I've finally got the scoop on the Pro Cycling Manager Video game. As I write this my computer is busy downloading the game from the publisher's website. If you are interested in getting yourself a copy of the game (and maybe winning races in cyberspace as yours truly), here's how to do it:
First, click here to go to the PCM website. Then click the bar on the left to download the 2008 version of the game. It costs $19.99, compared to about $60 when you try to buy the disc online.
Then you just follow the directions to download and install the game.
Not so fast...
If you want to play the game with all the 2009 season teams, including team Trek-Livestrong, you have to download Pro Cycling Manager's 2009 database update. Click Here to visit the page to download the update, click the download button, install the patch, and you're off and running.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Friday, February 20, 2009
Flattery reaches an all-time high
After hanging out with Lance Armstrong and the Astana guys for a week, being followed around by film crews and photographers everywhere, and having my cleat screws turned by the inventor/owner of Speedplay, I am happy to say that I have topped it all on the 'pinch me' scale.
It has just been brought to my attention that I have been immortalized in cyberspace as a character in the Pro Cycling Manager video game. Check out this screenshot from the 2009 version of the game, which is set to be released this June I believe.
The game is quite popular in Europe and has a decent following in the US (all my mates from DBC play religiously). I will of course now be buying the game. This way, when my competitors are picking their characters, trying to decide whether to be Tom Boonen or Fabian Cancellara, I can just say "I think I'll just be myself". I mean how often do you get the chance to do that?
If you look closely you can read all my "rider attributes", which fall into categories such as MO (mountains), FL (flat), DH (downhill), and SP (sprinting). Interestingly enough, my best attribute by far, according to the game, is downhill riding. I wonder how they came up with that. Well I guess I can't complain, because going downhill fast is truly the mark of a badass on a bike, and now I can tell the rest of my team that I just must be the biggest badass on the team. (if you asked anyone who rides with me in the US if I'm a badass downhiller, they would certainly laugh at you, by the way). As to how they actually obtained those numbers, I haven't a clue. I just hope I don't suck in the videogame.
Reserve your copy now and I'll see you online!
It has just been brought to my attention that I have been immortalized in cyberspace as a character in the Pro Cycling Manager video game. Check out this screenshot from the 2009 version of the game, which is set to be released this June I believe.
The game is quite popular in Europe and has a decent following in the US (all my mates from DBC play religiously). I will of course now be buying the game. This way, when my competitors are picking their characters, trying to decide whether to be Tom Boonen or Fabian Cancellara, I can just say "I think I'll just be myself". I mean how often do you get the chance to do that?
If you look closely you can read all my "rider attributes", which fall into categories such as MO (mountains), FL (flat), DH (downhill), and SP (sprinting). Interestingly enough, my best attribute by far, according to the game, is downhill riding. I wonder how they came up with that. Well I guess I can't complain, because going downhill fast is truly the mark of a badass on a bike, and now I can tell the rest of my team that I just must be the biggest badass on the team. (if you asked anyone who rides with me in the US if I'm a badass downhiller, they would certainly laugh at you, by the way). As to how they actually obtained those numbers, I haven't a clue. I just hope I don't suck in the videogame.
Reserve your copy now and I'll see you online!
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Back on Solid Ground
I returned home from a 2,000 mile journey the other night. My teammate and I were supposed to be going down to Arizona to race our bikes, but I can hardly remember any actual bike racing taking place over the course of our five-day adventure. It was a pretty dismal trip, and on top of that we were left out of WiFi range for most of our time on the road. I apologize for the lack of updates for the past week or so.
So as for the supposed bike racing...
I entered the Valley of the Sun Stage Race thinking it would be a good tough training race, with a strong field, that would help get me ready for some of our domestic pro racing later in the year. Alongside our four-man team, OUCH and Bissel also had small teams there, as well as a full Waste Management squad. By the time it came to actually leave for the race, I was dreading the whole idea of it - the drive, the race, the drive back. We decided to go anyway, having already paid the entry fee, and took off for the 14-hour drive to Phoenix. Before the next days' TT, my legs felt like rubber, and I couldn't get my head into it (go figure). I went out a bit easy in the first 10k or so, got caught by Roman Kilun while still trying out new hand positions on my new TT bike (this was about the 2nd time I'd ever ridden it). Then when I decided to pour it on, I caught him back, and we ended up riding side by side for pretty much the entire race until I tried to get a bit of an edge at the end. I ended up 13th place. It was pretty unsatisfying, but considering how I felt and my botched effort, I guess it showed some decent form for February.
