Seeing them suffer throughout the race only to be reborn in the final is something for fascination.
Miguel Indurain
On sprinters
I've always taken the phrase "Know your limits" to mean that you should hold back when you might otherwise go too far. I no longer believe that. In fact, the saying has quite the opposite effect on me. My limits, it turns out, are quite often much higher than I first believe...
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I ordered a little wallet for myself from these guys over at Totally Tubular Design because I heard they were made of recycled bike tubes. Cool. Then I got a little purse for my wife because they looked so cute and girly. It was so cool, I got one for myself (a little less girly). The products are great. They are made from recycled bike tubes and tires, and the liners are made from other random scraps of recycled cloth, leather, etc. They are sturdy and solidly-built with big fat threads and heavy materials - I love that. I can't say that they are particularly precise - they don't lay exactly flat, they are not perfectly rectangular - but that's part of the charm. Besides a cool product though (and great friendly service), I had a great idea that makes my commuting happier: Put your little loose nonsense (keys, wallet, phone, quarters, whatever) in this little bag and then put that in your big bag (I'm thinking messenger bag or panniers). Then it will all be there in one handy place instead of loose amongst the sweaty clothing, spare tubes, bottle caps, U-lock and all that other crap in there. It's working great for me, and it makes me happy every time I grab it and unzip that super-chunky zipper.
This article is Part I of a series, to read part II, see Mountain Bike Racing is Awesome.
Last night I entered my first XC mountain bike race. Late in the season, as usual. Haven't been training, as usual - although lots of recreational riding. Lots. I studied up, asked plenty of questions. Thought I was ready - and I was ready - as ready as anyone will ever be for their first race. That's what I learned. It's about experience. About what's in your head more than what's in your legs...
Read the rest of Mountain Bike Racing Sucks.
This article is Part II in a series, to read part I see Mountain Bike Racing Sucks
I'm kind of pissed that I keep figuring this out at the end of the season, but like I've said before - this time I mean it. Racing is hard, but it is worth it. This week I entered my second ever mountain bike race and improved my standings 1000 to 1. What that means is that I finished the race this time, and had a blast, as opposed to last week, when I blew up after one lap, called it quits, and then had to live under the dark shadow of shame and regret for the next 167 hours…
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Probably everything I've ever said about cycling involved the phrase "It's all mental" - not that that makes it any more true. But it keeps coming up in my head, so there must be something there, at least for me. I'm going to start a little collection here, and as time marches on and the experiences pile up, I will come back and add things, as I think of them...
Read the rest of It’s All Mental (unabridged version)
As night falls earlier every day, I'm looking into commuter lights with renewed interest. I've recently upgraded to a high-output rechargeable LED headlight, and am very pleased with the results. More about that. While digging for safety statistics for 900MPG, I found another product which is pretty interesting. The idea is that the light illuminates the RIDER (not the road), so that you are more visible to other road users. Interesting. I don't think you need a particularly special light for this, and it's a good thing, because as far as I can tell, you can't buy these anywhere.
Regardless, it's the idea that matters...
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