Roman Kilun

2009-03-27T18:10:00.001-07:00

Good memories from Mexico.

Hangin in Redlands right now, race is going ok. Thinking about how
sweet the ididarod dog sled race. Tonight we are going to have dinner
with the awesome Robertson family.

2009-03-09T18:33:00.000-07:00

On the plane now about to touch down in lax. Got to fly first class
thanks to Floyd, a big thank you to him for this very special treat.
Speaking of treats, the tacos I had this morning from a street vendor
were insanely good.

The last few days in Mexico were great. The final stage was circuit in
Mexico city right in down town. The weather was beautiful and the race
was perfect with Pinner taking the win after the team put together a
killer leadout. A great way to end the tour and bring some serious
momentum into the domestic calendar.

After the race we had a great night on the city with riders and staff
from all different teams. Lots of dancing and tequila was enjoyed by
all and I bought a sweet luchadore mask. Amid all the fun was a
serious dose of reality, there were kids everywhere in the middle of
the night selling cigarettes and gum. It was pretty upsetting to see
that knowing that there was no way these kids could be going to school
in the morning. This trip was one of extreme contrasts, lots of
suffering, and I loved it.
Sent my iPhone

2009-03-08T10:14:00.001-07:00

2009-03-07T06:00:00.001-08:00

That's Mike hanging out of the car directing traffic.

2009-03-07T05:59:00.001-08:00

All the cars at the start town.

2009-03-07T05:58:00.001-08:00

Burgers and beer after the stage in Leon.

Fwd:

2009-03-06T17:37:00.000-08:00

I am back in the van again, this morning we had a three hour drive and
the then raced for 200k...again. In fact this was our third day over
200k. Total after six days is at least 1100k.
Today was a bit hard but much better than yesterday. The stage went
from san miguel de ajende to Leon. Very beautiful roads with some
serious cobbles. Cam had a killer race and won the stage out of the
break. The rest of us finished in the field after some insane downhill
action by the ouch boys.
Floyd just told me about how to go faster than you actually are.
>
> Yesterday was so hard. Another day over 200 k and at least 20,000
> feet of climbing. Last kom was over 12000 feet. About 140 k in the
> attacks went on a steep section and as the race was tearing to bits
> we hit about a kilometer of cobbles that were basically just
> boulders. At that point I think a lot of ambitions were crushed. I
> am not sure but I think the stage took 6.5 hours.

Ok enough talking have a good night.
>
> Sent from my iPhone

2009-03-04T19:04:00.000-08:00

Cocktails before dinner

2009-03-04T16:30:00.001-08:00

This is the church we parked next to at the start of todays stage.
It's just as beautiful on the inside. Today we had a 200k stage that
went blissfully quick since I was sick. Pinner had a great day and
finished 3rd.

2009-03-03T15:40:00.000-08:00

Tyler and Benny at the finish

2009-03-03T15:09:00.001-08:00

New Look/specialized prototype seen in Mexico.

Stage tres

2009-03-03T14:17:00.000-08:00

I am sitting at the top of a big mountain in Mexico. today was pretty
eventful, Gibo Sinoni won the stage Floyd was great up the final climb
but got taken into the ditch by some dude.

The funny thing that happened this morning was first I saw a guy
running, run staight into a car door and then another dude ran into me
in full sprint as I was riding to the start, knocked me staight into
the ditch. Now I knew some of the local riders are scetchy on the bike
but running? As they say, you have to keep your head up at all times.
Speaking of which the roads are pretty insane and we have no idea
what is coming at any moment. Cobbles, tracks,dogs, kids in
wheelbrows, carts with donkeys, and all kinds of other stuff. Oh and
another thing, this whole place us in fire. I have no idea why but
there are fires evrywhere. I think people are clearing fields and
burning trash, it makes pretty hard to breath when you are already at
9000 feet.

Oh and yesterday we raced 220km and Pinner did an awesome job to get
second after a rough lead out.
Today Karl was in the break all day and took the sprint jersey.

