Wrote this about a week ago and wanted to post a cross video with it, but that never happened so here it is anyways...
Well the weather has taken a turn for the worse and as a result cross on the usual trails might have to wait until either we actually get some real snow and we can ride the hardpack or it warms up again.
The weather last week was absolutely incredible. The temperatures were reached without gale force Chinook winds, something that is very unusual for November.
I have been hitting up the usual suspects for trails as of late. Sideshow is in great shape after someone took the time to repair it and bring it closer to its original super flow condition. Some spots are a little bumpy and tight, so as a whole the trail is slower, but at the same time I find it somewhat more challenging. After sideshow I always flow right on over to Bowmont for the river side rollercoaster of a trail that is yet to be officially named. I am cleaning all of the steepest climbs with ease in the 39-27 now and it feels good, especially when I get to pass mountain bikers scrambling for their granny gears. I really missed riding off road after not owning a mountain bike all year and living for a good part of the prime mtb season in the land of never ending paved wonderland. Thankfully I am able to feed my dirty habit thanks to that trusty black cross bike of mine.
I must say that my cross bike has been everything my mtbs ever were and more. Riding trails on a cross bike, as long as they are not too bumping, is a thrill. The 700c wheels roll over roots and rocks with ease, corner with great stability and hold momentum and traction up the steepest of inclines. Riding on the hoods is my favorite position for cross riding. It is such a natural position for the hands and I find it much more comfortable than the flat bar hand position. The “Spooky” brakes squeal like mad sometimes, but they always stop and they feel very solid, better than many v brakes I have had the misfortune of testing. Have a carbon fork up front helps a great deal with dampening the smaller vibrations and the added stiffness makes for rail precision in bermed corners. For the trails in town a cross bike is all you really need. Having full suspension and disc brakes can make for some fun riding, but doing it rigid with canti’s really hones the skills and takes the term “feeling the flow” to a whole new level. When you feel flow on a cross bike it’s the real deal. You are getting the feeling straight from the source, unprocessed and defiantly not from concentrate. It’s like Kraft Singles slices from Superstore vs. Gouda from Von Muelen’s cellar in Eindhoven, better all round.
Now that the weather is cold and the trails are nice and icy I am finally able to see straight
26.11.05
Motorists, a hazard to their own health.
Yesterday as I rode to school to the rythems of J5 I was taken out of my happy morning commute on the single speed by a rather pathetic motorist. Here is how it all happened.
I was almost at my destination and was coming along at a good speed along the west side of the Rosza Center at the uni. A young woman was walking toward a cross walk ahead of me, but upon seeing me riding along slowed down so as to let me pass before walking out into the road. I don't know if anyone else does this, but personally whenever I am about to cross a street I always let cyclists pass before continuing. I like to show this courtesy and respect to fellow cyclists to acknowledge their efforts in bicycle travel and that stopping and starting for a pedestrian slows the rider's progress unnecessarily. So this woman had done what I just explained and to that I was grateful. I gave her a friendly nod and proceeded along. A car traveling just behind me stopped for the woman, as it should. As soon as the woman had passed infront of the vehicle the driver started blaring the horn, undoubtedly directing some form of aggression toward me. I turned and gave the driver a glare and a gesture showing that I didn't appreciate his horn. The driver then jammed on the gas and came up right behind me. He rolled down his window stuck his head out and started yelling that I should have stopped at the crosswalk. I thought nothing of it and kept on riding. I have been riding enough in Calgary that I have learned to ignore such statements as merely a consequence of living in red neck country. I started to turn to my destination and then the driver started yelling that I should come back so he could have a word with me. At this point I turned to see the face of the driver and I recognized him immediately. He was a guest lecturer in one of my biology classes a while back, one of the head profs in the nursing faculty here. I contained my aggression and proceeded to where I was going, much to the disappointment of this poor old man who really wanted to give my ear a twist no doubt.
Is this what a long life of driving does to people? I have never driven more than a couple of laps of a parking lot my entire life so I might be just a little bit biased, but bicycles deserve more respect than that. The same morning I witnessed a lady in a minivan run a red light while speeding at a crowded intersection and none of the drivers so much as cast a glance in the direction of the careening Voyager.
Post you crazy motorist stories as comments to this blog. I have many more as well.
I was almost at my destination and was coming along at a good speed along the west side of the Rosza Center at the uni. A young woman was walking toward a cross walk ahead of me, but upon seeing me riding along slowed down so as to let me pass before walking out into the road. I don't know if anyone else does this, but personally whenever I am about to cross a street I always let cyclists pass before continuing. I like to show this courtesy and respect to fellow cyclists to acknowledge their efforts in bicycle travel and that stopping and starting for a pedestrian slows the rider's progress unnecessarily. So this woman had done what I just explained and to that I was grateful. I gave her a friendly nod and proceeded along. A car traveling just behind me stopped for the woman, as it should. As soon as the woman had passed infront of the vehicle the driver started blaring the horn, undoubtedly directing some form of aggression toward me. I turned and gave the driver a glare and a gesture showing that I didn't appreciate his horn. The driver then jammed on the gas and came up right behind me. He rolled down his window stuck his head out and started yelling that I should have stopped at the crosswalk. I thought nothing of it and kept on riding. I have been riding enough in Calgary that I have learned to ignore such statements as merely a consequence of living in red neck country. I started to turn to my destination and then the driver started yelling that I should come back so he could have a word with me. At this point I turned to see the face of the driver and I recognized him immediately. He was a guest lecturer in one of my biology classes a while back, one of the head profs in the nursing faculty here. I contained my aggression and proceeded to where I was going, much to the disappointment of this poor old man who really wanted to give my ear a twist no doubt.
