The Lion King was once a Pedalwan cub, just as the rest of us. Guide the uninitiated.
I rode with a rider I know from work a few weeks ago. The first time we sat in a meeting together, we immediately pegged one another as a Cyclist the way Cyclists always peg one another; nothing specific or obvious but everything nonspecific and nonobvious. It’s what we do, you can’t learn it and it can’t be explained. Then he mentioned he had driven to Seattle from SoCal with his dog and his bike and I was sure. This wasn’t a Harley he was talking about, this was a road bike.
As leaders of our respective teams, we immediately directed the agenda to measuring up one another’s bikes.
Me: “What bike do you ride?”
Him: “I brought my rain bike when I moved here. It’s a Pinarello Prince. My good bike is a Dogma. What do you ride?”
Me: “A Veloforma Strada iR. My rain bike is a Cervelo R3.”
Him: “What groupsets?”
It went on a bit before he turned to the everyone else and explained the situation in layman’s terms. “The conversation we’re having here is that we both have a Ferrari except the Ferrari got a little old and we bought a newer Ferrari. Except we didn’t get rid of the old Ferrari because you just don’t do that. Too many memories. So then you wind up with a Ferrari you ride in bad weather and one that you ride in good.”
When our schedules finally meshed to the point that we got together for a ride, he invited two of his colleagues along with him; one a long-time training partner and one a younger guy he’d never ridden with who showed up on a heavy no-name steel bike with a 90’s-era Shimano 105 8 speed groupsan. And platform pedals. And a t-shirt. And sneakers.
“Are you running or riding?”
We all had a chuckle and set off on a jaunty 80km spin, not too hard but not too easy. Sneakers held on the whole way. He got gapped a little on the bigger climbs but laid down the power to catch up again and sat in the group like a Pro; drafting close, taking the corners well, and rotating through into the wind. And always with a smile on his face.
As the ride wound down, the friend I’d sized up in the meeting sat up and pointed at me and said, “You rode like I expected you to ride.” Then he pointed at Sneakers and said, “And you rode so much harder than I ever expected. If you had a better bike, you’d be dropping us all. You’re an amazing athlete.” Everyone agreed.
I’ve been in touch with Sneakers, a new Pedalwan. He picked up some clipless pedals first, then a bit later he scored a new bike off CraigsList. He’s caught the bug, and catching the bug is what its all about.
Never judge a book by it’s cover. Behind every platform pedal riding, sneaker and t-shirt wearing bicyclist lurks a potential Velominatus.
Vive la Vie Velominatus.
I know as well as any of you that I've been checked out lately, kind…
Peter Sagan has undergone quite the transformation over the years; starting as a brash and…
The Women's road race has to be my favorite one-day road race after Paris-Roubaix and…
Holy fuckballs. I've never been this late ever on a VSP. I mean, I've missed…
This week we are currently in is the most boring week of the year. After…
I have memories of my life before Cycling, but as the years wear slowly on…
View Comments
@frank
Thanks, man -- and thanks for the site, it's been a great to get re-acquainted with the sport by following along these last few months.
Like Gabriel David, I too was star struck by the big name racers in 1986. I had just turned 11. I'd recently moved to a new city, had left behind my BMX club racing and had not yet found one to join. On a winter's day that year I caught some of the Tour highlights which at that time was aired on Wide World of Sports on Sundays here in Aus. I watched it every week and was hooked. I thought "that's what I wanna do". I bugged my parents for a road bike. The man at the LBS said "you're too small, come back when you can stand over this". I was not pleased. A year passed and I watched the Tour again. I begged to return to see if I had grown sufficiently. I wore three pairs of football socks and the shoes with the thickest soles I could find. I could only just get over the top tube and the bike was purchased. I did a few crits but soon gave up on it, in preference for other sports. Still, I road that bike to school every day (in the clips) and everywhere else I went, and maintained it perfectly. I kept it until I grew out of it and passed it on. I've had a road bike at all times since. In the mid 90s I got into mountain bike XC. I used to swap out the dirt tires for slicks every Monday morning and commute all week and swap them back on weekends. I mostly used platforms because it was my work commute, shopping, going to dinner and movies, and everywhere else bike. I just hated driving if I could possibly wangle a ride. In my early 30s I got lazy with the bike. Occasional weekend MTB trips and short rides to the shop were the extent of it. Then one day I went for a ride with some of my old road buddies and nearly died. I was riding my Fuji Tourer and vomited after the second climb, trying to keep up. Things had to change so I got myself a CAAD 10. I got bike fit, but it took much longer than I thought it would.
