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May 13, 2013
Jelly Belly p/b Kenda rider Alex Hagman recently visited a school in Fort Collins, Colo. He sent this note:
This was a really fun school visit. We had about 50 to 60 students at the IB Lesher Middle School, here in Fort Collins.
Georgia Gould (Bronze Mountain Bike Olympian, and multi-time national champion) was there as well. It was awesome. The kids were super engaging and this went really far for our community. I gave the teachers some Beans to give out during the rest of the week however the saw fit. They’re going to have a bunch of hyper kids on bikes running around! 
Thanks y’all,
Alex
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Filed by Jelly Belly Pro Cycling at May 13th, 2013 under Featured, Jelly Belly Pro Cycling, Road Blog
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The Jelly Belly Cycling Team presented by Kenda has signed three-time U.S. National Champion and seven-time Tour de France rider Fred Rodriguez, it was announced today.
“We’re more than excited to obtain Fred Rodriguez and have him part of the team for the remainder of the season,” said team General Manager and Director Danny Van Haute. “Fred’s experience and leadership will be a huge asset for Team Jelly Belly p/b Kenda, not to mention he’s a great bike rider who will no doubt garner great results.”
Rodriguez raced for the now defunct Exergy team last season and showed well at major U.S. races like the Amgen Tour of California and USA Pro Challenge in Colorado, notching several top 10-stage placings.
“After dialogue with several teams, I decided Jelly Belly was a good fit,” said Rodriguez. “There are a lot of things this team does both on and off the bike that makes sense for me at this stage of my career. The team has been a staple of American racing for more than a decade and I admire that stability. Plus, Jelly Belly Candy Company is a great company with great values to support.”
Van Haute added that Rodriguez had impressed him in recent races, and, coupled with his character and business approach, were an intriguing mix for both Jelly Belly and his team. He noted that along with current sprinter Brad Huff, the squad has a strong one-two punch in fast finishes.
The 39-year-old Rodriguez, who resides in Berkeley, said he’s been rejuvenated in recent years after racing his early career primarily in Europe. He said he hopes to show well in major North American races Jelly Belly competes, beginning with the U.S.A. Cycling National Championships for road race later this month in Chattanooga, Tenn.
Nicknamed “Fast Freddie”, Rodriguez’s professional career spans more than 15 years. His career highlights include three U.S. professional road race wins in 2000, 2001, and 2004; stage wins in big European stageraces: Tour of Luxembourg, Tour of Switzerland and Tour of Italy. He has won sprint points jerseys in the Tour of Switzerland and twice in the Tour de Georgia, at one time the largest American stage race. He was the long-time lead-out man for Aussie sprinter Robbie McEwen who amassed 12 Tour de France stage wins, many thanks to Rodriguez’s work.
Rodriguez also has many business interests, including his inaugural Fast Freddie Gran Fondo, scheduled for August 17, 2013, in Berkley. Go to www.FFgranfondo.com
Go to the Source – jellybellycycling.com
Filed by Jelly Belly Pro Cycling at May 13th, 2013 under Featured, Jelly Belly Pro Cycling, Road Blog
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Jelly Belly p/b Kenda rider Nic Hamilton sent this report after the Tour of the Gila.
More often than not our race programs involve stacked races in a variety of locations which all coincide in one single trip from home. This can make packing a challenge as the weather in North America can fluctuate dramatically from one region to another. Having packed an entire line of Ironclad gloves and Pactimo clothing, suitable for anything from the coldest wintery weather to full-blown summer desert heat, I was pleased that the Tour of the Gila arrived with a great forecast.
It turned out that we had little need for our cold weather gear and didn’t need to make any trips back to the car during the race to get the “rain bag.”
Photo by Brian Hodes
While the weather cooperated marvelously, there was no changing the altitude factor. The most challenging aspect of racing the Tour of the Gila is coping with the lower pressure up in the high desert. Nutrition, hydration, race strategy, sleeping and recovery are all dramatically affected and whoever can deal with it the best comes out on top. The five-day race featured a dynamic range of events including three road stages, a downtown crit, and a challenging time trial course. With such variety in the stages our mechanics were pumped to have 3T wheels onboard; the Mercurio 40 carbon race wheelset was light enough for the first day’s Cat 1 mountain finish and extremely aerodynamic and strong for the big power sprints in the crit and rolling breakaway. One wheel, any conditions — the fewer decisions athletes need to make the better.
