Oh man...

This tour divide journey is so much more than training hard and riding your bike in the Rockies... The planning has begun long ago, and the preparation has been ramping up considerably in the past month or so. The bags have been ordered, the right camping gear has been found (hopefully), the TwoNav GPS is on the way. I ordered the the maps (all 6 of them) and the cue sheets (the route narratives). I'm getting the frame this week, and will build the bike next week. Still working on the plane tickets and booking a room in Banff for the 4 nights prior to the Grand Depart. So much things are running in my head, but at the end it will all come down to a single pedal stroke, heading south, towards the biggest adventure of my life. Easy. Justsome random thoughts, no picture. Deal with it.

my mind is about to explode...

 i've been searching the web for more details about the tour divide, and the more i see, the more complicated of a task it seems to be. to me it seems that the riding itself is the easiest part of this great adventure. you see, i will not lie to you- i'm not much of an explorer, nor am i an outdoorsy kind of guy. i ride fast, i ride long and  i get better as the conditions get rougher. but i have never been that much of a happy camper (and i mean in the most simple of ways...)

 the tour divide is an epic adventure in that it takes to the limit in so many ways- it tests your soul, body and spirit, and most of all, it tests your will power (no- not wheel power, although it does that, too). the closer it gets, the bigger the challenge looks. i've been writing notes, building the bike, picking the parts and watching youtube videos of the riders and their gear for the tour. crazy stuff...

meanwhile, i ordered the bike bags i'm going to use. i've gone all the way, and bought some custom made bags, fabricated by a guy from Canada named Scott, who makes special bags for special bikes and events. you should check his creations: www.theporcelainrocket.com. its awesome.
anyway, i went for the aluminium frame for the race, with a 9 speed drivetrain (i think it'll be more durable), consisted of an XTR 970 cassete, cranks and front der .the shifting will be done via an XO gripshift and rear der. the brakes are the new 988 XTR trail disc system. still thinking about the fork and wheels...
happy trails...

its been a loooong time coming...

 i'm back. again. i know i've been a lousy blogger, but here i am. 5 months to the "tour divide" great adventure, and i'm no where near the shape i need to be in for this kind of epic racing. OK, so i did some long hours in the saddle, but i could not keep it up for longer than 2 weeks straight, as i was too fatigued to go riding again. you know- life, work, a liitle baby running around, a damn cat who doesn't like sleeping at night. so i took a step back, and told myself to take it easy...

 and that's exactly what i've been doing lately. there are two SingleSpeed races coming, and god knows i won't miss those. so i turned it down a notch, hours wise, and put on some short hard workouts. the tour divide training will wait, right? i mean, i have almost 10,000 hours of riding under my belt, so i'll wing it... i'll start riding long hours again in march, with a 5 day simulation in april, with all the gear and the right bike.

which brings me to the next question... since my sponsor is trek, what do you think i should do? go carbon, aluminium, or an older chromoly frame, like the Ferrous? its a big choice, one that has to be made soon. help.

meanwhile, back home...

 summer is almost gone, and the days are getting shorter. the sunsets are redder (is there such a word?) then ever, and we are trying to make the most of whats left... so we took Ori to the beach. the little angel likes to eat sand. mmm.

 Moran and I are enjoying the time we have together, before i'm all into my next project- training for the TOUR DIVIDE. its still 9 months away, but training for a 20 day epic, 250 km per day kind of race is a little demanding, to say the least, so every moment counts.

ireland is now a distant dream, and the american rockies are on the horizon. oh, but before that- i'm going to Nice, france, in 3 weeks time, to cover the unveiling of SPECIALIZED's 29er bikes for 2012.
its a hard job, but someone has to do it... hard times, i know.

ireland- afterthoughts...

the world championship is over and gone, and it was a race to remember. after the mud was wiped, i managed to finish 6th overall, and was pleased with the result, but was left with a feeling i could do even better.

it all started with me being israeli, and not reading the time schedule of the race, missing the group warm-up, and effectively, my whole warm-up. now, i'm an older rider (...), and i need my good warm-up. being ireland, it was also about 12-14 degrees, so my body ached even before the le-mans style start. after getting into my groove, which took me the whole long first climb, i found myself in 5th, closing on on the leaders...

