Epic Bikes Has Moved!

Come on by and visit Tim and Mike at their new Epic Bikes location - 1993 Jonesboro Rd in the old Grand Harbor Imports store.

The new location is beautiful! Lots of great space for even more inventory, a bigger shop for the boys to play in and the coolest toilet you've ever seen (Thanks TOTO!).

Stage 7, Santa Clarita to Pasadena - Photos from MillCreek Summit

Today I watched stage 7 from MillCreek Summit in Acton California. The Summit was the location of today's KOM and is located about 20 minutes from my sister's house where I'm staying:


A shot of the breakaway group as they climb to the top of MillCreek Summit. From Left to Right: Hayden Roulston of Cervelo Test Team, Chris Baldwin is in the front (Rock Racing), The yellow bar tape/glove off Chris Baldwin's right is George Hincapie, the RaboBank rider is Pieter Weening, and the SaxoBank rider is Frank Schleck.



George Hincapie and Pieter Weening as they top MillCreek Summit. They were among the top 5 over the summit who received KOM points.



Lance was at the front of the Peloton as he Climbs to the top of MillCreek Summit - I can't believe I got such a great shot! He was having a conversation (yes, a conversation) with the quickstep rider beside him. I'm not exactly sure who that Quickstep rider is (anyone recognize him?)



Francisco Mancebo (in the red TOC jersey) as he topped MillCreek Summit, just before his big crash.



A shot of the support cars coming through behind the riders.


I had an amazing time - It was awesome to just stand along the side of the road and see all of the crazy people running around w/ their bodies painted, roller bladers climbing the summit, people w/ tables set up eating wine and cheese....I even saw three dudes who threw out a sofa to watch the race:




I don't know that I'll attend tomorrow's stage - I want to spend some time with my sister and her kids since they've been kind enough to allow me to stay with them throughout my trip. Either way - I've had an amazing time - probably the best gift I could have ever given myself. I'll never forget such a fantastic trip!

Tour of California, Stage 6: Solvang Time Trial

No time to chat - here are some of the photos I got yesterday while watching the Time Trial at Solvang:


George Hincapie



Jens Voigt



Mr. Livestrong Himself!



Levi Leipheimer



Mark Cavendish


Christian Vandevelde



David Zabriskie



Francisco Mancebo



Frank Schleck



George Hincapie Cools Down after his TT



Bauke Mollema



Me and Carlos Sastre - 2008 Winner of the Tour de France!! I got
his autograph too!!!



I'm off to Millcreek Summit - the highest point of Stage 7 - Santa Clarita to Pasadena! Wish you were here....XOXOXOXO

Why I hate IE

Do you see the annoying blue line on my blog?

I only use IE on one computer - I forget that the line exists when I use the more superior browsers but then I log on from the laptop and...poof...my blood pressure goes up.

Because it'd be an easy bike to pawn...

Someone thought it'd be a good idea to break into Lance Armstrong's van and steal his TT bike. What are the chances that this could be pawned without anyone knowing whose it is....??


It's one of a kind...

The Hour of Power

How do you make riding at AMS more fun than ever? Ride when A group is there!


Tonight I rode w/ my semi-usual crew (Joey, Bentley, Kristen, and David) but "A group" was hosting the "hour of power". It was presented an an opportunity for aspiring A groupers and/or others who just wanted a hard workout to "jump on" and ride as many laps as possible. I figured this was as good a chance as any to see if I could "hang".

Unfortunately, on the way there - I became discouraged. The combination of taunting and self-doubt left me feeling anxious and down - I made up my mind that I would not attempt to ride with A group. I couldn't set myself up for the feeling of failure and humiliation I knew I'd feel if I wasn't able to hang on. I set out to ride with a fairly depressed state of mind but decided I'd focus on miles and having fun with my friends.

They really are an amazing site to see - the seven of them made 20-something-miles-per-hour look EASY. The magnificent seven - that's what they are to me. I rode mostly with Kristen - just having a good time.

But then we saw them coming up behind us...I was warmed up and I knew I had to try. I increased my speed and yelled back to Kristen that I was having second thoughts - hoping she'd give me an out....but before I could finish my sentence - the reassuring words of Mike came along beside me: "come on, here you go..." I looked over to see that Kristen had jumped in behind Mike and I fell in at the back behind her; we had just reached where the GRTA bus was unloading.

The first corner gave me the most amazing feeling of exhilaration and excitement! I screamed and giggled on the back - I had never taken a curve so fast and I was glad the others couldn't hear my giddiness through the wind. For a split second I worried that I migh fall but by the next I was out of the turn and standing to climb along with the pack. It felt amazing! Kristen jumped off to grab her light and I pushed hard and closed the gap...I had predicted that I'd make it no further than half a lap.