Photo by Brian Hodes
We stayed safe throughout the race, always keeping close to each other and near the front, and it paid off well as the first few days saw some carnage on the road. The non-altitude guys were the helpers for the tour and kept those on the squad who were acclimated and ready to climb sheltered and fueled. The most notable ride of the tour was Serghei Tvetcov finishing in the top ten on the queen stage, the Gila Monster, among some of the best climbers in North America.
Our lives were made much easier throughout the tour as we were staying in a massive 1800s home only two blocks from the heart of Silver City. The house itself showed the character of the region with adobe style walls, several courtyards, and great gardens throughout the property. It was large enough to sleep 10 people and the kitchen was up to the test of pumping out some gourmet and extremely healthy meals. What a difference home-cooked food makes on the road! We were so thankful to have the option to choose our own menu and have a few “tastes of home” which are often lost when traveling.
Photo by Brian Hodes
The proximity to all the races allowed us to ride to and from most stages, which again, made an enormous difference. Thank you to the great hosts we had in Silver City and Mel at the Three Dogs Café who took great care of our caffeine and dessert needs. Silver City was a town full of smiles, warmth, and unique culture – something that was not lost on us. Many of us are already talking about coming back to train and all of us are certainly keen to return next year and have another crack at the top step in New Mexico.
Thanks for reading and look for the Jelly Belly p/b Kenda team in St. Louis, Missouri next weekend for the Tour de Grove.
-Nic
Go to the Source – jellybellycycling.com
Filed by Jelly Belly Pro Cycling at May 13th, 2013 under Featured, Jelly Belly Pro Cycling, Road Blog
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May 6, 2013
Some folks call it global warming while others are taking to the rosily auspicious title, global weirding. While I certainly don’t like what it’s doing to tear apart the environment, displace people and native animals from their homes with blistering wildfires, rising tides, shrinking arctic, and likely causing countless cancers with these caustically unnatural molecules floating through the air — all that aside, this particular week in Colorado is being dubbed global awesoming. Or maybe I should just call it Colorado Awesoming to really zero in on the issue. Yeuup, I’m having a good time.
After an all too speedy but successful swing through New England after the spring Classics of which you can see the highlights in this brief photo essay, I hopped aboard a plane bound for the crisp, thin air of Colorado.
Tour of California is next on the racing horizon, so an amalgamation of friends, family, and ample New England training in late April provided me the opportunity to press-and-hold what I call the Life Reset button. Thoroughly brought back up to speed on life, backed mail, and bills, plus it brought me here to the Centennial State. The first few days upon Coloradan touchdown, I was with my aunt and uncle, with whom I lived briefly back in 2001 when I had a few months of relaxing, outdoorsy reprieve before starting college. So not exactly parents to me, they’re superb people whom I know and love and like to pretend to call my three-months surrogate parents. Back then in aught-one, I soaked up the mountain life and continued to cement Colorado in my mind as an excellent place to someday call home — that is, when I hang up my bike and move more permanently out of my suitcase. Ahh, someday…
So now thoroughly lost in the time warp that I’ve unfolded to you above, fast forward to last week, the weather was stellar here in Colorado those first few days, the training was stunning as testament to my laser precise tan lines, which had previously long been hidden by the arctic freeze across Europe all spring. Here I am soaking in natural excellence near the very top of Flagstaff.
This being spring in Colorado, they’ve already received their standard alternating snowy dump/beautiful weather/blizzard/stunning weather that’s characteristic of this area the past month or two. Thinking that this was now out of the system — especially with the last storm less than a week ago dropping a foot of snow in Boulder — it came to some as a surprise that there was another big’n in the forecast.
