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Dauphiné Libéré
Photo ©: Sirotti

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The Shimano camp
Photo: © Chris Davidson

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.

2005 diary entries

World Championships - Madrid

Day 5 - Final day at World's and the post race travel
Day 4 - Showtime at worlds
Day 3 - D-day for the road race at Worlds
Day 2 - A great day all round
Day 1 - Getting set up for the ITT

Winding up for World's - Giro della Toscana

Day 6 - Italy to Spain via France at 100km/h
Day 5 - Here comes the rain
Day 4 Pt II - Into the night...
Day 4 - Euro cars, Euro racks, Google sites and random thoughts
Day 3 - Day three in Toscana
Day 2 - Everything in Italy happens slowly
Day 1 - Joys of the travelling mechanic

Snowmass NORBA - Aspen

Days 1-3 - Storms in Aspen

USA Cycling Women's Camp - National Training Centre

Days 3-6 - Bike washing and plenty of riding
Days one and two - Future champions

US National Road Championships - Deer Valley, Utah

Men's and Women's Elite races - Three days at home

NORBA #3 - Deer Valley, Utah

Day 4 - STXC time
Day 3 - Birthday celebrations
Day 1 - Back in the dirt and loving it

Wachovia Liberty Classic

Day 3 - Sunny Sunday
Day 2 - Showtime!

Grand Tour de Montreal and Montreal World Cup - May 27-June 2, 2005

Day 8 - Finally! And off to Philly...
Day 7 - One to go
Day 6 - What a team!
Day 5 - Twice the excitement, Twice the fun, Twice in the sprint!
Day 4 - Pro quality down-time
Day 3 - Time to shine
Day 2 - More rain
Day 1 - Rain on Mont Royal

NORBA NCS Series #2, McDowell Mountain Park, Arizona, March 17-20, 2005

Day 3 - Fast and furious STXC
Day 2 - Protos & pits controversy
Day 1 - Desert sunshine and new gear

NORBA National series #1 - Texas, March 3-6, 2005

Day 4 - "Dipped in sh*#"
Day 3 - Here comes the rain
Day 2 - Mud & new gear
Day 1 - Riders assemble
Day 0 - Travel troubles

2004 diary entries

10th 24 Hours of Moab - Moab, Utah, October 16-17, 2004

Last wrenching adventure

Interbike 2004 - Las Vegas, USA, October 4-8, 2004

The dust, wind and lights of Las Vegas

US National NORBA Championships - California, USA , September 23-26, 2004

Last NORBA, so they put us beside SRAM

NORBA National Series finals- Durango, Colorado, August 26-29, 2004

Day 4 - August 29: The future is bright
Day 3 - August 28: Cool tech rolls out
Day 2 - August 27: A little 'Gold Bond'
Day 1 - August 26: Cruising Thursday

Junior Road Nationals - Park City, Utah August 21-22, 2004

Stone cold at the junior nats

NORBA National Series #7 - Snowmass, Colorado, August 5-8, 2004

Day 4 - August 8: Real drama, real food
Day 3 - August 7: XC greats of all ages & tech protos
Day 2 - August 6: Short-staffed at Snowmass
Day 1 - August 5: Sloping off to Snowmass

NORBA National Series #6 - Schweitzer Mountain, Idaho, July 29-August 2, 2004

Day 4 - August 1: On a high
Day 3 - July 31: A plethora of MTB tech-porn
Day 2 - July 30: Shimano's FBI
Day 1 - July 29: Easy on the eyes, hard on the ears

Boise Twilight Crit, Boise Idaho, July 24, 2004

Boise Town

Women's Talent Identification Camp, US Olympic Training Center, Colorado Springs, USA, July 2004

Finding hidden talent

NORBA National Series #4 - Mount Snow Resort, Vermont, June 17-20, 2004

Day 4 - June 20: Rowney's last stand
Day 3 - June 19: No business like Snow business
Day 2 - June 18: Rain wreaks havoc
Day 1 - June 17: "East Coast" welcome; Shimano send the home team

Wachovia Liberty Classic, Philadelphia, PA, USA, June 6, 2004

June 10 - Rest and random thoughts
June 6 - D-Day: 10 hours till Philly

CDM Cycliste Féminine de Montréal & Le Tour du Grand Montréal, Canada, May 29-June 3, 2004

Day 6 - Tuesday, June 1: People are starting to crack
Day 5 - Monday, May 31: The inside scoop
Day 2.75 - Wednesday, May 27: Back Door Internet Café, Port Huron
Day 1 - Monday, May 24: First stop: T-Mobile Service Course

NORBA NCS Series #2, Sonoma, CA, USA, May 14-16, 2004

Day 4 - Sunday, May 16: Wind and pain
Day 3 - Saturday, May 15: A freak occurence
Day 2 - Friday, May 14: Strong winds play havoc
Day 0 - Thursday, May 13: A slow day in the California sunshine

NORBA NCS Series #1, Waco, TX, USA

Day 1 - Thursday, March 11: New course, old faces
Day 2 - Friday, March 12: Puttin' the 'pro' back in professional racing
Day 3 - Saturday, March 13: Kudos to Kabush
Day 4 - Sunday, March 14: Nice guys finish first

2003 diary entries

NORBA Series #4, Mt. Schweizer, ID, USA

Day 1 - Thursday, July 26: R&D day
Day 2 - Friday, July 27: The power of a second, third or fourth opinion
Day 3 - Saturday, July 28: Dust-fest royale
Day 4 - Sunday, July 28: Hmmm... interesting, very interesting...

NORBA #1 - Big Bear, California

Day one and two at Big Bear, NORBA #1
Days three and four at Big Bear

2002 diary entries

Tour of the Gila

Getting prepped for Day One - loading the truck for the prologue
An easy day at the TT - working stage 1
Flat fixing frenzy - A tough day at the stage 2 road race
Thorny issues at the Inner loop RR
Gila Monster road race - Wherry's amazing exploding derailleur

HP Women's Challenge

The battle of the parking lot - jockeying for dominance at the team hotel
Brooke & the giant killers - sleeplessness rewarded by riders massive efforts in Stage 1
Saturn turns it up - and it's quiet. Too quiet
Crash city - after the calm, the storm
Saturn train a-coming - the powerhouse asserts itself
Diesel power - bad stuff down the drain

Interbike 2002

Demo Day at Interbike - Can I ride a bike mister?

24 Hours of Moab

(Almost) no sleep 'til Sunday - 24 hour racing is nearly as much work for the wrenches as the riders