Merckxy Christmas and Coppi New Year!
Another year come and gone, another pile of New Year’s resolutions out the door, done and dusted. It’s a good thing I don’t recall what they were; I have a feeling this period of reflection might loom a bit darker if I was in a position to appreciate just how short I’ve come up on them.
I’m spending more time with young kids these days, and the Holiday Season is an entirely different experience when viewed within their context. To begin with, at my age I hardly notice the passing of the years. This itself is a paradox; as a Cyclist we are perhaps more aware of the passing seasons than anyone else, yet the years themselves manage to slip by without notice; for a kid, one year is a significant portion of their life and each one is remembered in astonishing (if inaccurate) detail.
Personally, it’s been a mixed year for me; the highest highs offset with some low lows, but if we are to experience life’s greatest moments, we have to be willing to walk the valleys between the peaks an for certain its been the singularly greatest year in terms of personal growth. I haven’t spent as much time on Velominati and with you, the community, as I would have liked in 2016; still for 2017 we have many exciting things lurking, all thanks to you who have kept the passion flowing through the community. We laugh, we quarrel, we reconnect. This is the beauty of Cycling and the charm of you, the Velominati community.
So here’s to you, your family’s and loved ones, and to 2017. On behalf of the Keepers, we wish you a Merckxy Christmas and a Coppi New Year!
And yes, it’s time for me to make a fresh batch of Cyclist Gingerbread cookies.
Coppy New Year? Shouldn’t it by Coppi? I guess your spell check is not cycling friendly.
Merry Christmas to you and yours, Frank. Also the very best of the Festive Season to the other Keepers, and lastly a very Cool Yule to all you mad Velominati that make this place tick.
To be able to share time and guide the young and exuberant can be as gratifying as any of our own accomplishments.Sometimes more.
I fell way short of any of my cycling goals for the year. But it was the most gratifying year for me as I not only purchased my son his first “real” bike, I saw him race his first bike race. A challenging muddy cyclocross race. Then saw him do a few more that ended in a full-on affirmation of Rule #9.
The gift I passed on to him was the same gift I receive every time I come to this site and engage in this community. The goals we’ve accomplish do not always need to be the ones we have set for ourselves.
To Frank, the keepers and everyone – Merry Christmas.
Joy to Le mond(e)
merry christmas man! and thanks for the site.
I had my best cycling year ever, achieving a bucket list ride:
https://www.strava.com/activities/613483932
I know, I know, no Strava, blah blah blah…Rule 1,453,297…
Merry Christmas to all! My and the rest of the PEZ Crew’s holiday musings.
http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/features/seasons-greetings-from-the-pez-crew-6/#.WF1LxrGZPdQ
Happy Holidays! I hope 2017 is an awesome year for everyone, its shaping up to be pretty exciting for me.
Merry Christmas all. Thanks for another great year motivating me to get out there on my bike and pedal til I hurt.
@chuckp
Cheers to ya and just for a point of I know where you are coming from; the young lady of our house has taken to following my wheel up a hill before attacking and… well, not much I can do. BUT, she cannot beat me at golf ! Just don’t tell me yours is driving the ball further than you, you young man! And it was sometime this good year that I had my first Negroni thanks to you and your PEZ crew. All best, Randy C
Merry Christmas and wishing everyone a great 2017
@Randy C
Randy – I can still hit the ball further than my daughter. She just hits it consistently straighter and in the fairway. Plus from her tees, more times than not she’s actually longer in the fairway. Such is my lot in life. :-) My approach game is probably still better, but that’s only because I can modulate my wedges. But her short game and putting really took a big step forward this last year. So I’m doomed, but happy to have a golf buddy for life. And once you’ve had one Negroni, you never go back. Welcome to the club! Cheers, Chuck
I hope that everyone had a Happy Christmas or Hanukkah, and hoping that we all have happy and healthy New Years, both on and off of the bikes!
You know you’re a cyclist when the presents which give you the most joy are Fignon’s autobiography and a new coffee maker.
Well Rollers work up a sweat in the way a Turbo does not in like for like pedalling. Must be getting better as the motion detector (or lack of) in the conservatory turned the lights off………..
@RobSandy
Indeed. I picked up the 7-11 book, one called Wheelmen (about COTHO’s scam) and one on the hstory of the Tour (clearly written before COTHO’s fall from grace) and a charity store in Madison for $6 for all three. Merry Christmas to me! Coffee makers I have: stovetop espresson, french press and big ass coffeemaker.
What gifts, pray tell, gave you the least joy?
