Monthly Archives: June 2008
An Addition
I’d like to make an addition to the super-excellent cycling style etiquette post from a few days ago.
Drafting unknown riders. I do many of my rides solo, because I like to think in solidarity, I enjoy rocking out to good tunes on the iPod, and I like the freedom of not having responsibility for other people’s actions. (For example, I never have to signal pot-holes, I can run red-lights and stop signs with little contemplation, etc.) Accordingly, when I’m out on a solo ride, please do not be a parasite, sneaking up on my wheel, and stealthily drafting.
Number one: I have no idea about your experience level, if you’re going to suddenly speed up and rip off my dérailleur or take out my back wheel.
Number two: I try to maintain a certain level of style and aesthetic appeal on the bicycle. In stark contrast, the most typical cycling parasite commits all the most common cyclist style faux pas on the road – leg hair, helmet mirrors, beer belly, Disco jerseys… Your bringing me down, man! Maybe your parasitic nature enjoys the feeling of riding with someone who looks pro, but I’d rather not have your disgusting body hovering behind me.
Number three: On the topic of the parasitic objectives, you’re probably hanging on my professional looking wheel to feel fast. Congratulations – you were able to ride with a semi-legit bike racer on his/her recovery ride, someone throw this guy a contract!
I was out spinning the legs this morning when the quintessential cyclist parasite decided to prey on my back wheel. Yes, he was rocking the Discovery Pro Cycling jersey, his helmet (with mirror) was on crooked, his legs were blanketed in hair, and his Trek Madone had about four inches of headset spacers. What a cunt.
I figured I’d have a little bit of fun with this guy before parting ways, so I pushed the pace a little bit (Zone 3ish) to see if he understood the point. But after a few minutes, looking over my shoulder, this guy was still there! Still upright, but now in his drops, and with a face of absolute pain, he was hanging on like it was the Tour de France.
I turned back again and gave him a little smile. I think the light-bulb in his head turned on, and he knew I was about to “drop the hammer” (read that in an Arnold voice for the full effect). Big ring, drops, a few revolutions out of the saddle – the Discovery pro-cyclist was dropped like he was standing still. I didn’t see him for the rest of my ride, allowing me to enjoy my alone time on the road once again.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for more cyclists on the road, and I even enjoy chatting and riding with the random cyclist given he/she looks the part. However, I think we need to make a little booklet with these rules to be distributed with every new bicycle. Cyclist Culture 101.
New Looks
I’m sporting a new look on the bicycle these days… My old image was always a mix-match, with either Pearl Izumi Ultra-Super-Most-Expensive-[Additional Superlative] bibs or old Texas Cycling bibs on the bottom, paired with a grab bag of jerseys – ranging from the red, white and blue USA Cycling junior development team jersey to one of twelve Texas 4000 jerseys to old and scraped up Texas Cycling jerseys. I know, not exactly aligned with the cycling etiquette post from two days ago…
I’m going to slowly start replacing things however, and started this morning by picking up the ultra-sexy Austin Bikes kit. Being all white with red accents, it’s perfect for the ever-increasing temperatures of the Austin summer. More importantly, it’s all top-of-the-line stuff from Louis Garneau; expensive, yes, but I’ve never had a problem with shelling out cash for quality in this department. The expensive stuff lasts forever (if you’re not a crash magnet), and the comfort of my “happy regions” on the bicycle will always be more important than the numbers in my bank account.
SmartWool makes a really nice looking cycling jersey, and I’ll probably snag a few with my REI employee discount soon too. I love the way wool looks, feels and works when the body temperature rises, unfortunately it’s usually been out of my price range…but not anymore!
So that should keep me covered for now, with clothing to race in (or at least look race-worthy in) and clothing to train in comfort and style. I feel fast just thinking about it.
Vino
Last night was fun. The headache this morning? Not so much. I went to a wine and cheese get together with a few friends and a lot of attractive strangers; it was a nice change of pace from the typical party environment, and our party’s hosts definitely know how to attract a decent crowd. I don’t really drink wine too often these days, but continuing with an old trend, when I do, I like to go after recommendations and try new ones. Last night I had a bottle of Kris pinot grigio, which incidentally is a really popular pinot grigio, on the advice of my brother in the professional kitchen. It was tasty. A good summertime wine, very light and crisp, and easy to drink. You can find it at Whole Foods for $11; try it out the next time you’re in the market.
We all dressed up, very Hollywood-esque, to compliment our classy drink choices. I’m making it a goal, I guess since leaving my last job at the capitol, to only wear my suit for party occasions. I rocked it hard last night.
I’m enjoying my last four days of unemployment status. It’s been a nice break after the previous four years of hectic university life; a good time for reflection, and projection of past experiences to future actions.
