Fall - A time for transition

Well it has definitely cooled down here in the San Francisco Bay area. I have even caught a cold I am doing some very modest mileage. The bike is in good shape so any ride is a happy ride.

Given this I am thinking of transitioning this winter to more skiing than cycling. I intend to get my Volkls out of the closet to do some Alpine skiing this year, at Kirkwood, Alpine Meadows, and Bear Valley. Since I plan to do the Echo Summit to Kirkwood Race and Tour again this year and I hope to do the Great Race which leaves from North Lake Tahoe to Truckee. I think I would like to do some other races. Now believe me what I call a race is just showing up and trying. In fact I am planning to hook up with Team in Training's Nordic Program. It involves a lot of weekend training sessions in Bear Valley and Royal Gorge followed up by the Tour of Anchorage Race which winds around the outskirts of the city.

This would be a great opportunity to try something different so I don’t burn out on cycling while keeping in shape for the winter.

Another Pump Rant

If I didn't have any other pump issues that would be just great with me.

The ride up until that point was great. The weather, although obviously changing to a fall hue, was fantastic. We rode to a park, had a bite to eat, relaxed, and just had a great day. Not more than two miles from the park my tire went flat. I stopped took off the back wheel and went to work on it. However when I went to pump it up and removed the pump the presta valve stem just ripped off. This is the second time this has happed in the last two month. So now I am in the market for a new frame pump. Anyone know of any good frame pumps?

Change in Seasons

Wel,l here in the South San Francisco Bay area the seasonal change is upon us. Winds have been gusty and the cold snap is in the air. Early morning bike rides mean full fingered gloves or just cold digits. Although the evenings will soon get darker I sense that more people are willing or find it more cost effective to commute.

We live in a different world though than when I first started biking. Wannabe commuters are dusting off their pretty Magnas, Schwins, Motives and other big box bikes. Many have taken these bikes out of storage (sometimes tucked away for three or for years) and they are just in horrible shape. These Costco, Wal-Mart bikes were just not meant to be ridden that much. Sometime, I will have to figure out bike economics but $200 is just not going to get you a bike for which you have to rely on to get to work. These big box bikers somehow feel that flats are something that I bike shop should take care of. As the cost of gasoline rises the good news is that more people will ride bikes but the bad news is that many people are ill prepared to buy an appropriate bike and maintain it.

Early Morning Rides This Time of Year are Nice.

I hit the road at about 5:30 this morning with the thermometer reading around 50 degrees Fahrenheit. I bit cool and dark, but it was absolutely wonderful. At this time of the morning around here, the heavy duty commuters aren't up yet and you pretty much have the road to yourself. What made the ride great is the moonset on the western hills a good 20 to 30 minutes before sunrise. I was riding east and caught the moonset as it was slowly sinking into the hills. Another reason why I ride.

Cars are Coffins

The more I ride the more I am amazed, amazed I tell you on how bad the car world is out there. I guess I never really notice when driving became something you did defensively and for safety's sake as opposed to just another facet of a multi-tasked world.

Of course the most obvious is the use of cell phones, but also dogs in the lap, and my favorite; reading the morning paper on your way to work. What I fear most is the mommy with a child in the back seat restrained in an infant carrier and mommy in the front in the middle of a phone conversation, while making a left hand turn at a stop sign onto a busy aerterial road. If this isnt endangering mommy, me and the baby, I dont know what is. This is just crazy. Who knows she may even have a hot cup of coffee in here coffee holder. And it seems to just be getting worse.

Instead of motorists driving better or cyclists demanding a European or Canadian Cycling environment with real bike plans and paths cyclists here in the bay area just give up and say it's getting too dangerous out there. They give up and I have to hear hybrid drivers gloat about there new enviro-cuddly Japanese imports. Forgive me but the still take up space on the roads and the parking spaces in town. They still creat sprawl because now I can leave my guilt back in my suburban ranch house get on the freeway and drive to work. The still make me fat because I drive everywhere. And the last I heard the still have the ability to kill cyclists. So you do the math.

Sometimes, after a long bike ride, what is the most tiring part of the ride is not the actual ride; the mashing of the pedals but the stress of constant vigilence of watching out for dumb ass drivers.

Great Day - Great Peadals

I recently replaced my Crank Brothers new Quattro road pedals with Look 5.1's. The Quattros were ok but I wanted to give these looks a try. For I while I tried the red cleats which allow for the 3, 6, and 9 degrees of float. I have a pair of Lake shoes. On Wednesday I switched over to the black (fixed) cleats. Wow I love this things. My feet now feel like the are a part of the crankset, the in and out of these cleats are much smoother. Before with a pair of off brand red cleats so much force was needed and then you hear this big snapping sound of the plastic finding its way into the metal pedal.

Well with yesterdays great weather here in the bay area it just felt so good. I did'nt think it could get any better than this.

Quality isn't what it used to be.

As I mentioned something as important and as necessarily basic as a pump seems to me just to be a throwaway item. Most pumps nowadays (floor and frame) are made of plastic. Although plastic is a fantastic synthetic material cheap plastic is cheap plastic. A riding buddy of mine just last week had a floor pump die within 2 years of purchase.

I mentioned that for the last 20 years I have used a Silca floor pump. It is beautiful. The barrel is steel, the hose is high quality and the valve is brass. The rubber inside the brass is high quality rubber, not some cheap shiny crap. You do the math. If this pump was twice as much but lasts 4, 5, or 10 times longer. Which is the better deal. Sorry people, but when you are paying close to $3 per gallon of gas is riding a bike that expensive. I Love my Silca.....

Foxy's Falls Century

I was planning to do the Foxy's Fall Century out of Davis, CA, but I just did not get off my but in time. Oh well, the season is winding down so I better check out some other rides.

Bad Gear - Sour Times

I bought a Topeak frame pump about six months ago. Not pleased at all. I imagine some designers here in the States saying what can we do to design a pump that is the cheapest to manufacture; not a great pump, not a good pump, just a pump that looks good on the sales floor but not worth a damn any other way you look at it.

So I buy the pump and mount it with my water bottle holder. It has two plastic clasps that hold the pump somewhat, and along with two rubber stretchy things these are supposed to secure the pump to the frame. Well the first one was gone in about 3 months, the second in about 5 months. Also the pump has a rubber fitting that keeps dirt out of the valve. Only one problem....IT DOES NOT STAY in the Valve so it is worthless. Also why cant they tell you on the packaging when you buy the pump what you can expect in the way of PSI. I have Vredstein tires that have a max PSI of 175 but I put anywhere from 130 to 150 in them. Guess what I cant get any more than 60 or 65 PSI with out hearing a hissing sound at that point. Just tell me up front so I can compare. Does anyone know of any better frame pumps?

I will tell you all about my wonderful Silca Presta floor pump later. I love this thing. Now that's a pump, made by cyclists for Cyclists.....

Another Tragic Cycling Death

I was stunned to tear the news that South San Francisco Bay Area experienced another traffic death. Michelle Mazzei, a 34 year old school teacher in Menlo Park, Ca. was killed when she was struck by a car on Woodside Rd., near Interstate 280 in Woodside. I could not find anything about a memorial ride.

Nice Day for Riding

What an excellent day to ride today. I started the day riding about 50 miles in this great weather. Met a friend for a late lunch and then got in another ride with some riders that met at Evolution Cycling in Cupertino. It was a pretty good sprint so after about 72 miles today I was a little fried.

I am back in business.

Well I got a new frame and I am back in business. After getting it all put together I took a ride over to the city of Santa Clara. It was a bit windy today however.