@Teocalli
I’m getting better each time I ride them, but can only do 20 minutes before I need to get off and give my ass a break. Next up, riding out of the saddle. I hear a big gear is the secret to this. Any input from fellow roller users?
BTW, posting that Slade vid shows both your age and nationality! I say that because I remember it all too well too. Thursday night, BBC!, 7pm. ToTP. The original “must-see-TV.”
@wiscot
“What gifts, pray tell, gave you the least joy?”
My mother, bless her lovely 83 year old heart gave me something I cannot wear… I told her I needed a gilet.. she got confused and bought me a god-awful florescent yellow specialized triathlete sleeveless jersey.. . It is a thing of horror and I can not throw it out since it was a gift yet it gives me distress knowing that it’s even living in the same drawer as my other cycling attire..
So what did y’all get for Christmas? Some of what I got:
ProViz 360+ cycling vest (absolutely brilliant … almost literally … piece of kit for night riding)
Yellow Jersey Racer
Shoulder to Shoulder: Racing in the Age of Anquetil
Road to Valor: A True Story of WWII Italy, the Nazis, and a Cyclist Who Inspired a Nation
@chuckp
Santa was good to you! I have Shoulder to Shoulder and Road to Valor. Both excellent. Hero is a much overused word, but it applies to Bartali 100%.
Yellow Jersey Racer is on my list.
@chuckp
Since you asked… had to play my own Santa, the wife has no clue what kind of bike kit I need (want).
Something I never thought I’d go for – carbon wheels. Campagnolo Bora tubulars. I have a set of Record/Ambrosio box section tubs I occasionally ride and tubs on my CX bike, but for some reason I agonized over the clincher/tub decision this time. Last night all I dreamed about was getting flats and not being able to fix them.
Book – Lantern Rouge: The Last Man in the Tour de France.
@wiscot
I just started reading Road to Valor. Had to finish The Boys in the Boat first. Great book about the 1936 crew team from University of Washington who won the gold medal at the Berlin Olympics. Many similarities between crew and cycling in terms of how both work as a team. Had to read the book after seeing PBS documentary (will have to get the DVD). And speaking of documentary, I understand there’s one for Road to Valor. My Italian Secret: The Forgotten Heroes. I’ll have to get that too.
https://www.amazon.com/My-Italian-Secret-Forgotten-Heroes/
Rollers
The Racer – David Millar
Cycling Climbs of South East England
Cycling’s Strangest Tales
Some interesting anecdotes to be found in the last book.
@MangoDave
I need to get and read Lanterne Rouge. It’s the name of a club/team that I helped a friend start (it’s now, sadly, defunct) after I quit the club/team I built, Unione Sportiva Coppi’s which became Squadra Coppi. I still have kit for all the different clubs/teams I rode for, including Lanterne Rouge (and I can still fit into all of it!)
@chuckp
Boys in the Boat is fantastic! The PBS documentary is good, but the book offers so much more depth about the characters (and character of the characters) and their highly improbable story and success. I hear a movie is being made. Hard to believe such an incredible tale was ignored for so long. The whole thing has a “yeah, sure that’s what happened” quality to it. I mean, you have the Depression, kids from the wrong side of the tracks going against Ivy League boys, Olympics, Hitler, the Nazis, cheating by the officials, a photogenic sport. t’s incredible!
I have the book of Riefenstahl’s Olympia and there are a couple of shots of “The Boys” in there.
Sometimes truth is better than fiction!
@MangoDave
picked up lanterne rouge myself a while ago. Very much looking forward to reading it as soon as I finish my current book which is proving to be a bit of a slog.
Last year our Sam Bennett finished tdf as lanterne rouge in heroic fashion after a nasty crash in stage one. Chapeau Sam, here’s to better luck in 2017.
@wiscot
I loved reading the book. Definitely had a “can’t put it down” quality. I saw The Boys of ’36 on PBS back to back with The Nazi Games-Berlin 1936. It’s amazing that the pomp and spectacle of the modern Olympic Games has its roots in Hitler and Nazi Germany. And the corruption too.
Sorry for a “downer” post on a holiday thread, but a reminder that life is fragile and that our sport/passion is not without danger.
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/canadian-neo-pro-ellen-watters-dies-from-crash-injuries/
Especially during the winter months where days are shorter and visibility may not be as good, be safe and smart out there. Even if it means violating the rules and resorting to the YJA or YVA if that helps you to be seen and reduces your risk.
