Quote of the day.

Last week I actually got onto my bike. No, please, your applause isn't necessary.

Anyway...as is wont to happen, the ride was filled with the the usual chatter and story telling that earmarks most of Team Two Wheel's training rides. And Rider 2, a.k.a Quicksilver, passed along one of the funnier things I've heard him say in a while.

Rider 2 was recently at dinner with a couple of other riding friends. The topic of a new 10-speed cassette that was recently launched came up. (and they wonder why their wives/girlfriends never want to join...)

Evidently the conversation went something like this.

Friend #1 "So, I heard Shimano is coming out with a new cassette ratio."

Friend #2 "Oh yeah, what's the story?"

Friend #1 "They're going to have an 11-29. So it should be good for us." (Evidently they were poking fun at themselves, and an alleged need for smaller gears.)

MR #2 "Hey Quicksilver, what do you think about that, will you ride a 29 this year?"

Now, at this point in the story you have to understand this made us chuckle. QS is known to push monster gears uphill. It's not pretty, but is pretty impressive. I've never seen him ride with a cog bigger than a 23, and have rarely seen him actually use it.

Anyway, Quicksilver's response:

"I think that if you need a 29, you don't need an 11."

Truth. And funny!

New Team Mates - Meet mechBgon

New Team Mates - Meet mechBgon
The 2nd of our Ambassador team mates, meaning that this rider will fly the flag of another team for road racing, but will mountain bike race (mostly) for Team Two Wheel, is Two Wheel Transit employee Tom McFadden. You can be a customer of Two Wheel Transit for years and not necessarily know for sure that "Tom" exists, because he is referred to in the shop with great regularity, but he is in the basement working away on bikes from morning to nigh, with only a rare daylight appearance to grab a part upstairs to prove that he really exists. But trust me, Tom does exist. I know because I have not only entered the underground lair, but I have been on rides with Tom; most memorably, a daylight tour of the Midnight Century Course duly memorialized here: Midnight-Century-Daylight-Version.

So, as promised, I asked Tom the same questions I asked everyone on the team. Here are his answers.

Personal Biographical Information - I grew up in Alaska, came to Spokane as a kid, attended high school at Gonzaga Prep with an affinity for sciences, then went on to WSU to study Chemical Engineering and worked at Al's Schwinn in the summers. In 2001 I made a 5-year career change to being an all-purpose Information Technology guy, earned three Microsoft MVP awards for my efforts in helping others in the online community at a large computer forum, then went back to being a bike mechanic. So far I've worked at Al's Schwinn (out of biz), Two Wheel Transit (fired on my first trip through), Garland Cycle (out of biz), Columbia Cycle (out of biz, am I the kiss of death or what?), Wheelsport South, and now back to Two Wheel Transit. Oh, and I'm a 41-year-old hermit antisocial type :)

Personal preferences:
Cats --x----------------------------- Dogs
Road --------------------x---------- XC mountain
Dowhhill --------------------------x XC
Beer -------------------------------x Chocolate milk
Mac --------------------------------x Windows
TV ----------------------------------x Internet
Car ---------------------------------x Car-free
Wal-mart -------------------------x Fred Meyer

Cycling bio: I liked to ride as a kid, and commuted to grade school and usually to high school by bike. Since G-Prep was across the city from us, I also got very accustomed to riding in traffic on arterials, and dealing with issues like visibility. When I was at WSU, I sometimes would ride home for the weekend, then ride back Sunday night, and got very comfortable riding on the highway with big trucks. By this point I was already an irreversible fan of helmet mirrors too (Editor's note - Rumor is that he won a State Road Race Championship with a helmet mirror affixed).

In the '90s I began to ride mountain bikes, mostly on the South Hill bluff, and entered my first bike race at 49° North as a Beginner-class racer on a full-rigid bike. I was intimidated by the nicer bikes the other guys had, but easily got the holeshot at the first bottleneck and went on to win by nearly 7 minutes. Encouraged by that, I raced Sport class at a NORBA National at Mt. Spokane, but a confused course marshal mistakenly told me I'd gone off-course (I hadn't), so I ended up 3rd of the riders who'd actually gone the right way, instead of the Beginner-class route. I did a few more XC races but then had a hiatus of many years.

