Armstrong Returns to Tour of the Gila

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP)—Lance Armstrong is returning to the Tour of the Gila.

The seven-time Tour de France champion competed in the New Mexico event last year and has decided to return for next week’s five-day race, held in the Silver City area.

“Not only do the state and the local fans embrace this race, but the terrain, competition, and timing is perfect,” Armstrong said in a statement released by bicycle components manufacturer Sram Corp., the event’s title sponsor.

“We are looking forward to taking the start in Silver City. It’s a great event,” he said.

Armstrong will be joined by his friend and teammate, Levi Leipheimer, who claimed two stage victories in winning last year’s Tour of the Gila overall title. Armstrong finished second.

“The second time around is even better,” race director Jack Brennan said Wednesday. “They saw the race. They experienced it and they wanted to come back. They had a good experience last year. They found the race to be of value in their preparation for the Tour of California and the Tour de France.”

Jason McCartney, another member of Armstrong’s Team RadioShack, will join them.

However, the three Team RadioShack cyclists will compete independently of their squad because of a rule barring ProTour teams from national level events. Like last year, Armstrong will wear the kit of the Mellow Johnny’s bike shop in Austin, Texas.

Chris Horner raced with Armstrong and Leipheimer in 2009, when all three were members of the Astana team.

Armstrong wasn’t expected to come back to New Mexico, but he’ll be on the start line Wednesday. The race, which covers 339 miles and features 25,231 feet of climbing, runs through May 2.

Last year, the Tour of the Gila fit into Armstrong’s comeback schedule as he recovered from a broken collarbone. While it helped him prepare for the Giro d’Italia, team general manager Johan Bruyneel indicated then that Armstrong and Leipheimer normally wouldn’t have attended the Gila.

Armstrong changed his mind, encouraged not only by Silver City’s support of the race but because the Gila competition will again feature his developmental squad. The Trek-Livestrong team is led by young talent Taylor Phinney.

Armstrong Sick as a Dog?

ANGERS, France (AP)—Lance Armstrong has pulled out of the Circuit de la Sarthe race in western France before the second day because of an illness.

The seven-time Tour de France champion, who was looking forward to Wednesday’s time trial, was suffering from diarrhea, vomiting and a fever, Team RadioShack spokesman Philippe Maertens said.

“It’s really bad, believe me,” Maertens said by phone.

The team released a statement Wednesday saying Armstrong had come down with a “viral intestinal infection” after the first stage Tuesday.

“He will return to the US as soon as his condition allows,” the statement said.

Overnight, Armstrong wrote on his Twitter page: “Sicker than a dog now. This sucks.”

The American, who was riding in the four-day race as part of his preparation for the Tour de France in July, had previously tweeted that several of his eight teammates who rode in Sunday’s Tour of Flanders had caught “a stomach bug.”

The race was Armstrong’s first competition in mainland France this year and he was 29th overall after the first stage on Tuesday, won by Spain’s Luis Leon Sanchez.

“Lance was really keen on performing well, especially in the time trial of Wednesday afternoon,” said Team RadioShack sporting director Alain Gallopin in the statement. He said Armstrong showed improvement at the Tour of Flanders.

Team RadioShack announced Tuesday that Armstrong would not compete as previously planned in the Amstel Gold race on April 18, and he will return to the United States after the Sarthe race.

Maertens said Armstrong wanted to spend time with his family and felt fit enough to prepare at home. He plans to ride in the Tour of California in May before returning to Europe for the Dauphine Libere or the Tour of Switzerland in June.

ONE DAY SALE

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!!

At Grease Monkey Wipes we are proud to offer a "green" degreasing wipe. Our all-natural cleaning formula powers through the toughest grease and grime.

Since it is St. Patrick's Day we decided to run a one day sale of 25% off all items at our online store.

You can visit the store here.

All you have to do is put "green" in the discount area. But hurry up, the sale ends at midnight tonight.

Luck of the Irish to ya.

Expo West 2010 Recap

Over the past weekend, I headed out to Anaheim California for Natural Products Expo West, known as "the world's largest natural and organic products tradeshow." To sum it up, I nicknamed this show "The Academy Awards of Whole Foods." Every product you could expect to find at Whole Foods, or any other natural specialty store, or really even your everyday grocery store, was there.


Grease Monkey Wipes has been blessed in so many ways, especially after the Shark Tank aired. In this instance, we received an email from a most generous man in California who essentially offered to be our mentor in the grocery store and natural products industry. After numerous phone calls and emails, I finally found myself face to face with him after picking up my Expo West badge.


From there, he walked the entire trade show with me, introducing me to presidents, CEOS, sales managers, distributors, key players, etc... and taught me how the industry works. One word: Priceless!!!


One of the contacts I made was Ricky from Earthworm. First, I must recommend his products, which are earth-friendly natural cleaners. Next, I must say that this guy has serious energy and passion. He took just one product from an idea to national distribution. You can find these products all over the country (and you should!) - and it's all because of Ricky. He spent nearly an hour talking to me, teaching me the ropes, and answering my questions all while selling like a madman- awesome!

