Posts Tagged ‘Squirt’
Caveman wins XTERRA UK and 50th XTERRA Championship title
Braaap! I havent had this much fun doing my job in a long long time. After being frustrated by many of the "ho hum" courses lately, the UK course was fantastic! "Semi retired" XTERRA Pros Sam Gardner and Richard Stannard personally built the trails and did an incredible job. The trails were easy (and safe) enough for everyone to ride, but going fast is tricky. 
Vachery Estate in Surrey, is famous for the scenic British country side. We home stayed with cycling legend Carl Hutchings and Terry. This was basically the view from our bedroom window. 
We made the most of the "Bahamas like weather" this British summer (note #PrincessHotstuff's summer wear) and visited a nearby town and tried warm beer. (only twice- the 2nd time to make sure its really really supposed to be warm) 
#Caveman EPO.* This is the stastiest beetroot juice we've ever had. (90% Beetroot juice and 10% Apple juice) *Beetroot juice is proven to boost red blood cell count. 
Chilling with Carl and Terry at the Squirt chain lube stand. #PrincessHotstuff puts to test the eco friendly, bio degradable chain lube and bike wash. Apparently a German rider once mistook the Squirt sample in his race pack for an energy shot, drank it during the race, and afterwards went the the shop to buy more of that "Squirt energy product…" Memorizing all 1000 turns, one had one pre ride a fair bit- lots of fun…
Thanks to Saffer Carel du Plessis (not the rugby player) and his wife for the stunning pics. All the good photos in this blog is by Light Trapper
Calm before the storm. Next to me in the beard is 23 year old Rock band singer, physio, super swimmer and fresh u23 Cross Tri World Champ from Spain- Roger Serrano. 
100% focus. With the light changes through the trees and open fields, choosing the right lenses for your glasses was crucial. Oakley Radar XL with VR28 lenses
There was not a single rock on the course, so I lowered my tyre pressre by 2 psi to 20psi. To reduce deflection (like rolling resistance) on this bumpy terrain, I took 10psi out of my front and rear suspension. I did bottom out the fork quite badly a few times… 
I did plow the fields a but with my pedals, but fortunately my well worn LOOK Quarts' are #CavemanProof. I also tried, for the 1st time the Stages Power meter. Its the small black piece on the crank arm. Amazing how small it is and how well it works. Not sure how to interpret the power data yet, (as MTB is very erratic compared to road power) but the numbers indicate huge spikes in power. (see below)
Peak power was 992W and avs was 340W. Power file. 
The day after disastrous ITU Cross Tri Worlds in Germany (last week- blog in the works), I made some huge changes to try get rid of the back pain. I moved my saddle forwards 3.5cm (huge move) to its "old postition" and moved from oval chain rings to round chain rings- in order to accomodate the power meter I've been trying to use the past year. Despite the huge changes in such a short time, I felt much better and only had some back pain.
Describing the course in a blog is impossible- here James Walker shows us how NOT to overtake a lapped rider… 
I was 1 min down after the swim, and came off the bike with a 5 min lead. So I could really enjoy the technical trail run. Check out this short video I made of the run : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7Zvo7b7jwY&list=UU5HJTF5nzeSPJonIgie455w 
Stuff dream are made of. Jumping water canals, 
Over trees.
50th XTERRA Championship win. The 50 XTERRA wins I celebrated in January 2013, counted all the XTERRAs I'd won- apparently the 4 XTERRA Buffelspoort wins with its 2500 participants does not count. 
Couldnt do it without the loving support and friendship of #PrincesHotstuff 
Big turn out from South Africans- almost felt like racing at home. Dankie julle!
The sweetest bike of all. 2009 Specialized Epic S-works
The 2009 Specialized Epic S-works.
The press has hyped the bike up and Susi won the XC World Champs on it, but DANG, I was especially surprised by: a) the suspension and b) the weight. And, yes, it is a really pretty bike.
As you can see in the background, I tested the bike on a not-so-old lava flow at Edison snow park outside Bend, to see how the new Specialized Armadillo Elite (Fast Trak 2.00) tires would hold up through the sharp lava. I ran into big lumps of sharp lava as hard as I could (to test the tires for tire cut resistance) but every time the suspension just ate up the much anticipated jolt. When the suspension is not active, bike is 100% rigid- unlike anything I’ve felt since… well, since my Tarmac road bike. The New Epic’s suspension is definitely a few cuts above the “old” Epic. And I’m sure many cuts above anything else out there.
The new (and only) Specialized Stumpjumper 29er built for racing.
My 29er race bike…
This puppy has been specially built for me by the engineers at Specialized. (thanks Jason!) To save weight, the BB has been replaced with a large diameter shell to fit the Specialized Carbon road cranks. (Which I’m running 2×9) And most of the paint has been left off. In my opinion, the silver looks a lot faster than the green and brown on the standard bike. (the stock bike weighs in at 28lbs) specialized.com.
This one weighs in just below 25lbs (11.3kg) (give or take- will update) vs my 26 inch Carbon Epic 23.7lb. (10.7kg) Nice.
Like my bike – Specialized Stumpjumper 29er?
My 2008 racing machine:
Specialized Stumpjumper 29er. Yes, it is BIG. Ryan Palmer built it at Specialized Team Camp last week, and when he finished building it, he said, “wow, its a monster”. The name might stick. The Monster.
I love the way this bike rolls over anything thats ugly, flat or downhill. Especially ugly. Uphill is still under investigation.
I truly believe this bike is fast and I’m excited about the new challenge of winning races on 29inch wheels will present.
Specialized’s engineer said if we can sell 500 he’ll make a carbon model…