In 2009, I did some of the Twilight Series road races, which were my first road races. I moved to the B pack after the first race, then the A's after a few more. Tactically I had no savvy at all, and never felt that competitive in the A's... this is what I like about XC mountain-bike racing, there's no need for savvy, it's just one big VO2-max test :) Anyway, I was talked into racing in the 2009 Masters state RR championship by my SRV comrades, and we fielded five riders just in my pack, so when Royce and I joined Paul (aka Rider Two) for this epic 3-man 25-mile breakaway, we had three teammates to block for us, and you know how that all went down, but here's my writeup:

http://spokanrocktvelo.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=roadracing&action=display&thread=1384

Also in 2009, I did four of the Wednesday-night XC races in Riverside, which was super-fun. I was pretty upset when it sounded like they weren't going to do them for 2010, but they did, and I went to all six including two back-to-back days in the mud. I raced the non-Masters age group to make it more challenging, and only took one 1st place on a day when Kevin Bradford-Parish, Mike Gaertner and Eric Anderson all didn't show up, but ended up winning the series just by high places every week.

Oh, and in 2009 I did the Midnight Century and it was a huge adrenaline rush. I trained for it in 2010 and was gunning for low 5-hour range, but as you know, I ended up piloting a group of three and had to hold the pace down a bit in the "middle 50" of the route.

For 2011, I'm looking forward to the Wednesday-night series again, where I plan to fly the Two Wheel Transit colors. I'm also going to do the Midnight Century again, as the unofficial Distributor Of The Smiley-Faces, and will be going solo this time, although anyone's welcome to as much draft as they want :)

Favorite Rides, etc. - In terms of a ride I could do routinely, I like the Hangman Loop (road) and the 24-hour course (off-road). For more "epic-rated" rides I'd say round-trip to the top of Mt. Spokane (road) and the Midnight Century route (mixed).

Other favorites - Doing the 24-hour race with the North Division Bike Shop team, who three-peated in the 10-person corporate division last year.

-I like night mountain riding as much as daytime.

-I tentatively plan to instigate a weekly XC ride oriented towards training

And lastly, on nicknames, here is the word from TM - As for a name/alias, I've used the online nickname mechBgon for nearly everything, so that should suffice for this too. No one calls me that in real life, although we do sometimes critique visibility equipment (lights, reflectors) in terms of whether they're "mechBgon-approved".

We will have to find out another time just what mechBgon means, because it sounds suspiciously like a Transformers name to me, which would explain a few things about Tom. In any case, we are glad to have him aboard the team and look forward to seeing him at the start and finish lines of a few mountain bike races (no, I'm not close enough to see him anywhere else).
Rider Three

New Team Mates - LC - Miss Clairol

As previously previewed, Team Two Wheel is picking up some additional riders. We have a total of 5 guys who will be riding and racing exclusively as Team Two Wheel, and we have 2 more that are un-officially official team mates, but only in a limited capacity. More simply, they will race some disciplines for another team, but will be representing Two Wheel Transit and the team in other race formats or at local cycling events.

One of those people is Lynn Creager. You will notice immediately a few things about the prior sentence. One is that it is a short, declarative sentence. Those are rare around here. (See what I did - I made another short, declarative sentence to note the absence of them. LOL!). The next is that it is a real name and not a silly pseudonym. Third is that it could be a girl's name. All of these are noteworthy in their differences from prior practices. Let's just say it is a new world out there, and not in the One World Government/Black Helicopter way.

In order to provide a brief introduction to everyone, I asked each teammate three brief questions. Please provide some personal bio information. Please provide some cycling bio information. And tell me your favorite local ride. Lastly, I also asked them about nicknames. I was intending to amalgamate or mutilate the responses, but I thought that each said something about the rider, so here are the responses, largely unedited.

On nicknames, however, Lynn had a funny story. Her nickname among at least a few fellow female riders is Wella Clairol, which she was dubbed after a spectacular flameout of a sprint in which she started a bit too soon and faded way too soon. In other words, as only a group familiar with the properties of such things, she faded like a bad hair dye job. Great story, great nickname, so Lynn, were hereby officially grant you your Team Two Wheel nickname - Miss Clairol.

Here are Lynn's responses to my other questions.

Personal bio information - Lynn grew up in a suburb of New York City. After college and 6 years working in Manhattan, she moved to Spokane in 1994 in search of a saner lifestyle. She works as a sales manager at KAYU FOX 28 TV and lives in South Spokane with her husband and 3 Labradors.

