Training Technology: The Caveman eats his helmet.

Friday, January 22nd, 2010

After nearly 2 decades of being a pro triathlete, the Caveman finally stumbles out of his grotto, knuckles dragging, to discover the wonders of training technology!
I know I’ll get a lot of flack for this one.  (Ga Von Twitt- give me the best you’ve got!) Especially after this blog post about how backward the Caveman [...]

Breakfast (and lunch) of a champion…

Thursday, January 21st, 2010

People seem obsessed with “what the pros eat.”  With Ice Cream and Beer season a thing of the past, here is what the Caveman had yesterday:
Breakfast:
Scrambled eggs with onions and Melissa’s Meat Rub, baked potatoes and lightly steamed cabbage.
Eggs: Protein. The yolks are nutrient rich. Eggs are easy to make and goes with anything.
Potatoes: Good, [...]

Specialized Team camp in Stellenbosch, South Africa

Thursday, January 14th, 2010

Caveman on a road bike. (Specialized Tarmac SL2) by Gary Perkin

A pre-able to tuesdays’ race report for XTERRA USA Champs, Ogden.

Monday, September 28th, 2009

Melanie McQuaid, myself, Shonny Vanlandingham and Josiah Middaugh “teaching” The Art of XTERRA at the Paul Mitchell XTERRA University.  Pics by Nils Nilsen
I dont have 3hrs to write a good race report right now, but I know monday everyone spends half the day on their Facebook and reading about the weekends race results before real [...]

Champions’ training. Different strokes for different folks…

Monday, August 31st, 2009

In search for the holy grail of sports performance, Irish National Team ITU member, Gavin Noble (Dublin Triathlon Champion this past weekend) cranks out the Watts in the lab. This kind of lab testing will give Gav and his coach all kinds of numbers they can play with in training. Tests will be repeated often, [...]

Rich Cruse was my boss for 10 minutes

Tuesday, July 21st, 2009

I met sports photographer Rich Cruse at my 1st XTERRA- Richmond VA 2001.
Since then we have become close friends, but also we managed to do a lot of business together. He would shoot pics at races and make me look good- not an easy task- and I would offer it to the press and sponsors [...]

Customizing your Specialized Epic for mud.

Monday, July 20th, 2009

Caveman style, of course!
Problem: The sticky Vermont mud clogged up my Specialized Epic’s  rear triangle. The sticky tires then picked up dead leaves and really stuffed it tightly between wheel and frame. This was taken in training 2 days before the race.

Caveman solution:
Take a 1 liter water bottle, cut it to bits and zip tie [...]

Sprint finish with Seth Wealing for 2nd…

Monday, July 13th, 2009

Sprint finish with Seth Wealing for 2nd…                                                               Pic by Nori’s iPhone
This is the race report from Trey Garman at XTERRA.  For press, email trey@xterraplanet.com. The XTERRA home page is  www.xterraplanet.com
(I will write my own report after breakfast)
Sugarbush Resort - Warren, VT (July 12, 2009) - The two reigning XTERRA European Tour Champions, Frenchman Nicolas Lebrun [...]

Cavemans’ special XTERRA taper

Sunday, July 12th, 2009

D Day -1 some people spend the whole day in bed, wearing their compression tights and visualizing their race.
The Caveman’s instincts pulls him to the river for FLY FISHING!

A Brown Trout in the Mad River on a  size 20 barbless Royal Wulfe fly.  3 weight rod with 12 ft leader+tippet. Got to love the waterproof [...]

The magic of Home stays

Monday, July 6th, 2009

People always wonder why pros prefer home stays at most races. Why not stay in a “nice hotel” and “rest up for the race?”
There are many reasons why home stay families are the best way of experiencing away from home racing: (in no particular order)
- When you travel as much as we do, you hate [...]

2nd surgery. Thursday June 18- 4 days after XTERRA Richmond

Wednesday, June 24th, 2009

My surgeon, Dr Moose Herring from Richmond VA, is also an avid triathlete. We had become quite close over the past week and last night his family (more in next post) invited me over for a fare well dinner. He let me have these cool pics he took during the 2nd surgery.
Yes, these gory pics [...]

Surgery instead of pre riding.

Wednesday, June 17th, 2009

After a long and painful monday night, a red and puffy foot greeted me on tuesday morning.  I ran for the Doctor right away. I have had gangrene in this foot when I was 19  and it was almost amputated. (see scar on ankle) I know all about red and puffy and how easily it [...]

XTERRA Richmond. PG 13- B&G- Blood and Gore

Sunday, June 14th, 2009

The black stuff in there is rotting steel girder and James River mud. They breed us tough in Africa…
3 minutes before the start I moved a stray swim buoy to where it should be and kicked an old, rusty steel girder lodged in the mud under water. The gash was huge and completely black with [...]

A clever story about a flat, Caveman teeth and ingenuity

Friday, June 12th, 2009

Dan Hugo and I  pre rode the XTERRA Richmond course shortly after our arrival from XTERRA Northwest Cup in Coeur D’Alene, where I had a 4 inch nail puncture my tubeless tire in 2 places. See previous blog.
My replacement tire was in the mail, so I rode the tire with the 2 nail holes, and [...]

How many World class triathletes raced at Club Mykonos? (South Africa)

Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009

Winning All African ITU title at Club Mykono 1998
Club Mykonons on the West coast of South Africa is 2 hrs north of Cape Town. It used to be a quiet, quaint rip off of  the village Mykonos, Greece.  The ocean always freezing- the swim was in the marina- for one of the turn buoys you [...]

XTERRA West- Las Vegas video

Wednesday, May 13th, 2009

Yes, that is me crashing (only a small one) at 3.00.
Earlier in the race  I was quite rattled after losing the chain and bending it. I thought my race was over, but I bent it back (about 90 degrees!) and it worked perfectly. I could see Josiah charging from behind, and with my mind all [...]

The making of a video. For www.i-am-specialized.com

Sunday, May 10th, 2009

This video was made for the “triathlon” part of the i-am-specialized website.
The a href=”http://www.i-am-specialized.com/triathlon” target=”_blank”>i-am-specialized website is aimed at being the public’s way of following Specialized riders’ racing and stories online. It is a new site and will mostly aim at internet video content. Internet video is the new TV.
I am honoured to be the [...]

Rest day fun activity- Caveman style

Saturday, April 25th, 2009

When it snows outside, you have to stay sane somehow!
For the past 11 years, Friday is my day off. Usually I’m quite broken by then and I’ll be dragging most of Friday- till energy slowly returns in the late afternoon. I try to use the rest day to catch up on admin, get a massage, [...]

Photo shoot for “A day in the life of Conrad” by Gary Perkin.

Friday, April 24th, 2009

Flowery run by Gary Perkin- Official UCI and Specialized shooter . www. flipper.co.za These pics are most definitely copyrighted.

Them dere are the AVIA Avi STOLTZ trail shoes. Super excited! They hit the shelves this past week. Also, Balega, the #1 sport sock out there.

29er Mania… Found this XTERRA South Africa (Grabouw) pic of beloved Specialized Stumpjumper 29er

Thursday, March 19th, 2009

XTERRA South Africa
If you dont know it yet, I LOVE 29ers!   (29er = Big wheels)
- Handles rocky, sandy, bumpy terrain better than 26inch.
-Larger contact patch= better traction.
- More comfortable.
- Better rolling.
- Keeps momentum.
Sure, the bike weighs a bit more, but we’re* working on it…
* Specialized.
My dad, (also 6ft3) has this saying- “A good [...]