Pimpin the ride...Capo style

Marq Prince, Capo's socal rep visited on Thursday, January 15th and we rolled out for a quick early morning spin followed by a pose down at Swami's then a visit to B&L Bike and Sport in Solana Beach.












Marq was pimpin the Capo Diavolo kit and I wore the Super Corsa kit, which I love...and I'm not saying that just cuz I work at Capo!




Pimpin the ride at Swami's.
Matt Allen and Gordon Yeager-mesiter in the service area while Marq and me talk shop with them.



Marq with Jeff Rowe, new owner of B&L

Tour Down Under

George Hincape says:

Question most asked since i arrived. "what will it be like to race
against LA?" Will be strange for sure!!

--

*=================================*

*-Kam Zardouzian*

Capo Forma

Marketing Strategist

Cycling & Multi-Sport Coach

Join me @: LinkedIn <http://www.linkedin.com/in/kzardouzian> | Plaxo
<http://kammer.myplaxo.com/> |The Cycling Network
<http://raceplan.ning.com/> | Twitter <https://twitter.com/4kammer> |
Facebook <http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1025680115>

HPP Team's first workout: Power Profile Test

Mike, Orion and Jon-

My thanks goes to you three for stepping up to the challenge! Your
progress will be tracked, blogged, promoted and published on several
Blogs, Facebook, other social sites and in a future power training
book. Thank you for your time, energy and willingness to participate.

Meet one another virtually...you will obviously meet each other next
week at our first official workout on Wednesday, January 21st, 5:30 at
B&L. I will email you before next Wednesday to remind you and give you
insight into that workout.

This weekend, you will perform the Power Profile Test (PPT) which will
establish a baseline profile of your current fitness level. You will
repeat this test, ideally under the same conditions, at the 1/2 way
point of our 6-week program and again at the end of the program to track
gains in your fitness and power.

Please pay close attention to the following points and email me if you
have any questions:

1. This test is to be performed only if you are properly rested and
hydrated. Postpone this test by a day or two if you are unusually
fatigued and/or dehydrated. Please keep track of your morning
heart rate and be sure it is within 5-7 points of what you have
tracked every morning. If your HR is more than 7 BPM over your
normal, you are tired, fighting something, dehydrated,
over-stressed and should avoid doing the test that day because not
only will you further tax your body but your results will be off.
So, do not perform this test if you are tired.
2. I would prefer for you to complete this test on the trainer, with
a fan in front of you with adequate food and drink nearby. Doing
this test on the trainer will help avoid any of the
distractions/interruptions that occur out on the road.
3. It is important to duplicate, as much as possible, the
environmental, physical and emotional variables around this test.
Meaning, please try and complete future tests at the same time of
day, under the same environmental conditions and with the same
emotional approach as the first.
4. This test gets harder as it goes on; avoid starting out to hard as
you it will be likely that you will blow up at the end!
5. There is an optional longer, 10min interval in the test. This is
an optional interval and you are not required to do it. However,
if you choose to take it on, you must do it on both future tests.
Again, to duplicate this test by as much as possible.
6. Please keep in mind that this is just a workout designed to give a
snapshot of your current power profile. Be true to the workout
and to yourself; meaning no one is judging you or your power! Do
the workout honestly, be relaxed and have fun with it.
7. Most importantly, please download and email me your files rather
by or before next Monday so I can have your personalized power
workouts ready for our time together on Wednesday.

You may choose, if you wish, to hook up together and find a location to
complete this workout together. Unfortunately I will be in OC for an
event over the weekend, else I would have offered my garage for the
undertaking.

Please email me any time with any questions you may have regarding the PPT.

Specifics of the test are as follows:

*POWER PROFILE TEST*

Purpose: establish baseline power, heart rate and cadence
efficiency. Provides basis for tracking fitness and assessing
training program based on results.

Testing is done when the athlete is properly rested and is
highly motivated for the test. Track test results into an Excel
spreadsheet for future comparison.

NOTE: Testing should not be done if the athlete is tired (pay
attention to morning heart rate and mood). This test gets
harder towards the end, so make

sure and be prepared mentally and organizationally (have plenty
of food and drink with you, fan, towel, music, etc.).