Because it’s been so frigging freezing across Europe the previous six months, I finally had my first hard effort amid 70 degree heat which resulted in acidic sweat burning my eyes. It hurt so good. So that happened one day and then I woke up to this the next day. Please note Timmy front and center out for a morning hunt with Karli:
Let me toss in the reminder that this is Colorado Awesoming, so how does one make limeade from these limes? I hung out with my cousins by road tripping it to Denver to speak to my cousins’ 2nd and 3rd grade class. It’s hilarious speaking to really well versed seven and eight year olds as found here in the fittest state in the nation, Colorado. For example, when one of these adorable kiddos politely raises his hand when I am telling the crew about the “Tour of Colorado” by correctly explaining that it’s the “USA Pro Cycling Challenge”… now that’s a kick.
Cousin Billy, with his radical bleach streaked hair and his ear to ear grin, is just a little bit stoked that he got to bring me to school for Show-and-Tell.
It’s not just fun and games and making excuses when there’s a blizzard spewing outside. Back to Boulder and back to the office.
And, of course amid Colorado Awesoming, one day later we had a bit of this cloudless sky and brisk perfect training weather.
And on a side note, I also met Justin’s of Justin’s Nut Butter fame. He’s the frigging man, so I’m mildly star struck in this photo. The King of Nut Butters meets the King of… iamtedKING. The entire operation at Justin’s is outstanding — their original farmers’ market to going big story, their ethics and ethos, and best yet their FLAVOR. Consider me a fan.
Go to the Source – http://iamtedking.com
Filed by Ted King at May 6th, 2013 under Featured, Road Blog, Ted King
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April 30, 2013
I frequently post food pics and if I made the masterpiece itself, I’m often asked for the recipe. While there is most certainly a time and a place for the rigidity of cooking directly from a cookbook, my take on the culinary world is more artistic. The chef is allowed artistic creativity and the creative process to do as (s)he pleases — a pinch of this, a smidgen of that, and a dash of something else. When in doubt, try it out. I will often do a little homework online or flip through a cookbook for rough amounts, but after that it’s all left to the imagination. And memory.
So I made some pulled pork not too long ago and hosted a big ol’ dinner. It wasn’t pulled pork in the southern BBQ sense, but more of a slow roasted, spicy carnitas recipe that we served with pico de gallo, some frijoles, and atop a tortilla. This was Mexican night in Girona. Ole!
I was asked for the recipe for this carnitas/pulled pork, but I don’t have a rote, verbatim recipe. Instead, what follows below is my stab at pulled pork. And since I was asked for the recipe on no few than two occasions but the diners on hand, I trust it was at least palatable. Ready? Cook!
Tedwardo’s Spicy (but not too spicy) Carnitas Deliciosos:
In a nutshell it’s: dry rub, sear, cover and bake sloooowwwww and looowwwwww, then sauce, and shred.
Dry rub recipes you can find online. I usually look at a half dozen and then wing it. Salt, pepper, cayenne, paprika, garlic, brown sugar, maybe clove, cinnamon, cumin, allspice, etc. If you want sweeter, more brown sugar. If you like spicier, more red pepper.
Dry rub recipes are always insanely too large. If you follow the typical recipe, you’ll probably end up making enough for a BBQ once per week for the entire summer. Not that there’s anything wrong with that! Just a heads up. Furthermore it stores well since it’s just spices. Even if you “contaminate” it and have it touch the raw meat, just put the excess in a bag and freeze it. (And if it’s not contaminated, also freeze it. Just ’cause I said so.)
Next go buy a pork shoulder. Or “pork butt”. Or “Boston pork butt”. I don’t know why they have these names but surely Google does. This buying step is easier said than done in Spain than America. And now a brief story: I was at the big Red Market in Girona and I asked for a “pork shoulder please” (in Spanish, of course. I think “uno hombro de cerdo, por favor” was my request) and as I waited and my eyes drifted the other way, my adorable little old lady server pulled out AN ENTIRE HALF 200 POUND PIG out of the freezer! It was great. I casually responded, “Naw, that’s a bit large” and bought something 1/100th the size. That’s all just a heads up; if you ask for a pork butt, I imagine you’ll get the latter regions of tripe. And if you ask for a Boston pork butt, they’ll have no idea what you’re saying. Good luck.
I truly think any big piece of pork will do. But for sure ideally you have bone-in. More flavor, far less dry, well worth it.
