Riding to Ripon

I set out today to do a long ride ahead of next weeks 400 km Brevet. Not so much for the physical training as for more mental preparation. I chose to head southwest to the small town of Ripon, WI. I had originally planned to do a loop, but I didn't get going until about 11:30 AM, so I just did an out and back. Still, I got in 111 miles.

The town of Ripon is interesting for a number of reasons. First, its home to Ripon College. For students who agree not to bring a car to campus, the College will give that student a brand new mountain bike. I think this is great. We need more progressive thinking like this so people realize that firing up a car isn't the only way to get somewhere. If we are ever to solve our environmental problems and break our dependency on foreign oil, its going to take more forward thinking like this. Secondly, Ripon is where the Republican Party was founded way back in 1854. So a little history for you, how about that.

It was another windy day in Appleton. The wind was blowing anywhere from 16-22 mph, first out of the west and then out of the Northwest. It was almost as bad as a couple weeks ago on the 300 km brevet. And since it shifted to the northwest, I did have a headwind coming back as well. What helped though is that when I would turn south on the way out or east on the way back, I would get a break from the wind, and that was nice.

My route was pretty basic. I road from Appleton to Neenah using Lake Road. Then in Neenah, I use Park Road to get to the south end of Neenah. Here, you jump on County G headed due west an take this all the way out to County M where you are just north of Winneconne. I filled water bottles in Winneconne and then started a zig-zag route heading southwest. First it was Quigley Road, and then O'Reilly Road. Liberty School Road, Poygan Avenue and Edgewater Ridge Road get you to County Road K headed due south. This takes you into a small town called Eureka. Note, I did not see any convenience stores here, just a couple bars, so be sure to refuel in Winneconne, because there is nothing in Eureka. From here you get on County E headed south and that takes you all the way into Ripon.

I had a sandwich at The Sub Shop right in downtown Ripon. The sub was excellent, and not just because I was hungry. They have a great selection of sandwiches, so if you are in Ripon, be sure to stop by. Then headed over to the little school house where the Republican Party was founded. Apparently the restoration was funded by the town and the chamber of commerce. I snapped a few pictures outside and poked my head in. Unlike the political machinery of today, its just a simple one room schoolhouse that long ago hosted a very important meeting. Finally, I road over to the college campus to look around, refueled at the local BP and then started the trip home via the same roads described above.

It was a long day on the bike, but it should be good preparation for next week. I should be prepared to mentally battle through some wind. And I've now done two 100 mile plus rides since the 300 km, so my training should be sufficient.

I did snap a few pictures today. I was a bit of a tourist. But that is OK. I don't always have to be a randonneur minimizing my time at the stops. Sometimes, I go out and ride and just see something I want to take a picture of. That was today.

"The wind was baaaaaaah-d today"


The school house in Ripon where the Republican Party was founded.

Some of the scenery along the ride. Nice green Wisconsin hills.

Great Lakes Randonneurs 300 km ACP Brevet Ride Report

The Great Lakes Randonneurs held their 300 km ACP brevet n Saturday, May 16. This is the second brevet of the season in the and of the super randonneur series (200 km, 300 km, 400 km and 600 km. In mileage, a 300 km brevet is about 190 miles, so it is roughly equivalent to riding a double century. I have done 3 double centuries before Seattle to Portland in 2003, 2004 and 2005) plus a 300 km with the DC Randonneurs in 2006. So completing this ride would rank as one of the longest rides I have ever done.

A ride of this length is always very difficult. The amount of miles on the bike and the time you will be on the bike make it so. But Saturday's ride was made even more difficult by a 20 - 25 mile an hour wind blowing out of the Northwest. The route was an out and back, starting in Delevan, WI going to Sauk City, WI, meaning all the way to the turn around, we were going northwest, right into the teeth of the wind. Put another way, we had a headwind of 20+ mph for the first 97 miles of the ride.

It would be hard to understate the ferocity of the wind on Saturday. Since a lot of the terrain is farm country, there was nowhere to hide. You were always in it. Drafting was of little use because the wind was so strong, it just cut right through whoever was in front and affected everyone in the back just the same. And the wind never let up. It blew just as hard all day until about 8:00 PM, when we were well on our way back. During much of the ride on the "out" leg, speeds were between 11 - 13 mph. And this was actually pretty good.

