May 23
PC with Uli Fluhme of the Gran Fondo NY
While our fabulous teammates were lining up for the Medio Fondo, ten of us, including four members of TEW and six dear friends, were readying for the Gran Fondo, a 110 mile ride to Bear Mountain and back, with 8,500 feet of gained elevation. And while one could potentially complete the Medio Fondo without much training, there was no way to tackle this one without time spent on the bike.
May 23
On Sunday, 26 members of Team TEW (including 12 TEW riders and 14 family members and friends) joined a total of 5,000 riders to participate in the Medio Fondo NY–a 60 mile ride from the George Washington Bridge to Upper Nyack and back again–and the Gran Fondo NY–a 110 mile ride with four timed climbs and 8,500 feet of climbing. Neither event was for the faint of heart, regardless of one’s fitness. And while the degrees of training might have varied, everyone worked hard to complete the race, and all 26 of us finished. It was an amazing day for everyone; an event that we’re very proud to have sponsored. We all look forward to riding it again in 2013.
May 16
On the road with Laura Elder
The moment that we’ve all been training for is soon upon us–the Gran Fondo NY. This coming Sunday, May 20th, Team TEW will be riding with some 5,000 other participants from around the world, opting for one of two routes: the Medio Fondo at 60 miles/ 100K or the Gran Fondo, which totals 110 miles (177K) with 8,500 feet of climbing and four timed climbs. Today, we’re supporting Laura Elder, one of our upstate reps who’s been training for the Medio Fondo, an exemplary emotional and physical workout! What follows below are excerpts from her training “diary”–notes that she’d sent to me over the past few months. Thanks Laura!
KU winning the Individual Time Trial at Fitchburg Longsjo Classic 2006
51 days and 13 hours left until the start of the Gran Fondo NY. Things are gearing up for Team TEW. Those of us who are shooting for the 100 mile ride are seeking miles; others are working spinning classes to prepare the sitbones and legs.
This week, I’m profiling myself…The picture above? It’s from many moons ago, when I used to race with Team Comedy Central. The Fitchburg Longsjo Classic was a 4-day stage race in Fitchburg, MA, and I did it twice, finishing 2nd in 2005 and 3rd in 2006. It was a great race for me, because the first stage was the ITT, which I won with a margin both times. And though I lost some time on the mountain stage on day three, I had enough time banked to finish well in the GC (General Classification). Read more
PC Riding the Gran Fondo NY 2011
A couple of months ago, we announced that we’re sponsoring the Gran Fondo NY, which you can read all about here. At that point, there were 184 days left to train; now the fire’s in the can, and we’re down to 60 days and 19 hours until the Gran Fondo NY begins. The clock is ticking and for many of us at Team TEW, the training began at the beginning of March. On May 20th, the day of the ride, there will be two options, the Medio Fondo NY, which is a 65 mile ride; and the Gran Fondo, which is 100 miles long. Both rides involve a fair amount of climbing. From now until then, Tuesday’s blog posts will be devoted to shop-talk, including profiles of each rider, because half the fun of training is talking about the ride.
We are so excited to announce that we are sponsoring the Gran Fondo New York, 2012! To aid the recovery of the (anticipated) 5,000 participants, we’re supplying a custom label red wine from the slopes of Mt. Etna in Sicily–one bottle for each pacco gara, or goodie bag. This spring, six of our guys rode the Gran Fondo NY, and next year we’ll have even more riders (self included) ready to ride at the start.
Sep 19
It’s been a while since I’ve ridden this path regularly, off 9W and through Piermont to Nyack, north along the Hudson River, via River Road. It’s been over four years, since I’ve spent time on the bike. And when I was riding, it was all about the training, or chatting with teammates, as we rode in the park or over the GWB, and so I rarely took enough notice of my surroundings. In fact, we used to joke about racing in beautiful locals, like the Ephrata Stage Race in Pennsylvania, or Housatonic Hills in CT, or Bear Mountain…”What a beautiful course!” Yeah…Nice pavement! We spent a lot of time staring at the ground, looking for, reacting to, or initiating the next move, with no time to admire the farms, houses, countryside, or forests.
While we are well aware that the Vuelta España has come to an end, with Juan José Cobo of Team Geox-TMC as the overall GC winner, we wish to take a moment here to turn back the clock so that we can linger on Stages 19 & 20, when the peloton passed through Basque Country. Home to three wine regions, including D.O. Arabako Txakolina, D.O. Bizkaiko Txakolina, and D.O. Getariako Txakolina, Basque Country once hosted the start and finish of the Vuelta España for 15 years in a row. From 1955 to 1970, this 21-day stage race began and ended in Bilbao, and for the first time since 1978, the Vuelta returns to its roots.
Tucked between Spain’s NW regions of Galicia and Basque Country, sits Asturias, home to an eternity of apple orchids. Dominating the economy here since the 18th century, apples have been used for remedies and cooking, and most importantly for the production of apple cider. Here, in the land of apple groves, the Vuelta España hosted Stages 14-16. On Saturday, Stage 14 snaked through the mountains and finished with a grueling 11% climb just south of Austurias; Stage 15 rode through Austurias and, with an evil 13% climb for the final 6.5km, was clearly the most punishing day of the race. On Monday the peloton had a well deserved day of rest (that hopefully included a few bottles of Trabanco Cosecha Propia), and yesterday, Stage 16 raced through the plains of Rioja. And while André Tamers of De Maison Selections most likely wasn’t hanging on to the peloton for dear life while originally touring the region, he did come home with some important cultural findings.
Gerardo Mendez beneath a 250 year-old-vine (Sky of Texas Photography)
Sitting atop Portugal, between the Atlantic and Castilla y León, is the region of Galicia, home to five Denominación de Origens. Typically bypassed by the Vuelta España, but certainly not overlooked by André Tamers of De Maison Selections, Galicia supports three stages of the Vuelta this year: Stage 11 begins in Monterrei–one of the most remote D.O.s where winemakers focus on bulk wines and native varietals–and ends with the Vuelta’s first summit finish at the Manzaneda ski station; Stage 12, a race for the sprinters, begins and ends in Rias Baixas, the most famous D.O. in Galacia, and home to Albariño; and Stage 13, which begins in Galicia and ends in Castilla y León, with a grueling climb up Puerto de Ancares, midway through the stage.
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