paying for it today, so we had that to our advantage. We're bike racers, we're not machines," said Leipheimer.

He took advantage of this and put in a solid attack at the base of the Bonny Doon Road climb, and joined by Garmin-Slipstream's Thomas Peterson, the pair shared the spoils at the finish – Peterson the stage, Leipheimer the overall classification lead.

With another three tough stages before the Solvang individual time trial, Leipheimer will most likely call upon the abundant resources of his Astana squad to defend his golden jersey. Lance Armstrong and Chris Horner have already shown they're in excellent form to be assisting their leader, so work has been cut out for those with overall classification aspirations in this year's edition of America's premier race.

The Up's and Down's of Unemployment

Can you say Racing Season... the Tour of California is coming up and that means the SoCal season will be underway soon. It's been a long time since I have posted and it seems that without racing I don't usually have much to say. Unfortunately, some unfortunate events have played out in my life recently and I have A LOT of extra time on my hands.

I was recently let go from work and have been unemployed now for a bout a week. The downside no money... the upside, lots of time to ride. So far, week 1, I have averaged about 2 hours a day and ridden 6 out of the last 7 days. This time on the bike actually comes at good time, since racing is right around the corner. So with all the extra time I should be able to train up and put up a better season I have also been told that with the time I really do not have excuse to not post daily. So I embark, once again, on a journey to keep my readers happy with fresh posts. It has been said before, but I will say it again... "I'm Back"...

This short entry goes out to all my reader out there... Tara you're the best