Race of Truth – 114 years old today

From Wired Mag.

http://www.wired.com/thisdayintech/2009/10/1005first-time-trials

List of car-free places

Thanks to Carlton Reid @carltonreid for the following link.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_car-free_places

Priorities

Enjoying my morning cup of Joe and a driver with his priorities straight pulls in. An average economy Saturn with a Merlin Ti road bike on top. Who else has a bike that costs more than their car? Good for you.

Bike of the Future?

So a colleague from Italy shared this photo.

This is some interesting engineering removing the standard chain drivetrain and allowing a direct connection to the wheel.  One engineering hurdle is the strength of the wheels without spokes.  Anyone seen anything similar?

http://www.tgcom.mediaset.it/fotogallery/fotogallery3836.shtml

World champion of bicycle thieves

 

 

As a former victim of bike theft, it is nice to hear that this scum-bag is detained.  

 

From the NY Times. 

TORONTO JOURNAL

In a Cyclist-Friendly City, a Black Hole for Bikes

TORONTO — What exactly was he planning to do with 2,865 bicycles?

Toronto Police, via National Post

The police are baffled by what Igor Kenk planned to do with such a surplus of bikes.

That is just one of many questions the police and others have been puzzling over since the arrest last month of Igor Kenk, the owner of a used-bike shop here.

Mr. Kenk’s legacy now fills a former police garage with a leaky roof. Organized by brand name and mostly resting on their handlebars, wheels pointed upward, are 2,396 of the bicycles that police say Mr. Kenk either stole or arranged to have stolen.

The jumbled collection of bicycles suggests that Mr. Kenk is the unofficial world champion of bicycle thieves. But as he awaits trial next month on 58 charges related to theft and drug possession, the biggest mysteries of all are Mr. Kenk’s motives and his ultimate plan for the armada of steel, rubber and aluminum he amassed.

“He’s easily the most hated man in Toronto,” said Alex Jansen, a filmmaker who has been working on a documentary about Mr. Kenk for more than a year as part of a study of his rundown neighborhood’s transition to hipsterdom. “But I just found that it’s not as black and white as I originally thought.”

 

Read More

Vanilla Bicycles: A Story About Sacha White

 

 

Below is a link to a 10 minute movie about the Portland frame-builder Sacha White and his story with Vanilla bicycles.  

Link

Bicycle Sundays in Mexico City.

The Mayor of Mexico City has instituted an idea to make his community more livable. On every Sunday, the main avenues are closed to motorists and open to pedistrians and cyclists.
Now before you think this idea is over the top, consider the last time you were at an outdoor lifestyle shopping mall. No cars, no noice, a little sense of community. Durham, NC has ‘The Streets of Southpoint’ and ‘American Tobacco’ both are open-air markets with restaurants and no problems associated with vehicles. Kids can run around, adults get alittle exercise and some fresh air.
I hope the success in Mexico City gains momentum and large US cities consider this alternative. My family would welcome this move.

Read the story.

Great Thread about Drugs and Blood Doping

Here is a great thread on first hand experiences.

Click here for thread. 

Basso leaving Discovery

Ivan Basso announced earlier today, he is leaving Discovery Team. Apparently the re-opening of an investigation by Italian authorities has Basso concerned.

Read More.

Who you ride with, not where or what you ride.

Sometimes the key ingredients for a perfect ride are made up of who you ride with verses where or what you ride.

Boone, NC was always this magical riding place I have never been.  Magical because of this is where Lance Armstrong decided to ride again after cancer.  Magical because it is Western North Carolina.  Magical because however many times I have been in W. NC, I was always 3 hours away and I never did travel the squirrel path to Boone.  This all changed several weeks ago when my high school friends/groomsman/groomswoman and their family had vacation planned here.  Opportunity was ringing the bike bell “BRRINNG, BRRINNG”. In the back of my mind, I was expecting a major epic ride (No wives, no kids). 

Sometimes it is best to change plans.  Due to a limited schedule, we decided to take both families.  We looked at the local cycling guide from Boone Bike & Touring Shop (very helpful, thank you), and found a railroad grade road.  Considering the loads and my friends being from Florida (had to dig on you Ray) this made everyone happy. 

We chose a route that started at Todd General Store, 3866 Todd Railroad Grade Rd, Todd, NC 28684.  The route was a simple out and back with no turns or directions to worry about.  20 miles round-trip, and yes it was completely flat.  It followed the New River. 

