So my adventures at the paddocks of Formula 1 have been cut a day short. In fact, just short of the end of the qualifications. Hey, at least I got kicked out with style with a blazing police escort.
This is what can happen occasionally when you live on the thrilling edge of life.
But I didn’t leave without:
Photos of the famous windy hill of Spa
A photo with Mark Webber – who sits on pole position tomorrow! Hoo-wee!
Photos of the F1 Atmosphere – pretty girls, VIP hospitality, the fans, the drivers, the press folks, the course, the team trailers
Video of pit stops
Video of the cars lining up in, and taking off out of, the pit lane
A glass of white wine and a Redbull Cola (not consumed at the same time)
I thought the sounds of bike racing are spectacular – the sounds of Formula One through earplugs are similarly thrilling, and dare I say, maybe more spectacular? Nah – still amazed at the sounds of wheezing at the top of those long, steep, windy climbs.
Surprisingly to me, there is a lot of consideration for safety in Formula 1. This, only because of the dramatizaton and media replay of all of the spectacular crashes that happen to light, fast, fragile carbon fiber machines that zoom at speeds of around 220mph.
HISTORICAL FORMULA ONE SAFETY FUN FACTS
The drivers cockpit is a monocoque, or “single shell” design. While a tighter, narrower cockpit allows the driver to withstand greater cornering G-forces, the tighter construction makes it more difficult to get out of should there be a crash. Over the years, the dimensions of the cockpit opening have grown. Currently it is 850mm long and at least 350mm wide at the pedals. (via http://www.formula1.com/inside_f1/safety/cockpit_and_crash_tests/7435.html)
Crash tests are supervised by the FIA, and take place at the Cranfield Impact Centre in Bedfordshire, England. A whole center dedicated to impact!
The first Formula 1 cars in 1950 were built for speed, period. There was no medical back-up or form of safety net! Safety precautions were not introduced in Formula 1 until 1960.
In 1972, head rests and rear lights were introduced. Really?? Before then people just guessed when you were braking??
Medical centers aren’t mandatory at circuits until 1980. By 1986, helicopters were required to be on stand by for medical personnel
By 1999 tech people got sick of all of the flying wheels from accidents and required that the wheels be attached to the chassis via tethers
In 2002, time penalties could be imposed for a number of bad behaviors: triggering a falst start, causing an accident or collision, forcing another driver off the track, not heeding the blue flag three times, or intentionally impeding another driver trying to overtake. I wonder if the rules include head-butting?
MISCELLANEOUS FORMULA ONE SAFETY FUN FACTS
The current safety car is a sexy 571-HP Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG, featuring a 6.3-litre V8. Yeah baby! Mercedes-Benz has supplied the official safety car since 1996.
Bernd Maylander (yes, that’s how his name is spelled) has been driving this sexy safety car since 2000. He leverages his experience as a former successful touring-car racer to know the exact pace to keep the race safe and managed, while being fast enough that the Formula One cars such that the tires and brakes don’t cool down too much.
Formula One helmets are still painted by hand! It’s an incredibly skilled job that can require hundreds of hours of work.
Drivers wear overalls made of Nomex® fiber, which allows them to withstand 11 seconds at 840 degrees Celcius. To compare, the lava in a volcanic eruption reaches between 750 and 1000 degrees!
If you are new to the world of Formula 1, as I am, here is a list of all of the best resources I’ve found from around the web to get you started to enjoying the weekend’s festivities.
If you are experienced and versed in the world of Formula 1, and you see something below that you think us newbies should know, of that is just plain interesting, please post it below in the comments!
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FORMULA 1 TERMS AND CONCEPTS
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The Formula 1 Official Website has a fantastic run-down of the main terms you’ll need to know for Formula 1. Check out their resource here: http://www.formula1.com/inside_f1/glossary.html
In addition to this guide, here are a few terms and concepts that I found through my research that wasn’t in the glossary above, but key to know to understand the action:
The Grid
The Grid is the starting lineup positioning of the cars. “The Grid” refers to the actual physical lineup of the cars, from the first and most coveted spot, the Pole Position, to the last spot.