Here we are each showing off our earth-friendly products.
Here is an example of a company that I loved. I spoke with the president and national sales manager for a while, all while snacking happily on their freeze-dried fruits. (YUM!)


During the show, I was surprised that people actually recognized me. I will say it was probably our monkey logo that caught people's attention, however it was still cool that people knew about Grease Monkey Wipes.

One of those people who recognized me was Paul from Kor. Here we are standing in front of his very sleek water bottles. I spoke at length with Paul about how he formed his company and what his sales strategies look like. It was so cool to talk to another business owner about his experiences... and this was just one of many conversations I had like this.

As a cyclist, of course I know Camelbak from my cycling/running background - and it was so cool that people in that company also recognized Grease Monkey Wipes! Thanks for the new insulated bottle, guys - I appreciate it!

I spoke with so many companies, it's hard to keep track. But I'll try to remember some of my other favorites, including: Marzetti, dermaE, Miltons, Erin Baker's, Food Should Taste Good, Eternal Water, Frontera Foods, Red Leaf Water, fellow Austinites Beanitos and ThinkBaby, Kaia, Eat Cleaner, and fellow Shark Tankers Element Bars.

Overall, it was an amazing eye-opening trip. Many contacts were made. Much was learned. I am now even more confident in the success of Grease Monkey Wipes.

And... I am thankful to the kindness of a total stranger who is taking us under his wing. We will owe much of our future success to him.

Now it's time to hit the bike to work off all of the samples I got from these amazing companies! :)

Jack's First Tri

This was taken from the Jack & Adams blog and describes Jack's first triathlon experience...

With Triathlon season quickly approaching, many triathletes reminiscence about their first tri, while newcomers eagerly anticipate the endeavor. Here, Jack Murray, owner of Jack & Adam's Bicycles, writes about his first triathlon. (from the J&A newsletter archives, March 2008)


Almost every day customers visit our shop seeking advice on participating in their first triathlon. When I have the opportunity to help someone in this situation, I share with them the story of my first tri in hopes of helping them feel more comfortable about their endeavor.

It was the summer of 1994. The event was the Victoria Splash & Dash in Victoria, Texas. I had trained for a few weeks and was sure I was in peak condition for an easy victory. I was, after all, fresh off a 1600 meter run victory and bronze in the 3200 at the Texas High School Championship Relays. How hard could a little tri be? I thought I knew all there was to know about swimming, biking, and running. Turns out - I knew nothing!

The morning started with me loading my bike into the trunk of my mom's car and driving with her and my sister to the event one hour away. I arrived around 6 AM for an 8 AM start. This was before on-line registration, so I registered for the event that morning and picked up my packet. As people started to arrive, I noticed the differences between my rusty old mountain bike and some of their $2000 race machines. My confidence, however, was not crushed; I was still sure I could win. After racking my bike, I headed over to the pool area where everyone was warming up. As I got closer, I noticed everyone was wearing tight swimsuits and goggles. I was sure, however, that my baggy Umbro "soccer shorts" and lack of goggles was the best way to go. My plan was simple - go as fast as I could for as long as I could.

They were letting swimmers go every 5 seconds and we had to snake up and down the pool for a total of 300 meters. I patiently waited in line until 5,4,3,2,1 go, I was off. I swam as fast as I could to the other side and then back again. 50 meters down 250 to go. By 150 my arms started to hurt and my eyes were stinging from the chlorine. By 200 I was kicking off the bottom every few strokes and swimming with my eyes closed, by 250 I was just trying to get out of the water alive, and without my shorts falling off. After the swim, I was sure I was still in good position to hold my own on the bike.

I grab my bike out of transition and head out on to the 12 mile course. As I start to ride I realize I am not catching anyone. The rusty, old mountain bike that I borrowed from my high school track coach was not the stallion I thought it was. Riding around the block a few times for training was probably not the riding that all these people were doing. The fact that my bike could not shift was more trouble than I thought it would be. And looking back, my saddle was also about 5 to 7 inches to low. Towards the end of the ride I was being passed by a 10 year old girl and her mom; it was then that I started to feel my big victory slipping away. Still I was determined to blaze through transition and light up the run.

Transition to the run was probably my most memorable moment. As I speed to the transition area, volunteers are yelling at me to dismount my bike. As I go to lift my feet off the pedals, I forget that they are hooked in by cages. The combination of speed and my feet getting caught was enough to send me crashing like a bowling ball into a bike rack with about 6 bikes on it. The volunteers quickly help me up and as I throw my bike in the grass next to a picnic table (the rack was down), I remember thinking how much fun I was having. The whole day was something I had never experienced before.