Feeling good, 5 more stages to go, no crits or tt either.
Sent from my iPhone

Stage one

2009-03-02T06:03:00.000-08:00

In the van now with our driver Royal heading to the stage. Today we
have a 200k stage with a good climb in the end. Yesterday we had a
nice circuit race with lots of cobbles. Very were siting pretty with
Brad in the beak but then he flatter and we were on the defensive.
Unfortunately we underestimated the break and did not chase early
enough so in the end they stayed away by 58 sec and Karl got 4th.

I am excited to me heading to a new place now but Oaxaca was great and
the staff at the Hotel Victoria took great care of us.

Sent from my iPhone

Veiw from the ruins

2009-02-28T16:26:00.000-08:00

Hello everybody,

Roman

Ruins

2009-02-28T12:31:00.000-08:00

Oaxaca

2009-02-27T17:14:00.000-08:00

I'm on a plane, I can't complain

2009-02-27T01:17:00.000-08:00

On the plane right now to Mexico city and then to Oaxaca. I am really
excited to go to Mexico city and I only figured out we'd be racing
there yesterday when a friend told me that DF is what they call it.
Until then I had no idea that we would be racing there. I am on the
same flight as Dholla, it's nice to have a familiar face around.

If any of you out there have any tips or comments about traveling in
Mexico I would gladly hear them.

Sent from my iPhone

2009-02-25T22:01:00.001-08:00

2009-02-25T21:57:00.001-08:00

Tomorrow I am leaving for am exciting trip to Mexico. I am going there to do the Vuelta Mexico. It's a an 8 day race that looks like it should be real tough. Mostly I an just itching to race and see a new place along the way.

I am going try to post about the trip and how the Ouch boys are doing.

China Takes Offense at Mike Friedman

2008-08-06T14:16:00.000-07:00

So apparently the US Track team has caused quite a stir by wearing face masks upon their arrival to China. The Chinese have taken offense because they feel they have made ample efforts to clean up their air before the Olympics. These officials are so full of it. I can't believe that the US athletes actually apologized. First, everyone in Asia wears these masks on the street and very often in public places like the airport. In fact when I was in Taiwan I felt pretty stupid riding my bike with no mask while ALL the people on the street were wearing masks. Second, by all accounts the air in Beijing is still really bad despite the best efforts of the officials. So, instead of taking personal responsibility and feeling regret towards the world's athletes which are their guests, the Chinese officials take offense when those same athletes try to take measures to protect themselves. Pretty lame. Go USA!!!!!

New Day

2008-06-12T18:56:00.000-07:00

Just got back to the hotel from Cannon falls.

We got a little revenge from yesterday, Kirk took the win and Murph was third. The team rode great. The race was pretty sketchy early on but we were able to take control on the finishing circuits and take it to the line.

I love the dirt section in this stage, we need more of that kind of stuff. Time to eat and rest before tomorows double day.

RK

stupid stupid race

2008-06-11T18:26:00.000-07:00

It is shocking that Nature Valley is the premier nrc stage race, this race is so stupid. Today the officials stopped the crit half way through, when the field was all broken up and all of our guys were in the front group and Kirk was in the break. WTF, if its too dangerous don't start the race in first place, nothing changed between the start and the middle of the race. Why did I have to get all wet and risk my skin just to have it cancelled.

Here's the real problem: The officials should no be asking the riders if they want to continue, ofcourse everyone who got dropped will want to call it. That's a matter for the team directors to sort out like professionals. Officials need to stop doing this nonsense if they want the racers to lissten and respect them.

On the bright side at least all our boys kept is upright.

Travel Day

2008-06-10T17:12:00.000-07:00

Today I am traveling to Minneapolis for the Nature Valley Grand Prix, I got the call after Karl Ten Menzies suffered a terrible crash during Philly week. I am glad to be going but really sad for Karl since he will probably out for months and had amazing form before the accident.

The last couple of weeks have been really positive for me. After spending most of the spring on the road it was nice to get a couple of weeks at home to do some solid training, spend time with friends and do some local races which went really well.

