Choice of Fuel

At some point in the past 14 years, there was an explosion of these energy bars that took place.  Before my 12 year haitus from competitive cycling, there was only Powerbar and Clif Bar, with no more than just a few flavors each.  I always hated Powerbars because of their texture but I consumed them nonetheless because they were quick sources of fuel.  Now, there's an entire side of a grocery aisle filled with bars of all varieties and nutritional content. I suspect it's only a matter of time before someone does a detailed timeline of when and how these all came into being.  Now that I'm back doing 2-hr rides, I know I need to consume these while on the bike so I figure I try a few different flavors.  Interestingly enough, Sprouts Market had every brand except for Powerbar.

Old School Classic

South Bay Wheelmen old school wool cycling jersey.  Classic.  But on a 2-hr ride this afternoon with the temperature hovering around 50F, its turns priceless when used with arm and leg warmers.  I actually have 3 of these South Bay jerseys which I'm guessing are from the early 80s.  The old cycling jersey designs were much simpler without the visual clutter of sponsorship and advertising.

Funny Quote

“Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime. Teach a man to cycle and he will realize fishing is stupid and boring.”

-Desmond Tutu

Fall Riding

Cycling during the months of October, November and December is at best, unpredictable. Two weeks ago was perfect -- 70s and sunny during the afternoon, calm.  Last week, the Santa Ana winds hit on Sunday and the hill I normally ride up to get home -- which I typically take at 10 mph -- I was barely moving at half that speed with a nasty headwind and 90 deg  heat.  Today, I took a short 17 mile ride around Rancho Cucamonga and I had to put on my knee warmers and wear a long sleeve jersey.  The air temp was 50F and with the wind chill, it was easily 40-45 deg temps.  Next week?  Who knows.  Rain, sleet or maybe a heat wave. Still, I wouldn't trade the unpredictability with the predictable snow and cold of the north and east part of the US.

The Tour in Print

Just finished Bike Tribes and on to the next book.  Blazing Saddles: The Cruel and Unusual History of the Tour de France.  I don't really care what people think of professional cycling with the Armstrong debacle and all dominating the past several months of the news.  The tour still has quite a bit of history that most people in this country don't care to know about because it's French and by definition, any red-blooded football-watching, pickup truck-driving, gun-loving American can't possibly be interested in it.  My passion for the tour didn't kick in until 1985 when American Greg Lemond battled the Frenchman, his teammate Bernard Hinault for the title.  This book is about the aspect of the tour that is not covered by the mainstream media.  Speaking of the tour, the only poster of this epic bike race I keep in the house is the one I have in my bedroom.

Photographer Robert Capa captured the essence of the tour that most Americans will never understand. French cycling fans will stand on the side of the road for hours to just get a glimpse of the race fly by.  A 10 second blur maybe? 30 at most depending on how fast the peloton is going at the time.  This 1959 photograph tells so much about the tour without even showing any image of a cyclist or a bicycle.  Only someone who has watched or participated in bike race in person will fully appreciate Capa's masterpiece.

Bike Tribes: A Field Guide to North American Cyclists

One of the funnier books that looks at the sociological side of two-wheeled transit.  Most of us belong to some primary tribe and consider ourselves part of other tribes.  After all, no self-respecting cyclist owns only one type of bike right?  This is easy Reader's Digest-type reading, short, sweet, anecdotal and some cool drawings by Danica Novgorodoff.  I heard writer Mike Magnuson interviewed in a cycling podcast once and was impressed enough to order the book online.  Between Magnuson and BikeSnobNYC, there's this constant stream of writing that reminds me that cycling is not all about serious turning of the cranks and hammering.  It's about how cycling is just another instantiation of how social beings interact.

When Is This Gonna End?

Today, the UCI, cycling's governing body stripped Lance of his 7 tour victories.  Now, I can sympathize how African Americans vigorously defended OJ Simpson when he was tried and acquitted of murder years ago.  Lance is one of our own -- not American we, but cycling community we.  There was Boyer, Lemond, Hampsten, Phinney before him.  Americans who paved the way for gringos to race as pro bike racers in Europe.  Those who followed the tour knew all along that it is a hard race and there is a reason PEDs are used mostly for recovery.  Pro cycling is dirty and everyone knows it.  I suppose the thing that bothers me is that those who jumped on the Lance bandwagon are getting off just as fast now.  Shit, should have never stopped to pick them up in the first place.  Most of them didn't give a damn when Lemond was betrayed and almost beat by his own French teammate in 1986.  The didn't care about Andy Hampsten riding the Gavia Pass in the Giro.  So like a bleeding cut, there seems to be no end to people getting off the Lance train -- no matter how much money he made them in the past.

What Takes Up (My) Time

As I noticed the other books I had on the counter, I realized that these four things drive life as I know it today -- science, cycling, art and music.  The key is to not let one thing drive the others out of the picture -- it's all about balance.  Just about the only thing that will preempt any or all of these four is my kids.  But the real trick is getting both kids to appreciate all those that I do -- on their own cognizance, of course.  I don't know if they'll ever get a full understanding of art  nor whether they will take up the sciences but so far, I got them both into music and cycling.