I am excited about starting work at REI next week, it should be an awesome job. I had a lot of choices – and still do – regarding a few career paths and what would ultimately be a fairly substantial pay increase. In the end, the pursuit of more money and more “things” just isn’t that appealing to me (unless those “things” consist of highly discounted outdoor gear items)… I think what excites me the most is having the opportunity and a job title that requires me to talk and chat with new people everyday, about a subject matter I’m obviously a fan of. Cool.
In other news, be sure to check out a few of the Texas 4000 blogs – they’re awesome.
Cycling Style Etiquette
Finally, most of the unspoken rules of cycling have been compiled and recorded.
“Clipping out. Hard to believe, but this one actually deserves its own paragraph. One of the easiest ways to determine the experience level of a cyclist is to see how early they clip out before coming to a stop. A novice rider will clip out as much as a block before a stop sign or red light. A real beginner will clip out a block before a green light, just on the off chance that it might turn red by the time they get to it.
To look cool, let the bike come to a full stop before clipping out. To look Eurocool, never clip out. Track stands are the only acceptable way to wait at a red light. And please, no basket-clips and no mountain bike shoes on the road bike! Wearing sneakers or mountain bike shoes on the road indicates that you intend to spend more time with your feet on the ground than in the pedals. You’re a cyclist, darn it, not a pedestrian!”
Check out the full article on Pez Cycling News…
Riding in Circles
Fast circles. Loud circles. Rip-your-legs-off circles. Last weekend was a remarkable one for Austin cycling, and for the ever-enthusiastic cycling fan, like me, the dial was set to 11. The big show was on Saturday night, right in the heart of downtown Austin, as the AMLI-AT&T-Rocking Racing Criterium hit the streets hard. The big boys hit the start line right at sunset. With a full Rock Racing squad the Toyota-United guys, Colavita, Time Pro Cycling, Jelly Belly, and the fastest local racers taking the line, we were definitely in for pure spectacle.
The race was fast right from the gun. I set up shop with some friends of mine in the “bike in your face if they crash” zone of corner one – my favorite place to view this race, as you get a perfect view of the finishing straight, the attacks, and of course the disgustingly fast cornering. Time Pro Cycling was super active off the front of the race, but break-away attempts never lasted more than a few laps, the field was much too fast. Stefan Rothe, our local Austin destroyer of lesser cyclists, was attacking like an animal all night long. The course got dark about half-way into the race, making it even more thrilling for us spectators. There’s just something about green and red traffic lights reflecting off of deep-dish carbon rims cornering at 30mph that makes me all tingly.
With 10 laps to go, Toyota-United assembled the lead-out train. If you thought the race was fast already, once the train was assembled at the front it just turned into a blur, with grimacing racers being spit out the back. The Toyota guys absolutely buried themselves, peeling off one-by-one after each lap. At the line, the sprinters spanned the road, but Toyota-United’s plans were spoiled at the last minute, with Colavita taking the win. It was an absolute blast to watch. It’s good to see this event continuing to grow; with each year that passes, I find myself loving my city even more.
Sunday was the eRacing Stigma Criterium at the Austin State Hospital. The pro race was right in the middle of the afternoon, meaning 100+ degree temperatures; the course was fairly technical too, which definitely made for some interesting moments in the pack. Once again, Stefan was riding like a man possessed; along with fellow Austinite Ian Dille, a Jittery Joes racer, and former strong-man Tyler Hamilton, the four took off early and solidified the race-winning breakaway. The last two laps, Stefan and Jittery Joes started attacking the break like crazy. Dille was looking really strong, and none of them would let anything stick. Hamilton’s EPO, twin brother, or whatever he is or isn’t on these days obviously failed to perform on Sunday, but he lassoed the break with his IV tubes and hung on the back. (Too far?) The sprint finish shook the pavement. Stefan put the power down hard, edging out Dille on the line, with Jittery Joes coming in third.
What a way to spend a weekend, right? I definitely enjoyed myself…
First Day of Summer?
First day of summer? I think google got the memo a little too late; Austin has been roasting for the past three weeks…
Yesterday evening at the driveway was fun; it was cool to see some local faces mixing it up with a handful of domestic pros. Smothermon is a man-beast – just a little over a year ago he was racing as a cat 5, and now he’s riding strong with the best of them in a pretty competitive field. Awesome. A few of the pros were definitely using this as a warmup for the weekend’s festivities. Rock Racing’s Rahsaan Bahati was dangling off the back of the pack for most of the race, looking fresh (how could you not look fresh in those sick kits). After big finishes in Harlem and at Athens, it was obvious he was holding back. A guy from Colavita took the V from a 4 man break, with Stefan coming in 3rd.
It was definitely summer out there, with 100+ temperatures…
I’ll start work at REI near the end of this month. I’m excited. Bring on the employee discounts! I’ll be in the action sports department, which is right up my alley; hopefully, I can pass on some quality knowledge and experience to more than a few customers.
