Holy bloody Hell it was hot today. Bad ozone too. At least my tan is improving. Today's lunch ride was nothing special, but on the 4th, I had a great ride. I was in Williamstown, MA for the weekend visiting Liana. Williamstown is at the extreme north west corner of the state, so it borders NY to the west and VT to the north. There's a 30 mile loop that follows up over the Taconic Trail that lets you ride through all three states on a pretty route. Lets try this thing:


Holy crap it worked. It's MapMyRide.com, and it'll have to do till someone figures out how to use the real road data for non drivers, the mileage is a little low because you have to draw your own straight lines on the map. Anyway it was a gorgeous ride. Several mile climb right out of Williamstown up to the border of NY, then also several miles of downhill on the other side, WHEEEE! One thing is confirmed, my ass can tell the difference between an aluminum seatpost and a carbon one. New aluminum post, say hello to your replacement, a new CF post.

Still awaiting some parts for the John Deere, but I rode it fixed the other day, I think it'll shape up nicely. Hopefully it will look acceptable for the contest.

N=9

So I picked up a black John Deere "racer". It's destined to be a fixed gear road bike now that my Trek Cruiser frame is sporting big fat whitewalls on coaster hubs. I've actually entered it in the Fixed Gear Gallery Open Design contest, in which I will no doubt get an absolute spanking. Whatever, the entry fee is for a good cause. I'm presently on the hunt for a decent stem and a seatpost, and debating color schemes. At the same time the old Schwinn will finally see some action via some transplanted parts from the Deere. Getting sort of excited for Le Tour this year. I still wish Astana was allowed to ride, but I'm squarely behind Slipstream, not that they stand a chance.

This weekend will find me riding in the Berkshires I'm looking forward to that, it's gorgeous out there.

Spring!

Yay! Winter is going! Two rides this week, one painful ride last week. I think if someone took a good close look at my rear end they would find a little imprint that says "Flite Ti". I love my saddle. It's the best darn saddle I've ever ridden, but that first ride out last week, it felt like it was going into me. Luckily, that has passed and I am now in the general constant soreness phase till I build up tolerance again. Note to self: Get a damn trainer for next winter!

New 0 offset seatpost coming to get me a little more forward on the bike, I think I'm too far back on my road bike. That will pair up with a longer Ritchey WCS stem I've had for a while but needed to find a decent seatpost to mate up with to avoid getting bunched up. Also I picked up a new set of cruiser wheels for the Trek frame that is currently my fixed gear bike. Red rims black hubs and big fat whitewall tires. Might put the track wheels from the fixed gear onto my Dad's Schwinn? Dunno, I kind of want to maintain a somewhat sport geometry fixed gear bike and the Schwinn ain't that.

In other news, what the hell is up with the ASO and the UCI anyway? I'm sick of the lot of them.

Astana? Are they kidding?

So I just don't know what to think about this; Johan Bruynel is taking Contador, Leipheimer, and a good bit of the discovery squad on over to Astana. Yes, Astana, the team created to support Vinokourov, one of few riders I actually loathe. When I heard that the team unit itself was disbanding, that was a slightly down day, I have enjoyed rooting for the various versions of the team over the years. I do miss the Postal days. Anyway, I don't know if I can get behind Astana. Seems like it was a pretty dirty squad. Maybe the Disco boys will clean it up. We'll see. Other than them, I'm not sure who I can get into.

Last week I found a bike in the bushes at work. Somebody had taken a cheap BMX frame, put a 27" wheel fork on it with a 27 inch wheel, and put a cruiser bar on it. Like a little BMX chopper. If it had been done a little differently and maybe painted, it could have been pretty pimp. In any case, I now have an extra set of platform pedals. :) I am considering seeing if I can resurect the frame using the mag wheels from the folder.It would need a fork and new bars too.

Also on the funmobile side of things, the rack I ordered for my Jeep (in August!) finally came in. This enables me to haul my bikes and gear around again. Between the Thule Velo Vice trays my bro-in-law gave me last year and the my massive roof box, I can finally carry anything I need in/on the Jeep. I can potentially carry up to 5 bikes and gear and four people. Or more likely 5 bikes and just me... I am looking forward to riding in Shutesbury, MA again. There's a wicked hill there, 2 miles of perfect S-turns on recent pavement. Last time there I was coasting at 35mph for over a mile and three quarters. It is a ridiculous amount of fun. I'll be riding there in 2 weeks again.

France 3

Ah Hell, it's October. Look at that. So anyway, stages, 12, 13, and 14, were really cool. For 12, we caught a spot near-ish to the finish in Montpellier. The caravan starts coming through waay before the riders. Van after van and car after car one by one. And flying past! There were some rather drunk fans that looked as if they had been having a grand old time most of the day, standing beside the road. Then the Peloton appeared down the road. First they were far away, then they were there, then they were gone. Holy smokes does it go by fast. It's more like a train than I ever realized. Then the second group came through and were gone. They were going so fast, I didn't recognize a single rider. Not one. I later found out that I got a pretty good shot of Boonen, which I am quite pleased with. And that was pretty much it. We walked around Montpellier a bit that day, and had a nice lunch in a large sort of square.

Stage 13, was a bit more scenic, we picked out a spot where the stage came nearest to where we were about an hour's drive away on a nice drive out through the country side into sort of a hillier area. Out in the middle of nowhere, we found cars lined up along the side of the road. We parked and walked down the road till we found the crowd. We were right at a 90° turn at the bottom of a hill so we went to just before the turn figuring that they would be stretched out and slowing for the curve. This reasoning worked well. As the Peleton Rolled by, they were all single file and a few of them could be recognized this time. I was able to pick out Boonen, the Discovery riders, and Rasmussen. This time there was an escape group 2 minutes ahead, then the peleton in a huge stretched out line and then another few groups trailing. It made for a much longer sighting. Memorable bits for the day included a large German that yelled at us becasue he thought we were going to stand in front of him. He was drunk and very much an ass.