I’ve had my best results when there’s an entire 1″ layer of skin/fat on half the cut. I chop most of that off to the best of my speedily ability. Again, just like the bone, leaving some on will keep it moist. Furthermore if you’re scared of fat, this entire thing cooks in the most miraculous fashion that the juices all fall to the bottom, TONS of fat falls to the bottom, then you later separate these two components and you have some delicious, super lean meat. Magic? Almost. Exquisite? Obviously.
Cut off obvious bits of fat too, in addition to that skin.
Next put the meat into a plastic bag and chuck in some dry rub. Ehh, probably a 1/2 cup of rub. Shake shake shake.
Put a pan on the stove and chuck it up to high. Get it hot. Then wait another minute so it can get even hotter. I don’t bother using oil but you can if you want. And if you do, make it smoke!
Delicately huck meat into the pan and after waiting a little while, roll it around so that all sides get browned. Maybe 90″-2′ per side. If it’s getting blackened that’s totally fine.
Next put the meat into an oven-capable pan and then into a preheated oven at about 250F. Save yourself some serious clean up and line the pan with aluminum foil. Then cover the pan and seal it best you can with more foil. Or a lid. Whatever.
I’m sure there’s a simple formula for time as a function of weight. If the meat is about 1/2 the size of a proper NFL football, then I reckon 8 hours. Or find a proper recipe and Google it. But I’m yet to find overcooking it to be possible. And undercooked pork is gross so don’t bother doing that.
Okay it’s now afternoon and your pork is done. Remove meat from pan and put all the liquid into some sort of liquid container dealie, relatively carefully. As in, don’t stir or try to mix the liquid or pour it unnecessarily fast. Just pour it into said container. To expedite things, put that into the fridge. Or don’t, frankly I don’t care. As the temperature drops, you’ll see the fat rising to the top and the succulent and spicy jus sinking to the bottom. It’s slightly gelatinous and totally amazing.
Let’s fire up the stove again and over medium-low heat we’re now going to make BBQ sauce. In a stove pan of whatever size you want, mix up ketchup, molasses, random dry rub spices, and a splash of liquid smoke if you’re awesome. Stir and let simmer a bit. Also, skim the fat off the contain I mentioned in the previous paragraph and put that rich, brown pork sauce drippings into the pan. Oh man, that’s the good stuff! Simmer for 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 1 minute, whatever.
With your cooked pork now cooled to room temperature, take a fork in each hand and shred it. You will find this step either incredibly tedious or incredibly satisfying. The meat should shread somewhat like a hot knife through butter. And if not, then you did something wrong and just give up now.
Once shredded, pour stove-top-BBQ-sauce-mixture (once you’ve tasted it and given it your nod of approval) over the shredded meat. I’ve found that I almost always have too little liquid. As in, it’s hard to over sauce it. Go nuts here cause the meat is now a sponge and sucks it all up.
Eat. Then eat more because as we recently discussed, it’s lean and therefore good for you.
Go to the Source – http://iamtedking.com
Filed by Ted King at April 30th, 2013 under Featured, Road Blog, Ted King
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Jelly Belly p/b Kenda put riders in the breakaway each day of the Joe Martin Stage Race, an event that includes one of the hardest criteriums in the U.S.
Ricardo Van der Velde, Christiaan Kriek, Brad Huff, Morgan Schmitt, Luis Lemus, Nic Hamilton and Sean Mazich represented the team in Fayetteville, Ark.
In the 110-mile road race, the break moved early. Lemus joined three other riders and stayed away for 80 miles. Lemus dropped his three partners for the last 15 miles. He put in a terrific effort, getting caught with just 5k to go. Van der Velde placed fifth, and Kriek finished 13th.
The next day, at about mile 20 of the 112-mile road race, Schmitt jumped into an eight-man breakaway. Later on, Hamilton and 13 other riders bridged up to the break, giving Jelly Belly p/b Kenda two riders in the front group. Hamilton went on to finish ninth, and Schmitt 11th.
The 85-minute crit on the final day covered a 1-1/2 mile course with a .4-mile climb on every lap. Huff got into a four-man breakaway that kept the field at bay for an hour. They rode hard and were caught with only 100 meters to the finish.
