DJB cribs

Here some pics of my place. An actual place to sleep, make coffee, and leave my guitars out so I can play them. It's been awhile. After I took the photos I realized I need some stuff on the walls. If anyone in my area has a bed they want to give away... I could use one.









DJB

Island Vibes

Since I've last written about Las Vegas a few weeks ago, I had a week of shop work and then headed to Kailua-Kona, Hawaii for the Ironman Hawaii World Championships. I've been home now since Wednesday and have to admit that for a few days I was suffering from PHD (post hawaii depression). I really got used to hearing the waves crashing on shore. Oh well!

This year's Hawaii trip seemed better than ever for several reasons. Here are a few in no particular order of importance. There was a great island vibe this year. Last year I felt depleted from such a hectic schedule. This year the workload for the week was perfect. Just busy enough during the day to enjoy my job and then having the mornings and evenings to hang out with good friends and stick our toes in the sand. I learned to embrace the fact that the island has some magic vibe if you let it take you there. I think we all felt it this year from the staff to the athletes racing.

Besides work, I managed to get in several rides including a freak crash which has wacked my knee/hip out of alignment. It was an similar crash as Lance had when his handlebar got stuck on a fan's feedbag. Except I jack-knifed the front wheel in a pot-hole (more like a crater) while riding one handed to wipe the stinging sweat out of my eyes. Luckily the traffic at that momemt was not heavy. Once again the island vibe protected me. Ha!

My other goal this trip was to surf. Way back in April, Rachel Ross from the team said no matter what, the day after the race she was taking us surfing. I was pleasantly surprised to get an e-mail a week before leaving for Hawaii that she still remembered. Although the surf conditions weren't that good, I did get going a few times. My interest is peaked and for some reason I really want to do more. Even though the waves were few it 's still a good time to paddle out and hang out chit-chatting. It's like sitting on the chairlift when going skiing except it's warm. I got to thank Rachel, Rambsey, and her best friend Moni (sorry didn't get the spelling of her beautiful name) for arranging all that. I even watched her kids while they ran into town. Talk about a great kid life. Going to the beach everyday to play.

For some reason I only took a few photos this year.


Me waiting for 6am taxi in Milwaukee.


Beside's TIMEX athletes, I often help out some of the other pros. Here is Lisa Bentley's Cervelo that needed some adjustments. (The best was a guy I met who politely asked if I could look at his shifting. In all of 5 minutes I handed his bike back to him and said to take it for a quick test ride to make sure it was good. He came back and told me that he'd taken it to two bike shops and 3 mechanics but it still shifted poorly after each trip. He was amazed and very happy that I was able to take care of it for him and wouldn't have to lose sleep over it anymore. He apologized for not having any cash on him so he came back later with a nice tip. I love that kind of stuff. Gosh I'm good!


Vicktor Zyemstev's brand new 2008 TTX. One of only 3 that were available at the time. The guys from Trek were there and are super supportive of the team and the feedback I can give them. Some things of note were the Bontrager brakes. Nifty and light. We also had a show bike which I built up with the SRAM red components. That cassette is really chi chi. Machined out of a solid block of aluminum.


On race day I did a ride of my own and joined up with the bike course. This is the lead man. No idea who. Later on in the evening the finsh line became a beacon of positive energy. The bleachers were packed and people lined the finsh straight several deep. Dancing and singing like it's big Mardis Gras. TIMEX throws out a bunch schwag from 9pm until midnight during this party. It's crazy how people go nuts for t-shirts and hats. With all the dancing and running around it's like 3 hours of aerobics but totally worth it to watch the folks who have been out there for 15 or more hours finsh with huge and emotional grins. Some of the stories bring tears to your eyes. Even the men's and women's pro winners came out for the festivities and to welcome folks across the line. If you ever get a chance to watch an Ironman even, don't miss the last 3 hours.


My boy Special K. Always willing to whip up some breakfast potatoes. The best wingman a friend could have. Here's to you Mr. Timex watch guy....


A picture perfect sunset. Enjoyed by this guy and on the island of Hawaii. ALOHA!

Back from LV

Last week I was work bound in Las Vegas for the bike industry tradeshow. Essentially another place to see all my friends and people in this circus like life. I traveled a day early to have Tuesday to enjoy the dirt demo out in Boulder City, NV. Eric and I met up with Kenny and Bill from Placid Planet Bicycles for some test ride some offerings from various bike companies. Although I love my Kona, I still believe that Cannondale makes a great bike too. The Scalpel I rode was real nice dually race bike. The Lefty fork is one of the best forks out there.

The bike show is draining from all the walking and talking to sponsors. Add the "nightlife" and it becomes a non-stop three days of serious business and play. Hopefully all the work opens some doors and solidifies some of our sponsors support.