One of the hardest things about riding in wind is that it never goes away. Even on a tough climb, you eventually summit the climb and get a little bit of a recovery/reward on the downhill. A headwind just keeps battering you, every minute of every mile and never goes away. It wears you down mentally as well as physically. And since this was essentially an out and back ride, we hhad to just keep going into the wind the whole first half, with not even a mile of releif. On Saturday, the last 5 miles into Verona seemed like they would never end. It was just more and more wind, and Verona just wouldn't seem to show up on the horizon.

After getting into Verona, you wind Northwest through the hills west of Madison and up to Sauk City. There are quite a few good hills in this area. The longest hill is probably a little over a mile long, but some of them are steep. And you have to navigate them twice, because you come back on this same road. These were tough, but you just work your way through them. One nice thing is that this area is a little bit more wooded, so it is more scenic. But the most scenic place of all was the turnaround in Sauk City. Now we would finally get a tailwind.

The effect of the tailwind was not immediate as we still had to go through the hills between Sauk City and Verona. And these were not easy after 100 miles of hard riding. But after Verona, the tailwind started to make a difference. Now our speeds were up to 20 mph, sometimes even 25 mph. Even with tired legs only able to put moderate pressure on the pedals, we could keep our speed up. The miles flew by, and this was good news since it would be dark soon.

We made a minimalist stop at the control in Edgerton and then tackled the last 31 miles. It would be dark soon, so we put on our reflective gear and turned on our lights. I had been riding with another rider from Madison most of the day, but now we joined up with a group of 4 that had been ahead of us, that included at least a couple riders from the Wausau Wheelers. The last wisps of daylight slipped away and we rode the last 15 miles or so back to Delavan in the dark. We were slowed by a rider with a flat about 12 miles out of Delavan, but otherwise, the the ride back in was quiet and peaceful. We arrived in Delavan at 9:35 PM for a total ride time of 14 hours, 35 minutes.

Overall, it was a very difficult day. The wind was absolutely brutal. A 300 km is hard wnough without a wind like that, but with it, there isn't much fun. Everyone I talked to at the end admitted to having thoughts about quitting because of the wind, just turning around and going back to Delavan. But in the end, you find a way to get through. And at times yesterday, that's all I was doing, was getting through. But in the end, that was enough.

The riders from the Wausau Wheelers wook some pictures, and I'll post those when they send them to me.

Hotfoot Part Two - Meeting with Dr. Tougas

The following blog post is not intended to constitute medical advice. It is simply a recounting of what I have went through with my hotfoot problem, what I tried to do to fix it and my experience working with a podiatrist. If anything, I would tell you to see a qualified medical professional sooner, not later if you have hotfoot or any other sports related ailment.

In March of 2009, I resolved to find a way, any way to get my hotfoot problem resolved. First of all, I had resolved to do Ride Across Indiana in July 2009, and I didn’t want to deal with a painful foot for a 160 mile ride. But more immediately, while for the last 3 years I had been able to put up with the pain and ride through it, my foot was now worse than ever. It hurt on days I rode or days that I didn’t. Every long ride was a new experience in suffering. It was clear, find a solution to the problem or stop biking. Completely.

In my last post, I talked about my experience with an Orthopedist in Richmond, VA. In the end, this wasn’t very fruitful. I still had the same problem, maybe a little better, but really the same problem. I think one of the things I did wrong was that I only went once. When the problem didn’t get better, I should have went back for another appointment and further examination. But one thing I have learned since is that I don’t think my examination and diagnosis 3 years ago in Richmond was very thorough. And that probably contributed to not getting the problem resolved then.

I needed a foot specialist, so I started looking for a podiatrist that specialized in sports medicine. Someone who specialized in cycling would be even better. I needed someone who wasn’t going just to examine me for 3 minutes, but someone who really understood what I was going through and could work with me to find a solution. Upon researching different podiatrists in the Appleton area, I found Dr. Tim Tougas at Northeast Appleton Foot and Ankle. Dr. Tougas is a board certified podiatrist with experience in sports related injuries. And he is a road cyclist. Jackpot.

I made an appointment and gave the receptionist the details of my condition. I also told her that was a cyclist that liked to ride 150-200 miles a week, and that was probably the primary cause. My appointment was on a Monday, and before I headed over, I put all the different cycling shoes in a bag with all the different insoles so I could explain everything that had happened. This time I was serious. I didn’t want a five minute examination, I wanted to get to the bottom of this.