Hamilton ended up seventh in the GC, and Schmitt was 19th.
“The boys showed a lot of heart in a very hard race. Great riding,” said team director Danny Van Haute.
Next up for Jelly Belly p/b Kenda is the Tour de Gila, May 1-5 in Silver City, N.M.
Go to the Source – jellybellycycling.com
Filed by Jelly Belly Pro Cycling at April 30th, 2013 under Featured, Jelly Belly Pro Cycling, Road Blog
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Jelly Belly p/b Kenda team mechanic Ralf Medlof made a (very brief) appearance on the Kenda mechanical bull at the Sea Otter Classic.
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Filed by Jelly Belly Pro Cycling at April 23rd, 2013 under Featured, Jelly Belly Pro Cycling, Road Blog
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Alex Hagman took first place in Stage Two.
Jelly Belly p/b Kenda executed a terrific team effort at the Sea Otter Classic last weekend, earning multiple podium spots including first place in Stage 2.
Morgan Schmitt, Ricardo Van der Velde, Christiaan Kriek, Sean Mazich, Alex Hagman and Emerson Oronte rode for Jelly Belly p/b Kenda in the four-day race in Monterey, Calif. When they weren’t racing, the riders held an autograph session at the Northwave booth and made guest appearances at the Focus, 3T and Kenda booths.
The Focus booth displayed the team bike.
In Stage 1, an hour long circuit race, the riders were surprised by the fast start. But they battled hard, and Van der Velde took third place with Kriek right behind in fourth.
The 70-mile road race on Day Two is when the team really excelled. With a breakaway two minutes ahead and just 20 miles to go, all six Jelly Belly p/b Kenda riders went to the front to try to bring it back. The effort paid off, and Hagman took the victory. Schmitt was fourth.
Van der Velde and Schmitt took fifth and sixth, respectively, in the time trial, and on the final day the squad led out Van der Velde to a second place finish. Mazich was fifth on the stage, and Schmitt finished third overall.
“The guys put together a great team effort. I am proud of their results and how they all worked together,” said team director Danny Van Haute.
Go to the Source – jellybellycycling.com
Filed by Jelly Belly Pro Cycling at April 23rd, 2013 under Featured, Jelly Belly Pro Cycling, Road Blog
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April 13, 2013
Hope springs eternal, right? That’s all well and good, but I live in the here and now, so on a much more tangible level: SPRING springs in Europe and that is a very good thing. No sooner was I out the door today when I shed the arm warmers (leg warmers were never even considered) and basked in my solar absorption of vitamin D.
The frigid winter wrath across Europe is finally beginning to subside after the coldest European late winter and early spring that I can remember. And admittedly I’ve only been to Europe since I dabbled in 2005 and on the reg’ beginning in 2009, but still this spring has been freakin’ weird. And unequivocally cold! Let’s all remember that Gent-Wevelgem was the coldest day on record in the entire Flander’ish region since the late 1800s. That’s brisk baby.
It’s amazing how much of a difference this makes in my overall well-being. I previously thought that seasonal affective disorder was hocus-pocus or else just a complaint among people who had exceptionally thin skin in combination with their extreme warm-bloodedness. Heck, I love winter. With maple syrup running through my veins, it’s probably the New England in me having grown up on ice skates and skis that says I love cold temperatures. But just as the belting hot sun melts away the snow, there is some magical combination of a cloudless sky, warm temperatures, birds chirping, and flowers budding that makes my smile morph to an even bigger smile and then I’m in a very good mood. In so many words: finally, it’s nice out. (…for now)
There’s no rest for the weary, however. As soon as I arrived home to Girona just yesterday — after a mighty successful Spring Classics campaign I might add — to take in my Catalonian spring, I’ve already packed up shop and am off to greener pastures. Or, hopefully at least as green since as you can see in the above photo, Girona is gorgeous right now. First, this evening I head to Tuscany to help with a fun little (read: big) media project for our dear friends at Cannondale. That takes me through the middle of next week as I noodle all about Chianti. And then directly I’ll be off to Los Estados Unidos for a typically action packed few days at home complete with seeing the fam and recharge the batteries (plus hopefully a Bruin’s game, a belated birthday celebration with my bro complete with a well traveled Westvleteren 12, a celebratory dinner or two, plus requisite New England bike slaying adventures) before I storm the high altitude of Colorado and then onto the Tour of California. Phew, makes me tired just thinking about it.