With wall to wall bike geeks in every aisle (myself included) you may find my answer to the question of "what was the coolest thing" surprising. The best thing at the show was the CLIFF BAR booth. Not because they make a great food product but because of what they are promoting. Hats off to my pal Jon Robichaud who had a hand in obtaining a 1959 travel bus in which CLIFF converted into a traveling education center to promote the "2 mile challenge." Check out the website and what it stands for because it is worth knowing about and something we can all do. A way to get people to make a small change in their lives that can have a HUGE impact on climate change. 40% of urban travel in the U.S. is trips under 2 miles (and 90% of those trips are by car). By committing to use a bike for those short trips we can make a difference.

http://www.2milechallenge.com/home.html


The Fossil Fool. Part of CLIFF's road is this musician who powers his show with human power only from the generating bike. You can see the bus in the background. A band can play on the top platform. At the show, some employee's jammed a little in addition to Fossil Fool and the Ginger Ninjas.

For the first time this year they had a cyclocross race held in conjunction with the bike show. I think it was a huge hit. Tons of loud fans. Great riders with several lead changes throughout the race.


That's in for now. I have an extremely busy week following up with Interbike stuff and getting ready for the trip to Hawaii for world championships. I also will begin moving in to my new apartment which won't take that long because I don't have much to move in anyways. But there is very little time for even that.

Cheers,
DOUG

Reasons to play guitar

While I'm waiting for my laundry I was messing around on YouTube.

Art evokes feeling. The Blues are played with a deep, deep, deep feeling.

"The Blues had a baby and they called it Rock n Roll."

With Jimi's song Voodoo Chile, something was channeled from deep in the soul to create the crossroads of Blues and Rock. SRV's version makes it his own, while yet paying homage to those who came before him.

Some of the heaviest stuff out there.

In the context of its time, Hendrix's was the simply out of this world. Even after repeated listenings there are little things that catch the ears and makes me say "Yeah"! People are still scratching their head sometimes trying to figure out how he did some of the things he did.






I didn't want the uninitiated to think SRV was a copy cat so I choose this song because it rips in so many ways. Talk about tone! Man! Talk about emotion in the notes! I can always feel something in my gut when I hear him play. Man oh man oh man! That's why I wanted to play guitar! Please tell me that you couldn't help but watch the whole video.

DOUG

Tour of Missouri

Here's some photos from last week's Tour of Missouri. My personal impressions were that it was a succssful race. Missouri folks were happy to have us there and all in all it was well organized. Unless the organizers face any sponorship problems I forsee that the race will be back next year. For me it was a fun race. We have a great staff and the morale of everyone from staff to riders was very positive. Being the last race of the season you could tell there was some tired folks but the atmosphere was friendly and relaxed. It was a good way to end the road season. Many of the faces we will not see until next year.

Whoa! The last entry was quite a comment fest. As Chris D. can see I have several fans of my work and good looks/charm.
Thanks to you comment posters for sticking up for me. Take that Chris! AH, it's all in good fun. Here's to you Chris Davidson - Chief Bartender of the caravan.


Mechanic Fernando from Navigators. He keeps a neat and tidy truck.

Mechanic "Blackhands" Eric. Keeps it working like a swiss watch.

DFL-Cyclingnews Mechanic. I don't know this guy but he is a mechanic. Teams from overseas have to work out of rental trucks. With all of the teams spliced into one or two water sources it always a gamble how the water pressure will be out of your hose. I let him splice into my hose which killed my water pressure. We had to offset each other so we weren't rinsing at the same time.

Mechanic Chris. Entertaining his fans and making things shiny.


Tecos is a huge team in Mexico and were here for the race. Eric and I couldn't stop saying Tecos all week. It just rolls off your tongue. I think it means or references "owl."

One day a lady walked by and commented that Rachel has the best job.

Missouri fans checking out our bikes.


"You can tell by the way he walks, he's a cycling star, no time to talk."


Hey! After a few hours of trying I figured out how to post videos! Check out this video from the last day of the Tour of Missouri in the final sprint. It shows how fast these guys go in a sprint and unfortunately in this one how these guys put themselves on the line each time they race. I heard Brad got up and walked away but I don't know the extent of any injuries. He's probably pretty sore.


...and his bike flipped into the peloton but caused no other crashes. Amazing how fast this all happens and it doesn't faze us! This is way better than NASCAR!

