A ride for the people, the Sean Kelly Cyclosportive
My first bike was a Sears Moonlight Special. It was literally a piece of shit – figuratively. I mean, it would only “literally” be a piece of shit if shit was made of sand-filled steel tubes salvaged from the plumbing of the local sewage facility. Which it might have been, but I simply don’t have the peer-reviewed evidence to back that claim up.
I feel comfortable stating that this bike cost less than $50 USD back in the early 70’s, and it was yellow. It also had a saddle which, upon my personal dissection (Go Science!) was conclusively comprised of a shaped steel plate covered by a thin foam pad and a faux-leather shell. Made in America, fuck yeah. That’s one reason right there that the United States doesn’t have the same over-population problems China does.
After that, I was given my dad’s Raleigh, made of Reynolds 531 tubing which I loved deeply, apart from the exposed brake cables and Weinmann centerpull brakes. I installed some aero brake levers on it and quickly learned the value of owning some proper brake-adjustment tools like the Third Hand. (I’m not sure why a Third Hand is a bicycle-specific innovation; having one more hand feels like a genetically-viable mutation.)
Finally, after a summer of saving up, I bought my own proper racing bicycle, a Cannonwhale SR700 with Shimano 105. In hot pink, for $700. I loved the shit out of that bike, crowning it with every accessory (apart from an EPMS) that one can think of: I couldn’t afford Scott Drop-ins, so I happily accepted my brother’s bar-ends from his Bridgestone as substitutes. I saved up for ages and bought a Selle San Marco Regal and got one step closer to looking like Greg LeMan. Benotto bar tape was a no-brainer at only a few bucks a roll. So Pro, so cheap. And it never wore out and it didn’t matter how bad you were at wapping bars; if you needed four rolls to cover the real-estate (wrapping the brake levers cleanly is the crux), then you were still only out about $10.
It was such a great bike. I rode it in France, Belgium, The Netherlands, not to mention most of the northern United States. I rode with my family, my friends; I rode with my dad the most. In fact, the only time I dumped that beautiful Regal saddle was with him, five minutes into the first ride with that saddle when he decided to change the route and hang a louie when I was overlapping wheels with him. Scraped the leather clean off the right-side of the saddle. No worries, a little super-glue and the saddle lasted me another 10 years.
I lost and found my way back into Cycling two or three times during the lifetime of that $700 bike. If I was the man I am today, I’d have kept it, too. I still have many of the parts, but I dumped the frame because it’s too big for me, and I didn’t realize how much it would mean to me today. We all walk the path of La Vie Velominatus in steps; it is only natural to wander off the path from time to time.
My #1 is worth something like $10k, maybe more, maybe less. Which in any case is a stupid amount of money for a bicycle. My Nine Bike is the hand-me-down, worth a bit less but in practical terms, almost the same. An entry-level bike, like my ‘Wale SR700 would cost a few thousand dollars today, well out of reach of a young Velominatus hoping to get into the sport.
Cycling is supposed to be the accessible sport, the sport of The People. What happened?
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
@chuckp
I'm not sure about that. 25+ lbs ago I was single digit competitive golfer looking for tourneys to play. Frankly, it's 1) the time and 2) the fitness. Four hour rounds are just not happening. Fat dudes on carts smoking cigars, drinking beer and not in a hurry are the norm. And if ya wanna be fit, you have to invest time in another form of exercise. I walked when I played. Religiously. There's no real fitness going on there. For fun I've strolled my club course with heart rate monitor. Just nothing happening. The PGA guys are spending a lot of time in gym to stay fit. You have a job and family and play serious golf? Forget time for fitness.
The real $$ is being spent by the outdoor enthusiasts. People that like to build tree forts and plant green crops in woods they lease. And drive their pick up trucks out to the woods they lease, driver their four wheelers to the tree house. Use a nice gun or bow to kill the deer that come to eat the field they planted. And then drive the deer out and pay to get it processed in to sausage. There's some real bucks spent there. Especially on their kits! That outdoor deer and turkey slaying all weather camo kit??? That's more expensive than most cycling kits.
