Michael over at Cyclelicious just posted a contest for the best bike-related Google Maps StreetView shot. My entry is 388 Market Street in San Francisco, of this messenger or messenger-styled person, trackstanding on a fixed gear with tri-spoke aero front wheel, rear wheel full of spoke cards, shoulder bag, and narrow handlebars:
Browsing down the street, I also found this disturbing shot of a someone attempting to cross the street mid-block with a walker:
MOUNTAIN bike enthusiasts will drool over the new Excalibur model from Fisher Mountainbikes[sic] of San Rafael, California — if it ever gets here.
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Memorial Day Populaire 2007.This time I actually got to ride with other people. The last two brevets, I’ve been in between groups, so most of the rides have been solo. Or, I should say, most of the rides were people passing me.
Woke up with plenty of time, but took the ride out to the MAX stop a bit too slow. I chased the Hillsboro train and caught it before it disappears into the mountain, but it pulled away before I could bet my ticket. I took the next one out to Beaverton and rode to 10 miles or so out to the start. I was 10 or 15 minutes late, so I had quite a bit of ground to make up. I luckily caught up with Lynne, Andrew, and Cecil right before the turn onto Highway 6 and its secret control. After that, I had to press myself to keep up with pace, which wasn’t fast by absolute standards, but faster than my default leisurely rolling.
At Gaston, I had the privilege to experience the infamous Idaho Spud candy bar. How I know why it’s one of the top 100 candy bars in the US. Marshmellow center, chocolate coating with coconut flakes. Some native Northwesterners swear their allegiance to them, but I think it’s in the same way that we Southerners extol the virtues of grits and chitlins.
Total, I finished at 2:35, but I didn’t check when I started, but I guess a total of about 5:20. My Snoozeville time was 5:07, but this course was a bit more hilly and 7km longer, and Lynne had to stop every 10 minutes to “take pictures of the scenery” or some such nonsense :)
Combined with last weekend’s 200K, this is the most riding I’ve ever done over two (long) weekends. I’ve been worn out the whole week, and have been hungry all the time. Very burned out. I didn’t ride other than commuting the whole week, and I feel better now. Sometime it’s nice to take a break.
The mechanical lessons of the ride were 1) change your break pads before the night before the ride, since you might need a new canti straddle wire and there aren’t a lot of shops open at 10pm on Sunday on a holiday weekend, 2) finish installing your fenders before riding 120km on them, since the rattling gets really annoying, and 3) if your pump breaks, don’t just keep carrying it around since it will “make due”, since your handlebars might knock it off your bike and then it explodes into 5 pieces and how have to stand there on the side of the road and put it back together.
I survived the Covered Bridges 200K.
Stats:
Longest I’ve ever ridden, first time over 100 miles. I started riding consistently May of last year, and I’ve come a long way since.
My knees gave out at about mile 90, so I had to gear down and pedal slow enough that they wouldn’t hurt. 35 miles is a long way to go that way. After the Snoozeville Populaire, I felt really strong. This time, limping in like this, I feel more like I just outlasted the course in a war of attrition rather than actually conquering it on my own accord.
Rolling into Scio, the Lamb and Wool Festival was going on, so the normally quite crossroads was full of people waiting for the start of the parade. A bunch of lycra and/or wool clad cyclists was probably not what many of them were expecting. At the Covered Bridge Cafe, I had a Hog Back Maple Bar after seeing Joel outside with one. A perfectly-cooked slice of bacon on top of a maple-glazed bar– fantastic.
Overall, a nice ride, over some beautiful country.
In preparation for my first proper brevet this weekend, the Covered Bridges 200K/400K, a bit on randonneuring. While the 200km I’ll be doing is just a warm-up for those who will spend nearly an entire day in the saddle, it will be the longest I’ve ever ridden continuously and the first time over 100 miles. Exciting!
From Cycling, December 9, 1967:
I HAVE never taken part in any form of competitive cycling of any kind– not a single tourist trial, reliability trial, time trial or race of any sort whatever.
I hope that the racing men will not hold this against me, but rather will be anxious to read the products of the quill of such an unusual beast.
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A few photos from the 2007 Eric Kautzky Memorial Track Race this weekend.
Mark Blackwelder on the right, riding a Russ Denny and a Veloshop rider (comment if you know who it is) riding a de Mayo Velosystems.
The bike on the right is a gorgeous new machine from Ira Ryan, with a vintage Raleigh-inspired paint job, and running what, from a distance, looked like a set of classic Suntour Superbe Pro track hubs.
From Cycling, Sept 9, 1967:
“FOR the third time in five years a Russian quartet came home victorious in the team pursuit, this time with the most convincing win one could possibly expect.
They smashed the Italians’ morale, rhythm, timing, everything, with a powerhouse display in the final– they even finished all four of their team together, 4-34.89, not the fastest of the series, but they already had had that from the qualifying round anyway.”
The sidebar discusses the disqualification of Ron Baensch (one of the riders in this photo) for using ephedrine. Ah, the days before EPO… One of the other riders disqualifed was Charly Grosskost, who “is the rider who was thrown out of the Tour de l’Avenir after being found in a drugged state by the side of the road in the Tour two years ago.”
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From Cycling, Sept. 9, 1967:
“Nine years’ professional sprint domination by the Italian school of sprinting came to an ignominious end at Amsterdam when young Patrick Sercu, the confident Belgian lad from Roeslare, who told Cycling three years ago that he would stay at the top for 20 years, won his first professional world championship from Giuseppe Beghetto in the most convincing manner.”
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From Cycling, Sept 9, 1967.
“YOSHIKAWA of Japan (right) caused a sensation in the pro sprint first round by beating Ron Baensch.”
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Leading up to this weekend’s Eric Kautzky Memorial Track Race at Alpenrose Velodrome, I’m doing a short series on track cycling.
From Cycling, September 9, 1967:
During the 1967 Track Championships in Amsterdam.
“FRENCH ACE Michel Rousseau tried his wiles in the pro sprint against Italian Damiano.”
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