Today was a Good Day

Fairfax Buddy Ride. Today marked what was actually the first true training ride of my cycling season. It was the first ride I've had in a while where I actually felt good... and dare I say a little strong. This was by no means a tough ride- an out and back from Sausalito to Fairfax, at a moderate pace. 

But I have had the most evil of cold viruses for about one month. It's pretty much out of my system at this point, but what a toll illness can take on your endurance! Last week, by comparison, I had a 20 mile ride in Danville, and I was so weak I thought I was going to throw up about halfway through. The only reason I made it back was because the last 7 miles were mostly downhill.

Today was a perfect combination of a favorite route, fair weather, and renewed health. Photos to document the day (yes there was riding involved, too):

Fairfax Coffee Roastery

Salsalito Taco Shop

Pax Bicicletta?

The other day I saw something that made me smile: It was a guy on a really slick road bike, completely kitted out in bright, logo-covered lycra... with a DIY plastic bottle fender duct-taped to his bike.

For most roadies this is nothing short of a travesty. I often often see roadies with no fenders and lycra shorts, riding in rainy weather. I don't have fenders on my road bike either, but I always cover my legs in foul weather and my knees in temps below 70 degrees.

I also sometimes ride with a CamelBak, but I learned that roadies aren't supposed to do this- they just use bottles. I still choose to ride with a CamelBak on some long rides, or if it's really hot, because I know I'll drink more, and I'd rather risk looking geeky than be dehydrated. I encourage newer cyclists to use one if they aren't comfortable grabbing for their water bottles.

So why is a CamelBak geeky anyway? I've learned a lot of things can be geeky while you're on a road bike (according to the racer wannabes). The term for said geekiness is "Fred." You're a Fred if you have a lot of utilitarian gadgets on your bike, like racks, fenders, mirrors, etc. (though IMO the coolest thing I've seen is on the bike of a cyclist I really respect- a cycling glove attached to his top tube and used to hold energy bars!) I guess it must take away from that cool racing look, and of course adds too much weight. You're also a Fred if you still have that little plastic visor attached to the front of your bike helmet. It's okay for mountain bikers, but not roadies!

I don't get it. I don't pay much attention to what someone is wearing or has attached to his or her bike, unless it's something I might want myself. The things I do notice are if someone is riding like an a-hole and passing dangerously, blowing through stops, or riding on my wheel without letting me know.

My husband used to live next door to a bike messenger. One day he was heading off to work on his early 80's Peugeot road bike, wearing regular clothes and shoes. His neighbor saw him and said, "Dude, you look like a commuter."

So looking like a bike commuter is a bad thing? I thought that any cyclist would be happy to see other people on bikes? I know that each cycling culture has it's own style and ways, but I try to embrace anybody on a bike. When I'm out on the road, I give a wave or a head nod, and usually get one in return, but every now and then I get the grim stare (as a side note, my husband says that when he's on his motorcycle, the Harley guys are the only ones who never wave back).

With bike culture on the rise, I'd like to think we're all doing this unified thing, but sadly, the divisions are out there.

You might be a Fred, and so what?

photo from http://www.sdrecyclers.org/

Let's Try Again

From a recent AP article:

A new study has found that young people are losing interest in long-form blogging, as their communication habits have become increasingly brief, and mobile. Tech experts say it doesn't mean blogging is going away. Rather, it's gone the way of the telephone and e-mail — still useful, just not sexy. (MARTHA IRVINE, AP National Writer Martha Irvine, Ap National Writer – Wed Feb 3)

Indeed. With Facebook and the ease of microblogging status updates, it's been admittedly tough to keep up with either of my blogs. There are other detracting factors, such as work, a lack of inspiration, and general busyness.

But I'm hoping to get back on the wagon, and have started with a relaunch of my cycling blog. Formerly called Cherylismo!, I abandoned that cycling lingo play on my own name, as I felt it didn't really have any meaning, and threatened to just sound like an inside joke.

I think my new blog says exactly what it means, and I've even gussied up the color scheme- I think it's very "me" without having to shout my name.

