suddenly, you should feel the need to ride more.
originally on wob, good stuff, jb!
Tags: road bike, san francisco, track bike, video
any time raw is an option, it’s always the right option. jealousy ensues…
originally on low, support your local.
Tags: porn, san francisco, track bike
nacer bouhanni (fdj-bigmat) took the sprint victory on stage 1 of the etoile de bessèges in bellegarde. bouhanni won ahead of marcel kittel (project 1t4i) and bobbie traksel (landbouwkrediet). the opening stage of the race was marked with heavy crosswinds – numerous groups tried to establish breaks and echelons, but only fdj-bigmat stepped in to settle the pace, the day’s break finally formed. koen barbe (landbouwkrediet) and steven van vooren (topsport vlaanderen) broke off the front and lead 5 minutes over the peloton. the peloton split, with the main front group being 80 deep. the break was eventually caught, which opened up another opportunity. pieter vanspeybrouck (topsport vlaanderen), tony hurel (europcar), jonathan thiré (auber 93), anthony delaplace and jérôme coppel (saur-sojasun) gained a brief 15 seconds over the peloton, but with project 1t4i and fdj-bigmat leading the chase, they were eventually caught.
photo from steephill.
Tags: pro cycling, video
150g lighter overall, better ergonomics, stiffer/better shifting, quieter drivetrain, and more power transfer from that pesky big ring. sram red, 2012.
read the full details on bike radar.
I forgot to stop to take a photo of the less than ideal weather. yesterday’s warm morning had me expecting more of the same today, but when I stepped outside, the ground was draped in water and a fine drizzle was in the air. I went back into the house to grab my rain shell, and to ditch my gloves. there’s nothing worse than the feeling of wet paper towels on your hands when you’re trying to ride. the wet toes, feet, and ankles were inevitable. time to settle in to a cautious morning ride.
one of the plus sides to riding in the wet is the empty roads. less runners, a lot less cyclists, and surprisingly, less traffic early on. as I rode up to the bridge, there were two mission cycling guys waiting at the fork. not the best morning to be sitting out, waiting for other people to show up for a ride, that’s for sure. the knee was feeling significantly better, and as I kept riding, the soreness was still there, but definitely not as bad as last week, or even a couple days ago. thank you, bike gods (and the magical powers that fall into the category of copious amounts of stretching).
I saw vidal riding out in marin as well, which was awesome – initially I passed him, and as I did, he called out to me. he pulled up beside me and I finally realized it was him. power intervals, out to the top of camino alto and back. hope you had a safe ride!
on my way back, I had the best 29er random drafter guy. one of the best to date. I passed him on the bridge coming back into the city, and from there to to the edge of the marina, he was stuck on my rear wheel. rear rain fender and all.
oh, wednesdays…
Tags: cannondale caad10, data, half, paradise loop, rain, san francisco, spotted, weather, winter
lucie chainel-lefevre at the worlds. defeet full-fingers, representing.
originally on podium insight.
Tags: girls on bikes
First of all, this is a course and a Championships on Belgian soil so it’s a bit of a home match. Secondly from when we started racing, we were taught to race in sand. So when this trail comes with sand, it’s something that we’ve been doing since when we were small. Third, there were seven Belgians in the first seven places, that’s not our fault that’s the competition’s fault.
neils albert, the newly crowned cyclocross world champion, speaking about the 2012 course in koksijde, belgium – podium insight. photo also from podium insight.
Tags: cyclocross, pro cycling, quotes
quite nice, don’t you think? it looks very fast. I’m still somewhat concerned about the drilled out enve stem.
Tags: cyclocross, porn
we’ll soon see if philippe gilbert can mirror last year’s dream season for himself.
photo from red kite prayer.
Tags: pro cycling, velodrome
the knee pain subsided a bit overnight after a couple long stretching sessions so I opted for half paradise. I rode down the embarcadero with a fresh new gatorskin on the front and the gp4000s on the back – both at 105psi. I don’t expect any more sidewall blowouts, but I had my fingers crossed the entire ride. it was significantly warmer out, to my surprise. it seems as if we’re coming out of our cold spell, and possibly into more springtime weather. maybe it’ll bring more rain, too…hopefully not though.
with the sun rising earlier every day, it’s becoming much easier to maneuver out into marin. people are dimming down their high intensities and riding a bit smarter now they can see more with the natural light. half paradise hasn’t changed at all, as you’d expect. the knee was holding up, surprisingly. a bit sore, but not too bad. unfortunately, I still had to pass a school bus, which made for an awkward couple minutes. I would ride ahead as it would slow down to pick up a bunch of kids – then the bus would pass, but stop to pick up more kids, and then eventually pull off towards the waterfront. at least the driver was courteous, I had a couple drivers cut inches away from my elbow. just one of those mornings, I presume.
I’m glad the knee is feeling better, and that I had no flats. simple pleasures of riding pre-dawn. oh, I spotted maurice (+a guy in a britesport kit) and percy while out today – hope you guys had good rides. it feels good to be out there again.
Tags: cannondale caad10, data, half, paradise loop, san francisco, spotted, weather, winter