bikecentric

Fixed Aspirations

If you've had ever had dreams of tucking your head down and rumbling in the buzz of an obscenely sloped surface, tears streaming as the wind whips past your shades while you're rocking that high RPM, here's your chance. T-Town, famed homebase of international track star Marty Nothstein, is opening up a day for amateur goodness. (Cheap too!) Beware though, I don't think you can bring any old fixt hooptie:




Good thing they have free rentals if you don't have a track-approved cycle.

posted by rickyd 2 @ 5:35 AM 0 comments

Sweet Retreat

Within hours of Gina sending out the e-mail about a women’s only yoga and mountain bike retreat sponsored by The Bike Lane and Pedalshop, 5 of us jumped at the chance to fill one of the 16 open slots. The clinic’s teachers were none other than Sue Haywood and Sue George! As the date approached we had a taste of spring for a few days then Mother Nature played a cruel trick and dumped several inches of snow in the Shenandoah Mountains. After a short debate about whether the retreat should be cancelled due to the trail conditions, a decision was made to forge ahead and modify the ride plans if necessary.

The drive down was beautiful, the sun shining on the snow covered pastures and rolling hills. Arriving at the Shenandoah Yoga Studio, located on the second floor of Shenandoah Bicycle Company, we were greeted by the other women anxiously waiting to begin our weekend. Sue George, the owner and founder of the studio, led us through a challenging session of Vinyasa yoga. After hanging out in the studio for a bit we headed to the lodge for our potluck dinner and a few beers. Believe it or not, lots of the conversations revolved around racing, preferences for body armor, the lightest rims, and whether it’s better to buy new wheels or buy the rims and have them built up.

There was a chill in the air on Sunday morning and although the temperatures were in the low 30’s the wind gusts made if feel much colder. Our caravan left the Food Lion on Route 42, heading south to Stokesville. The snow forced us to change up from a clinic to more of a group ride with stops along the way to give Sue and Sue an opportunity to impart some oftheir vast knowledge. After a 3-mile road ride we turned left onto a gravel road that ended up being a 7-mile climb. The climb was made even more difficult by the fact that the snow on the road had melted leaving the ground soft and muddy, forcing you to pedal even when the road headed downhill. Finally at the top we were rewarded by someof the sweetest snowy single track ever! The rocky ridge led to a downhill I wished would never end. When we returned to the parking lot we broke out the leftover treats for a mini feast before heading home. What a blast - a great weekend with a fantastic group of women!

Oh yea, one last thing – Gina totally rocked it on the ride being the only brave soul in our group of 19 to ride a single speed! Awesome!

posted by Mrs. Outlaw @ 5:24 AM 5 comments

Pinky Tuscadero

Snuck a preview of the new Modest Mouse album. Dig it indeed. (Thanks DB!)

posted by rickyd 2 @ 8:44 PM 5 comments

My Pod

Two new words today kiddos: plantar and fasciitis. Put them together and what do you get? One hell of a sore foot.

I can ride 10, 20, even 50 miles; ain't nuttin' but a thang. However, if I do a mellow 1.5 mile walk around the lake on flat, even, pavement with my wife, I pay for it with excruciating pain. Bizarre, eh? We didn't run or jump around. We strolled at a leisurely pace, took a few stops to sit and watch ducks, then returned home. A couple of hours later, standing up was unbearable. It felt like the muscle (which I've discovered is actually a ligament) on the outer part of my foot felt like it was tearing.


With a heating pad applied for most of the night, I was able to hobble right out of bed, then finally walk with a Quasimodo gimp gait after my morning coffee. With relatively stiff bike shoes, I did a four hour ride with a bunch of friends that day, but the foot (warmed by a charcoal heater) only complained when forced to walk.

Saw the doctor today and asked "Wuzzup Doc?" Fifteen minutes of talking and checking out my foot, she says those two big words up top. First advice: take anti-inflammatories. No sweat, but I'm allergic to aspirin, Motrin, Advil, and all those other yummy pills.

"Oh," she says, then writes me a referral to a podiatrist and recommends some stretches and exercises. I guess I'll find out the real deal after seeing one of them foot docs.

Oh yeah, for all the race promoters out there: no Le Mans starts, puh-leeze! :)

posted by rickyd 2 @ 8:05 PM 4 comments

Kid Stuff

Pumping 100 rpm then abruptly going to 0 in a second -- there are only a few other things that get me feeling like a juvenile than a trackskid.

I circle around to take another go to see who can lay the longest piece of rubber on the wooden bridge. Standing up, rocking the bars heavily side to side, legs furiously spinning. After about seven seconds to reach terminal velocity, my legs come to a dead stop.

Fwack, fwack, fwack, fwack! goes the tire losing traction between each slat. I try to shift my weight forward a bit to prolong before the inevitable. Between four and five seconds pass and my speed is down to zero again. I turn to inspect the black line I've left behind compared to the others. Ha! As fleeting as the title, I'm the skid champ...for today...on this bridge.



**************
I'm waaaay behind the times when it comes to music, so I was pleasantly surprised when I found out earlier this week that two bands that have taken up a huge chunk of my time in the last two decades - the Smiths and Modest Mouse - have teamed up of sorts. Johnny Marr is all up in the Mouse's biz. New album in a couple of weeks.

posted by rickyd 2 @ 2:52 PM 1 comments