During the qualifying sessions, usually the Saturday before Sunday race-day, the cars get to run the lap for the fastest lap time.
Knock-Out Qualifying
Saturday is the big day that The Grid lineup is determined through a series of 3 qualifying sessions. While it is the fastest driver who gets to prime “Pole Position” (the first spot on the start grid), the back of the grid is determined by who gets “knocked out” each round.
Thus, the last 5 positions are determined by the slowest 5 finishers. The remaining cars continue to race, the next last 5 positions get determined, etc, until the first 5 are determined by fastest qualifying lap time.
Overtaking
The Formula 1-specific term for “getting passed”, or “dropping someone” is overtaking. I found the official Formula 1 website description of overtaking to be particularly fascinating, and want to highlight it here. Sure, it sounds like, “Go faster and drop the other car”, but when all machines are finely tuned precision machines and keeping it sexy on the track, overtaking (and blocking being overtaken) gets quite strategic.
The Hole Shot
Just as in BMX and Cross Country Mountain Bike Racing, the “hole shot”, or the race to the first corner for position and psychological dominance, is what many of the drivers seek from the start of the race. Although over the last few years precautions have been taken to increase safety for cars and drivers, resulting in fewer start-lap, first-corner crashes, the start is still a good opportunity to overtake.
Pole Position “Jean Girard is sitting on the pole, which is a statement of fact, and is in no way a comment on the driver’s sexual orientation.”
Ha! I had to throw in that quote from Talledega Nights.
Pole position is the first and coveted spot on the start grid. The driver in the pole position has the responsibility and opportunity to set the pace, as well as being in the optimal position to warm up his tires for optimal traction and cornering.
Tire Warm Up
As mentioned above, the driver sitting on the pole position has the optimal control of warming up his car’s tires for high performance.
“Working heat” into the car’s tires is done through a combination of hard acceleration, braking, and cornering.
“Because I can hear what they’re saying. They’re talking about us.”
“Wow, you must have great hearing,” I said. Then I realized that it wasn’t that I couldn’t hear them talking, but that because they were speaking in another language, my mind had selectively blocked out their voices from the get go.
This is the miraculous power of mental filtration, our minds selectively blocking out what it deems unimportant, excessive, or unrecognizeable. If it’s unrecognizeable, it must not be important to us, the mind reasons, because if it were, we would surely already know it.
It’s a matter of perceptual blindness.
One popularly cited example of this is of Magellan bringing his tall European ships to South America, where the Native Americans could not see the ships that were offshore. These gigantic ships were so “out of this world”, so implausible that they simply did not register in the Native Americans’ minds.
Ever hear yourself say, “What are you looking at? What are we looking for?” as a friend tries to point something out to you? Sometimes it takes a while to comprehend what novel thing they’re pointing to.
According to Magellan’s accounts, it was the shaman alone who was open to the possibilities of strange things from other worlds that allowed him to finally see the ships off shore. The shaman was then able to help others see the ships, one by one.
This is a “funny” story, to think that whole communities of people couldn’t see massive ships coming towards them to take over their land.
There are so many things in our own lives that fall into the realm of “unknown”, “unrecognizeable”, “can’t see it”, “doesn’t exist”, or simply, “That’s impossible” or “I don’t know how to do it!”
How do you achieve your goals when they seem just too crazy, too outlandish and out of reach?
What about that goal you’re after?
The promotion you’ve wanted?
That website you want to launch?
That new business you’ve always dreamed of having?
The team you want to be on?
The invention that would change the world, except, it would never actually be accepted or come to fruition?
That dream to move to a foreign country?
You can have anything you want, and you can have it now.
For every desire you have, the way already exists for you to have it.
You may just not be able to see How it will happen, Where the path is, What to do to get it, Who you need to talk to. But it’s there, it’s just a matter of being able to see it to do something about it.
This is why it’s important to keep learning from those 5 steps ahead of you.
To seek the coaching that is required, to hire the expertise that will get you to your goal.
They can see solutions that you may never think of. They have experience that will enable them to put together solutions that go beyond reading a few tips in a book will offer.
