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A while back, I branched off on one of those 30-something diversions that gave me a new job, a new home, and a whole lot of changes in the way my family did the day-to-day stuff we’ve been accustomed to for the past decade. It’s not really a mid-life crisis (I think those things come in the late 40s now…) but a bunch of friends are going through career changes, shifting away from high stress work to stuff that’s arguably less tough on the nerves.
Anyhow, one of those things I’ve been wrestling with is a car that never seems to get any better, despite throwing plenty of cash at our mechanic. For much of the winter, I was forced — there’s no way in hell I was going to commute in torrential rain, wind, or snow — to drive the vehicle but spring has arrived (hopefully) and I’ve started riding my bike to work on days when the weather doesn’t suck.
I’ve got a couple commute-worthy bikes — my others are dedicated off-road rigs and flatout suck for riding on the road — and I’ve been giving them each equal billing on my trips to and from work. That being said, a favourite is starting to emerge and, to be honest, I’m a little surprised with my preference.
The first bike is the xc rig that I’m rebuilding into an all-round trail bike. I’m familiar with the mountain bike’s geometry and am comfortable with the ride, despite some of the ghetto parts and the crappy fork. It’s quick and I can usually cover the 5km trip to work in 12 or 13 minutes.
My eye opener came when I started riding my ‘06 Masi Gran Crit to the shop. I picked up the bike last year as a way of getting in better shape for mountain biking and took it on semi-regular rides along long, quiet roads near my home. I’d hop on the bike in the morning for an hour or 75 minutes, knock off 40km, and call it a day. I liked the bike but, in all honesty, I don’t know a tonne about road bikes so it might have been totally wrong for me and I wouldn’t know.
But as a commuter (albeit an expensive one), the bike took on a new life. It corners in a way I didn’t expect and it’s a total blast to rip around corners at 40 or 50 km/h. The best thing about riding the Gran Crit is that my car’s been on the same tank of fuel for the past month AND it takes me less time to ride my bike to work than it does to drive.
So after only a month I’m pretty pleased about the experiment. I’m not sure that I’ll ever proceed beyond being a fair-weather commuter but it’s a fun way to get in some miles before and after work. It’s also given me the time to look around and smell the flowers as I listen to the Ramones’, the Buzzcocks, Beirut, or some other hipster 30-something band.
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This is going to sound like a rant and, for all I know, it could be a very localized one because even though I am immersed in the local ’scene’ sometimes it’s hard for people to get a glimpse of the big picture when they’re so involved.
I live, work, and ride in southwestern BC, about an hour away from mountain biking’s version of the North Shore, and I’ve seen the trails morph from sketchy, hardcore paths into well travelled, rocked-in tracks over the past decade. Local advocacy groups like the NSMBA and FVMBA do their best to raise awareness about the sensitivity of the trail network — many of our trails are on fall lines and are susceptible to erosion if ridden in adverse conditions — and how important it is for riders to put some time back into the resource that they use.
BUT — and you had to know this was coming — even though these groups have done a heck of a lot in the communities of which they’re a part, it doesn’t seem to me that mountain bikers, the constituent members of these groups, are actually getting off their asses and helping the core component of the sport. Read the rest of this entry »
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Well after a two-month break we’re finally back to work here. With family to visit, parties to attend and presents to buy, sometimes cycling gets put on the backburner around the Christmas holidays. Now that the New Year is here, it’s nice to be able to get back to the regular routine of riding, planning and (of course) trying to post some stuff up here on TBH.
My first post for 2007, other than to apologize for not posting in so long, is about setting goals. January is the perfect time of year to start looking ahead to the upcoming riding season and trying to establish what you would like to accomplish this year. Read the rest of this entry »
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The Cut crew visits LA Hospital
For sometimes obvious reasons, freeride and downhill mountain bikers sometimes get the reputation as being party animals who care more about themselves than anyone else.
That’s why it’s nice to hear some riders are trying to change that opinion by doing something nice to make the lives of other people better.
Cannondale’s team riders known as The Cut headed to the Childrens Hospital of Los Angeles Monday where they visited with the kids and put on a riding demonstration. Read the rest of this entry »
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So it looks as though Operacion Puerto, the witchhunt that has turned pro cycling into a world-wide farce, has reared its ugly head in the mountain biking world.
Jose Antonio Hermida has been forced by the Spanish Cycling Association to withdraw from the World Championships after a nick name with which he is believed to be associated showed up in documents produced by officials involved with the case. For his part, Hermida seems pretty pissed off, and his press release makes two key points:
1. There are no existing legal charges against me.
2. There are no current sanctions against me
So let me get get this straight: Hermida hasn’t been found guilty of anything; he hasn’t been suspended for any past infractions; officials used the existence of a nickname to justify his expulsion from the Worlds.
If you ask me, that’s pretty darn weak. Another top rider is gone from a world-level pro event because he might be involved in a doping case that’s already ruined the seasons of riders who were eventually cleared for lack of substantive evidence. And why the heck is this info only coming to light now, a couple days before a major event, when it’s obviously been available for almost three months.
This one smacks of publicity hunting, regardless of Hermida’s guilt or innocence which, by the way, has not been given due process.
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A quick apology to those of you coming solely for mountain bike stuff! If you don’t want to read an opinion piece about the state of pro cycling, skip this writeup!
