A non-climber rides up Haleakala Volcano on Maui, and suffers.
The Archives
I’ve been riding for long enough to know that what “feels” good and and what “is” good in terms of technique are two independent sets with a small intersection; it’s very important to put a lot of thought and research into what you’re doing to make sure it offers a benefit. Research takes “work” and…
It is probably the most famous mountain in cycling. Almost 14 kilometers, 21 numbered hairpin turns. It lies in the the Isère valley, which is narrow and surrounded by mountains so rugged they look as though they were cast in a single day. These mountains are steep and brutal and spring up abruptly from the…
For most directors, winning Le Tour for the billionth time would make for a successful season, but not for Johan Bruyneel. It turns out that dealing with the Kazakhi backers of Team Astana really put a stinker on his season. Add that stress to the considerable logistics involved in buying off testing laboratories and bribing…
I could see it from where I was sitting on the terrace outside the cafe. The street dropped off towards the valley where the river used to run before turning and rising steeply – too steeply for how I was feeling – up along the dam and out of the valley. What was worse was…
I’ve reflected on my bike stable, where it started and where it is now. Peugeot PX10-LE. 1977. A champagne gold hunk of French madness. It was advertised as Monsieur Thevenet’s current racing model but I doubt he got this. The frame was nothing out of the ordinary but copper wire wrapping at the spoke crossings,…
Every now and then, I see a headline that I know won’t soon drift from my memory. Frank Vandenbroucke was found dead today in his hotel room; he had apparently died of a blood clot. The death reminds me of a similar headline in 2004, of the death of Marco Pantani. Both capable of incredible…
Unless you spend a lot of time with the Dutch, you probably don’t realize how awesome we are. We can pretty much walk into any situation and immediately understand the landscape and explain to all the non-Dutch in the room precisely why they are inferior. For the mathematically-minded, let me put it in equation form:…
After narrowly losing Milan San-Remo to Mark “The Manx Mounth” Cavendish, Heinrich Haussler was in agony. Many people might have been delighted with his accomplishment; he darted off the front of a highly controlled bunch and made an unexpected result which would make his one of the most recognized names of the 2009 cycling season. But…
I am facing a major problem; one not easily solved. One of our principal Keepers – Brett – had made mention of the most important element of cycling: the Rules. While the Rules are ambiguous, they are also very clear. Not so much “clear” in the sense that any of us really know what they…
When I went to bed last night, I thought about the World Road Race Championships, and whose name I would be reading this morning as the new wearer of the rainbow stripes. Even though I thought of this name, I didn’t really expect to see it at the very top of the tree. But when…
Coming to you live from stage 20 of the Vuelta, and reporting whilst still marginally sober. Racers are coming in fast on the 30+ min time trial, with several overlapping at the finish. We’re parked at a beer garden along the last little stretch, having run the last 10 km of the course earlier this…
I’ve made mention before of Rouleur magazine and their amazing, in-depth articles. In one of the past issues, they had a wonderful piece on frame building in the eighties and nineties describing how many of the big names sourced the building of frames – especially custom frames – to subcontractors. The article focused on one…
What’s going on in Cadel’s head? Maybe the intense heat of Spain has melted his synapses, which were already near breaking point, or perhaps it’s just the realisation that he is never going to win a Grand Tour of any kind, not even the third-tier race he’s currently gracing with his comedic ramblings. His latest routine…
Mario Cipollini, if nothing else, did one crucial thing for cycling. For better or worse, he turned cycling into a Business. His business sense was light years ahead of the pro cycling culture. He recognized that, by being both a dedicated professional a narcissist, you could make enourmous amounts of money – not only for…
I think it goes without saying that riding a fixie properly takes quite a bit of skill and finesse; the pedals being directly connected to the rear axle demands a fluid pedaling technique when riding at speed, not to mention the skill required to stop (quickly) without brakes. The issue I have with the fixie…
Phase I of Project Zero is complete. Stock, the Zip wasn't a bike that i was going to be able to ride. First of all, I'm too tall for the 270mm Ritchey seatpost, and the stem was too short. Also, while I love the approach Bridgestone took to designing their bikes, I have to say…
I posted SpandX’s excellent and funny cycling-centric music video for “Performance” here the other day. Watching it again recently, I noticed the that the character riding the fixie, whose name I assume is Fred, is doing a trackstand in front of popular Portland coffee roaster, Stumptown, as you can see in the shot below: That…
Last weekend, Michelle and I drove out over the Cascades and into the arid region on the other side of the pass. It’s amazing the way the mountains hold the moisture on the Pacific side of the range; driving up through the rain forest to crest into the East Cascades is an amazing experience. As…
My friend Robbie is no slouch on a bike. He is a former Mass-Rhode Island district road race champion, he has been beaten by the likes of Steve Bauer and Davis Phinney. The man can always get on a bike and haul ass, he always will. He drove by two days ago and was hot…