I met Dr. Tougas and explained the whole history of the problem. I showed him all the shoes and all the things that had been tried. He put me into a chair and examined my feet, especially my right foot. He was able to put pressure right on the spots that were causing the pain. Dr. Tougas explained the problem I had was that the nerves between my big toe and second toe and the nerves between my third and fourth toe were inflamed, and this was causing the pain (he did not use the word Neuroma, but I think that is the medical term). The root cause of this was that the nerves were rubbing up against the bone, irritating the nerves, causing the inflammation and then the subsequent pain. He did an excellent job explaining all of this with the use of a diagram of the foot in the exam room.

The fix was simple. I needed a pad in my shoe to get that bone away from the nerve it was irritating. You often hear about the need to spread out the toes, as this will increase the blood flow and help hot foot issues. My issue was to get that bone away from the nerve it was irritating. Dr. Tougas marked the area on my foot with the worst pain with a magic marker, and transferred this location to one of my insoles. He then placed a foam pad on the insole and cut it to the appropriate size. He said this would result in immediate relief of a lot of the problem, because I wouldn’t be further irritating the nerve. He also said though, that once irritated, the nerves tend to take a long time to calm down, so it would be a couple-three months before I was fully recovered.

Overall, I was very impressed. Dr. Tougas spent probably 30 minutes with me. E asked about the type of riding I did and we talked about cycling. He quickly identified the problem and explained to me exactly what was going on and how we were going to fix it. He said we had the option of a cortisone shot as a short term fix, but it was really more important to treat the cause. I appreciated all of his information because I felt like I could be a partner in my treatment and recovery. And knowing what we were doing and why we were doing it, I could give him better information at my next appointment for how my foot was progressing.

Still though, I was a little skeptical. I don’t think that had anything to do with Dr. Tougas, but more with the fact that I had been going through this problem for three years. Could it be as simple as a foam pad placed in the right spot? I had had a few times where I would have some improvement only to regress again. So I really didn’t know what to expect. But that Monday I had my bike and I was determined to try it out. So even though it was only about 40 degrees, I went and did a 23 mile ride.

I was shocked. For the first time in 3 years, there was no pain. There was some discomfort because the foam pad felt a little high in my shoe (but he had told me this would probably be this way for a couple rides) but overall, for the first time in a long time, my foot felt normal. I rode a few more times that week, including a 90 mile ride around Lake Winnebago. Amazingly, I would say about 80% of my problem was solved. On the 90 mile ride, I had some numbness around mile 72, but this was a long way into the ride, and plus, Dr. Tougas said all this wasn’t going to go away overnight. But the improvement was remarkable.

The only downside of the foam pad is that it was not durable enough. Over three week and almost 600 miles, I wore the pad down to where it was providing less and less relief. I was still better than before, but I would say at the end of the three weeks, we were probably at a 60% solution. But overall, this was a very important step. We now knew we were working on the right problem. And we knew the solution. Get a pad in the right place to keep the nerve from getting irritated. Now it was just a matter of getting the pad to be durable enough so it wouldn’t wear out every three weeks.

I am planning at least one more blog post to cover what we have done from this point forward. But at this time, I want to stress, if you have a hotfoot problem, make an appointment with a podiatrist who specializes in sports medicine. Don’t let the problem go on and on like I did. In my case, I started getting relief the same day. Your case may be different, but a podiatrist is trained to understand how the foot works, and rather than you fiddling with shoes and cleats to fix the problem, they can tell you exactly what is going on, what is causing it and design a plan to address it. One of my major regrets is that I could have had my problem fixed 2 years ago if I would have been more proactive in going to a podiatrist.

When you go to your podiatrist, bring your cycling shoes. Be prepared to discuss how much riding you do and what type. This can help them to understand the cause of the problem. Ask lots of questions. Understand what is the cause of the problem and how they are planning to treat it. This may involve a pad in the shoe or custom insoles or orthotics. But you are the only one who knows how your feet feel. Knowing what you are trying can help you give the best feedback to your doctor so they can get you feeling better in the shortest time possible.

In part 3, I’ll talk about a more durable metatarsal pad and the decision to purchase orthotics.

