Todd Wells

More of the Same

I don't have much to report on from Houffalize. The rain stopped yesterday, it was nice this morning and now it's raining again. The course has changed a bit from previous years with some more uphill technical single track. I have never seen the caution arrows for an ascent until today. The course is getting pretty muddy and I think we're going to have a muddy one this weekend. I've caught a little cold so I'm just sitting around all day doing nothing(not much different from what I would be doing anyway just a bit less training). 

So far this is the only picture I've got. 

I also have so more stories about Wolfram, the guy currently sitting in 2nd overall in the WC. In addtion to getting eye surgery this past winter and being able to see, the guy only rides inside. That's correct, he does all his training on the rollers and only trains outside when at the race riding on the course. Crazy, huh. 

Getting back to the horse picture, when I stopped to take this guy's picture he was on the other side of the field. Once he saw me pull out the camera he walked over as close as he could to me and just stood there. He must like having his picture taken or thought I was going to give him an apple. 

The Dart has been working on lightening up his mtb shoes the past few days. He has done some hooky stuff that has dropped over 60 grams per shoe but I'm going to wait to see how they work before I try it with mine. 

My day is planned mostly around meals, wake up around 9/9:30 eat breakfast, go ride at 11 and then its lunch time. A little nap and dinner is at 7pm and then it's some Entourage and then bed. Exciting, I know. 

I wonder which bike I'm going to ride this weekend.....

Rain

Well the good Euro weather finally broke. I woke up to a dark room which usually means it's raining. I have to say Europe in general has some of the best light blocking window dressing of anyplace in the world but today it was extra dark. 

I have to go back to my last update and clear up some mistakes I made. Lene while finishing 3rd at both WCs so far has moved back to 4th overall because of how top heavy the points are, not up to 2nd. 

For my race, Absalon attacked towards the middle of the 3rd lap which is why it got so hard. Susi and Bury tried to bridge across to him towards the end of the 3rd lap. I managed to make contact with the remains of the chase group, about 5 guys at the beginning of the 4th lap. Joey from the US U23 team pointed out the fact that the edges on the carbon rims I was using were really sharp and probably causing the cuts to my tires. I think that's everything. 

After the race we all went to dinner and Lene wore her a. Norwegian Airways or b. Cracker Jack costume to dinner. Dylan just wore his normal costume. The pictures could use a bit more light. 

It was Dylan's birthday last week. His cake wasn't the best cake I've ever had but it was better then nothing. Dylan didn't even show up though to blow out the candles so Claire had to do it for him. 

Specialized sent two of their best engineers to the race this past weekend, Rob and Jan. The guys are awesome and listen to all the feedback we have for them. They are always up to develop new products and try new things even if they're only for use for the race team. I think they will have some cool new stuff for our bikes in the next few weeks, if it will save a few grams or make something stronger they're all over it. Here is a picture of Jan and Susi, don't seem to have one of Rob. 

The Dart and I finished the last Entourage episode of Season 4 last night. Now I'm downloading season 2 since I've seen almost all the rest. 

The Hotel Du Commerce has an awesome breakfast and I ate too much this morning. For me one of the hardest things to do in Europe is not eat too much. Between WCs we don't ride very much as we are just trying to recover and get ready for the next race so I'm not burning a lot of calories during the week. Sitting in the hotel I get bored easily so when I'm bored I get hungry. I don't have the exact food I eat while at home so I tend to opt for higher calorie stuff that tastes better and lots of chocolate. Finally, you burn more calories at altitude and for the past five or six weeks I've been at sea level, good for power, bad for weight. 

Got an email from Gully today, he's in Germany until Wednesday with the U-23 team so I don't have to wonder what he's doing. 

The forecast is rain for the entire week so we could have our first mud race of the season this weekend. I feel bad for the road guys will be starting Tour of Romandie tomorrow, it's going to be wet and cold. You stay pretty warm on the mountain bike when it rains since the effort is high and the speeds are low but on the road you just freeze. 

I wonder if Meg is warding off the Swine Flu in Mexico...... 

Offenburg

I'm tired of this bad luck. Was having a good race today, riding in the lead group minus Absalon who rode off the front on lap 3. About a 1/4 of the way into the 4th of 7 laps I flatted. It was a small cut so I tried to seal it with the Stans, didn't work so I put a tube in. The CO2 was gone though, some guy gave me a pump but I couldn't get it to sit on the valve because of the deep carbon wheels. Anyway, found the edge of the wheels I'm riding is really sharp and it's cutting my tires.

