Carbon Fiber Bottle Cage Bolts

Hello. 'Bout time I posted a new entry. This past week was my rest week. 10 hours total, split into 3 total rides. Though I really didn't feel I needed it, I stuck to it and didn't ride much. The emptiness that comes with not riding hit, but only slightly, and not nearly at the level that I got to in October...that was all bad. In any case, I'm psyched to start the 2nd phase of base. 24 hours on the menu for this upcoming week. Then 28, 32 (i hope). A foto [photo credt: Claudio. Who's as close as i've come to racing Damiano Cunego with his heavy Italian accent and "euro-tendencies"] Nice shot huh? It's somewhere along the Angeles Forrest Highway.


Ok...don't really know where to start here. Next year's plans: I never did get into detail about the different prospects that came and went. The discourse between me and the various "team people" I've talked to is better left confidential, though there certainly are some people I want to punch in the face repeatedly.

I mentioned a couple entries ago that yeah, some great things looked so close to materializing, but then the doors got slammed shut. One after the other. All that was left was some spots on a couple local teams, which I was very thankful for. Thankful, but dejected, as I wanted nothing more than to ride professionally next season. When you get your hopes up as I did, the high is great, but the ensuing fall is painful. Rock bottom, in many ways, and my motivation reflected this. On a group ride about a month ago, while I was answering the requisite "so who will you ride for?" question for the 4th time that day, a guy, Lance (don't know your last name guy, sorry), overheard me. "Aram, let me get your telephone number, a friend of mine rides for [local pro team], maybe they've got room...". By now, I'd learned not to get my hopes too high...with that in mind, we exchanged numbers and I forgot about it. A week later, the phone rings, it's Lance. Hmmmmm. "Hey, here's my friend's number. I told him about you. Give him a call, and see what the situation is." Ok....so not quite rock bottom anymore, but again, didn't get my hopes up. I called his friend, Daniel Ramsey (of successfulliving.com), that same day. We talked for a couple minutes, then I heard what I'd heard so many times before: "yeah, i'm pretty sure the roster is full for this season." No problem, I expected those exact words, but what struck me is that the guy was willing to talk to me, even after the "we're full" words. Bang up guy, that Daniel. He then loosely told me about a team out of Santa Barbara that may be looking for riders. No real details, but hey, it's a lead. He forwarded my resume to the team, along with some contact information. After some brief phone-tag, I got in touch with the team owner: Doug Knox, head of Time USA. Awesome guy, his passion for the sport and professional demeanor was immediately evident. I was particularly taken that some pretty awesome local pros vouched for my ability when he asked them about me. We set up a meeting for Saturday (yesterday) morning, in Santa Barbara.

I met nearly the full team. Doug never said "okay, we're giving you a spot." We met, discussed some details, and next thing I know I was being fitted for a bike!! I guess that means I'm in? It's a small team, sorta, but with some pretty amazing talent, excellent support, and good direction. Super-Veterans Chris Walker (road race king of the world) and Jonathan Boyer (Multiple Tour De France participant, this year's RAAM winner, etcccc) highlight the team, along with a couple of quality Santa Barbara locals, and one bike bum from Hollywood. We're loosely affiliated with Erik Saunders' U23 team out in Charlotte...Same Kits, different management. I'm hoping to be able to mix it up with the U23 guys at some point as well. I'm the old-man @ 24 years old. In case it isn't clear enough.....Chris Walker!!! Jock Boyer!!! What?!? The glee is slowly and uncontrollably starting to seep out. I need to try to hold it in when i'm around these guys...for everyone's sake. If they find this blog, my cover's blown, but ah well.

The team will be riding Time VXRS Ulteam Bikes with SRAM components and Fulcrum Wheels. I picked up the frameset yesterday. I had to really reallllllly try to contain the excitement around Doug and the rest of the guys (they were all SO casual about it, like it isn't a big deal), and did so, with great difficulty...if you've seen what this frame looks like in person, you'd know what I mean. Geeeeezus. The stem! The bottle cages! The box the frame comes in! Merci, France!!! Allright...i'll devote a separate entry to the bike in time (ehh, pun i guess), as that's not what I want this entry to be about.

It's about letting people know that there actually are some swell people in this bike game...it's just a matter of finding them. The jerk to good-guy ratio is heavily skewed in the jerk direction, sadly, but this shouldn't deter anyone from reaching for better things. Don't settle. The good guys are out there, as I've [finally] found. You just need to sift through the idiots first.

carbon fiber water bottle cage bolts?

really?