RobbyB

HURRY! There's less than seven days left before the submission deadline! Be sure check out all the details on the main post. Then get over to the Facebook page and submit your video. Good luck!

I'm a little late to the party of showing off the new Evotri bike: The Quintana Roo CD0.1. It's been a whole mess of getting the bike frame, moving, then unboxing from the move, schedule conflicts, busy work, busy life, and all of a sudden it was November. But finally, I was able to get over to the sweet confines of SBR Coaching and Rocket Bicycle Studio to see my sweet steed all put together, shiny and new.

The SBR/RBS complex is quite the facility. You walk into an open area where there's stadium seating for not one, but two projectors. Except the seating isn't leather recliners, but rather a dozen linked CompuTrainers. It is really, really sweet. (This winter they're a part of an indoor race series from all over the US and Canada. More Info - PDF) In the back is the bike studio, complete with a GURU dynamic fit unit. And the day I was there, they were going to outfit a room with several TRX devices to offer the pleasurable pain that only TRX users love. The whole place is one block off the Ironman Wisconsin bike course and the infamous Fireman's Park in Verona. In warmer months, they open the doors at 6 A.M. to support all the riders that visit. (And we're working out some things for WIBA, so stay tuned for exciting news there!)

But let's go back to the Quintana Roo...

It was in August when we first got shipment of the CD0.1. (Many, many thanks to HUB Endurance and Quintana Roo for the connections and facilitating the sponsorship. I really look forward to the partnership and know that good things will come of it.) I was in the midst of packing after selling it our house, so the bike got no love. For the team announcement, I slapped the wheels on and set it on my porch for some shots:

So sad without a seat, drive-train, or anything else...

But a new bike will make anyone smile

Then it went back into its box to get moved to my parents' basement. And like Harry Potter, it stayed in the dark depths under stairs until its eleventh birthday - or at least that's what it felt like until I could recover it in October. I immediately took it over to the SBR/RBS studio for some much needed love, along with the old bike that had all of my components on it. Jess had me get on the old steed, which gave her quite the fright. She immediately knew that things were all wrong, wrong, wrong. My angles, reach, and other terminology were all drastically off, but she promised to fix it. She made some notes, and we talked about a few things and turned things over to Pete and the bike shop to build things back up.

It was sometime later that Pete had the QR mostly built so I could get my final measurements before they cut the aerobars and put all the final pieces on. Jess and I talked through positions, seat angle, and the ever-important comfort vs. aerodynamics. We settled on comfort and left options open for a more aero fit when I get in shape. With that, it went back to Pete for the final touches.

So finally, after some life-getting-in-the-way-of-fun issues, we got together again at the studio. Pete did a wonderful job pulling it all together. As soon as I got on, both he and Jess commented on how much better I fit. Jess made a few tweaks to the seat height and angle, and then a final tweak to the aerobar angle, and I was set. I decided to go with a little flash and Pete obliged with red cable housing to offset the black frame and give a little pop. It looks freakin' sweet.

Jess making sure everything fits

Pete tightening everything down

Cockpit close-up

It looks fast just sitting there

Now entering its sixth year, the members of Team Evotri continue to challenge themselves and others to live a healthy and active lifestyle through endurance sports. They have been given an extraordinary opportunity to train and race with the same equipment and coaching as the pros. They continue to dedicate themselves to maximizing their potential, to sharing what they learn from their experiences, and to making a positive contribution to the endurance sport community.

Team Evotri is again ready to welcome a new member to the family. For 2012, Team Evotri and its sponsors have pulled together a one-of-a-kind package to provide an age group athlete the opportunity to train and race like a PRO, while giving back to the triathlon and endurance community. The current team members will be looking for an individual who embraces the spirit of triathlon: a positive attitude, enthusiasm for the sport, desire to improve, and dedication to give back to the endurance community. Years of triathlon experience and good race results are not deciding factors in choosing a winner, but passion is.

The next team member will benefit by receiving an excellent package courtesy of the team's sponsors:

• QuintanaRoo will provide a top-of-the-line CD0.1  frameset with innovative shift technology that will undoubtedly take your bike splits to a new level.
• Zipp Speed Weaponry knows just how to outfit a frame like the CD0.1 with a 404 front and 808 rear wheel set.


• SRAM will add to the bike with its latest cockpit and drivetrain components.
• CycleOps finishes the bike off with its cutting edge SL+ wireless PowerTap hub and Joule 2.0 computer.
• HUB Endurance puts it all together providing a full year of expert triathlon coaching to deliver the newest Evotri athlete to the top of their potential in 2012.

Here's how you can be the next Team Evotri member:
Create a video that's no longer than three (3) minutes. The video should answer the following three questions:

1. Why Evotri?
2. Why You?
3. Can you Evotri?

Guidelines:

• Videos must be posted to Team Evotri's Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/evotri.
• Videos must be posted by December 31, 2011, at 11:59 PM CST.
• Videos not within the time constraints will not be considered.

Process:

• The current team members will select finalists from the video submissions.
• The finalists will be notified by January 15, 2012 and will be invited to be interviewed via teleconference by current team members.
• The winner will be announced on February 1, 2012.