Is this what a long life of driving does to people? I have never driven more than a couple of laps of a parking lot my entire life so I might be just a little bit biased, but bicycles deserve more respect than that. The same morning I witnessed a lady in a minivan run a red light while speeding at a crowded intersection and none of the drivers so much as cast a glance in the direction of the careening Voyager.
Post you crazy motorist stories as comments to this blog. I have many more as well.
Roddi's Scale of Pain
Canadiancyclist recently featured an article by Roddi Lega (Norco Factory Team) after his outstanding performance at the La Ruta mountain bike marathon event in Costa Rica where he placed 7th overall against some stiff competition.
He wrote a very amusing article and I encourage you to check it out. I thought I would share the part I enjoyed the most. Here is Roddi's scale of pain:
"The way the scale works is much like a Richter scale for earthquakes. Each number is magnified by 100. So, what I think that means, is that a number 1 would be 100 times more painful than a 0. And the same goes for an 8, blocking a slap shot with your ear, teeth or junk. It has 100 times more pain and suffering than hitting your thumb with a hammer. All good.0 - No suffering or pain. Much like partying with great friends while watching Seinfeld, eating chocolate and drinking beer.
1 - Chapped lips or a hang nail.
2 - Reading this whole story.
3 - paper cuts
4 - Stubbing your toe on a bed, desk, or door and breaking it. It has to break to qualify for a 4, or else it's a 3.
5 - Eating Tuna fish sandwiches. Man, you sick bastards that eat those stinky things are crazy!
6 - Hitting your thumb with a hammer.
7 - Blocking a slap shot with your teeth, ear or junk.
8 - Drinking gasoline while smoking.
9 - Giving birth is a 9. Giving birth to more babies or larger and fatter babies can be even higher than 9.
10 - Lindsay Lohans singing or Britney Spears and many more of the same sounding women.
11 - Watching a full hour of Oprah."
Roddi Lega
He wrote a very amusing article and I encourage you to check it out. I thought I would share the part I enjoyed the most. Here is Roddi's scale of pain:
"The way the scale works is much like a Richter scale for earthquakes. Each number is magnified by 100. So, what I think that means, is that a number 1 would be 100 times more painful than a 0. And the same goes for an 8, blocking a slap shot with your ear, teeth or junk. It has 100 times more pain and suffering than hitting your thumb with a hammer. All good.0 - No suffering or pain. Much like partying with great friends while watching Seinfeld, eating chocolate and drinking beer.
1 - Chapped lips or a hang nail.
2 - Reading this whole story.
3 - paper cuts
4 - Stubbing your toe on a bed, desk, or door and breaking it. It has to break to qualify for a 4, or else it's a 3.
5 - Eating Tuna fish sandwiches. Man, you sick bastards that eat those stinky things are crazy!
6 - Hitting your thumb with a hammer.
7 - Blocking a slap shot with your teeth, ear or junk.
8 - Drinking gasoline while smoking.
9 - Giving birth is a 9. Giving birth to more babies or larger and fatter babies can be even higher than 9.
10 - Lindsay Lohans singing or Britney Spears and many more of the same sounding women.
11 - Watching a full hour of Oprah."
Roddi Lega
25.11.05
Heras busted
By now I am sure you have all heard that multiple Vuelta winner Roberto Heras has been caught for the use of EPO. He will lose his 2005 Vuelta title and receive a ban from cycling of 2 years.
One down and many to go, that is my initial thought on the subject. One step closer to dethroning Lance as the vicarious hero of way to many Americans and ignorant Trek riders everywhere.
The best thing that can come out of this is that Hera's lawyers have vowed to pick apart the EPO testing procedure and ultimatly find fault in it. This could result in weak points in the test being discovered and an end to this never ending speculation when an athlete actually does get caught. There have been several examples recently with athletes failing the initial tests, being proclaimed guilty of EPO use and then later being found to be innocent. I honestly hope that the test is inaccurate and that Heras proves himself innocent.
It wouldn't surprise me however if we stop hearing much from his lawyers in the not so distance future as the test is proven to be reliable and Heras quietly serves his sentence and ponders his emerging career as director sportif. As negative a thought as that is. Mixed thoughts on this one.
One down and many to go, that is my initial thought on the subject. One step closer to dethroning Lance as the vicarious hero of way to many Americans and ignorant Trek riders everywhere.
The best thing that can come out of this is that Hera's lawyers have vowed to pick apart the EPO testing procedure and ultimatly find fault in it. This could result in weak points in the test being discovered and an end to this never ending speculation when an athlete actually does get caught. There have been several examples recently with athletes failing the initial tests, being proclaimed guilty of EPO use and then later being found to be innocent. I honestly hope that the test is inaccurate and that Heras proves himself innocent.