Cheers,
DOUG

Ironman Wisconsin

Last week was Ironman Wisconsin. Every year I say what a great place Madison is and this year was no different. I won't bore you too much. You could go back to last year's rave reviews. Although I didn't get to stay around for race day, as I had to drive to Kansas City for the Tour of Missouri with Colavita/Sutter Home, I hear it was great weather. The Trek TTX's were dialed in so I'm confident the TIMEX athletes had no worries. Ironman's are funny though. Everything has to come together to have a race win. Even though my hunch of Dave Harju winning didn't pan out, I'm sure he gave it his best shot just like all the TIMEX team athletes do. It was nice to see several of them since I haven't been to most of the IM's this season yet.




Mark Andrews from Trek Bicycles came by to drop off a new TTX frame for us. The new model is about 390 grams lighter than the current model due to different carbon and some weight saving cut-outs. This particular one will be built up for Hawaii for one of our big guns.




Okay, I probably shouldn't be showing this picture. Shane or Kenny got a guess as to what this is? That's all I'm saying about it!


Hey Ben, are you jealous. People that work with the Ironman circus are some of the best people I've met. Gina from ART can loosen up those tight muscles.

I've mentioned before how my pal Chris Davidson will heckle me about updating the blog. Well, here I am sitting in the lobby of a Hilton in Kansas City, MO updating the blog and C. D. is sitting on the couch next to me. It's a strange world sometimes.

Tomorrow starts the Tour of Missouri. Six days of racing that will keep me busy so I thought I'd get this update in. Thanks for reading.

Cheers,
DJB

Kona Quiver

After a solid week of rain around here (flash back to memories of living in Portland, OR), this weekend the sun has returned. It's a good thing that the sun is here but unfortunately the saturated mountain bike trails at the "Kettles" are closed until they dry out. I can only look at the mountain bike for another day. I know I can ride the road bike but I've been itching for some dirt again.

I did a little mountain bike cleaning this week. Here are my KONA's. Yeah that's right I have a quiver of Kona's. I just seem to like the way they ride. About a month ago I picked up a "King" and joined the whole dual-suspension/ disc brake generation. In addition, I have my old race bike, "Kula". Actually I shouldn't call it old. It still rocks although the drivetrain needs a few pieces. This bike has the best wheels ever. Nice, handbuilt, and light built by me that have seen many miles and are still going strong. Bontrager Valiant rims, XTR hub, DT 14/17 spokes, tied and soldered. Lastly is the "Hot" with custom stars and bars paint job. At the time a Reynolds 853 steel frame was hot! The best paint job I've had on a bike. The Hot has been converted to a single speed get around town bike.

Hey Davidson-see you in Missouri. Ha!

Cheers,
DOUG

Downers Grove

This past weekend was the final bit of racing for the Colavita/Sutter Home ladies. We were just outside of Chicago for the National Criterium Championships. It was a wet weekend for sure. I can’t recall so many crashes in a crit before. The team rode fantastic and set up Tina for the win. She came through with her unbeatable sprint and thanked the team for getting her there.



Me in the pit after one of the larger crashes.


Tina wins again!


Andrea doing her job well.


Alison stringing it out in front of the two best sprinters in the field.


Tina’s podium. Apparently she got champagne in her eye and couldn’t see anything.


There was celebrating that night even though Tina wasn’t there and Mackenzie had a fractured elbow. Andrea, Me, Mack, Nicole. Nicole played her part in the race. She didn’t back down when Brooke Miller tried to muscle her way onto Tina’s wheel. She ended up crashing because of it. Way to sacrifice! After the race I loved how she explained “I wasn’t going to let her (Brooke) have Tina’s wheel. No way!” (I’m sure Brooke may see it differently but that was Nicole’s job to sweep Tina’s wheel)


Yes, once in awhile we have enough time to go out and socialize.

CHEERS!

Summer in Milwaukee

I've been in Milwaukee a whole week now! Wow, that is close to being a record. A huge shout out goes to my friends Bill and Jen Koch. They were married earlier this year and Jen has a downtown apartment on the Eastside (cool part of the city) that she is trying to sell. She was gracious enough to let me stay there while I'm looking for a place of my own. So for the past week I've been living the hip urban lifestyle. The weather has been great so I've been enjoying the 40 minute bike commute back and forth to work. I can take all pavement or use the mountain bike or singlespeed to link up a few urban trail sections. Each day I also have the option of which one of the three Alterra Coffee places to visit (See their link in my link section).


Riding along the tracks is one unique piece of singletrack that a neighborhood guy decorates with disgarded junk and train artifacts. Not many people know about this piece of Milwaukee culture.


And then there is a section where cacti grow in Milwaukee. Really bizzarre stuff!


After the tracks and industrial building trail, I eventually ride along Lake Michigan past the Art Museum. Really cool commute I tell ya.