The next days Road Race is pretty easy to describe - pretty much flat, no one was actually racing and anytime one did they would promptly be brought back into the fold by OUCH or Bissel. We essentially rolled around course for 90 miles waiting for the sprint, and then, just when the only actual bike racing of the whole day was about to occur, the sprint never even happened. That's right. Our race was neutralized with 1k to go, and every rider was given the same time, even ones who had gotten split off the back in the end-game (which took place on a little wanna-be hill). I was sitting about 5-6th wheel back on the Bissel train, getting ready to sprint for it and make my trip down there worthwhile, and the race moto pulls up alongside us and tells us our race is over. Something about a big crash at the finish in the race before ours. It was especially funny when we rode across the line, and it was totally clear except for some ambulances on the shoulder. I tried very hard to restrain myself from giving the race organizer an earful, and succeeded.
As if my week wasn't going badly enough yet, the crit threw me some bad breaks too. I didn't feel spectacular, but I was thinking I would for sure be able to sit in for 70 minutes. Turns out I was wrong. I started dead last on a really tight course, and within the first 3 laps I found myself being split off the back about ten wheels in front of me. Now I guess I should have had the legs to recover from starting in the back row, but I didn't, and a few stupid splits later, that was the end of my race. As a matter of fact, my entire team was out after about 20 minutes, left to wonder what may have happened if we had gotten it together enough to sit on the front line before the start.
So that was that. Some bike race.
We drove to Long Beach afterward to stay with a friend of mine and spent an enjoyable day riding highway 1 and then going to the ADT velodrome for an evening training session, which was by far the coolest thing we did along the way.
Now I'm just glad to be back home where I can get in some solid training and sleep in my own bed. I'm heading out right now for a six-hour ride into the Sierra foothills, thinking I should just back away from racing for a little while, until my first big team races.
So as for the supposed bike racing...
I entered the Valley of the Sun Stage Race thinking it would be a good tough training race, with a strong field, that would help get me ready for some of our domestic pro racing later in the year. Alongside our four-man team, OUCH and Bissel also had small teams there, as well as a full Waste Management squad. By the time it came to actually leave for the race, I was dreading the whole idea of it - the drive, the race, the drive back. We decided to go anyway, having already paid the entry fee, and took off for the 14-hour drive to Phoenix. Before the next days' TT, my legs felt like rubber, and I couldn't get my head into it (go figure). I went out a bit easy in the first 10k or so, got caught by Roman Kilun while still trying out new hand positions on my new TT bike (this was about the 2nd time I'd ever ridden it). Then when I decided to pour it on, I caught him back, and we ended up riding side by side for pretty much the entire race until I tried to get a bit of an edge at the end. I ended up 13th place. It was pretty unsatisfying, but considering how I felt and my botched effort, I guess it showed some decent form for February.
The next days Road Race is pretty easy to describe - pretty much flat, no one was actually racing and anytime one did they would promptly be brought back into the fold by OUCH or Bissel. We essentially rolled around course for 90 miles waiting for the sprint, and then, just when the only actual bike racing of the whole day was about to occur, the sprint never even happened. That's right. Our race was neutralized with 1k to go, and every rider was given the same time, even ones who had gotten split off the back in the end-game (which took place on a little wanna-be hill). I was sitting about 5-6th wheel back on the Bissel train, getting ready to sprint for it and make my trip down there worthwhile, and the race moto pulls up alongside us and tells us our race is over. Something about a big crash at the finish in the race before ours. It was especially funny when we rode across the line, and it was totally clear except for some ambulances on the shoulder. I tried very hard to restrain myself from giving the race organizer an earful, and succeeded.