Important Notes:

• By posting a video to Evotri's Facebook page, candidates grant contest affiliates permission to use said video for promotional purposes affiliated with Team Evotri and the 2012 contest.
• The winner of the team slot forfeits all awards if he/she is unable to continue as a team member for any reason for a period within two years of joining the team.
• The winner of the team slot agrees to contribute to the Team Evotri web site for as long as he/she is a member of Team Evotri.
• The winner agrees to race in an Evotri team uniform for all multisport events. Winner to purchase choice of uniform apparel upon final selection.
• The winner of the team slot must participate in the yearly Team Evotri event. The 2012 event is a training camp in Chattanooga, TN from April 12-15, 2012. You must be present for the entire time.
• No reimbursement will be made by Team Evotri or its sponsors for the creation, submission or any other expenses associated with the video entry.
• No reimbursement will be made by Team Evotri or its sponsors for any travel, lodging, race entry fees, or other associated expenses in attending Team Evotri activities.

I spent this weekend in Anderson, South Carolina working as the run course coordinator at the Rev3 triathlon. I met some absolutely fantastic folks who pour their hearts and souls into putting on a great race. It was a lot of hard work, long days, late nights and I was absolutely smashed upon getting home on Monday. The first thing I wanted to do was find my pillow and sleep. I wanted simply to get back to my regular routine.

Then, you watch this and realize that you would do it all over again in a heartbeat:

REV3 Triathlon SOUTH CAROLINA 2011 - Age Group Recap from REVOLUTION3 Triathlon on Vimeo.

I've lived in downtown Madison since 1995. I've loved every minute of it. The different lifestyles, protests, bars, University, and even my work were just steps away. At one point, we joked that we were a one-car, four-bike family. There just wasn't a need to have a 2nd car for us; sometime it would sit for several days at a time.

When we decided to grow up and buy a house, our search wasn't yielding much in the downtown that we could afford. It was the height of the market, and anything worthwhile was getting snapped up and (now) ridiculous prices. Then one night, a house come on the market with an open house the next day. Since it was close by, we went over to check it out. The outside looked pretty bad.

But, when we went to the open house the next day, much of the interior was remodeled. We wanted it badly. After a 2nd walk-through that same day after the open house, we put in an aggressive offer with a quick turnaround. Within six hours, we had an accepted offer. A month later, we moved in.

In the five-plus years we lived there, not one room hasn't been improved. The entire exterior was replaced and improved. We grew from a family of two to three, hosted numerous friends, trained long hours in the basement, but ultimately grew out of its quaint size.

We were so naive about owning a home, let along a hundred year-old one at that. From a leaky roof to asbestos siding and a rotting porch, we learned that nothing is square, plumb, or otherwise is as it should be expected.

I didn't think I'd be emotional as I got as we cleaned out the last of our things last night. Going from room to room, it hit me just how much energy, blood, sweat, and tears where shed maintaining and updating our first home. Lots of memories are tied up in each drop (sometimes gallons) of those blood, sweat and tears.

It's bittersweet moving. Bitter because we'll be further from the downtown we love, but sweet because a new owner will enjoy this one as much as we did. Her excitement at the closing today reminded us of the excitement we had.

Good bye house, we'll see you again soon.

After a battery of tests & monitoring, it turns out that I'm completely healthy. Here are the details.

After I turned in my Holter monitor, I met with a cardiologist that specializes in heart rhythms. We talked through various things and the bottom line conclusion is that I need to keep my blood-volume up by staying hydrated and salinated. Rare is it that a heart doctor recommending to eat salty food, or even add some, if necessary. The other conclusion is that I'm getting a bit older and my body doesn't react as quickly to sudden changes in pressure. That, and my lower blood pressure (averages 100/70) makes me predispositioned to dizzy spells when standing.

We reviewed my monitor results, which showed no abnormalities, but did reveal a healthy heart. My highest heart rate was 168bpm during my run and my lowest was 31bpm(!) while sleeping. That's one beat for every two seconds. The doctor said that was a good thing to have that low of a rate while sleeping.

He did order an echocardiogram just to be sure, which is a sonogram of my heart. It was really cool. You can see all the valves, chambers, aortas, and veins and how they all work together during a "beat." During the test, the technician turned down the lights to see the screen, and had me lie down - perfect conditions to see how low I could get my heart rate. From what I could see on the screen, it was under 40bpm for most of the procedure. Fun!

Before the echo, I stopped by the lab to get my blood drawn. I just got those results back and they show that I'm continuing to get healthy. Note that I lost 35 pounds in late 2004 and started triathlons in 2005.

I postponed my bedtime tonight to get Facebook commenting active here on RobbyB.com. Feel free to comment away on each and every post. I would love to hear your feedback, and it should be a lot easier now that it was in the past. Enjoy!

We've been teasing about Evotri's latest bike sponsor for the past few weeks, so I'm happy that I can now announce that Quintana Roo will be a big part of Team Evotri starting right now! You can read the whole press release at the Team Evotri site.

I'm looking forward to getting the bike set up as soon as I can. In the mean time, here's a shot of me with my CD0.1 and another discussing the finer points of the Shift Technology with my daughter, who just had to be in the picture.

The image above is my chest covered in sensors that connect to an "Intelligent Holter Monitor." (I'd hate to have one of the dumb ones.) It been checking on things inside my chest for the past day, with one more day to go. Anytime I feel dizzy or light headed, I push a button on the data collector (on my waistband) and record what I was doing at the time. I'll turn it back in on Wednesday, and then meet with a heart rhythm specialist next week to go over the results.

For my run this morning, my chest was a different kind of lumpy with the sensors under my shirt . (Normally it's just my love handles.) Kris thought it looked like I had a bunch of piercings. I think it blows away my normal chest strap and that it would be really cool if I could just get my Garmin to communicate with it somehow. If it was really intelligent, it would communicate via ANT+.