We flew past the stop sign and I could feel my "gummy" smile as I realized I was climbing the hills along with the group - it hurt and felt good all at the same time! I saw Mike glance behind him and wondered if he was shocked when he noticed I was still there. It felt good to know I had already made it to the "half way" mark.

As we topped the hill and started back down David was waiting to jump on. I made a space and told him to "jump in". We went down the hill and around the curve and as we moved along the flattest part of the route I started to understand why "the flats" could be challenging - no time for a breath, no break, just continuous work. I started to fall back and yelled to David to hang on that I was letting go but he followed my remark with "this is the easy part - don't let go - you can do it!!" and I didn't let go!

When we crossed the place where I first hopped on I could feel my legs beginning to burn and quiver but I was so excited to realize that I had managed to hang on for a whole lap!!! I stayed with the group through that exhilarating turn and let go once we reached the parking lot. Max had finished his pull and I made a gap for him but lost too much speed doing so - I was proud of myself and I had nothing to prove. I happily watched the group pull ahead as I let myself slow down. I'm sure I was glowing as pedaled along by myself.

There's a lot of negative influence in my life right now and I'm trying hard to let it go and not push it off on the others around me when I find myself feeling upset. In typical "Cristy fashion," on the drive home I felt a little disappointed in myself that I didn't try to jump on again later in the ride or that I didn't put forth the effort to hang on just a little longer. But I refuse to let the negativity take over - I'm proud of my accomplishment and I look forward to the next time I have the chance to push myself and see how strong I've become.

A little more info - so you can choose from more than color...

The 2009 Trek Madone 5.5:



**Comes in my size (47cm - has a 49.4 ETT length)
**SRAM Force
**Bontrager Speed Limit breaks
**Wheels: Bontrager Race Lite
**Shown w/ stock color but is customizable for an additional charge. Other models come in different stock colors but have different components. The next step up comes w/ Dura Ace and is red and white. Components are also customizable for an additional charge and additional "build" time.
**no indications as to whether the frameset only is available
$4619.99 MSRP as built w/ SRAM Force


In my mind - this is actually the forerunner...TSD would die...



The 2009 Ruby Pro:



**Comes in my size (48cm - 50.6 cm ETT length)
**SRAM Red w/ SRAM Force front derailleur
**SRAM Force breaks
**Wheels: Roval Roubaix SL
**This is the only color option.
**Frameset only option is available in the expert line - color is gloss white/red, MSRP on frameset only is $1900.00
$5,000.00 MSRP as built w/ SRAM Red



The 2009 Orbea Diva (in a different color - for Vinny):



**Comes in my size (46cm - 50.2 ETT length) but I'd have to drop to 650c...Or I could go to a 48cm which would give me a 51 ETT length.
**Numerous component options from SRAM Rival to Campy Super Record
**Wheels: Mavic Ksyrium SL on Dura Ace model, Zipp 202 on SRAM Red, Reynolds Solitude on SRAM Rival
**Color options include black/white, pink/black (shown above), pistaschio/black (which looks pretty lime-ish to me), blue/black.
**Frameset only available for $2499.00
$4204.00 MSRP for Ultegra SL, $5999.00 MSRP for Dura Ace, $7069.00 MSRP for SRAM Red


Here's the skinny on size and components: I currently ride a 51 cm WSD (51.5 ETT length). After my recent 3D fit, TSD and I are both pretty confident that this is too big for me. I'm looking for something w/ a 50ish ETT length so I am paying close attention to geometry as I look at bikes. I really believe these three are my top picks - I looked closely at a Tarmac but the 49cm (smallest size) is actually slightly larger than what I currently ride. ETT length can be compensated for in small increments with things like the length of your stem - my Jamis currently has a 60mm stem (yes, they come that small...). So I'm at the longest top tube I can have and am compensating w/ the shortest stem I can find. This works but with no room for adjustment. Regarding components - I REALLY think I want SRAM Red but I need a longer test ride on Dura Ace and SRAM Force and Red to be certain. Campy has it's followers but it's REALLY expensive and I don't know enough to have a clear opinion. I do know that finding a LBS to work on Campy can sometimes be difficult just b/c some of the tool requirements are different and there tends to be a lack of Campy expertise among most typical LBS. These bikes are pretty close to being what I want and, for the most part, fall in the same basic price range. I'd love to stay under $5,000.00 if possible when I make my next purchase but I'm not willing to sacrifice my happiness with the product just to save a couple of hundred dollars. I'm awfully tempted to go the frameset route and try to build my own over time. Right now..whole bike - I'd be going w/ Trek unless I could get a fantastic Specialized deal. Frameset only - Orbea or Specialized. For overall looks - Orbea and Trek get the award.

BTW - I inadvertedly deleted about 4 comments from my blog...sorry 'bout that.