Specialized has always known the ladies are worth it though; it is one of few bicycle companies that make women’s specific products in; well, everything imaginable.  We are not just talking clothing that comes in pink and shoes that run small enough to fit dainty feet.  Specialized also does bicycle frames in women’s specific geometry, saddles ergonomically designed for the ladies, and the list goes on and on.  Oh yea; if you are wondering, it all comes in pretty colors too.  Definitely my favorite event I have been too in a while.

If you missed out, be a part of Cynergy Cycles smaller scale mountain bike demos that happen regularly on Sunday’s and leave the shop at 7am.  Call ahead to reserve your bike: 310-857-1500

You can read more of Julia’s blog here: Julia’s NOW Journal

Tuesday I rode to Cross Creek and back and it was a lovely ride through the rolling section of PCH. Wednesday was supposed to be my first day to climb all the way up Mullholland however it was not meant to be. I made it a mile up when I had my first ever flat tire, I had seen a tire changed twice but had yet to change one myself. I always make sure to have everything I need and 30 minutes later I managed to get the tire and inner tube off, find the piece of glass that caused the flat and was working on getting the new tube and tire back on when a couple of very nice riders stopped to help which was very fortunate for me as it turned out I had the wrong size valve on the inner tube and would not have been able to make it work. I never would have known and would have spent hours trying to fix it. Thankfully another rider stopped too and he had a patch so we patched the tire and got it back on the bike which enabled me to ride back down to PCH and call my hubby to come get me. This flat solidified to me how important it is to be prepared and know your equipment. I usually ride alone and when I ride in the canyons there is sometimes no cell reception so it really is imperative that I know how to fix any problems on my own and that I have the correct equipment, otherwise I will be in for a really long walk…

Thursday I was off to Mullholland again and had an amazing, beautiful and otherwise uneventful ride. It was my first time with my new full clip Speedplay pedals and SWorks road shoes with the Boa lacing system (basically the bike shoe equivalent to a pair of Jimmy Choos or Manolo Blahniks take your pick:) I had been riding with mountain bike clips and shoes while I was getting used to being clipped in and was hesitant about going to full clips but boy was it worth it. What a huge difference! The shoes are so comfortable and the clips so easy it get in and out of. That evening I went to a clinic on how to fuel your body put on by Phase IV at Cynergy. After how awful I felt on Sunday I thought it prudent to find out what I should be doing and I found the speaker to be very informative. Friday, work got in the way so I had to skip my morning ride and instead put my bike on a trainer in the afternoon to get in an hour of fast pedaling and easy resistance. Saturday I decided to go meet Roman and Eric at Cynergy and ride out with them on their weekly Big Easy. I knew Iʼd be really outclassed but if I cared about being dropped I would always ride alone. I drove to Will Rogers and parked there with my annual state park permit (which I highly recommend since you can park at most all the state parks, find some beautiful trails and rides AND you support our state park system, Iʼd call that a win win). I rode from the park to Cynergy then rode out with them towards PCH. Larry, a rider I had met on a few other events, was turning onto 7th street when he fell right in the middle of the street. I was able to clip out right away, make sure he was alright then help him and his bike out of the street. Thankfully he was fine, though he will be needing a new pair of glasses, and we rode on. The other guys took off ahead and Larry and I rode to Malibu Canyon Road where he turned off to catch up with the others for a climb and I turned back to do some more flat riding. I logged in three hours and 40 miles that day and loved every minute:)

I ended the week with an “off” day. Though I was supposed to do a three and half hour ride starting with Mullholland, instead I celebrated the birth of my two oldest kids with friends, food and splashing in the pool. I also got to pursue another passion of mine, baking. I have been an avid baker and candy maker for most of my life though I donʼt have as much time to experiment as I would like. Earlier this year we found out my six year old son has an allergy to gluten and that has made it a little more difficult as well but I always make my kids their choice of birthday sweets. This year my son chose chocolate cake and my daughter chocolate chip cookies. I make a very special cupcake called a high hat that is chocolate cake with homemade marshmallow fluff and topped with chocolate glaze so I decided to try a cake version and it turned out great (I donʼt think there was a crumb left:) It was a great day, the sun came out and many of my favorite people enjoyed their day together. Training is great but you should never lose sight of the most important thing, the people you love…