These were some pictures riding around the city the other night from the baseball game,


Wednesday night was Milwaukee Brewer game night. The cast of characters were Tom (the Boss), Eric (Blackhands), Me, Mackenzie (Eric's lady and Colavita rider), Alejandro (Argentina rider), Luca (Italy rider), Gustavo (Argentina rider) and Maryanne (Gustavo's wife visiting from Argentina). We all rode to the stadium. I love stuff like this whem it involves biking there.


Before we got to the stadium we stopped to meet some other friends for a backyard barbeque. The foreigners played american style football and started to get the hang of throwing a spiral.


Miller Park from the nosebleed section.


The gang! I'm not sure what Alejandro and Luca were yelling in their respective Spanish and Italian. Sometimes it's a hybrid of Spanish and Italian that only they understand.


The sausage race. I picked the Italian Sausage (number 3 to win). I believe it was the Brautwurst who won. Milwaukee is known for two things. Beer and sausage. Why not dress up as your favorite sausage and race? Makes sense to me.

I'm leaving tomorrow morning for the weekend's racing in Downers Grove, Illionois. The U.S. Pro Criterium Championships are Sunday and Tina is the top favorite again this year. Hopefully no crashes in the sprint this year. After that I be back to Milwaukee. Lots of jobs to get done around the office and service course. The rest of the race season for me looks like Tour of Missouri with the guys. Ironman Wisconsin. The bike show in Vegas. Ironman Hawaii World Championships. Ironman Florida. 70.3 Worlds in Florida.

Thanks for reading,

DOUG

More about Lake Placid

Check out Tim Chien's blog in my links. Good description of Lake Placid happenings from Ironman week.

It's all true about my good luck moniker (It's not true about being a Madonna fan though). I can elaborate on that topic even further. Yes, I do have a reputation as a excellent mechanic. Two Lake Placid friends, Karen Lieb and Tanya Deeks say they race better knowing I have looked over their bikes. Karen also feels that it is good luck if I zip up her wetsuit on race morning. I really should market myself somehow. (Berner's Check and Zip, Berner's Lube and Zip, Doug's Flipper and Zipper?)

Here is another testimonial (names changed to protect any privacy issues)

"Dude
If I gave a victory speech at Placid, you would have been the first
person I thanked. I can't tell you how many mechanicals I saw out there on Sunday
including two guys throw their Derailleurs into their spokes...
It is a shame that you don't get the attention you deserve as a
professional mechanic but I want you to know that "Bee Lish" , "J Dizzle", and I couldn't have
reached our goals on Sunday without you and we really appreciate your work!
I guess people don't think about mechanicals until something goes
wrong...then you are the bad guy...not fun. You are appreciated by so many people, keep up the great work."

-Special, "Have you seen my ball", K

I didn't make this up for any self promotion but if you'd like my autograph I can arrange something. How about a TV reality series? Everyone else has one.

Seriously though, it is awesome to know that people appreciate something I do as well as all the other pro mechanics out there putting in long hours for not much pay because in the long run we love what we do.



Doug

Cast of Characters Chapter 3

During a 7-day stage race like Altoona, one day seems like the previous day (ie-Groundhog Day). Up by 7am, coffee/breakfast, load bikes, transfer to start, unload bikes, tire pressure, get caravan car ready, start line hangout, tell stories with other mechanics, 3-4 hour race in the caravan, load bikes, drive back to house, unload, wash bikes, change tires as needed, check over, lube, eat, shower, maybe relax, bed by 11am. It's not neccesarily all in that order. It depends on if it's a morning or afternoon start. Either way it's a long day for 7-days. I work with some nice girls and really appreciate when they notice that their bike worked well and they let me know that.


While sitting in the team car during a race one of my jobs besides wheel changes or bike changes due to crashes or flats, I help Jim pay attention to the race radio. When there are breaks up the road the officials broadcast the ride's numbers to each team vehicle. That way each team knows who is in the break and plan their strategies. Moving pieces like a chess game. My notebook shown here may look like chicken scratch but it is a log of that days events. Rider numbers, names, team groupings, bonus sprints, QOM placings, post-race drug testing. Like many mechnics you learn to listen to race radio with one ear and the rider radio with another ear in addition to taking a quick cat nap.


There are only a few times throughout the season where riders and staff can become normal people. These are fun times because the business of racing is off our minds and we can just relax. The last night of Altoona there was a host family barbeque. Besides Team Colavita the Expresscopy team joined us. I've worked with some of the Expresscopy riders before that were on Colavita or Quark so it was nice to all have a few laughs.


I should have used a little sunscreen while in the wheel pit. Red Face.



After Altoona we headed to Winston-Salem, NC for the week for a couple of crits in Charlotte and Winston. This is our host's dog Pielot who is one cool dog. He never tires out from dog play. It was nice to see this little guy again. The minute I walked in he seemed to remember how much fun we had last year.

Cheers