It wouldn't surprise me however if we stop hearing much from his lawyers in the not so distance future as the test is proven to be reliable and Heras quietly serves his sentence and ponders his emerging career as director sportif. As negative a thought as that is. Mixed thoughts on this one.
23.11.05
Photography...
I have been playing with my camera the last few days to distract myself from bicycles... Here are some of the results...
22.11.05
San Fran GP lost.....
The San Fran GP has seen its last battle up Filmore Street. I will write more on the topic of racing in North America at a later date....
"San Francisco GP Cancelled", cyclingnews.com Nov 21/05Organisers of the San Francisco GP have announced that the 2006 event, scheduled for September 10, will not go ahead.
In an statement released today, the promoting company San Francisco Cycling, LLC said it had been, "unable to resolve issues surrounding billing amounts and procedures for city services related to the annual event."
The cancellation follows scrutiny of the race by San Francisco city council last week, that involved city councilors accusing San Francisco Cycling, LLC of having obtained a licence for the 2005 event without having paid its bills from 2004. San Francisco Cycling director David Chauner said that the political scrutiny that the race was subjected to made it difficult to secure the sponsorship necessary to keep the race viable.
"There is considerable uncertainty regarding the amounts we will be billed after each year's race, making it impossible to accurately forecast budgets or question charges beforehand," said Chauner. "On top of that, the periodic, emotionally charged Board of Supervisors' debates over the value of the event make potential sponsors very nervous. Few companies will sponsor a politically charged event and, when sponsors back out or can't be replaced, we have to cut important elements of the race, like eliminating the very popular women's event this year."
"No-win situation" for San Fran GP, cyclingnews.com Nov 22/05
Following on from the announcement that the 2006 San Francisco Grand Prix will be cancelled due to ongoing conflict with the city relating to unpaid bills, race director David Chauner described the current environment as a "no-win situation".
"Despite the overwhelming popularity of the San Francisco Grand Prix, we have had to evaluate its financial viability in terms of the market conditions, potential for revenue and cost of running a world class race in order to determine if it makes sense to continue let alone ever turn a profit. Sadly it’s a no-win situation and we simply cannot go forward. Few companies will sponsor a politically-charged event."
The city's Board of Supervisors said San Francisco Cycling LLC should not have not have been issued a permit for the 2006 event, originally scheduled for September 10, when policing bills totalling $89,924 were still yet to be paid from this year's race. San Francisco Cycling and the office of Mayor Gavin Newsom have argued they were only mailed the amount outstanding from the city's Department of Public Works a day before their meeting with the board.
Said operations director Jerry Casale: "We were faxed the final and adjusted SFPD bill for $89,924 for the first time on November 10, 2005, just one working day prior to that meeting, all other city charges had been paid before we got our ISCOTT permit for the 2005 race, it wouldn't have been issued otherwise. And then they said we were late and purposely avoiding payment. That's simply not true."
"That [the event] is being flushed down the toilet so some politicians can make a political point," spokesman for the Mayor, Peter Ragone said to the San Francisco Chronicle.
However, supervisor Aaron Peskin said the event has been cancelled due to San Francisco Cycling's inability to pay monies owing to the city, colourfully describing the race organiser as "a bad actor that has repeatedly refused to pay its bills, or pay them on time." Peskin added that "San Francisco will be just as well off" with the Tour of California set to make its debut next year from February 19-26, 2006.
"The most outspoken supervisor calls this 'corporate welfare' and ignores the value the event brings to the city and to the many restaurants, hotels and businesses that benefit from race-related events," said Chauner.
"San Francisco GP Cancelled", cyclingnews.com Nov 21/05Organisers of the San Francisco GP have announced that the 2006 event, scheduled for September 10, will not go ahead.
In an statement released today, the promoting company San Francisco Cycling, LLC said it had been, "unable to resolve issues surrounding billing amounts and procedures for city services related to the annual event."
The cancellation follows scrutiny of the race by San Francisco city council last week, that involved city councilors accusing San Francisco Cycling, LLC of having obtained a licence for the 2005 event without having paid its bills from 2004. San Francisco Cycling director David Chauner said that the political scrutiny that the race was subjected to made it difficult to secure the sponsorship necessary to keep the race viable.
"There is considerable uncertainty regarding the amounts we will be billed after each year's race, making it impossible to accurately forecast budgets or question charges beforehand," said Chauner. "On top of that, the periodic, emotionally charged Board of Supervisors' debates over the value of the event make potential sponsors very nervous. Few companies will sponsor a politically charged event and, when sponsors back out or can't be replaced, we have to cut important elements of the race, like eliminating the very popular women's event this year."
"No-win situation" for San Fran GP, cyclingnews.com Nov 22/05
Following on from the announcement that the 2006 San Francisco Grand Prix will be cancelled due to ongoing conflict with the city relating to unpaid bills, race director David Chauner described the current environment as a "no-win situation".
"Despite the overwhelming popularity of the San Francisco Grand Prix, we have had to evaluate its financial viability in terms of the market conditions, potential for revenue and cost of running a world class race in order to determine if it makes sense to continue let alone ever turn a profit. Sadly it’s a no-win situation and we simply cannot go forward. Few companies will sponsor a politically-charged event."