The day is threatening rain; I’m glad I got my ride in early this morning before it started coming down. I think I’ll be hanging out inside this afternoon.
Jure Robic is an Animal
The quote of the day:
“I just sit on my bike, start pedaling, and I am here.“
-Jure Robic, after completing his fourth, and record setting victory at this year’s Race Across America.
If you have some time on your hands, and want to read a great article, check out this feature from the New York Times on Robic. It’s long, but definitely worth the time.
Complicating Life
How is it that so many people try so adamantly to complicate their personal lives. Where did such a ridiculous trend even begin? In a sense, one could trace things back to the birth of civilization – when society started to become more complicated, requiring social structuring for proper function. But did personal aspirations for extra complicated life begin then? I would argue no. The specific roles assigned to specific people clearly evolved, but roles were singular, people worked to perfect a single craft, and the fight for upwards social advancement wasn’t existent in most cases. For all intents and purposes, life was still simple.
Perhaps the greatest movement in the complication of people’s lives came with the protestant reformation, when it became important for individuals to reject idleness and strive for the accumulation of personal wealth in the path towards religious betterment. Many would argue that this event helped give birth to capitalism, the economic system that largely defines Western society and is perhaps responsible for the greatest wave of “complications” we see today.
But that’s too deep, and I’m not here to write a book on the subject. I rather focus on personal lifestyle choices that complicate life. At the most basic level, anything outside of the most fundamental human needs – shelter when needed, food, basic social interaction, reproduction, and water – is an unnecessary complication. Cars, cell phones, careers, houses and apartments, endless possessions and the need to acquire more, social status – the list is endless, and it’s the bonds of these excess and fake necessities that complicate our lives to unnecessary degrees. I’ve met young transient people living outside of the these bonds, who strive to keep their existent as simple as possible, and while the process of just living is not without it’s worries, I think those who have let go the most are the happiest. These people are a rare breed…
I am realistic though; such a simple Utopian society won’t exist in my lifetime, the reasons for this you can imagine on your own. But changes, and choices in our own lifestyles can help counteract the spiral of complication. Simple decisions like bringing your home closer to your work and social center (or the other way around), perhaps close enough to ride a bike; intelligent dietary choices; eliminating financial needs, so you can work to live, and not the other way around; and on and on and on… I’m no shining embodiment of this, and my scenario isn’t plausible for everyone, but for example: my bills total a little under US$400 a month, covering rent and utilities. I don’t have a car, and with the exception of chipping on a carpool bill every once in a while, I haven’t ever given money to big oil. I can do this because I live close to my workplace and food source, and I live in a place just large enough to accommodate my needs. I can work less hours in an enjoyable job, the size of my paycheck is never a concern, and I can focus on outside pursuits that I enjoy most, like becoming a professional cyclist. The Italians really have this idea perfected, with their 10-5 jobs and three hour lunch breaks – working to live really gains meaning over there…
These ideas really run parallel with “living green”, but I see that more as a positive effect than a initial cause. From my perspective “living green” is a counteractive movement, simply because we as a society began to complicate our collective existent. Furthermore, the “green movement” as a whole is slow to take hold precisely because we choose to live in such complicated constraints. I’ll expand on this idea some other time, I’ve already wrote more than you probably want to read… Please be thoughtful in your future decisions, and stop cluttering your world with unnecessary things. Me– I’m going to work towards joining the rare breeds, living for what I need and not much else.
Congrats to Planet Cancer
Also, while I’m at it, congratulations to Planet Cancer for being named Greenlights‘ nonprofit of the month. Planet Cancer has been a friend of Texas 4000 for quite some time; we usually help flamingo yards once a year… They’re doing great things, and it’s good to see their successes continue.
Too hot on the inside
The air conditioner in my apartment is clearly broken. It clicks on, and hummmmmms, but there’s no fan action to distribute that pleasantly cooled air. Luckily, I caught my ever-elusive apartment manager this morning, and the maintenance guy should have things fixed up by tomorrow morning at the latest. Not like I spend time in my apartment anyways…but until then, I’ll be frequenting my local air conditioned establishments.
I was up early this morning, around 7:00am. I usually leave my window blinds open when I head to bed, and the natural sunlight wakes me up pleasantly. I sent off a few emails over my breakfast of pineapples and a few slices of low-fat pound cake (what an oxymoron), and then jumped on the bicycle. I needed to swing by a bike shop for a new tube before getting too far out; those lazy Austin Bikes folks like to sleep in, but Mellow Johnny’s opens up early, so I was covered. I went fast for two hours, then headed home to get my cooling device fixed up.
Bike racing goes into overdrive in Austin this week. Starting on Thursday with Pro Night at the driveway, then AMLI on Saturday evening, followed by an ultra-hyped criterium at the State Hospital on Sunday afternoon. Each will feature a number of high profile pros, but I’ll be cheering for the home teams and local kids. It should be a blast; I love bike racing.
