Tons of New Bikes

I was in Sticks and Stones earlier today and excited to see all of the new bicycles. This picture shows a new carbon framed Scott road bike at S & S.  With Shimano 105, it retails for around $1700. It seems like a lot of bike for the price. I have not been in Bill’s lately, but they are undoubtedly unpacking their new 2014 bikes as well. Quite often, people ask me for advice in buying a bicycle. There are a lot of bicycles to choose from and the range of advice varies as much as the people asking the question. I guess it goes without saying that the most important thing is to buy the type of bike that you are interested in (MTB, road bike, cruiser, or whatever) in a size that fits. The best bike in the world is unusable if it fits badly. The next thing to consider is what kind of budget you have to work with. If you are a kid working nights to pay your way through college, or if money is tight for any other reason, start with a used bike. In a couple of years, trade up if you can. I don’t necessarily think that everyone should buy a custom bike, but at some point in your life, I think that a custom bike should be pretty high on your list. In the meantime, there are a lot of other great bikes out there.

Bart Wellens Parody Video

Brian found this little treasure on Cyclocross Magazine. Read the article that goes with it to give the video some context.

http://www.cxmagazine.com/bart-wellens-spoof-hits-mainstream-belgian-media

National Interscholastic Cycling Association

 

Scott Wood recently drew my attention to the website of National Interscholastic Cycling Association. As you may be aware, the NICA organizes high school mountain bike racing teams, coaching, and events throughout the United States. It is active in a number of Western States including Utah. The NICA appears to be a fine organization. If you have access to the October 2013 issue of Outside Magazine, it contains a feature story on the NICA. I would encourage you to take a look at its website and consider a couple of questions. Does anyone have any experience with NICA? Does anyone feel like they would be interested in helping organize a chapter locally?

http://www.nationalmtb.org/

 

Cyclist Hit By Truck, Lands On Falling Mattress

I don’t make this stuff up.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/19/cyclist-hit-truck-lands-mattress_n_4995785.html

 

Inaugural 2014 TNR

After a successful prelude ride last week we had an unprecedented turnout for the first "real" Tuesday Night Ride of the season. With a few not pictured I counted 24 cyclists. We hope that everyone had a good time and look forward to many more rides (and more pleasant weather) in the coming weeks and months.

Cheers!

TNR 3-18-2014

 

Over the weekend, I put my white American Classic wheels on Thomas’ red and white Trek for some old school bling. I think it looks pretty cool. Thomas bought this bike nine years ago, largely with his own lawn mowing money.

     As of right now, the Tuesday Ride is still on for tomorrow night. It will likely be cold and windy, so dress warmly. Until conditions improve a little, the plan is to keep the TNR fairly short.

     

Two Cyclists Killed in Lehi Utah, TNR Preview.

These guys were friends, neighbors, who rode to work together daily. They were both riding with lights when they were struck and killed by a pickup truck early this morning on Redwood Road in Lehi Utah. I am always shaken by the death of cyclists. Even when I do not know these people, I feel a connection to them and I feel like I know certain things about them. Most cyclists who have spent years on the road have had more close calls than they would like to remember. The biggest danger will always be motorists who do not see cyclists, mostly because they are not looking. I wish I knew a way to make it safer. http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/57670054-78/paul-road-lehi-pickup.html.csp

     In a bit of decidedly brighter news, we had ten cyclists show up for the Tuesday Night Ride preview last night which we did not even confirm until midafternoon due to concerns about the weather. We are looking forward to seeing more of you next Tuesday.

One Final Thought. School Bond Election.

If you are a voter in Madison District 321, don't forget to vote in the school bond election on the way home tonight.

The Ride is On

Conditions are not great, but better than the forecast. (Note:  I just rode home...the first time I have been outside since 6 a.m. It is really pretty nice.) The ride is on for 6 p.m. at Sticks and Stones. I think we will try and keep it pretty short tonight. With wind from the northeast, this probably means we will be riding Steve's Loop.

Hope Fades for TNR Preview. Tipping Over.

I continue to hear from people who are anxious to get the Tuesday Night Rides started. For the past day or so, I have been planning to try a TNR preview tomorrow with a 6 p.m. departure and a little spin of an hour or so. However, based on the current hourly forecast for tomorrow night, I think that plan is pretty questionable. Here is what you can expect: temperature 42 degrees, wind at 23 mph, chance of precipitation increasing to 55% by 8 p.m. We will make an up or down decision on the ride by 4 p.m. tomorrow afternoon and post it on the blog. If you would like to vote on that decision or have relevant information to share, please send me a text or an email.

