Gotta work those legs,
and lungs.
'Cross season is soon upon us.
And the commitment level
is the same as the preparedness.
Low.
The kind you hear as you trail at the
end of a group ride. Casually rolling
along, making small talk.
"So this lady at my work,
her husband won his choice of ANY
bike. Up to $5000. And he doesn't
ride! So he wants to unload it."
"Whats IT?" you ask.
Well, any bike they make...
Carbon frame with Dura Ace?
Or,
a carbon frame hardtail mountain bike,
or,
a full suspension cross country rig.
Or...?
Except this time,
it's not me listening to some
unbelievable story.
So I told him to order my size.
See if you can sell it,
and when it gets to hard to unload,
give me a call....
But I still don't know what to tell him
to order. If that company made a
$5000 cross bike, there'ld be NO
question. I'm psyched on my SRAM
stuff, and cross bikes...
so a carbon/Dura Ace bike is just
as appealing as a SRAM f/s rig.
Don't know what to choose....
Or, if I'll even get a chance to.
The pissed where you think back
to the movie "Falling Down", and
say to yourself "I can fucking relate".
The back story:
Before summer starts we ask the kids
what do you REALLY want to do?
Skipping the replies of "being lazy
pigs & sleep in & eat ice cream all day".
They want to ride bikes.
So this year I have the Tag-a-long
for the little guy.
And we've been trying to make every
thing a biking adventure.
And I've been trying to instill them with
some street smarts and rules.
Passing in the left, right of ways, etc.
Now as much as motorists bitch about
cyclists. Drivers where I live are not
doing themselves any favors. The
other week my son almost got clipped
by a guy in a pickup hanging a hard
and fast right onto our street. Luckily
both of them stopped quick as I
screamed.
Can't really teach him right of way
when drivers don't yield. So that
became a lesson in watching for
blinkers and judging speed. A hard
thing to teach a ten year old with Lego
and Star Wars on the brain.
Today our bikeavan pushed off. Again
with looking all directions, cross at
cross walks, etc. Often times he rides
ahead of me while my daughter rides
behind. At this particular crosswalk, we
waited for the light, with plans of a
water stop after we cross.
Teach him to watch the signals.
Now check for the crosswalk signal.
Is anyone turning right that might hit
you? No.
Okay let's go.
I roll halfway through & stop so no one
makes a right & hits my girl that moves
at a turtles pace. Just as my son is passing me, I spot a car coming
towards us, and it's NOT slowing!
I quickly grab him and continually scream stop! Twenty feet and closing,
suddenly the screech of tires as it
skids through the crosswalk. Right
where my son would have been.
Fucking hell!
"Asshole!!!"
"What the hell!?"
"You fucking idiot! You're gonna kill
somebody out here!"
"The hell is your problem?!"
"You see him? You could've killed him!
FUCKING IDIOT!"
The whole time the light was red
I stood at her bumper and proceeded
to unload on her. She would look at
me. No apology. No eye contact.
Just looking straight ahead, waiting
for the light to change. Waiting.
And that was it.
Had I not assumed drivers are idiots.
Not looked at cars with a skeptical
and jaded view, expecting the worse.
Then my kid would be in the hospital,
if we were lucky. And that fucking
idiot would still be driving, just with a
higher cost of insurance.
It would be labelled an "accident" so
the driver could continue on in life
with less remorse. Cause no one
actually does time or looses a license
due to being too fucking stupid to
operate a motor vehicle.
I apologized to the kids.
Those were not words we use....
Harder though was reality setting in
on my son.
"So she wasn't going to stop?"
"nope"
"Why? It was a red light!"
"yep. Some people are just stupid."
And not apologetic about it either.
So I guess I need to teach him to
assume the worse in drivers. They'll
run red lights, turn without signaling,
swerve towards you, even run you
over without stopping.
Sorry son, assume all drivers are
stupid assholes that are out to get you.
Is that what I need to say to make him
a little safer out there?
Had it been just me I probably would
have kicked her car and rode off. Or
pulled my valve stem remover and
yanked the core while she ignored me.
"What are you gonna do? Call the
police after you nearly killed some
one?"
So you can argue about clueless
cyclists. I'ld rather get hit by 200 lbs
of clueless going 15 mph then 3000
lbs of stupidity going 40 mph.
Simple physics.
I vow next time,
I will physically remove them from their
car.
They WILL be scared.
They WILL learn.
Assert yourself,
and safe pedaling!
Then I couldn't find my iPod.
"well, I didn't have any,
and yours fit!"
"I wanted to listen to music,
when I go to bed!"
After leaving his bike & helmet
in the van,
I guess my bike & helmet also fit.
Somewhat.
I now have a not-so mini-me?
In the midst of road racing
it's already time to stretch the legs
for the pending 'cross season.
Two months before the first race,
and my legs feel like weighted down
fatty hotdogs. A mid-pack placing
would be considered a win at this
point.
Base miles, and lots of them
or alot of interval training. Neither of
which seems to be a reality right now.
Almost like my friend who had the
Stay Puft marshmallow man tattoo
on his ass.
Ok. Back to riding.
In contrast, my cycling shoes?
It took a couple pairs, but finally my
Sidi Dominator mtbs were/are
awesome for everything.
Except for those times where you don't
want to look like a bike geek.
Problem is, I don't want to grab a
wrench to put on some bmx flats just
to ride to the store, or gallery, or bar.
Which was part of the reason I built
up the DJ bike. Something I could just
hop on with regular shoes and ride.
No clip-clapping around like a hefty
tap dancer, or slipping on beer covered
floors like it was ice.
Yes, Chrome makes a pair of SPD
shoes, as does Vans. But all black
doesn't do it for me. No thanks.
BUT! I came across the Districts from
Tried to google any reviews or fit
opinions with no luck. So I bit the
bullet and with a couple clicks, they
were on their way!
First impression? Solid! Clean and
simple. The fit is true to size. Not too
narrow. I have monsterously wide feet
and these are snug, but not tight. So
no thick socks, unless they stretch out.
So I'm mildly psyched on them.
Since I'm no longer a shoe whore,
(I think I have more bikes than shoes)
hopefully these will stay in regular
rotation. Gonna go pick up an extra
set of cleats and go for a ride!
While wondering around the vendor's
row/pits I came across Brian's tent.
He made the trip up from DC with a
load of Pedal Pushers gear.
I didn't hesitate to relieve him of a
shirt. Some good stuff here:
Check it out!
I needed another T like I need another
flat tire. But this I couldn't pass.
Goes with the shoes...
Shoes? Yup. Found something else
too!
The dirty part that I feel?
That was from laying in the dirt all day
and by Tuesday I should have some
photographic evidence posted.
The UCI reminds me off mall security
it's easier to just avoid them.
I had a good time crawling along the
course though....
So much stuff to post,
let's come back to this with some
photos... and move onto some other
stuff.....
Nothing!
Cause I'll be shooting tomorrow.
I'ld say maybe a day later,
but there's still photos from last year
... that I still haven't put up.
And I'm scanning the computer
for some nasty virus... bummed.
So it's iPhone posts for now.
Beside the NYC show,
the biggest news is my website is
finally done! Besides the redoing of
flickr and building another blog.
Free time for the 'little things'?
These are the little things....
And after a quick revival,
just sat there.
Sometimes you need a break,
but I should know by now that a break
from the bike never helps my mental
health.
So after beating myself up mentally,
I dusted off the Green Machine...
and got back on it.
Things are good.
Bikes are good.