Both Ray and I towed a kid trailer, Melissa had a child carrier on back and Kelly had a bun in the oven.  Ray and I were able to catch up on old times, while the Shelia’s did the same.  The trailered children laughed and chatted to each other the whole morning.  At our turn around point we stopped to let the children play at the river’s bank.  To top off a great day, we ate at the General Store. 

So yes, I finally had a magical ride near Boone, NC because of the folks I rode with. 

Discovery Channel suspends Basso

The Discovery Channel team suspended Italian Ivan Basso from racing on Tuesday after the Italian Olympic Committee’s anti-doping office reopened an investigation into the 2006 Giro d’Italia winner. “Team management…has requested that Italian rider Ivan Basso not compete pending further information in a new investigation coming out of Italy,” the team said in a statement.

See Link. 

Floyd Landis Follow-Up Tests are Positive.

 

 

PARIS: Follow-up tests on samples given by Tour de France champion Floyd Landis have found traces of synthetic testosterone, French sports newspaper L’Equipe reported Monday.

The paper said on its Web site the tests on seven samples clearly showed traces of the banned substance. Initial tests on the samples had not produced positive results, it added.

Landis gave the samples while on his way to winning the 2006 Tour, it said.

For More.

Jan Ullrich Salute !

Bike Lingo

Bike Lingo

“I’m out of shape”
Translation: I ride 400 miles a week and haven’t missed a day since the Ford administration. I replace my 11-tooth cog more often than you wash your shorts. My body fat percentage is lower than your mortgage rate.

“I’m not into competition. I’m just riding to stay in shape”
Translation: I will attack until you collapse in the gutter, babbling and whimpering. I will win the line sprint if I have to force you into oncoming traffic. I will crest this hill first if I have to grab your seat post, and spray energy drink in your eyes.

“I’m on my beater bike”
Translation: I had this baby custom-made in Tuscany using titanium blessed by the Pope. I took it to a wind tunnel and it disappeared. It weighs less than a fart and costs more than a divorce.

“It’s not that hilly”
Translation: This climb lasts longer than a presidential campaign. Be careful on the steep sections or you’ll fall over — backward. You have a 39×23 low gear? Here’s the name of my knee surgeon.

“You’re doing great, honey”
Translation: Yo, lard ass I’d like to get home before midnight. This is what you get for spending the winter decorating and eating chocolate. I shoulda married that cute Cat 1 racer when I had the chance.

“This is a no-drop ride”
Translation: I’ll need an article of your clothing for the search-and-rescue dogs.

“It’s not that far”
Translation: Bring your passport

chris@promocycle.net

2005 Lemond Fillmore Single/Fixed

So when your bicycle quiver contains all the utilitarian models, Road, Mtn., Tandem and Commuting, you crave and desire what you don’t have. It relates back to the mathmatical formula for the correct number of bikes to own (n+1, n = the number of current bikes you have). For many years, this desire was for a fixed-gear bike. I read a lot of hype about the simplicity and difficulty with riding one. “Don’t ever use the rear brake” “Don’t ride down a steep hill” “It takes weeks to learn to ride” “It is illegal in many cities to ride without hand-brakes”. Well the little devil voice inside had been chattering for years and hell it was time to shut him up.

My wife, son and I were out for a Saturday morning ride on the tandem with a Topeak child carrier on the back. Being the captain, I chose a right turn down towards Outback Bikes in Atlanta. No diapers, no food or drink provisions and we are headed south for 15-20 miles. The main objective at the bike shop was a new front tire for my Trek 520 commuter. Truly, this was my only objective. OutbackBikes is a cool shop, they have Arkel bags, Chrome messanger bags, fixed-gears bikes, many unusual items and bikes, most shops miss out on. While browsing through the store, I latch onto a clearance Lemond Fillmore, black with creme decals and no damn derailleurs. Flip-flop hub, good. Front and rear brakes, good. Carbon fork and seat-post, not necessary, however good. Clearance price, unresistable.

A little sweet talking to my wife, a quick swipe of the credit card, and I am the new owner of my first single/fixie. They arrange paperwork so we can pick-up the bike later in the day. We needed to ride the tandem 15-20 miles north, get our car and drive back down to pick-up the bike.

Now if you get as anxious as I with major purchases, you cannot wait. Not part of a day, not an hour, not a minute. When I want something, I want it then and there.

So more sweet talking, and I was able to talk my bride into riding the Fillmore home, while I sherpa’d the tandem and kid home. This was not a easy trek, our journey took us through the climbs of Buckhead and Marietta.

Stay tuned for riding reviews.