I'm glad we figured it out but I wish it was yesterday and not today. Oh well, the form is good and it feels awesome to be riding in the front group at the World Cups again, just frustrating not being able to finish the race. 

Susi crashed when he was in 2nd and snapped both brake levers off so he couldn't finish the race either. The Dart blew a tire off the wheel on lap 1 but was only 4 meters from the tech zone. He had a slow change though b/c our mechanic couldn't walk across the course from the 1st tech to the 2nd b/c there was a line of guys for over 5 minutes. When he finally crossed he sorted the Dart out and he was off. He killed it to get back up to the front and who knows what would have happened if he didn't flat. Still got 4th. Lene killed it too, 3rd. Now the Dart is in 3rd overall and Lene 2nd overall. Man this is a good team. 

We're off to a new restaurant tonight, pizza. Yea. 

I wonder if we'll get home in time to watch another episode of Entourage.....

Laundry

They said the closest self service laundromat to Offenburg is in Berlin. Are you kidding me? I don't know where Berlin is in relation to where we are but Offenburg is a big town and you would think they would have at least one laundromat. I guess people don't wash their clothes here. The Dart did his the other day but his chamios didn't dry in time to go riding so we invented a German drier. 

We had lunch in town the other day at the cafe where would always hang out the previous years. It was good. 

We have it made this year. The mechanics have a bunch of light stuff we put on only for race day. Tons of bolts and bits. The Dart had his bike down to: 

I got mine down to: 

We got shot down with one of the components though so it's going to be a touch heavier on race day. This is pretty much what we do all day. 

Then we go to dinner. Note Susi's goodie bag he brings with him. 

This is what we eat every night to start, plus last night we had fish balls. 

The trailer set up is killer and Claire makes lunch everyday. It's awesome. 

Wally is here. He usually stays at the same hotel was us here but this year they are staying somewhere else. He always has something good to say. 

The Maxis crew has a new bike sponsor this year, Rocky Mountain. They have there on little mini Canada in the pits. Newt and the Brit got the flu between SA and here when they went back to the UK. They're all better though now. 

Finally, we've been seeing a lot of Porches over here. The Fumic brothers are sponsored by Porche and have a new black Carrea GTS here. I need a sponsorship like that. This one is a more unique color though. 

 

Tomorrow it's go time. The course is super fast right now and everyone is excited to get the race underway. I'm hoping for a good result and no bad luck. We're bored again today so I'm killing the internet time. 

I wonder if Winston is having fun with Sammy.....

Sitting Around

The day we flew to Europe we stopped at the offices in Morgan Hill to meet some global dealers. I was able to get a few more shots of some cool concept bikes. Enjoy: 

Everyone's favorite, PBR

Meg will like this one. 

Have you ever seen a cop on one of these? 

Around the office there are some huge photos of great moments from Specialized sponsored athletes, here is one of Susi. 

The weather here continues to be awesome. The Dart, Susi and I did a few laps of the course yesterday then Susi went motorpacing and the Dart and I went for a longer ride. We had to stop at a restaurant to get water and a coke since all the stores are closed from noon until 2:30pm. Europe. Anyway, it was an awesome day. 

Sandy and Dylan have been keeping the bikes looking and running like new. Here is Sandy hard at work. 

The result. 

I got a sweet new seat post yesterday. It is 60 grams lighter then my old post and I think it retails for around 460 euro which is about 700 usds. I hope I don't break it. 

Susi and Burry are having a contest to see who can get their bike lighter for the race this weekend. I have a feeling Susi is going to win but all our bikes are so light already. The big discussion everyday is how you slept the night before. The Dart and I managed to sleep through the night along with Beno, haven't heard from anyone else yet today. 

ABC now streams TV shows to Europe, it use to just work in the US so I watched the new LOST last night. MTV streams their shows too but their sight is too slow. Can't seem to find a good site to stream Entourage yet but since we don't have much to do I'm sure I'll find one. 

We are doing a one hour ride today along with a lunch stop in the middle in town since we're staying quite a ways out. I love Thursdays. 

I think the Luna Chicks are staying here and they get in today I believe. I'm looking forward to hanging out with Wally, he always has something to say. 

I wonder if Meg is sun burned yet.... 

Offenburger

So back to the Sea Otter race, it was a great weekend. I got my first win for the big S in the short track on Saturday, was riding well in the XC until I flatted and still held on to win the overall. Now, it's back to the big time. We flew to Germany yesterday for the next round of the World Cup this weekend. 

