Monthly Archives: May 2009

  By MJCT | May 19, 2009 - 11:40 am | Luxury Cycling Tours
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I like this picture taken by Elizabeth Kreutz.  It reminds me of the times in the Peloton when I could actually take in the beauty around the races I did throughout Europe.  The riders are in a single line,  which means its fast,  but I doubt anybody is running in the red zone.

As a rider it was times like this where I could take my eyes off of the rider in front of me…  for at least one second.    js_giroditalia

However,  there are many, many places throughout Europe  ( over 900 days of racing )  where I have missed the charm.  There are times where it could be 2-3 hours before you could lift your head to see the side of the road…… fast racing!

One example is Liege-Bastogne-Liege.    I raced the race 5 times and never saw the Eddie Merckx  monument until I returned as a cyclo-tourist.    I was shocked at its prominance and wondered how I could have missed it…but I know how.  It lies at the top of a hellish burg,  and we topped each one of those  with our eyes popping out….deep in the red zone.    I have many, many examples…

Its  been an all together different experience to return to  these areas with Marty Jemison Cycling Tours.    Riding a very comfortable rhythm through Europe affords us to take in all of the beauty.   There are so many treasures to discover…   Its truly the best way to travel throughout Europe.

I’m getting anxious for my return trip this year!

Cheers,

Marty Jemison Cycling

  By MJCT | May 14, 2009 - 11:09 am | Luxury Cycling Tours
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Ted King is riding his first ever Grand Tour:  The Giro d’ Italia  ( The Tour of  Italy ).   His comments in a Velo News article reminded me of what I was thinking during my first few years of racing in Europe.  Like Ted,  I often wondered “why”  I was doing it.   Like Ted,   my answer was because “I loved it”

19 Years after I first went to Europe,  I’m  still looking forward to my return trips.   In over a decade  I amassed over 900 days of racing in Europe alone..   Today I  lead tours in France,  Italy,  Belgium,  Holland and Spain.  The pace is a bit more relaxed  but now I have a chance to absorb the different cultures even more.

You can read Ted Kings article here: http://www.velonews.com/article/92051/i-am-ted-king-for-the-love

Marty Jemison Cycling

Giro d’Italia — The Tour of Italy

  By MJCT | May 13, 2009 - 10:42 am | Luxury Cycling Tours
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I want to express my excitement about this years Giro d’ Italia.  Its the 100th edition.

In my 7 years as a Professional,  I did not have the chance to ride the race.   US Postal only rode the Tour de France and the Vuelta d’ Espana.    Now all Pro-Tour teams must ride all three Grand Tours.   The teams are bigger, they have more riders and their budgets are larger.

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“Thank You” Universal Sports for giving us live coverage of the Giro here in the USA.  This is going to be a great race.  As well as watching Universal Sports live on the computer,  I have the option to watch it on TV later in the evening.

In my case I get the channel for free through the airwaves.   I simply have a digital TV antenna connected to my digital TV and the channel comes in.  (you must enable the “search”  for digital channels  with  your TV remote)

Enjoy the month of May riding your bike and watching the Giro!

Marty Jemison Cycling

Custom Bike Build with SNS Couplers

  By MJCT | May 7, 2009 - 4:10 pm | Luxury Cycling Tours
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I’m getting excited to ride  my new custom bike.   I was able to work with the builder to come up with a geometry that would be hard to find in a bike off of the shelf.    Here are a few pictures of the progress.

Jemison Custom Bike Build

Check out the SNS Couplers.   Now I will have a “travel”  bike when I fly.

Jemison Custom Bike

Jemison Custom Bike Build

Jemison Custom Bike Build

Now I need to decide on a paint scheme.  What color should I choose?   There is even an option for a metal coating;  copper!  other ??

Once the bike if finished and I get it out on the road for a ride test I will come back here and give a review of its performance.   Being able to tweak the geometry to my riding style is something I have never been able to do until this point.  More later….

Marty Jemison Cycling

Meeting Governor Jon Huntsman at Dead Horse Point

  By MJCT | May 4, 2009 - 7:05 pm | Luxury Cycling Tours
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Today we rode to Dead Horse Point.   We had heard that the Governor of Utah,  Jon Huntsman might be  there for the opening of a new mountain bike trail.   Our timing was excellent.   When we arrived at the visitors center I found out that Jon was riding the 9 mile loop and would be back very soon.   15 minutes later he arrived looking much healthier than his security guards who were also on bikes.

Brad Olch is here with MJCT.  He was the Mayor of Park City during the Salt Lake Olympics and is running for Mayor again this year.   I was able to catch a picture of the two of them as they chatted about Utah being a cycling destination.

Former/Future Mayor of Park City, Brad Olch with Governor Jon Huntsman at Dead Horse Point

Former/Future Mayor of Park City, Brad Olch with Governor Jon Huntsman at Dead Horse Point

In my opinion Utah is a fantastic cycling destination:

Fact: 3 Tour de France participants were born in Utah.  Marty Jemison,  Dave Zabriskie and Jonathan Boyer;  the 1st American to ride and finish the TDF  ( born in Moab, Utah) .

Levi Leiphiemer went to high school in Salt Lake.  (Rolland Hall)  Jeff Lauder and Burke Swindlehurst  both live in Salt Lake City.

Early Mountain bike Pro Martin Stenger and countless other good rides have called Utah home.   There is a strong community of riders that have helped produced these riders which includes myself and I think the assets here in Utah have helped as well.

Cheers,

Marty Jemison Cycling

Attacked by Tumbleweeds in Canyonlands

  By MJCT | May 2, 2009 - 8:04 pm | Luxury Cycling Tours
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Newspaper Rock Canyonlands, Utah

Newspaper Rock Canyonlands, Utah

Today MJCT loaded up our guests and headed for Newspaper Rock to start our ride.

The skies were gray and there was just a drizzle of rain until we left the city limits…then the rain came down hard!  As we approached our starting point the skies cleared and desert soaked up all of the moisture.

We had a fantastic ride to the end of the Canyonlands National Park.  Line,  our Danish guide, had lunch waiting for us.  (  imagine your favorite cafe appearing in the middle of the desert…. but the mirage was real )

On our return the skies darkened once again.  Within moments the skies disappeared and we were in the middle of a massive dust storm .   There were 1000s of tumbleweeds blowing through the valley and it was impossible to avoid  them.  Our spokes and drivetrain tore up the weeds as we rode on.

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Look close to see the wave of Tumbleweeds on the move...

Look close to see the wave of Tumbleweeds on the move...

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The dust storm passed and the rain followed… but the strong tailwind had us back to the cars in no time.

Tomorrow we ride from the Gonzo in Moab into Arches National Park.   Dead Horse Point,  Potash & Kane creek  are all on our itinerary.   We have a great group and the rest of the trip should be great.

Blue Skies can change quickly in the desert..

Blue Skies can change quickly in the desert..

Marty Jemison Cycling