As if my week wasn't going badly enough yet, the crit threw me some bad breaks too. I didn't feel spectacular, but I was thinking I would for sure be able to sit in for 70 minutes. Turns out I was wrong. I started dead last on a really tight course, and within the first 3 laps I found myself being split off the back about ten wheels in front of me. Now I guess I should have had the legs to recover from starting in the back row, but I didn't, and a few stupid splits later, that was the end of my race. As a matter of fact, my entire team was out after about 20 minutes, left to wonder what may have happened if we had gotten it together enough to sit on the front line before the start.
So that was that. Some bike race.
We drove to Long Beach afterward to stay with a friend of mine and spent an enjoyable day riding highway 1 and then going to the ADT velodrome for an evening training session, which was by far the coolest thing we did along the way.
Now I'm just glad to be back home where I can get in some solid training and sleep in my own bed. I'm heading out right now for a six-hour ride into the Sierra foothills, thinking I should just back away from racing for a little while, until my first big team races.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Set your Tivo!!
I will be making an appearance on News10 on Wednesday, February 11th at 11am, in an interview about the DBC race team, the T.O.C. and my transition to the pro ranks. Be sure to check it out.
Catching a break
So found some time to make it down to the coffee shop again. This time I am sitting across from Alberto Contador, Yaroslav Popovych, Jesus Hernandez, and a bunch of the Astana guys. I'm enjoying an Earl Grey (remember my tea addiction?) and some excellent live music as well.
Anyway, today was not unlike most training camp days. Lots of eating, riding, massages, more eating...
The eating tonight was made quite a bit nicer by the fact that Lance joined us, and the riding was beautiful, even though it was pretty wet out. We're looking forward to a dry sunny day tomorrow, and with all the sun, out will come Lance to make us all cry for our mommies when the road points upward. And speaking of Lance, if you haven't checked out VeloNews' photo gallery from this week, here's a link to it. Have a look at this particular picture, in which the "big boss", Lance, looks rather dwarf-esque among his inferiors. The word around here was that Lance was starting a new U23 basketball team... Lance laughed, and then frankly said "We will definitely need to re-do that one" He's not really that short, but his photographer, who must have had it in for him, had us stand in a bit of a U formation, with the tallest in the middle and shortest outside, but closer to the camera. The effect was that all the riders look as though we are about a foot taller than poor Lance.
I will hopefully have some more pics up shortly.
Looking forward to coming home to the real world..... NOT!
Anyway, today was not unlike most training camp days. Lots of eating, riding, massages, more eating...
The eating tonight was made quite a bit nicer by the fact that Lance joined us, and the riding was beautiful, even though it was pretty wet out. We're looking forward to a dry sunny day tomorrow, and with all the sun, out will come Lance to make us all cry for our mommies when the road points upward. And speaking of Lance, if you haven't checked out VeloNews' photo gallery from this week, here's a link to it. Have a look at this particular picture, in which the "big boss", Lance, looks rather dwarf-esque among his inferiors. The word around here was that Lance was starting a new U23 basketball team... Lance laughed, and then frankly said "We will definitely need to re-do that one" He's not really that short, but his photographer, who must have had it in for him, had us stand in a bit of a U formation, with the tallest in the middle and shortest outside, but closer to the camera. The effect was that all the riders look as though we are about a foot taller than poor Lance.
I will hopefully have some more pics up shortly.
Looking forward to coming home to the real world..... NOT!
Thursday, February 5, 2009
The Big Show
Sorry for the lack of updates in the last few days. They tell me the type of uppity hotels like the one we're staying in here in Santa Rosa don't generally have free internet access. What a trip. Giant Plasma TV, granite bathroom, down bedding, but no WiFi. You learn something new every day...
Anyway, there has been a lot going on here at camp - maybe too much to even write about, but a quick snapshot of a day here has looked like this: Wake up, eat breakfast, get ready to ride, wait on Taylor Phinney to get ready to ride, ride, eat lunch, meet with sponsors, get free gear, eat dinner, get more free gear, and sleep. Yes, it's quite a days work, especially when you consider that the whole time that we are doing all of the above things we are being filmed and/or photographed by any of about 5 different camera crews from Versus, VeloNews, Trek USA, Trek Japan, and some other documentary filmmakers. The idea is that when our website goes up sometime next week, we will have a bunch of cool footage and photos for everyone to check out. I'll let you all know as soon as the website goes live.