In the last two weeks I won two time trials, Dunlap and Sattley. Both were great mostly because I got to catch up with people and race without any stress; although flatting my tubular and having to find then glue a new one 30 minutes before Dunlap was exciting (thank you Bev for lending me a tire). For Sattley I had the pleasure of spending the weekend with my friend Joe Fineman who kindly gave me a ride and helped me with a place to stay. (honestly I need a lot of help).

One thing I want to mention after this last week is how impressed I am with the latest crop of rider coming out of DBC and the clubs success over time. Sean, Paul, Tyler, Jesse and many more have all used DBC to develop and step up to the national scene; this does not even include the juniors there that I know will be ripping legs in the pros in 2-3 years. I often talk to people about why among all other clubs out there DBC has been so good for so long. I think it comes down to community, respect, and hard work. There are so many people in the club and the town of Davis that are good role models for young riders who inspire them to by making them part of that community. These people are not pro racers; they are people who love riding, who want to share their wisdom while riding their bikes with new people. I mean, when I was a freshman in college, I was inspired to be the promoter of the Dunlap TT as a member of the club.

Furthermore, the members of the club work hard to raise money and not through sponsorships but by putting on excellent events that brings in cyclist from all over the country. Funding the team in this way makes the funding stream much more consistent from year to year and allows the club to stay focused on developing its own talent.

I am very happy to see the virtuous cycle continuing and am proud to have once been a member.

One, last note; I just finished reading the book “The World Is Flat.” I think that it is an excellent book and raises issues that concern every person regardless of their political orientation. Although it is a few years old it is only more relevant today. I urge everyone to read before the election.

A quote I really liked from the book is; Green is the new red, white and blue.
This suggests that environmentalism is fundamental to American prosperity and national security and is therefore very patriotic.

RK

Nice Weekend

2008-01-15T12:10:00.000-08:00

This weekend I did a nice ride, went to the track, and rode down to fremont to dothe Early Bird Crit.

Here are some pictures I took during the Crit.

I can't say I have ever seen a mountain bike in a crit before but what the hell.

MP Birthday

2007-11-02T11:01:00.000-07:00

Hey Everybody,

This Sunday is my Sweet's birthday and in case you forgot everyone is invited to celebrate at the Golden Skate on Sunday night. We went there last year and it was a blast. I hope lots of people can make it. Here is the copy of Martina's artful invitation.

In other news I am proud to announce that I will be a Health Nut for another year. We are going to have a fantastic team and I am very excited.

Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Socked In

2007-11-01T10:41:00.000-07:00

Well in some parts of the country people may soon wake up to a white snowy wonderland. Today, I woke up to a mist soggy foggy wonderland. Right now the visibility from my house is about 20 feet. I love this kind of weather, finally time to put on the leg warmers and the jacket and get to business.

For some reason I have this song in my head this morning.

wow.

RK

Channel Surfing

2007-10-31T21:57:00.000-07:00

American Beauty is one amazing movie. I was just flipping through the channels and caught the last ten minutes. I need to watch the whole thing again.

Then I flipped to "Tell me you love me" this show is totally depressing but I can't help watching. I wish Flight of the Conchords was on instead.

I love this scene right here.

2007-04-04T15:53:00.000-07:00

Did my annual ride to the top of Diablo today and I have to say it asn't gotten any easier. Its funny, even as I get stronger the suffering stays pretty much constant.

RK

Friends

2007-04-03T22:13:00.000-07:00

Good Evening,

Live life as best as you can, invite an old friend to dinner and relax. Maybe drink some wine and just chill.

RK

Good Times

2007-04-02T22:47:00.000-07:00

I am not sure what is really going on but I am more busy now than when I was still in school.

Today, I did some pretty cool work at the Cafe. We set up some counters and are getting ready for the rock to be installed. Its nice cause its actually starting to look like something.

Went to Ojai this weekend, that race is getting to be pretty big and the town is a super nice to race. I think it would be great to go there and train for a week in the winter. The race was hard but not brutal, i felt OK but did not get it together in the end the way i wanted to, guess i just need to man up.