and then i sliiped on a long, wet wooden bridge (a beutiful one, at that), and was hurt pretty badly all along my left leg and left wrist. it took me about 2-3 minutes to start riding again, by which time i was passed by 7 riders or so. after getting back on the bike, i was on a mission to catch my spot again, and so i did by the middle of the second lap.

from there on it was smooth sailing towards the finish line, finishing 6th (but being a singlespeed race, they don't care about the finishing order...), and a happy reunion with Moran, Ori, and my parents. this was my little race sum. details and stories about the whole trip will come up soon.

oh, this is a picture from the pre-race party in Limerick, where our little israeli team tried to win the rights to host next year's worlds, but failed... the south africans beat us...

mmm. maybe 2013.

single speed world champs..!

it's been a while since i last packed a bike into a bike case... i missed it. last time was way back in 2008, when i went to the states to travel with my beloved RV.

the bikes have changed since, but so has the person riding them... 3 years ago i was a full time racer, no strings attached, out on my own kind of person. i loved every minute of. today i'm flying with my own family, as a husband and a father, and i'm so much more excited...

my two girls are already packed, and its just a few hours till our flight. my parents are already packed, too, as they can't miss any of my big races... this is the place to thank you, mom and dad, for being there for me, for us... i love you so much.

next post will be from Ireland, with a beer in one hand, and mud on my face. wish me luck!!

random thoughts...

two more bike riders were killed on the road last saturday. another weekend, another road casualty. its such a shame, seeing whole families shattered to pieces... it doesn't surprise anyone any more, as the israeli drivers and infrastacture are both totaly useless, especialy when it comes to taking care of bike riders. people just don't care, and nor do the authorities.

riders will keep getting killed every other weekend, till the day every new road built, will have a separate lane for road cyclists. till that day, we'll just have to keep riding off road... i won't argue with that.

its one week till our flight to ireland, and today i finished my last hard workout- a race simulation in ben-shemen. i found this short course, that has it all- two steep hills, three fast singletracks and one high RPM, two minute spin fest. 3x30 minute simulation were more than enough, considering the 80% humidity.

by the end of the session my jersey was as heavy as my bike, and my legs were as heavy as our family car. conclusion- i'm ready to move to ireland.

getting ready...

in three weeks time we'll be in Ireland, drinking beer, breathing in the scenery, chasing little leprechauns on the green slopes of the lush, wet hills. so moran and i thought it would be a great idea to go to the temple bar and practice our beer drinking.

we tried different kinds of beers, and i got home on my knees. i think i have to keep working on my drinking abilities. the irish people are not tolerant to weak drinkers like me.

french fries, on the other hand... these i can eat all day long.

got to love that fat.

mmm.

just cruising...

its an easy week, so i'm trying to use some of the other bikes i keep in my stable, that don't see the light of day as much as i'd like them to. and so i found myself on my vintage carbon road bike (that now only wears one gear...), riding off-road, on some frickin' sandy double tracks.

a 23 mm tire doesn't do sand so well. it was hilariously stupid. 2 days later, there is still sand in my road shoes.

oh, and speaking of great stopping brakes- these are my favourites, by far... the m952 XTR v-brake levers. they have it all: power, modulation (v-brake style), lightness, reach adjustment and looks. will not trade them for the world. yours for one million dollars. huh!

and this is a new segment i like to call : "what was i doing three years ago, around this time...?"
well- exactly 3 years ago, i was on a flight back from the US of A, after spending 5 months on the roads in my RV. this is the last picture i took on US soil, on VENTURA boulevard, an hour before i drove to the airport. a super rare porsche 550 speedster.

that sums LA pretty well, doesn't it?

single life...

training for the world championship is going well, and this week is an easy one. in the remaining 3 weeks i'll be doing some watt training, mainly 1 and 5 minutes intervals, with race simulations on the weekend.

meanwhile, i'm waking up every morning at 5 am, for three totally different reasons:

1. its hot as hell, so riding in the early morning hours is the only option.

2. the riders i train like to ride early, 'cause they have to go to work afterwards...