Issues with Hotfoot

I have had hotfoot problems for three years now. It has been a painful and frustrating experience that has threatened to stop me from cycling all together. After working with a local podiatrist who is also a road cyclist, it appears we are finally close to solving the problem. If so, it will be the first time in 3 years I have rode without pain. I am going to write a series of blog posts on my experiences, what I tried to fix the problem, what didn’t work and what I wish I would have done long ago. These posts are not in any way meant to be taken as medical advice, but rather to share my experiences so others that have a similar problem can ask the right questions and get their problem taken care of in a much shorter period of time.

What is Hotfoot?

Hotfoot is a painful condition in one or both feet that some cyclists have. It is often characterized by a painful burning sensation in the ball of the foot area. I also experienced numbness and then outright pain in the ball of foot area. The pain was so bad sometimes that I thought I may have a fracture in my foot. It would be very painful to even press down on the pedals. Often times after I rode, I would have a “pins and needles” sensation in the ball of my foot. I could have numbness for the rest of the day and into the next day. Sometimes when I woke up at night, I would have a painful tingling in the forefoot area.

In the beginning, this pain was mostly just when I rode, but the problems I was having quickly started affecting me off the bike as well. My right foot would hurt to be in any shoes at all, so when I got to work, I would take off my shoes and walk around in socks. Just sitting in a car or at a desk the tingling or pins and needles feeling could start. But on the bike was the worst. The pain would start after riding about 30 minutes and then only get worse. I would loosen the Velcro straps on my cycling shoes which helped a little, but mostly it was just suffering through the miles.

How did all of this start?

My problems started around April 2006. My cycling shoes at the time had worn out, and I purchased a new pair. Its probable that the new cycling shoes contributed to the hotfoot problem. If that contribution was 10% or 90%, it is hard to know. It is very possible something was amiss anyway, and the new shoes magnified an existing problem.

My first thought was that I had a problem with my cleats. I use Look-ARC cleats, so surface area was not an issue (some riders say with smaller cleats, the force of pedaling becomes more concentrated and leads to hotfoot issues). So I moved the cleats back as far as they would go, but this did not help.

My next thought was to simply change shoes. Going back to the original shoes was not an option because they were totally worn out. So I got a third pair of shoes. The third pair of shoes I purposely bought a little bigger to give my foot some more room to breathe. I was also concerned that in the summer months in Richmond, VA, your feet may swell because of the hot weather, and larger shoes would help this. These provided some relief for about a week, but then the problem was back, just as bad as ever.

Throughout this entire time, I had been taking over the counter painkillers such as Advil to try to help the pain. I thought Advil being an anti-inflammatory would help, but it was of no help at all. The painkillers literally had no effect on the pain, either on or off the bike. I could take 6 Advil and it was zero effect.

Enter the Orthopedist

At this point, I went to my physician. They X-rayed my foot to make sure it wasn’t broken. It wasn’t, it just felt like it. My physician referred me to an orthopedist in the Richmond area. The orthopedist examined my foot and said my issue was purely a mechanical one, that I needed a pad placed directly behind the ball of my foot to spread the toes out and increase blood flow, and that would solve the numbness issue. He gave me two pads in from Hapad to put in my cycling shoes and instructed me in how to placed them. He suggested first taping the pads in place and attempting some rides with them before peeling off the backing and attaching them to the insoles with the permanent adhesive.

I was relieved this was just a mechanical issue and it could be fixed with inserts. I placed the metatarsal pads as instructed by the Orthopedists and went on a couple rides. They did help the hotfoot problem, but they were very uncomfortable. They meta tarsal pads he gave me fit under the arch of the foot, a very tender and soft area. They were also large, probably about 3/8” high. So while they spread the toes out, I had a feeling of something pressing into the arch of my foot, which was painful as well. Now when I got off the bike, instead of a numbness, I had this achy feeling all through my foot from this foreign object pressing into my foot in all the wrong places.

The Orthopedists had also told me about a company called e-Soles. They use a computer to scan the bottom of your foot and make an insole custom for you. He said people looking for a more permanent solution often had better luck with the e-Soles than the metatarsal pads. The cost for the e-Soles was $200, but at this point, I just wanted some relief. So I called up the local Richmond rep and scheduled an appointment. They scanned my feet, though they had a lot of problems with my right foot, which was the foot that really was bothering me. After about two weeks, I received the e-Soles in the mail. They did have a metatarsal pad on them to help spread out the toes. However, since it was integrated into the insole there wasn’t anything to push up into my foot. So that was an improvement.