     Nineteen years ago, I purchased my first clipless pedals. The transition to clipless was intuitive and painless. I wished I had switched over sooner. Over the years, there have been a few times when I have tipped on a mountain bike, usually stalled on a climb that I should have abandoned sooner. Plus, I can think of a couple of times in cross races when a gritty cleat has failed to release with very negative consequences. But up until today, I had never tipped over on the road. Maybe someone like Tony who has been there since the beginning can remember a time, but I don’t think so. Today, I stopped fairly unexpectedly for a stop light and found myself a little off balance. My cleat was dry and dirty and when I tried to clip out, my shoe remained engaged and I fell gracelessly to the ground. We live in a world in which every embarrassing moment eventually finds its way to the internet. If you see a YouTube video of a cyclist in a yellow jacket tipping and cursing, it is probably me. One of the first things I did when I got home was to clean and lubricate the cleats. Hopefully, that is not something that has to happen twice.

NBC Sports Group 2014 Cycling Schedule

NBC Sports cycling coverage starts next Sunday with a recap of Paris Nice.  Based on a quick glance at the programming, the coverage appears to be similar to recent years with no coverage of the Giro and minimal coverage of the Vuelta. My biggest disappointment, undoubtedly shared by other lovers of the Spring Classics, is that after years of live or same-day coverage of the Tour of Flanders it is missing from this year’s lineup.  You can see the schedule here:

http://www.nbcsports.com/cycling/nbc-sports-group-2014-cycling-schedule

 

The Rexburg Cycling Blog Enters its Second Year

When Jeff and I set this blog up about one year ago, we did not anticipate how popular it would become.  I am grateful to everyone who has visited the blog and provided feedback and especially grateful to everyone who has contributed to it.  The biggest difficulty in sustaining the blog is generating new and interesting content.  In light of that, I will reemphasize an invitation that we have extended in the past.  If you have a personal story to tell, information about an event, or anything you think may be of interest to local cyclists, please forward it to Jeff or me. 

     Our goal with the blog, emails, and the Tuesday Night ride is provide a network of support, resources, and communication to cyclists with a wide range of experience, skills, and interests.  The plans that are being formed for the season vary widely.  My wife Dawn and some of her friends are looking forward to the Little Red Riding Hood ride in Logan.  At this point, my number one priority for the season is The Crusher in the Tushar.  My plan is to ride lots of hills, ride lots of gravel, and to make some adjustments in my cross bike, primarily lower gearing.  We have a couple of local guys racing already.  Other people on our distribution list have never raced and never will.  Regardless of where you fall in that continuum, I hope you will feel a sense of shared mission with the other local cyclists in promoting cycling in the Rexburg area.                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

 

First TNR Tentative for March 18th

I am pretty excited about the amount of interest in the Tuesday Night Ride. With the earlier implementation of daylight savings time on Sunday March 9th, we could potentially be starting pretty soon. However, most of you know how unpredictable March weather can be. I believe there is still one good blizzard out there. I have been looking at the extended forecast and it doesn't look great for March 11th. I am going to propose March 18th as the first Tuesday Night Ride of 2014. That date is obviously subject to change depending on the weather. I get a fair number of questions about our cancellation policy. To the extent it is feasible, I will communicate cancellations through the blog and by email, but the most important thing is to remember this rule: If the weather is so rotten that you can't bear the thought of riding and other people would feel the same, consider the ride cancelled. Following long tradition, the TNR will depart from Sticks and Stones at 6 p.m.

If You Are Feeling Bad About Your Winter Training, Maybe This Will Help.

STR/AFP/Getty Images/cbsnews.com

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/obese-women-only-get-one-hour-of-vigorous-exercise-a-year-study/

The Rest of Us Are Still Trying to Shake Off the Winter Cobwebs, Weston Is In Boise Racing

Here are a couple of photos from the first race of the three-race Hammer at the Slammer series in Boise.  Weston Dunn traveled over for the race with Jordan Garrett, also from Rexburg.  Both had a very solid finish. With the snowy cross races in Twin Falls late in the fall to the early season start in Boise, I don’t think many people had a shorter off season than Weston.

     He is riding this year on a gorgeous new Specialized bike with a team sponsorship from Bill’s Bike Shop.