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posted by rickyd 2 @ 1:29 PM 12 comments

Bike or scooter?

This is not meant to be a political post, but simply putting out a fact that I just unearthed and have never heard before. We've all heard about "super mountain biker" and POTUS George W. Bush, but what about this other guy? Until Friday he was none other than Assistant to the President as well as Chief of Staff and National Security Affairs to the Vice President. Yes, we are talking about Scooter Libby. Doubt there will be much time for mountain biking in the near future.

He is an avid mountain-biker and played in a regular weekend touch-football game until he broke his foot recently and ended up on crutches.

Who knew?

From a NYT article.

posted by riderx @ 8:13 AM 1 comments

'Tis here

Picked it up this morning. One pic for now:

posted by rickyd 2 @ 7:19 AM 3 comments

BIKE an exhibition

Join us this Saturday, October 29th, 6-8pm for the opening of
BIKE: AN EXHIBITION!

The exhibition includes work from 48 artists around the country. The wide variety of media includes a full sized crocheted bike, a tricycle made of baby bottle nipples, panaramas and paintings, photos from well-known rides at Patasco and Snowshoe, and both traditional and abstract representations of bikes and biking.



The BIKE visual art exhibition runs October 20-November 20 at The Columbia Art Center. The works were juried by Christine Kelley, Delos Dupree, Al Santos and Jim Adkins.



The show features exceptional photography by local artists/bikers
Joe Whitehair, Jason Stoner and Maili Godwin.



Please join us for excellent food, drink, artwork and friends at the reception this Saturday from 6-8pm! Awards will be presented at 7pm. The event is free and open to the public, so please feel free to bring friends and family!



Below is a link to the invitation for more details.



http://www.singlespeedoutlaw.com/docs/BIKEpostcard.pdf

posted by becky @ 10:30 AM 1 comments

Pro At The 'Sco?...

So, did any of you Baltimore EmDee folks happen to see Marla Streb riding with a friend at Patapsco State Park a couple weeks back? Seems from the write-up on her blog that she enjoyed the trails.

Marla's friend Hillary Elgert gets some local air:

Is that a mattress?

posted by Blue-eyed Devil @ 7:35 PM 4 comments

D.I.Y. Veterinary Surgery...

Finally "fixed" my monkey:

So-called suicide gear till I decide whether I want to put up the scratch for a Boone ISO disc cog.

Got in a couple rides at Wakefield on Tuesday and Wednesday and I love it. Of course, the trails at WF are pretty well-groomed and tame by most standards, which makes them ideal for a first time offroad fixed gear ride, even at night. Bottom line: logs suck.

Celebrating nothin' and everythin' with local hooligan the disco cowboy, who appears to be taking this incongruous moment to demonstrate proper bottle-handling technique:

posted by Blue-eyed Devil @ 11:31 AM 3 comments

Wired Article - Pedals From The Past

While browsing my daily list of technology sites I happened across this cycling related article over on Wired. The author basically shares the joy and simplicity of going retro...

posted by Crashmore @ 1:31 PM 0 comments

Marinating

It must be amazing living in the birthplace of mountain biking -- Marin. Towns with the mountain feel, with all the conveniences of the big city. Having (arguably) the most technologically advanced city in the U.S. a mere twenty minutes away doesn't hurt either. Houses of all shapes and sizes dot the mountainsides; some on stilts, some terraced, all unique to adapt to the plot of land they occupy. In their back yards lay sweet singletrack, while in their fronts are roads that wind up and down through the county, connecting coffee shop to bike shop to coffee shop again.


My wife and I wanted to do some riding together while out here on our visit to San Francisco. We picked up some "turista" bikes from a shop in the city. Mountain bikes were too expensive for several days' rental, so we settled on some P.O.S. hybrids equipped with slick tires, enormous handlebar bags, way high (and narrow) handlebars, and saddles designed for old dudes with prostrate problems; basically something prime for a Huffy toss.

On Wednesday we went to China Camp. It's relatively easy singletrack that one could ride to on their cyclocross bikes, hop on the trails, and have a ripping good time. The trail is extremely buff, so we didn't have any trouble with our crapcycles. In fact, I wanted to see how far I could push the hybrid so I played around on some of the slopiest stuff. There isn't as much gravel as I'm used to back home, so as long as I pedaled surely, I got up all of it. There was one hill that was almost straight up, but after several attempts, I figured it was impossible on this bike as I crouched down so low that the stupid-high handlebars were touching my chest.


