Julie Eisenhardt has called Chicago home for only two years, but already she’s had quite an impact on our cycling scene. She’s had a hand in founding two teams, most recently Half Acre Cycling, and she was part of the team that constructed the IRO Sprints apparatus. Twice she has co-chaired the popular Sadie Hawkins Day Alleycat; its 2007 edition raised $2,400 for the Chicago Women’s Health Center. And while the endurance specialist earned several medals for her mountain biking in 2007, her biggest score may have come in December, when she accepted the marriage proposal of fellow bike nut Ben Popper (Killjoy).

This month the communications specialist headed to Colorado Springs, Colo., for USA Cycling’s four-day mechanics clinic. She returned to Chicago eager to share new knowledge with her teammates, and it didn’t take much cajoling to get her to share it with you, too.

Why did you go to the clinic?
Ben has gone to UCI [International Cycling Union] events where they say you need a mechanics license to get in the pit, so I thought that if I’m going to continue being his pit support at U.S. Gran Prix and UCI stuff, I may as well go legit. 



How long were the days?
Breakfast at 7 a.m., first class at 8, last class ends at 9 p.m. Forty-five-minute breaks for dinner and lunch, but that’s about it.  And since the U.S. Olympic Training Center doesn’t allow alcohol in the complex, if you want to grab a beer with the others, it’s going to be a late night.  I think it was 13 hours of sleep in three days.



What were the other students like?
Of the 56, two (me included) were women.  It was about 2/3 shop mechanics, 1/3 hobbyists like myself.  A good dozen of the younger guys were looking to jump on the caravan with a pro team or tour right away, and they were actually recruiting mechanics on the last day for a few neutral programs.



What do you plan on doing with your license?
Supporting Ben, obviously.  But I got really excited about neutral support work, too.  I’m trained on how to properly jump off the back of a motorcycle now. May as well use the skill!

What about the officials license that came with the clinic?
I’ve always been a sort of wonk about the rules anyway, so it made sense to get both. I’ll use it to have snooty answers to people’s questions. And I might fill in if folks need one more body at the races.



What’s an important maintenance issue that the reader of this interview is neglecting?
Torque on crank bolts.  It’s supposed to be insanely high -- spec’d to 360!  We pulled some of the USA team bikes and checked. Even they were ~100.  `Find the problem before it finds you.’It’s the pressure that keeps things tight, not the threads on the bolt, so torque matters.

Along with that, wash your bike and take time to look it all over.  Don’t just take the dirt off, but spend some time looking for frame damage, frayed cables or bent components.  Find the problem before it finds you.



Any good tricks of the trade you learned?
So many I couldn’t list them!  The best has to be to carry a multi-sized squarehead wrench, so that if you’re stuck at a hotel or facility where the hose hookups are hidden behind bolted metal plates you can open them and turn on the water without chasing around to get permission.

Also, Pam.  For cyclocross and mountain events, cover your tires and the underside of your tubing in it to shed mud -- maybe not all of it, but enough.  Just don’t get it on your braking surface.

If a racer is fortunate enough to be in a race with professional neutral support—Superweek, Downers Grove and Tour of Elk Grove come to mind—what are some things she should know?
Even with neutral support, it’s a racer’s responsibility to have a functional bike.  Neutral support can help with flats or little things, but make sure you can trust your rig.

Run a gruppo that’s fairly universal: Neutral can’t help if you’re running Campy six-speed.

Always know where neutral will be, off the back or in a pit, and if you don’t see them there immediately, keep riding!

Note whether it’s “wheels in, wheels out” or full neutral support. With “wheels in wheels out” you have to have a wheel in the pit to get one, and the mechanics will do the wheel change for you using your wheel.  Label your wheel with your name, racer number, and phone number in a way that you can get it off quick if you need the wheel.  If you’re unsure, bring extra wheels just in case.



You’re racing an amateur crit and hear the dreaded hiss of a puncture. What do you do?
You’re allowed to cut the course to go directly to the pit, and you’re allowed one free lap to get a wheel change.  After the wheel change, an official will work with your mechanic to get you back in the right place in the race, signaling when the mechanic can push you off into the pack.  Remember, though, that if you think you’re going to use the “slow leak” excuse to get a free lap and take a rest, it’s the official’s call whether the mechanical is legit, and you may find yourself down a lap.  And if you took a wheel change, make sure you trade wheels back after the race.



What about in a road race?
Have a strategy with your team for what you’ll do if someone in the peloton flats.  Usually you’ll want to stealthily slip back in the pack while a teammate takes your place, and ride in the back of the pack until you see neutral support behind you.  Then, pull over to the right and come to a full stop.  You can help mechanics by shouting which wheel it is. Once you’re back on your ride, it’s up to you to get back in the pack, and neutral support won’t draft you back up, so it’s a hard ride back in. Make sure you find neutral support after the race to trade back for your wheel. They’ll be looking for you!



I was once told you should raise your right hand for rear wheel and left for front, corresponding with which hood controls which brake.
So few riders know that code at this point that they taught us to bring both wheels out anyway and look for ourself or listen for confirmation.  Many riders who know the left/right hand thing just forget it in the heat of the moment anyway.  So we’re not supposed to trust it.

How fast can you change a flat?
The clinic focused more on wheel changes. The target is 15 seconds, and I’m around 20 at this point.  Flats?  Haven’t timed it. I think about 10 minutes.



Other than the clinic, where did you pick up your skills?
I worked part time at a shop, but in sales.  I’ve just been taking care of my own bikes and learning as I go since I got serious about cycling about 10 years ago.  And I learn a lot by watching people. Sam Van Dellen at Rapid Transit has taught me everything I know about mountain bikes, much of it in the last year.

What are your racing goals in 2008?
My big goal is to finish a marathon. `It’s great being on a team really proud of our community and committed to cycling and each other.’Yeah, running like a sucker.  I’ll be at the track, on the trails and riding brevets, too.



Do you let Ben wrench for you or is he strictly on soigneur duty when you race?
He’s a really helpful wrench in the pit at endurance events, since we’re usually losing our minds between laps.  He actually chopped down some too-wide bars between laps in Wisconsin last year.  But I’d never turn down a rub ...

What’s the deal with Half Acre Cycling?
We were looking for a tight-knit team where we knew each other’s names, we could really work together to get better and we were all friends.  It’s great being on a team really proud of our community and committed to cycling and each other.  I’m excited about the potential.



Where’s your favorite bar to get some Half Acre?
Village Tap on Roscoe has it on tap now. It’s good stuff.  Me, I go for the bottles.  You can get it all over now.  We’re so lucky to have such a tasty sponsor.