Healthy

So, back in July I had these weird heart palpitations and PVC's going on that the Doc couldn't explain, plus an occasional pain in my chest during higher heartrates. They did some tests and ran some numbers, checked here, checked there... nothing. The final step to make sure I wasn't having some hidden heart thing, was to schedule me for an Echocardiogram on a recumbent bike, which is attached to a table. Yesterday was the day. I showed up, they shaved my chest, plugged me into 12 wires and then 5 more for something else and then had me lay flat on my back while I pedaled a recumbent bike. It was somewhat relaxing and I thought, "wow, with one of these I could pedal myself to sleep at night!"..

At any rate, the test was 20 minutes long and the machine slowly adds resistance until I get my heartrate to 140. At that point, the table I was laying on, is supposed to rotate onto the left side while they do an Ultrasound of my heart.

10 minutes went by, then 15 etc. while I kept a steady cadence. They started getting concerned because my heartrate wasn't getting above 120 and they needed 140 for the Ultrasound to be accurate. During the last minute of the test they both stood up and said "we need you to sprint or the machine is going to shut off and we'll have to start over". The table turned at the 20 minute mark, but I was still about 130, I sprinted and finally got my heartrate to about 144. No big deal.

The nurse and the Echo specialist said that I went down in history as the only person they have seen actually beat the machine. Typically, most people get to 140 within the first 10-12 minutes.

So, test done. The nurse said that the results will officially go to the cardiologist for review, but that she thought everything looked "fabulous" in her words.

I beat the machine. Now I can go on about my training with a little peace of mind that my inner-piston is worthy of the higher RPMs.

wheels of love make the world go round.

-papa

Giant vs. ???

I love seeing the comments that a few of you are leaving with regards to what I posted about Giant Bicycles. I would like to add that I personally believe that Giant is a great company that puts a great deal of emphasis on cycling for both racing, recreation and lifestyle. They make awesome bikes for racers, riders, commuters, kids and everything in between. Trek actually designs (and yes they do build some of their stuff in house) great quality bikes as well... Specialized designs great bikes too. Giant, in my eyes, puts out the best value and in many cases the best designs for the cycling industry. To claim that one is better than the other is strictly personal preference. The Tour, stage wins, Lance... all great stuff, but really only specific to a small category of cyling... road. Worldwide, Giant is the largest, produces the most, and been doing so for a very long time. That's no opinion. They have also pioneered innovations like Compact Geometry, Carbon Fiber Framesets, Carbon/ALuminum mixed frames and electric Hybrid bikes. As far as American vs. Taiwan... while I think it's very patriotic to ride a bike because it's made in the US, I also believe that you should buy whatever bike suits your style, fit, price and desires.. Most of what we use on daily basis comes from another country. It just so happens that most of the bikes in today's world are made in Taiwan and China... even Schwinn.

Keep the comments going, it's interesting to see how narrow minded some folks can be. Love the sport, not the brand.

2009 Giant Anthem X

Here in Park City, Giant has unveiled it's latest creation from the MTB line-up, the Anthem X. 4 inches of travel, up from 3.5 from years past, with a lighter frame and cooler design features. They've also added one more price point giving Anthem 5 models to choose from including the Advanced full carbon model. Prices range from $1850-$6500 and even the base model is spec'd nicely. We already has the Anthem X3 in inventory at Mad Cat, and other models will be arriving soon.

Cool, cool, cool!

Papa cat

The OCR replacement?

For years, Giant's OCR line-up has been one of the most popular road choices on the market. Now, for 2009, they are upping the ante and making improvements that will amaze the public. The "Defy" is the new OCR and it is awesome. I just returned from a 45 minute ride on the backroads of Park City Utah, and this bike rocks! Stiff and light like a TCR, (Giant's race bike) but comfortable and compliant to rough roads. The styling of the Defy mimics it's big brother, the TCR, and it screams performance. I for one will be getting one and look forward to sending customers out for test rides when they begin arriving in about 4 weeks. The model I rode (Defy Advanced 2) is equipped with a mostly Ultegra build and retails for $2700.
Off to check out more...

Papa cat.

Off for Giant Weekend!

This year, the largest bicycle manufacturer in the world is flying its dealers out to Park City Utah for an all expenses paid weekend and 2009 product review. Giant is finally stepping up to give dealers a pre-release prior to interbike and floating the entire bill as well. We'll be riding 2009 bikes in the mountains of Park City, while wining and dining with the entire staff of Giant Bicycles USA.
For those that don't know, Giant is THE largest manufacturer of bicycles in the world. They build bikes for many of the large companies, including Trek and Specialized. Apparently Santa Cruz also outsources the manufacturing of the most the Blur models to Giant now as well. Giant has been building bikes for quite some time (40+ years) and it's no secret that they are the leaders and pioneers in the carbon frame technology and many other new development in the industry, for instance "Compact Geometry". I will be posting to my blog during the weekend, with pics of 2009 bikes and information on the early release. Stay tuned.

Cross-Dressed and ready to rock

I shut down my computer around 5pm yesterday, grabbed my clothes from the car, hopped into the restroom and emerged ready to rock! Despite the customers that were still in the shop, I pranced through and headed to my car with bike in hand. It was a CX training ride.

At 6pm I met up with a few of my fellow "cross-dressed", knobby-tired, friends and we hit the parkway for a warm-up. 4 of us rolled down the trail, in the dirt and on the pavement before crossing the the Guy West bridge and beginning an hour of super-fun, high intensity, knobby-tired goodness we call CX training.

We ran up stairs, across parkbenches, up levees, down levees, through gravel, around obstacles and whatever else we could find that would force us on and off the bike. IT was a blast!

With CX season drawing near, I'm focusing on shorter workouts at a higher intensity in an attempt to get my butt in shape and be ready for a successful CX race season. I just want to go out and have fun without feeling like I've moved pianos upstairs for an hour. How cool would it be to hammer the big ring for a race and not feel winded at the end. That's what I'm shooting for. That's what I call ready.

Papa Cat.

Coming up: Cyclocross Season!

Mountain bike races have started to taper, road events are still going strong, but soon cyclocross season will be here. Our team is gearing up for a CX season to remember. With over 12 of our teammates commiting to the season, we'll have an awesome showing at both the local and bay area races. I'm extremely excited about the season and am starting to ramp up the training. I've enjoyed all the road riding and obviously all the MTB racing so far this season, and now it's time to put the two together into one really fun sport. We'll be down in Vegas for one of the big pro CX races, just as our local series takes off. It'll be a great way to get us all jazzed and ready. There's only a small handful of folks on the team that are podium ringers, but a great deal of hopefulls including myself. I don't think I'm podium quality for CX, but who knows. I'll give it my best. LAst year I struggled in the B's and then for kicks raced in the C's and did pretty well. I think I belong in B's because I typically race Expert single-speed, but I'm still new to CX. Maybe I should be a new category called BC. :-)

Papa Gato