At the top, the payoff is grand. Majestic views of the Bay all around, while falcons/eagles/big-birds(?) danced in our foreground. After having our intake of crisp, nipply air, we headed downward. It has a nice slope so that it doesn't take much pedaling to get up to speed through the turns. We ended the day in town with some burritos. Good day.

On Thursday, in search of something a little more challenging, we went to Camp Tamarancho. After buying passes to this Boy Scouts-built trail network, we rode the necessary two miles to the trailhead since parking close to it is frowned upon.


Tamarancho has 40 switchbacks, and combined with the looser top layer of gravel and the narrower paths, it was definitely more tricky than China Camp. It was hard to trust the traction of the tires. They were meant for riding on the road, so small loose rocks made it feel like riding on ball bearings. I could tell that my wife hadn't quite recovered from the previous day's ride, and was having a bit of a hard time getting up the hills, although she handled the uphill switchbacks deftly. Any time we did the tight downhill switchbacks, I asked her to get off her bike and walk because messing up on those sometimes meant at least a 10' drop, if not more.


We got up to a wooden bridge, and she said she had enough for the day. It was too hot for her, so we turned around. Time was also getting short and we had to meet my lil' nephew, so it was all good. It was mostly downhill to that point so all the chutes were now ladders. She told me to go ahead and wait for her, so I'd race up, turn around, come back down, then race up again. I got a great workout doing this. After making it back into town, we ended the day at a small cafe with chicken gyros and spinach pie. Excellent. I could definitely live here.

posted by rickyd 2 @ 7:15 AM 5 comments

Swoop!

Old buddy (and Maryland transplant) Rene and I hightailed it towards the coast from his East Bay digs. Rolling hills along 580 eventually morphed into the Bay, then finally transformed into the mountains where our destination lay. Set against immense redwoods, Skeggs is an absolute blast of a ride in the Bay Area.

It is unique from my usual riding because it has a lot more elevation than I'm used to. If I had to describe the ride in one sentence, it'd be this: down, down, down, down, up, up, up, up, up, down, down, down, down, up, up, up, up, up. Oh yeah, don't forget to throw in dusty. The fine dry soil throws up clouds on the slightest touch of anyone's brakes. Stay off 'em as much as possible, or risk blinding the person behind you.

Also unique on this ride were gears, front suspension, AND rear suspension. I didn't bring my bike with me on this trip, so Rene loaned me an uber-machine. Six inches in the front and rear, with a system that allows you to easily change the geometry from cross-country to downhill geometry with a push of the button. Steaming hot from Interbike, and one of very few in the country, it initially felt cool to ride a strange new beast.


The last time I rode full suspension was four years ago. The last time I remember riding a geared bike in the woods was three years ago. Every time we had to go up, my energy dwindled much faster than usual. My legs aren't used to the extended spinning. I had to resist the temptation to stand because on my rigid singlespeed, uphills usually mean out of the saddle cranking. Whenever I did that on this 6" and 6" bike, all my forward energy was absorbed in up-and-down motion, so I had to dump the gears, remain seated, and spin my arse off. Leg muscles that don't usually see much action were rudely awakened. Many times I found myself off the back as Francis and Kyle surged ahead, standing, suffering, and sweating their SSes up the hills. It wasn't long before I yearned for my own simple steed instead of this rig. Way too much tech and monkey motion for me.

We wound through the forest at the speed of serenity, diving through trees in large sweeping curves, tires throwing up clouds, all the while whooping and hollering - if not out loud - then definitely in your head. It's fast times four. The last time I remember doing long sweepers like this was three years ago, not coincidentally here, and with Francis. We took a few breaks to play on some techy sections, but it never got to the point of trash talking. Maybe a few more rides with them and they'll loosen up. ;)


Two and a half hours later, we emerged from the woods. Rene had to get back, and my wife was waiting for me as well. We wrapped it up, while the other three guys refilled their water, readying for the second half of the ride. I was bumming I couldn't stay out and play longer with them, but I promised my wife I'd be back at a reasonable time. However next year, I'm definitely bringing my own bike AND guarantees from the wife that I can ride more than once on a two-week trip.



