Dirty, Dirty, Dirty

Can you believe it.  It is January 2nd and I was out for a bike ride.  For more southern readers, you might not think this is a big deal.  But here in the northeast, our typical high is around 28 degF.  Kinda cold for cycling (though I will do it if the roads are dry).  But today, it was around 40 degF.  I just had to get out and enjoy the day.

The roads were wet.  It rained yesterday, and the snow was melting.  The roads were also covered in sand and mud.  The sky was grey.  I rode by the river.  It was still ice-covered.  The farm fields were mostly snow-free.  The snow-melt was flowing in the drainage ditches and gullies.  It is expected to cool off again, and the water will soon freeze.  It may be a while before we see water in its liquid form!

When I got back, I had to clean my bike.  It was very dirty.  I wiped it down and rinsed it off.

I look forward to my next ride.  Just waiting for the weather to cooperate.

La Culture du Vélo

I went on a last minute trip to Lyon, France for business.  Since my meetings were on Monday morning, and as I had the previous Friday off from work, I decided to leave Thursday night and spend a few days in Lyon.  Luckily, my wife was able to go with me.  We had a great time.

I want to share our experience with those readers who frequent my site on the blogosphere.  However, most of the experiences we had don't really match the nature and outdoor topics I usually discuss.  However, as I am an avid bicyclist, and as France has a culture of cycling, I decided to write about some cycling-related items (if you do have questions about Lyon, I would enjoy trying to answer them...)

It was great being in France while the Tour de France (TdF) was going on.  I watch 'Le Tour' on American TV everynight, but to be in France and see the racing in realtime on French TV was fun (I thought about taking the TGV train to Paris for the final stage, but that was just too much traveling for a long weekend)!  I am not fluent in French, but I know enough to understand the action.  I can honestly say I was in France and watched Le Tour!

I bought copies of the French sports daily 'L'Equipe' every day from a the local magazine shop.  I plan on framing them and putting them in my gym or at work.

I also bought a set of TdF miniatures from a little model shop down the street from the hotel.  They are a ~1930s rider and motorcycle / photographer. I have them at work.  They are so neat.

Another interesting cycling-related aspect of Lyon (and many of the big cities in France) were the VeloV bicycle rental stands.  You put a credit card into a machine, and then pull out a bicycle.  The first 1/2 hour is free to rent, then you pay a nominal charge.  When you are done, you insert the bike back into the rack, and your card is then debited.

The cyclists ride all through the cities.  Local people rode around with their groceries,  Tourists rode around looking at the sites.  The stands are locate every few blocks, so you could always drop the bike off near your desitination.  What a great idea.  Too bad we can't do more of this in American cities.  It is a great way to get around, reduce CO2 emissions, get some exercise, and avoid parking fees.

Why Didn't I Do This Before?

When we were at the auction yesterday, they were auctioning off some older mountain bikes (actually, the most interesting bikes were the vintage 1960s English Triumphs (Raleigh) - but that is another story).  There were also some mid-90s frames on a wooden bike rack.  I did not bid on the bikes or frames and components.

I awoke last night and realized - I can make a wooden rack to use when I work on my bikes!  Why did I not think of this before?!

After working out,  I went to the workshop and slapped out a stand.  I took me about 2 hours.  No, I didn't have a plan - just started to collect some 2 x 4s and 1 x 6s for the stand.  I just slapped it together with woodscrews.  Voila (not a masterpiece - but very satisfying none-the-less).

I used to use my turbo trainers as a repair stand, but an upright stand is so much easier and useful.  I had to clean my chain and adjust my front derailleur on my road bike.  The stand worked great.

The Other Bikes in my Life . . .

Yesterday I posted about all the road bikes I have had. Down deep I am a roadie. Road bikes and road racing is what I really like, but I have dabbled in mountain bikes.

My first mountain bike was a Miyata Ridge Runner. I bought in in the mid 1980s.his was the early days of mountain biking. It was a simple, 18-speed rigid frame with friction shifters. I have to admit that the bike was a hoot! The first day I took it out to the trails behind my apartment, I had a blast. It was like being a kid again. I rode it thru puddles, over logs and rocks, thru the mud and brush. I laughed my head off the whole time. I kept the bike until the early 90s. I gave it to my brother for a favor he did me. We replaced the brake and shifter cables, but it still rode fine.

Miyata Ridge Runner

In time, I bought a Trek 830 Mt. Track when we lived in Vermont. It had a rigid frame, but was a 21-speed bike with indexed shifting. I rode that bike for a quite a while. I had bought my daughter a Trek 800 Antelope. I still have that bike. I rode it a lot when we lived in New Jersey (I swapped the tires with slicks). It was my 'urban assault' bike. The Trek 800 now sits on my turbo trainer for riding indoors in the winter.

Trek 830 Mt. Track

I sold the Trek 830 and my Denti road bike around 2000. I then bought a Mongoose D50 full suspension mountain bike. The D50 was a low-end full suspension bike. It was heavy, and the full suspension did not have any lockout, so the bike suffered a lot of sag when standing on the peddles when going uphill. I had swapped the tires to semi-slicks (allowing me to get a couple of mph faster on the road).