It took about a mile into the run before I got my legs out of bike riding mode. I had no idea how riding a bike would effect legs on the run. As I rounded the final stretch I saw all these happy people cheering for me, eating, drinking, and just having a good time. I talked to people for about an hour. I met a guy my age that had been doing triathlons for years. I met some members of the Corpus Christi tri club and was invited to their next meeting. I signed up for their monthly newsletter. In short - I was hooked. It was nothing I thought it would be. It was fun and I discovered a whole different type of people that did not exist in my 5000 person hometown.

Through the years of collegiate running, duathlons, sprint tri's, half Ironman events, Ironman events, and working in the shop, my first tri memory will forever help me keep our sport in perspective. It is not about where you finish, what type of bike you have, what you do for a living, where you are from or where you are going. It is about having fun and that is it. You can have many goals in our sport without forgetting this key element. I am constantly reminded of this by some of the greatest in the sport like Michael Lovato and James Bonney. If you ask either of them why they have dedicated and built their lives around this sport, they will tell you the same.

Gary Fisher, Mellow Johnny’s sponsor Hotel San Jose team

Team Hotel San Jose, an Austin, Texas-based road team, has two new sponsors for this season, Gary Fisher Bicycles and the Mellow Johnny’s bike shop.

The team’s full name is now Team Hotel San José/Mellow Johnny’s Presented by Subaru-Gary Fisher.

“Having the support of companies that are so easily integrated into the cycling scene is both exciting and satisfying,” said Todd Reed, the team’s executive director.

Gary Fisher Bicycles is supplying the team with Gary Fisher Cronus custom carbon road bikes (custom painted in the squad’s green, orange and black color scheme) with SRAM Red components and HED carbon wheels. Gary Fisher himself will be on hand Friday night at Mellow Johnny’s to showcase his support of the team in an event that is open to the public.

Poor Contador

Alberto Contador isn’t happy about the UCI’s decision to ban his Specialized Shiv time trial bike on the eve of Sunday’s decisive final TT in the Volta ao Algarve.

The UCI notified Astana and Saxo Bank team management via e-mail Friday that the Shiv time trial bike – which was unveiled as a prototype in last year’s Tour de France – did not conform to UCI’s rules.

“I am not happy about it, but we are working together to get something ready. It was a surprise for everyone,” said Contador. “I’ve been training on the Shiv for months and now I have to race on something I’ve never ever ridden before. The other bike is no better or worse, it’s just that it’s a different bike. Tomorrow we’ll just to do the best we can.”

The point of contention is a reinforced section of frame between the head tube and down tube that helps flow air around the down tube and provides extra stability. This section of frame extends beyond an 8cm “box” measured across the cross-section of the tube as outlined in UCI rules.

When measured off the head tube, the bike fits within the rules, but because this part of the frame wraps around to the down tube, the UCI also insisted that a measurement also be taken off the down tube. It was here that the bike ran into trouble and extended beyond the 8cm limit.

The ruling immediately affects riders at both Specialized-sponsored ProTour teams, Astana and Saxo Bank. Saxo Bank riders competing in this week’s Ruta del Sol also will not be allowed to use the bikes. The bike is still “street legal” for use in triathlon.

Company officials in Portugal said they have been working closely with the UCI since last year to assure that the Shiv would be compliant to UCI rules. Dating back to last summer, Specialized twice changed design aspects after the UCI raised concerns and met face-to-face with UCI officials to discuss the frame.

Despite a month’s long dialogue with UCI officials, they insist they didn’t hear about the UCI’s concerns until late January, and by then, the bikes were already in the hands of riders preparing for the first major races of the 2010 season.

“We are extremely frustrated, because we were in contact with the UCI since last year and we never got a clear indication there was a problem with the bike until January 29,” said Simone Toccafondi, sports marketing manager for the road Specialized. “We want to fully cooperate with the UCI and comply with their rules. We believed we were doing the right thing.”

UCI officials could not be contacted for comment on this story, but the UCI has been making noises about stricter enforcement of design guidelines dating back to last year’s Tour of California.

There’s been some confusion and different interpretations of UCI rules language and how they are applied to time trial bike design.

Stunned by the UCI decision, officials from Astana and Specialized on the ground in Portugal put aside their frustration and mobilized Saturday to prepare a new bike for Contador’s defense of his yellow jersey.

Instead of racing The Shiv for the first time, Contador instead will compete on a 2009 Transition TT frame that was modified to meet UCI requirements. Mechanics literally sawed off 2cm of two reinforcements off the bike to fall within the 8cm rule.

The pieces could be trimmed off the Transition frame because they were not an integral part of the frame material. It would be impossible to cut them off the Shiv, however, without damaging the integrity of the carbon-fiber frame.

Contador briefly rode the modified bike following Saturday’s stage to get a feel for the bike and to get the best fit possible. Although other Transition frames arrived, the other Astana riders will likely ride on their road bikes with aero wheels and handlebar extenders because the focus was on pulling together Contador’s bike.

The ruling underscores the sometimes thin line that bike manufacturers must straddle in trying to comply with the UCI’s rules, yet try to push the envelope when it comes to bike design and development.