Jason Cardillo

So a while ago, I worked on a project to build a website for the LRO and LCROSS missions at NASA. Basically, this was a mission that sent a satellite to map the moon’s surface and take measurements in preparation for another manned moon landing. LCROSS was added on when it became apparent that there was additional space that shouldn’t go to waste. LCROSS takes parts of the craft that would normally drift aimlessly through space and impacts them into a south pole crater. The resulting plume will give us lots of data about what elements are on the moon, and let us know whether or not there are large stores of water ice frozen in these craters.

I write all of that because Thursday night/Friday morning, the LCROSS impactor will hit the moon. This will be a pretty big deal and, due to careful planning, we can check it out via big telescopes and on NASA TV. If you’re in the Bay Area, Chabot Space & Science Center is hosting a party. I’m sure there are others at planetariums around the world. If you want to throw your own party, NASA put together a whole info kit for you! Enjoy

Hello and welcome, especially to those following me over from wordpress.com. Sorry for the switch, but I wanted more control over the blog than you can get at wordpress.com, especially with the theme. I’m sticking with a basic one for now, but when I get a bit of free time, I’ve got some cool ideas for design updates.

If you came here looking for info about my web development and marketing business, you’re close, but not in exactly the right spot. You’re looking for jasoncardillo.com (which, as of this writing was still “under development”, but should be up by 9/15/09).

If you came here looking for information about cycling in Italy, you’re also close, but I need you to click one more time to Velo Veneto.

Hopefully I’ll get back to random updates and cool stuff soon. Thanks for your patience in the meantime!

Josh Kadis recently tweeted about Campagnolo’s new chain tool for their 11-sp gruppos. Because of the very tight tolerances involved in such a setup, only Campagnolo’s (at least for now) chain tool will do. You can acquire said chain tool for $300, or more than what I paid for the elements of my last handbuilt wheelset. However, it’s not the price I have a problem with (if you’re dropping $18b on a gruppo, what’s another $300), it’s Competitive Cyclist’s description.

For a long time, Competitive Cyclist has written incredibly detailed product descriptions including backstory, product details, usage instructions, and even some of the issues associated with said product. Whether or not this is a good use of their marketing effort, I’m not sure. At the end of the day, this is not the industry you get into to become rich and if those product descriptions don’t hurt sales while making it more fun to come into work, I say “Rock On!” Not terribly long ago, they also started blogging. The blog is interesting because it’s a no-holes barred stream of consciousness session. Not infrequently, they also provide much more insight into the economics of online retailers and their relationships with suppliers, importers, customers, etc. I find this really interesting and a great way of establishing a trusting, honest relationship with all of those parties.

The product description for the Campagnolo chain tool seems to break that previously established trust. Rather than their typical honest write-up, it seems they’ve applied their wordsmithing abilities in a limited fashion to Campy’s in-house product description and plopped it on the page. For a small bit like this, it seems to pass the ROI test, but in relation to their broader strategy (I assume it’s a strategy) of using content to build an honest relationship with their customers, it seems to fail.

IMHO, a typical description with the standard level of snark would have been more appropriate – something more like this (my edits in bold).

The 5.5mm width of the Campagnolo’s 11 speed Ultra Shift chains makes them the quietest and quickest shifting chains they’ve ever made. It’s also their toughest-ever chain design thanks to the retention force inherent to its Ultra Link technology. The benefits of the Record 11 speed chain are all byproducts of its narrowness, but this narrowness comes with one implication: The installation process requires an unprecedented degree of precision. While, like you, we find the $300 price tag a bit shocking, until the aftermarket manufacturers come up with their own options, this is a required add-on to any Campagnolo 11-sp purchase. We have no doubt in its quality, based on their long history of great tools (we’re thinking of the facing and chasing tools…), and therefore have no problem recommending this until such time as either Campagnolo comes to their senses and/or the aftermarket manufacturers build their own version.

Might it piss off Campy? Maybe. Will it burn a bridge somewhere? Perhaps. Is it worth it to continue and even expand their reputation as an honest dealer that has their customer’s best interests at heart. Definitely.

Heading to the Passo Rolle with a view of Cimon della Pala

After the GF Pinarello on Sunday, Monday we headed into the beginnings of the Dolomites and the Passo Rolle. As you are headed up the Rolle, to your right you have a view of Cimon della Pala (which I incorrectly identified on Twitter as Tre Cime Lavaredo). The climb itself is not so hard, with gentle gradients all the way up and fantastic views that keep opening up of the valley below.