Stage 14, the Time Trial was it for me though, this was my favorite day of the trip and it also provided the best photos. We went up to the large rolling hills where this
stage was located. It was bright and sunny when we left, wearing shorts, t shirts and sunglasses. However, teh weather had other plans. A cold rain came in. So I stood for 4 hours in the rain freezing my butt off having the time of my life. The riders, coming by one by one in order was so absolutley fantastic. Everyone knew who was coming next so different groups would periodically yell the rider's name as they came into view. The unforgettable moment would be when Christophe Moreau, the French national champion came into sight. A man jumped up pointing and shouted, "Mooorrr-eaauuuu!" and suddently the entire crowd was electrified. They went nuts. These rain-soaked, freezing cold fans were cheering like he'd just won. He's like a rockstar to the French. It was fun to see that kind of excitement and it reminded me just how far from home I was. As the boys from Discovery rolled through and I got to cheer for them by name, I think I felt a little of what the others had. The coolest was listening to the crowds cheer for each rider in their own language. Contador rode by to cheers of "Venga! Venga! Contatdor!" Moreau to "Allez Moreau!", there were also Germans, Australians, Brits, Swiss, and a couple languages I couldn't place. I think we were the only Americans at that spot. I was definitely cheering the loudest for Discovery at that stretch.

After that, I was pretty much satiated. The tour got too far away to follow, so I watched on live TV as Vinokourov and Rasmussen disgraced themselves and Contador climbed to the top. I went riding on the folder, doing a longest ride of 24 butt numbing miles (poor saddle choice). In all the bike held it's own, but those mag wheels, while indestructible, have a bit of a wobble that adds to the butt numbing in a not fun way, I'll probably put the coaster wheel back on it. It was a good vacation in all. That's about it.

France Part 2

So Marseillan is a pretty little town. Like any respectable European town, it has lots of little food markets, bakeries, fruit and veggie stands, butchers, fish markets, all the usual suspects. There's a town center that is basically the shopping area with little tourist shops, hair salons, cafes, and banks. So I got up and went to the grocery store with my sister Tara to stock up on cheese, wine, coffee, and whatever. We made some guesses as to the best cheap wines and were not disappointed. My method of picking bottles with cool labels seems to hold true. Suzy, however, made the best discovery in this department; It turns out that the region claims to have invented the Champagne method before Dom Perignon, who they also assert took/stole the idea back to Champagne to perfect it. So consequently you can get a bottle of bubbly there for about $3, that tastes more like a bottle of bubbly that cost $30 because they aren't in the Champagne region. Needless to say I came home with a dozen corks from these bottles to stick in the handlebars of various bicycles.

The first day, I pretty much just wandered around town for a bit and watched the Tour on tv, since I was waiting for my bike to show up from the airline. Being extremely jetlagged, this was just fine by me. I ended up getting my bike in the afternoon of the next day. The delivery guy only spoke French so if it were not for Tara, I would still not have my bike. He wouldn't bring it to the apartment, so he was trying to tell me I had to meet him at the town center. When he handed me the bag, it was apparent that it had been completely torn apart and repacked. The frame had a bunch of spots from getting ground around in transit, it looked like it was already an experienced world traveler. Nothing was damaged other than cosmetics, I had it back together and ready to ride in about 5 minutes. Took a quick spin around the block and everything was cool with the bike. Even in the short time pedaling around the block, I felt oddly safe on the street. Drivers there just know how to safely drive near bikes.

France Part 1

I am probably going to have to break this up into a few chunks as I think about my trip so here's part one. I'll start with packing the bike. My original plan had been to cut down a cardboard box to fit the smallest possible size I could cram it all into. I folded up the bike and took off the wheels. I just a rough measurement to see if it would go into a box that wouldn't be oversize according to the airline. It had to be LxHxW < 63 inches linear. I fit it into a box that totaled up to 62.5", sweet. However, the box itself was clunky as hell and I had definite visions of me not enjoying toting it around cars, buses, trains, and airports; all of which my trip would include. This limitation almost caused the Dahon to remain in the States. -Enter Shelagh's bag: She lent it to me upon hearing about my struggles with the box. It was a huge rectangular duffel bag. It fit right around the bike and contoured in to fit it into a much smaller overall size. Also it actually had straps and handles for carrying. I packed in clothes tied up in plastic bags for padding and put shoes over anything that was sticking out, like the hinge mechanism for the main hinge of the frame. The padding situation was enough to protect it from the usual handling, but would not stand up to a serious drop or crunch.

The flight over was pretty good. I got stuck in a window seat next to a pretty german college student and her yowling cat. When I say "yowling" I mean a yowl like wild animal in heat. Punctuated about every 45 minutes by it completely flipping out and causing it's bag to hop around on the floor and triggering another round of apologies from her. I didn't mind, if I were a cat, I'd raise hell too.

Upon arrival in Marseille, I learned that my bike was still in Paris. Yay. They took my address and said they would deliver it to me as soon as possible, and "Here is your free toilet kit." Off to the train.

Not understanding French made for some good traveling antics, first the bus lady yelled at me about my credit card, then I couldn't read my train ticket so I didn't know where to sit and people kept telling me to move cause I was in their seat. Arriving in Agde (2 1/2 hour train ride away), my sister Suzy and my Mom met me at the train station to drive back to Marseillan, which is where we were to be based. Food, wine, bed.