Cycling bio information - Lynn discovered cycling through triathlon. A runner and swimmer when she moved to Spokane, she decided to take on road cycling so she could participate in triathlons. After several years of racing tris from sprint up to Ironman distance, she realized she was enjoying the hours on the bike much more than those spent in the pool or pounding the pavement. She has since pedaled thousands of miles around the northwest on her custom titanium Hampsten road bike (Ed. Note - Made famous in The Slice). Last summer, she started road racing as a member of the local Zuster team. This fall, after falling in love with a Pinarello cyclocross bike at Two Wheel Transit, Lynn raced the Inland NW Cyclocross series. In addition to cycling, Lynn cross country skis and practices ashtanga yoga.

Favorite local ride? Hard to pick just one. Any route south that takes you out Valley Chapel Rd. and onto the rural roads that loop around Rockford, Spangle, Rosalia and Cheney.

Well, Lynn, there are worse things than admitting you were a triathlete before becoming a cyclist. I can't think of one right now, but I know there are. In any case, thanks for joining the team for community events and non-race applications. We are looking forward to riding together.
Rider Three

Team Update

Team Two Wheel blog - Not timely, but always accurate. Local TV news weather - Always timely, but never accurate. Which would you rather have? I thought so. Bill Kelly - hit the bricks!

Team composition - 5 racers + 2 riders. Or 5 full-timers + 2 part-timers. Or 5 people only on 1 team + 2 people on 2 teams. Or something like that.

We have five guys who will be riding and racing this year as Team Two Wheel. You have been introduced to Rider One, Rider 2 and Rider Three, but you haven't met Scooter and you haven't met the other guy who just joined yesterday and doesn't have a nickname yet.

In addition, we will have two more people that are committed to racing on the road for other teams but that will be riding as part of Team Two Wheel for mountain bike racing and as cycling ambassadors at community events, shop rides and so on and so forth. By the way, I don't have nicknames for them yet either. But don't worry. That will come in time.

On to sponsors. This year we have an extraordinary six sponsors. Our main sponsor, Two Wheel Transit, you know and love. It turns out that you will also know and love another one or two of our sponsors, but we aren't ready to unveil them quite yet. Hopefully we will be able to do so with the design of the jersey and a few words about them. So, stay tuned for another blog post that will not be timely, but will be accurate. When we get around to letting you in on our secrets. Soon.
Rider Three

Team Announcement

Team Two Wheel is pleased to announce that Two Wheel Transit has agreed to be our main sponsor again in 2011. We have expanded our team from three to five with full credentials and two more with specially negotiated contracts.

We will be doing short profiles of the riders in the upcoming days or week. This is going to be a little tricky since three of us have only been known as Rider One aka Mr. Millimeter, Rider Two aka Quicksilver and Rider Three aka Mr. Loquacious aka Mr. Breaksequipment aka Mr. Why-does-a-guy-that-large-get-a-spot-on-a-team-with-a-group-of-A-Pack-Riders, but we will figure that out.

We have also expanded our list of sponsors and look forward to welcoming them to the Team Two Wheel experience. When the ink dries on the contracts, we will bring out the names.

So to recap, we have a team, but won't tell you who is on it; we have sponsors, but won't tell you who they are. Yep, sounds right.

To be sure to catch the rest of the story, go to the Two Wheel Transit Blog.
Rider Three

First Ride of the New Year

This is a teaser post. You will find the first part here and the rest here: http://twowheeltransit.blogspot.com/2011/01/rider-three-first-ride-of-year.html

I wish I had seen the post below about trainers a bit earlier. It would have reminded my of my own trainer, a Kurt Kinetic trainer that I purchased at Two Wheel Transit a few years ago. If I had remembered it AND ACTUALLY RIDDEN IT, then the last two days of amazingly balmy weather and decent roads would have felt good. Instead, they felt like two big helpings of misery, under a dollop of pain and smothered with a rich creamy sauce of overweight.

On VeloNews, the cartoonist makes fun of a team called, "Old Guys Who Get Fat in the Winter." I am the poster child for that team this year. I had a ride with multiple falls on September 11, a day that will stand out in my memory now, and then another injury a few weeks later, followed by a car crash a couple of weeks after that, followed by months of sloth and inactivity caused by an unusually heavy work load, horrible winter weather and a major issue between the ears.

For the rest, check it out at our new spot: http://twowheeltransit.blogspot.com/2011/01/rider-three-first-ride-of-year.html

New Year - New Era

It is official, Team Two Wheel lives another year! While notes are still being gathered and the official transcript is still being compiled, the hard-fought and lengthy diplomatic negotiations at the Two Wheel Transit/Team Two Wheel Summit Meetings and Symposium appears to have resulted in the continuance of Team Two Wheel.

While not generating the same media coverage as the other team announced today (something about Luxembourg, but I wasn't really paying attention), there were at least two or three people paying close attention to the outcome of these multi-day, multi-party discussions.

