2014 Downeast Racing Asheville Training Camp Day 1

Stuart Abramson and Mike Claus drove down ahead of us, completing the drive without stopping. Both Mike and Stuart are known for their driving focus thus this feat was not a surprise. Mike personified exhaustion on Sunday evening: he drove some eight hours straight Friday without sleep and rode 90 miles on Saturday. Sunday was our first full day. This route brought us to the southeast and out to Marion. I had no idea where I was exactly, and relied as we all did on Mike's interpretation of the Garmin GPS. The scenery was very nice and some sections quite flat. To my surprise, we rode through Cane Creek, North Carolina, the namesake and location for Cane Creel Cycling Components, which is the supplier of head sets for A-D Bikes (later in the week I had a fine Bike Talk and tour of the facility with Peter Gilbert).  We had a very nice climb on the Old Blue Ridge Parkway: it was a stark reminder of how difficult travel was early in the 20th century. There were plenty of references to the movie / book Cold Mountain. The temperatures were in the sixties and the weather calm. 

2014 Downeast Racing Asheville Training Camp: warm up day

Asheville, North Carolina is a fine spot for early spring training. The terrain features many miles of climbing, smooth roads and temperatures that are warmer than New England. It is a 1,000 mile drive to Asheville from Maine; it is not too bad if you have two other drivers with you: I was fortunate to have Hank Pfeifle and Joe Lynch as copilots: old friends and members of the Downeast Racing Team.

We set off on Friday at 11am and arrived in Asheville at 12pm. We spent the night somewhere in Pennsylvania at a Super 8 Motel that was frighteningly similar to what you would expect from a crime thriller. The rest ensured that we were ready to ride upon arrival in Asheville. We fit in a 50 mile ride up to Tanbark Ridge before checking into a very comfortable rental on Town Moutnain Road. This was to be headquarters for the next seven days.

Champagne on Ice with FOS 32 mm alloy clinchers

About two weeks ago, I thought the cold weather was on the way out. The temperatures were in the 40s and I was able to get away for a long but very slow ride down to the Biddeford Pool area. That seems like a distant memory: temperatures have been really low since then and I have not been able to ride much out doors since. One feature of that ride was that I tested a new pair of FOS 32 alloy clinchers on my Austro-Daimler Superleicht Carbon. FOS is a new brand out of Italy and I have been helping them test their various models. I do not know much about wheels but I have been pleased with the alloy offering so far: 11-speed compatible Shimano free hub body, 32 mm rim depth, aero steel spokes with external nipples, 19 mm rim width, 24 (R) / 20 (F) spoke count, light weight...I run Continental Gatorskin 700 x 25 and it makes for a smooth ride. I plan to bring these wheels and a pair of FOS 38 tubulars to Asheville, North Carolina for training camp.  Hopefully, it will be warmer there: I am very much enjoying Battlestar Galactica Redux, but it will be nice to get out on the road.