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!

I recently signed up for Strava and uploaded all of the rides from my phone.  If you like numbers and graphs, then you should like this.  Dave’s Strava Profile.

PACC is holding four CX races in the Focus CXtwiLITE series this summer on Tuesday evenings, and the first race was yesterday. I raced the Gunnar and finished 5 out of 26, one second behind fourth and two seconds in front of sixth.  Overall, it was a great race.

In addition to a course map (courtesy of my phone), you also get some spectator video of Open and CX A as well as on-bike video of my first lap in CX B.

Course Map:

View PACC Summer 2011/2012 CX Race 1 in a larger map

Video:

Results: PACC CXtwiLITE Race 1 (Race Animation)