Mongoose D50i Full Suspension MTB

Frankly, mountain biking was never my thing. It is fun as a change of pace, but I always likes the speed of the road bikes. If I could drive a Ferarri or a Jeep, give me the Ferrari!

I gave the Mongoose to the son of a friend of ours in Vermont in 2003 and bought a Klein Quantum road bike (which I still have).

I bought a Haro V4 hard-tail mountain bike a few years ago. I ride it in the early season when the roads are messy. I also ride it occasionally as a change from road riding. Mountain biking can be a nice change from the road as it requires different skills.

Haro V4

When we lived in Vermont we used to go to a used bike shop called the Old Spokes Home. It was a great shop. There were very old bikes, and gently used bikes from all decades. I picked up a 1970s vintage Hercules (Raleigh) British 3-speed. I ride it around on occasion when going into town or when the wife and I go for rides (we should do this more, but we are not a matched pair when one considers riding speed - it is hard riding with an ex-bike racer).

Hercules British 3-Speed

It is amazing to look at how the technology of bicycles has changed over time. Now bikes are made with carbon fiber and titanium alloys. There are now computer-controlled shifters and power monitors. I can't wait to see what the future brings.

Two-Wheeled Memories

I was thinking the other day that I have owned more bicycles than cars. For those of you who follow my blog, you know I like to ride. I even did some racing (but that was over 20 years ago). Still, I like to get out and feel my legs moving me along, know I am breathing, and see the world passing by.

I learned to ride in second grade. I guess that would be sometime in 1968. I don't remember that bike much - a simple 20" boys bike of the day (pre-banana seat days). I got a cool banana seat bike around 1970. It was metallic green with a green seat. It was chopper-styled, with a 14" front tire and a 20" racing slick in the back. It had chrome fenders. It was very sweet.

A Chopper-Styled Banana Seat Bike (mine was green with fenders)

When I graduated from 6th grade (1973), I got my first 10-speed. Actually, I got my second 10-speed also. My first 10-speed was stolen from our yard a few weeks after I got it. It was chained to the clothesline, but the chain was cut. I was sad, but my parents went out and bought a new bike (I wish they were still around to tell them thanks - we didn't have a lot of money). I rode that bike everywhere. My brother and I would ride our bikes around the neighborhood and over to the shopping mall on Sundays (malls were closed on Sundays back then so the parking lot was empty and we could ride in any direction without worrying about cars). It was a Sears bike (Mom worked at Sears and could get a 10% discount). It looked a lot like the one below:

A Sears 10-Speed, circa 1970s.

My next bike was a Peugeot. I got it when I was in college. It was a touring bike. I put toe clips and straps on it. I started to really get into cycling then. I would average 60 miles or more a week.

1980s Peugeot Touring Bike (mine did not have the rack)

When I went to graduate school in 1983, I left my Peugeot with my brother. I bought a Lotus sport / touring bike. I bought my first set of cycling shoes ( a pair of Detto's), my first set of cycling shorts, and then started to get into racing (time trialing and team triathlons - I did the bike portions). By then I was riding over 100 miles a week.

1980s Lotus Sport / Touring Bike

Detto Shoes

I decided to upgrade my bike about a year later. I bought a 1984 Bianchi Limited. It was an entry-level racing bike. I had the bike shop swap out the touring rear derailleur with a low end Campagnolo racing derailleur. I loved that bike. By then I was riding over 150 miles per week. By then Greg Lemond was making a name for himself.

1984 Bianchi Limited

Campagnolo Derailleur

I rode the Bianchi until 1987. I was now averaging about 200+ miles per week and was in the prime of my racing form. I could ride like the wind. Riding was my life. I had cycling posters on the walls of my office at work. Ride to live, live to ride!

In 1987 I was involved in a cycling accident, and my beloved Bianchi was busted up (I was pretty banged up also, but I healed). I still have the jersey I was wearing in a frame.

Bianchi Jersey

I decided to get a new, custom bike, so I picked out the frame (a black Mino Denti frameset), Matrix Ico-C wheels, Campagnolo hubs and head tube bearings, Suntour Superbe Pro derailleurs, and other bits. The bike fit me like a glove, but the Matrix wheels would never stay true (early generation aero-shaped alloy wheels). The black frame was accented with a white saddle, white handlebar tapes, and lots of chrome. It was a beautiful bike.

Mino Denti Frameset (mine was black with chrome)

I did more mountain biking and grew away from road biking in the 90s. By 2000, my Italian frame was getting aged. It did not have indexed shifting, it needed new wheels, and could do with new freewheel and chain. I sold the old Mino Denti. I bought a new Klein Quantum in 2003. I have been riding on it for the last 7 years. It has been a great bike. I put new wheels on it last year (they had developed cracks in them). I try to ride 100 to 150 miles a week in the summer. I don't have the speed I used to twenty years ago, but can still ride over 20 miles per hour.

Klein Quantum

One of these years I'll upgrade. Actually, I might get a cyclocross bike (it would be good in the winter). I have a 1970s era British 3-speed and a Haro V4 mountain bike. Maybe I'll do a post on all the mountain bikes I have owned (4 counting the one I own now). I even had a unicycle as a teenager! Like I said, I have had more bikes than cars . . .