So, for those interested parties, the news is good and further details will be emerging. There will be announcements about a handful of new riders and maybe another sponsor or two, but those things will have to wait for another day.

In the meantime, bask in the liquid sunshine pouring from our sky today and think of those days ahead when we will be back to riding a bike wearing clothing that weighs less than the vehicle. Also, keep in mind that this post, and future posts, will appear at TwoWheelTransit.blogspot.com as we transition from here to there. Also look for a significant expansion of political commentary from Rider Three at our expanded venue. Or not.

End of the Year - End of an Era

Faithful readers, fellow cyclists and people looking for porn but accidentally ending up here:

The promise of a new year and that baby wearing a 2011 banner also means that somewhere lurking there is a grumpy old guy with a 2010 top hat. In this case, we are that old guy (and yes, you can stay off my damn lawn). We are putting this blog on hiatus and will be starting up fresh and new in other spots.

First and foremost, please take a look at the baby-fresh blog at TwoWheelTransit.blogspot.com. The guys at the shop have started their own blog and will be telling stories about riding, talking about the cool things they do to support cyclists, the cycling community and our region as a whole. They will probably throw a few specials our way, announce some bike rides, and generally continue the cycling conversation. Look for the unique voices of most or all of the folks in the shop to make a contribution.

As for Team Two Wheel . . . High level negotiations are taking place, but I strongly suspect that Team Two Wheel will be expanding its membership, maybe taking on a couple of sponsors, and generally be making merry on two wheels again in 2011. Look for us at the shop blog (gratuitous link opportunity: Two Wheel Transit Shop Blog) and go to bed tonight dreaming of roads with a bit less snow, a bit more sun and without the impending threat of hypothermia. I know that I will.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Bike-related Videos for a Snowy Day

Just when I was looking forward to some bike riding, the snow started falling again. Here are a couple of videos to while away the time until it you can get outside.

From JH:



From MS:



Well, I didn't say I recommended either of these, did I?

Rare December Post

First, thanks to Geoff and Bruce for being the kind of bike shop owners who contribute not only to the biking community, but also to the larger community. Also, congratulations to getting an aging vituperative crank like Doug Clark to say or do anything positive. His column used to be filled with stories about the little guy taking on the world, but he has gotten increasingly angry and lazy as the years have gone by. He is just a couple of birthdays away from starting every column with "Hey, you kids, get offa my LAWN!" But I digress. He is doing a good thing by supporting the efforts of Two Wheel Transit donating to the Christmas Fund. Kuddos to all involved.

Here is the story: http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2010/dec/05/good-tidings-on-all-fronts-and-rears/

Next, speaking of doing good, but in this case, doing good for the world at large. Dr. Sam Joseph, a man to be feared any time you combine a bike and an incline, is literally healing hearts in Rwanda with a group of medical folks. It is an enormous and expensive undertaking that impacts lives in a way that most of us never have a chance to do. Here is their not-often-updated blog: http://healingheartsnorthwest.blogspot.com/. Tonight at 6 pm at the Steam Plant Grill, Dr. Joseph will be showing a few slides, making comments about how slow I go uphill on a bike and raising some money for this worthy effort. Oh, also, some free beer. Come on down and help make a real and significant difference in some worthy lives.

Lastly, biking.

Well, thinking about biking at least. There are adverse conditions and then there are impossible conditions. At least for mortals. Maybe after this week's warm up we can go to wet, yucky, dirty slush instead of hard pack killer ice. In the meantime, the skiing was killer this weekend.

My favorite (biking) memory of 2010 (so far)

A couple of days ago I was out drinking beer (what!?, you say) when I ran into someone I hadn't seen since May 29th. It might seem funny to know that the instant you see someone, but it stuck out for a lot of reasons. Seeing him triggered a thought about one of my favorite biking memories of the year.

Actually, I have had a lot of good biking memories in 2010, like crossing the finish line at the Leadville 100 while there was still an "11" at the front of the clock; some rides with my kids that stand out; a long training ride this summer when my legs seemed to have reached back into an earlier age of strength and endurance; a training ride on which Rider One came along on a day when he probably had better things to do and a nicer ride to join but he came to be supportive of the training slog I was enduring; winning a race - you get the idea. But the memory of May 29 stands tall even among these.