It is highly preferred for this this test to be done on the
trainer to avoid interference. Be sure to have a fan, towel,
plenty of water and a couple of

energy gels with you.

Duration: about 120 minutes
Interval: monthly
Specifics:

1. 20 min warm up at no more than 55% Lactate Threshold
(LT) power or heart rate and cadence no less than 95 RPM,
followed by the below OPENERS. If you don't know your LT power
or heart rate, use race pace as your rate of perceived effort
(RPE) any time you see LT. On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being the
hardest you can ride, 55% of that perceived effort should be no
harder than a 5.5:
a. 2 Min. @ LT with 2 Min. rest
b. 5 Min @ LT with 5 Min. rest
c. 3 X 1 Min. efforts of at least 100 RPM with 1 min.
rest in between with a 3 Min. rest after the last one

2. 5 min all out (ride by instinct; don't pay attention to
cadence, power, HR, speed, etc.) followed by 10 min easy

3. 3 X 30 second sprints all out, again ride by instinct
with 3 min rest in between.

4. 3 X 1 min all out, ride by instinct, with 5 min rest in
between

5. OPTIONAL: 10min solid effort. Again, don't pay attention
to HR, power, cadence or any numbers. Just ride as steady and
hard as you can...ride on instinct without any judgment or
angst. Just ride honest and hard.

15-20 minute cool down.

You are done! Reach back and pad yourself on the back for a job
well done!

--

*=================================*

*-Kam Zardouzian*

Capo Forma

Marketing Strategist

Cycling & Multi-Sport Coach

Join me @: LinkedIn <http://www.linkedin.com/in/kzardouzian> | Plaxo
<http://kammer.myplaxo.com/> |The Cycling Network
<http://raceplan.ning.com/> | Twitter <https://twitter.com/4kammer> |
Facebook <http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1025680115>

HyperPower Protocol -- the starting block

We are less than one week away from the launch of the HyperPower Protocol© and about 10 days away from the first indoor session.

The goal of the HyperPower Protocol (P3) is to determine the feasibility of micro-intervals that fit into longer, accumulated intervals based on the individual fitness of an athlete using power. We will determine the feasibility of these micro and macro intervals at specific work levels for up to four subjects during a six-week period. My hypothesis is that this protocol will significantly increase a non-novice athletes functional power by about 20 percent. We will put this theory to test with the P3.

The program will launch with an initial Power Profile Test (PPT) to determine the baseline of each participating athlete's current fitness. This PPT will be repeated at the halfway point of the 6-week program and again at the end of the program to help determine the effectiveness of this training protocol. The PPT has been modified from a test that my former coach and current book co-author, Hunter Allen of Peaks Coaching Group, put me through several times during the year or so that we worked together.

All three volunteer athletes will perform the same PPT, on a trainer either on their own or together if we can find a suitable location. They will perform a series of short, medium and an optional longer interval that will help me extrapolate the current functional power profile for each participating volunteer athlete. I will be interested in consistency in this test; meaning duplication of the same environmental, physical and emotional states between the initial, mid-way and final test. If an athlete chooses to include the optional longer interval, that interval will no longer be optional in the future PPTs; meaning it will have to be performed in the future tests.

Ideally, we would complete this test under the controlled environment of a laboratory to minimize impact of environmental variables. However, one of my goals with this protocol is to make it accessible to the average individual, which means designing it so anyone can do it anywhere and at any time!

Volunteer athletes include:

1. Orion Berryman: 27.5 years old, 5’8”, 138 lbs, category 2 racer with a resting heart rate of 42 BPM, an estimated HRmax of 205, estimated lactate threshold heart rate of 180 BPM, estimated lactate threshold power of between 290-330 watts. Orion has been racing for seven years and has had good results including Collegiate D Omnium Champion ca. 2002, 1^st Maxon Road Race 2007, 1^st Cherry Pie Road Race 2008 and 1^st Firecracker Criterium 2008. Orion currently trains between 13-17 hours per week, holds a full-time job, is married and has a 10-month old baby. He rides to and from work, cross trains by playing soccer one night a week and has suffered from some overuse injuries to his knees, including surgery three years ago that he has fully recovered from.