The city's Board of Supervisors said San Francisco Cycling LLC should not have not have been issued a permit for the 2006 event, originally scheduled for September 10, when policing bills totalling $89,924 were still yet to be paid from this year's race. San Francisco Cycling and the office of Mayor Gavin Newsom have argued they were only mailed the amount outstanding from the city's Department of Public Works a day before their meeting with the board.
Said operations director Jerry Casale: "We were faxed the final and adjusted SFPD bill for $89,924 for the first time on November 10, 2005, just one working day prior to that meeting, all other city charges had been paid before we got our ISCOTT permit for the 2005 race, it wouldn't have been issued otherwise. And then they said we were late and purposely avoiding payment. That's simply not true."
"That [the event] is being flushed down the toilet so some politicians can make a political point," spokesman for the Mayor, Peter Ragone said to the San Francisco Chronicle.
However, supervisor Aaron Peskin said the event has been cancelled due to San Francisco Cycling's inability to pay monies owing to the city, colourfully describing the race organiser as "a bad actor that has repeatedly refused to pay its bills, or pay them on time." Peskin added that "San Francisco will be just as well off" with the Tour of California set to make its debut next year from February 19-26, 2006.
"The most outspoken supervisor calls this 'corporate welfare' and ignores the value the event brings to the city and to the many restaurants, hotels and businesses that benefit from race-related events," said Chauner.
Test Your Bike Repair IQ!
Yet another amusing quiz from "The Fat Cyclist" blog.
Test Your Bike Repair IQ!
An important part of being a cyclist is knowing how to identify common mechanical troubles and knowing how they can be repaired, as well as how to give accurate information to bike mechanics, on the rare occasion you find one necessary. Take this handy quiz to help you identify how much you know about diagnosing and repairing common bike problems.
Scenario A: Inderterminate Creaking Sound
1. You hear a creak coming from somewhere in your bike. What should you do?
a. Immediately stop and call your bike mechanic. The bike is seriously damaged; any further riding will almost certainly cost thousands of dollars to repair.
b. Lubricate all moving parts with whatever chain lube is handy. You are bound to get the correct one eventually, right?
c. Ignore it. The squeaking is caused by friction, so it stands to reason that eventually that the two things that are rubbing against each other and making that infernal racket will eventually wear each other down, and the sound will go away, or at least subside.
d. Turn up your iPod. Hey, the sound went away!
2. Whichever thing you did in question 1 didn’t work. What do you do next?
a. Fix the bike yourself. You have tools and a bikestand, so you must be a mechanic.
b. Quickly admit defeat and meekly take your bike into the shop.
3. (Answer only if you chose answer ‘a’ in previous question) After fixing your bike, it now squeaks louder, and the gears skip all the time. What do you do?
a. Take the bike to the shop, but don’t admit to having monkeyed with the bike yourself. Stare blankly at the mechanic when he asks you how the cassette got reversed.
b. Take the bike to the shop, and confess everything, sobbing pitifully.
c. Take the bike to a different shop than you usually go to, and say, disgustedly, that the mechanic at the other bike shop totally screwed it up, and you’re hoping you can get better service here.
4. The bike mechanic asks you what the problem is. What do you say?
a. “It makes a ‘skhreekh-skhrokh’ sound when I pedal.”
b. “Well, if I knew what the problem was, I’d be halfway done fixing it, wouldn’t I?”
c. “Nothing. What’s your problem, buddy?”
5. After somehow ascertaining that your bike makes a creaking noise, the bike mechanic asks when it makes the noise. How do you answer?
a. “When I ride it, stupid.”
b. “When I’m pedaling. Or maybe it’s just when I’m coasting. Or it might be when I’m pedaling, but only when I’m out of the saddle. One of those, for sure.”
c. “And sometimes it makes the sound when I hit a big bump or do a wheelie drop. But not always.”
d. “When the moon is waxing gibbous.”
6. Now the mechanic wants to know where the sound comes from. What is the proper thing to say?
a. “Either from the headset or from the bottom bracket.”
b. “Either from the front or rear shock.”
c. “Either from the pedals, chain, or wheels.”
d. “You know, come to think of it, I think that sound may be coming from my right knee.”
Scenario B: Shifting Problems
7. When you shift from the third to the fourth cog, the chain often grinds for a moment before making the switch. You do not have this problem shifting between other gears, and don't even have the problem shifting from the fourth to the third cog. What should you do?
a. Be grateful the drive train is working as well as it is. Bike drive trains are dark magic, and are not to be tampered with.
b. Turn the barrel adjuster on the left clockwise one half turn. No, wait, that just adjusted the front brake. OK, try turning the barrel adjuster on the right — yeah, that's the one — clockwise. Hmm. That didn't work. Maybe try a full turn. Nope, that made it worse. OK, let's try three full turns in the opposite direction. Hey, now it's shifting great! Except I no longer have access to my lowest gear, and the chain skips the fourth cog altogether.
c. This is an indicator that the rear derailleur is misaligned. Lay the bike on its side, find a good sized rock, and drop it on the derailleur from a height of 4 feet (2.1 Kilometers).