For those of you with a keen memory or a calendar, you will note that May 29th was part of Memorial Day weekend, and it happened to be the Saturday of the 24 Hour Race. I was riding in the Solo - Clydesdale - Daylight Only division. I happened to have placed first in that category (also last, but that is the problem with 1-person divisions), but the gist of it was that I rode for about 7 hours starting at noon. At the end of that time, I had covered about 84 miles and I was tired, but really good tired. That fulfilling, exhausted, spent but smiling kind of tired where it feels good to have ridden long and hard and then be done.

I had the particular good fortune of not only being done, but then pulling on some clean clothes and sitting down to eat a couple of slices of David's Pizza and drink a couple of beers. I was sitting down with a couple of friends who had ridden all day also and with some other folks, including MS (owner of David's and a great guy) and the guy who I saw this week, TA (owner of Bicycle Butler). TA had been helping on the 24 Hour course, crashed his motocross motorcycle and had a brace on his knee that night, but thankfully it wasn't stopping him from enjoying a beer and shooting the shit.

As the pizza oven at my back gave a bit of warmth as the evening cooled, the beer and pizza were wonderfully filling my stomach, and a group of friends were around BS'ing after a day of riding or hanging out in Riverside State Park, I had a feeling of real joy and satisfaction that I can recall with perfect clarity six months later.

Thoughts on a rainy commute

I am really glad to be back on my bike. After injury, injury and illness, I had two months with one trainer session and one treadmill torture. Exercising an average of once per month just isn't a good idea for a lot of reasons.

I have had reasonably good reasons for not riding, but it is better to be riding. I have had weeks at a time that I could not ride my bike to work, because of hauling around kids, appointments in nearby cities, etc., etc., etc. My older son had to be at school by 6.45 am for the first seven weeks of school, which responsibility fell to me mostly (and I was glad to do it, honey!), but it was hard to watch seven weeks of unseasonably mild weather go by without an opportunity to commute on my bike.

On the other hand, after a long hiatus, getting back to biking by commuting is a great way to get going again. There isn't anyone pushing the pace, the distance is reasonable, and even when the hills make it obvious how much fitness one has lost, the duration of misery is short and the smugness of leaving the car behind is always a boost.

In order to extend my ride season, I needed to add some lights to those I had; some more blinky lights on the rear and a helmet mounted light on the front. It was nice to go into Two Wheel Transit to buy the lights because a) they have the lights together in a nice display, b) everyone in the shop commutes in the dark so they all have ideas, suggestions and practical information and c) you get to tap directly into Mechbgon's extensive lighting knowledge (http://www.mechbgon.com/visibility/index.html).

As I rode home last night, I was pondering my lights. The addition of the helmet light was GREAT and I was amazed at how lit up I was from behind with a seatpost light, a blinky light on each pannier and a blinky light on my reflective striped messenger bag. As I was standing in the shop yesterday considering the prices, I did decide that I would really be unhappy to be lying in a hospital bed because I didn't put a crowbar in the wallet and get enough lights, so I think I erred on the right side.

It did occur to me, however, that I have to ride my bike a lot this winter to pay for the lights simply through gas savings from not driving my car. I have a 10.5 - 11 mile roundtrip commute, but I also have a fuel efficient diesel. The lights will last for years, but it still made me wish that the lights cost less, the trip was longer, my mileage worse or that gas cost more. Any of those would assuage the guilt a bit faster. Until then, look for me riding a lot at night to justify my purchases. In the meantime, I'm just really happy to be riding again.
Rider Three

Race Across the Sky 2010

Here is my quick review of last night's premiere of "Race Across the Sky - 2010 Leadville 100" - I SAW MYSELF! I SAW MYSELF! I SAW MYSELF!

Sure, there was a bit more to the movie, but importantly, I SAW MYSELF! Oh, and also, I SAW MY WIFE AND CHILDREN AND MY BUDDY PW AND MY BUDDY PK AND I SAW MYSELF!

Of course, it's easy for the real message of the movie to get lost in the excitement. The message of the movie can be summarized as follows "Every person who rides the Leadville 100, from Levi Leipheimer in 6 1/2 hours to Rider Three is mere clicks of clock short of 12 hours, is a superior human to everyone else on the planet because of how tough and how cool they are. Also, the Leadville 100 is the toughest race, ever." Keep in mind, I'm not saying that myself, and I'm not even disputing how true it is, I'm just reporting the facts as I see them and I think that was the message of the movie.

Oh, there was also a bit about the human condition and overcoming struggles, but I kind of tuned out that stuff while I focused on watching crowd shots for a glimpse of my hulking mass puffing along somewhere. And my attention finally paid off.