The e-Soles were comfortable to ride in, but they really only helped the hotfoot problem a little bit. They did completely solve the problems I was having in my left foot. But my right foot was still problematic. I think e-Soles are good insoles. I just think my right foot is screwed up so much, that I needed something more.

But It Continues...

At this point, I didn’t really address the hotfoot issue much more. I just sucked it up and kept riding. Amazingly, with all these problems, I rode 7150 miles in 2006 and 6033 miles in 2007. All of them hurting. One thing I could tell l is that I could vary my position on the e-Soles insert, and sometimes the pain would be less. But this was often not repeatable. Part of the frustrating thing during 2006 and 2007 was that sometimes the problem would be a little better, and I would think I hit on something, then only to get worse again. I should have went back to the orthopedist, but didn’t. I just kept riding through the pain, I guess deciding this was the way it would be.

In the spring of 2008 I tried to fix the problem was purchasing a pair of Shimano cycling shoes with carbon soles. These would be very stiff, and the hope was this would better distribute the pressure over my entire foot, not just in one spot. Initially, these seemed to help a little. But as always, then the problem came back in my right foot, as bad as ever.

I moved to Appleton in June 2008, and in the winter of 2008, I started riding the CompuTrainer at the Recyclist. Recyclist is a Specialized dealer with their Body Geometry line of shoes and clothing. At one point in February, we tried a pair of Specialized shoes with the various different Body Geometry insoles to see if that helped the problem. What was nice is we could put in new insoles and I could ride the CompuTrainer for an hour. If it felt worse, I could make a change right away. I liked the Specialized shoes. They had a nice roomy toe box that felt very comfortable, so I bought a pair of those. The insoles with the largest metatarsal pad seemed to work a little better, but there was still no real relief.

So after almost three years, 4 different pairs of shoes, several different insoles, multiple adjustments of cleats and a trip to an orthopedist, I was still nowhere. In fact, in early March of 2009, my problem was worse than ever. My right foot burned in pain every day. I literally would only where shoes to go from the indoors to the car. I had to do something. This is when I found Northeast Wisconsin Foot and Ankle Associates and Dr. Tim Tougas, a Podiatrist here in Appleton and a road cyclists. So I made an appointment. My experiences with Dr. Tougas will be the subject of my next post, and what is hopefully the solution to this problem.

Spring is Arriving

A very quick post tonight, but spring is really here. In the last week, all of the trees have started to get leaves so now we have some green to look at and not just brown.

On Sunday, I did an 81 mile ride up around the Shiocton/Navarino area. This area is especially nice as the Wolf River flows through it and more of the area is wooded. I didn't go all the way over to Clintonville, but while on Highway 156, i did take the following picture of the Wolf River

What is Randonneuring?

I am a Randonneur. But when I say that to people, even fellow cyclists, few know what I mean. So I'm going to take a post to describe what randonneuring is.

In a nutshell, randonneuring is long distance, unsupported cycling. Randonneuring events are called brevets. Typical lengths for brevets are 200 km (124 miles), 300 km (186 miles), 400 km (248 miles) and 600 km (373 miles). There are also 1200 km brevets (750 miles), this most famous being Paris - Brest - Paris.

On a typical charity/century ride, you have support in the form of rest areas every 10-20 miles and a sag wagon that will help you fix your bike or transport you back to the finish if your car breaks down. Randonnneuring events are unsupported. There are no organized rest areas to stop at. You may stop at any stores or restaurants along the route and acquire additional food, water or supplies, but there will be no tent full of volunteers waiting for you with snacks prepared. There is also no SAG wagon. If your bike breaks down, you need to fix it. For this reason, randonneurs tend to favor more durable equipment over lightweight equipment. Randonneurs also tend to carry more spares with them than the normal rider. It is not uncommon to carry 3 or more tubes, a spare tire and a fiber spoke. I have even heard of randonneurs carrying a spare brake cable. Finally, personal support vehicles are not allowed. That is, you can't have your significant other or friend follow you along the course in their car with spare parts and food. The idea is to complete the course using your own ability.