As far as the actual training is concerned, things have been pretty much perfect. On Tuesday Lance joined us for a four-hour ride through the hills between here and Napa. There are a bunch of photos of the ride on Velonews here. After an unassuming first hour of doodling along, Lance took us up the back side of Trinity grade, which was about a 6-mile long steep climb on narrow roads. It was beautiful, but the beauty quickly faded as Lance took to the front for a nice 'Tempo' effort. Before we were halfway up the climb, he had shattered our whole team, and left me gasping for air. I ended up making it to the top second out of our team. The cool thing about it was that while desperately trying to hold his wheel, I set some personal-best peak power outputs (by a longshot), and apparently everybody else did too. It was pretty amazing climbing next to Lance at 400-500 watts, and watching him pump away smooth as butter while I was clawing at my machine like a madman.
After the carnage, we regrouped and did some sweet descents. I thought I had stuck it to Lance on one particularly fast and curvy descent, only to have him fly by me on the inside like it was nothing and ride away from everyone. After being flogged once more on another climb back toward Santa Rosa, we spun it in on the flats for a while. There was a car following us the whole ride taking footage for a documentary, and riding at the front meant splitting time between trying to look good for all the cameras, and chatting with Lance about everything from fine wines to our preferences and roots in music (he was quite proud about having been first chair cornet in the middle school orchestra - "First chair man, number one. I was it man...").
The next day we did a 5.5 hour ride over King's ridge and back along highway 1. It was hands down the most beautiful ride I've ever done. We kept it at endurance pace, which was a blessing because my legs were still burning from the day before. We rode mostly on one-lane farm roads that wound up, down, and side to side through the redwoods and cow pastures, and then dropped down an amazing 10-15% descent onto the coast, where we cruised for a while before heading all the way back. It was a wierd feeling being so tired but still wanting to ride. After a massage and about 5000 calories worth of Italian food, I went to sleep and slept like never before, looking forward to a bit of a recovery day to follow.
So today was a bit of a recovery ride, and we brought along a bunch of sponsors. It rained like heck, but I was glad to only have to spend 2.5 hours out in it, instead of 5 or 6 like the rest of the Astana guys. It was also nice to chat with all the guys that have helped out our team with all the awesome products we've gotten over the past few weeks. From there it was off to lunch and a photo session (again), and now I find myself here in the Flying Goat Coffee Shop trying to get all my internet stuff done in the hour or so that I have before the next item on the itenerary.
Well that was a long post, but I feel like I have only covered just a bit of all the exciting stuff that's been going on here. I'll have more on my experience here soon...
Anyway, there has been a lot going on here at camp - maybe too much to even write about, but a quick snapshot of a day here has looked like this: Wake up, eat breakfast, get ready to ride, wait on Taylor Phinney to get ready to ride, ride, eat lunch, meet with sponsors, get free gear, eat dinner, get more free gear, and sleep. Yes, it's quite a days work, especially when you consider that the whole time that we are doing all of the above things we are being filmed and/or photographed by any of about 5 different camera crews from Versus, VeloNews, Trek USA, Trek Japan, and some other documentary filmmakers. The idea is that when our website goes up sometime next week, we will have a bunch of cool footage and photos for everyone to check out. I'll let you all know as soon as the website goes live.
As far as the actual training is concerned, things have been pretty much perfect. On Tuesday Lance joined us for a four-hour ride through the hills between here and Napa. There are a bunch of photos of the ride on Velonews here. After an unassuming first hour of doodling along, Lance took us up the back side of Trinity grade, which was about a 6-mile long steep climb on narrow roads. It was beautiful, but the beauty quickly faded as Lance took to the front for a nice 'Tempo' effort. Before we were halfway up the climb, he had shattered our whole team, and left me gasping for air. I ended up making it to the top second out of our team. The cool thing about it was that while desperately trying to hold his wheel, I set some personal-best peak power outputs (by a longshot), and apparently everybody else did too. It was pretty amazing climbing next to Lance at 400-500 watts, and watching him pump away smooth as butter while I was clawing at my machine like a madman.