Traffic Jams in CicLAvia

Love this event! Downtown Los Angeles on bike.  The kids and I went down to CicLAvia last Sunday and this is the most fun I've had on a bike while not screaming downhill at 50 mph. 100,000 fellow cyclists and I bet there was less internet traffic in LA for the hours between 10am and 3pm.  However, there was a lot, a ton of bike traffic especially through the jewelry district where we got stuck in lights for about 5 minutes.  Didn't mind it at all though as I rode my Eddy Merckx bike with fellow 2-wheeled folks.  Making CicLAvia a monthly event might be a stretch but I'd vote for quarterly -- one for every season.  LA is a different city as the seasons change.  I guess there's also 100,000 people who don't like to sit on their asses all Sunday and just watch football.  My best memory was going down Figueroa through Staples Center to Exposition park. Wide open road and not a damn car on the road!  For a change, I didn't worry about me or my kids getting hit by a motorist.  Great event for the city.

"Bicycle" by Udo Gattoni

This is the kind of artwork that excites me for multiple reasons.  The format is very innovative a single sheet of heavy cardstock 4 meters in length with drawing on both sides.  So "Bicycle" by Udo Gattoni is really an 8-meter long drawing of my other passion besides art -- cycling, that is.  This is a whimsical, Where's Waldo-type image bombardment that is supposed to be inspired by the 2012 London Olympics.  The other appeal is that it is executed in my favorite medium of pen-and-ink.  I considered framing it but I think this custom frame would cost over $500 and I would need to but another copy so I can display the other side.  Procured from Gallery Nucleus in Alhambra.

What A Ride (So Far)!

Today is significant.  Both kids rode 25 miles yesterday (Rancho Cucamonga-to-Claremont) and another 25 today (Santa Fe Dam loop).  They've actually been averaging 40 miles per week since mid-August but they decided to go for a 50-mile weekend.  So I started looking at some old photos of both kids, who had been around bikes since the day they were born.  As soon as they could put on a helmet, basically, they were on the Burley trailer being towed by their mom (November 2001). 

Maura taught Sam to ride without training wheels as shown below in our driveway in Pasadena.  This red bike would be handed down to JJ a couple years after this photo was taken as Sam migrated over to his first BMX bike.

One of the nicest bike trail, albeit short in distance of only 2 miles, is the path from Duarte to Monrovia along Royal Oaks Drive.  As with most kids, there was this fascination with all things off-road so they would venture off the paved section and take this short mound of dirt about halfway on the trail. Below, both kids are riding, or at least attempting to ride, their BMX bikes while their mom encourages them to  go hammer those tiny gears.  They reason for this climb?  Of course, the downhill on the other side.

The first time I took both kids to Sante Fe Dam was in 2008.  We drove from Pasadena and parked off Live Oak and just did the short 6-mile loop at the top of the dam.  Although they were riding the same BMX bikes, you can tell they had grown a bit -- different, slightly larger helmets.

Sam now rides Maura's Trek Madone 5.2 road bike as he is tall enough to ride the 54 cm frame and of course, he is loving it.  Ultegra and a carbon frame and Bontrager Race-Lite wheels while JJ now rides Sam's road bike, a 2011 Specialized Allez.  Both kids, however, still ride with their sneakers and just regular pedals.  I told them that as soon as they get 500 miles under their belt, they're getting Shimano- SPD shoes.  The only drawback of this is that both kids have been eating a ton -- especially Sam, who's 14 and normally eats a lot anyway just being a teenager.  Add a 50-mile weekend and his 20-mile weekly commuter miles to school, and I'm looking at a very hungry, growing kid.

3050 Miles!

Last week, I passed 3000 miles on the Trek.  After one year, I had to buy new Continental tires (Gatorskins) but pretty much, this bike had been trouble-free.  I know nothing sprints like my steel frame Eddy Merckx but the comfort of this Trek Madone is unparalleled.  Will I buy another Trek carbon bike again? You bet.  

European Classic

Bicycles are meant to be simple.  The derailleur was introduced in the late 1800s to allow for multiple gear changes without dismounting.  I think the 1980s were the golden era of European bicycles -- basically, before index shifting, clipless pedals, carbon fiber and aerodynamics dominate product design.  It was also the decade I got introduced to serious cycling when I bought my first Italian bike, an Atala Campione del Mondo with Campagnolo C-Record components.  Since I bought that bike from Helen's Cycles in Westwood, I've had several road bikes of the "modern" designs I mentioned above.  Last week, I did find my Holy Grail of classic European bikes, a 1983 Eddy Merckx and above is a photo of the drive system.