Sarah

Encinal is a little bittersweet as I always remember my friend Francesco Quinn when I ride it. The last time I was graced with his company riding was for a Cynergy-Black event where we rode from the store in Santa Monica to the Malibu Country Club for a private lunch and wine tasting. He really liked Encinal and we kept trying to plan a morning ride up it together before he passed far to young on August 5th. I only had the pleasure of knowing him for a couple of months but I feel very blessed to have had those moments with him and he was a defining person in my cycling journey. The first ride I took from our Beverly Hills restaurant to our Malibu restaurant Francesco, his wife Valentina and daughter Sophia road as well. He hung back for the whole ride to support them and I was lucky enough to have him as my guide as well. I donʼt know if I would have made that ride with out his support and I think of him often when I ride.

Friday I was treated to a mountain bike demo ride led by Mark P from Cynergy. I invited a few friends and neighbors and we were given the royal treatment. Mark brought bikes, water and snacks and picked us up at Trancas in the Cynergy van. He took us to an area off Kanan and led us on a ride up part of the Backbone trail. I never knew mountain biking could be so much fun. It was great to be out in nature and it was truly like a mini vacation. I started off on a BMC hardtail, not even a demo bike but Eric the owners personal bike, and ended on a Specialized Epic with full suspension. Such a great way to test out the different styles before I decide on one. Mark leads a mountain bike adventure every Sunday from the store called Any Given Sunday, if you have any interest in trying out the sport I highly suggest joining one of his rides. Saturday my hubby demoed a beautiful Specialized Roubaix road bike and we met the guys at the shop as well as the NOW-MS Society Cynergy Team for a ride up PCH. It was a day twelve years in the making and it was fully worth the wait. Antonio waited so long and patiently for me to finally try a road bike and I will always appreciate the fact that he didn’t give up.

All in all I clocked in over 10 hours of training riding PCH, climbing Encinal and Yuerba Buena and I started my fundraising for the MS Bike Coastal Challenge, if you are interested in donating you can view my personal page at http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR/Bike/CALBikeEvents?px=10101608&pg=personal&fr_id=16936.

Three weeks to go and I canʼt wait to see whats ahead and of course tell you all about it…

Sarah

 Tuesday evening was a fundraiser for the NOW-MS Society Cynergy Team at the Viceroy Hotel in Santa Monica. Antonio and I were able to get a sitter for the kids (they are generally in tow) and it was a treat to get dressed up and meet more people from the Now-MS Society Cynergy Team. We had a drink next to the pool and then sat down for dinner with Louise and Phil Keoghan. Louise and Phil are huge cycling advocates, Phil is the host of the popular show The Amazing Race so they can really help bring awareness to projects and we had the pleasure of all meeting at Cynergy when I signed up for their team and the MS Bike Coastal Challenge. Our Team Captain Julie Guthrie and a few other of their friends joined it was a truly lovely evening and the company was spectacular.

On Thursday I received my training schedule from Ron and WOW what a challenge I have ahead of me. 10-12 hours of riding a week until the first day of the ride on October 1st but hey, you only live once and it’s a great cause so why not:) so Saturday I met Troy at Cynergy Cycles at 8:00 AM and was treated to a ride with him and his good friend Floyd Landis. What an amazing experience to ride with such a talented rider and a really pleasant person. We rode from Cynergy to Cross Creek when Troy mentioned he knew someone that was cooking at the Malibu Kiwanas Chili Cook-Off and wanted to stop by. I had been there the night before for the carnival with my family and was happy to show them the spot. Though the Cook-Off was not open yet we rode in (over the straw on the ground) to look for Troy’s friend Chris Allen VP of Duncan Quinn the suit maker. We said hi then headed to Tra di Noi for a quick espresso (a great perk) and
headed back to Santa Monica via PCH.

We were all having a lovely ride even though there was no bike lane available at all as it was the best surf of the year and the surfers were out in full force and the traffic was awful. Troy was flanking me as he is accustomed to New York traffic so PCH is easy for him when a truck started honking at us. I had never seen anything like it and as we were all talking about it we turned a corner and rolled on. Thankfully the rest of our return was pleasant and fully satisfying. I turned over 500 miles on by bike’s odometer that day.