After the carnage, we regrouped and did some sweet descents. I thought I had stuck it to Lance on one particularly fast and curvy descent, only to have him fly by me on the inside like it was nothing and ride away from everyone. After being flogged once more on another climb back toward Santa Rosa, we spun it in on the flats for a while. There was a car following us the whole ride taking footage for a documentary, and riding at the front meant splitting time between trying to look good for all the cameras, and chatting with Lance about everything from fine wines to our preferences and roots in music (he was quite proud about having been first chair cornet in the middle school orchestra - "First chair man, number one. I was it man...").
The next day we did a 5.5 hour ride over King's ridge and back along highway 1. It was hands down the most beautiful ride I've ever done. We kept it at endurance pace, which was a blessing because my legs were still burning from the day before. We rode mostly on one-lane farm roads that wound up, down, and side to side through the redwoods and cow pastures, and then dropped down an amazing 10-15% descent onto the coast, where we cruised for a while before heading all the way back. It was a wierd feeling being so tired but still wanting to ride. After a massage and about 5000 calories worth of Italian food, I went to sleep and slept like never before, looking forward to a bit of a recovery day to follow.
So today was a bit of a recovery ride, and we brought along a bunch of sponsors. It rained like heck, but I was glad to only have to spend 2.5 hours out in it, instead of 5 or 6 like the rest of the Astana guys. It was also nice to chat with all the guys that have helped out our team with all the awesome products we've gotten over the past few weeks. From there it was off to lunch and a photo session (again), and now I find myself here in the Flying Goat Coffee Shop trying to get all my internet stuff done in the hour or so that I have before the next item on the itenerary.
Well that was a long post, but I feel like I have only covered just a bit of all the exciting stuff that's been going on here. I'll have more on my experience here soon...
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
In the books...
Paskenta 2009 has now come and gone, and I have to say it was a nice ride, but a bit of a brute for sure. The forecasted 5 mph winds became 10-20 mph winds, which served to rip apart the field from about 300+ to just 30 after less than half of the 100 miles. The winds were howling out of the north, which meant strong crosswinds on nearly every part of the course, which runs mainly east-west. The field split into echelons early and this all added up to no rest for anyone. So here's a brief play-by-play:
We take off at 8am sharp, with a huge field of probably between 300 and 400 riders, and for the first 20 miles or so I stayed mostly hidden out of the north wind near the front of the pack. Things started to speed up a bit after about an hour or so, but everything was still staying together in the established front group of about 100. Things went on at a moderate pace until after Corning, which was about 35 miles in or so. When we got out of town and started to get slammed with the crosswinds, the strong riders knew it was their time to thin out the pack. By this time I was comfortable, but the pace went way up for about 15 minutes and I found myself caught out a bit. I found myself in the second echelon, as I wasn't paying much attention when things hit the fan. Before I knew it I was cranking out over 400 watts for a while, and feeling a kind of suffering that I haven't felt since last August. I didn't miss it at all...
I calmed down and waited patiently for things to come back together a bit, and sure enough when the carnage was over, the first two echelons had converged to form one lead group of about 30-40. We rode along at a decent pace, with Jesse Moore dangling off the front on several occasions. I got to the front leading into the infamous gravel section, and no one really seemed to challenge me for my perfect spot at second wheel. What a weird feeling for someone who's used to racing against pros that will do anything short of knocking you off your bike to get the sweet spot. Jesse and teammate Adam Switters were off the front a bit going into the gravel, but I wasn't worried, as we still had about 45 miles to go at this point. We had a ripping tailwind on the gravel, and I had a good time flying along at 30-40 mph around the gentle bends, with the back wheel sliding about. The monster that was the 5-mile gravel sector gobbled up most of our lead group, and we came out of the dirty mess with just 7 riders, and another 3 or 4 up the road including Jesse and Switters. I wasn't too worried about the break, but only a couple of the guys in our group were willing to work. After about an hour of steady chasing, we (mostly me and Judd Van Sickle of DBC) had caught the break and so there were about 10 of us in the lead going into the final 10 miles. I was feeling pretty cooked at this point, and thinking of the training camp I had to go to the next day and all through the next week. I played it conservative and let Jesse go up the road again with one other rider. The only trouble was that it left his teammate Switters in the chase group with me, watching my every move. Sure enough, when I finally worked it up to take off in pursuit of Jesse, Switters was right on me, and he stayed there all the way to the line. I was statistically screwed, and I knew I had no way of winning with about 5 miles to go. If I caught Jesse, Switters would easily take the win, as he had been just sitting on my wheel for the whole last 10 miles. If I didn't catch Jesse, then, well, of course he would win. I just kept on riding tempo and resigned myself to third place, and that's exaclty how I did. I actually felt pretty good at the end, so it was tough to be in a tactical position where I couldn't really race for the win, but all things considered, I would say I felt like my fitness is coming along quite well for this time of year. I would really have loved to take home that trophy for the second year in a row, but you know what they say - TBR (that's bike racing) - as in, sometimes bike races just turn out that way.