Nowadays I still ride the CAAD 10. Ninety percent of bike time is on a light steel frame single speed. I use reverse-able SPDs and sometimes I clip and sometimes I don't. For rides of <50km the single speed is much more fun and I get a better workout. No choice but to go hard often to keep the cadence up because momentum is king when you've got one gear. I usually wear MTB shorts and a wool tshirt. I get a lot of advice from well meaning roadies after they see me out a few times or I ask if I can hang on their wheel for a bit in the wind. It's cool when this happens and I've made some friends. I get a lot of sniggers too. I usually avoid those guys from then on. If they aren't that fit I might keep an eye out for them and sneak up and gas past them when the opportunity arises. It's childish, but I get laugh.
I've always had an uneasy relationship with rules, empty authority, and sheepish behaviour. Guidance is cool. Put offs are not cool. Anyone showing the slightest interest in cycling (of any form) should be encouraged in a way that is actually encouraging. The more people on bikes, the better, in my opinion.
My son is 26 months and has had a balance bike for a couple of months. The first thing he says in the morning is often "Bike!". Same thing after his mid day nap and after his evening bath. He also comes and sits next to me whilst I'm at the computer and says "bike video", wanting to see some cycling. No more encouragement needed than simply allowing him to ride. It's early days, but I think we have another one...
Check out this picture of great grand father Stooge 100 years ago. The Stooges - breaking all the rules for a century:
@stooge
Your great G F was not a Rule breaker but the epitome of the rules!
@Gianni
I think your boy Ryder was that kid! Man when you picked him I thought no way top 10!!
This ^ explains Cipo in so many ways!
@Rob
Oh, he was a rule breaker alright. But, as for the cycling, he'd be contravening #7, #27, #33, and #50, at least. He did however have the spirit of a cyclist.
Here's a retro thought:
Let's petition NBCSN to do weekend TDF highlight shows (in addition to the real time coverage, or course) in the tradition of the old CBS broadcasts. Bring back the music, and the dramatic copy. Just a throwback for all of us who had nothing but CBS back in the day...
I'm quite happy with the coverage I can get via NBC and Universal, but the lack of Giro coverage irks me. They cover all of the ASO races, but the others are spotty.
@Gianni
That picture creeps me out. It looks like a photo of the "Damian" child from the movie and/or a photo from a propaganda film about Hitler Youth sports programs. Let's have another article and a picture of a guy grinding up a gravel road in the Pyrenees or someplace.
Great piece, but I have a question: why has the background been crude blacked out? What was originally there? Was Cipo attracting a bevvy of beauties even in his callow youth?
I miss Winning too. In the UK we had Cycling Weekly which until the early 80s was printed entirely on giant sheets of toilet paper. There as also International Cycle Sport which was mostly B&W but still good. Copies of Miroir du Cyclisme were prized beyond belief . . . the fact that it was in French was irrelevant.
@Minnesota Expat
Did Cipo ever do that? As I remember it he always climbed off at the first sign of the mountains? It always spoiled his success somewhat for me that he never actually intended completing a GT beyond week 1. Did he ever do a complete one in his early career?
He finished the Giro several times, winning the Maglia Ciclamino (points jersey) three times. The first one was in his third year as a pro.
If Cipollini had been here............