Peace
Roman

2007-03-30T14:18:00.000-07:00

Well well well,

So I am at home procrastinating on my ride. I' ve pretty much felt wierd all week since I got back from Taiwan on Sunday. Can't seem to sleep in the morning and then I am sleepy all day. Plus I think that someone is slipping me decaf cause the stuff doesn't seem to work.

Some of you may scoff at the fact that it has been about 6 months between each of my posts and I really have no excuses or promises to change but we will see where this takes me.

In terms of big non-cycling news I will report that I am officially done with law school. I know because I got my diploma in the mail while I was in Taiwan. Also, I have been doing some work on my dad's cafe which should open in about a month. For those who live in the bay area I encourage you to check it out. The location is the former Jucy's (that is some bad spelling) on college ave by Rockridge bart. The place is coming along nicely but needs lots of work still.

On the biking front, I will be going down south for sundays race in Ojai and should have a few team mates there to make it interesting. After that it will be Sea Otter and Gila with a short stop in Bisbee.

OK time to make more coffee and go ride. I really have no excuse cause the weather is fantastic right now unlike CO.

Q of the day: Why does everybody want to move to Boulder when the weather there pretty much sucks?

RK

US Pro

2006-09-02T18:47:00.000-07:00

Well here I am in Greenville, and I am nervous. Everyone keeps saying how hard its going to be, which is not helping. But actually I am looking forward to tomorow. I think the course is interesting and the race will go by quick. Ok just keep telling myself that it will be fun. Time to go to bed, I will do a little write up tomorow. Oh.. I saw George H. today and he had about 50 people following him through town, he's like almost famous.

Roma

Early Bird #4

2006-01-29T18:51:00.000-08:00

Today we rode down to the early bird #4 with all the homies. I can't believe how many people like to ride down to Fremont these days. Nice to see everyone is training so well this year. The race was cool, O'Bee came out and we tried to do a little lead out for Dennis.

Ciao

Fun with Cingular

2006-01-27T20:38:00.000-08:00

Well,

Today I did a good ride on my bike, mostly around lake Merritt. They I went to Royal...yes its Royal not Cole or anything stupid like that. Speaking of Royal we are riding from Royal tomorow at 9:30 so if you are special enough to be reading this you are invited.

Tonight Martina and I went to the Cingular store to buy her a new sell phone. Hers was totally ancient and held together with snot. In all their wisdom in order to get a new phone she had to buy a whole new plan. the people at the store were so surly and unhelpful that it was almost funny but somehow we ended up with a good deal and getting a Teeni-bopper phone for free. Its a nokia 3220 and it has a nice speaker phone.

I wonder if any people are going out to the earlybird RR tomorow.

Stuff for Sale

2006-01-27T10:50:00.000-08:00

Good morning all,

Well it pretty wet out in Oakland so I am waiting a bit to go ride so that the roads may dry a touch. I am only going for 2 hours. In mean time i tought I would write that i am seling lots of stuff like dura ace 10speed parts, lots of clothes lots of cycling shoes 44.5 and other similar stuff. so if you need someting let me know and i might have it.

Also, i have started toying with the idea of doing some choaching maybe like three or four cyclists. so... if you want me to coach you or have any input on this idea let me know.

Oh and the picture above is of my sisters.

Lola and Martina

2006-01-26T18:02:00.000-08:00

A Start

2006-01-26T09:15:00.000-08:00

Well,

Many of those that know would doubt that I am capable of keeping an online journal; you are probably right but I'm still going to try. Basically this is my idea to keep my friends and other informed about my life and travels. I also want this to be an interactive forum about cycling where I will post some race reports and other stuff. At least initially I will allow others to post comments and see how that goes.

So... here's an update:
I've been home for a couple of days since going to camp with my new team Health Net. Camp was great, everybody was super cool and we got lots of nice equipement. Also the riding around Solvang is great but the town it self is a tad lackluster. Since I've been back I've been chillin with family and Martina.
Take a look at this for pics of the camp:
http://hcphoto.smugmug.com/Winter%20Training%20Camps

While at camp we got our racing schedule and my first team race will be the Tour de Taiwan. Here is the site:
http://www.khhtri.org.tw/tourdetaiwan/index.htm