After a quick coffee and strudel (the pass was Austrian when the road was built), we were treated to an awesome sweeping descent where we regularly exceeded 75kph. A slog through the headwind in the valley brought us to the bottom of the climb to Croce d’Aune where Tullio Campagnolo, in 1927, froze his fingers trying to change his rear wheel and invented the quick-release skewer. After a short steep bit at the bottom, the climb is easy in the middle, then kicks through the town of Aune where the houses ARE the curb. A quick stop at the top next to the Campagnolo memorial led to another fast sweeping descent where there is a fantastic view over the city of Feltre. Naturally, a ride so nice can only be concluded with beers at the bottom.

Tuesday brought an easy ride through the vineyards nearby Castelcucco, which resembles very much riding through Napa and Sonoma valleys, though on better roads and with drivers who recognize your right to the road!

Living in this area, you can’t help but climb and our next ride was to Foza, climbing up from the River Brenta over 21 hairpins (slightly longer, but less steep than Alpe d’Huez). At the top, a quick stop for a Coke and then left up to Enego 2000 (nothing up there is anywhere near 2000m, making us wonder about the name), a small ski resort filled with grazing cattle in the summer. This alpine-like meadow looks very much like a Heidi/Sound of Music setting and is something worth the 5k climb to see. The first Sonoma county-like pavement brought us down to Enego, at which point the pavement smoothed out and we dropped down another 21 hairpins (different road) to the Brenta.

The day of the TdF’s final TT brought us a day off, which we used to go to Bassano del Grappa. We made a quick visit to Cavalera, “our” bike shop plus custom frame manufacturer, for little odds and ends and then cooled off (it was 95F+ today) with a tasty lunch in town after walking through the weekly market. A short walk across town brought us to the Ponte degli Alpini, which was originally designed by Palladio in 1569 and rebuilt to honor troops from WWI who fought above the town in the Dolomites, known as the Alpinistes. We then shot quickly across to Marostica, where every even-numbered year, a chess game is played with people as the chess pieces, a tradition dating back to 1923. With no chess on the cards for us, we were forced to sit down in the AC for gelato and espresso before returning to watch the end of Le Tour.

All in all, a nice and necessary day off. We’ll be doing a couple of rides the next few days before racing on Sunday!!!

Ciao for now, everybody!

(A quick note: I forgot to bring the cable to connect my camera to the computer, so updates to the flickr account and images in these posts will have to wait until my return to SFO in August. Sorry)

Straight outta the blocks is how I would describe both my trip as well as today’s Gran Fondo Pinarello. Doing the Gran Fondo itself within 36 hours of arriving is certainly a fast start to the trip. Like most Gran Fondos, the Pinarello starts with the chaos of about 2500 people heading out through the streets of Treviso (in addition to the 1500 that already left on the long course of 210kms). With that many people, most start well back, including me, so they absolutely DRILL IT at the start to get as far up as possible. I hooked onto a group and rode the tail at ~50kph past about 1500 people (leaving about 500 in front of us) for 25kms to the bottom of the first climb out of Susegana.

The first of the climbs was fairly uneventful and a quick descent took us down to Pieve di Soligo, which saw us racing through a narrow, single-lane cobbled street in the town center with 100s of residents out cheering us on, possibly the coolest moment of the day. The views from the tops of the climbs were stupendous, looking out over vineyard-dotted valleys and with vistas of Monte Grappa and Monte Cesen in the background. Once we settled in, the group I was with stayed pretty much the same all day, some dropping off and some catching on, mostly at the rest stops. Each of the rest stops was staffed by 10-20 people with water, Gatorade, tea and various fruits, bars, etc. to fuel you up.

If there was anything (aside the fantastic roads and scenery) to note, the organization was superb. On the way out, oncoming traffic would pull over and stop to wait for us to come by before heading back out, so we had a virtual full-road closure. The rest of the day, each traffic circle and intersection was staffed and traffic was stopped. The course was well-signed and staffed to make sure nobody got lost. On the way home, our group (about 500 riders back from the winners) had a lead moto for the last 10kms and a TV bike. That’s about as pro as I’ll ever get.

As we flew to the finish through Porta San Thomasa (15c) in the original Treviso city wall, I told myself I needed to come back again to better soak in the beauty that is a gran fondo.

Next up, Passo Rolle!