My bike is such a joy to ride, I have a Specialized S-Works Amira which if you know anything about bikes is a truly amazing bike. I had no idea what a great bike it was when the guys at Cynergy picked it out for me but after all the compliments I have received on it from people that know a lot more about bikes than I do it motivates me even more to do it justice. I finished out the week with a ride up Encinal Canyon on Sunday with my neighbor and riding buddy Jilly, it was a perfect way to end the week. This week was full of many adventures and I can’t wait to see what happens next!

NOTE from CYNERGY: interested in supporting the NOW MS CYNERGY TEAM and Sarah’s Ride please just click on the link below:

http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR/Bike/CALBikeEvents?px=10101608&pg=personal&fr_id=16936

Saturday June 25, 2011 I got on a road bike for the first time and it was love at first ride. Seriously. My husband Antonio has ridden off and on for years and has been begging me to try a road bike for over a decade but like with everything else in life I had to wait until I was ready. I had a mountain bike and even though I had never rode it on dirt, it was just fine for me. I thought a road bike would be too delicate and unstable. But Antonio had coordinated a few events with Eric and Troy from Cynergy Cycles and they had been talking about putting together a lifestyle riding group, Cynergy-Black, and that really sparked our interest. Since we had just opened a new restaurant in Beverly Hills and there was going to be a Gran Fondo in Los Angeles they decided to do a Celebrita Gran Fondo lead by Francesco Quinn that began at our new restaurant in Beverly Hills, La Focacceria Tra di Noi and ended at our Malibu Restaurant Tra di Noi. I expected to only ride for a short period and Antonio followed me as my own personal support truck with our three kids as my cheerleading squad. I made it through Beverly Hills, West LA and Pacific Palisades and he kept going a couple of miles at a time and waiting for me to stop and say I was done…which didnʼt happen. You couldnʼt have paid me to stop and though I was bringing up the rear, I made the ride all the way to Malibu.

From that day on I have ridden at least twice a week and usually more like five or six times. I may not be very fast (yet) but the joy I have for riding makes my days better and in turn makes me a better person for myself and those around me. Iʼm a mother, a wife and a CFO/Co-owner of several restaurants and now I am an avid cyclist as well. Cycling for me can either be precious solitude, an hour or two that I am not anything to anyone else but myself and my bike, or it can be social, being out having a beautiful ride with people I enjoy being with or it can be family time with my husband and our kids. I will talk about how much I love cycling to anyone that will listen, to me itʼs become a part of my life and Iʼm lucky enough to have a tremendous amount of support. My husband will watch the kids and coordinate days and vacations around me riding so we can make it a family event and the guys at Cynergy picked out the most amazing bike for me that motivates me to improve.

I have friends that have done group rides and when I started to think about trying one Eric and Troy suggested the MS Bike Coastal Challenge. They are sponsors of the event and have the MS Now-Cynergy team and knowing how much I wanted to try it they offered to help me prepare for the ride. So Iʼm in, Iʼm signed up and I am beginning my maiden voyage into an organized ride for an amazing cause. Wish me luck and Iʼll keep you posted…

Sarah

www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSRfaJlvn4Y

For one night, an opportunity to live the life I promised myself when I was a kid.

The new Specialized Venge... one of the non-human stars of the event...

If I sound like I’m exaggerating, know that I’m being completely earnest. I’ve been to only a handful of events of this caliber, and certainly never at a bike shop. Everytime I look down the list of increasingly extravagent things we have planned for that night, I think about what a bummer it’s going to be to wake up Tuesday morning, eat a leftover breakfast bowl from Jack in the Box, only to pedal squares up Mandeville with one of my buddies who aren’t Matt Goss. I’m looking at you, Willie J.

We’re calling it “An Evening in Fast Company”: A Night With the Pros. Get the details there, I’ll wait… ok, here’s my take on it; the HTC Men’s Pro Squad do a LOT of promotional events; photo ops, Q&A’s, endorsements, etc. It’s part of being a pro athlete, and if you can get any of them to tell you how they really feel, they’ll admit that most of it is really boring, mundane stuff. Our thing is completely different. I have it on good authority that this event is something the guys are really looking forward to, like, date-circled-on-the-calender-for-months type anticipation. My inside source went on to say that riders who are missing the event because they’ll be at the Giro were disappointed, no, devastated they won’t be here. Sucks to be them… but good luck in Italy!!

