The bikes we ride - Sexy Wilier

Rider: Mark

Bike: Wilier Izoard XP

Running gear: Shimano Ultegra 6700

Wheels: Pro-Lite Bracciano, shod in Michelin Pro-race 4 tyres

Any upgrades: Wheels, Specialized Toupe saddle, Look Keo Carbon pedals

Price: $3,000 plus extras, shhh don't tell the missus! [ed note: lets call it $2k in wife speak]

Why this bike?

I was looking for a nice weekend bike  so I could relegate my aluminium Avanti to commuter duties.  I knew I wanted carbon with minimum Ultegra-spec drivetrain, and something that wasn't run-of-the-mill.  No offense to all the Giants and Specialized riders out there, but I wanted something a little different!

Originally I was looking at the AR-series aero bikes from Felt as I loved the look of them, and they were at a competitive price point for their features (competing fairly against S-series Cervelos).  I delved further into bike reviews and patiently bided my time until the end-of-season sales began during the Tour de France.  This is when a few places began promoting the Wilier Izoard XP.  It's a completely different bike to the Felt but it piqued my interest after ticking quite a few boxes:

- Full carbon manufactured by Toray 

- Decent weight (around 7kg)

- Italian heritage but built elsewhere (just like the rider)

- Stunning colour scheme

I suffer poorly from "paralysis by analysis" and was inundated with reviews and reports and countless customer assessments of the bike.  On a whole they were coming back quite favourable, with the only downside being they weren't manufactured in Italy.  No big deal as I'm familiar with the build quality of other Italian commodities - Fiats, Alfas, parliament, etc.

A few phone calls were made and I ended up visiting Ivanhoe Cycles for a test ride. I was suprisingly fitted on a small-sized bike as the medium made me feel too stretched out.  The quick spin up and down the side roads near the shop were enough to convince me I had to have it!  It was nimble and comfortable, it ate up minor bumps with ease and felt rock solid out of the saddle.  Love at first ride!

My first proper ride was a 100km return trip from Elsternwick to Frankston and I got off the bike sporting a massive grin and less pain than expected as the position is much more aggressive than my weekday commuter.  I have since raised the saddle height by another inch and dropped the bars half an inch, I think I'm at the sweet spot now!

What would you change on the bike?

At the time I bought the bike, I also picked up a pair of Pro-Lite Bracciano wheels to replace the Fulcrum Racing 7's I was expecting.  To my surprise they came with the lighter and better 5's which have now been passed on to a fellow LAID rider.

It's always personal taste, but I changed out the Wilier-branded Prologo saddle straight away for an old faithful Specialized  Toupe.

Other than that, I've been extremely happy with the bike.  I love the cleanliness of the 6700-series Ultegra cockpit and the contact points have all been excellent.  Even the cork bar tape has stood up well during some less than favourable weather.

Kilometre count:

As it's my weekend bike, I've only ridden about 1,200km so far, but I look forward to many more fairweather kilometres in the future!

The bike before the upgrades (looks hotter now):

The bikes we ride - Merida

2010 Merida Scultura Evo 904

Rider: Serge

Frame: Carbon

Groupset: Shimano 105

Wheels: Fulcrum Racing 5 (upgrade from original)

Upgrades:

Plenty. Pretty much everything that the body touches. Not sue to the lack of quality, moreso to do with desire, pay rise and pesky Wiggle specials. These include:

- Saddle now Specialized Romin

- Pedals now Shimano Ultegra SPD-SL

- Handlebar tape with gel in it

- wheels, refer above

Kilometre count: Just over 3,500km

Why this bike?

I didn't want a bike that everyone had (e.g. Giant), couldn't afford Specialised and Merida is the second biggest manufacturer of bikes (and partly owned by Specialized). Add to that the specs were brilliant for me, but most important was a huge discount because of a sale. It spoke to me and whispered "BUY ME".

What would you change about the bike?