At the beginning of each ride, each rider is issued a brevet card. Randonneuring events will usually have several controls along the way, and at each control the rider must have his or her brevet card signed with the time the rider arrived at the control. The brevet cards and controls serve to make sure that the rider actually completes the course specified, and does not 'short cut' any distance off of the course. They also serve to make sure the rider completes the course in the time allotted (more on that below). Controls are typically at a convenience store, which is useful so you can replenish your water bottles and fuel supply while at the control. There can be controls though which are not manned by a person. Typically these will have the rider note their time and answer a question about the spot, like some text on a historical marker.

Randonneuring events do have time limits in which they must be completed in. A 200 km brevet must be completed in 13.5 hours, a 300 km brevet in 20 hours and so on. Given, these time limits do not require one to go exceptionally fast. However, that time is total time, not 'on the bike' time, meaning the clock is always ticking. If you stop for lunch, the clock is still ticking. If you have to stop to fix a flat or mechanical, the clock still runs. So it is not so important to be fast, but to make consistent progress. As indicated above, not just the whole event has a time limit, but each control has a time limit as well. For example, if a control was located at 50 km of a 200 km brevet, a rider would have to pass this control by 3 hours and 22 minutes into the ride.

A typical charity or century ride will be a marked course, with arrows or signs along the route to guide riders on the right path. Randonneuring events are almost always unmarked. That is, before the ride, you receive a cue sheet (example here) with the course and turns on it, and you are responsible for navigating the course. The directions are almost always of very high quality, like "At 15.5 miles, turn left onto School Road". But it is important to pay attention to your computer and your cue sheet to know where you are at all times and if a turn is coming up. If you do miss a turn, you have to back track and rejoin the course at the point you left.

Randonneuring events are typically held over challenging terrain. Perhaps not mountainous terrain, but usually hilly terrain. Paris-Brest-Paris averages about 4000 feet of climbing per 200 km, so most brevets try to mimic this. Obviously in some parts of the country, that is more difficult. But a typical brevet will generally be much hillier than a normal century ride. So once again, while 13.5 hours seems like a lot of time to complete a 200 km brevet, a factor that slows you down is that there will be more climbing, so you are not averaging 20 mph.

The final difference I'll talk about between a typical century event and a brevet is the number of participants. Century rids usually have hundreds, sometimes thousands of participants. It is very often possible to get into a group of riders and draft for a lot of the miles on the ride. A typical brevet will have 30-60 riders. And it seems everyone tends to spread out after about the first 20 miles or so. Usually people do buddy up into groups of 2-4, but rather than drafting, because of the distance of the rides, you are typically riding side by side having a conversation to help pass the miles. I won't say drafting doesn't occur on brevets--it does, but it is not nearly as frequent as a century ride or club ride. Again, this is a reason that an average speed on a brevet tends to be a little bit lower.

There are other factors that come into play on brevets 300 km or longer, like weather and riding at night. But this post is really meant to give everyone an idea of what a brevet is all about, and most people start off by doing a 200 km or several 200 km rides before moving up to the longer distances.

All in all, if you have ever gone out and done a long ride between 80-100 miles either solo or with a small group, that is what a brevet is like. When you go out on your own, you are planning out a route, stopping at stores rather than rest areas for replenishment and there is no sag wagon following you. Probably the most important skills are aerobic endurance (obviously) and persistence. You don't really have to be fast, just keep going and making steady progress. And you have to be comfortable being on your bike all day.

Randonneuring Resources and Information

• Randonneurs USA (Body in the US that sanctions Randonneuring events)
• Great Lakes Randonneurs (holds their brevets in Delavan, WI, about 2 1/2 hours from Appleton)
• What to Expect on Your First PA Brevet (From Tom Rosenbaur of PA Randonneurs, where I did my first brevet--very useful summary)
• Intro to Randonneuring (From the group out of Rochester, MN)
  

New Bike - Specialized Tarmac Elite

By riding the most miles this winter on the CompuTrainer at the Recyclist, I won the competition for a new Specialized road bike. I did something a little different on the components than is normal, so it took a little bit for everything to come in. But now its here and ready to ride.



The specifics are

• Specialized Tarmac Elite full carbon frame
• Campagnolo Centaur 10 speed derailleur
• SRAM Rival 180 mm compact crank set
• Centaur carbon shifters and brake levers
• Velocity hubs and deep V rims

It looks great. The blue Velocity rims really set off the blue in the bike. I rode it a little yesterday, had some adjustments made, and rode it again today. It rides great.

So now I have 2 high end road bikes to choose from when I ride. (The other being my Serotta)