2010 Spokes'n Spurs Ride on Saturday, March 20th

Join us for the 2010 Spokes'n Spurs Ride and BRICK WORKOUT on Saturday, March 20th at 8:30am.

RIDE DETAILS
- Gently rolling hills, beautiful views and wildlife of Texas Hill Country
- Course distances: 62.5, 44, 28 & 14 plus a 6 mile family ride
- All ages & skill levels welcome
- Mechanical & SAG support provided
- Start time 8:30am
- Limited to 1000 riders

The BRICK WORKOUT for all of you triathletes includes a 5k run at the end of your bike. Rack your bike in the Hill Country Running and Jack & Adam's transition area and head out!

Post activities include a catered lunch, live music and more for the little ones.

And it's all for a good cause! Spirit Reins is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the emotional and behavioral health of children with the help of horses. Learn more about them & sign up for the ride at http://www.spiritreins.org/.

See ya out there!

2010 Spokes'n Spurs Ride on Saturday, March 20th

Bike Art

Here's a look at our friend Richard Renka's new Ceepo Venom. Richard is a life long cyclist and lover of beautiful bikes. He was in town this week from South Dakota and purchased the Venom. He added the Hed3c Wheelset and ISM Race saddle to round this beauty out.

Send us a photo of your race machine prepped and ready for the 2010 season. I'll draw a winner from entries for a fit with our very own Zane Castro.

Please send your bike photos to drew@jackandadams.com

Bike Art

The Test of Time

In the market for a new watch but want something different from your previous Timex or Polar watch? You can look no further! Jack & Adam's now offers the Soleus watch. Founded locally, the Soleus watch line offers easy to use AND easy to read watches starting with the 10k. The 10k comes with features like 30 lap memory,5 interval timesr,convertible display, 2 alarms, and it is sweatproof/waterproof to 50meters.

The next watch in the series is the 131. The 131 comes with all the 10k features but with upgraded 50 lap memory counter, and multiple time zones/alarms.

Finally, the 262, the last in the series comes with an upgraded 100 lap memory counter and all the bells and whistles that the rest of the watch line come with.

The Soleus watch line ranging from $55-$95. Put simply, the Soleus watch line is, 'Simple, everything you need, nothing you don't. Like having all your favorite cable-channels, but no useless ones tacked on, just so the cable company can charge more...' -J&A customer

The Test of Time

Compress This

Just when we thought compression technology has reached it's pinnacle (there are only so many body parts to squeeze into tight clothing), Zoot has released it's Active Compression RX series of apparel. I must admit, when I saw the Zoot Compression shorts make their debut on the floor the other day, I was a little confused. What would these shorts compress? Were they like Spanx for triathletes? Lowering the "Donk Factor" in my "Da-Donk-A-Donk" sounds appealing.

Naturally, I gave them a try. After the herculean effort it took to get into them - which I can only liken to sqeezing into American Apparel skinny jeans - I was pleasantly surprised to find the waistband was soft and not constricting at all. In fact, it seemed that the compression gained intensity down my leg, culminating in a rather intense grip on my mid-thigh. After a little research I found out that this is due to "varying degrees of muscle-specific compression to increase muscle response and performance." I did a few wind-gaits accross the interior of the shop and found that this was definitely true: it was so easy to lift my legs I almost kneed myself in the face.

The graduated compression is also supposed to increase blood flow to the heart. I couldn't test this claim as it was difficult to raise my heart rate while running between customers back and forth between the back trainer and the mechanics window. Dear customers, please independedantly verify this and get back to me.


These shorts are made with "lightwieght PlyPro" and "anti-microbeal SilverTech." (I don't know what this means, but I can only assume that if you melted these shorts down and made bullets out of them, you could kill a werewolf.) For the more practical purposes of training or racing, these shorts keep you dry and germ-free. They also get my Meriwether Cool Stamp of Approval for looks. The Matrix-inspired color platte (grey and black) looks sleak and modern. The chamois is standard for a tri short and so is the length of the short.

Overall rating: two thumbs up for both Donk Factor Reduction and 25% reduction in perceived effort. Follow up with me tomorrow to see if I have a 29% reduction in lactic acid build-up after my shop-interior-wind-gaits.

**Note, though I'm just as ripped, this is not a picture of me wearing these shorts.**

Compress This

What Should I Put In My Saddle Bag?

'What should I put in my saddle bag?,' is a question we get all the time. I would recommend the basics to fix/repair a flat which include tire levers, a correct size tube, patch kit, and something to inflate the tube with whether it be a CO2 cartridge or a hand pump. A lot of manufacturers like Genuine Innovations & Crank Brothers make a CO2 inflater that can also be used as a hand pump (stop by the shop to see the options we carry).

The reason I include both a new tube and a patch kit is so that if you get more than one flat on a ride you can still repair it and get home. If your wheels have deeper sectioned rims then make sure the valve stem on the tube is long enough to air it up. Most wheels will use either a 32mm to 48mm valve, slightly deeper aluminum rims will use a 60mm valve, and many carbon rims will use an 80mm valve.

Other items that you may want to keep in your bag may include a multi-tool (i.e allen wrenches, chain tools, and spoke wrenches). You may also want to include a dollar bill...it is the best patch for a tire that is badly cut...if you do not have any bills, then a gel pack or energy bar wrapper will also work.

What Should I Put In My Saddle Bag?

Hills clinic - Reset

This morning dubious conditions meant that the long ride group did the hills; the intermediate group was cancelled for everyones safety.

For those that would like to have a rain-check or do-over on the hills clinic, Tammy has agreed to run it next week(Feb 28th).

So rides for next Sunday, weather permitting, are 1. No drop ride goes South, 10-miles out and back; Intermediate ride does hills clinic; long ride will do 38-miles south. As always, we "call" the rides at 8:30 a.m. at the shop, if its raining or dopplr radar shows rain, we cancel, otherwise we ride!

Hills clinic - Reset

Time Trial & Road Racing!!!!

Have you ever thought about doing an individual time trial or a road race? Well, now is your chance. In March there are two great options for doing your first bicycle road race. On March 13th, The Austin Nationals will be hosting "The Crono Metro", an individual time trial in the small ghost town of J. Lorraine in Manor, Tx. Don't have aerobars, don't worry! In addition to the standard road racing categories, there are divisions for bikes with no aerobars, triathletes, tandems, and single speeds. There is no reason for lack of participation! After the event there will be a post race party with burgers, beer, music, and prizes. If you can't race then you can still participate by volunteering. The Volunteers get all the same benefits as racers, so come check it out!

If the stars are not aligned for the Crono Metro, and you still have the urge to test the waters of Road Racing, then you will have two more shots; the Ronde Von Manor on March 27th & the original Ronde Von Monda on March, 28th. Both events are put on by Velossimo Racing, a Austin based cycling and racing club. Both days have multiple categories and age brackets to compete in. If you have never been to a road race and want to see what it is all about, then come volunteer to see if it gives you the motivation to jump in.

Jack & Adam's Bicycles is a proud sponsor of both Velossimo Racing and The Austin Nationals. Both organizations are Austin based cycling clubs dedicated to the growth of the sport.

Time Trial & Road Racing!!!!