2011 FinKraft Training Camp Sponsor Blog

Hi , Back in NJ and a rainy day , so perfect time to catch up on some 'blogging " A month ago it was that time of the year again , Training Camp time. The weather back home on the East Coast had been terrible this winter and riding out doors has not been an option for most of us . I always look forward to the AZ Camp , it is pure and very straight forward training and all about building a solid base for the season to come . There is a lot of planning and work that goes into this camp way before I jump in the van ( which is a nice new addition to the Finkraft Enterprise-:)) and make the 2500 miles trip out to Tucson. To ensure this is a Pro camp with as much support as possible from various companies that has anything to do with being able to ride for 30 hours in one week is not easy these days.

All this would not be possible with out a lot of support from a lot of people , specially my wife Kimberly. This year Kim's dad Gerald and my daughter Finley got to experience the camp as well and it was just nice to have a family atmosphere during these 3 weeks .

Finley is here demonstration how to ride the Power Cranks , not easy but a very a good training tool for sure, something to put on your wish list if you do not already have a pair. It was great feeling having these guys around at the camp the whole time this year . Robert and Alessandro where at my side the whole camp and kept everything running smooth with the rides and any mechanical issues we had . Setting up and tiering down the camp is another job and a half and without these guys it would not be possible. At our camp everybody is kind of a family and besides us working even the clients helps out and it is just an amazing team feeling each week . Thank you all !!

We were able to get Accelerade, Zym ,Honey Stinger and GU as our sports nutrition companies , but we at FinKraft also have to add a ton more ride food to the list , something that I would like to build on in the future and secure more sports nutrition sponsors .

Thanks to Andreas relentless work trying to get companies supporting the camp, we were able to have a whole host of sport related products at display and to our use these three weeks .

We can not live on sports food , so the regular meals are very important to keep the guys going day after day . Barilla pasta is a life saver for this camp , what is a cyclists favorite food ? Pasta , right !! To have them as a sponsor for the camp is a privilege for the camp and could not be replaced by anything else . My wife Kim is the chef at the camp and I think her doing the shopping , planning the meals for each day so well really makes this camp a success .

Wasa , an other Scandinavian product I grew up on for lunch .The meals are something each rider remembers the most when they go home and me leading the rides and making sure the training is great seems secondary -:) .

Then we have our Primare Oatmeal Company; Country Choice Organic. This a our conclusive breakfast source , what an incredible product , I can not say enough about what kind of fuel this company provides us with . The selection is amazing , steelcut, quicksteel and instant oatmeal an oatmeal for every occasion. I have used this product now for years and I do not start a race or ride without a Country Choice Organic meal in my stomach .

Besides the breakfast food from Country Choice they are providing us with the Oatmeal on the Run bars which are a staple food on the rides in addition to Fit Kids snack food and the Organic cookies . I can not say enough about how great this company is , if you see these products in a store , they will be worth every Pennie and you will see what I am talking about . When it is hot out there ( in the 80's a lot of the days in AZ this year) or when you are riding in general you loose a lot of electrolytes , so we have ZYM in addition to Accelerade and GU . A great addition to the drinks on the bike and when we refill bottles on the road , just drop a tab in the bottle and you are good to go . I love these for both racing and training and you can even get the Catapult with 100 mg of caffeine , now that is a boost!!

When the sun is bright , electrolytes are not the only thing you loose , Kiss My Face was the skin saver and protector every day and their product is all natural , something that might be worth using the rest of the summer as well when it gets nice back home , they have SunBlock and a lot of other products as well for everybody.

Honey Stinger also came on board late in the game and the gels were a big hit on the camp , who does not love honey !!! Check their web site out , some delicious waffles on the menu at this company!

Dynamic Foot Systems is a company run by the famous Bill Peterson . Just unbelievable knowledge and experience when it comes to orthotics and bike fitting. Bill has 35 years of experience working with pro cyclist including Lance and other well known cyclists. To be able to meet and have a precision fitting and evaluation done by Bill is an honor and for us at the FinKraft camp to be able to do this while in Tucson each week is such an valuable asset to this Camp . Thank you Bill and stay Strong , our prayers are with you to get healthy again.

Speaking of fitting ; SMP saddles are interesting and well worth a try . We had a nice selection at the camp and this was the perfect time to try new things . Later you can then decide what works and what does not when get back home and start racing , that goes for everything you experienced at the camp .