@wiscot
RE: Riding out of the saddle on rollers. Big gear is the way to go. I’ve found a slow cadence is easiest, but with practice have moved upwards and can maintain 75ish relatively safely. Also, don’t put too much weight on your arms/front wheel. I’ve had the back start to float up on me. The benefit of this is that it also builds the supporting muscles in your glutes and core. In a 65-minute threshold session, I do 90-120 seconds standing every 10-12 minutes. This helps with the inevitable numbness in places that shouldn’t be numb…
@SamV
You need to learn to ride rollers in your smallest gear spinning at 120rpm … no hands. :-)
@chuckp
Well, tonight’s a roller night so we’ll see how we go with both strategies!
@chuckp
Oh you got that right. Juan Antonio Samaranch was a pal of the Fascist dictator Franco too. He certainly turned the IOC and Olympics into the corrupt cash cow it is today.
@wiscot
I will occasionally do 10-20 seconds at 90-100 with no hands. 120 is begging for a trip to the ER, though…
@wiscot
Two words … Avery Brundage.
@wiscot
a freestanding fan. Essential, but boring, and a reminder of the hard work and pain on the turbo to be ready for race season.
@chuckp
yeah. there is a good book about the 20th century history of US Cycling by Peter Nye called Hearts of Lions. it covers Major Taylor through Art Longsjo right up to the Borysewicz/ 7Eleven/ Lemond era. Brundage is covered throughly, although they call him Slavery Brundage. lol i can’t recommend this book highly enough for those individuals too young to remember when the USA was a laughing stock of world cycling, and how inspirational it was to see our riders start to claw back some respectability in the ’80s. Nye’s tales of the VERY lean mid 20th century years, and how it was held together reveals that Lions on bikes aren’t exclusively a Belgian deal.
Happy New Year to each and every one and Best Wishes for 2017.
@Cary
Very familiar with Hearts of Lions (I have it) as I actually know Peter. And yes, great book.
@chuckp
wow. i have loved that book for 20 years.
@Cary
I haven’t been in touch with Peter for about that long. I don’t know where he is these days, but he used to be in my general vicinity (metro DC area). Really great guy.
@chuckp
he surely wrote an amazing book. US cycling history remains underappreciated, i feel.
My plan is simple this year. Why not aim for my biggest year in cycling – on and off the bike.
Haven’t been here for a while, but with some new info that came my way thought it was time to contribute.
At our son’s wedding in Nov a cousin said ‘You knew Grandpa was a bike racer, right?” Had never heard that before — new info for me which was very intriguing. Fast forward to last week when I was helping my mother sort through boxes after a move. Found a piece of yellowed paper with a telephone number from the mid-60s scrawled on it. When I unfolded it, to my amazement , my hands held a page of letterhead for the West Side Cycling Club in Milwaukee dated in handwriting December 2, 1898.
Two people listed as officers on the letterhead had my surname, and there in pencil, written in that elegant cursive hand of the times, was a list titled “Current List of Members.” Fourteen names on the list, with 3 lined through And there, not crossed out, was my grandfather’s name! He was 21 at the time; the others with my surname were one of his older brothers and his cousin.
More penciled stuff on the page, this time numbers and a multiplication result written at an angle as though added as a afterthought to the list. It was a calculation of individual and the group’s total fee. Looks like they individually paid $6.61 — That was a chunk of money back then.
Doing my best google-fu, I found the Milwaukee Co. Historical Society web site shows the location of a box/folder with info from or about the club housed in their collection. I’m eager to get there to see if there may be any photos, race results, etc. At least I have this document; I need to check into getting it archivally framed so I can display it.
Time for more research about that time period and cycling. I do know Milwaukee was known as one of the hotbeds for the sport (and that from the cycling activity grew Milwaukee’s own Harley-Davidson, so who knows what else I’ll learn. But I do know for sure that Grandpa was a bike racer!
@teleguy57
That’s a great motivation to start the new year!
Happy New Year all, hope it’s a great one.
The PEZ Crew’s picks for best moment of 2106.
http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/features/the-pez-pick-of-2016/#.WGvHKLGZPdQ
@Randy C – You are now immortalized forever in PEZ annals. :-)
Cheers!
@frank “And yes, it’s time for me to make a fresh batch of Cyclist Gingerbread cookies.”
You’ve had these at least since Dec 2010, so I do assume they only exist electronically now anymore.
@teleguy57
Hey there. I know the folks at the MCHS. Good people. There was also a book that came out recently (I have it at home) on cycling in WI. Lots of great stuff about the early days when your grandfather was riding/racing. Here’s a link: http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/whspress/books/book.asp?book_id=418