Williams Cycling

To those of you anxiously waiting for the highly anticipated new Williams Cycling Team kits, you won’t have to wait too much longer! Hincapie has shipped the kits. We’ll be busy this weekend with sorting the orders out and getting you your kit ASAP!

Also, as expected, they look awesome.

Todd, Henry, and John prepare for war.

Yeah I know. It’s not even 2012 yet and I’m writing about racing. A man can dream, can’t he?

We’ve started looking at the schedule, and we’re thinking about maybe one race before break, one race during break (on the way to SPRING BREAK in NORTH CAROLINA), and then all of the races after break (Yale, Army, Dartmouth, UNH).

Where we will be kicking ass this spring.

Plan on leaving Friday (after a team dinner), spending the night at a hotel/house of host, racing twice Saturday and once Sunday, and then driving home. Usually we’re back Sunday afternoon. Don’t plan on getting much homework done when you’re gone.

When we get closer to the start of the season, we’ll talk strategy and race specifics. For the time being, just get ready for the power block.

Dear team,

Everything is about to change.

So far this year, the Williams Cycling Team has been about going on fun rides, exploring Williamstown, and meeting other really cool people who like riding bicycles. After this Thanksgiving break, however, we will be transitioning to a formal training regimen. You’ll soon be receiving a detailed training plan.

We’ll be doing these workouts as a team as much as possible. Of course, if your schedule doesn’t allow you to join us (we’ll usually go at 4), then you can certainly go whenever is best for you. Someone– usually me– will be sending out daily workouts through the listserv. Those of you who have done any kind of interval workouts before will recognize the type of training that we do.

That being said, I absolutely don’t want to downplay how physically and mentally demanding the next few months will be. These intervals are hard. Really hard. The workouts involve subjecting yourself to extreme physical discomfort for extended periods of time, and then repeating this process again and again, day after day. And, because of the weather we get in Williamstown, you will for the most part be riding indoors from December until March. Regardless of your background in endurance athletics, I can personally guarantee that you will find the workouts extremely challenging.

At the same time, I want to emphasize that we do these intervals for a reason. These workouts are the reason why we win so many races in the spring. They will make you fast. They will give you sexy, rock-hard quads. And they will make you competitive come spring time. Furthermore, every single one of you is capable of completing the workouts, provided that you are willing to work very hard.

It might be slightly nonsensical, but I know that Henry, Amy, and I (maybe not Todd…) all look forward to interval season. Perhaps the interior of the ark is slightly less scenic than Mt. Greylock, but there’s some intangible greatness about completing these grueling sessions together, as a team. It’s pretty damn cool to be working so hard that you fog up the windows.

This is going to be a really great year for the Williams Cycling Team. We have a squad full of really talented riders. With Thanksgiving coming up, I feel like I have so many things to be thankful for, and being able to spend the next few months with you all is definitely a huge blessing. I look forward to suffering with you all.

Here’s your homework for break:

1) Shortly after break we’ll be having our goals meeting. I would like everyone interested in racing to attend the meeting. At the meeting, everyone will tell the rest of the team their goals for the season. I would like all of you to start thinking about what you want to accomplish this season, both on an individual level but also for the team.

2) A lot of you mentioned that you have bike gear at home. Bring it back with you! You can store it in the ark– it will make your life a lot easier. Also, if you have a heart rate monitor, BRING IT TO PRACTICE! We’re still working on getting all the loaners in working shape. Note that we’ll also be having some tutorial sessions on basic bike maintenance.

3) For those of you with music players, start making your interval playlist. The alternative is that you will have to listen to my playlist for about 3 straight months. Unless you really like Rihanna, Daft Punk, Girl Talk, and Miley Cyrus, this would be bad for you.

In conclusion, I’d like to leave you with one of my favorite speeches of all time. Given what we’re about to undertake, I think it’s pretty fitting.

You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have
striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The
hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you.
In company with our brave Allies and brothers-in-arms on
other Fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war
machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of
Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world.

Good luck! And let us beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great
and noble undertaking.

- Dwight D. Eisenhower, on the eve of the allied invasion of Normandy.

In solidarity, and so incredibly excited,

Erik

With interval season quickly approaching (stay tuned! you’re about to get the email/blog post of a lifetime!), multiple team members have expressed their interest in securing a bike they call call their own. This is a really good idea for a few reasons:

1) Henry, Amy, and Cole are all proud recipients of new bicycles. I think they’ll agree with me when I say that owning your own bicycle makes all the difference in the world. I care more about my bike than any other material object in the entire world. It becomes the physical manifestation of your soul, your hopes, and your dreams.