Someone I have known now for quite some time is Andrew Backhaus . He introduced me to an altitude simulator product called Altolab and he has been coming to our camp the past couple of years and demostated what this device does and what the benefits are for us cyclists. Andrew also carries Suunto and Finish company that are pretty advanced in HR monitor technology just one field to mention. Andrew's presentations are very interesting and really cutting edge .

Keep it rolling , Thank you Jeff @ Schwalbe for hooking our camp and the FinKraft Cycling Team with these super fast tires.

Last but not least I want thank Mark @ Westwood Cycle for supporting me and my racing in many ways , without Mark I would not have a bike to ride , at least not as 'Bling " as this one ! Limited adition Di2 Giant Advanced SL, it does not get much cooler than this rocket ship-:)

This blog was a little contribute to our sponsors at the camp and a big thank you to them helping us put this yearly event on . They support me and some of them also support the Finkraft Cycling Team through out the year . Italy/Giro camp is next and even we are in Italy you will see these names and products making that camp possible . If you were at the camp or you are interested in anything I mentioned here , you can get it from us here at FinKraft of course at a killer price -;)

Thanks and stay out of trouble !!!

Paolo Zenoni

In memory of Paolo Zenoni

Paolo Zenoni passed away on Sunday October 3rd, 2010 doing what he loved so much; riding his bike. Cycling was in Paolo's blood and it was only natural for him to go out for a bike ride Saturday morning, the bicycle was part of his everyday life. Growing up in Italy how could it not be.I got to know Paulo through cycling. I met him in our local bike store one day and at the time he was living in the US , practically next door . He started to race for Westwood Velo. Training and racing together became a weekly routine for us. Our friendship grew and our families became really close friends as well. After all we had so much in common, both Europeans with cycling as our passion. Paolo was just a great person to be around and I know we would have been friends even if we had not been riding bikes. Paolo was full of life and had a very positive attitude towards everything, never having a bad thing to say about anyone.Life went on and Paolo and Marni started a family. Shortly after their first son Tyler was born they decided to move back to Bergamo, Italy. In 2007 we went over and visited them and after seeing where they lived, I was so happy for them. This part of Italy is very beautiful and cycling on those climbs and roads was a dream. Ever since Paolo moved back to Italy he had this idea of me having a Cycling Camp there with him. The dream became reality this past spring and Paolo and I had our first Italy/ Giro Camp. Our small group spent 10 days with Paolo guiding us around the most amazing roads you could imagine. This really showed the great person Paolo truly was, he made this camp a life-long memory for all of us by taking us on these dream rides everyday and organizing everything else to make sure the camp was succesful and to ensure its growth for the years to come.I know that he was enthusiastic about making other people happy, something that seemed like a very natural thing for Paolo. He liked to share what he loved and enjoyed it with his family and friends, something I think that is one of the most important things in life. I am very fortunate to have known Paolo and to have become a close friend to him.

It deeply saddens me having to cope with the reality of his passing at such a young age leaving the most beautiful family behind, something that I will never understand or cannot ever come to terms with the fact that it had to happen to a wonderful person like Paolo.My prayers each night will be for Paolo's family to stay strong and may Paolo rest in peace.

I will never forget you my friend!


My dear friend - I will miss you ,

Roger

Final Day at the Italy Camp

It was not fare , Kevin's bike was so light at these altitudes that he had to hold it down , otherwise it would have floated away!

Ok, the Giro is over ( well so are the other two Grand Tours ) and we have one more day of the camp left . Since we were not able to climb Passo San Marco in the beginning of the week we decided to give it an other try , but from the other side . Little overcast and the roads were slightly wet from some rain over the night, but no big deal this was not a 3 hour ride to the base this time and I personally think this is a very cool ride through the Brembo Valley .


Slight uphill the whole way to the base of the mountain and then a good hour of pretty serious climbing . The race was on right away , I think everybody was feeling pretty good after a rest day and some motivation from watching the Giro stage the day before.


I could only imagine how hard it would be racing up this thing for real , it was relentless . I had done this climb in 2007 , so I kind of knew it , but I do not think it helped much. Paolo has ridden this thing numerous times as well . We get to the top , there is still snow and we can look down the other side where we had to turn around the other day .

It felt like a great accomplishment that we made it to the top and it was a great closing to the camp , we had now ridden everything we had planned .



