First Marin IJ Column

The debut edition is up today. If you want to see the whole thing, with photos, click on the link above. If you want just the words, and no pictures, read on:

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Bob Cullinan: No time for cyclists to hibernate in winter

Staff Report
Marin Independent Journal


COLD WEATHER and cycling are mortal enemies. The recent run of record low temperatures has kept most Marin bicycles indoors, either on a trainer or just hung up in the garage. For many recreational riders this is a good excuse for an offseason break, but some local teams are already in serious training mode.

The Marin-based Proman-Paradigm women's cycling squad will head to training camp this weekend, under the direction of Giana Roberge. She has seen success as both a championship rider and team director, and she'll be working with the team all year.

Team director Nicola Cranmer has put together a group that could contend for national honors. The team has expanded from 10 to 15 riders for 2007, and they plan to attack all types of competition this season - everything from track and time trials to criterium and road racing.
Shelly Olds, 26, is the Proman woman to watch.

"She's the one that we've built our team around," Cranmer said. "The goal is to have Shelly race at the Olympics. Maybe not 2008, but more likely in 2012."

Last year, in only her second season of racing, Shelly placed eighth at both the track and cyclocross elite nationals.

The first test for Olds and her Proman teammates will be Santa Rosa's Apple Pie Criterium on Feb. 10, followed by the Cherry Pie crit in Napa on Feb. 11.

And, for the record, the pros are not immune to the pains of the cold weather. Proman rider Emily Zell wiped out on an icy patch of road in San Anselmo this week. She's a bit bruised and battered, but she should recover in time for training camp.

Pedal with a pro

You have two chances to rub shoulders with some real-live pros in the coming weeks. PedalFest 2007 is Jan. 25 in San Francisco. They call it, "a way to fight cancer with pedal power." Cyclists pay $5 to ride for five minutes on a stationary bike, and the corporate sponsors kick-in an additional dollar for each mile that a rider covers in those five minutes. All of the donations will go to the Breakaway from Cancer Initiative.

PedalFest runs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Union Bank main branch, 400 California Street. CSC team pro Dave Zabriskie, one of only five Americans to ever wear the yellow leader's jersey in the Tour de France, will be on-hand to see how many miles he can cover in just five minutes. Other pros riders may participate, too.

Fast Freddie returnsEarly next month, three-time national champion Fred Rodriguez will be in Mill Valley to talk about his career, his plans for 2007, and his Fast Freddie Foundation.
Rodriguez is competing in Australia's Tour Down Under this week as a member of the Predictor-Lotto squad. The team was formerly known as Davitamon-Lotto, but the parent company of their primary sponsor decided to promote another one of their brands on the team uniform this year.

So, what is Predictor? It's a pregnancy test kit, marketed primarily in Europe. Along with the new name, the team has new colors this year, too. Their 2007 outfits are a lovely shade of pink. Freddie has promised to bring one of the new team jerseys with him to Mill Valley next month, and he may even sign and auction it off for charity.

The event is set for 7 p.m., Feb. 2 at the Mill Valley Community Center (Blithedale and Camino Alto). Admission is $10, but it's free for all Marin Cyclists members. There are only 80 seats, so it's first come, first served. E-mail monique@jefftse.com to reserve your spot.


Don't try this at home

More and more pros are coming to this area to train in the offseason. Italian cyclist Andrea Peron has been a teammate of both Lance Armstrong and Ivan Basso, but now that he's retired from the CSC team, Peron is here in Marin at least once every month.

Last week, he was cruising along in Novato, but his bike chain was rattling, so at a speed of 20 miles per hour, Andrea calmly leaned over and adjusted the little thumb screw on the back of his rear derailleur. This is a contortion that only a seasoned pro would dare to try. One little slip and he'd have lost a finger in the gears, and probably crashed into the curb.

Peron told me that he rides more than 20,000 miles per year, so the bike is really like an extension of his body. And he thinks nothing of making a move like this.


Deer meets bike

If you've ever ridden some of the more rural roads of Marin, you've probably seen countless animals on and off the route. Squirrels, skunks, turkeys and even full-grown deer are a constant concern to bike riders.

So, what happens if you hit a deer while you're going more than 30 miles per hour on your bicycle? Hunter Ziesing found out the hard way last month. You may know Ziesing as the brains (and the bucks) behind the local Z-Team cycling squad.

He was cruising along the road at 31.1 mph, when a deer darted out right in front of him. He couldn't avoid the animal. Ziesing broke two vertebrae, two ribs, and bruised a kidney, leaving him in a wheelchair after the accident.

"Me, the deer and the bike rolled like a snowball going down a mountain - almost comical," he wrote in an e-mail.

The good news: Hunter will recover. The bad news: The deer, and the bicycle, will not. Hunter is back on his new bike, bruised and battered, but that won't keep him away from the sport and his team. His mates have a new nickname for him - Deer Hunter. Ouch.


Bob Cullinan is a San Rafael-based free-lance writer, photographer and marketing consultant. His goal every year is to put more miles on his bike than on his car. Contact Bob and read his online blog at http://alert-the-media.blogspot.com/