The Specialized Digest

[thespecializeddigest]

Riding Ridgecrest Blvd. for the first time in Marin County is unlike any experience you’ll have on a bike. Ride it again, though,  and the landscape will continue to change.  The hills move from scratchy golden straw to a lush green hill side throughout the year. It changes with the time but seemingly only revealing something more beautiful that what was before it. 

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Tarmac party in Provence. 

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What better way to say so long to Summer ‘17 than a great day on the bike in good company.

- @angelocalilap

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24h Vélo du Mans

I’m still trying to recover from this crazy weekend I just had in the 24h Vélo du Mans. It was super fun but also super intense. I was one of 8 racers in the RedBull team “Lucho” and took two relays: one at 8pm and one at 6:30am. Between each relay I was either helping and cheering on my teammates, or I was chatting with people but NEVER EVER sleeping. It was impossible to have proper hours of sleep there because of all the fuss mixed up to the exhaustion and the 548kg of sugar I shouldn’t have eaten over there... We were a total of 495 teams so you can imagine how many cyclists were racing! At the circuit, there was every sort of level of cyclist, which was sometimes a little bit scary because you could be easily trapped in the middle of a super slow or a super fast peloton. Despite that and the lack of sleep I had an amazing time and I could definetely do it again! We manage to get 3rd in our category and 65th overall out of 495! Wooo! ****These amazing photos were taken by the amazing Thomas Lodin Julia

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Flashback Friday: Selects of The Specialized Rocket Espresso Team at Red Hook Crit Brooklyn No. 10.

-@angelocalilap

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Playing tourist. 

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Racing in the rain/wet 2 times in less than a week: not the worst. Having to clean the bike again each time: the worst. (📸: James Nord)

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We (The 5th Floor) have teamed up with Specialized o launch our custom Specialized Allez Sprint track bike for the next 3 rounds of the 2017 Red Hook Crit series. I am very exited about this partnership and super stoked to have had the opportunity to design the custom paint job on these bikes, which is based on our 2017 kit design by adidas. The Allez Sprint Track, which is based on Specialized’s road Allez Sprint, is still not available to the public. We will join Specialized’s fixed crit team, Specialized-Rocket Espresso, in being the only team to use these bikes. Unlike the Team Specialized-Rocket Espresso bikes, these graphics will not made available to purchase. Read more about this project over on Cycling Weekly. See these bikes in action hitting the next round of Red Hook Crit in London, 22nd July. - @RudyMelo

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Been enjoying the arrival of summer in New York City and the vibes and heart-rate has been high. 

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Because New Bike Day isn't official until you take a #baaw (bike against a wall) photo. Meet the very bright, very light #MeanGreenTarmac.

@angelocalilap

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Disc brakes make descending way more fun. Me and team mate Dave Hall descending from one of the climbs in Sierra Nevada, Spain. Photo by Angus Sung - @RudyMelo

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Happy National Donut Day! - @maeelizabethg

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Yesterday we rode 49km uphill, climbing a total of 2,770 meters, to reach the top of Pico Veleta in Spain. Then 47km downhill back to Granada in less than 1 hour. It was amazing! - @RudyMelo

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Well, it's definitely no secret that my Camber and I have become quite the pair. My boyfriend and I have even started making a tiny course to practice on in our backyard AND I signed up for a Women's Downhill Camp that's happening in July. I pretty much jumped in with both feet to say the least. I'm still SO incredibly new, but very set on learning. This past weekend we took a trip to Destin for a little beach vacation and while we were there we thought we would visit a local MTB trail. We reached out for suggestions on social media, found the address of a trail near by, packed up our stuff, and headed out. The trail head had no map of the trail system, but plenty of bear warnings. As we're riding along I'm thinking to myself how flat it is, no one would need anything more than a CX bike out here, easiest trail ever, so and so on and then BAM I over correct and throw myself into a tree. Just goes to show you that you can literally fall anywhere so use this as my friendly reminder to wear a helmet while riding. Regardless of the tiny scratches (and slightly hurt ego) I ended up with, we had fun, explored through the path of palm trees, admired the crazy amount of white moss, and of course stopped to take photos. We finished the ride, stopped for acai bowls, and ended our day playing in the ocean while enjoying Floridas white sandy beaches. Bikes, food, and the beach - I'd say this is one of my favorite ways to spend a day. @maeelizabethg

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Well hello, neon yellow. New race season calls for new race shoes.

Photo: Angelo Calilap • @angelocalilap

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Meet my new beauty - the Specialized Women's Camber, but first let me give you a little back story as this was not an overnight decision.

Nearly a year ago I felt some major and loving peer pressure to get a mountain bike. Considering my first experience prior to that was awful, I wasn't too keen on getting back on one, much less buying my own. Unfortunately I made the mistake of borrowing a bike much too big for me, slammed my lady bits on it within the first five minutes, and felt as if I was going to fall off at any point. Let's just say I was not one with that bike and because of this experience I thought I hated mountain biking.

Sometime in the following year is when I joined an off-road cycling team (for CX) where the majority of those girls also love mountain biking. Lucky for me they gave me the itch to give it another try. After hearing I wanted to try MTB again, my friend Carol reached out to me and offered to let me borrow her bike and have a mini clinic with me as she was in the process of getting her certification to be an instructor. I took her up on it and wow, what a difference that made. When I met her at the trails she took the first 20 minutes or so to set up the bike to accommodate me. We went out and did a mix of riding and skill training where she would take video of me to better explain either what I was doing right or wrong. Long story short, this made a massive difference and I became hooked. I spent the next few months trying to educate myself on the various types of bikes and figure out (with the help of others) what would be the best bike for me.

Once I decided on the Camber I spent a solid few days visiting my local Specialized Dealers to try a few sizes and chat with them about sizing. Because they didn't have the exact bike in stock, it took some side-by-side geometry comparing to really figure it out.

Fast forward to this week when the bike arrived and I rode it for the very first time. I LOVE IT. It was a process to get to this point, but completely worth it. I'll be sharing my MTB adventures (the good and the hilariously bad - as I always do) in the next coming months!

@maeelizabethg​

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I was fortunate enough to work on the latest limited edition, NYC-focused product available only at Specialized dealers in New York City.

In an effort to bring out NYC’s rich history through the channel of cycling, Specialized released a limited edition kit inspired by The Madison - named after Madison Square Garden in New York – a race where riders in each team ride part of the distance, handing over to the other member, resting, and then returning to the race. Pick one up at your local (NYC) Specialized dealer.

- @angelocalilap