OK well I gotta go to dinner here at training camp in Santa Rosa. I will have more for you about how things are going here later on. Things are pretty busy but very exciting to say the least.
We take off at 8am sharp, with a huge field of probably between 300 and 400 riders, and for the first 20 miles or so I stayed mostly hidden out of the north wind near the front of the pack. Things started to speed up a bit after about an hour or so, but everything was still staying together in the established front group of about 100. Things went on at a moderate pace until after Corning, which was about 35 miles in or so. When we got out of town and started to get slammed with the crosswinds, the strong riders knew it was their time to thin out the pack. By this time I was comfortable, but the pace went way up for about 15 minutes and I found myself caught out a bit. I found myself in the second echelon, as I wasn't paying much attention when things hit the fan. Before I knew it I was cranking out over 400 watts for a while, and feeling a kind of suffering that I haven't felt since last August. I didn't miss it at all...
I calmed down and waited patiently for things to come back together a bit, and sure enough when the carnage was over, the first two echelons had converged to form one lead group of about 30-40. We rode along at a decent pace, with Jesse Moore dangling off the front on several occasions. I got to the front leading into the infamous gravel section, and no one really seemed to challenge me for my perfect spot at second wheel. What a weird feeling for someone who's used to racing against pros that will do anything short of knocking you off your bike to get the sweet spot. Jesse and teammate Adam Switters were off the front a bit going into the gravel, but I wasn't worried, as we still had about 45 miles to go at this point. We had a ripping tailwind on the gravel, and I had a good time flying along at 30-40 mph around the gentle bends, with the back wheel sliding about. The monster that was the 5-mile gravel sector gobbled up most of our lead group, and we came out of the dirty mess with just 7 riders, and another 3 or 4 up the road including Jesse and Switters. I wasn't too worried about the break, but only a couple of the guys in our group were willing to work. After about an hour of steady chasing, we (mostly me and Judd Van Sickle of DBC) had caught the break and so there were about 10 of us in the lead going into the final 10 miles. I was feeling pretty cooked at this point, and thinking of the training camp I had to go to the next day and all through the next week. I played it conservative and let Jesse go up the road again with one other rider. The only trouble was that it left his teammate Switters in the chase group with me, watching my every move. Sure enough, when I finally worked it up to take off in pursuit of Jesse, Switters was right on me, and he stayed there all the way to the line. I was statistically screwed, and I knew I had no way of winning with about 5 miles to go. If I caught Jesse, Switters would easily take the win, as he had been just sitting on my wheel for the whole last 10 miles. If I didn't catch Jesse, then, well, of course he would win. I just kept on riding tempo and resigned myself to third place, and that's exaclty how I did. I actually felt pretty good at the end, so it was tough to be in a tactical position where I couldn't really race for the win, but all things considered, I would say I felt like my fitness is coming along quite well for this time of year. I would really have loved to take home that trophy for the second year in a row, but you know what they say - TBR (that's bike racing) - as in, sometimes bike races just turn out that way.
OK well I gotta go to dinner here at training camp in Santa Rosa. I will have more for you about how things are going here later on. Things are pretty busy but very exciting to say the least.
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