Now, to write...

From Sporteur to Porteur: My First Project Bike, Installment 1

I'm finally making progress on my resurrectio Azuki Sebring. I picked it up for a cool $200 from a kid in Petaluma after I lurked on Craigslist for about 2 weeks. I'm surprised no one purchased it before me, given the current "mixte is the new fixie" craze. Mixtes in the City are fetching upwards of $300, but I guess no one was interested in making the trek out to Sonoma County except me.

I haven't found out much about the Azuki. Sheldon Brown said it was the "house brand of Louisville Cycle & Hobby, Louisville, Kentucky" and was part of the 1980s surge of steel-framed Japanese bicycles.

The Sebring had been well-maintained with all OEM parts when I got it, and then sat around in my garage for a couple months before I finally went to Citizen Chain (great for vintage/retro bikes) for a tune-up and advice. From there, it was easy to begin obsessing over handlebars, handlebar grips, saddles...

Resurrectio, phase 1

My first priority was changing out the handlebars and brakes (bye-bye suicide levers). First going with the Sycip Wonder Bar, I later decided against it only because I didn't want a visible logo on the front. Otherwise, the Wonder Bar is an excellent handlebar and feels great. Instead, I went with the Velo Orange/Nitto Left Bank handlebar, with "grips (that) flare outward a bit to appeal to the less restrained cyclist."

I went on a research frenzy regarding the inverse brake levers you need to install on the Left Bank, and discovered they are typical of the old French porteur bicycles. Et voila! My Azuki Sebring had found its raison d'etre. I was to transform my 1980s Japanese sport-tourer into a French cargo hauler! And while I do not plan to carry 50 kilos of newspapers around like a paperboy in 1950s Paris, I do plan to add a classic Wald wire basket.

Other changes completed:

• new seat post
• new tires
• new pedals
• new inverse brake levers
• new stem

Changes yet to be made:

• swap out black brake levers for silver (I thought I had requested silver at the bike shop- c'est la vie)
• brown leather saddle
• brown leather or cork handlebar grips
• wire front basket
• front rack for basket
• black or pale yellow paint job?

Then

picking up the Azuki in Petaluma

And Now

ooh, shiny new handlbars

Like a Phoenix

It has been way too long since I've written. I can blame it on many things- summer, work sapping every drop of my creative being, general laziness. But I won't dwell on it, and must simply pick up where I left off- and that is cycling with Team In Training.

As suddenly as one season was ended, so another has begun. I started the Fall season, training for Solvang's Finest Century, at the beginning of August. The season started out a little mixed-up, but I can say that as of our Point Reyes ride last weekend, we have reached that magical point where things click and you suddenly have formed a team. It's that point where you start to stay together on a ride, and you begin to remember people's names. It's the nascent roots of a team being planted, the team that you will end the season with.

Today was cycling as it should be. We had a buddy ride that started in San Rafael and went out to Point Reyes Station, with a stop at the Bovine Bakery- that West Marin cycling Holy Grail for coffee and pastries.

I told my participants that this is what they could look forward to once they were done training for their centuries, when they would go out for a weekend ride with their new cycling buddies. It's akin to a Sunday morning on the golf course.

Photos from today (Oh! And we saw a guy on a high wheel bike on Nicasio Valley Road!):

Tour de France 101: Banana Hammocks and Jesus

What do these share? They were both spotted on the sidelines along the climb up the Tourmalet during stage 9 of the Tour de France on Sunday. The banana hammocks were extreme- of the thong variety- and were worn by a pack of shirtless Aussies sporting fluorescent green afro wigs and their country's flag draped about their shoulders. If not for the flag, I would have bet these were Americans, but I now have proof that frat-boy antics are universal. As for Jesus, I just don't know what was going on there.

Today is a rest day for the Tour cyclists, and somewhat of a rest day for me. I was out of town for a few days and missed all the action from the latest stages. So I've just been reading news summaries and thought I'd skip any form of cycling "lesson" or discussion of strategy to talk about something that doesn't have anything to do with cycling per se, but everything to do with the Tour de France: fans.