8. You're on a group ride, when someone else's chain breaks. What do you do?
a. Get out my chain tool and fix it, because you're the annoying guy in the group who has a tool for everything. As you fix the chain, make sure you deliver a nice, self-righteous lecture on why it's important to be prepared for every contingency.
b. Keep riding. Chains don't just break. They break because you didn't replace them when you should have, or didn't lube them properly, or put too much stress on them. The other rider's neglect is not your problem.
c. Stand around and watch the annoying guy who has the chain tool, trying to learn how to use that chain tool you've carried around for two years, but have no idea how to use.
9. After completely screwing up your drive train with your attempts to repair it, you take the bike into the bike shop mechanic. How do you explain the problem?
a. "I think the cables are stretched or something; it's not shifting right. Could you give it a once-over?"
b. "You know that really annoying know-it-all guy who brings that massive toolkit on every ride? He munged up my bike, man. Could you try to undo the damage?"
c. "Hey, I was just riding along and the shifting started going totally wonky. Did you let one of the junior mechanics touch my bike or something?"
After the Repair
10. Your bike is fixed, but the mechanic took the liberty of using some new parts as part of the repair, then having the audacity to charge you for them. As a result, the bike repair cost $30.00 more than you expected. How should you react?
a. Tip big, be glad you’ve got your bike back, and ride away.
b. Ask the mechanic to take care of a couple of other “little” things that just occurred to you on the spot, figuring you can slip them under the radar.
c. Complain. A lot. Try to wheedle the mechanic down. After all, those bike shops are just rolling in the dough. Tell yourself you would have tipped, if they hadn’t charged you an arm and a leg.
d. Act surprised. “What? I didn’t ask to have the bottom bracket replaced. I just wanted you to clean the drivetrain. Hey, I sure hope we’re not going to have to get our legal teams involved in this.”
Your Answers, Please
OK, time to turn in your answers. The catch is, I don't want you to answer the questions in this quiz. In case you haven't noticed, they're bogus!
Test Your Bike Repair IQ!
An important part of being a cyclist is knowing how to identify common mechanical troubles and knowing how they can be repaired, as well as how to give accurate information to bike mechanics, on the rare occasion you find one necessary. Take this handy quiz to help you identify how much you know about diagnosing and repairing common bike problems.
Scenario A: Inderterminate Creaking Sound
1. You hear a creak coming from somewhere in your bike. What should you do?
a. Immediately stop and call your bike mechanic. The bike is seriously damaged; any further riding will almost certainly cost thousands of dollars to repair.
b. Lubricate all moving parts with whatever chain lube is handy. You are bound to get the correct one eventually, right?
c. Ignore it. The squeaking is caused by friction, so it stands to reason that eventually that the two things that are rubbing against each other and making that infernal racket will eventually wear each other down, and the sound will go away, or at least subside.
d. Turn up your iPod. Hey, the sound went away!
2. Whichever thing you did in question 1 didn’t work. What do you do next?
a. Fix the bike yourself. You have tools and a bikestand, so you must be a mechanic.
b. Quickly admit defeat and meekly take your bike into the shop.
3. (Answer only if you chose answer ‘a’ in previous question) After fixing your bike, it now squeaks louder, and the gears skip all the time. What do you do?
a. Take the bike to the shop, but don’t admit to having monkeyed with the bike yourself. Stare blankly at the mechanic when he asks you how the cassette got reversed.
b. Take the bike to the shop, and confess everything, sobbing pitifully.
c. Take the bike to a different shop than you usually go to, and say, disgustedly, that the mechanic at the other bike shop totally screwed it up, and you’re hoping you can get better service here.
4. The bike mechanic asks you what the problem is. What do you say?
a. “It makes a ‘skhreekh-skhrokh’ sound when I pedal.”
b. “Well, if I knew what the problem was, I’d be halfway done fixing it, wouldn’t I?”
c. “Nothing. What’s your problem, buddy?”
5. After somehow ascertaining that your bike makes a creaking noise, the bike mechanic asks when it makes the noise. How do you answer?
a. “When I ride it, stupid.”
b. “When I’m pedaling. Or maybe it’s just when I’m coasting. Or it might be when I’m pedaling, but only when I’m out of the saddle. One of those, for sure.”
c. “And sometimes it makes the sound when I hit a big bump or do a wheelie drop. But not always.”
d. “When the moon is waxing gibbous.”
6. Now the mechanic wants to know where the sound comes from. What is the proper thing to say?
a. “Either from the headset or from the bottom bracket.”
b. “Either from the front or rear shock.”
c. “Either from the pedals, chain, or wheels.”
d. “You know, come to think of it, I think that sound may be coming from my right knee.”
Scenario B: Shifting Problems
7. When you shift from the third to the fourth cog, the chain often grinds for a moment before making the switch. You do not have this problem shifting between other gears, and don't even have the problem shifting from the fourth to the third cog. What should you do?
a. Be grateful the drive train is working as well as it is. Bike drive trains are dark magic, and are not to be tampered with.
b. Turn the barrel adjuster on the left clockwise one half turn. No, wait, that just adjusted the front brake. OK, try turning the barrel adjuster on the right — yeah, that's the one — clockwise. Hmm. That didn't work. Maybe try a full turn. Nope, that made it worse. OK, let's try three full turns in the opposite direction. Hey, now it's shifting great! Except I no longer have access to my lowest gear, and the chain skips the fourth cog altogether.
c. This is an indicator that the rear derailleur is misaligned. Lay the bike on its side, find a good sized rock, and drop it on the derailleur from a height of 4 feet (2.1 Kilometers).