2) Those of you who have been using the loaners: your new bikes will work infinitely better than the trainers. Loaners certainly can be used in races (and have been successfully), but if you’re serious about racing you want your own bike. Trust me.

3) Buying a bike begins a self-perpetuating cycle. Here it is:

- Buy bike; love for sport of cycling increases
- Spend more and more time on bicycle
- Become really fast and win lots of races
- Realize that you need a new, faster bike
- (Repeat)

4) Owning a bike is sexy. Game over.

So, I think this all is pretty convincing that buying a bike is the way to go. Here’s a few pieces of advice/FAQs on the process of buying your first bike.

Used or new?

Used bikes are usually way cheaper than new bikes. However, you run some degree of risk every time you buy a used bike. If you’re thinking about buying a used bike, be sure to know the answer to the following questions before you commit to anything:

- Has the bike ever been in a crash?
- How many owners has the bike had?
- When was the bike purchased?
- What sort of maintenance has been performed on the bicycle?
- Have any components been switched out?

In general, new is safer but more expensive. Seeing as we have a kickass deal with Felt Bicycles, I’d suggest rolling new.

How much should I spend?

Not surprisingly, this is really a preference sort of thing. New racing bikes go from anywhere between $400 and probably $25,000 or so. I would strongly recommend against buying anything in either of these extremes. The difference between a $400 and a $1000 bike is huge. The difference between a $4000 and a $8000 bike is miniscule. Basically, I would say that if you’re willing to spend between $600 and $1000 then you’re totally capable of buying a sweet-ass racing machine that can totally kick butt. If you’re able to go up to $2000, you will be able to buy a significantly better bicycle. Remember that buying a bike is an investment. Treat this bike well and it will still be serving you in ten years time. It’s unfortunate that cycling is such an expensive sport, but you will get your money’s worth (up to a certain point).

Carbon? Aluminum?

The two most common materials that bike frames are built from are carbon fiber and aluminum. There are also plenty of bikes build from everything ranging from steel to bamboo, but those are the two most common materials.

The basic difference is that, for the most part, carbon fiber is lighter, stiffer, more expensive, and more likely to crack. Aluminum is cheaper, gives a less smooth ride and more durable. I like my carbon bike, but there are plenty of really great aluminum bikes too (just talk to Amy!)

What size should I get?

You should definitely get fit to a bike before purchasing it. An awesome bike that doesn’t fit you isn’t worth its weight in manure. Any shop owner should be able to tell you pretty quickly what size you want. As a point of reference, I’m about 5′ 10″ and very happy on a 56 cm. frame.

SRAM? Shimano? Campognolo?

Three different groupset manufacturers. I’ve tried all three and honestly there isn’t too much of a difference between the products they supply. The shifting changes a little bit, but nothing too drastic.

Questions? Send me an email! I’d love to help get you on your new bike.

Sometimes dreams do come true: we’re extending the order deadline for the team kits! The new deadline is next Wednesday, November 9th.

We did it!

Thanks to the hard work of many team members, the Williams Cycling team is proud to be presenting possibly the single best jerseys in the history of the team.

Cow spots? Check.

Purple and gold? Check.

Awesome Hincapie quality and production? Check.

Check out our clothing link!

I really hope I’m not the only person who is SUPER EXCITED that the ECCC has updated their website. It’s gone from good-looking to downright sexy. Check it out.

Really cool article from NYT.

We cyclists are an obsessive bunch. There’s always a few more watts that can be churned out, a few more seconds that can be dropped. Instead of celebrating a hard effort with rest, it’s often easier to just continue to work yourself into the ground. With no end in sight, it can seem like training is an endless pursuit without definitive victory.

Luckily, there’s the offseason. Having raced for the last six months, I’m ready for some downtime. I’m ready to be- at least temporarily- done.

At first I felt bad about taking time off the bike. After all, cycling is just about my single favorite thing. Period. Without my bicycle, I feel not quite complete, like Calvin without Hobbes, Butch Cassidy without the Sundance Kid, or, perhaps more aptly, Andy Schleck without Frank Schleck.

However, the more I talked to other cyclists and coaches, I began to realize how important this break can be. Cycling is an incredibly demanding sport, and after many months of physically and mentally demanding training, nothing will help your training more than, well, not training. It’s important to come back to the main season of training fully rested.

So, for those of you who have been on the bike for the winter, the spring, and the summer, think about taking a couple weeks off. This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t bike at all, but just have fun, and don’t even think about intervals. We’ll have plenty of those later.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got some training to do. This box of Fig Newtons isn’t going to eat itself.