Francis (MTBR founder) took excellent pics during the ride along with a writeup on his website as well.

posted by rickyd 2 @ 3:35 PM 4 comments

The name is Ricky?

Craigslist:

http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/bik/102313429.html

Bike shorts for sale - $3

Reply to: anon-102313429@craigslist.org
Date: 2005-10-06, 1:41PM EDT


One pair of spandex bike shorts for sale. Heavily worn and sweated upon. Good buy for someone starting back out who wants to seem as if they have been working at it for awhile. Good gift for wife or girlfriend as I think you can't probably still smell my taint on them. Call Ricky or email if interested (254)-368-1918. Thanks

this is in or around rockville
no -- it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests

102313429

posted by markie @ 11:47 AM 2 comments

Overgeared, Overconfident, Hella Sore

I’m halfway through the movie “A Very Long Engagement” starring Audrey Tautou. I found it funny how her character has a habit doing something that I also do occasionally:

“If I reach the bend before the car arrives, Manech will come back alive!”

Basically, she bases her decisions on chance.

“If another person in my class passes me, I’ll quit.”

It was the beginning of the second lap (of three) at yesterday’s Race for Jake, and I was in excruciating pain. On the previous lap, I was feeling good, rockin’ the course, and ready for a repeat. I passed the starting tent in second, sprinted to start another lap, and about to dive back into the woods. All of a sudden, I crushed my foot on the end of a fallen tree. To imagine how hard I hit it, picture this: I was cruising close to20 mph, ducked to avoid a tree on my right, when I hit a protruding root of the dead tree with my left foot so hard that I came to a full stop at that foot, pivoting around my “index” toe, while the rest of me (and bike) swung around. Basically, I made a pancake out of my toes using a pedal and an unmovable object. Blinding pain centered around my foot, my back spasmed, and yes, my tear ducts squeezed out a drop or two.

I clutched the crushed toes, debating whether or not to take off my shoe and take a peek at the damage. I decided not to, because I’m a total wimp whenever I see how bad things are. If I hurt myself, I’m fine if I don’t realize how broken I am. Instead, I drew inspiration from a compadre that finished a 100 mile race after breaking his toe 1/10 of the way into it. That was on a scale many levels higher, so I figured I should suck it up and tough it out for this much shorter race.


I got up after five minutes, and tried to walk it off. Little luck. Each step increased the dull roar, so I hopped back on the bike to see if that method of locomotion was any better. Slightly, but just only. Every time I put downward pressure on my left foot, I felt a heartbeat down there as well. That's when I begun to tell myself, “If another person in my class passes me, I’ll quit.” Unfortunately, no one did.

I gave ‘em every opportunity to do so. I walked up a couple of hills and even sat down whenever it got too painful to do even that. I waited, while people from other categories came and went, but no one in my class went by. Eventually, I got tired of waiting and plodded on, mumbling over and over, “If another person in my class passes me, I’ll quit.”

I kept hearing voices, and when they got close enough, I'd pull over. Most of the time there wasn't anyone there. Y'see, the race course at Lodi Farm is very twisty. On many parts, it almost doubles back on itself as it winds through the woods. It takes a mere step or two through the brush to cut off a mile or more from a lap. The voices I heard were probably from racers that were either miles ahead of me, or behind, yet within arm's reach.

Since no one came, I crawled to the finish after three hours for around 26 miles, and I end up in third place of the singlespeed class…


…out of four.

Turns out the fourth guy did not finish the race, so it was a ghost chasing me the whole time. However, I don't blame him. With the course as dusty and dry as it was, the roots uncovered themselves in full force, making for a brutally jarring race. He told me before the race started that he was doing the Army Ten Miler today, so he was probably trying to conserve energy. Good move, because right now I'm a wreck. My body - especially my back, neck, and foot - are a lot sorer than when I did the much more technically difficult SSWC a month and a half ago. It hurts to walk and it hurts to stand, so here I am watching French romance movies on a beautiful Sunday morning.

Oh well, DFL ain't so bad when you end up podiuming at the same time.

posted by rickyd 2 @ 8:00 AM 1 comments