Hailing from the southern end of the Mid-Atlantic region, I met up with the team the day before the race at The Bicycle Stable in Philadelphia, Pa. The shop was to be used as a departure point for what would shape up to be a Recon Race Course Ride, led by 2-time US Olympian Jame Carney. Jame is also Erica Allar's cycling coach- Erica has just joined the team near the end of last month.
Also on hand for the ride kick off was Ed Nasjleti from SRAM and his tech guy. They were nice enough to lay some bike porn on us by showing off the 2010 SRAM Force grouppo. This new build kit is receiving trickle down technology from the Red kit; shifter internals, Zero Loss shifting, hardware to better center the brake calipers to the wheel and an improved chainring strength and construction.

Two things worth mentioning about the SRAMs new Force grouppo is the ease of shifter mechanism replacement and it's value to the performance road bike market. The internals can be removed with two simple pieces of hardware, all while the shifter is still attached to the handlebar. The gear mech slides out and a new one slides back into it's place. Secondly, the new Force kit will give you a sub-2k gram grouppo at a grand less than the new Dura-Ace 7900. Yes, a grand less. Those savings will allow you to buy those Carbon 50s you've wanted for race day.


note: Dana has been gracious enough to hook me up with a set of Hutchinson Intensives (230gr training/race tire) and a pair of Hutchinson Fusion 2 Ultra tires. I've been logging miles on the Intensives and have now been converted from Continental. The Intensive's 'Moto GP' casing profile have great top end speed and offer great flat protection on long road rides. It's sidewall is reinforced with a rubber that is used on Hutchinson's MTB tires; sidewall slice protection without sacrificing casing suppleness. More on the tires later!



Race Day:

The women's field was riding as if passing the Men's Field was a preem. In fact, the ladies did catch and pass the men. With this blistering pass, the field was torn apart after Lap 2. Some racers were pulled, IMOP, way too early. Either way, the ladies gave it their best. Erica and her guest teammate made across in the third group.
I really enjoyed working the feed zone and seeing the race unfold throughout the morning. A big thanks again to the Team and all their sponsors. I'll see you at the West Chester Twilight Crit in July!
Ya' bone 'eh!
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