And then there’s the cars…. Specialized worked with McLaren, a Formula One car manufacturer and team out of the UK, in collaboration on their new bike, the Venge. (If you haven’t seen the new Venge yet, what the hell are you doing on the computer?! We close at 6 today, come check it out.) McLaren is going to be here for the event, with some of their cars. Everytime we’ve talked to their people on the phone, they’ve been as enthusiastic about our bike as we are about their car. I predict a tear-jerking moment Monday night when all of the car buffs are checking out the Venge, and we bike nerds are all over the McLarens. Cars and bikes, sharing pavement in beautiful harmony.

The whole thing is catered by Wolfgang Puck. Not Wolfgang Puck Express, but the legendary chef himself. My very good friend and all-around Superhuman Phil Keoghan (host of the Amazing Race, like I had to say that) is MCing the whole thing. I’m probably overselling this, because I’m pretty sure tickets are sold out, but give me a call at the shop if you’re interested, I’ll check with our ‘box office’.

I’ve already got a date, so don’t bother asking. This place is full of eligible bachelors, though. And one of them is one of the rich guys I mentioned earlier. Leave a comment for details on that.

I was asked to wait to put up new posts until we got some bugs worked out, but I figure if I waited until evening, when everyone’s out of the building, no one will notice. I’ll hold off on that “about me” post I promised until we figure out a way to get some glitter and sparkles on the page, and maybe even a headshot. I suppose I could write about some cool new gadgets, or some nutrition that we’ve gotten into the shop lately (we really have gotten a ton of new stuff , if you haven’t noticed… Honey Stinger me harder!). I’ll be writing about ALL of that stuff, as it appeals to me. But my blog is going to be exactly that, a place where I can talk to you, my fellow cyclists, my friends, a few relatives, and undoubtedly a bunch of people that really don’t like me, and only read in search of grammar errors that can be used to call me out. For the latter brand of reader, I’ll give you a heads up; there is exactly one spelling mistake, one misplaced modifier, and one egregious error in syntax in each post. Except for this one. This one is perfect.

 So, as an enthusiastic passenger on the Straight Talk Express, let me tell you what I really noticed on my last bike ride up PCH. It’s wasn’t that my Tarmac SL3 handles like a dream (more on that later), it wasn’t that my Enervitene Cola gels are delicious (I won’t blog about that at any point, just trust me and come buy some…). What I noticed on my ride, is that the cop car on the shoulder of PCH in Malibu, the one that is ALWAYS there in the same spot, the one that probably looked outdated to the riders who saw it there in the 70’s, doesn’t have a real cop in it!!!

 I’ve always just sped up as I rode past that car, cuz it freaks me out… the air gets a little colder, my heartrate monitor always seems to give out…. something just ain’t right about that stretch of road. But this weekend on my ride, I decided to stop. I wasn’t really trying to get to Latigo that fast anyway. I looked back at it from afar. Clearly, I could see a head-like silhouette on the driver’s side. Naturally, I waved. Here’s where I knew something was afoul…. no one waved back. I mustered the courage to roll back towards the car. (By the way, never go the wrong way on PCH. It’s stupid and dangerous, but I had to know. I did it for you.)

LA's finest

 Needless to say, when I got there I was shocked to see a dummy, impersonating Erik Estrada, impersonating a peace officer. It’s a cheap trick, and I’m told people don’t really fall for it, but here’s photographic proof. That ain’t no cop.

Pull his string to hear your Miranda Rights

 Moral: drive as fast as you want on PCH. Until you see a real cop, probably around Cross Creek.

Alright, I’m outta here before someone realizes I’m playing around on the computer. Stay tuned for something useful!

I’ll be writing blog posts here soon… this one is more of a test. I’ll have something interesting up this afternoon, to tell you who I am and why you should come back regularly to see what I have to say. Maybe you shouldn’t, but I’ll state my case anyway.

Until then, here’s a BMX video for entertainment. Remember BMX? Yeah, some kids are still doing it. And they’re gnarly. Thanks to service tech Ron B. for turning me one to this!

Also, it’s my girlfriend’s birthday!! Congratulate her here.

Alright, much more to come.

-Willy T