Now, you may want to know where to look for images of Rider Three when you buy your own copy of the DVD. Well, this part is a mixed blessing. On one hand, if it weren't for this happy coincidence, then there wouldn't be any evidence in the film of my participation (I guess Levi's bulk hid me on a couple of early leader shots . . .). On the other hand, I have to confess that the reason I appeared in the film is that I reached the Twin Lakes aid station at the same time a grizzled 84 year old woman was being interviewed about her own ride and the difficulty of her husband battling Lou Gehrig disease. I would like to add this important caveat. While I rode the first 40 miles at the same pace as an 84 year old woman, I did manage to get ahead of her while she was focused on her film time and stayed ahead of her for the rest of the day, finishing well more than an hour ahead of her. Take THAT grandma!

And despite all of this, the movie wasn't perfect. For instance, they left out local two-time finisher DD and they gave my buddy PW too much screen time in a lingering shot on Columbine, but other than that, it was a great flick. I will be autographing copies and giving them to all of my family, relatives and friends for the upcoming holiday season.

And lastly, while the extras on the DVD won't include this feature automatically, if you just give me a call, I can come over and watch it with you and narrate my own running comments through showings over and over and over. It will be a little like Mystery Science Theater 3000, but if you ask Steev (not his real name, but cleverly changed to disguise his true identity) and my son, I got practice in last night leaning over one armrest then turning to the other offering my helpful comments and in-theater additions. Insightful things like, "Oh yeah, that was a hard part", "Wow, that part was really hard", "Oh my gosh, that part was so hard", or even, "Damn, I remember how hard that part was!" Should be good times. Get the popcorn going and let me know what time to be there.
Rider Three

PS - Make the DVD commentary honorarium checks out to: "Rider Three Foundation" Motto - Providing bikes for deserving and underserved populations of Rider Threes since getting the first check.

Let them eat cake!

Nice title, eh? No, I'm not channeling my inner Marie Antoinette (creepy!), but it's true that everyone loves cake.

I was over at Two Wheel Transit yesterday and Geoff mentioned that the shop is having a little pah-tee this coming Saturday. Hard to believe, but it's been one year since the shop opened with new owners.

To celebrate, they're supplying cake and cake-like refreshments.

The shop also has some pretty cool stuff in stock that's worth checking out. After the horrendous picture I posted last week (see the entry below this one) I'm planning to plunk down on a set of wool Ibex leg warmers. Cozy! And the shop has a screaming deal on a Dura-Ace 7900 gruppo. I need to leave that one to some other lucky customer though, tempting as it is.

For the wool knicker set (oh, wait a minute...) Geoff has an oh, so, sweet vintage Bob Jackson bike, resplendent in Campy Super Record on display, too. Drool-worthy.

Anyway, stop by if you have a chance. Bruce, Geoff, Tomas and Dave have done a great job this year, and have been great supporters of local cycling. And let's not forget Tom. He's the mechanic that all men want to be, and women want to be with.

Did I mention there will be cake?

Everything Brown!

Years ago, there was a Gap advertisement (at least I think it was the Gap) that had a couple of Dieter-like German fashionistas exclaiming, "Everything Brown!"

The idea was that brown was the in color that season. If you were cool, you had to have brown.

Well, my current leg warmers would have fit in nicely with his ad. You see, said leg warmers are seriously old. In fact they're likely the same vintage as that Gap ad--my guess is early-to-mid-90s. Of course they weren't always brown, but the sublimation/fabric has faded in the sun over the years.

Getting dressed for a ride this past weekend I couldn't help but notice how poo-inspired my leg warmers have become. I probably wouldn't even bring this up, but on the ride I also blew out the zipper at the bottom of the leg.

I guess it's time for a new set of leg warmers. I wonder if Two Wheel has anything in pink...

Jumping the Shark

Please remember and give me credit, because you have heard it first here: Cycling has Jumped the Shark. It occurred at 9.00 pm on October 21, 2010. At that point, precisely, the ascendancy of cycling peaked and we cyclists can pinpoint that particular moment as the high point of cycling in popular culture, and from that point onwards, we are in decline.

Now I know what Major Taylor thinks when he rolls over in his grave, "We used to be great! We used to be popular and interesting, but now . . . these kids . . . they have no idea."

Maybe you don't know that of which I speak. Maybe you didn't catch the shark jumping, or recognize it as such, or maybe you don't know what it means to jump the shark.