The trip went smooth, one flight from San Fran to Frankfurt, got upgraded, got all our bags and was at the hotel by 1pm today. Oh yea, had a chai tea too from Starbucks in Frankfurt airport. I even got to watch Entourage on flight and Beverly Hills Chiwawa. 

The weather here is awesome right now, after a 20 minute cat nap we went for a two hour spin. 

The flowers are in full bloom here. 

The roads around here are awesome. 

I needed one of these cappuccinos to get going this afternoon. 

I almost forgot, before we flew out yesterday we stopped by the offices again Morgan Hill. I got a few more photos of some cool stuff but I'm too tired right now to post them. 

I wonder what Winstons' doing right now.....

Day 2

The xc didn't go as planned. Was alone in 2nd and flatted, cldnt seal it up, put a tube in but didn't have any co2 left 2 air it up. Started walking 2 the tec zone and Conrad gave me a co2 when he came by. Luckily or I wld have been walking 4ever.
Won the overall so that's cool. Off to Germany now, got the upgrade though so I'm live'n large. Not as large as meg who's sitting on the beach right now.
Beno got upgraded 2 and Susi 2.
I wonder if Winston is lonely right now......

Day 1

I finally won a race at the Sea Otter. Took the "W" in the short track yesterday. The Dart, Susi and I were all off the front rolling it when Susi burped his tire and had to pull the plug. The Dart and I stayed together until the last lap and I got a few seconds on him. It sure is nice to to win a race for the new team. Even though we're missing some guys this weekend they don't get much faster then the World Champ or the U23 WC Champ that just went 3,4 at last weekend's WC. 

Today's the big one though, the XC. If I can ride with those two again today I think I'll have a good result. Saw Gully yesterday, he was working with the US Development team. He also took my bike for a spin and then my brakes were squeaking afterward, I think he was trying to sabotage it. 

Meg took 45 seconds off her FLC 5K time yesterday from last year. She's been running a lot and it's paying off. Tomorrow she goes to Mexico for 2 weeks with her mom while I'm in Europe. Winston is going to be hanging out with Snoodle while she's gone. He likes him more then Meg now anyway since he takes her to the Dog Park everyday. Speaking of Snoodle, he just got a ride with Jamis for this year so he's joining Shemus and Shep. Congrats. 

I wonder how I'm going to pack all the stuff I got this week into my bag.......

Sunshine

That's right, the weather has turned for the better at the Sea Donkey. Today was awesome, temperatures in the low 60s, blue sky and minimal wind. 

Got an article in USA Today, today, check it out if you're bored: 

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/cycling/2009-04-16-toddwellscycling_N.htm

Glad to see Hamilton got busted again, now maybe we won't have to see his mug plastered all over VeloNews every month. Too bad he stole the National Championship jersey from the Slipstream guy last year but hopefully he won't cheat anyone else anymore. 

The flowers are blooming and the ocean is looking good. 

You know you're ball'n when your guzzling Voss water at dinner. We do have a Norwegian on the team though. 

Ned is out here this weekend, with a camera strapped to his head. It looks like you could hook a carabiniere to it and use it for repelling. 

It's been cool having the legendary Beno on the team. The bikes get sooo much love. Before every World Cup they get completely rebuilt, bearings get degreased and they use oil for those races b/c it has less friction. 

The S Compound has an awesome gym, all the weights have the S insignias on them. They also have an awesome beach spot to brighten your day.  

When the guys and girls aren't building rad bikes, they're torturing each other on the "lunch ride". It rolls out easy for 5 minutes and then goes hard the rest of the time. We went out on it with our mtb bikes, not optimal for a fast road ride. They even had the scooter out for motorpacing the group at the end. We hit 67K with our 40/11. That's some leg speed. 

Everything is bigger in America. Just check out the Dart. 

I wonder what Megs' doing right now....

Sunny California

The weather here at Sea Otter sucks. I vote for moving the event to Southern California where it's always sunny and warm. The wind has been raging here all week, it finally died down a little today but the temperatures dropped too. We did have a good day none the less. 

We were traveling light on the way back from SA. 

Check out the bar in the Specialized engineering area of the office. 

The internet is crawling right now. Not even sure if this post is going to upload. Anyway, we got a lot done today, short ride along the coast, 2 trips to the Buck, did some laundry and got a painful massage from Claire. 

I wonder what Gullys' doing right now....