There is a small lodge just below the summit ( I stopped there as well in 2007 to warm up after climbing in the freezing rain for 2hours) , so we rolled down and we had a great lunch .

Laughing about the adventures we had gone through during the week and more Coke of course!

. The ride back was nice , pretty much all down hill except for the drive to the hotel. Kevin even thought about offering us some motor pacing. A great 4 hour ride to end the camp .

A very successful week , something like 35 hours of ( mostly climbing ) riding on awesome roads with the most spectacular views. The sad thing was; now it was time to put the bike back into the box ! If Mark only could figure out why the bike box seemed smaller than it was when he came here.There is nothing I would change about this camp and I hope when you read the entire blog about our week in Italy you get the same idea and sign up for next year . This camp is quite demanding and you need good fitness and skills , but it is also the ride of your life time everyday .

Thanks to Paolo who made all these rides possible. He also took care of the travel and lodging logistics in Italy which was perfect . Paolo was no doubt the "Man" of the camp and I really hope we can have him as our guide again next year , he even gained some fitness for himself during this week . I am very fortunate to have a friend like him , thanks again!

Fabio and Matteo at the Cascina Belveldi Hotel treated us like family . Great guys and I can not thank them enough for what the did for us.

The service was absolutely phenomenal and I would not stay anywhere else in the future when we go back.

Then the food and wine they served just makes me hungry thinking about it . I rode and raced a lot this year , but it is save to say these were the best days on the bike in 2010 and I am really looking forward to do this camp again next year . Plan ahead , there will be maximum 8-10 spots available. The camp will be held last week in May again with an epic ride schedule on tap right around the Giro di Italia.
Pappini breaking out his special lemonchelli , the hotel care taker and former bike racer , quite a character

Thanks for reading and hope you will be able to experience all this next year .

Ciao

Roger

Giro di Italia

Hi again,

I apologize that I have not kept up with the blogging lately . With traveling around the world and I do not even know where all this time went . Cross is here and the road season is over . The last Grand Tour( Vuelta ) is almost done . I really want to finish our 2010 Giro/camp blog so you can read about it and decide if this is something you should put on your calendar for next year, since we are already about to send out the flyers for our 2011 camps I feel bad. Well anyway , were I left off was our trip up the Gihsallo , next day was an early rise , but not to ride .

A 16 passenger bus with a driver picked us up at 7.00 am from the hotel and we were on our way to the Giro. A nice day of recovery from riding and a very exciting day for us . Today was stage 19 and a very decisive stage in the race .

We would be able to to Basso and CO. twice on the roads we just rode a couple of days ago . We had a little extra time , so once in the Valtalina Valley , a very well known wine region in Italy , we made a stop at the Rinaldi Winery

The owner happened to be someone that Paolo went to school with , so they gave us a nice tour and some " wine factory outlet " discount on their fine wines .

A nice experience and unbelievable good wine . After our stop we continued to Tirano where we would see the boys come thru the first time .

This is right on the boarder to Switzerland , so we just got off the bus and walked across the boarder. A perfect spot to watch , front row seats for sure .

The race goes by quick even it is on a climb,

but as a cyclist you feel the chills run down your spine when the caravan of police ,advertisements and the riders of course and then all the team cars come by. The guys you read about in Magazines and see on TV is right there, a few feet away.

Back on the bus and a short drive over the mountain ( Aprica , where they finished yesterday after going over Mortirolo which we also rode the other day ) Our next spot was on the slopes of Tonale where today's finish would be after climbing up Gavia from Bormio and then a hair raising decent down to where we were in the rain .

We found a nice little bar and since it was raining a little now and it was lunch time , a perfect spot to have a bit to eat and watch the race on TV until we had to back out and see the real action. We bought our Giro souvenirs and took our spot on the road up to Tonale .

Boy , was this race shattered by now .First the guys in Pink

Then the Groupetto ,these guys had a hard day behind them and you could see that in their faces . There was a lot of people here at this spot and we could feel the real Grand Tour athmospher , we were the 'Tifosi" today ! A very different day , but a great memory and motivation to ride again tomorrow . Marco Pinotti , a friend o Paolo had a good Giro .

One more day of the camp and we will get to spend that one on the bicycle again. An other great dinner was waiting for us the hotel and a nice way of ending a perfect day .I love riding my bike , but taking one day off to experience the Giro was well worth it and I hope we can do this again next year.

Ciao

Roger