One of the most enjoyable aspects of watching the Tour during its mountain stages especially are seeing the legions of fans that line the route along the tough climbs, waiting for a glimpse of their cycling heroes, running alongside, and even touching them. In no other spectator sport can you get this close.

Ridiculous costumes and animated gesturing abound, and there are the requisite antler helmets and naked guy or two. I am dreaming of going to see the Tour in person, and part of that dream is to be included in the fan melee. I have this notion that it must be like a big, beer-tinged, international funfest- a sharing of the love of sport among loud brutes Americains, flamboyant Aussies, laddish Brits and crazy Euros alike.

Antler Guy- a US export

The flipside of this is how out-of-hand some of these fans seem to get. I often worry that one of them is going to push over one of the cyclists or let a stray beer bottle roll out onto the road. Seriously, I don't know how this doesn't happen, and I think it has in the case of a rider getting knocked over.

Dieter "Didi" Senft as El Diablo- a Tour regular

But this doesn't even compare to the avid fans of the original Tour de France races in the early 1900s. Below is an account of over-zealous fans in the 1904 Tour, who felled trees to hold back rivals and beat up others at night outside the city of St. Etienne.

In the climb of the col de la Republique, leaving St-Étienne, supporters of the regional rider, Faure, assault the Italian, Gerbi. He is thrown to the ground, beaten like plaster. He escapes with a broken finger... A bunch of fanatics wielded sticks and shouted insults, setting on the other riders: Maurice and César Garin got a succession of blows, the older brother [Maurice] was hit in the face with a stone. Soon there was general mayhem: "Up with Faure! Down with Garin! Kill them!" they were shouting. Finally cars arrived and the riders could get going thanks to pistol shots. The aggressors disappeared into the night. (1)

I'd like to think the modern-day fan, though at times idiotic in his or her fervor, has progressed to a more civilized state.

fandemonium in Basque country

1. Chany, Pierre (1986), La Fabuleuse Histoire de Cyclisme, La Martinière, France, p 60

Tour 101: Fresh Horses

All day I've resisted sneaking a peak at today's stage results, and am now reaping the benefits as I watch the drama unfold on Versus as I write. This will probably be my last entry for a couple days, as I'm off to lands where a wireless connection can find no purchase. The commentary I've found interesting today is the talk of how crazy week one of the Tour is. All the riders are fresh, all the riders are strong. It's a free-for-all for the sprinters, the climbers, the time trialists- everyone wants to ride up front. There are also a lot of riders on the road. 180 riders have started this race, but not all of them will finish. With all those guys out there, a lot of chaos and (it follows) a lot of crashes occur. We saw some of that in yesterday's team time trial, and also several isolated crashes so far on today's ride.

Recap

So now I've got the results for today's Stage 5 from Le Cap d'Agne to Perpignan. Vive la France! Redemption for French team BBox after yesterday's horrific dirt crash came with Thomas Voeckler's stage win. He attacked early and managed to hang on through to the end. The always bold Mark Cavendish came in third and was a bit deflated.

Selected standings:

1. Fabian Cancellara
2. Lance Armstrong
3. Alberto Contador
4. Andreas Cloden
5. Levi Leipheimer
9. David Zabriskie

Today's Lesson: Echelon

If there is one thing I hate on a ride, it's wind. I can handle heat and rain to an extent, but wind makes any ride miserable. Not only must you work harder unless you have a tailwind (which I have yet to experience), but descending in strong winds is downright, death-grip scary.

I already talked about the benefits of pacelining, and with today's crosswinds, the same idea applies, though it's not a straight end-on-end line of cyclists. A cyclist in a crosswind will ride just back and to the side of the rider in front of him, forming a diagonal line or "echelon" (see far right image in above graphic). The echelon will pivot in response to the direction of the wind. When you can see an aerial view of the echelons in motion, it is a thing of beauty. But I'm fascinated by road racing, so that's just me.

Photo: (PASCAL PAVANI/AFP/Getty Images)