2. Jon Martin: 32 years old, 5’10”, 177 lbs, category 4 racer who has been racing for about four years. We don’t know Jon’s estimated heart rate nor power levels, but he thinks that his HRmax is about 198 BPM. Jon trains between 8-12 hours per week including some tennis, hockey and running if he is training for a triathlon, which is about once per year. Jon works about 50 hours per week as a hotel manager and has no significant injuries or limitations. Jon recently purchased a PowerTap and is looking to learn how to use it effectively.

3. Mike Ash: 52 years old, 5’9”, 158 lbs, category racer who has been racing for over 10 years with great results on the track including the 2005 California State Champion in the 3k Pursuit and numerous top 10 USCF finishes. Mike has been tested several times and estimates his resting heart rate to be about 55 BPM, HRmax to be around 200, LThr around 167 and LTpower around 300 watts. Mike is married with two kids and works full time and dedicated evenings and weekends to his family. Mike trains about eight hours per week, including Yoga, core and strength work in the gym. Mike injured his left ACL during 2002, resulting in surgery and feels that his left leg is not as strong as his right.

In the next Blog post, we will examine individual characteristics of each athlete a little more and get into the actual PPT to be completed on or before the weekend.

[Fwd: Competitor Film Festival]

Hey gang-

Competitor is putting on a great film festival with an assortment of
cycling/multi-sport related films to end with Breaking Away as the
feature on Jan. 30 at the La Paloma.

See attached/below for details.

COMPETITOR FILM FESTIVAL PASS: $20. VISIT WWW.ENDURANCESPORTSAWARDS.COM
FOR SHOWTIMES, TICKETS AND MORE INFORMATION

friday january 30, 2009 • la paloma theatre, downtown encinitas
THE LONG GREEN LINE 10:30 am-12:00 pm

A film showcasing Joe Newton's attempt to lead his team to its 25th
state high school cross country championship in his 50th season as the
coach. The coach is so popular that over 200 kids come out to run cross
country at York High School in Elmhurst, Illinois with him each fall. By
Matthew Arnold, who will join us for Q&A. (1:28)

KLUNKERZ 12:30 – 2:00 pm
A documentary showcasing the birth of the mountain bike and the
sport of mountain biking. By Billy Savage, who will join us for Q&A
with mountain bike legend Gary Fisher. (1:23)

VICTORY OVER DARKNESS 2:30- 4:15 pm
A documentary featuring three blind athletes attempting to complete
the Ironman Triathlon. By Donny Eichar, who will join us for Q&A with
the man who never stopped believing that this film would one day
become a reality, Matt Miller. (1:45)

ULTRAMARATHON MAN 4:45-6:35 pm
A film on Dean Karnazes during his amazing journey: 50 marathons in
50 states in 50 days. By JB Benna, who will join us for Q&A along with
best-selling author Dean Karnazes. (1:49)

OUR FEATURE FILM
BREAKING AWAY 7:30-9:10 pm
The film many feel is the best cycling film ever made; it stars
Dennis Christopher, Dennis Quaid and Daniel Stern and is
celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2009. (1:40)

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Competitor Film Festival
Date: Fri, 9 Jan 2009 12:11:49 -0800
From: Bob Babbitt <bbabbitt@competitorgroup.com>
To: <kam@raceplan.com>

Kam.....

Here is info on our first ever Competitor Film Festival at the La Paloma on
January 30th. We have two cycling specific films, Klunkerz and Breaking
Away. Dennis Christopher, the star of Breaking Away, will be joining us that
evening for post film Q&A.

Hope this note finds you well!

Bob

Internal Virus Database is out-of-date.
Checked by AVG.
Version: 7.5.552 / Virus Database: 270.9.17/1846 - Release Date: 12/12/2008
6:59 PM

--

*=================================*

*-Kam Zardouzian*

Capo Forma

Marketing Strategist

Cycling & Multi-Sport Coach

Join me @: LinkedIn <http://www.linkedin.com/in/kzardouzian> | Plaxo
<http://kammer.myplaxo.com/> |The Cycling Network
<http://raceplan.ning.com/> | Twitter <https://twitter.com/4kammer> |
Facebook <http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1025680115>

Worth of a cyclist.