Not a lot at the moment. I am really happy with it. I guess I would like to add the missing piece of the puzzle; a Garmin 500 bundle.

Bikes on film...in New York

It's the little things that excite, but when it's feature length I get uber excited. A couple of cool, yet different flicks featuring bikes:


Bill Cunningham New York (Doco) - a tale of a man, his bike, his camera and fashion in New York - in selected cinema's now.



Premium Rush (drama) - released 1 March 2012

Connect East Ride for Home - Team time trial

4:45am and I was awake before my alarm just waiting for the minutes to tick away. Eventually the time came to get up and the adrenaline was racing through my body as I leapt to my feet. Now, I am not a morning person, but for the first time in an age I was walking around with a smile on my face before the sun was up. The Hanover Connect East Ride for Home was the drawcard; a 75km team time trial on a closed Eastlink.

Perfect surfaces and perfect conditions with not a breath of wind and mild temperatures would greet the rides, but for now I had to go through my checklist to ensure I had everything. Riding jacket, contact lenses, phone and camera. Yep, all packed and ready as I drove out east at ridiculous o’clock. What? Confused by no riding gear, let alone a bike on my checklist?......nope, unfortunately for me I was not riding today; I was team photographer for the Transurban Torpedos which included a few of the LAID Cycling family.

So my day was a multi sport even. Run, snap, run, navigate, drive, rethink, drive, walk, run snap, then back home and download. After pre ride pictures and capturing the start, my day of challenges began as I rolled up to points on the ride only to find out that the juggernaut that were the Torpedo’s had already past. The pace was fast and furious and I needed to adjust my plan, eventually catching up with the team on the return journey at Thompsons Road near Cranbourne. The day of a photographer is far less exciting than that of the cyclist so I will spare you the details. A cyclist’s day however is far more exciting and LAID’s own Mark Maiolo will take you into the eyes of the cyclists on the 75km journey.

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TEAM TRANSURBAN - THE TORPEDOS

 2008 Tour de France champion Carlos Sastre says of time trialling: "It is simple - first you have to learn how to suffer, then you just turn the pedals".

As simple as it may be, it is most definitely not easy - it's a challenging pursuit of your physical and mental stamina, and a test of your ability to balance performance and endurance. Surround yourself with nine other similarly-suited compatriots, and you've got yourself a maelstrom of spinning carbon, all hurtling together towards one common goal.

The 2011 Hanover ConnectEast Ride for Home is a unique experience in Melbourne, (if not Australia) - a freeway is shut down to traffic to allow cyclists to ride it's 75km length, including the traversal of two tunnels plunging beneath Ringwood's Mullum Mullum creek and it's resident platypuses and koalas, who would be blissfully oblivious of the heaving and panting of thousands of riders slogging it out to raise money for Hanover's homeless support services.

The Transurban Torpedoes were entered into the Team Challenge, and faced up against 42 other teams. After an amazing fundraising drive, we managed to raise $5100 for the cause, and placed us third on the starting grid as one of the top fundraisers - a huge effort before the starting gun was even fired. We approached the starting line full of anticipation and nerves, and a sly grin after the emcee thanked us for closing the road (even though it is owned by a competitor) - side note: kudos to the Transurban marketing team.

We were sent on our way and crossed the starting mat - game on! 

David Duieb took off, vying for the first turn at the front as we all started to find our pace and position within the group.  We quickly formed a single pace line head to tail behind him as he heaved and panted up the first rise and onto the freeway proper.  90 seconds later, as David struggled with the fast pace he tried to set, he pulled off to allow the diesel locomotives of Heath Allen, Peter Osborne, Serge Krepak and Nigel Kimber to tow us along. As our legs warmed up and our confidence grew, so did our pace and we were soon charging along at 40+km/hr with a wonderful tailwind, racing towards the Frankston turnaround point. There was not much banter as everyone was in the zone, regulating their efforts and following the wheel infront, trying to save every ounce of power for the long haul. Fellow LAID Cycling team member Serge Krepak kept the mood high, encouraging each rider on as they rolled off from their turn up the front, exhausted but eager to get us home as quick as possible.