“We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” – Albert Einstein
Some of the successes I’ve had in the last few months wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for the mentors and coaches who inspired me, encouraged me, and helped me to get there:
Score a press pass to the Tour de France
Score a pass to the Formula 1 paddocks
Land a gig teaching the top 6 sales heads of a global technology corporation how to create and share their brands in a way that closes more deals and rallies the support of their team
Meet Sir Richard Branson, and get him to agree to be on my show
Interview entrepreneurial hot shots like Gala Darling (blogging goddess), Daymond John (Shark Tank, creator of FUBU), Peter Shankman (HARO creator), and Mike Michalowicz (Toilet Paper Entrepreneur)
Meet and interview former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan
I am a bold, audacious, and some might call crazy person, all on my own. But you can bet that I lean on the help of trusted mentors and coaches to kick my butt into the fear zone, that place where obstacles magically disappear and your dreams suddenly appear.
Get the help you need – hire a coach, find a mentor. Go get your dream, however you have to do it!
“It’s just 1k away? I’ll drive my car down one-way streets in the middle of this downtown area where all of the signs are in French to meet you.” And I will see you in 1.5 hours, because that’s how long it will take me to find you, park the car, and walk back to the restaurant.
“It’s only 4k to the top of the Tourmalet? Let’s walk it, the rain looks like it’s stopped! First let me get my backpack filled with all of the electronics I own.”
“Hey, why don’t I ride the Koppenberg on my 3 speed hunk of rental bike!”
“Missed the train? No problem – we can ride our bikes back to Gent! It stays light out pretty late here, right?”
“Yes, I’m going to rent a 1 person kayak and paddle down the canals of Gent. It hasn’t rained in days!”
So yeah, maybe I made a few mistakes along the way. Misjudged a few things.
But as with all adventures, the good and the bad, and the ones that feel bad in the moment but turn out really good in the end, they all start with an idea and involve at least some risk. Risk keeps life alive, and can bring awesome rewards in the end.
Chloe Hosking (HTC-Columbia) captured her second professional stage win at today’s Uptown Minneapolis Criterium. Shelley Evans (Peanut Butter & Co TWENTY12) won all three intermediate sprint competitions and took third in the pack sprint to gain an additional 21 seconds worth of time bonuses and secure the yellow jersey, as
The race was active, with HTC-Columbia’s Kim Anderson, Emilia Fahlin, and Linda Villumsen seen attacking at the front alongside Team Vera Bradley Foundation, Team TIBCO, and Colavita/Baci. Breakaways only got a few seconds away, and lasted at most one lap. As the time bonus laps were announced, Peanut Butter & Co TWENTY12 took to the front to deliver Evans to her time bonuses.
“We wanted to make Shelley really work for the sprints so I was jumping long to try to get her to have to go early,†said Brooke Miller (Team TIBCO). “The first two time bonuses I had some long sprints out there, we were jumping before the corner!†Miller captured a total of 16 seconds of time bonus, 10 for taking second in the stage and six additional sprint competition seconds.
“The battle was on today, some different people were going for it, some competitive sprinters,†Evans said about the fierce sprint points competitions, which saw Evans drive all the way to the line to take the wins. “It took a little out of my snap, but you know, big picture always in mind, the team did an amazing job for getting it. We had our goal, we accomplished it, and we’re happy.â€
With four laps to go the peloton slowed down and went from strung out to spreading across the width of the road.
“It slowed a bit in the last 3 laps, so it was a bit of jumping from wheel to wheel just to try to stay up front,†said Hosking. “Luckily for me it really picked up in the last lap. We [the team and I] rode the course before, and we thought that going into that last corner if you were more than second wheel back your race was over. Coming into the last right hand corner was a bit chaotic. I was second wheel, but it was 3 people wide. Not ideal, but it worked out!â€
“Chloe had a great run on my wheel and flew around me right at the end, timed it perfectly,†said Miller, who drove out of the final corner with a small gap. “There’s a difference between losing and getting beat, and I got beat today, she had a great sprint.â€
Evans leads the yellow jersey charge with 19 seconds over the second place Starnes. Villumsen (HTC-Columbia) maintains third, while Ruth Corset (Team TIBCO) moves up to fourth with a one second intermediate sprint time-bonus. Kim Anderson (HTC-Columbia) was awarded the Freewheel Bike Most Aggressive Rider Jersey. Evans widens her Wheaties Sprint Jersey lead, Starnes keeps the Fruit By The Foot Best Young Rider Jersey and the Jelly Beans Sport Beans Queen of the Hills Jersey, and Chloe Forsman (Specialized D4W/Bicycle Haus) keeps the Nature Valley Top Amateur Rider Jersey.