For those of you old enough, you will recall a show named "Happy Days". Happy Days was a rosy look at 50's America that never really existed, but was warm and funny. It was an insanely popular show at a time when we all watched the same four TV stations. The show was on for ten years, from 1974 - 1984, although the last 3-4 years were a weak substitute for the prior years, but the actual jumping of the shark took place in 1977. In that episode, Fonzie was challenged to literally jump a shark on water skis. Actually, Fonzie was on water skis, but you get the point. And it is, in fact, a turning point, the one at which the show went from being good, interesting and maybe relevant and turned into a shadow of itself ("Nuking the fridge" is the same concept applied to the Indiana Jones series).

For us cyclists, the cold opening of The Office last night marked our own jumping of the shark. If you missed it, the gay accountant character, Oscar, is shown in the parking lot wearing cycling gear, with the de rigueur LiveStrong helmet, standing next to his shiny new Trek and spouting about his new found joy and meaning in life now that he is a cyclist. Sure, we've all been there, right? We cyclists have all had those geeky moments when we love cycling SO much that we have to tell non-cyclists, who really don't care. But we have never before turned on Must See TV and watched that scene lived out in on one of the most popular shows on television. No, cycling wasn't the focus of the episode, but it had raised to the level of mainstream consciousness that they felt comfortable making the reference to cycling and to Lance and knew that America would "get" it.

It has been a long period of rising to this level of awareness. Let's not focus on the fact that the Office made a parkour reference a year ago, but let's look at cycling's rise. It started, I think, with Greg LeMond. Greg and a sprinkling of Andy Hampsten spawned a group of young people who wanted to become Tour de France riders. Somewhat unbelievably, it spawned a phenomenal group that included Tyler Hamilton, George Hincapie, Floyd Landis and, of course, Lance "Killing Machine" Armstrong. Lance has now transcended cycling to become a true national level abd world level fame. All of this inexorably led to Hollywood celebrities riding bikes, legions of professionals purchasing carbon fiber bikes that cost more than their first cars (yes, I did it too, but to be fair my first car was worth around $800), Rouleur Magazine, the success of Rapha and hipsters on fixies, and now, The Office making fun of all of it so that it rings true to the mass of non-cycling humanity.

From here, there is nowhere to go but down.

Looking back, it will be obvious. Rome wasn't built in a day, and it sure as hell didn't fall in a day. We have had an ongoing series of drug investigations, fallen heroes (Tyler, Floyd - we trusted in your boy scout/mennonite goodness!?), and hidden motors in seat tubes. We now are knowledgeable about plasticizers on blood and have to constantly explain to our children to not take too seriously any of the sport we love so dearly. Spain, never a bastion of drug control (Italy - I'm looking at you . . .) just arrested 32 people in a clenbuterol ring and we are awaiting the results of a federal investigation into Lance and a whole era of cyclists. Frankly, I'm not hopeful that one of these days a Federal Prosecutor is going to announce, "All good! Couldn't find any evidence of drug use in professional cycling!" No, I have to think someone is going to be charged, someone is going to spill the beans and all of us will be less happy even though it is better to know the truth.

Cycling, I loved you and am going to stick with you, but like Major Taylor, I'm glad I was here while it was good and I'm looking forward to the next cycle of ascendancy. The good news for us? From Major Taylor to today took 100 years. In this internet age, it will only take 100 weeks. Until then, beware of anyone simultaneously wearing a leather jacket and flotation device.
Rider Three

Out of print?!?

A couple of weeks ago, Rider 3 presented our readers with a multi-part series of posts on cycling-related books that recently visited his night stand.

One book he didn't mention, but that I know he's read, is Tim Krabbe's, The Rider. I daresay this is my favorite book written about cycling. It's also the most literary book I've read about cycling.

I'm not sure whether The Rider is considered a novel or a novella. Either way, it's not long--you can read it in the time that say, a significant other might watch Love, Actually, or Rambo, depending on his or her's cinematic tendencies.

Anyway, today I heard some awful news. Evidently, the publisher and owner to the book's rights will cease publication. This is a shame.

The Rider is of course about cycling. It's an internal monologue of a Dutch rider, as he competes in a race he has spent significant time and effort preparing for. So while it's about riding and racing, generally, and in my estimation you'd need to be a rider or racer to truly relate to much of the book, really the themes and feelings (pros might say "sensations") it considers are broader than just cycling.

Plus, it has one of the all-time cool covers. And that's important, no?

While I'm a huge fan of the Kindle store and e-books in general, I appreciate owning The Rider in its physical form. It's really a beautiful little book.

So here's my recommendation. Pop over to your local bookseller, or log onto Amazon, and see if you can still buy a copy. It's worth the read and it's worth owning.