3. for some reason, Ori likes to wake up at 4:50 in the morning. mmm.

got these old Avid SL V-brakes for my "keep-it-simple" redline singlespeed. the old brakes were a cheapo TEKTRO, that hardly slowed my bike. these brakes are awesome. i love the simplicity
of V-brakes. they stop like crazy. good.

also, i've started testing this new WTB tire for the magazine. its called BRONSON, and its aimed at the trailbike crowd.

the tread is pretty aggressive, with soft compound and fast middle section. first thoughts? i like it. more details soon... stay tuned.

back for good...

welcome back, dear readers, to the re-opening of Hanoch redlich's blog- this time, the real deal. no, really, i'm serious. it's been such a long time that there is just too much to say and share. i'll give it to you slowly, then.

this beautiful baby has changed my life. everything i do surrounds her. work, sleep, mornings, noons and nights. and i love her like i've never loved before.

and throughout it all i am happy to say that i've actually managed to train, at least in the past month or so. and its about time, too, because today is exactly 5 weeks to Single Speed WorldChampionship in Ireland.

i've been riding singlespeed bikes for the past 6 years or so, and raced all kinds of races with only one cog and one chainring, be it epic or super short. but there is no doubt that this is the pinnacle of my singlespeed career.

Moran and Ori are coming with me, ofcourse, and so are my parents.

anyway- welcome back, dear readers...

stay tuned.

H

a lame blogger...

i know i don't blog as much as i used to, but hey, i'm a great father...

Elmo is alive and kicking, thanx for asking. he is still in hibernation, but its spring time, and i think he's about to wake up. the guy in a hungry bastard once woken up from winter sleep... he eats cookies, ofcourse...

this little guy needs a nose job.

technophobia! ...sent from my cell phone...

out and about...

i want to get back into shape again, and race a few big races on my single-speed. i have not registered to the israeli cycling union yet, but the coming international races will be a good incentive, i guess.

the days have started to get longer again, and one can actually ride till 17:40 in the afternoon. still, for some reason, people i train prefer to ride at 6am in the morning... i hate getting up at

5am. damn.

daddy is getting back into shape as well, and here he is, taking a time out during a ride in Horshim. love you, dad.

just look at her...

LionOfZion after thoughts...

the perfect picture was taken by Yael Rechter...

with the 2012 Tour Divide dream firmly on my mind, my eyes are now set on the 2011 single speed world championship in Ireland. the training will include some stupid power intervals, some crazy rpm intervals, a few cross-country races and a lot of beer drinking. the LOZ race in eilat was a nice preview of the real thing, albeit without the rain, shrubery, green fields, hundreds of competitors, mud and crazy irish single speeders... hmmm. a little different, then.
what the LOZ did have, though, was my favourite scenery- the deep israeli desert. thats me right there, the little black spot at the front of the singletrack.
the SS world championship will, some day, take place right on this single track- mark my word.

Oriki...

enjoying a winter's sunny day...

on a winning streak?

this beautiful picture was taken by the one and only- lior dayan

i guess the taper training sessions have paid off... i won the Lion Of Zion single speed race in eilat last weekend, by a nice margin. every race i enter is an unknown adventure of pain and suffer, with a good dose of fun. some times it ends up with a win, and some times all i'm left with is the pain. the greatest races leave me with both- and the Lion Of Zion was one of the greatest. ouch.

blood, sweat and tears.

being a full time dad is playing havoc with my training plans, so i have to take a different approach. i train according to the races i plan on racing. i just do a taper before every race...

lets say i have a race in Eilat next weekend (which is exactly the case). 2 weeks ago, i did 2 interval sessions- the first on sunday- a 4 time 3 minutes uphill gig. it killed me for 3 days...

and then, on thursday- 3 times 6 minutes of climbing. i was flat till the next monday.

this week i did another two interval sessions. the first was on monday- 3 times 6 minutes intervals uphill, and on thursday- 5 times 3 minutes and 2x5 minutes. now i'm dead.

this week i'll just do 4x5 minutes of very high RPM intervals (around 125-140 rpm), and rest till race day. job done.

by the way- this is my new superfly frame. its stiffer than before, but, in my eyes, lacks a little in the visual department. its mighty fast, though...