The Bike

I'm super excited to unveil the speed machine I'll be riding in 2010. Actually it's the same bike I've ridden the past two years but with lots of new speed courtesy of Zipp Speed Weaponry. I'm still riding on the Orbea Ordu Limited that I purchased from Healthy Habits in 2008. This is the same frame that Craig Alexander won the past two Ironman World Championships on in Hawaii. The bike is also ridden by Andrew Starykowicz who raced to the world record bike split in the 1/2 Ironman distance last year in the 70.3 World Championships. Healthy Habits still has one of these 2008 models in the shop that I know the owner is ready to get rid of for a steal of a price. If you want an extremely fast and aerodynamic ride that has proven success stop in to check out how much you can save off what this bike retailed for.

For 2010 I'm looking to get from T1 to T2 as quick as absolutely possible. I know I'll be down to most of the field when I exit the water in the pro races. My game plan will be to close that gap down and get myself back in the race during the 56 mile bike leg of the 1/2 Ironman. I'm preparing myself for a suffer fest on the bike. I'll have to be able to maintain a huge effort and I know I can do it if I prepare to ride that way in my training. I certainly won't be able to blame my equipment for lack of performance. I'll be riding all new Zipp Zedtech wheels in 2010. Zedtech is Zipp's custom program that allows the customers to select the top wheel parts in the world to put together the wheel of their dreams. There are only 3 guys in the world who are certified to build these. Some of the advantages of Zipp's Zedtech wheels over the already ridiculously fast standard wheels are that the bearings are ceramic. Zipp makes the best quality ceramic bearing in the world. Their alumninum bearings are better than most companies ceramics. All the hubs on the Zedtech wheels are dimpled. In the wind tunnel this helped riders shave precious time. Along with those benefits Zipp also allows you to customize colors of various parts and logos. Pictured on the bike is a Zipp sub-9 disc wheel with a 1080 front wheel. This is what I will race with on relatively flat courses when the wind isn't out of control. I believe this is simply the fastest wheelset on the planet for anyone riding a relatively flat course. The sub-9 is the only disc in the world that has been tested to actually provide riders with forward lift while riding at high speeds. If the course has tough hills or the winds are a problem I'll ride the 808 front wheel with the 1080 rear. I went with this combination in 4 races last year and won all of them. If I had to pick 1 Zipp wheel to own I would go with the 808 because it is so versatile under all conditions. It's what Craig Alexander rode 2 years ago in the legendary crosswinds of Ironman Kona. I will be using Zipp's double wheel bag to protect my extra wheels when traveling to races. It makes carrying the extra wheels very convenient.

The other new thing I've added to my bike is the Zipp VumaChrono crank. Besides looking really sweet and matching the bike to perfection this crank is super stiff and I've noticed a difference in my few outdoor rides with it already. The VumaChrono comes with a bottom bracket that is equipped with Zipp's ceramic bearings to make it that much faster. Along with that I also upgraded water cages to the Zipp carbon bottle cage. I'm not sure why I was still riding an old aluminum cage on such a nice bike. The combination of my 110000 new position on the bike and these Zipp products to go along with the Orbea Ordu I'm really excited about the potentials of the bike this year. I have to give lots of thanks to the guys at Zipp Speed Weaponry for producing such amazing products and also a HUGE thanks to the guys at Healthy Habits for getting this machine ready to conquer the course and allow me to reach my goals. Healthy Habits carries all the tremendous Zipp products if you're looking to upgrade. Without the help of these two companies I would not be riding this dream machine. Now it is time to build the engine!! Thanks for reading! DREAM BIG!