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The Chris Davidson diary
Chris Davidson is a former mechanic for Bontrager Racing Service, now in the service of Shimano Multi-Service.
Chris' diary entries will show you what life is like inside the pits and an insight into the mind of a mechanic.
On the road with T-Mobile
Day 2.75 - May 26: Back Door Internet Café, Port Huron
Hi all,
Wednesday night and I am about to head to sleep in Port Huron, Michigan, about 500 meters from the Canadian border. The last two days have involved a good number of hours driving from the Service Course in Denver; tomorrow we will make it to Montreal.
Not much new to report from the mechanic side, just a few driving tips that came to the fore after two days in the team truck. Like drafting 18 wheelers to extend gas mileage, using gloves when pumping diesel, and planning to avoid cities like Chicago during rush hour. Old skills come back quickly when put to extended use. I finished both of these last two days exhausted, and in need of 1. fast internet connection, 2. a shower, and 3. a comfortable bed. The first night in Des Moines, Iowa, we got there at 12:30am, and I only got the shower. Tonight we got into Port Huron at ~8:30pm and we had time to shower up and head into town. We stumbled into the Back Door Internet Café downtown and the owner, Valerie, saw the team vehicle and was stoked to here about the T-Mobile team and set us up. Great food and fast internet, the perfect spot for tired bike mechanics. The problem is Port Huron is kinda out of the way; I don't see coming back through here any time soon, but if we do you can find me at the Back Door.
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I have a couple of photos from the SC that I took back on Monday in Denver. The first is a XS Giant TT frame in aluminum. The T-Mobile women ride stock size carbon frames, but for those riders that don't fit the off-the-rack size perfectly, Giant can handcraft custom sizes out of aluminum. This one is a custom TT frame for Lara Kroepsch. The second frame is a custom pursuit frame in aluminum for Mari Holden (Olympic Games?). This frame is freshly delivered to the race shop; the top of the seat tube is yet to be cut/finished for the correct seat height. Very aero.
More from on the scene in Montréal as we arrive tomorrow. I am lucky, because for this race we have JD Gagne as a soigneur - he lives in Québec City and speaks fluent French. He flew to Denver and is driving one of the vehicles back to Montréal with me. I can relax about the logistics tomorrow in Montréal, as he has worked the race a number of times and knows where everything is. One less thing for me to worry about; there is plenty else to keep me busy.
Thanks for reading,
CD