The turnaround point arrived sooner than expected which boosted our confidence. We were on target to achieve a supersonic time and charged along into the headwind with the slight uphill return leg. A cat-and-mouse game formed as we raced alongside the two Flemington Institue of Sport teams, and I must say we Torpedoes easily outclassed them in style, formation, and ravishing good looks. The rotating turns at the front became shorter as extra energy was required to push into the wind, and slowly the efforts began taking their toll (pun intended).

Onward we forged as our team of ten became eight, and then seven as we neared the daunting tunnels and efforts began expiring. Special mention goes to Brian Senghpa for his ability to power on while reliving his breakfast for the second time - the Jens Voigt hard man award goes to you! The tunnels approached and our top speeds were reached as we hurtled towards the bottom-most point of the Mullum Mullum tunnel and had to climb up the other side. Heath Allen, Peter Osborne and Mark Maiolo all latched on to Nigel Kimber's wheel as we climbed to the turnaround point and then let gravity take over again as we entered the Melba tunnel and the final stretch of the race. Four became three as Peter popped, Heath zoomed past on the descent, and Nigel and Mark regrouped with him on the climb to the finish line.

The stopwatches stopped the clock at a touch over two hours for the first finishers, and the team's time was captured on the sixth finisher Mark Byrne's time of 2h03'38 - an amazing time which beat last year's result by well over ten minutes - well done team!

A recovery banana and bottle of water allowed us to remenisce on the effort, and congratulate everyone for working so well as a team. The official results are out and we have finished amongst the middle of the field - not a bad effort considering the pointy end of the field hosted Australian time trial champions and a plethora of dedicated time trial steeds!

After the event a finisher said "To be honets I'm feeling a little sad knowing that this amazing race will not be on for another 12 months; although on the other hand this allows me 12 months to train to beat the two hour mark next year."

A special mention must go to Teresa Thai for her relentless efforts in organising the Transurban Torpedoes team - everything from fundraising and corporate communications, to the design of the team jersey - although you weren't riding with us, we wouldn't have been able to make a single pedal stroke without your work - thanks!

The last massive and most important thanks must go to all of who who donated money to us and a fantastic cause. All funds go to Hanover who help break the cycle of homelessness.

Some pictures by Ivan Dennis of the event follow:

MARK & SERGE. GREAT SHORTS AND ARM WARMERS ;)



SERGE, MARK, SUSAN AND NIGEL PRE-RIDE (6AM)

ROLLING TO THE START LINE

THE SMILING ASSASSIN, HEALTH LEADING THE CHARGE ~45KM IN

TROY CONCENTRATING HARD ON SMASHING THE PEDALS

PETER, THE WORKHORSE PULLING A TURN

ROAD TRAIN AT THOMPSON RD OVERPASS

Eastlink ride preview

The weather is looking a treat for Sunday's ride along Eastlink. Here's what lies ahead for the LAID Cycling riders who are riding for Transurban in the Team Time Trial.....Good luck

Winner

Congratulations to Duncan Mendez who is the winner of the arm warmers

Coffee's tribute to cycling

One of the founding members of LAID Cycling, Mark found this spectucular piece of art. Check it out.

Free.....for one of you!!!

Ruing the decision to back Americain in the Melbourne Cup, and pondering your losses? Well, hopefully I can put some of pain aside with a freebie?

On offer is one set of summer arm warmers (pictured) - prefect for the crisp morning rides. To win simply email me at laidcycling@gmail.com with your name and address. I will select a winner at random and post them out to you. The winner will also be posted on here.

In addition, orders are now been taken for the men's and women's LAID Cycling kit; tops and bib and brace shorts.....email me if you're interested in the introductory offer of $150 (plus postage and handling) for the lot.