Cervelo P3C....... "White Lightning"

Doug and Bjoern hard at work!

An exciting development as of late is the fact that I'm now working with Jeremy Wilson and the Speed Theory Vancouver Store's team. I am ecstatic to be working with them, and to also have received my new 2011 Cervelo P3C Dura-Ace, (affectionately named "White Lightning" by Doug and Bjoern,) only a few days ago. I went in to the shop on saturday, and Coach Bjoern, along with Doug Giles, worked late to put the final touches on it and perform a bike fit. The outcome? A sweeeeet ride, with some little 'extra' bits to make it that much sweeter. Let me explain:

The added ZIPP bars and cage

The bike comes with a deadly 3T carbon aero-bar set-up, but Bjoern decided to up the ante (a fair bit) by throwing a set of ZIPP Vuka aero extensions on it. They are super light, and integrate the dura-ace bar-end shift lever right into the bars; no extra weight on the end, just the small lever. As per Doug's recommendation, I added a Profile Design arm rest bracket between the aero-bars, to hold one of my two new Arundel Dave-O bottle cages. Handy. Another little gem we've added, to improve my riding comfort and ability to potentially push a bit more power (plus, it looks wicked in white,) is the Cobbs V-Flow Plus saddle. Both things that will improve the overall comfort and ride.

Cobbs V-Flow Plus

So what do I think so far? I haven't put any big hard rides on it yet (by the end of the weekend it will have seen it's share of torturous sessions,) but for the riding I have done, it has exceeded my expectations. For one thing, the bike is lighter than my last ride was. Smooth comes to mind as well, I didn't notice a whole lot of jarring transferring through the frame, even on rougher roads. The fit, well, that's a whole 'nother thing! It is completely different to my last bike, I'm able to relax a lot more throughout my upper body (instead of arching my back and crushing my diaphragm to find the best seating position.) This makes transferring power through the pedals much easier, and I would suspect over a longer, harder session, less fatigue (because I expend less energy trying to hold my body in unusual positions.)

"White Lightning"

 The look of the bike really helps it's cause as well; the all-white scheme, complete with the bar tape, cable housings, and saddle, make it rather appealing to the eye. It'll look pretty deadly once the race wheels go on as well, a thick carbon tubular wheel ALWAYS makes for a speedy looking rig.

I'm ecstatic to have the bike for the last two races of the season, 70.3 Pocono Mountains being in only 11 DAYS!! Miami 70.3 will be at the end of October, and both races I'm feeling extremely confident about, especially with my running and swimming, which haven't seemed to pull through in the last few races. I've been having increasingly positive and confidence-boosting run sessions, and my swim seems to be much more consistent lately. Combine that with what I hope will be a hill crushing bike leg, and perhaps there will be some solid results to round out my season (also, both the next two races will help me accumulate points towards racing at the 70.3 World Championships in Vegas next year, my 2012 goal race.) I'll be leaving everything out on course, and considering my past record of late season peaking, there might be a whole bunch left out there. (My first half-ironman in my first season I went 4:52; the end of October that year I went 4:22. Last year, after no half-iron training, I managed to suffer out a 4:13 in 70.3 Austin at the end of October.)

Bjoern ensuring the bike is okay to ride!!

With the depressing fall weather upon us, I hope everyone can find some sort of sunshine to keep them going through the next few dark, cold months. Happy training everyone, and for those of you still holding your nose to the grindstone, happy racing!!