Tomorrow’s Menomonie Road Race in Menomonie, WI, is a first for the Nature Valley Grand Prix. The 76 mile women’s course is marked by rolling hills and long climbs on a windy course that is anticipated to shake up the general classification.
Disappointment abounded when the Cannon Falls Road Race was cancelled due to severe weather conditions.
On a humidly sunny day as the Midwest knows so well, 92 women lined up at the start, adrenaline and anticipation in the air. The jersey-wearers were called up to the line and to the naked eye it seemed a race-start as usual, when race officials abruptly announced the cancellation of the race.
â€I race [cyclocross]. I’ve been through hail, snow, rain, wind, bring it on,“ said Coryn Rivera (Peanut Butter & Co Twenty Twelve).
â€We looked out on the road for places to take shelter, and there aren’t any,“ admitted Paul Merwin, the Women’s Technical Director. â€Once you’re out there there’s no where to go. It’s just open farm fields. A couple years ago we had a lightning strike and everybody hid in a barn at Redwing, but we don’t even have that out here.“
“We had a difficult conversation an hour in advance of are we going to go,†Merwin said. “We decided we were going to go and take the chance. It wasn’t until the very last minute that our state patrol car was on the phone with the National Weather Service and said, ‘You need to come see this’, that we see it’s a big red blotch and it’s coming right towards us. It went from, ‘There’s a 50% chance of significant weather’ to ‘there’s hail and 60 mile an hour winds that are on their way here’. That’s a level of certainty that we can’t ignore.“
Race officials tried every angle, looking for shortcuts, scoping out potential exit points, return points, and areas of shelter. In the end, definitive reports of severe tornado weather conditions from the National Weather Service caused the race to be called off.
â€I’m really disappointed,“ said David LaPorte, Executive Director of the Nature Valley Grand Prix. â€This was going to be an awesome stage, especially with the potential of the wind breaking up the general classification. Often times the Cannon Falls Race, when it’s calm, everyone rolls back into town as one big peloton and then a pack sprint for the finish. When you have a cross-wind you can gain or lose massive amounts of time. It looked like we could have that cross-wind, but it looked like we could also have a major downpours and hail it was just too dangerous. The women’s race we cancelled because we saw it coming in and the men’s race, when they started it looked like it was going to be okay and as it developed they had to cancel it as well.“
â€Yes, I’m disappointed, but it’s better than getting pounded on by hail and 60mph winds and possibly really getting hurt,“ said Shannon Koch (GG Events Management).
â€I finally got to do a stage race with a rest day,“ Katherine Carroll (Peanut Butter & Co TWENTY12) Tweeted lightheartedly.
Tomorrow sees the leaders line up again to shake up the tightly packed general classification at the Uptown Minneapolis Criterium.
Stage 3 of the Nature Valley Grand Prix, the Downtown St. Paul Criterium, was held together by the teams with general classification hopes, resulting in a shuffling of the general classification via time bonuses as Alison Starnes (Team TIBCO) maintained the yellow jersey for one more day.
The race was strung out from the gun, with HTC-Columbia, Peanut Butter & Company Twenty Twelve, and Colavita taking notable pulls at the front the first few laps.
A crash on the third lap found approximately 15 people in the neutral pit, including the yellow-jersey Starnes and several Team Vera Bradley Foundation, HTC-Columbia, Team TIBCO, and Peanut Butter & Company Twenty Twelve riders.