I spent about 20min on the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration and frankly I am now more frightened at the thought of
how truly un-valued cyclists are.

Check this out: The National Highway Safety Administration uses a
nation-wide census system called.....drum role please....FARS, which
stands for Fatality Analysis Reporting System.

Fitting name, don't you think?

FARS is supposedly a "cooperative agreement with an agency in each State
government to provide specific information in a standard format on fatal
crashes occurring in the State."

There appears to be no consistency between which agency is used in each
state to collect fatality data...some use the police, some the highway
patrol, some have dedicated traffic accident investigators, etc. It's
basically a hoj-poj of folks who, based on available budget, get
"trained" to "investigate" fatalities based on a "standard protocol."

Okay, not a problem as we'll put our faith in the hands of the training
system used to educate these civil servants to do their job properly and
consistently.... However, we'll keep in mind that garbage in, garbage
out...meaning the value of the the FARS data is only as good as the data
collected and inputed by FARS agents, which also makes us put faith in
the computer systems and software to properly collect, store and report
the data. Diddy, there is business in there for you!!!

Adding insult to injury: "The State employees who gather, translate, and
transmit the data are called *FARS Analysts*."
These are the dudes and dudettes that showed up at the scene when Don
and Bob licked the pavement.....and, to my
anal-retentive-influenced-highly-protective-of-my-fellow-cyclists
personality, they were good at a lot of things and missed the boat on a
lot of other things. Reflecting back, I am not convinced that they were
thorough with their data gathering activities and certainly not
objective with their analysis of the probable cause of the crash. Don't
get me wrong...an army of them showed up but I'm not sure if they were
all objective with their work.

Further, FARS has an online query system that can be used to access
historical accident and fatality reports dating back to 1994 here:
http://www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov Except, there is no query option to pull
up "Pedacycle" (as they like to call cyclists) reports. well, none that
I found for historical queries. they have query options for every kind
of vehicle you can imagine (see below list if interested), 99 all in
all...but no option for cyclists....which makes me wonder where they get
this data from, how the data on cycling-related accidents is collected,
etc. and, ultimately, how much faith can be put into this data.

The REPORTS tab has information on Pedacycle incidents and accidents. A
quick review of these makes you realize how generalized the accidents
reports are and how subjective the data is based on the objective and
subjective nature of the person investigating each accident involving a
cyclist.

Finally, either way, I believe we need legislation that entices, nay,
forces motorists to be more aware of cyclists on the roads.
Unfortunately, the way our culture works, legislation should slap
violators with heftier penalties with grosser violations. Same formula
that has been adopted for driving under the influence, same formula for
non-hands-free-cell-use, same formula for texting while driving.

If you injure, hurt, kill a cyclist using your car, you will be punished
accordingly and legislation will scare motorists enough that hopefully
more attention will be paid next time the sudden need for a right turn
arises.

My old finance prof at USD used to tell us that if you hit a bicyclist
with your car, put it in reverse and finish the job.

That's what it is really...it comes down to us fighting for the
attention and awareness of motorists.

Man, I'm all fired up.... I should run for city assembly or something....

List of vehicles used by FARS to track traffic accidents:

-1 Blank
1 Convertible(excludes Sun-roof,t-bar)
2 2-door Sedan,hardtop,coupe
3 3-door/2-door Hatchback
4 4-door Sedan, Hardtop
5 5-door/4-door Hatchback
6 Station Wagon (excluding Van And Truck Based)
7 Hatchback, Number Of Doors Unknown
8 Sedan/Hardtop, Number Of Doors Unknown
9 Other Or Unknown Automobile Type
10 Auto-based Pickup (includes E1 Camino, Caballero, Ranchero, Subaru
Brat,Rabbit Pickup)
11 Auto-based Panel (cargo Station Wagon, Auto-based Ambulance Or Hearse)
12 Large Limousine-more Than Four Side Doors Or Stretched Chassis
13 Three-wheel Automobile Or Automobile Derivative
14 Compact Utility (Jeep CJ-2-CJ-7, Scrambler, Golden Eagle, Renegade,
Laredo, Wrangler, .....)
15 Large Utility (includes Jeep Cherokee [83 And Before], Ramcharger,
Trailduster, Bronco-fullsize ..)
16 Utility Station Wagon (includes Suburban Limousines, Suburban,
Travellall, Grand Wagoneer)
19 Utility, Unknown Body Type
20 Minivan (Chrysler Town And Country, Caravan, Grand Caravan, Voyager,
Grand Voyager, Mini-Ram, ...)
21 Large Van (B150-B350, Sportsman, Royal Maxiwagon, Ram, Tradesman,
Voyager [83 And Before], .....)
22 Step Van Or Walk-in Van
28 Other Van Type (Hi-Cube Van, Kary)
29 Unknown Van Type
30 Compact Pickup (GVWR <4,500 Lbs.) (D50,Colt P/U, Ram 50, Dakota,
Arrow Pickup [foreign], Ranger, ..)
31 Standard Pickup (GVWR 4,500 To 10,00 Lbs.)(Jeep Pickup, Comanche,
Ram Pickup, D100-D350, ......)
32 Pickup With Slide-in Camper
33 Convertible Pickup
39 Unknown (pickup Style) Light Conventional Truck Type
40 Cab Chassis Based (includes Light Stake, Light Dump, Light Tow,
Rescue Vehicles)
41 Truck Based Panel
42 Light Truck (van-based Or Pickup-based) Motorhome
45 Other Light Conventional Truck Type (includes Stretched Suburban
Limousine)
48 Unknown Light Truck Type (not A Pickup)
49 Unknown Light Vehicle Type (automobile, Van, Or Light Truck)
50 School Bus
51 Cross Country/Intercity Bus (i.e., Greyhound)
52 Transit Bus (City Bus)
58 Other Bus Type
59 Unknown Bus Type
60 Step Van
61 Single Unit Straight Truck (10,000 Lbs < GVWR < Or= 19,500 Lbs)
62 Single Unit Straight Truck (19,500 Lbs < GVWR < Or= 26,000 Lbs.)
63 Single Unit Straight Truck (GVWR > 26,000 Lbs.)
64 Single Unit Straight Truck (GVWR Unknown)
65 Medium/heavy Truck Based Motorhome
66 Truck-tractor (Cab Only, Or With Any Number Of Trailing Unit; Any
Weight)
67 Medium/Heavy Pickup
71 Unknown If Single Unit Or Combination Unit Medium Truck (10,000 <
GVWR < 26,000)
72 Unknown If Single Unit Or Combination Unit Heavy Truck (GVWR > 26,000)
73 Camper Or Motorhome, Unknown Truck Type
78 Unknown Medium/heavy Truck Type
79 Unknown Truck Type (light/medium/heavy)
80 Motorcycle
81 Moped (motorized Bicycle)
82 Three-wheel Motorcycle Or Moped - Not All-Terrain Vehicle
83 Off-road Motorcycle (2-wheel)
88 Other Motored Cycle Type(minibikes, Motorscooters)
89 Unknown Motored Cycle Type
90 ATV (All-Terrain Vehicle; Includes Dune/swamp Buggy - 3 Or 4 Wheels)
91 Snowmobile
92 Farm Equipment Other Than Trucks
93 Construction Equipment Other Than Trucks (includes Graders)
97 Other Vehicle Type (includes Go-cart, Fork-lift, City Street Seeeper)
99 Unknown Body Type

Pedacyclist should be in this list.

Wednesday Ride @ B&L -- Jan. 7, 2009

Another fine SoCal Wednesday, another great morning ride from B&L. There were 7 of us today. Jeff's shoes were brighter than the weeks prior and definitely brighter than the banana I had brought.


Temperature was cool but not as cold as before. The pace however, was hotter than ever with the presence of Trumpet Frank, from team Sun Coast Velo, and Todd Morton who reps Orbea, Rock Racing and other lines.

I'm really enjoying these morning rides. My body take a bit longer to warm up and by the time we get to the hills I'm usually good to go.

We talked about doing an A and B ride; the B ride will be more casual than the A ride.

So come on out and join us!

8am meet, roll shortly thereafter, from B&L Bike and Sport in Solana Beach, Ca.