Law of Averages

I put in over 3500 miles since April 2011 and given those miles, I would think I would get a few flats on my bike every now and then.  I was doing pretty good and did not get a flat until July 2012 so to go 15 months without a single flat is statistically a couple standard deviations off my average.  When I used to ride a lot I would get a flat once every couple months.  So, I wasn't sure what I was doing right but I didn't complain.  Then came the first flat.  Downhill on Day Creek Blvd at 35 miles per hour after hitting a pothole.  Next one was on Banyan Street after rolling over a staple.  And then I got a snakebit puncture cornering from Wilson to Milliken.  Three flats in the 60 days of July-August.  Then came September.  I had been riding with the kids and for the past 3 weekends I would do 20 miles each on Saturday and Sunday with them.  However, the last 3 rides I've done with them, I got 2 flats and JJ got one.  Just me alone, that's a total of 5 flats in the past 16 months but all within the last 9 weeks.  (I'm particularly paranoid about flats because I don't really have anyone to pick me up if for some reason, my spare doesn't work -- at least until one of the kids can drive a car.)  Given my luck, I'm expecting a couple more in September in order for me to get to my average of one flat every 2 months.  There's just way too much crap on these roads.

Project Merckx

I wanted to take these photos as a baseline before I start (yet again) another restoration project.  My 1983 Eddy Merckx bike equipped with full Campagnolo Nuovo Record.  It took me a while to find one my size (53cm) and color (blue).  Besides Belgian beer and Belgian waffles, a handmade frame with the name of the cyclist nicknamed "The Cannibal" is the only other thing Belgian that I desire.  The last photo with the sticker that says "MEXICO Km. 49,431" is worth noting.  Eddy Merckx set the world hour record in 1974 at a velodrome in Mexico City and was still the record holder at the time this bike was issued.  The hour record had been broken several times since by multiple cyclists but what stood out with Merckx's record is he did it with drop handlebars, a steel frame and wire spokes.  The world of cycling at the time hadn't crossed paths with the world of aerodynamics yet.  This restoration project is more of a cleaning project.  Most of the original part are on this bike except for one minor item - a missing handlbar plug.  This is my holy grail of cycling.

A 2-Car/12-Bike Garage

The nice thing about a 3-car garage is the extra space for storage.  But now that I've logged in over 3000 miles on my new bike and gotten the kids to do 20-mile rides, I am beginning to run out of space in the garage due to all the cycling stuff.  I finally found some time on this Labor Day holiday to drill some pilot holes on the garage wall and put on some hooks that I can hang a few bikes vertically.  At some point, I probably need to sell a couple bikes (that we've outgrown) so I will need to deal with Craigslist soon.  But for now, I seem to have freed up some room in the garage so I can keep the dozen some odd bikes in there.

The Other Side

Last night, I took the kids for a bike ride on the Pacific Electric Bike Trail but this time going east from Rancho Cucamonga.  We did the westward ride Sunday afternoon from East Ave to Arrow Route in Upland so they wanted to do a "different" route the following day.  I previously had not gone more than a couple miles on the bike trail into Fontana but this time we rode about 7 miles to Juniper Ave.  The demographic on the bike trail east and west of the I-15 is very distinct but that doesn't bother me at all.  What bothers me is the difference in the way the two cities, Rancho Cucamonga and Fontana seem to treat the bike trail.  In Rancho, it seems to be a place where families walk, jog, ride and the upkeep of the trail is excellent.  On the Fontana side, the first obvious difference is the apparent lack of planning where the street crossings are basically done at your own risk.  In addition, I was really worried about getting a flat from the numerous broken bottles and glass that littered the trail in several places.  Thankfully, our short ride concluded with no incident and as we headed home to our car, it was already dark and I was really surprised by the number of people who ride at night -- with lights on, of course.  I know it's still summer but I do wonder how many of them will be around as the weather gets colder.  It's probably safe to say the kids and I will be riding west more than we'll be riding east.

Old Telo Time Trial Certificates

I used for ride with the Southbay Wheelmen when I lived in West LA.  The Telo Time Trial course is in an industrial park in Torrance and the club hosted these monthly time trials all year just so everyone could gauge their progress throughout the racing year.  Well, given the oh-so-slight improvement from 22.47 mph (March 1994) to 22.62 mph (August 1994), it's safe to say I sucked at individual time trials.  But I kept on riding because cycling is life even after a 13-year hiatus from 1998 though 2011.

Premium Rush (2012)

Over 25 years ago, a relatively small budget movie Quicksilver starring Kevin Bacon and Larry Fishburne (yes, before he became friggin' Lawrence) brought the world of bike messengers to popular culture.  So I dug out my VHS copy a few weeks ago as soon as I saw the previews for Premium Rush, which stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt (above).  The plot for this one was fairly simple, bike messenger carries unknown package to a destination, bad guy attempts to intercept package.  The goal is simple -- get the package to destination  in time.  The cycling sequences were excellent but the overall message that the movie projects about cycling to the subconscious of the general public is unfavorable.  Cyclists break all rules of the road as shown through scene after scene of bike messengers navigating through traffic dealing with taxis, pedestrians and other cyclists.  I struggle with that as I teach my kids that the responsibility of riding a bike and following the rules of the road like cars do.  Kids and I saw the 930am showing today so we didn't have to pay full price for something that definitely belongs in the Netflix or Redbox category.

The Enlightened Cyclist

One of the funnier books I've read on cycling culture.  Even though I understand road racing, there's a whole world of the two-wheeled life that I don't even come close to understanding.  Bike Snob NYC provides an insight into the strange subculture of commuters, hipsters, fixies, cars vs bikes, bikes vs bikes, etc.