The PACC ‘CXtwiLITE’ Race 3 was a few weeks ago.  With all of the Tour Down Under activities, I didn’t get around to posting the results.  So, here are the results: Lap Animation and Times, and here is a more informative Race Summary.  The only thing I’d have to add is that the sprint for third, fourth and fifth was an entertaining finish, and it looks like I need to work on my sprint finishes.

Moving on, the old Trek also benefited from the cyclocross race.  How?  Well, I found  an Ultegra 6600 53/39 172.5mm crankset for $20 and matching Ultegra 6600 brakes and derailleurs for $40 at the swap meet.  So while I didn’t win anything at the race, I did come home with some shiny Ultegra parts.  I also bought a Cleansweep X 140mm brake rotor that matches the 185/160mm rotors on the Eriksen.  However, I’m not exactly sure what I’m going to do with it.

Anyway, I swapped the old 105 components out for the new-to-me Ultegra parts the day before the Tour Down Under community stage ride.  My motivation for swapping the parts was primarily the crank.  The old 105 crank had 175mm arms and 50/39 rings and the new Ultegra crank has 172.5mm arms (like the Gunnar) and 53/39 rings.  I also swapped the original Tange-Seiki Levin headset for an identical headset.  The original was noticeably indexed, and was bad enough that I stopped riding the Trek for a couple weeks while I waited for the new headset.   Anyway, the 164km ride went well with no mechanical issues.

Finally, I fished up the ‘Strava Ride Base Mile Blast‘ with 658 km (409 miles) ridden between 6 January and 31 January.  There are still a few hours left in January, but I think I’m finished, for now.  According to Strava, my January totals are 31 hours and 745km (463 miles).  If I’m correct, I think the last time I posted a monthly mileage update was December 2006.  As much as I’d like to think I rode a lot this month, all of this needs to be put into perspective.

Yesterday I was lucky enough to be invited to ride with Bianchi and the Vacansoleil-DCM team.  The ride started from Bicycle Express in Adelaide, went down Anzac Highway to Glenelg, up to the Outer Harbor, and then back the same route.  I have the ride logged in Strava (Bianchi / Vacansoleil-DCM Ride), though only Strava members can see it.  The rest can see this summary:

We started the day getting our Bianchi kit and Oltres sorted and fitted–  I got a 55cm Oltre with Dura Ace. After that, we met the Vancansoleil-DCM team in front of the shop and took some photos.

Photo: Fred Morini.  More photos: Bianchi.

It was about 30C and very sunny when the 25-30 riders left. This included the Vacansoleil-DCM team and the rest of us.  I’m the one on the Oltre in the black Bianchi kit:

It was a lot of fun and noisy riding in a group of 25-30 Oltres– Fulcrum and Campy freewheels plus a few carbon wheels make quite a lot of noise.  I’ve ridden this route numerous times, and it’s a great way to see many of the beaches and ride on some of the better roads in the area.  While I would have liked to have ridden some hills, this was a good alternative.  By the time we arrived back at the shop, the temperature was approaching 37C, and it was good to get out of the sun.  The Netti/Bianchi kit has a different fit than my normal lycra, so I do was some new tan lines as a memento from the ride.  The forecast for the first stage of the Tour Down Under is for 39C, and I don’t envy the riders who will be out there.  I’ll be out at a few of the stages of the Tour Down Under this week, so check back soon for photos.

I’d like to thank Bianchi, the Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team and especially Brian at Road Rage Cycles for a great ride!