In lieu of rest for the weary, there’s only coffee. Plus jet lag supplemented by napping and more coffee. Ready…? Go.
Go to the Source – http://iamtedking.com
Filed by Ted King at April 13th, 2013 under Featured, Road Blog, Ted King
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Christiaan Kriek won the green points jersey at Redlands. Photo by Brian Hodes
Nic Hamilton describes the team’s successes at the Redlands Bicycle Classic.
During my time as a cyclist there have been very, very few constants. The Redlands Bicycle Classic is one of just a handful of races that I have been able to measure year to year. It’s one of those events that provokes those “my, how much has happened in a year?’ self-dialogues.
First, our host house puppies had grown into full-fledged dogs. But more importantly, Jelly Belly p/b Kenda had developed into a more experienced machine, ready to show ourselves on the road.
Day Uno: TT at Big Bear
A new Time Trial at Redlands created a lot of intrigue in the peloton. What would be the effect of this new course, held at a pretty decent altitude, just shy of 7000 feet? The newest member of the team, Serghei Tvetcov, wasn’t phased and had a solid rip placing eighth. Times were much tighter than with the previous uphill TT, so the GC battle was very much up for grabs and the Twitterverse was blowing up with projections of a war-like, street fight on Day 2.
Beaumont:
One of the many fantastic things about our generous hosts in Redlands is that they have more freshly laid eggs than an entire cycling team can eat. Trust me, we tried. Then it was off to Beaumont. The race was energetic. Christiaan Kriek, the South African import, took the Green Jersey from a breakaway effort and the team really came together to accomplish our objectives, not always done the easy way, but we got ‘em done. Brad Huff was sixth on the day thanks to a good dig from Alex Hagman to get him where he needed to be for the bunch kick, just a few seconds behind the leaders.
Criterium:
With a later race time we had a causal morning, but the routine was no different. Cyclists are creatures of habit. We threw a leg over the Focus Cayo EVO bikes in the morning to shake some of the “junk” out of our legs from the previous day’s 200km adventure and set off for some course recon and coffee shop time. Reconnecting with old friends is bound to happen at bike races as many of us only ever see each other at the races. We took the morning to drink coffee and catch up.
The evening event went by without too much drama. We realized we have a bit of work to do collaborating throughout the race to stay organized and on point. We eventually figured it out and Brad did a good sprint to finish second. Chris earned enough points to keep his jersey, and with that we had two boys walking the steps to the podium.
Brad Huff finished second in Stage 3. Photo by Brian Hodes
Sunset, oh how poetic:
The final day was the sunset loop road race, touted as one of the most challenging courses in the U.S. Like any course, it’s how you race it that makes it challenging or not, but with that said there is no hiding on sunset. First order of business was locking up the points jersey in the opening criterium laps. Kriek did a great job muscling his way to win both bonus sprints and effectively lock up the jersey.
I have to take a quick few words here to express my thanks to the Redlands community. Turns out we aren’t the only team with hosts going way above and beyond for the teams. I was blown away by the Community as a whole supporting this event. There were people congregated enjoying the sun everywhere on the course. It both elevated and smashed our morale as we struggled up climbs past BBQ cook-outs and ice cold coolers of choice beverages. But in the end it was definitely a net positive on the morale – thanks for the “Jelly Belly” cheers.
From the race perspective we were well-represented and took some chances going on into the breaks and giving ‘er a go on ALL parts of the course. We finished with three guys in the final kick and another trip to the podium where Kriek could rest easy and take that points jersey home with him.
Jelly Belly p/b Kenda riders relax after a well-fought race. Photo by Brian Hodes
We are off to Sea Otter, then Joe Martin and Tour of the Gila, which are all new races for this author. Don’t be shy – come say hi!
Thanks for reading,
Nic Hamilton
Go to the Source – jellybellycycling.com
Filed by Jelly Belly Pro Cycling at April 13th, 2013 under Featured, Jelly Belly Pro Cycling, Road Blog
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