8. You're on a group ride, when someone else's chain breaks. What do you do?
a. Get out my chain tool and fix it, because you're the annoying guy in the group who has a tool for everything. As you fix the chain, make sure you deliver a nice, self-righteous lecture on why it's important to be prepared for every contingency.
b. Keep riding. Chains don't just break. They break because you didn't replace them when you should have, or didn't lube them properly, or put too much stress on them. The other rider's neglect is not your problem.
c. Stand around and watch the annoying guy who has the chain tool, trying to learn how to use that chain tool you've carried around for two years, but have no idea how to use.
9. After completely screwing up your drive train with your attempts to repair it, you take the bike into the bike shop mechanic. How do you explain the problem?
a. "I think the cables are stretched or something; it's not shifting right. Could you give it a once-over?"
b. "You know that really annoying know-it-all guy who brings that massive toolkit on every ride? He munged up my bike, man. Could you try to undo the damage?"
c. "Hey, I was just riding along and the shifting started going totally wonky. Did you let one of the junior mechanics touch my bike or something?"
After the Repair
10. Your bike is fixed, but the mechanic took the liberty of using some new parts as part of the repair, then having the audacity to charge you for them. As a result, the bike repair cost $30.00 more than you expected. How should you react?
a. Tip big, be glad you’ve got your bike back, and ride away.
b. Ask the mechanic to take care of a couple of other “little” things that just occurred to you on the spot, figuring you can slip them under the radar.
c. Complain. A lot. Try to wheedle the mechanic down. After all, those bike shops are just rolling in the dough. Tell yourself you would have tipped, if they hadn’t charged you an arm and a leg.
d. Act surprised. “What? I didn’t ask to have the bottom bracket replaced. I just wanted you to clean the drivetrain. Hey, I sure hope we’re not going to have to get our legal teams involved in this.”
Your Answers, Please
OK, time to turn in your answers. The catch is, I don't want you to answer the questions in this quiz. In case you haven't noticed, they're bogus!
18.11.05
Alley Cat: riding with a purpose on dark downtown streets...
I did my first alley cat exactly one week ago, and now I am finally going to take the time to document the experience.
After a falafel at Falafel King on 1st and a memorial ride in memory of Terry Tuck, a courier killed in the act of messengering I headed east to The Swan in Inglewood with James and a small army of fixed geared street racers to the start of my first messenger style Alley Cat race.
An Alley Cat race is a bike race that closely resembles a scavenger hunt. Such as race is popular among messengers after hours and thus often takes place at night. Thursdays event started at 7 pm, long past the suns bedtime. It must have been quite a sight to see about a dozen riders with only blinky lights for direction tearing out of the parking lot and down 9th ave towards the downtown core in search of the first pickup. Like Keech told me before the start there is something incredibly exciting about ripping around downtown in the dark with a purpose...
In the spirit of messengers everywhere we had to pick up delivery slips from DHL and Purolator bags at various locations in the downtown and beltline areas, plus get information from about 10 different memorials in the same area and collect some candy and other random stuff. In my travels that evening I went to locations in backalleys and storefronts all over the downtown core, up centre street to Calgary Cycle, out west to the Greyhound bus depot, along the bikepath to Edmonton Trail, up to the top of Scotsman Hill and finally to the final pickup east of Deerfoot in Forest Lawn. The race took me 3 hours to complete on my single speed (not fixed though) Barracuda rigid mtb with slick Kenda "Flame" tires. This turned out not to be the bike of choice as the majority of my competition were aboard road and track type machines. I finished second in the "poser" category, second last overall a good 45 minutes at least to Bicisport teammate Jesse Collins who took the win overall. Jesse is a professional courier if that means anything....
I was surprised by the number of participants in this race who were actually riding fixed bikes with no brakes. For those of you who aren't clear on this concept it is best described as a bike with no ability to coast, in otherwords when the rear wheel is turning your pedals are turning with it, there is a direct drive type connection between the cranks turning and the wheel turning. Think of it as being like riding a tricycle were to slow down you have to apply opposing force to the pedals. I wasn't there to witness it as I was far behind the leaders, but Jesse was right in there the entire night and told me of the crazy antics some of these fixed gear boys displayed. Coming down centre street towards downtown they were putting their feet on their seatstays and letting the bike go hitting speeds of upwards of 70km/hr and then putting their feet back on the pedals and fighting the spin to slow down. These guys corner and stop by pushing back on the pedals so hard they break out into a skid. It is also not uncommon for them to hitch a ride on vehicles, busses and pickups being the favourites, for longer straight sections like the rush to Greyhound.
It was a great event. Although I struggled to find the downtown addresses due to my very limited street knowledge I had a great time. Thanks to Brian Kullman and James Purdey for putting on such a great event.
After a falafel at Falafel King on 1st and a memorial ride in memory of Terry Tuck, a courier killed in the act of messengering I headed east to The Swan in Inglewood with James and a small army of fixed geared street racers to the start of my first messenger style Alley Cat race.