With the crash, chunks of the peloton struggled to bridge huge gaps. Eventually the pace eased up and most of the field regrouped. Some small breaks were attempted, but none stuck.
By the first 10 laps Peanut Butter & Co. Twenty Twelve’s strategy for claiming the yellow jersey became apparent as Shelley Evans won all three sprint laps. Evans went on to take third in the stage and amass a total of 21 seconds in time bonuses. Though hoping to overtake Starnes for the yellow jersey, Evans landed shy of the GC lead by just 2 seconds off the lead.
Though most of the race was well controlled, the teams fought a messy last lap set up their sprinters for the win.
“We were lined up with three to go which was too far out,†Evans explained. “We let other teams take control. I was just trying to move up and move up and never really made it far enough. You can’t win coming out of the corner on fifth or sixth wheel which is what happened to me so I just chased in the sprint.â€
“I’m a little disappointed in how I did, but, tomorrow’s a new day and we race again.â€
“It was really jumbled up at the end, all of the riders were really fighting, †said Theresa Cliff-Ryan (Colavita/Baci Pro Cycling Team) who took second on the stage. “Coming out of the last corner in second place, I just didn’t have enough to get to the line first.â€
While Peanut Butter & Co Twenty Twelve, Colavita/Baci Pro Cycling Team, and Team TIBCO fought for sprint time-bonuses, HTC-Columbia took a different approach.
“Coming into the race I wanted to look after myself going into the sprint and I found myself in third place on Theresa Cliff-Ryan’s wheel which is not a bad place to be,“ said stage winner Hosking. â€I was lucky enough to get a win. It feels really good to finally get a win under my belt this season.“
About the team strategy for the rest of the week, Hosking added, “We’ve got two really strong GC contenders and we’re confident that we’ll be able to get the time back on the girls who got the time bonuses today on the hills. Evelyn Stevenson and Linda Villumsen are two of the top climbers in the world.â€
Former time trial UCI World Champion Amber Neben (Webcor Builders) continued her return to racing after recovering from a crash-marred season and was seen safely near the front of the peloton.
Stage 3, the Cannon Falls Road Race, boasts three Queen of the Hill competitions and one sprint points competition. Time bonuses of 15, 10, and six seconds will be granted first, second, and third place stage finishers respectively.
Heading into Cannon Falls, just seven seconds separates the top six general classification contenders.
Evans is 2 seconds back, while team mates Linda Melanie Villumsen and Evelyn Stevens (HTC-Columbia) are four seconds and five seconds back respectively. Ruth Corset (Team TIBCO) is five seconds back, and Alison Powers (Team Vera Bradley Foundation) is seven seconds back.
Alison Starnes of Team TIBCO won the St. Paul Riverfront Time Trial, exemplifying what the Nature Valley Grand Prix is all about – growing young talent from their first professional race experience to winning this year’s opening stage in her first NRC win. The podium was rounded out by two HTC Columbia riders, Linda Villumsen and Evelyn Stevens in second and third place respectively.
Just two years ago Starnes had her first taste of professional cycling as part of the Nature Valley Pro Ride team.
“This was my first pro race,†shared Starnes. “I’d just upgraded from a Cat-4 earlier that year, and the experience was a little traumatic – I just remember it was hard!â€
One notable difference of this year on the technical side was the ban of aero equipment. Though most riders wishes they could race in full time trial gear, Starnes noted, “It’s the same race, it’s you against the clock.â€
Previous years’ champion Kristin Armstrong, who announced her retirement from the sport at this stage last year, returns as the director of Peanut Butter & Co Twenty12.
“I still can’t sleep before a time trial, I get nervous for my girls!†said a radiantly pregnant Armstrong. “I’ve won this race the last four years and I’m back with my team to with for a fifth straight year.â€
When asked which is harder, being a cyclist or being director, Armstrong laughs, “I think it’s easier to hop on your bike and ride! It’s been a lot of work, a lot of fun, and I’m looking forward to this week. I want the girls to be able to have great races and have the kinds of experiences that I’ve had here at Nature Valley.â€
Armstrong coaches many of the girls in the peloton, including winner Starnes.
