Champions Tri in Austin

Waly Yarrow sitting 3rd in his AG for the Oly race. Guru Merus got him there.
Above is Lisa Tilton McCarthy's Crono that took her to 3rd Woman Overall for the day.
Below, Trent raced in the Pro race, BRUTAL winds and competition. Trent was 7th overall there.
Trent coming home....


Lisa, Walt, myself, and Trent post race. I had 4 Gurus there that day. It was a good day to be supporting the crew and seeing everyone race.

The Kona Project

Above
Possible sprint and quarter position
Below
Possible half and full IM position

The heart of a bike...the frame. Tailor made to Andrew Strong's measurements and requirements. Being able to "tune" the titanium frame with specific tube selections is key for triathletes and something Guru excels at getting just right for every client of mine.
Also...the welds are beautiful!

So Andrew Strong is a friend of mine as well as an athlete I sponsor. Andrew has made it to Kona for the past two years...which has also been his first two years of competing in the Ironman distance races. So yes...he is a natural...but he also trains intensely and is VERY dedicated. Swimming is not his strong point, with 1:30+ swim times and qualifying for Kona still...yes his bike split is violent and run is vicious. The past two years he has done this on a Cervelo P3C and was wind tunnel fitted on it by John Cobb. Does it get to be any faster than this???
I believe it does. My business is based on the simple fact that fit is key. So if the bike fits better you are going to be more stable, more comfortable, and more powerful.
I am taking Andrew Strong, a man with strong Kona ambitions this year, off of what most consider to be "the fastest bike in the world" and putting him on a titanium frame that does have higher drag numbers in the wind tunnel...will he be faster?
I believe he will. This is what my business is and the proof will be in the real world...Ironman Brazil. This is his first chance to qualify for Kona. The fitting method right now will start from his current fit and then we will implement what I have learned under Dr. Andy Pruitt during my Specialized years and from Dan E's FIST method. I will be looking at everything with a Retul and Computrainer SpinScan.
Stay tuned as I put my reputation on the line for a proven athlete on a proven set up!
Soon I will have postings of the complete bike.
I look forward to seeing how this goes. Should be a fun little test!!!

Riding Chappell Hill on Good Friday part 2

This is my daughter...taking pictures of herself through out the ride. Gotta love it!

My friend Steven was along for the ride as well...he rode tough on Saturday with us again.
Steve Quick and myself chillin behind the trailer...she took the picture and actually captured alot of great shots! Amazing what kids can do.
After 30+miles into the wind and hills, I could not go any more. Chris Lockwood took over...I think in a way he regretted it but at the same time loved the challenge and the pain. The last 13 miles in to the finish of Chappell Hill...well I not ashamed to say I am glad it wasn't me.

Getting Ready to Race!

Things are moving along, bikes being built, clients getting fitted, and just having some good ole fun doing what I love to do. Usually being so busy on everyone's bike but my own it was time to get myself ready for the weekend. Sunday is a road race in New Braunfels and myself and 7 other team mates are rolling up to race that day. The fun part is 5 of us have decided to HTFU and race twice. The Cat4 race at 9am which is 45 miles and then again at 12:09pm in the 4/5 race which is another 45miles. I have raced twice before in one day...not very well and only in crits which are usually only an hour tops each race. So needless to say this is NUTS but I have been riding 60-90 miles kinda often and maybe it won't suck that bad. To race like I am nuts I need a bike that is nuts! Bring in the Guru Geneo with Sram Red. I LOVE my Fulcrum Racing Zero wheels which are amazing and VERY race worthy. But I own a high end bike shop so its expected that I have the ultra cool stuff right? At least that is what I told myself when I ordered a pair of Edge 68 tubular rims and Tune hubs. They weigh in at 1146 grams and I had to find a tubular tire worthy. I have used Zipps before and loved them. But is there something better? After tonight's ride I think there is. Challenge Criterium Setas. Its a 300tpi tire with a sewn in tube made of silk. Yes silk. I glued these up last night and looked forward to rolling them today but as usual the day got away from me. So off to the West End ride at 6pm. Yes, that is right, I was THAT GUY who shows up on a training ride (in town on the worst roads in the dark) with carbon race wheels...not to mention tubulars made of silk that one cost 4 times as much as most tires. I am quite the bike snob and would totally make fun of some one who does this. So of course as all the guys make the obvious comments...I wind up making fun of myself. Especially since in my rush to leave I grab my flat kit...for clinchers. (right?) On to the ride.
Well I don't know what everyone else was doing but I guess I was feeling good cause I was absolutely flying! Speed was easy and those wheels were amazing and the tires were truly special. I could not believe how easy the ride felt. One, I am feeling pretty good on the Guru these days and with the addition of these wheels its just a whole nother level. It truly felt like I just bought speed. I had a hard time controlling my excitement and just kept trying to go!! Now I am praying for no rain on Sunday cause I can not wait to get out on this bike and wheels and see how it goes.

Some more pics of the Crono

Pretty nice look of the TRP brakes here...
Nice Gold Chain...along with that super slick power meter the Quarq unit...
Of course Nokon cables...also notice the Tiso Ceramic Pulley wheels.

First ride, and some Shama marathon watching and placing.

Watching the marathon finish...that guy makes it look too easy!

Ok you might not be able to tell in this pic but Richard came over to ride his bike with unshaved legs. This detail almost killed me riding with him...but I let it slide this time. ;-)

Sunday morning...after working some seriously crazy hours the past week and actually loving it...Richard Amaya pulls up to my house for a morning ride. First ride on his new Guru Crono and second ride for me on my new Guru Geneo. Not only are we both on Gurus, but mine is red/white and his is red/black...and we both were rolling the new Garmin computers hooked up to our Quarq Power meters. I must say we were rolling pretty tough. We left the house and headed towards downtown to watch the marathon for a little bit. Besides, Shama Cycles had some tri team members out there racing and I wanted to yell at them...to HTFU! haha
Richard kept wanting to take off and after my last "first ride" with Euan, I wanted to take it easy. I was not in the mood for a hammer fest and I know Rich was itchin to open up that bike. The streets were clear for the marathon and we were able to cruise on down to the finish line with ease. Seeing everyone racing and cheering and supporting was great! At the end of the day, Trent Stephens helped pace Andrew Strong to 3rd place in his AG in the half with Brett Cole right behind him for 4th...then back in 14th place but only 6min behind was Walt Yarrow. Good on guys! Then there were plenty of other FOPs out there who had great races and maybe some with not so great races. We all have those days and hearing the post race stories was great! Its good to feel the race buzz again.
Basically we had a pretty easy ride...me falling in love with my Geneo and him his Crono. We both were all smiles on our rockets and can't wait for another great day to put them through the paces. It was a blast and a fun ride having some self admiration on the bike.