An Alley Cat race is a bike race that closely resembles a scavenger hunt. Such as race is popular among messengers after hours and thus often takes place at night. Thursdays event started at 7 pm, long past the suns bedtime. It must have been quite a sight to see about a dozen riders with only blinky lights for direction tearing out of the parking lot and down 9th ave towards the downtown core in search of the first pickup. Like Keech told me before the start there is something incredibly exciting about ripping around downtown in the dark with a purpose...
In the spirit of messengers everywhere we had to pick up delivery slips from DHL and Purolator bags at various locations in the downtown and beltline areas, plus get information from about 10 different memorials in the same area and collect some candy and other random stuff. In my travels that evening I went to locations in backalleys and storefronts all over the downtown core, up centre street to Calgary Cycle, out west to the Greyhound bus depot, along the bikepath to Edmonton Trail, up to the top of Scotsman Hill and finally to the final pickup east of Deerfoot in Forest Lawn. The race took me 3 hours to complete on my single speed (not fixed though) Barracuda rigid mtb with slick Kenda "Flame" tires. This turned out not to be the bike of choice as the majority of my competition were aboard road and track type machines. I finished second in the "poser" category, second last overall a good 45 minutes at least to Bicisport teammate Jesse Collins who took the win overall. Jesse is a professional courier if that means anything....
I was surprised by the number of participants in this race who were actually riding fixed bikes with no brakes. For those of you who aren't clear on this concept it is best described as a bike with no ability to coast, in otherwords when the rear wheel is turning your pedals are turning with it, there is a direct drive type connection between the cranks turning and the wheel turning. Think of it as being like riding a tricycle were to slow down you have to apply opposing force to the pedals. I wasn't there to witness it as I was far behind the leaders, but Jesse was right in there the entire night and told me of the crazy antics some of these fixed gear boys displayed. Coming down centre street towards downtown they were putting their feet on their seatstays and letting the bike go hitting speeds of upwards of 70km/hr and then putting their feet back on the pedals and fighting the spin to slow down. These guys corner and stop by pushing back on the pedals so hard they break out into a skid. It is also not uncommon for them to hitch a ride on vehicles, busses and pickups being the favourites, for longer straight sections like the rush to Greyhound.
It was a great event. Although I struggled to find the downtown addresses due to my very limited street knowledge I had a great time. Thanks to Brian Kullman and James Purdey for putting on such a great event.
14.11.05
Sleeper cross
Photo: Mark WebsterIt seems I have been out racing in my sleep.... This photo is from this years cyclocross provincial championships. If you look at the results from this one I might as well have been sleeping. Incredible photography thanks to Webster.
8.11.05
Canadian Cyclocross National Championships and Aurora C2 2005 Race Reports
Photo: Keith Bayly The cross season has come and gone all to quickly. After a couple of months of racing and training it was time to head east for the biggest cross racing weekend in Canadian history. The weekend included the Canadian National Cyclocross Championships on Saturday and Aurora UCI C2 on Sunday. The racing in Alberta has been hard for me, I wasnt able to perform the way I wanted to and didnt get any results to speak of. However that was all in the plan, with the training I was doing I knew I would be on great form for the nats and Aurora and nothing else, it was hard to deal with at times when my expectations for myself were high even for Alberta events, but in the end it all payed off as you will soon read.
Going into the national championships I was proclaimed the favourite to win the Espoir race as I was supposedly the highest ranked espoir from last year who was returning to the event
This is what www.canadiancyclist.com had to say as a preveiw to the espoir event:
U23 Men
A new National champion will be crowned in the Espoir (U23 men) category in 2005 as Christian Meier (New Brunswick; Symmetrics) will not be present at the event. Per Strom (Alberta; Bicisport) is the best-seeded rider in that group so far, followed by Mark Batty (Ontario; 3 ROX Racing) and Shaun Adamson (Alberta; United Cycle).
I hadnt heard about this statement until after arriving at the race site for preride of the course, I could hear the whispers that I had arrived, it was kind of neat, but ultimatly I knew a win was not going to be easy especially since Christian Meier reigning national espoir champion had descided to make a last minute appearance.
The flight out to Toronto on Thursday morning was excellent. I flew WestJet and managed to get my bike on the plane without paying the extra charge. WestJet has really stepped it up, I enjoyed the 4 hour flight with plenty of leg room perched on a very comfortable full leather seat and with my own personal inflight television with 25 channels of absolutely nothing. Well that isnt quite true I managed to enjoy the Champions League highlights, a show on Discovery about building a giant catapolt and a Sienfeld, but otherwise is reaffermed my standpoint that cable tv is a wastful investment...
We (Keith Bayly and I) arrived at Peason to 15degrees and sunshine, a very welcome change from Calgary's 2 degrees and snow on the ground. After an hour drive on the famed 400 we pulled into the city of Barrie, population 115000 (I am pretty sure). The highlight of that first afternoon was a short ride that included an amazing trail in a local park. The forest floor was lit up with bright yellow, orange and red maple leaves. It was like riding through snow the leaves were so thick on the ground. An incredible experience, needless to say I forgot the camera....
