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Wrenchin' in the USA: The Chris Davidson diary 2005
Chris Davidson is a mechanic for Shimano Multi-Service doing neutral tech support at road and mountain bike races..
Chris' diary entries show us what life is like inside the pits and give an insight into the mind of a mechanic.
NORBA NCS Series #2, McDowell Mountain Park, Arizona, March 17-20, 2005
Day one - Desert sunshine and new gear
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Greetings from the Arizona desert! Wow what a difference a couple of weeks can make! We are in the desert here just north of Phoenix, no mud in sight.
The Nova race has been around for a while, the successor to the old Cactus Cup. The tech area here backs up right on the desert, full on cactus right out the back door. Almost picture postcard views everywhere you look at the venue. The riders are really excited about the race course, a fun worn-in circuit with some good bermed curves. As always a slow day on Thursday as the only competition today was the marathon and mini-marathon. Why two different 'marathon' events? Well the 'mega-marathon' race was 80+ miles, so they decided to have a shorter version as well. The marathon riders stared today before we got on site, so all we saw was single riders passing the tech area on laps of the circuit.
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My new boss, Dave Arnauckas, is working this weekend; it is his first outing with Shimano. He is a super experienced guy; he has been with the Volvo-Cannondale MTB team and the Saturn road team. As pro cycling is a small world, there are many riders that have crossed paths with Dave at other races on other continents. Many were surprised to see a familiar face at the race this morning.
Ah the joy of new bike stuff. I was over at the Trek and Fisher setups today looking at new machines, so took some photos of the 2005 race rigs. I also got the 411 from Trek team mechanic Zack on the setup inside their 2005 race team trailer. Seems that JBL has been a Trek sponsor for years and for 2005 they got the hookup for their team trailer. In true 'Pimp My Ride' fashion they decided to mount the audio amplifiers on the wall of the trailer in full view. That and the DVD player with a small LCD screen. Good show.
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I also snapped some shots of the desert right next to the tech area, amazing views.
More racing and tech tomorrow, the pros have a TT as the first part of their stage race.
Finally, I have some info on 2006 XTR, but I have to clear it with the higher ups before I spill the beans. What I can say for now is big changes to some key components. More soon.
Until tomorrow, thanks for reading,
Chris Davidson
Photography
For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here
Images by Chris Davidson
- Cactus framed the tech area at Nova. It's a big, big improvement on mud.
- Trek team dual suspension bikes for 2005
- Red with white stripes for 2005, Trek team bikes for Sue Haywood and Chris Eatough
- Trek team mechanic Zack Vestal was having a bad hair day, we call this one ‘Flock of Seagulls’
- The inside of the Trek trailer features some custom mounted amps for the sound system
- Throw in a DVD player and a flat screen and the Trek boys are living large
- Prototype IRC tires on the Gary Fisher bikes, a really grippy compound for the hard surfaces
- Fisher team bikes for 2005, carbon rear ends on hardtails
- Reigning US champ JHK's 2005 Gary Fisher rig