Excited by the Trainer

We have had some surprisingly nice weather in October and my guess is that lots of people are riding and enjoying the hell out of it. I'm not. As discussed previously, I turned a short break into a long break by seriously spraining my ankle and now I can add a sore back after being hit (thankfully while driving my car, not a bike) by an unlicensed driver who fled the scene on foot (but that's a story for another day).

I am hoping, however, that this weekend I can get on my trainer to test out how my ankle is doing and hope that my back is better or improved by the cycling. In any case, for the first time in a long, long time or maybe ever, I am really excited about getting on my trainer. A few weeks from now, when there is slush on the roads, cold temperatures all day and misery in the air, I will be dreading the trainer as a poor substitute for joys of cycling, but today, I am really looking forward to it.

Wish me luck.
Rider Three

Time Off the Bike

Today is the one month anniversary of the last day I turned a pedal. Not, as Phil would say, in anger, just turned a pedal at all.

It wasn't supposed to be that way. After the Leadville 100, it only took a couple of days before I was thinking about cycling and wanting to ride my bike. I was with my family on vacation and after sacrificing time with them for training, I held off riding until I got back home, but that was just over a week from Leadville to my next ride.

On Sept. 11 I rode the Capital Forest 50/100. It was a hard ride as previously described, and I came home banged up, tired and ready for a break. It turns out that what I got was not a break, but instead a bad sprain. Of my ankle. This implies wrongly that these things were related, when they were not.

No, I needed a bit of rest and recuperation and after a lot of riding this summer, it was time. I took the subsequent week and weekend off since it was filled with work and non-profit obligations and a bit of rain. The following weekend I was supposed to spend both Saturday and Sunday helping with a move. That was good until late afternoon on Saturday when I stepped in a bit of grease and rolled my ankle. Hard. I spent the rest of the afternoon and early evening having x-rays, having discussions of how old men shouldn't be partaking of some activities, and being warned to take it very easy for the next number of weeks. Fun times, my friends, fun times.

Today, a bit over two weeks later, I am itching to ride my bike, or, for that matter, walk in a straight line without pain. I can't remember the last time I have been off of a bike for one solid month and it doesn't feel normal. I suggested to my wife that I get back some of that feeling by spending money on cycling stuff, but she didn't second the notion. Something about rational behavior that I didn't catch.

Anyway, one month and counting off of the bike. I am planning to sit on the trainer this coming weekend and see how it goes, but I am not confident about the advisability of that even. Is this where the notion of "no pain, no gain" comes in?

Well, at least I have all that interesting news about pro cycling to keep me occupied in the mean time. By the way, anyone have a degree in chemistry analysis who could help me with the bike news?

Injured Cyclist

The Dean of Spokane Cycling has two posts describing the accident and gravely serious injuries to the Spokane rider who crashed at 4th & Lincoln a couple of days ago:

http://cyclingspokane.blogspot.com/2010/10/cyclist-hit-on-4th-and-lincoln.html

and

http://cyclingspokane.blogspot.com/2010/10/more-info-on-cyclist-accident.html.

This blog is usually reserved for silliness and discussions of recreational entertainment, but this accident and the vitriolic reaction is a cause for sadness and reflection.

The Spokesman-Review owes this cyclist and his family an apology for creating the impression that the cyclist caused the accident when he had the right-of-way. He may have "hit" the mini-van, but that is because the mini-van pulled in front of him when it had no right to do so.

The Spokane Police Department has problems more grave than this, but regardless of the contributory cause by the cyclist potentially exceeding the speed limit, the driver who pulled out deserves a ticket and it is yet another example of "our" police department not respecting the rights of citizens.

I was in a motorcycle accident many years ago caused completely by a car. The police officer walked up to me while I was attending to my wife (who had been on the motorcycle with me) and said something like, "What did you do?" Not, "What happened?", or even, "Is everyone okay?", but instead led with the conclusion, before he knew anything about it, that the motorcycle had been the cause of whatever had happened. Thankfully the driver of the vehicle behind mine took the time to find and explain to the officer what had happened, gave me his card and then did the same thing to insurance adjuster. I wish I had this gentleman's name to thank him again, but it is a reminder of how some police officers view motorcyclists and cyclists.

And lastly, the idiots and ignoramuses who have no understanding of how roads and maintenance are paid for, no understanding of the laws concerning cyclists and have the arrogance to bluster about in their hatred and ignorance owe every cyclist and sensible person an apology. And they should also shut the hell up.