“Time trialing is all in the head. It takes time to become mentally strong. Once you do that, you’ve done your homework, your fitness is there, you just have to go as hard as you can on a bike. It’s just 15 minute time trial. There’s no pacing, there’s no holding back. When you cross that line, I always tell people, no regrets because you were in control those 15 minutes.â€
Last year’s champion Alison Powers (Team Vera Bradley Foundation) came in just shy of the podium in 4th place at 14’ 45“.
The action continues tonight at the St. Paul Downtown Criterium, with four opportunities for time bonuses of up to 15 seconds that is sure to shuffle around the general classification.
Posted: June 1st, 2010 | Filed under:Book Reviews | |
The Universe’s timing is always impeccable. I received this book for review and thought, “Oh, what a good idea, uncovering one’s shadow to discover the light.†What I received as a result of reading this book is a mental re-centering, and a return to a feeling of calm strength that left me after a tumultuous few weeks.
I cracked the book open to indulge what I thought would be a few casual musings from spiritual greats Deepak Chopra, Debbie Ford, and Marianne Williamson, and what I discovered was a treasure trove of strategies and stories that changed my day, my weekend, and if I continue the practice, my life.
To begin, I highly recommend taking “The Shadow Effect Test†first, before you dive into the rest of the book. I discovered this by accident (though in the case of this book I hardly believe it was an “accidentâ€), skimming this book cover to cover to get an overview of the styles and theories of each of the three authors. Then I came to the last section, “The Shadow Effect Testâ€. By taking this test before reading the book, I was able to immediately take the idea of “embracing the shadow†from theory to practical identification and application into my own life.
In taking the quiz, I’d realized that the recent misfortunes in my life – two car accidents, my bedroom flooding, driver’s license suspended by a fluke incident, to name a few – were not necessarily just happenstance “bad luckâ€, but an expression of a shadow side appearing in light of this year’s fast-track business, mental, spiritual, and emotional growth.
Seeing the immediate practical application, I was hooked.
The rest of the book continued to deliver much in the way of practical application.
Deepak Chopra opens the book with theory and history of The Shadow Effect, with a physician’s instinct. He clearly defines examples of when shadow increases (p. 35), then offers a 4 step process through which to release the shadow’s power and reclaim it to use for good.
These 4 steps include:
1. Stop projecting
2. Detach and let go
3. Give up self-judgement
4. Rebuild your emotional body
One of the most impactful points of the book for me is found in Step #1: Stop Projecting.
Deepak gives specific examples and categories of projection, and the weakness or fear they are hiding underneath. Having gone through a recent breakup, I saw how both myself and my ex were projecting onto each other. Distinguishing these projections and seeing them for what they truly are – illusions – gave me the immediate freedom from the anxiety and frustration I was feeling.
This exercise alone makes The Shadow Effect a 5-star book in my opinion.
In Part II by Debbie Ford, she drives home the idea of projection, and how both negative and positive projections are merely tools to help us grow. Her style is much warmer and embracing than Deepak’s style (who is admittedly speaking in a physician’s tone). Debbie’s fantastic tales from her own personal life as well as the people she has worked with have a much more gentle but no less powerful transformational effect. Her storytelling is like a warm ocean washing clean the mind’s slate, removing barriers of separation and allowing for the ease of wholeness.
One beautiful point Debbie brings up is the idea of light shadow projection – the good we admire and are in awe of in others is the good we have the potential to cultivate.
Amen! From admiration to owning.
Part III by Marianne WIlliamson focuses on love. True, empowering love, not the illusion of love or shadow, but the radical honesty that can seem painful at the time, but is actually love.
The quote I especially enjoyed: “God’s love is not a gooey love. It’s not even always ‘nice’, in a kind of pink, fuzzy way. It involves radical truth telling, the kind of truth that the heart knows even when the mind resists it. It has less to do with style and more to do with substance.â€
In sum, “The Shadow Effect†is a phenomenal book for anyone seeking to harness more of their untapped power, to release the shadow that hides in the corners of our mind and embrace it as gift. A fairly quick read with a practical, effective punch.
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