Cycle Naked

I have never cycled naked. Not because I’m opposed to the idea. It’s just never really occurred to me. Until recently anyway.  With two appearances on this very blog of what I’m now calling Val’s “signature photo” of the naked-ass woman straddling a bicycle (from a series of provocative Brooks saddle ads), I’ve found myself thinking about naked bike riding. I’m sure the recent weather here helps explain this. It’s been so cold that even bundled up like a polar mummy you can only stand to be outside for a few minutes. I stare out the window at the frozen streets and try to imagine the heat of high summer, when clothing is a social courtesy, not a necessity for survival.

"Sometimes you have to slow down to speed up"

The hoary, hard days of winter are firmly entrenched, and we have taken riding refuge in Val’s hospitable heated garage, guided by the steady encouragement of coach Troy who gently barks out orders: “Ok, put in the big ring on the front and 15 at the back… sometimes you have to slow down to speed up.”   We have watched his training videos many times; we can predicate the twitches of the riders in the videos, and we jeer at them as we sweat with them.  These training videos are paced effectively and I feel I am maintaining the cycling legs developed over last summer—all good. 

Edmonton Snow Ride

Cold out today, legitimately cold.  -8 degrees Fahrenheit when I roll out of my garage, 22 below Zero if I want to talk Celsius and sound impressive.  Got wool on my feet, wool on my torso; Old Man Shaw would be proud.  Neoprene tights and a softshell jacket keep me in the space age, though.  Feeling a little daring, I go with my regular summer gloves inside my pogies.

Vélivre: Journey to the Centre of the Earth

No, not the Jules Verne tale—you won’t find giant mushrooms or subterranean dinosaurs here. But this adventure-cycling Journey to the Centre of the Earth, by British cousins Richard and Nicholas Crane, published in 1987, documents a trip that is so fantastical that you might be forgiven for thinking it the stuff of science fiction. 

Inspiration #2

Some of you will have seen this before, and others will have heard of it.  That's ok.  It's absolutely worth watching again.  When it comes to the question of motivation and inspiration and all-out epic awesomeness, it's hard to do better than this little bit of film.  Watch it full screen.  Make time to watch it where you can concentrate on it.  It's worth the effort.  Then maybe watch it again. 

If it doesn't make you want to run out and buy some bear spray and an airplane ticket, I don't really understand how your soul works.

Bikerafting Alaska's Lost Coast: Yakutat to Glacier Bay. from lacemine29 on Vimeo.

Why Penn Loves His Brooks Part 2

All My Posts Now Open With This

When I last talked about Penn’s adoration of his new Brooks B-17, I spoke about the advantages of the thin saddle.  At the end of that piece, I promised to return to the subject and talk about another reason he and his Brooks get along so well: saddle width.  Paying attention to saddle width is another way a rider can custom-tune their equipment to their anatomy. 

Code of the Semi-Serious Cyclist: Part 3 (Speed)

The Semi-Serious Cyclist likes to go fast. But only sometimes. Being semi-serious doesn’t necessarily mean riding half the speed of a serious cyclist. Instead, the SSC just prefers to go fast about half the time. 

The SSC totally gets the appeal of speed. Even the most casual, Wal-Mart-bike-riding cyclist would be hard pressed to deny this fact:  It’s fun to go fast on a bicycle. Anyone who’s ever gone for a spin on pretty much any bike knows there’s nothing quite like that exhilaration that comes from grooving along, flying down the road, spinning, driving, hammering—whatever you want to call it. Especially when there’s a wicked tailwind, or the legs feel unusually strong, or there’s stress to burn, or only one hour will have to do instead of three, or when the whole damn ride feels slightly downhill, or, simply, when the spirit moves.

Inspiration #1

I was going to write a little something about how sometimes the depths of winter lead to a desire for some external motivation

But, really, what we all need is a little more inspiration.  There are guys out there doing cool things.  Big things.  Things that make your indecision about commuting to work on two wheels tomorrow seem petty and paltry. 

Take a look.  Get inspired.  Go big.  

Carpathian Arch Bikepacking #1 - Romania from Andrzej on Vimeo.

Racking a Pugsley

Winter is the season for bike projects.  Spring is when an old man's thoughts turn towards cycling, but warm weather is for pedaling.  Winter is the time to dream up next year's plans, and when you can, make them manifest.  My list this winter includes racking up my Pugsley in case it happens to take me far afield this summer.  The Pugsley, though, has gotten itself a bit of a reputation as being difficult to fit for a rack, so I wasn't sure what was ahead of me.  But I thought I might have found a secret weapon.