Bass fishermen too can spend a few bucks on their hobby. Boat, trailer and pick up truck??
When I was golfing as a youngster it was hand me down clubs from my grandfather and muni courses. It was not expensive. And I rode a Schwinn that I still have! Damn I love that bike.
Cheers
@Oli
Crap. I've got ISIS on the winter bike! Try getting that through airport security - "what's this son?" "It's an ISIS bottom bracket." Then spend hours in a wee room with TSA, FBI etc.
Repeat to self a million times: octalink, octalink . . . .
@wiscot
Nothing to worry about sir, just a routine inspection of your bottom bracket....
@RobSandy
Absolutely agree. A round of golf is an all day affair when you include travel to/from the course and something to eat/drink after the round. Still, there's a lot to be said about a round of golf with some of your best friends. Especially the trash talk. And when you pure a shot ... well, that's better than s*x. :-) I can't necessarily say the same for any particular moment of triumph on a bike.
@Teocalli
Can I insist on some Dumonde lube for the search? Seems only fair.
@chuckp
Perhaps, but alas for some of us getting a bike ride in is a much more readily available option than sex. Lasts longer too.
@Oli
I see all these insane bikes online - Baums, Fetskas, Vanillas, etc. and I can't help but wonder, "Where the fuck do these bikes/owners live?" I live in a cycling hotbed with a good economy and even on the Hot Shot group rides I generally see solid framesets (C'dales, Cervelos, etc.) with very $ carbon wheels. I see very, very few of these custom boutique bikes, so I always wonder how there are so many out there online. I guess it's an aggregate from all over the world, so they look numerous.
Then again, my riding buddy has an insane stable of around 12 top notch steeds. Thank god he's taller or I'd be tempted to steal from him!
At this point in my life, I have two hobbies: riding bikes and playing futbol. I play soccer twice a week, I buy cleats and turfs ever few years. Not much money put into that.
That is why I don't worry about what I spend on cycling. I don't own a car. I ride a bike 7 days a week. I need commuter bikes, I need cross bikes, I need mtn. bikes, I need road bikes, I need steel road bikes, I need carbon road bikes. Considering I've now been at it for 13 years, I'd say my stable was acquired slowly and the spending was spread out. At this point I buy things here and there that I need - bibs to replace worn ones, chains, tires, some new bars or seat pillar, etc. Nothing major. A new bike purchase is a few years off, gotta really be lusting after something new/different from what I have.
With that said, I place no restrictions on my desire to constantly buy new shades. The sad part is that I'm running out of room to store them in a ready-to-go style. Oh well. This is my only indulgence in life, aside from always buying more jalapenos than I know I can eat in a week. Thankfully, jalapenos are cheap, especially when half of 'em you eat are grown in your garden.
Buddy just told me last night he picked up his first full-suspension mtn. bike, a 2008 model that went for $2000 USD, for $350, with a helmet, spare tires, and spare tubes included. Deals are always out there. The guy had just had his second kid and saw his riding time cut even more.
@antihero
I agree. Unless you just have money to burn and have to have eye candy. I can't believe how many non-racers I see riding fancy, deep dish carbon rims that had to set them back some serious $$$. OK, I get the whole Sky marginal gains thing. But there is such a thing as diminishing marginal return ... especially when a set of wheels can cost as much, if not more, than a frame. And other than TTing or being at the pointy end of the pack, not clear to me how much of an advantage aero wheels (or aero anything) when you're in the back and have the benefit of the draft. When I built my Felt FC I toyed with the idea of deep (50mm is probably as deep as I would want as I'm a light, skinny guy) dish carbon rims, but even a wife in the bike biz my bank account couldn't afford/justify them. Instead, I opted for Shimano RS81 C35s as a set of all-arounder wheels. Alloy braking surface but carbon fairing so kind of the best of all worlds. 35mm so semi-deep with some aero but not going to get blown all over the road in crosswinds. Not heavy, but not light either. But have been relatively bulletproof wheels that suit my riding. And any deficiencies in my riding can be chalked up to me, not my wheels or any of my other equipment.
@wiscot
BA DA BING!