Friday we took our first look at the course that would determine the 2005 cyclocross national champ. The course was located at the Hardwood Hills xc ski and mtb area a short distance from Barrie. The course was quite long at 3 km and included wide wood chip ski trails, sand piles, a bmx like track, two sandy runups, a stair runup, one set of double barriers and several strategically placed 180 degree turns. All in all a challanging course that would test not only fitness, but also technical ability.
Race day saw pouring rain prior to the start of the Elite/Espoir race in the afternoon. After a full day of use the course was dialed with the grass having turned to mud and the best lines through the courners mapped out in the woodchips. When wet woodchip trails are ridden hard they form berms in the corners, allowing for some very high speeds! I lined up in the third row and the goal for the first lap was to stay out of trouble, but stay as far up in the field as possible. Basically I didnt want to crash, just ride clean and smart and settle in for the hour of racing. I wasnt able to clip in right away from the gun and ended up in about 35 position out of 50 by the time we hit the runup for the first time. I settled into a nice pace, avoided mishaps and started to work my way up throug the field. Everything felt great, I was riding technically well, felt strong and maintained focus. I was as high as 5th in the espoir race but could not hang on in the closing laps and ended up finishing 6th in Espoir, 20th overall for Elite/Espoir. It was my best ride at a national championship to date, but not what I had hoped for. I will admit I was a little disappointed, but in the back of my mind I knew there was a chance for redemtion at Aurora the next day.... The boys from Alberta cleaned up. The most notable performances were Ryan Hopping with 2nd in Espoir, Mike Bidniak taking the Junior race from the gun, Peter Toth winning Masters B, Nick Friesen at 7th in Elite and Keith Bayly at 6th in Master A.
And then there was Aurora........
Aurora was Canada's first ever UCI sanctioned cyclocross event outside a national championship. As a result it attracted some top talent including Tim Johnson (Jittery Joes- Kalahari) who is ranked among the top cross riders in the US.
The race at Aurora really lived up to its C2 status and delivered the best course I have ever seen. Peter Wedge summed it up nicely when he said it should have been the venue for the nationals. This course had it all and definatly dropped the "mtb" feel that plagues so many of Canada's cross courses. Key things that make a cross course great that this course had were a nice long, wide start- finish straight, the 3 meter rule enforced for course width throughout, 1 natural obstacle, 1 set of double barriers, a hill that could only be ridden by about 50% of the elite mens field, lots of mud, 2 sand pits and more off camber grassy mud than knobs on my Tufos. Speaking of Tufos, run the tubular clinchers at 35 pounds and they will stick to anything. Race day conditions were less than ideal for some, but personally I was excited by the wet course, threat of more rain and 80 km/hr gusts of wind.
I did alot of mental preparation for this weekend including a great deal of imagery. Sundays race felt like I was just reliving he great race I had had in my head over and over the week leading up to it. Everything flowed, I could ride everything at full tilt, I was powering out of every corner and constantly on the attack. It was like living a dream, the closest I have ever been to flow in a competitive situation. I started out about mid pack and from that point on I was passing and working my way up the field. I ended up riding with ItalPasta-Belmire Transport rider Nathan Chown for a good part of the race until he got disqualified and had Martin from Rocky in my sights most of the day. I was as high as 9th place overall about midway through and got myself into 3rd place in Espoir with 3 laps to go. I attacked on the top of the course but the 3rd place standing was short lived as I crashed on the descent after sliding down and hitting a fencing post. I never could catch the 3rd placed Espoir again and ended up finishing in 4th 14 seconds down, 13th overall. It as a great race for me, I was a little upset over missing the podium at such a big race by 14seconds but that is racing. I came into the race with no real expectations other than to do my best and have fun and I ended up having the race of my life, it was great. Other Albertans also rode very well including Mike B taking Junior again, Keith bagging 7th in Master A, Don Fox picking up 3rd in Master C, and Nick Friesen in 11th for Elite (after crashing into a post and getting ribbon all tangled up in his wheels...oh Nick....).
Special thanks to Keith for helping me out so much with a place to stay, ground transport and some of the best race photography I have ever seen. And to Rick Thiessen for putting me through the paces the last few months and keeping me focussed.
So there you have it, the 2005 racing season is a wrap. From Alberta to Belgium to going cross eyed in TO its been a season to remember....
But its not over yet, tomorrow I will be doing the first "Alley Cat" race of my carrier and Saturday its cross country running time at Edworthy Park. Stay tuned.
Photo: Keith Bayly
Photo: canadiancyclist.com
Canadian Cyclocross National Championships 2005: Additional Photos
Here are the links to some more photos from nationals. Thanks to Photobucket.com for the hosting. All photos in this section thanks to canadiancyclist.com
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c371/perristrom/Cyclocross%20National%20Championships%202005/crossnatsrunup.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c371/perristrom/Cyclocross%20National%20Championships%202005/natsstart.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c371/perristrom/Cyclocross%20National%20Championships%202005/natsrunup.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c371/perristrom/Cyclocross%20National%20Championships%202005/crossnatsrunup.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c371/perristrom/Cyclocross%20National%20Championships%202005/natsstart.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c371/perristrom/Cyclocross%20National%20Championships%202005/natsrunup.jpg
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