For those of you who have been living under a rock for the past month, you should know that Phonak rider Floyd Landis won the 2006 Tour de France. After a miraculous Stage 17 victory, Landis won the title after dismantling Oscar Pereiro on the last individual time trial, and then cruising to victory the following day. The American’s joy was shortlived, because his ‘A’ sample revealed a high ratio of testosterone : epitestosterone. When the ‘B’ sample yielded the same result, Landis was fired from Phonak, and the team proceeded on its merry way. Next season, iShares was to take over the sponsorship of the team, but the company bolted after the team’s reputation for doping hovered over its head.
At this point, you probably imagine the saga comes to an end. But, if you thought this, you’d be wrong, because today, team owner Arne Rihs dissolved the Phonak team completely. And it gets even better, because Rihs blames American Floyd Landis for the whole thing:
“I am deeply disappointed because what he [Landis] did was what led to this decision,” Rihs said. “On the other hand you know the guys and I would never say this is a bad person because he played bad. I regret what he has done for him, too.
“But for us, it’s a tragedy that we had to stop the team now.”
Riiiighht. It was all Floyd’s fault, and Rihs knew nothing about it. Now, I know that Rihs doesn’t really believe that Landis is the reason for the team’s failure, and it’s absolutely crazy to suggest that the iShares pullout is all about The Floyd. Surely Rihs remembers Operacion Puerto? Where riders from a bunch of teams were expelled from the Tour because of their association with a doctor who provided them with doping products?
I understand fully cycling subjects its professionals to an incredible litany of tests, a process that is rivalled by few (if any) other sports in the world, and you’d find few people who’d argue that cycling is trying less to control doping than a sport like, say, the NFL or MLB. But the sponsorship didn’t fall through because of Landis, it fell through because of doping, and that’s a problem that everyone knows about but one that no one seems to control.
On Landis’ part, the cyclist has wisely gone underground after a disasterous PR run, where he looked really nervous, stumbled with his responses, and just looked plain old unconvincing. Today, an ‘open letter to the Phonak team‘ appeared on Landis’ blog. I’m not going to write on the letter itself, because that’s not what this post is about, but I was particularly aghast by the gushing, effusive, and obviously hand-picked comments that littered the end of the post.
Phil over at Spinopsys commented a couple of weeks ago about the Landis blog being closed to comments, something that kept critics and supporters alike from engaging in vigourous online debate. Some PR person in the Landis camp was obviously aware about the criticism, which left us with today’s selected words of support. But now, the comments are closed, and in this world of irony, e-sarc, and lols, some people might suggest that the comments are fitting, because although all that’s really left is a lot of snickers and muttered phrases from cycling followers all over the world.
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It won’t be long now until that special time of the year comes up for bicycle gear junkies like myself. Interbike is just around the corner and it’s almost like Christmas in fall for those who love bicycles.
When I was young, we got a catalog every fall that was called the “Wish Book” by the retailer that sent it out. I remember the day when it would come in the mail. I would turn right to the toy section and gaze for hours at the myriads of toys pictured in its glossy pages. Nowadays, it’s the fall bike show in Las Vegas called Interbike that does the same thing for me. It’s like the “wish book” for cyclists, especially now with the coverage that you can get on the web. Picture upon picture of new bikes, gear, and cycling celebrities are getting my attention now, much like the toy pages did in that catalog years ago. Read the rest of this entry »
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I rolled back into town this morning and, lo’ and behold, another media storm around a drug scandal in cycling. Am I surprised? A bit. But I’d also be choked if I were Landis — how is he going to get fair treatment of his b-sample with all of his dirty laundry already out on the line?
Poking around quickly, I did get a chuckle out when I read some stuff that was credited to UCI prez Pat McQuaid where he lets everyone know that he’s bummed out by the positive test result:
I will say that I am extremely angry and feel very let down by this. The credibility of the sport is at stake.
Pro cycling as credible? Umm, Pat? The credibility of your sport is already in shambles. C’mon man.
At least Floyd has his good health to fall back on. No, wait….
Related entries - weboblogs
Again, mostly the same stories referenced here, but there are some good little tidbits of info and some fairly strong opinions…
Related stories - MSM
Pretty much the same story from a bunch of different news sources. I’ll update with links to cycling ‘blogs later in the day.
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Recently I received the latest print edition of a trade magazine called “Bicycle Retailer and Industry News”. The front page article was about endurance racing and endurance bikes and I was drawn particularly to a quote made by Mark Eller, communications manager for the International Mountain Biking Association: “Any race of more than about three to four hours enters into the world of endurance racing,” is what he said. Now that’s an interesting definition of endurance racing.
I remember when I thought finishing a sport class cross country race was “enduring”. I suppose the term can be different things to different people, but the question remains: Just what is an endurance race? Read the rest of this entry »
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The wheels on your bicycle have been going through some fundamental changes in the last five to ten years. These changes have pushed the limits of bike wheels, as far as strength and function are concerned, and the design compromises that manufacturers have made are forcing them to develop stronger materials to keep us all rolling happily off road. However, I think it may be time to make a change that would benefit all cyclists, a change that could become reality simply by increasing the length of our axles slightly.
Too much stuff, not enough space
The current rear wheel over lock dimension of 135mm is just too short. There are two things that have compromised the strength of mountain bike wheels. The first is the fact that most cassettes are being built with more cogs than they were when 135mm hubs became standard industry fare. At that time, we had six cogs on our cassettes whereas now we are dealing with nine cogs, all crammed into the same amount of space.
To make 135mm hubs work with changes in the numbers of gears on modern bikes, hub designers had to make freehub bodies that were longer, shrinking the distance between the hub flanges. The addition of disc brakes into the game forced designers to push the flanges even closer together so their designs could accommodate rotor mounts and provide adequate clearance for the brakes’ calipers. Read the rest of this entry »
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